DICK GREGORY: THE LIGHT SIDE, THE DARK SIDE

DICK GREGORY: THE LIGHT SIDE: THE DARK SIDE

If you find it difficult to catch this country in her lies; if you’ve found it impossible to grasp what’s comin’ down on campuses and in the streets; if you’re acquainted with Dick Gregory only through the mass media as a candidate for public office or as an insane black “comedian,” and have fallen to their persuasion, here’s your reprieve on all three counts.

Dick Gregory has written and spoken and recorded always with the intent of reaching people. He has a balanced grasp of socio-political situations and his manner of expressing our common problem of living together is very unabrasive, simply because he can make you laugh.

Gregory’s latest album is a masterpiece that I’d slide into the blues stack of my collection. Recorded live on March 6, 1969 at Southampton College, Southampton, New York, he was speaking to a racially mixed group of students. The album is entitled, “Dick Gregory: The Light Side: The Dark Side:” and to appreciate the man I would say you’ve got to hear him speak . . .

On Black Progress . ..

“This year we got our first colored cowboy - Iftve you dug this cat? (tube’s “Outcast” program) You can tell by the name it’s ‘us.’ Next year we gonna get another black cowboy so this one’ll have somebody to kill ...”

On the moral dedication of young people, he knows where longhairs are at and with adequate commentary credits them with sending “LBJ back to the ranch.” He says that as young people work to change the system “we’re going to have to create an atmosphere where statesmen can enter the political arena instead of politicians.”

He discredits the cliche “generation gap” and points out the “moral gap” in 15 minutes and 20 seconds of humorous monologue . ..

“ . . . you young kids are trying to tell us old folks that morality no longer comes from without, but from within . . . you youngsters are trying to tell us that we can no longer buy morality. “ .. . you youngsters got a big job in front of you.”

Gregory raps about assasinations from a perspective which includes Amereia’s goodguy bad-guy excuse. He deals with the emphasis our country puts an property rights over human rights from many different points of departure, never going on tangents and bringing it all right home — hard . . .

“ .. . you youngsters got a big job ... of moving the capitalist behind the constitution.” “ . .. I hope you young kids do not make the same mistakes in these colleges • and institutions that us old fools we hate your stinking white racist institutians, and we uptight with you ‘cause you responsible of it.”

His rap covers black attitudes toward “Black Attitudes,” white and black anti-semitism, the unfairness of our education, and the black-white-liberal distorted concept of racism usually preceded by the word “reverse” . . .

“ . . . and now I run across so many people interviewing—‘Uh, Mister Gregory, uh, uh . . . what-da-ya think, uh, uh . . . of black folks asking for separtism. “When you white folks gets so concerned about separtism why don’t you get that Indian,off that reservation — that’s a pure example of separatism but it’s okay as long as you doin’ it . . . “ .. . The first time that Indian hold a press conference and say, ‘Me lika heap o’ reservation, don’ wan’ no mo’ white folks on reservation you’d sen yo

armee up there and run him off.”

Yeah, Dick gets down to the real nitty-gritty. His voice becomes charged and deeply emotional. . He lays that hard rap on you and takes care of the business in that Gregory manner which makes you think three times before you laugh. And the only reason you do laugh is because others are laughing. If you listen to the album a second time, you’re going to find yourself fedling, — ‘cause Dick ain’t laughing. His monologue on “Black Rioters” and “American History” are so painfully funny that you might find yourself agreeing with this man . . .

“ . . . there’s no way in the wo-o-o-r-r-r-l-l-d you can expect niggers to behave if you keep making us read yo’ history. Bay-bee, your history tells me that from the time you landed at Plymouth Rock you shot and murdered your way all the way across to California ...”

“ . . . you got to be joking wid’ that history book o’ yours. You tell me in dat history book that-you came to these shores and discovered a country that was already occupied — go think about that . . . and then got nerve to call a nigger a hoodlum how do

you discover somethin’s that’s not only owned by somebody but being used at the time you discover made when it was our turn to go. You see, when we went to college we were so busy trying to learn how to make a living - we forgot how to live.”

The album cover photography is expressive of the changes Gregory goes through as he speaks. Two sides of “Light,” are followed by two sides on which he gets down to the nitty-gritty.

I’ve used the word “unabrasive” in describing Gregory’s manner of presentation I think .the word fits because Gregory has the talent to evoke genuine laughter; people like to laugh. I think the word fits because after the laughter stops ringing in your head the echo of his words remain. If you’re never understood “Black Attitudes,” this album is your chance to try, try, try again: Gregory hits upon many of the most misunderstood ones...

“ . . . few people seem to understand what the black students are talking about; few people seem to understand what black folks are talking about in this country . . . And white folks is real funny . . . they run around gettin’ all uptight, thinkin’ we dislike you ... “ ... we don’t dislike you, it ... ”

He talks about the Panthers from a historical point of view dating from 1776. He’s got something to say about militant black revolutionaries and even introduces new characters; “Stokley Runnin‘ Horse” and “Rap White Cloud.”

We’re well into the “Dark Side,” now. Listen to the man’s voice on side four and you hear a very angry black, angry black man: pick up that album cover, check out those photos and see millions of black, angry and determined faces. The man is saying . . .

“ . . . we’re tired of these stinking white insults and all we doin’ is reactin’ to ’em.”

“ . . . now, white folks tells us, ’(your) number one problem is . . . education.’

“That ain’t nothin’ but a cheap, whitey, cop-out cause if education was the problem, the Jews would run this country . . . would own it.”

“ . . . since education ‘sposed to be the problem - why is to you over in Viet Nam wit yo’ army, tryin’ to guarantee day foreigner freedom in the morning and you ain’t even asked about his educational standard? ... you wan’ta free him in the morning but you want to check mine out.”

“ . . . ‘education’s my .problem . . . ’ D’ya ever stop to ask yourself how many millions of people would be dead on the face of this earth if it were not for blood plasma? “ . . . are you aware of the fact that a Black American, Charlie Drew, invented blood plasma don’t take my word for it, check it out in your library. “ . . . are you also aware of the fact that Charlie Drew bled to death in an Atlanta, Georgia hospital waintn’ room after an automobile accident cause they didn’t accept niggers'. . . and you want to tell us that education is our problem!”

“ ... so we sayin’, we tired of all these insults and all we doing is reactin’ to ’em.”

So laugh along with Dick: yeah! You get a psychedelic poster to put on your wall. I’m angry now so I’d better cut it here before I start editorializing. One last thing. The quotes 1 included here were not necessiarily the funniest ones, but were the most relevant in my estimation. The alburn will not scare you into Hyisteria, the album won’t cause you to call a black man brother if you haven’t already done so I don’t feel that is Gregory’s purpose. Pick up on this set of LP’s and you’ll have a better understanding of one more person in this world wno has better understanding of it all.

Seed