When most of us think about traveling, we tend to imagine the summertime. The humid, sunny summer days
are perfect for road trips and vacations. But in June, July, and August
doesn’t it make more sense to stay home where everything is already
idyllic?
That’s why we believe that fall travel is hugely underrated.
Depending on where you visit, you can see the red, gold, and orange hues
of the changing leaves while enjoying a warming cocktail. Or you can chase the summer south and recapture the heat. The options are vast and the flights are far cheaper.
“Louisville, Kentucky. I am a bourbon lover and the homeland of
bourbon makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love the foothills of
Appalachia from about the end of August through October — the air
smells like brown sugar and the leaves are turning, making it the
perfect destination for fall.”
New England
Will Piquette, principal bartender at Alcove in Boston
“An apple orchard does it for me. Fresh apple cider, cider doughnuts,
and nips of apple brandy to make picking apples a perfect fall
afternoon. And then there’s the fruits of your labor: apple pie for
days! With so many different orchards in New England, trying a new
orchard every year makes the experience that much more special.”
Park City, Utah
Don Hernandez, beverage director at Holston House Nashville
“Park City, Utah. I fell in love with this place and the people,
definitely a hidden gem. The change of the leaves blankets the mountains
with tones of red, gold, and green. The air is crisp and refreshing and
the clouds are always moving in big clusters — almost like watching a
portrait being painted right before your eyes. The chill in the air
lends itself to sitting on the deck with a nice dram of whiskey, a cold
beer after a long hike, or a champagne toast at the St. Regis during
sundown.”
San Francisco, California
Evan Hosaka, lead bartender at Electra at the Venetian in Las Vegas
“I love San Francisco for its beautiful weather in September and
October. Buena Vista Irish coffee is a definite hit during the fall
season with Ghiradelli chocolate factory across the street. Napa Valley
isn’t a far drive away but during early fall, harvest time, its
absolutely a drinking destination worth visiting.”
“Favorite US fall drinking destination? Because I just went to a
wedding there, I’d have to say the Texas Hill Country around
Fredericksburg. Lots of new wineries and breweries, with varying degrees
of quality, but you can’t beat the scenery. I like to call it Little
Napa.”
Napa Valley, California
Richard Hanauer, beverage director at RPM Restaurants in Chicago
“Napa Valley in the fall. The weather starts to turn cold and all the
tourists leave, just in time for when the harvest is in and the
winemaking process begins. It’s the end of one season and the start of
another – the grapes that were just harvested get turned into wine right
in front of your eyes. Seeing the smartest minds in viniculture get to
work, it’s truly a magical experience. And as the old adage goes, it
takes a case of beer to make a bottle of wine, so yes, we get to spend a
lot of time drinking both beer and wine with the winemaking teams.”
New York City, New York
Juyoung Kang, lead bartender at The Dorsey in Las Vegas
“Nothing beats NYC in the fall. Intermittent sun rays, slight chill
winds, the hustle and bustle of commuters as they rush to work. Just
makes you wanna sit outside in the park, with street vendor coffee in
the Greek paper cup and grab an airplane bottle of your favorite spirit
at the bodega, eat half your bagel give the other half to pigeons and
read a newspaper for the first time in ages. NYC just makes you do
things without you even noticing you’re doing them. Besides what other
city has a million and one bars to just hop into. If one’s busy, you
just walk down into the next one.”
“New York’s Finger Lakes are a staggeringly gorgeous fall
destination. The fall foliage is in full show, harvest has begun at the
orchard and vineyards, and there are harvest festivals and Oktoberfest
celebrations to be found every weekend.”
“My favorite U.S drinking destination in the fall is going to be
Denver, Colorado. Typically, during the second week of October, the
Great American Beer Festival is held in the sacred halls of their
convention center. If you’ve ever had Oktoberfest on your bucket list,
this festival is a solid replacement. Last year it had over 3,800
different beers to choose from…And for you cocktail guys and gals,
Williams and Graham Speakeasy will keep your more than satisfied.”
“The Cincinnati Region is a spirited destination and a must visit
this fall. It is a perfect blend of bourbon on the Kentucky side of the
region, with New Riff Distilling and the new B-Line bourbon experience
as well as the incredible cocktail culture and brewing heritage in
downtown Cincinnati. This region where beer meets bourbon hosts great
bars like Wellmann’s Japp’s Since 1879 and countless others.”
Nashville
Danwel Olivo, bartender at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach
“As whiskey is my drink of choice, my favorite fall drinking
destination would have to be Nashville. An up-and-coming destination for
whiskey lovers, Tennessee offers whiskey processed in-state that is
aged at least two years and made from 51 percent corn.”
Newport, Rhode Island
Spencer Elliot, head bartender at Cleo in New York City
“Hands down, Newport, Rhode Island. The summer crowds have left, the
transient bar folk have gone and you’re left with plenty of bar stools
overlooking one of the largest sailing harbors in the US.”
Your first vacation in a new relationship is a big deal. It means that this person likes you enough that they’re willing to throw down some serious cash (and use up their precious, limited vacation time) in order to spend time with you. And this is almost certainly because they’re (at least moderately) into you and your charming personality and general hotness and almost definitely not because this has been one long con to get you onto a cruise ship and then murder you far out to sea so they can steal that $807 in your bank account. Almost, definitely, probably not.
But with the excitement of getting to lounge on the beach together, comes some pressure. What if it’s terrible? What if you find out that they cut their toenails on airplanes
or it comes up in casual conversation that they think John Mulaney is
“just okay.” Or maybe they voted for the opposite political candidate as
you or didn’t vote at all because “what’s the point.” Maybe every time
they order a drink on vacation they sing the entire, “Do you like Pina
Coladas and getting caught in the rain?” song.
Worse still, what if you’re the one doing terrible, unforgivable things to them? What if you’re the toenail clipping person?
Have no fear though, friends, passionate admirers, and bitter ex-lovers — we’re here to tell you the dos and don’ts
of your first couple’s trip. Because with the right set up, planning,
and basic human decency your trip can be as smooth as possible. Maybe
even fun? Follow these simple guidelines and you will be well on your
way to standing in an infinity pool with your girlfriend or boyfriend
staring at the rainforest for as long as both shall live. Or at least
until you get bored.
DO keep both of your budgets in mind when planning.
The Situation:
You’re very, very wealthy. Instead of pebbles in your driveway, you
use diamonds. Instead of cat litter, you use diamonds. Instead of
toothpaste you just grind diamonds onto your teeth, every night, until
they’ve been grated away to dust, painfully, one. by. one. But no big
deal because you can replace them with DIAMONDS.
Naturally, you’ll just pick a hotel at random from a list a friend
gave you. You’re not going to give that friend’s name but it rhymes with
Bark Buckerberg (coincidentally that’s also the name of a dog you have
an ongoing feud with. He knows what he did).
Why you should be looking up sales or try a hotel app:
Unless you’re paying for everything as a gift, your first trip’s
opulence level should be based on the financial situation of the partner
who has less money. Because — spoiler alert: You’ll both have more fun
if one of you isn’t worrying that this trip is going to keep them from
paying rent on time or drain the money they were saving for their cat’s
diabetes medication.
“No, no, it’s fine. I love 90 dollar steaks and besides, Fluffy has
lived a very long and fulfilling life, I guess (strangled sob). Yep.
Let’s get in the hot tub. That sounds like a good place to cry. I mean
kiss.”
Look, at the beginning of any relationship, you’re trying really hard to go with the flow and be easy-going. It means that it’s much
harder for your bf/gf to say no to that nice hotel you swear has the
softest pillows in the world or say, “are you f-ing kidding me. You know
my cat has diabetes.” when you suggest a $300 pre-fixe menu. So do your
partner a favor and pick a spot that will make everyone feel
comfortable and not stressed.
(Although, if you’re both rich af, do whatever you want! And also, I
don’t know, adopt me? Adopting adult women is a thing you can do right?
Be my new parents, please? I’m nice!)
DON’T make a first trip that’s over two weeks long.
The Situation:
You look into bae’s eyes and see your whole life of adventure spread
out in front of you as endlessly as the stars in the sky. What’re six
months backpacking around South America compared to forever in each
other’s arms? Tis a blip in the history of time. You know what they say:
“When you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with,
you want the rest of your life to start in a hostel in Columbia arguing
about which one of you was responsible for leaving your passports on a
bus.”
Why you should make it more of a quick “Tuesday Siesta” than a “100 Years of (Non) Solitude” situation:
Sure, long bouts of travel might be incredible with this person. Maybe. But if it doesn’t work out? Ooooo boy. You’re now stuck with a nightmare companion who only wants to watch Mad Men
on his laptop all day in bed and hates “weird food.” And if you’re in
it for the long haul, you’ll start wishing every single train you take
to a new country would just lose control and go off the rails but without Liam Neeson there to keep you all from going to your fiery death.
For the first trip, just keep it on the shorter end. Dip your toe
into the waters to see if you’re going to be in the company of a sweet,
sweet manatee who just wants a hug or a literal shark who will bite off
that toe and still be hungry for more of your flesh.
DO pick somewhere neither of you know well.
The Situation:
What’s that you say? My new lover has never been to Paris? Never? Why
I’ve never heard of such a thing. Not even in college? Well, that won’t
do. I’ve been to Paris hundreds of times. Thousands. Millions. He has to go to Paris! We have to go to Paris! EVERYBODY NEEDS TO SEE PARIS.
Why you should close your eyes and stop a globe with your finger:
You might have the impulse to take your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner
somewhere you know well in which you can wildly impress them by showing
them the world, shining shimmering splendid. And that worldliness will
be great on a future trip, I promise. But for the first trip, it’s best to make new memories and be on equal footing.
You don’t know each other that well. So even though you
think you know the best restaurant that they’ll “totally love” maybe
they won’t. And they’re worried now about hurting your feelings. Or you
have to feel stupid that you picked Crabby Chris’s Crab Emporium when
it’s not as good as you remember, and also, put your new lover into
anaphylactic shock.
Going to a place neither of you has been (or at least knows well)
will allow you to explore together, create new memories, and both feel
empowered to make suggestions because you’ll both feel ownership over
your first trip together. (And for the love of God, do not plan your first vacation in a spot where you and your ex had a romantic time once.)
DON’T leave without figuring out the money stuff first.
The Situation:
Isn’t it kind of awkward to talk about money and not very sexy?
You’ll just feel it out when you get there. You’re pretty good at home
taking turns with treating or splitting the check! Never look before you
leap, your grandmother used to say. Boy, do you miss her since her
shocking fall to her death. Who saw that coming?
Why you should learn how to make a quick spreadsheet:
In a situation where you’re dropping a lot of dough and you’re eating
EVERY meal together, the financial stuff isn’t just something you
forget about easily. It gets brought to the surface over and over again.
And you really don’t want to be constantly calculating who paid for
what and harboring secret resentments every time the bill arrives.
Before your trip, know each other’s budgets. Discuss what you’re
comfortable splurging on or not. Then figure out if you want to pool
cash and use it for meals and activities or put it all on one credit
card and split it later.
Be sure to schedule in some room to be generous, too. Sure, you paid
for the surf session and she paid for a slightly cheaper dinner. But if
part of you is truly fuming that you ended up paying 50 bucks more on a
vacation, there might be a bigger problem in your relationship. I’m no
therapist (I’m just an omniscient advice God who is always right) but,
most likely, finances are already something you’re frustrated about in
everyday life. So you should try to work that out before you
head to Tahiti and lose it when she doesn’t reach for her credit card to
pay for half of the vanilla ice cream you two plan to lick off of one
another.
DO use your own suitcase.
The Situation:
You’re packing light, you’ll share a suitcase! Doesn’t that make you
seem easygoing? You could wear literally one outfit the entire time or
no outfit at all. You could fashion a suit from the hotel toilet paper.
YOU’RE SO LOW MAINTENANCE!!
And besides, isn’t it sexy to think about your undergarments brushing up against each other?
Why you should keep some personal space:
Question: Does the idea of your undergarments all mixed in together sound as sexy when they’re dirty?
I’m all for getting comfortable, but it’s your first trip. If it’s
adventurous and you want to pack light, better to both bring your own
backpacks than share one rolling bag. You probably have different
packing techniques and different ideas of what is essential and it’s a
fight you don’t need to have before you even leave. It’s way easier to
have your own little bit of personal space than dealing with the bag
politics of who gets more space for shoes or all of those ceramic
elephants filled with heroin that a nice man asked you to smuggle across
the border.
DON’T be afraid to ask strangers to take your photo.
The Situation:
It would be rude to ask someone else to take your picture even though
you just did a once in a lifetime climb to the top of Mt. Everest. What
if they say no? Or worse, look slightly annoyed. What if they sigh, and
say, sure. But in a way that makes it clear they don’t want to. Nah,
better not to risk it. Better to just snap a couple of selfies. No
biggie. You climb Everest all the time.
Why you should make some strangers to be your Instagram boyfriend:
Selfies can be fine, but they’re generally not something you want to
frame and hang in your living room. You just went on this awesome trip —
you should get a couple of nice pictures of the two of you together, in
front of pretty backdrops.
Rules of polite society apply on this — ask someone lingering. Don’t
ask someone clearly hurrying somewhere, or wearing headphones, or
reading. The best way to get someone to take your pic painlessly is to
look for a couple taking single pictures of each other or one person
being left out of a group shot and ask them if they’d like you to take
it so they can be in it. 99.9 percent of the time, they really
appreciate it. And will be happy to return the favor quickly. Make the
effort, you’ll be glad to look back at it when you’re old and grey and
married to totally different people (statistically speaking).
DO poop in the hotel room.
The Situation:
You live in separate places! Normally, you just have a fun night.
Then you make an excuse when you need to go to the bathroom and go back
home for a nice leisurely poop with no one you have romantic feelings
for outside the door listening to the horrible, horrible sounds coming
out of your delicate body.
Why you should consider going for your “number 2” option on this one:
If we had our way, our significant others would never know that we
poop. They’d never hear it or smell it or think of it. You’d pay to have
the guys from Eternal Sunshine come over and wipe their memory of what transpired in the bathroom from their minds every night while they slept.
I’m sorry though, you have to break the seal on this one. Everybody
poops and, on a trip, it will become uncomfortable to either hold it or
run to the lobby bathroom over and over. It’s a lot of pressure, I’ve
been there. A trip is the perfect time to finally admit you’re human.
That said, the most discreet way of doing so is taking a shower,
starting the water to minimize sound, do your business and then jump in.
You’ll get a little more time for any odors to evaporate and the smell
of products you showered with will help too. Oh, and don’t go with the
door open. Not ever. Not even after 50 years of marriage. It’s not okay.
Some things we don’t need to share.
DON’T plan on having stimulating conversation the entire time.
The Situation:
God, you love talking to your partner. They’re so smart and funny and
some nights, after a date, you just stay up for hours, talking. You
usually end up accidentally closing restaurants down because you just
lose track of the time. This trip is going to be a dream come true, you
have all the time in the world!
Why you should have some Dan Savage queued up for the road:
If you’ve mostly only seen each other for a few dates a week, you
might be expecting sparkling convo all the time. But traveling can be
exhausting. And that’s okay. Seriously, it does not mean you are doomed
as a couple because you realize here and there that you’ve run out of
things to say. Be prepared with a mystery podcast you can start together
or save up a few episodes of that comedy thing you both love. You will
almost inevitably hit a point where you need to just not talk to anyone.
Having some options that allow you to be together, experiencing
something chill (without needing to come up with 20 questions about
their high school mascot) is sometimes just what you need in order to
recharge.
DO take a little time apart.
The Situation:
Wait. You’re on a trip together. You’re supposed to spend every
second together, right? You guys were told first couple’s trip was the
one in which a mad scientist was supposed to “human centipede” you,
right? RIGHT????
Why you should keep the key to your room’s secret escape hatch:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s okay if one of you wants to
read a book by the pool one afternoon and the other wants to go on a
hike or hit up a museum. Sometimes you need a few minutes to just be
weird, weird you. So run down to get a coffee in the morning and linger a
little on the walk back. Be chill about just wanting different things a
couple of times, and enjoy the peace that sometimes comes from not
having the person you love most in the world reading you 700 menus of
restaurants even though you told them you were fine with them picking.
Give yourself a break, you know? Otherwise, too much togetherness can lead to being a little stir-crazy and fighting.
DON’T plan so many activities that you’re too tired for vacation sex.
The Situation:
This is your first vacation together! You should do everything there
is to offer! Scuba diving at 6am, rock climbing at 2pm, an amazing
cocktail bar before that restaurant everyone talks about, a late night
ghost tour at 10! AND THEN YOU’LL START AGAIN.
Fun! This is fun! They call this FUN.
Why you should make good use of your hotel room:
Vacation sex is objectively the best kind of sex. It just is. You
don’t have to be up for work, you don’t have to be quiet for any
neighbors (I mean you’re never going to see these people again and
besides they are also having hotel sex), all of your stuff is in the
same place, you’re more relaxed with lower inhibitions, and finally, if
there are two beds in the room, guess who has a separate “sex bed” from
the ‘sleeping bed’. YOU GUYS DO. Dream.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with not having sex on your
vacation if you don’t want to, but, usually on your first romantic
getaway, that’s something you’re kind of into. So… don’t plan things to
death. Leave lots of room in your schedule for “naps” and “getting ready
for dinner” and “having sex all day.” Give yourself the option for when
the mood strikes.
DO pick an activity that takes you both out of your comfort zones.
The Situation:
Oh, you’re not going to do ANYTHING weird that will embarrass you in
front of your new love. I mean, what if you look like a fool? You’ll
stick to pointing out all of the kinds of birds you know on gently
inclined walks, thank you very much.
Why you should totally leap out of a plane:
Doing things that scare you a little or get your heart rate up bonds
you together. Adventure makes you feel connected and makes you more
sexually attracted to your partner. Seriously, get that dose of
heart-pumping adrenaline going through your body while looking into each
other’s eyes and you’re likely to feel a higher sense of arousal later.
Plus, doing things that you aren’t good at or trying things for the
first time leads to fun. You’ll laugh, you’ll mess up, you’ll learn
something and that’s good on a first trip. It’s a better story to talk
about the time you took surfing lessons, fell off your board, and were
stung by a passing sting ray, than that time you both played a perfectly
adequate round of mini-golf. So take one for the team. There might even
be great “you were so brave” vacation sex after.
DON’T feel bad about re-examining your relationship if your partner is a monster to travel with.
The Situation:
Your awesome boyfriend who volunteers at charity programs for kids,
and makes you extravagant dinners just because you had a hard day at
work, and is so good at karaoke — has transformed into a literal demon
from Hell who yells at waiters and hates the smell of the ocean for some
reason, and whose eyes turn red every time you put your own music on
and his head spins around and he vomits green bile into your face.
Why you should maybe hop back on Tinder for a bit:
When something is stressful like your partner’s bag gets lost, do
they scream at everyone including you and are totally miserable to be
around? Do they then not bounce back and spend the next 24 hours
complaining about the pants in that bag and how they wanted to wear them
tonight. Look: Of course travel stuff can be really stressful, we’ve
all had our brief meltdowns but if your partner is terrible to be around
through those stresses, consistently, I have news for you, they may not
be great just…in life. Because you know what else is
stressful: getting married, losing a job, having kids, your computer
breaking, getting sick, getting a parking ticket, balancing your bank
account, spending time with in-laws, learning a movie you wanted to see
is sold out, finding out that the person who you thought loved you
watched The Good Place without you…
Stressful shit will always happen. And the thing about
traveling together is that for the first time you are spending every
second with someone. So, if they’ve been The Picture Of Dorian Grey-ing
you, and beneath the facade, they’re a super ugly human being, it’s a
sign that this might not be “the one.” Look, I’m not saying you should
immediately break up, but I’d give it a solid consider.
On a related note: Make sure you are not the monster that someone
wants to break up with after the vacation. Go with the flow, compromise,
find the fun in things, listen to what they want, don’t poop with the
door open, be nice to service people even if every flight was canceled
and they tell you it’s so that all of the pilots at LAX can eat a
burrito at the same time for National “Pilots Eat A Burrito Day…”
“That cannot possibly be a real day,” you say. “Please stop
lying to my fucking face. I just want to get out of this godforsaken —
(Deep breath) I mean… when is the next flight you can get us on? I
really appreciate you helping us here. We’re so excited to be on this
trip.”
Our best advice, be the traveling partner you wish to be with. And you’ll find the right match. Maybe even on this very trip.
Last week, my wife gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, bouncing baby boy. He is all the things that you hope new babies are. A blessing. Loud. Adorable. Soft. Precious. Gassy. Alert. Moderately bemused. Perpetually hangry. Vaguely human. Somewhat reminiscent of Fred Sanford.
He is also life-changing. He’s our second child, but our first boy—my first son—and
there are myriad reasons why this first son status is so crucial. I
look forward to people asking if I plan to dress him like a miniature
replica of me, just so I can respond, “Why would I do that? He’s his own person, not a miniature replica of me,”
and walk away. I’m anticipating the day I’m able to teach him how to
catch, because then his big sister—who’s practically a catching maven
now—will have someone to play with while I’m crafting clever Facebook
statuses about fatherhood. And I’m more than anxious at the thought of
our first trip to the barbershop, because if it’s anything like my first
trip to the barber, I might have to fight a barber—like my dad almost
had to—and I’ve never done that before. Mostly though, I’m beyond
grateful for this boy person in my life because holding him in my arms
and looking into his eyes will finally teach me to do something I’ve
never done, which is respect and honor men.
Although I am 39 years old, and although I’ve encountered tens of
thousands of men in those 39 years (the vast majority of whom, I think,
were human beings) and although I am a man, treating men with kindness
and compassion is something that I just never learned to do. When I’d
see men and boys—and this includes when I’d look in the mirror—and I’d
ponder whether to have any empathy for them, I’d just think “Nah.”
Of course, I’ve grown to respect men and think of them as equals
worthy of protection and care. I was—and still am!—aware of all of the
statistics about how boys are more likely than girls to drop out of
school and how men are more likely than women to be incarcerated and how
males (in general) are more likely than females (in general) to be
Kappas. And these things mattered to me, but in theory. They mattered mattered. But none of it mattered mattered mattered—it wasn’t real—until that boy was born, and I held that boy against my manly chest. And then, and only then, did I start to really get it.
Now, because of this male child that I’m legally and morally
obligated to care for, I am more sensitive to the unique challenges
facing men. I’m more cognizant of the language I use, the images I
consume, the music I listen to, the people I surround myself with, and
the sports teams I root for. I’m more mindful and respectful of my dad
and my uncles and my cousins and my homies and my barber and my favorite
male barista and the rest of the men currently in my life, and I even
find myself thinking back on past relationships I’ve had with men and
wishing I’d regarded them with more empathy. I now shudder at the
thought of all the times I was on the basketball court and guarded by
men shorter than me, and how boorish and vulgar I was when I’d post them
up and dunk on them. I’m ashamed of myself.
Just think, for a moment, about how much better men would be to men
if more men had boys. That should be a requirement, actually. Vague
eugenics aside, how else can you expect men to have any sort of
compassion for a gender comprising half of Earth’s population if we
don’t literally create one of them with our own sperm? Where else are we
going to find that? How else will we learn to respect them?
This transformation hasn’t happened overnight. I still have
considerable biases and blind spots about men that need rectified. But
now, when I look in my son’s sleepy eyes and he stares back at me,
wondering when this awkwardly bearded man is going to hand him back to
his mother, I know that I have an investment. A stake. Some skin in the
game. (It’s his skin, but still.)
As you’ve no doubt learned by now, Michael Cohen, former personal attorney and “fixer” to President Donald Trump was sentenced to three years in prison by a federal judge on Wednesday, for crimes including but not limited to campaign finance violation, tax evasion, and lying to Congress. Or as the judge put it, “a veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct.”
Before the judge handed down the sentence, Cohen appealed to the
mercy of the court by attempting to deflect blame onto his former boss.
“I have been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since
the fateful day that I accepted the offer to work for a famous real
estate mogul whose business acumen I truly admired,” he admitted.
And as juicy and entertaining as this all is at face value, prolific tweeter Ice T
took things to another level by live-tweeting the outcome. “Cohen just
got 36months in the Feds.. AFTER telling everything,” he wrote.
“If you ask me. He told EVERY Fn thing he could to save his OWN ass..
EVERYTHING,” he continued. “That MF wants NO part of Prison.”
Cohen just got 36months in the Feds.. AFTER telling everything.
Will ‘Black Panther’ Help Redefine ‘Star’ Overseas?
Some industry veterans say that while studios’ international distribution branches know how to market big franchise films, they are not always as well suited for the kind of marketing that films with nonwhite casts might require.
By: Cara Buckley
Tyler
Perry is a household name in the United States, where his movies have
made nearly a billion dollars. But in Britain, he is known mainly for
playing the lawyer to Ben Affleck’s accused husband in “Gone Girl” — if
he is known at all.
Some of the movies Mr. Perry has written
and directed have received small international openings, most often in
South Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Only one or two ever got
anything close to a European theatrical push.
“I fought for it, I asked for it,” Mr.
Perry said. But often he gets the same response: “Stories with black
people don’t travel, don’t translate.”
For years,
minority filmmakers have pushed Hollywood studios and distributors to
get over a reluctance to promote their films worldwide. They are hoping
that 2018 was the tipping point they have been waiting for.
This year “Black Panther,” “Crazy Rich
Asians” and “BlacKkKlansman” all raked in money overseas, an unusual
winning streak that challenged beliefs about the global appeal of actors
of color.
Charles D. King,
the chief executive of Macro, a financial backer of “Fences,” starring
Denzel Washington, and the summer indie hit “Sorry to Bother You,” said
he had seen examples of an industry shift. He pointed to
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s and Warner Bros.’ full-bore promotion of the
November boxing sequel “Creed II,” with its star, Michael B. Jordan,
traveling with the film internationally.
Of the longstanding belief that films
need white leads to travel, Mr. King said: “We’re seeing pockets of
progression, where the studio pushes the agenda.”
$64 million at the overseas box office: “Crazy Rich Asians” benefited from strong champions inside Warner Bros.CreditWarner Bros.
Image$64 million at the overseas box office: “Crazy Rich Asians” benefited from strong champions inside Warner Bros.CreditWarner Bros.
International distribution is hardly a
glamorous aspect of moviemaking. But with the global box office more
important than ever to a studio’s bottom line, the prognosis for how a
film might fare abroad has far-reaching implications for the size of its
budget or whether it even gets made.
Representatives for major studios
declined to comment for the record about the issue, though several
privately insisted that their films were treated equally regardless of
the stars’ race.
But publicly available data suggests
that beyond some exceptions — the “Fast and Furious” franchise, and
films starring Mr. Washington or Will Smith — movies with minority stars
generally have not received the same international push as white-led
ones.
Comparisons are imperfect, but in 2014, for example, the Kevin Hart-led remake of the romantic comedy “About Last Night” made $2 million more at the domestic box office than the rom-com “Blended”with
Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, despite opening in 1,300 fewer
theaters, according to Box Office Mojo, which tracks ticket sales. But
“About Last Night” was released in only a fifth as many countries as
“Blended.”
“Blended” did well internationally,
either proving studios’ instincts right, or as critics suggest, showing
what happens when studios put more effort behind white-led films.
Boots Riley, the director of “Sorry to
Bother You,” starring Lakeith Stanfield, brought attention to the
process when he complained on Twitter that “distributors r claiming
‘Black movies’ dont do well internationally and r treating it as such.”
While “Sorry to Bother You” went on to
secure international distribution from Focus Features, industry insiders
said that there was truth to the director’s charge.
Some film industry veterans familiar with studios’ thinking say the issue is about perceived risk.
If a film is deemed relatable only to a
smaller domestic audience, like African-American moviegoers, executives
have been loath to risk profits on what they see as an expensive gamble
abroad. In that line of thinking, Mr. Perry’s trouble gaining traction
overseas (his latest movie “Nobody’s Fool” has made just $227,000
in Britain) should be no more surprising than the failure of German or
Italian comedies to find big audiences in the United States, where even
some British hits, like “Johnny English Strikes Again,” barely
registered.
$40 million overseas: Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” starring Laura Harrier and John David Washington.CreditDavid Lee/Focus Features
$40 million overseas: Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” starring Laura Harrier and John David Washington.CreditDavid Lee/Focus Features
“The unknown mystery studio execs are
always demonized, but they are investing millions and millions of
dollars and face incredibly high risk and they have one weekend to get
it right, and often they can’t,” said Hamish Moseley, head of
distribution for Altitude Film Entertainment, a British distribution and
production company. “And they are beholden to information they have,
which is what other films have done.”
Executives also have pointed to the
influence of China, the world’s fastest-growing film market, saying its
audiences have aversions to black actors. The Chinese market, which has a
quota system on foreign films, is more complicated than that; while
“Black Panther” earned a relatively middling $105 million there, for
example, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” made less than half that amount. But
China still weighs heavily in decisions on film budgets.
This year seemed to prove old industry
assumptions wrong. By throwing muscle behind nonwhite filmmakers who
drew deeply from culturally specific experiences, studios hit pay dirt.
“Black Panther” drew nearly half of its
$1.3 billion revenues from overseas, and “Crazy Rich Asians” made a
quarter of its $237 million earnings abroad. Foreign ticket sales
account for nearly half of the $88 million “BlacKkKlansman” has made
worldwide so far. Their success followed strong showings in 2017 by two
films with nonwhite leads, “Get Out” and “Hidden Figures.”
Some stars have refused to wait for studios to lead the way. Borrowing a page from Will Smith, who took it upon himself
to promote his movies overseas, Mr. Hart raised his profile by touring
his comedy show around the world. Now nearly a third of his box office
earnings come from overseas, a figure he is working to grow.
“The studios wouldn’t take the first
step and promote him,” said Jeff Clanagan, who works closely with Mr.
Hart as president of Codeblack Films, a division of Lionsgate. “So Kevin
went and built this audience for himself.”
But Mr. Clanagan said that he still is
being told there is a less of an international market for movies with
black actors. He is developing a film about the civil rights icon Angela
Davis, whose incarceration in the early ’70s inspired the global “Free
Angela” campaign. Despite Ms. Davis’s historic cachet, Mr. Clanagan said
that convincing Lionsgate’s international division of the film’s global
viability is a challenge.
“They’ll say, ‘We can’t forecast
international,’ but there is no data to support that assumption,” he
said. (Lionsgate had no comment.)
Malcolm D. Lee, who directed the recent Kevin Hart hit “Night School,”
which drew a quarter of its $102 million take from global audiences,
believes the lack of success of some nonwhite films overseas might be
due less to audience taste than to a lack of studio effort. “If they’re
saying that ‘Well, it’s not going to work,’ it becomes a self-fulfilling
prophecy,” he said.
His 2017 film “Girls Trip,”
became part of an accidental sociological test that seemed to prove
studio critics right. That movie had a nearly all-black cast that
included Jada Pinkett Smith, and was released within a few weeks of “Rough Night,” which starred Scarlett Johansson and a nearly all-white cast. Both were R-rated comedies about women on wild weekend getaways.
“Rough Night” opened in 3,000 theaters
domestically and some 40 countries. It made $47 million worldwide. Then
came “Girls Trip,” which opened in 571 fewer theaters and in half as
many countries, but trounced “Rough Night” with box office receipts of
$140 million.
Some industry veterans say that while
studios’ international distribution branches know how to market big
franchise films, they are not always as well suited for the kind of
marketing that films with nonwhite casts might require.
Priscilla Igwe, managing director of the New Black Film Collective in London,
said that American studio films starring people of color are often
released in Britain with little fanfare and negligible outreach to black
filmgoers or black press. Jan Naszewski, owner of New Europe Film
Sales, a distributor in Warsaw, said of the studios: “The only thing
they do is carpet bombing, paint-by-numbers marketing. They don’t know
how to reach an independent audience.”
Terra Potts, head of multicultural
marketing at Warner Bros., said the success of the meticulous campaigns
she crafted for “Crazy Rich Asians” and the 2015 film “Creed” were the
result of having unwavering champions for each film in the studio from
the get-go, which is often an anomaly for films with black or Asian
leads.
Asian tastemakers were shown cuts of
“Crazy Rich Asians” throughout production, which helped lock in major
community support, and among the first to see “Creed” were attendees at
one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s music conferences in Miami Beach. The films’
domestic success helped foment international interest.
“You really need people internally who
believe in it, who are not going to take no for an answer, ” Ms. Potts
said. “This kind of success doesn’t just happen.”
CodePath.org, an organization that provides free, accelerated mobile engineering classes for professional developers,
recently announced that Facebook has invested $1 million to help expand
their reach. Prior to Facebook’s contribution, CodePath.org served 400
students per semester. Their new goal is to target 1000 students per
semester in the next year.
Additionally, the funding will allow them to create courses that
target underrepresented minorities, and women during their freshman
year, and expand their number of college partners. In the past three
years, over 1700 students from over 30 colleges and universities have
taken CodePath.org courses. In the next year, Facebook will enable
CodePath.org to quadruple the number of students taught per semester.
Other funding goals include decreasing attrition for underrepresented
students who enter the major, bridging the gap between traditional
computer science curriculum and practical software engineering job
responsibilities, and cultivating a bigger pipeline of underrepresented
software engineers.
When taught on-campus the students are required to complete a 12-week
intensive program that consists of 150+ hours. The students are shown
videos, given guides, and receive 24/7 online support and grading from
CodePath.org. After the course is complete, students are matched to
internships based on their course performance. In addition to their
current curriculum, CodePath.org offers multi-year course series that
include iOS, Cybersecurity, and several other specialties.
The overarching goal of the organization is to help to diversify the
tech workforce. Outside of technical skills, they help the students
prepare for the technical interview process in addition to focusing
their curriculum on how to land internships at larger tech companies,
which has typically been known to be extremely competitive.
The move also come in the wake of a black former Facebook manager’s
public complaint about the social media giant’s treatment of its black
employees.
Writing in a Facebook post,
Mark S. Luckie said, “Facebook’s disenfranchisement of black people on
the platform mirrors the marginalization of its black employees. In my
time at the company, I’ve heard far too many stories from black
employees of a colleague or manager calling them “hostile” or
“aggressive” for simply sharing their thoughts in a manner not
dissimilar from their non-Black team members.”
So far the organization has had the support of over 23 universities, including Mississippi State, Howard, and Purdue. These campuses now host CodePath.org courses for academic credit to expose students to real-world coding challenges. This gives students the relevant skills that major tech companies and other CodePath.org hiring partners are looking for.
Change That Tune: The Influence of Music in Movies
Often, the inclusion of original music in film production is used as a tool to influence audience experience in a way that taps into the subconscious mind and generates feelings associated with specific music scores. With the release of Codeblack’s newest production TRAFFIK, featuring Paula Patton and Omar Epps, the original musical accompaniments Bleeding Machines and Heart of a Woman both serve to reiterate the emotional turmoil and subsequent strength that it takes the characters to survive their traumatic weekend getaway.
Choosing the music in a film production is a key aspect of audience experience and allows viewers to become immersed in the film itself, and also the emotion of the characters in a way that generates subconscious empathy and understanding. Specifically, in TRAFFIK, the relationships between the characters are not entirely without dissension.
The tracks Bleeding Machines and Heart of a Woman are both prime examples of the ability for music to transport audiences when paired with the right visuals on a film soundtrack. Both songs in TRAFFIK display the love and strength of conviction that is required to overcome both physical and emotional struggle.
The use and importance of music in modern-day movies is one that has been underrated for so long.
These days, music very easily sits in the film narrative remaining consciously unobserved, whilst still stimulating our subconscious. This aids the emotional impact that such movies have on our minds.
The uses of music in movies have been constantly evolving since the early 1900s. These days, artistes are often contracted to make music specifically for movies – this is called Film Scoring.
Our goal is to provide a holistic understanding of the true essence of music in movies.
How The Use of Music Has Evolved in Movies
Music in movies and films began back in the silent film era, featuring the likes of Charlie Chaplin.
Early on, the music featured in these films was not recorded with the film. These films were usually projected onto a big screen in front of a large audience, and because sitting in silence the whole time would be awkward, live music was always played at such screenings.
It was the responsibility of the composers and instrumentalists made sure the music went along with the movie.
With the advent of talking pictures, music once again sprouted up to the top of elements in the music industry. Original scores were soon created, starting with Max Steiner writing the first original score for King Kong in 1933.
This seemed to have injected some courage into composers and filmmakers as they began to experiment more and develop music that went along with plots and characters.
Fast forward to the 1950s and Jazz music was all over the film industry. Synthesized sounds sprung up in the 1980s and it became totally possible to film score with only one performer by using the synthesizer to create the sounds of several instrumentalists.
With the rapid advancement of technology these days, film makers and music composers have the required resources to create perfect film scores that will properly accentuate their movie plots and characters.
Uses of Music in Movies
As can be inferred already, the many uses of music in the movie industry have been continuously changing with new technologies.
Creating an Atmosphere
Music can be used to create the perfect atmosphere in a particular film scene, by setting the right tone and mood for the plot moment.
Just by the way the music comes into the movie, one can properly discern the level of drama or genre or atmosphere or mood expected of such a movie or scene.
Commenting
Music can be used to create an impression or judgment about a particular scene.
In the early days of music in the film industry, the main essence of music was commenting on certain scenes. And yes, music can place labels on scenes, however it should not be overdone if the aim is to let the audience figure content out by themselves or to keep up suspense.
Referencing Social, Geographic or Cultural Factors
Music can work well in referencing the legacy or tradition of a group of people. The social or cultural heritage of a group of real life people or movie characters can be properly communicated by infusing the right music into the film.
Geographic settings can also be properly denoted with the right music.
For instance, playing music associated with a particular geographical location can be an easy way of communicating where a particular scene is taking place, ensuring there is no confusion amongst the audience.
Referencing Particular Time Periods
Music can be effectively used to reveal the time period during which a scene or movie is set.
Playing music from that particular time period will help the audience easily understand the time period during which such a scene or movie is set.
This is a very strong use of music in the film industry, and when used properly, can help keep the audience in the direction of the movie.
Music that sounds like what is not expected in a particular scene will create a feeling that something is not right, and will alert the senses of the audience.
Music can particularly be useful in creating suspense, for instance if a character is running towards a corner, not knowing what to expect on the other side, the music can speed up, helping create a tense mood amongst the audience.
Connecting Scenes
The right music can help attach the right scenes together.
If a movie is changing from a rather hard scene to a softer one, playing the perfect music can help smooth this transition. This helps make the audience subconsciously comfortable with the somewhat steep property differences between the scenes involved.
What is the Future of Music in the Film Industry?
Right from the early 1900s, music has been a part of the movie industry, and it is sure to grow in popularity in coming years. There are already newer uses of music in movies, such as physiological conditioning.
These uses are bound to increase in numbers, and the prospect of music in the film industry is one that is very exciting.
Conclusion
It goes beyond saying that music has an evolving and very intimate relationship with the film industry, hence the importance of music in the movie industry is one that should never ever be understated.
When used properly, music can help guide the audience and evoke the right emotions from within them.
Learning how to use the right music in films is an art that requires constant review, you need to understand your audience, as well as ensure you do not compromise on the plot or quality of your film. It is only right that every film maker keeps music in mind whenever a new movie is being created.
Traffik Movie Starring Paula Patton And Omar Epps Releases Trailer And Artwork
Traffik stars Paula Patton, Omar Epps, Roselyn Sanchez and Laz Alonso. In the action packed thriller, Patton and Epps play a couple who are off for a romantic weekend in the mountains, isolated at a remote estate. The couple are surprised by the arrival of two friends, Sanchez and Alonso when the weekend takes a dark turn. The foursome are forced to fight for their lives in this action packed thriller and will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.
Traffik premieres in theaters April 27. Sign-up for updates: http://Traffik.movie
In addition to taking another step toward launching a presidential
run in 2020, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has named Anne Reid as her new chief
of staff, making Reid one of the few African Americans to lead a U.S.
Senator’s staff. Reid is also the only black woman serving as chief of
staff for a Democratic senator.
“Anne is a gifted leader and committed public servant,” Warren said in a statement
released Dec. 27. “Anne’s experience serving our country and working to
improve the health and well-being of millions of Americans will be
invaluable as we continue our fights to level the playing field.”
The announcement that Warren tapped Reid for the position is being praised as a progressive step toward diversity by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
“Black women play a critical role in our democracy, and Senator
Warren’s appointment of a talented staffer like Anne Reid recognizes
that Americans from all backgrounds can serve in a leadership role at
the highest levels of government,” said Spencer Overton, president of
the Joint Center.
“As we have seen so far during this hiring season, the face of senior
staff in the House and Senate is changing because of members who
recognize that it is not enough to have diversity in electoral
coalitions. Diversity and inclusion must be the centerpiece of
policymaking. It starts with staff,” added Don Bell, the director of the
Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center.
The move could be part of Warren’s effort to court black voters should she decided to challenge President Donald Trump
in a bid for the White House next year. As for now, the Massachusetts
senator has created an exploratory committee to test the waters before
her potential run.
Here are five facts about Anne Reid.
She was hired and promoted by Warren within two months
Reid began serving as Sen. Warren’s Senior Advisor in Oct. 2018, just
a couple of months before she was named as the senator’s new Chief of
Staff.
She worked for the Obama administration
Reid began her work in D.C. politics back in 2008, working as a
congressional staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives under the
Obama administration.
During this time, Reid served as a staff member and legislative
analyst for the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee and the Oversight
& Government Reform Committee for Democrat Rep. Henry A. Waxman. In
her final year on the Energy and Commerce staff, she was the lead
Democratic staffer covering public health agencies and issues.
Later, she went on to work as a counselor to U.S. Health and Human
Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, where she was a member of the
senior leadership team during Barack Obama’s last years in office.
Reid previously served as a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Christopher A. Coons.
She co-founded a Public Health & Policy Think Tank
Following President Trump’s inauguration, Reid left government and
teamed up with former Obama administration staffer Bobby Clark to
create Concordis: Strategy and Analytics in June 2017. The group
researches public health issues, develops policy ideas, and proposes
solutions to improve health and well-being.
She has worked in the nonprofit sector
In Oct. 2017, Reid was named as the chief strategy officer at Vision To Learn, an organization that offers free eye exams and glasses to children in low-income communities.
She obtained a B.A. from Harvard and a Master’s from Chapel Hill
Reid holds a B.A. from Harvard University, where she majored in
Hispanic Studies. She also holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Angela Davis recalls the time Aretha Franklin freed her from imprisonment
Angela Davis’ work around issues of gender, race, class and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations.
By: Angela Davis, Democracy Now
For more than four decades, Davis has been one of most influential
activists and intellectuals in the United States. An icon of the black
liberation movement, Davis’s work around issues of gender, race, class
and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across
several generations. She is a leading advocate for prison abolition, a
position informed by her own experience as a prisoner and fugitive on
the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list more than 40 years ago. Once caught,
she faced the death penalty in California. After being acquitted, she
has spent her life fighting to change the criminal justice system. Just
before the midterm elections, Angela Davis sat down with Amy Goodman in
Washington, D.C., at Busboys and Poets to tell her life story.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Today,
we spend the hour with the legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis,
professor emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz. For more
than four decades, Davis has been one of the most influential activists
and intellectuals in the United States, an icon of the black liberation
movement. Angela Davis’s work around issues of gender, race, class and
prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across
several generations. She’s a leading advocate for prison abolition, a
position informed by her own experience as a prisoner and a fugitive on
the FBI’s top 10 wanted list more than 40 years ago. Once caught, she
faced the death penalty in California. After being acquitted on all
charges, she spent her life fighting to change the criminal justice
system.
I recently spoke to her in Washington, D.C., just before the midterm
elections, at Busboys and Poets. I began by asking her about her
connection to the late great soul singer Aretha Franklin.
AMY GOODMAN: The
legendary activist and scholar, Dr. Angela Davis. We’ll return with her
in a moment to talk about prison guards killing George Jackson in 1971
at San Quentin. We’ll also talk to her about the prison abolition
movement and more.
AMY GOODMAN: The
last time I got a chance to talk to you, Angela, we tracked you down
your last morning—I’m sure you appreciated this—in Martha’s Vineyard.
Right? It was in August. It was the day that Aretha Franklin died. So
why were we looking for Angela? Because of their connection, that hardly
gets attention today but, I think, says so much about both women.
And I wanted to read a quote of Aretha Franklin, who told Jet magazine
in 1970, “My daddy says I don’t know what I’m doing. Well, I respect
him, of course, but I’m going to stick by my beliefs. Angela Davis must
go free. Black people will be free. I’ve been locked up (for disturbing
the peace in Detroit) and I know you got to disturb the peace when you
can’t get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to see her free if
there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism,
but because she’s a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people. I
have the money; I got it from Black people—they’ve made me financially
able to have it—and I want to use it in ways that will help our people.”
What did that mean to you at the time, Aretha Franklin saying, “I want you free”?
ANGELA DAVIS: I
was in jail at the time, of course. And when I learned about it, it was
one of the most moving moments I experienced during that time, because,
of course, Aretha had already provided the soundtrack of our lives, you
know? And I was just, you know, so moved and so uplifted that she was
willing to pay my bail.
But I should tell you, bail hadn’t been set at that time. It’s an
interesting story. I was charged with three capital offenses, every
single one of which was unbailable. And so, at that time, I had some
arguments with people who were organizing, who wanted to do a bail
movement. And I’m sitting in jail, and I said, “But I’m ineligible for
bail. What’s the point?” But they proved me wrong. And people all over
the world signed petitions. And then, eventually, interestingly enough,
the state of California temporarily abolished the death penalty. And my
lawyers tried their best to get in touch with Aretha, but she was in the
Caribbean at the time.
AMY GOODMAN: The West Indies.
ANGELA DAVIS: And
that was a different era. You’re used to money, capital, flowing with
ease over national borders. There was no way that she could get the
money to us in time. And so, this white farmer by the name of Roger
McAfee, who had a farm in Central California, showed up at my lawyer’s
office, and he said, “I’m willing to put up my farm.” And the thing is,
had I not gotten out at that moment, I wouldn’t have gotten out on bail,
because immediately the Supreme Court ruled that all capital offenses
that were previously ineligible for bail would remain ineligible. And so
there was this tiny window. And Aretha, by publicly announcing that she
was going to pay my bail, made everybody listen. And so, I like to
think that it was Aretha, you know, who bailed me out. And she did.
AMY GOODMAN: You
know, we have a terrible problem in this country even with all of the
media, with all of the channels: History gets erased so quickly. And I
see so many young people here today, and I was wondering if you can tell
that history, because each of the moments in your life were a political
struggle, to say the least. I mean, we could—and we will—go back even
further, to where you born, to Birmingham, but since we’re talking about
this moment, 1969, Governor Ronald Reagan wants you thrown out of UCLA as a professor, as a teacher, because you’re a communist and he wants no communist voice there. Is that right?
ANGELA DAVIS: Yeah.
And, you know, I never expected to be the center of attention in that
way. I just wanted to teach philosophy. And probably, had anyone told me
that I would be fired by Ronald Reagan and that this huge uproar all
over the country about the fact that a communist was teaching at UCLA—I
mean, I thought the McCarthy era was over, you know? Because there was a
period where if you were a communist, you were not able to teach, you
were not able to make movies. You all know about the McCarthy era,
right? OK. I always say, even if you don’t have actual memory, you can
have historical memory. So this should be a part of our historical
memory. But yeah, Ronald Reagan. Oh, god.
You know, it’s so interesting that at these moments, when people like
Ronald Reagan were elected, when people like Richard Nixon, we never
expected that it could possibly be any worse. George W. Bush. I mean,
the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue makes George Bush look a
lot better than he looked at the time. And that’s weird.
AMY GOODMAN: But
before we go there, 1970, you’re fighting, as you fight today, more
than 40 years later, against the prison-industrial complex, to free the
Soledad Brothers, and there’s a shootout in the Marin courthouse. And
that’s what led to your charge, your charges. Today, Washington state’s
Supreme Court overturned the death penalty in Washington state, making
it the 20th state. But your experience—and I think a lot of young people
may not realize this—comes out also of your own experience in jail, in
prison. You faced three death penalties, three death sentences?
ANGELA DAVIS: Yeah. You know, Amy is a really good interviewer, you know? Yeah, 1969, I was fired from UCLA,
and that was a pretty difficult year. I got literally hundreds of death
threats. I had to be ushered from classroom to classroom by the UCLA campus
police. They had to start my car up to make sure there wasn’t a bomb
planted. And they ushered me to the edge of campus, because they wanted
to guarantee that I was not killed on the campus. I mean, that was
really their role. And I say this because it meant that I had to have
security 24 hours. And I had to have someone move into my apartment with
me, because I lived alone at that time. I had to have someone—I had to
have armed security 24 hours a day. And I had—I purchased a couple of
guns, that were used by the people who were doing security for me, you
know, particularly when I was speaking.
I should say that around the same time, we learned about the case of
the Soledad Brothers—George Jackson, John Clutchette, Fleeta Drumgo—and
began to do organizing in Southern California. There was a committee in
Northern California to free the Soledad Brothers. We created a committee
in Southern California. And George’s younger brother Jonathan, who was
an amazing, really beautiful young man who was an incredible writer,
wrote—he wrote poetry. He was also deeply dedicated to his brother. And I
give you all of this information because at one point Jonathan, who had
been doing security for me, took those guns that I had bought for my
security, and went into the Marin County courthouse.
And we’re still not exactly certain what the plans were, but it
seemed that he was going to call for the freedom of his brother and the
Soledad Brothers. George was in San Quentin at the time. They had been
moved to San Quentin. And there was a trial happening in the Marin
County courthouse that involved a number of San Quentin prisoners.
Jonathan went into the courtroom and brought the judge out with some of
the jurors into a waiting van. And then, as we discovered during my
trial, it was the San Quentin guards who opened fire, who were
responsible for the death of the judge and the other prisoners and
Jonathan. And it was horrendous. It was really horrendous.
I can remember, we examined some of the San Quentin guards during my
trial and asked what their policy was with respect to escapes. And they
said their policy was to prevent escapes at all cost. And so, we said,
“Well, if it means the death of one person or 20 persons, does that
still hold true?” And he said, “Yes.” If it meant the death of one child
or 20 children? He said, “Yes.” So, anyway, I was charged with murder,
kidnapping and conspiracy because the guns were registered in my name.
And—
AMY GOODMAN: You had a major decision to make at that time, and you decided to go underground.
ANGELA DAVIS: Well,
I wasn’t going to turn myself in. You know? I mean, we all—we were all
very much aware of what had happened to Lil’ Bobby Hutton, an
18-year-old member of the Black Panther Party, when he tried to
surrender to police and was killed. And it was really interesting, an
interview—or, rather, a study was done, a poll was taken, of people in
Los Angeles in black communities. And the question was whether they
thought that I was doing the right thing by leaving. And it was like 90
percent said yes, because they knew the Los Angeles Police Department,
and they knew how many people had been killed by the police department.
So, you know, it never even crossed my mind to turn myself in at that
time. I was thinking that, you know, maybe in a more auspicious moment,
you know, maybe if organizing were done and—I mean, I didn’t get to do
that, because the FBI caught up with me, and I was actually captured by the FBI, which was another story, but—
AMY GOODMAN: In New York.
ANGELA DAVIS: Yeah, I was in New York. Well, I was actually running from the FBI,
because—you know, people have this romantic idea about what it means to
be underground. But, you know, in a sense, I was almost relieved,
because every time I saw a white man in a suit, I assumed it was the FBI. And if I had stayed underground any longer, I probably would have had a heart attack, so…
AMY GOODMAN: It’s
almost exactly 48 years ago, 1970—it was October—that you—that they got
you—right?—and put you at Bedford women’s prison—is that right?—one of
the places you were held downtown in the Village of New York City?
ANGELA DAVIS: Yeah,
it was the Women’s House of Detention in Greenwich Village, yeah. Yeah,
they took me—first they took me to the FBI’s office. I mean, they—well,
I’m having to go back in my memory 48 years. And I remember being on
the elevator and knowing that they had found us. I was traveling with a
man by the—who was actually really amazing. And he ended up being
arrested—David Poindexter. And he finally beat the case. But I
remember—we were going up to the hotel room, and I remember thinking
that this is it. I could sense that it was going to happen. And as soon
as we got up to the floor, they grabbed me, they grabbed him. They
snatched—I had a wig, because I was in disguise. They snatched my wig
off. And—only time I’ve ever worn a wig in my life! And my brother
saw—my brother saw a picture or something, and he said, “That’s not my
sister.”
But they kept asking me, “Are you Angela Davis?” And, you know, I learned when I was a very young child not to talk to the FBI. You do not say anything to the FBI. I learned when I was 5 years old, when my parents’ friends, who were communists, were underground, and the FBI would always try to get information from us. And I’d learn not to say a word to the FBI.
So, the only thing I did say to them, eventually, was that I want my
phone call. But yeah, yeah, that was a pretty dramatic moment. Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: So
you’re sitting in jail. They are going to fight for you to be
extradited to California. You were fighting that, and then they just put
you in a van and started moving you west?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well,
I was in jail for—let’s see. I was arrested on October 13th, and I was
in jail until November. So there are lots of stories that happened at
the Women’s House of Detention. They’re really important stories,
because I think I learned there. It was the only time I was ever in
general population, because my lawyers fought for me to be removed from
solitary confinement, so I did have contact with the women there. We did
do—as a matter of fact, we did organizing around bail. And it’s so
interesting that 50 years later, 50 years later, that remains the issue.
And so, there were people on the outside, and it was great that the
jail was in Greenwich Village, because people could just gather outside,
and you could talk to them out of the windows. And so—and I mention
this in my autobiography, that when I was in high school, I went to high
school in Greenwich Village, and I remember going—walking by that jail
and hearing the disembodied voices and not really knowing how to
respond. And then, it turns out, later, I’m the disembodied voices
calling out to people to contact an attorney or—we did a lot of
organizing in that way. And we were able to organize the women inside so
that there would be collective decisions regarding who got out on bail
after the money was raised by people in the community. It was really
quite an amazing experience. I learned a lot from—the more I think about
it, the more I realize how that experience really shaped me.
You know, later, I started to do yoga in jail. I had never heard of
yoga. I mean, there weren’t even any yoga mats at that time. There was
no such thing as the yoga industry. But I developed a yoga practice when
I was there. I learned—I learned a lot from the women. I learned about
the need for self-care. And, yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Vegetarianism?
ANGELA DAVIS: Oh,
yeah, I became a vegetarian. Not because I wanted to at the time. I’m
sorry. I mean, I’m still—I’m vegan now, so this is a conscious decision.
That was not a conscious decision. That was because the meat had
maggots in it and was so bad that I told them I did not eat meat. And I
had no idea that once I got out and I tried to go back to eating meat,
it wasn’t going to work, so… And then, eventually, of course, I learned
about all of the reasons why we should be engaging in conscious eating
and not be participating in the inflicting of violence on—you know, for
the sole purpose of producing profit.
AMY GOODMAN: The
legendary activist and scholar, Dr. Angela Davis. We’ll return with her
in a moment to talk about prison guards killing George Jackson in 1971
at San Quentin. We’ll also talk to her about the prison abolition
movement and mor
