Not Just for Black History Month
By Aundra Sebastian Fusilier
When Kijana Wiseman attended her first college booking conference
in 1984, she didn't know what to expect.
"I was surprised to find that there were almost no Black
booking agencies and that, since APCA did not exist yet, most
of the African-Americans showcasing at this NACA conference,
were comics with extremely dirty mouths. It seemed every other
word was a curse word-and most of the stories they told to the
primarily white students and buyers denigrated Black people.
"I'll never forget one bald-headed comedienne who walked
out on stage, froze and simply stared at the audience for an
unusually long time. Then, just as the silence became uncomfortable,
raised her mic and yelled out 'm____f____!!'
The room exploded in laughter. It was embarrassing."
Kijana, decided to do something about it. A soubrette coloratura
soprano, she had originally intended to sell only jazz and showtune
concerts on the college market-nothing really thematic or thought-provoking,
just songs with a little open commentary. But, as a master-degreed
educator, she felt college students deserved more than that.
At that time, Kijana had just returned to America after living
in Liberia, West Africa, for six years-first, as a Peace Corps
instructor at the National Liberian Cultural Center, then as
a singer, performer, model, television show host and director.
The experience of being an African-American living in Africa
had changed her attitude about a lot of things.
"I arrived in Liberia with a lot of the unconscious anger
at America--some of which was a result of my college experience.
Though I had been sheltered by my parents from a lot of the ugliness
of racism as a child-from the age of 5, I was kept busy in private
singing and acting lessons and plays at Houston's Theatre Incorporated
and the Alley Theatre-there was no way to keep it all out. College
proved to be the real shocker for me."
Though she had always been at the top of her class, performed
professionally in plays and musicals all her life, sang in several
languages, won lst place for years at state-sponsored speech
tournaments and been rated "gifted" by the Houston
Independent School District, when Kijana and 24 other Black students
integrated Houston Baptist College in 1968, they were all, without
exception, required to take English as a Second Language classes.
"That was just the beginning of my re-education. There seemed
to be a whole society of folk on a mission to suddenly make me
believe I was stupid." She persevered, using the ESL class
as an opportunity to hone her writing skills-eventually, as other
students stopped attending, turned it into her own private speed
reading tutorial. She quickly learned to quietly, buffer and
redirect most racial challenges into opportunities to shatter
people's perceptions of who and what she should be.
By her third year, Kijana had won the coveted Harris County Composition
Award for the school, been voted by her peers as sophomore class
duchess, a class favorite and senator on the student government
board. She really missed being on the honor roll though. "Most
of the students could look past my color and see me as a human
being. That was not always the case with the faculty."
In those days, Black students were often told by professors,
sometimes bluntly, that their grades were predetermined by their
race. Kijana learned to sit quietly in the back of the room and
draw no attention to herself. Just turn in her papers and pray
that the work would be graded on its merits alone. In most large
classrooms, this strategy worked.
The straw that broke the camel's back, however, came when her
favorite lecturer, a professor for her classes in both Microbiology
and Human Anatomy and Physiology discovered that the "Wiseman"
with 94 and 96 averages in two of his crowded classes was not
Jewish as he had thought. Kijana recalls a memorable event in
class where she raised her hand asked and advanced an extrapolated
conclusion based on relational data.
"He visibly looked surprised, commented spontaneously at
the astuteness of my observation, then checked his grade book
and called me 'Miss Washington'the white girl sitting next
to me at the time who had a D average-then, when told 'No, my
name is 'Wiseman' blurted out with great indignation 'But--but
you're a Negro!' The class fairly screamed. 'Yes sir--' I smiled
as the laughter died down. '-Last time I checked.'
That final grading period of the year, Kijana's "A"
in both his classes had turned to a D+.
"I had never made a 'D' in my life-I was shocked, hurt,
angry and fed up after that. When I found myself waiting for
him in the parking lot with a baseball bat, I realized how far
I had been pushed, and decided it was time to change schools."
"I enrolled in theatre at the University of Houston and
joined Sudan Arts Southwest, what most people called a 'guerilla
street theatre' group. We did performance poetry and consciousness
plays in parks and public places-with most themes around Black
pride and the irony/unfairness/mind slavery of racism. That lead
to me wanting to know more about my roots. I eventually joined
the Peace Corps to go to Africa and 'discover' them."
Creativity took a huge leap for Kijana in Liberia. She was finishing
her master's degree thesis at the University of Liberia while
working at the National Liberian Cultural Center with such modern-day
"griots," as Dr. Jangaba Johnson and Dr. Bai T. Moore.
When she got her own television show on Liberia's ELTV, her directorial
and playwriting talents flourished-as did her perspective on
life.
"Liberia, before the civil war, was a wonderful place. The
people were sweet, open, simple and proud. I learned a lot about,
not only about myself, but history, culture, and the commonality
of human kind. I discovered that poverty is a state of mind and
that rich people of all colors are not automatically happy. I
learned that, even when skin color is not a factor, tribalism
and classism had the same blind prejudices as racism. That the
heart of every culture in the world beats in the drums of Africa;
and that theatre's higher purpose is not to just entertain but
to stimulate self-improvement and help people come together despite
their differences.
"Most importantly, I discovered that in the world view I
was not some defective or 'minority,' human being but simply
an American. For the first time in my life I was allowed to be
just that-'An American.' It was both refreshing and freeing.
I was fine just as I was. I did not have to constantly defend
my lips or my hips and I did not have to straighten my hair to
be beautiful."
Kijana returned to America with a desire to share the knowledge.
She put together an award-winning show "The Griot"
using song, comedy, and stories to trace the history of music
from its African roots to the microcosm that is America's diversity.
As she states in the program, "I am We and we are the world."
Touring the college market seemed perfect for her mission, allowing
her to stay in education and make a living while impacting as
many young minds as possible. She had it all planned out-except
for one thing: Black History Month.
"A lot of African-American presenters call it 'Black Hysterical
Month' because it just gets crazy-making. It's nice to have a
time where Black cultural performers can get equal play, but
some program buyers take the ideal of the observance entirely
too literally-putting us once again in the racism box--making
it the only month of the year when they tend to hire African-American
cultural presenters-and even then, the presentation is often
marketed as only for African-American students."
Kijana's "Griot" became so busy in the shortest
month of the year, she found herself having to turn down jobs.
It seemed, that there was just never enough of her to go around.
"Some schools would actually book the show 2 Februarys in
advance. Thenbam!--March rolls around, I'm practically
unemployed."
Implementing a new strategy, she managed to convince some of
them, utilizing fee discounts and travel incentives, to use the
program for student orientation, Kwanzaa, MLK, Juneteenth and--since
she is a woman--Women's Month. It was a up-hill climb, however,
because most of them still wanted BHM. So, rather than turn them
away, she began to look for other entertainers of note with clean,
educational programs. "I wanted quality, thought-provoking
shows with diverse offerings that attract the eyes of buyers
for not just Black History Month, but for all year long. I needed
a whole new 'modus operandi' so to speak." About that time,
the internet became the next step in communicative evolution.
"So that's how MoShows.com was born."
MoShows.com, as its motto implies, offers a lot "mo'show"
for the money--with special emphasis on educational programming
and world culturalism. The website provides programmers with
a direct link to a quicktime "MoShowcase" with over
twenty 2-5 minute demo movies of the site's artists performing
live.
Kijana makes it clear that this does not mean all the programs
are by or about African American culture. "Performance pianist
Janie Frazier and jazz vocalist Carol Sanders are
Anglo-Americans while there are only rumors of what race Comedy/Hypnotist
Chip Flatow is."
MoShows offers music of all types-Calvin Owens' internationally
famous 16 piece blues orchestra; the world beat/reggae of the
award-winning group D.R.U.M; country music with Al &
Essie Morris, aka Mr. & Mrs. Country Soul; contemporary/romantic/coffeehouse
jazz and vocals with JAWAD's guitar and Louie Carrington
Jr.'s piano. Female artists are represented in the scatting
blues, rock and gospel of Tweed Smith (former singer for
the popular 70's group WAR); hip/pop/jazz vocalist Charlie
Berry and Kijana's classical, jazz and showtune concerts
with many of the above instrumentalists.
Diversity programmers looking to pigeon-hole special Kwanzaa,
MLK, Juneteenth, Jazz, Women's Month, July 4th and, of course,
Black History Month/Juneteenth and Kwanzaa needs can find theatre
in Melissa Waddy Thibideaux's "Resurrection of Harriet
Tubman"; oratory and self-esteem workshops by LeCount
Holmes as Frederick Douglass; slam poetry by the organization's
newest additions, Dr. K.G. Bell, Bill Milligan and KAYO
social change & conflict resolution lectures by Houston's
former Mayor Pro-Tem, Jew Don Boney, Jr.; exhibits and
lectures by the Black Heritage Gallery, and-of course
audience adventures with "The Griot."
The online MoShowcase allows programmers to sample demos
on all MoShows.com artists and see ballpark quotes for some venues
even before they call. "Multiculturalism that is a win-win-win:
educational, entertaining and cost-effective." Kijana laughed.
"-now, we'll have it made if we can just get them to call
for us from March through January."
Moshows.com
2601 Arbor, Houston, Texas 77004
713-521-0900 or 1-800-546-0540
http://www.moshows.com
info@moshows.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aundra Sebastian Fusilier is a business consultant, diversity
specialist and writer living in Houston Texas. 832-969-9621...http://www.aundra.com.
Email: aundra@aundra.com
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