Of Pistols and Prayers by Ise Lyfe

Of Pistols and Prayers
by Ise Lyfe



Watching this young man on stage took me back to my undergraduate days at San Francisco State College, 1965, when the drama department produced my first play Flowers for the Trashman.

In Ise Lyfe, I saw myself as a young man in the theatre after the drama department production, when I dropped out of college to establish my own theatre in the Fillmore District, Black Arts West Theatre, along with playwright Ed Bullins and others.

Watching Ise do his thing on stage, producing, directing, writing and acting, along with his crew of mostly young people, was indeed a pleasure. It is a pleasure to see youth doing anything positive, but especially being creative rather than destructive, trying to spread consciousness to his generation in dire need of such.

It is for this reason that I don’t want to be too critical on the brother, although I do have a few constructive remarks that may help him in the future. Firstly, I saw no need for him to come on and exit the stage in almost rapid succession. Stay yo ass on stage and present your message, even scene changes can be done on stage: let us see you transform or change persona on stage. The very process is part of the drama. Further, we don’t need to hear your voice off stage. Say what you got to say on stage, up front and personal. In our face. And not too much video. Again, we want to see you, not a video message, no matter it is a mixed media production. We didn’t come to look at a screen but to see you. You are the reason for the season.

The music was nice and worked in harmony with Ise, sometimes in perfect harmony. It was especially nice to see my favorite musician on stage, Destiny Muhammad, harpist from the hood. The long segment with the DJ was, for me, totally unnecessary and could be deleted. The central focus is Ise, nobody else. After all, this is a one man show. We don't need to hear nothing from the DJ.

For sure, Ise has the potential to be a great actor. We see he can transform into a myriad personas. And the poetry is good conscious hip hop. We can only suggest, and this goes for hip hop spoken word in general, discover the director, other than oneself, for the director can see what the actor can’t. He can tell the actor things he never imagined, no matter how talented. The actor can often suffer a kind of blindness, perhaps caused by ego, so don’t be too arrogant not to employ a director. In my case, I would at least utilize an associate director, although they would do so reluctantly, declaring, “Marvin, you ain’t gonna let me direct, you know that!” Still, I would at least call upon them for advice.

And we say to Ise Lyfe, welcome to the world of black theatre. It’s your turn, go for it! We encourage youth and adults to catch this production of a young man trying to do the right thing, i.e., being creative and attempting to spread consciousness. To escape this morass, we may indeed need a pistol and a prayer. A white man suggested the three Gs: guns, gold and getaway plan.
--Marvin X
Marvin X is one of the founders of the Black Arts Movement.

Herman Ferguson, A Revolutionary Biography

We are happy to learn that Herman has finally had his story told. Not only do we remember him during my 1968 sojourn in Harlem, but ran into him in Guyana, South America, during the beginning of his 19 year exile. Guyana was a place of refuge for North American Africans fleeing American oppression. Ferguson was there along with Julian Mayfield, Tom Feelings, Mamadou Lumumbia and others. We are thankful Paul Coates of Black Classics Press made the publication of his biography possible. And most of all, thanks to Herman's warrior queen Iyaluua.
--Marvin X
Black Bird Press News

From Khalifa

Greetings Everyone,

This is to announce that the biography of Herman Ferguson is now available. The book was written by his wife Iyaluua, a African woman in the "tradition of Minnie Mandela." It was Sister Iyaluua Ferguson that kept the name Herman Ferguson, before us, while he was in exile is Guyana for 19 long years.

Now it is she who captures both the spirit of the undefeated, 90 years old Black Chamption, who unlike many of his station in the 1960's (Public School VPrincipal), only claimed Minister Malcolm X after he was gone: Herman Ferguson was a colleague, soldier on the front line in struggle (A True Revolutionary, who has the documentation to show, if necessary) He was a member of both organizations that Malcolm founded, but had no chance to develope.

The Title of the book is An Unlikely Warrior: The Evolution of a Revolutionary. It was printed by Paul Coate's Black Classics Press. It is available via iyaluua@aol.com for $20.00 + $5.00 shipping.

I have a review of the book in progress: but since i want to read, again, this riveting, True Story about the 1960's and it's aftermath, this announcement will allow the conscious brothers and sisters chance to get started.

............................................Khalifah

"H. Khalif Khalifah"

KPFA Special on Black Panthers Don Cox and Geronimo Ji=Jaga

Africa Special - July 11, 2011 at 7:00pm | KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio

A

All Praises are due Walter Turner and Greg Bridges of KPFA

We give all praises to Brothers Walter Turner and Greg Bridges of KPFA Radio, Berkeley, for last nights special program on the life and times of Black Panther revolutionaries Field Marshall Don Cox and Minister of Defense Geronimo Ji-Jaga. This program should/must be heard by all North American African youth and adults seeking a knowledge of true American history. The interviews with surviving Black Panther Party members was a riveting narrative on the revolutionary personality, what one must endure, suffer, the necessary discipline and love for the people.

We were informed on the pain of exile, prison, capture, self education and family love. We heard from wives, children, and comrades, rom Minister of Culture Emory Douglas, Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver, Barbara Cox, widow of DC or Don Cox, BPP Field Marshall, Charlotte O'Neill, wife of BPP member Pete O'Neill, still exiled in Tanzania.

For me, perhaps the most important lesson learned was from Geronimo's unconditional love and forgiveness that he demonstrated throughout his life. Also, the essential role of elders in his life, how he and other brothers in his community honored, respected and followed their orders as per community. They did not question the wisdom of their elders, especially when it came to community defense.

Enough said. Listen to the tape and those in the Bay should be sure to find their way to Bobby Hutton Park (Defermery Park) on Sunday, July 17, 2pm. And don't forget the Unity and Reunion for all Bay Area Muslims, Saturday, July 16, 11am til 5pm, Bobby Hutton Park, 18th and Adeline, West Oakland.




We know there is no coincidence both these events are back to back. After all, many Muslims were Panthers and many Panthers were Muslims. Power to the People and As-Salaam-Alaikum!
--Marvin X

Dewey Redman and Black Arts West Theatre

We remember Dewey Redman at the Black Arts West Theatre playwright Ed Bullins and I founded at Turk and Fillmore, San Francisco, 1966, along with Ethna Wyatt, Karl Bossiere, Duncan Barber and Hillery Broadous. Into our theatre came a plethora of jazz musicians to accompany our plays, including Dewey Redman, Monte Waters, Donald Rafael Garrett, Earl Davis, BJ, Paul Smith, et al. They took authority of the music department by telling us to go ahead and do our thing, they would accompany us by coming on stage and accenting our words, or going out into the audience or even out the door to address the Fillmore Street crowds, including the bumper to bumper cars passing along Fillmore.

Dewey and bassist Donald Garrett were probably the most free in teaching us what would become known as Ritual Theatre, that smashing of the wall between stage and audience, merging them into the oneness so well known in the Christian ritual. The difference between the church ritual and the Black Arts ritual was that we came to smash tradition, not enforce it. Of course, we must know tradition before we can smash it. So Dewey, Donald and the rest taught us tradition then how to transcend it.

They forced us to abandon our concept of European theatre, dragging us, sometimes screaming and hollering, back and forward to our African dramatic tradition, freeing us once and forever.

Of course, the ultimate transformer of our dramatic consciousness was Sun Ra, the Grand Master of African theatre. Sun Ra taught the necessity of African mythology as the basis of ritual expression, and with his Arkestra demostrated the unity of music, dance, poetry and mixed media.
--Marvin X
Black Arts West Theatre, 2011

Marvin X's forthcoming drama is Mythology of Love, a womanhood/manhood poetic rites of passage, featuring Ptah Mitchell as Eternal Man and Aries Jordan as Eternal Woman.



Dewey Redman, A Biography



Dewey Redman (born Walter Dewey Redman in Fort Worth, Texas, May 17, 1931; d. Brooklyn, New York September 2, 2006) was an American jazz saxophonist, known for performing free jazz as a bandleader, and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett.

Redman played mainly tenor saxophone, though he occasionally doubled on alto saxophone, played the Chinese suona (which he called a musette) and on rare occasions played the clarinet.

His son is saxophonist Joshua Redman.

After high school, Redman briefly enrolled in the electrical engineering program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, but became disillusioned with the program and returned home to Texas. In 1953, Redman earned a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Arts from Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University. While at Prairie View, he switched from clarinet to alto saxophone, then, eventually, to tenor. Following his bachelor's degree, Redman served two-years in the US Army.

Upon his discharge from the Army, Redman began working on a master’s degree in education at the University of North Texas. While working on his degree, he taught music to fifth graders in Bastrop, Texas, and worked as a freelance saxophonist on nights and weekends around Austin, Texas. In 1957, Redman earned a Masters Degree in Education with a minor in Industrial Arts from the University of North Texas. While at North Texas, he did not enroll in any music classes.

Towards the end of 1959, Redman moved to San Francisco, a musical choice resulting in an early collaboration with Donald Rafael Garrett.

Redman was best known for his collaborations with saxophonist Ornette Coleman, with whom he performed in his Fort Worth high school marching band. He later performed with Coleman from 1968 to 1972, appearing on the recording New York Is Now, among others. He also played in pianist Keith Jarrett's American Quartet (1971-1976), and was a member of the collective Old And New Dreams. The American Quartet's The Survivor's Suite was voted Jazz Album of the Year by Melody Maker in 1978.

He also performed and recorded as an accompanying musician with jazz musicians who performed in varying styles within the post-1950s jazz idiom, including bassist and fellow Coleman-alum Charlie Haden and guitarist Pat Metheny.

With a dozen recordings under his own name Redman established himself as one of the more prolific tenor players of his generation. Though generally associated with free jazz (with an unusual, distinctive technique of sometimes humming into his saxophone as he played), Redman's melodic tenor playing was often reminiscent of the blues and post-bop mainstream. Redman's live shows were as likely to feature standards and ballads as the more atonal improvisations for which he was known.

Redman was the subject of an award-winning documentary film Dewey Time (dir. Daniel Berman, 2001).

On February 19 and 21, 2004, Redman played tenor saxophone as a special guest with Jazz at Lincoln Center, in a concert entitled "The Music of Ornette Coleman."
Redman died of liver failure in Brooklyn, New York on September 2, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Lidija Pedevska-Redman, as well as sons Tarik, and Joshua Redman also a jazz saxophonist. The father and son recorded two albums together.

Marvin X and Tamika at Fillmore Jazz Festival

Marvin X and Tamika at Fillmore Jazz Festival, San Francisco

Marvin hawks 45th anniversary edition of the Black Panther Newspaper. Catch him at the Bay Area Muslim Unity and Reunion Celebration (1950-2011), Defermery Park, aka Bobby Hutton Park, Saturday, July 16, 11-5pm.

He will also be at the Celebration for Black Panther Geronimo Ji-Jaga, Sunday, July 17,Defermery Park, 2-7pm. Location is 18th and Adeline, West Oakland.

photo Gary Jamerson

Photo Essay:: Danny Glover and Marvin X at SF Anti-War Rally, 2003, photos by Kamau Amen Ra

From the Marvin X Archives: Photo Essay by Kamau Amen Ra of Danny Glover and Marvin X at San Francisco Anti-war Rally, 2003.

Danny and Marvin were students at San Francisco State University during the 60s. Danny later performed at Marvin X's Black Arts West Theatre in the Fillmore, 1966.

Youth Violence and Black Classical Music

Note the white makeup on Nina to make her more acceptable to the "American" audience on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1960. America did the same to Nat King Cole when he had the first black TV show. He was forced to wear the same white make up.






Youth Violence and Black Classical Musical
At this past weekend's San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Festival, many persons mentioned to me how peaceful it was, none of the incidents of gang banging that occurred during the Juneteenth Festival, even with a heavy police presence. We noted the police are simply another gang under the color of law, so the youth have no respect for them thus they commit acts of chaos in their presence.

The Jazz Festival was, again, peaceful. I heard of no reports of youth madness, although youth were present. I had a little incident with a youth who getting people to sign petitions. When he asked me to sign and I told him to get back with me because I was just setting up and neeed to get my mind in order. The youth told me I had a bad attitude, to which I responded, yes, I am a nigguh with an attitude. He said he was from New York and Newark and was down with blackness and I was reactionary, I assume, because I didn't sign his petition fast enough. He shouted at me his African names and told me I didn't know nothing about Africa and nothing else. The conversation ended when I told him I was in Africa, right here in the Fillmore. He called me a real nigguh and I concurred.

But back to violence and music. Sun Ra taught me armies march to music, and of course in the African tradition of New Orleans, there are funeral marches with music. We know Jazz or Black Classical music appeals to the mind, in particular, as well as the soul and body. Throughout the day a New Orleans band passed by with that second line joyful music that one is forced to join the line or move the body.

But essentially Jazz/BCM soothes the mind, or in the 60s tradition, challenges the mind with sounds smashing traditional white supremacy music. It can be war music or the music of peace and meditation so much needed today, well, we are war today as well.

Sadly, much of hip hop music negatively affects the central nervous system with robotic nursery rhymes and beats that indeed, put people to "sleep" rather than touch their higher consciousness, especially the genre of reactionary so called gangsta rap, the bitch, ho, motherfucker/fatherfucker variety.

Whereas Jazz/BCM revolutionized the people of the 60s,i.e. Coltrane, Miles, Pharaoh Sanders, Archie Shepp, Milford Graves, Nina Simone, Sun Ra, the reactionary rap music has a history of violence at concerts and in the hood, generally, for such music affects our subconscious mind. Young Negroes move to a beat without any music, programmed like Pavlov's dog, mix in mind altering drugs and you have a volatile potent package of poison ready to kill.

This is why I say we must not only pass the tone test when stopped by the police but with each other, especially when encountering youth. We don't know how many blunts a youth may have smoked before he encountered us. The youth taking signatures told me he might whup my ass, OG. Now you know he had to be loaded because he ain't hardly gonna kick my ass, he may kill me but I ain't hardly taking no ass whuppin from little snotty nose fathterness boys who hate me because I represent their long lost daddy.

As per the festival, yes, the music helped keep the peace. Youth, for the most part, don't relate to the music. But there's another reason for the peace: white people. White people flooded Fillmore Street for the festival as per usual. For that matter, white people have invaded the Fillmore District with gentrification, so no matter how violent youth may be, they ain't messing with no white people, they scared to death of white people, plus they know if they harm them, they can be charged with hate crimes or making terrorist threats. As I noted, they fought each other at Juneteenth in front of the police without arrest.

Music can heal you or kill you. For sure, we need healing music today, music that is therapeutic to mind and community. We need to hear real live positive music throughout the hood. How ironic when I lived in Seattle, Jazz/BCM was played everywhere, even in the elevators at shopping centers, it was Jazz. This is music for higher consciousness and sanity in a world where music is programmed to deconstruct and destroy the mind not construct it.

On the positive, the conscious rappers have indeed aligned themselves with Jazz/BCM, producing music with poet Amiri Baraka and others, performing with Trombone Shorty and other noted Jazz musicians. Once youth detox from destructive sounds, they will do more than sample Jazz, they will love it for it is their heritage, part of their DNA. Jazz/BCM is a thinking man's/woman's music, and the Lord knows we are in the time when hard thinking is needed. Life is a thinking man's/woman's game.

Again, the music can kill us or heal us. Sun Ra worked at my Black Educational Theatre during 1972, composing music for Take Care of Business, the musical version of Flowers for the Trashman. When my driver had a mental breakdown, Sun Ra visited him in the hospital, leaving him several albums. My driver was soon greatly improved and deeply appreciated Sun Ra for visiting him and leaving the albums.
--Marvin X
7/5/11

What is African American Studies?

From: yusufnuruddin@yahoo.com

Available Now
For price info and copies please contact
zendive@aol.com

Special Issue of the journal Socialism and Democracy:

What Is African American Studies,Its Focus, and Future?

Edited by John H.
McClendon III and Yusuf Nuruddin


Preface

Introduction by John H. McClendon III

Articles

John H.
Bracey, Jr., Black Studies in the Age of Obama
De Anna Reese and Malik Simba,Historiography against History: The
Propaganda of History and the Struggle for the Hearts and Minds of Black Folk
Stephen Ferguson, The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical
Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy
John
H. McClendon III,Materialist
Philosophical Inquiry and African American Studies

Yusuf Nuruddin, Africana
Studies: Which Way Forward – Marxism or Afrocentricity? Neither Mechanical
Marxism nor Atavistic Afrocentrism
Reiland
Rabaka, Revolutionary Fanonism: On Frantz Fanon’s Modification
of Marxism and Decolonization of Democratic Socialism

Rose M. Brewer,
Black Women’s Studies: From Theory to Transformative Practice
Rod Bush, Africana Studies and the Decolonization of the
U.S. Empire in the 21st Century
Greg Carr,What Black
Studies Is Not: Moving from Crisis to Liberation in Africana Intellectual Work
Anthony
Monteiro, The Epistemic Crisis of African American Studies: A Du
Boisian Resolution
Carter Wilson, The Dominant Class and the Construction of Racial
Oppression: A Neo-Marxist/Gramscian Approach to Race in the United States
Charles
Pinderhughes, Toward a New Theory of Internal Colonialism


Review Essays

Robeson Taj P. Frazier, Afro-Asia
and Cold War Black Radicalism

Charles L. Lumpkins,Rediscovering Hubert
Harrison: Revolutionary Socialism and Anti-White Supremacy for 21st-Century
Americans

Gerald Meyer, James
Baldwin’s Harlem: The Key to His Politics

Book
Reviews

Michelle
Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass
Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
reviewed by Lenore Daniels

Safiya Bukhari, THE WAR
BEFORE: The True Life Story of Becoming a Black Panther, Keeping the Faith in
Prison, and Fighting for Those Left
Behind
reviewed by
David Gilbert

Yale University Black Collection Online

Yale University Places its Huge Cultural Collections Online: Thousands of Items Relating to African Americans Are IncludedYale University is making its vast art and cultural holdings available to the public over the Internet. Digital images of more than 259,000 items are now available online. In the future, millions of digital versions of items from the university’s museums, libraries, and archives will be accessible. The Peabody Museum of Natural History alone has more than 12 million items in its collection.

The online collections are fully searchable with a collective catalog. A search for “African American” turns up more than 2,700 items. A search for “black Americans” produced nearly 15,000 results.

Marvin X's Daughter Muhammida and Last Poet Omar Ben Hasan

Marvin X's Daughter Muhammida and Last Poet Omar Ben Hasan


Muhammida El Muhajir is the middle child of Marvin X's three daughters. Of his two sons, Abdul transitioned at 39 and Marvin K is estranged. Muhammida El Muhajir grew up in Philadelphia. Her mother, Nisa Ra, was a student of Marvin X's when he taught at the University of California, Berkeley. She danced in his myth-ritual drama Resurrection of the

Dead, performed at his Black Educational Theatre in San Francisco's Fillmore, 1972.


Nisa Ra of Philadelphia, Mother of Muhammida

Muhammida graduated from Howard University in Microbiology, but turned to the arts. Her film HIP HOP the New World Order has been screened internationally and was taught in a class at Harvard University on Hip Hop. After traveling with her daughter to Europe, her mother exclaimed, "My daughter is as well known on the streets of Paris and London as she is in Harlem and Brooklyn."

To make her film on hip hop, she traveled to Japan, Cuba, Brazil, South Africa, England, France, Germany and Denmark with her own money, alone with her camera.

For a time she was a music marketing manager at NIKE, serving as liaison to musicians and rap artists. As event planner, she organized a VIP party for the NBA All Stars at San Francisco's NIKETOWN, producing a party on all seven floors.

She wrote a film script but after her father's critique, she came full strenght, shocking her father with her bluntness and skills with the linquistics of the hood.






Muhammida and daughter,


Mahadevi.


photo Sam Anderson









Check out her web:

http://www.suninleo.com/

White Supremacy, Zionism and National Insanity

White Supremacy, Zionism and National Insanity

Preface: Amy Nogoodwoman and her Democracy Now is clearly in the camp of the Monkey Mind Media that perpetuates the world of make believe. This morning she gave a report on the Gaza Flotilla attempting to break into the Gaza concentration camp. Amy Nogoodwoman spent an inordinate amount of time voicing the views of a Zionist agent until he rushed off the air after a propaganda barrage. When she turned to an Arab journalist, he was allowed to say a few words then cut off, so we see Democracy Now is but another of the undercover Zionist entities, parading as Leftist. She didn't dare interview a leader of Harmas, the democratically elected government in Gaza. This lopsided journalism is typical of pseudo Leftist that are in boot step with the Monkey Mind Media.
--


"Marvin X at his best, clarity of perception!" --Gerald Ali, UK



Recent events in Israel such as the planned building of 1,600 housing units in Arab East Jerusalem, lead us to the conclusion the Zionists are headed down a national suicide path that will surely take America, if not the world, with them. What makes their suicide a foregone conclusion is the fact they are surrounded by nations with populations more suicidal than they.

The Saudi Arabian brand of Islam promoted by Al Quida is a return to Ya'um Jahiliyah or the days of ignorance before the advent of Islam in 632 AD. The Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah are just as determined as the Jewish Zionists to execute their fanatical, dogmatic vision in the world, or in particular, the Middle East.

It is a dance of death for all peoples, with no hope in sight. The more the Muslims seem ready to conclude a deal with for some semblance of a Palestinian state, the more the Zionists expand their colonial occupation of Arab land.

Despite the winds of revolution and cries for social-political and economic justice throughout the region, the Zionists in Israel are tone deaf and determined to continue down the road to hell, for where else can they go as the Arab masses move toward a unity never before seen.

The recent visit of Israeli leader Netanyahu was a supreme example of hubris or simple minded White supremacy arrogance. He openly and unashamedly defied President Obama's call for a return to the pre-1967 borders in a final peace deal with the Palestinians. Despite having the greatest army in the world and nuclear weapons, Netanyahu claimed the 1967 borders are indefensible. How is this possible with an annual three billion dollar defense welfare check from America? And the Israeli sycophants in the US Congress treated the Zionist leader as a rock star, yet he is a star sure to fall from the sky. It is only a matter of time before the Zionist date with destiny.

Not long ago the son of a Hamas leader who confessed being a snitch for the Zionists, said he agreed to snitch after he saw nothing shall happen regarding Palestine as long as the two sides maintain their dogmatic religiosity or archaic mythology.

There can be no forward movement with such backward notions of history, of aboriginal claims of ownership based on mythology and religiosity, e.g., the Chosen people of God poppycock. At least the Arabs come from the reality that they were brazenly removed from their homeland.

How does one make peace with someone who has seized your homeland and relegated you to refugee camps within and outside your original space, especially when the occupation is based on injuries inflicted by someone else (Hitler)? Why should Arabs suffer for what Nazis did to the Jews?

The Arabs say they shall fight to the death to reclaim their land, with Hamas fighting for every inch of land taken, no matter how long it takes. It took 200 years before Saladin removed the last Crusaders! The Zionists claim Hamas will not recognize them, but what is the idea of a "Jewish" state but the non-recognition of the Palestinian people? Where is democracy in such a state, where is humanity. It is buried in mythology, a mythology that shall not survive the new era. I don't care what any holy books say, there shall be no peace without justice. This is the magic word missing in the vocabulary of both Netanyahu and President Obama. Nobody wants more than justice and nobody wants less.

What is amazing is that the Zionists have a nuclear arsenal and the greatest army in the Middle East, if not the world--at least until Hezbollah fought them to a standstill in Lebanon (a feat greater than the combined Arab armies in several wars against the Zionists)--yet all we hear is the need for security. What more security do you need? You have bombs, planes, tanks, soldiers, bio-chemical weapons of mass destruction and nukes, what more security do you need? Would tightening the grip on the Arab concentration camps suffice, i.e., will the Wall you are building satisfy your security needs, a checkpoint on every block, every mile? A snitch in every Arab home?

No matter the intractable positions on both sides, we are nearing a conclusion on this matter, yes, in spite of the duplicity of all concerned, the Zionists, their American sycophants, and the quisling Muslim governments in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf States. Also, we cannot ignore the critical role of Iran in this drama, with their support of Hamas and Hezbollah for matters of their mythological dreams.

All these myths must be cast into the dustbin of history and a new vision must be adopted by all sides, no matter how painful. But again, the vision must be based on justice, not peace. Peace with boots on the neck is not a real and lasting peace. It is a sham peace and it will only hasten the day of judgment.

What we have is a prescription for full blown Armageddon. Let the fundamental Christians rejoice along with the 12vers in Iran who anxiously await the return of the 12th Imam or Mahdi, while the Christians savor the return of their Messiah with the destruction of Jerusalem, or an even more dramatic total destruction of the Middle East.

Either the Palestinians shall obtain their state or we shall simply await the final Holocaust that will supposedly usher in the new era of peace in the world. If the 1967 borders are indefensible, equally indefensible is the idea of a "Jewish" state. This idea doesn't border on insanity, it is the essence of insanity, a total break with reality.
--Marvin X
3/15/10

Amazing Grace, for Rev. Lucius Walker (RIP)

amazin grace...for the late rev lucius walker...

by Zayid Muhammad




“Amazin grace…How sweet the sound…

That saved a soul like me…

I was once was lost…

Now I’m fighting to be free…

Only struggle

Will save you and me…”*

“Yea, though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death;

I fear no evil; For thou art with me

Thy rod and Thy staff

They comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies.

Thou anointest me with oil;

My cup runneth over…

Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life; And I shall dwell

in the house of the Lord forever…”Psalm 23

the time has come

the trumpet has sounded

that miles as in davis muted trumpet has sounded

his name has been called

Luuuuucius!

Lucius Walker!

The gateway has been presented

and this man

this modest samaritan man

this man

this fearless mount of courage and faith of a man

this daniel audacious amazin grace of a man

he has ascended that stairway to heaven

received by the God he so valiantly served

to the ultimate delightful chorus

‘job well done, my son…job well done…’

and for us still here in the land of the living

and for those coming behind us

for this man

for this heroic humanitarian

we must monumentally mark his place in this time

to radiate the lessons of light of his enormous example…

so give me a truckload of bibles

in english spanish creole and french

give me a bushel of the ripest olive branches

give me crates upon crates upon crates

of medicines and medical supplies

so we can make a late 20th century

early 21st century balm in gilead…

give me a caseload of bloodied bonebroken bullets and shrapnel

as evidence of the evil of oppression

made in the usa

give me a column Zapatistas covering the rear

as surrogate angels...

“Thy road and Thy staff, they comfort me…”

give me prime photos of his wife children and grandchildren

give me a chessboard dominated by battling bishops

and a line of willing volunteers to be sacrificed

give me a hemispheric huge harvest

of yams corn apples lentils leeks

of oranges mangoes pineapples

yucca and beets

give me fish and loaves of bread

and give me flour yeast and hearth ovens

to bake our own

give me enuf righteous roasted lamb

to feed all the villages he served

that had been denied the fruits of their own sacred labor…

“…Thou preparest for me a table in the presence of mine enemies…”


for his chocolate eyed charm

for his awesome absence of ego and vanity

for his che’ like capacity to lead without commanding

for this man

for this peoples redeemer

this shining samaritan

this humble heroic humanitarian

we need huge broken tablets of unjust laws

broken by armies of the faithful that he led

we need a tall rugged cross

stained with the blood of martyrs

like camilo cienfuegos, martin luther king and bishop romero

we need all those made missing by the death squads to be found

we need david walker’s appeal

martin’s letter from a birmingham jail

che’s socialism and man

we need fidel-full analyses

of all the political minefields and crosscurrents

we still must confront

we need broadcasts of insurgent commentary by mumia abujamal

we need a huge toilet and a flushing of the waste of the blockade!

we need mumia free…

we must enshrine that little yellow school bus

with the wheelchairs of the fasters

we need video footage of baffled abusive overseers at the borders

we need doctors without borders

willing to dance with the patients they treat

we need a huge cup runneth over with faith courage love and hope

and we need lots and lots of witnesses

organized to continue…

for this man

for this daniel audacious man

this marvelous mount of courage and faith

this shining samaritan

this heroic humble humanitarian

this chocolate eyed charming amazin grace of man

we need commitment

we need commitment

we need commitment

congalleros!**

to the front!..

“The Lord is my shepard; I shall not want…”

“We refuse to back down

We will fight to the end

Revolution

Revolution

is near…”



*lyrics from Yasmin Adeigbola’s poetic retake on Amazin’ Grace

**congalleros…spanish for conga players



©2010 all rights reserved

‘bro.zayid’

Review of How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy

How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy
Peer mental health group cures 'addiction'Reginald James
Laney Tower
Laney College Newspaper,
Oakland CA
May 22, 2008


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I Love Everything About You But You

Marvin X and Paradise Jah Love
photo by James Moore, Jr

This is Black America's favorite poem of mine!
Black people say this poem makes them feel validated!
===
"I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU, BUT YOU!"
===
They want the black spirit
They want the black mind
They want the black soul
They want the black behind
They want the black muscle
They want the black heart
They want the black music
They want the black art
They want the black rhythm
They want the black hips
They want the black power
They want the black lips
They want the black style
They want the black talk
They want the black skill
They want the black walk
They want the black rod
They want the black heat
They want the black coffee
They want the black meat
They want the black land
They want the black gold
They want the black diamonds
They want the black coal
They want the black oil
They want the black race
They want the black earth
They want the black space
They want the black dollars
They want the black gods
They want the black everything...but me and you
Now that's odd!
They want the black neighborhood but not the black neighbor?
I love everything about you, but you! -

(c) 1995 Paradise 939
The complete version with music is available...

Berkeley Juneteenth, 2011

Marvin X and Paradise Jah Love
photo by James Moore, Jr

Berkeley's Juneteenth was peaceful, especially with the entire Berkeley police department out in full force. For once, we thank the police for keeping the peace. Marvin X exhibited his writings and archives from the Black Arts Movement. A more complete archive of his art and work is in the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley.

People wanted to purchase his display of archival materials from the Black Arts Movement, including copies of Black Dialogue Magazine, The Black Scholar, Black World (Negro Digest) and Journal of Black Poetry. Marvin X told customers these items were his personal archives and were only for display, and were not for sale at any price.

The people then suggested he copy the journals so the present generation can have access to the precious materials from black history. He agreed to do so. Note: Marvin X is not financially able to copy said materials. You can make a donation to the Blackwell Institute of Art, Math and Science so the material can be duplicated and desiminated. Send your donation to Paul Cobb at the Post Newspaper Group.

Catch Marvin X at the Muslim Unity and Reunion ( 1950-3011) at Defermery Park (aka Bobby Hutton Park) on Saturday, July 16, 11-5pm. Also, the following day, Sunday, July 17, Defermery Park, at the Memorial for Geronimo Ja Jiga, 2:30 pm.

The Second Civil War

The Second Civil War

With each passing day, America sinks deeper toward the very necessary economic revolution. We can see the Second Civil War as a war between the economic classes, the ruling class and the underclasses. The war will be fought to redistribute the wealth produced by the workers, but siphoned off by the bosses causing the wage slaves economic depression.

This frustration transcends all ethnic groups, even the formerly middle class whites are beginning to feel like nigguhs have felt for centuries. The whites are now jobless and homeless, the perennial state of many North American Africans. This is cause for symbiotic unity, for surely the day shall come when all of us realize we've all been hoodwinked and bamboozled by the ruling elite, political and economic. Surely we will desire a united front against the oppressors that no amount of demagoguery will prevent.

The general strike will be in order. In recent times, the people of North Africa and the Middle East have shown us that the unity of all sectors: workers, teachers, youth, and elders can bring about radical change that no amount of guns, secret police, agent provocateurs, snitches, helicopters, tanks, can subdue, especially once the fear factor is eliminated. We must realize the only thing to fear is fear itself! Knowing the moral arc of the universe is reason enough to understand the necessity of overcoming our fears to do the right thing: fight the power!

Once the ritual dance of life or death with the oppressor has been won, when fear is emilinated from the equation, the oppressed man and woman realizes a freedom that is astounding. A new man and woman has been born in an instant, only the day before he and she were part of a group, a nation of stunted men and women, backs broken by submission to wretched wage slavery, devoid of a living wage and the necessary benefits.

The people see the economic quagmire caused by pure greed of the capitalist swine, who have no intention to share the wealth, not anytime soon, unless forced to do so by the general strike.

The blood suckers must be broken by the solid will of the people. It took the people of Egypt 19 days to bring down the American running dog Mubarak. After 30 years of oppression, 19 days of fearless unity overthrew the tyrant. Libya is taking longer, Yemen as well. The Syrian butchers seem to have no intention of submitting to the will of the people. Bahrain is entrenched with a minority ruling a majority of people who have long suffered discrimination. It is in the national interest of America to support the anti-democratic regime. In nearby Saudi Arabia, they will be lucky if their revolution wins women the right to drive a car. Such backwardness is allowed because of oil.

And so the American revolution will have its own unique process, but its day of judgement is inevitable, unless she decides to share the wealth. As in North Africa and the Middle East, the rulers in America will hold out until the midnight hour. There may be blood and the suffering of many, but it will be a necessary cause to bring true economic equality to a land built on the accumulation of capital by slave labor, followed by the wealth from wage slavery.

The time has come for the producers of the wealth to enjoy the benefit of their labor under the sun. America had the chance to be the light of the world, but the greed of her rulers and their filthy capitalist system of free market exploitation must be eliminated. Change must be not what we believe in but what we know, to hell with change we can believe in. We must have radical change beyond belief. It must be change brought about by our own hands. As Dr. Romana Tascoe told us about the Haitians who informed her they know they got their liberation by their own hands, no body gave it to them, they didn't need a Lincoln to issue an emancipation proclamation. They got their liberation by the sweat and blood of their own hands.

The Second Civil War must correct past mistakes and injustices to all parties in the American dream. America may go the way of the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia, a Balkinizaton by ethnicity. This is the human right of self-determination and sovereignty of all people.

All options are open and up for discussion and consensus. The American people may be able to have a functional unity that at least gets us pass the rule of the blood suckers of the poor. And then we can decide what park of the American pie we desire for our centuries of free labor under the sun.

Hard thinking is in order, for this is no light matter. But we know a people united cannot be defeated. We can do better than the free market economy. What about a fair market economy, a just economy that allows people a living wage and makes them owners of the means of production. I like what the Communists told me when I went to read poetry at a Communist bookstore in San Francisco and asked for the boss. The laughed and said, "We don't have a boss, we killed the boss. That's what the revolution was about, to get rid of the boss."

We can own the means of production. We must seize them because they belong to us, the workers who produce the wealth that is stolen from us by the capitalist bosses who care nothing for American workers or any other workers around the world, only if they are cheap labor combined with cheap resources taken or seized by armies from the capitalist nations, who shall seize all resources needed for the engine of the rotten capitalist machine that grinds the poor into cannon fodder. There is no respect for the labor of the poor, in America or around the world.

Only when the workers stand up and discard their fears will change come, discard the fear of death, the fear of jail and prison, only then do we begin to live the life of true human beings.

--Marvin X

6/26/11

Muslim Unity Meeting and Reunion

Unity in the Community

Muslim Unity Meeting and Reunion: 1950-2011

Saturday, July 16, 11-5:00

Defermery (aka Bobby Hutton ) Park

18th and Adeline Street

West Oakland

information: Khalid 510-927-5055

Journal of Pan African Studies on Skin Bleaching and Global White Supremacy

Editorial:Skin Bleaching and Global White Supremacy

Guest Editors
Yaba Amgborale Blay, PhD
Lafayette College
&
Christopher A.D. Charles, PhD
Monroe College

This Special Issue of the Journal of Pan African Studies focuses on the
practice of skin bleaching -- the intentional alteration of one’s natural skin color
to one relatively, if not substantially lighter in color, through the use of chemical
skin lightening agents -- as it manifests among people of African descent. Within
the context of global white supremacy, skin color communicates one’s position to
and within the dominant power structure.

Given this reality, many people, namely those subjected to white domination, colonization, and enslavement, have historically internalized projected notions that the basis of their inferior condition is their skin color. Although the contributors to this issue examine the phenomenon from a variety perspectives, all draw attention to the impact of global White supremacy on valuations of skin color and the extent to which skinbleaching, as a social practice, is functionary of white domination.

The introductory article, “Skin Bleaching and Global White Supremacy: By Way of Introduction” by guest editor, Yaba Amgborale Blay, critically examines the symbolic significance of whiteness, particularly for and among African people, by outlining the history of global White supremacy, both politically and ideologically, discussing its subsequent promulgation, and further investigating its relationship to the historical and contemporary skin bleaching phenomenon. The article provides a broader socio-historical context within which to situate the global practice of skin bleaching and thus provides a necessary framework for further realizing the critical significance of the articles presented in this issue.

Whereas the large majority of the discourse on skin bleaching focuses on
the practice as it occurs throughout the world, there exists a paucity of literature
on skin bleaching in the United States. With three articles examining the historical
legacy of the practice in early 20th century America, and one focusing on product
usage in contemporary Harlem, the current issue attempts to address this
significant gap in the literature.

In his article, “Skin Bleach And Civilization: The Racial Formation of Blackness in 1920s Harlem,” Jacob Dorman argues that for African Americans at the turn of the 20th century, skin bleaching represented much more than mere cosmetic practice. Examining historical archives,newspaper records, skin bleaching product advertisements, and the infamous and bitter wrangle between W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey, Dorman positions skin bleaching within the larger discourse of civilization and contends that the practice reflected ambiguous notions of racial progress and advancement.

Similarly, Amoaba Gooden’s examination the Black vanguard of news reporting
in her article “Visual Representations of Feminine Beauty in the Black Press:
1915-1950” highlights the extent to which the Black press, influenced by White
supremacy, patriarchy, and classism, assigned higher value to those ideals and
physical features associated with Whiteness than those associated with Blackness.

Given the frequent appearance of skin bleaching advertisements, and the extent to
which reporters attempted to reject degrading popular images of Black women
(e.g. the Mammy), Gooden argues that the Black press ultimately endorsed skin
bleaching as a means through which Black women in particular could attain not
only feminine beauty, but social respectability.

Like Gooden, Treva Lindsey also examines a number of skin bleaching advertisements, however, she focuses specifically on late 19th to early 20th century Washington D.C. and skin bleaching among Washingtonian women. Lindsey explores the relationship between White supremacy, skin bleaching, and New Negro womanhood, and in the final analysis of her article, “Black No More: Skin Bleaching and the Emergence of New Negro Womanhood Beauty Culture,” she connects skin bleaching to a politics of
appearance that intersected with White supremacist and gendered discourses
about urban Black modernity and social mobility; and asserts that African
American women of the time embraced a White constructed beauty culture as
means to an end – social, political, and economic freedom.

Moving the examination forward nearly 100 years, in his article, “The Derogatory Representations of the Skin-Bleaching Products Sold in Harlem,” coeditor
Christopher Charles analyzes the images used to market skin bleaching
products sold in contemporary Harlem in order to determine whether or not such
imagery is derogatory. Charles discovers that many of the underlying messages
inherent to the imagery displayed on skin bleaching labels today are identical to
those used decades ago in that they continue to exhibit hegemonic representations
of Whiteness versus Blackness.

In his estimation, it is this consistency and continuation that continues to push the sale of skin bleaching products in the United States. Margaret Hunter holds a similar position in her article “Buying Racial Capital: Skin Bleaching and Cosmetic Surgery in a Globalized World.” She argues that the increased incidence of transnational skin bleaching is a result of the merging of old ideologies (colonialism, race, and color) with new technologies of the body (skin bleaching and plastic surgery). In this way, as one attains light skin, s/he attains a form of racial capital – a resource drawn from the body that provides tangible benefits within the context of White supremacy.

The works of Donna Hope and Emphraim Gwaravanda both situate skin
bleaching within the specific cultural contexts within which it takes place,
Jamaica and Zimbabwe respectively. In her article, “From Browning to Cake
Soap: Popular Debates on Skin Bleaching in the Jamaican Dancehall,” Hope
examines skin bleaching through the lens of dancehall music culture which,
unlike the larger Jamaican society, contends that skin bleaching represents a mode
of fashion and style.

By examining dancehall artists, their public personas, and their lyricism about skin bleaching, and further situating skin bleaching within Jamaica’s historically three-tiered racialized society, Hope attempts to unpack conflicting cultural debates surrounding skin bleaching in Jamaica. With attention to skin bleaching in Zimbabwe, Gwaravanda relies upon Shona proverbs as an indigenous knowledge system through which to analyze the phenomenon.

Through the proverbs, he asserts that for the Shona people, intrinsic beauty is
valued above extrinsic beauty, dark skin is to be valued, and that one is to be
knowledgeable of his/her culture and identity. It is through these perspectives that
Gwaravanda challenges contemporary skin bleaching in Zimbabwe as a departure
from traditional Shona culture.

Commentary provided by African-centered psychologist, Daudi ya Azibo
concludes this special issue on skin bleaching and global White supremacy. In
“Skin Bleaching and Lightening as Psychological Misorientation Mental
Disorder,” Azibo argues that skin bleaching is consistent with the psychological
misorientation mental disorder articulated in the Azibo Nosology.

According to Azibo, living under White domination has severely traumatized people of African descent and has destabilized our ability to orient ourselves towards ourselves.Skin bleaching is thus regarded a reflective side effect of this psychological destabilization. By concluding with Dr. Azibo’s commentary, we hope to open and extend the discourse, spark debate, and inspire continued research into the
multiple dimensions for which skin bleaching has implications for people of
African descent.

Please go to: jpanafrican@yahoo.com

Message to Berkeley Juneteenth, Sunday, June 26, 2011

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Paramedic Alleges Oscar Grant Cover Up

Paramedic Whistleblower Alleges Oscar Grant Cover Up; Evidence of System-Wide Racism

by Phil Horne, Esq.
Monday Jun 20th, 2011 5:43 PM

Paramedic Sean Gillis, an instructor and supervisor at the Oakland Fire Department, filed suit on Friday, June 17th, 2011 against OFD. In his complaint, Gillis alleges OFD mistreated Oscar Grant in its response to Grant 9-1-1 calls on January 1st, 2009, destroyed evidence related to the mistreatment, ordered Gillis to stop his investigation of the call response, and is currently retaliating against Gillis for exposing same.

OAKLAND. Paramedic Sean Gillis, an instructor and supervisor at the Oakland Fire Department (OFD), filed suit on Friday, June 17th, 2011 against OFD. Alameda County Superior Court No. RG-11-581209. In his complaint, Gillis alleges OFD mistreated Oscar Grant in its response to Grant 9-1-1 calls on January 1st, 2009 and destroyed all evidence related to the mistreatment, ordered Gillis to stop his investigation of the call response, refused to comply with an order for a call review by former OFD Medical Director Dr. Michael Howard, MD, forced Howard to quit by withholding his paychecks, and is currently retaliating against Gillis.

OSCAR GRANT. On January 1st, 2009, OFD responded to the BART police shooting of Oscar Grant—an unarmed BART passenger. The shooting became a focus of community direct action during 2009 and 2010 and just recently when the shooter was released after serving a brief prison sentence.

OVERLOOKED. Overlooked until now is OFD’s role in Grant’s death. According to Gillis, OFD mistreated Grant, and that mistreatment is so egregious that it should be criminally investigated.

WOUND UNTREATED. Grant had been shot at pointblank range. The bullet made both entry and exit chest wounds. OFD Emergency Medical Services Division (EMS) first responding paramedics applied an air-tight treatment only to the entry wound—leaving the exit chest wound open to air. According to Gillis’ complaint, this misconduct is a ‘death sentence.’ Grant died from his wounds 5 ½ hours later.

SCUTTLED INVESTIGATION. On January 6th, 2009, Gillis launched an investigation and requested the coroner’s report to assess whether paramedic misconduct contributed to Grant’s death. On January 10th, 2009, OFD issued a written order to Gillis to stop the investigation and to refrain from reporting his findings to anyone—even the Grant family or law enforcement. The written order is attached to Gillis’ complaint.

EVIDENCE DESTROYED. About this time, according to Gillis, OFD destroyed all paper records related to the Grant response and the computer archive of Grant’s Patient Care Report.

DR. MICHAELS. OFD’s Medical Director, Dr. Howard Michaels, MD, ordered a call review. Even though, at the time, Michaels was the highest medical authority at OFD, the EMS Division ignored his order. Gillis alleges OFD retaliated against Dr. Michaels by interfering with his paychecks until Dr. Michaels finally left in September 2010. Dr. Michaels left OFD owed over six (6) months’ pay. When he finally left, Dr. Michaels turned to Gillis and warned, “You’re next.”

RETALIATION AGAINST GILLIS. Dr. Michaels was right. According to Gillis, OFD launched a retaliatory campaign of harassment and retaliation that included moving Gillis’ office from Jack London Square to a small trailer in the middle of a parking lot in a remote area of Oakland, eliminating his lunch break, taking his mailbox and city car access, weekly bullying sessions and monthly performance reviews, and demoting and suspending Gillis.

PUBLIC RECORDS ACTION. Gillis made a Public Records Act request for the Grant file and staff meeting audio tapes with racist and inappropriate statements about Oscar Grant. According to Gillis, OFD refuses to confirm or deny the destruction of the Grant file and, at first, falsely denied the existence of the recordings. Gillis filed suit under the Public Records Act in Alameda County Superior Court (No. RG-11-576250). Said suit is available for download by clinking the PUBLIC RECORDS ACT LINK on justiceforseanatoaklandfire [at] googlegroups.com .

SYSTEM-WIDE RACISM. Gillis alleges the mistreatment of Grant is an example of system-wide discrimination against people of color.

HISTORY. In the year 2000, in a television special on OFD, entitled “Test of Courage,” the discriminatory practices (against black people and women) of Oakland Fire were investigated by PBS. PBS showed that OFD historically tolerated discrimination, believing employment practices favoring males from “certain families” was based in sound science. OFD’s historical perspective was described as:

"Many firefighters [] come from families with several generations of white men in the fire service. Recruitment, training, and leadership have helped to honor and preserve lineages that [allegedly] favor bigger, stronger fire fighters."

Though the statement is not attributed to any particular personnel, Mark Hoffman worked closely with the reporter and is believed to be the source of that information. OFD promoted Hoffman after the special aired and Hoffman is Chief (interim) today.

MEASURE Y. Gillis alleges that evidence of the bigotry at OFD can be found in OFD’s failure and refusal to comply with Measure Y—a special tax fund created to support “at risk youth mentoring.” Measure Y requires OFD to create and maintain one “at risk youth” mentoring program in each of its 15 fire stations. OFD collects $4,000,000.00 in Measure Y money every year but fails to create or maintain any “at risk youth” mentoring programs—not one of the 15 required.

MERRITT COLLEGE. Gillis alleges that, instead of implementing programs that help “at risk youth,” OFD is dismantling such programs. OFD forced Gillis to quit his directorship of historically-black Merritt College’s EMT program, in part, to accommodate the competing program of National College of Technical Instruction (NCTI)—a for-profit college based in Colorado with a historically white student body. OFD now provides NCTI the access to OFD facilities and classrooms Merritt College formerly enjoyed. This means that NCTI students will be the only Bay Area students with “real world” OFD experience on their resume and be much more likely to receive OFD jobs and promotions, once hired, and, in this way, OFD will perpetuate historical discrimination against black job applicants and employees.

DIRECT ACTION. Gillis invites the public and his co-workers at OFD and throughout the City to become involved in the effort to bring accountability to OFD for misconduct against Grant AND to use his action to highlight racism, sexism, privatization, and corruption throughout the City of Oakland. “Now is the time for change,” says Gillis.

DEMAND INVESTIGATION. Demand District Attorney Nancy O’Malley launch a criminal investigation of OFD misconduct against Grant and willful destruction of evidence by calling: (510) 272-6222 .

INDY NEWS. Watch for independent press interviews on KPFA radio and independent newspapers throughout the Bay Area, community meetings, and direct action against O’Malley, Mayor Jean Quan (who promised to “clean house”), the City Council, and OFD.

Contact: justiceforseanatoaklandfire [at] gmail.com

Media Blackout of Crippled Nebraska Nuclear Plant

US orders news blackout over crippled Nebraska Nuclear Plant: report
June 18, 2011
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A shocking report prepared by Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (FAAE) on information provided to them by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) states that the Obama regime has ordered a “total and complete” news blackout relating to any information regarding the near catastrophic meltdown of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant located in Nebraska.

According to this report, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant suffered a “catastrophic loss of cooling” to one of its idle spent fuel rod pools on 7 June after this plant was deluged with water caused by the historic flooding of the Missouri River which resulted in a fire causing the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to issue a “no-fly ban” over the area.

Located about 20 minutes outside downtown Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant is owned by Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) who on their website denies their plant is at a “Level 4” emergency by stating: “This terminology is not accurate, and is not how emergencies at nuclear power plants are classified.”

Russian atomic scientists in this FAAE report, however, say that this OPPD statement is an “outright falsehood” as all nuclear plants in the world operate under the guidelines of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) which clearly states the “events” occurring at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant do, indeed, put it in the “Level 4” emergency category of an “accident with local consequences” thus making this one of the worst nuclear accidents in US history.
Though this report confirms independent readings in the United States of “negligible release of nuclear gasses” related to this accident it warns that by the Obama regimes censoring of this event for “political purposes” it risks a “serious blowback” from the American public should they gain knowledge of this being hidden from them.

Interesting to note about this event was the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chief, Gregory B. Jaczko, blasting the Obama regime just days before the near meltdown of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant by declaring that “the policy of not enforcing most fire code violations at dozens of nuclear plants is “unacceptable” and has tied the hands of NRC inspectors.”