View the video at The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC2jUqktpZH7x472KoVNNXdQ

Interview with JARA HARRIS and members of the FUNK group, “SLAPBAK” BAND on the Funk Chronicles, with your host, David Webb & Co-host Jasmine Summers “The Super Soul Sister” from the syndicated radio show called “The Dayton Scene Radio Show.” This interview was recorded at DATV Studios in Dayton Ohio on August 20, 2024.

The (“Fearless Leader”) Jara Harris started the Rock/R&B/Funk Band “SLAPBAK” in 1990, when Jara was only 20 years old. In 1991,”TJ” Quake joined the band as a production assistant/roadie, and then in 1995 he joined the band and became the (hype-man) and singing/rapper. In 1997, Jara Harris, John “Fingazz” Stary, and “TJ” QuakeShot wrote the song “Futurevoid” for the band. “SLAPBAK’s” debut album, Fast Food Funkateers, was released in 1992, and they released a follow-up album later that year.

Back in the 1990s When Jara started “SLAPBAK,” everyone thought the name meant the slappin’ of Jara’s thumbs up against his bass strings. Some even thought that it meant slapping’ back against society because he never drank, smoked or tried drugs in his life. Well, years later we discovered that “SLAPBAK” means none of the above, a matter of fact “SLAPBAK” isn’t even a noun.

It’s a verb…. it’s an untouched force of action. This band hates hype, just like their song says “Don’t Talk About It, Be About It” which means they are all about the delivery. This is the reason “SLAPBAK” hates bios or introductions before they hit the stage. The show and the music speaks for itself. They have an undeniable sound that Jara has finely tuned over the years he calls “Urban Crunch.” This is a sound made up of Funk, Rock, Hip Hop & Alternative that is mixed up in his own special way.

Here is some of the things I know for a fact. In the early 1990’s they signed to Warner Brothers and released their debut album “Fast Food Funkateers”. This record included George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley (James Brown), Larry Blackmon (Cameo), Dawn Silva (Brides of Funkenstein). Needless to say this only gave “SLAPBAK” the title “The New Keeper of the Funk” by 92.3 The Beat.

Their single “True Confession” had video rotation on BET and did well with radio. Since then Slapbak has produced 7 more cds. They have toured and performed with artists like Snoop Dogg, Mint Condition, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Bootsy Collins, Roger Troutman and Zapp, The Time, 2 Live Crew, Fishbone and Digital Underground just to name a few. Then “Shock G” looked up “SLAPBAK” after seeing them 8 years prior and asked Jara Harris of “SLAPBAK” to be Digital’s band as well as an opening act. “SLAPBAK” toured and recorded with them for several years. Shortly after the tour “SLAPBAK” started working with Verdine White from Earth, Wind & Fire.

This has always been a stand alone band. They’ve toured in Europe 3 times and they’re about to go back to support the release of their latest cd “Underground Mayhem. “SLAPBAK’s” music has mutated quite a bit over the years and like the music has, so has the band. Some musicians that came through the Slapbak camp have gone off to play with The Time, Nikka Costa, Erukah Badu, The Gap Band, Good Charolette, Ben Harper, 112, Jordin Sparks to name a few, but the new band is the most interesting combination yet. You have African-American, Caucasion, Mexican and Japanese ages ranging from 20 – 40. This wasn’t planned, this is just the pieces of the puzzle that fit. This band will make you a true believer that music is truly universal!!!!!

“We are keeping Funk alive for the next Generation of children”. Let’s make history together – join us!!!
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For more information visit our website at www.thefunkcenter.org and follow us on Twitter @thefunkcenter. Be sure to like us on Facebook & subscribe to our YouTube channel The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center.

The views and opinions expressed on Funk Chronicles are those of the interviewees/guest and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center (dba TheFunkCenter). Any content provided by our interviewees/guest are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

Here’s a link to the YouTube video, while I figure out how to display it here.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC2jUqktpZH7x472KoVNNXdQ

From the inimitable Khalil Greene. Find his substack at

History Can’t Hide from Kahlil Greene

I share short “hidden history” lessons about Black, Native, Asian, and Latino American History. Subscribe if you want to know the truth about this country.

Every January, America trots out the same handful of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes. “I have a dream.” “Content of their character.” The safe ones. The non-controversial ones.

But here’s what they don’t show you:

In 1963, King wrote from a Birmingham jail that the “white moderate” was a bigger stumbling block to freedom than the Klan. He said people who preferred “order” over justice were the real enemy of progress.

That’s not in your textbook.

While schools teach that King “hated” violence, they skip the part where he told America: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”

By 1967, King wasn’t just fighting segregation anymore. He was calling out the “triple evils” of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism. He argued for a “radical redistribution of economic power.” He said capitalism itself was built on the exploitation of Black slaves.

He even wrote that a nation that did “something special against” Black people for centuries must now do “something special for” them.

Sound familiar? That’s reparations, in 1967.

This is the King they don’t want you to know.

This shift made him one of the most hated men in America. The FBI labeled him a “traitor” and the “most dangerous Negro in America.” His approval rating cratered to 25%.

And then, after he was killed, they sanitized him. They made his message safe enough for the same people who opposed him to quote him at ceremonies and celebrations.

This is what historical erasure looks like. It’s not always book burnings or dramatic censorship. Just … editing. Trimming the edges until a radical sounds like a moderate.

It’s the same playbook they’re using right now — on Harriet Tubman, on Indigenous history, on anything that makes America uncomfortable.

Reaching an agreement to end the war in the Balkans was a long and challenging endeavor. It involved various bureaus within the U.S. Department of State, interagency cooperation across the U.S. government, support from allies and the international community, and intensive American shuttle diplomacy and negotiations led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and his team. When the agreement was reached on November 21, 1995, the peace process didn’t end; instead, it entered an even more complex phase: implementation.

For the past thirty years, American and foreign diplomats, together with international organizations such as NATO, Office of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and European Union, among others, have worked tirelessly to implement the provisions of the agreement, build democratic institutions, strengthen the rule of law, and support long term peace and stability in the region. Today, thanks to these efforts, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region have achieved considerable progress, even as many challenges remain.

The negotiations and implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords offer an important case study filled with lessons learned and remarkable diplomatic and personal stories that enrich the training of the next generations of diplomats specializing in conflicts, peace negotiations, and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as historians, students of international affairs, and the public interested in American diplomacy, European affairs, or the Balkans.

Each oral history below captures diverse experiences and voices of diplomats, national security leaders, members of the U.S. Congress and their staff, military officers, academics, and members of the public. Some were in the room where it happened, others played key roles in the implementation process. Some were just observers and witnesses to this landmark moment in U.S. diplomatic history, while others were inspired by the agreement to actively engage with the region. Welcome to the room where it happened!

The road to the Dayton Peace Accords was complex and challenging. In the following diplomatic masterclass, Ambassadors Peter Galbraith and Christopher Hill provide a very engaging discussion and reflection on agreements and events that preceded the Dayton negotiations, the dynamics and controversies during the talks, and lessons learned from the process. It is an introduction like no other to this moment in America’s diplomatic history.

Submitted by Amy Starecheski on 12/19/2025 – 10:43am

Seminar January 28, 2026

Location NY United States

In this interactive half-day workshop taught by the Director of Columbia Oral History, Amy Starecheski, participants will be introduced to oral history as a dynamic tool for engaged, collaborative research.

Oral history—a conversation about the past, happening in the present, and oriented towards the future—is a core part of human life. Oral history can also be a more formalized research practice. In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to oral history as a dynamic tool for engaged, collaborative research, in applications from qualitative social sciences to the creation of primary sources for historical archives. Topics will include:

• Critical history of oral history as a research practice

• Interviewing and listening

• Consent, copyright, and legal releases

• Tools for audio recording

• Project design and planning

This workshop is in-person only and will not be recorded. Capacity is limited. It is free and open to the public, with a number of spots set aside for Columbia affiliates. Registration is required and the deadline to register is January 28, 2026. Participants should plan to attend for the entire training.

Register

URL

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-oral-history-for-research-tickets-…

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Language as a Social Cue

This week’s email is about how the language that people use shapes our perception of them (and vice versa).

Here are the key practical points you should know (mainly from this research article):

• People’s language has fundamental social meaning in the eyes of others.

• We use various aspects of other people’s language to categorize them, like when we perceive someone as low or high status based on what vocabulary they use, what accent they have, or even what language they speak.

• We often essentialize language groups, meaning that we view speakers of different languages as being fundamentally different when it comes to factors other than their language.

• When using language as a social cue, we often display in-group favoritism, by preferring those who speak like us, and attention to status, by preferring those who speak in a way that’s associated with a higher status.

This can be useful for understanding both how others perceive us and how we perceive others.

As always, I’m happy to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week,
Itamar