Wall Street Oakland: "He's The Reason!"

Wall Street Oakland: "He's the Reason"


A week ago Marvin X entered the campground of Wall Street Oakland in front of City Hall. The protesters renamed the plaza from Frank Ogawa Plaza to Oscar Grant Plaza, in honor of the slain black man murdered on New Year's Day a couple of years ago. While we honor the martyrdom of Oscar, we should remember Frank Ogawa as one of Oakland's most progressive political leaders, a man who seriously tried to serve the people.

As we walked through the campground last Tuesday, we first encountered a suspected agent provocateur named JR, whom we call the "minister of misinformation." We've had a ten year conflict with JR going back to the video tapes he stole from me after filming me in Newark, New Jersey with the Twin Towers burning in the background. He also stole interviews of me interviewing Mrs. Amina Baraka and Sonia Sanchez. Amazingly, he now calls me the victimizer. Miffed at a recent article I did with Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr., JR shouted at me that he had a big surprise for me, "bigger than Christmas." I proceeded my walk through the campground, stopping at the tent of Everett and Jones (Jack London Square) owner, Dorothy Everett, who sat chatting with City Councilwoman Delsey Brooks.

I departed the camp of mostly young whites and set up my Academy of da Corner on the concrete base of a flagpole at the entrance to the camp. Actually, my Academy of da Corner has been occupying 14th and Broadway for the last five years. As per Wall Street, Youtube has a 2007 video of my poetry reading in front of the Stock Exchange on Wall Street, New York City.

As I put my book display on the concrete supporting the flag pole, a black woman and man came up and asked me what was going on? I thought how shall I answer the woman since she was clearly ignorant of similar events across America and around the world. I told her, "They're trying to free the slaves!" She immediately took it personally, thinking I was calling her a slave.
I made it clear that anyone employed is a wage slave, part of the reason people are protesting against the bloodsuckers of the poor who control global finance, i.e. Wall Street.

When she replied she worked for herself, I said well so do I, so we are not slaves, but she would not have it. She was convinced I called her a slave. Then she spit at me and when a white businessman passed, she said I needed dress like the white man and get a job. She walked away giving me the finger. She walked across the street and from there gave me the finger, then returned, walking pass me to the three police on bikes who had been observing the incident from beneath a shade three. The woman spent about forty minutes talking with the officers who are familiar with me but no longer harass me as they did when I first occupied 14th and Broadway with Academy of da Corner.

The day was looking gloomy until a woman walked up to me that I recognized as Barbara Cox, former wife of Black Panther Field Marshall, Donald Cox, who recently transitioned in Southern France. Barbara had just got off the plane from Philly and took the BART to downtown. I was the first person she ran into and we were elated to see each other again and had a long conversation about DC, Wall Street, the upcoming 45th BPP Anniversary this weekend. Civil Rights attorney Walter Riley joined our conversation.

We had no problem at the camp until Friday when a march was scheduled at 4pm. Protest organizers had mistakenly scheduled Academy of da Corner Reader's Theatre to perform at 4pm. My performers arrived to perform but as march time neared the atmosphere became charged with the presence of hundreds of police in riot gear, with a helicopters hoovering above.
When the marchers departed pass my poets and actors, we decided to do what all performers like to do, perform wherever we are. Poet Aries Jordon stood on the flag pole support and read her poem Wall Street, engaging the crowed in a call and response. She said, "If you like a line of my poem, say, 'say it again.'" The crowed chanted after her most profound lines, say it again."

And then another drama began when a black woman emerged from the camp ranting "He's the reason. He's reason. He's the reason I'm homeless, he's the reason my baby don't have pampers.
He's the reason the police are here. He's the reason."

I was in a state of shock, so shocked I couldn't speak and didn't. And then another woman appeared and sat down on top my books, saying she needed to sit down since she was indeed the size of an elephant, but as soon as she sat, she asked me what I thought about the Federal Reserve. What a line of police at my back in full riot gear, I was in no mood to discuss the Federal Reserve, so I cut her off with, "Fuck the Federal Reserve." She then joined the other woman in the chant He's the Reason! I remained silent, shocked but calm enough not to engage with the first woman who was still screaming and hollering that I was the reason Wall Street is the blood sucker of the poor.

Then a young man stood on the pole platform and said so gibberish with the concluding lines, He's the reason, he's the reason. Lastly, the first woman's baby daddy emerged from the camp to join his woman in her tirade, "I done 18 years in prison and I'll die for mine, He's the reason, he's the reason....

As a student of drama, it was clear to me there were agent provocateurs reciting from a script. But I was too sharp to escalate the conversation, knowing the police at my back were eager to give me a head whupping.

Well, I told my poets and actors that we must remain calm and not feed into the action of the provocateurs. This was difficult because some of them were ready to fight. Instead, we eventually packed up and took the taxi to West Oakland to see a performance of Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson, performed by my former student and associated Ayodele Nzingha at her Lower Bottom Playaz. What a relief to see the beautiful performance of her playaz, with half the cast and product
We are scheduled to perform at Wall Street Oakland, Thursday, 5pm. Stay Tuned.
--Marvin X
Academy of da Corner
14th And Broadway,
Oakland CA
19 October 2011