Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
I can’t just give away this final prize so easily. There’s one more test to determine if you are indeed the best of the best. It’s my wildcard. Unpredictable and capable of catapulting you to the top of the food chain or thrusting you down to the dungeon in chains, the wildcard fights against our understanding of freedom and is called a “freedom fighter.”
Though not believers in our winning ways and traditions, they are formidable persons of courage, clarity and charity. These battlers challenge us to stay in winning form. I respect ‘em
If you can survive exposure to this freedom fighter by maintaining your defense of the freedoms we have secured for ourselves across time, you will receive the final and greatest prize. If you waver, however, you could lose everything
This particular wildcard is a lady, and I mention her now, because I’m confident in your confidence. Hear me, O, Glorious Ones! All the other wildcards who have tried to defeat us, have failed: Harriet Tubman, saved hundreds but tens of thousands remained slaves, Lincoln Steffens uncovered corruption in our politics and won awards for it. But has the corruption ever slowed down? Hell, even Jesus failed in front of the people, they chose Barabbas
Oh, Judicious People! You want and deserve to be free to do what you want to do. Nobody wants to hear no mouthy preaching about whether we can see what’s wrong or not. We want the things that make us feel good! Money!! That’s our stuff. Forget all the judgement, we’re not interested in sharing our resources with others we can’t stand
Some history:
Real freedom fighters come from a long way off. They bring a lot of history with them
We had the enslaved well in hand or under our thumb, everything designed to keep them deaf, mute and dumb. It was illegal for them to read but not to breed, to write but not to fight, to say but not to pray. Somehow, they all got a hold of words from our Bible and created songs of survival, disguised as prayers, they applied our sacred learning to their wretched affairs
Here’s the breakdown and the hand me down:
All this singing about salvation was not good for their spirit. We had to encourage music that was more real to their condition and pull the old bones and tambo out. As was their way, they began to self-deprecate and the popularity of their music began to appreciate. As it was then, so it is today
Here’s the lowdown:
While we were so focused on stamping out those damned drums, these people had created their own notions about “our” freedom. Coming from a book they couldn’t even read. And they filled the air with this noise as they worked