On this day in ...... 1963 (45 years ago today), a 10-year-old entity (left) formed by British initiative, the Central African Federation, officially dissolved into 3 units. What had been Northern Rhodesia become independent Malawi; Nyasaland, Zambia. The remaining territory, "Southern Rhodesia[,] refused to hand political control over to its African majority"; it would not become independent Zimbabwe until 1980.
... 1930, Odetta Holmes was born in Birmingham, Alabama. At age 10, not long after she and her family had moved to Los Angeles, the girl's talent for singing was discovered. At age 19 she performed in the chorus of Finian's Rainbow, and while supporting herself through housecleaning, she pursued a career as an entertainer. Eventually Odetta would be known as the mother of folk music and a queen of the blues. She also was active in the U.S. civil rights movement, marching with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma, Alabama, and singing at the 1963 March on Washington (above right) where King gave his renowned "I Have a Dream" speech (prior posts here and here). Odetta passed away at the beginning of this month, a few weeks shy of her 78th birthday. In the video clip below, Odetta delivers a powerful rendition of an old prison work song, Water Boy.
