Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Soldier in An Army

Another Dr. King holiday has come upon us. Another weekend full of movies, documentaries, and audio and video clips of speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Finally, another weekend where people contemplate Dr. King's contribution to the forward progress of the United States of America.

That last sentence brought to mind something that Sista Souljah offered on one of Public Enemy's albums. The track By the Time I Get to Arizona starts off with her giving a summation of what Dr. King's contribution was and is. She ends by saying that Dr. King tried to teach white people the meaning of civilization. Indeed, for Dr. King to thrust into the Civil Rights movement the teachings of Mahatma Mohandes Ghandi was revolutionary in and of itself. As it stands, America is and always has been a nation seething with agression. It was founded on agression, when Europeans landed here and declared war on the native Amerindians and, worse, their culture. The agression continued when Afrikan people were kidnapped and dragged to America to be enslaved and forced to build this country.

That agression continued when European American men set out to subjugate and oppress women (white, Afrikan and otherwise), preventing them from exercising their inherent rights as well as their very humanity. Lofty dreams, pronouncements, and declarations notwithstanding, this was a nation founded upon oppression, genocide, and pillage. History will bear this out even when apologists seek to deny it.

Such oppression, genocide and pillage continued down into the twentieth century, though not in the same fashion as in the sixteenth century. And the oppressed, whether they be Afrikans or women or Latinos, or other non-white groups of people, have had to struggle to secure their very humanity. The struggle of Afrikan people, for example, began when the first Afrikan stepped on these shores and continues to this very day. Our struggle has never ceased from that day to this.

Our oppressor (and even many of us) have this vested interest to encapsulate a people's struggle into one single person. Maybe that is so that when that one person is killed (in one way or another), the masses are left to feel as though there is nothing left to do, to struggle for. Although Afrikan people do not control what is presented to them, they do not have a say in how things are presented to them. Sure, we can disagree on the corner or in the barbershop or the hair salon or the barroom, but unless there is some mass, organized reaction, how things are presented to us will remain the same, with the oppressor deciding how and what is presented to us.

The so-called Civil Rights movement is an example. Our struggle for desgregation (and not intergration) is presented to us in way that sometimes defies logic. According to mainstream (read, white) historical analysis, the Civil Rights movement began in 1955, when the Montgomery bus boycott began. This follows logic, especially for those who wish to make the movement into one man. According to this same historical analysis, that struggle ended in 1968, with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That's a period of thirteen years. This analysis leaves out hundreds of years of movement and struggle, as well as hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who struggled alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and many other so-called leaders.

Of course, the names of the hundeds of thousands (if not millions) of those who struggle(d) for the humanity of all Afrikan people will never be known. But this shouldn't stop us from at least acknowledging them. Too often, just a few are mentioned and, because of the extremely sexist society that we live in, many of those few mentioned are men. We know very little of the scores of women who struggled alongside men. In movie after movie after movie, it's always made to appear as though Dr. King was the Civil Rights movement. Dr. King was no more the Civil Rights movement than Oprah Winfrey is the barometer to measure all Afrikan people. Dr. King was the minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist church, the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, and the founder and executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. That's it.

I know that that may come as sacreligious to those who have canonized Dr. King, but it is the truth. Dr. King didn't defeat the oppressive segregationist forces in Montgomery Alabama. He alone didn't force the owners of the bus companies there to change their position on segregated seating arrangements. The masses did this. Had Dr. King attempted to overturn segregation in Montgomery, he would have been lynched almost as soon as he had tried. It was because the masses of Afrikan people had gotten to a point of anger and frustration regarding their treatment on the buses. They were sick and tired of the mistreatment, the disrespect, and the neglect they encountered on a daily basis. This anger, more than anything else, sparked the Montgomery bus boycott.

This isn't an attempt to dismiss Dr. Martin Luther King's contribution to the Black Freedom Movement. Far from it. His contribution could never be dismissed or downplayed, no matter how much some people try to. It is, however, an attempt to place a greater emphasis on the masses of Afrikan people, who were instrumental in forcing change. The point is that Dr. King nor Malcolm X nor Barack Obama couldn't have done any of what they did alone.

Hero worship doesn't benefit anyone but the oppressor. The oppressor's history and culture promulgates this "cut off the head, the body will whither" ideal. They assume that if the general is cut down, the army will disperse. This is exactly why, in America, movements are promoted as one person (usually). It serves as a means to dissuade the masses. Dr. King needs to be looked at in this light. Again, he did contribute and ultimately gave his life for the forward progress of America in general and Afrikan people in particular. He made the ultimate sacrifice when he refused to allow cowardly bigots to scare him into 'non-action'. This will never be taken from him and we will defend him against any such attempt no matter where it comes from. Let us not, however, place him on a pedastal that he shunned while he was alive. He didn't want to be a hero. He wanted to, as he said often, "do God's will." That, to me, meant comforting the suffering masses.

This was and is his extraordinary contribution to this world.

Now Get Up.

Tarikh Tehuti Bandele'

Patriotism Revisited, Ten Years Later

Peace Family (and others),
This is an updated version of something I wrote immediately after the so-called terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. Reading a piece about those attacks by Hiphop journalist and historian Davey D prompted my digging this up and posting it.
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Alafia Ndada ya Ndugu.

(Ever notice how easy it is for certain groups of people to remember their tragedies, but not us???)

This so-called patriotism (which is really more arrogance than patriotism) will not last as long as we think it will. Sooner or later, Afrikan men in America will continue to be police-profiled, Afrikan children in America will have their intelligence questioned, and Afrikan nations will continue to be destabilized for no clear reason other than greed.

It is straight hypocritical for this media (mainstream and otherwise) to make it appear as if all is well here other than this tragic event. For those with either short memories or no inclination toward history, what happened to Afrikan people in this country AFTER this nation was rallied to 'defend democracy' in World War One??? What happened to Afrikan people in this country after the 'great Nazi threat' was put down in World War Two???

We are always trying to find some reason to justify our fascination with the same nation that enslaved many of our fore parents, destabilized our native homeland, stripped us of everything that could be stripped from us (even our very humanity, which even we question from time to time), and continues to oppress us (President-of-color notwithstanding). It would appear as though some of us just can't let go, like some spurned lover that's been shown the freakin' door (a long time ago). Sounds rather stalker-ish, doesn't it??? ("If I can't have you, no one can.")

I saw Negroes (and that's what they are) out, in the streets, waving flags and honking their horns. At the plantati, uh, job I worked at when this went down, everyone was encouraged to wear red, white, and blue the following Friday. And as expected, Negroes showed up with American flag ties, ink pins, cups, hats, jackets, umbrellas (not a damned cloud in sight), gloves, glasses, coffee mugs, watches, and blue jeans, red sneakers, white shirts, or some other combination with these colors (that, apparently, don't run!).

However, I didn't see the same outrage several years later when 'Katrina' went down. I didn't see these same Negroes mobilizing to help, in any way they could, those brothers and sisters that really needed our help. Most of what they did was complain. I heard a few "that's a damn shame!", and several "they (meaning the government) ought to be ashamed of they selves." And, of course, the theories started popping up. But that was it. Hell when the mobilization was going down around the Jena Six situation, you couldn't get these same Negroes to wear a freakin' button, let alone wear all black the same day that hundreds of thousands rallied and marched in support of those young brothers. (And, I am aware that the mainstream media said that only several thousand people turned out. Do you honestly believe that the mainstream media wants to report that hundreds of thousands of people showed up in support of the Jena Six??? One newspaper said that there were only a few thousand attendees at the Million Man March in '95. GO FREAKIN' FIGURE!!! As a rule, we should always add AT LEAST ten to twenty-five thousand [or more] to any media tally. So, if they say that only five thousand showed up, we gotta add another ten to twenty-five Gs to that. But I digress.)

What has to happen to show these "deranged" Negroes that America is not a friend of ours and that we are not Americans??? Katrina wasn't enough; The Jena Six (which was just blatant white supremacy) didn't do it. Sean Bell being shot the way he was didn't do it??? What has to happen to get these Negroes to come out of that 'Crow on the fence' mindset??? You know, the one that says if you come across a group of Crows sitting on a fence, and you shoot one of them, the rest will immediately take flight. But, five minutes later, they will return like nothing every happened, their 'comrade' laying dead right below them.

Hypocrisy has NEVER been as blatant and at the same time as misleading as it has been in the last few days.

Am I being callous toward those families that may have lost loved ones in this 'mess'??? That would be up to those that read this. But I will never be drawn into some false sense of American patriotism and forget what has happened and continues to happen to certain groups of people in this nation.

And to think, there are capitalists out there making millions feeding people's so-called patriotism (i.e. those flags dangling from car antennae aren't free; somebody's paying for them, even if you got yours for free).

Interestingly, those same whites that find themselves roaming streets with bats and sticks looking for some "foreigner" (read Arab, Sikh, or anything in between) to exact vengeance upon are the very same ones that don't want to be lumped together with the sins of their slave-holding fore fathers and mothers.
I can hear them now: "I didn't have anything to do with slavery. Why should I pay???"

ADDENDUM: While we are being encouraged to never forget 9-11 or the solemn mood that existed for those few days after, let us never, ever forget what was visited upon our ancestors, and what is still happening to us today. Let us, like the Jews, never, ever forget what was taken from us and what we have to struggle to get back. Let's teach our babies that we didn't land here by accident; that there were forces, cold and calculating, that conspired to get us here.

Now Get Up.

Tarikh Tehuti Bandele

Guns, not Butter: Disaster Capitalism Reloaded

Guns, not Butter: Disaster Capitalism Reloaded

At a time when our Ayaitian brothers and sisters need as much help as possible, the U.S. and her "vested interests" (i.e. her oligarchical multinational corporations)(once again) militarizes a disaster. On Meet the Press, George H.W. Bush is asked what is the top priority for the current situation in Ayaiti. Without batting his eyes, he responds “security”. Doctors without Boarders cannot land their planes in Ayaiti, but the U.S. military can??? Other aid groups are being turned away, but the governor of Pennsylvania’s plane can land??? Secretary of State Hilary Clinton can take a three-hour tour (Gilligan's Island style), but U.N. "peace keepers" are being “warned” about looters and violence???

If we replace the word Ayaiti with Katrina, we are looking at the same set of events as with what went down in Louisiana in 2005. The mainstream media focuses its attention on looters and violence more than on the toll this earthquake has had on the people of Ayaiti. CNN seems content with reporting on the literacy rate and the building violence. Why is the U.S. military called into “secure” Ayaiti, and who are they “securing” it for???

Interestingly, Israel arrived in Ayaiti the day after this tragedy, setting up a hospital to help victims. The U.S. has a military base one half-hour away and it took them almost three days to arrive??? China was there before the U.S. as well.

This is exactly what took place in Louisiana, immediately after Hurricane Katrina. The media seemed to report nothing but the building violence, the looting, and the anarchy. Like with Katrina, we are looking at an island whose people (among the poorest in the Americas) have lost everything. They didn’t have much to begin with, and the little they had they just lost. They see bodies piling up in the streets, friends and family members. Their island has been virtually destroyed. There is very little water and there is very little food for the survivors.

What person, in their right mind, would not take it upon themselves to resort to any means necessary to make sure that they and their loved ones survive this tragedy??? They have survived the devastating earthquake and its after-shocks. They have survived building collapses and mudslides, only to starve to death??? What European, in his or her right mind, would sit and wait for help in a similar situation??? Are we Americans (who have never really experienced anything like this) to assume that the Ayaitian people should behave with white supremacy's definition of decorum and tact, minutes away from starvation??? Our brothers and sisters there are traumatized. There are mass graves everywhere; people are literally living outside on the streets; bodies are being piled up in dump trucks (at last count, there was 70,000); and all CNN and MSNBC can report on is looting??? In my opinion, they aren’t looting enough.

Why has the United States taken over the main airport??? Why has much of the aid effort been moved to that main airport, and not in the epicenter of the tragedy??? Why was Cuba able to send 400 doctors not 24 hours after the earthquake and set up a hospital that has, at this writing, treated over 900 Ayaitians??? How is it that Venezuela has been able to send doctors to Ayaiti not 24 hours after the earthquake???

Anyone interested in some very poignant answers to the many (and rhetorical) questions raised in this piece should read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

Now Get Up.

Celebrating Life NOW: Dr. Lenworth Gunther

Celebrating Life NOW Pt. 2


In a recent blog, I wrote about the necessity of acknowledging those who have sacrificed and dedicated so much to the forward progress of all human beings, Afrikan people specifically. Many emails, online, personal and radio discussions prompted me to write what I wrote about Dr. Yosef ben Yochannan, a giant among us now. Also, with the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Minister Malcolm X and its "celebration", I was moved to acknowledge, show appreciation for, and hail our living repository of Ourstory, Dr. Ben.

I now extend the same "celebration" to my personal mentor and teacher, Dr. Lenworth Gunther. Other than my own father and then Malcolm X, no other human being has had as much of an impact on my way of thinking and loving Afrikan people as Dr. Gunther. Sitting in his Afrikan American History classes, his impact on me was immediate and extensive (as well as long-reaching). Listening to his lectures reminded me of listening to Public Enemy albums, where so much information was rapid-fired to you in about an hour. Your mind was literally opened up wide and "information" was poured in.

Dr. Gunther's ability to reach me and many of my comrades was life-changing. I cannot nor attempt to speak for them, but my perspective on life changed. I had always had a love and appreciation for information. To come across a teacher that shared that same love and appreciation was refreshing and phenomenal. He inspired me to seek knowledge wherever it could be found (i.e. my very trip to the Schomburg Center in Harlem, New York was inspired by a lecture Dr. Gunther gave, where he mentioned the famed repository several times.)

There are certain things that, when one sits at the feet of Dr. Gunther, are crystal clear. His passion is immediately obvious. His vast breadth of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding is evident. And his love and compassion for Afrikan people (in specific) is unmistakable. And just like Dr. Ben, Dr. Gunther has many detractors and cynics as well. There are some people that are just intimidated by one who knows and understands so much. Detractors and cynics notwithstanding, his commitment cannot be questioned. His dedication cannot be doubted. (Well, it actually can, but that's not the point.)

Doc, I love you very much for what you have meant to me and so many others. I appreciate your shining example, an example that has been so very important for so many people the world over. And I have the level of love and admiration for Afrikan people and our story because of giants like you. As you continue to travel and inspire, I will forever acknowledge you as my friend, my mentor.

Alafia Ndugu,

Now Get Up.

Blast from the Past: Voting OUR Interests...

Voting OUR Interests...

Peace!

Recently, the mainstream (as well as the not-so mainstream) media has been saturating its viewers and listeners with the contest for the next president of the United States. Getting more attention, however, is the contest for the next Democratic Party nominee for that office. Listeners and viewers hear or read, over and over, how the next Democratic Party nominee will be an historic selection, as there has never been either an African American or woman in this position. It's historic! It's unprecedented! It's monumental!

Hyperbole notwithstanding, by and large African Americans are taking sides in this Democratic Party nomination race. (After all, isn't this what so many of our people died for?) But interestingly, there are those among us who are declaring their support for one or the other candidate for the shallowest, most dubious of reasons. "I'm voting for Hillary because I think she's a strong woman, a great example for women everywhere", a feminist- leaning sister exclaimed to me. (For the record, I do also know some feminist-leaning sisters who are supporting Barak Obama.) This got my "wheels" turning. I was compelled to ask this sister to explain this line of reasoning. In other words, how did she come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton is a strong woman? Needless to write, this sister could not concisely support her position, not even to herself.

African people cannot afford to continue to be naive politically (or in any other way for that matter). Why are there so many black people claiming support for Hillary simply because she is a woman? Isn't this just as naive as voting for Barak simply because he is a black man, or for someone simply because of Party affiliation? Hillary is a politician to her core (and she has proven this in the last few weeks). What is Hillary's voting record, especially where we are concerned? What is Barak's voting record, especially where we are concerned? Now is not the time for such naiveté' as to assume that because a candidate is black or a woman that this will translate into power for blacks or women.

To learn of both Hillary and Barak's voting record, a good place to start is www.votesmart.org

If we are going to approach voting as though it is a panacea, then let us do so in as sophisticated a manner as possible. Let's not vote for a candidate because he or she is black, a woman, cute, handsome, speaks well, speaks eloquently, or has long money. And let us not assume that voting a black man into the office of the president of the United States will translate into black power, in the same way that voting a woman into the office of the president of the United States will translate into into woman power. This is merely ceremony without substance (i.e. window-dressing), which unfortunately, some of us seem satisfied with.

Lastly, for those of us that are hell-bent on voting for a woman simply because she's a woman, sister Cynthia McKinney is also running for the same office that Hillary Clinton is running for.

Now Get Up.
Tarikh Bandele'
http://www.runcynthiarun.org/

REPOST: Celebrating Life NOW...

Celebrating Life NOW...



After watching Gil Noble's excellent piece highlighting the master teacher that is Dr. Yosef ben Yochannan, I started to think about some things. Too often, we celebrate the life and struggle of people when they have made their transition. Also sparking these thoughts were my listening to WBAI/Pacifica Radio over the last few days. As many of you know, this past February 21st was the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Minister Malcolm X. And many of WBAI's broadcasters were 'celebrating' this day, February 21, by remembering Malcolm, discussing his philosophy, and playing many of his speeches, interviews, and debates.

Let me add here that I don't think that there is anything inherently wrong with doing this. At the same time, however, I feel that, as a community, we must honor, celebrate and acknowledge those who have struggled for Afrikan liberation while they are here. History teaches us that, for the most part, Minister Malcolm was a pariah among many of his own people. Not more than two weeks before he was assassinated, Gil Noble says that his wife noticed Malcolm walking down the street in Harlem. Noble's wife said Malcolm was completely alone. Now that is interesting. Indeed, a new, more appreciative generation has discovered him and held him up as a sincere freedom fighter. But, the question that begs to be answered is "where were his people then, when he was alive?"

Dr. Ben (as we have come to acknowledge him) is one my master teachers, one at whose feet I have sat at for the last twenty-one years. Much of what I know was either taught to me by him or was learned after being inspired by him. He is the Egyptologist’s Egyptologist. He has uncompromisingly dedicated his life to the correct and accurate retelling of the history of Afrika in general, and Kemet in specific. While he has many detractors and skeptics, no one can deny this dedication. No one can deny his love of Afrika, his love of her people, and his adoration of the truth.

I will admit, Dr. Ben could ruffle some feathers with his scathing denunciation of "western religions" and their tendency to co-opt Afrikan spiritual systems, without giving due credit to the source. I once remember a discussion I had with a progressive sister. And when I cited one of Dr. Ben's books in the discussion, her facial expression immediately changed. Inquiring why that had happened and what issue(s) (if any) did she have with Dr. Ben, the only thing she could raise was the print style of his books. Playing the role of psychologist, I finally got the sister to admit that her problem with him was the truths he revealed about Islam and its connection to Afrikan spiritual systems.

Zealots need not apply. With Dr. Ben, you will either appreciate his lessons or assail him and them. So, if you are one of those that believe that your religion can do no wrong, steer clear. If, on the other hand, you are willing to approach this beautiful master teacher with an open mind, by all means, drop to one knee and soak in all that he has to offer you.

I love you, Dr. Ben. You have been instrumental in shaping and forming the love for and determination I have for Afrikan liberation. You have taught me (like you have taught hundreds of thousands more) so much by your selfless example. I adore your wit, your candidness, your humor, and your refusal to accept lies and hypocrisy as truth. And like Garvey, do not worry Great Tiger: you have left many, many cubs in the bush. And those cubs have left cubs. And those cubs are leaving cubs.

Alafia Ndugu ya Ndada!

Now Get Up.

Revisiting The Original Scared Straight...

Ankh Udja Soneb.

Recently, i have viewed the original Scared Straight, and my mind's eye was flooded with so many memories. I initially saw this program back in 1989/1990 on UPN 9. To be clear, i wasn't necessarily the baddest of the bunch. But, there were times when my friends and I could have ended up in some seriously precarious situations. In most urban areas, the general sentiment is apathy, inersia, and greed. This is no put-down of my community, nor is it a blanket indictment of those who live (or lived) in similar circumstances.

That being written, circumstances (as well as by design) create apathy, inersia, and greed. There is no coincidence why "leaders" are assassinated either in broad daylight, or in front of a multitude of people. This is to generate both fear and apathy in the minds of the masses. But i digress.

When i initially saw this program, i was, literally, scared straight. It had less to do with so-called brute beast convicts running it down about life in the pen. It had more to do with these brothers (and others) trying their hardest to prevent youth from following in the same direction thay they themselves traveled down. These brothers (and others) weren't given preferential treatment for doing this; they weren't compensated for their efforts; they didn't get extra money put on their books; and time wasn't cut from their sentences.

They did this out of love. I know this flies in the face of what white supremacy tells us about convicts, so-called criminals, and jails. According to white supremacy (and those who subscribe to its teachings), criminals cannot be rehabilitated. They (especially the Afrikans) are, for better or worse, irredeemable animals who cannot be trusted and deserve to be where they are. They are cold, heartless dregs. (However, if you're Robert Downey, Lindsay Lohan, or Wynona Ryder, you may be able to be redeemed.)

These men decided to "give back", to try and reach out to young people who were traveling down a similar path that they, the men, traveled down. These men helped thousands of young people, myself included, make the decision to not engage in any behavior that would lead them into the criminal criminal justice system. They probably knew, going in, that they weren't going to save every young person that sat before them. But, they did save many, many young people. They didn't ask for anything in return, except for your attention when you sat before them.

Although there are some who will never recognize the efforts of these men, who will never acknowledge these men for their sacrifice or their concern for young people. There are others, though, who do recognize their efforts, their sacrifice, and their concern for the young people who came before them.

Now Get Up.
SOULONE.