Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Protests at Washington Meeting of African leaders and Parable of the Parrot by Marvin X

Washington Meeting of African Leaders Opens to Protests

By ANDREW SIDDONSAUG. 4, 2014

Joseph Kabila, left, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Secretary of State John Kerry at a news conference on Monday during a summit meeting with African heads of state. CreditAlex Wong/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the State Department on Monday, the start of a summit meeting here of more than 40 African heads of state, to denounce some of the leaders as “torturers” and “killers.”

The protesters, who were mostly from Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said they were angry that the White House was looking to enhance economic ties with repressive governments. “Stop financing dictators,” the crowd chanted. “President Obama, shame on you.”

Obang Metho, director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia, referenced Mr. Obama’s message to African leaders during his 2009 trip. “Africa doesn’t need strongmen. It needs strong institutions,” Mr. Obama said at the time.

“Now he is sitting with strongmen,” Mr. Metho said. “Where are the strong institutions?”

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama will host the leaders at the White House for dinner and will then take part in a series of meetings on Wednesday, mostly focused on increasing United States investment in Africa and promoting peace and stability on the continent. As the summit meeting began, the White House also announced that it would institute new programs and foreign assistance aimed at promoting gender equality in Africa.

U.S.-Africa Summit Reading List

As President Obama hosts a gathering of more than 40 African leaders in Washington, explore the forces that are reshaping the African continent.

African Leaders Coming to Talk Business May Also Be Pressed on Rights: The Obama administration said it would seek to build deeper relationships with African leaders, though some advocates worry that human rights issues will take a back seat. (July 31, 2014)
Africans Open Fuller Wallets to the Future: Across sub-Saharan Africa, consumer demand is fueling the continent’s economies in new ways, driving hopes that Africa will emerge as a success story. (July 21, 2014)
Rare Visit Underscores Tangles in Obama's Ties to Africa: During a visit to Senegal last year, President Obama saw his aspirations for changing Africa strained by turmoil across the region - and by his notable absences. (June 27, 2013)
Obama Delivers Call for Change to a Rapt Africa: In his first visit to Africa after his election, Mr. Obama challenged Africans to take responsibility for their own problems, saying: “Africa doesn’t need strongmen. It needs strong institutions.” (July 11, 2009)
In Africa, China Is Both Benefactor and Competitor: China’s partnerships in Africa have helped raise the standard of living in some of the world’s poorest nations, but Chinese exporting power has also dealt a severe blow to Africa’s developing economies. (Aug. 21, 2007)

The sessions on Monday began with a forum on supporting civil society, and the leaders heard from Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. “It’s not possible to succeed for your people unless they have a chance to shape the policies of their government, identify problems and root out injustices and find ways for groups to resolve their differences peacefully,” Mr. Biden said.

Secretary of State John Kerry also addressed the leaders and met one-on-one with Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. When Mr. Kerry was in Congo earlier this year, he urged Mr. Kabila to step down after his current term, as Congo’s constitution requires. “Large majorities of Africans support free, accessible and fair elections and limiting their presidents to two terms in office,” Mr. Kerry said Monday.

Protesters outside the State Department said they hoped that the Obama administration would continue to press Mr. Kabila on the term limit.

“Obama must give a clear message that the president doesn’t change the constitution to stay in power,” said Constant Mbala, who moved to the United States from Congo 15 years ago.

The streets between the White House and the State Department were largely absent of traffic on Monday, as Washington residents had been warned of street closings and the likelihood of traffic congestion because of heightened security and the dozens of motorcades that would be driving around town.

African trade officials also convened with their American counterparts on Monday for annual meetings on the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The program, known as AGOA, lowers the tariffs on certain African goods imported to the United States, while countries in Africa are not obligated to lower the duties on any United States goods. It has been credited with helping to diversify and improve other sectors of the African economy, but oil still accounts for three-quarters of the African goods imported by the United States duty free.

The program requires reauthorization by Congress next year, and one of the questions is whether South Africa should continue to benefit from preferential trade status, as some say that its current economic growth means that it should extend a preferential tariff system to some United States goods as well. But while speaking at a luncheon hosted by the National Press Club on Monday, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa dismissed this idea.

“We look forward to a seamless, unconditional and long-term renewal of AGOA...."

T
uesday, April 12, 2011

Parable of the Parrot by Marvin X

Parable of the Parrot

for Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and the Pan African Revolution

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.

--Marvin X 4/5/10

Friday, August 1, 2014

God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign, No More Water, the Fire Next Time!

U.S. NEWS

07.26.14

Detroit Shuts Off Water to Residen Businesesses Who Owe Millions

More than 15,000 households have had their taps turned off for being past due. Yet the bankrupt city hasn’t touched 40 businesses who owe $9.5 million in total.

DETROIT — In Detroit, even the most basic necessity cannot be taken for granted.

Some 15,000 residential customers have lost water service, and tens of thousands more are in danger of losing it, thanks to past due bills. But businesses owing hundreds of thousands of dollars have not been disconnected, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department records show.

According to a department list, the top 40 commercial and industrial accounts have past-due accounts totaling $9.5 million. That list includes apartment complexes, the Chrysler Group, real estate agencies, a laundromat and even a cemetery.

Meanwhile, stories of residential shutoffs abound. Tangela Harris been doing her best to keep up, but when she was no longer able to work she had trouble stretching her monthly $780 in disability benefits to pay the water bill. So her water service was disconnected. Harris has since come up with $1,100 to have services restored but is having trouble keeping her $180 monthly payment to the water department. On top of that, her home has entered foreclosure because Detroit water bills are rolled into property taxes.

“They can say my house is condemned and take it,” said Harris, 38, a community organizer. “People think we’re not prioritizing, but it’s not that simple when you’re under the poverty level. It’s a different mindset.”

In March, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department announced it was going after deliquent accounts in earnest after a reprieve this past winter. The city is in bankruptcy, after all, and looking for revenue where it can. In March, about half the department’s customers had outstanding balances, meaning they are at least 60 days past due or more than $150 behind. That amounted to $118 million in charges. Through June 30, service was severed to 15,200 customers, and about 92,000 remain in shutoff status.

The $9.5 million owed by non-residents would amount to $625 for each severed customer and $103 for those in shutoff status.

So far, most businesses have been exempt. At the beginning of July, the department issued 10-day shutoff notices to 250 commercial customers. Despite repeated requests, the department was unable to say how many of those, if any, have had their services discontinued. Vargo Golf Co., an Oakland County-based golf course management firm, owes $478,000, while a business called Russell Industrial Associations is more than $181,000 behind.

The $9.5 million owed by non-residents would amount to $625 for each severed customer.

The No. 1 scofflaw isn’t a business but the State of Michigan, which the department said owes more than $5 million. Dave Murray, deputy press secretary for Gov. Rick Snyder (who is sheparding Detroit through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history) said the bills have been disputed for the last five years over a possible broken water main near the old state fairgrounds in the city limits, which was mothballed several years ago.

“The attorney general’s office has entered into discussions with the City of Detroit, and it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing negotiations,” Murray said.

Detroit Emergency Manager Bill Nowling said that, particularly among businesses, conflicting accounts of what is owed are not unusual. “What happens is that they dispute them, and there’s a process for regulating disputes. It doesn’t mean they won’t get shut off,” he said.

Kevyn Orr, Detroit’s emergency financial manager, has generally defended the shutoffs, saying payment arrangements can be made. He’s also said many customers have since paid up and have had services restored.

Valerie Blakely hopes she’ll be cut some slack. The Detroit mother of five said she had couldn’t both keep her house warm during one of the worst winters in Michigan history and pay her water bill. When workers recently showed up to disconnect services, she blocked them. They then proceeded to turn off services to nearly every house on her block, she said.

“My neighbors were standing out in the street, unable to cook or do their dishes,” she said, adding that she has about three weeks to pay up, or face another visit by an agency contracted to shut off water.

Rome Adams works for Go Detroit, a community organization that delivers free bottles of water to customers affected by the water department’s crackdown. He said he’s seen pitiful living conditions.

“I feel like they should go after the businesses first, because most of them can afford to pay better than the people,” he said, shaking his head.

More than 500 people rallied in downtown Detroit last week against the disconnections, calling them humanitarian violations. Since then, the department has suspended shutoffs for about two weeks. A caravan from Windsor, Ontario across the river recently delivered a couple of hundred gallons to needy customers.

“This is bad,” Rome said.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Book Review: Reginald James takes a peek at Marvin X's (Dr. M) manual for a Pan African Mental Health Peer Group

How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy

Review of How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy

by Reginald James

How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy with support in the Pan African Mental Health Peer Group

Reginald James

Laney Tower
Laney College Newspaper,
Oakland CA
May 22, 2008

Author, playwright, and poet Dr. Marvin X is a modern theologian and philosopher sent to earth to help others find themselves. He's not a prophet, but is certainly beyond worthy of his Oakland bestowed title of "Plato" (Ishmael Reed).

His most recent book is, "How to recover from the addiction to white supremacy: A Pan African 12-Step Model for a mental health peer group."

Using a poetic and personal prose, Dr. M, as he is known, leads readers of all ethnicities and national origins on a journey to recover from what he terms the earth's most deadly disease: white supremacy.

"White supremacy can be any form of domination, whether stemming from religious mythology and ritual, or cultural mythology and ritual, such as tribal and caste relations," writes Dr. M. "White supremacy is finally a class phenomena, the rich against the poor,thus the process of recovery must include a redistribution of global wealth, for there is no doubt that the rich became rich by exploiting the poor, not by any natural inheritance or superior intelligence."

Dr. M, a founder of the Black Arts movement, uses his life experience with drug addiction to create a recovery model for others. Similar to the "12-step model" used by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the book reads like a personal narrative of not just one man's struggle to overcome a grafted sense of self-inferiority and a disillusioned projection of superiority in others, but a prayer of confidence that when others connect with their spirits, they will be able to overcome "stinking thinking," negative attitudes and self-destructive behavior.

After defining white supremacy in the introduction, the next chapter details how to detox and "rid the body and mind of the toxicity of decades under the influence of racist ideology of institutions that have rendered us into a state of drunkenness and denial."

After detoxification, patients are now ready to step into a new era. The first step to recovery is to "admit we are not powerless over self-hatred, racism and white supremacy thinking."

Dr. M's message of mental purification comes through strong in his accounts, and his vast historical knowledge of the experience of North American Africans" (so-called African Americans) encourages students to study. His vast literary references do not discriminate as he makes reference to Shakespeare and "classic" Greek tragedies as well.

"The Other White People," as he refers to them, "are an enigma to themselves, a conundrum of major proportions, transcending Shakespeare's Othello in tragic dimension, for their tragic flaw is lack of self knowledge."

"Such is the gracious gift of slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism. It has produced a Pan African people in love with all things European: women, clothing, religion, education (what people in their right minds would send their children to the enemy to become educated, especially without a revolutionary agenda), political philosophy, social habits, dietary preferences, sexual mores, etc" writes Dr. M.

While he seeks to create a dialogue with all, the sexism ingrained in this society leaps out at you. He attempts to make amends by apologizing for his past instances of sexism and emotional, verbal, and physical abuse of women.

The most powerful aspect of the book is the encouragement to the reader to gain a working knowledge of self. When speaking to the need for patients to take a "moral inventory," Dr. M puts a mirror up to all people.

Breaking down dynamics of interracial relationships with the analytical perception of a sociologist or psychologist, including historical context of relationships between black women and white men and the taboo of white woman with a black man, Dr. M simplifies the frustration faced by women who date outside of their "race" and the reaction of those who feel their "natural partners" have been stolen.

"In this war with the white woman over the black man's sperm, the black woman, in desperation and denial, tries to mimic the white woman as much as possible, donning blond hair and continuing the tradition of bleaching cream throughout Pan Africa."

Equally healing is the emphasis on seeking forgiveness. When under the influence of substances or mind altering racist ideology, people often hurt people that are closest to them. Dr. M apologizes for his own shortcomings while under the influence of not just white supremacy, but while using crack cocaine. The prolific writer fell victim to the "ghost" for 12 years, and apologizes to his family and especially his daughters.

He also apologizes on behalf of the "Black Bourgeoisie," "Pan African Professors" he attacked because they were "not as radical and revolutionary as I believed they should, after all, white supremacy institutions are not about to allow a radical Pan African ideology and philosophy to flourish within its institutional framework," writes Dr. M.

Dr. M is able to weave not only events in his life which were symptomatic of white supremacy, but the thought process and actions of others.

While some may be quick to write Dr. M off as a Pan-African revolutionary (which he is), or a "reverse racist" (which he is not), his book benefits people of all ethnicities to come to grips with their preconceived notions about one another.

He successfully differentiates between white supremacy and "white people" for only a few handsomely reap the benefits of white supremacy, while others simply enjoy white privilege. He also emphasizes that white supremacy has not, and will not, flourish without disciples and co-conspirators.

"The white supremacy rulers have used poor whites and working class whites to delude whites into thinking the blacks are the cause of their misery and economic exploitation, just as capitalism is presently using immigrant labor to suggest they are the cause of middle and lower class white economic woes, while in fact it is the white supremacy global bandits who are outsourcing for cheap labor." Dr. M equates the assertion with the current immigration debate.

Ultimately, after completing the 12-step model, patients are encouraged to join the "cultural revolution." Harkening to the era of he 1960s, Dr. M suggests "linguistic transcendence" in which North American Africans reclaim a regal self-concept.

In the great tradition of indigenous healers, Dr. M pours love into patients inspiring hope for a cure for what others have deemed the only reality.

Like all scientists, Dr. M is experimenting, hoping that patients will actively involve themselves in their recovery. The "peer group mental health model" accompanies the book and allows the reader to form their own circle to undergo transformation with friends, family, or those people you haven't met yet. Starting a much needed dialogue, Dr. M brings forward "5000 watts" of shock therapy to awake people to their senses.

Dr. M obtained his PhD in Negrology from the University of Hell, USA. Formerly known as Marvin Jackmon, he was born in Fowler, CA and grew up in Fresno and Oakland. He attended Merritt College and San Francisco State University where he received a BA and MA in English. He has taught English, African American Literature, Drama, journalism, and more at Fresno State, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, San Francisco State University, University of Nevada, Reno, Mills, and Laney College. He was an professor at Fresno State University when then Governor Ronald Reagan found out Dr. M refused to serve in Vietnam--he was barred from teaching.

His other books include Love and War, poems, 1995, In the Crazy House Called America, essays, 2002, and his most recent Beyond Religion, toward Spirituality, 2007His books are available from Black Bird Press, 1222 Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA, 94702. $19.95 each. His Academy of da Corner is at 14th and Broadway, Northeast corner. He is presently organizing the Blackwell Institute of Art, Math and Science. How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy was used as a textbook at Berkeley City College and Oakland's Merritt College.

Black Bird Press has just reprinted a limited edition of the manual How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy by Dr. M, aka Marvin X, foreword by Dr. Nathan Hare, afterword by Ptah Allah El, aka Tracy Mitchell.

Order your copy directly from the publisher Black Bird Press, 339 Lester Ave., Suite #10, Oakland CA 94606. Free shipping. Or why not send a generous donation to Marvin X to help his liberation projects. The indefatigable Marivn X is organizing a 27 city tour of the Black Arts Movement Poets Choir and Arkestra in honor of his comrade Amiri Baraka and in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Black Arts Movement. This tour will cost $2.7 million @ $100,000 per city. It will be a holistic project in the BAM tradition. Along with art as therapy, we will stress physical and mental health wellness. And although we are in agreement with President Obama's effort to help young black men, we will include young women as well because it is clear to us young women need help as well, especially since they are single parents and will be so until we teach the young men manhood training through a rites of passage that will give them the knowledge and consciousness to be responsible parents. Thus we want to end young men abandoning their children. I was a baby with a baby at 18, so I want to stop the cycle of abandoned children. I am horrified to know so many of our children are in foster care, and so many are in juvenile hall until they can be placed in foster care.

We must deal with these pressing issues in our community. The Black Arts Movement was never about art alone, but art for liberation. Our creative productions were then and must be now about the liberation of our people from poverty, ignorance and disease. The food is literally killing us. My associate, Geoffrey Grier has told us, "The most revolutionary act North American African men and women can perform is losing 30 pounds."

Again, this Black Arts Movement project will begin in ernest with a Bay Area Black Arts Movement Festival, tentatively scheduled for February, 2015. We will make this event a model of what we want for the 27 City tour.

Our first venue was the Black Arts Movement Conference at the University of California, Merced,Feb-March, 2014. This launched the Poets Choir and Arkestra.

I want to be white, white is power, there is no power in blackness!

--Sammy Sousa before and after.

Notes by Dr. M, aka, Marvin X

The Human Earthquake, Marvin X, in St. Louis, MO, at Akbar Muhammad's book fair.
Akbar Muhammad (right) is the International Representative of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan.
Akbar Muhammad, aka, Larry X. Prescott, Minister Louis Farrakhan and Marvin X have been friends since 1968 when Marvin X was in Harlem as a worker in the Black Arts Movement, along with Amiri Baraka, Askia Toure, Larry Neal, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Last Poets, Sun Ra, Barbara Ann Teer, Haki Madhubuti, Ed Bullins, Robert McBeth, New Lafayette Theatre players, Milford Graves, Mae Jackson, et al.

Do not condemn Sammy when damn near the whole world wants to be white. Bleaching cream in is the biggest fad (sad) in Africa to the Caribbean, from India to China. Asia and Africa is full of billboards promoting whiteness, especially white women, ass the standard of beauty. Elijah Muhammad taught us the white woman is the skunk of the planet earth. Now, I love Elijah Muhammad, but let us now shoot ourselves in the foot: if white women want to help us and we are down in a hole, I say grab the rope and get out of the hole. But, I will say this, remember your mother, grandmother, wives, daughters, women, girlfriends. And if you indeed desire a white woman or man, please seek out the desire of your heart. Please, do not get with a North American African man or woman and try to make them white if they are trying to be original and love themselves, so depart from them to seek out your hearts desire. Do not destroy a mate because they enjoy their ethnic identity and in your subconscious you deeply desires someone other than your own kind.

If a Chinese man desires a European woman, you know he is a sick Chinese. If an African desires a European woman over his African woman, you know he is sick, or a Jamaican so called Dred brothers who desires Delilah over his natural mate who has suffered oppression with him, we should not stop the brother but let him go--please do not let him destroy his mate due to his addiction to White Supremacy Type II.