XIII Break The Curse
“I’m M-A-N. I’m M….A….N! I… am…. M! A! N!”
Words of the man me an my father are named after; my Grandfather, Alec Stephens Sr. Words of a broken man, fighting to break free from his demons, assert his humanity, and reconcile what could have been, and what once was.
There is a movie called “One Night In Miami”, which dramatizes a night where Malcom X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown gathered and discussed their roles in the civil rights movement in the historical black neighborhood of Overtown, Miami. The night the movie depicts is Feburay 25, 1964, the night the man who would become Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeated Sony Liston, in what was thought of as a major upset at the time, to become the new Heavyweight Champion of the world. The depiction of these four coming together are described as a fictional account, similar to the play “The Meeting,” but what is very real is the legacy of these four black men, and the historical (and personal) importance of Overtown, Miami.
Overtown was a thriving black neighborhood in the early to mid 1900s, much like Treme in New Orleans, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley in Detroit, Jackson Ward in Richmond Virginia, but urban renewal and the 1956 Interstate Highway Act and 1949 Housing Act absolutely destroyed these vibrant communities by building highways right through them. Razing buildings and raising pollution levels and overall blight. Let us never forget Black Wall St and Rosweood.
In the Summer of 2019 I was fortunate to be able to be in the cast of 125th & Freedom with the National Black Theatre of Harlem, talking about the legacy of Harlem, and the destruction of black communities then and now. Most people know about Harlem, New York, because of the Harlem Renaissance, and although it is being gentrified as well, it still exists and maintains it’s legacy today. What people might not know is that there were other “Harlems” all over the country, and some of those neighborhoods I mentioned above were that for their cities. In fact, Sam Cooke’s album, “Live at the Harlem Square” was not recorded in Harlem, New York, but in fact was recorded at the Harlem Square Club, in Overtown, Miami.
The Harlem Square Club was where the biggest black acts would play for black audiences, because Miami was very much still segregated at that time. In fact, the movie, “One Night In Miami,” which as I’m writing this I realize was released on December 25th of 2020, largely takes place at the Hampton House Motel, because Jim Crowe era didn’t allow for Ali to celebrate in Miami Beach because black people weren’t allowed to be free there.
This movie marks Regina King’s (watch her performance in Watchmen if you haven’t yet, and everything thing else she’s done) directorial debut. I have not seen it yet, because I didn’t know until writing this that it was released! The reason that this movie is so important to me is that those four men, especially Ali and Malcom X, are huge heroes of mine, but also, my grandfather, Alec Stephens Sr, was the regular headliner of the Harlem Square Club. Those who knew my grandfather in those times, say he was one of those rare talents, in fact at his funeral, according to my father, I was only six years old when he passed, some of the musicians that showed up said that Wes Montgomery couldn’t hold my Grandfather’s guitar pic! I’m just saying, that’s what was said.
Unfortunately, my grandfather got on the wrong side of the law & some other dangerous people, and had to flee Miami with his life and freedom when my Dad was still young. He could have made a fresh start in Cincinnati, or New York, but he went home to Indianapolis where he originally came up with Wes Montgomery, but unlike Wes, he ended up putting his guitar down. Wes Montgomery died in 1968, just a few years after “the night” the film depicts at the relatively young age of 45. My grandfather didn’t end up leaving the earth until the 80s when I was a young boy, probably about he same age my father was when Alec the Senior fled Miami, but as my Dad says, there are many types of death, and my grandfather was a dead man walking, fighting for his life a long time before he physically left the planet.
“I’m M…A…N!!!!!”
It took my father a long time to understand what that meant, but it’s in my DNA, so I understand. I named my band I AM THE THIRD, and that “I Am” is one of the most important parts of that, but that Third??? That’s my legacy. That isn’t about me, it’s about who I am, where I come from, and why I’m here. And yes, I have my own battles to fight, my own demons to slay, but I’m also fighting the demons of my grandfather. And I’m determined to win. You might see me fall, fail, slip, and embarrass myself, but I will keep getting up, and I will win. Because while I’m fighting the sins and demons of my fathers’ and myself, my ancestors are also behind me, lifting me and waiting for me to return victorious. And I won’t stop until we’re all free.
