#03-20

Vannak ilyen semmi közöm hozzá „problémák” amik mégiscsak foglalkoztatnak meg inspirálnak. Egy társaságba járok egy lánnyal, nőnek kéne mondanom mert már nem huszonéves, aki együtt járt a társaságból egy pasival. A lány szerelmes volt, a pasi nem, van ilyen. Szakítottak, kicsit érzelegtek rajta, de tulajdonképpen, érdekes módon, az együttjárásról mi már csak akkor értesültünk miután szakítottak. A fiú mondta, hogy bocs, ha kicsit furán reagálnak dolgokra, de helyzet van. Pislogtam is sűrűn, hogy most mi is történik, beszéltem a faszival privátban, hogy mondja már el mi ez az egész. Innentől kezdve némileg ki volt hegyezve a figyelmem a lányra, akit jobban szántam mint a faszit. Különlegesebbnek, érdekesebbnek, műveltebbnek láttam, mint a pasast, akinek ez a fantasztikus lány nem volt elég jó. Mindkettőjüknek van már párja, a pasasnak már gyereke is. A pasi felesége kedves, jópofa, tényleg szuper, kedvelem, de nem tudom azt mondani, hogy jobb mint a másik lány. Más. Mindketten eljönnek, sőt mindhárman, a viszonyok tiszták, beszélnek egymással, soha meg nem mondanád, hogy bármi közük volt egymáshoz. Nem is érdekel senkit, csak engem. Gőzöm nincs miért van bennem az, hogy én nem hiszem el, hogy egy szerelem elmúlik attól, hogy azt mondják, hogy vége a kapcsolatnak. Onnantól majd nem látja annak aminek előtte? Ha ott van, nem találja vonzónak? Amikért rajongott az nyomtalanul eltűnt? A fájdalom, hogy ő nem kellett, túlléptek rajta az lényegtelen dologgá válik? A másik teljesen idegenné? Ez a kapcsolat nem kiürült, elsikkad, elhidegült, hanem az egyik elutasította a másikat. Sebet ütött. Folyamatosan látni egy alternatív képet, egy másik utat, másik választást, szerintem idegborzoló. Voltam persze én is úgy, hogy évekkel később találkoztam azzal a pasival, aki iskoláskorom meghatározó szerelme volt, és nem hittem el, hogy ezt az embert valaha is vonzónak láttam. Nem is találkoztunk többször. Minek találkoztunk volna?

Van a társaságban más pár is, akik együtt éltek. Nekem irritáló, ahogy a közeli kapcsolat maradványai át meg átszövik a kommunikációjukat és terhet rak a mostani élettársra. Mert ne áltassa magát senki, terhet rak. Ezt nem akarni tudni, erre nem figyelni szerintem maradványa a birtoklásnak. Persze, mindenki csináljon amit akar, mindenkinek a saját felnőtt döntése, hogy marad vagy szakít vagy szakít és marad, és akinek valami nem tetszik az mondja, aztán majd lesz valahogy. Én csak arról mesélek amik bennem lecsapódnak, a zacc, a mocsok... Van persze rengeteg ellentmondás: A szabadságunkat nem kéne valaki más kárára, direktmód megélni. A korlátozás nem elvárható azon az alapon, hogy nekünk valami nem esik jól vagy kellemetlen. Az emberek hazudnak arról is, hogy fáj-e nekik valami. Az emberek önzők és kegyetlenek egymással.

És akkor mindenféle elejtett mondatok innen-onnan: Már nem fáj, de amikor összetalálkozom vele, igyekszem feltűnés nélkül kikerülni, mert nem akarok találkozni vele meg a nőjével. (aham, akkor most túl vagy rajta vagy nem?) Már csak barátok vagyunk. (aham, a legjobb barátok és csak te mondod neki, hogy milyen okos meg vicces, senki más.) Már elmúlt. (de minden ismeretlen üzenetről, telefonról, sosem látott tumblisról ő jut eszedbe, azt gondolod Ő volt) Jobb, ha nem találkozunk többet. (mert bármikor lefeküdnél vele és az is zavarna, ha nem) Hogy édesemnek, drágámnak, szívemnek szólítom, ez semmi, ez csak a megszokás. (baszki, 15 éve elváltatok, milyen megszokás ez?) Nem zavar, hogy megnősült és gyereke van. (csak leiszod magad, ha látod. Értem, hogy nem zavar) Felidegesít mindig, amikor találkozunk. (akkor mi a fasznak találkoztok?) Barátok tudtunk maradni. (nem akarjátok megdolgozni az érzelmi munkát a szakítással) A kapcsolataim elfogadják, hogy barátságban vagyok az exeimmel. (a kapcsolataid hazudnak) Nem akarom, hogy újra bántson vagy bármi ilyesmi. (Tudna bántani? Akkor nem utálod eléggé.) Stb, stb.

Amúgy az egész dolog érzelmi részét csak én feltételezem, teljesen elképzelhető, hogy a lány teljesen túl van a pasin, beleképzelek mindenfélét amit semmivel sem tudok igazolni, csak azt gondolom, hogy hacsak nem csalódik az ember orbitálisat a másikban, akkor a vonzalom nem múlik el, csupán háttérbe szorul, valahova a tudat eltompított mélyére kerül és ha nem piszkálják, akkor örökre ott is marad, és nem a vonzalom múlik el, csak elfelejtjük, hogy hova tettük.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist. A pioneer of mid-20th-century music, she attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and rhythmic accompaniment that was a precursor of rock and roll. She was the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians, including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her music of "light" in the "darkness" of nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, Tharpe pushed spiritual music into the mainstream and helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, beginning with her 1939 hit "This Train". Her unique music left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists, such as Ira Tucker, Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the pop world, she never left gospel music.

Tharpe's 1944 hit "Down by the Riverside" was selected for the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004, which noted that it "captures her spirited guitar playing and unique vocal style, demonstrating clearly her influence on early rhythm-and-blues performers" and cited her influence on "many gospel, jazz, and rock artists". ("Down by the Riverside" was recorded by Tharpe on December 2, 1948, in New York City, and issued as Decca single 48106.) Her 1945 hit "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in late 1944, featured Tharpe's vocals and electric guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over, hitting no. 2 on the Billboard "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, in April 1945. The recording has been cited as precursor of rock and roll.

Childhood and early career

Most sources state that she was born Rosetta Nubin in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, to Katie Bell Nubin and Willis Atkins, who were cotton pickers. However, researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc give her birth name as Rosether Atkins (or Atkinson), her mother's name being Katie Harper. Little is known of her father, except that he was a singer. Tharpe's mother Katie was also a singer and a mandolin player, evangelist, and preacher for the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), which was founded in 1894 by Charles Harrison Mason, a black Baptist bishop, who encouraged rhythmic musical expression, dancing in praise and allowing women to preach in church. Encouraged by her mother, Tharpe began singing and playing the guitar as Little Rosetta Nubin at the age of four and was cited as a musical prodigy.

By age six, Tharpe had joined her mother as a regular performer in a traveling evangelical troupe. Billed as a "singing and guitar playing miracle," she accompanied her mother in performances that were part sermon and part gospel concert before audiences across the American South.

In the mid-1920s, Tharpe and her mother settled in Chicago, Illinois, where they performed religious concerts at the COGIC church on 40th Street, occasionally traveling to perform at church conventions throughout the country. Tharpe developed considerable fame as a musical prodigy, standing out in an era when prominent black female guitarists were rare. In 1934, at age 19, she married Thomas Thorpe, a COGIC preacher, who accompanied her and her mother on many of their tours. The marriage lasted only a few years, but she decided to adopt a version of her husband's surname as her stage name, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. In 1938, she left her husband and moved with her mother to New York City. Although she married several times, she performed as Rosetta Tharpe for the rest of her life.

Recording career

On October 31, 1938, aged 23, Tharpe recorded for the first time – four sides for Decca Records, backed by Lucky Millinder's jazz orchestra. The first gospel songs ever recorded by Decca, "Rock Me," "That's All," "My Man and I" and "The Lonesome Road" were instant hits, establishing Tharpe as an overnight sensation and one of the first commercially successful gospel recording artists. "Rock Me" influenced many rock-and- roll singers, such as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1942, the music critic Maurie Orodenker, describing Tharpe's "Rock Me", wrote that "It's Sister Rosetta Tharpe for the rock-and roll spiritual singing." She had signed a seven-year contract with Reminder and was managed by Mo Galye. Her records caused an immediate furor: many churchgoers were shocked by the mixture of gospel-based lyrics and secular-sounding music, but secular audiences loved them. She played on several occasions with the white singing group the Jordanaires.

Tharpe's appearances with the jazz artist Cab Calloway at Harlem's Cotton Club in October 1938 and in John Hammond's "Spirituals to Swing" concert at Carnegie Hall on December 23, 1938, gained her more fame, along with notoriety. These performances, which both shocked and awed the crowds, were controversial as well as revolutionary in several respects. Performing gospel music for secular nightclub audiences and alongside blues and jazz musicians and dancers was unusual, and in conservative religious circles a woman playing the guitar in such settings was frowned upon. For these reasons, Tharpe fell out of favor with segments of the gospel community. Her recordings of "This Train" and "Rock Me", which combined gospel themes with bouncy up-tempo arrangements, were hits in the late 1930s with audiences having little previous exposure to gospel music.

It has been suggested Tharpe had little choice in the material she was contracted to record with Millinder. "Rosetta and Millinder were increasingly at odds in 1943, as Rosetta itched to quit the big-band circuit and renew her career as a strictly gospel act. As Roxie Moore remembers, she hadn't wanted to do light fare poking fun at old-time religion or worldly material like 'Tall Skinny Papa', but found herself bound by contractual obligations." Her nightclub performances, in which she would sometimes sing gospel songs amid scantily clad showgirls, caused her to be shunned by some in the gospel community.

It also should be noted that during this time masculinity was directly linked to guitar skills. Tharpe defied this gender construct and instead of being praised for playing so uniquely and boldly was often offered the back handed compliment from fans and media that she merely could "play like a man", despite the fact that she could and did outplay many men of the time exemplifying her skills at guitar battles at the Apollo. She was revolutionary and disrupted the music genre with both her sex and race.

Tharpe continued recording during World War II, one of only two gospel artists able to record V-discs for troops overseas. Her song "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in 1944 with Sammy Price, Decca's house boogie woogie pianist, showcased her virtuosity as a guitarist and her witty lyrics and delivery. It was the first gospel song to make Billboard's Harlem Hit Parade (later known as Race Records, then R&B) Top Ten, an achievement she would accomplish several more times in her career. This 1944 record has been credited by some as being the first rock and roll record. Tharpe toured throughout the 1940s, backed by various gospel quartets, including the Dixie Hummingbirds.

In 1946 Tharpe saw Marie Knight perform at a Mahalia Jackson concert in New York. Tharpe recognized a special talent in Knight. Two weeks later, Tharpe showed up at Knight's doorstep, inviting her to go on the road. They toured the gospel circuit for a number of years, during which they recorded hits such as "Up Above My Head" and "Gospel Train". Though dismissed by both artists as gossip, several in the Gospel community speculated that Knight and Tharpe maintained a romantic and sexual relationship.

Starting in 1949, their popularity took a sudden downturn. Mahalia Jackson was starting to eclipse Tharpe in popularity, and Knight harbored a desire to break free as a solo act into popular music. Furthermore, around this time, Knight lost her children and mother in a house-fire. That same year, to commemorate Tharpe's one-year anniversary of being a homeowner in Richmond, Virginia, Tharpe put on a concert at what is now the Altria Theater. Supporting her for that concert were the Twilight Singers, whom Rosetta adopted as her background singers for future concerts, renaming them "The Rosettes."

Tharpe attracted 25,000 paying customers to her wedding to her manager, Russell Morrison (her third marriage), followed by a vocal performance at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., in 1951. In 1957, Tharpe was booked for a month-long tour of the UK by British trombonist Chris Barber.

In April and May 1964, at the height of a surge of popular interest in the blues, she toured Europe as part of the Blues and Gospel Caravan, alongside Muddy Waters and Otis Spann, Ransom Knowling and Little Willie Smith, Reverend Gary Davis, Cousin Joe, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Tharpe was introduced on stage and accompanied on piano by Cousin Joe Pleasant. Under the auspices of George Wein, the Caravan was stage-managed by Joe Boyd. A concert, in the rain, was recorded by Granada Television at the disused railway station at Wilbraham Road, Manchester, in May 1964. The band performed on one platform while the audience was seated on the opposite platform.

Later life and death

Tharpe's performances were curtailed by a stroke in 1970, after which one of her legs was amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. On October 9, 1973, the eve of a scheduled recording session, she died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a result of another stroke. She was buried in Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Later recognition

A resurgence of interest in Tharpe's work has led to a biography, several NPR segments, scholarly articles, and honors. The United States Postal Service issued a 32-cent commemorative stamp to honor Tharpe on July 15, 1998. In 2007, she was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2008, a concert was held to raise funds for a marker for her grave, and January 11 was declared Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day in Pennsylvania. A gravestone was put in place later that year, and a Pennsylvania historical marker was approved for placement at her home in the Yorktown neighborhood of Philadelphia. In 2011 BBC Four aired a one-hour documentary, Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll, written and directed by UK filmmaker Mick Csaky. In 2013 the film was shown in the US as part of the PBS series American Masters. The film has been repeated numerous times in the UK and US, most recently in March 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of Tharpe's birth. On March 20, 2015, the UK newspaper The Guardian published a 100th-birthday tribute by Richard Williams. On September 12, 2016, the musical play Marie And Rosetta, based on the relationship between Tharpe and Marie Knight, opened at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York.

Musical influence

Musically, Tharpe's unique guitar style blended melody-driven urban blues with traditional folk arrangements and incorporated a pulsating swing sound that is one of the first clear precursors of rock and roll.

Little Richard referred to the stomping, shouting, gospel music performer as his favorite singer when he was a child. In 1947, she heard Richard sing prior to her concert at the Macon City Auditorium and later invited him on stage to sing with her; it was Richard's first public performance outside of the church. Following the show, she paid him for his performance, which inspired him to become a performer. When Johnny Cash gave his induction speech at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, he referred to Tharpe as his favorite singer when he was a child. His daughter Rosanne Cash stated in an interview with Larry King that Tharpe was her father's favorite singer. Tharpe began recording with electric guitar in the 1940s, with "That's All", which has been cited as an influence on Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. Other musicians, including Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Isaac Hayes, have identified her singing, guitar playing, and showmanship as an important influence on them. She was held in particularly high esteem by UK jazz/blues singer George Melly. Tina Turner credits Tharpe, along with Mahalia Jackson, as an early musical influence. Such diverse performers as Meat Loaf, Neil Sedaka and Karen Carpenter have attested to the influence of Tharpe in the rhythmic energy she emanated in her performances (Carpenter's drum fills are especially reminiscent of Tharpe's "Chorlton Chug"). Later artists, such as Sean Michel, have credited her influence with the performance of gospel songs in more secular venues.

The Brixton band Alabama 3 named a track after Tharpe on their debut album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane (1997), and recorded a version of her song "Up Above My Head". In 2007, the UK indie rock band the Noisettes released the single "Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit)", from their album What's the Time Mr. Wolf? Also in 2007, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant recorded a duet version of the song "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us", written by Sam Phillips. Phillips released her version of the song on her 2008 album, Don't Do Anything. Michelle Shocked opened her live gospel album ToHeavenURide (2007) with "Strange Things Happening Every Day", along with a tribute to Tharpe.

In 2001, the French film Amélie included a scene showing the protagonist's house-bound neighbor mesmerized by a montage of video clips that featured a performance of "Up Above My Head" by Tharpe.

In 2014 the Canadian film Félix et Meira included about one minute of Tharpe singing "Didn't It Rain" from the video of Tharpe's 1964 concert at the Wilbraham Road railway station.

In 2016 singer Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote and recorded "Oh Rosetta" for her "The Things That We Are Made Of" album. Mary Chapin explained during touring following the cd's release that she was imagining a conversation with Sister Rosetta.

Discography

Albums

The Lonesome Road, Decca 224 (1941)

Blessed Assurance (1951)

Wedding Ceremony of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Russell Morrison, Decca DA-903 (1951)

Gospel Train (1956)

Famous Negro Spirituals and Gospel Songs (1957)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, MGM E3821 (1959)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Omega OSL31 (1960)

Gospels in Rhythm (1960)

Live in 1960 (1960)

The Gospel Truth with the Sally Jenkins Singers (1961)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Crown LP5236 (1961)

Sister on Tour (1962)

Live in Paris (1964)

Live at the Hot Club de France (1966)

Negro Gospel Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Hot Gospel Tabernacle Choir and Players (1967)

Precious Memories, Savoy 14214 (1968)

Singing in My Soul, Savoy 14224 (1969)

Her complete works up to 1961 were issued as seven double-CD box sets by the French label Frémeaux & Associés.

mint azt bárki is gondolná. Kinyitottam a szemem és miközben ébredeztem ezek jártak a fejemben: nem fáj semmim (elképesztő, mert tegnap összecsomagoltam a kórházas cuccomat, hogy haver, ez ha ennél jobban kezd fájni, ebből mentő lesz. Erre egyszercsak arra eszméltem, hogy elmúlt. – meghaltam, még ez is átfutott a gondolataimon :D – csak valami üresség érzés maradt a fájdalom helyén.), bár tegnap bőgtem mint egy hülye (mert megint szembesültem, hogy anyámnál épp úgy tepertem, mint Logannél, hogy szeressen már egy kicsit, de nem bírnak. Egyszerűen úgy van megírva a kódjuk, hogy nem tudnak) a tegnapi bőgésből mára nyugalom és béke lett. Néztem ki a városra, és tetszett nagyon, hogy az ágyamból látom a várost és elégedett voltam az életemmel az összes szar ellenére. És akkor „rájöttem” hogy ennyire kevés kell. Hogy örülj annak amire ébredsz. Tudj örülni neki. Egy tiszta ágy, egy ablak, egészség és egy új nap.

Tegnap beszélgettem egy ismerősömmel, és ő is meg az ő barátnője is, teljesen depressziósak attól, hogy nekik már nem lesz pasijuk, hát ők így nem tudnak élni. Valamikor nem olyan rég volt amikor elfogadtam, hogy nekem nem lesz. Kicsi az esélye, hogy legyen és ez teljesen rendben van így. Az életemet nem e köré építem, inkább elfogadom, hogy majd utólag bánni fogom, hogy nem kersegéltem ezerrel. Nincs bennem általános elkeseredés meg depresszió e miatt. Azt mondja a barátnőm, hogy az ő életének az a lényege, a közepe, hogy valakit szeressen és szeretve legyen. Én ezt értem teljesen, és tényleg nagyon fantasztikus dolog, csak ez olyan mint ahogy a minap nem adtak citromot a búzasörhöz. Eddig akárhol ittam, mindig adtak. Itt nem. Attól még búzasör a búzasör. Szeretném, ha párkapcsolatban élhetnék? Igen. Kétségbe esek tőle, ha nem? Nem. Találkoztam egy barátommal. Rég láttam valakit ennyire fáradtnak. Mintha nem is lett volna jelen, mintha csak azért ültette volna oda a testét, mert addig sem kell semmit csinálni, amíg isszuk a sörünket. Legszívesebben megsimogattam volna a kezét. Legszívesebben megölelgettem volna. Gondolva, hogy ha én ülnék így, biztos erre lenne szükségem. Amúgy ő például egy olyan faszi, akibe tudnék szerelmes lenni. De most éppen csak nagyon szerettem, valamiért ami nem is ő, hanem csak valami illúzió, hogy mi lehet a másik emberben. Na, egy ilyen pasinak kéne jönnie. Aki nem tud annyira megrottyant lenni, hogy ne azt érezzem, hogy tudom szeretni. (nem, megrottyant pasik, ne írjatok, ez azért nem azonnal lett ez az érzés :D)

Feldobja az embert ha nem fáj a teste. Mintha fiatalodtam volna öt évet. A májusi műtét miatt amúgy is kell egy rakás kivizsgálást csináltatnom, úgyhogy kérek egy hasi ultrahangot is meg mifenéket. Addig is amig az álompasi betoppan, sok csodásan békés reggelt kívánok magamnak és nektek is, akiknek ez is elég! :)

Végre ide is elértem. :)

A harmadik elem ami a biztonságos kötődést a jóféle kapcsolatot megteremti az a megélt kénylem/vígasztalás/jóllét élménye amit a társunk kozisztens, megbízható és jól időzített megnyugtatása és bíztatása segít elő. A társunk képes arra figyelni, hogy épp mire van szükségünk, kényelmet biztosít számunkra, törődik velünk, észben tartja, hogy mit szeretünk, mit szeretünk enni, milyen helyre szeretünk eljárni, és képes arra is figyelni, hogy amikor szükségünk van rá megnyugtasson és bíztasson minket, illetve a jóllét élményét tudja nyújtani számunkra. A jóllét nem a gazdagságot jelenti, a jóllét élmény e azt jelenti, hogy a másik a "fejében tart" engem, tudja, hogy nekem milyen az ízlésem, mi fontos nekem, milyen az értékrendem és erre figyelve próbál olyan helyzeteket teremteni amiről tudja, hogy nekem örömet tud okozni és ez specifikus. Azt élhetem át mellett, hogy aki velem van az figyel rám, ismeri az igényeimet, a gyengeségeimet, és próbál olyan környezetet teremteni ami számomra megfelelő. Ennek a hiányát nagyon sok ember nagyon mélyen elhanyagolónak éli meg. Az embereknek fontos, hogy azt élhessék át, hogy ők az ők egyediségükben (igényeik, szükségleteik, kedvteléseik) számításba vannak véve a párjuk fejében.

Azt hiszem ez az a pont amiben minden szerelmes jól teljesít. Legalábbis a kapcsolat elején. Aztán ez valahogy megkopik. Már nem figyelünk a másikra, nem vesszük észre, hogy változott, változtak az igényei, a kedvtelései. Megintcsak meg kell állapítanom, hogy piszok nehéz egy minden szempontból kielégítő kapcsolatot működtetni. Viszont ez a része tényleg rettenetesen tud hiányozni. Nálunk van egy mondás a „láttam neked egy kutyát...” a kutya bármivel helyettesíthető, de azért a kutya a legjobb. Azt fejezi ki, hogy láttam valami kedves, vidám, boldogító dolgot és eszembe jutottál, hogy ez neked tetszene, hogy nevetnél rajta, boldog lennél, ha itt lennél velem és te is látnád. Nyilván ehhez a mondáshoz olyan kapcsolat kell ahol a másik vevő erre az üznetre. Az ilyesféle kényelem tekintetében a nők igényei hiszti a férfiak igényei életképtelenség megnyilvánulásaiként élnek a másik nem fejében – én legalábbis ezt tapasztalom, ezt hallom. Mintha nem szeretnénk örömet szerezni egymásnak. Mitha ismerni és tenni a másik kényelmére, örömére az valami alárendeltség lenne és mint ilyen, kerülendő. Mintha nem azért alakítanánk ki bensőséges, meghitt, intim kapcsolatot emberekkel, hogy ezeket a figyelmes, kényeztető, gondoskodó élményeket megéljük és cserébe megadjuk.

Camille Cosby (born Camille Olivia Hanks; March 20, 1944) is an American television producer, author, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her.

Early life

Camille was born Camille Olivia Hanks on March 20, 1944, in Washington D.C., to Guy A. Hanks, Sr. and Catherine C. Hanks (b. 1922). She grew up in Norbeck, Maryland, just outside Washington. She is the oldest of four children and is a distant cousin of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of United States President Abraham Lincoln. Cosby's father was a chemist at Walter Reed General Hospital and her mother worked at a nursery. Both of Cosby's parents had college educations, with her father earning a graduate degree from Fisk University and her mother earning an undergraduate degree from Howard University.

Cosby attended private Catholic schools. First, she attended St. Cyprian’s, followed by St. Cecilia’s Academy. After high school, Cosby studied psychology at the University of Maryland. While a student there, she went on a blind date during her sophomore year with Bill Cosby. Engaged shortly after they started dating, the pair married on January 25, 1964.

Following their marriage, Cosby and her husband had five children: Erika (born April 8, 1965), Erinn, Ennis (April 15, 1969 – January 16, 1997), Ensa, and Evin. Ennis was murdered in 1997 at age 27.

Career and education

Cosby acts as manager for her husband and has been depicted as a "shrewd businesswoman." During an interview with Ebony Magazine, Bill Cosby stated, "People would rather deal with me than with Camille. She's rough to deal with when it comes to my business." She also "helps in the development of her husband's material", including suggestions for The Cosby Show, suggesting the Huxtable family be middle- rather than working-class.

Cosby has been a supporter of African American literature, writing forewords for several authors. In 1993, she wrote the foreword for Thelma Williams' Our Family Table: Recipes And Food Memories From African-american Life Models. In 2009, Cosby wrote the foreword for Dear Success Seeker: Wisdom from Outstanding Women by Dr. Michele R. Wright. In 2014, she did the foreword for The Man from Essence: Creating a Magazine for Black Women, a book by Edward Lewis of Essence.

In 1994, Cosby released Television's Imageable Influences: The Self-Perception of Young African-Americans, a book that "dramatically charts the damaging impact of derogatory images of African Americans produced in our media establishments." The book was originally intended to be the subject of her thesis for her doctorate degree.

In 2001, Cosby worked with David C. Driskell for his book The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby Jr., which focused on the Cosby's art collection.

Together, Cosby and Renee Poussaint edited A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak in 2004.

Cosby was co-producer for the Broadway play Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, based on the book Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Sarah "Sadie" L. Delany and A. Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany with Amy Hill Hearth. Following the success of the show, Cosby acquired the film, stage and television rights to the story and later acted as executive producer for the 1999 made-for-television movie of the same name.

In June 1987, Howard University in Washington, D.C., presented Cosby with a Doctor of Humane Letters, an honorary doctoral degree.

In 1990, Cosby earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts, followed by a Ph.D. in 1992. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Cosby stated, "I became keenly aware of myself in my mid-thirties. I went through a transition. I decided to go back to school, because I had dropped out of college to marry Bill when I was 19. I had five children, and I decided to go back. I didn't feel fulfilled educationally. I dropped out of school at the end of my sophomore year. So I went back, and when I did, my self-esteem grew. I got my master's, then decided to get my doctoral degree. Education helped me to come out of myself."

Philanthropy

Cosby's history of philanthropy includes donations to schools and educational foundations. Her philanthropic memberships include Operation PUSH, The United Negro College Fund, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Council of Negro Women, and Jesse Jackson's National Rainbow Coalition. Beginning in the early 1980s, Cosby and her husband donated $100,000 to Central State University, a historically black university in Ohio, with a gift of $325,000 following in 1987. In 1989, CSU held the "Camille and Bill Cosby Cleveland Football Classic" in honor of their contributions to the school.

In January 1987, the Cosbys donated $1.3 million to Fisk University. In November 1988, they donated $20 million to Atlanta's Spelman College, a women's college with a predominantly Black enrollment. According to The New York Times, the gift was the largest donation to a black college in American history. The college has since named the five-story 92,000 square foot Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center after Cosby.

A few months after the Spellman donation, Cosby and her husband donated $800,000 to Meharry Medical College as well as $750,000 to Bethune-Cookman University.

In July 1992, during an gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women awarded Cosby the Candace Award, a recognition of minority women that have made valuable contributions to their communities.

In 2005, Cosby donated $2 million to Saint Frances Academy of Baltimore High School. Because of the donation, the school was able to endow 16 scholarships in Cosby's name.

Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations

Cosby has defended her husband against accusations that he has sexually assaulted women over his career. While acknowledging he has cheated, she denies that he is a rapist. In 2014, Cosby released a statement saying that her husband had been the victim of unvetted accusations: "The man I met, and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work. He is a kind man... and a wonderful husband, father and friend."

In the 2016 deposition, Cosby invoked spousal privilege when asked whether Bill had been faithful to her.

Martin Ramirez Sostre (March 20, 1923 – 2015) was an American activist.

He served time in Attica prison during the early 1960s, where he embraced doctrines as diverse as Black Muslimism, Black nationalism, Internationalism, and finally anarchism. In 1966 Sostre opened the first Afro-Asian Bookstore at 1412 Jefferson in Buffalo, New York. For its somewhat short existence, Sostre's bookstore was a center for radical thought and education in the Buffalo ghetto. As Sostre details:

I taught continually - giving out pamphlets free to those who had no money. I let them sit and read for hours in the store. Some would come back every day and read the same book until they finished it. This was the opportunity I had dreamed about - to be able to help my people by increasing the political awareness of the youth.

Sostre was arrested at his bookstore on July 14, 1967 for "narcotics, riot, arson, and assault" (charges later proven to be fabricated, part of a COINTELPRO program). He was convicted and sentenced to serve forty-one years and thirty days. Sostre became a jailhouse lawyer, regularly acting as legal counsel to other inmates and winning two landmark legal cases involving prisoner rights: Sostre v. Rockefeller and Sostre v. Otis. According to Sostre, these decisions constituted "a resounding defeat for the establishment who will now find it exceedingly difficult to torture with impunity the thousands of captive black (and white) political prisoners illegally held in their concentration camps."

In earlier legal activity, Sostre secured religious rights for Black Muslim prisoners and also eliminated (in the words of Federal Judge Constance Motley) some of the more "outrageously inhuman aspects of solitary confinement in some of the state prisons."

In addition to numerous defense committees in New York State, a Committee to Free Martin Sostre, made up of prominent citizens, joined in an effort to publicize Sostre's case and petition the Governor for his release. On December 7, 1975, Russian Nobel Peace Laureate Andrei Sakharov added his name to the clemency appeal. In December 1973 Amnesty International put Sostre on its "prisoner of conscience" list, stating: "We became convinced that Martin Sostre has been the victim of an international miscarriage of justice because of his political beliefs . . . not for his crimes ."

Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin attributes his initial interest in anarchism to Sostre.

In 1974 Pacific Street Films debuted a documentary film on Sostre called Frame-up! The Imprisonment of Martin Sostre. It detailed Sostre's case with extensive interviews from prison.

In later life Sostre lived in Manhattan with his wife Lizabeth Sostre and his son Vincent. Sostre died in 2015.