Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Poem for the Living Dead by Marvin XYZ
The Living Dead
I look into my people's eyes
see the hollowness within
I wonder where their spirit went
the hope of yesterday
the zombie stares
he walks away
why have we come to this
why is that stare so far away?
for sure the end is near.
Love has turned to hate these days
there is no love in those eyes
no memory of the men and women
who suffered fought and died
O, dead too lazy to die
O dead that hope passed by
what will come of you
but did not Lazarus come alive?
Come alive then, O living dead.
Come alive
you blind to tomorrow's light
come alive
the spirit of our saints command you, Rise!
Strike the blindness from your eyes.
--Marvin XYZ
from Liberation Poems for North American Africans, Al Kitab Sudan Press (Black Bird Press), 1983.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Marvin X: the Audio/Video Library
The following are a few of the titles in the audio/video library of Marvin X. Most of these titles are now available from Black Bird Press. We have the Square for credit/debit card purchases. Simply call Black Bird Press @ 510-200-4164. Orders shipped by priority mail, add 5.95 for postage and handling.
Marvin X interviews Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale
Bobby Seale, Marvin X and Charlie Walker, Godfather of San Francisco's Hunters Point
A classic interview with Bobby, with whom Marvin X attended Oakland's Merritt College, along with BPP co-founder Huey P. Newton, 1962-64. Bobby tells Marvin, "At Merritt College on Grove Street, we were the neo-Black intellectuals." Recently, Bobby said, "When Marvin X performed his play Flowers for the Trashman at Merritt for the Soul Students Advisory Council, aka, BSU or Black Students Union, it kicked off the student movement at Merritt that led to the formation of the Black Panther Party. " In this interview, Bobby gives a history of how the West Coast radical students came into consciousness that evolved into the West Coast Black Liberation Movement and the Black Arts Movement.
One Day in the Life, a docudrama of Marvin X's addiction and recovery
This video production of the play One Day in the Life is a record of how 60s radicals succumbed to drugs, Crack in particular. One scene describes Marvin's last meeting with his friend, Dr. Huey P. Newton, in a West Oakland Crack house, shortly before his murder. The play was performed before thousands of recovering addicts in the Bay Area, Dirty South and East Coast. Ishmael Reed says, "It's the most powerful drama I've seen." Ed Bullins and Marvin X wrote a version of the Huey Newton scene, entitled Salaam, Huey Newton, Salaam, produced off-Broadway by Woody King at the New Federal Theatre. Marvin X produced the entire play on the East Coast at Sista's Place in Brooklyn, the Brecht Forum in Manhattan and in Newark, New Jersey at Amiri Baraka's Kimako's Theatre in the basement of his house.
Drugs, Art and Revolution, a conversation based on Marvin X's play One Day in the Life
This conversation took place at Sista's Place, Brooklyn, New York, during their production of One Day in the Life. Panelist included Sonia Sanchez, Mr. and Mrs. Amiri and Amina Barak, Sam Anderson, Elombe Brathe, Marvin X. It was a welcome home to the East Coast event for Marvin X. Some people had not seen him since he was in Harlem, 1968, at the birth of the Black Arts Movement. In the words of Sam Anderson, this very necessary discussion, took place at the right time when our people were coming out of the Crack epidemic. Of course, the East Coast radicals said there was no excuse for Marvin X, Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and other revolutionaries succumbing to Crack. Sista's Place founder Viola Plummer said, "I don't want to hear any excuse." Amiri Barak said, "You can be drugged by America, yeah, drugged and drugged. America calls you like the Greek Sirens to come, come to her and submit to her filth and garbage. This play by Marvin will never be shown big time, but they will present you with Negroes who they claim are the Bumba of the Dumba. Yet these Negroes have nothing to say.This play should be shown in the 27 cities where Blacks are in large numbers of the population, even if it is shown in 50 seat theatres as we did at my basement theatre in Newark, New Jersey.
Marvin X Live in Philly at Warm Daddies
Left to right: Marshall Allen, 91 years old and now leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Danny Thompson, Enforcer of the Arkestra and poet Marvin X at the University of Chicago for the Sun Ra Celebration, May 21, 22, 2015. They performed in concert.
This video is also entitled 37 minutes of Jazz History since it was a historic meeting of Marvin X with members of the Sun Ra Arkestra with whom he had performed with coast to coast, including a teaching stint with Sun Ra at the University of California, Berkeley, 1971. The Sun Ra lectures at UCB are on Youtube. During this time, Sun Ra also arranged the music for Take Care of Business, the musical version of Marvin's BAM classic Flowers for the Trashman (see Black Fire and SOS, the BAM Reader). Marvin and Sun Ra performed a five hour concert in San Francisco at the Harding Theatre on Divisadero Street, including a cast of 50 actors, dancers and musicians, without intermission. Choreographers included Raymond Sawyer and Ellendar Barnes.
At Warm Daddies, Marvin X reads his poetry accompanied by Danny Thompson, flute, Marshall Allen, alto sax, Elliott Bey, keyboards, Ancestor Gold Sky, djembe, Alexander El, trap drums, Rufus Harley, bagpipes.
Marvin X interviews Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale
Bobby Seale, Marvin X and Charlie Walker, Godfather of San Francisco's Hunters Point
A classic interview with Bobby, with whom Marvin X attended Oakland's Merritt College, along with BPP co-founder Huey P. Newton, 1962-64. Bobby tells Marvin, "At Merritt College on Grove Street, we were the neo-Black intellectuals." Recently, Bobby said, "When Marvin X performed his play Flowers for the Trashman at Merritt for the Soul Students Advisory Council, aka, BSU or Black Students Union, it kicked off the student movement at Merritt that led to the formation of the Black Panther Party. " In this interview, Bobby gives a history of how the West Coast radical students came into consciousness that evolved into the West Coast Black Liberation Movement and the Black Arts Movement.
One Day in the Life, a docudrama of Marvin X's addiction and recovery
This video production of the play One Day in the Life is a record of how 60s radicals succumbed to drugs, Crack in particular. One scene describes Marvin's last meeting with his friend, Dr. Huey P. Newton, in a West Oakland Crack house, shortly before his murder. The play was performed before thousands of recovering addicts in the Bay Area, Dirty South and East Coast. Ishmael Reed says, "It's the most powerful drama I've seen." Ed Bullins and Marvin X wrote a version of the Huey Newton scene, entitled Salaam, Huey Newton, Salaam, produced off-Broadway by Woody King at the New Federal Theatre. Marvin X produced the entire play on the East Coast at Sista's Place in Brooklyn, the Brecht Forum in Manhattan and in Newark, New Jersey at Amiri Baraka's Kimako's Theatre in the basement of his house.
Drugs, Art and Revolution, a conversation based on Marvin X's play One Day in the Life
This conversation took place at Sista's Place, Brooklyn, New York, during their production of One Day in the Life. Panelist included Sonia Sanchez, Mr. and Mrs. Amiri and Amina Barak, Sam Anderson, Elombe Brathe, Marvin X. It was a welcome home to the East Coast event for Marvin X. Some people had not seen him since he was in Harlem, 1968, at the birth of the Black Arts Movement. In the words of Sam Anderson, this very necessary discussion, took place at the right time when our people were coming out of the Crack epidemic. Of course, the East Coast radicals said there was no excuse for Marvin X, Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and other revolutionaries succumbing to Crack. Sista's Place founder Viola Plummer said, "I don't want to hear any excuse." Amiri Barak said, "You can be drugged by America, yeah, drugged and drugged. America calls you like the Greek Sirens to come, come to her and submit to her filth and garbage. This play by Marvin will never be shown big time, but they will present you with Negroes who they claim are the Bumba of the Dumba. Yet these Negroes have nothing to say.This play should be shown in the 27 cities where Blacks are in large numbers of the population, even if it is shown in 50 seat theatres as we did at my basement theatre in Newark, New Jersey.
Marvin X Live in Philly at Warm Daddies
Left to right: Marshall Allen, 91 years old and now leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Danny Thompson, Enforcer of the Arkestra and poet Marvin X at the University of Chicago for the Sun Ra Celebration, May 21, 22, 2015. They performed in concert.
This video is also entitled 37 minutes of Jazz History since it was a historic meeting of Marvin X with members of the Sun Ra Arkestra with whom he had performed with coast to coast, including a teaching stint with Sun Ra at the University of California, Berkeley, 1971. The Sun Ra lectures at UCB are on Youtube. During this time, Sun Ra also arranged the music for Take Care of Business, the musical version of Marvin's BAM classic Flowers for the Trashman (see Black Fire and SOS, the BAM Reader). Marvin and Sun Ra performed a five hour concert in San Francisco at the Harding Theatre on Divisadero Street, including a cast of 50 actors, dancers and musicians, without intermission. Choreographers included Raymond Sawyer and Ellendar Barnes.
At Warm Daddies, Marvin X reads his poetry accompanied by Danny Thompson, flute, Marshall Allen, alto sax, Elliott Bey, keyboards, Ancestor Gold Sky, djembe, Alexander El, trap drums, Rufus Harley, bagpipes.
Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness
San Francisco State University, April 1, 2001
Left to right: John Doumbia, Marvin X's mentor; oldest daughter, Nefertiti, Dr. Cornel West and Marvin's youngest daughter, Attorney Amira Jackmon (Yale, Stanford Law School)
photo Kamau Amen Ra
In 2001, the indefatigable Marvin X produced The Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness Concert at San Francisco State University. Participants included: Amiri and Amina Baraka, Kujichagulia, Rudi Wongozi, Elliot Bey, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Rev. Cecil Williams, Rev. Andriette Earl, Eddie Gale, Ishmael Reed, Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Nathan Hare, Dr. Theophile Obenga, Destiny Muhammad, Tarika Lewis, Avotcja, et al.
This audio/video library will be continued ASAP.
photo Kamau Amen Ra
In 2001, the indefatigable Marvin X produced The Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness Concert at San Francisco State University. Participants included: Amiri and Amina Baraka, Kujichagulia, Rudi Wongozi, Elliot Bey, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Rev. Cecil Williams, Rev. Andriette Earl, Eddie Gale, Ishmael Reed, Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Nathan Hare, Dr. Theophile Obenga, Destiny Muhammad, Tarika Lewis, Avotcja, et al.
This audio/video library will be continued ASAP.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Parable of a Square Bitch by Marvin XYZ
She was a square bitch, sophisticated Spelman bitch, til Dante turned her out, made her a stripper, climbing up and down poles like a monkey.
She stripped til her mama and daddy came and got her and took her home for a rest. But she soon returned to college and Dante turned her out again, this time at the dope house, stripping, sucking and fucking the brothers and sisters in the dope house. Strung out so tough she rented out to the dope man the BMW her daddy bought for her when she first got to college. She waited outside the dope house all weekend til the dope man returned her car. Square bitch. Know everything dumb ass bitch.
Took two courses in Black Studies and claimed she knew all of African history, knew who she was and nobody could tell her shit. She was an educated black woman. But when she got a chance to travel abroad, she went to Europe rather than Africa. Said she wasn't ready for Africa. Nor was she interested in that Black Lives Matter bullshit, all lives mattered to her, specially when she met a hipster named Brando. Brando taught her color doesn't matter, so she believed him, until they got drunk one night and he called her his nigger bitch. The real nigguh came out of her and she slapped him, called him a low life peckerwood white trash bastard. When neighbors heard the noise and called the police, they came and saw Brando had bruises on his face, so they took her black ass to jail. Her mama and daddy sent money to bail her out.
She left Brando and slipped back into the hood looking for Dante. Dante told her, "I don't want yo punk ass, bitch. Go back to that peckerwood motherfucker, you funky ho!" She begged Dante, "Please, please, Dante, I just wanna be black again, please take me back, I'll do anything." "Ok, bitch, get me a choosin fee and hurry up. You know what to do." Miss Square bitch got on the phone to some tricks so she could get Dante's choosin fee. She got it together and presented it to Dante. He said, "Ok, bitch, don't give me no motherfuckin trouble. Don't you ever again tell me about some motherfuckin boundaries. You do whatever the fuck I tell you quick and in a hurry, you hear me, bitch?" "Yes, Dante."
She moved in with Dante and his other ho's and they were all happy together for a time.
--Marvin XYZ
7/31/15
Titles by Marvin X currently available from Black Bird Press
$19.95
I
welcome reading the work of a "grassroots guerilla publicist" who is
concerned with the psychological/intellectual freedom of his people. I
think of Dr. Walter Rodney as the "guerilla intellectual" who was
organically connected to the grassroots. Key book here would be The
Groundings With My Brothers (and sisters). Or Steve Biko's I Write What I
Like. I think though that Dr. M is closely affiliated with Frances
Cress Welsing's Isis Papers: Keys to the Colors (along with Bobby
Wright's thesis...). Of course we need to also consult Dr. Nathan Hare's
The Black Anglo-Saxons and Frazier's Black Bourgeoisie. What I am most
impressed with is Dr. M's Pan Africanist perspective.
--Dr. Mark Christian, PhD., Professor of Sociology and Black World Studies, University of Miami
$19.95
If you want to learn about motivation and inspiration, don't spend all that money going to workshops and seminars, just go stand at 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland, and watch Marvin X at work. He's Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland. --Ishmael Reed, author, The Complete Muhammad Ali
(Ohio)
$19.95
If you want to learn about motivation and inspiration, don't spend all that money going to workshops and seminars, just go stand at 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland, and watch Marvin X at work. He's Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland. --Ishmael Reed, author, The Complete Muhammad Ali
This
18 page pamphlet is Marvin's most controversial piece of writing, yet
probably the most healing for young and old. He cares nothing about
political correctness but when one gets beyond the cover, we see a
liberator of men and women from patriarchal mythology and other forms of
white supremacy domination in male/female relations and all gender
relations. $5.00
A DVD
version is that is a rough cut of a dramatic reading filmed at Academy
of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, during Occupy Oakland is now
available. $15.00
Unfortunately,
his memoir of Eldridge Cleaver, My Friend the Devil, is out of print.
FYI, Marvin X introduced Eldridge Cleaver to Black Panther Party
co-founders Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. Introduction by Amiri Baraka.
CD of Marvin X reading in Chicago, May 23, 2015
$15.00
CD
of Marvin X reading in Chicago while in town to participate in the Sun
Ra Conference at the University of Chicago. He was invited to record at a
studio on South Shore: left to right Marvin X, Eliel Sherman Storey,
alto sax (producer and owner of studio),
David Boykin, alto sax; Tony Carpenter, percussion, Lasana Kazembe,
poet.
To pay by credit/debit card, call 510-200-4164.
Other writings and thoughts of Marvin X appear in the following books
Other writings and thoughts of Marvin X appear in the following books
j
t
;
The works of Marvin X now available from Black Bird Press
Black Bird Press News & Review: Black Bird Press News & Review: The works of Marvin X now available from Black Bird Press
Aside from his own works, Marvin X's writings and thought appears in several books and anthologies, including Thomas Stanley's The Execution of Sun Ra.
Aside from his own works, Marvin X's writings and thought appears in several books and anthologies, including Thomas Stanley's The Execution of Sun Ra.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Ebony Magazine: Tech entrepreneur Muhammida El Muhajir on Ghana's Tech School for Entrepreneurs
Ghana Launches Tech Start-Up School
Tech entrepreneur Muhammida El Muhajir discusses the success of Ghana's Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology
By
Suede
Muhammida El Muhajir
Muhammida El Muhajir is a marvelous melanin maven of
entertainment marketing and brand communications. Her list of
accomplishments includes entertainers, trendsetters and brand
development from Dubai to Fifth Avenue. She has the essence of
entrepreneurial innovation in her veins. A well-traveled and outspoken
arbiter of Black culture, she’s not one to shy away from a challenge.
But who knew the challenges awaiting when she decided to relocate to
Ghana and focus on African tech startups?
Muhammida El Muhajir: I came to Ghana at the end of 2013 for a film screening. I really liked the vibe in Ghana and decided to look for opportunities for staying. I’ve been curious about tech and found out about the fellowship. I applied and that’s how I got involved.
EBONY: Just like that?
MEM: Well, I’ve been visiting Africa since I was young. So it wasn’t like I wasn’t familiar with the landscape. I feel like Ghana has really grown since I was last here over 10 years ago, and it was time. I was looking to live and work in Africa. I feel like now is the time. The climate at home, the race relations, it is all very tense. It’s at an all-time high. People don’t realize how that affects you.
EBONY: Was that a factor for you?
MEM: OMG are you kidding? People underestimate how that affects you psychologically or emotionally when you see those stories or it happens to you. That really has a deep effect. Imagine how much more productive we could be if we didn’t have to be marching or tweeting about Black Lives Matter, or how much brain time could be dedicated to building or growing something if we didn’t have to deal with race-related matters?
Seeing these stories, I’m like, I don’t want to go back home. I don’t want my child to have to deal with that. It’s a huge factor.
I’ve been traveling to Africa since I was 15. Coming here was not a new thing. Africa has lots of struggles. Africa has 99 problems, and guess what? Race is not one. I don’t want to deal with that right now. It’s liberating. I can walk into any upscale hotel, restaurant or shop and no one is looking at me sideways, giving me crazy treatment just because of my skin color. I like that feeling.
These are the brilliant people of Ghana. They are starting
businesses. They are hiring people. It’s happening. The process is
working. The businesses are working. It’s happening and having an
impact.
MEM: I work with a lot of young entrepreneurs, so the energy is always fast paced—though fast paced in a Ghanaian sense. They are a different breed of entrepreneurs. It is not like most places. They are more measured thinkers, more focused and safer. They like to take time and are more conservative with their decisions. I’m able to really hone my skills. Everything I’ve been doing for entertainment and brands applies here and more to tech, because I’m helping to build new companies.
EBONY: What’s the basic premise of the school?
MEM: Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology is currently a two-year program and will transition into a one-year program. The thinking is that the next Facebook or Google could come from Africa, but it needs to be nurtured and cultivated. We welcome those futurists into the school and go through a rigorous program where they learn the business side and tech side of being an entrepreneur.
There are professors for tech coding and finance. Everything you would need to learn.
At the end of the program, students form a group and pitch their ideas to Meltwater.
If Meltwater likes the idea, the company invests. The designated group then comes into the incubator and we provide business development.
EBONY: And your role in the fellowship?
MEM: I’m a fellow in the incubator. I’m their relationship manager. I help them to do everything they need to get their relationships going. This is the fourth year of the incubator. The school has been around for eight years. The different companies in the incubator are very diverse. There are eight to 10 companies in total. The ones I work with are all consumer-related companies.
EBONY: Can you describe the startups you mentor?
MEM: I work with SUBAapp.com, which is a photo-sharing app. At a party or an event, you can upload your pictures to a group album. We are connected by the event. No need for Facebook. It’s for everyone. It recently partnered with Ghanaian Celebrity Reggie Rockstone and will be soft launching soon.
LetiArts.com is an interactive video game and digital comics company. MeQasa.com is an online real estate classified. You can buy and sell real estate online. All amazing people.
EBONY: How much is tuition, and can anyone apply or only Ghanaians?
MEM: It’s a free program. Open to Ghanaians and last year Nigerians; next year there will be Kenyans.
EBONY: Why the decision to open it up to other countries?
MEM: They discovered that there is more interest in the program and Africa needs this.
EBONY: Kenya is widely known as the Silicon Safari and South Africa has a great deal of techies. Nigeria is notoriously tech savvy. Why did Meltwater choose Ghana to launch this program? Is the founder Ghanaian?
MEM: Jorn [Lyseggen] is Korean, but he grew up in Norway. He already had business in Africa and wanted to give back, but not a charity. Why not train the future leaders of a country? You know how it is with the brain drain. Most smart Africans go abroad. This program gives them an opportunity to stay at home. His team did the research and decided to start here, in Ghana.
And it is working. If they didn’t come here, the talent in this program would go abroad. These are the brilliant people of Ghana. They are starting businesses. They are hiring people. It’s happening. The process is working. The businesses are working. It’s happening and having an impact.
EBONY: But this isn’t just an altruistic endeavor. This is business, right?
MEM: Meltwater gets a small percentage if the program participants start a company.
If they come to the incubator and get investment, then Meltwater becomes a shareholder of their company.
EBONY: What are your four tips to give someone embarking on a startup in Africa?
MEM: One, as a business owner, there are things I would say to anyone anywhere. Have a clear vision of where the ultimate goal is for your company. Is it short-term success or long-term success? Once you have that, your business is in a better position. This is something I lacked myself initially. I didn’t know my long and short-term goals.
Two: really understand your target consumer. For example, when creating the website, are the elements you’re adding to the website benefitting the consumer? Is it something the consumer wants? It’s important to get in the mind of your target customer.
Three: build your brand. You don’t need a lot of money to do it. What is your brand about and how do you relay that message to your customers. Really building a strong brand. When they see your logo, it should trigger something in their mind about your product.
Four: Your team is so important. Who is on your squad? Why are you choosing them? Should they be on your team? What value are they building? Are there others who are better suited? What is their value to the team, and are they upholding their positions?
I work with many teams. Each company in the program is composed of a team. I see it all the time, that one person who isn’t doing what they need to do to contribute. I’ve been here for a year. There are some teams where I still don’t know what that one person does. That should not be.
Building a strong business team is like building a strong sports team. You need a strong goalie or a strong forward. They are on your team, not because they are a friend or a relative, but because they serve a purpose. But these tips apply to business across the board, especially if you are a small company, and even more so in Africa.
EBONY: What’s the situation for women in the African Tech Space?
MEM: Women are definitely a minority in the tech industry wherever you go. There’s a definite push here to get more women in voted. There were years where there was only one woman here. This past session there were 10 out of the 50. There was a crazy number like 2% women in Silicon Valley, and it is probably the same in Africa. I feel it’s happening, it’s growing. I work with at least three women who have started their own tech company. The change is real.
Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/career-finance/ghana-launches-tech-start-up-school-323#ixzz3hPc0sWMC
Follow us: @EbonyMag on Twitter | EbonyMag on Facebook
Muhammida El Muhajir is the daughter of Marvin X (El Muhajir) and Nisa Ra.
Don't believe the hype: White folks don't know shit except how to steal, lie and murder!
England's PM Gordon Brown and President Lula of Brazil |
Brazil's Lula raps 'white' crisis |
||
President Lula said white, blue-eyed people - not Indians, nor black, nor poor people - had created and spread the crisis throughout the world. 'Irrational behaviour' President Lula has long argued that poor and developing nations have been victims of mistakes made in richer countries, caused by irresponsibility or a lack of regulation in the world's banking systems. It was not a surprise, therefore, that he would return to this topic just days ahead of the crucial G20 summit in London. What was perhaps less expected was the way in which the Brazilian leader chose on this occasion to identify those to blame for the current economic situation. If England's PM, Mr Gordon Brown, appeared uncomfortable with this claim, he did his best not to show it. Questioned by a reporter, President Lula expanded his theory. "As I do not know any black or indigenous bankers," the president added. "I can only say it is not possible for this part of mankind, which is victimized more than any other, to pay for the crisis." Mr Brown said he preferred not to attribute blame to individuals, and the rest of the news conference focused on a more conventional message of unity in advance of the G20 summit in London. As well as the plan for a $100bn fund to boost world trade, there were calls for greater regulation of financial markets, strong words against protectionism and an appeal for the stalled Doha round of world trade talks to be restarted. |
Fly Yo Flag, North American African
August 17 will mark the 128th birthday
of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey,
the visionary Jamaican-born leader who built the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) into the largest mass movement for liberation in the history of Africans in America and perhaps the world! As such, I have long advocated that August 17th, his birthday, be celebrated as Universal African Flag Day.
Black Arts Movement poet/organizer Marvin X at his Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown
Oakland. Marvin has proclaimed 14th Street the Black Arts Movement District. "The people are urgently awaiting
to see the day when the Red, Black and Green will fly up and down 14th Street, i.e. BAM Way. Also, they want
me to write a play about Marcus Garvey and perform the role of Garvey. Now, I have to think about this latter
request, but it is not difficult to write about someone I love, Marcus Garvey! For sure, I am an actor and, in the
words of ancestor Paul Robeson, an artistic freedom fighter."
An
unapologetic Pan-Africanist, Garvey believed that Black people
everywhere
should unite and fight to liberate Africa, the motherland, from the brutal clutches of European colonialism – Africa should be the base for global Black Power! Hence he said, “I know no national boundary where the Negro is concerned. The whole world is my province until Africa is free.”
At
a time when people of African descent were besieged, belittled ,
marginalized,
exploited and oppressed everywhere, Garvey sought to instill a sense of pride in the history and heritage of a great people,noting that: “Apeople without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” He declared that “God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be… Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.”
Garvey
was determined to rally a beleaguered people and mold them into a
formidable
force committed to self-reliance, self-determination and nationhood. The UNIA was organized like a nation in-waiting with military, economic/commercial, educational, health, religious and administrative divisions. He also created literature, music, images and symbols, designed to promote pride and unity. For example, theUniversal Ethiopian Anthem was adopted as the official song of the organization.
But, the most powerful and lasting symbol of unity that Garvey presented and bequeathed
to African people was a Flag, the Red,Black and Green. Garvey was keenly aware of the psycho-cultural value of symbols to an oppressed/battered people. The impetus to put forth a flag became even more urgent because of the white supremacist song that became very popular in the early part of the 20th century – “Every Race Has a Flag but the Coon.” The Red, Black and Green was officially ratified as the Flag for African people at the 1920 UNIA Convention – which led Garvey to proclaim: “Show me the race or the nation without a flag, and I will show you a race of people without any pride. Aye! In song and mimicry they have said, ‘Every race has a flag but the coon.’ How true! Aye! But that was said of us four years ago. They can’t say it now….”
The colors of the Flag were meant to have significance for Black/African people
globally. In the ceremonies of IBW’s public events, the Flag is saluted by reciting words that embody the essence of what we believe Garvey intended to be the meaning of the colors: Red, for the blood and suffering of African people; Black for the color and culture of our people; Green, for the land stolen from us which we will reclaim to build our nation. The Red, Black and Green Flag was meant to be a symbol of Pan African Unity! Indeed, the influence of Garvey was such that the colors appear in the Flags of Malawi, Kenya and Ghana in Africa and St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean.
In
the era of the 60’s when Black Power, Black Nationalism and Pan
Africanism
reemerged as a dominant force in the Black Freedom Struggle in the U.S.,the Red,Black and Green was frequently in full flourish at rallies and demonstrations. And, it was common to see sisters and brothers with buttons, hats, scarves and clothing with the colors of the Flag in the design. The colors of the Black Liberation Flag, as it came to be known, were in! It was a symbol of Black pride, unity, resistance and the struggle for self-determination and independence. I shall never forget the hundreds of Flags waving in the breeze on African Liberation Day in 1972 where some 25,000 gathered in Washington, D.C. to demand the liberation of the last colonies in Africa. It was a glorious site, one Marcus Garvey must have been pleased with from his ascendant perch with the ancestors!
It
was to preserve and promote this spirit of unity, pride and resistance
and to keep the legacy of Marcus Garvey alive as an impeccable model of the struggle for Black/African self-determination that I wrote an article some years ago proposing that Garvey’s birthday be declared Universal African Flag Day. In the article I noted that in New York on the day of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Puerto Rican Flag is on prominent display through-out the City. The same applies for the Parades of Dominicans, Colombians and other Latino nationalities in New York. And, at some of the largest pro-immigration reform demonstrations a few years ago there was a sea of Mexican Flags — so much so that it provoked a backlash by opponents of reform, who labeled the demonstrators un-American.
I firmly believe that Africans in America, indeed, African people
everywhere should embrace the Red, Black and Green as our Flag and fly/display it during rallies, demonstrations, public events and Black/African holidays as a unifying, Pan African symbol of self-affirmation, resistance and self-determination. And, on the birthday of Marcus Garvey, Universal African Flag Day, the Red, Black and Green should be proudly on display everywhere!
Frankly, my initial calls for Garvey’s birthday to be declared
Universal African Flag Day, as an act of Kujichagulia/Self-determination, did not get much traction. But, sparked by the Black Lives Matter Movement, there is a new spirit of resistance in the air. I am noticing more and more Red, Black and Green Flags at rallies and demonstrations. Therefore, encouraged by these events,the forthcoming Millions Peoples March for Justice; the urging of Dr. Segun Shabaka of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO); and, with the blessing of Dr. Julius Garvey, the son of Marcus Garvey, I am renewing the call for August 17th to be affirmed as Universal African Flag Day.
Moreover,
in this season of heightened resistance, it is only appropriate that
we request that President Obama exonerate the Honorable Marcus Garvey of the trumped up charges of which he was convicted as one of the first victims of the FBI. Marcus Garvey’s life and legacy matter to Black/African people. Therefore, we are obligated to fight to clear his name! So, sisters and brothers let’s do it. Fly the Flag and Fight for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey! #FlytheRedBlackand Green August 17.
Dr. Ron Daniels
is President of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century
and Distinguished Lecturer at York College City University of New York. His articles and essays also appear on the IBW website www.ibw21.org and www.northstarnews.com. To send a message, arrange media interviews or speaking engagements, Dr. Daniels can be reached via email at info@ibw21.org
Marvin X and student at his Academy of da Corner. Will Marvin X perform the role of Marcus Garvey?
The Red, Black and Green was officially ratified as the Flag for African people at the 1920 UNIA Convention – which led Garvey to proclaim: “Show me the race or the nation without a flag, and I will show you a race of people without any pride. Aye! In song and mimicry they have said, ‘Every race has a flag but the coon.’ How true! Aye! But that was said of us four years ago. They can’t say it now….” |
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
All You Nigguhs Lookin fa Jesus
A man and two women named Jesus
All you Nigguhs lookin fa Jesus
he was crucified for sellin single cigarettes
Sandra Jesus was crucified for not using turn signal
Oscar Grant Jesus was crucified for celebrating New Year's
Chauncey Bailey Jesus was crucified for snooping around City Hall and the Police Department
Travon Martin Jesus was crucified for walking home with Skittles
Nine people named Jesus were crucified while praying with the devil in Charleston, South Carolina
Michael Jackson told you Jesus is the Man in the Mirror
keep lookin at that blue-eyed hippie hanging on the cross bleeding to death
keep drinking his blood and chewing his flesh
You will be Jesus whether you want or not
nailed on the cross and lynching tree of Americana
yes, in the land Jesus told you about
the land of liars and murderers
land of kidnappers thieves robbers rapists
from the founding fathers til now
liars murderers thieves robbers rapists kidnappers
Amazing Grace Master slaver John Hawkins on the Good Ship Jesus
you are Jesus in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
be like Jesus
in this world but not of it
for the Lord of the Worlds is coming soon
Rabbi al-alamin
He ain't playing Jesus
won't crucify Him
He don't need resurrection or ascension
He is The Most High
He shall repay the Great Shaitan for every hurtful thing done to you
crying crocodile tears for your master will not save you or him
you both shall be consumed by fire
those who worship the devil shall go down with the devil
never to rise again
we don't need no coward soldiers
God loves a warrior he hates a coward
every inch of this blood soaked land shall be purified with water from a never ending stream
saints shall shout and dance the holy dance
the devil's reign shall be no more
no more capitalist swine
no more free market slavery
wage slavery
prison house slavery
man/woman slavery
let the people say ache ache ache.
--Marvin X
7/29/15
Black Bird Press News & Review:
The works of Marvin X
now available from Black Bird Press
For credit card/debit card orders, please call 510-200-4164
Black Bird Press News & Review: The works of Marvin X now available from Black Bird Press
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)