Black Nouveau

(earnest music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Happy 2025, everyone.

And welcome to "Black Nouveau".

This is our January episode.

This month we'll talk with producer and filmmaker Felicia D. Henderson about her award-winning short film, "The Rebel Girls".

James Causey will talk with author and former journalist Vivian King about her new children's book, "Grace Welcomes the Lady Next Door".

And we look back on the Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit, which was held recently at the Milwaukee Academy of Sciences.

This year brings a celebration for one of Milwaukee's most famous sons, the late great Al Jarreau.

Recently, there was a discovery of a live album he recorded back in 1976.

Just yesterday mornin' They let me know you were gone, girl Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song But I just can't remember who to send it to And I've seen fire, I've seen rain - That's a bit of "Fire and Rain" from "Al Jarreau Wow!".

A newly discovered live recording he did at the Childe Harold in Washington, DC, back in 1976.

We're joined now by music journalist A. Scott Galloway to talk more about that discovery.

Mr. Scott, thank you so much for being here.

First off, just talk about what intrigued you about this particular project.

- First of all, as a music journalist, getting to do anything on Al Jarreau was an absolute honor.

And for Resonance Records to be the company, I knew it was going to be done first class.

I've been a fan of Al Jarreau since I was a child.

One of my childhood friend's mothers is the one that turned me onto him.

So I was very excited that there was going to be a fresh, unheard before live recording of Mr. Jarreau just before he was about to start skyrocketing as an international music star.

- So talk about that.

You kind of alluded to my next question.

Where was he in his musical journey?

And just talk about where he was when this recording was done.

- He had signed to Warner Bros.

He's from Milwaukee and then he moved to Los Angeles.

And he'd been scuffling around for quite a while, working in different nightclubs and everything.

He finally was given a break at Warner Bros. Records, where he was signed to the Reprise Record Label.

And he had done one album for the company called "We Got By".

And it was a really wonderful album.

They couldn't find an audience for it.

So on the week that this album was recorded, his second album had just been released called "Glow".

And so he's in Washington at the Childe Harold, which is a very hip and happening kind of club where a lot of great artists on the way up and some of them that were already great were playing.

When you listen to this record, what you're listening to is a developing artist who was very mature already.

He wasn't somebody that was a late teen or in his twenties.

He was in his mid-thirties when he really started to take off in his career.

And he's just really going for it.

He has all the talent, all the experience.

He has his 10,000 hours.

He just needs a bigger audience.

And he comes in and is just himself.

A wonderful, personable guy doing all this gumbo of music, of jazz, pop, R&B mixed together.

And plus, he wrote a lot of his own material as well.

And so the audience is just sitting there seeing somebody that is just on the bubble before they're about to take off, because on his third album is when things really started to happen.

- Are there a couple songs on this album or maybe one in particular that stand out to you, and for what reason?

- A lot of fans will love hearing yet another version of "Take Five", which was a big hit for Dave Brubeck that Al Jarreau did wonderful things with vocally.

"Take Five" was originally an instrumental.

And there's also great covers like "Gimme That Wine", which was a Lambert, Hendricks & Ross classic, kind of a humorous jazz piece.

But to my estimation, the most important thing on the album is a very early live recording of his song, "You Don't See Me".

A lot of people have kind of glossed over this song and never really gotten the social significance of it.

But the song is about being a young Black man in America, trying to do the right thing.

And society always looking at you as a potential threat, a criminal.

Somebody that needs to be watched to make sure that they don't do something.

And so the song deals first person with his frustration with all of that and deals with his anger and frustration.

It's a funky song.

So a lot of people...

Sometimes people listen to music before they get into lyrics.

And I mean, Al record this song four different times, but this will be one of the earliest documents of it, particularly in front of a live audience.

And you will hear how he shifts the whole mood of the room and makes this segue from singing fun pop things into something very serious.

You don't see me when I'm trying to do right You don't see me when I'm trying to do right Like my mother taught me to do right Mother says, Son, don't hurt nobody Mother says, Son, don't treat nobody wrong Mother says, Son, don't mistreat Hurt nobody, nobody Don't hurt nobody Don't put that kind of karma upon your soul - I mean, Al has always sung all kinds of songs.

I mean, even on this album, it's a live record.

He has a couple of originals, like "Aladdin's Lamp" and "Lock All the Doors", that have a spiritual bent.

And then his personality was so fun and vibrant and colorful that a lot of people wouldn't be checking for him to be necessarily writing and singing about something like "You Don't See Me", but it was definitely there.

Even though he was a major crossover artist, he was still a Black man who grew up in Milwaukee, a place where he and his family were a minority.

He also studied psychology.

So he really understands the plight of people of color in general in America, but definitely the Black man.

But like I said, a lot of people just kind of glossed over that particular song.

It's crazy 'cause he recorded it four times.

The version on this record.

When you hear the segue from like everybody clapping and whatever was going on with the song before, he clears his throat and begins to go into this piece.

And wow.

It's spoken word.

It's singing.

It's jazz, it's funk.

It's a masterpiece.

"You Don't See Me", definitely a highlight of "Al Jarreau Wow!"

- Appreciate that.

Thank you so much, Scott, for being here on "Black Nouveau".

- My pleasure, my honor.

(upbeat music) - The representation of what a man should look like to your daughter is you, whether you're there or not.

- [Reporter] Recently, Milwaukee's Office of African American Affairs hosted its annual Fatherhood Summit at the Milwaukee Academy of Science.

It featured a number of keynote speakers and classroom workshops offering resources to fathers.

It stressed the importance of fathers helping one another create a sense of unity amongst Milwaukee dads.

Hundreds of fathers attended.

The fathers were of all ages, some even grandfathers.

20-year-old Natevion Owens was one of the youngest, having his baby daughter at 16 years old.

- I didn't know what to feel at that timeframe when I ended up figuring out that I was having a child.

I was only 16.

It was kind of...

It was all over the place.

It's real hard to explain exactly how I was feeling throughout that timeframe.

It was just a loop of emotions.

All I know is that I was like, I know I have to do this for my child.

I know I have to be there for this kid, 'cause she didn't ask to be brought into this world.

I made the responsibility to go and lay down.

So I had to make sure I stepped up for my child, and I did just that.

- [Reporter] What are some ways that this event today has helped you become a better father?

- It has opened my eyes to a lot of different outlooks.

A lot of different people who have different ways of learning how to be a father.

They have went through different experiences that I have.

So, me opening my mind up to hear those different people has brought different ways for me to be able to go out and implement those things in my life as a father.

The different resources out there like housing, insurance, and then just employment.

- Our program is called Word of Hope Ministries.

We're a nonprofit social service program.

What we do and what we're connected with today is employment.

What we do is connect people who are looking for work with employers who are hiring.

All of our services are totally free.

And we help people in central city Milwaukee as well as those in throughout Milwaukee County.

What we're going to do is provide them with free services to connect them with that employment.

We want to direct them to the type of work that they're looking for.

But we wanna assist them by overcoming their barriers.

If they have a barrier of not having a resume, we're gonna help them develop one.

If they have a barrier with driver's license, we want to direct them to the resources to receive that.

- I was fortunate to have my father.

And not just my father, but my stepfather and so many other father figures in my life.

But to know that my peers many times did not have that.

Coming here just reminds me that there are challenges in some of the neighborhoods here in our city that we continue to have to work on in order to make better for the kids.

The young people who look like me, who grew up to be mayor and other things.

That they still experience each and every single day.

This keeps us grounded in that and helps us to continue on forward to make sure that their dads stay in their lives so that they can move forward in their own lives to be successful contributing members to society.

And I think that's critically important.

- Because of the lack of a father, my thought process before provide and protect was you go out, go work this job, bring this check back home, and everything be cool.

- I'm going to be the person that wasn't there.

You get what I'm saying?

That wasn't there.

- I want to add into that, right?

Because I'm not happy.

Let me go out and pursue my happiness so I can be in a healthier place to be a better dad for my child.

And hence, your example, once you got out that situation, your life flourished.

You became a happier person which made you a better father.

- [Participant] Right.

- Things of that nature.

You left your situation, found the love that you supposed to have and became a better father.

So, we put it on ourselves to think that we have to be in this household with this woman for our children.

And granted, it's not a bad notion.

But if it's not healthy, who is it really helping?

- [Participant] It ain't helping nobody.

- She mad, you mad, and then the kids mad.

The session I did today was "Co-Parenting without Cohabitation".

It's extremely important because, unfortunately, the relationships may not always sustain, but we may have a child as that byproduct of the relationship.

So we have to maintain consistency and do what's best for the child no matter what household that child is gonna be in.

Well, in my session today alone, there was four dads that had similar ages in children, similar stories in dealing with their child's mother.

So by having that network, you meet a camaraderie of fellas who actually going through the same experiences.

So you get the ability to learn from other men as to what best practices.

And also, too, just to have a safe space event.

A big part of my session was just men unpacking a lot of things that was going on within their particular situations.

And that's how we were able to find out the common grounds between the other fathers within the room just by having other men with like-minded situations and scenarios within their lives.

- It's incredibly important for events like this to continue in Milwaukee.

Because I think it's easy to scream the need, like we need fathers to be better, but we don't often offer resources to help them become better.

So, an annual event that kind of just reminds fathers to come together, build community, which there isn't much community for fathers.

And then to give them access to resources to say, hey, here's how you be a better father.

I think it's critical for the community.

- One of the main things that helped me grow not only as an individual but as a father is the environment and the people that help me and support me throughout this journey that I've been and I'm still going through as a father.

(upbeat music) - When did you last hear a child say, please or thank you?

I'll wait.

A recent study shows that three-fourths of Americans believe manners and behavior have declined over the last two decades.

If children copy what we do, it's not surprising that good manners among children have also taken a dip.

Vivian King, an award-winning author and former television journalist, addresses the issue of inspiring children to be polite in her first children's book, "Grace Welcomes the Lady Next Door".

Vivian, welcome back to "Black Nouveau".

- Thank you.

It's good to be back.

- So what inspired you to write a children's book?

- Well, my pet peeve, rude behavior.

And it just drives me crazy.

And so this came from one day, I was at Jazz in the Park in Milwaukee with a friend.

I wasn't on TV at that point.

I had moved on to my next job.

And someone said, "Oh, you're the woman on TV."

And I know we have tons of channels and not everybody knows, watched me.

And I said, "Well no, I was a woman on TV."

And the guy said, "Oh.

Well, when you were on TV, you looked 500 pounds."

And then I thought, "Okay.

Vivian, do not say anything because what you really want to say is not very kind."

- [James] Right.

- And I said, "You must have me mixed up with someone."

And as my friend and I were walking to the car, I said, "People are so rude.

I want to write a musical about it."

And I started singing this song.

And at the time we got to the car, she said, "Did you just make that up?"

And I said, "Yes, I made that up."

And she said, "It was kind of good."

And so I was telling a friend of mine who's an attorney about my idea for this musical.

And he said, "Well, you should write a children's book, because the main character in the musical is a little girl."

And I said, "That's a great idea."

And so I have journals of rude behavior that I have seen.

That I have seen on TV.

That I've seen in person.

And I decided to write this book, "Grace Welcomes the Lady Next Door".

- So Grace, the main character in the book lives in Georgia, and she moves to Michigan.

Are you suggesting that people in the South have better manners than people in the North?

- I'm not really suggesting that, no.

However, there is a Southern hospitality.

And I will say, I'm from the Midwest.

My first job in television was in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Then I was in Tyler, Texas.

Then Battle Creek, Michigan.

And then Milwaukee.

And it just seems like, people in the South.

Southern hospitality, that's their marker.

They say, "We have Southern hospitality."

That doesn't mean that people in the North don't.

But yes, Grace moves to Michigan, but they move like in the winter.

And so she says in her book, "We didn't get the same welcome."

Well, it was cold.

And so there are a lot of different reasons why people may not have welcomed her in this book in the winter.

But no.

I'm not...

I have people, friends all over the place.

I have family all over the place, and we're all nice.

- What do you want children to get out of this book?

- I want them to get out of the book that being kind matters.

My grandmother used to say, "You get more bees with honey."

And so if you are kind to people, they will be kind to you most of the time.

There may be some exceptions to every rule.

But when you're kind, you can have a nice conversation.

You can disagree with someone, but you don't have to be mean about it.

You don't have to call somebody a name.

You don't have to yell.

You don't have to raise your voice.

You can be very nice and kind and mannerly and still get your point across.

- Let's talk about the illustration in the book.

The illustrations are fantastic.

Tell us about the artist.

- The artist is David L. Anderson.

He grew up here in Milwaukee, and he started drawing when he was five.

And he always says he's God-inspired.

He's never taken an art lesson.

He just has been inspired and will draw.

And I just loved his artwork.

And I found his artwork.

I bought it someplace.

I bought this really cool picture of a little girl.

It was a black and white sketch.

And she was blowing a bubble, and the bubble was in pink.

And I happened to walk past that when I was thinking about illustrators, and I had already interviewed one illustrator who did a nice job, but it just wasn't what I wanted.

And then I saw his picture and I said, "I have to find David."

So I googled him 'cause I hadn't talked to him in years.

And I googled him, found his website.

Sent him an inbox in his website.

And he called me back 10 minutes later, and he said, "Of course I remember you.

I would love to help you with your project."

So he has agreed.

Well, he agreed to do this one, and so he's going to work on the next one as well.

- Tell us quickly, why do you think manners have taken a dip in society?

- I think a lot of it comes to like transition.

Years ago, families used to live right by each other, and so they would learn manners from each other.

Now they're like away from each other.

We live in a transitional society.

Grandma may be one place, parents may be another place.

There are parents who are younger and younger, and maybe they did not get that when they were growing up.

And so I think slowly all of those different things that have happened in the world, they chip away at a society that is mannerly.

- Real quick, how can we get a copy of the book?

- Well, you can go to vivianlking.com.

And I have links to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Boswell Books also has the book.

And you can get them hopefully anywhere books are sold.

- Great.

Thanks a lot, Vivian.

Appreciate it.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Even if you don't know this woman's name, you certainly know her work.

Her TV credits include "Soul Food", "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", "Moesha" and "Family Matters".

And that's just to name a few of her productions.

Now she's breaking new ground in the film industry with her new film, "The Rebel Girls".

Joining me is director, writer and producer, Felicia D. Henderson.

Felicia.

Thank you so much for joining us here on "Black Nouveau".

First off, let me just ask you, just talk about this film, "The Rebel Girls", and what inspired you to make it.

- Thank you so much for having me.

First of all, I appreciate this time with you.

And thank you.

So "The Rebel Girls", I call it my heart work.

Because it is the first time...

I've done work that I love.

I've been privileged to do things that I really care about and have been fulfilling and fun.

But "The Rebel Girls" is a whole new level for me, because it's the first time I'm like, I have to tell this story.

Meeting the real women.

I think from the first time I read the first article, 'cause I didn't know about the story before.

My friend Sara Finney-Johnson introduced me to the story, and I didn't know it.

And so I was inspired by the story, as I was inspired by how many hours I found myself doing a deep dive to learn more about these women.

And to say, you know, why don't I know this story?

And everybody should know this story.

And by the time I met some of the survivors in person and spent time with them, and my heart was so full, I knew that I would do anything I had to to get this story told.

- So talk about what you want people to take from this story.

- Yeah.

You know what?

It's very much contemporary in that way.

Yes, it's set in 1963, but the goal is not for you to take like a historical look back.

The goal is for you to sit with it right now.

The goal is for anybody who watches it to go, "Wow, if those girls could do that, I can do anything."

If those girls can... Whoever you are, male, female, Black, white.

For everyone.

If you have a dream, if you have a goal, if you don't know your own strength, hopefully watching these girls will remind you that it's not so much about where you find yourself right now.

You can go anywhere that you and your big brain decide that you can go.

So that's really what it is about.

And it's also to tell, you know, hidden history that we are missing.

We often get to tell the stories or hear the stories or watch the stories of the great men of history.

But rarely do we tell enough stories about the great girls and the great women and the children of the civil rights movement.

Their story hasn't been told in film and television.

And arguably, they helped reinvigorate a movement that was waning before the children started to march.

Children as young as 10 years old by the thousands are the reason that national attention came back to the movement.

- So we've talked a little bit about the work you've done, given some of your titles and your credits.

Where does this sit among what you've done?

What else makes it special and unique compared to everything else that you've done?

- In some ways, I feel like everything I've done has led me to this moment.

Because I started in sitcoms, right?

You named some of them.

Even on a serious drama, I always am going to find some comedy.

It is just in my bones.

There's always going to be some comedy.

So that led me to this.

Doing a show like "Soul Food" because these girls become very much a family when they're locked up, so that has led me to this.

I've done more recently "Empire", "The Punisher".

My last show on Netflix which was "First Kill".

All of these things whether they be action or complicated characters, they've led to this.

And of course, I also directed this.

This is my film directorial debut.

It's the first one.

So all of it has led to this.

And so where this sits even though it's a short film of 22 minutes, it's my biggest accomplishment yet.

- So what's next after this big accomplishment?

(Felicia laughs) - Well, now we've gotta find a home for the bigger accomplishment.

Again, this is a 22-minute film.

And yes, it is a standalone thing that works on its own, but it's not the end.

It was never the goal for it to be the end.

The next step whether that be a limited series on television or a feature film.

We're starting to get interest in both, so we have to decide.

But the goal is to tell the full story of these girls that we just start the story with in the short film.

- While we have a minute left, is there anything else you want to share about the film or this work in particular?

- I would say, I'm very, very proud of this film.

We have done so well.

We have won like seven of the nine festivals that we have been in.

We've been nominated for Humanitas Award.

We're now in Oscar contention.

So I would love people to just share the word about it.

To see it when it screens in your town.

And just to know that it really is for everyone.

It really is contemporary.

It really is so that I can inspire even you.

You watch it and I want you to know, God, like this is where am and it's pretty cool, but I can go anywhere I want to go from here.

- Amen to that.

Felicia, thank you so much for joining us here on "Black Nouveau".

- Thank you for having me.

I appreciate it.

And happy holidays to you.

- Happy holidays.

That's it for this edition of "Black Nouveau".

As always, we remind you to check us out on all our social media platforms.

For the Black Nouveau team, I'm Earl Arms.

Have a great evening.

(upbeat music)