By Vincent L. Hall
The Black Mystery Month Series
Hang on to the world as it spins around
Just don’t let the spin get you down Things are moving fast
Hold on tight, and you will last
– Donny Hathaway, 1973
I laid across my mother’s bed the other day. There is no greater comfort in the world. Most Black men can attest that there is nothing more soothing. My mother’s presence and persistence are what have always kept me sane.
I was prostrate across mama’s bed, waiting for the spirit to move. I needed a topic for this week’s article. After all, it’s Black History Month. Admittedly, it is passe, but if God lets fake Christians pervert his only son’s birthday annually, who am I to buck tradition?
Anyway, it came to me. My spirit said to write about that other Black National Anthem. Not the one by James Weldon Johnson. The anthem by Donny Hathaway. “Someday We’ll All Be Free” turns 50 this year. It seemed apropos.
Next up was the research. Believe it or not, I don’t play with my audience. It takes much reading and researching to produce something worthy of your time.
Delving into the life of Donny Hathaway killed my original thesis.
Here is what I came upon. “The lyric was written by Edward Howard for and about the mental pain that Hathaway, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when the song was written, was experiencing at the time. Edward Howard said:
“What was going through my mind at the time was Donny because Donny was a troubled person. I hoped that, at some point, he would be released from all he was going through. There was nothing I could do but write something that might be encouraging for him.”
Years later, the song began to be interpreted as being written about black rights, primarily due to Spike Lee featuring Aretha Franklin’s 1992 version at the end of his biographical film Malcolm X. However, as Howard said:
Photo: Val Mazzenga
“A lot of black people have taken the song for some anthem. That’s fine. I didn’t write it for that, though. It doesn’t have that significance for me. I take it with a grain of salt. I’m glad it has some significance.”
So, it wasn’t an anthem after all? Or was it?
Last week, Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s cabinet member and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, came to my church.
Friendship-West Baptist was lit.
The discussion, hosted by Dr. Freddy Haynes, centered around the skyrocketing numbers of young Black men committing suicide.
This moving session featured young brothers from three local high schools and a panel of young brothers who were older. Executive Pastor David Malcolm McGruder was diligent in securing some brothers who were well-versed and not afraid of sharing their mental health struggles. More succinctly, the lack of mental health care options on high school and college campuses.
The panelists ranged in age from a 17-year-old high school student to a 26-year-old Ph.D. candidate, and each was transparent to the point of vulnerability. They bared their lives for us in an unselfish attempt to bring light to the issues we as a community suffer for lack of awareness, treatment and opportunity.
So, maybe my original thought was right. Donny Hathaway’s song is an anthem of sorts. Black America has always had to fight for freedom from without. However, now we know that freedom from within is equally important.
Donny Hathaway and Edward Howard went further.
Keep your self-respect, your manly pride
Get yourself in gear
Keep your stride ….
Never mind your fears
Brighter days will soon be here Take it from me, someday we’ll all be free, yeah
… Keep on walking tall Hold your head up high Lay your dreams right up to the sky
Sing your greatest song And you’ll keep going, going on
I laid across my mother’s bed the other day. There is no greater comfort in the world. The problem is that for too many children of all races, there is no place where comfort can be found. No one to listen. No one who understands.
Hang on! Your world may be spinning, but take it from me, someday…
We have wo Black National Anthems, and we need them both.
Vincent L. Hall is an author, activist, and an award-winning columnist.
