A Piece of Sky

Barbra

Tell me where
Where is it written
What it is I’m meant to be?
That I can’t dare...

It all began the day I found
That from my window
I could only see
A piece of sky.
I stepped outside and looked around,
I never dreamed it was so wide
Or even half as high.

The time had come
(papa, can you hear me? )
To try my wings
(papa, are you near me? )
And even thought it seemed at any moment I could fall,
I felt the most
(papa, can you see me? )
Amazing things,
(can you understand me? )
The things you can’t imagine
If you’ve never flown at all.

Though it’s safer to stay on the ground,
Sometimes where danger lies
There the sweetest of pleasures are found.
No matter where I go-
There’ll be mem’ries that tug at my sleeve
But there will also be
More to question yet more to believe.

(oh tell me where-
Where is the someone who will turn to look at me
And want to sahre
My ev’ry sweet-imagined possibility? )

The more I live - the more I learn.
The more I learn - the more I realize
The less I know.
Each step I take-
(papa, I’ve a voice now!)
Each page I turn-
(papa, I’ve a choice now!)
Each mile I travel only means
The more I have to go.
What’s wrong with wanting more?
If you can fly - then soar!
With all there is - why settle for
Just a piece of sky?

Papa, I can hear you...
Papa, I can see you...
Papa, I can feel you...
Papa, watch me fly!

I think there needs to be more public discourse on the effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Black psyche collectively.

The women of South Africa should collectively learn how to castrate.

FEMA is trying to make the hurricane victims pay back the money given to them. I would never give it back.

I just got through watching Oprah and Halle Berry's YTheir Eyes Were Watching God. What a beautiful, beautiful film. All praises to Halle and Oprah! Oh where will I be when my Teacake comes?

In Other News

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton led thousands today in Florida in protest of the killing of a black teenage boy at a bootcamp. I think that what happened down there was criminal and whomever did it should be dealt with appropriately.

I have just recently become aware that the NAACP, Harry Belafonte, and Danny Glover have all come out vocally in support of Congresswoman McKinney! Kudos and may they be blessed!

Peter Goss, of the CIA has fired and wants to pursue criminal charges against the person who leaked information concerning government wrongdoing in having secret prisons in Eastern Europe. There should be penalties for the CIA and the government for having these places! God help us all...castrate these men and get rid of their power!

Great News for the Duke Rape Survivor

Jesse Jackson and Rainbow PUSH will pay for her education. Wonderful,wonderful news.

Hazel Carby's Race Men

Hazel Carby's book, Race Men is an interesting assessment of Black male sexism and the depictions and portrayals of the Black male body in American culture. I do, however, have some problems with it. I find it quite interesting that she would criticize W.E.B. Dubois and Cornel West for accepting the image of the Black intellectual as only "male and clad in a victorian three piece suit" yet she would vehemently criticize Paul Robeson's nude photographs for Nickolas Muray and juxtapose them as being "degrading and embodying the oppression of the Black male" as opposed to the suited picture of Robeson that was given as a present to Carl Van Vechten which she defines as "the picture of a quiet,thoughtful, and intellectual Robeson." I disagree with her assessment of Murray's photographs, as I think that they are expressions not only of Muray's talents and artistry, but they do exude the artistry, intellect, and integrity of Robeson as well.

The Fourth Radical Progressive Carnival is Pending

Depending on submissions, the fourth Radical progressive carnival will be out soon.

Third Radical Progressive Carnival-- Off Schedule

The long awaited third Radical Progressive Congress is now up! The only thing to post for it is an excellent essay entitled,The "High" of Perpetual Wars by Francois Tremblay of The Radical Libertarian in which he meticulously draws lines of comparison between drug addiction and the U.S's addiction to war and highlights the ironic history of America's racist "War on Drugs," and it's own failure to curb its addiction to war. It is an excellent assessment.

We had great discussions in my class today.

Those pictures of Paul Robeson in Hazel Carby's Race Men are a mess. Absolutely scandalous!;-)

My great-grandmother's oldest brother was named King Philip Goodson, named for the Native American chief of fame. I am told that when he got older, he used to go sit in the gentlemen's pew at the family church and his favorite statement was "I'm right because OLD enough to be right!" Haha. I found that terribly funny.

I so very much miss my uncle.

Purdue Student Arrested

The ACLU should definitely be getting involved with the case of Vikram Buddhi, a Purdue Graduate student who has been arrested for allegedly "making threatening remarks against President Bush and others." This is a first amendment issue and this young man's civil and human rights are drawn into concern now that he has been arrested. If the ACLU does not get involved,they ought to be ashamed. Other civil rights agencies should be involved as well.

Jane Fonda was wonderful on Larry King!

Making Connections

In These Times provides a very accurate diagram of how information is currently flowing out to the public and why it is so very conservative here.

Poem That I Will Share With the World

I typically have not placed my poetry online. I will share this one though.

For Me it's a question of where your soul will rest
I don't care about your sorry flesh
I am not swooned by a fine physique
or a gorgeous frame
Its the Cana wine that would flow from your mouth with the words
you speak
the ancient winds I feel when you approach
Give me the love of old songs and carry my heart in a gold encrusted chest
and I will give you the world, a hope of redemption
only for you.
I want not your fancy talk
or sharp dress
I want you to give me your soul and I want to find
a fire there

I am Yentl. Always have been.

The Way He Makes Me Feel

From Yentl/Barbra

There’s no chill and yet I shiver
There’s no flame and yet I burn
I’m not sure what I’m afraid of
And yet I’m trembling
There's no storm yet I hear thunder.
And I'm breathless, why I wonder?
Weak one moment,
Then the next I'm fine.
I feel as if 1'm falling every time
I close my eyes
And flowing through my body
Is a river of surprise.
Feelings are awakening
I hardly' recognize as mine!
What are all these new sensations?
What's the secret they reveal?
I'm not sure I understand
But I like the way I feel.
Oh, why is it that every time
I close my eyes he's there?
The water shining on his skin,
The sunlight in his hair?
And all the while I'm thinking things
That I can never share with him.
I'm a bundle of confusion
Yet it has a strange appeal.
Did it all begin with him,
And the way he makes me feel
I like the way he makes me feel...

Things are definitely interesting, beautiful.

I am glad that the Iranians are helping the Palestinians.

I love Diane Rehm, she is such a fabulous diplomat. Trent Lott was on her show today--I could not have stomached him. She did go after him though really well. She nailed him with a question about Abramoff and then also tackled him with a question about the economy. Great going! Lott had the audacity to talk about immigration reform....those same illegal immigrants are probably picking cotton in his fields down in Mississippi. I would certainly check that one out.

Be One

Phyllis Hyman

What a day.
what a way.
To behave.
Will i win, lose,draw or be saved.
For my heart says go, but my mind says no.
Ooooooooooooooooooo my love.

I've had plenty of time to get over it.
Plenty of time mole and reflect.
There are things to alert me.
So that he would not desert me.
Should I go on and try or forget it.
Life is short will I live to regret.
By a chance this romance does say let it sweetheart.

Should I go on and try or forget it.
Life is short will I live to regret.
By a chance this romance does say let it sweetheart.
So be one be a fool.
Go ahead and fall in love.

Commentary

I saw a debate last night between Ward Churchill and David Horowitz....Ward is a wonderful man. He should have cut Horowitz's penis off.

Excerpted from The Beloved Cynthia McKinney

"Let me give you an historical hint. As a rule wars, are generally started over big events, (e.g. the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Pearl Harbor, North Korea’s Army Crossing the 38th parallel). Revolutions are generally started over less memorable things (e.g. “Let them eat cake,” a tea tax, some government troops opening fire on unarmed demonstrators). People of all colors and political persuasions understand that underlying both wars and revolutions are monstrous icebergs of unresolved inequity. So it is with Cynthia McKinney. And it is her hairdo (new or old, take your pick) that now sits atop an iceberg that both right-wing whites and bought-off blacks would like to go away."

Go Cynthia McKinney!

"Ever since I came to Congress in 1992," McKinney once said, "there are those who have been trying to silence my voice. I've been told to sit down and shut up over and over again. Well, I won't sit down and I won't shut up until the full and unvarnished truth is placed before the American people."

All praises for the most delightful Cynthia McKinney.

I think one thing that definitely needs to be done in the efforts to combat racism and the racist hierarchy that exist within this country is that we must stop viewing the White male power structure as either sane or normal.

I had interesting dreams last night. Firstly, I dreamed about a Nazi death camp...and I could smell death..and I witnessed the devastation of it....It was very real. Immediately after that I dreamt that I was at my Uncle's home, lying outside in his gazebo...with birds chirping all around and in the middle of his beautiful garden, probably with a book in my hand.

One of My Favorites--Black ButterFly

By Deniece Williams

Morning light, silken dream to flight
As the darkness gave way to dawn
You've survived, now your moment has arrived
Now your dream has finally been born

Chorus:
Black Butterfly, sailed across the waters
tell your sons and daughters
what the struggle brings
Black Butterfly, set the skies on fire
rise up even higher
so the ageless winds of time can catch your wings

ooh...ooh

While you slept, the promise was unkept
But your faith was as sure as the stars
Now you're free, and the world has come to see
Just how proud and beautiful you are

Chorus

Let the current lift your heart and send it soaring
Write the timeless message clear across the sky
So that all of can read it and remember when we need it
That a dream conceived in truth can never die
Butterfly

Cause now that you're free and the world has come to see
Just how proud and beautiful you are

Chorus

Fly
Butterfly
Yeah, yeah, yes
Fly

I feel very much like I am in touch with my forbears. I am listening.

I have noticed several trends here at purdue. I should be a cultural anthropologist. For one there is the white person and their asian sidekick--this is seen everywhere. Then there is the asian, hispanic,or black male with their prized white women--this is also seen. I've never really seen white male/black,asian,latino female here really. These are interesting trends though.

I wish I had the freedom of Janis Joplin. I heard she once blew the entire football team at her high school.

Me and Bobby McGee

by Janis Joplin


Busted flat in baton rouge, waiting for a train
And i’s feeling nearly as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
It rode us all the way to new orleans.

I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
I was playing soft while bobby sang the blues.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding bobby’s hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don’t mean nothing honey if it ain’t free, now now.
And feeling good was easy, lord, when he sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my bobby mcgee.

From the kentucky coal mines to the california sun,
Hey, bobby shared the secrets of my soul.
Through all kinds of weather, through everything that we done,
Hey bobby baby kept me from the cold.

One day up near salinas, lord, I let him slip away,
He’s looking for that home and I hope he finds it,
But I’d trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holding bobby’s body next to mine.

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing, that’s all that bobby left me, yeah,
But feeling good was easy, lord, when he sang the blues,
Hey, feeling good was good enough for me, hmm hmm,
Good enough for me and my bobby mcgee.

La la la, la la la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la la la bobby mcgee.
La la la la la, la la la la la
La la la la la, bobby mcgee, la.

La la la, la la la la la la,
La la la la la la la la la, hey now bobby now bobby mcgee yeah.
Na na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na na
Hey now bobby now, bobby mcgee, yeah.

Lord, I’m calling my lover, calling my man,
I said I’m calling my lover just the best I can,
C’mon, where is bobby now, where is bobby mcgee, yeah,
Lordy lordy lordy lordy lordy lordy lordy lord
Hey, hey, hey, bobby mcgee, lord!

Yeah! whew!

Lordy lordy lordy lordy lordy lordy lordy lord
Hey, hey, hey, bobby mcgee.

I’d like to do a song of great social and political import.
It goes like this:

Thoughts Running Through My Head Today

It was a beautiful day outside...I saw two beautiful bushes, one with red flowers, the other with white..and I stopped to pick some flowers...they looked very much like shrubs in my Aunt Earnestine's yard. She always had flowers in bloom...and things growing in her garden...The Graduate School Application process is soo very classist...the fact that it costs so much money and you have to apply to so many schools...I didn't, I will next year...my ex, Kelly, is going through similiar things that my grandmother went through when she was teaching in Autauga county....he is very sweet,may he be well.

The Journal and Courier ran an interesting article today on Purdue's efforts(or lack there of) in terms of diversity. Very, very interesting indeed. They had commentary and such from Samantha Blackmon and Angelica Duran. Oh what tangled webs......

I was just thinking about my time in Montgomery. I moved around in some wonderful crowds and really was in the midst of some great work going on with the SPLC,Trish, and ACT in Alabama. It was definitely a great time.

The anti-sweatshop movement is really picking up here at Purdue. Alas, I definitely am going ot write more about the connections between the anti-sweatshop,pro-immigrant, and traditional labor movements. I see definitely interesting connections.

I am reading a pamphlet on the history of witches and midwives put out by the Feminist Press. What a horrible gory legacy the entirety of Western Civilization leaves behind.

New York State of Mind

Barbra

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood
But I'm takin' a Greyhound
On the Hudson River line
I'm in a New York state of mind
Seen all those movie stars
And their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies, under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needin'
And I don't wanna waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind
It was so easy livin' day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times and the Daily News
Comes down to reality
And it's fine with me cause I've let it slide
I don't care if it's Chinatown or up on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind
I don't have any reasons
Cause left them all behind
I'm in a New York, I'm in a New York state of mind...

I want to be Carrie Bradshaw and write a glorified column and have a fabulous penthouse in the city.

My ex, Kelly, is the principal of a school for troubled youth out where he lives. They are struggling to keep it open due to the awfulness of the school board there. I definitely send him my blessings and hope.

I encourage everyone to go to listen to Diane Rehms interview with General Zinni. I believe his arguments against U.S. military actions in Iraq, coupled with those of Colonel Ann Wright, make a very compelling statement concerning the lack of faith among the U.S. military in this effort.

New Words from Barbra

...Barbra Streisand
Perhaps the Real Reason Bush Went to War
Two years before 9/11, Presidential candidate George W. Bush was already privately talking about invading Iraq. Mickey Herskowitz, a long-time Bush family friend who worked with the candidate as a ghostwriter on his memoir, claimed Bush was obsessed with the notion and was simply just looking for justification to do so. Less than a year into his presidency, the warmongering Bush Administration was given the perfect rationale for waging a war: combating terrorism.

Immediately following the 9/11 attacks, Bush saw himself surging to historical highs in the polls. His cabal of advisors saw the opportunity to cement their place in American history by starting a war under the guise of protecting the American people against terrorists. However, Bush shifted his focus from al Qaeda, terrorist group and sole perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks, to Iraq and a ruthless dictator who had no connection to 9/11. Even though 15 of the highjackers were from Saudi Arabia and Osama bin Laden, mastermind of 9/11 and leader of al Qaeda, was hiding in Afghanistan, Bush chose to invade Iraq.

In his unfinished authorized memoir of the President, Mickey Herskowitz touched upon the psycho-social reasons relating to Bush’s decision to invade Iraq: a long-standing father and son competition based on feelings of jealousy and inadequacy. Herskowitz stated that Bush felt his father wasted all of his political capitol he acquired during the Gulf War. George W. Bush was quoted saying "If I have a chance to invade, if I had that much capitol, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I am going to have a successful presidency." In invading Iraq, Bush saw the opportunity to emerge from his father's shadow and no longer be seen as the perpetual underachiever who consistently failed under the watchful eye of his accomplished father. He had the chance to finish what he feels his father was unable to finish. And he could finally have the opportunity to achieve something his father was unsuccessful in achieving...a two-term presidency.

History has proved that war-time presidents gain immense political capitol. And war-time presidents tend to have high approval ratings because when fighting an enemy, the country rallies around the flag and their Commander-in-Chief. But most importantly, war-time presidents get re-elected. According to Herskowitz, Bush accepted the view that without a military "win" under his belt no president could be considered truly successful. Bush knew what it took to get re-elected, but the stupidity was not to comprehend the repercussions of his own actions.

I was thinking today of when, during my undergraduate, Wanda Bigham, our college's president used to have me come every semester to her breakfast. I am not sure what it was for, but I remember it as interesting times.

The Other Woman

Nina Simone

The other woman finds time to manicure her nails
The other woman is perfect where her rival fails
And she’s never seen with pin curls in her hair

The other woman enchantes her clothes with french perfume
The other woman keeps fresh cut flowers in each room
There are never toys that’s scattered everywhere

And when her baby comes to call
He’ll find her waiting like a lonesome queen
Cos when she’s by his side
It’s such a change from old routine

But the other woman will always cry herself to sleep
The other woman will never have his love to keep
And as the years go by the other woman
Will spend her life alone

From now on I am going to do everything Dr. Dorsey tells me to!

Sometimes white people are absolutely funny.

I hope the gas prices shoot through the roof;-) Already expectations about the summer.

I am beginning to read a book by the Midnight Notes Collective on the Middle East and the Gulf war. I definitely am beginning to grasp a fundamental understanding of the marxist economic class model, of the way that society is structured.

bell hooks spoke of the absolutely horrific occurence that our children in this day and age are growing up with no imagination. No capacity to imagine at all.

I have started working on a book.

I stand in solidarity with all of the immigrant actions that are going on across the country today.

The Midwest Peace and Justice Summit was great. I'll write more later.

I love this response. bell hooks' reports that in response to a letter from a white farm boy concerning the solution to the "Negro Question," Lorraine Hansberry wrote

"the condition of our people dictates that what can only be called revolutionary attitudes.... I Think,then, that Negroes must concern themselves with every single means of struggle:legal,illegal,passive,active,violent,and nonviolent. That they must harrass, debate, petition, give money to court struggle,sit-in,lie-down,strike,boycott,sing hymns,pray on steps-and shoot from their windows when the racists come cruising through their communities."

There is a reason why I love Lorraine Hansberry.

I finished bell hooks' Rock My Soul last night. Everyone must read it.

Always be ware of language, how it is used, and the nuances of it. For starters, be ware of anyone who calls anyone else silly. Silly is what they used to call women, negroes, and children. Oh patriarchy.

Yes!

Today, amid fallout from the Abramoff scandal, Tom Delay has announced his resignation from congress!One down!

The Paris of the 1960s has returned. Read here.

I saw Anatoli today. It always throws me off. That man really did make an impression on me.

FBI Spies on the Left

The ACLU website is carrying an article which details the FBI's efforts to color public dissent to the Bush adminstration and the right-wing agenda in the government as potential terrorism. These people must be stopped.

I Concentrate on You

Abbey Lincoln

Whenever skies look grey to me,
And trouble begins to brew,
Whenever the winter winds become too strong,
I concentrate on you.
When fortune cries "nay, nay" to me,
And people declare "you're through,"
Whenever the blues become my only song,
I concentrate on you.
On your smile so sweet, so tender,
When at first my kiss you declined, (your kiss I declined)
On the light in your eyes when you surrender, (I surrender)
And once again our hearts intertwine.
And so when wise men say to me
That love's young dream never comes true;
To prove that even wise men can be wrong,
I concentrate you

Abbey Lincoln looks so much like my Aunt Betty. They have the same mouth, very similar faces.

Happy Birthday Nikki!

Happy Birthday to My Sister!

Abbey Lincoln makes a very profound statement that " We don't know our names. Our names are in our ancestors. We don't know our ancestors. Our ancestors are with our Gods. We are our Gods." She speaks to something that I have spoken on many times and something that I wish to make the focus of my work, that Afro-Americans, Black people in this country do not know their heritage, do not know where they come from and are therefore at the mercy and whim of the white male power structure. All of the confusion that we see today in the Afro-American community(such as it is), everything that sticks out like a sore thumb--from Hurricane Katrina to the total disregard and disrespect paid to the Afro-American community by the powers that be in this country, all result from our collective not knowing from where we have come. As I have said before, with all of the efforts to try and delve back into an African past--these are very fine, but they won't do any good until Afro-Americans deal with the legacy that they have been handed here in this country--that of slavery and horrible crimes against humanity that produced us as a population. We are the bastard children of this white male power structure. We collectively are the Edmund of King Lear, and we must decide what we will do in facing this patriarchal system that oppresses us. Black people deal with this legacy of illegitimacy within this white capitalist patriarchal system(to borrow bell hooks' term) by denying this legacy-- acknowledging only the African part of their past and this is detrimental to any efforts that Blacks will ever make to gain recognition of their humanity in this country. They will either have to confront patriarchy head on or they will continue to live in the squalor of its existence.

This demands that we know our legacy here in this country and that we know where we come from. How many of us know our grandparents, our great grandparents? Where you come from? We must become reconnected to this past in order to bring ourselves forward. I am very glad that I have always been in touch with mine. When you know who you are, there is nothing that can be done to you.

I truly believe that there is some kind of higher power that incluences the determination of our lives.

Lucky White Girl is a great blog. Very cutting edge.

Dick Gregory Quote

"The Word Katrina is Russian. It means cleansing. It was a wakeup call for everyone."

This is a great article by Ebony Ledbetter of BlackCollegewire concerning Hampton University's not very progressive dress and hair codes for Black students in their business program.

Good News

North Carolina Central University is standing behind the 27-year-old woman who was brutaly gang-raped by members of their lacrosse team. They have developed a fund to financially support this woman and her children and are calling for justice in this most horrific case.

I was described as being Soul on Ice and James Baldwin. Interesting. I have never read Soul on Ice. It's interesting that I've never read the work of patriarchal Black men.

9 to 5

Dolly Parton

Tumble outta bed
And stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
Yawnin’, stretchin’, try to come to life
Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin’
Out on the streets
The traffic starts jumpin’
And folks like me on the job from 9 to 5
Chorus:

Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’
And no givin’
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that i
Would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead
But the boss won’t seem to let me in
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me
Mmmmm...

They let your dream
Just a’ watch ’em shatter
You’re just a step
On the boss man’s a’ ladder
But you got dream he’ll never take away

On the same boat
With a lot of your friends
Waitin’ for the day
Your ship’ll come in
And the tide’s gonna turn
An’ it’s all gonna roll you away

2nd chorus:

Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’
And no givin’
They just use your mind
And you never get the credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

9 to 5, yeah, they got you where they want you
There’s a better life
And you think that I would daunt you
It’s a rich man’s game
No matter what they call it
And you spend your life
Going funny if you want it

3rd chorus:

Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’
And no givin’
They just use you mind
And they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

Fade:

9 to 5, yeah, they got you where they want you
There’s a better life
And you dream that I would daunt you
It’s a rich man’s game
No matter what they call it
And you spend your life
Going funny if you want it

Shelby Steele on CSPAN

Shelby Steele wants to be a patriarch so bad.... he can loose his penis too. I thought it was really funny when he said that Ronald Reagan gave him his manhood.

Observations

When Shelby Steele talks about freedom, what he really means is Capitalism-- he is free to be a capitalist. Also, he takes his frustrations with White liberals and turns it into slef-hatred and hatred for other Blacks.

I love the rush that I feel when I am walking through downtown Chicago. I love the energy and the metropolitanness of it. Whenever I write, there is always some force that wants to stop me from doing so.

Deconstruction in Action

Alternatives= Alter Narratives

The Best April Fools'

The best April fools' day prank I can remember is when we were living in Chicago and my mother called my cousin Freda, pretending that she was from the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and told her that she had won $10,000. Freda was estatic and it was funny as hell.

What Dessert Am I?

You scored as Plain Chocolate Cake. Plain Chocolate Cake 100% Creme Brulee 100% Chocolate Mousse 100% Chocolate Chip Cookie 69% Oatmeal Cookie. 63% Pumpkin Pie 63% Gelato 56% Chocolate Pudding 50% Crepe 50% Strawberries and Wipped Cream 44% Ice Cream 44% Flan 25% No Dessert 19% ---------------- 6% What dessert are you most like? created with QuizFarm.com

Black Morality

bell hooks, in her Rock My Soul:Black People and Self-Esteem reports on statements made by Black psychologists, William Greer and Price Cobbs in their book,The Jesus Bag. Taking the title of this post from bell's passage on this, I think that their assessment and pronouncement here is beautiful and should be noted. Grier and Cobbs state,

"Religion lost its hold on some of us and the rage binding conscience was no longer effective. In a fury, we burst into the streets. We had survived the oppression and we now have survived the riots. Where we were once ashamed of the scars we n ow see them as badges of honor. We looked into ourselves and, even more, looked deep into white America. Our flaws, which we were taught to hide in shame, were in the flaws of this nation. The hatred we had of ourselves was minor placed alongside white folks' hatred of us. Were once we saw ourselves as deformed and debased, we now see how much more deformed and debased is the white bigotry that has so hurt us. Black people who all that time had tried futilely to turn themselves inside out have now upened up the festering wound of America and see that it is America which has most need of healing."

I am deeply troubled at this wanton killing on the part of the U.S. military among the Iraqi people. I was deeply concerned and my mind started to race as the media started to report the newest point for Iraqi anger as they are protesting what they themselves state was the murder or innocent people inside of a mosque. Power can always refute, cover up, and pretend that something isnt't so, but that which will never work in their favor and will constantly be a bar against them is that the people of Iraq feel and have been violated and it doesn't matter how many times the U.S. military or George Bush tries to label these people as terrorists or insurgents--these are mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers--and the point is that your killing them and interfering in their lives will always make you their enemy, never their ally or friend.

A Blessing

I am very glad to see that Jill Carroll has been released.

WalkOut-A Must See Film!

Kudos to HBO for its brave and brilliant movie, WalkOut which dramatizes the 1968 Latino student uprisings in L.A. in protest against second-class schools and the Vietnam War. Beautiful film, excellently done. Edward James Olmos is a wonderful man.

Praise for the Magnificent and Courageous Cynthia McKinney:In Profile

Representative Cynthia McKinney, Democract from the state of Georgia is one of the most courageous and magnificent elected officials to serve in public office today. Always taking a constant stand for the integrity and dignity of all people, she has the courage and integrity to stand in the face of power and evil and shout back. The first Afro-American woman to represent the state of Georgia, McKinney was elected to Congress first in 1992. Congresswoman McKinney has been a vocal opponent of both wars in Iraq and a champion of the causes of both the Palestinian people, the peoples of the continent of Africa, aboriginal peoples from Australia, and the people of Latin America. Since her return to Congress, she has heralded efforts to look into the occurrences on September 11th and has advocated for justice for the victims of Hurricans Katrina and Rita. All praises to this beautiful sister! God Black and Be Well Cynthia McKinney!

Don't Fuck With Cynthia McKinney

I cannot believe that police forces in Washington D.C. would try and manhandle Representative Cynthia McKinney from Georgia! She has my permission to kick ass!

How Beautiful!

Beautifully reminiscent of the actions of Latino student activists in the late 60s and early seventies, Latino high school students in L.A. have walked out of classes in protest of the recent immigration policies that have been promoted by various entities inside and outside of government. Kudos and much solidarity!

More Uprest in France

I wholeheartedly support the French youth in their efforts against capitalism in their country.

Sweet Thing

Chaka Khan

I will love you anyway
Even if you cannot stay
I think you are the one for me
Here is where you ought to be
I just want to satisfy ya
Though you're not mine
I can't deny it
Don't you hear me talking baby?
Love me now or I'll go crazy


Oh sweet thing
Don't you know you're my everything?
Oh sweet thing
Don't you know you're my everything?
Yes, you are

I wish you were my lover
But ya act so undercover
To love you child my whole life long
Be it right, or be it wrong
I'm only what you make me, baby
Don't walk away, don't be so shady
Don't want your mind, don't want your money
These words I say, they may sound funny, but...

You are my heat
You are my fire
You make me weak with strong desire
To love you chile my whole life long
Be it right, or be it wrong
I just want to satisfy ya
Though you're not mine
I can't deny it
Don't you hear me talking baby?
Love me now or I'll go crazy

You're my heat, you are my fire
You're not mine, I can't deny ya
Don't you hear me talking, baby?
Love me now, or I'll go crazy

bell hooks tells that MLK warned against the conservatism of the Christian Church, as it would be dangerous for freedom. In her book, Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem,, she records his statement that:

"Nowehere is the tragic tendency to conform more evident than in church, an institution which has often served to crystallize, conserve,and even bless the patterns of majority opinion. The erstwhile sanction by the church of slavery, racial sgregation, war, and economic exploitation is testimony to the fact that the church has hearkened more to the authority of the world than to the authority of God. Called to be the moral guardian of the community, the church at times has preserved that which is immoral and unethical."

This is Scary and Needs to Be Paid Some Attention

Joshua Bolton, former director of the Office of Management and Budget and a strong right-wing presence in Washington D.C. is taking over as Bush's new Chief of Staff, replacing Andy Card...I am not sure what this means, but I have a bad feeling about it.

Do You Know Where You're Going To?

Diana Ross

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to? do you know?
Do you get what you're hoping for?
When you look behind you there's no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?

Once we were standing still in time
Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds
You knew i loved you, but my spirit was free
Laughing at the question that you once ask me

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to? do you know?

Now, looking back in all we pass
We've let so many dreams just slip through our hands
Why must I wait so long before Im free
No one found the answer to that question for me

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to? do you know?
Do you get what you're hoping for?
When you look behind you there's no open door
What are you hoping for? do you know?

Second Blog Carnival

This second blog carnival is a little short, but oh well. The only offering for this round is a very well-written essay called, The Ultimate Solidarity, offered to us by barb of Lucky White Girl about the relativity of our suffering. I think it is an excellent piece. I will mention that I almost forgot to do this as I spent the whole day preparing a lesson on the rhetoric of race in the United States for my class--collecting information on Quadroons, Octoroons, and Mulattoes which I used to build an interesting study around the "Nappy Hair" scene from Spike Lee's School Daze. I think that, especially since there aren't that many submissions, this carnival will only post every so often.

Do You Know the Broadway Star Anne Wiggins Brown?

This is definitely an interesting story, one which I am just picking up on. From a family of light-skinned blacks--perhaps octoroons, Anne Wiggins Brown was a very talented singer and actress, lending her voice to George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. She married a Norweigan philosopher and, escaping American racism, she and her husband moved to Norway. There, she staged a Norweigan production of Porgy and Bess. She and her children stil reside in Norway.

Recently, my thoughts also turned towards my cousin Mary wright. mary is my grandmother's second cousin. Her grandmother, Aunt Jenny, was a daughter of Caroline Roper and a sister to Mattie Roper. Mary Wright's mother was our Cousin Maldocia. Mary used to live in Chicago, not far from us and we always spent a lot of time with Mary, her daughters and their families. She moved back to Alabama the same time we moved down there, and she basically moved usdown there. My father designed them a very nice house that sits out on their property. What got me to thinking about Mary Wright was Uncle Lawrence--and thinking about the people that I knew with his kind of tempermant. Mary is one of those people. Mary is nobody to play with. One of the absolutely most hilarious stories that ever I have heard was when, in the late eighties, Mary laid a whooping on her son-in-law, daughter number one's husband. Daughter number one had married herself a real male chauvinist thug and he thought he was the baddest shit on the block. He used to beat daughter number one and everybody was wondering as to why she was with him. Well, now he is a Reformed Man(after first getting beaten by Daughter number two, Mary herself, and finally Daughter number one herself).

Well, in this particular incident, Mary had broken her arm and was in a cast for several weeks on end. So, son-in-law decides, I suppose, that now that Mary is in a cast he can show her what he was made of, so one night he decided to hit her. That was the worst decision he ever made in his life. The story is that Mary used that broke arm and had him up against every wall in that house and laid a whoopin on him that lasted him a good few days. That news spread like wildfire, and the story still circulates. Mary was absoluetely nothing to play with. In another incident, Mary got good and hot and told one of our mutual cousins just who exactly her daddy was and had that poor girl going home in tears.

I was always scared of Mary. I saw how she handled her grandchildren and I wanted none of it. It was always fun to ride around and visit with Mary, but I always stayed on my Ps and Qs because I definitely did not want to feel the wrath. Mary Wright is a favorite though.

In Profile: Uncle Clarence

Uncle Clarence, my grandmother's foster brother, was the ninth child of John Archie and Sadie Mae Goodson DeRamus--and one of the many, many children that they helped to rear. Not actually my grandmother's brother, Uncle Clarence my great-grandmother's nephew, my grandmother's first cousin. His mother, Betty, died during her labor with him. She had been an undertaker and schoolteacher in Kentucky and the doctor's advised her that her work as an undertaker would not give her an easy pregnancy. When she died, they sent Uncle Clarence, sill a newborn, to my great-great grandmother, as she had the child closest to his age, my Aunt Sadie being only just a couple of months older than him. They reared him in their home til he was fifteen years old when he ran away and joined the military, giving a false age. He never felt too comfortable I believe, as certain of the Deramus children(and I can guess which ones) would always pester him about not really being one of them.

Uncle Clarence would always come around, showing up at my grandmother's house late in the night. He went for bad, dealing in all sorts of gangster business--and he and my mother used to have kncokout-arguments when he would show up at my grandmother's house and she would be there. One time he came there, and he brought with him a suitcase full of money--and made the mistake of showing it to my mother. My mother told him that he and his suitcase full of money had to get out of her mother's house immediately. he now lives in south Alabama, sick, but still trying to run for bad.

Aunt Carolyn

Aunt Carolyn was Uncle Archie's wife. After my post of him I thought about her quite a bit. Aunt Carolyn was a very stylish woman, very chic and tasteful. My recollections of Aunt Carolyn was of a very refined woman with very expensive tastes. When Carolyn DeRamus showed up, she showed up in style: it was a site to behold when Aunt Carolyn would come out strutting in her fur coat, and she knew how to work it. Aunt Carolyn came from the Rich Negro Neighborhood, otherwise known as Morgan Park. She went to Kentucky State University and lived a nice,full life from all that I know. Every year she and my mother and Aunt Johnnie would go to the Kentucky Derby. Aunt Carolyn had a sister, Aunt Bea. Aunt Bea was a fabulous woman and she once gave a fabulous luncheon, which was a beautiful affair, one that I haven't seen the likes of since. It was a great time.

Funerals

Both Uncle Archie and Aunt Bertie's funerals were grand affairs. There were several hundred people at Uncle archie's funeral. It was held at his home church and it was preached by Farrell Duncombe,one of the Bishops of the A.M.E. Church , and that eulogy was one to remember. he started off talking about his rememberances of Uncle Archie, and how when they were little boys they woudl go climbing up in my great-granddaddy's orchard trees, picking apples. It was a sombre occassion.

Quote

"There are too many people in government making history that have never read history."--Former U.S. Congressman, Andy Jacobs, Jr.