by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Just in case you haven’t been informed, this is not the time to be sitting back on our laurels thinking that we can coast during the rest of President Obama’s administration.
Nor can we allow ourselves to be b.s’d into the self-fulfilling prophesy put forth by the main stream media predicting that the Republicans will be able to dominate the second half of Obama’s Administration, either. Ain’t no more days like that. At least if we’re taking care of business the way we are supposed to be.
Out of 435 congressional districts, 348 belong to the 37 states with gubernatorial races this year. What that means is that we have to be at the top of our game. We have to win in each of those states, making sure that we retain a Democratic majority throughout the Obama Administration and beyond.
According to Ohio State Governor, Ted Strickland, if Republicans win those governors' races, they will also win the power to redraw the district lines to help them retake control of Congress.
I know there are those among us who say they “hate politics, don’t have anything to do with politics, don’t understand politics, don’t like politics.” Well, unfortunately, that does not stop political machinations from having a very real effect on what happens to you and your family on a day to day basis.
Like it or not, politics has a very intimate relationship to our lives, because it can change the shape of our neighborhoods, it can determine which neighborhoods get revitalizations, which areas get jobs; hospitals, schools. It’s very intimate, indeed.
Concomitant with that is the issue of the Census and the impact on that count on what we get and don’t get; what we do or don’t do; whether or not we have representation in Congress, or in Albany for that matter.
According to Gov. Ted Strickland, one of the methods by which we end up being disenfranchised is via gerrymandering. If the the voting districts are divided up to favor the Republicans, thereby disenfranchising the Democratic voters, and making us powerless to impact issues that are important to our community, city, state and nation, then to be forewarned is to be fore armed.
It means that we have to all be on point making sure that each and every avenue to retain our leadership is covered. It means that if we have to get the census numbers up, we had better be about doing that. If it means that we had better be as dedicated and determined as Gov. Strickland in making sure that the census count is up to par.
His communiqué Is entitled “REMEMBER TOM DeLAY?” It goes on to say “ Stop GOP Gerrymandering. The 37 races for governor in 2010 could decide the next 10 years of American elections. Once every decade, census results require states to re-draw congressional district boundaries -- giving those who draw these lines the power to affect elections for the next decade -- and it won't take many Republican gubernatorial victories this November to allow the GOP to retake control of Congress. I am determined not to let that happen in Ohio. I'll make sure we have an above-board redistricting process that ensures all of our citizens are fairly represented. Do you think we can count on Republicans to do the same?”
If we don’t make sure everyone is counted, in Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland -- across the US -- we're likely to lose our congressional majority. We can lose seats because of the census. And, if Republicans control redistricting, Democrats could easily lose our majority of congressional delegates to the GOP.
According to Strickland, “Tom DeLay and his cronies did it in Texas, and I'm doing everything I can to stop them from doing it in Ohio. And their first order of business will be to replace Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with Ohio Congressman John Boehner. To borrow a quote from my fellow Ohioan, "Hell no, you can't!"
My question to you, NEW YORKERS, however, is what are you prepared to do?
It would be ignominous -- no, downright stupid -- to sit back and not take the time to simply complete the census form. If you are here from other shores, you count too, regardless of whether you can vote in any of the upcoming elections, or not. In fact, it is as important that you respond to the census as it is for those who were born here. I have mentioned before that your not participating in the census is blocking the rest of us from receiving the benefits we deserve from the government. It’s time to stand up and be counted with the rest of us....Or would you like to see more governors like the former Sarah Palin of Alaska, or Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer, who has practically outlawed immigrants and their rights?
While you are being misled by the mainstream media, Sarah Palin is busy making money to underwrite the Republicans. While you’re reading the sports pages about Tiki Barber and Tiger Woods, the Tea Party is stealing your freedom under the guise of protesting tax issues, when their real agenda is to undermine PRESIDENT OBAMA.
So Palin is not just using her 15 minutes of fame to make herself rich. Each time she goes on Fox News, or spouts off at a rally, she sells a copy of her book Going Rogue -- a book she's used to funnel money to the Republican Governors Association. Palin's book helps fund the next wave of attack ads against Democrats. Palin has raised $12 million thus far in her efforts.
The fact that contributing $5.00 per person to the Democratic National Committee would also be a good thing, is an understatement. We know that nothing moves without money. And we all have a part to play if we are to hold things together.
But in the interim, you have to (yes I said have to) make sure that each and everyone in your church, block, schools, neighborhood has completed the census form and sent it in.
Right now Brooklyn is in the low 50’s; and Manhattan is just 1 above that. We have no right to be apathetic about this. We re responsible for sustaining and attaining the goals we say we want.
So take a census form for yourself and your friend. Make sure you who are eligible are registered to vote, and make sure that if you have friends or relatives here from other countries, that they have also completed the census forms and mailed them it. It only takes 10 seconds. It’s simple. Let’s get it done.
Get your ministers on the case and have Census Sundays; take blank census forms on the subway and ask people if they haven't already done so, to complete the form and drop them off at the post office for them. There are so many creative ways to do this.
You can also contact the offices of congress members Yvette Clarke, Edolphus Towns, Assemblymembers Hakeem Jeffries, Annette Robinson, Karim Camara, Keith Wright, Senators Velmanette Montgomery, Eric Adams, etc. to help in their districts. We've got a lot to do before July. So let's get busy.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Gloria Dulan-Wilson Blog/ ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS
For Eclectic Black People
VIP: Views . Interests . Perspectives
4.27.2010
WE DESERVE REPARATIONS NOW! BLAME THE GUILTY, NOT THE VICTIMS, FOR THE TRAUMAS OF SLAVERY - Reprinted from 2010
By Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Hello All:
The following is in response to an article emailed to me by a Ms. Burnette that was copied from a New York Times Article featuring Henry Louis Gates. The article appears below. My comments are first. Read the article below first in order to understand where I'm coming from. Thanks, GDW
I grow tired of the "blame the victim" missages (yes, I said "missages", not messages -- because they are miss-leading info) that we get from our erudite, but not always on target brother. Frankly, I like Prof. Gates. But, as far as I'm concerned, he is not the end-all/be-all when it comes to African/American issues. He definitely has a place and a role, but I think we must be vigilant when it starts to sound more like what the whites are saying than the whites.
I do not like the blame the victim trend of thought we seem to be following lately. It's especially onerous when the circumstances of the victim is couched in modern mis-interpretations, deliberately overlooking the victim's lack of sophistication, or understanding of the underlying motivations of a group of predators so skilled in the decimation of whole civilizations for their own rapacious pleasure which is what the invading europeans who hit Africa like the bubonic plague were.
If Africans "had a hand in the slave trade," it was due their lack of understanding of the ramifications of the situation. And the invading whites were good for taking advantage of the innocence, good will and ignorance of the people, and used it against them in so many instances.
Like the American Indians in the US, or the indigenous people "discovered" by Columbus, when a tribe vanquished another tribe, they were first subjugated to ignominious tasks and humiliation by the conquering tribe. Generally, however, they later intermarried into the tribe and they all became one. That was the tradition in Africa, in the Caribbean; in Japan; in China; Saudi Arabia, and so many other FIRST WORLD CULTURES. It was how things were done. Some were "sold" into slavery in the peripheral biblical countries. Some were sent to Rome, Spain, Greece, etc. But most of the African tribes active in the trade were not ever aware of the heinous, hideous, nefarious, evil, sinister, debasing, denigrating (can't say enough bad things about it -- because, truth be told, we are still subjected to the same underlying racism) that whites -- German, French, BRITISH, American (a/k/a British), Spanish, Portuguese and Danish, subjected us to via the trans-Atlantic Slave trade, and chattel slavery.
And don't you dare ever, ever, try to say that Black people had a material hand in the resulting 400 years we endured once we were stolen from the Motherland. (read Stolen Legacy)
Do they owe us? YES!!!!! BIG TIME!!! And they know it. They've been trying to duck that responsibility for quite some time. That's why Lincoln was assassinated. That's howAndrew Johnson became president -- he was a southerner from Tennessee that stood for the status quo, rolling back what Lincoln had done. Rutherford B. Hayes actually sealed the deal in dismantling Lincoln's benevolence.
Fast forward to now, and there is a debate as to whether or not they should do for us what they did for the Japanese and some of the other entities they try to curry favor with. They owe us and they owe Africa - big time. The egregious "theft of service" happened both during and after. And the Rape of Africa continues -- in case you haven't noticed, this time at the hands of the Chinese; while at the same time African Americans are still undergoing the remnants of Racism -- from substandard housing, ecological racism, substandard education; to the lack of job opportunities, racial profiling, prison industrial military programs, etc.
Yet they can't figure out how to repay us. If they can figure out how to wage a war over nothing, they can figure out how to repay us for 400 years. It's quite simple. If they can construct two mega million dollar baseball stadiums in a city that had material complicity in the evisceration of Main Street, while their Wall Street robberymen get away with murder; they can definitely figure out a way to make sure that we receive reparations.
In fact, I'll make it simple:
Give each and every African American who is now living in the U.S. (what is it, 32+ million of us?) $1 million tax free dollars each (upon completion of a post-traumatic slave debriefing, and specific level of education/training for those who have not finished school; and financial literacy for those who have); and one 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house with one car. The reparation can begin now and go over a 10 year period. That, plus the quality education or training program kind of levels the playing field. The tax free angle keeps it from being gobbled up by the system; and the financial education means we learn how to manage our money and make sure we use it wisely and invest it intelligently. Four bedrooms, two bath rooms and a car replaces the 40 acres and a mule. Notice I said each person, not each family. The individual must be of legal age to be eligible (18 years).
It's just that simple. We don't need algorithms; we don't need actuarial scientists; it ain't rocket science folks. And if we stop the stupid war with Iraq, we would most definitely have the money to do that, underwrite the new health laws, as well as put together an educational system that truly EDUCATES all Americans.
But tt's too easy to try to shuffle along and put the blame on the victim; while the victim in turn continues to duck and dodge the issue; and the slave traders' progeny continues to profit from our misery.
I, for one am tired of hearing this. Read Tom Burrell's Brainwashed. That might clarify the amount of propaganda we are subjected to on an ongoing basis. Read Joy Degruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome; how about from **Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin, and Up From Slavery by Lerone Bennet? Study J.A. Rogers "World's Great Men of Color," WEB duBois (anything and everything he writes is golden); Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson. Better yet, read "The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey," the original by Marcus Garvey (not the watered down version). We need to re-educate ourselves. We need to stop allowing them to slide out from under their very real culpability, past and present, that still pervades this country.
African Americans need to wake up and inform themselves. Pull out all those old, original books that were honestly written by Black men and women who lives were on the line, but made it their business to tell the truth.
I don't ever remember there being any signs, placards, books or ads written by Africans in any African language or dialect inviting whites in to come to Africa and buy human Black slaves to take back to America or England to torture, rape, castrate, and hang; do you? I don't remember there ever being any such friendship between the chiefs and the white maurauders -- the chiefs were as likely to be killed as the people they ruled. Don't remember there ever been any floor plans designed by Africans whereby they diagrammed how to lay their people end to end on top of each other so that more of them could fit in the vessel, so in case one of them didn't make it, they could be thrown overboard and still have enough cargo to realize a profit. Do you? If you come across any documentation of the sort, I would certainly like to see it. The slave trade may have used hapless African tribesmen to help do their dirty work, but it was totally and soley initiated and implemented by whites.
And stop trying to make President Obama the scapegoat in this issue. Yes, he has a role to play, but you're not going to dump all this on his shoulders without him having the full weight of the information before him as well. The President is a very intelligent brother. His sense of history runs a lot deeper than a few clippings in a publication that has spent most of its time trying to vilify him and his efforts. Additionally, this takes all of us reading from the same page, so to speak to make it work for all of us.
Frankly, I think it's time to either start Saturday Schools or Sunday Sessions, where we as a people across the nation begin to reacquaint ourselves, our history, our cross cultural similarities (i.e. where did all those boats that shipped us from Africa land, and how are we similar and how are we different).
We need to begin reconnecting our fragmented history now. If we start now, we can have a compendium of ECLECTIC BLACK HISTORY that will debunk the lies and begin the system of communication to get us reunited --Africans/African-American/African-Jamaicans/African-Trinidadians/African-Haitians/African-Caribbeans/African-Brazilians/African-Venezuelans/African-Guyanese/African-Martiniquans/African-St. Lucians/African-Asians, and on and on and on.
There is a healing needed. We have to do it from the inside out. Of course we deserve reparations. We deserve apologies. We deserve all of that and more. But we also have to look at the fact that as a result of the horrors we've endured, we've been the subject of our own self-hatred. As such, we have to forgive ourselves and each other and begin to work together to heal ourselves.
I appreciate Dr. Gates tracing of our various ancestral lines. I think we do need to know where we emanated from. But, given the fact that we were forcefully "bred" during our enslavement, it really doesn't matter in the long run. If we decide on a particular tribe we want to affiliate with in Africa, we should be able to be welcomed into that family source. They can't prove us wrong. If we use what we know to help Africa get back on her feet, we should be welcome regardless of what the tribal underpinnings are (of course I know that many of our brothers and sisters there are a long way away from such considerations; but perhaps this is one of the other focal points we need to be looking at). Neither of us can afford to continue wallowing in our ignorance, allowing others to make pronouncements and decisions for us.
It really does all begin with us. We have to make the first steps. We have to make sure that we are as knowledgeable about who we are as anyone who sets out to define us (white or Black). And if it does not move us forward as a people, we have the responsibility to keep digging. Or decide to redefine ourselves in such a way that it has the maximum benefit for us as ECLECTICALLY BLACK PEOPLE of the World. But we most definitely and assuredly deserve reparations, and no flimsy rationalization of some African involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade mitigates the debt owe us by the miscreants who started it. They benefitted, now we deserve compensation.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 11:13 AM, Judy Burnette wrote:
The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By
April 23, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
Ending the Slavery Blame-Game
by HENRY LOUIS GATES Jr.***
Cambridge, Mass.
THANKS to an unlikely confluence of history and genetics — the fact that he is African-American and president — Barack Obama has a unique opportunity to reshape the debate over one of the most contentious issues of America’s racial legacy: reparations, the idea that the descendants of American slaves should receive compensation for their ancestors’ unpaid labor and bondage.
There are many thorny issues to resolve before we can arrive at a judicious (if symbolic) gesture to match such a sustained, heinous crime. Perhaps the most vexing is how to parcel out blame to those directly involved in the capture and sale of human beings for immense economic gain.
While we are all familiar with the role played by the United States and the European colonial powers like Britain, France, Holland, Portugal and Spain, there is very little discussion of the role Africans themselves played. And that role, it turns out, was a considerable one, especially for the slave-trading kingdoms of western and central Africa. These included the Akan of the kingdom of Asante in what is now Ghana, the Fon of Dahomey (now Benin), the Mbundu of Ndongo in modern Angola and the Kongo of today’s Congo, among several others.
For centuries, Europeans in Africa kept close to their military and trading posts on the coast. Exploration of the interior, home to the bulk of Africans sold into bondage at the height of the slave trade, came only during the colonial conquests, which is why Henry Morton Stanley’s pursuit of Dr. David Livingstone in 1871 made for such compelling press: he was going where no (white) man had gone before.
How did slaves make it to these coastal forts? The historians John Thornton and Linda Heywood of Boston University estimate that 90 percent of those shipped to the New World were enslaved by Africans and then sold to European traders. The sad truth is that without complex business partnerships between African elites and European traders and commercial agents, the slave trade to the New World would have been impossible, at least on the scale it occurred.
Advocates of reparations for the descendants of those slaves generally ignore this untidy problem of the significant role that Africans played in the trade, choosing to believe the romanticized version that our ancestors were all kidnapped unawares by evil white men, like Kunta Kinte was in “Roots.” The truth, however, is much more complex: slavery was a business, highly organized and lucrative for European buyers and African sellers alike.
The African role in the slave trade was fully understood and openly acknowledged by many African-Americans even before the Civil War. For Frederick Douglass, it was an argument against repatriation schemes for the freed slaves. “The savage chiefs of the western coasts of Africa, who for ages have been accustomed to selling their captives into bondage and pocketing the ready cash for them, will not more readily accept our moral and economical ideas than the slave traders of Maryland and Virginia,” he warned. “We are, therefore, less inclined to go to Africa to work against the slave trade than to stay here to work against it.”
To be sure, the African role in the slave trade was greatly reduced after 1807, when abolitionists, first in Britain and then, a year later, in the United States, succeeded in banning the importation of slaves. Meanwhile, slaves continued to be bought and sold within the United States, and slavery as an institution would not be abolished until 1865. But the culpability of American plantation owners neither erases nor supplants that of the African slavers. In recent years, some African leaders have become more comfortable discussing this complicated past than African-Americans tend to be.
In 1999, for instance, President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin astonished an all-black congregation in Baltimore by falling to his knees and begging African-Americans’ forgiveness for the “shameful” and “abominable” role Africans played in the trade. Other African leaders, including Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, followed Mr. Kerekou’s bold example.
Our new understanding of the scope of African involvement in the slave trade is not historical guesswork. Thanks to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, directed by the historian David Eltis of Emory University, we now know the ports from which more than 450,000 of our African ancestors were shipped out to what is now the United States (the database has records of 12.5 million people shipped to all parts of the New World from 1514 to 1866). About 16 percent of United States slaves came from eastern Nigeria, while 24 percent came from the Congo and Angola.
Through the work of Professors Thornton and Heywood, we also know that the victims of the slave trade were predominantly members of as few as 50 ethnic groups. This data, along with the tracing of blacks’ ancestry through DNA tests, is giving us a fuller understanding of the identities of both the victims and the facilitators of the African slave trade.
For many African-Americans, these facts can be difficult to accept. Excuses run the gamut, from “Africans didn’t know how harsh slavery in America was” and “Slavery in Africa was, by comparison, humane” or, in a bizarre version of “The devil made me do it,” “Africans were driven to this only by the unprecedented profits offered by greedy European countries.”
But the sad truth is that the conquest and capture of Africans and their sale to Europeans was one of the main sources of foreign exchange for several African kingdoms for a very long time. Slaves were the main export of the kingdom of Kongo; the Asante Empire in Ghana exported slaves and used the profits to import gold. Queen Njinga, the brilliant 17th-century monarch of the Mbundu, waged wars of resistance against the Portuguese but also conquered polities as far as 500 miles inland and sold her captives to the Portuguese. When Njinga converted to Christianity, she sold African traditional religious leaders into slavery, claiming they had violated her new Christian precepts.
Did these Africans know how harsh slavery was in the New World? Actually, many elite Africans visited Europe in that era, and they did so on slave ships following the prevailing winds through the New World. For example, when Antonio Manuel, Kongo’s ambassador to the Vatican, went to Europe in 1604, he first stopped in Bahia, Brazil, where he arranged to free a countryman who had been wrongfully enslaved.
African monarchs also sent their children along these same slave routes to be educated in Europe. And there were thousands of former slaves who returned to settle Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Middle Passage, in other words, was sometimes a two-way street. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to claim that Africans were ignorant or innocent.
Given this remarkably messy history, the problem with reparations may not be so much whether they are a good idea or deciding who would get them; the larger question just might be from whom they would be extracted.
So how could President Obama untangle the knot? In David Remnick’s new book “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” one of the president’s former students at the University of Chicago comments on Mr. Obama’s mixed feelings about the reparations movement: “He told us what he thought about reparations. He agreed entirely with the theory of reparations. But in practice he didn’t think it was really workable.”
About the practicalities, Professor Obama may have been more right than he knew. Fortunately, in President Obama, the child of an African and an American, we finally have a leader who is uniquely positioned to bridge the great reparations divide. He is uniquely placed to publicly attribute responsibility and culpability where they truly belong, to white people and black people, on both sides of the Atlantic, complicit alike in one of the greatest evils in the history of civilization. And reaching that understanding is a vital precursor to any just and lasting agreement on the divisive issue of slavery reparations.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., a professor at Harvard, is the author of the forthcoming “Faces of America” and “Tradition and the Black Atlantic.”
Gloria Dulan-Wilson (me) is a Black woman, former Black History Educator; Academic Advisor, Writer, Activist and Eclectically Black ###
**I inadvertently attributed these books to the wrong authors. I guess I've been out of the classroom longer than I thought. I will take a dose of my own medicine and re-read these wonderful wealth of Black history and information. GDW
***Henry Louis Gates is know among Black leaders, activists and intellectuals as Henry "skip the truth" Gates. And it appears he lived up to this appellation.
Hello All:
The following is in response to an article emailed to me by a Ms. Burnette that was copied from a New York Times Article featuring Henry Louis Gates. The article appears below. My comments are first. Read the article below first in order to understand where I'm coming from. Thanks, GDW
I grow tired of the "blame the victim" missages (yes, I said "missages", not messages -- because they are miss-leading info) that we get from our erudite, but not always on target brother. Frankly, I like Prof. Gates. But, as far as I'm concerned, he is not the end-all/be-all when it comes to African/American issues. He definitely has a place and a role, but I think we must be vigilant when it starts to sound more like what the whites are saying than the whites.
I do not like the blame the victim trend of thought we seem to be following lately. It's especially onerous when the circumstances of the victim is couched in modern mis-interpretations, deliberately overlooking the victim's lack of sophistication, or understanding of the underlying motivations of a group of predators so skilled in the decimation of whole civilizations for their own rapacious pleasure which is what the invading europeans who hit Africa like the bubonic plague were.
If Africans "had a hand in the slave trade," it was due their lack of understanding of the ramifications of the situation. And the invading whites were good for taking advantage of the innocence, good will and ignorance of the people, and used it against them in so many instances.
Like the American Indians in the US, or the indigenous people "discovered" by Columbus, when a tribe vanquished another tribe, they were first subjugated to ignominious tasks and humiliation by the conquering tribe. Generally, however, they later intermarried into the tribe and they all became one. That was the tradition in Africa, in the Caribbean; in Japan; in China; Saudi Arabia, and so many other FIRST WORLD CULTURES. It was how things were done. Some were "sold" into slavery in the peripheral biblical countries. Some were sent to Rome, Spain, Greece, etc. But most of the African tribes active in the trade were not ever aware of the heinous, hideous, nefarious, evil, sinister, debasing, denigrating (can't say enough bad things about it -- because, truth be told, we are still subjected to the same underlying racism) that whites -- German, French, BRITISH, American (a/k/a British), Spanish, Portuguese and Danish, subjected us to via the trans-Atlantic Slave trade, and chattel slavery.
And don't you dare ever, ever, try to say that Black people had a material hand in the resulting 400 years we endured once we were stolen from the Motherland. (read Stolen Legacy)
Do they owe us? YES!!!!! BIG TIME!!! And they know it. They've been trying to duck that responsibility for quite some time. That's why Lincoln was assassinated. That's howAndrew Johnson became president -- he was a southerner from Tennessee that stood for the status quo, rolling back what Lincoln had done. Rutherford B. Hayes actually sealed the deal in dismantling Lincoln's benevolence.
Fast forward to now, and there is a debate as to whether or not they should do for us what they did for the Japanese and some of the other entities they try to curry favor with. They owe us and they owe Africa - big time. The egregious "theft of service" happened both during and after. And the Rape of Africa continues -- in case you haven't noticed, this time at the hands of the Chinese; while at the same time African Americans are still undergoing the remnants of Racism -- from substandard housing, ecological racism, substandard education; to the lack of job opportunities, racial profiling, prison industrial military programs, etc.
Yet they can't figure out how to repay us. If they can figure out how to wage a war over nothing, they can figure out how to repay us for 400 years. It's quite simple. If they can construct two mega million dollar baseball stadiums in a city that had material complicity in the evisceration of Main Street, while their Wall Street robberymen get away with murder; they can definitely figure out a way to make sure that we receive reparations.
In fact, I'll make it simple:
Give each and every African American who is now living in the U.S. (what is it, 32+ million of us?) $1 million tax free dollars each (upon completion of a post-traumatic slave debriefing, and specific level of education/training for those who have not finished school; and financial literacy for those who have); and one 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house with one car. The reparation can begin now and go over a 10 year period. That, plus the quality education or training program kind of levels the playing field. The tax free angle keeps it from being gobbled up by the system; and the financial education means we learn how to manage our money and make sure we use it wisely and invest it intelligently. Four bedrooms, two bath rooms and a car replaces the 40 acres and a mule. Notice I said each person, not each family. The individual must be of legal age to be eligible (18 years).
It's just that simple. We don't need algorithms; we don't need actuarial scientists; it ain't rocket science folks. And if we stop the stupid war with Iraq, we would most definitely have the money to do that, underwrite the new health laws, as well as put together an educational system that truly EDUCATES all Americans.
But tt's too easy to try to shuffle along and put the blame on the victim; while the victim in turn continues to duck and dodge the issue; and the slave traders' progeny continues to profit from our misery.
I, for one am tired of hearing this. Read Tom Burrell's Brainwashed. That might clarify the amount of propaganda we are subjected to on an ongoing basis. Read Joy Degruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome; how about from **Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin, and Up From Slavery by Lerone Bennet? Study J.A. Rogers "World's Great Men of Color," WEB duBois (anything and everything he writes is golden); Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson. Better yet, read "The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey," the original by Marcus Garvey (not the watered down version). We need to re-educate ourselves. We need to stop allowing them to slide out from under their very real culpability, past and present, that still pervades this country.
African Americans need to wake up and inform themselves. Pull out all those old, original books that were honestly written by Black men and women who lives were on the line, but made it their business to tell the truth.
I don't ever remember there being any signs, placards, books or ads written by Africans in any African language or dialect inviting whites in to come to Africa and buy human Black slaves to take back to America or England to torture, rape, castrate, and hang; do you? I don't remember there ever being any such friendship between the chiefs and the white maurauders -- the chiefs were as likely to be killed as the people they ruled. Don't remember there ever been any floor plans designed by Africans whereby they diagrammed how to lay their people end to end on top of each other so that more of them could fit in the vessel, so in case one of them didn't make it, they could be thrown overboard and still have enough cargo to realize a profit. Do you? If you come across any documentation of the sort, I would certainly like to see it. The slave trade may have used hapless African tribesmen to help do their dirty work, but it was totally and soley initiated and implemented by whites.
And stop trying to make President Obama the scapegoat in this issue. Yes, he has a role to play, but you're not going to dump all this on his shoulders without him having the full weight of the information before him as well. The President is a very intelligent brother. His sense of history runs a lot deeper than a few clippings in a publication that has spent most of its time trying to vilify him and his efforts. Additionally, this takes all of us reading from the same page, so to speak to make it work for all of us.
Frankly, I think it's time to either start Saturday Schools or Sunday Sessions, where we as a people across the nation begin to reacquaint ourselves, our history, our cross cultural similarities (i.e. where did all those boats that shipped us from Africa land, and how are we similar and how are we different).
We need to begin reconnecting our fragmented history now. If we start now, we can have a compendium of ECLECTIC BLACK HISTORY that will debunk the lies and begin the system of communication to get us reunited --Africans/African-American/African-Jamaicans/African-Trinidadians/African-Haitians/African-Caribbeans/African-Brazilians/African-Venezuelans/African-Guyanese/African-Martiniquans/African-St. Lucians/African-Asians, and on and on and on.
There is a healing needed. We have to do it from the inside out. Of course we deserve reparations. We deserve apologies. We deserve all of that and more. But we also have to look at the fact that as a result of the horrors we've endured, we've been the subject of our own self-hatred. As such, we have to forgive ourselves and each other and begin to work together to heal ourselves.
I appreciate Dr. Gates tracing of our various ancestral lines. I think we do need to know where we emanated from. But, given the fact that we were forcefully "bred" during our enslavement, it really doesn't matter in the long run. If we decide on a particular tribe we want to affiliate with in Africa, we should be able to be welcomed into that family source. They can't prove us wrong. If we use what we know to help Africa get back on her feet, we should be welcome regardless of what the tribal underpinnings are (of course I know that many of our brothers and sisters there are a long way away from such considerations; but perhaps this is one of the other focal points we need to be looking at). Neither of us can afford to continue wallowing in our ignorance, allowing others to make pronouncements and decisions for us.
It really does all begin with us. We have to make the first steps. We have to make sure that we are as knowledgeable about who we are as anyone who sets out to define us (white or Black). And if it does not move us forward as a people, we have the responsibility to keep digging. Or decide to redefine ourselves in such a way that it has the maximum benefit for us as ECLECTICALLY BLACK PEOPLE of the World. But we most definitely and assuredly deserve reparations, and no flimsy rationalization of some African involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade mitigates the debt owe us by the miscreants who started it. They benefitted, now we deserve compensation.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 11:13 AM, Judy Burnette
The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By
April 23, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
Ending the Slavery Blame-Game
by HENRY LOUIS GATES Jr.***
Cambridge, Mass.
THANKS to an unlikely confluence of history and genetics — the fact that he is African-American and president — Barack Obama has a unique opportunity to reshape the debate over one of the most contentious issues of America’s racial legacy: reparations, the idea that the descendants of American slaves should receive compensation for their ancestors’ unpaid labor and bondage.
There are many thorny issues to resolve before we can arrive at a judicious (if symbolic) gesture to match such a sustained, heinous crime. Perhaps the most vexing is how to parcel out blame to those directly involved in the capture and sale of human beings for immense economic gain.
While we are all familiar with the role played by the United States and the European colonial powers like Britain, France, Holland, Portugal and Spain, there is very little discussion of the role Africans themselves played. And that role, it turns out, was a considerable one, especially for the slave-trading kingdoms of western and central Africa. These included the Akan of the kingdom of Asante in what is now Ghana, the Fon of Dahomey (now Benin), the Mbundu of Ndongo in modern Angola and the Kongo of today’s Congo, among several others.
For centuries, Europeans in Africa kept close to their military and trading posts on the coast. Exploration of the interior, home to the bulk of Africans sold into bondage at the height of the slave trade, came only during the colonial conquests, which is why Henry Morton Stanley’s pursuit of Dr. David Livingstone in 1871 made for such compelling press: he was going where no (white) man had gone before.
How did slaves make it to these coastal forts? The historians John Thornton and Linda Heywood of Boston University estimate that 90 percent of those shipped to the New World were enslaved by Africans and then sold to European traders. The sad truth is that without complex business partnerships between African elites and European traders and commercial agents, the slave trade to the New World would have been impossible, at least on the scale it occurred.
Advocates of reparations for the descendants of those slaves generally ignore this untidy problem of the significant role that Africans played in the trade, choosing to believe the romanticized version that our ancestors were all kidnapped unawares by evil white men, like Kunta Kinte was in “Roots.” The truth, however, is much more complex: slavery was a business, highly organized and lucrative for European buyers and African sellers alike.
The African role in the slave trade was fully understood and openly acknowledged by many African-Americans even before the Civil War. For Frederick Douglass, it was an argument against repatriation schemes for the freed slaves. “The savage chiefs of the western coasts of Africa, who for ages have been accustomed to selling their captives into bondage and pocketing the ready cash for them, will not more readily accept our moral and economical ideas than the slave traders of Maryland and Virginia,” he warned. “We are, therefore, less inclined to go to Africa to work against the slave trade than to stay here to work against it.”
To be sure, the African role in the slave trade was greatly reduced after 1807, when abolitionists, first in Britain and then, a year later, in the United States, succeeded in banning the importation of slaves. Meanwhile, slaves continued to be bought and sold within the United States, and slavery as an institution would not be abolished until 1865. But the culpability of American plantation owners neither erases nor supplants that of the African slavers. In recent years, some African leaders have become more comfortable discussing this complicated past than African-Americans tend to be.
In 1999, for instance, President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin astonished an all-black congregation in Baltimore by falling to his knees and begging African-Americans’ forgiveness for the “shameful” and “abominable” role Africans played in the trade. Other African leaders, including Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, followed Mr. Kerekou’s bold example.
Our new understanding of the scope of African involvement in the slave trade is not historical guesswork. Thanks to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, directed by the historian David Eltis of Emory University, we now know the ports from which more than 450,000 of our African ancestors were shipped out to what is now the United States (the database has records of 12.5 million people shipped to all parts of the New World from 1514 to 1866). About 16 percent of United States slaves came from eastern Nigeria, while 24 percent came from the Congo and Angola.
Through the work of Professors Thornton and Heywood, we also know that the victims of the slave trade were predominantly members of as few as 50 ethnic groups. This data, along with the tracing of blacks’ ancestry through DNA tests, is giving us a fuller understanding of the identities of both the victims and the facilitators of the African slave trade.
For many African-Americans, these facts can be difficult to accept. Excuses run the gamut, from “Africans didn’t know how harsh slavery in America was” and “Slavery in Africa was, by comparison, humane” or, in a bizarre version of “The devil made me do it,” “Africans were driven to this only by the unprecedented profits offered by greedy European countries.”
But the sad truth is that the conquest and capture of Africans and their sale to Europeans was one of the main sources of foreign exchange for several African kingdoms for a very long time. Slaves were the main export of the kingdom of Kongo; the Asante Empire in Ghana exported slaves and used the profits to import gold. Queen Njinga, the brilliant 17th-century monarch of the Mbundu, waged wars of resistance against the Portuguese but also conquered polities as far as 500 miles inland and sold her captives to the Portuguese. When Njinga converted to Christianity, she sold African traditional religious leaders into slavery, claiming they had violated her new Christian precepts.
Did these Africans know how harsh slavery was in the New World? Actually, many elite Africans visited Europe in that era, and they did so on slave ships following the prevailing winds through the New World. For example, when Antonio Manuel, Kongo’s ambassador to the Vatican, went to Europe in 1604, he first stopped in Bahia, Brazil, where he arranged to free a countryman who had been wrongfully enslaved.
African monarchs also sent their children along these same slave routes to be educated in Europe. And there were thousands of former slaves who returned to settle Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Middle Passage, in other words, was sometimes a two-way street. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to claim that Africans were ignorant or innocent.
Given this remarkably messy history, the problem with reparations may not be so much whether they are a good idea or deciding who would get them; the larger question just might be from whom they would be extracted.
So how could President Obama untangle the knot? In David Remnick’s new book “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” one of the president’s former students at the University of Chicago comments on Mr. Obama’s mixed feelings about the reparations movement: “He told us what he thought about reparations. He agreed entirely with the theory of reparations. But in practice he didn’t think it was really workable.”
About the practicalities, Professor Obama may have been more right than he knew. Fortunately, in President Obama, the child of an African and an American, we finally have a leader who is uniquely positioned to bridge the great reparations divide. He is uniquely placed to publicly attribute responsibility and culpability where they truly belong, to white people and black people, on both sides of the Atlantic, complicit alike in one of the greatest evils in the history of civilization. And reaching that understanding is a vital precursor to any just and lasting agreement on the divisive issue of slavery reparations.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., a professor at Harvard, is the author of the forthcoming “Faces of America” and “Tradition and the Black Atlantic.”
Gloria Dulan-Wilson (me) is a Black woman, former Black History Educator; Academic Advisor, Writer, Activist and Eclectically Black ###
**I inadvertently attributed these books to the wrong authors. I guess I've been out of the classroom longer than I thought. I will take a dose of my own medicine and re-read these wonderful wealth of Black history and information. GDW
4.26.2010
EVENT ALERT, EVENT ALERT, EVENT ALERT
BY Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Trying to keep up with all the activities we are involved in or generate is a science unto itself. There are always overlaps -- especially in the Metropolitan New York Area, but I'm going to give it a good try. I will post them under the appropriate dates as they come up, so those dates don't mean nothing is going on, it means that I have so much stuff I have to pare it down in order to include it. If you have significant programs that you would like to alert the ECLECTICALLY BLACK COMMUNITY to and you want me to post it, please feel free to send it to me at gloriadulanwilson@gmail.com, and I will do my best to get it in in time.
Thanks and Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Thursday, April 29
1. Move On Organization is putting together Massive Rally on Wall Street, along with allies across the progressive movements to send a clear message to the big banks and politicians who are in their pockets, that “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any more! The key to the success of this rally is that we all participate, regardless of what other groups we may be a part of. We have to show up and show out. “If enough of us come out we’ll make it crystal clear that any politician who sides with the big banks and Wall Street over American families - hence, New Yorkers - is going to face serious consequences at home.
Here are the details:
What: Showdown on Wall Street.
When: The rally starts at 4:00 p.m. and we'll begin marching on Wall Street around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, 2010.
Where: Start at City Hall, 1 Centre Street, New York, NY, 10007. Map.
Wall Street's reckless behavior cost our economy 7 million jobs and more than $700 billion in bailouts. But while American families suffered, Wall Street executives and bankers got rich.
2. District Leader Olanike Alabi and the 57th Assembly District Democratic Organization will host a community forum on "WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY COURT?" Also, please note that the second part of the meeting will be a special presentation by Greg Floyd, President of Teamsters Local 237 and Kyle Bragg, Vice-President at SEIU 32BJ. Thursday, April 29, 2010 Teen Challenge Center 6pm 444 Clinton Ave. Bklyn, NY
3. Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium Jazz Hall of Fame Induction
2010 Brooklyn Jazz Induction and Ceremony Awards
Brooklyn Historical Society -- 29 Pierrepoint Ave (at Clinton) -- 718-773-2252 or info@cbjcjazz.org
Friday, April 30
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800/(800) 836-3006; natblack.info@gmail.com Doors Open at 7:00; performance at 8:00 (Sundays at 3:00). I am making a personal endorsement of this play. If you are not familiar with traditional African Spiritual Dieties, this is a perfect time to tune in to your personal Orisha (diety). New York City was one of the major spiritual centers of the Yoruba religions “back in the day” and there are still a lot of individuals who are involved in Traditional African Spiritual Practices. It’s one of the richest traditions we have, which has spread throughout Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and parts of the US. Take your family to see this performance, and kudos to David Wright and the Cast.
Saturday, May1
LEGENDS REUNION '10 The Annual Old School Award Party, Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Campinellos, 136 W. 31st St. (Bet, 6th & 7th Ave.) Featuring Steve Cromity & Trio acorns4u@aol.com, www.stevecromity.com 2010 awardees: Jimmy Monk, Jim Capers, & Diane Manago Semi-formal Attire; tix $40; Light Buffet; Advanced Sales only, no cash at door Contact Rich Washington (646) 220-9051 Or (917) 685-3508
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800.
Sunday, May 2
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800.
Monday, May 3
Tuesday, May 4
The Riverside Theatre, Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre, and Walk Tall Girl Productions present the New York Premiere of THROUGH THE NIGHT. Written and Performed by Obie Award-winner Daniel Beaty; Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. Limited Engagement: May 4 – May 23, 2010 at The Riverside Theatre 91 Claremont Avenue (One block west of Broadway at 120th Street)
Bill Cosby, Malik Yoba, Hill Harper, Sonia Sanchez and Ruby Dee set to participate in community dialogues following specific performances.
Tickets for all performances are $20 general admission; students/seniors and groups of 10 or more $15. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theriversidetheatre.org, by phone at 212.870.6784, or in person at the Theater box office (Thursday-Saturday 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Sunday noon – 4:00 p.m.).
Wednesday, May 5
Thursday, May 6
Friday, May 7
Oprah Winfrey’s Live Your Best Life Weekend, May 7-9, 2010, in New York City.
Celebrate O's 10th anniversary in New York City! Find out all the details here: REGISTRATION CUSTOMER SUPPORT: help@lybl2010.com HELPLINE: 1-888-638-8685 Live Your Best Life Weekend events will be held in various locations:
Friday Welcome Reception at Gotham Hall, 1356 Broadway (@ 36th St), New York, NY 10018
Saturday Lifeshops at Jacob Javits Convention Center, 11th Avenue and 36th Street, New York, NY 10001.
Saturday Night at Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas (between 50th St & 51st Streets), New York, NY 10020
Sunday Live Your Best Life Walk, The walk will begin on the scenic Hudson River, at the Intrepid, and will culminate in the heart of New York City, at Times Square
Oprah Winfrey will be hosting multiple portions of the weekend's festivities. She will kick off the Saturday Lifeshops event at the Javits Convention Center, host the Saturday evening performance at Radio City Music Hall and lead the Charity Walk.
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800
Saturday, May 8
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800
Sunday, May 9
(1) MOTHER’S DAY! MOTHER’S DAY! MOTHER’S DAY! MOTHER’S DAY!
(2) Oprah’s Marathon (did any of you sign up for this? See May 7)
(3) Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800
MAY 16, JUNE 13 Steve Cromity Next performance Dates @ "TWO STEPS DOWN":
Trying to keep up with all the activities we are involved in or generate is a science unto itself. There are always overlaps -- especially in the Metropolitan New York Area, but I'm going to give it a good try. I will post them under the appropriate dates as they come up, so those dates don't mean nothing is going on, it means that I have so much stuff I have to pare it down in order to include it. If you have significant programs that you would like to alert the ECLECTICALLY BLACK COMMUNITY to and you want me to post it, please feel free to send it to me at gloriadulanwilson@gmail.com, and I will do my best to get it in in time.
Thanks and Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Thursday, April 29
1. Move On Organization is putting together Massive Rally on Wall Street, along with allies across the progressive movements to send a clear message to the big banks and politicians who are in their pockets, that “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any more! The key to the success of this rally is that we all participate, regardless of what other groups we may be a part of. We have to show up and show out. “If enough of us come out we’ll make it crystal clear that any politician who sides with the big banks and Wall Street over American families - hence, New Yorkers - is going to face serious consequences at home.
Here are the details:
What: Showdown on Wall Street.
When: The rally starts at 4:00 p.m. and we'll begin marching on Wall Street around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, 2010.
Where: Start at City Hall, 1 Centre Street, New York, NY, 10007. Map.
Wall Street's reckless behavior cost our economy 7 million jobs and more than $700 billion in bailouts. But while American families suffered, Wall Street executives and bankers got rich.
2. District Leader Olanike Alabi and the 57th Assembly District Democratic Organization will host a community forum on "WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY COURT?" Also, please note that the second part of the meeting will be a special presentation by Greg Floyd, President of Teamsters Local 237 and Kyle Bragg, Vice-President at SEIU 32BJ. Thursday, April 29, 2010 Teen Challenge Center 6pm 444 Clinton Ave. Bklyn, NY
3. Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium Jazz Hall of Fame Induction
2010 Brooklyn Jazz Induction and Ceremony Awards
Brooklyn Historical Society -- 29 Pierrepoint Ave (at Clinton) -- 718-773-2252 or info@cbjcjazz.org
Friday, April 30
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800/(800) 836-3006; natblack.info@gmail.com Doors Open at 7:00; performance at 8:00 (Sundays at 3:00). I am making a personal endorsement of this play. If you are not familiar with traditional African Spiritual Dieties, this is a perfect time to tune in to your personal Orisha (diety). New York City was one of the major spiritual centers of the Yoruba religions “back in the day” and there are still a lot of individuals who are involved in Traditional African Spiritual Practices. It’s one of the richest traditions we have, which has spread throughout Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and parts of the US. Take your family to see this performance, and kudos to David Wright and the Cast.
Saturday, May1
LEGENDS REUNION '10 The Annual Old School Award Party, Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Campinellos, 136 W. 31st St. (Bet, 6th & 7th Ave.) Featuring Steve Cromity & Trio acorns4u@aol.com, www.stevecromity.com 2010 awardees: Jimmy Monk, Jim Capers, & Diane Manago Semi-formal Attire; tix $40; Light Buffet; Advanced Sales only, no cash at door Contact Rich Washington (646) 220-9051 Or (917) 685-3508
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800.
Sunday, May 2
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800.
Monday, May 3
Tuesday, May 4
The Riverside Theatre, Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre, and Walk Tall Girl Productions present the New York Premiere of THROUGH THE NIGHT. Written and Performed by Obie Award-winner Daniel Beaty; Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. Limited Engagement: May 4 – May 23, 2010 at The Riverside Theatre 91 Claremont Avenue (One block west of Broadway at 120th Street)
Bill Cosby, Malik Yoba, Hill Harper, Sonia Sanchez and Ruby Dee set to participate in community dialogues following specific performances.
Tickets for all performances are $20 general admission; students/seniors and groups of 10 or more $15. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theriversidetheatre.org, by phone at 212.870.6784, or in person at the Theater box office (Thursday-Saturday 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Sunday noon – 4:00 p.m.).
Wednesday, May 5
Thursday, May 6
Friday, May 7
Oprah Winfrey’s Live Your Best Life Weekend, May 7-9, 2010, in New York City.
Celebrate O's 10th anniversary in New York City! Find out all the details here: REGISTRATION CUSTOMER SUPPORT: help@lybl2010.com HELPLINE: 1-888-638-8685 Live Your Best Life Weekend events will be held in various locations:
Friday Welcome Reception at Gotham Hall, 1356 Broadway (@ 36th St), New York, NY 10018
Saturday Lifeshops at Jacob Javits Convention Center, 11th Avenue and 36th Street, New York, NY 10001.
Saturday Night at Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas (between 50th St & 51st Streets), New York, NY 10020
Sunday Live Your Best Life Walk, The walk will begin on the scenic Hudson River, at the Intrepid, and will culminate in the heart of New York City, at Times Square
Oprah Winfrey will be hosting multiple portions of the weekend's festivities. She will kick off the Saturday Lifeshops event at the Javits Convention Center, host the Saturday evening performance at Radio City Music Hall and lead the Charity Walk.
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800
Saturday, May 8
Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800
Sunday, May 9
(1) MOTHER’S DAY! MOTHER’S DAY! MOTHER’S DAY! MOTHER’S DAY!
(2) Oprah’s Marathon (did any of you sign up for this? See May 7)
(3) Oshun (Yoruba Goddess of Love) by David Wright at the National Black Theatre April 12 through May 9, 2010. 2031 Fifth Avenue, between 125th and 126th Streets. (212) 722-3800
MAY 16, JUNE 13 Steve Cromity Next performance Dates @ "TWO STEPS DOWN":
4.21.2010
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, On Loan From the Angels, Has Returned Home
by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Three weeks ago at the Medgar Evers College's Black Writers’ Conference Award Ceremonies, Susan Taylor, who was serving as hostess, made the announcement that Dr. Dorothy I. Height had been admitted to the hospital, “near death." According to Taylor, knowing she could leave at any time, Dr. Height had called Taylor and other prominent, avant guarde Black women to her side to discuss the carrying forward of her mission. "Everyone, please pray for Dr. Height,” Susan concluded, in that gentle, whispery way of talking she has (makes you lean in and pay attention to what she's saying). The following day all the newspapers, national and local, had prematurely headlined Dr. Height's death.
Being an Aries, I kind of knew that Dr. Height, also an Aries, was not going to go that easily. She was definitely going to try to make sure that things were in order, and in the right hands first, before she made her transition. She was not going to leave this plane of action all willy-nilly, no matter what the doctors or newspapers were saying. She was sent here on a mission, and she was definitely going to make sure that it had been accomplished. In other words, like Mark Twain, at that time, the news of her death had been greatly exaggerated; and she held every one at bay, telling them to keep her seat warm in Heaven, while she capped everything off. (again, it's my Aries ego, sorry - not))
Realizing, however, that Dr. Height was in her 90’s, I knew it really could be a matter of time before she might make her transition. Susan Taylor’s announcement started my consciousness circling back to days when Dr. Height was very much active and involved in the community; out and about, and in better physical condition. So, while I, along with the rest of the audience prayed for her complete recovery (or safe transition), I also silently thanked God for having known and had the blessing of briefly interacting with her.
When it comes to Dr. Height, I have always had her on a pedestal since childhood. As kids in Oklahoma we were required to know about all Black people who had done, or were doing anything positive and significant for us. Dr. Height and the National Council of Negro Women was pretty close to the top, along with Eleanor Holmes Norton, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisolm, Marion Anderson, Lena Horne, Constance Baker Motley, and others, who made up the pantheon of powerful Black women.
Dr. Height is an inspiration to me of what a Black woman (any woman for that matter) can be and do when she is working from the optimum of her spiritual, intellectual, mental, and physical capacity.
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, is indeed an amazing and phenomenal woman. I am so proud to have known her, and prouder still that we are both proud members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, which gave me the privilege of getting and receiving a “Delta embrace” from her whenever were in the same event or vicinity (okay, I used "proud" three times in the same paragraph - I'll try to restrain myself).
She is exemplary of a woman who loves her people so much, she devoted her considerable intelligence, creativity, time, talent, energy to whatever project there was that was doing the same thing. The NCNW is still viable because of the 40 years of unbroken leadership, and because she selected a successor who would be as devoted to the progress of the organization as she was.
Whenever I would see Dr. Height at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which she attended every year, practically from its inception, I would go over and compliment her on her beautiful hat, and she would likewise compliment me on mine (we both loved and maintain a fairly large collection of elegant hats). I thought I was walking in “high cotton” just to be able to get that close to this wonderful icon. She was always so pleasant, placid and poised. And as a Delta I always felt I had bragging rights just to be in the same sorority with someone of her personage and stature. Wow!!
But it took three Black men to rachet it up a notch and make it possible for me to know Dr. Height in a way I never imagined possible. And it’s also to show you how God works when he intends to do something for your good. The three men are, in their own right, Icons in my book. Each has distinguished himself in some way in his field. They actually had come together to do good for the community as a result of having benefited from their own efforts.
These three brothers* were the great Don King, Boxing Impresario and expert on the US Constitution; Samuel Brown, founder and Executive Director of Our Children’s Foundation (OCF), the best after school educational program - ever! And none other that Mike Tyson, World Boxing Heavy Weight Champion! *(For those who are not from the real school, "brothers" is another word for Black men).
Now, for those of you who are familiar with Our Children’s Foundation, you already know the story, so I know you’re saying, “Oh yeah, that’s right - I forgot.” To the sports writers who thought they were coming to a sports gathering and found that it was “just an old lady and some kids with the champ”, and so, were disappointed, you missed the opportunity to be in the presence of greatness, the aura African American divadom (diva is not about age, it's about quality).
Now how, you may ask, did these three Black men introduce me to Dr. Height? First of all, Sam Brown, founder of Our Children’s Foundation, has been in the forefront of providing unique opportunities for Black youth to know and interact with contemporary Black s/heroes for over 40 years. As a result he established the Children’s Hero Award, and allowed the children of Our Children’s Foundation to present awards to people they felt had been instrumental in doing great and positive things for the Black community. The award had nothing to do with politics or fame; it had to do with what the recipient had done for the youth in the community.
Don King, on the other hand, was still managing Mike Tyson at the time; and was trying to teach the champ to give something back to the community. As a result, each time Mike Tyson won a fight, he would donate 10% (tithe) to charitable organizations. Our Children’s Foundation happened to have been one of Don King’s favorite organizations because of the work they did with youth. It also happened that it coincided with the Children’s Hero Award that OCF was giving to Dr. Dorothy Height.
Normally, the Children's Hero Award event would have been held at OCF’s headquarters in Harlem; but, because of the magnitude of the situation, it was held in mid-town Manhattan. I was invited by Sam Brown to cover the event. It would be the second time I had met Mr. King (the first was on a boat ride fundraiser that 100 Black Men used to give). I had the pleasure and privilege of being in the green room when Dr. Height arrived. I had had the opportunity to talk to Mike Tyson, who very excited and acted like a big overgrown kid around Dr. Height.
He had been reading her bio, and absolutely loved her. When he found out that one of the organizations that was benefiting from his winnings - in addition to OCF - was National Council of Negro Women, he insisted on presenting it himself (the kids were supposed to make the presentation). She was like the grandmother he never had. It took several reminders to kind of calm him down.
I, myself, got so tickled because the papparazzi would have had a field day had they been able to see the champ, “I-KNOCK-PEOPLE-OUT-TYSON" become putty in the hands of this gracious woman. And, since to them it wasn't headline sport because Tyson and King absolutely refused to talk about anything education or youth (despite the baiting of the press "Who you gonna go up again next time, Champ?) - they blew it. I from the Daily Challenge, and Howie Evens of the Amsterdam News, on the other hand, had the exclusive.
Mike Tyson and Don King surprised Dr. Height with a specially made electronic wheel chair when they found out that she was having difficulty walking. Mike could not wait for her to try it out. In fact, he fairly insisted that she try it out right away. And when she did, and gave him that smile, he was like a little kid who had just received a cookie and a hug from his grandmother.
When I asked Dr. Height how she felt about the adulation she was receiving from Iron Mike Tyson, heavy weight champion of the world. She laughed and responded “I appreciate his energy. He’s basically a good kid that needs love and guidance like everybody else.”
OCF Executive Director, Sam Brown, who is 90% disciplinarian, kept walking Mike back to his seat, but had an amused look on his face as he began to realize how much Tyson really liked Dr. Height. When Tyson made the presentation of his check to Our Children’s Foundation, he likewise made a presentation to Dr. Height. However, he stated, “I wish it was bigger, but I have to give to other charities too. Next time, Dr. Height, I promise it will be bigger.” With that, he hugged her again.
The unfortunate truth is that next time never came -- due to circumstances outside the purview of either the individuals. Other boxing interests came between Don King and Mike Tyson, causing a split in their relationship. A bogus charge of insurance fraud was brought against Don King. Our Children’s Foundation, however, continues to provide excellent guidance and service to the community.
Since the subsequent boxing matches were under a new management house, there was no urging on their part for Mike to give back to the community -- so both Our Children’s Foundation and Dr. Height, as well as the National Homework Program lost Mike as a benefactor. But Dr. Height never saw it as a problem or drawback. “The National Council of Negro Women has always been a self contained, self sufficient organization. We truly appreciate any contributions we receive, but we also will work to generate our own sources,” was her response to my question about continued interfacing with Mike Tyson. However, each time Mike fought, I thought, what a loss for him as well as the organizations he helped support.
On the up side, however, those three men made it possible for me to be in the presence of the greatness of Dr. Dorothy I. Height. A few years ago, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (A Phi A), held a luncheon in honor of Dr. Height’s birthday at a hotel out in the middle of Long Island -- I know nothing about Long Island, so don’t ask me.
At that time they were coming together to celebrate what they thought was her 100th birthday. It was a bitter cold day in March, and many of us debated whether it even made sense hold on such a cold day. Accolades on top of accolades were offered in her behalf. It turned out that she would not make it up from DC for the luncheon, because it was entirely too cold for her to be out. She was actually trying to make it, but her doctor stopped her. But when she also made it known that she had not yet reached 100, but was “only” 95, we realized that Dr. Height had not lost her sense of humor; and that she was as much respected by Black men as she was by Black women.
You cannot attend a family reunion without appreciating the Black Family Reunion founded to heal the disparities many Black families still face in a post-traumatic slave syndrome world.
Dr. Height’s life is a blue print in many ways for Black women who aspire to make a contribution to their community. She was graceful, articulate, intelligent, compassionate, humanitarian, business minded as well as philanthropic. She had an amazing sense of history and a deep abiding love for her people. She could interact with people from all stations in life because she had long ago learned that we really all gradations of the same theme -- the way the Great Spirit intended us to be.
I truly salute and revere this wonderful powerful genteel sister. I celebrate knowing her; and I congratulate the many Black men and women who interacted with her on a regular basis, for having the blessing of her wisdom rubbing off on them.
Dr. Dorothy I. Height, another Angel who’s returned to your rightful place in the African S/Hero Pantheon, Gentleman that he is, Dr. Ben Hooks is graciously holding the door open for you. My deep appreciation your faith, your blessing us; and for loving us so much that you stayed with us for nearly a century trying to help us get it right.
Thank you for your life, spirit and inspiration.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
TTBOD.
Three weeks ago at the Medgar Evers College's Black Writers’ Conference Award Ceremonies, Susan Taylor, who was serving as hostess, made the announcement that Dr. Dorothy I. Height had been admitted to the hospital, “near death." According to Taylor, knowing she could leave at any time, Dr. Height had called Taylor and other prominent, avant guarde Black women to her side to discuss the carrying forward of her mission. "Everyone, please pray for Dr. Height,” Susan concluded, in that gentle, whispery way of talking she has (makes you lean in and pay attention to what she's saying). The following day all the newspapers, national and local, had prematurely headlined Dr. Height's death.
Being an Aries, I kind of knew that Dr. Height, also an Aries, was not going to go that easily. She was definitely going to try to make sure that things were in order, and in the right hands first, before she made her transition. She was not going to leave this plane of action all willy-nilly, no matter what the doctors or newspapers were saying. She was sent here on a mission, and she was definitely going to make sure that it had been accomplished. In other words, like Mark Twain, at that time, the news of her death had been greatly exaggerated; and she held every one at bay, telling them to keep her seat warm in Heaven, while she capped everything off. (again, it's my Aries ego, sorry - not))
Realizing, however, that Dr. Height was in her 90’s, I knew it really could be a matter of time before she might make her transition. Susan Taylor’s announcement started my consciousness circling back to days when Dr. Height was very much active and involved in the community; out and about, and in better physical condition. So, while I, along with the rest of the audience prayed for her complete recovery (or safe transition), I also silently thanked God for having known and had the blessing of briefly interacting with her.
When it comes to Dr. Height, I have always had her on a pedestal since childhood. As kids in Oklahoma we were required to know about all Black people who had done, or were doing anything positive and significant for us. Dr. Height and the National Council of Negro Women was pretty close to the top, along with Eleanor Holmes Norton, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisolm, Marion Anderson, Lena Horne, Constance Baker Motley, and others, who made up the pantheon of powerful Black women.
Dr. Height is an inspiration to me of what a Black woman (any woman for that matter) can be and do when she is working from the optimum of her spiritual, intellectual, mental, and physical capacity.
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, is indeed an amazing and phenomenal woman. I am so proud to have known her, and prouder still that we are both proud members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, which gave me the privilege of getting and receiving a “Delta embrace” from her whenever were in the same event or vicinity (okay, I used "proud" three times in the same paragraph - I'll try to restrain myself).
She is exemplary of a woman who loves her people so much, she devoted her considerable intelligence, creativity, time, talent, energy to whatever project there was that was doing the same thing. The NCNW is still viable because of the 40 years of unbroken leadership, and because she selected a successor who would be as devoted to the progress of the organization as she was.
Whenever I would see Dr. Height at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which she attended every year, practically from its inception, I would go over and compliment her on her beautiful hat, and she would likewise compliment me on mine (we both loved and maintain a fairly large collection of elegant hats). I thought I was walking in “high cotton” just to be able to get that close to this wonderful icon. She was always so pleasant, placid and poised. And as a Delta I always felt I had bragging rights just to be in the same sorority with someone of her personage and stature. Wow!!
But it took three Black men to rachet it up a notch and make it possible for me to know Dr. Height in a way I never imagined possible. And it’s also to show you how God works when he intends to do something for your good. The three men are, in their own right, Icons in my book. Each has distinguished himself in some way in his field. They actually had come together to do good for the community as a result of having benefited from their own efforts.
These three brothers* were the great Don King, Boxing Impresario and expert on the US Constitution; Samuel Brown, founder and Executive Director of Our Children’s Foundation (OCF), the best after school educational program - ever! And none other that Mike Tyson, World Boxing Heavy Weight Champion! *(For those who are not from the real school, "brothers" is another word for Black men).
Now, for those of you who are familiar with Our Children’s Foundation, you already know the story, so I know you’re saying, “Oh yeah, that’s right - I forgot.” To the sports writers who thought they were coming to a sports gathering and found that it was “just an old lady and some kids with the champ”, and so, were disappointed, you missed the opportunity to be in the presence of greatness, the aura African American divadom (diva is not about age, it's about quality).
Now how, you may ask, did these three Black men introduce me to Dr. Height? First of all, Sam Brown, founder of Our Children’s Foundation, has been in the forefront of providing unique opportunities for Black youth to know and interact with contemporary Black s/heroes for over 40 years. As a result he established the Children’s Hero Award, and allowed the children of Our Children’s Foundation to present awards to people they felt had been instrumental in doing great and positive things for the Black community. The award had nothing to do with politics or fame; it had to do with what the recipient had done for the youth in the community.
Don King, on the other hand, was still managing Mike Tyson at the time; and was trying to teach the champ to give something back to the community. As a result, each time Mike Tyson won a fight, he would donate 10% (tithe) to charitable organizations. Our Children’s Foundation happened to have been one of Don King’s favorite organizations because of the work they did with youth. It also happened that it coincided with the Children’s Hero Award that OCF was giving to Dr. Dorothy Height.
Normally, the Children's Hero Award event would have been held at OCF’s headquarters in Harlem; but, because of the magnitude of the situation, it was held in mid-town Manhattan. I was invited by Sam Brown to cover the event. It would be the second time I had met Mr. King (the first was on a boat ride fundraiser that 100 Black Men used to give). I had the pleasure and privilege of being in the green room when Dr. Height arrived. I had had the opportunity to talk to Mike Tyson, who very excited and acted like a big overgrown kid around Dr. Height.
He had been reading her bio, and absolutely loved her. When he found out that one of the organizations that was benefiting from his winnings - in addition to OCF - was National Council of Negro Women, he insisted on presenting it himself (the kids were supposed to make the presentation). She was like the grandmother he never had. It took several reminders to kind of calm him down.
I, myself, got so tickled because the papparazzi would have had a field day had they been able to see the champ, “I-KNOCK-PEOPLE-OUT-TYSON" become putty in the hands of this gracious woman. And, since to them it wasn't headline sport because Tyson and King absolutely refused to talk about anything education or youth (despite the baiting of the press "Who you gonna go up again next time, Champ?) - they blew it. I from the Daily Challenge, and Howie Evens of the Amsterdam News, on the other hand, had the exclusive.
Mike Tyson and Don King surprised Dr. Height with a specially made electronic wheel chair when they found out that she was having difficulty walking. Mike could not wait for her to try it out. In fact, he fairly insisted that she try it out right away. And when she did, and gave him that smile, he was like a little kid who had just received a cookie and a hug from his grandmother.
When I asked Dr. Height how she felt about the adulation she was receiving from Iron Mike Tyson, heavy weight champion of the world. She laughed and responded “I appreciate his energy. He’s basically a good kid that needs love and guidance like everybody else.”
OCF Executive Director, Sam Brown, who is 90% disciplinarian, kept walking Mike back to his seat, but had an amused look on his face as he began to realize how much Tyson really liked Dr. Height. When Tyson made the presentation of his check to Our Children’s Foundation, he likewise made a presentation to Dr. Height. However, he stated, “I wish it was bigger, but I have to give to other charities too. Next time, Dr. Height, I promise it will be bigger.” With that, he hugged her again.
The unfortunate truth is that next time never came -- due to circumstances outside the purview of either the individuals. Other boxing interests came between Don King and Mike Tyson, causing a split in their relationship. A bogus charge of insurance fraud was brought against Don King. Our Children’s Foundation, however, continues to provide excellent guidance and service to the community.
Since the subsequent boxing matches were under a new management house, there was no urging on their part for Mike to give back to the community -- so both Our Children’s Foundation and Dr. Height, as well as the National Homework Program lost Mike as a benefactor. But Dr. Height never saw it as a problem or drawback. “The National Council of Negro Women has always been a self contained, self sufficient organization. We truly appreciate any contributions we receive, but we also will work to generate our own sources,” was her response to my question about continued interfacing with Mike Tyson. However, each time Mike fought, I thought, what a loss for him as well as the organizations he helped support.
On the up side, however, those three men made it possible for me to be in the presence of the greatness of Dr. Dorothy I. Height. A few years ago, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (A Phi A), held a luncheon in honor of Dr. Height’s birthday at a hotel out in the middle of Long Island -- I know nothing about Long Island, so don’t ask me.
At that time they were coming together to celebrate what they thought was her 100th birthday. It was a bitter cold day in March, and many of us debated whether it even made sense hold on such a cold day. Accolades on top of accolades were offered in her behalf. It turned out that she would not make it up from DC for the luncheon, because it was entirely too cold for her to be out. She was actually trying to make it, but her doctor stopped her. But when she also made it known that she had not yet reached 100, but was “only” 95, we realized that Dr. Height had not lost her sense of humor; and that she was as much respected by Black men as she was by Black women.
You cannot attend a family reunion without appreciating the Black Family Reunion founded to heal the disparities many Black families still face in a post-traumatic slave syndrome world.
Dr. Height’s life is a blue print in many ways for Black women who aspire to make a contribution to their community. She was graceful, articulate, intelligent, compassionate, humanitarian, business minded as well as philanthropic. She had an amazing sense of history and a deep abiding love for her people. She could interact with people from all stations in life because she had long ago learned that we really all gradations of the same theme -- the way the Great Spirit intended us to be.
I truly salute and revere this wonderful powerful genteel sister. I celebrate knowing her; and I congratulate the many Black men and women who interacted with her on a regular basis, for having the blessing of her wisdom rubbing off on them.
Dr. Dorothy I. Height, another Angel who’s returned to your rightful place in the African S/Hero Pantheon, Gentleman that he is, Dr. Ben Hooks is graciously holding the door open for you. My deep appreciation your faith, your blessing us; and for loving us so much that you stayed with us for nearly a century trying to help us get it right.
Thank you for your life, spirit and inspiration.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
TTBOD.
4.20.2010
OWED TO SHIRL: Dedicated to Shirley Tanner Wilson
by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
This is one of the hardest pieces I've had to write in some time. But then I’ve never had a sister-in-law die before. So when I received the news of Shirley’s passing, it hit me here I live, deep down in my spirit; in my soul.
I was in the middle of writing an article on jazz when I received the news that Shirley Wilson had made her transition on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. And I remember almost being in a state of suspended animation.
A friend had come across with the new cliche: "spiritually, we never die", and that "death is not a loss but a 'victory.'" As a student of Science of Mind, I know that’s true. But, unfortunately that stuff always works when it's someone else who is having to deal with a death; not when it's actually you going through it.
I've never felt such a very visceral pain, and a deep sense of sorrow as I did when I got the news of Shirley's passing. I started going over and over in my mind how many phone calls I owed Shirley. At least a zillion.
How many times I thought about getting in touch with her, but didn't do so. It was ridiculous when you think about it.
Our children talk practically every day. But somehow Shirley and I had not actually spoken in eons. And now, she's gone. Shirl (as I called her) and I used to be so tight. We'd get on that phone and talk til Ma Bell would yell “Stop!” No matter what it was -- the kids, our men, Ric and Lou (they’re brothers); books, food, philosophy, entertainment, music industry, money (the lack thereof) and on and on and on.
Shirl was perhaps one of the most genteel, supportive people on the planet. She had an encyclopedic mind, and could retain facts and information most had forgotten. Shirl would put up with stuff I would never tolerate on my watch. Yet we were cool with each other's philosophical attitudes. She was attention to detail, I was get it done now. She was resource, I was action. She was a former librarian, I was a former college counselor -- so we were both in the educational realm, married to entertainers.
No one who knew Shirl or me would ever have imagined either of us being friends. I had an Angela Davis-Afro, Shirley had long blond hair. Not a match here. And perhaps they would have been correct had it not been for one little (well not so little) wrinkle in the way God operates: her husband was my husband's brother; they worked together, wrote together and toured together (to put it mildly). So it was virtually impossible for us not to know each other.
Initially, we maintained a rather frosty attitude, giving each other only polite nods and acknowledgment whenever we had to be in each other's presence. Still, that would not have been enough for us to have become close. Had it not been for the fact that our man were nearly "disappeared" in Mississippi, and no one had been able to reach them for two days, that I began to freak out. This was in the 70’s, and Mississippi hadn’t gotten with the program about integration and racism. It was the catalyst that prompted us to communicate, out of sheer panic and necessity.
I initiated the call. Shirl seemed cool about the whole thing at first, then she started crying, and I started crying over the phone, about the possibility of crazy racists in Mississippi possibly harming our men. We called all over Mississppi (this of course is before cell phones and computer tracking), and, using our "whitest" most northern sounding, authoritative voices, making it known that people in New York were prepared to come down to Mississippi and track them down if any harm came to our guys. Six hours and a massive phone bill later, we finally got a call. Our guys had been actually arrested, but with so much fracas, the authorities thought it better to release them.
Not only was that good news, but Shirley and I realized it was the beginning of a great and powerful friendship. Shirl was with me when my handsome son, Rais, made his debut into the world at the (then) Flower and Fifth Avenue, now the Museum of the City of New York. When Shirl was expecting Ciara Dana, her first born, it was I who predicted that she would be born on my birthday, March 21 -- and indeed she was.
Shirl and I used to drink coffee like it was going out of style -- it's a wonder her kids didn't come out the color of coffee beans. And for a person who drank so much coffee, Shirl always was so cool. She could sit calmly and tell little Ricky to sit down 5 gazillion times. He and my son were like worms in hot ashes. They couldn’t sit for 2 seconds. But, while I was chasing my son from under tables and off the backs of booths, Shirl would have a cup of coffee in one hand, and a wriggly Ricky in the other, with that ever present smile of hers.
Shirl who, being a true New Yorker, never got used to the suburbs and driving. She would drive 5 miles an hour on service roads, because she didn't like driving fast, or fast cars and heavy traffic -- you can imagine how long it took to get from point 'A" to point "B".
Shirl and I, bookworms that we were, were always reading something new, erudite, deep. If it was by or about Black people, she generally got it before I did. When I got my first chow-chow, Fuji, she fell so much in love with him, she got his sister Pucci. Shirl has a flair for drama and fashion -- we both loved hats (I always thought mine were better).
When she was getting ready to make a "momentous statement" she would put this smile on her face, pause, say "Ya know....." pause again, and engage you to make sure you were really focusing, "...it was only yesterday that. Marvin Gaye..yada, yada, yada!" Then she'd sit back and wait for a reaction or a reponse.
Shirl's sense of humor and irony made her a unique character indeed. She loved her children, Ricky and Ciara, loved my children, Kira, Rais and Adiya -- while I was yelling at mine and threatening "several heinous methods of corporal punishment", she was never ever rattled by anything they did. She was also so organized and focused -- something I had difficulty mastering because I was always “multitasking.“
She always seemed to be so above the fray.
On the day I learned of Shirl’s transition, a tune began wafting through my head that I could not shake. It kept coming back. As I was crossing Eastern Parkway, it came back with such a vengeance, I stopped on the median and started humming it as if someone was playing it on an ipod or something--"weird, where did that come from?
I hadn't thought about that tune in years. Then later that evening, the lyrics to Symphonic Revolution by Mandrill sang its way through my mind: "Day Ends, Night begins; folks are turning in; say prayers for sins. Say no prayer for me; I need no sympathy. I got love, and a song to sing. I want to sing a song, for every one. How happy life would be if we sing a song. Like a song bird in a willow tree. So content with just a melody. All this is illusion, through the world, through out the nation, it's all wrong. God knows it's wrong. I've got a good solution. A symphonic revolution. Sing a song!"
And I realized that Shirl’s spirit and energy must have just stopped by long enough to say good bye to me. So, to Shirl, forgive me for not keeping in touch the way I should have. To Ciara & Ricky, you were blessed with a wonderful mom, and she was blessed with wonderful you. And to Ric -- my brother, Shirl was truly a class act and a beautiful spirit. I'm glad you were there for her during that terrible journey. My love and condolences to you and the kids. To all the Wilson Brothers - Lou, Ric. Wilfredo, Carlos, and all the Wilson family, you have my condolences, and blessings.
Shirley has joined the angels.
Love to you from Auntie Glo
This is one of the hardest pieces I've had to write in some time. But then I’ve never had a sister-in-law die before. So when I received the news of Shirley’s passing, it hit me here I live, deep down in my spirit; in my soul.
I was in the middle of writing an article on jazz when I received the news that Shirley Wilson had made her transition on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. And I remember almost being in a state of suspended animation.
A friend had come across with the new cliche: "spiritually, we never die", and that "death is not a loss but a 'victory.'" As a student of Science of Mind, I know that’s true. But, unfortunately that stuff always works when it's someone else who is having to deal with a death; not when it's actually you going through it.
I've never felt such a very visceral pain, and a deep sense of sorrow as I did when I got the news of Shirley's passing. I started going over and over in my mind how many phone calls I owed Shirley. At least a zillion.
How many times I thought about getting in touch with her, but didn't do so. It was ridiculous when you think about it.
Our children talk practically every day. But somehow Shirley and I had not actually spoken in eons. And now, she's gone. Shirl (as I called her) and I used to be so tight. We'd get on that phone and talk til Ma Bell would yell “Stop!” No matter what it was -- the kids, our men, Ric and Lou (they’re brothers); books, food, philosophy, entertainment, music industry, money (the lack thereof) and on and on and on.
Shirl was perhaps one of the most genteel, supportive people on the planet. She had an encyclopedic mind, and could retain facts and information most had forgotten. Shirl would put up with stuff I would never tolerate on my watch. Yet we were cool with each other's philosophical attitudes. She was attention to detail, I was get it done now. She was resource, I was action. She was a former librarian, I was a former college counselor -- so we were both in the educational realm, married to entertainers.
No one who knew Shirl or me would ever have imagined either of us being friends. I had an Angela Davis-Afro, Shirley had long blond hair. Not a match here. And perhaps they would have been correct had it not been for one little (well not so little) wrinkle in the way God operates: her husband was my husband's brother; they worked together, wrote together and toured together (to put it mildly). So it was virtually impossible for us not to know each other.
Initially, we maintained a rather frosty attitude, giving each other only polite nods and acknowledgment whenever we had to be in each other's presence. Still, that would not have been enough for us to have become close. Had it not been for the fact that our man were nearly "disappeared" in Mississippi, and no one had been able to reach them for two days, that I began to freak out. This was in the 70’s, and Mississippi hadn’t gotten with the program about integration and racism. It was the catalyst that prompted us to communicate, out of sheer panic and necessity.
I initiated the call. Shirl seemed cool about the whole thing at first, then she started crying, and I started crying over the phone, about the possibility of crazy racists in Mississippi possibly harming our men. We called all over Mississppi (this of course is before cell phones and computer tracking), and, using our "whitest" most northern sounding, authoritative voices, making it known that people in New York were prepared to come down to Mississippi and track them down if any harm came to our guys. Six hours and a massive phone bill later, we finally got a call. Our guys had been actually arrested, but with so much fracas, the authorities thought it better to release them.
Not only was that good news, but Shirley and I realized it was the beginning of a great and powerful friendship. Shirl was with me when my handsome son, Rais, made his debut into the world at the (then) Flower and Fifth Avenue, now the Museum of the City of New York. When Shirl was expecting Ciara Dana, her first born, it was I who predicted that she would be born on my birthday, March 21 -- and indeed she was.
Shirl and I used to drink coffee like it was going out of style -- it's a wonder her kids didn't come out the color of coffee beans. And for a person who drank so much coffee, Shirl always was so cool. She could sit calmly and tell little Ricky to sit down 5 gazillion times. He and my son were like worms in hot ashes. They couldn’t sit for 2 seconds. But, while I was chasing my son from under tables and off the backs of booths, Shirl would have a cup of coffee in one hand, and a wriggly Ricky in the other, with that ever present smile of hers.
Shirl who, being a true New Yorker, never got used to the suburbs and driving. She would drive 5 miles an hour on service roads, because she didn't like driving fast, or fast cars and heavy traffic -- you can imagine how long it took to get from point 'A" to point "B".
Shirl and I, bookworms that we were, were always reading something new, erudite, deep. If it was by or about Black people, she generally got it before I did. When I got my first chow-chow, Fuji, she fell so much in love with him, she got his sister Pucci. Shirl has a flair for drama and fashion -- we both loved hats (I always thought mine were better).
When she was getting ready to make a "momentous statement" she would put this smile on her face, pause, say "Ya know....." pause again, and engage you to make sure you were really focusing, "...it was only yesterday that. Marvin Gaye..yada, yada, yada!" Then she'd sit back and wait for a reaction or a reponse.
Shirl's sense of humor and irony made her a unique character indeed. She loved her children, Ricky and Ciara, loved my children, Kira, Rais and Adiya -- while I was yelling at mine and threatening "several heinous methods of corporal punishment", she was never ever rattled by anything they did. She was also so organized and focused -- something I had difficulty mastering because I was always “multitasking.“
She always seemed to be so above the fray.
On the day I learned of Shirl’s transition, a tune began wafting through my head that I could not shake. It kept coming back. As I was crossing Eastern Parkway, it came back with such a vengeance, I stopped on the median and started humming it as if someone was playing it on an ipod or something--"weird, where did that come from?
I hadn't thought about that tune in years. Then later that evening, the lyrics to Symphonic Revolution by Mandrill sang its way through my mind: "Day Ends, Night begins; folks are turning in; say prayers for sins. Say no prayer for me; I need no sympathy. I got love, and a song to sing. I want to sing a song, for every one. How happy life would be if we sing a song. Like a song bird in a willow tree. So content with just a melody. All this is illusion, through the world, through out the nation, it's all wrong. God knows it's wrong. I've got a good solution. A symphonic revolution. Sing a song!"
And I realized that Shirl’s spirit and energy must have just stopped by long enough to say good bye to me. So, to Shirl, forgive me for not keeping in touch the way I should have. To Ciara & Ricky, you were blessed with a wonderful mom, and she was blessed with wonderful you. And to Ric -- my brother, Shirl was truly a class act and a beautiful spirit. I'm glad you were there for her during that terrible journey. My love and condolences to you and the kids. To all the Wilson Brothers - Lou, Ric. Wilfredo, Carlos, and all the Wilson family, you have my condolences, and blessings.
Shirley has joined the angels.
Love to you from Auntie Glo
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, OUR NATIONAL HERO, NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT
by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Though I didn't write this, and don't know whether or not I uploaded these connects to their website correctly, there's a lot of information here we can each run with in support of getting Dr. King's monument erected in DC immediately if not sooner. And while I love all the bells and whistles (I admit it, I'm not totally computer literate -- I just love to write), it's more important that you receive the important information they are sending you through me, than it is for you to witness the techie talent that went into all this stuff. That said, hope I've put a sufficient amount of info for you to reach out and touch someone(s) to get Brother Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Memorial built.
A Memorial to a Hero Needs Your Support!
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will be the first on the National Mall to recognize a person of color and a man of peace, not a president or a veteran of war. In 1996 Congress authorized the Memorial Foundation to raise funds to establish a national memorial to honor the legacy of Dr. King on the National Mall. The memorial’s very existence signifies that we as a people believe Dr. King and his legacy deserve this esteemed placement in what can be considered America’s “Hall of Fame.”
Mission
We want to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by leading a collaborative funding, design, and construction process in the creation of a memorial to honor his national and international contributions to world peace through non-violent social change..
The vision of a memorial in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. is one that captures the essence of his message, a message in which he so eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream — Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All; a noble quest that gained him the Nobel Peace Prize and one that continues to influence people and societies throughout the world. Upon reflection, we are reminded that Dr. King's lifelong dedication to the idea of achieving human dignity through global relationships of well being has served to instill a broader and deeper sense of duty within each of us— a duty to be both responsible citizens and conscientious stewards of freedom and democracy.
Dr. King championed a movement that draws fully from the deep well of America's potential for freedom, opportunity, and justice. His vision of America is captured in his message of hope and possibility for a future anchored in dignity, sensitivity, and mutual respect; a message that challenges each of us to recognize that America's true strength lies in its diversity of talents.
The vision of a memorial in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. is one that captures the essence of his message, a message in which he so eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream — Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All; a noble quest that gained him the Nobel Peace Prize and one that continues to influence people and societies throughout the world. Upon reflection, we are reminded that Dr. King's lifelong dedication to the idea of achieving human dignity through global relationships of well being has served to instill a broader and deeper sense of duty within each of us— a duty to be both responsible citizens and conscientious stewards of freedom and democracy.
Memorial Facts
Countdown to Completion: The Martin Luther King Jr., National Memorial is conceived as an engaging landscape experience tied to other landscapes and monuments, not as a single object or memorial dominating the site.
Location: National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Landscape: Natural elements – water, stone, trees – are used to underscore the themes of justice, democracy and hope, and love.
Composition and Space: This memorial is not designed to be experienced in a single way with one single message, but rather it is to have a broad accessibility, appealing to all of the senses with diverse, repetitive and overlapping themes.
1. Why build a Memorial to Dr. King?
More than a monument to a great humanitarian, the National Memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be a place for visitors from all over the world to be energized by its extraordinary power; the power that illuminated the faith of our founders and now impels us toward our destiny as a nation; the power flowing from the uniquely American spirit of brotherly love, freedom, justice, and the priceless blessing they endure...peace.
2. Why build the Memorial now?
Dr. King once reminded the nation of “the fierce urgency of now” while warning against “the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” The time is now a historical perspective. Many young people have heard of Dr. King, but are unaware of the significance of his contributions to America and the world. The design has been established; the site is secured; the fundraising teams are already at work; and more than $106 million of the campaign goal has been raised. The time is now.
3. What will the Memorial look like?
The Memorial is conceived as an engaging landscape experience to convey four fundamental and recurring themes throughout Dr. King’s life – democracy, justice, hope, and love. Natural elements such as the crescent-shaped-stone wall inscribed with excerpts of his sermons, and public addresses will serve as the living testaments of his vision of America. The centerpiece of the Memorial, the “Stone of Hope”, will feature a 30-foot likeness of Dr. King.
4. When will the Memorial be completed?
The Ceremonial Groundbreaking occurred on November 13, 2006. The Dedication of the Memorial is tentatively scheduled for the Fall of 2011.
5. How much will the Memorial cost?
It is estimated that the total cost of the project will be $120 million. Of that amount, more than $106 million has been raised.
6. What can I do to help?
Individuals as well as corporations can add their financial support to this effort. Contributions, large and small, are needed to attain our goal of $120 million. Spread the word to your friends, neighbors and acquaintances that their donations are urgently needed.Most major employers match employee donations, so if you donate to the Memorial Foundation your employer may double that amount.
Dr. King's Spiritual Presence
Dr. Martin Luther King is remembered as a great orator whose impact on the nation came from the eloquence and inspirational quality of his words. His speeches, sermons and public addresses melded themes of democracy deeply embedded in the American conscience, and reinvigorated these messages with clear and insightful reflections on the true meaning of justice and equality.
Within the memorial, quotes from Dr. King's sermons and speeches, arranged chronologically according to his life, are to be inscribed at a large scale on the glistening smooth surfaces of the water wall. These passages will be reinforced through the referential use of water, stone and light as metaphorical elements that heighten an awareness of his message.
Support The Dream
Download MLK Memorial Toolbar:
For every search your perform using the toolbar $.05 will be donated to the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation.
Internet Explorer | Firefox
Contribute Track Your Contributions
Real-time access to your contributions! Log into the
portal any time and see exactly how much you have
raised. Guaranteed Safe No spyware, no virus, no ad banners and no charge.
System Requirements:
Donate $5 Today through Text Messaging
Help “Build the Dream” by supporting the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation and make a $5.00 donation today through text messaging.
There is a simple 2-step process to follow:
STEP 1: Text MLK to 20222
A one-time charge of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill. Message & Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider.
Full disclosure at: http://mcommons.com/t. Offer available to US Subscribers only.
Search To support
Raise money every time you search through the Yahoo!
powered search box.
2 Favorite Links
One click access to hand selected web destinations for
quick and easy access.
CONTRIBUTE
Online Donations - "Band Together Campaign": For a donation of $5 or more, you will receive a "Build the Dream" wristband and lapel pin.
Kids for King
As part of our effort to build the Memorial, we invite you to be a part of history by participating in our Kids for King Education Initiative. It’s easy to enter. Just write an essay, create a piece of art, or produce a short video expressing what you have learned about Dr. King’s ideals of Democracy, Justice, Love and Hope as well as how you plan to carry the legacy forward.
The end of the Kids for King Education Initiative has been pushed back to April 30, 2010, so get working on writing an essay, creating a work of art, or recording a video about your thoughts on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We encourage you to participate in this great program because 9 of you will be selected for a very special award. We'll fly you and one of your parent's or legal guardians to Washington, D.C. to attend a special press event on the National Mall this fall. We're excited to see, hear, and read about what you and your friends have to say about Dr. King. For more information please check out our website at www.kidsforking.org. We look forward to hearing from you today!
Listed below are four easy steps on how parents and kids can get involved in raising money to support the memorial.
First, tell us about yourself and your ideas to help "Build the Dream." We want to hear your ideas and work with you to plan your successful event.
Second, get a team together to plan an event to raise money. Here are some ideas on events that you and your friends can organize. However, if you have an idea for an event, we'd love to hear it!! Ice Cream Social Small Walk-a-Thon
* "Build the Dream" Wristbands Program
Share Your Gifts Today!
Had a successful event? Need to know how you can make a donation to the Foundation? You can ask your parents to make an online donation on your behalf or download an offline donation form and mail-in your donation. Special memory? Funny story? Smash hit successful event? We want to hear from you. Share your stories with us today!
Browse some of the fun and interesting stories that other people have done within their communities to help raise awareness for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Videos
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Our Contribution
Special Thanks to our Contributors. They've shown the breadth of support that exists for Dr. King's vision, from the man on the street to boardrooms on the fiftieth floor. Full List of Contributors>>
Contact
Richie Sugar
Rsugar@mlkmemorial.org
Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
401 F Street, NW, Suite 334 | Washington, DC 20001
1 (888) 4-THE-DREAM (1.888.484.3373)
Tags
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Washington, DC, MLK, I have a dream, build the dream, dream keepers, greeks asking greeks, kids for king, MLK memorial project, Dream team, dream dinner, Dr. King,support the dream, MLK Memorial, civil rights, MLK memorial, MLK, countdown to completion.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
[PS: I guess if Dr. King had lived, after having led us through marches and confrontations, the same President of University of Chicago would also be demanding that he, too, put in a full 12 hours of teaching. Sorry, I just had to say it! Respect for our elders and pioneers begin with us, for them, while they're living.]
Though I didn't write this, and don't know whether or not I uploaded these connects to their website correctly, there's a lot of information here we can each run with in support of getting Dr. King's monument erected in DC immediately if not sooner. And while I love all the bells and whistles (I admit it, I'm not totally computer literate -- I just love to write), it's more important that you receive the important information they are sending you through me, than it is for you to witness the techie talent that went into all this stuff. That said, hope I've put a sufficient amount of info for you to reach out and touch someone(s) to get Brother Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Memorial built.
A Memorial to a Hero Needs Your Support!
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will be the first on the National Mall to recognize a person of color and a man of peace, not a president or a veteran of war. In 1996 Congress authorized the Memorial Foundation to raise funds to establish a national memorial to honor the legacy of Dr. King on the National Mall. The memorial’s very existence signifies that we as a people believe Dr. King and his legacy deserve this esteemed placement in what can be considered America’s “Hall of Fame.”
Mission
We want to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by leading a collaborative funding, design, and construction process in the creation of a memorial to honor his national and international contributions to world peace through non-violent social change..
The vision of a memorial in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. is one that captures the essence of his message, a message in which he so eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream — Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All; a noble quest that gained him the Nobel Peace Prize and one that continues to influence people and societies throughout the world. Upon reflection, we are reminded that Dr. King's lifelong dedication to the idea of achieving human dignity through global relationships of well being has served to instill a broader and deeper sense of duty within each of us— a duty to be both responsible citizens and conscientious stewards of freedom and democracy.
Dr. King championed a movement that draws fully from the deep well of America's potential for freedom, opportunity, and justice. His vision of America is captured in his message of hope and possibility for a future anchored in dignity, sensitivity, and mutual respect; a message that challenges each of us to recognize that America's true strength lies in its diversity of talents.
The vision of a memorial in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. is one that captures the essence of his message, a message in which he so eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream — Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All; a noble quest that gained him the Nobel Peace Prize and one that continues to influence people and societies throughout the world. Upon reflection, we are reminded that Dr. King's lifelong dedication to the idea of achieving human dignity through global relationships of well being has served to instill a broader and deeper sense of duty within each of us— a duty to be both responsible citizens and conscientious stewards of freedom and democracy.
Memorial Facts
Countdown to Completion: The Martin Luther King Jr., National Memorial is conceived as an engaging landscape experience tied to other landscapes and monuments, not as a single object or memorial dominating the site.
Location: National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Landscape: Natural elements – water, stone, trees – are used to underscore the themes of justice, democracy and hope, and love.
Composition and Space: This memorial is not designed to be experienced in a single way with one single message, but rather it is to have a broad accessibility, appealing to all of the senses with diverse, repetitive and overlapping themes.
1. Why build a Memorial to Dr. King?
More than a monument to a great humanitarian, the National Memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be a place for visitors from all over the world to be energized by its extraordinary power; the power that illuminated the faith of our founders and now impels us toward our destiny as a nation; the power flowing from the uniquely American spirit of brotherly love, freedom, justice, and the priceless blessing they endure...peace.
2. Why build the Memorial now?
Dr. King once reminded the nation of “the fierce urgency of now” while warning against “the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” The time is now a historical perspective. Many young people have heard of Dr. King, but are unaware of the significance of his contributions to America and the world. The design has been established; the site is secured; the fundraising teams are already at work; and more than $106 million of the campaign goal has been raised. The time is now.
3. What will the Memorial look like?
The Memorial is conceived as an engaging landscape experience to convey four fundamental and recurring themes throughout Dr. King’s life – democracy, justice, hope, and love. Natural elements such as the crescent-shaped-stone wall inscribed with excerpts of his sermons, and public addresses will serve as the living testaments of his vision of America. The centerpiece of the Memorial, the “Stone of Hope”, will feature a 30-foot likeness of Dr. King.
4. When will the Memorial be completed?
The Ceremonial Groundbreaking occurred on November 13, 2006. The Dedication of the Memorial is tentatively scheduled for the Fall of 2011.
5. How much will the Memorial cost?
It is estimated that the total cost of the project will be $120 million. Of that amount, more than $106 million has been raised.
6. What can I do to help?
Individuals as well as corporations can add their financial support to this effort. Contributions, large and small, are needed to attain our goal of $120 million. Spread the word to your friends, neighbors and acquaintances that their donations are urgently needed.Most major employers match employee donations, so if you donate to the Memorial Foundation your employer may double that amount.
Dr. King's Spiritual Presence
Dr. Martin Luther King is remembered as a great orator whose impact on the nation came from the eloquence and inspirational quality of his words. His speeches, sermons and public addresses melded themes of democracy deeply embedded in the American conscience, and reinvigorated these messages with clear and insightful reflections on the true meaning of justice and equality.
Within the memorial, quotes from Dr. King's sermons and speeches, arranged chronologically according to his life, are to be inscribed at a large scale on the glistening smooth surfaces of the water wall. These passages will be reinforced through the referential use of water, stone and light as metaphorical elements that heighten an awareness of his message.
Support The Dream
Download MLK Memorial Toolbar:
For every search your perform using the toolbar $.05 will be donated to the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation.
Internet Explorer | Firefox
Contribute Track Your Contributions
Real-time access to your contributions! Log into the
portal any time and see exactly how much you have
raised. Guaranteed Safe No spyware, no virus, no ad banners and no charge.
System Requirements:
Donate $5 Today through Text Messaging
Help “Build the Dream” by supporting the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation and make a $5.00 donation today through text messaging.
There is a simple 2-step process to follow:
STEP 1: Text MLK to 20222
A one-time charge of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill. Message & Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider.
Full disclosure at: http://mcommons.com/t. Offer available to US Subscribers only.
Search To support
Raise money every time you search through the Yahoo!
powered search box.
2 Favorite Links
One click access to hand selected web destinations for
quick and easy access.
CONTRIBUTE
Online Donations - "Band Together Campaign": For a donation of $5 or more, you will receive a "Build the Dream" wristband and lapel pin.
Kids for King
As part of our effort to build the Memorial, we invite you to be a part of history by participating in our Kids for King Education Initiative. It’s easy to enter. Just write an essay, create a piece of art, or produce a short video expressing what you have learned about Dr. King’s ideals of Democracy, Justice, Love and Hope as well as how you plan to carry the legacy forward.
The end of the Kids for King Education Initiative has been pushed back to April 30, 2010, so get working on writing an essay, creating a work of art, or recording a video about your thoughts on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We encourage you to participate in this great program because 9 of you will be selected for a very special award. We'll fly you and one of your parent's or legal guardians to Washington, D.C. to attend a special press event on the National Mall this fall. We're excited to see, hear, and read about what you and your friends have to say about Dr. King. For more information please check out our website at www.kidsforking.org. We look forward to hearing from you today!
Listed below are four easy steps on how parents and kids can get involved in raising money to support the memorial.
First, tell us about yourself and your ideas to help "Build the Dream." We want to hear your ideas and work with you to plan your successful event.
Second, get a team together to plan an event to raise money. Here are some ideas on events that you and your friends can organize. However, if you have an idea for an event, we'd love to hear it!! Ice Cream Social Small Walk-a-Thon
* "Build the Dream" Wristbands Program
Share Your Gifts Today!
Had a successful event? Need to know how you can make a donation to the Foundation? You can ask your parents to make an online donation on your behalf or download an offline donation form and mail-in your donation. Special memory? Funny story? Smash hit successful event? We want to hear from you. Share your stories with us today!
Browse some of the fun and interesting stories that other people have done within their communities to help raise awareness for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Videos
Embed code:
Embed code:
Embed code:
Embed code:
Embed code:
Social Media
twitter facebook youtube
Banners
Our Contribution
Special Thanks to our Contributors. They've shown the breadth of support that exists for Dr. King's vision, from the man on the street to boardrooms on the fiftieth floor. Full List of Contributors>>
Contact
Richie Sugar
Rsugar@mlkmemorial.org
Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
401 F Street, NW, Suite 334 | Washington, DC 20001
1 (888) 4-THE-DREAM (1.888.484.3373)
Tags
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Washington, DC, MLK, I have a dream, build the dream, dream keepers, greeks asking greeks, kids for king, MLK memorial project, Dream team, dream dinner, Dr. King,support the dream, MLK Memorial, civil rights, MLK memorial, MLK, countdown to completion.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
[PS: I guess if Dr. King had lived, after having led us through marches and confrontations, the same President of University of Chicago would also be demanding that he, too, put in a full 12 hours of teaching. Sorry, I just had to say it! Respect for our elders and pioneers begin with us, for them, while they're living.]
HAKI MADHUBUTI IS A BLACK CULTURAL ICON; GIVE HIM THE PLACE OF HONOR HE DESERVES
by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Hello All: This blog will start out a little differently, because I am responding to an email forwarded to by from brother JiTu Weusi -- foremost educator, activist, jazz enthusiast and long time friend. I had responded to the letter on April 9, not realizing there was a real firestorm brewing -- both pro and con-- over Brother Haki Madhubuti's resignation from Chicago State. So I'm sharing my updated comments to JiTu with you. Please feel free to respond.
Hey JiTu:
Thanks for forwarding this to my attention. I've known Haki Madhubuti as long as I have known you (before he became Haki Madhubuti). I have read most of Haki's publications. I've seen him at many a Black conference, interviewed him for news articles; written about him; been on Donahue with him at least 4 times (back in the day when Little Lillian Smith was the producer; I've referred would-be writers to him. I typed up the eulogy he wrote for Sis. Bette Shabazz when he spoke at her home going services at Riverside Church. No matter where I am, or where he may be in New York, I drop what I'm doing to be there and hear this soft spoken, dynamic, quiet fire of a brother. I am always pleased and gratified with the positive, supportive, empowering presence he lends to every event he attends.
That said, let me say first off this is truly a sad day when our Black pseudo intellectuals who know the price of everything and the value of nothing can make pronouncements as though they were the final word or authority on certain issues. White folks gave them a "degree" now they are learned, authoritative, and must fulfill the role they've been cast in - even if it means walking one of their own brothers. (hmmmm wonder what would happen if the roles were reversed and they had to let go a so-called white man of learning from the school? They'd hurry up and find a way to make sure he did not suffer ignominious assault brother Haki is enduring.
This is indeed a tragic situation, where this writer is trying to justify the parsimonious attitude of someone who obviously does not understand the value of having a personage, such as Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti at his campus in the first place.
The fact that he teaches "only one class and gets a full salary" is not the issue. You're talking quantity not quality when you speak in those terms. It's no more relevant than would be Michael Jordan scoring baskets and only being paid minimum wage because he is not on the basket ball court all the time; or Denzel Washington being relegated to union wages for the roles he portrays in the movies and on stage. It would be like saying to Tiger Woods we'll pay you for each time you're on the golf course because we really don't see what you do and how we benefit when you're not (and please don't wave the recent crap flap in my face -- I'm much too well aware). It does not compute!
Trying to hold what Haki does to a base salary, when he really is a BLACK CULTURAL ICON is an insult to the very being of this Black man and should not be countenanced. As a friend of mine from Atlanta used to say "that dog won't hunt!!!"
Being penny wise and pound foolish is exactly the reason why we don't have any more permanent, prominent Black institutions than we should. We are too busy discounting the value of each other, and trying to nickel and dime the situation.
Brother Haki R. Madhubuti, quite simply, is not to be equated with rank and file professors, teachers, adjunct professors.They teach - he EDUCATES!!! That brother has long since proved his merit and value in the realm of Black history, Black literature, Black professionalism, Black lives. How silly can you possibly be?
Did you read Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? (it was so heavy, I made my son read it when he was 15 - changed his life; gave him an entirely different understanding of his role as a young Black Man. He's now 36 and still remembers it).
Does Mr. Watson or Ms. Hartman or even the Black people of Chicago not know that it is because of The Third World Press, established by Dr. Madhubuti in the 60's that Blacks have been able to get published and read? Where is your value system?
Is there some kind of subtle -- maybe not so subtle -- envy on the part of both the writer and the College President that they can rationalize trying to pull the brother down? There are several vicarious benefits from the college having Dr. Madhubuti on their faculty. But if you don't value him, or understand the concept -- look at such other luminaries as Dr. Cornell West, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., then perhaps this is a sign of one door closing; the other door opening for Haki.
Per Hartman: "All state universities and colleges are experiencing budget cuts, and Watson found it necessary to assess all paid staff and reduce the payroll. Watson's assessment found that Haki Madhubuti had been receiving full-time pay for teaching just one course per year. In most universities on the planet, teaching one, three-hour course per year is not considered teaching full-time. Watson asked Madhubuti to carry a full-teaching load, which is 12 hours, or four courses. Besides, few occupy Madhubuti's space and others who are also CSU Distinguished Professors carried full teaching loads. Watson asked for work documentation for a full-time salary; he required accountability."
What other CSU Distinguished Professors are you referring to? Why are you comparing them to Madhubuti, when he is clearly in a league by himself? Are you the appointed apologist for the system that is trying to take more than 40 years of dedication and equate it with a 9 to 5 job? And at what point to we develop Blackbone and take some principled stands for each other instead of standing on each other's black backs?
Hartman: "Mitchell argues that Madhubuti's status as a 'cultural icon' should not shield him from the extra work." I really don't think that's the issue. It would almost be tantamount to saying to a Frederick Douglas, who has given lectures all over the country about "My Bondage and My Freedom" and his other experiences as a slave -- well whatcha waitin' for! Get out there and lecture. You ain't dead yet. It's like saying to E. Franklin Frazier (author of Black Bourgeoisie), yeah, right! N-r - that and a bag of chips will get you across the campus.
What Hartmann calls a "free lunch" is more a symbol of a University's capacity to attract higher quality faculty; better yet, it's quid pro quo. You get the benefit of Haki Madhubuti's intelligence, knowledge and dedication; he continues to be affiliated with the college. If you have no understanding of how that works, visit the aforementioned examples I've already given you.
The denigration of Dr. Madhubuti may go well in Chicago, but in New York we over understand the plantation mentality, and the sycophants it takes to keep it in place. There is only one Black man in this fight -- and we know who that is.
When you can so callously narrow it down and say "it's not personal, it's just business," as though this justifies the acerbic attitudes and statements roiling around in the atmosphere, it means that you've already begun to drink the proverbial kool-ade; that you have assumed an emotional distance between us and from each other, and allows us to objectify each other, instead of realizing that we are pawns in a much larger board game. Hmmm, I wonder where you could possibly have picked that up from???
If it's not personal, it should be!! There should be care and concern about how we treat each other and work together in much the same way that Jews do when they make decisions about each other; or our Latino Brothers and sisters do when they make decisions about working together; or the way the caucasians do when they make decisions about working together. Because, whether they enunciate or not, they are family, and they back each other up. We are the only ones expected to follow a policy lock step that others do not even deal with.
There are thousands of Black men and women who put their lives on the line literally in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, who went to the edge who are still out there on a daily basis trying literally save our African souls from another day of post-traumatic slave syndrome. I guess there are twice as many whites and blacks (negro) who are trying to keep them at bay.
People like Elombe Brath, Dr. Ben Jochanan, Kermit Eady (Black United Fund of New York), and others who have made it their lives' work to enlighten and liberate us and getting precious little in return. The commentary that Haki was doing "quite well" with his publishing business and other concerns was really quite cynical -- considering the money he puts up in advance to make sure the writer has what he or she needs to get started. These are people who, at the end of the day, deserve the accolades, the honor, the nurture. We really should have planned unit developments, center for struggling and/or retired activists. We should be putting monies together to give them places of honor. We should be building libaries of their work; teaching our kids about them -- goodness knows we've allowed them to worship enough empty headed icons -- and look what we have -- males who don't know how to wear pants; and females who make our ancestors (living and dead) cry.
We should revere Haki Madhubuti, Imamu Baraka, Elombe Brath, Askia Muhammad Toure, and others way the mainstream makes heroes out of even some of their most depraved characters (Reagan springs to mind). We need to develop standards of quality, a'la Carter G. Woodson (the Mis Education of the Negro), and a ton of brothers who stood when it was literally life and death to do so. If they can consistently call Reagan "the great communicator" .......back again to 'hmmmm!'
I strongly suggest that Watson and Madhubuti sit down -- behind closed doors(?) in front of the African Holy Ghost(or whatever guiding spiritual entity you believe in and follow --other than the almighty dollar) -- and put this right -- for the greater benefit of all the millions of Black brothers and sisters who depend on and absolutely need the paradigm shift of unification -- i.e., the end to divide and conquer. We can't afford other wise.
By the way, pardon my not knowing, but who is Hermene Hartman, and why is she trying to rationalize this mess?? Her article follows below.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
--- On Fri, 4/9/10,
From: jweusi
Subject: Article from Hermene Hartman
Hermene Hartman
One of the most significant and influential black women in American publishing
Posted: April 7, 2010 10:40 AM
Chicago State University Prez is Right: There Is No Free Lunch for Icons
Dr. Wayne Watson, the President of Chicago State University, and I were Vice Chancellors at City Colleges together. He is my friend.
Haki Madhubuti is a man of great intellect and a prolific writer. Throughout the years, I have sought his professional advice and I have referred many to his publishing firm, Third World Press. I have participated in his annual Gwendolyn Brooks Conference for Black Literature and Creative Writing, and I have sat in audiences to hear his lectures. I admire his work.
Watson and Madhubuti have appeared on the cover of this paper and The N'Digo Foundation has honored both esteemed men for their achievements in the field of education.
In her first column, Mitchell revealed that Madhubuti wrote an open letter critical of Watson--a letter that I also received, read and responded to some time ago. Madhubuti said, "I can't work with him. I am not going to stand here and let him use this university like he used the City Colleges."
What does that mean?
During his tenure at City Colleges, Watson built a model, modern institution of higher learning--Kennedy King College--to transform the disenfranchised neighborhood of Englewood. He installed programs that put young people to work. He achieved the longest record of accreditation that City Colleges has ever received. And Watson left Chicago's community college system with elevated academic standards and a $60 million surplus in the budget. Not bad, I would say.
Watson assumed the post of president at Chicago State University in October 2009, marking the first time in Illinois history that an educator who was the chancellor of the community college system ascended to the state university level.
Cleaning House at CSU
The process of moving Chicago State University forward has begun. All state universities and colleges are experiencing budget cuts, and Watson found it necessary to assess all paid staff and reduce the payroll. Watson's assessment found that Haki Madhubuti had been receiving full-time pay for teaching just one course per year.
In most universities on the planet, teaching one, three-hour course per year is not considered teaching full-time. Watson asked Madhubuti to carry a full-teaching load, which is 12 hours, or four courses. Besides, few occupy Madhubuti's space and others who are also CSU Distinguished Professors carried full teaching loads. Watson asked for work documentation for a full-time salary; he required accountability.
Madhubuti's salary was not reduced; his workload was increased to represent a full-teaching course load. And Madhubuti was not fired; instead, he chose a public resignation through the press -- at his annual conference, which was fully supported by the Chicago State University.
What's so wrong with teaching a full course load?
Madhubuti's 26 years at Chicago State positioned him and Watson at odds--I would have thought that Watson and Madhubuti would have made a perfect team to take Chicago State University to that next level--and this entire matter suggests a power play.
But Watson is the president with a board of directors and taxpayers to answer to, so he must maintain his proven record as the tough, no-nonsense, accountable and responsible administrator.
Mitchell argues that Madhubuti's status as a 'cultural icon' should shield him from the extra work. That's her opinion, but it's essential that the facts are not lost.
Chicago State University is not a villa for cultural icons; it's an institution of higher learning.
The best thing any distinguished professor/cultural icon could do is roll up his sleeves and engage students. In doing so, he would join the ranks of distinguished professors who have taught and authored books -- like Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Charles Hamilton, Dr. Patricia Hill-Collins and the likes of the late Dr. John Hope Franklin, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers, Dr. St. Clair Drake, and Dr. Edward Franklin Frazier.
One More Lesson
Haki Madhubuti is highly regarded in his community, but now support for him is not there, because Madhubuti and Mitchell are wrong.
Think about it--who would publicly support Madhubuti in this year of economic hard times, when most are working 40-plus hours per week if they are lucky to have a job?
So, when you read about Madhubuti--someone making a dynamic salary for teaching a single three hour course, while running several charter schools, earning a hefty purse as a paid guest speaker (lecturing to more students outside of Chicago State University than he does at Chicago State) and running a publishing business, it's hard to protest Watson's demand for a full-time workload at Chicago State. So let's cancel the pity-party.
Mitchell may be in for a bit of a business lesson, as well.
While Watson was at City Colleges, the Chairman of his board was Mr. James Tyree. He and Watson worked in conjunction at the City Colleges. And this is the same James Tyree who now owns the Chicago Sun-Times.
Instead of, "Where's the Support of Madhubuti?" The more appropriate question is, how did Professor Haki Madhubuti and the previous Chicago State University presidents justify a professor, (icon or not) earning a full-time salary for teaching just one course per year?
Mitchell notes in her column, "It is painful to watch two powerful Black men fight publicly."
This is not a story about two black powerful men fighting, unless you make it one.
This is a story about right and wrong.
Hello All: This blog will start out a little differently, because I am responding to an email forwarded to by from brother JiTu Weusi -- foremost educator, activist, jazz enthusiast and long time friend. I had responded to the letter on April 9, not realizing there was a real firestorm brewing -- both pro and con-- over Brother Haki Madhubuti's resignation from Chicago State. So I'm sharing my updated comments to JiTu with you. Please feel free to respond.
Hey JiTu:
Thanks for forwarding this to my attention. I've known Haki Madhubuti as long as I have known you (before he became Haki Madhubuti). I have read most of Haki's publications. I've seen him at many a Black conference, interviewed him for news articles; written about him; been on Donahue with him at least 4 times (back in the day when Little Lillian Smith was the producer; I've referred would-be writers to him. I typed up the eulogy he wrote for Sis. Bette Shabazz when he spoke at her home going services at Riverside Church. No matter where I am, or where he may be in New York, I drop what I'm doing to be there and hear this soft spoken, dynamic, quiet fire of a brother. I am always pleased and gratified with the positive, supportive, empowering presence he lends to every event he attends.
That said, let me say first off this is truly a sad day when our Black pseudo intellectuals who know the price of everything and the value of nothing can make pronouncements as though they were the final word or authority on certain issues. White folks gave them a "degree" now they are learned, authoritative, and must fulfill the role they've been cast in - even if it means walking one of their own brothers. (hmmmm wonder what would happen if the roles were reversed and they had to let go a so-called white man of learning from the school? They'd hurry up and find a way to make sure he did not suffer ignominious assault brother Haki is enduring.
This is indeed a tragic situation, where this writer is trying to justify the parsimonious attitude of someone who obviously does not understand the value of having a personage, such as Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti at his campus in the first place.
The fact that he teaches "only one class and gets a full salary" is not the issue. You're talking quantity not quality when you speak in those terms. It's no more relevant than would be Michael Jordan scoring baskets and only being paid minimum wage because he is not on the basket ball court all the time; or Denzel Washington being relegated to union wages for the roles he portrays in the movies and on stage. It would be like saying to Tiger Woods we'll pay you for each time you're on the golf course because we really don't see what you do and how we benefit when you're not (and please don't wave the recent crap flap in my face -- I'm much too well aware). It does not compute!
Trying to hold what Haki does to a base salary, when he really is a BLACK CULTURAL ICON is an insult to the very being of this Black man and should not be countenanced. As a friend of mine from Atlanta used to say "that dog won't hunt!!!"
Being penny wise and pound foolish is exactly the reason why we don't have any more permanent, prominent Black institutions than we should. We are too busy discounting the value of each other, and trying to nickel and dime the situation.
Brother Haki R. Madhubuti, quite simply, is not to be equated with rank and file professors, teachers, adjunct professors.They teach - he EDUCATES!!! That brother has long since proved his merit and value in the realm of Black history, Black literature, Black professionalism, Black lives. How silly can you possibly be?
Did you read Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? (it was so heavy, I made my son read it when he was 15 - changed his life; gave him an entirely different understanding of his role as a young Black Man. He's now 36 and still remembers it).
Does Mr. Watson or Ms. Hartman or even the Black people of Chicago not know that it is because of The Third World Press, established by Dr. Madhubuti in the 60's that Blacks have been able to get published and read? Where is your value system?
Is there some kind of subtle -- maybe not so subtle -- envy on the part of both the writer and the College President that they can rationalize trying to pull the brother down? There are several vicarious benefits from the college having Dr. Madhubuti on their faculty. But if you don't value him, or understand the concept -- look at such other luminaries as Dr. Cornell West, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., then perhaps this is a sign of one door closing; the other door opening for Haki.
Per Hartman: "All state universities and colleges are experiencing budget cuts, and Watson found it necessary to assess all paid staff and reduce the payroll. Watson's assessment found that Haki Madhubuti had been receiving full-time pay for teaching just one course per year. In most universities on the planet, teaching one, three-hour course per year is not considered teaching full-time. Watson asked Madhubuti to carry a full-teaching load, which is 12 hours, or four courses. Besides, few occupy Madhubuti's space and others who are also CSU Distinguished Professors carried full teaching loads. Watson asked for work documentation for a full-time salary; he required accountability."
What other CSU Distinguished Professors are you referring to? Why are you comparing them to Madhubuti, when he is clearly in a league by himself? Are you the appointed apologist for the system that is trying to take more than 40 years of dedication and equate it with a 9 to 5 job? And at what point to we develop Blackbone and take some principled stands for each other instead of standing on each other's black backs?
Hartman: "Mitchell argues that Madhubuti's status as a 'cultural icon' should not shield him from the extra work." I really don't think that's the issue. It would almost be tantamount to saying to a Frederick Douglas, who has given lectures all over the country about "My Bondage and My Freedom" and his other experiences as a slave -- well whatcha waitin' for! Get out there and lecture. You ain't dead yet. It's like saying to E. Franklin Frazier (author of Black Bourgeoisie), yeah, right! N-r - that and a bag of chips will get you across the campus.
What Hartmann calls a "free lunch" is more a symbol of a University's capacity to attract higher quality faculty; better yet, it's quid pro quo. You get the benefit of Haki Madhubuti's intelligence, knowledge and dedication; he continues to be affiliated with the college. If you have no understanding of how that works, visit the aforementioned examples I've already given you.
The denigration of Dr. Madhubuti may go well in Chicago, but in New York we over understand the plantation mentality, and the sycophants it takes to keep it in place. There is only one Black man in this fight -- and we know who that is.
When you can so callously narrow it down and say "it's not personal, it's just business," as though this justifies the acerbic attitudes and statements roiling around in the atmosphere, it means that you've already begun to drink the proverbial kool-ade; that you have assumed an emotional distance between us and from each other, and allows us to objectify each other, instead of realizing that we are pawns in a much larger board game. Hmmm, I wonder where you could possibly have picked that up from???
If it's not personal, it should be!! There should be care and concern about how we treat each other and work together in much the same way that Jews do when they make decisions about each other; or our Latino Brothers and sisters do when they make decisions about working together; or the way the caucasians do when they make decisions about working together. Because, whether they enunciate or not, they are family, and they back each other up. We are the only ones expected to follow a policy lock step that others do not even deal with.
There are thousands of Black men and women who put their lives on the line literally in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, who went to the edge who are still out there on a daily basis trying literally save our African souls from another day of post-traumatic slave syndrome. I guess there are twice as many whites and blacks (negro) who are trying to keep them at bay.
People like Elombe Brath, Dr. Ben Jochanan, Kermit Eady (Black United Fund of New York), and others who have made it their lives' work to enlighten and liberate us and getting precious little in return. The commentary that Haki was doing "quite well" with his publishing business and other concerns was really quite cynical -- considering the money he puts up in advance to make sure the writer has what he or she needs to get started. These are people who, at the end of the day, deserve the accolades, the honor, the nurture. We really should have planned unit developments, center for struggling and/or retired activists. We should be putting monies together to give them places of honor. We should be building libaries of their work; teaching our kids about them -- goodness knows we've allowed them to worship enough empty headed icons -- and look what we have -- males who don't know how to wear pants; and females who make our ancestors (living and dead) cry.
We should revere Haki Madhubuti, Imamu Baraka, Elombe Brath, Askia Muhammad Toure, and others way the mainstream makes heroes out of even some of their most depraved characters (Reagan springs to mind). We need to develop standards of quality, a'la Carter G. Woodson (the Mis Education of the Negro), and a ton of brothers who stood when it was literally life and death to do so. If they can consistently call Reagan "the great communicator" .......back again to 'hmmmm!'
I strongly suggest that Watson and Madhubuti sit down -- behind closed doors(?) in front of the African Holy Ghost(or whatever guiding spiritual entity you believe in and follow --other than the almighty dollar) -- and put this right -- for the greater benefit of all the millions of Black brothers and sisters who depend on and absolutely need the paradigm shift of unification -- i.e., the end to divide and conquer. We can't afford other wise.
By the way, pardon my not knowing, but who is Hermene Hartman, and why is she trying to rationalize this mess?? Her article follows below.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
--- On Fri, 4/9/10,
From: jweusi
Subject: Article from Hermene Hartman
Hermene Hartman
One of the most significant and influential black women in American publishing
Posted: April 7, 2010 10:40 AM
Chicago State University Prez is Right: There Is No Free Lunch for Icons
Dr. Wayne Watson, the President of Chicago State University, and I were Vice Chancellors at City Colleges together. He is my friend.
Haki Madhubuti is a man of great intellect and a prolific writer. Throughout the years, I have sought his professional advice and I have referred many to his publishing firm, Third World Press. I have participated in his annual Gwendolyn Brooks Conference for Black Literature and Creative Writing, and I have sat in audiences to hear his lectures. I admire his work.
Watson and Madhubuti have appeared on the cover of this paper and The N'Digo Foundation has honored both esteemed men for their achievements in the field of education.
In her first column, Mitchell revealed that Madhubuti wrote an open letter critical of Watson--a letter that I also received, read and responded to some time ago. Madhubuti said, "I can't work with him. I am not going to stand here and let him use this university like he used the City Colleges."
What does that mean?
During his tenure at City Colleges, Watson built a model, modern institution of higher learning--Kennedy King College--to transform the disenfranchised neighborhood of Englewood. He installed programs that put young people to work. He achieved the longest record of accreditation that City Colleges has ever received. And Watson left Chicago's community college system with elevated academic standards and a $60 million surplus in the budget. Not bad, I would say.
Watson assumed the post of president at Chicago State University in October 2009, marking the first time in Illinois history that an educator who was the chancellor of the community college system ascended to the state university level.
Cleaning House at CSU
The process of moving Chicago State University forward has begun. All state universities and colleges are experiencing budget cuts, and Watson found it necessary to assess all paid staff and reduce the payroll. Watson's assessment found that Haki Madhubuti had been receiving full-time pay for teaching just one course per year.
In most universities on the planet, teaching one, three-hour course per year is not considered teaching full-time. Watson asked Madhubuti to carry a full-teaching load, which is 12 hours, or four courses. Besides, few occupy Madhubuti's space and others who are also CSU Distinguished Professors carried full teaching loads. Watson asked for work documentation for a full-time salary; he required accountability.
Madhubuti's salary was not reduced; his workload was increased to represent a full-teaching course load. And Madhubuti was not fired; instead, he chose a public resignation through the press -- at his annual conference, which was fully supported by the Chicago State University.
What's so wrong with teaching a full course load?
Madhubuti's 26 years at Chicago State positioned him and Watson at odds--I would have thought that Watson and Madhubuti would have made a perfect team to take Chicago State University to that next level--and this entire matter suggests a power play.
But Watson is the president with a board of directors and taxpayers to answer to, so he must maintain his proven record as the tough, no-nonsense, accountable and responsible administrator.
Mitchell argues that Madhubuti's status as a 'cultural icon' should shield him from the extra work. That's her opinion, but it's essential that the facts are not lost.
Chicago State University is not a villa for cultural icons; it's an institution of higher learning.
The best thing any distinguished professor/cultural icon could do is roll up his sleeves and engage students. In doing so, he would join the ranks of distinguished professors who have taught and authored books -- like Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Charles Hamilton, Dr. Patricia Hill-Collins and the likes of the late Dr. John Hope Franklin, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers, Dr. St. Clair Drake, and Dr. Edward Franklin Frazier.
One More Lesson
Haki Madhubuti is highly regarded in his community, but now support for him is not there, because Madhubuti and Mitchell are wrong.
Think about it--who would publicly support Madhubuti in this year of economic hard times, when most are working 40-plus hours per week if they are lucky to have a job?
So, when you read about Madhubuti--someone making a dynamic salary for teaching a single three hour course, while running several charter schools, earning a hefty purse as a paid guest speaker (lecturing to more students outside of Chicago State University than he does at Chicago State) and running a publishing business, it's hard to protest Watson's demand for a full-time workload at Chicago State. So let's cancel the pity-party.
Mitchell may be in for a bit of a business lesson, as well.
While Watson was at City Colleges, the Chairman of his board was Mr. James Tyree. He and Watson worked in conjunction at the City Colleges. And this is the same James Tyree who now owns the Chicago Sun-Times.
Instead of, "Where's the Support of Madhubuti?" The more appropriate question is, how did Professor Haki Madhubuti and the previous Chicago State University presidents justify a professor, (icon or not) earning a full-time salary for teaching just one course per year?
Mitchell notes in her column, "It is painful to watch two powerful Black men fight publicly."
This is not a story about two black powerful men fighting, unless you make it one.
This is a story about right and wrong.
4.15.2010
BLACK PEOPLE: DON’T BE SENSELESS ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS
By Gloria Dulan-Wilson
You know, when I started Blogging it was because I wanted to get information that I felt was essential to the ECLECTIC BLACK COMMUNITY: You, We, Us, Me.
And this is truly one of those times. You notice the title is DON'T BE SENSELESS ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS. This message is directly for you, my brothers and sisters, who I consider ECLECTICALLY BLACK.
And as you may have noticed the subtitle of my blog is "ECLECTICALLY BLACK." It's because, I look to all the things that unite us as a people, instead of dividing us. Therefore, I’m not concerned about whether you were born on the great Motherland continent of Africa, or on any one of the Caribbean islands where so many of us were taken during the transatlantic slave trade. Be it Cuba, or Central America, South America and North America, Europe, England, or any point in between (you know Black people really are everywhere) - the undeniable truth for 99.44% of Black people is that our true, historic point of origination is still Africa -- and I think that's wonderful!
So we are all Afro-something - with the residual traits that make us all Black, regardless of the accents, customs, food, dress styles, or any thing else we may have picked up or adapted to along the way.
So when I look at the confluence of cultures we enjoy here in New York, and other parts of the US, I am so proud and pleased to see that we’re still standing, regardless of what we’ve been through over the past few centuries. None of us have anything over any of the rest of us, because we are all carrying the same genes from the Motherland. Thank God for those genes, because of them we have survived -- and in some instances, thrived -- despite the hardships. We have our music, our sayings, our myths, our beliefs. We are all children of Africa -- ECLECTICALLY BLACK, regardless of who else has been in the mix of our gene pool over the eons that we’ve been on this planet.
Even whites, both legislators and slave traders (usually one and the same back in the bad old days), when they began to make a decision as to what constituted Blackness, stated that if a person had one tenth of one per cent of Black blood in their system, they were/are Black.
When President Barack Obama completed his Census Questionnaire, and it came to his selection for “race”, he marked appropriately that he was Black. Apparently this was such a momentous occasion that the news (NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, etc) announced: “It’s official, President Barack Obama is ‘Black’.” I had to stop and think about that for a moment, and before I formed the words “well, duh!” I thought everybody knew that. But, then it hit me that there were actually some of our own people who had the audacity to question whether or not the President was Black. Thank goodness he didn’t have any questions about who he is. And he didn’t argue with those who did.
Now to where I’m heading with this about being ECLECTICALLY BLACK and the 2010 Census? We share in some measure in all that is Black -- regardless of whether we eat roti, callalou, fufu, collard greens, curries, stew peas or whatever. Regardless of whether we resonate to Jazz or HipHop; Reggae, Calypso, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel Music or Old Negro Spirituals, merengue, kapoera; whether we are the deepest, richest most gorgeous shade of Ebony, or of the vanilla/bubblegum hue; whether our hair is short, tight natural curls; a huge bush; locks, or fried, dyed and laid to the side. It’s all us. ECLECTICALLY BLACK. We are gifted, talented, creative, and strong. We are the good and the not so good.
We have made considerable progress over the last decade, but are still the last hired, the first fired. We have set standards that others find hard to meet, but we are still the ones who have been relegated to being the low man on the totem pole (an old Indian saying meaning the person on the bottom).
But, we now have a chance to change that. A chance that we might blow unless we wake up, and get our act together. And we can do that by participating in the 2010 CENSUS.
The TV commercials have been playing over and over about the 2010 census. Historically speaking, the US has had a Census since the 1700’s in order to make some decisions about where the resources and representations need to be proportionately allocated.
It does not take a rocket scientist to under stand that this means they who have the highest number wins. They who have the best turn out gets to call the shots. Didn’t we just see this in the most recent New York City mayoral election. We have consistently underestimate our strength. Last November, 2009, we pulled our punches, sat on our hands and let Bloomberg squeak by with barely a 2% margin.
Let’s don’t make the same ignominious mistake again with the Census. How much more will we benefit by standing up, showing up and being counted. How many more of our schools will be saved? How many more hospital beds and medical services, and other essential allocations that have been missing from our community can be reinstated? There are billions of dollars waiting to be allocated to our communities to enhance our quality of living.
ECLECTICALLY BLACK PEOPLE make up the considerable majority in many communities throughout the US. And when ECLECTICALLY BLACK PEOPLE pull together, we make a considerable difference in how things get done. Think about it - remember that we were the ones in line by the thousands to vote for President Barack Obama in 2008. We counted then; we count now even more, because by completing the 2010 CENSUS FORMS we make it possible for necessary allocations to be directed to our communities.
I’ve always considered us to be the brightest and the best. So why is it that only 35% of us in Brooklyn were counted in the 2000 census? What’s up with that? Why is it that we are the 2nd lowest respondents in the nation? Please don’t think this is something to be proud of, or smug about. This is not only embarrassing and abysmal, it also points to what might also be an inability to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
But here we are again. Our elected political figures, community leaders, activists, artists, movie stars are literally on their knees begging us to fill out our census forms and send them back in.
The census counts everyone regardless of status! It benefits every one. It determines where the most need is for services and representation. We have people here in the US who have come from other countries - Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean - ostensibly here for a better life, but who are not necessarily here under “legal” circumstances, and who are afraid to complete the census. They feel it may be a means by which they will be forced to return to the country they come from. No matter how much they are being reassured that this is not the case, they are still not complying. If that's you, or a relative, or a friend -- please stop blocking. You are hurting yourself and the rest of us when you don't participate and complete the form.
While I understand and sympathize with the fears and concerns, we have to exercise some tough love in this issue. Let's do a reality check: If you truly did indeed come to the US to live a better life, then you have to see that your not completing the forms is hurting you, the people who live here, and the community you live in. You’re blocking them from their right to appropriate representation.
Additionally, being the kind of government it is, the US is well aware of who is here “legally or illegally,” regardless of your race, ethnicity, color, gender, or where in the US you happen to live. The truth is that if they were determined to expel you from the country, you would most definitely not still be here.
You will more likely be considered to be a potentially good citizen by completing the census form and turning it in, than by trying to evade it. You will be more welcomed as a potential participant if you are cooperating in things that mean progress to the community and country that's providing you a livelihood. If you are cooperating by sending in your census forms, to show that your intention is to be a good citizen it is documented proof that you are working with us, not against us.
And for those of you who are reading this and know of individuals and families who are part of the population, please share this with them and encourage -- no demand -- that they complete their forms and turn it in.
Also note, even though I'm writing from New York, this is relevant to us no matter where we are -- Oklahoma, California, DC, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, where ever we are, we must be counted.
In Brooklyn‘s 11th Congressional District, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke held a meeting to kick off the Complete Count Campaign. "We will not be under counted on my watch. Brooklyn must be counted along with all the other communities," stated the Congresswoman, who has turned her entire staff over to the effort. Dr. Waldaba Stewart, originally from Panama, suggested that those who were born outside the United States should mark Black in the section that asks for racial or ethnic identity. 'However, he continued, "if you do not identify with any of the categories already listed, you may also put your country of origin in the bottom area designated."
Since this blog is directed to those of us who are of African heritage, i.e., Black, African American (and, yes, even Negro), it would be to all our advantage if you mark the category, because we are counted as a whole.
Our clergy also has a important and pivotal part to play in this matter as well. With so many wonderful churches proliferating in New York as a whole and Brooklyn in particular, it would be a simple matter for the various ministerial alliances to designate the next four Saturdays or Sundays for completing census information. It could be easily done during services, passed to the end of the aisle, the ushers could collect them, and they could be dropped them off at the nearest post office for your congregation. In fact, to then have your congregants go out and get at least one additional neighbor who has not completed his or her form, and bring that in, could likewise be of benefit to the community. that would change the 35% considerably.
As stated earlier, We, the Eclectically Black People of the World (I like how that sounds) can be found in practically every corner of the world; and are very much in evidence throughout the United States. It is imperative that we to use our own creative means to bring our people together to complete the 2010 Census.
We can have hip-hop/spoken word census parties; we can have reggae census parties; we can have gospel sing off census parties; we can census completion street fairs; we can have census luncheons; census bar-b-q's; all these would be fun ways to bring folks together to complete the forms and have a good time as well.
Those are just some suggestions. Census forms are available at the libraries, post offices, and other designated centers throughout -- check with your local census bureau to find out what’s near you; or go online www.2010census.gov. Pick up some extra forms so you can have them available to give your friends or neighbors; then, instead of relying on them to mail them in, wait while they complete it, and drop it in the nearest mail box or at the local post office for them.
We know that this is not rocket science. So let's keep it simple. We sometimes have the penchant for shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot by overlooking the simple and making the easy more complicated than it has to be. And believe me, I understand the genesis of the whole thing. But when it back fires on us and leaves us with less than what we need to survive, it becomes a case of what my mother, Ruby Love, calls “out smarting your own self!”. We end up on the short end of the stick.
{I don’t know what’s going on. It seems as if I just fell into the cliché bin and I can’t get out.}
At any rate a word to the wise should be sufficient, right? Once the tally is in, and the reality sets in that we didn’t do our part; we will have to suffer through the consequences for another 10 years! You don’t get another chance to make it right; you just get to stew in your own juices, while other communities, who are just praying that you’ll remain in the dark and blow it anyway, will reap the benefits of your ignorance. Sorry if you don’t like the pejorative, but it is what it is; and it is ignorant to do something that will be destructive your and others well being.
Back to the concept of ECLECTICALLY BLACK. We have so much in common, that when people tried to point out divisions between us, I realized that we were still being victimized by the same old methodology of divide and conquer that has been being used against us since the first African man and woman was thrown on the boat and stolen off the continent. I.e., tribe against tribe; family against family, and later color against color. In the US, where the most heinous form of enslavement proliferated, “playing the dozens” was a method that was most commonly used to set family members against each other.
Though I don’t know everything about everybody’s history, origin, food preference, or colloquialisms, I love what I hear when I'm walking through the streets of Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx. I hear our various accents, the music, see the colorful fabrics, the jewelry. That's all us!!
Likewise, many brothers and sisters don’t know everything about African Americans. But guess what? If we take the time to explore each other’s history, as well as what makes each of us great right now, we’ve got a life of learning about each other. Rather than focusing on the negative, we should be focusing on the positive empowering energies we each bring to the table -- New York to Mississippi, Africa to Bermuda, Jamaica to Trinidad, South America to Cuba -- and anywhere else in the world we Black people are. Boy do we have lot to learn and to do.
The slave traders (notice I did not say “masters”) spent 400 years learning about us, while at the same time keeping the essential information away from each us. That’s why brothers like Carlos Lezama who started the West Indian Day Parade here in New York; brother John Henrik Clarke; the late John Hope Franklin (my homeboy, originally from Oklahoma); Lerone Bennett, Carter G. Woodson, and Ali Mazrui and so many others are of extreme importance to us in keeping alive the intraconnection we have with each other.
It’s also why we have to reconnect with each other, both through our concentric histories, as well as through this census count. We deserve our share and the only way we’re going to get it is to pull it together. So complete your 2010 CENSUS FORM is in some measure putting the pieces of the puzzle back together for us all.
Fill yours out and make sure your family and friends do also. And those you who have already done so THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!
Nuff said, I hope.
Stay blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
PS: If you got your questionnaire in the mail, please complete it and mail it back; if you did not receive it in the mail, pick one up from the Post Office or Library; or go online www.2010census.gov, and get the info of where to get a form. Deadline for mail back is July 1, 2010 - but why wait that long. Get it done; send it off and reward yourself with a nice treat for having helped your community.
Stay Blessed/Gloria
You know, when I started Blogging it was because I wanted to get information that I felt was essential to the ECLECTIC BLACK COMMUNITY: You, We, Us, Me.
And this is truly one of those times. You notice the title is DON'T BE SENSELESS ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS. This message is directly for you, my brothers and sisters, who I consider ECLECTICALLY BLACK.
And as you may have noticed the subtitle of my blog is "ECLECTICALLY BLACK." It's because, I look to all the things that unite us as a people, instead of dividing us. Therefore, I’m not concerned about whether you were born on the great Motherland continent of Africa, or on any one of the Caribbean islands where so many of us were taken during the transatlantic slave trade. Be it Cuba, or Central America, South America and North America, Europe, England, or any point in between (you know Black people really are everywhere) - the undeniable truth for 99.44% of Black people is that our true, historic point of origination is still Africa -- and I think that's wonderful!
So we are all Afro-something - with the residual traits that make us all Black, regardless of the accents, customs, food, dress styles, or any thing else we may have picked up or adapted to along the way.
So when I look at the confluence of cultures we enjoy here in New York, and other parts of the US, I am so proud and pleased to see that we’re still standing, regardless of what we’ve been through over the past few centuries. None of us have anything over any of the rest of us, because we are all carrying the same genes from the Motherland. Thank God for those genes, because of them we have survived -- and in some instances, thrived -- despite the hardships. We have our music, our sayings, our myths, our beliefs. We are all children of Africa -- ECLECTICALLY BLACK, regardless of who else has been in the mix of our gene pool over the eons that we’ve been on this planet.
Even whites, both legislators and slave traders (usually one and the same back in the bad old days), when they began to make a decision as to what constituted Blackness, stated that if a person had one tenth of one per cent of Black blood in their system, they were/are Black.
When President Barack Obama completed his Census Questionnaire, and it came to his selection for “race”, he marked appropriately that he was Black. Apparently this was such a momentous occasion that the news (NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, etc) announced: “It’s official, President Barack Obama is ‘Black’.” I had to stop and think about that for a moment, and before I formed the words “well, duh!” I thought everybody knew that. But, then it hit me that there were actually some of our own people who had the audacity to question whether or not the President was Black. Thank goodness he didn’t have any questions about who he is. And he didn’t argue with those who did.
Now to where I’m heading with this about being ECLECTICALLY BLACK and the 2010 Census? We share in some measure in all that is Black -- regardless of whether we eat roti, callalou, fufu, collard greens, curries, stew peas or whatever. Regardless of whether we resonate to Jazz or HipHop; Reggae, Calypso, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel Music or Old Negro Spirituals, merengue, kapoera; whether we are the deepest, richest most gorgeous shade of Ebony, or of the vanilla/bubblegum hue; whether our hair is short, tight natural curls; a huge bush; locks, or fried, dyed and laid to the side. It’s all us. ECLECTICALLY BLACK. We are gifted, talented, creative, and strong. We are the good and the not so good.
We have made considerable progress over the last decade, but are still the last hired, the first fired. We have set standards that others find hard to meet, but we are still the ones who have been relegated to being the low man on the totem pole (an old Indian saying meaning the person on the bottom).
But, we now have a chance to change that. A chance that we might blow unless we wake up, and get our act together. And we can do that by participating in the 2010 CENSUS.
The TV commercials have been playing over and over about the 2010 census. Historically speaking, the US has had a Census since the 1700’s in order to make some decisions about where the resources and representations need to be proportionately allocated.
It does not take a rocket scientist to under stand that this means they who have the highest number wins. They who have the best turn out gets to call the shots. Didn’t we just see this in the most recent New York City mayoral election. We have consistently underestimate our strength. Last November, 2009, we pulled our punches, sat on our hands and let Bloomberg squeak by with barely a 2% margin.
Let’s don’t make the same ignominious mistake again with the Census. How much more will we benefit by standing up, showing up and being counted. How many more of our schools will be saved? How many more hospital beds and medical services, and other essential allocations that have been missing from our community can be reinstated? There are billions of dollars waiting to be allocated to our communities to enhance our quality of living.
ECLECTICALLY BLACK PEOPLE make up the considerable majority in many communities throughout the US. And when ECLECTICALLY BLACK PEOPLE pull together, we make a considerable difference in how things get done. Think about it - remember that we were the ones in line by the thousands to vote for President Barack Obama in 2008. We counted then; we count now even more, because by completing the 2010 CENSUS FORMS we make it possible for necessary allocations to be directed to our communities.
I’ve always considered us to be the brightest and the best. So why is it that only 35% of us in Brooklyn were counted in the 2000 census? What’s up with that? Why is it that we are the 2nd lowest respondents in the nation? Please don’t think this is something to be proud of, or smug about. This is not only embarrassing and abysmal, it also points to what might also be an inability to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
But here we are again. Our elected political figures, community leaders, activists, artists, movie stars are literally on their knees begging us to fill out our census forms and send them back in.
The census counts everyone regardless of status! It benefits every one. It determines where the most need is for services and representation. We have people here in the US who have come from other countries - Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean - ostensibly here for a better life, but who are not necessarily here under “legal” circumstances, and who are afraid to complete the census. They feel it may be a means by which they will be forced to return to the country they come from. No matter how much they are being reassured that this is not the case, they are still not complying. If that's you, or a relative, or a friend -- please stop blocking. You are hurting yourself and the rest of us when you don't participate and complete the form.
While I understand and sympathize with the fears and concerns, we have to exercise some tough love in this issue. Let's do a reality check: If you truly did indeed come to the US to live a better life, then you have to see that your not completing the forms is hurting you, the people who live here, and the community you live in. You’re blocking them from their right to appropriate representation.
Additionally, being the kind of government it is, the US is well aware of who is here “legally or illegally,” regardless of your race, ethnicity, color, gender, or where in the US you happen to live. The truth is that if they were determined to expel you from the country, you would most definitely not still be here.
You will more likely be considered to be a potentially good citizen by completing the census form and turning it in, than by trying to evade it. You will be more welcomed as a potential participant if you are cooperating in things that mean progress to the community and country that's providing you a livelihood. If you are cooperating by sending in your census forms, to show that your intention is to be a good citizen it is documented proof that you are working with us, not against us.
And for those of you who are reading this and know of individuals and families who are part of the population, please share this with them and encourage -- no demand -- that they complete their forms and turn it in.
Also note, even though I'm writing from New York, this is relevant to us no matter where we are -- Oklahoma, California, DC, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, where ever we are, we must be counted.
In Brooklyn‘s 11th Congressional District, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke held a meeting to kick off the Complete Count Campaign. "We will not be under counted on my watch. Brooklyn must be counted along with all the other communities," stated the Congresswoman, who has turned her entire staff over to the effort. Dr. Waldaba Stewart, originally from Panama, suggested that those who were born outside the United States should mark Black in the section that asks for racial or ethnic identity. 'However, he continued, "if you do not identify with any of the categories already listed, you may also put your country of origin in the bottom area designated."
Since this blog is directed to those of us who are of African heritage, i.e., Black, African American (and, yes, even Negro), it would be to all our advantage if you mark the category, because we are counted as a whole.
Our clergy also has a important and pivotal part to play in this matter as well. With so many wonderful churches proliferating in New York as a whole and Brooklyn in particular, it would be a simple matter for the various ministerial alliances to designate the next four Saturdays or Sundays for completing census information. It could be easily done during services, passed to the end of the aisle, the ushers could collect them, and they could be dropped them off at the nearest post office for your congregation. In fact, to then have your congregants go out and get at least one additional neighbor who has not completed his or her form, and bring that in, could likewise be of benefit to the community. that would change the 35% considerably.
As stated earlier, We, the Eclectically Black People of the World (I like how that sounds) can be found in practically every corner of the world; and are very much in evidence throughout the United States. It is imperative that we to use our own creative means to bring our people together to complete the 2010 Census.
We can have hip-hop/spoken word census parties; we can have reggae census parties; we can have gospel sing off census parties; we can census completion street fairs; we can have census luncheons; census bar-b-q's; all these would be fun ways to bring folks together to complete the forms and have a good time as well.
Those are just some suggestions. Census forms are available at the libraries, post offices, and other designated centers throughout -- check with your local census bureau to find out what’s near you; or go online www.2010census.gov. Pick up some extra forms so you can have them available to give your friends or neighbors; then, instead of relying on them to mail them in, wait while they complete it, and drop it in the nearest mail box or at the local post office for them.
We know that this is not rocket science. So let's keep it simple. We sometimes have the penchant for shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot by overlooking the simple and making the easy more complicated than it has to be. And believe me, I understand the genesis of the whole thing. But when it back fires on us and leaves us with less than what we need to survive, it becomes a case of what my mother, Ruby Love, calls “out smarting your own self!”. We end up on the short end of the stick.
{I don’t know what’s going on. It seems as if I just fell into the cliché bin and I can’t get out.}
At any rate a word to the wise should be sufficient, right? Once the tally is in, and the reality sets in that we didn’t do our part; we will have to suffer through the consequences for another 10 years! You don’t get another chance to make it right; you just get to stew in your own juices, while other communities, who are just praying that you’ll remain in the dark and blow it anyway, will reap the benefits of your ignorance. Sorry if you don’t like the pejorative, but it is what it is; and it is ignorant to do something that will be destructive your and others well being.
Back to the concept of ECLECTICALLY BLACK. We have so much in common, that when people tried to point out divisions between us, I realized that we were still being victimized by the same old methodology of divide and conquer that has been being used against us since the first African man and woman was thrown on the boat and stolen off the continent. I.e., tribe against tribe; family against family, and later color against color. In the US, where the most heinous form of enslavement proliferated, “playing the dozens” was a method that was most commonly used to set family members against each other.
Though I don’t know everything about everybody’s history, origin, food preference, or colloquialisms, I love what I hear when I'm walking through the streets of Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx. I hear our various accents, the music, see the colorful fabrics, the jewelry. That's all us!!
Likewise, many brothers and sisters don’t know everything about African Americans. But guess what? If we take the time to explore each other’s history, as well as what makes each of us great right now, we’ve got a life of learning about each other. Rather than focusing on the negative, we should be focusing on the positive empowering energies we each bring to the table -- New York to Mississippi, Africa to Bermuda, Jamaica to Trinidad, South America to Cuba -- and anywhere else in the world we Black people are. Boy do we have lot to learn and to do.
The slave traders (notice I did not say “masters”) spent 400 years learning about us, while at the same time keeping the essential information away from each us. That’s why brothers like Carlos Lezama who started the West Indian Day Parade here in New York; brother John Henrik Clarke; the late John Hope Franklin (my homeboy, originally from Oklahoma); Lerone Bennett, Carter G. Woodson, and Ali Mazrui and so many others are of extreme importance to us in keeping alive the intraconnection we have with each other.
It’s also why we have to reconnect with each other, both through our concentric histories, as well as through this census count. We deserve our share and the only way we’re going to get it is to pull it together. So complete your 2010 CENSUS FORM is in some measure putting the pieces of the puzzle back together for us all.
Fill yours out and make sure your family and friends do also. And those you who have already done so THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!
Nuff said, I hope.
Stay blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
PS: If you got your questionnaire in the mail, please complete it and mail it back; if you did not receive it in the mail, pick one up from the Post Office or Library; or go online www.2010census.gov, and get the info of where to get a form. Deadline for mail back is July 1, 2010 - but why wait that long. Get it done; send it off and reward yourself with a nice treat for having helped your community.
Stay Blessed/Gloria
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