Tides
From Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” to Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers to Cross…from Negro Spirituals like “Wade in the Water” to the Melodians’ “Rivers of Babylon”, bodies of water have long served as powerful symbols and motifs for artists descended from enslaved Africans brought to the Americas as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Water is a potent metaphor often invoking memories of the middle passage, symbolizing the journey towards liberation–with all the trials, tribulations and joys that might entail–as well as serving as a tool of and site for purification. Speaking specifically about the African-American experience, African Diaspora Studies scholar Tyler Parry notes that water holds a dual role in the history of Black culture and intellectual thought as an arena for resistance that liberates, nourishes, while also being weaponized by forces seeking to degrade, poison, or eliminate rebellious populations. For Perry, water served as a “symbol of spiritual renewal and physical pleasure,” and that despite the horrors of the Middle-Passage, descendants of the enslaved must “reclaim water as a cultural space”...
…so, these were the ideas on my mind when I giddily greeted conversations with Jasmine Vanstone about curating this issue of Gangalee. A gifted multidisciplinary artist, community arts facilitator, and arts administrator, Jasmine expressed a desire to explore the thematic resonances of water and informed me that she already had two other contributors in mind…and once Jasmine confirmed the identities of those contributors–Shelly Grace and Shaddah Jack–I couldn’t have been more excited. These three artists use their work to empower and amplify marginalized voices, and explore the multi-faceted nature of the Black experience...that pretty much sums up what we’re about here at Gangalee…I’m honoured to help share the work of these artists, not just in this space, but as part of a mighty tradition of Black artists using water as symbol of liberation, renewal and resistance.
One final thing; we love music around these parts and all this talk of water inspired me to resurrect a piece about the Unda Wata Riddim written for a previous iteration of this site. The Unda Wata Riddim is a classic Dancehall riddim from the late 90s that fills floors and emancipates waistlines. You could probably consider the Unda Wata Rididm an unofficial soundtrack for this issue. Feel free to check out the Unda Wata Riddim once you’ve finished reading all the literary goodness that Jasmine, Shelly and Shahaddah have cooked up for you.