Black History is World History by Marvin X, the USA's Rumi, Plato, Saadi, Hafiz

Black History Is World History

By

Marvin X


Before the Earth was
I was
Before time was
I was
you found me not long ago
and called me Lucy
I was four million years old
I had my tools beside me
I am the first man
call me Adam
I walked the Nile from Congo to Delta
a 4,000 mile jog
BLACK HISTORY IS WORLD HISTORY
I lived in the land of Canaan
before Abraham, before Hebrew was born
I am Canaan, son of Ham
I laugh at Arabs and Jews
fighting over my land
I lived in Saba, Southern Arabia
I played in the Red Sea
dwelled on the Persian Gulf
I left my mark from Babylon to Timbuktu
When Babylon acted a fool, that was me
I was the fool
When Babylon fell, that was me
I fell
BLACK HISTORY IS WORLD HISTORY
I was the first European
call me Negrito and Grimaldi
I walked along the Mediterranean from Spain to Greece
Oh, Greece!Why did you kill Socrates?
Why did you give him the poison hemlock?
Who were the gods he introduced
corrupting the youth of Athens?
They were my gods, black gods from Africa
Oh, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
Whose philosophy did you teach
that was Greek to the Greeks?
Pythagoras, where did you learn geometry?
Democritus, where did you study astronomy?
Solon and Lycurgus, where did you study law?
In Egypt, and Egypt is Africa
and Africa is me
I am the burnt face, the blameless Ethiopian
Homer told you about in the Iliad
Homer told you about Ulysses, too,
a story he got from me.
BLACK HISTORY IS WORLD HISTORY
I am the first Chinese
China has my eyes
I am the Aboriginal Asian
Look for me in Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand
I am there, even today, black and beautiful
BLACK HISTORY IS WORLD HISTORY
I used to travel to America
long before Columbus
came to me asking for directions
Americo Vespucci
on his voyage to America
saw me in the Atlantic
returning to Africa
America was my home
Before Aztec, Maya, Toltec, Inca & Olmec
I was hereI came to Peru 20,000 years ago
I founded Mexico City
See my pyramids, see my cabeza colosal
in Vera Cruz and Yucatan
that's me
I am the Mexican
for I am mixed with all men
and all men are mixed with me
I am the most just of men
I am the most peaceful
who loves peace day and night
Sometimes I let tyrants devour me
sometimes people falsely accuse me
sometimes people crucify me
but I am ever returning I am eternal, I am universal
Africa is my home
Asia is my home
Americas is my home
BLACK HISTORY IS WORLD HISTORY

This poem was written circa 1982 while Marvin X taught English at Kings River College, his last teaching gig.

Suggested reading list

The complete works of J.A. Rogers
The World and Africa, W.E.B. DuBois
Stolen Legacy, George M. James
The African Origin of the Major Religions, Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
Message to the Black Man, Elijah Muhammad
They Came before Columbus, Ivan Van Sertima
"African Explorers in the New World, " Harold Lawrence,
Crisis, June-July, 1962. Heritage Program Reprint, p. 10
The Destruction of African Civilization, Chancellor Williams.
The Cultural Unity of Africa, Cheikh Anta Diop.
Man, God and Civilization, John G. Jackson

Marvin X is now available for speaking engagements readings/performance

Call 510 200 4164

send letter of invitation to

jmarvinx@yahoo.com

Nuyorican Poetry Legends

Black Arts Movement co-founder, Askia Toure, In the Bay to lecture and receive Life-time Achievement Award from PEN Oakland

Poet Askia Toure, BAM Producer Kim McMillan and Marvin X. Toure addressed students in Kim's class at University of California, Merced. He received lifetime achievement award from PEN Oakland.Toure mentored LeRoi Jones, aka Amiri Baraka. He guided Marvin X on his first visit to Harlem, NY, 1968
photo Necola L. Adams

Professor and poet Askia M. Touré was born on October 13, 1938, in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Clifford Roland Snellings, Jr. and Nannie Lynette Bullock. Growing up, Touré attended Willard and Wogaman elementary schools. In 1952, Touré won a Motion Poetry Association Award while attending Roosevelt High School. Two years later, he participated in a successful sit-in at Roosevelt. Touré graduated from high school in 1956, and joined the United States Air Force. While serving alongside Robert Green of the Flamingos and Little Willie John, Touré wrote a letter to Congressman Adam Clayton Powell that resulted in a government investigation of racism at Wordsmith Air Force Base in Michigan.

After being discharged in 1959, Touré took art classes at the Dayton Art Institute. He then moved to New York City and joined the Art Student League and the Umbra Poets. He and his associates Tom Feelings, Tom Dent, David Henderson, and Calvin Herndon were mentored by Langston Hughes. Touré participated in the Fulton (Street) Art Fair in Brooklyn in 1961 and 1962, and the Black Arts Academy. Influenced by artists and writers such as Ernest Crichlow, Jacob Lawrence, Leo Carty, Elombe Brathe, Ronnie Braithwaite, Bob and Jean Gumbs, and Rose Nelmes of the Grandessa Models, Touré became a poet who championed a black aesthetic.

In 1961, Touré joined Max Roach, Abby Lincoln, Alex Prempe, May Mallory, and Maya Angelou at the United Nations to protest the assassination of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba in 1961. In 1962, Touré became an illustrator for Umbra magazine, a staff member with The Liberator magazine, and a contributor to Freedomways. Touré was a part of the Atlanta staff of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and joined the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) in Mississippi in the Spring of 1964. In 1965, Touré founded Afro World and organized the Harlem Uptown Youth Conference. Touré also participated in the rise of the Black Panther Party and co-wrote SNCC’s 1966 “Black Power Position Paper.” 

In 1967, Touré joined the staff of Nathan Hare at San Francisco State University and taught African history in the first Africana Studies Program. Touré organized the 1984 Nile Valley Conference in Atlanta and co-founded the Atlanta chapter of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations (ASCAC) in 1986. Touré authored multiple books and received the 1989 American Book Award for Literature (From the Pyramids to the Projects) and the 2000 Stephen E. Henderson Poetry Award (Dawnsong); other works include films and plays. In 1996, Touré was honored with the Gwendolyn Brooks Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gwendolyn Brooks Institute in Chicago, Illinois.

Ishmael Reed, founder of PEN Oakland

 Daughters of Yam, devorah major and Opal Palmer Adisa with harpist Destiny Muhammad
photo Marvin X

Askia Toure and Opal Palmer Adisa

photo Necola L. Adams

 

Askia Toure, Opal Palmer Adisa, Destiny Muhammad, devorah major, Marvin X
photo Necola  L. Adams

Jitney coming to Flight Deck, a place for artists with purpose

December Events at The Flight Deck Performances December 4-13, 2014 Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Saturday 12/13 at 2 pm Gritty City Repertory Youth Theatre presents FUGEE by Abi Morgan Directed by Lindsay Krumbein High School students $5, Under 30/Student/Teacher $20, General Admission $30, VIP (includes premium seating and free wine before show and at intermission) $50 Box office: (510)575-9427 When 14-year-old Kojo arrives in London from the Cote d'Ivoire with no papers, no family, and no words in English, he is housed in a refuge for under-age asylum seekers. The system breaks down. Kojo finds himself tangled in a web of memories and nightmares, and must struggle for identity in a world where he is alone. As the United Nations reports that more unaccompanied children sought asylum last year than ever before in history, playwright Abi Morgan's controversial work is more relevant than ever. Appropriate for ages 10 and up; show runs approximately two hours December 26, 2014- January 3, 2015 7 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2 pm Saturdays and Sundays The Lower Bottom Playaz Present Jitney by August Wilson (Number 8 in the Century Cycle) Directed by Ayodele Nzinga Student/Senior $15, General admssion $25, VIP (includes early seating; complimentary beverage, fruit and cheese; closing reception; and cast/director meet and greet) $45 Events Wednesday December 10, 7 pm Graham Hackett presents CIVILIAN tickets $10 CIVILIAN presents a quantum stride forward in the field of edu-tainment by combining fine art techniques with the principles of citizens’ journalism to create an informative TED-style presentation on creative cultural development, spliced with dynamic poetry performances. At the cutting edge of the emerging Artivist movement, this unique project engages audiences with visceral aesthetics while addressing critical issues of classism, race, women’s rights, juvenile justice and living in a wartime era. CIVILIAN seeks to inform, uplift and inspire audiences to proactively engage social justice efforts, while celebrating the vibrant diversity of our culture. In the Gallery Red. Ragged. Rising. The art of Ragged Wing Ensemble and REDWOLF. Gallery is open Saturdays 2-6 pm and at other times by appointment: (510)858-7383

Marvin X with Black Arts/Black Power Babies, 2.0--at 45th Anniversary of Police murder of Fred Hampton in Chicago

1. Check out these flix from last Thurs.Dec4th "International Revolutionary Day" in West Oakland..45yrs since the assassination of Chairman Fred Hampton Sr. & Def.Capt. Mark Clark we commemorated the yearly "IRD" event here in Oakland in conjunction with the official POCC/BPPC "IRD45" events in Chiraq 12/4/14! We had a film screening, community dialogue, positive performances and open mic cypher at this special last 2014 / IRD edition of our monthly Zulu Nation Thursdays-OAKLAND gathering! Revolutionary Love & Solidarity with every1 who came out!!!--Ras Ceylon
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photos by Daniela Kantorova'

Marvin X in Anthologies

Stand Our Ground: New Global Poetry Anthology Raising Funds for Justice!

Title: Stand Our Ground:Poems for Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander

Publisher: FreedomSeed Press (Philadelphia, PA)
Paperback, 272 pages
Publication Date: April 22, 2013 

ORDER NOW!

$25.00
All proceeds will be shared with the families of Martin and Alexander to aid in their respective pursuits of justice.
READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK!
For more information on the book: StandOurGroundBook.com.

In Stand Our Ground: Poems for Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander 65 poets from all over the world join together in one voice for justice, freedom and peace. Stand Our Ground is the definitive testament of a revolutionary generation. In this historic collection Black Arts Movement legends Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Haki R. Madhubuti, Marvin X and Askia M. Toure’ are joined by poets of all ages from across the United States and around the world representing countries in Africa, Asia, Europe as well as North and South America and the islands of the Caribbean.
The cases of Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander expose the duplicity of an American justice system that remains rooted in racism and sexism. Stand Our Ground is an effort to raise funds for both families to aid in their pursuit of justice even as it raises the consciousness of a generation toward the pursuit of a movement of justice for all!

The book’s editor, Ewuare X. Osayande, is a poet, educator and activist. The author of several books including Blood Luxury with an introduction by Amiri Baraka (Africa World Press) and Whose America?: New and Selected Poems with an introduction by Haki R. Madhubuti (Black Proletariat Press). He is an adjunct professor of African American Studies at Rutgers University.

In the introduction for Stand Our Ground Osayande writes, “This book has been a labor of love. My love for my people. My love for humanity. I acted because I knew it was not enough for me to just march, or write an editorial or to just allow myself to sit and simmer in the face of wrong. I acted because I knew that there were others like me. I knew that if I acted, others would join with me, and, together, we could create a work that would simultaneously raise collective support for these two families and raise the collective consciousness of our generation. So in the Summer of 2012 the call went out and this is the result. A collection of poems. But not just any collection of poems. Herein are contained –
Death-defying poems
Injustice-decrying poems
Poems that speak truth to power
Poems that break chains in freedom’s name
Poems that confront abuse
and provide sanctuary for the bruised
Poems that escape from cells
Poems that provide a pathway back from hell
Poems that refuse to be silent
Poems more just than the judge’s gavel
Poems that have tasted cop’s mace
stared down the barrel of a gun in defiance
Shackled poems trying to break free
Poems picking the locks on our minds
Poems that transcend place and time
that tell the histories and herstories
that have been banned from the textbooks
Poems that refuse to look the other way
Poems that say what needs to be said
Poems that resurrect the dead
Poems that refuse to sell their souls
Poems that revolt and rebel
that holler, scream and yell
Poems that leave us speechless
that tell us truths we don’t want to hear
Poems that leave the status quo
quivering in fear
Poems that know that justice is like rain
to the seeds of peace
Poems that move us to act
like you know
Marching poems
Chanting poems
Ranting poems
Poems sick and tired of being sick and tired poems
Poems that inoculate us against ignorance
Poems that make us think
Poems on the brink
Poems that challenge us to see
the world as it could be
as it should be
Poems in love with freedom
Poems that resist
that resist
that resist
that resist racism and sexism
that refuse to be conned
Poems for a mother named Marissa
and a young brother named Trayvon.”

Available for purchase exclusively at http://standourgroundbook.com/.

Black Bird Press News & Review: Call for a West Coast Anthology of Poems for Amiri Baraka; The coldest winter ever, a poem for AB

Black Bird Press News & Review: Call for a West Coast Anthology of Poems for Amiri Baraka; The coldest winter ever, a poem for AB