Frankie Manning

[oyceter]

Frankie Manning died today, at 94. He was one of the original Lindy hoppers in Harlem, and he was a major figure in its revival in the 1980s.

Racialicious has a post on Frankie Manning, Lindy hop, and cultural appropriation that I found interesting and on the mark, and I very much wish the Lindy communities I've been in were more aware of these issues, even as they preserve the dance. More than that, I wish the wider world were more aware of Lindy's origins in Black culture and music, since most of the images of Lindy these days are of middle-class white kids in the 1940s (Swing Kids, the Gap ads, etc.), not the Black dancers in the 1930s.

Still, I'm glad I got the chance to see Frankie a few months back, and I'm very glad to hear the big bash planned for his 95th birthday will continue.

Comments

[daedala]

I've tried to think of it, but I am not sure what to think! Um, at least it is American? I don't know. I have never actually watched the lindy hop clips before, mostly because a) aerials scare me and b) I'm not that great, and might find them discouraging. They're awesome, and yeah, kind of disturbing.

[oyceter]

Well, someone in the community commented and said they actually do talk about it on some online message boards, which is good. I haven't seen much of it in my local community or any outreach efforts on the mailing lists I'm on, but hopefully that is just my area.

Still, yeah. I don't really know what to do except to keep talking about it, especially since I haven't danced for a long time now, thanks to grad school.