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Monday, July 17, 2017
prison radio breaking news
from the archives--of monks and ministers by marvin x
Of Monks and Ministers
By Marvin X
The recent march of protesting monks through the streets of Myanmar (Burma) has demonstrated once again the spiritual power of activist clergy. We suggest that ministers in America take to the streets in a show of spiritual power to attack political and social problems such as the war in Iraq and war in the hoods of our inner cities. Perhaps long lines of preachers leading their flocks to the promise land of social justice will have a healing effect on this wretched nation that somehow thinks it can bring democracy to Iraq at gunpoint and not have gun play at home. Yes, we need to see our religious leaders in the streets tending to dissocialized youth and delusional politicians who believe in unprovoked wars for oil and white supremacy.
But sadly, America is not Myanmar and ministers don’t have the courage of monks these days, rather they sermonize about prosperity rather than corruption in high places, lest they offend pharaoh and suffer the fate of the Myanmar monks who have been shot, beaten and had their monasteries surrounded with troops and barbwire.
No, except for a few, our ministers are content to build crystal cathedrals and travel down safe roads to prosperity, meanwhile the monks show us that spirituality is not devoid of radical political consciousness and action to liberate the oppressed rather than advocate their followers drown themselves in filthy materialism on their way to heaven.
Having had a personal relationship with ministers as diverse as the Nation of Islam’s Farrakhan and Rev. Cecil Williams of San Francisco’s Glide Church, we know social activism can be a reality with determined and principled spiritual leaders. But perhaps it is romantic to think the majority of American clergy will step out of their comfort zone, certainly not to the degree of a Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson, although these gentlemen often seem to be ambulance chasers, showing up at every accident for media performances.
Spirituality is an awesome power when utilized for the common good, but there are communities where the religious leaders are silent and seem to collaborate with sins such as gambling, prostitution and drug dealing, even murder, for as someone noted, often if the preachers didn’t condone such vices they would have no congregation since the children of church members provide their parents with money from criminal life that is given to churches in the form of tithes, thus many ministers are silent about drug dealing and the resultant violence and mayhem in their communities. They would not dare march in monk fashion to community dope spots to pray for wayward youth, or offer to save them by providing alternative economic solutions such as micro credit that is raising millions of people out of poverty around the world.
As my daughter in Houston, Texas, boarded the bus to march in Jena, Louisiana, she noted the organization skills and discipline of activist Muslims, but when she called around to Houston’s mega churches, she said they had no knowledge of buses leaving for Jena. And we recall that when a minister named Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., attended a national Baptist convention, he was called a hoodlum and thug. And pronouncements to the contrary, we sense he would be called a hoodlum and thug by many ministers today, yes, even while they profess to love Jesus, another hoodlum and thug of his day.
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Sunday, July 16, 2017
unity of language or transcending the psycho-linguistic crisis oF north american africans
Toward the Unity of North American Africans--Unity of Language
Language unifies a people, when they speak a common language, when there is a consensus on word definitions, an agreement on what terms are sacred and what words are profane and obscene.
Chaos comes into a culture when these is no longer a consensus on language, or what we call a psycholinguistic crisis, for words define reality. Words are the vehicle we use to express our interpretation of reality. When the words lose a once agreed upon meaning, it is as though the earth shifts beneath our feet, for we are no longer able to communicate with each other. We then suffer a mental paralysis, a breakdown of the psyche because we are talking loud but saying nothing.
The words thus lose their meaning for there is no agreement. If the culture in its normal state is communal but suddenly the focus shifts to the supremacy of the individual, then we have a problem. We cannot unite for freedom when there is no agreed definition of freedom. For you, freedom is a job. For her, freedom is land and economic independence. For him, freedom is being with same gender loving people, and for her it is the same. Nothing else matters. So what items can we agree upon that defines freedom? And are we going around the corner together or do we have a divisive situation that shall lead us nowhere except to tread water in a pitiful state until we drown, since we refuse to help each other push our agenda items because we don't agree.
We started out on freedom but got diverted into things not communal but individual. Or the language was polluted by class division. The bourgeoisie culture police attempted to define the terms of reality. We wonder by what right do they assume the gate keeper role. Perhaps by being placed into leadership by the oppressor.
In the 1960s, we revolted against the language of the colonial elite, the leadership of the liberation movement shifted because a new consensus on language came into vogue, the language of black power that transcended civil rights to human rights, that shifted from integration to liberation and yes, sometimes, separation. The old language was suddenly obsolete. The term Negro was cast into the dustbin of history. The Negro psycholinguistics shifted from passivity and non violence to revolution.
The Black Arts Movement helped to cause the paradigm shift in terms of language. We revolted from the bourgeoisie socalled proper speech. In our plays, poems, essays, songs, we broke free of the conservative language. We used such terms as motherfucker, yes, bitch, devil, cracker, peckerwoood, and other terms to express our rejection of the American language in favor our our Mother tongue, the raw ghetto language so despised by our culture police, for they were rejected as well. Of course we went to the extreme when we said anyone over thirty should be killed (Bobby Seale). But the expression in grass roots language advanced the freedom mentality in our people. We suddenly realized we can say what we want, we're truly free to do so.
Of course there was reaction, from the oppressor and the colonial elite. The police attempted to ban our plays, to invade our performances, to arrest us if we showed up to perform. The bourgeoisie refused to support us with their money. All this was actually good because it inspired us to continue doing our thing, realizing we were truly independent, no longer slaves to anyone.
We were not able to return to our native language as Ngugi wa Thiango has called upon African writers to do, for we have no idea what it is, though we attempted to learn Swahili, Arabic and Yoruba. And the little we learned helped advance our black consciousness and heal our psycholinguistic crisis. Yes, these languages unified some of us. We held classes in the hood with grass roots people who wanted to transcend the English or American language we called the slave master's language, so how can we ever break free speaking this devil language. This is the language of the kidnapper, the rapist, the man and woman who lynched us, who stole our very identity and replace it with his notion of our very being. Thus, it is he and his language that is profane and obscene, and must be rejected, for it is not the language of love, it is the language of violence and madness.
We thus call for silence as the language of love, since our psycholinguistic crisis is so great it is the cause of physical, emotional and verbal violence with our mates. Almost any word we say is cause for argument. And it is the same when we gather at conferences and gatherings. We must spend an inordinate amount of time debating terms, defining what we mean by freedom, liberation, reparations, gender identity. Yes, what is a woman, what is a man. Today "black brothers" is a gay term. How did "black brother" shift from revolutionary black men to gay men? Of course language is fluid and undergoing constant change. And those with power attempt to define the terms. How else did we come upon this English/American language? It was a violent act, a long process of domination and oppression. Toby was physically abused until he renounced his holy name Kunta Kinte. Muhammad Ali reversed the process, not only by renaming himself but forcing his opponent to call out his name in the ring. Ali chanted, "What's my name, what's my name?" as he beat down his opponent, but he was calling for more than name recognition but for the recognition of his being as a free black man, the member of the Nation of Islam, a transcendence of his American slave identity.
And yet today we have a reaction by the culture police such as Bill Crosby and others who would have us claim our American identity and stop naming our children African and/or Muslim names. He doesn't tell Jose to call himself Joe. He doesn't tell the Chinese who get rich in the hood selling us their food but speaking no English/American to go learn English/American.
He don't tell the Arabs who get rich selling us swine and wine in the name of Allah, to stop speaking Arabic in the hood and speak English/America.
Clearly, Bill Crosby suffers a psycholinguistic crisis of major proportion. And he is not alone. It is again for this reason that I call for the language of silence as the language of love, until we can indeed arrive at a new consensus. The Million Man March brothers took a vow to never use the term bitch. But in the hood bitch is clearly a trans-gender term, for males are called bitches these days, especially when they come incorrect in the dope culture. The dope boys will address an adult male dope fiend as punk bitch. "Punk bitch you better take this dope and get the fuck up otter here wit da quickness 'fore I smoke yo ass."
It's possible the language shifted when adults began buying dope from children, especially during the Crack era, reversing the natural order of adults serving children, thus children lost all respect for their elders and this aspect of the psycholinguistic crisis resulted. It was being addressed with this language when I was a dope fiend that made me want to recover so that I would no longer be so verbally debased by children who had every right to talk to me in this manner because I was, as a dope fiend, in the persona of a punk bitch!
There shall be no language of love until we stop behaving like a nigguh or punk bitch. Don't tell me to stop saying motherfucker while you are in bed with your mother, son, daughter. Who is the real motherfucker up in here, me or you? I'm saying it but you doing it!
Language confusion exists when there are contradictions in behavior, especially adult behavior that the children observe. And so when we hear them on the street, at school, in the clubs, in their raps, we must ask ourselves where they got this language from, and more importantly, what is the meaning of it. They are simply trying to do as we did, give order to reality by way of language. Is it better to be silent, to say nothing since the entire language is vile, polluted and corrupted. Let us not go to an examination of the political language, double speak, evasiveness,
subterfuge. See George Orwell's Politics and the English Language. Listen to the politicians lie and attempt to deceive the world with words, yes, talking loud but saying nothing. Vote for me, I'll set you free. Change we can believe in. Change is gonna come. A chicken in every pot!
Yes, silence, there are possibilities for unity if, we just be quiet. To speak is to fail the tone test, for anything we say is suspect, for we don't trust the language, the words, and most of all, we are not truthful in our expressions, in short, we have become liars too, in harmony with the ruling class and the culture police or those colonial elite gate keepers in league with the blood suckers of the poor.
Some day we shall arrive at the language of love, where we say what we mean and mean what we say, where we understand the tone test and can pass it, with the police, with a brother and with a sister, especially our mate who was going to make love with us until we said the wrong thing, even though we didn't intend to do so, something just slipped out carelessly, but we blew it. Baby's mood changed because we said the wrong word, or she took it the wrong way.
Let us strive to reach a consensus on this pitiful bastard language we speak, for these words are killing us, literally. Better to speak as little as possible until we can transcend to a language that unifies us and allows us to love each other unconditionally.
--Marvin X
12/13/10
Language unifies a people, when they speak a common language, when there is a consensus on word definitions, an agreement on what terms are sacred and what words are profane and obscene.
Chaos comes into a culture when these is no longer a consensus on language, or what we call a psycholinguistic crisis, for words define reality. Words are the vehicle we use to express our interpretation of reality. When the words lose a once agreed upon meaning, it is as though the earth shifts beneath our feet, for we are no longer able to communicate with each other. We then suffer a mental paralysis, a breakdown of the psyche because we are talking loud but saying nothing.
The words thus lose their meaning for there is no agreement. If the culture in its normal state is communal but suddenly the focus shifts to the supremacy of the individual, then we have a problem. We cannot unite for freedom when there is no agreed definition of freedom. For you, freedom is a job. For her, freedom is land and economic independence. For him, freedom is being with same gender loving people, and for her it is the same. Nothing else matters. So what items can we agree upon that defines freedom? And are we going around the corner together or do we have a divisive situation that shall lead us nowhere except to tread water in a pitiful state until we drown, since we refuse to help each other push our agenda items because we don't agree.
We started out on freedom but got diverted into things not communal but individual. Or the language was polluted by class division. The bourgeoisie culture police attempted to define the terms of reality. We wonder by what right do they assume the gate keeper role. Perhaps by being placed into leadership by the oppressor.
In the 1960s, we revolted against the language of the colonial elite, the leadership of the liberation movement shifted because a new consensus on language came into vogue, the language of black power that transcended civil rights to human rights, that shifted from integration to liberation and yes, sometimes, separation. The old language was suddenly obsolete. The term Negro was cast into the dustbin of history. The Negro psycholinguistics shifted from passivity and non violence to revolution.
The Black Arts Movement helped to cause the paradigm shift in terms of language. We revolted from the bourgeoisie socalled proper speech. In our plays, poems, essays, songs, we broke free of the conservative language. We used such terms as motherfucker, yes, bitch, devil, cracker, peckerwoood, and other terms to express our rejection of the American language in favor our our Mother tongue, the raw ghetto language so despised by our culture police, for they were rejected as well. Of course we went to the extreme when we said anyone over thirty should be killed (Bobby Seale). But the expression in grass roots language advanced the freedom mentality in our people. We suddenly realized we can say what we want, we're truly free to do so.
Of course there was reaction, from the oppressor and the colonial elite. The police attempted to ban our plays, to invade our performances, to arrest us if we showed up to perform. The bourgeoisie refused to support us with their money. All this was actually good because it inspired us to continue doing our thing, realizing we were truly independent, no longer slaves to anyone.
We were not able to return to our native language as Ngugi wa Thiango has called upon African writers to do, for we have no idea what it is, though we attempted to learn Swahili, Arabic and Yoruba. And the little we learned helped advance our black consciousness and heal our psycholinguistic crisis. Yes, these languages unified some of us. We held classes in the hood with grass roots people who wanted to transcend the English or American language we called the slave master's language, so how can we ever break free speaking this devil language. This is the language of the kidnapper, the rapist, the man and woman who lynched us, who stole our very identity and replace it with his notion of our very being. Thus, it is he and his language that is profane and obscene, and must be rejected, for it is not the language of love, it is the language of violence and madness.
We thus call for silence as the language of love, since our psycholinguistic crisis is so great it is the cause of physical, emotional and verbal violence with our mates. Almost any word we say is cause for argument. And it is the same when we gather at conferences and gatherings. We must spend an inordinate amount of time debating terms, defining what we mean by freedom, liberation, reparations, gender identity. Yes, what is a woman, what is a man. Today "black brothers" is a gay term. How did "black brother" shift from revolutionary black men to gay men? Of course language is fluid and undergoing constant change. And those with power attempt to define the terms. How else did we come upon this English/American language? It was a violent act, a long process of domination and oppression. Toby was physically abused until he renounced his holy name Kunta Kinte. Muhammad Ali reversed the process, not only by renaming himself but forcing his opponent to call out his name in the ring. Ali chanted, "What's my name, what's my name?" as he beat down his opponent, but he was calling for more than name recognition but for the recognition of his being as a free black man, the member of the Nation of Islam, a transcendence of his American slave identity.
And yet today we have a reaction by the culture police such as Bill Crosby and others who would have us claim our American identity and stop naming our children African and/or Muslim names. He doesn't tell Jose to call himself Joe. He doesn't tell the Chinese who get rich in the hood selling us their food but speaking no English/American to go learn English/American.
He don't tell the Arabs who get rich selling us swine and wine in the name of Allah, to stop speaking Arabic in the hood and speak English/America.
Clearly, Bill Crosby suffers a psycholinguistic crisis of major proportion. And he is not alone. It is again for this reason that I call for the language of silence as the language of love, until we can indeed arrive at a new consensus. The Million Man March brothers took a vow to never use the term bitch. But in the hood bitch is clearly a trans-gender term, for males are called bitches these days, especially when they come incorrect in the dope culture. The dope boys will address an adult male dope fiend as punk bitch. "Punk bitch you better take this dope and get the fuck up otter here wit da quickness 'fore I smoke yo ass."
It's possible the language shifted when adults began buying dope from children, especially during the Crack era, reversing the natural order of adults serving children, thus children lost all respect for their elders and this aspect of the psycholinguistic crisis resulted. It was being addressed with this language when I was a dope fiend that made me want to recover so that I would no longer be so verbally debased by children who had every right to talk to me in this manner because I was, as a dope fiend, in the persona of a punk bitch!
There shall be no language of love until we stop behaving like a nigguh or punk bitch. Don't tell me to stop saying motherfucker while you are in bed with your mother, son, daughter. Who is the real motherfucker up in here, me or you? I'm saying it but you doing it!
Language confusion exists when there are contradictions in behavior, especially adult behavior that the children observe. And so when we hear them on the street, at school, in the clubs, in their raps, we must ask ourselves where they got this language from, and more importantly, what is the meaning of it. They are simply trying to do as we did, give order to reality by way of language. Is it better to be silent, to say nothing since the entire language is vile, polluted and corrupted. Let us not go to an examination of the political language, double speak, evasiveness,
subterfuge. See George Orwell's Politics and the English Language. Listen to the politicians lie and attempt to deceive the world with words, yes, talking loud but saying nothing. Vote for me, I'll set you free. Change we can believe in. Change is gonna come. A chicken in every pot!
Yes, silence, there are possibilities for unity if, we just be quiet. To speak is to fail the tone test, for anything we say is suspect, for we don't trust the language, the words, and most of all, we are not truthful in our expressions, in short, we have become liars too, in harmony with the ruling class and the culture police or those colonial elite gate keepers in league with the blood suckers of the poor.
Some day we shall arrive at the language of love, where we say what we mean and mean what we say, where we understand the tone test and can pass it, with the police, with a brother and with a sister, especially our mate who was going to make love with us until we said the wrong thing, even though we didn't intend to do so, something just slipped out carelessly, but we blew it. Baby's mood changed because we said the wrong word, or she took it the wrong way.
Let us strive to reach a consensus on this pitiful bastard language we speak, for these words are killing us, literally. Better to speak as little as possible until we can transcend to a language that unifies us and allows us to love each other unconditionally.
12/13/10
Jul 19 at 3:31 PM
Ghost writers and other ghosts in the BAMBD
Jesse Allen Taylor is trying to improve his fact checking, but we proofread his article and made a few changes, nothing major except the glaring error that Lynette created the BAMBD by herself. Others involved in the concept must include Menuhim Ayele, Paul Cobb, Conway Jones, Jr., Anyka Barber, Joyce Gordon, Aries Jordan, Ayodele Nzinga, Eric Arnold and myself. Lynette also has ghosts she meets with in ghost meeting rooms at City Hall and other ghost locations. I am sure Ayodele Nzinga and Eric Arnold will peruse Jesse's article to correct other errors. --Marvin X
eric arnold on ghost writers
For the record, Allen-Taylor has consistently gotten this story wrong, sometimes insisting on publishing defamatory hearsay without even attempting to confirm the facts. When we brought this to his attention and demanded a retraction, he asked us to list what was false and/or misleading. We counted at least 66 errors in five separate columns. That is inexplicable for anyone who considers themselves to be a professional journalist. When the 66 errors were noted to Allen-Taylor, instead of issuing the retraction, he informed me he had simply deleted the passages--which is unethical, to say the least.
eric arnold on ghost writers
For the record, Allen-Taylor has consistently gotten this story wrong, sometimes insisting on publishing defamatory hearsay without even attempting to confirm the facts. When we brought this to his attention and demanded a retraction, he asked us to list what was false and/or misleading. We counted at least 66 errors in five separate columns. That is inexplicable for anyone who considers themselves to be a professional journalist. When the 66 errors were noted to Allen-Taylor, instead of issuing the retraction, he informed me he had simply deleted the passages--which is unethical, to say the least.
In his latest column, he repeats a mistake he has already been informed of, namely, his assertion that McElhaney created BAMBD all on her own. As many of you know, the naming came out of the Culture Keepers working group--which McElhaney has not convened in almost a year.
There are some other facts Allen-Taylor gets wrong--he misspelled "Oakulture", for one--and I have to wonder about his assertion that a staff member could be hired for the $5000 CAC designation would have brought.
Meanwhile, Ms. Nzinga and myself have negotiated CBAs which represent the only real investment in the district thusfar. So, it is incorrect to say that there are no ongoing projects -- among the things which are, in fact, ongoing, are an Art Advisory Board, commitments to cultural retail at BMR, a technical assistance program for small businesses, an Anti-Displacement Fund, and even a youth-run art expo. BAMBD CDC has been mentioned by Cultural Arts Manager Roberto Bedoya as being in the best position of any emerging arts district in Oakland, and Ms. Nzinga will be participating in the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan planning process on behalf of the district --which includes several official meetings over the next few months.
Apparently, Allen-Taylor has concluded that his ignorance as to what is actually going on with BAMBD can be projected onto reality, but this is an erroneous assumption, like much of his recent writings. There's a lot going on, including upcoming Town Hall meetings and non-profit certification, which will help facilitate capacity-building and greater investment in the district. We are also hearing that there is interest in BAMBD from the philanthropic community.
Although the failure to secure CAC designation appears to be a setback on paper, because of the effort, we now have a cultural asset map and inventory of public art. Not only will we not be deterred, but we plan to apply again next year, and to ensure the application is as robust and thorough as it should have been.
As for Allen-Taylor, we are considering taking legal action against him. I would just like to advise folks not to speak with him on or off the record, until he retracts the many falsehoods and misleading statements he has made.
In community,
Eric Arnold
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: J. Douglas Allen-Taylor (Jesse Allen Taylor)
To: Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2017, 3:48:02 PM PDT
Subject: OAKLAND'S BLACK ARTS AND BUSINESS DISTRICT LEFT OFF STATE PILOT PROJECT LIST
A CounterPoints Column by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Marvin X and Councilmember Lynette McElhaney in happier times
Oakland’s official downtown and West Oakland-based Black Arts Movement and Business District (BAMBD) received a blow last week when it failed to make the California Arts Council’s list of “14 districts that will serve as California's inaugural state-designated Cultural Districts.” Oakland’s district will not get the chance to apply for state recognition again until the California Arts Council puts its full local cultural district program in place in 2019.
Among the nearby local cultural districts that were included in the 14 member pilot project were one apiece located in Emeryville and San Rafael and two in San Francisco.
The BAMBD was the creation of Oakland Third District City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney and was authorized by the Oakland City Council in January of 2016. On paper, it runs in an eight block corridor with Broadway at the center between Chinatown and Uptown, from the western bank of Lake Merritt to the 880 freeway. It was officially set up to “highlight, celebrate, preserve and support the contributions of Oakland’s Black artists and business owners” in that downtown/West Oakland corridor.
Besides the prestige of state recognition, making the Arts Council’s pilot project list would have meant access to state funding and the promise that the California Arts Council would assist BAMBD in receiving grants from private sources. McElhaney’s office, which was listed as the lead agency on the Arts Council application, had tentatively budgeted the small amount of money that would have immediately come with state recognition to hire a dedicated staff member to begin putting a program together to implement the BAMBD, which as yet has no ongoing projects.
But now, with the City of Oakland’s failure to provide any money for the official BAMBD and without the apparent active public support of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, it is difficult to see where funds to hire a staff for the district or to create any programs for it will come from.
Oakland Black poet/playwright and arts activist Marvin X Jackmon, who McElhaney once credited with helping her develop the BAMBD concept, immediately put the blame for the BAMBD’s failure to get state recognition directly on the Councilmember.
“[I suggest] City Councilwoman Lynette Mcelhaney take an acting class from Dr. Ayodele Nzinga's Lower Bottom Playaz,” Jackmon wrote in an email message to supporters following the Arts Council announcement. “Clearly her fake performance with the Cal Arts Council was not convincing. CAC didn't go for her top down domination of the BAMBD. She has yet acted on Marvin X's long request for banners, specifically, the African red, black and green flag, and Black/African vendors in the streets along the BAMBD corridor, 14th Street. Such a cosmetic appearance might have convinced the CAC to certify our district. Next time around, Lynette, improve your acting and stagecraft. See Dr. Nzinga at the Flight Theatre asap.”
Ayedole Nzinga is the founder and director of the Lower Bottom Playaz independent Black theater group. The group was originally based at the Black Dot Café in West Oakland’s Lower Bottom community, but has since relocated to Broadway’s Flight Deck Theater for its most recent productions. The Movement newspaper, which bills itself as the “Voice Of The Black Arts Movement International” and lists “Marvin X” as its Executive Publisher and Nzinga as its senior writer, also lists Nzinga as BAMBD’s lead planner.
Last summer, Nzinga filed the BAMBD Community Development Corporation of Oakland as a nonprofit corporation with the California Secretary of State’s office. Along with Oakland journalist Eric Arnold, who lists himself as “Co-Director of BAMBD CDC” on his oakculture website, Nzinga has been negotiating for several months under the BAMBD Community Development Corporation name with several developers for community benefits from proposed downtown development projects.
Black Bird Press News & Review: Reverse Psychology: from Toby to Kunta
Black Bird Press News & Review: Reverse Psychology: from Toby to Kunta
the BAMBD Billion Dollar Trust Fund
Marvin X, the Black Arts Movement Business District co-founder and planner, suggests the BAMBD Billion Dollar Trust Fund would be allocated as follows:
$100 million for General Fund
$100 million for Five Year Plan
$200 million for mixed use rental housing (seniors, artists, workers, mentally disabled, recently incarcerated, single parents)
$100 million for mortgage loans, especially for purchase of modified SRO hotel rooms with life estate titles for the chronically homeless, thus ending homelessness overnight
$100 million for job training
$ 100 million for micro and macro loans to entrepreneurs
$100 million to establish the David Blackwell STEM Institute (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
$100 for land and real estate acquisition
$100 for reentry assistance to displaced former residents of Oakland
$100 million for General Fund
$100 million for Five Year Plan
$200 million for mixed use rental housing (seniors, artists, workers, mentally disabled, recently incarcerated, single parents)
$100 million for mortgage loans, especially for purchase of modified SRO hotel rooms with life estate titles for the chronically homeless, thus ending homelessness overnight
$100 million for job training
$ 100 million for micro and macro loans to entrepreneurs
$100 million to establish the David Blackwell STEM Institute (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
$100 for land and real estate acquisition
$100 for reentry assistance to displaced former residents of Oakland
from the archives--north american african unity of planning
Toward Unity of North American Africans --Unity of Planning
The North American African thinkers and planners must configure our future for the next 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 years, otherwise we shall drift and drift depending on the winds of the ocean and the whim of the American Titanic, with the great possibility we shall go down with the ship, much like the Katrina tragedy in New Orleans, no matter if it was a man made or natural disaster. We must never again have our fate in the hands of this government, not for one moment. We must plan for both the positive and negative possibilities and probabilities. We cannot have 40 million North American Africans at the behest of racists who's mental state is highly questionable and will only be going from bad to worse as we proceed in time.
Nor can we have faith or confidence is those who have been trained and educated totally with the white supremacy world. We see what a mess Obama is making of our situation, if not totally neglecting the wretched circumstances of the moment.
But the urgent need is a brain trust of planners grounded in African and spiritual consciousness, men and women of vision to chart our course through the last days of the American empire and republic. This Think Tank must be an inter-generational group so we have the thinking of elders and youth, something we failed to do in those revolutionary 60s. We must include the wisdom of progressive elders who can offer more than war stories but the perception to see where we need to go politically, economically, educationally, and spiritually.
We can transcend the simple improvisation of the jazz player, and we must clearly avoid the pitfall of doing nothing but drift into the future, when we know if we don't plan a trip we may never arrive at our destination, especially with no road map, no chart, no idea of what we may encounter on the journey.
Of course we must consider ideas from the global village, especially from our neighbors throughout the Americas who are striving to implement a more social just economic plan as well as constructing a people's democratic society, as opposed to the American political/economic order that is socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor, also known as fascism.
We must transcend the box of American thought that is clearly exhausted, and align our thinking with nations such as China, India and Brazil. We cannot envision a future without a connection with our Motherland, economic, cultural and political. Why should we not be connected to Africa, white America is connected with Europe, Chinese Americans are connected with China, Arabs are connected with the Arab world, indigenous peoples and/ or Latinos are connected with their peoples throughout the Americas.
Our Think Tanks must consider what is possible for the years ahead, the decades, the centuries. The possibilities are infinite, but we must chart a course based on the consensus of our very best minds, again, minds that are not addicted to the white supremacy imagination.
We have every right to consider self-determination and sovereignty on this land that contains our sweat, blood and bones. There may come the realization that we must partition America for those too alienated, traumatized and full of grief for all the wrongs done to us since our sojourn here. We would be a danger to ourselves and others if we remained here in a state of total discontent and recalcitrance. Pakistan's separation from India is an example, our the likely independence of the Southern Sudan from the North is a present model.
But this is for our thinkers to consider in harmony with the masses, probably in some future plebiscite or vote of the people when matters reach the point of no justice, no peace. It is no different from a wife and husband who reach irreconcilable difference and must separate and divorce.
Those who wish to remain a part of this Republic, if such exists in the future, have the human right to do so. Again, the world is full of infinite possibilities and we flow with the flow, except we are not a boat without a rudder or an anchor. The future is for those who plan ahead, strategically and tactically.
--Marvin X
12/14/10
The North American African thinkers and planners must configure our future for the next 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 years, otherwise we shall drift and drift depending on the winds of the ocean and the whim of the American Titanic, with the great possibility we shall go down with the ship, much like the Katrina tragedy in New Orleans, no matter if it was a man made or natural disaster. We must never again have our fate in the hands of this government, not for one moment. We must plan for both the positive and negative possibilities and probabilities. We cannot have 40 million North American Africans at the behest of racists who's mental state is highly questionable and will only be going from bad to worse as we proceed in time.Nor can we have faith or confidence is those who have been trained and educated totally with the white supremacy world. We see what a mess Obama is making of our situation, if not totally neglecting the wretched circumstances of the moment.
But the urgent need is a brain trust of planners grounded in African and spiritual consciousness, men and women of vision to chart our course through the last days of the American empire and republic. This Think Tank must be an inter-generational group so we have the thinking of elders and youth, something we failed to do in those revolutionary 60s. We must include the wisdom of progressive elders who can offer more than war stories but the perception to see where we need to go politically, economically, educationally, and spiritually.
We can transcend the simple improvisation of the jazz player, and we must clearly avoid the pitfall of doing nothing but drift into the future, when we know if we don't plan a trip we may never arrive at our destination, especially with no road map, no chart, no idea of what we may encounter on the journey.
Of course we must consider ideas from the global village, especially from our neighbors throughout the Americas who are striving to implement a more social just economic plan as well as constructing a people's democratic society, as opposed to the American political/economic order that is socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor, also known as fascism.
We must transcend the box of American thought that is clearly exhausted, and align our thinking with nations such as China, India and Brazil. We cannot envision a future without a connection with our Motherland, economic, cultural and political. Why should we not be connected to Africa, white America is connected with Europe, Chinese Americans are connected with China, Arabs are connected with the Arab world, indigenous peoples and/ or Latinos are connected with their peoples throughout the Americas.
Our Think Tanks must consider what is possible for the years ahead, the decades, the centuries. The possibilities are infinite, but we must chart a course based on the consensus of our very best minds, again, minds that are not addicted to the white supremacy imagination.
We have every right to consider self-determination and sovereignty on this land that contains our sweat, blood and bones. There may come the realization that we must partition America for those too alienated, traumatized and full of grief for all the wrongs done to us since our sojourn here. We would be a danger to ourselves and others if we remained here in a state of total discontent and recalcitrance. Pakistan's separation from India is an example, our the likely independence of the Southern Sudan from the North is a present model.
But this is for our thinkers to consider in harmony with the masses, probably in some future plebiscite or vote of the people when matters reach the point of no justice, no peace. It is no different from a wife and husband who reach irreconcilable difference and must separate and divorce.
Those who wish to remain a part of this Republic, if such exists in the future, have the human right to do so. Again, the world is full of infinite possibilities and we flow with the flow, except we are not a boat without a rudder or an anchor. The future is for those who plan ahead, strategically and tactically.
--Marvin X
12/14/10
Saturday, July 15, 2017
parable of the parrot marvin x
Parable of the Parrot by Marvin X
for Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and the Pan African Revolution
The king wanted parrots around him. He wants all his ministers to wear parrot masks. He said he had to do the same for the previous king. He only said what the king wanted to hear, nothing more, so he advised his ministers to do the same. In fact, they must encourage the people to become parrots.
Yes, he wanted a nation of parrots. Don't say anything the kings does not want to hear. Everything said should be music to his ears. And don't worry, he will tell you exactly what he wants to hear in his regular meetings and public addresses to the nation. Everyone will be kept informed what parrot song to sing. No one must be allowed to disagree with the king. This would be sacrilegious and punishable by death.
The king must be allowed to carry out the dreams that come to his head. No one else should dream, only the king. In this manner, according to the king, the people can make real progress. There shall always be ups and downs, but have faith in the king and everything will be all right. Now everyone sing the national anthem, the king told the people.
There must be a chorus of parrots, a choir, mass choir singing in perfect unity. Let there be parrots on every corner of the kingdom, in every branch and tree. Let all the boys sing like parrots in the beer halls. Let the preacher lead the congregation in parrot songs. Let the teachers train students to sound like parrots. Let the university professors give good grades to those who best imitate parrot sounds. Let the journalists allow no stories over the airwaves and in print if they do not have the parrot sound.
The king was happy when the entire nation put on their parrot masks. Those who refused suffered greatly until they agreed to join in. The state academics and intellectuals joined loudly in parroting the king's every wish. Thank God the masses do not hear them pontificate or read their books. After all, these intellectual and academic parrots are well paid, tenured and eat much parrot seed.
Their magic song impresses the bourgeoisie who have a vested interest in keeping the song of the parrot alive. Deep down in the hood, in the bush, the parrot song is seldom heard, only the sound of the hawk gliding through the air in stone silence looking for a parrot to eat.
--Marvin X 4/5/10
unity and disunity of north american africans
Toward the Unity of North American Africans
Internal and External Sources of Disunity
Bay Area writers and journalists came together to honor the memory of assassinated Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, a victim of Oakland politics, although Muslims were blamed. Chauncey was investigating police corruption and corruption in Mayor Jerry Brown's office. Jerry Brown is reported to have said, "I'm gonna get that nigguh from snooping around City Hall and the police department." Brown is now governor-elect of California.
The broad day light assassination of Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey was but another project in the ongoing attempt to prolong the disunity of our community. The major benefactor
was not the Black Muslim Bakery brothers, the fall guys charged with his murder, but the political establishment, the police department and white supremacy America. Just as the USA benefited from the murder of Malcolm X, the political establishment in the Bay Area has driven a wedge between Muslims and the North American African community.
As per the bakery brothers, it is indeed ironic that Dr. Yusef Bey, founder of Your Black Muslim Bakery, and Chauncey Bailey were longtime associates and friends, especially at Soulbeat television
where they both contributed to the station's success. Dr. Bey had a show, True Solutions, and Chauncey was the news director, so they had a long working relationship. But after Dr. Bey's transition, we are to believe that Bey's heirs considered Chauncey their mortal enemy because he was writings articles on their bankruptcy proceedings that were public information. This was a ruse instigated by the Oakland Police Department whose officer became the mentor and chief adviser of the bakery boys.
This officer was not only in charge of the crime scene, who refused to question an eye witness, brother Tony, but the officer led a raid on the bakery less than 24 hours of the assassination at 7:30 in the morning. The OPD raided the bakery and found the murder weapon and got a confession from a handy man. No murder in the history of Oakland has been solved so quickly, if we are dumb enough to believe the hype!
But are main concern is the divisiveness the police orchestrated murder caused in our community, especially in light of America's war against Islam. Christian blacks wanted nothing to do with Muslims, and blacks in general looked at Muslims with a jaundiced eye. Orthodox Muslims disassociated themselves from the Black Muslim Bakery brothers since they were not considered real Muslims in the first place. They were essentially followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad whose brand of Islam is not considered true Islam, just as Sunni Muslims do not consider Shia Muslims as real Muslims, or Ahmediahs. Alas, what is a true Muslim, Christian,Communist?
Of course some of this bitter division is residue from the assassination of Malcolm X. Many North American Africans are suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome from the 1965 Cointelpro murder of Malcolm. Intellectuals are still traumatized and grieving over the tragic hit on Malcolm and blame the Nation of Islam, even though police agents were his bodyguards and some of the hit men were allowed to escape capture by the New York police.
The degree of hurt and unresolved grief is so severe that intellectuals and scholars cannot write narratives on our modern history without revisionism, skipping from Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X in their narrative, deleting Elijah Muhammad's contribution and his mentoring of Malcolm, along with Muhammad Ali, Farrakhan, Warith Din Muhammad, and thousands of others who came into black consciousness, including myself, due to Elijah's Message to the Black Man.
We know the FBI's mission was to stop the rise of a black messiah who could unify North American Africans, thus all black leaders were objects for elimination by the US government: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Kwame Toure (Stokeley), H. Rap Brown (Imam Jamil Alamin), Huey, Eldridge and Bobby of the Black Panthers. Who murdered Fred Hampton, Jr.? Who tracked Mumia Abu Jamal from the age of 14?
The last thing America wants is a unified community of North American Africans. Have no doubt, our unified vote is the primary reason that so-called Negro is in the White House. Our unity can and ultimately will change the history of the world. This is how powerful we are. One need only recall the powerful effect of the Million Man March. Imagine if those million men had pooled their resources and were able to develop an organization. We would have been a frightening force similar to that million man army in North Korea! We would then be able to call all shots in our community. Nothing would move until the million men gave their approval. No drugs, no prostitution, no wife beating, no rape, no disrespect of elders, no children dropping out of school because they were bright enough not to be duped by a white supremacy curriculum, since the million men would ban such from being taught, in colleges and universities as well.
We talked with a brother in Philly not long ago who has several Stake and Take restaurants. We asked the brother why is it so difficult for us to unite? He said if we united, all the guns of the white man would turn on us. My friend, elder, comrade and associate, Amiri Baraka puts it thusly, "In the end the Negro will be the terrorist!" Look who's being arrested for terrorism these days, who's being entrapped and conspired upon by the US government?
In spite of all the above dirty tricks, we are confident there shall be unity, even if as Elijah said, we must force black unity! Yes, just as sometimes we must force a husband and wife to stop fighting and come together, we must be proactive about unity in the community, although I have suggested there must be a program of detoxification and recovery from our trauma and unresolved grief. Otherwise we ain't going around the corner with each other. I don't trust you, Negro! You don't know me like that! I don't even trust myself! Elijah told you don't trust no one.
This is war, the enemy is pervasive with snitches everywhere, agent provocateurs, undercover agents.
Somehow, we must process our paranoia, our fears, lack of trust, lack of desire of forgiveness, especially when we have all done wrong and been wronged. He who is without sin cast the first stone, Jesus told you. So ain't no Holy Joe's up in here. We all got some funk on us--yeah, it's funky up in here. Ain't it funky now, JB said.
Malcolm told you to transcend your petty differences. The hatred we have for each other is a joke since no black person has done to us what the white man has, yet we love the white man and hate the black man. This is sick, insane, and we need to go somewhere to get a healing. Go to Africa, if it will help you, go to Jamaica, anywhere to heal, go to Mecca, Jerusalem, then come home ready to rock and roll like we did last summer!
--Marvin X
12/9/10
Internal and External Sources of Disunity
Bay Area writers and journalists came together to honor the memory of assassinated Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, a victim of Oakland politics, although Muslims were blamed. Chauncey was investigating police corruption and corruption in Mayor Jerry Brown's office. Jerry Brown is reported to have said, "I'm gonna get that nigguh from snooping around City Hall and the police department." Brown is now governor-elect of California.
The broad day light assassination of Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey was but another project in the ongoing attempt to prolong the disunity of our community. The major benefactor
was not the Black Muslim Bakery brothers, the fall guys charged with his murder, but the political establishment, the police department and white supremacy America. Just as the USA benefited from the murder of Malcolm X, the political establishment in the Bay Area has driven a wedge between Muslims and the North American African community.
As per the bakery brothers, it is indeed ironic that Dr. Yusef Bey, founder of Your Black Muslim Bakery, and Chauncey Bailey were longtime associates and friends, especially at Soulbeat television
where they both contributed to the station's success. Dr. Bey had a show, True Solutions, and Chauncey was the news director, so they had a long working relationship. But after Dr. Bey's transition, we are to believe that Bey's heirs considered Chauncey their mortal enemy because he was writings articles on their bankruptcy proceedings that were public information. This was a ruse instigated by the Oakland Police Department whose officer became the mentor and chief adviser of the bakery boys.This officer was not only in charge of the crime scene, who refused to question an eye witness, brother Tony, but the officer led a raid on the bakery less than 24 hours of the assassination at 7:30 in the morning. The OPD raided the bakery and found the murder weapon and got a confession from a handy man. No murder in the history of Oakland has been solved so quickly, if we are dumb enough to believe the hype!
But are main concern is the divisiveness the police orchestrated murder caused in our community, especially in light of America's war against Islam. Christian blacks wanted nothing to do with Muslims, and blacks in general looked at Muslims with a jaundiced eye. Orthodox Muslims disassociated themselves from the Black Muslim Bakery brothers since they were not considered real Muslims in the first place. They were essentially followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad whose brand of Islam is not considered true Islam, just as Sunni Muslims do not consider Shia Muslims as real Muslims, or Ahmediahs. Alas, what is a true Muslim, Christian,Communist?
Of course some of this bitter division is residue from the assassination of Malcolm X. Many North American Africans are suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome from the 1965 Cointelpro murder of Malcolm. Intellectuals are still traumatized and grieving over the tragic hit on Malcolm and blame the Nation of Islam, even though police agents were his bodyguards and some of the hit men were allowed to escape capture by the New York police.
The degree of hurt and unresolved grief is so severe that intellectuals and scholars cannot write narratives on our modern history without revisionism, skipping from Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X in their narrative, deleting Elijah Muhammad's contribution and his mentoring of Malcolm, along with Muhammad Ali, Farrakhan, Warith Din Muhammad, and thousands of others who came into black consciousness, including myself, due to Elijah's Message to the Black Man.
We know the FBI's mission was to stop the rise of a black messiah who could unify North American Africans, thus all black leaders were objects for elimination by the US government: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Kwame Toure (Stokeley), H. Rap Brown (Imam Jamil Alamin), Huey, Eldridge and Bobby of the Black Panthers. Who murdered Fred Hampton, Jr.? Who tracked Mumia Abu Jamal from the age of 14?
The last thing America wants is a unified community of North American Africans. Have no doubt, our unified vote is the primary reason that so-called Negro is in the White House. Our unity can and ultimately will change the history of the world. This is how powerful we are. One need only recall the powerful effect of the Million Man March. Imagine if those million men had pooled their resources and were able to develop an organization. We would have been a frightening force similar to that million man army in North Korea! We would then be able to call all shots in our community. Nothing would move until the million men gave their approval. No drugs, no prostitution, no wife beating, no rape, no disrespect of elders, no children dropping out of school because they were bright enough not to be duped by a white supremacy curriculum, since the million men would ban such from being taught, in colleges and universities as well.
We talked with a brother in Philly not long ago who has several Stake and Take restaurants. We asked the brother why is it so difficult for us to unite? He said if we united, all the guns of the white man would turn on us. My friend, elder, comrade and associate, Amiri Baraka puts it thusly, "In the end the Negro will be the terrorist!" Look who's being arrested for terrorism these days, who's being entrapped and conspired upon by the US government?
In spite of all the above dirty tricks, we are confident there shall be unity, even if as Elijah said, we must force black unity! Yes, just as sometimes we must force a husband and wife to stop fighting and come together, we must be proactive about unity in the community, although I have suggested there must be a program of detoxification and recovery from our trauma and unresolved grief. Otherwise we ain't going around the corner with each other. I don't trust you, Negro! You don't know me like that! I don't even trust myself! Elijah told you don't trust no one.
This is war, the enemy is pervasive with snitches everywhere, agent provocateurs, undercover agents.
Somehow, we must process our paranoia, our fears, lack of trust, lack of desire of forgiveness, especially when we have all done wrong and been wronged. He who is without sin cast the first stone, Jesus told you. So ain't no Holy Joe's up in here. We all got some funk on us--yeah, it's funky up in here. Ain't it funky now, JB said.
Malcolm told you to transcend your petty differences. The hatred we have for each other is a joke since no black person has done to us what the white man has, yet we love the white man and hate the black man. This is sick, insane, and we need to go somewhere to get a healing. Go to Africa, if it will help you, go to Jamaica, anywhere to heal, go to Mecca, Jerusalem, then come home ready to rock and roll like we did last summer!
--Marvin X
12/9/10
no black fight
No Black Fight
no johnson
no Ali
no Lewis
no Sugar Ray
No Black fight
no fists no backbone
no elbow grease
no stamina
no long distance runner
no champion in the ring
no nationalist
no fearless men
no fearless women
no ancestor consciousness
no cry for justice
no liberty or death
no justice no peace
no death do us part
no nothing
no housing
no job
no medical
no music
only smooth
only fusion
delusion
no community
only multicultural
diluted polluted
convoluted
gentrified
homogenized
pasteurized
are you surprised
no Fillmore
no Harlem
no DC
no Philly
no ATL
where shall you dwell
in hell
the empire falls
no news to you
the Republic falls
where shall you be
what part shall you grab
shall you stand
with dick in hand
heart racing
Whites take theirs
Latinos too
Asians too
Gays/lesbians too
what will you do
stuck on stupid
walking like ducks
pigeons
reverse evolution
moon walking like Michael
remember the time
look at the man in the mirror
no look
no memory
smoke yo blunt
life up in smoke
we did the same
24/7
Daddy it's too much smoke in yo house!
No love for woman
children
siblings
neighbors
friends
no nothing
no God
no devil
lone stranger
rides into sunset
no Tonto
no tomorrow
no yesterday
no now.
Women cry,
I hate weak nigguhs!
Men cry, I hate punk bitches!
no unity
no dialogue
no consensus
no plan
no game
no respect
no win.
--Marvin X
10/30/10
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