Reflecting on Fatherhood

Kwame, 1975 Boston. Namandje, Penn's Landing, Philly 1981, Tia, South Philly 1985.

Dear friends,

Here I was, 1965, on a very hot July day, in the Roxbury section of Boston, sitting there, all by myself, on the concrete steps of my seven stories-high building, in the Mission Hill Extension  Housing Projects, with no one else in the whole world around.

All of my friends, or even cats who I didn’t run with, had gone somewhere with their fathers, including those whose fathers didn’t live with them.

Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I said to myself, "I don't have a father."

While I was a precocious and tough kid - and a knucklehead wherever I was, I still did something that was totally out of character for me. That is, I grabbed my face in my hands and started crying uncontrollably, while, simultaneously, wailing repeatedly, "I don't have a father!".

This went on for about only a minute or so, before I pulled myself together and started sniffling and wiping away my tears, while still reminding myself, "I don't have a father.".

There was still no one around. No one to console me. I wouldn't have wanted that anyway. I was too tough.

Yet, when I finally stopped crying, I said to myself, "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a father, and I ain't never leavin' my kids...and I'm gonna teach them how to do EVERYTHING."

As is now, 48 years later, public record, I kept my word to the 11 years-old boy/myself.

Moreover, when recently asked: Whom do you most admire?...I answered: I admire my three children. 

In 1993, the oldest, my son, Kwame (38), who was already a legend in Western Mass., during his senior year at Amherst Regional High School, was both the Western Massachusetts 100-meters dash champion in track and field, and the Western Mass High School Chess Champion. He later became an undefeated professional boxer who fought on TV a couple of times. In January (2013), he returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army.

My oldest daughter and middle child,  Namandje (32), is a highly-regarded scientist and professor at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.

The youngest, my daughter Tia (28), is about two or so years away from finishing the prestigious MD/PhD program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. 

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus

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The late, great Curtis Mayfield still reminds us....

"Fathers and Mothers should remember what the great Curtis Mayfield sang, "Keep on keepin' on" "


Dear friends,

During the era of the Black Consciousness Movement (@1965-1985), at least to me, there was not one other popular artist who was more consistent and prolific with songs of inspiration and love , specifically, for African American people than Curtis Mayfield. Bar none. And I'm not intending to trivialize all of the great work from artists like Gil Scott-Heron, Elaine Brown (of the Black Panther Party), or Stevie Wonder.

In any case, from songs like "People Get Ready", "Amen":, and "We're a Winner" while being the lead songwriter and vocalist for the Impressions to his debut solo album, to "Roots", then "Superfly", all the way to the soundtracks of both "Claudine", performed by Gladys Knifgt and the Pips, as well as "Sparkle", perfprmed by Aretha Franklin, to "Thee's No Place LIke America", Curtis Mayfield served as one of the finest artists, of any cultural group, ever.

On the link below, I'd like to share one of his manu memorable works. I found it recently on YouTube.

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus
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