
This is Word Around the Campfire, Audio Storytelling from educated guesses. In today’s episode we feature the first installment of the short story series The Chance and Me Chronicles. The Chance and Me Chronicles is a series of short stories about the adventures and antics of a young boy and his older brother Chance growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s.Today’s story is entitled Wes Unseld and the Electric Chair. The story takes place in 1979 on the last day of school for our two young brothers. The night before our young protagonist stayed up late to watch the tape delayed broadcast of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Washington Bullets and the Seattle Supersonics. Little did he know that what he saw that night would be a foreshadowing of his fate for the entire summer. He would be sentenced to the Electric Chair. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Oct 31, 2020
22 min

Left Photo (Sean Ali-Waddell and Common in Frankfort, KY), Right Photo (Clockwise from left: Snoop, Issa Fixit and B-Yola on the side steps of First Unitarian Church in Louisville, KY.)This podcast is a companion piece to a commentary that I wrote for ESPN’s The Undefeated, Finding the voices of young Black activists in Louisville, in reaction to Kentucky Attorney General, Daniel Cameron’s investigation and grand jury process failure to to indict any of the three officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor on charges related to her death.The podcasts profiles two young Black men who have had a big impact on the protests for justice for Breonna Taylor.Ali-Waddell and Fixit come from different neighborhoods and different backgrounds, but their passion and purpose are the same - a better future for Black people in their city. Both are rappers. One sees his art form as the lane he will use to propel his passion towards his purpose, while the other has put his artistry on pause for the cause. Music credits from the podcast: Hip Hop Trap Beat - “Truth” by Curtis Harris from Storyblocks.comThe Movement Revisited by Christian McBride on Mack Avenue RecordsThe Ever Fonky Lowdown by Wynton Marsalis on Blue Engine RecordsLinks Mentioned in the podcast:Sean Ali-Waddell’s music video.Social Media links for guests:Issa Fixit - Facebook, Twitter and InstagramSean Ali-Waddell - Instagram If you haven’t already, please sign up for our mailing list or subscribe. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Oct 1, 2020
30 min

On today’s show we remember the life of critic, essayist, poet and author Stanley Crouch. We also discuss the broader role of the Black critic in today’s culture and society. Our special guest today is journalist Eugene Holley, Jr. He wrote an obituary for Stanley - I Saw a Different Side of Stanley Crouch for ESPN’s The Undefeated. Andre’s requiem for Crouch is on educated guesses - Stanley Crouch - Straight No Chaser?You can find this and other episodes of The Hank and Herb Show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list or subscribe by click on the button below: This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Sep 27, 2020
57 min

The music in the piece is Uptown Ruler by Wynton MarsalisThis is an audio version of the article Stanley Crouch - Straight No Chaser?If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list or subscribe by click on the button below: This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Sep 23, 2020
5 min

On today’s show we are joined by special guest Lynne Toye to discuss the Black image in arts and sports. Today’s discussion is based upon an article that Andre Kimo Stone Guess two years ago about the release of the Marvel movie Black Panther. That article is presented in its entirety below.You can find this and other episodes of The Hank and Herb Show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. February 16, 2018 reminds me of November 4, 2008. The only thing in recent memory that I can equate to the response and anticipation of the release of Marvel’s Black Panther in the black community is the 2008 election of Barack Obama. I haven’t seen as much hoopla, hype and hysteria come from black folks about the likes of Wakanda and Afrofuturism since the days of “Hope and Change” and “Yes We Can”. Seeing the similarities of how this has unfolded has led me to the the question of why. Why all of this for a black superhero movie? As I pondered the question, I heard the sage words of one of my dear friends ring in my ear – “It’s all about identity, my brother.”As blacks in this country we suffer from an identity crisis that is a direct result of the evil twins of white supremacy and black inferiority. In my opinion, black inferiority is the most enduring and cancerous vestige of chattel slavery for the black community.Black imagery disseminated through media and art help to shape the black self image and self esteem and can significantly contribute to the perpetuation of black inferiority.W.E.B. Dubois knew this nearly a century ago. In a 1926 article in the NAACP’s publication, The Crisis, he states,“…All Art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists…I do not care a damn for any art that is not used for propaganda. But I do care when propaganda is confined to one side while the other is stripped and silent.”DuBois was decrying the unbalanced and often negative view of blacks that whites propagated in society through art.In today’s media saturated world, art and her actors are one of the gears that grind in the capitalistic machine. Art is a vehicle that is used to drive the masses to a particular place for the purpose of a pitch – “Now that I have your attention let me interest you in this product that I’m selling.” The commodification and distribution of art has a capitalistic agenda and another even more important agenda – propaganda.While the propaganda angle has often been to the detriment of the black self image, a movie like Black Panther has the unique ability to accomplish a rare double feature – commercial success and positive propaganda for black culture. But is that positive propaganda sustainable?I remember the feeling of euphoria and pride I had as I stood in line for over an hour to vote for Obama over 9 years ago. Unfortunately, some if not most of that “good feeling” has subsided, not so much because of how I view myself but because of the image that I see in society’s mirror staring back at me. I’ll be honest with you. When I sat down to write this piece I wasn’t sure how I felt about the movie or if I even wanted to go see it. I initially thought it was yet another attempt to capitalize on the dearth of positive black imagery in popular culture. However, harkening back to DuBois’ words made me change my mind so I will venture out to stand in line with the masses to see the movie.My hope for those of us who stand in line to see this blockbuster is that we somehow receive a positive boost to our cultural immune system that will help ward off the ill effects of black inferiority in a world where white supremacy has gone viral. And even if this ends up being the case, we can’t wait 9 years for another event like this to help sustain us. We must create multiple opportunities to build upon the black self image – to continue to inoculate ourselves from the scourge of black inferiority.Fortunately, we are certainly not stripped and silent anymore. I celebrate the new black voices in television and film – Ryan Coogler, Donald Glover, Issa Rae, Shonda Rhimes, Kenya Barris, Salim and Mara Brock Akil, and Larry Ridley to name a few. While I’m sure that it took a lot for each of them to climb to the top of their respective media summits, whether they realize it or not the image of blacks and black culture that emanates from their mountaintops will have a profound impact on black culture and black self-image.It is incumbent upon them and those who will come after them to take up the mantle of cultural inoculation.While it may be unfair to place such a responsibility on the backs of individual artists like these, the bottom line is that their portrayal of black culture through their art does and will have a significant and lasting effect on the culture and how we view ourselves and can even feed the cancer of black inferiority.Dubois knew the importance of this. Later in the article he says,“It is not the positive propaganda of people who believe white blood divine, infallible and holy to which I object. It is the denial of a similar right of propaganda to those who believe black blood human, lovable and inspired with new ideals for the world.” We must not worry ourselves as much about what others say about themselves or even about us. We have no control over that. What we can control is what we say about ourselves. If you haven’t already please join or mailing list or subscribe: This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Sep 20, 2020
1 hr 15 min

In this week’s episode we discuss the problem of police brutality, particularly in the Black community and offer up several solutions to help curb the escalation of police brutality, violence and their routine violation of citizen’s rights. The basis for our discussion is an article on educated guesses by one of hosts, Harun Shabazz - A Simple Solution to the Public Health Crisis of Police Brutality in the Black Community. You can find this and other episodes of The Hank and Herb Show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. If you haven’t already please click the button below to subscribe. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Sep 11, 2020
1 hr 18 min

J-Walking was written for pianist Aaron Diehl as part of the American Composers Orchestra program Connecting ACO Community.I have known Aaron since I was a child and I was always amazed at his abilities, especially being one of the only people I knew at the time that could play ragtime and stride piano like my hero Marcus “The J Master” Roberts. The piece is based around this relationship we both shared to the stride piano greats like James P. Johnson and Jaki Byard. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Sep 5, 2020
6 min

The Hank and Herb Show owes its origins in the ongoing dialogue, debate and discussions between Andre Guess and Harun Shabazz that date back to nearly 25 years ago to when they were both doctoral students. One day, Harun “Hank” Shabazz, a lawyer in Baltimore and Andre “Herb” Guess, jokingly called their discourse, the Hank and Herb Show and vowed to one day capture them as a podcast for posterity’s sake.They finally made good on their promise and invited in another friend and colleague, bassist, bandleader, composer, and educator Kris Funn to join them.The podcast focuses on current events and topics from the writings of Andre, Harun and Kris which can be found on educated guesses, TheBlackScene.com and Funndamentals.com respectively.In the first episode of the podcast they welcome in special guest, pianist, bandleader, educator and composer Marcus “The J Master” Roberts to discuss the article, Finding solutions in today's chaotic world using the wisdom of The J Master, that Andre Guess wrote about him on educated guesses. Marcus’s former student, trumpeter, bandleader and composer Etienne Charles also joins the show.If you haven’t already please join or mailing list or subscribe: This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Sep 4, 2020
1 hr 17 min

On our first episode I talk to my dear friend and colleague Sister Jo Ann Childs James about her Big Mama influences among other things. I hope you enjoy it.If you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected] here to learn more about Big Mama’s Blog.Click here to see all the posts from Big Mama’s Blog.If you haven’t already please click the button below to subscribe.#EG-BigMamasBlog This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Aug 25, 2020
21 min

Fairytale Mixtape is my gift to my wife for our 30th wedding anniversary. It is a series of 33 short stories, including an introduction, one each for our engagement year and wedding year and another 30 for each of our anniversary years. The stories are about a boy and a girl who meet on a blind date and their subsequent lives together as man and wife. Each story contains a song a from that year. The title and a lyric from the song are naturally woven into the flow of each story.There are written versions of each story as well as an audio podcast version.If you would like access to the entire series please subscribe to educated guesses. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at educated-guesses.com/subscribe
Jun 3, 2020
7 min
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