How the autobiography of a Muslim slave is challenging an American narra...

Omar Ibn Said was 37 years old when he was taken from his West African home and transported to Charleston, South Carolina, as a slave in the 1800s. Now, his one-of-a-kind autobiographical manuscript has been translated from its original Arabic and housed at the Library of Congress, where it “annihilates” the conventional narrative of African slaves as uneducated and uncultured. Amna Nawaz reports. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Snapchat: @pbsnews Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe

Wow, the recently translated Arabic autobiography of Omar Ibn Said debunks the white supremacist narrative that Africans kidnapped into the American slave system were totally illiterate and lacking culture, art and civility, that they quickly adapted to docility, passivity and sycophancy. But this reactionary, revisionist narrative can be quickly disproved by the Diaspora experience, particularly the Hausa/Yoruba Muslims brought to Brazil, who spoke several languages, including Hausa, Arabic, Yoruba and Portuguese, and thought it was beneath their dignity to be under the rule of Portuguese who were illiterate in their own language but had power over an educated population of kidnapped Africans. Thus, the Hausa and Yoruba Africans revolted to establish Palmares, an independent African nation in the Americas in the 17th Century,  that lasted a 100 years before the Haitian revolution. And ever after Palmares, there followed a series of Hausa/Yoruba Muslim revolts in Brazil that North American Africans know absolutely nothing about as victims of the white supremacist low information vibration or fake news environment. So as America praises the translated autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, imagine the possibility of a plethora of original narratives that debunk the white supremacist  narrative of the ignorant, African savage in want of Western civilization, art and culture.

--Marvin X

 

Malê revolt

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Malê revolt
Date January 1835 Location Salvador, Bahia Result Legalist victory, repelled rebellion.
Belligerents
Brazil National Guard	Yoruba slaves
Strength
unknown, at least 3 battalion of guards	+600 insurgents
Casualties and losses
~7 dead soldiers	+80 dead 300 captured

The Malê revolt (Portuguese: Revolta dos Malês, pronounced [ʁɛˈvɔwtɐ duz maˈle(j)s], [ʁeˈvɔwtɐ duz mɐˈle(j)s], also known as The Great Revolt) was a Muslim slave rebellion in Brazil. On a Sunday during Ramadan in January 1835, in the city of Salvador da Bahia, a group of enslaved African Muslims and freedmen, inspired by Muslim teachers, rose up against the government. Muslims were called malê in Bahia at this time, from Yoruba imale that designated a Yoruba Muslim.^[1]

The uprising took place on the feast day of Our Lady of Guidance, a celebration in the Bonfim’s church’s cycle of religious holidays. As a result, many worshipers traveled to Bonfim for the weekend to pray or celebrate. Authorities were in Bonfim in order to keep the celebrations in line. Consequently, there would be fewer people and authorities in Salvador, making it easier for the rebels to occupy the city.^[2]

The slaves knew about the Haitian Revolution (1791−1804) and wore necklaces bearing the image of President Dessalines, who had declared Haitian independence.

Contents

• 1Islam in Bahia
• 2Growth of Islam in Bahia
• 3The Revolt
• 4Leadership
• 5Aftermath
• 6See also
• 7Notes
• 8References
• 9External links

Islam in Bahia[edit]

In Bahia the Hausas were primarily identified with practicing Islam because they adopted Islam before coming over to Brazil. Over time however, the Nagô slaves made up a majority of Muslims in Bahia due to the rise of Islam in Yoruba kingdoms. In fact, by 1835 most of the Malês were Nagôs. Furthermore, many of the key figures important in planning the uprising were Nagôs including: Ahuna, Pacífico, and Manoel Calafate.

Within the Muslim community the Malês had power and prestige, especially the Muslims that had long standing. These members tried to attract new Malês. They did not do so passively, but through proselytizing and conversion.

In the African Islamic culture in Brazil there were several external symbols that became associated with the Malês. One symbol came about through the adoption of amulets. In Bahia amulets were common because they were thought to have protective powers and were worn by both Muslims and non-Muslims. These amulets consisted of pieces of paper with passages from the Qur'an and prayers that were folded and placed in a leather pouch that was sewn shut. They were made and sold by álufas or preachers. These amulets, however, did not signify a strong commitment to Islam because they were associated with traditional, indigenous African religions. Another symbol of Islam in Bahia was the wearing of a long white frock called an abadá. In Bahia this garment was worn in private so they would not attract attention from law officials. It was only during the rebellion in 1835 that they were worn in public for the first time and were referred to as “war garments” by police. A third symbol which was used by Malês to identify themselves prior to the uprising were white, metal, silver, or iron rings placed on their fingers. However, when the Malês were defeated, these rings were no longer effective because now everyone knew what they meant.^[3]

Growth of Islam in Bahia[edit]

The urban environment of Salvador facilitated the spread of Islam due to the greater mobility of slaves, the large number of freemen, and the networks between these two groups. All Malês, slave or free, that knew how to read and write Arabic would spread this knowledge on street corners. The houses of freedmen also provided a place for the practice of Islam, as well as slaves own quarters (in their master's house) or “private mosques” which were rooms the Malês rented out (the majority of which were in downtown Salvador). At these places Malês met to pray, memorize verses from the Qur'an, and learn how to read and write (on wooden writing slates) Arabic. The Malês also wrote matters of their faith on paper, despite its high cost.

In Bahia the Malês had to innovate some aspects of Islam because they feared persecution by officials, but tried to maintain its basic characteristics. For example, the Malês gathered frequently to eat suppers together to represent their effort to commit themselves to the aspect of Islam to only eat food prepared by Muslim hands. They ate mutton often, which signifies ritual sacrifices. During Ramadan their diet consisted of yams, bugloss, rice, milk, and honey. They ended Ramadan by sacrificing a ram. In addition, the Malês celebrated main religious days such as Lailat al-Miraj, which was a sign of success in Bahia because Malês had become a well-defined segment of the Bahian black community.^[4]

The Revolt[edit]

While the revolt was scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 25, due to various incidents, it was forced to start before the planned time. On Saturday January 24, slaves began to hear rumors of an upcoming rebellion. While there are multiple accounts of freed slaves telling their previous masters about the revolts, only one was reported to the proper authorities. Sabina da Cruz, an ex-slave, had a fight with her husband, Vitório Sule the day before and went looking for him. She found him in a house with many of the other revolt organizers and after they told her tomorrow they would be masters of the land she reportedly said, “on the following day they’d be masters of the whiplash, but not of the land.”.^[5] After leaving this house, she went to her friend Guilhermina, a freedwoman, who Sabina knew had access to whites. Guilhermina then proceeded to tell her white neighbor, André Pinto da Silveira. Several of Pinto de Silveira’s friends were present, including Antônio de Souza Guimarães and Francisco Antônio Malheiros, who took it upon themselves to relay the information to the local authorities.^[6][7][8] All of these events occurred between the hours of 9:30 and 10:30 pm on Saturday January 24.

President Francisco de Souza Martins informed the Chief of Police of the situation, reinforced the palace guard, alerted the barracks, doubled the night patrol, and ordered boats to watch the bay, all by 11:00 pm. At around 1:00 am on Sunday, justices of the peace searched the home of Domingos Marinho de Sá. Domingos reported to the patrol that the only Africans in his house were his tenants. However, sensing Domingos’ fear, the justices asked to see for themselves. They went down into his basement and found the ringleaders, discussing last minute details. The Africans were able to turn the officers out into the streets and then started the revolt.

Out on the streets, the fighting saw its first real bloodshed; several people were injured and two Africans were killed, including Vitório Sule, Sabina da Cruz's husband. After securing the area, the rebels split up to go in different directions throughout the city. Most of the groups did very little fighting because they were recruiters, calling slaves to war. However, the largest group traveled up the hill toward Palace Square (modern-day Praça Municipal), and continued to fight.^[9][10]

The rebels decided to first attack the jail, attempting to free a Muslim leader, Pacífico Licutan. However, the prison guards proved too much for the rebels, who perhaps were looking to supplement their weak supply of arms with the jailers’. Unfortunately for the rebels, the reinforced palace guard began firing on them from across the square and they found themselves caught between lines of fire in front of the jail. Under heavy fire, the slaves withdrew from the prison and retreated to the Largo de Teatro. Reinforcements arrived on the slaves' side, and together they attacked a nearby post of soldiers in order to take their weapons. They marched toward the officer's barracks, and put up a good fight, however, the soldiers were able to pull the gate guarding the barracks shut. The slaves had failed.^[11][12]

The rebels worked their way towards the Vitória neighborhood, where a number of Muslim slaves lived in the English community there. They regrouped at Mercês Convent where the sacristan, a Nagô slave named Agostinho, was a member of the conspiracy. The convent was a pre-determined spot for regrouping. A police patrol came across the rebels here, but retreated from their counter-attack to Fort São Pedro—a stronghold the rebels did not try to assault. By now the rebels numbered several hundred, but they had not been able to achieve any of their goals. They now headed towards Cabrioto, outside the city to rendezvous with slaves from plantations outside Salvador. In order to get to Cabrioto, however, they would have to pass the cavalry barracks. And when they met in Água de Meninos, the most decisive battle of the revolt took place. At about 3:00 AM, the rebels reached Água de Meninos. The footsoldiers immediately retreated inside the confines of the barracks while the men on horseback stayed outside. The rebels, who now only numbered about 50–60, did not attempt to attack the barracks. Instead, they sought a way around it.^[13][14]

However, they were met with fire from the barracks, followed by a cavalry charge, which proved too powerful for the slaves to overcome. After the rebels were completely devastated, more slaves arrived. After assessing the situation, the slaves decided that their only hope would be to attack and take the barracks. However, this desperate attempt proved futile, and the rebels quickly decided to flee. The cavalry mounted one last charge that finished them off.^[15][16]

Leadership[edit]

• Ahuna - Ahuna was a Nagô slave who lived in Salvador. He traveled frequently to Santo Amaro where his owner had a sugar plantation. It has been suggested that his presence was a key factor in the timing of the rebellion.
• Pacífico Lucatan- Lucatan was a Nagô slave who worked as a tobacco roller. He was in prison at the time of the rebellion, and one of the main goals was to free him.
• Luís Sanim - Sanim was a Nupe slave who also worked as a tobacco roller. He ran a fund where each member contributed a day's wages for slave labor, presumably monthly, and this money was divided into three parts: one part for cloth to make Muslim garments; a part to masters' portions of slave wages—since Malê slaves did not work on Fridays; and one part to help buy letters of manumission.
• Manoel Calafate - Calafate travelled to Santo Amaro to mobilize rebels on the eve of the uprising. He took an active part in the fighting and appears to have been killed in Palace Square.
• Elesbão do Corma - Elesbão do Corma was a Hausa freedman who was known in the African community as Dandará. He owned a tobacco shop which was also used as a meeting place for Malês. He also traveled through the Recôncavo for his business, and brought the Muslim faith to slaves on the plantations there.^[17]

Aftermath[edit]

Fearful that the whole state of Bahia would follow the example of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and rise up and revolt, the authorities quickly sentenced four of the rebels to death, sixteen to prison, eight to forced labour, and forty-five to flogging. Two hundred of the remainder of the surviving leaders of the revolt were then deported by municipal authorities back to Africa; they employed the slaver Francisco Félix de Sousa for the Atlantic journey. The deportees, who consisted of freed and enslaved Africans, were sent in stages to the Bight of Benin starting in 1835, specifically to the existing Lusophone colony in Dahomey. It is believed that some members of the Brazilian community in Lagos, Nigeria, Tabom People of Ghana are descended from this deportation, although descendants of these Afro-Brazilian repatriates are reputed to be widespread throughout West Africa (such as Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of Togo). The term "Aguda" on the other hand refers to the mainstream, predominantly Christian Brazilian returnees to Lagos who brought Roman Catholicism in their wake; which is why that denomination is often referenced in Yoruba as "Ijo Aguda" (The Portuguese Church).^[18]

News of the revolt reverberated throughout Brazil and news of it appeared in press of the United States and England. Fearing the example might be followed, the Brazilian authorities began to watch the malês very carefully. National and local laws were passed to further control enslaved people in Brazil; these included the death penalty without possibility of recourse for the murder of a plantation owner, overseer, or family members of a plantation owner. In subsequent years intensive efforts were made to force conversions to Catholicism and erase the popular memory and affection towards Islam. However, the African Muslim community was not erased overnight, and as late as 1910 it is estimated there were still some 100,000 African Muslims living in Brazil.^[1][19][18]

Many consider this rebellion to be the turning point of slavery in Brazil.^[1] Widespread discussion of the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade appeared in the press. While slavery existed for more than fifty years following the Malê Revolt, the slave trade was abolished in 1851. Slaves continued to pour into Brazil immediately following the rebellion, which caused fear and unrest among the people of Brazil. They feared that bringing in more slaves would just fuel another rebel army. Although it took a little over fifteen years to happen, the slave trade was abolished in Brazil, due in part to the 1835 rebellion.^[20]

See also[edit]

• Islam in Brazil

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Bittencourt, Circe, ed. (2007). Dicionário de datas da história do Brasil. São Paulo, SP: Editora Contexto. pp. 37–40. ISBN 9788572442961.
2. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 118
3. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 96-104
4. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 104-111
5. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. p. 74
6. ^ "Devassa do levante de escravos occorido em Salvador em 1835," Anais do Arquivo do Estado da Bahia 38,(1968) pp. 61-63
7. ^ “Peças processuais do levante dos males,” ibid. 40 (1971) pp. 42-43
8. ^ Also mentioned in João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. p. 74
9. ^ Francisco Gonçalves Martins, Relatório do chefe de polícia Francisco Gonçalves Martins, in Etienne Ignace Brazil, "Os Malês, Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 72 (1909) pp. 117-118
10. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 77-88 (battle narrative)
11. ^ Francisco Gonçalves Martins, Relatório do chefe de polícia Francisco Gonçalves Martins, in Etienne Ignace Brazil, "Os Malês, Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 72 (1909) pp. 117-118
12. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 77-88 (battle narrative)
13. ^ Francisco Gonçalves Martins, Relatório do chefe de polícia Francisco Gonçalves Martins, in Etienne Ignace Brazil, "Os Malês, Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 72 (1909) pp. 117-118
14. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 77-88 (battle narrative)
15. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 73–92
16. ^ R. K. Kent, African Revolt in Bahia: 24–25 January 1835, Journal of Social History, 1970. pp. 334–356.
17. ^ João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993. pp. 129-134
18. ^ Jump up to:^a b Tẹríba, Adédoyin (2017). Afro-Brazilian Architecture In Southwest Colonial Nigeria (1890s-1940s) (Thesis). Princeton University. p. 2.
19. ^ Steven Barboza, American Jihad, 1993.
20. ^ Dale T. Graden, An Act "Even of Public Security": Slave Resistance, Social Tensions, and the End of the International Slave Trade to Brazil, 1835-1856, The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 76, No. 2., May 1996. pp. 249–251.

References[edit]

• Reis, João José (1993). Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia (First ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801844622.

External links[edit]

• The Bahia Muslim Slave Revolt
• Slave Routes - Americas and Caribbean
• The Islamic Slave Revolts of Bahia, Brazil, by Abu Alfa MUHAMMAD SHAREEF bin Farid, Institute of Islamic-African Studies - in PDF
• About African Muslims enslaved in the Americas
• A revolta dos Malês 1835 "The Malê revolt 1835"
• A Revolta dos Malês "The Malê revolt"
• Revoltas de escravos na Bahia "Slave revolts in Bahia"

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Religion	Candomblé Quimbanda Umbanda Tambor de Mina
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Categories: 

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• 1835 in Brazil
• History of Bahia
• Brazilian rebel slaves
• Conflicts in 1835
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• Yoruba history
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Love Song for Denise A. Gums, 66

 

Love Song for Denise A. Gums, 66

A wonder spirit departed for higher ground

She moved softly tenaciously

America Africa she wandered

Wondering the truth of life

She touched all with loving kindness especially her beloved Oaktown peoples

East side West side no matter

Downtown Lower Bottom

Denise appeared always and forever there

Lending hands dropping words of love and healing

African Queen blessing her land

Spirit Woman of God

We know where see went

Only the Upper Room can contain her mighty soul!

Love you, appreciate you

Denise A. Gums

--MARVIN X

https://gf.me/u/ymbf88

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MS. DENISE GUMS

We are family and friends of Ms. DENISE GUMS, raising funds for her Celebration of Life and Burial ceremony.  We would like you to support funeral expenses for Ms. DENISE GUMS, by making a donation and spreading the word.

An Angel gone too soon...Ms. DENISE GUMS - brought joy, laughter, stood by her family and friends and everyone who came in contact with her. She stood for positive changes around the globe and had a passion for SOCIAL JUSTICE, A DEVOTED CATHOLIC, she sure made a difference - while here on Earth!

The funds will be needed in 10 days as the family plans to lay her to rest the weekend of August 15th, 2020. The family is in-charge of final expenses.

YOU WILL TRULY BE MISSED BY ALL...

Rest-in-perfect-peace, AMEN!

DonateShare

Organizer and beneficiary

Osagie Enabulele 

Organizer

Oakland, CA

Deborah Gums 

Beneficiary

Flint mom: $600 million settlement not enough

Water, the next war!

How the autobiography of a Muslim slave is challenging an American narra...

RT America: Angela Davis

Marvin X interviews Black Panther Party Co-Founder Bobby Seale, cerca 2001, videographer Ken Johnson

Marvin X interviews Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale

 Bobby Seale, Marvin X and Charlie Walker, Godfather  of San Francisco's Hunters Point

A classic interview with Bobby, with whom Marvin X attended Oakland's Merritt College, along with BPP co-founder Huey P. Newton, 1962-64. Bobby tells Marvin, "At Merritt College on Grove Street, we were the neo-Black intellectuals." Recently, Bobby said, "When Marvin X performed his play Flowers for the Trashman at Merritt for the Soul Students Advisory Council, aka, BSU or Black Students Union, it kicked off the student movement at Merritt that led to the formation of the Black Panther Party. " In this interview, Bobby gives a history of how the West Coast radical students came into consciousness that evolved into the West Coast Black Liberation Movement and the Black Arts Movement.

Amiri Baraka, Bobby Seale, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Ahi Baraka, Marvin X at his ACADEMY OF DA CORNER, 14th and Broadway, Oakland Bambd 

Horace Silver Quintet - Song For My Father

Summertime- Al Jarreau feat. Alita Moses at the Montreux Jazz Festivall ...

RT America: On-air livestream 24/7 (HD)

Marvin X interviews Dr. Cornel West 8/3/20

COMMENTS ON MARVIN X’S INTERVIEW WITH DR. CORNEL WEST

 

Marvin, 

 

Thank you for this wonderful conversation with two of my favorite people, two of my heroes. Two courageous people who know what's important and care about us: who care about the world: who have solutions for the world: consciousness, historical perspective and critical thinking.  

 

Dr. Fritz Pointer, Emeritus Professor, Contra Costa College

 

Dear Marvin X,

I just watched the brilliant conversation of you and Cornel West. Would you mind if I showed it to my students when the Fall semester starts by remote?

Dr. Dorothy Tsuruta, Professor of Black Studies, San Francisco State University

Hello Marvin, 

I did listen to the conversation and found it to be most informative and nuanced. I think when there are time restraints a great deal can be accomplished and it was. I have sent it to many colleagues who might be further illuminated by pivotal philosophical positions within the liberation struggle in its formative stages.

The California connection was important for me to hear hashed out and given clarity.

 

Best to you,

Foad Satterfield, Emeritus Professor of Art, Dominican College

 

Hey Marvin,

You and Cornel make a great team! I just thoroughly enjoyed listening to you guys! I sure hope our young brothers & sisters are hearing your message! I’m an old man now but hearing your message brings back many memories of my family of seven boys and three sisters sneaking out of Ozan Arkansas in the middle of night heading to Imperial, Calif. for a few years before reaching Fresno. Although we were very poor and worked in the fields until I graduated Edison High, our mom & dad taught us a lot about how to survive all the racism we encountered. Hey Marvin, I am very proud of you and appreciate all that you have contributed to all of us! Keep on keeping on young man! We definitely need  you and Cornel!        

Odell Johnson, Emeritus President, Laney College, Oakland CA

 

Marvin X,

Your interview with Dr. Cornel West brought tears to my eyes. You guys are too much, too too much! It was overwhelming to me. And he knows all about you and your family. It was great!

Elliott Savoy Bey,

Philadelphia PA

 

Peaceful Greetings, Brother Marvin:

Thank you for sharing this wonderful video of your 08/03/2020 interview with

Dr. Cornel West. The content was very interesting and you looked "mellow & super-cool" in

your role as the interviewer. I hope that you get to do more interviews like this, with other people, in the future.

Sincerely,

Leona McElvene

Detroit, MI

p.s.  It was interesting that your grandmother had a copy of "Up from

Slavery - The Autobiography of Booker T. Washington" as the only book in her

house.

Gimmie Mines .. ( Show Time Version )

WolfHawkJaguar ft. Zion Trinity "CLEANSE"

I enjoyed this short film by Wolfhawk Jaguar as part of Oakland's BAMBD FEST BLACK AUGUST 2020. Yes, in this era of Covid19 we need a purification ritual and his adaptation of the Yoruba myth-rituals is a breath of fresh air in this toxic jungle. As a dramatist, I love the Yoruba dramatization of their mythology and rituals that go back thousands of years. Of course being in Harlem, 1968, one could not avoid the flamboyant Yoruba high priest Baba Serjiman Olatunji and his acolytes and sycophants who paraded through the streets of Harlem in their multi-colored African outfits. Alas, Baba Olatunji is credited with introducing the Dashiki to North American Africans. For a time, Amiri Baraka was influenced by the Yoruba religion. It was Baba Olatunji who officiated his marriage to Amina Baraka. Baraka's classic play A Black Mass is a syncretism of Yoruba and Islamic mythology, and is an original attempt at merging Islam and Yoruba religion for North American Africans. Wolfhawk Jaguar's short film is another attempt to put the Yoruba religion in the context of North American African myth-ritual. As beautiful and refreshing as it is, it falls short in the critical area of drumming. Perhaps to attract the Hip Hop audience, we do not hear the powerful bata drums and other drumming of the Yoruba and other African rituals. We hear what I suppose is Afro-beat sounds but not the awesome beats that do indeed cleanse and heal the heart, the Black hearts, as Amiri Baraka might say. I enjoyed the choreography that so often represents Yoruba storying telling. 

After Baba Olatunji's Harlem days, he moved his Yoruba community to Sheldon, South Carolina, and I have made several visits to this African Village, before the transition of Olatunji and after his son inherited the kingship. I have been overwhelmed with the beautiful Yoruba storytelling through choreography and ritual, so this short film is a teaser for those interested in the Yoruba religion. Thank you Mr. Wolfhawk Jaguar and your acolytes and sycophants.  

--Marvin X

Black August Opening Program Los Angeles 2020

Alice Walker & Friends - Hard Times Require Furious Dancing

Fantastic Negrito "Chocolate Samurai" - Late Show #PlayAtHome

"My main main, Oakland's very own Fantastic Negrito!"

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OAKLAND CA 94608

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Marvin X interviews Umar Ben HASAN OF THE LAST POETS

Black Arts Movement Co-Founders Marvin X and Umar Ben Hasan of the Last Poets

Luther Vandross - Superstar (from Live at Wembley)

Marvin Gaye - Distant Lover (Live, 1974)

Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (Official Audio)

Marvin Gaye - I want you 1976 (Virus Mix)

The O'Jays - Back Stabbers (Ruud's Extended Mix)

Where shall I go, what shall I say: this is the end of the world

Where shall I go, what shall I say

When you bomb away
the poorest country in the world
a habit you have
Somalia
Haiti
Afghanistan
poverty stricken lands
you bomb
how can they withstand
global military bombs
money fucking bombs
UK bombs
USA bombs
you fake democrats and republicans
march for black lives matter
no bank accounts transfer
gentrification happens
no bank accounts
liberals are holier than KKK
MKK Jr wrote about this
Letter from Birmingham Jail
"I rather be with KKK
than phony white liberals!"
Black Lives Matter signs on house
gentrified from ghetto blacks
moved to tent cities
you revitalized ghettoes
cleaned rats roaches
most especially
got rid of niggas
put them in tends
freeway dwellers but your Black Lives Matter sign
all over the hood
you fucking care
like you care for your mama in nursing home
died early of covid19
didn't visit her
no funeral
no love from you
heartless beast bitch man/woman
wear mask for virus inside yr soul
will not save your punk ass
bitch man/woman
black nigga virus go catch yo ass
liberal slime
right wing melot wine
down down you go
take your virus
take your vaccine
take your white supremacy mars one way ticket dream
go there to fuck up mars and the moon
you cannot change
constitutionally unable
the Big Book says.
--Marvin X

A MAN'S WORLD

QUEEN AFUA AND MUHAMMIDA EL MUHAJIR

Bob Marley - So much trouble in the world

The Truth About the Confederacy in the United States (FULL Version)

Black Queens stand tall

Look at the black queen confront the pigs
no fear black woman no fear
love my children with no fear of devils
no fear of death is beginning of life
no fear
fuck death
laugh at death
death backs down to life everlasting
no fear
look at the queen no fear
pigs nothing when black power matters
black life don't matter worth a fuck
black power matters
black power gives life to blackness
no black power we necros
dead negroes c=k=g negroes
grimes law
black life is matterness dust trash ash mash
black power matters
energy force matters
no power no life
static neutral life don't matter
black power matters in all things
economic
political
cultural
sexual
mental
physical
power matters
life is nothing without power
so make the transactions
transfer bank accounts
send yr trillions to the millions
to empower
leave your keys
your land
houses you stole
transfer your deeds titles
give life estates to the poor
leave your keys to your condos
flee to the moon one way ticket
who give a fuck
we already know
yo go soon fk up the moon too
you got the can't help its
destroy destroy destroy
want to dominate dominate dominate
control
no share no equity no fare trade
free trade bullshit
even Trump ain't going for that bullshit
he want fare trade no free trade
you sell to me but you no buy from me
free trade
not fare trade
we want fair trade in the hood
oh shit
yeah
Arabs we want fare trade
yeah Arab buy from a nigga like niggas buy from you
otherwise
fuck you A-RAB
fuck you Asian
fuck you Latinx
fuck you Jamaican
fuck you African
fare trade no trade
fuck you.
--Marvin X

When I'll Wave The Flag

I'll wave the flag
When the trillions in reparations are paid to the
African American Nation
For 400 years of being terrorized in America
When the bill of the Middle Passage is paid
When the bill from the cotton fields is paid

I'll wave the flag
When the damages due the descendants of mass murder
is paid
Mass kidnapping
Mass rape

I'll wave the flag
When the police stop terrorizing us for breathing
while black
Walking while black
Loving while black

I'll wave the flag
When the 2 million men and women in prison are
released
for petty crimes
And those guilty of stealing elections take their
place
in the cells

I'll wave the flag
When those guilty of stealing labor, stealing
energy,
stealing souls of the poor are jailed


I'll wave the flag
When those guilty of the miseducation of our
children are
jailed for crimes against humanity

I'll wave the flag
When those who terrorize the earth, pollute the
earth,
poison the food, the water, the air
Inject animals with hormones
Genetically alter vegetables and fruits
When these people are taken before the world court
for
terrorizing the world
I'll wave the flag

Until then
Kiss my motherfuckin' ass.

2001 Marvin X

Don't mess wit the Goddess

Look at the black queen confront the pigs
no fear black woman no fear
love my children with no fear of devils
no fear of death is beginning of life
no fear
fuck death
laugh at death
death backs down to life everlasting
no fear
look at the queen no fear
pigs nothing when black power matters
black life don't matter worth a fuck
black power matters
black power gives life to blackness
no black power we necros
dead negroes c=k=g negroes
grimes law
black life is matterness dust trash ash mash
black power matters
energy force matters
no power no life
static neutral life don't matter
black power matters in all things
economic
political
cultural
sexual
mental
physical
power matters
life is nothing without power
so make the transactions
transfer bank accounts
send yr trillions to the millions
to empower
leave your keys
your land
houses you stole
transfer your deeds titles
give life estates to the poor
leave your keys to your condos
flee to the moon one way ticket
who give a fuck
we already know
yo go soon fk up the moon too
you got the can't help its
destroy destroy destroy
want to dominate dominate dominate
control
no share no equity no fare trade
free trade bullshit
even Trump ain't going for that bullshit
he want fare trade no free trade
you sell to me but you no buy from me
free trade
not fare trade
we want fair trade in the hood
oh shit
yeah
Arabs we want fare trade
yeah Arab buy from a nigga like niggas buy from you
otherwise
fuck you A-RAB
fuck you Asian
fuck you Latinx
fuck you Jamaican
fuck you African
fare trade no trade
fuck you.
--Marvin X

JIMMY SMITH - THE SERMON! Full Album

When I play Jimmy Smith in my car while riding and other cars come beside me at the stop light and the driver asks me who is that? I say it's God. They say what, who is that? I say God! They look bewildered so I bring them down to earth. It's Jimmy Smith, then they smile and relax, happy to it was indeed God playing in the persona of Jimmy Smith. I wish somebody would hep me tonight. This music goes so deep down into the morrow of the bones of my childhood in West Oakland, there is no other sound that was pervasive in the clubs, cafes, poolhalls, restaurants, night clubs. This was the music I heard as I sold Jet and Ebony magazines on 7th Street and the backstreets, sidestreets, socalled lower bottom, i.e. pine street was the last street in west Oakland, i.e., the ho' stroll, but in my childhood and teenage years I hustled Jet, Ebony and other black newspapers, including the Chicago Defender, Pittsburg Courier, Detroit Black Dispatch, et al. But the Hammond B3 guided my way through the streets of my turf that I walked without fear.
--Marvin X

Marvin X The Poet / Playwright, intro for Amiri Baraka and Roscoe Mitchell at Yoshi's San Francisco