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DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:
Music by Lalah and Donny Hathaway …
A listener question about theWhite House …
And an international organization known as “Sweet Potato Queens.”
Sweet Potato Queens
HOST:
A few years ago, Jill Conner Browne had to work at four jobs topay her debts. Today, she is a writer whose books have sold almosttwo million copies. She also leads an international movement. ShepO’Neal tells us more.
SHEP O’NEAL: Jill Conner Browne started an organization calledSweet Potato Queens. Its purpose is friendship and fun. Thousands ofpeople belong to the Sweet Potato Queens. Most are women. Sweetpotatoes grow in the American South.
During the past five years, four thousand groups of Sweet PotatoQueens have organized in the United States and in foreign countries,including Saudi Arabia. Members share interests in food, love andlife after forty years of age.
Mizz Browne started her Sweet Potato Queens movement on SaintPatrick’s Day, nineteen eighty-two. A friend had organized a paradeto celebrate the holiday in Jackson, Mississippi, Jill ConnerBrowne’s hometown.
Browne rode in an open truck wearing extremely unusual clothing.Her appearance surprised other drivers. She called to other women,urging them to join her. On that day, few did.
But later, she made copies of the unusual clothing. She puttogether shining green costumes with material that makes the chestand lower back look bigger. Over her own hair, she wore a bright redwig.
After that, many other women joined the celebration. Now, theSweet Potato Queens take part every year in the Saint Patrick’s Dayparade in Jackson. Before long, local groups of her organizationformed throughout the world.
Mizz Browne’s first book was published in nineteen ninety-nine.It is called “The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love.” In it, sheoffers observations about what she calls “issues.” These include thefour main food groups. And how to wear one’s hair. The book alsolists words she says are guaranteed to get any man to do what youwant. The book was a big success. So she wrote three more books.
Jill Conner Browne’ s latest book is called “The Sweet PotatoQueens’ Field Guide to Men: Every Man I Love is Either Married, Gayor Dead.”
The White House
DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes from Nigeria.Barrister Ikechukwu Edwin Ike asks why the United States capitolbuilding is called the White House.
The short answer to that question is that the United Statescapitol building is not called the White House. The capitol buildinghas a dome-shaped roof that rises above all the other buildings inWashington, D.C. The two houses of Congress, the Senate and theHouse of Representatives, meet in the Capitol building.
The building known as the White House is the home of thePresident of the United States and his family. The President alsohas his office there.
America’s first President, George Washington, helped choose theland for the new presidential home in seventeen ninety. Acompetition was held to find a designer to build it. Architect JamesHoban won the contest. He planned a building of grayish whitesandstone. The color gave the house its name.
Work started in seventeen ninety-two. But the house was not readybefore the end of President Washington’s term. America’s secondPresident, John Adams, and his wife, Abigail, moved into the houseon November first, eighteen hundred. By then, the building had sixcompleted rooms.
Many of the rooms were still empty when John Adams left office afew months later. Other Presidents tried to complete the WhiteHouse. But the British burned it during the War of Eighteen Twelve.The White House was re-built after that war. Since then, it has beenenlarged, repaired and almost totally re-built.
Today, the White House has one hundred thirty-two rooms. Visitorscan walk through some of the public ones.
Visiting has been restricted since the terrorist attacks threeyears ago. But anyone with a computer can make an electronic visitto the White House. You can see the public rooms, and the OvalOffice, where the President does his work.
The Internet address is www.whitehouse.gov. White House is allone word.
Lalah and Donny Hathaway
Singer and songwriter Lalah Hathaway says music has always been amajor part of her life. Her father was the rhythm-and-blues singerDonny Hathaway. Shirley Griffith has our story.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Lalah Hathaway released her first album innineteen ninety. The smoky sound of her voice captured music criticsand fans. Her singing is similar to the way her father sang.
Here is “We Were Two” from her recent album, “Outrun the Sky.”
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Lalah Hathaway says the songs on her new album are about learningto deal with the joys of life, and the unhappiness. Her fathersuffered from depression. In nineteen seventy-nine, he killedhimself.
Donny Hathaway had a brief musical career. But he is rememberedas one of the greatest soul singers of all time. His music is stillinfluential and popular.
Lalah Hathaway says it seems unreal that her father has a newalbum twenty-five years after his death. A collection of songs byDonny Hathaway was released recently. The album “These Songs forYou, Live!” includes this famous song, “Someday We’ll All Be Free.”
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We leave you with Lalah Hathaway and a song from another albumreleased this year, “Forever, For Always, For Luther.” It is acollection of songs made famous by Luther Van Dross. who survived astroke last year. Several recording artists came together to honorhim with this album.
Here now is Donny Hathaway’s daughter Lalah with “Forever, ForAlways, For Love.”
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DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICANMOSAIC.
This program was written by Lawan Davis, Jerilyn Watson and NancySteinbach. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer wasEfeem Drucker. Join us again next week for American Mosaic, VOA’sradio magazine in Special English.
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This is the one-thousandth program of AMERICAN MOSAIC.