The C.O.W.S. Gil Scott-Heron THE LAST HOLIDAY Part 7 (Conclusion)

The Context of White Supremacy hosts the seventh and final study session on Gil Scott-Heron’s autobiography, The Last Holiday. A poet, author, musician and victim of White Supremacy, Scott-Heron died in 2011, one year before this book was published. He wrote and performed music that explicitly discussed black lives and how the System of White Supremacy devastates black people. Legendary selections like “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”  and “Whitey on the Moon” encourage many to credit Scott-Heron as being a hip-hop music pioneer. Last week’s session explained how Scott-Heron joined Stevie Wonder for the 1980 “Hotter Than July Tour.” Wonder used the concerts to increase momentum to establish a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was a vague description of Stevie Wonder stopping the Boston show to address the city’s history of terrorizing black people. This was the same time period when Ronald Reagan was elected president. He described shock and disbelief over Reagan’s triumph that reminded several readers of the 2016 election of the current U.S. president. Drugs and alcohol maintain a ubiquitous presence throughout most of the text and Scott-Heron’s life. This week, Gus recommends listers pay close attention to the description of John Lennon’s death. We’ll contrast this memoir to other biographies we’ve covered on the book club – Maya Angelou, Assata Shakur, Malcolm X.

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