PARABLE OF THE PARROT AND THE PAN AFRICAN REVOLUTION

The tragi-comedy of Zimbabwe--is the Mugabe era over? by Marvin X/El Muhajir Cheikh Anta Diop, in his Cultural Unity of Africa, wrote about the art and culture of the Northern Cradle, Europe, and the Southern Cradle, Africa/Asia. He said tragedy is the essential theme in Northern Cradle culture and art, but Comedy is the grand theme in Southern Cradle culture and art. So we shall speak of tragi-comedy in this discussion to unravel events in Zimbabwe. We say Africans suffer a fair degree of tragedy from interaction with the Northern Cradle. Dr. Nathan Hare says we therefore suffer White Supremacy Type II, so we are tragi-comic in our historic myth-ritual drama from slavery to freedom! During the 60s, Hoover's FBI Cointelpro or counterintelligence program spied on us but declared we were funny as hell, drinking, doping and sexing, but it wasn't the guns that made us declare the Negroes the number one threat to the national security of the USA, it's when they started reading conscious books."  During my second exile in Mexico City, I used to sell books to African and Caribbean diplomats, but the Jamaican diplomats wouldn't buy my "black power" books because they couldn't take them home, not even in their diplomatic pouch! Can you imagine a black man can't take a black book home to a black country, yes, neo-colonialism was/is alive and well. While we have the African Union and the Pan African Diaspora Unit, is Nkrumah's vision of The United States of Africa any closer or farther away? Patrice Lumumba said it would take 50 years for the Congo to get free, but as the result of colonialism and neo-cololianism  under Mobutu Sese Seko, the battle continues, after all the world needs Congo's precious minerals so we can talk on cell phones. In this tragi-comedy Zimbabwe Blues, perhaps you can understand Zimbabwe by equating it with the multi-century revolution of North American Africans to liberate themselves from US capitalism and slavery.  We will be free once we transcend the cross and lynching tree, in the words of Rev. James Cone (See his PBS interview with Bill Moyers). Sometimes we put the rope on our necks. Sometimes we pray when God has already answered! (See Parable of the Heart, The Wisdom of Plato Negro, Parables and Fables by Marvin X., Black Bird Press, Oakland, 2012. In any revolution, the people are often sidetracked by the political agenda of the ruling party. We are dealing with classic politics here, men are men, women are women, and politics has no permanent friends, only permanent interests. One must follow the community consensus agreement and move forward. Party loyalty must not supercede loyalty to the people! Some Negroes are more loyal to the Democratic Party than to Black People. But know for sure, White People are first and foremost, White, nothing matters much after this is understood. And the African proverb says, "One white dog will not fight another white dog!" Clearly, President Mugabe transcended any semblance of democratic protocol in his "prime minister for life" tenure, which may have not ended as we write, for he can be described as an "old snake" and may manipulate his return to power, although the coup leaders have been graciously diplomatic in their linguistics of his confinement.  The people have been restrained in any outward expression of jubilation at the possible and likely end of the Mugabe regime. Apparently the military rejected the notion of his wife becoming the next PM and it appears the man Mugabe dismissed has or shall return as the possible new leader of the nation so beloved by the Pan African world as  the people who fought colonialism to win liberation by force of arms. .  We were disappointed it took decades before PM Mugabe began to seriously attack the land question, which is the essence of revolution. As Malcolm X taught, land is the basis of all revolutions! But he added, "Except the Negro Revolution!" All the Negro wants is a job, yes, after giving 400 years of free labor to the World's Greatest Terrorist, USA! We suggest our people listen to Noble Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Unas who tells the poor people of the world to say to hell with a job, entrepreneurship is the order of the day, be your own boss.  The Communist killed their bosses: this was the mission of the revolution, put the workers in control of society, the producers of the wealth should be the owners of the wealth!  Again, the land question The  delay of  answering the land question was perhaps the beginning of Mugabe's or rather Zimbabwe's tragi-comedy. We say tragi-comedy because we feel the people shall be all right in the endgame of this African drama. After all, the origin of drama itself began with the Kemitic, African or Egyptian drama of  Resurrection, i.e.,Osirus, Isis and Horus, the prototype of the Christian essential myth-ritual personified by Jesus or Issa Ibn Mar'yam. Frantz Fanon: All de-colonialism is successful But did not Dr. Frantz Fanon tell us all de-colonialism is successful. So what if it has taken decades for the revolution in Zimbabwe to reach what appears to be the second stage, at which we think the people are ready for a nation of true freedom, justice and equality. Even though I was not a Mugabe sycophant and lost faith in Mugabe decades ago, especially over the land question (and I have similar feelings about the revolution in South Africa, especially with so many revolutionary billionaires!), but maybe my North American African revolutionary comrades had more faith and ideological clarity than myself. They certainly did as per our first black imperialist/globalist President Obama. I succumbed to romanticism and idealism, in spite of having full knowledge that Africa and the Caribbean has had a plethora of Obama-type running dogs for imperialism, aka, globalism, colonialism and neo-colonialism. As per neo-colonialism, Kwame Nkrumah said it was, "colonialism playing possum!" It is the illusion of power after selling out to the Europeans and Globalists of any color! Now you have billions of dollars yet your people live in squalor. Share the wealth, I was taught, share the wealth! Don't be greedy, there is enough for all, for your tribe and my tribe, your family and mine, none shall go hungry for politics! King for life syndrome Was Mugabe a victim of neo-colonialism? For sure, he may have suffered from the residue of colonialism or even  pre-colonial African leadership psychosis, the result of traditional kingship myth-ritual that promote the king for life notion that easily morphs into President and/or Prime Minister for life! Kwame Nkrumah said, "Every African state is a military state!" Is this what the people desire? Tribalism We have not mentioned the role of tribalism in this African drama, and yet we see how prevalent it is: elections in Kenya are the most recent example. Will Kenya be separated along tribal lines into two nations? Of course we know the European colonialists drew national boundaries that ignored traditional tribal lands and peoples that has resulted in wars and political chaos of the worse kind, think of Rwanda, Liberia, Nigeria, et al. President Robert Mugabe led his people to liberation. It is time for the next generation to take control and march Zimbabwe beyond the tragi-comedy paradigm. We know the annual inundation of the Nile or Hapi River is followed by the rebirth of crops and the farmers and people rejoice in the knowledge that all shall be well. Ache, Zimbabwe! --Marvin X/El Muhajir 11/15/17 Marvin X, poet/playwright/essayist/editor/publisher/producer, educator, co-founder of the National Black Arts Movement, co-founder of Oakland's Black Arts Movement Business District. Marvin X is publisher of The Movement, a Writer's Journal of the Black Arts Movement. Follow him at: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com I welcome comments: mxjackmon@gmail.com Parable of the Parrot         By  Marvin X The king wanted parrots around him. He wants all his ministers to wear parrot masks. He said he had to do the same for the previous king. He only said what the king wanted to hear, nothing more, so he advised his ministers to do the same. In fact, they must encourage the people to become parrots. Yes, he wanted a nation of parrots. Don't say anything the kings does not want to hear. Everything said should be music to his ears. And don't worry, he will tell you exactly what he wants to hear in his regular meetings and public addresses to the nation. Everyone will be kept informed what parrot song to sing. No one must be allowed to disagree with the king. This would be sacrilegious and punishable by death. The king must be allowed to carry out the dreams that come to his head. No one else should dream, only the king. In this manner, according to the king, the people can make real progress. There shall always be ups and downs, but have faith in the king and everything will be all right. Now everyone sing the national anthem, the king told the people. There must be a chorus of parrots, a choir, mass choir singing in perfect unity. Let there be parrots on every corner of the kingdom, in every branch and tree. Let all the boys sing like parrots in the beer halls. Let the preacher lead the congregation in parrot songs. Let the teachers train students to sound like parrots. Let the university professors give good grades to those who best imitate parrot sounds. Let the journalists allow no stories over the airwaves and in print if they do not have the parrot sound. The king was happy when the entire nation put on their parrot masks. Those who refused suffered greatly until they agreed to join in. The state academics and intellectuals joined loudly in parroting the king's every wish. Thank God the masses do not hear them pontificate or read their books. After all, these intellectual and academic parrots are well paid, tenured and eat much parrot seed. Their magic song impresses the bourgeoisie who have a vested interest in keeping the song of the parrot alive. Deep down in the hood, in the bush, the parrot song is seldom heard, only the sound of the hawk gliding through the air in stone silence looking for a parrot to eat. 5 April 2010 Source: blackbirdpressnews