History
Tamborine & Fan was founded in 1968, as an extension of the Mississippi and Alabama Freedom Schools that were established during the civil rights movement, in an effort to infuse in young people the significance of historical rituals that are popular in New Orleans African American communities, as to cultivate and instill attitudes that will say “NO HUM BOW” to social negatives.
Tamborine & Fan works to use those combined intentions to anchor and provide exposures to the values that emphasize education, cultural participation, determination, and social confrontation; i.e. saying NO TO DRUGS, all to enhance quality of life for children, especially the Tremé and Seventh Ward communities. There is a nucleus for more students and participants who are successful and function at the highest level of professional expertise and leadership in New Orleans and around the country.
Hunter’s Creed
by Jerome Smith
What is Dope?
-Dope is Poison and Death!
Who the Man that Uses Dope?
-A Dead Man!
Who was Dr. King?
-Dr. King was a Freedom Fighter!
Who was Malcolm X?
-Malcolm X was a Black Man trying to make Things Better for the Black People!
Why do Hunters Have to Study?
-Hunters have to Study in Order to Build a Brotherhood!
What do They Study?
-Reading, Math, and Science!
Why do They Study?
-To Build and Control!
What Time it is?
-Nation Time!
Dope is Death; Let the Children Live!
Can Your Child Read!
The Universal Tear of Child is Man’s Shame!
Tamborine Song
by Gerald Emelle
The Tambourine was born
Down in New Orleans
In a little field
They call Congo Square
The Tambourine was heard from Louis to Celestine
My sister Mahalia
the world’s gospel queen.
We honor brother Malcolm
and Martin Luther King
If it wasn’t for the struggle
the tambourine wouldn’t ring
I stand here today
with my tambourine in my hand
and represent the hunters
of Tamborine and Fan