Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Why the King Children Will Be Going to Hell, at Least Some of Them
The Following is from Pacifica Radio with Amy Goodman.
AMY GOODMAN: Harry, I have a quick question, talking about the children and talking about Dr. King in Birmingham. Coretta Scott King recently died, and it was quite a remarkable funeral. Over 10,000, 15,000 people came out, four presidents, many senators. Reverend Joseph Lowery, while President Bush was sitting right on the dais, talked about weapons of misdirection right here, and President Carter talked about Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King being spied on, and Maya Angelou stood up and said, "I speak here for Harry Belafonte and others." Did you try to go to Coretta Scott King's funeral?
HARRY BELAFONTE: What had happened was that when Dr. King came on one of his very first trips to New York, he was in Harlem, and a deranged black woman stabbed him, and he was -- the blade was just millimeters away from his heart, and to remove the instrument, his life was in jeopardy, and it was a very delicate operation. And it was then that I understood that -- after seeing Dr. King and talking to him, his first concern was what would happen to his family. And I said to myself, our leader cannot be concerned about that. That burden should not be on his shoulders. There are other aspects of the burden that would be his in relation to it, but not that. So that it was demanded and responded to that forever the welfare of his family would never be in jeopardy with him being at the helm of the movement, and we brought resources, and it was my task to direct all that, watching the kids grow, put money aside for their studies, to take care of Coretta, to make sure she had every convenience at her disposal to go, come while her husband was incarcerated.
So the intimacy of that experience was something that I had become accustomed to, and when Dr. King was murdered, I was in Atlanta in their home, and we separated ourselves from others who were there in the living room, and she said, "Would you come with me." We went into the bedroom, and she said, "Help me select the clothes that I must -- we must dress him in." And it was a very private and a very remarkable thing to - the intimacy of it with her. And as we were selecting the suits and the shirt and the tie and laying it out, she sat on the bed, and she kind of - a place where she had slept so often with her husband, and all those memories. And I said, "What is it?" She says, "You know, I'm worried about where this is all going. I'm worried about the nation, the rage, the anger, and I need to know what to do." And we talked for a second. Then I said to her, "You know, at this very moment in Memphis, thousands of sanitation workers are on hold, because Dr. King was supposed to have been there tomorrow to lead that movement and to speak to the people, and before your husband, our leader, is put in his grave, if you have the will and the capacity to go down there tomorrow and stand up before those workers and let the world know that the movement has not been interrupted, that the process continues, and that all of us, as strong or as weak as we may be, will step into the breach and do what must be done." And she did, and she went down, and she spoke, and we came right back.
Now, all through the years since then, the building of the King Center, many choices of things that she made to do, because she was in her own right very involved for Dr. King. She was one of the - she was very, very committed to the peace movement, and as a matter of fact, in Europe, during the assassin-- the missile crisis and whatnot, we gave -- we put on a peace concert for 250,000 Germans in Cologne, mostly students, and the moment when Coretta King -- I called and asked her to come to speak. It would mean a lot to the young people there. She came, and I have never, ever heard a declaration of approval like those young German youth did when she came, and she had a sense of her own power. She had a sense of her own capacity to bring influence and to be revered for the work she did.
When she died, none of us knew that she was in Mexico, that she had -- I knew that she was ill. I knew about the heart attack, the defibrillation and the stroke. But - and I knew she had cancer, but I thought the cancer was contained, and when she went to Mexico, she was there with her children, and I got the news completely without knowing any of the details, so for a few days we didn't know what was happening. Where is she? Who's bringing her home? When is the funeral? When is the this, when is the that?
And finally, I left a call -- I left a message on the phones of the children, saying, "Please give me a call. I know this is a difficult moment, but there are things that must be done, and I would like to help if I can." I was then called a day later and told that, yes, that it was on that Tues-- this was on a Friday, Friday evening, that the funeral was going to take place that Tuesday, and that it would start at noon, and that with all the people that were being invited, that it was -- I was to be one of these people delivering the eulogy, and that my time would be at somewhere around 12:30 or 1:00, and I said, "Fine." And knowing this, I began to put my thoughts together.
That Saturday, Bush declared he was coming. He would be there. That Sunday, I began to change my speech, not to be rude or to be attacking, but to integrate this moment into what needed to be said. And then, that Monday morning, I got a call, and I was told that the invitation that had been extended to me had been pulled. I was uninvited. A woman by the name of Skinner and a Reverend by the name of Lawrence was the one who called me to tell me that I was uninvited, and when that call came, I called and spoke to one of the children. They said, these are the events, and I need to be counseled as to how this has come about, and I was told that I would get a call shortly, and it would all be clarified. And then, when the final call came, it was -- they were sorry, but the invitation - the withdrawing of the invitation would stand and that if I came down, they would find a place for me in the church, but I would not speak. And I did not go at all. I did not know how to deal with that.
What struck me was on the day of the ceremony, I saw how the altar was adorned. I saw who sat there, and as the camera moved about, I saw who was sitting in the audience, and I saw all of the power of the oppressor represented on the stage, and all those who fought for the victories that this nation was experiencing and enjoying sat in the outhouse, sat out in the field, sat removed, and if it not been for Lowery, for President Carter and for Maya Angelou, we would have had no voice and no representation at all.
Some ministers who were quite angry at all of this said, "Come on down here. Let's -- let's -- We have to talk to the press," and I said, "Talk to the press about what?" "About this. We cannot let it stand." I said, "I don't think that's appropriate. These are the children of my friend. These are the children of the movement. Where did we let them get caught? Why was Bernice giving this kind of sermon? How did you let Reverend Long become the minister of choice? Why wasn't it at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King preached? And before we go public and begin to vent our anger, let us understand what role we played in this capitulation that has led to this moment, and let us try first to repair it rather than to go into public discourse.
When do we sit in a circle of healing? When we begin to talk about getting back to where we lost stride. How do we fix this? Not how do we play the vanity game, and get off on going public and talking about how I was crucified. You know, it's what it is, and there is a way in which we have to do this that not only prevents - I don't know that there'll be another moment quite like that, because Dr. King and Malcolm X and Fannie Lou Hamer, folks like that were so rare that to be a part of the final ceremony of their departure is a rare moment in history, but I think that it goes along with what I have been saying here. What role have we played in letting all this happen? Where were we? What were we doing that had us so distracted? How can it be this way? How did you priests and ministers let the evangelical rightwing Christian forces co-opt the greater truth about Christianity and the philosophy of liberation? And how did you all let that happen, and where are your voices in opposition publicly?
Everybody has a part in this. Everybody has something to look at, and I think it is a collective experience, and that's why I think rather than sitting here drifting, we've got to talk about this, not just where we failed and where you failed, and we've got to come out of this discourse and this discussion, not just talking about it but saying, "Here's where we go," and take courage in the fact that we can turn this around, because the truth of the matter is we are the only ones that can turn this around. Nothing and no one else can do it. Nothing.
AMY GOODMAN: Harry Belafonte, describing his dis-invitation from giving a eulogy at the funeral of Coretta Scott King.
AMY GOODMAN: Harry, I have a quick question, talking about the children and talking about Dr. King in Birmingham. Coretta Scott King recently died, and it was quite a remarkable funeral. Over 10,000, 15,000 people came out, four presidents, many senators. Reverend Joseph Lowery, while President Bush was sitting right on the dais, talked about weapons of misdirection right here, and President Carter talked about Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King being spied on, and Maya Angelou stood up and said, "I speak here for Harry Belafonte and others." Did you try to go to Coretta Scott King's funeral?
HARRY BELAFONTE: What had happened was that when Dr. King came on one of his very first trips to New York, he was in Harlem, and a deranged black woman stabbed him, and he was -- the blade was just millimeters away from his heart, and to remove the instrument, his life was in jeopardy, and it was a very delicate operation. And it was then that I understood that -- after seeing Dr. King and talking to him, his first concern was what would happen to his family. And I said to myself, our leader cannot be concerned about that. That burden should not be on his shoulders. There are other aspects of the burden that would be his in relation to it, but not that. So that it was demanded and responded to that forever the welfare of his family would never be in jeopardy with him being at the helm of the movement, and we brought resources, and it was my task to direct all that, watching the kids grow, put money aside for their studies, to take care of Coretta, to make sure she had every convenience at her disposal to go, come while her husband was incarcerated.
So the intimacy of that experience was something that I had become accustomed to, and when Dr. King was murdered, I was in Atlanta in their home, and we separated ourselves from others who were there in the living room, and she said, "Would you come with me." We went into the bedroom, and she said, "Help me select the clothes that I must -- we must dress him in." And it was a very private and a very remarkable thing to - the intimacy of it with her. And as we were selecting the suits and the shirt and the tie and laying it out, she sat on the bed, and she kind of - a place where she had slept so often with her husband, and all those memories. And I said, "What is it?" She says, "You know, I'm worried about where this is all going. I'm worried about the nation, the rage, the anger, and I need to know what to do." And we talked for a second. Then I said to her, "You know, at this very moment in Memphis, thousands of sanitation workers are on hold, because Dr. King was supposed to have been there tomorrow to lead that movement and to speak to the people, and before your husband, our leader, is put in his grave, if you have the will and the capacity to go down there tomorrow and stand up before those workers and let the world know that the movement has not been interrupted, that the process continues, and that all of us, as strong or as weak as we may be, will step into the breach and do what must be done." And she did, and she went down, and she spoke, and we came right back.
Now, all through the years since then, the building of the King Center, many choices of things that she made to do, because she was in her own right very involved for Dr. King. She was one of the - she was very, very committed to the peace movement, and as a matter of fact, in Europe, during the assassin-- the missile crisis and whatnot, we gave -- we put on a peace concert for 250,000 Germans in Cologne, mostly students, and the moment when Coretta King -- I called and asked her to come to speak. It would mean a lot to the young people there. She came, and I have never, ever heard a declaration of approval like those young German youth did when she came, and she had a sense of her own power. She had a sense of her own capacity to bring influence and to be revered for the work she did.
When she died, none of us knew that she was in Mexico, that she had -- I knew that she was ill. I knew about the heart attack, the defibrillation and the stroke. But - and I knew she had cancer, but I thought the cancer was contained, and when she went to Mexico, she was there with her children, and I got the news completely without knowing any of the details, so for a few days we didn't know what was happening. Where is she? Who's bringing her home? When is the funeral? When is the this, when is the that?
And finally, I left a call -- I left a message on the phones of the children, saying, "Please give me a call. I know this is a difficult moment, but there are things that must be done, and I would like to help if I can." I was then called a day later and told that, yes, that it was on that Tues-- this was on a Friday, Friday evening, that the funeral was going to take place that Tuesday, and that it would start at noon, and that with all the people that were being invited, that it was -- I was to be one of these people delivering the eulogy, and that my time would be at somewhere around 12:30 or 1:00, and I said, "Fine." And knowing this, I began to put my thoughts together.
That Saturday, Bush declared he was coming. He would be there. That Sunday, I began to change my speech, not to be rude or to be attacking, but to integrate this moment into what needed to be said. And then, that Monday morning, I got a call, and I was told that the invitation that had been extended to me had been pulled. I was uninvited. A woman by the name of Skinner and a Reverend by the name of Lawrence was the one who called me to tell me that I was uninvited, and when that call came, I called and spoke to one of the children. They said, these are the events, and I need to be counseled as to how this has come about, and I was told that I would get a call shortly, and it would all be clarified. And then, when the final call came, it was -- they were sorry, but the invitation - the withdrawing of the invitation would stand and that if I came down, they would find a place for me in the church, but I would not speak. And I did not go at all. I did not know how to deal with that.
What struck me was on the day of the ceremony, I saw how the altar was adorned. I saw who sat there, and as the camera moved about, I saw who was sitting in the audience, and I saw all of the power of the oppressor represented on the stage, and all those who fought for the victories that this nation was experiencing and enjoying sat in the outhouse, sat out in the field, sat removed, and if it not been for Lowery, for President Carter and for Maya Angelou, we would have had no voice and no representation at all.
Some ministers who were quite angry at all of this said, "Come on down here. Let's -- let's -- We have to talk to the press," and I said, "Talk to the press about what?" "About this. We cannot let it stand." I said, "I don't think that's appropriate. These are the children of my friend. These are the children of the movement. Where did we let them get caught? Why was Bernice giving this kind of sermon? How did you let Reverend Long become the minister of choice? Why wasn't it at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King preached? And before we go public and begin to vent our anger, let us understand what role we played in this capitulation that has led to this moment, and let us try first to repair it rather than to go into public discourse.
When do we sit in a circle of healing? When we begin to talk about getting back to where we lost stride. How do we fix this? Not how do we play the vanity game, and get off on going public and talking about how I was crucified. You know, it's what it is, and there is a way in which we have to do this that not only prevents - I don't know that there'll be another moment quite like that, because Dr. King and Malcolm X and Fannie Lou Hamer, folks like that were so rare that to be a part of the final ceremony of their departure is a rare moment in history, but I think that it goes along with what I have been saying here. What role have we played in letting all this happen? Where were we? What were we doing that had us so distracted? How can it be this way? How did you priests and ministers let the evangelical rightwing Christian forces co-opt the greater truth about Christianity and the philosophy of liberation? And how did you all let that happen, and where are your voices in opposition publicly?
Everybody has a part in this. Everybody has something to look at, and I think it is a collective experience, and that's why I think rather than sitting here drifting, we've got to talk about this, not just where we failed and where you failed, and we've got to come out of this discourse and this discussion, not just talking about it but saying, "Here's where we go," and take courage in the fact that we can turn this around, because the truth of the matter is we are the only ones that can turn this around. Nothing and no one else can do it. Nothing.
AMY GOODMAN: Harry Belafonte, describing his dis-invitation from giving a eulogy at the funeral of Coretta Scott King.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Radical Progressive Carnival
Welcome to the first Radical Progressive Carnival, a place for people who self-define as feminist,anti-racist,queer,or who dedicate themselves to progressive politics in any manner and who hold a sincere and firm respect for humanity in all its forms.
This first carnival is a bit skimpy, but with some great stuff to read. Scatterbox at Steven Silver's provides an excellent post entitled,Changing business: More Media Coverning Fewer Stories,commenting on the shortcomings in the mainstream news media in covering important news stories and covering them accurately.It also discusses the diminishing number of owners of major news outlets and how this plays apart in the trend of more news outlets,less real coverage. Excellent assessment of the coverage of the Sago Mine Disaster.
My own submission here,On Listening to Cornel West and Toni Morrison is my analysis of a conversation had between Toni Morrison and Cornel West at an event sponsored by the Nation Institute and held at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. In this piece, I comment upon Morrison's assessment of violence as a tool for liberation in which I place her assessment up against the legacies of the South African freedom struggle, that of the Sandinistas in Latin America, and the rhetoric of June Jordan's revolutionary poem "Poem About My Rights."
I hope this first Radical Progressive Carnival is a success. I hope the reading material provided is enjoyable and I hope we all step away from the table having gained something that will help us be better human beings.
This first carnival is a bit skimpy, but with some great stuff to read. Scatterbox at Steven Silver's provides an excellent post entitled,Changing business: More Media Coverning Fewer Stories,commenting on the shortcomings in the mainstream news media in covering important news stories and covering them accurately.It also discusses the diminishing number of owners of major news outlets and how this plays apart in the trend of more news outlets,less real coverage. Excellent assessment of the coverage of the Sago Mine Disaster.
My own submission here,On Listening to Cornel West and Toni Morrison is my analysis of a conversation had between Toni Morrison and Cornel West at an event sponsored by the Nation Institute and held at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. In this piece, I comment upon Morrison's assessment of violence as a tool for liberation in which I place her assessment up against the legacies of the South African freedom struggle, that of the Sandinistas in Latin America, and the rhetoric of June Jordan's revolutionary poem "Poem About My Rights."
I hope this first Radical Progressive Carnival is a success. I hope the reading material provided is enjoyable and I hope we all step away from the table having gained something that will help us be better human beings.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
7,000 On the Magnificent Mile On Saturday
From the Chicago Sun-Times
March 19, 2006
7,000 march against war on Mag Mile
BY CHERYL L. REED, MONIFA THOMAS AND DAVE NEWBART
Staff Reporters
Three years after clashing with police and stopping traffic on Lake Shore Drive, war protesters legally took over downtown streets in what appeared to be the largest U.S. anti-war demonstration Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq.
Despite a legal battle with City Hall that lasted nearly as long as the war, a crowd Chicago Police estimated at 7,000 was allowed to march down some of the city's most prominent streets, including the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue.
More than 200 officers, including Chicago Police, Cook County sheriff's officers and State Police, lined the march route -- most in riot gear.
"They look like Darth Vader with clubs," Diane Handelsman, 63, of Lake View. "That is very scary, and intimidating."
Some pro-war protesters also stood along the path, holding signs that read: "Not in Vain."
But the demonstration remained calm, and police said no arrests were made.
As the march began at Oak and State, 7-year-old Syanne Garcia carried a sign that read: "Don't Send My Uncle Back to Iraq."
Beside her walked her aunt Yolisma Hernandez, 31, of Elgin.
"They say it won't make a difference," Hernandez said, "but I have to do something for the safety of my brother."
Others held signs that read: "Return troops. Send Congress."
The march was just one of many anti-war demonstrations around the world. In New York's Times Square, about 1,000 anti-war protesters rallied outside a recruiting station, demanding troops be withdrawn from Iraq. In London, 15,000 people poured into Trafalgar Square.
Protesters gathered throughout the day at rallies spread across Chicago's neighborhoods and suburbs.
'We're on the wrong track'
At Union Park on the West Side Saturday afternoon, protesters held signs that ranged from the comical -- "Stop Mad Cowboy Disease" and "Paranoia is not a foreign policy" -- to the blunt -- "Stop the slaughter."
There were the familiar calls to end the Bush administration's "world domination" and "evil colonialism," and a more immediate sense of concern that Iran might be the president's next target.
At noon, a couple hundred protesters gathered at Federal Plaza.
Ginger Williams, of Edgewater, quit her job as a nurse to protest the war full-time even though her 23-year-old son is an Army lieutenant serving in Iraq. "He still believes in his mission. I wish he is right. I hope he is right."
Amid the crowd was another mother of a soldier, Marge Haracz, of Barrington, who is a Quaker. Her 21-year-old son was sent to Afghanistan earlier this month. "Any time we must start shooting guns around to make a point, we're on the wrong track,'' she said.
"He joined the military to bring about positive change in the world. He didn't join the military to go to war," Haracz said, noting he knew there was a chance he'd have to fight.
Also at the plaza were members of the Chicago chapter of "Billionaires for Bush," who carried a myriad of signs: "It's a class war and we're winning," "Cheney is innocent," "Bush lied: We made billions."
The "Billionaires" chanted, "Four more wars," "This is what plutocracy looks like," "Money for war and privatization, put the poor on reservations."
"We decided to use humor instead of anger," said Sandy Bykowski, who wore a faux leopard fur hat, fake jewels, a fancy dress and a feather boa.
A tuxedo-clad Brent Mesick, from Lake View, said the group mocks President Bush's appeal to average people. "He is really for the upper East Coast," Mesick said. "The people he represents are the billionaires."
Contributing: Stefano Esposito, Maudlyne Ihejirika, AP
March 19, 2006
7,000 march against war on Mag Mile
BY CHERYL L. REED, MONIFA THOMAS AND DAVE NEWBART
Staff Reporters
Three years after clashing with police and stopping traffic on Lake Shore Drive, war protesters legally took over downtown streets in what appeared to be the largest U.S. anti-war demonstration Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq.
Despite a legal battle with City Hall that lasted nearly as long as the war, a crowd Chicago Police estimated at 7,000 was allowed to march down some of the city's most prominent streets, including the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue.
More than 200 officers, including Chicago Police, Cook County sheriff's officers and State Police, lined the march route -- most in riot gear.
"They look like Darth Vader with clubs," Diane Handelsman, 63, of Lake View. "That is very scary, and intimidating."
Some pro-war protesters also stood along the path, holding signs that read: "Not in Vain."
But the demonstration remained calm, and police said no arrests were made.
As the march began at Oak and State, 7-year-old Syanne Garcia carried a sign that read: "Don't Send My Uncle Back to Iraq."
Beside her walked her aunt Yolisma Hernandez, 31, of Elgin.
"They say it won't make a difference," Hernandez said, "but I have to do something for the safety of my brother."
Others held signs that read: "Return troops. Send Congress."
The march was just one of many anti-war demonstrations around the world. In New York's Times Square, about 1,000 anti-war protesters rallied outside a recruiting station, demanding troops be withdrawn from Iraq. In London, 15,000 people poured into Trafalgar Square.
Protesters gathered throughout the day at rallies spread across Chicago's neighborhoods and suburbs.
'We're on the wrong track'
At Union Park on the West Side Saturday afternoon, protesters held signs that ranged from the comical -- "Stop Mad Cowboy Disease" and "Paranoia is not a foreign policy" -- to the blunt -- "Stop the slaughter."
There were the familiar calls to end the Bush administration's "world domination" and "evil colonialism," and a more immediate sense of concern that Iran might be the president's next target.
At noon, a couple hundred protesters gathered at Federal Plaza.
Ginger Williams, of Edgewater, quit her job as a nurse to protest the war full-time even though her 23-year-old son is an Army lieutenant serving in Iraq. "He still believes in his mission. I wish he is right. I hope he is right."
Amid the crowd was another mother of a soldier, Marge Haracz, of Barrington, who is a Quaker. Her 21-year-old son was sent to Afghanistan earlier this month. "Any time we must start shooting guns around to make a point, we're on the wrong track,'' she said.
"He joined the military to bring about positive change in the world. He didn't join the military to go to war," Haracz said, noting he knew there was a chance he'd have to fight.
Also at the plaza were members of the Chicago chapter of "Billionaires for Bush," who carried a myriad of signs: "It's a class war and we're winning," "Cheney is innocent," "Bush lied: We made billions."
The "Billionaires" chanted, "Four more wars," "This is what plutocracy looks like," "Money for war and privatization, put the poor on reservations."
"We decided to use humor instead of anger," said Sandy Bykowski, who wore a faux leopard fur hat, fake jewels, a fancy dress and a feather boa.
A tuxedo-clad Brent Mesick, from Lake View, said the group mocks President Bush's appeal to average people. "He is really for the upper East Coast," Mesick said. "The people he represents are the billionaires."
Contributing: Stefano Esposito, Maudlyne Ihejirika, AP
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Quote
"I'm not a scientist or a biochemist....but I do know that when a little boy or girl gets killed by a bomb, that's wrong." Congresswoman Julia Carson at the Anti-War rally today.
Georgia is a Stupid State
The state legislature of Georgia has recently refused to recognize Jane Fonda for her tireless humanitarian work that she has done in the state of Georgia over the past twenty-five years, the largest part of which is the GCAPP(Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention--which I have linked on this page). The reason for their refusal was because she was involved in the anti-Vietnam war movement. My thoughts are....I hope some Vietnamese people kick the Georgia legislature in their asses. I will most glady honor Jane as she is highly commendable for her wonderful work throughout the world! God Bless Jane Fonda!
Pro-Immigrant March in Chicago
While I was in Chicago, I learned that there was a pro-immigrant rally in Chicago on March 10th. I wonder how well it was covered in the mainstream media?
Friday, March 17, 2006
In Profile: My Aunt Bertie
My Aunt Bertie was very special to me. She was my favorite aunt and she was the most beautiful spirit that the world ever provided me with. She was my shelter and the tree from which I grew at an early age. Aunt Johnnie was my first school teacher, but Aunt Bertie was my first teacher. My earliest memories are of being at Aunt Bertie's house(which I called Aunt Johnnie's house---they lived together and it SEEMED that it was Aunt Johnnie's house, but Bertie Lee DeRamus McDavid owned it) and being engaged with her in ten million different activities, whether it was singing, or baking cakes and gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, or reading books, or just sitting and watching her, Aunt Bertie was my spirit and my soul....and she loved me dearly. I was always at her side in everything--or more likely crawled up into her arms. When she got sick, I would often stay at home with her--I often found it odd, later in years, that we would get to Aunt Johnnie's in the morning and my mother would ask me if I wanted to stay at home that day or go to school. That was truly something else, but I think I see something of why now. Our house was right across the street from Aunt Bertie's house, so I literally grew up in her presence.
Aunt Bertie retired from teaching in 1984, suffering from Ovarian cancer. I remember her retirement tea as a beautiful event. She died in 1985 when I was four yars old. The very special thing concerning my bond with my aunt is that she told me that she was going to die. When my mother and Freda came to tell me that Aunt Bertie was dead, I didn't cry because I already knew it. That instilled something in me, I am not sure what it is, but that is my gift from my aunt.
Bertie Lee DeRamus McDavid grew up the second oldest(not counting the two who died in infancy, who came before her) of eight children. She was a straight-A student all through high school and college, the first student of Sadie Mae and John Archie to be educated under the tutelage of Fess McDavid. She recieved her bachelor's degree from Alabama State University and proceeded to do graduate work at Columbia University, eventually recieving her master's degree from Governor's State in Chicago.
This sounds quite unusual, but I guess it happened quite a lot back then and oh well, c'est la vie. My aunt was hand-picked by Mrs. Mary Foster McDavid to be her successor as Mrs. McDavid--I don't know how that worked and how much or how little Fess himself played into it, but oh well. She and Fess married and they were blissfully wedded until he died in the early sixties. What I do know is that Mrs. M.F. McDavid was quite a bit older than Fess--several...I believe she was as old to him as he was to Aunt Bertie. Fess, from what I'm told, was the same age as John Archie. Mrs. M.F. McDavid and Fess were both quite accomplished people. Mrs. M.F. McDavid had a school named after her in Montgomery. She was also, I so love to hear my grandmother imitating her introduction of herself, the first Black woman president of the National PTA.
Aunt Bertie was an exceptional woman. She also loved poetry and books and shared the passion with my grandmother of memorizing and reciting poetry. Her favorite poem was read at her funeral and I have never forgotten it, "House by the Side of the Road." My Aunt Bertie was a key influence on my life.
Aunt Bertie retired from teaching in 1984, suffering from Ovarian cancer. I remember her retirement tea as a beautiful event. She died in 1985 when I was four yars old. The very special thing concerning my bond with my aunt is that she told me that she was going to die. When my mother and Freda came to tell me that Aunt Bertie was dead, I didn't cry because I already knew it. That instilled something in me, I am not sure what it is, but that is my gift from my aunt.
Bertie Lee DeRamus McDavid grew up the second oldest(not counting the two who died in infancy, who came before her) of eight children. She was a straight-A student all through high school and college, the first student of Sadie Mae and John Archie to be educated under the tutelage of Fess McDavid. She recieved her bachelor's degree from Alabama State University and proceeded to do graduate work at Columbia University, eventually recieving her master's degree from Governor's State in Chicago.
This sounds quite unusual, but I guess it happened quite a lot back then and oh well, c'est la vie. My aunt was hand-picked by Mrs. Mary Foster McDavid to be her successor as Mrs. McDavid--I don't know how that worked and how much or how little Fess himself played into it, but oh well. She and Fess married and they were blissfully wedded until he died in the early sixties. What I do know is that Mrs. M.F. McDavid was quite a bit older than Fess--several...I believe she was as old to him as he was to Aunt Bertie. Fess, from what I'm told, was the same age as John Archie. Mrs. M.F. McDavid and Fess were both quite accomplished people. Mrs. M.F. McDavid had a school named after her in Montgomery. She was also, I so love to hear my grandmother imitating her introduction of herself, the first Black woman president of the National PTA.
Aunt Bertie was an exceptional woman. She also loved poetry and books and shared the passion with my grandmother of memorizing and reciting poetry. Her favorite poem was read at her funeral and I have never forgotten it, "House by the Side of the Road." My Aunt Bertie was a key influence on my life.
In Profile: My Aunt Earnestine
I think what is going to happen is that I am going to profile all of the children of John Archie Bradson (J.A.B.)and Sadie Mae Goodson DeRamus, my grandmother and her siblings. Alas, I just profiled my grandmother because I had just gotten a recorded interview with her and hope to do another, better one. There is a lot of history there to be had. Alas, I think now I will profile my Aunt Earnestine. The oldest child of this couple, my aunt was also the darkest, something that she never was able to deal with and which she never learned to take pride in. Born in 1915, she is the only child of Sadie Mae and John Archie who did not recieve her education under the tutelage of Fess McDavid. She went to grade school and high school in Clanton, where she stayed and was mostly reared by her paternal grandmother, Grandma Fanny. It is because of this, that there was sort of a juncture between her and the rest of the siblings.
Married three times, Aunt Earnestine never had any children. Aunt Earnestine was a bit gawkish, somewhat innocent(I do think of myself in this description), and somewhat naive. One of the most hilarious and once in a lifetime moments was when my grandmother explained to Aunt Earnestine how two men are supposed to have sex. My mother had this case which involved an anal sex case and my aunt was totally befuddled by the idea. I could have died. As simple as she was, she was also educated. A principal for twenty years, a school teacher for forty, Aunt Earnestine had two master's degrees. This is why degrees don't really impress me all that much..Aunt Earnestine, for all of the education she had, didn't have the sense god gave a bird. It was something else when everyone found out that she was renting off the family property to cousins of ours for an unexcusably low amount because she felt it was her "Christian duty," even though they were living extremely well off of the deal. Another reason why I have no claim to Christianity. Aunt Earnestine was not very good with money, yet....and this I find absolutely befuddling...and yet ALL of her brothers and sisters allowed her to handle the DeRamus estate up until she wasn't able to simply in deference to age and seniority. Its by the grace of god that nothing bad actually happened. Anyway, such is the spice of life.
Alas,Aunt Earnestine, as I said, was married three times, divorced twice and widowed once in a d-w-d order. She lived most of her life in the home of her parents, with the brief exception of her moving to Cleveland during one of her marriages. She was a very well-loved teacher and person. In 1997, the people in the community threw an "Earnie Day" celebration in which her students--from over the span of her forty year career paid tribute to her. It was a wonderful ocassion.
Aunt Earnestine was always good to me. I remember very few words of reproach coming to me from her. Everyone's favorite thing to do was to sleep in Aunt Earnestine's tall, high-backed old fashioned bed under her mountain of quilts. She always had candy or cookies or something for us children, and for me, she gave me her collection of bible books when I was a little boy. Aunt Earnestine taught sunday school as well and was very good at it. I used to ride with her to church on sundays in her old blue volkswagen and help her set up for church and sunday school. She was a teacher, a sunday school teacher, a church Stewardess, and many other things. Up until she wasn't able to she also kept a garden in which the best things would grow. I remember one year she made the paper for growing the largest pumpkin in the county. When I was a little boy, she kept chickens and tons of cats constantly around her house.
Aunt Earnestine was an incredible human being. Filled with much love, but also a complicated person with her share of faults and problems. Her death definitely left a void in many lives.
Married three times, Aunt Earnestine never had any children. Aunt Earnestine was a bit gawkish, somewhat innocent(I do think of myself in this description), and somewhat naive. One of the most hilarious and once in a lifetime moments was when my grandmother explained to Aunt Earnestine how two men are supposed to have sex. My mother had this case which involved an anal sex case and my aunt was totally befuddled by the idea. I could have died. As simple as she was, she was also educated. A principal for twenty years, a school teacher for forty, Aunt Earnestine had two master's degrees. This is why degrees don't really impress me all that much..Aunt Earnestine, for all of the education she had, didn't have the sense god gave a bird. It was something else when everyone found out that she was renting off the family property to cousins of ours for an unexcusably low amount because she felt it was her "Christian duty," even though they were living extremely well off of the deal. Another reason why I have no claim to Christianity. Aunt Earnestine was not very good with money, yet....and this I find absolutely befuddling...and yet ALL of her brothers and sisters allowed her to handle the DeRamus estate up until she wasn't able to simply in deference to age and seniority. Its by the grace of god that nothing bad actually happened. Anyway, such is the spice of life.
Alas,Aunt Earnestine, as I said, was married three times, divorced twice and widowed once in a d-w-d order. She lived most of her life in the home of her parents, with the brief exception of her moving to Cleveland during one of her marriages. She was a very well-loved teacher and person. In 1997, the people in the community threw an "Earnie Day" celebration in which her students--from over the span of her forty year career paid tribute to her. It was a wonderful ocassion.
Aunt Earnestine was always good to me. I remember very few words of reproach coming to me from her. Everyone's favorite thing to do was to sleep in Aunt Earnestine's tall, high-backed old fashioned bed under her mountain of quilts. She always had candy or cookies or something for us children, and for me, she gave me her collection of bible books when I was a little boy. Aunt Earnestine taught sunday school as well and was very good at it. I used to ride with her to church on sundays in her old blue volkswagen and help her set up for church and sunday school. She was a teacher, a sunday school teacher, a church Stewardess, and many other things. Up until she wasn't able to she also kept a garden in which the best things would grow. I remember one year she made the paper for growing the largest pumpkin in the county. When I was a little boy, she kept chickens and tons of cats constantly around her house.
Aunt Earnestine was an incredible human being. Filled with much love, but also a complicated person with her share of faults and problems. Her death definitely left a void in many lives.
I had an absolutely great time in Chicago. I am glad I made myself go. I am determined to do more things on the moment,to move about and be really free. So, I went to Columbia College and sat in on one of the panels in their StoryWeek festival. It was abolutely great ad I got to meet Dorothy Allison after the panel discussion and talk with her a few moments. God how blissful! All in all, I enjoyed the city, I enjoyed walking around, I enjoyed the different atmosphere. I am greatful to myself that I did it. Alas, one irony is that I ran into this girl Irini from Lafayette whom I had just a few days ago been discussing coming to chicago ---and she was coming too for a different purpose--and we ran into each other on Michigan Avenue. How odd. God, I miss the city. I miss civilization. I miss life and living.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Introducing the Radical Progressive Carnival
I would like to propose the formation of a radical,progressive carnival. A place for those who are dedicated to upholding a sincere and fundamental respect for humanity in all its forms. A place for writers,intellectuals,feminists,philosophers, people of color, the queer, the strange,artists, and others.
Key Words
From bell hooks' Rock My Soul:Black People and Self-Esteem.
"Having lived in the midst of white supremacy all her life, Mama recognized that it would be dangerous for us to live our lives trying to please racist white people, letting them set the standards for our identity and well-being.
Her words of caution proved to be necessary wisdom. While she wanted her children to have equal access to libraries and typewriters, small classrooms, and the newest textbooks, she did not want us to be taught by unenlightened white people to hate ourselves. She did not want her academically gifted children to let white people teach them they were the grand exceptions, better than other black folks, maybe even not really black. The self-esteem that had been fostered in a social and political atmosphere of racial uplift was assaulted in the world of racial integration. Black folks living in segrgated worlds who had spent only a measure of their lives thinking about white folks were more and more becoming obssessed with race. Naturally, the more contact we had with white folks the more intensely we experienced racist assaults. Even the well-meaning and kind white teachers often believed racist stereotypes. We were never away from the surveillance of white supremacy in the world of racial integration. And it was this constant reality that began to undermine the foundation of self-esteem in the lives of Black folks."
"Having lived in the midst of white supremacy all her life, Mama recognized that it would be dangerous for us to live our lives trying to please racist white people, letting them set the standards for our identity and well-being.
Her words of caution proved to be necessary wisdom. While she wanted her children to have equal access to libraries and typewriters, small classrooms, and the newest textbooks, she did not want us to be taught by unenlightened white people to hate ourselves. She did not want her academically gifted children to let white people teach them they were the grand exceptions, better than other black folks, maybe even not really black. The self-esteem that had been fostered in a social and political atmosphere of racial uplift was assaulted in the world of racial integration. Black folks living in segrgated worlds who had spent only a measure of their lives thinking about white folks were more and more becoming obssessed with race. Naturally, the more contact we had with white folks the more intensely we experienced racist assaults. Even the well-meaning and kind white teachers often believed racist stereotypes. We were never away from the surveillance of white supremacy in the world of racial integration. And it was this constant reality that began to undermine the foundation of self-esteem in the lives of Black folks."
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Everybody Is A Star
Everybody is a star
Who can rain, chase the dust away
Everybody wants to shine
Ooh, come out on a cloudy day
'Til the sun that loves you proud
When the system tries to bring you down
Every hand to shine tonight
You don't need darkness to do what you think is right
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Everybody is a star
I can feel it when you shine on me
I love you for who you are
Not the one you feel you need to be
Ever catch a falling star
Ain't no stopping 'til it's in the ground
Everybody is a star
One big circle going round and round
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, shine, shine, shine, shine
Who can rain, chase the dust away
Everybody wants to shine
Ooh, come out on a cloudy day
'Til the sun that loves you proud
When the system tries to bring you down
Every hand to shine tonight
You don't need darkness to do what you think is right
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Everybody is a star
I can feel it when you shine on me
I love you for who you are
Not the one you feel you need to be
Ever catch a falling star
Ain't no stopping 'til it's in the ground
Everybody is a star
One big circle going round and round
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba,
ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, shine, shine, shine, shine
Don't Make Me Close One More Door
Whitney Houston
Share my life, take me for what I am
Cause I'll never change all my colours for you
Take my love, I'll never ask for too much
Just all that you are and everything that you do
I don't really need to look very much further
I don't want to have to go where you don't follow
I won't hold it back again, this passion inside
Can't run from myself
There's nowhere to hide
Don't make me close one more door I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me...
I have nothing, nothing, nothing
If I don't have you, you, you, you, you, you...
You see through, right to the heart of me
You break down my walls with the strength of your love
I never knew love like I've known it with you
Will a memory survive, one I can hold on to
I don't really need to look very much further
I don't want to have to go where you don't follow
I won't hold it back again, this passion inside
I Can't run from myself
There's nowhere to hide
Your love I'll remember, forever
Don't make me close one more door
I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me...
I have nothing, nothing, nothing...
...Don't make me close one more door
I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me no...
Don't walk away from me
Don't you dare walk away from me
I have nothing, nothing, nothing
If I don't have you
If I don't have you
oh you
Share my life, take me for what I am
Cause I'll never change all my colours for you
Take my love, I'll never ask for too much
Just all that you are and everything that you do
I don't really need to look very much further
I don't want to have to go where you don't follow
I won't hold it back again, this passion inside
Can't run from myself
There's nowhere to hide
Don't make me close one more door I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me...
I have nothing, nothing, nothing
If I don't have you, you, you, you, you, you...
You see through, right to the heart of me
You break down my walls with the strength of your love
I never knew love like I've known it with you
Will a memory survive, one I can hold on to
I don't really need to look very much further
I don't want to have to go where you don't follow
I won't hold it back again, this passion inside
I Can't run from myself
There's nowhere to hide
Your love I'll remember, forever
Don't make me close one more door
I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me...
I have nothing, nothing, nothing...
...Don't make me close one more door
I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me no...
Don't walk away from me
Don't you dare walk away from me
I have nothing, nothing, nothing
If I don't have you
If I don't have you
oh you
I just got through watching House of the Flying Daggersagain. It is a very enjoyable movie, but I do have to wonder how many of these films they are going to make. This is the new asian-sterotype movie--as "The Flower Drum Song" used to be. In some ways its a bit ludicrous. Im staring at the screen and thinking this and thinking of what the average movie goer takes in from this and other films like it: "Ohh, can all Asian people throw knives like that? Ohh look at what they are doing in those trees! Is that how they won the Vietnam war?"
Monday, March 13, 2006
In Profile: My Grandmother
My grandmother is an intriguing spirit. She is an evolving soul who never ceases to amaze, who moves forward in the most subtle and wonderful ways. Her personality and her makeup all encompass who she is and her strength of will and her uncompromising dignity all come to bear upon the person that she is and the woman that she is known to be. My grandmother has an amazing strength. At 85-years of age my grandmother can lift and move a hundred pounds easier than a man a third of her age and has a force behind her that can knock a grown man to the ground. As my grandmother says, she "doesn't know how to hit light." She is possessive of great physical strength and mental capability, and has the most poetic and congenial soul that will ever come to bear. That said, my grandmother is rough around the edges, plays it very practical in all things, and carries a strong Calvinistic disdain that serves as a clamp on her creativity and her imaginative soul.
My grandmother once hit a woman, a fellow school teacher who one day decided that she would taunt my grandmother with a plum tree branch filled with worms, which she knew my grandmother was quite afraid of. As the woman repeatedly pushed the branch near my grandmother's person, in a reflex my grandmother picked up a log and swiped the woman sidewise across her face, leaving a scar and pulling the earring out of the woman's ear. With that the woman decided to continue, telling my grandmother "Oh Thelma, you know I wasn't gonna put that on you! Just for that, I'm really gonna do it!" My grandmother's reply was, "Woman, I'll kill you today if you put those worms on me." The woman decided then it was time to leave that alone.
My grandmother bears a poetic soul. English, as she says, was her pet subject. Her passion and hobby was and is memorizing and reciting poetry. Today, she recites several poems from memory that she learned in her youth, among them "She's Somebody's Mother," "House by the Side of the Road," and "Sir Patrick Spens." My grandmother writes plays--starting when she was in grade school and continuing on to her involvement with the aging center where they staged several plays every year, and even today as she will write Christmas and Easter programs for the church. She also loves to sing. She has always considered writing and poetry her "hobbies," not to take the place of "real work." When she was a teacher, she taught and now, she must busy herself with taking care of her house--mopping floors, making beds, gardening,etc.
My grandmother, the third oldest (fifth counting the children who died in their infancy)of eight, recieved her education in central Alabama, a pupil of Fess MacDavid(I have just thought recently --Fess was her teacher and principal when she was in school, her principal when she taught under him, and her brother-in-law), from whom she recieved the best education around, and then attended what is now Alabama State University, where she recieved her bachelor's degree in the early forties. She started teaching in 1941, taught in Alabama and helped to integrate the north side of Chicago. She retired in 1981. She is definitely an interesting woman.
My grandmother once hit a woman, a fellow school teacher who one day decided that she would taunt my grandmother with a plum tree branch filled with worms, which she knew my grandmother was quite afraid of. As the woman repeatedly pushed the branch near my grandmother's person, in a reflex my grandmother picked up a log and swiped the woman sidewise across her face, leaving a scar and pulling the earring out of the woman's ear. With that the woman decided to continue, telling my grandmother "Oh Thelma, you know I wasn't gonna put that on you! Just for that, I'm really gonna do it!" My grandmother's reply was, "Woman, I'll kill you today if you put those worms on me." The woman decided then it was time to leave that alone.
My grandmother bears a poetic soul. English, as she says, was her pet subject. Her passion and hobby was and is memorizing and reciting poetry. Today, she recites several poems from memory that she learned in her youth, among them "She's Somebody's Mother," "House by the Side of the Road," and "Sir Patrick Spens." My grandmother writes plays--starting when she was in grade school and continuing on to her involvement with the aging center where they staged several plays every year, and even today as she will write Christmas and Easter programs for the church. She also loves to sing. She has always considered writing and poetry her "hobbies," not to take the place of "real work." When she was a teacher, she taught and now, she must busy herself with taking care of her house--mopping floors, making beds, gardening,etc.
My grandmother, the third oldest (fifth counting the children who died in their infancy)of eight, recieved her education in central Alabama, a pupil of Fess MacDavid(I have just thought recently --Fess was her teacher and principal when she was in school, her principal when she taught under him, and her brother-in-law), from whom she recieved the best education around, and then attended what is now Alabama State University, where she recieved her bachelor's degree in the early forties. She started teaching in 1941, taught in Alabama and helped to integrate the north side of Chicago. She retired in 1981. She is definitely an interesting woman.
I have been contemplating writing this for a long time, and especially since reading Anne Braden's book, The Wall Between, which left me with a lump in my throat and palpitations. It is absolutely something else to live in a hostile world and environment.To go about each day knowing that there are people who would wish to persecute you for your identity, for who and what you are. It is absolutely something to live knowing that there are people who would try and negate your existence. I believe Audre Lorde taught us well how to deal with these things....and especially when it comes into the question of power and authority and the efforts of those hostile forces to make use of these things.
Something that Anne Braden spoke out to me and sat with me a long time, and it still causes a ruffle in my soul. She was speaking of her parents, her upbringing, and her and her husband's trial and persecution during the communist withhunts of the 1950s. She said that it was startling to her to think of her parents unconditional love for her in posting her bail to be released from jail, even when the cause that she advocated went against everything that they believed and everything that their society stood for. She said that she thought about the sad irony in not only that the very foundation out of which her parents came was the very thing that was not only placing her on trial and condemning her as a witch, but also that if she had not been their child that they perhaps would be apart of this mob. That statement started me to thinking about how societies are formed, what they are built on, and the extent to which we are tied into it, why that is, and how it might happen that some of us are not inextricably tied into the system. She spoke of the people their in the South who sort of existed in the middle(however, as Howard Zinn told us, you can't be neutral on a moving train) and who whispered and nodded their disdain of segregation and the ill-treatment of Blacks in the South but who declined to speak up in public and who found it best to "let things be" and exist in harmony and in silence with segregationist rule. I can't wrap my mind around that. I would hope that people would HAVE SOME INTEGRITY and not follow along with crowds. I don't know, I don't know how to wrap my mind around it at all. I will always, as long as I have a tongue and can make use of my body, speak.
Something that Anne Braden spoke out to me and sat with me a long time, and it still causes a ruffle in my soul. She was speaking of her parents, her upbringing, and her and her husband's trial and persecution during the communist withhunts of the 1950s. She said that it was startling to her to think of her parents unconditional love for her in posting her bail to be released from jail, even when the cause that she advocated went against everything that they believed and everything that their society stood for. She said that she thought about the sad irony in not only that the very foundation out of which her parents came was the very thing that was not only placing her on trial and condemning her as a witch, but also that if she had not been their child that they perhaps would be apart of this mob. That statement started me to thinking about how societies are formed, what they are built on, and the extent to which we are tied into it, why that is, and how it might happen that some of us are not inextricably tied into the system. She spoke of the people their in the South who sort of existed in the middle(however, as Howard Zinn told us, you can't be neutral on a moving train) and who whispered and nodded their disdain of segregation and the ill-treatment of Blacks in the South but who declined to speak up in public and who found it best to "let things be" and exist in harmony and in silence with segregationist rule. I can't wrap my mind around that. I would hope that people would HAVE SOME INTEGRITY and not follow along with crowds. I don't know, I don't know how to wrap my mind around it at all. I will always, as long as I have a tongue and can make use of my body, speak.
Oh No!
Maureen Stapleton, the famed actress, has died. She played Barbra Streisand's mother in Nuts and also won the Academy Award for playing Emma Goldman in REDS with Warren Beatty(Shirley MacLaine's little brother).
Zacarias Moussaoui may be exonerated or saved from the death penalty because of misdoings by the goverment. Oh what tangled webs.
Kudos to Rus Feingold!
Call your senators and urge them--indeed demand that they support Senator Rus Feingold in his effort to pass a censure of President Bush through the Senate in response to the illegal wiretapping carried out by his adminstration! God Bless Reingold!
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Beautiful Words from Barbra
Art in the Pursuit of Truth ...Barbra Streisand
President Kennedy once said that "In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation."
I am proud to be a part of a community of artists and filmmakers who have shown their activism and social consciousness through their work; a group that is committed to examining our world and revealing the truth. Sure, the entertainment industry is not perfect. With every groundbreaking, courageous film that is produced, there are also films made that contribute little to the betterment of society.
But, more often than not, we are a group that is ahead of the national conversation. Throughout history the Hollywood community has been very much involved and in touch with what is happening in the country. During World War II, in addition to leading blood drives, members of the entertainment industry raised billions of dollars through war bond sales and its embrace of the Treasury Department's 10% payroll deduction plan. During the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Movement, members of the Hollywood community marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in support of non-violent action to end segregation and oppression and to fight for equal rights for all. During the McCarthy Era, when actors and filmmakers were being blacklisted, the brave "Hollywood Ten," calling on their 1st Amendment rights, refused to testify in front of the House on Un-American Activities Committee. The courts disagreed and they all were found guilty of contempt of Congress and each was sentenced to between six and twelve months in prison. During the Vietnam War, artists and entertainers marched and loudly voiced their opposition, and most recently, the community protested and spoke out against the war in Iraq.
I have said in the past that I believe art does not exist only to entertain but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, to engage in a constant search for the truth. In spite of the many films that get released every year that aim to just entertain or break box office records, the industry has also produced films that tackle controversial social and political issues. This year alone, Best Picture nominees such as "Munich" and "Good Night and Good Luck" had strong political messages. And in the past, Hollywood films have inspired a discourse and a healthy exchange of ideas that is normally not a part of the American conversation. "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "In the Heat of the Night," "The Color Purple," and "Crash" all dealt candidly with issues of race. "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List" tackled anti-Semitism and the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. "Coming Home" and "Born on the Fourth of July" showed America the harsh realities of war. We reflected on issues of poverty with "The Grapes of Wrath" and provided the world with an honest depiction of a gay man's reality when diagnosed with the AIDS virus in "Philadelphia." Considering the incredible breadth of Hollywood's movie making history, the list can go on and on.
Members of the Hollywood community should not be apologetic, but proud, proud to have provoked conversations, proud to have challenged ignorance and proud to have helped shape our history for the better.
President Kennedy once said that "In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation."
I am proud to be a part of a community of artists and filmmakers who have shown their activism and social consciousness through their work; a group that is committed to examining our world and revealing the truth. Sure, the entertainment industry is not perfect. With every groundbreaking, courageous film that is produced, there are also films made that contribute little to the betterment of society.
But, more often than not, we are a group that is ahead of the national conversation. Throughout history the Hollywood community has been very much involved and in touch with what is happening in the country. During World War II, in addition to leading blood drives, members of the entertainment industry raised billions of dollars through war bond sales and its embrace of the Treasury Department's 10% payroll deduction plan. During the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Movement, members of the Hollywood community marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in support of non-violent action to end segregation and oppression and to fight for equal rights for all. During the McCarthy Era, when actors and filmmakers were being blacklisted, the brave "Hollywood Ten," calling on their 1st Amendment rights, refused to testify in front of the House on Un-American Activities Committee. The courts disagreed and they all were found guilty of contempt of Congress and each was sentenced to between six and twelve months in prison. During the Vietnam War, artists and entertainers marched and loudly voiced their opposition, and most recently, the community protested and spoke out against the war in Iraq.
I have said in the past that I believe art does not exist only to entertain but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, to engage in a constant search for the truth. In spite of the many films that get released every year that aim to just entertain or break box office records, the industry has also produced films that tackle controversial social and political issues. This year alone, Best Picture nominees such as "Munich" and "Good Night and Good Luck" had strong political messages. And in the past, Hollywood films have inspired a discourse and a healthy exchange of ideas that is normally not a part of the American conversation. "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "In the Heat of the Night," "The Color Purple," and "Crash" all dealt candidly with issues of race. "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List" tackled anti-Semitism and the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. "Coming Home" and "Born on the Fourth of July" showed America the harsh realities of war. We reflected on issues of poverty with "The Grapes of Wrath" and provided the world with an honest depiction of a gay man's reality when diagnosed with the AIDS virus in "Philadelphia." Considering the incredible breadth of Hollywood's movie making history, the list can go on and on.
Members of the Hollywood community should not be apologetic, but proud, proud to have provoked conversations, proud to have challenged ignorance and proud to have helped shape our history for the better.
Hooray for Chile!
I am estatic to see Bachelet become president in Chile--I see it as a great progressive step in the world! I am so encouraged by the developing humanitarian regimes in Latin America!May she have a wonderful and long presidency!
I'm Pissed and the rest of the World Should Be Too
Saturday, Alexander Haig, former henchman for Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, delivered statements to the press to the effect that in relation to the quagmire in Iraq that "every asset of the Nation must be applied to bring about a quick and successful outcome." Does that mean apply the Bomb? This man is wicked and should be castrated for his involvement in Vietnam and all of the atrocities committed during the Reagan administration. This most militaristic and inhumane mindset espoused by Haig that refuses to acknowledge the right of self-determination, self-respect, and dignity for the people of Iraq is absolutely abhorrent and must be uprooted from this country's interior.
Haig, his compadres, and all of the right-wing hawks who have their hands dipped into the mud which is Iraq and which is also U.S. militarism and foreign policy have completely lost their humanity, refuse to acknowledge and respect the humanity of others and are driven by the blind, capitalist, American imperialism that has been the soul-death of this country since its founding. People with integrity must speak out and refuse.
To speak further of this event that was reported in the news, one of the other henchmen, Henry Kissinger, was present, seated at Haig's side. I was encouraged that there were protestors their to greet him with chants of "Kissinger should go to jail, no bail."
Haig, his compadres, and all of the right-wing hawks who have their hands dipped into the mud which is Iraq and which is also U.S. militarism and foreign policy have completely lost their humanity, refuse to acknowledge and respect the humanity of others and are driven by the blind, capitalist, American imperialism that has been the soul-death of this country since its founding. People with integrity must speak out and refuse.
To speak further of this event that was reported in the news, one of the other henchmen, Henry Kissinger, was present, seated at Haig's side. I was encouraged that there were protestors their to greet him with chants of "Kissinger should go to jail, no bail."
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Why I Will Never Read Faulkner
I have always had my inclinations against Faulkner, and indeed I have only read one thing by him, a short story, and really have not felt bad at all about it. I have always declined joining in the Faulkner worship that so many have, highest among them Toni Morrison. Alas, I really never wanted to read any southern literature at all--but I have definitely come around from that, but still I don't feel compelled to become a Faulknerian. Now, I can see why Faulkner has never attracted my attention. Anne Braden reports in her book that Faulkner called out to the NAACP in a letter to Life magazine to "Go Slow" where segretation was concerned, to "Stop now for a time, a moment..lest by their haste they force all Southern moderates, including him, into the segregationist camp." Alas, I think Faulkner should have lost his penis for that one. Not only should he not be touted or read, he should have been castrated. Alas, further on the subject of Faulkner and his place in literature--it has always seemed to me that people fall into one of two camps--Hemingway or Faulkner. I have always been inclined to Hemingway. I can now definitely leave Faulkner for the crows.
Friday, March 10, 2006
When I was fifteen, I remember it very clearly, riding back in one of the family cars from my Aunt Carolyn's funeral, one of her nephews offered me a summer job writing for the local NAACP newspaper in his hometown of Minneanapolis, as he was the local head of the NAACP. As I lived in Alabama and knew nothing of Minneanapolis, I didn't take it. I should have.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
"The Progress Myth in Iraq"
Molly Ivins has a great assessment of Donald Rumsfeld's glorious assessments of the state of things in Iraq on Common Dreams!
First Iraq, Now Iran
I don't think I need to elaborate any further. Condoleeza Rice is a cow. Sadie Bell Deramus--you should have drowned her!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Keith Boykin has a good post concerning the offensive drag performer, Shirley Q. Liquor. Shirley Q. Liquor is a white gay male who dresses up in Black face, pretending to be a black woman and making various racist jokes concerning Black people. When I first learned of Shirley Q. Liquor, I was a bit indifferent to this performance, but I think it is time that this caricature ended.
Could Louis Farrakhan be a closet homosexual? That thought has occurred to me just recently. Alas, I do not think that the Nation of Islam should be using Malcolm X's picture or words on their website or anywhere in any context. Especially not Louis Farrakhan. I am still not convinced that he or any of the rest of them had nothing to do with Malcolm's death.
I think that the Anti-Defamation League needs to leave Claudette Marie Muhammad alone. She is not Louis Farrakhan and she has no need to apologize for him.
It shall be definitely interesting to watch the tiff between the United States and Iran. I thought North Korea was the one not to play with.
Serious Matters
In two horrendous moves, the Senate todayrefused to investigate or question Bush's covert wiretapping practices--leaving the Bush administration free reign to trample over the constitution and our very basic civil and human rights.The House, in its contribution to the ending of democracy, has just passed therenewal of the Patriot Act, making some of the provisions permanent. These are very dangerous times and the direction of this government is towards the dark days of McCarthyism, fascism, and the efforts to solidify the reign and control of white male and capitalist tyranny over this country and indeed over the globe.
I Am In Love With Anne Braden
"I have been told that the intensity of my feeling about segregation is neurotic. I have never denied that this may be so. I grew up in a sick society, and a sick society makes neurotics--of one kind or another. It makes people like those who could take pleasure in killing Emmett Till, and it makes people like me. The United States Supreme Court in its historic decision against segreation in the school outlined what segregation does to the Negro child. THe justices might have added some discussion of what it does to the white child. THere are many white "neurotics" like myself in my generation in the South--if that is what we are. The people who describe themselves as "saner" and more "practical" and more "moderate" tell us to wait, not to go too fast. But that is no answer. They may persuade some of us to take a slower course, but they can never convince us all. As long as segregation remains a face in communities all over the South, there will be people like us who are compelled to act."--From The Wall Between.
I have been reading Anne Braden's memoir the past couple of days and I have learned so much, been heartened and enlightened by it. She is an absolutely wonderful spirit. I am glad that I am able to connect with it at some level. Alas, I feel that her comments concerning segregation can most definitely be applied to many things.
I have been reading Anne Braden's memoir the past couple of days and I have learned so much, been heartened and enlightened by it. She is an absolutely wonderful spirit. I am glad that I am able to connect with it at some level. Alas, I feel that her comments concerning segregation can most definitely be applied to many things.
Two Sad Occassions
There are so many deaths these days. Good people are dropping like flies. Gordon Parks, famed director,photographer, and social critic died at the ripe old age of 93. Parks was an amazing person, best known for his major motion picture,Shaft, one of the first in Hollywood directed by an Afro-American. Also, the actress, pioneer, and social activist Dana Reeves has died. This is a terrible loss as she fought for so many years for the life of her late husband, Christopher Reeves, and championed the cause of paralysis and spinal cord injury through the Christopher Reeves Foundation after his death. What is worse is that her children are young. What will happen to them now?
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Good News-UpDate
I have learned from Professor Kim's News Notes that Corey Maye, the man wrongfully convicted and railroaded onto death row in Mississippi for shooting a police officer, will recieve a hearing on his petition for a new trial on June 20th! This is great news! Please sign the petition on this blog to exonerate Corey Maye!
Time to Impeach Bush
Tonight I watched most of the forum sponsored by Harper's Magazine and featuring Rep. Johhn Conyers that called for the impeachment of George Bush. I must say I was quite astounded. Firstly, the audience for this forum was packed--I believe at least 1500 people must have been there. Secondly, great comments were made all around by former Congresswoman, Elizabeth Holtzmann, Democrat of New York, who participated in the successful impeachment of Richard Nixon and by John Conyers himself. I was very inspired by the dialogue tonight. I think this movement is starting out small, but it is starting out strong and with the leadership of Rep. Conyers and those allied with him, I believe that Bush can be impeached, or at least censured and held accountable for his violations of the United States contitution and of the Geneva Conventions. God Bless John Conyers. He is truly a man who stands with integrity!
Monday, March 06, 2006
Ballad of Joe Hill
Paul Robeson
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he, "I never died," says he.
"In Salt Lake, Joe, by God," says I
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge."
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead," says Joe, "But I ain't dead."
"The copper bosses shot you, Joe,
They killed you, Joe," says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die," says Joe, "I didn't die."
And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize, went on to organize."
"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never died.
Where workingmen are out on strike
Joe Hill is at their side, Joe Hill is at their side."
"From San Diego up to Maine
In every mine and mill
Where workers strike and organize,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill," says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he, "I never died," says he.
"In Salt Lake, Joe, by God," says I
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge."
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead," says Joe, "But I ain't dead."
"The copper bosses shot you, Joe,
They killed you, Joe," says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die," says Joe, "I didn't die."
And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize, went on to organize."
"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never died.
Where workingmen are out on strike
Joe Hill is at their side, Joe Hill is at their side."
"From San Diego up to Maine
In every mine and mill
Where workers strike and organize,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill," says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."
Jacob's Ladder
Paul Robeson
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Brothers, sisters, all
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
Sisters, brothers, all
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Sisters, brothers, all
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Brothers, sisters, all
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
Sisters, brothers, all
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Sisters, brothers, all
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all
In Other Surpeme Court News
The Supreme Court, following its trend of moving further and further to the right, ruled against NOW late last month in Scheidler vs. National Organization for Women, Inc., denying NOW damages awarded by a lower court and stating that threats or acts of physical violence against abortion clinics fell outside of the interpretation of the Hobb's Act, the act that brought about RICO(Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)-which states that extortion or physical violence for the purpose of extortion are illegal.So in other words, abortion protestors who are affiliated with organizations and who commit acts of violence or who threaten acts of violence against abortion clinics,their staff,or their patients, cannot be held accountable for denying abortion clinics to conduct business. Oh what a message.
What Else Can We Expect?
The Supreme Court issued the ruling today that in order for colleges and universities to continue recieving federal funding, they must allow military recruiters on their campuses. This court has moved fundamentally to the right--and I believe it is a definite and clear reflection of this country's mood as a whole.This means that people's rights and freedoms will be trampled on because "the people" will it,not necessarily because of dictatorship or otherwise. I do believe that people are goaded and people are misfed information and lied to, but I do believe that these conservative, right-wing values are at the core of this country's makeup--which is why this country is going straight to hell. You cannot build a country on white supremacy, imperialism, and religious dogma and then expect freedom and respect for all humanity to grow out of it. Nor can you expect it to be anything other than militaristic. That said, there is a legacy of progressive struggle here--and I believe that it will win out. I believe that the progressive elements that exist within this country will rise up and make something new out of what will have fallen apart. I believe it will be something new, something better, and I have hope for it and for the future.
A Terrible Loss
Anne Braden, a civil rights activist, humanitarian, and journalist, passed away today. Braden came to the forefront of the movement for equality when she and her husband sold a home that they purchased, in a pre-arranged plan, to a Black couple in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bradens suffered horrendously at the hands of the power structure--as the home which they purchased in the test case was bombed and later her husband, Carl, was tried and convicted of sedition for their efforts surrounding their civil rights and humanitarian activism. This is a great loss.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Utterly Disturbing
The AP has just today broken the story of the government's, with a sort of gentlemen's agreement between the judicial and executive branches of government, have completely prosecuted, tried, and sentenced people in the courts in absolute secrecy--an act which totally disregards and dismisses the provisions of the 6th amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees all people the right to a fair,speedy, and public trial. According to the AP story,each year since 2003, the number of cases held in secret have grown--with 11,508 cases being tried in secret in 2005, 12.6 percent of all cases tried last year. These cases range the gamut from "war on drugs, anti-terrorism efforts, and other criminal matters," according to AP. This phenomenon is absolutely disturbing, indeed chilling as this means that anyone, including U.s. citizens may be picked up--on drug related charges or a variety of others--and be charged, tried,convicted, and sentenced with no public knowledge whatsoever.
This is undemocratic, this is immoral,illegal, and an absolute abuse of power and authority on the part of the powers that be.It is fascism with its truest face showing. Kafka wrote about this in "The Trial." Alas, these are the very kinds of activities for which world condemned Saddam Hussein and other tyrannical leaders. There must be an outcry. There must be protest. This cannot be allowed to continue.
This is undemocratic, this is immoral,illegal, and an absolute abuse of power and authority on the part of the powers that be.It is fascism with its truest face showing. Kafka wrote about this in "The Trial." Alas, these are the very kinds of activities for which world condemned Saddam Hussein and other tyrannical leaders. There must be an outcry. There must be protest. This cannot be allowed to continue.
You Belong to Me
Carly Simon
Why'd you tell me this
Were you looking for my reaction
What do you need to know
Don't you know I'll always be your girl
You don't have to prove to me you're beautiful to strangers
I've got loving eyes of my own
(Chorus)
You belong to me
Tell her you were fooling
You don't even know her
Tell her that I love you
You belong to me
Can it be, honey, that you're not sure
You belong to me
Thought we'd closed the book - locked the door
You don't have to prove to me that you're beautiful to strangers
I've got loving eyes of my own
And I can tell - I can tell darling
Tell her - tell her that I love you
You belong - you belong - you belong to me
Tell her you were fooling
Tell her she don't even know you
Tell her you were fooling
I know you from a long time ago, baby
Don't leave me to go to her now
You belong to me.
Why'd you tell me this
Were you looking for my reaction
What do you need to know
Don't you know I'll always be your girl
You don't have to prove to me you're beautiful to strangers
I've got loving eyes of my own
(Chorus)
You belong to me
Tell her you were fooling
You don't even know her
Tell her that I love you
You belong to me
Can it be, honey, that you're not sure
You belong to me
Thought we'd closed the book - locked the door
You don't have to prove to me that you're beautiful to strangers
I've got loving eyes of my own
And I can tell - I can tell darling
Tell her - tell her that I love you
You belong - you belong - you belong to me
Tell her you were fooling
Tell her she don't even know you
Tell her you were fooling
I know you from a long time ago, baby
Don't leave me to go to her now
You belong to me.
I Am Learning New Things
The conceptualization and actualization of the panopticon is something that derives out of the twistedness of phallocentrism and Patriarchy. Alas, what I have become aware of, through reading Foucault's Discipline and Punish is that this panopticon is a very intricate and finely put together system of the all seeing eye: Public institutions in todays society all serve as instruments in the panopticon--they all serve to gather information on the public at large and individuals in general. These institutions include churches, hospitals, police precints, libraries, schools, charities, courts, parishes, state bureaucracies, police records, and places of work, etc. They all gather information and they all gather information which is used by the state. This is nothing new, but as I read Foucault's analysis, the picture became clearer.
When You Get Caught Between the Moon and New York City
Christopher Cross
Once in your life you find her
Someone that turns your heart around
And next thing you know you're closing down the town
Wake up and it's still with you
Even though you left her way across town
Wondering to yourself, "Hey, what've I found?"
When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
I know it's crazy, but it's true
If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
The best that you can do ......
The best that you can do is fall in love
Arthur he does as he pleases
All of his life, he's mastered choice
Deep in his heart, he's just, he's just a boy
Living his life one day at a time
And showing himself a really good time
Laughing about the way they want him to be
When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
I know it's crazy, but it's true
If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
The best that you can do .....
The best that you can do is fall in love
When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
I know it's crazy, but it's true
If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
The best that you can do .....
The best that you can do is fall in love
Once in your life you find her
Someone that turns your heart around
And next thing you know you're closing down the town
Wake up and it's still with you
Even though you left her way across town
Wondering to yourself, "Hey, what've I found?"
When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
I know it's crazy, but it's true
If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
The best that you can do ......
The best that you can do is fall in love
Arthur he does as he pleases
All of his life, he's mastered choice
Deep in his heart, he's just, he's just a boy
Living his life one day at a time
And showing himself a really good time
Laughing about the way they want him to be
When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
I know it's crazy, but it's true
If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
The best that you can do .....
The best that you can do is fall in love
When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
I know it's crazy, but it's true
If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
The best that you can do .....
The best that you can do is fall in love
A Good Morning
This morning I ran across a copy of June Jordan's "Poem About My Rights." I love that poem. June Jordan is God and God is with us! Also, I saw Arthur on television. Arthur and Arthur II are among my favorite movies. Great stuff.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
I saw Capote today. I am definitely going to have to write something about it. My first impressions of it are that, firstly, it is a beautifully made film Alas, it borders on boring, but there is something there that makes it rather intriguing and keeps you wanting to follow along in the film. There is also a lot of play going on in the film--playing with ideas and concepts of race with the two men on Death Row who are virtually white(as most white people are), but who have native blood and exist on the periphery of whiteness, in the place where most poor whites are located (and I would love to see how many poor whites and especially those who have been labeled "poor white trash" have a certain admixture of native, black, or otherwise colored blood. The construction of whiteness is defintely something that I am interesed in exploring--indeed something that needs to be explored, especially as to who got to fit into the categories and who didn't, how and to what extent. Also, I have to laud Hoffman for his portrayal of Capote--beautifully done! I think that the roles of both Capote and Harper Lee(Nell) should take home Oscars. Its quite interesting to think about how sexuality and regionality plays into concepts of whiteness as well. It is a great film. I would definitely see it again.
Friday, March 03, 2006
I was thinking today of the time when there was a large gathering held at Uncle Mac's house when I was a little boy. I was completely awed by it with tens upon tens of relatives present-including Uncle Lawrence. Uncle Mac's house, he is dead now, is a beautiful brick home situated in the middle of a clearing just off of the road and I always felt comfortable there and enjoyed the good smells to be experienced there, like the scent of the burning wood in the huge fireplace in his living room. That particular day, I don't remember the occasion, but I remember that Uncle Mac slaughtered a hog(I'm so glad I didn't see it) and made a pit out in the middle of the yard wear it slowly roasted. I remember there was tons of food and lots of merriment being made. I can't remember what the occasion was. Uncle Mac, my grandmother's second cousin, was a humourous, red-boned man, not much in height, but very tall in stature.
He always spoke like a drunken Irishman(partially because he often was drunk)and did not like talking about the past, especially family stuff, which he called "digging up bones" (much due to the fact that there were definitely some bones to be dug up in his family, but that we won't get into). Uncle Mac was a delightful character--whimsical and always willing to tell the truth(although certain topics he did not breach--"digging up bones." He was also very industrious. He grew corn and raised hogs on his family's property up until he died at almost ninety.
You could tell Uncle Mac had plenty of white blood just by looking at him(and even more so by looking at his brothers--who could have passed for white any day of the week--or at least as Jews). Uncle Mac was also our family's connecting point to our white relatives. It was nothing on any given day for the old man Rawlinson to be at Uncle Mac's house or for Uncle Mac to be at his house, either place both high on moonshine. They addressed each other as cousins(and we acknowledge them as cousins as well) and the Rawlinsons have been quite open and forthcoming in sharing the records from their family with us including old slave rolls, etc.
Uncle Mac's mother was my great-grandmother's first cousin, Jeroma, both of them granddaughters of Caroline Roper and Greenberry Smith. His father was a mulatto named Jack. Uncle Mac was a magnificent man. He was a life-long member of our family church and an integral part of our extended relations. His death was very deeply felt.
Uncle Mac's brother, Uncle Wade, was also a great figure.he is now deceased. He and Uncle Lawrence used to have long, philosophical and historical discussions and debates. They were intellectual sparring partners. Uncle Wade was a historian as well, a graduate of Wayne State University(which he always heralded). I never had many significant discussions with Uncle Wade, but he did leave me many of his things when he died to which I am very grateful. I am very grateful that I did have the opportunity to talk with Uncle Lawrence a great deal. I have some beautiful relations and I am very glad to have them.
He always spoke like a drunken Irishman(partially because he often was drunk)and did not like talking about the past, especially family stuff, which he called "digging up bones" (much due to the fact that there were definitely some bones to be dug up in his family, but that we won't get into). Uncle Mac was a delightful character--whimsical and always willing to tell the truth(although certain topics he did not breach--"digging up bones." He was also very industrious. He grew corn and raised hogs on his family's property up until he died at almost ninety.
You could tell Uncle Mac had plenty of white blood just by looking at him(and even more so by looking at his brothers--who could have passed for white any day of the week--or at least as Jews). Uncle Mac was also our family's connecting point to our white relatives. It was nothing on any given day for the old man Rawlinson to be at Uncle Mac's house or for Uncle Mac to be at his house, either place both high on moonshine. They addressed each other as cousins(and we acknowledge them as cousins as well) and the Rawlinsons have been quite open and forthcoming in sharing the records from their family with us including old slave rolls, etc.
Uncle Mac's mother was my great-grandmother's first cousin, Jeroma, both of them granddaughters of Caroline Roper and Greenberry Smith. His father was a mulatto named Jack. Uncle Mac was a magnificent man. He was a life-long member of our family church and an integral part of our extended relations. His death was very deeply felt.
Uncle Mac's brother, Uncle Wade, was also a great figure.he is now deceased. He and Uncle Lawrence used to have long, philosophical and historical discussions and debates. They were intellectual sparring partners. Uncle Wade was a historian as well, a graduate of Wayne State University(which he always heralded). I never had many significant discussions with Uncle Wade, but he did leave me many of his things when he died to which I am very grateful. I am very grateful that I did have the opportunity to talk with Uncle Lawrence a great deal. I have some beautiful relations and I am very glad to have them.
Bush Protests
Bush has been met on his visit to India and Pakistan with protests,a lot of it violent, by thousands in the streets.
Interesting News
Russia can always be counted on the act as a wonderful stickler in the side of U.S. foreign policy and today Vladimir Putin(whom I admit is a beautiful man) has invited Hamas to Moscow, a direct hit in the face to Condoleeza Rice and the Bush Administration's policies. Go Putin!
The senate's new Immigration reform bill is replete with racism and reads like this: You can stay in our country as long as you agree to work our lowest paying jobs with no guaranteed job security, but you can't have citizenship and you can't have the rights and privileges of the American citizenry. Indeed, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina outright said that he supported the bill because he liked to have the undocumented workers serve him on the golf course while he was playing. Oh Marie Antoinette?
I think there must be some serious money involved in this Dubai Port deal. Now, the Israelis are getting involved.The whole thing smells a bit rotten.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Another interesting point that Bernadine Dohrn brought up when she was here is that everything that we know about this administration we have learned through leaks. Thank god for subversion and subversives who have brought light to such horrendous acts such as COINTELPRO and the uncovering of Hurricane Katrina.
That George Bush knew about Katrina, not only before it happened, but before he was caught off playing singing cowboy with guitar in hand, is absolutely reprehensible. There should be a serious movement towards getting this man out of the white house, if not through impeachment then through some other means. From now on, a moment should never pass when there is not the sound of protest heard outside of the white house. We are the people and we have to demand justice.
This weekend over dinner someone said something that was quite interesting. Companies, take Ford for instance, used to make products--good working class products that would last forever. When they found that their profits wouldn't grow that way, they stopped making products as durable as they had been and, in the case of Ford, they started putting out newer brands every year in order to make the older versions obsolete. All for the sake of profit and money.
Bush was Warned about Katrina
By MARGARET EBRAHIM and JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON - On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's fateful landfall, President Bush was confident. His homeland security chief appeared relaxed. Louisiana officials were heaping praise on the federal government.
And warnings of the coming destruction — breached or overrun levees, deaths at the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelming needs for post-storm rescues — were delivered in dramatic terms to all involved.
All of it was captured on videotape.
The Associated Press obtained the confidential government video and made it public Wednesday, offering Americans their own inside glimpse into the government's fateful final Katrina preparations after months of fingerpointing and political recriminations.
"My gut tells me ... this is a bad one and a big one," then-federal disaster chief Michael Brown told the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
The video prompted Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill to reiterate their calls for a new investigation into the federal response to Katrina. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Thursday the video "points out the need for an independent commission" to review events surrounding the hurricane.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the video "confirms what we have suspected all along, that this Administration did anything they can to hide what really happened." He said the administration "systematically misled the American people."
The Republican-controlled House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the Katrina response. Democrats in the House, other than those from the affected states, refused to participate in the inquiry, insisting that an independent commission was needed.
In the Aug. 29 briefing, Bush didn't ask a single question but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."
But Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record), D-La., said the video shows that the administration failed to prepare adequately for the possible breach of the levees protecting New Orleans.
"This administration was told what Louisiana already knew: that our federally constructed levees could certainly fail," she said. "But these concerns, and others made by disaster relief experts, fell on deaf ears."
The footage — along with seven days of transcripts of briefings obtained by AP — show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.
A top hurricane expert voiced "grave concerns" about the levees and Brown, then the Federal Emergency Management Agency chief, told the president and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that he feared there weren't enough disaster teams to help evacuees at the Superdome.
"I'm concerned about ... their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," Brown told his bosses the afternoon before Katrina made landfall.
The White House and Homeland Security Department urged the public Wednesday not to read too much into the footage.
"I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing," Bush spokesman Trent Duffy said, citing a variety of orders and disaster declarations Bush signed before the storm made landfall. "He received multiple briefings from multiple officials, and he was completely engaged at all times."
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said his department would not release the full set of videotaped briefings, saying most transcripts — though not the videotapes — from the sessions were provided to congressional investigators months ago.
"There's nothing new or insightful on these tapes," Knocke said. "We actively participated in the lessons-learned review and we continue to participate in the Senate's review and are working with them on their recommendation."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, a critic of the administration's Katrina response, had a different take after watching the footage from an AP reporter's camera.
"I have kind a sinking feeling in my gut right now," Nagin said. "I was listening to what people were saying — they didn't know, so therefore it was an issue of a learning curve. You know, from this tape it looks like everybody was fully aware."
Some of the footage and transcripts from briefings Aug. 25-31 conflicts with the defenses that federal, state and local officials have made in trying to deflect blame and minimize the political fallout from the failed Katrina response:
• Homeland Security officials have said the "fog of war" blinded them early on to the magnitude of the disaster. But the video and transcripts show federal and local officials discussed threats clearly, reviewed long-made plans and understood Katrina would wreak devastation of historic proportions. "I'm sure it will be the top 10 or 15 when all is said and done," National Hurricane Center's Max Mayfield warned the day Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast.
"I don't buy the `fog of war' defense," Brown told the AP in an interview Wednesday. "It was a fog of bureaucracy."
• Bush declared four days after the storm, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans. He later clarified, saying officials believed, wrongly, after the storm passed that the levees had survived. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility even before the storm — and Bush was worried too.
White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Brown discussed fears of a levee breach the day the storm hit.
"I talked to the president twice today, once in Crawford and then again on Air Force One," Brown said. "He's obviously watching the television a lot, and he had some questions about the Dome, he's asking questions about reports of breaches."
• Louisiana officials angrily blamed the federal government for not being prepared but the transcripts shows they were still praising FEMA as the storm roared toward the Gulf Coast and even two days afterward. "I think a lot of the planning FEMA has done with us the past year has really paid off," Col. Jeff Smith, Louisiana's emergency preparedness deputy director, said during the Aug. 28 briefing.
It wasn't long before Smith and other state officials sounded overwhelmed.
"We appreciate everything that you all are doing for us, and all I would ask is that you realize that what's going on and the sense of urgency needs to be ratcheted up," Smith said Aug. 30.
Mississippi begged for more attention in that same briefing.
"We know that there are tens or hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana that need to be rescued, but we would just ask you, we desperately need to get our share of assets because we'll have people dying — not because of water coming up, but because we can't get them medical treatment in our affected counties," said a Mississippi state official whose name was not mentioned on the tape.
Video footage of the Aug. 28 briefing, the final one before Katrina struck, showed an intense Brown voicing concerns from the government's disaster operation center and imploring colleagues to do whatever was necessary to help victims.
"Go ahead and do it," Brown said. "I'll figure out some way to justify it. ... Just let them yell at me."
Bush appeared from a narrow, windowless room at his vacation ranch in Texas, with his elbows on a table. Hagin was sitting alongside him.
"I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm," the president said.
A relaxed Chertoff, sporting a polo shirt, weighed in from Washington at Homeland Security's operations center. He would later fly to Atlanta, outside of Katrina's reach, for a bird flu event. Officials say he was frequently updated on the road about Katrina.
One snippet captures a missed opportunity on Aug. 28 for the government to have dispatched active-duty military troops to the region to augment the National Guard.
Chertoff: "Are there any DOD assets that might be available? Have we reached out to them?"
Brown: "We have DOD assets over here at EOC (emergency operations center). They are fully engaged. And we are having those discussions with them now."
Chertoff: "Good job."
In fact, active duty troops weren't dispatched until days after the storm. And many states' National Guards had yet to be deployed to the region despite offers of assistance, and it took days before the Pentagon deployed active-duty personnel to help overwhelmed Guardsmen.
The National Hurricane Center's Mayfield told the final briefing before Katrina struck that storm models predicted minimal flooding inside New Orleans during the hurricane but he expressed concerns that counterclockwise winds and storm surges afterward could cause the levees at Lake Pontchartrain to be overrun.
"I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not but that is obviously a very, very grave concern," Mayfield told the briefing.
Other officials expressed concerns about the large number of New Orleans residents who had not evacuated.
___
Associated Press writers Ron Fournier and Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this report.
On the Net:
WASHINGTON - On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's fateful landfall, President Bush was confident. His homeland security chief appeared relaxed. Louisiana officials were heaping praise on the federal government.
And warnings of the coming destruction — breached or overrun levees, deaths at the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelming needs for post-storm rescues — were delivered in dramatic terms to all involved.
All of it was captured on videotape.
The Associated Press obtained the confidential government video and made it public Wednesday, offering Americans their own inside glimpse into the government's fateful final Katrina preparations after months of fingerpointing and political recriminations.
"My gut tells me ... this is a bad one and a big one," then-federal disaster chief Michael Brown told the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
The video prompted Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill to reiterate their calls for a new investigation into the federal response to Katrina. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Thursday the video "points out the need for an independent commission" to review events surrounding the hurricane.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the video "confirms what we have suspected all along, that this Administration did anything they can to hide what really happened." He said the administration "systematically misled the American people."
The Republican-controlled House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the Katrina response. Democrats in the House, other than those from the affected states, refused to participate in the inquiry, insisting that an independent commission was needed.
In the Aug. 29 briefing, Bush didn't ask a single question but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."
But Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record), D-La., said the video shows that the administration failed to prepare adequately for the possible breach of the levees protecting New Orleans.
"This administration was told what Louisiana already knew: that our federally constructed levees could certainly fail," she said. "But these concerns, and others made by disaster relief experts, fell on deaf ears."
The footage — along with seven days of transcripts of briefings obtained by AP — show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.
A top hurricane expert voiced "grave concerns" about the levees and Brown, then the Federal Emergency Management Agency chief, told the president and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that he feared there weren't enough disaster teams to help evacuees at the Superdome.
"I'm concerned about ... their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," Brown told his bosses the afternoon before Katrina made landfall.
The White House and Homeland Security Department urged the public Wednesday not to read too much into the footage.
"I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing," Bush spokesman Trent Duffy said, citing a variety of orders and disaster declarations Bush signed before the storm made landfall. "He received multiple briefings from multiple officials, and he was completely engaged at all times."
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said his department would not release the full set of videotaped briefings, saying most transcripts — though not the videotapes — from the sessions were provided to congressional investigators months ago.
"There's nothing new or insightful on these tapes," Knocke said. "We actively participated in the lessons-learned review and we continue to participate in the Senate's review and are working with them on their recommendation."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, a critic of the administration's Katrina response, had a different take after watching the footage from an AP reporter's camera.
"I have kind a sinking feeling in my gut right now," Nagin said. "I was listening to what people were saying — they didn't know, so therefore it was an issue of a learning curve. You know, from this tape it looks like everybody was fully aware."
Some of the footage and transcripts from briefings Aug. 25-31 conflicts with the defenses that federal, state and local officials have made in trying to deflect blame and minimize the political fallout from the failed Katrina response:
• Homeland Security officials have said the "fog of war" blinded them early on to the magnitude of the disaster. But the video and transcripts show federal and local officials discussed threats clearly, reviewed long-made plans and understood Katrina would wreak devastation of historic proportions. "I'm sure it will be the top 10 or 15 when all is said and done," National Hurricane Center's Max Mayfield warned the day Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast.
"I don't buy the `fog of war' defense," Brown told the AP in an interview Wednesday. "It was a fog of bureaucracy."
• Bush declared four days after the storm, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans. He later clarified, saying officials believed, wrongly, after the storm passed that the levees had survived. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility even before the storm — and Bush was worried too.
White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Brown discussed fears of a levee breach the day the storm hit.
"I talked to the president twice today, once in Crawford and then again on Air Force One," Brown said. "He's obviously watching the television a lot, and he had some questions about the Dome, he's asking questions about reports of breaches."
• Louisiana officials angrily blamed the federal government for not being prepared but the transcripts shows they were still praising FEMA as the storm roared toward the Gulf Coast and even two days afterward. "I think a lot of the planning FEMA has done with us the past year has really paid off," Col. Jeff Smith, Louisiana's emergency preparedness deputy director, said during the Aug. 28 briefing.
It wasn't long before Smith and other state officials sounded overwhelmed.
"We appreciate everything that you all are doing for us, and all I would ask is that you realize that what's going on and the sense of urgency needs to be ratcheted up," Smith said Aug. 30.
Mississippi begged for more attention in that same briefing.
"We know that there are tens or hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana that need to be rescued, but we would just ask you, we desperately need to get our share of assets because we'll have people dying — not because of water coming up, but because we can't get them medical treatment in our affected counties," said a Mississippi state official whose name was not mentioned on the tape.
Video footage of the Aug. 28 briefing, the final one before Katrina struck, showed an intense Brown voicing concerns from the government's disaster operation center and imploring colleagues to do whatever was necessary to help victims.
"Go ahead and do it," Brown said. "I'll figure out some way to justify it. ... Just let them yell at me."
Bush appeared from a narrow, windowless room at his vacation ranch in Texas, with his elbows on a table. Hagin was sitting alongside him.
"I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm," the president said.
A relaxed Chertoff, sporting a polo shirt, weighed in from Washington at Homeland Security's operations center. He would later fly to Atlanta, outside of Katrina's reach, for a bird flu event. Officials say he was frequently updated on the road about Katrina.
One snippet captures a missed opportunity on Aug. 28 for the government to have dispatched active-duty military troops to the region to augment the National Guard.
Chertoff: "Are there any DOD assets that might be available? Have we reached out to them?"
Brown: "We have DOD assets over here at EOC (emergency operations center). They are fully engaged. And we are having those discussions with them now."
Chertoff: "Good job."
In fact, active duty troops weren't dispatched until days after the storm. And many states' National Guards had yet to be deployed to the region despite offers of assistance, and it took days before the Pentagon deployed active-duty personnel to help overwhelmed Guardsmen.
The National Hurricane Center's Mayfield told the final briefing before Katrina struck that storm models predicted minimal flooding inside New Orleans during the hurricane but he expressed concerns that counterclockwise winds and storm surges afterward could cause the levees at Lake Pontchartrain to be overrun.
"I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not but that is obviously a very, very grave concern," Mayfield told the briefing.
Other officials expressed concerns about the large number of New Orleans residents who had not evacuated.
___
Associated Press writers Ron Fournier and Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this report.
On the Net:
Kudos to Cardinal Mahoney!
Kudos to Cardinal Mahoney for refusing to comply with federal policies seeking to entrap and criminalize undocumented immigrants in the United States!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Of ths snippets of the Black State of the Union that I heard( I do planto hear all of it), I heard some very good things. Alas, I was quite pleased that Harry Belafonte and Walter Mosley were participating in that as well. Also, of course it is great that Cornel is ever present. Alas, one thing that I heard that I think needs to be given some attention is the suggestion that Black churches ought to lead the way in the acquisition of real property in the Black community.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Chicago Police union is upset because a street is being named after Fred Hampton. My response to them is, go straight to hell and don't stop for nothing.
Interesting Observation
As I was watching the Black State of the Union today, I heard someone say something that made me think of what Bernadine Dohrn said when she was here at Purdue. She said tha the one of the biggest obstacles to making progress in this new era of struggle for human and Civil Rights is the 1960s. That the legacy of that time period and the bar that established as an example blocks us from using our imaginations to come up with new ways and strategies for fighting opprression. I very much agree with this assessment. We need to come up with new ways to combat oppression. As Jimmy Baldwin said, "we can't hit those streets again, because they're waiting for us."
Me as a Writer
There is a story I have to tell and what I am doing now is trying to figure out how to tell it.
Monday, February 27, 2006
What a Horrible Loss
Octavia Butler, the talented Black science fiction writer died today at the age of 58. What a horrible loss.
A Lesson in Songs
The two songs that I want to post today havebeen very influential in my life. I heard both of these starting at a very early age and they have instilled something in me that has has been with me throughout my entire life. "Lift Every Voice and Sing," is a song that we used to sing in church when I was a little boy, and not just during Black History Month. It was sung as benediction, and even as a young boy, the words to this song were a refrain that caused me to pay attention. I feel that all Black people should know this song.Indeed, both of these songs.
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered;
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou Who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.
"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is another song that has stuck with me and which was instilled in me when I was young. Even before I knew who Nina Simone was and her significance in the world and to the struggle for Black liberation and the liberation of all oppressed peoples, the words to this song inspired something in me. These beautiful words should be known by every Black child.
To be young, gifted and black,
Oh what a lovely precious dream
To be young, gifted and black,
Open your heart to what I mean
In the whole world you know
There are billion boys and girls
Who are young, gifted and black,
And that's a fact!
Young, gifted and black
We must begin to tell our young
There's a world waiting for you
This is a quest that's just begun
When you feel really low
Yeah, there's a great truth you should know
When you're young, gifted and black
Your soul's intact
Young, gifted and black
How I long to know the truth
There are times when I look back
And I am haunted by my youth
Oh but my joy of today
Is that we can all be proud to say
To be young, gifted and black
Is where it's at
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered;
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou Who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.
"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is another song that has stuck with me and which was instilled in me when I was young. Even before I knew who Nina Simone was and her significance in the world and to the struggle for Black liberation and the liberation of all oppressed peoples, the words to this song inspired something in me. These beautiful words should be known by every Black child.
To be young, gifted and black,
Oh what a lovely precious dream
To be young, gifted and black,
Open your heart to what I mean
In the whole world you know
There are billion boys and girls
Who are young, gifted and black,
And that's a fact!
Young, gifted and black
We must begin to tell our young
There's a world waiting for you
This is a quest that's just begun
When you feel really low
Yeah, there's a great truth you should know
When you're young, gifted and black
Your soul's intact
Young, gifted and black
How I long to know the truth
There are times when I look back
And I am haunted by my youth
Oh but my joy of today
Is that we can all be proud to say
To be young, gifted and black
Is where it's at
Sunday, February 26, 2006
On Both Walter and Harry
Tonight Walter Mosley said some very inspiring things(so did Harry!--not to exclude him, but I wanted to focus on Walter's comments).He spoke of how most people, and most pressingly people of color, engage in the effort of narcotizing themselves in various ways---with drugs, with liquor, with food, as a means to not have to address the world we live in. I think this is very true. We need to move past our pain and become proactive once again in fighting our own apathy and in eradicating those structures that oppress us.Walter also said something that is very wise. He stated that "the only box to be in is inside of ourselves."
Harry Belafonte also made some beautiful and powerful comments tonight. He told the audience that right before King's death, King was speaking to him about their efforts to achieve integration. After much reflection, King told him "We(Black people) are integrating into a burning house." Meaning that America is on a fast track spiral and will ultimately cave in on itself. King's suggestion was that we must become, especially Black people, firemen.
Belafonte made a burning observation when he spoke of the "duality of the American Evolution." He pointed out the inconsistentcies in the United States and the development of their "American Dream," that while the people that settled here from Europe were escaping persecution and religious freedom, they were killing indigenous peoples, that while the so called founding fathers were fighting to stay free from King George they were enslaving Africans and Afro-Americans, that while they were seeking to compete in technological development and the space age, they maintained a system of segregation and oppression. These are definitely important contradictions to think about in the history of this country and the development of this failing experiment that we have today.
One of the most powerful and pressing things that he spoke of was the need for people in this country--and ESPECIALLY the oppressed--to think, act and live outside of the box. He said we should all be speaking with such truth that "people will question what level of insanity you are at, or if insanity doesn't apply then ponder as to what you have been smoking." THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!! Harry Belafonte is a beautiful man and he has demanded of us all that we live "not to please those that control us inside of the box, but to live outside of the box and make those on the inside uncomfortable." God Bless Harry Belafonte. God Bless Walter Mosley.
Harry Belafonte also made some beautiful and powerful comments tonight. He told the audience that right before King's death, King was speaking to him about their efforts to achieve integration. After much reflection, King told him "We(Black people) are integrating into a burning house." Meaning that America is on a fast track spiral and will ultimately cave in on itself. King's suggestion was that we must become, especially Black people, firemen.
Belafonte made a burning observation when he spoke of the "duality of the American Evolution." He pointed out the inconsistentcies in the United States and the development of their "American Dream," that while the people that settled here from Europe were escaping persecution and religious freedom, they were killing indigenous peoples, that while the so called founding fathers were fighting to stay free from King George they were enslaving Africans and Afro-Americans, that while they were seeking to compete in technological development and the space age, they maintained a system of segregation and oppression. These are definitely important contradictions to think about in the history of this country and the development of this failing experiment that we have today.
One of the most powerful and pressing things that he spoke of was the need for people in this country--and ESPECIALLY the oppressed--to think, act and live outside of the box. He said we should all be speaking with such truth that "people will question what level of insanity you are at, or if insanity doesn't apply then ponder as to what you have been smoking." THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!! Harry Belafonte is a beautiful man and he has demanded of us all that we live "not to please those that control us inside of the box, but to live outside of the box and make those on the inside uncomfortable." God Bless Harry Belafonte. God Bless Walter Mosley.
Mississippi Goddam
Protest Song
by Nina Simone
The name of this tune is mississippi goddam
And I mean every word of it
Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam
Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam
Can’t you see it
Can’t you feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam
This is a show tune
But the show hasn’t been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day’s gonna be my last
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong there
I’ve even stopped believing in prayer
Don’t tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I’ve been there so I know
They keep on saying go slow!
But that’s just the trouble
Do it slow
Washing the windows
Do it slow
Picking the cotton
Do it slow
You’re just plain rotten
Do it slow
You’re too damn lazy
Do it slow
The thinking’s crazy
Do it slow
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don’t know
I don’t know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about mississippi goddam
I made you thought I was kiddin’ didn’t we
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it’s a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you’d stop calling me sister sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You’re all gonna die and die like flies
I don’t trust you any more
You keep on saying go slow!
Go slow!
But that’s just the trouble
Do it slow
Desegregation
Do it slow
Mass participation
Do it slow
Reunification
Do it slow
Do things gradually
Do it slow
But bring more tragedy
Do it slow
Why don’t you see it
Why don’t you feel it
I don’t know
I don’t know
You don’t have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about mississippi
Everybody knows about alabama
Everybody knows about mississippi goddam
That’s it!
by Nina Simone
The name of this tune is mississippi goddam
And I mean every word of it
Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam
Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam
Can’t you see it
Can’t you feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam
This is a show tune
But the show hasn’t been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day’s gonna be my last
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong there
I’ve even stopped believing in prayer
Don’t tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I’ve been there so I know
They keep on saying go slow!
But that’s just the trouble
Do it slow
Washing the windows
Do it slow
Picking the cotton
Do it slow
You’re just plain rotten
Do it slow
You’re too damn lazy
Do it slow
The thinking’s crazy
Do it slow
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don’t know
I don’t know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about mississippi goddam
I made you thought I was kiddin’ didn’t we
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it’s a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you’d stop calling me sister sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You’re all gonna die and die like flies
I don’t trust you any more
You keep on saying go slow!
Go slow!
But that’s just the trouble
Do it slow
Desegregation
Do it slow
Mass participation
Do it slow
Reunification
Do it slow
Do things gradually
Do it slow
But bring more tragedy
Do it slow
Why don’t you see it
Why don’t you feel it
I don’t know
I don’t know
You don’t have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about mississippi
Everybody knows about alabama
Everybody knows about mississippi goddam
That’s it!
I wanted to elaborate further on CCDS. I very much have enjoyed and been inspired by participating in Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. The first meeting I attended, I was absolutely moved and I left there with a deeper sense of my purpose, of what needs to be done, and with agreater grasp of the beautiful humanity and soul of the progressive community in this country and in this world. God Bless CCDS and I am thankful that I have been able to participate.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
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