Uhuru Radio: Curtis Mayfield, the gentle genius who sang at a Free Huey P. Newton Rally in Oakland

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Music made in the West, but not of the West. Diasporic Music shines the musical spotlight on producer/singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield, the gentle genius. Mayfield would have celebrated his 70th birthday on June 3rd. Curtis Mayfield, along with Fred Cash and Sam Gooden sang at a "Free Huey P. Newton" Rally in Oakland and he visited Angela Davis at her request when she was imprisoned.

Malcolm was born 87 years ago on May 19, 1925. While it is unlikely that U.S. president Barack Obama will acknowledge this, people from Cape Town to Nova Scotia and Brazil to Brixton, London definitely will. Archie Shepp linked Malcolm X with John Coltrane. He said: "I equate Coltrane's music very strongly with Malcolm's language, because they were just about contemporaries, to tell you the truth. And I believe essentially what Malcolm said is what John played. If Trane had been a speaker, he might have spoken somewhat like Malcolm. If Malcolm had been a saxophone player, he might have played somewhat like Trane." Malcolm X created the Organiztion of Afro American Unity and the Muslim Mosque, Inc. after he departed from the Nation of Islam. Africans at home and abroad like Archie Shepp, Dennis Brown, Miriam & Mbongi Makeba, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders and others have dedicated music to Hajj Malik Shabazz.