Marvin X calls for United Front of all citizens at Oakland City Hall Black History Celebration

 

 Marvin X at Berkeley Juneteenth Festival, 2015

photo Harrison Chastang

Oakland City Hall held  its first Black History celebration tonight with an African style event with dancers and djembe drummers bringing the Holy Ghost to City Hall chambers. President of the Oakland City Council, Lynette McElhaney, dressed like an African Queen, presided over the celebration  that began with her libations to the ancestors.

 Marvin X and African Queen, Oakland City Council President, Lynette McElhaney
at Oakland City Council Black History Celebration.
photo Adam Turner, BAMBD Media Team/Post News Group



The audience stood to sing the Black National Anthem by James Weldon Johnson:

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and
Heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of
Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise,
High as
The list'ning skies, let it resound loud as the
Rolling sea
Sing a song full of faith that the
Dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of
The hope that the present has brought
Us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day
Begun,
Let us march on till victory is
Won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the
Chast'ning rod,
Felt in the day that hope
Unborn had died;
Yet with a steady
Beat,
Have not our weary feet,
Come to the
Place on which our fathers sighed?
We have
Come over a way that with tears has been
Watered,
We have come, treading our path
Through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from
The gloomy past, till now we stand at
Last
Where the white gleam of our star is
Cast.

God of our weary years,
God of
Our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus
Far on the way;
Thou who has by thy
Might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us
Forever in the path, we pray
Lest our feet
Stray from the places, our God, where we met
Thee,
Least our hearts, drunk with the wine of
The world, we forget thee,
Shadowed beneath the
Hand,
May we forever stand,
Tru to our
God,
Tru to our native land

When she called Marvin X to the mike, he called for a United Front of all Oakland citizens. Marvin X recently moved to the ideological position long held by his dear friend of 47 years, Black Arts Movement chief architect Amiri Baraka. Baraka repeatedly called for the United Front against imperialism and globalism.

Amiri Baraka (RIP) and Marvin X. They enjoyed a 47 year friendship as Black Arts Movement movers and shakers.

Marvin praised President McElhaney and the entire city council for passing legislation proclaiming the Black Arts Movement Business District along the 14th Street corridor downtown. He asked the crowd were they ready to see the Red, Black and Green flag flying along the BAMBD corridor. They shouted yes!

  Graphic design by Adam Turner, BAMBD Media Group

Marvin X and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. 

The Mayor asked President McElhaney to expedite banners along the BAMBD corridor no matter the cost! The President replied to Madam Mayor she is working on putting up the BAMBD flag along the 14th Street corridor. 

 photo Troy Williams, BAMBD Media Team/Post News Group

Earlier in the day the poet/planner had a conversation with his adviser and childhood friend, Paul Cobb, Publisher of the Oakland Post News Group. Paul chided him for his leadership style that apparently came from his work in the Black Arts Theatre. Paul said, "You can't treat people like they're actors in one of your plays. You must share leadership in a communal manner. And you can't be paranoid like your friends Bobby Seale and Huey Newton were in the Black Panther Party. You must trust people to some extent. Everybody is not your enemy and didn't somebody tell you there are more people who love you than hate you?"

Paul Cobb, Oakland Post Newspaper Publisher, and Marvin X at his Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland

photo Walter Riley, Esq.

 
Paul Cobb's Editor, Chauncey Bailey
assassinated at 14th and Alice,downtown
in the now declared Black Arts Movement Business District.
The BAMBD shall honor Chauncey Bailey.


Bay Area Artists and Activists honor the memory of Chauncey Bailey at
the Joyce Gordon Gallery in the BAMBD, 14th and Franklin.
photo Adam Turner and Gene Hazzard, Post News Group


After listening to Paul, Marvin X went home for a power nap before the event at City Hall. But after a few minutes he got a call from Newark, New Jersey. It was Mrs. Amina Baraka, widow of Black Arts Movement chief architect Amiri Baraka.

Professor Molefe Asante, Mrs. Amina Baraka, Marvin X, Amiri Baraka, Jr. and Kenny Gamble, Producer of the Philly Sound. They participated in the Black Power Babies conversation produced by Muhammida El Muhajir and Black Talk Radio station WURD, Philadelphia.

Mrs. Baraka told him she'd just talked with art workers in Oakland that she had told him to avoid but was now calling to let him know she'd changed her mind and he must call for a United Front of the entire radical and progressive community; not just  Blacks, but Asians, Latinos, Whites, Native Americans and gender groups.

"The time is too critical for disunity. You must call for the United Front of the entire community or we're doomed. If you call for the United Front, I will put all my resources behind your Black Arts Movement Business District. If my son, Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, cannot come the the West Coast to assist you, I will send one of my other sons. You know I have four sons: Amiri Baraka, Jr., is the Mayor's chief of staff. My other sons are Obalaji and Ahi. I will send you whatever books of my husband you need, and give you rights to produce any of his dramatic works. just do the United Front!"

In his remarks, Marvin X did indeed call for a United Front to fight the oppressive conditions of all Oakland citizens, no matter what ethnic or gender group. Before his time was up, he called up his adviser and childhood friend, Paul Cobb, who thanked the City Council President for pushing through the legislation establishing the Black Arts Movement District. He also thanked Council member Roberta Kaplan. Paul explained why he wanted "Movement" in the district name. "This must be a movement because Oakland is Oakland because of its radical tradition. We need the Movement right now to fight joblessness, homelessness, gentrification and the residue of white supremacy. There must be a movement not only of artists but workers, youth and other marginalized people."

The event was produced by Cathy Adams with great music by Paul Tilman Smith, Derick Hughes, Kev Choice, the dynamic Diamano Coura West African Dance Group, Aliya Hall, and YGB, Young Gifted and Black, spoken word artists who stole the show. Their T shirts read: The Black Woman is God!

Young Gifted and Black, under the direction of Hobari Davis

 Businessman Geoffery Pete, Post News Group journalist Troy Williams and BAMBD planner Marvin X

The audience heard from Geoffery Pete, owner of Geoffery's Inner Circle, a key venue in the Black Arts Movement Business District, located at 14th and Franklin. Geoffery gave a brief history of all the talent Oakland has produced. The BAMBD vows to fight for improvements of Mr. Pete's venue. We call upon the City of Oakland to make possible such improvements as it did the Fox Theatre.

BAMBD also calls upon the City to stop their eviction of Anyka Barber's Betti Ono Gallary, an essential venue in the BAMBD.


Gallery owner Anyka Barber is facing eviction from the BAMBD
by the City of Oakland. We must fight her eviction! Black Businesswomen
Matter! We call upon President McElhaney and Mayor Libby Schaaf
to stop the eviction of our sister.

Bishop J.E. Watkins gave the opening prayer and said he is opening a TV studio at Liberty Hall, the building founded by the Garvey Movement.

Former Black Panther Party Chairwoman,Elaine Brown

Elaine was introduced and invited everyone to the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party that will take place at the Oakland Museum of California in October.

Video: Black Arts Movement Last Poet Felipe Luciano

WATCH by Felipe Luciano

Check him out and share: https://www.facebook.com/djlexny/posts/1087191101333322

Oakland screening of Panther film, Vanguard of the Revolution

Screening of New Doc Shows Panther Power Still Alive in Oakland

Youth Speak's Black Sheroes (Photo: Alain McLaughlin)

By Cecilia Lei February 14, 2016

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It was Tuesday evening, two days after Beyoncé’s dramatic halftime Superbowl Sunday performance, when the Oakland community gathered at Grand Lake Theater to watch a screening of PBS’s upcoming documentary, Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.
 
There was a palpable electric buzz (and debate) about what Beyoncé did in front of nearly 112 million viewers: declaring her love of being a black woman while dancing with afro’ed backup dancers clad in Black Panther gear. Beyoncé had managed to create a perfect pop culture segue for the dialogue slated for this evening, asserting not only the historical relevance of Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, but also why the themes that drove the movement then are still so painfully relevant to our discussions of race relations and gender today.

The night opened with a powerful musical performance by Antique Naked Soul, and remarks from Susie Hernandez (KQED, Director of Programming), Noland Walker (ITVS, Senior Content Director), Maira Benjamin (Pandora, Director of Engineering) and Lynette Gibson McElhaney (Oakland City Councilwoman, District 3). Hernandez and Walker both touched on how public media provides both an opportunity and a platform for communities to tell and share their own stories in an authentic way. Benjamin reminded audiences that the theme of the evening was “revolution” and highlighted her role as a woman of color in technology. Her message, “Bring revolution to all the spaces you represent,” was met with cheers and applause from the crowd. McElhaney was hopeful about how elections and civic engagement can trigger change and she encouraged people to stay informed and embrace the possibilities.

Next, eight young black women walked in a line to the front of the theater, wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the words “The Black Woman is God.” Members of San Francisco-based Youth Speaks, the Black Sheroes delivered the most rousing performance of the night. The crowds whooped and hollered and shot their fists into the air. Older generations, including former Black Panther Party members, nodded and bobbed their heads as the women made it plain: our people are still in pain, and injustice is still alive. The performance, a mixture of spoken word and singing, started with a rendition of “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” and ended as the women roared out their love of being black women in the face of police brutality, intolerance and racism.

Left to right: Cat Brooks, Ashara Ekundayo, Ericka Huggins (Photo: Alain McLaughlin)

Just before the film screening, Ashara Ekundayo (Impact Hub, Chief Content Officer) moderated a dialogue with Ericka Huggins, a former political prisoner and Black Panther Party leader, and Cat Brooks, #BlackLivesMatter Bay Area member and founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project. Ekundayo opened with a brief moment of silence to honored activists who died after giving their lives to revolutionary causes.

Asked by Ekundayo to describe the Black Panther Party in three words, Huggins replied: “Commitment. Love. People.” She recalled being a young girl, attending the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, one of the largest political rallies in American history. It was a life-changing moment that defined her activism.

“A vow arose in my heart,” Huggins recalled, “that I will serve people for the rest of my life.”
In describing her own personal commitment over the years, as a leader in the Party and an educator in Oakland, she gave a shout-out to a special audience member that she had met earlier that evening: 7-year-old Vivian, the precocious daughter of KQED’s Hernandez. “When I meet young girls like Vivian, I realize: I don’t have the right to be tired.”

Brooks chose her three words carefully: “Power. Passion. Beauty,” adding, “Black people are damaged, tired, and traumatized.” Her hope lies in the current wave of activism. For the first time, thanks largely to the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been “Lots of talk about self-care in activism.” There is a long journey ahead, Brooks asserted, and “We’re figuring it out as we stumble along,” adding that progress can be sustained if activists take time to take to practice self-care as they fight for their communities.

The unspoken theme of the night, judging by those who were doing the speaking, was the role of women in activism. Brooks proudly declared that there was a feminine current running through today’s movements in the black community. Huggins attributed this to the “legacy of feminine principles” in the Black Panther Party. As she spoke, Tarika Lewis, the first woman to join the Party, stood up in the crowd with her fist raised.

“The FBI destroyed the men in the Black Panther Party – Newton, Seale, and many others – but they forgot something: us women,” declared Huggins. She noted the bond shared by the women in the Party, who ran the revolution from beginning to end, saying, “We were connected by love and service.”

Before the lights dimmed and the screening of Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution began, the audience was left with some parting wisdom: Be with one another. Practice non-judging awareness. Work in coalition and communion. Think globally. For this community, the evening captured not only the Party’s legacy but also the demands for justice that are still painfully relevant today. From a small film screening to the largest stage in a football stadium, it is evident that 50 years later the revolutionary spirit of the Black Panther Party continues to live on in the impassioned communities and people they inspired.

Black Bird Press News & Review: Black History is World History by Marvin X, the USA's Rumi, Plato, Saadi, Hafiz

Black Bird Press News & Review: 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....

 

to continue reading, go to link above

Marvin X speaks at Oakland City Hall Black History Celebration

Marvin X speaks at Oakland City Hall Black History Month Reception

 

 Marvin X at Berkeley Juneteenth Festival, 2015

photo Harrison Chastang

Black Arts Movement poet and BAMBD planner Marvin X will speak and exhibit his Black Arts Movement archives. His archives were acquired by the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

The Black Arts Movement Poet's Choir and Arkestra at the University of California, Merced

50th Anniversary celebration of the Black Arts Movement, 2014, produced by Kim McMillan

and Marvin X.

 BAM poet Marvin X with his Poet's Choir and Arkestra, featuring David Murray and Earle Davis, all three were associated with San Ra. This performance is from Oakland's Malcolm X Jazz/Art Festival, 2014

photo Adam Turner

BAM Poet's Choir and Arkestra at Malcolm X Jazz Festival, 2014

Adam Turner photo collage


photo Don J. Usner

Marvin X's fictional interview with President Obama and speech to Muslims

Friday, June 24, 2011

Obama Drama, Scene #3: Interview with Marvin X

Marvin X Interviews President Obama

Marvin X, Thank you Mr. President for agreeing to meet with me.

 

Prez, The pleasure is all mine. I've been reading your blogs and find them quite interesting.

 

MX, I hope you don't say what Minister Farrakhan said about my comments on him.

 

Prez, What did he say?

 

MX, He said I raked him over the coals.

 

Prez, I agree with Minister Farrakhan. You can be quite hard hitting.

 

MX, They call me the sledgehammer.

Prez, Indeed you are.

 

MX, Call it tough love.

 

Prez, OK.

 

MX, Furthermore, I supported you wholeheartedly from the beginning. You obviously haven't seen my book Pull Yo Pants Up fada Black Prez and Yoself.

 

Prez, No I haven't.

 

MX, But I must agree with our mutual friend Dr. Cornell West. I'm sure you are aware that he said we must protect you, respect you, but check you.

 

Prez, Yes, I heard his remarks. And you know what I said, "You brothers need to cut me some slack."

 

MX, Prez, you don't need slack. You need us riding your back like Roy Rogers on Trigger.

 

Prez, Don't you think I have enough pressure on me?

 

MX, Well, I once forced the resignation of the president of Fresno State University. Well, actually he said he was pressured from above (Gov. Ronald Reagan) and below (student protests after the college refused to hire me). So we see you are the type of guy who must be pressured from above and below, from the right and the left.

 

Prez, How much pressure you think a person in my position can take?

 

MX, You got Mechelle to chill you out!

Prez, You're right about that.

 

MX, But I wrote about her putting a foot in your ass when you get weak.

 

Prez, I don't think that's necessary

 

MX, Well, you seem to capitulate at every turn. You call it the nature of politics, of course.

 

Prez, Well, I certainly don't call it capitulation. That's a bit harsh. I try to negotiate and compromise with my opposition.

MX, Prez, It seems to me you give in too quickly, sometimes when it ain't even necessary.

 

Prez, Marvin, it's the nature of the beast I'm dealing with.

 

MX, Ever heard of playing hardball? I mean I was happy you got the health insurance plan through but at what price, selling out to the insurance lobby?

 

Prez, I don't call it selling out, it was compromise, the best we could do under the circumstances.

 

MX, Prez, why have you not created a jobs program? You bailed out the banks and corporations but not the people, why?

 

Prez, Marv, you know I have a most difficult job and we tried a stimulus package, and it worked to some extent.

MX, But, Prez, there are still millions of unemployed. Yet at the same time you are promising terrorist jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan if they lay down their arms. Should the American unemployed take up arms to get your attention?

 

Prez, Marv, please, what are you suggesting, revolution?

MX, If that's what it takes to get you to consider the consent of the governed. Is not the first priority of this nation the people, not corporations and banks?

 

Prez, Well, corporations are people now.

 

MX, Prez, you know what I mean.

 

Prez, Of course.

MX, How can you provide funds for educating, housing and employing terrorists abroad but not at home? It just doesn't make sense, Mr. Prez.

 

Prez, You're right, Marv.

MX, Now you're getting ready to raise one billion dollars to keep your job, but you can't find a few billion for the millions of unemployed

Prez, You're right, Marv. I can do better. Let me regroup with my advisers and think about it.

MX, Yeah, Prez, I want to support you reelection but I find it most difficult. And the brothers on the street as well. They were happy when you won, they said it was great to know they could look up to someone besides a rapper. But lately they are saying fuck you, Mr. Prez.

Prez, I'm sorry to hear that

MX, You should know this is what they're saying, Fuck you!

Prez, I often wonder about the mood in the hood.

MX, You should wonder before something terrible happens to your country because of your neglect and misplaced priorities. Can I ask you something personal?

 

Prez, Go for it!

MX, Do you feel like a white man or black man?

 

Prez, Well, when I'm with Mechelle, I feel black. When I'm with my Secretary of State, Hilliary, I feel white.

MX, I thought Hillary was black, along with her husband, Dirty Bill.

Prez, Marv, let's not name call, please.

 

MX, OK. On a more serious matter, how long did you know Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan?

 

Prez, We had him under surveillance for some time.

MX, Years, months?

Prez, a long time.

MX, Should I congratulate you for slaying the dragon?

Prez, That's up to you.

MX, Well, you probably deserve a feather in your cap. A couple of Brownie points.

Prez, Marv, thanks.

MX, But, Prez, where's the body?

Prez, We threw it in the ocean.

MX, C'mon, Prez, do I look like Willie Foofoo?

Prez, Marv, we did, trust me.

MX, Prez, I'm an ex-dope fiend. I know how people lie.

Prez, Marv, are you calling me a liar?

MX, I didn't say that, Prez, but my elder, Dr. Nathan Hare, taught the fictive theory. Everything the white man (and black man or white/black man) says is fiction until proven to be a fact. Where are the facts, Prez?

Prez, Marv, trust me. We thought it best to dispose of the body in the ocean.

MX, But who's going for this, Prez, it sounds shaky.

Prez, We concluded that was the best way to end the matter of a man who murdered three thousand Americans.

 

MX, Prez, how many Muslims have you murdered since you became President?

Prez, I can't answer that.

MX, Between Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, how many, especially with the collateral damage?

Prez, Can't answer that. It was all in defense of America.

MX, Is a few ignorant men living in mountain caves really a threat to America?

Prez, They can be.

MX, C'mon, Prez. Let's change the channel. What happened with the closing of Gitmo?

Prez, We tried but couldn't pull it off.

MX, What about the secret prisons in America?

Prez, I'm not aware of them.

MX, Maybe you should check with homeland security?

Prez, Our priority is the safety of Americans.

MX, Does this include murdering American citizens rather than bringing them to trial?

Prez, Not necessarily.

 

MX, What about the man in Yemen you are trying to kill who is an American citizen?

Prez, He's a special case.

MX, But he's an American.

Prez, Marv, don't press the issue.

MX, That's exactly what I'm doing.

Prez, Don't press it, Marv.

MX, Let's discuss the Middle East for a moment. I've written about your speech in Cairo and Indonesia. I've imagined what you will say about Muslims tomorrow, May 19. You know as long as you occupy one inch of Muslim land there shall be Muslims who view you as a Crusader and they will vow to fight you to the death.

Prez, Marv, I'm aware how Muslims feel about us occupying their lands. And we plan to vacate all Muslim lands at the earliest possible date.

MX, Does this include having your friends in Israel do the same?

Prez, Well, that's a matter for the Israelis, not us.

MX, But you are their very best friend. You support them right or wrong, true?

Prez, I wouldn't say that. But we have an enduring relationship.

MX, Don't you see the day is rapidly arriving when they cannot claim to be the only democracy in the area, that they will bow down to the God of Justice, not peace but justice?

Prez, Events are rapidly changing in North Africa and the Middle East. Therefore we must all make a paradigm shift in our thinking and behavior, including Israel.

MX, What about your friends in Saudi Arabia?

Prez, They will need to make substantial changes as well.

MX, And Bahrain?

Prez, It's a special case. We have strategic interests there.

MX, You seem to be saying America practices selective suffering. You now support the Egyptian revolution, the Tunisian, Yemen, but not in Saudi Arabia or Israel, Jordan, Bahrain.

Prez, Marv, we have our interests that must be secured first.

MX, What if and when these nations explode in your face, overnight, as is happening as we speak. Seems like you'll be running after the football or playing catchup?

Prez, We'll do what we must when we must.

MX, Thank you, Mr. Prez.

--Marvin X

5/18/11

Marvin X Writes Obama's Speech to Muslims
As-Salaam-Alaikum
I, Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States of America, come before you tonight in the name of Almighty God Allah. We, the America people, are pleased to see the people of North Africa and the Middle East rising up against our long time friends in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and elsewhere.

 

Of course we instituted a no fly zone over Libya but it is most difficult to do the same in Gaza. The recent unity of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is nice but simply not in the interests of our dear friends in Israel, nor is it in the long term strategic interests of America and her friends throughout the region, especially our brothers in the House of Saud.

 

While we endorse the cries for freedom in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen, we cannot support the people in Bahrain. We suspect they are simply agents for Iran and therefore we cannot support their cries for freedom. We have no plans of moving our Fifth Fleet from Bahrain, especially since it is a counterweight to Iranian provocations. We therefore endorse the sending of Saudi troops to crush the Shia uprisings in Bahrain.

 

As per Saudi Arabia, we love democracy but it is simply not in our interests to have the Saudi regime destabilized because of a few unhappy citizens, again, many of them are agents of Iran, especially those Saudi women who want to drive cars.

 

As per Iran, we call for democracy in that nation, even though we accept full responsibility for overthrowing the democratically elected leader, Mossedeq, and installing the Shah who oppressed his people for many years.

We know you share our joy with the elimination of the hated terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Even though we created him and supported him, the time came for his removal, even though we were aware he was living in a mansion with his three wives in Pakistan. He served us well, but the time came for his disposal. You know how we handle those who outlive our usefulness, e.g., Saddam Hussein.

We promised a total troop removal from Iraq, but circumstances may prevent this unless it is expedient for my upcoming election. We hope the people of Iraq understand, especially that guy Sadr and his army of the poor in Sadr City who fought with us to no avail.

Our regional partners, namely the Sunni neighbors of Iraq, have warned us not to leave Iraq under a Shia regime, again this will only benefit Iran, the enemy of world peace. Not Israel and certainly not America who is the champion of world peace as you all know throughout the Muslim world, not matter that we are now occupying Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and making inroads into Libya. You may be surprised to learn that it is not the oil we want in Libya but the water. Yes, water will be a precious commodity in the coming days. We pray to Allah you can understand why we do what we do.

 

As per Afghanistan, we have promised the Taliban if they lay down their arms, we will give them schooling, housing and employment. We wish we could offer the same to our boys and girls in the hoods of America who are terrorizing their communities with drugs and guns, but our budget crisis will not allow education, housing and jobs for the boys and girls in the hood, although we can do this for the Taliban. As you know we did this in Iraq and this was the real cause of the decrease in violence, not the socalled surge of Baghdad under General Betrayus.

 

As you know, General Betrayus will be taking over the Central Intelligence Agency. We appreciate his role in prolonging the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. We feel he has been successful in routing the 100 to 500 Al Quida in Afghanistan, especially after we sent him thirty thousand additional troops.

Finally, our friends in Pakistan may have some misgivings about the unilateral move we made to eliminate Osama bin Laden, but we want them to get over it and not make any silly moves like seeking revenge with their nuclear option.

I close in the name of peace, As-Salaam-Alaikum.
President Barack Hussein Obama

US Elections: A Message from Sister Cynthia McKinney, Warrior Woman

          Scourge of US elections: Electoral College, hackable voting machines & obscure rules 

By

Cynthia McKinney

After serving in the Georgia Legislature, in 1992, Cynthia McKinney won a seat in the US House of Representatives. She was the first African-American woman from Georgia in the US Congress. In 2005, McKinney was a vocal critic of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and was the first member of Congress to file articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. In 2008, Cynthia McKinney won the Green Party nomination for the US presidency.

Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 13:10

Republican U.S. presidential candidates Senator Ted Cruz (L) and Senator Marco Rubio (R) both gesture at businessman Donald Trump (C) during the Republican U.S. presidential candidates debate in Greenville, South Carolina February 13, 2016 © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Jesus once remarked to a wealthy man that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to go to heaven.”

Today, we could amend the words of that Biblical reference with the US presidential race underway:
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a voter in the US to know and understand the rules regulating the administration of all elections, including elections for President of the United States.”

Let’s start with the phenomenon of what is called a “minority president.” No, that is not a president who identifies as an ethnic or racial minority in the US. A minority president is one who has failed to win a plurality of the votes cast in the race for president, and yet is still able to become President of the United States. This is the exact opposite of what a true democracy would require; perhaps not even a pure democracy would entertain such a position such as the 'Office of the Presidency'. But that is an entirely different matter.

Read more

 

 Super-duper-delegates: 'Undemocratic system used by Democratic Party'

 

The United States has actually had several minority presidents in its history, while the 21st century began ominously enough with yet another minority President: George W. Bush, the Republican who failed to secure the most votes cast by the people [in the 2000 election, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, decided the victor of the race after moving to halt the recount process in the state of Florida].

Both the US House and the US Senate are charged with counting the Electoral College votes, and this is a process in which I have participated. The constitutionally mandated process was circumvented by the precedent-setting Bush v. Gore Supreme Court ruling that instructed future Courts not to use the decision as a precedent!

As this case aptly proved, it’s not the people who have the last word in US elections. It’s a non-democratic construct called the Electoral College that does, except in those rare instances when it doesn’t.

The Electoral College was created by the framers of the US Constitution to ensure that the votes of the plebes did not supersede the interests of the landed gentry. That’s not just my opinion. For example, according to FairVote, an organization with which I have worked in the 2000 Presidential election, a whopping 78 percent of the votes cast were rendered unimportant due to the arcane rules of the Electoral College. They estimate that in 2008, the figure still topped 70 percent.

 

 

 

Despite Bernie’s landslide victory, Hillary receives more New Hampshire delegates

 

In order to be declared the winner of the presidency, 270 Electoral College votes are required. But the process is not what could be called transparent. For example, veteran Pro Se litigator Asa Gordon has demonstrated how the Black vote in the US is rendered less relevant by the arcane apportionment rules of the Electoral College. And when the Electoral College is deadlocked, which has happened before, then the matter falls to the United States House of Representatives to decide who will be allowed to serve in the White House.

Hacking Democracy

Add to the above debacles, the US Congress and the election authorities in the 50 states have authorized and encouraged the use of hackable electronic voting machines that are used for vote casting and vote tabulation. Bev Harris and her company, Black Box Voting, has accumulated horror stories surrounding the non-transparency of US elections. I have worked closely with Harris because the danger of these machines is self-evident to everyone except the officials who continue to purchase them for millions of dollars, putting millions of voters’ most precious political asset at risk.

Bernie beat Hillary by 22% but she'll break even in New Hampshire because of SuperDelegates. That is not democracy. The system is rigged.

— John Dardenne (@johndardenne) February 10, 2016

Such a scenario is what led former President Jimmy Carter to comment he “absolutely” could not be elected today under such conditions, going so far as to characterize the United States as an oligarchy, not a democracy.

‘Hacking Democracy’ is only one of the many documentaries to expose the fallibility of the actual voting process in the US. Other documentaries focus on how private money has corrupted its election process.

In addition to the insecure hardware, I am sorry to write that the voter list is kept on an electronic device and if the voter’s name fails to appear on the list, the voter has little recourse.
In the US, votes and vote tabulation processes are done without any traceable back-up procedures. In other words, there is no paper trail - no receipt of a vote, as it were - whatsoever. In one of my Congressional elections in which the electronic voting machines “failed,” not only was I unable to obtain the election data despite a lawsuit having been filed, an expert witness for the state of Georgia testified that voters have to simply “trust” that the announced winner is the actual winner. Meanwhile, candidates have no access to the raw election data because that information is “owned” by Diebold—the company that produced the electronic voting machines and the software used by them (The documentary ‘American Blackout’ tells my own personal story with US elections). It is difficult to place trust in the US election system when we learn about the number of votes cast that go uncounted. In the 2000 Presidential election between Bush and Gore, between two million and five million Americans went to the polls and voted, yet their votes were thrown out, disqualified for any number of reasons. Half of those uncounted votes were cast by Black Americans.

Money, money, money

Add to these procedural vagaries, the influence of private money in US elections and even the pretense of holding transparent, free, and fair elections is stood completely on its head. As I wrote in a previous post, the rules have given rise to super-wealthy individuals who lurk in the shadows while becoming the power behind the public faces of candidates: Marco Rubio has Norman Braman as his closest and most important backer. Hillary Clinton has Haim Saban as one of her top donors; Sheldon Adelson is a “player” at the Presidential level in US politics. Billionaire Donald Trump self-finances his Presidential bid and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is rumored to be willing to spend one billion dollars in his still-to-be-announced independent presidential run.

The situation is so dire that one wealthy individual could legally bankroll an entire Congressional campaign and a roundtable of them could do the same with the US Presidency. So-called campaign finance reform blew the existing loopholes wide open instead of closing them. The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling stood the revered Freedom of Speech First Amendment to the US Constitution on its head by allowing a few wealthy donors to have more 'free speech' than 300 million other Americans.

The sad truth is that much of what takes place resembles a horse race, or some kind of political theater designed specifically for public consumption. Each step of the process, whether it’s the hunt for delegates in the political party primary or the hunt for Electoral College votes after nominations have taken place, the real action takes place in the darkest recesses of the system, out of view. One could go so far as to say that the real action of US “democracy” takes place in the shadows.
So, what we are witnessing for public consumption is the hunt for delegates among the presidential contenders in the Republican Party and between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party. Until February 1, everything was basically kabuki theatre, advertising in order to lure an ample audience to enhance the profits of the major television, radio broadcasters and newspaper publishers. Donald Trump made this point repeatedly just before he decided to not participate any longer in the pre-February Republican Party Primary debates. He challenged CNN to donate some of its profits from debate ad sales to veterans’ charities—which, of course, CNN refused to do.

On February 1, the first popular voting actually took place. The Iowa Caucuses kicked off the delegate hunt. The Democratic candidates are trying to garner 2,382 delegates to win the nomination; Republican candidates need 1,144. Across the state of Iowa, registered voters gathered to cast their vote for their preferred party primary candidate. Yet the rules for the caucuses are far from straightforward, as are the rules for counting of votes and assignment of delegates.

Thus, several results in the Iowa Democratic caucuses were actually decided by a coin toss; one Clinton precinct captain didn’t even live in the precinct to whose caucus he had been assigned to manage. As a result of the massive confusion as to who actually won the Iowa Caucuses, the Sanders campaign has launched a quest to get the raw vote totals—as yet unavailable from the Iowa or national Democratic Party that declared Clinton the winner.

The next vote took place in the New Hampshire primary, which is different than a caucus. And there, too, the rules change by state for which primary voters are eligible to vote.

The next round of voting will take place on what is called ‘Super Tuesday’ when a number of states allow their voters to express their presidential preferences in primaries. But, that’s only if your preferred presidential candidate has been able to secure ballot access. Not all of the candidates are able to run in all states because each state has its own requirements for gaining ballot access. This is not a problem for either the Democratic or Republican parties, but is a huge issue for other parties. Therefore, most American voters don’t even get to see the full range of candidates and political parties on their ballots!

All of this popular voting is to assign delegates to each candidate. Those delegates will represent their candidate at the political party’s nominating convention. Or at least that’s the way it’s supposed to work. And so, the candidate with the most delegates will win the party’s nomination, right? Well, not necessarily, due to something called “super delegates” who are not bound by the popular vote. So, theoretically, unless Bernie Sanders wins the popular vote by a commanding margin in the Democratic Party primary, Hillary Clinton could actually walk away with the party’s nomination, due to the power of superdelegates whose role is similar to that of the Electoral College—to make sure that the plebes don’t ever really think they are in control. However, if something like that were to occur, the credibility of the Party might take a beating.

So, there you have it. When there is no challenge to the shadow players, everything rolls just fine and the flaws in the system are not clearly evident. But, for candidates who do not have shadow blessing, the election process can become a nightmare. Imagine then, America's increasingly alienated voters trying to overcome all of the information and process hurdles.

And, by the way, not all adult citizens in the US are eligible to vote. In some states, people in the criminal justice system with felonies may forfeit their right to vote altogether. At the same time, some states require state-issued identification cards in order to vote. Even voting machines are positioned by precinct history, not by need. Thus, Blacks voting in Ohio and other places around the country waited for hours to vote while White majority precincts had no wait at all to vote.

It is little wonder, then, that so few citizens of voting age actually participate in the process. According to one study, only approximately 55 percent of the voting age population actually voted in 2012. For citizens tying to unravel all of the rules and regulations, how a candidate moves through the process to become a nominee and then incumbent is “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

So the next time the victor of a US presidential race system says that he or she will destabilize a foreign government or wage a war against a foreign country in order to 'fight for democracy', the entire world, led most of all by the voters of the United States, should greet the news with a hearty laugh.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.​

New Supporters of the Black Arts Movement Business District

 

FYI, the Black Arts Movement Business District has received pledges of support from the following:

 

KPOO Radio's Donald Lacy

Donald Lacy, KPOO Radio and Love Life Foundation

Donald told BAMBD planner Marvin X, he stands ready to do whatever is necessary to make the
district a success.

 Sisters Angela and Fania Davis

Fania E. Davis, Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth
Fania says she will get the youth she works with involved in the BAMBD. Marvin
told Fania, "Please tell Angela we need her support as well."


 Margaret Gordon, West Oakland Environmentalist and Social Justice Activist

Margaret Gordon, God Mother of West Oakland, is ready to do all she can to enable
the BAMBD project to succeed. She pointed out several spaces in West Oakland BAMBD
can use. As per the coal train coming to West Oakland, she was critical of certain ministers
who seem more interested in gold dust than coal dust! Margaret Gordon said the BAMBD request for a one billion dollar trust fund is on point.

Another person said she is ready to donate $1,000.00 as soon as the BAMBD legal papers are in order. She added, "If every Black person donated $5.00, the BAMBD can get off the ground."

Malcolm X - Ballot or Bullet

Black Bird Press News & Review: Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale interviewed by Marvin X

Black Bird Press News & Review: Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale interviewed by Marvin X: Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale interviewed by Marvin X

Marvin X and Bobby Seale discuss their days at Merritt College, how they were self educated into Black consciousness to become the Neo-Black intellectuals; how Bobby performed in Marvin's play Come Next Summer; Bobby recites his favorite Marvin X poem "Burn,Baby,Burn" about the 65' Watts rebellion; how Bobby and Huey evolved into Black Panthers. Interview reveals Bobby's excellent memory of black history down to the minute, second, microsecond. Get it from the horse's mouth rather than swallow revisionist history told by muddle headed academics and intellectuals in perpetual crisis.--Marvin X

www.itsabouttimebpp.com/Media/Media_index.html
‎

Bobby Seale interviewed by Marvin X 2000 [Video: 64 min]

Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale speaks at Merritt College

The Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series presents Bobby Seale Founding Chairman & National Organizer, Black Panther Party (BPP) Saturday, February 27, 2016 7:00pm Location: Merritt College, Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale Student Lounge 12500 Campus Dr., Oakland, CA Co-Produced by the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Merritt College

New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

The New Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man

Featuring fifteen explosive new chapters, this expanded edition of the classic New York Times million-copy bestseller brings the story of economic hit men up to date and, chillingly, home to the United States. It also gives us hope and the tools each of us can use to change the system.
In this astonishing tell-all book, former Economic Hit Man John Perkins shares new details about the ways he and others cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. From the U.S. military in Iraq and infrastructure development in Indonesia, to Peace Corps volunteers in Africa and jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes the corruption and failed policies that have fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe, with consequences reflected in our daily headlines and lives.
He then reveals how the deadly Economic Hit Man cancer he helped create has spread far more widely and deeply than ever in the United States and everywhere else—to become the dominant system of business, government, and society today. Finally, he gives an insider’s view of what we each can do to change it.

Part Two: Sistah Q interview with Marvin X, February 18, Harambee Radio

Listen to Part Two of Sistah Q's interview with poet/playwright/essayist/organizer Marvin X on Harambee Radio. He discusses the Black Arts Movement Business District, downtown Oakland CA.

 Marvin X interviewed by WURD Talk Radio, Philadelphia, Black Power Babies Conversation,

produced by Muhammida El Muhajir.

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Donald Lacey interviews Marvin X, Saturday, KPOO Radio, 89.5FM

WHATEVER YOU DO... DO NOT... I REPEAT DO NOT MISS A SPECIAL 5 HOUR SALUTE TO THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY AS WE COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY BY HUEY NEWTON AND BOBBY SEALE IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA.. THE BLACK PANTHERS WENT ON TO BECOME AN INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN ORGANIZATION THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20@ 7 AM -12 NOON..PST INCLUDING ARCHIVAL INTERVIEWS FROM HUEY NEWTON.. LIVE IN STUDIO CO FOUNDER BOBBY SEALE.. LEADER OF THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT PLAY WRITE AUTHOR MARVIN X...BLACK PANTHER MEMBER AND HISTORIAN BILLY JENNINGS... DOCUMENTARY ON ASSATA SHAKUR ..KATHLEEN CLEAVER.. AND A SPEECH FROM THE GREAT FRED HAMPTON.. TELL A FRIEND AND TUNE IN TO THE REVOLUTION WILL BE BROADCAST ON KPOO 89.5 FM AND ALL OvER THE WORLD ON www.kpoo.com .. ‪#‎freedomfighters‬ ‪#‎oakland‬ ‪#‎revolution‬ ‪#‎blackpanthers‬ ‪#‎wakeupeverybody‬ ‪#‎e14TH‬

 Marvin X interviewed by WURD Talk Radio, Philadelphia, Black Power Babies Conversation,

produced by Muhammida El Muhajir.

DJ: Donald Lacy, KPOO Radio 89.5

Marvin X interview

Wake Up Everybody

Saturday, 7AM-Noon Music, news, and commentary  

LovelifeFoundation.org DonaldLacy.com

 

KPOO Radio's Donald Lacey will conduct a long awaited

interview with Marvin X, 3pm, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2016

89.5FM

kpoo.org