i. Mental
In 1851, Samuel A. Cartwright, M.D.
declares a slave’s desire
to escape from slavery
must be a form of mental illness—
because, he says, slavery is
such an easy life.
He recommends
whipping as a ‘cure’
for trying to escape— and,
as a deterrent,
also whipping!
Cartwright names his illness
‘Drapetomania’, from the Greek,
meaning ‘runaway madness’.
So at least he got something right.
*
Skip forward 100 years— a cop
beats Bud Powell around the head
with a nightstick, for the crime
of being Black. Bud begins
to suffer from headaches and behave
erratically, so he’s confined
in a mental hospital.
The doctors question him
about his work. He tells them
he’s a composer, but because
he’s Black, the doctors
conclude he’s suffering from
“delusions of grandeur”.
They send him off for ECT,
so Bud’s brain takes another beating;
not, this time, for being Black,
but for not being Black
in a way his doctors
can comprehend.
Which is a bit like the pot
calling the kettle white.
ii. Plus ça change
In the hotel room,
I ask Mal Waldron
about his time as
Billie Holiday’s
last accompanist.
“Near the end,” I say,
“I guess the drugs were
really taking their
toll?” He slowly shakes
his head and sighs. “No,
heroin didn’t
kill her,” he tells me
in a quiet voice.
“She died from an
overdose of police.”
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© Graham Lock, 2024
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