Marvin X, the Human Earthquake, Rocks Harlem, NY at the Schomburg Library

Marvin X in Harlem, NY, 1968
photo Doug Harris

Marvin X in Harlem, NY., 1968. One of the founders of the Black Arts Movement coast to coast, along with Amiri Baraka, Askia Toure, Nikki Giovanni, the Last Poets, Sonia Sanchez, Sun Ra,

Haki Madhbuti, Carolyn Rogers, Kalaamu ya Salaam, Ed Bullins, Sun Ra, et al.

Dr. Mohja Kahf considers him the father of Muslim American literature. Bob Holman calls him the USA's Rumi. Ishmael Reed says he is Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland CA. Wanda Sabir says his language is so strong it will knock the socks off old ladies! According to Fahizah Alim, his writing is orgasmic! Rudolph Lewis considers him a master teacher in many fields of thought, and one of America's great story tellers. "I'd put him ahead of Mark Twain."

According to Black Panther co-founder Dr. Huey P. Newton, "Marvin X was my teacher. Many of our comrades came through his Black Arts Theatre: Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, Emory Douglas, Samuel Napier!"

After an absence of 45 years, Harlem got to hear poet Marvin X, master of the short short story. Last night at the Schomburg Library, a full house heard Marvin X give a short but inspiring tribute to his revolutionary comrade, painter Elizabeth Catlett Mora, who gave him refuge in Mexico City when he refused to fight in Vietnam, 1970. The packed audience got a taste of the man called the USA's Rumi, Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland and Mark Twain. Marvin was backed by Afro Horn, the band formed by Betty Mora's son, Francisco Mora Catlett. Francisco and Marvin both worked with the legendary Sun Ra, so their coming together was a double honor to Mrs. Catlett Mora and Sun Ra.

Afro Horn included special guest, acclaimed bassist Rufus Reid, Sam Newsome, soprano sax, Aruan Ortiz, piano, Roman Diaz, percussion, Francisco Mora Catlett, drums, and Marvin X, spoken word. For sure, Harlem has not heard the last of Marvin X and Francisco's Afro Horn. Mrs. Catlett's other son, David, flew in from Germany. David, in the tradition of his mother and father (Poncho Mora) is an artist and sculptor. Marvin X had not seen David since 1970. Below is art work for Afro Horn by David Catlett:

The audience saw a powerful performance by Harlem poet George Tait, the New York African Chorus Ensemble and Oyu Oro, the brainchild of Francisco's Afro-Cuban wife, Danys "La Mora" Perez, an international Afro-Cuban folklore performer. Presenters included Dr. Rosalind Jeffries, Dr. Carolyn Mailand, Dr. Rashidah Ismaili, Dr. Lorenzo Pace, Ademola Olugebefola. Ademola, one of Harlem's greatest painters, had not seen Marvin X since 1968 when the Black Arts Movement exploded with such artists as Amiri Baraka, the Last Poets, Barbara Ann Teer, Mae Jackson, Nikki Giovanni, Ed Bullins, Sun Ra and Sonia Sanchez. Marvin X ended his tribute (Afro Horn in background) noting he had not seen Betty Mora since 1970 until a few years ago at Amiri Baraka's house in Newark, NJ, when she walked in with Sonia Sanchez to attend Marvin's book party. Long live the revolutionary spirit of Elizabeth Catlett Mora!

Marvin X returns to the east coast on March 16. He will participate in the Black Love Lives Conference at the University of Pennsylvania, an event produced by Nisa Ra and Muhammida El Muhajir. Call 718-496-2305 for more information. Meanwhile, the poet is assembling the archives of Dr. Nathan Hare and Dr. Julia Hare, with the assistance of students from Oakland's Laney College and the advice of Itibari Zulu, former UCLA librarian and editor of the Journal of Pan African Studies, and Dr. J. Vern Cromartie, co-chair of the Sociology Department at Contra Costa College in Richmond. Institutions interested in the Hare archives should contact The Community Archives Project, Senior Agent, Attorney Amira Jackmon, 510-813-3025.
--Marvin X, Brooklyn, NY, 2/23/13

Ancestor Elizabeth Catlett Mora gave Marvin X refuge in Mexico City, 1970, during his second exile after he refused to fight in Vietnam and resisted arrest. He was ultimately deported from Belize, then British Honduras, back to the USA, convicted of draft evasion and sentenced to five months at Terminal Island Federal Prison.

"When I arrived in Mexico City at Betty Mora's house, she was working on this piece honoring the Black Panther Party. I informed her my friends were Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and that I introduced Eldridge Cleaver to them." See Eldridge Cleaver: My friend the Devil, Marvin X, Black Bird Press, Berkeley, 2009,

The National Council of Artists

Tribute to Elizabeth Catlett Mora

cover design by David Mora Catlett

Honor, Courage & Creativity

Friday, February 22, 2013, 7–9 PM

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Langston Hughes Auditorium

515 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY 10037-1801

AFRO HORN Avant Jazz Band

OYU ORO Afro Cuban Experimental Dance Ensemble

NEW YORK AFRICAN CHORUS ENSEMBLE

GEORGE EDWARD TAIT Poet

Special guest acclaimed bassist “Rufus Reid” will be performing with the "AFRO HORN"

Sam Newsome on Soprano Sax

Abraham Burton on Tenor Sax 

Aruán Ortiz on Piano

Roman Díaz on percussion 

Francisco Mora Catlett on drums

Marvin X, Spoken Word

Afro Horn, a mystical musical experience inspired by 

a Henry Dumas story

Afro Horn art by David Mora Catlett

French PhD Student Wants to know about Dr. Nathan Hare's Black Body

From: Nicolas Martin-Breteau


Subject: History PhD & Dr Nathan Hare

To: jmarvinx@yahoo.com

Date: Saturday, February 9, 2013, 7:42 PM


Dear Sir,

My name is Nicolas Martin-Breteau. I am a French doctoral candidate in African American history at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, France. I study the role of sport and the body in the "long" civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, from the 1890s to the 1960s. I hope to defend my Ph.D. dissertation in late 2013.

I am very much interested in Dr. Nathan Hare's life when he was a young sociology professor at Howard University. For one thing, I discuss his book The Black Anglo-Saxons. Besides, I would like to understand why he was so much involved in sport. According to his biography on wikipedia, Dr. Hare "briefly resumed his own aborted professional boxing efforts" in 1967. Dr. Hare's experience in boxing and his acquaintance with Muhammad Ali (without mentioning the fact that he might have had Stokely Carmichael as student) are fascinating subjects for my thesis.

Dr. Hare's life could help me answer this question: How did Black Power activists envision the role of the black body in the revolution aimed at transforming black Americans and American society? Did they depart from the traditional view of a respectable and decent body radiating with "character" as it had been taught to black youth since the end of the 19th century? Has sport had a special place in the Black Power movement of the 1960s? These topics are hardly studied by historians, except when it comes to the 1968 salute of Smith and Carlos in Mexico, two athletes from San Jose State under the guidance of sociology professor Harry Edwards. I think that much has to be done on the topic of sport and the body as political weapons in the black struggle for equality and freedom in the 1960s.

I have seen that Nathan and Julia Hare's archives are to be donated (http://blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.fr/2013/01/the-hare-papers-offered-for-acquisition.html). I would like to know whether Dr. Hare has already given his personal papers to an archive repository, and if he would like to talk to me about his life. I would be honored to engage in a conversation with him. If you are unable to answer directly to my question, could you please give me Dr. Hare's email address in order me to send him a message?

Thank you very much for your time and help. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,

Nicolas Martin-Breteau







U.S. History Doctoral Candidate, CENA, EHESS, Paris

http://www.ehess.fr/cena/membres/martin-breteau.html

https://twitter.com/NMartinBreteau











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MARVIN X AT THE BLACK CAUCUS OF CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Marvin X returns to Fresno this weekend to participate in the Black Caucus of California Community Colleges. It will be a rare public appearance by the man who shook up Fresno when he taught at Fresno State College, now university, in 1969. Governor Ronald Reagan had the State College Board of Trustees oust Marvin X because he refused to fight in Vietnam. The college president, Fred Ness was forced to resign due to student protests. But with the same credentials, AA degree from Merritt College, in 1972 Marvin X was hired to lecture in Black Studies at University of California, Berkeley. After earning his B.A. and M.A. in English, he taught at San Francisco State University, UC San Diego, Mills College, Laney, Merritt, University of Nevada, Reno, and Kings River College.

Black Caucus of the California Community Colleges

 

 Fri Feb 15 2013 at 02:00 am Add to calendar

 Venue : Fresno City College, 1101 E University Ave, Fresno, CA, United States

 Created By : Jwyanza Hobson

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To the Students of California Community Colleges,

On behalf of the Black Caucus of the California Community Colleges, we’d like to invite you to our 12th Annual Leadership Conference. This year’s conference is significant because it marks the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. Come join in the celebration.

Our caucus has included all conference materials with information on how to register for the conference. On behalf of the Black Caucus of the California Community Colleges, thank you for your Leadership representing students statewide.





THE BLACK CAUCUS of the

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Announces the 12th Annual Leadership Conference at

Fresno City College, Fresno, CA

“A CALL TO COMMITMENT”

Shaping a New and Lasting Legacy of Success

For African American Students in California Community Colleges

February 15-17, 2013

Marvin X speaks at Do 4 Self African Bookstore, Feb 23

Do 4 Self African Bookstore
5272 Foothill Blvd. Oakland

Presents

Marvin X
Saturday, Feb. 23, 5-7pm

 

a lecture/discussion 

How to Recover 

from the Addiction to White Supremacy Type II

Call 510-842-8300 for reservations
seating limited
refreshments served

Timbuktu Manuscripts Saved

As Extremists Invaded, Timbuktu Hid Artifacts 

of a Golden Age

           By LYDIA POLGREEN
           <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/lydia_polgreen/index.html>

TIMBUKTU, Mali When the moment of danger came, Ali Imam Ben Essayouti knew just what to do. The delicate, unbound parchment manuscripts in the 14th-century mosque he leads had already survived hundreds of years in the storied city of Timbuktu. He was not about to allow its latest invaders, Tuareg nationalist rebels and Islamic extremists from across the region, to destroy them now.

So he gingerly bundled the 8,000 volumes in sackcloth, carefully stacked them in crates, then quietly moved them to a bunker in an undisclosed location.

These manuscripts, they are not just for us in Timbuktu,? Mr. Essayouti said. ?They belong to all of humanity. It is our duty to save them.?

The residents of Timbuktu suffered grievously under Islamic militant rule. Almost all of life?s pleasures, even the seemingly innocent ones like listening to music and dancing, were forbidden. With the arrival of French and Malian troops here on Jan. 28, life is slowly returning to normal.

But the city?s rich historical patrimony <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/world/africa/07mali.html> suffered terrible losses. Timbuktu is known as the City of 333 Saints, a reference to the Sufi preachers and scholars who are venerated by Muslims here. The Islamic rebels destroyed several earthen tombs of those saints, claiming such shrines were forbidden.

During their hasty departure from the city last weekend, the fighters struck another parting blow, setting fire to dozens of ancient manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Institute, the city?s biggest and most important library.

Irina Bokova, the director general of Unesco, accompanied President François Hollande of France on his visit <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/world/africa/france-hollande-timbuktu-mali.html> here on Saturday to get a firsthand look at the damage the city?s cultural artifacts had sustained. She said that plans are already being made to rebuild the tombs of the saints.

?We are going to reconstruct the mausoleums as soon as possible,? Ms. Bokova said. ?We have the plans, we have the ability to do it. We think this is important for the future of the Malian people, their dignity and their pride.?

In modern times Timbuktu <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/arts/design/the-great-mosque-in-djenne-mali.html?pagewanted=all> has become a synonym for a remote place. But the city thrived for centuries at the crossroads of the region?s two great highways: the caravan route across the Sahara passed right by its narrow warren of streets, bringing salt, spices and cloth from the north, and the Niger River brought gold and slaves from West Africa. Traders brought books, and the city?s scribes earned their living by copying them out by hand. These manuscripts cover a vast range of human knowledge ? Islamic philosophy and law, of course, but medicine, botany and astronomy as well.

?You will find all forms of knowledge in these manuscripts,? Mr. Essayouti said. ?Every topic under the sun.?

Beyond their physical presence, Timbuktu?s artifacts are a priceless reminder that sub-Saharan Africa has a long history of deep intellectual endeavor, and that some of that history is written down, not just transmitted orally down the generations.

?This is the record of the golden ages of the Malian empire,? Ms. Bokova said. ?If you let this disappear, it would be a crime against all of humanity.?

The cultural artifacts in Timbuktu ? whose population of around 50,000 has shrunk with the latest troubles ? have faced many dangers over the centuries. Harsh climate, termites and the ravages of time have taken a toll, along with repeated invasions ? by the Songhai emperors, nomadic bandits, Moroccan princes and France. Yet many of the antiquities have endured.

?It is a miracle that these things have survived so long,? Mr. Essayouti said.

Their survival is a testament to the habit of Timbuktu?s families of hiding away their valuable relics whenever danger is near, burying them deep in the desert.

Konaté Alpha?s family has had a collection of about 3,000 manuscripts for generations, and when the Islamist rebels arrived Mr. Alpha called a family meeting.

?We need to find a way to safeguard these manuscripts,? he told his brothers and his father.

He was intimately familiar with the many nooks and crannies in which the city?s residents have long hid their treasured manuscripts. While expanding the family?s compound a decade ago, he found a trove of manuscripts hidden inside a wall.

?The previous owners had hidden them so well they forgot them,? he said with a shrug.

He took his family?s collection and hid it well. He declined to say where.

?We hid them, that is all I will say,? he said.

The manuscripts have been at the center of a broad international effort to preserve the fragile history of Timbuktu. The governments of South Africa and France, along with the Ford Foundation and others, have spent millions to build a new library to house the largest and most important collection of manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Institute.

When the Tuareg rebels first arrived in Timbuktu in April, they looted and burned many government buildings, and the institute?s interim director, Abdoulaye Cissé, worried that the institute?s sleek new library building would become a target.

But when the Islamist rebels arrived a few days later, the library?s officials explained to them that the library was an Islamic institution worthy of their protection.

?One of the Islamist leaders gave his mobile phone number to the guard and told him, ?If anyone bothers you, call me and I will be here,? ? he said.

But library officials began to worry that the Islamists would discover that the library received financing from the United States, so in August they decided to move almost the entire collection, Mr. Cissé said.

?We moved them little by little to avoid rousing suspicion,? Mr. Cissé said. They were sent to Mopti, then on to Bamako, the capital, for safekeeping.

It turned out the worries were not unwarranted. In the chaotic final days of the Islamist occupation, all that changed. A group of militants stormed the library as they were fleeing and set fire to whatever they could find.

Fortunately, they got their hands on only a tiny portion of the library?s collection.

?They managed to find less than 5 percent,? he said. ?Thank God they were not able to find anything else.?

None of the city?s libraries are in a hurry to return their collections from their hiding places, even though Timbuktu is back under government control. French forces are now stationed in Gao, Timbuktu and outside the town of Kidal, in the north, and airstrikes continue against the militants near the border with Algeria. The fighters have been chased away from major towns, but no one is sure whether they will come back.

?We will keep our manuscripts safely hidden until we are sure the situation is safe,? Mr. Alpha said. ?When that will be we cannot say.?

Scott Sayare contributed reporting from Paris.

Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (full album) (1080p)

Lake Merritt Love Poem

You think
I am speaking of making love
I am speaking of an action
beyond making love
beyond the physical
into the metaphysical
we perform the act
yet it is not the act
it is what is beyond the act
after all, after the nut
then what?
Yes, it is the other side
where infinite joy lives
raises her eyes
this is why I seek you
not for the joy of you
but the eternal joy
beyond you.
--Marvin X
revised 2/3/13

MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA

		January 24, 2013

PROGRAMS
	DANCE ACROSS THE DIASPORA Black Swan with The Jetta Martin Dance Company Saturday, Feb 2, 2013 Bay Area artist Jetta Martin is excited to return to MoAD and present her choreographic exploration, Black Swan. Collaborating with two other classically trained dancers, they will explore the politics and practice of dance that has resulted in a scarcity of black ballerinas. Through a performance followed by a panel discussion, these three dancers will investigate and embody the reality of the "black swan."  [more]
	EDUCATOR WORKSHOP What's your beat? Sunday, Feb 3, 2013 In What's Your Beat? Rhythm and Prose Science and Celebration in Music & Instrument Making from Re-Purposed Materials we will make interdisciplinary connections between celebrations, recycling, and the science of sound.This workshop is designed for teachers of K-5th Grade, but any educator is welcome to attend.  [more]
	AUTHORS IN CONVERSATION Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party with Waldo Martin, Joshua Bloom and Ula Taylor Sunday, Feb 3, 2013 A conversation with authors Waldo E. Martin, Jr. andJoshua Bloom moderated by Ula Taylor. Black Against Empire is the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the history and politics of the Black Panther Party. The authors analyze key political questions, such as why so many young black people across the country risked their lives for the revolution, why the Party grew most rapidly during the height of repression, and why allies abandoned the Party at its peak of influence.  [more]
	FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books Thursday, Feb 7, 2013 A film screening and discussion with Director Johnathan Gayles. White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books critically examines the earliest representations (1965-1977) of Black masculinity in comic books and the troubling influence of race on these representations. Thinking critically about the manner in which Black men were first portrayed in hero serials provides insight into broader societal conceptions of the Black man as character, archetype and symbol.  [more]
	COLLECTOR'S TALK An Afternoon of Art and Legacy with The Kinsey's Saturday, Feb 9, 2013 Bernard and and Shirley Kinsey have explored and celebrated their African American heritage by collecting items of historical and cultural significance throughout their more than 40 year marriage. The Kinsey Collection, opening at MoAD on Friday, February 8, spans nearly four centuries and documents the hardships and triumphs of the African American experience. This special lecture will take place in the St. Regis hotel. A book signing and guided tour will follow at the museum.  [more]
	ScholarShare presents MUSEUM FREE DAY - Celebrating Black History Month Sunday, Feb 10, 2013 Join us for a day of free admission at MoAD. The day's programming includes: Martin's Dream with Dr. Clayborne Carson Clayborne Carson will talk about his recently-published book,Martin's Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., a memoir about his transition from being a teenage participant in the March on Washington to becoming the editor of King's papers. Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance with Dr. Umi Vaughan and DJ Walt Digz Local author and professor Umi Vaughan will present a lecture and signing of his new book about contemporary dance music in Cuba entitled Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba.  [more]

Phoenix Rising: Conference on African American Solutions

Let us Pray for Dr. Julia Hare, she needs community love! Share your love for Dr. Julia Hare and Dr. Nathan Hare

The Black Think Tank Book Fair, San Francisco Main Library

Dr. Nathan Hare, sociologist, clinical psychologist, father of Black Studies in America

Marvin X picked up Dr. Nathan Hare for the ride to the Black Think Tank Book Fair. Once they arrived at the San Francisco Main Library, Marvin asked Dr. Hare if he had any of his own books. Of course these Black Think Tankers had forgotten to bring Dr. Hare and Dr. Julia Hare's book. So they got back in the car to get the Hare books. Getting out the car, we ran into Dr. J. Vern Cromartie who just offered to help Marvin X assemble the Hare archives, so he joined us to get the Hare books.

Dr. Cromartie was one of Marvin X's students when he taught Theatre and English at  Oakland's Laney College, 1981.  J. Vern, also a poet, is now co-chair of the sociology department at Contra Costa College. He has presented a paper on Marvin X's brief tenure as a lecturer in Black Studies at UC Berkeley, 1972.

As we rode back to the Library, J. Vern asked Dr. Hare what were his latest titles? Hare replied he is working on his autobiography. Approaching 80 years, Dr. Hare told Marvin X to finish his book if necessary!

By the time we arrived back at the library, it was time to start the book fair. Dr. Hare told Marvin X to MC, so I followed orders, of course it was a labor of love. We are brothers in struggle, both of us were rejected by academia for being too black and too radical. Around the same time they were removing Dr. Hare from San Francisco State University, Gov. Ronald Reagan was banning me from teaching at Fresno State. He had the court issue me a restraining order banning me from entering the campus, 1969.

The book fair began with authors speaking on their titles. I discussed my Wisdom of Plato Negro, parables/fables, also How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, noting that Dr. Hare wrote the foreword. I told them if they can get pass Dr. Hare's foreword, they'll be on the rode to recovery. Hare said we suffer from White Supremacy Type II, i.e., self hate!

Dr. Hare took the stage and spoke on the Black Think Thank Book fair. Somewhat frail, the former boxer turned sociologist and clinical psychologist, noted that today is Langston Hughes birthday and
the day of the SFSU strike. He also noted that April 9 is his birthday as well as Paul Robeson's, another banned person in the USA.

Captain Les Williams and his Daughter Penny were up next with their title Victory: Tales of a Tuskegee Airman. At 93 years old, Capt. Williams spoke on what is was like being a national hero.
Many whites and blacks couldn't believe he deserved the honor of a national hero. They convinced him to believe he wasn't a national hero so he stopped telling people about his feat and that of his comrades. He daughter said she had no idea her father was a national hero, a bomber  pilot during WWII.
He has  credits in the movie Red Wing, but none of the airmen got a dime for consulting on  the movie.

Jan Batiste Adkins discussed her book Images of America: African Americans of San Francisco.
She told of early blacks in San Francisco, including one man who earned enough money to buy his family out of slavery. She noted California is named after a black woman.

Mama Ayanna Mashama of the Malcolm X Grassroots Committee told of her community work and family tragedy. She read a poem dedicated to one of her son who was  murdered in Oakland. Yes, so many parents are burying their children these days. We live under the shadow of death. Mothers with sons are in mortal fear every time their sons leave the house.

I followed Mama Ayanna with my poem What If, a pantheistic definition of God that transcends religiosity and in the African tradition that God is everywhere and in all things.


Although unable to attend, Dr. Julia Hare stole the show when the video of her classic performance on Tavis Smiley's State of Black America was shown. She is known as the female Malcolm X! Marvin X asked the audience to please pray for Mother Julia Hare and Dr. Nathan Hare as well.

The event was videoed by Johnny Burrell.

Let's Play Black for 28 Days!

Let's play Black for twenty-eight days! Let's try to buy black, walk black, talk black, love black, just for the next 28 days. Let's stop hating black, killing black, abusing black, cheating black, for the next 28 days. --Marvin X