SAM GREENLEE Joins the Ancestors

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

This is a tough week for me - having lost two friends on the same day, immediately after having memorialized Malcolm X, our BLACK SHINING PRINCE - and roughly a little over a month since my own mother's passing - Elombe Brath and Sam Greenlee's transitions have made me feel especially sensitive.   Each, in turn, have catapulted me down a sort of memory lane/rewind.  I think I mentioned in an initial statement that I dropped my cell phone upon hearing of Sam Greenlee's demise, and it literally went "dead" on me for two days.  That silence has given me an opportunity to really do some reflecting about this wonderful, charismatic brother.  So this, then, is a personal homage to Sam Greenlee:

Sam Greenlee:  Author, Educator, Poet, Movie Producer

I first "met" Sam Greenlee through his epoch making book - THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR.  I picked the book up at the then Michaux Book Store in Harlem, which used to be at the corner of Adam Clayton Powell (7th Ave) and 125th Street, where the State Office Building currently stands.  The book was, in fact, recommended to me by Dr. Michaux himself, who was, at the time, the go to person for Black books - he had all the Black books you ever, or never, heard of.  He had read them all, and was conversant on the books, authors, issues, whatever.  He was a delight for a book worm such as myself - who would literally spend almost all of my meagre salary on books (or fabrics).  He had the entire collection of J.A. Rogers WORLD'S GREAT MEN OF COLOR;  Frantz Fanon's BLACK SKINS/WHITE MASKS; you name it, he had it! or he'd order it.   It was Dr. Michaux who brought Sam's book to my attention. 

So when I say I "met" Sam Greenlee, it was via Dr. Michaux's admiration for his work, that I became initially aware of this great brother.  It was an exciting read, but at the time I thought it was a work of fiction - and  I was more into historical information - so I enjoyed it, but kind of passed it off as not in the realm of possibilities.

The next time I became aware of Sam Greenlee was when the movie was released.  Having already read the book, I wanted to see how close the movie was to it.  Also, during the 60's and 70's, we were supporting any and all Black movies, regardless of their genre, because it was an opportunity to help our other Black brothers and sisters stay employed and "relevant" in the Hollyweird movie industries.

 

Having seen Ivan Dixon in "NOTHING BUT A MAN," with Abbie Lincoln (Aminata Moseka), we definitely wanted to support his directorial efforts.  And, I will definitely say that the movie version did not disappoint.  We were keenly aware of the fact that this was about as close as it came to having a "blueprint for revolution" played out on the big screen.  There were discussion groups around the movie,  and whether those were real possibilities, or just a work of fiction and fantasy.  This was during the waning years of The Black Power Movement,  and many of the leaders, who were still trying to set up community based organizations, were beginning to buckle under the challenges of Black communities being deliberately flooded with drugs.  THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR seemed to them a ray of hope. Instructive and constructive in its scope, many were determined to have their teams view it as such. 

The fact is, however, that those plans never saw the light of day, and  Black communities and organizations were subsequently eviscerated by a combination of drugs on the one hand, and gentrification on the other.

Fast forward to 1998, the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie - and the first time I actually met Sam Greenlee - through the good offices of my sister/friend/activist/artist Maxine McCrey Montano - who had known Sam for decades.  She introduced us at Perks Fine Cuisine (our favorite Harlem Hangout Black in the day), as a "poet."  She thought it would be a "good thing for me to interview him for the New York Beacon," which was the publication I wrote for at the time.  

I almost turned down the opportunity to do so, because we had so many Black poets at the time, and unfortunately, Black newspapers were not paying for innovative, unsolicited articles.   However, Sam was so comical and down to earth, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that I was talking to The Sam Greenlee, author of THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR!!  I initially didn't believe it was really him.  I had to pinch myself a couple of times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.  Then I silently thanked God for this wonderful opportunity. 

Sam Greenlee was an easy going, plain spoken, not afraid of anything or anybody sort of brother.  He was what most would have called "straight with no chaser."  He said what he had to say, and if you couldn't handle it, he was making absolutely no apologies - he's just smile and continue with his statement - he didn't deny the fact that you might not like what he said, he just continued and you had to handle your personal reaction as though it was your own personal problem, not his.  PERIOD!

I told him how thrilled I was when I first saw the movie, but was disappointed that the main character, Freeman, was "killed."  To which he responded that he was not necessarily "killed."  That there was originally a plan for a sequel to the movie, with the consideration for a possible TV series - however, all that was dashed when the CIA and FBI had the movie pulled and canned.  

Though I knew it was in the realm of possibility, I wanted to make sure I heard him correctly, so I asked him: "Did you just say the CIA and FBI had your movie pulled?"  To which he responded, "You damned right they did."  So of course my question as to why ( a dumb question, but you have to ask it), met with one of his intense answers:  "Because it was a blueprint for Black insurgence.  They were afraid that the Black liberation groups would use it to get reparations and stop victimization and spread of drugs."  

When I asked him on basis had he originally written the book and movie, he explained that his experience in the USIA (United States Information Agency) for eight years, and was one of the only Black men in the agency at the time, he began to develop an awareness of the undercurrent of racism and discrimination during that time.  It inspired him to write the book, but then he couldn't get it published in the US, at a time when there was a proliferation of Black authors.  He knew his book was being turned down  systematically in the US because of the content.  

Since it had been over twenty years since I had read the book, or heard about the movie,  my recollection of it was sketchy at best - I just remembered that I loved the fact that the hero, Freeman, showed vividly how to  use white's racist assumptions against them; and how  play lw key, and keep your own counsel, in order to learn their secrets; and, in turn, teach what you know to those brothers and sisters who didn't have the opportunity to learn first hand, was exemplary.  

It gave new meaning to "each one reach one; each one teach one."  Something that, by that time, few, if any of us, were even remotely practicing.   He liked the fact that I got the essence of the book and the fact that, whether we were working together for "revolutionary purposes," or for just the expansion of knowledge, our working together as a well oiled team is the key to success.  And that is what frightened the CIA and FBI more than anything else - the possibility of unity among Blacks, that would then be translated into international (African) unity (especially at the time he wrote the book) -- where Africans and African Americans were beginning to work together.

For the uninitiated, who has neither seen the movie or read the book, I'm including a caption from the 
Oxford Companion to African American Literature:  "In The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Greenlee presents a satirical novel that criticizes the racist atmosphere of the United States by examining the life of a fictitious black CIA agent, Dan Freeman. It is evident that Greenlee creates his images from his experience in the military and United States Information Agency.

References to Freeman as a ““spook”” in both the title and the novel possess a sense of duality or double consciousness: spook is used as a racial insult directed toward Blacks, in addition to being a slang term for spies. Greenlee uses this duality to establish a connection between Freeman's character and the African American experience during the turbulent 1960s, which parallels Greenlee's service time. With this multifaceted character, Greenlee begins to examine the mask that has been worn by African Americans for generations to hide their true feelings.  Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/sam-greenlee#ixzz32fZ0lSla"
 
When I said Sam would speak his mind and let the chips fall where they may, it was never more evident than when he spoke of his angst in trying to get the movie completed.  His anger at Jesse Jackson for not having "greenlighted" the backing of the movie was palpable, and problematical for me, because I considered (consider) Jesse Jackson a hero.  He reluctantly admitted that he considered "early" Jesse a hero, but "sell out" Jesse, "I can't stand him."   Couple that with the fact that his movie was pulled from all the theatres at the same time throughout the US, and it was only because a hand full of boot leggers actually copied the movie on handheld videos that they were even seen at all after that time up until 2000, had made him somewhat bitter.

Of course I pointed out that during the 70's we were all being watched by the CIA and FBI, and many of our actions were more of a defense/self-preservation nature, than against each other.  That cast in that light, Jesse himself may have been caught between a rock and a hard place in making the decision to not back him at that time.  

Apparently he liked what I said, because he gifted me with an autographed copy of the book - which 
I still cherish to this day.  It was the beginning of a long friendship.  Though I can't say I saw him on a regular basis, whenever he was in New York, he would give me a call to let me know where he would be speaking.  If I could make it, I would - if not, we'd spend at least twenty minutes on the phone catching up. 

During one of our many conversations, I asked him how people received the movie now that it  had been re-released and was now in the public domain and on Youtube - and he laughed: "They can show this movie over and over to these kids today - they wouldn't act on any of this because they're too comfortable.  They have their designer jeans, their playstations, and the only time many of them know they're Black is if they accidentally look in the mirror.  Nobody's afraid of Black people these days, except other Black people.  Back in the 70's when we were real, we were Black and we knew it, they (whites) definitely  felt they were in danger of Black dissidents putting this into action."  

When asked if he was finally getting paid serious royalties for his movie, he responded, "Nah!  Just the book sales - but I have to practically hand distribute them myself. Our people don't read anymore!"  The movie can be seen on YouTube in its entirety - either with or without the various interviews with Sam that have taken place since it was re-released in the year 2000, nearly forty years after it was taken off the market. 
 
Though he had recently done a series of lectures, he also is quite candid about being forced to go on welfare for a while, because he was denied the opportunity of teaching, or being gainfully employed in any of the many areas of his specialty  - a fact he feels can be attributed to the FBI profiling him as being a potential dissident.

The last time I saw Sam was at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY where they were honoring his work and showing the movie for the student body.   As always, Sam hit the ground running - with several things on his agenda, including hanging out in "what's left of the jazz clubs in Harlem. They just keep disappearing."   That was the Fall of 2012. 

They've called the movie a "cult classic" which generally means that it's now being dismissed as being anything serious, and is only followed by a certain genre of people.  I find it offputting, when in point of fact there is so much of intrinsic value in both the book and movie that are more than relative today.  His other works include include Baghdad Blues about  the 1958 Iraqui revolution and his experiences traveling in Iraq in the 1950s; and Blues for an African Princess - a collection of poems, and Ammunition.   He also wrote the screenplay for a film short called Lisa Trotter (2010). 

Sam had been named Poet Laureate of Chicago in 1990, a wonderful honor bestowed upon him for his years of work encapturing the heart, spirit and aspirations of Black people.  Always one to have his eye on the relevant and impactful subtleties of life, it's of no small importance that he chose to make his transition on Malcolm X's birthday.  No doubt he, Elombe and brother Malcolm are having quite a conversation right about this time.   Wouldn't it be great to have a "Spook" sit in on that conversation, and bring back to us still wandering around in confusion, the wisdom those three could impart??!!

My condolences and congratulations to his family and friends on Chicago and the world over.  Sam Greenlee is truly one of our treasures.

Stay Blessed & 
ECLECTICALLY BLACK 
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
www.gloriadulanwilson.blogspot.com/ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS



 







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Amiri Baraka: Poet Laureate To the Ancestors - Requiem For a Revolutionary Brother

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By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

AMIRI BARAKA POET LAUREATE TO THE ANCESTORS

It's taken me five days to write this farewell to Amiri Baraka - longer than it's ever taken me to write anything.  It's hard not to flash back over so many memories of the heart when it comes to writing about him. And also, when you're commemorating one who is such a prodigious writer, a staunch advocate for Black people and one I choose to call friend, you want to make sure you do him justice.   

Amina and Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka has been a part of my life in one way or another for over 45 years – whether he knew it or not, or whether he intended to or not.  We ran in concentric circles - sometimes on the periphery, and sometimes right in the center. 

I have so many memories of Amiri that I treasure. I suppose I could write about his place in history, his political activism. His volumes of books; his poetry, his militancy, his re-shaping NewArk, NJ into an World Wide Black cultural and political mecca. But I'll save that for the newspaper articles. My thoughts and memories of Amiri Baraka are on a much more personal level. There definitely was a feeling of awe on my part for Amiri and his life mate and wife Amina.

When I first heard of Amiri Baraka, he was still LeRoi Jones – that  “quirky” fire brand artist, actor, activist, whose play, the Dutchman, was breaking records in the Black art realm. I was a kid in high school when we first started reading his works. Of course, our Oklahoma teachers would be the ones to make sure we were exposed to all our Black writers - classic and contemporary. But little did I realize that this dynamic brother would be instrumental in my getting my first job!

Having graduated from Lincoln University in April, 1967, I walked into a world that was still trying to figure out how to dodge LBJ's efforts to formulate a Great Society out of a nation that had predicated its entire ethos on walking up and down the spines of Black people, while continuing to benefit from and exploit our considerable skills. The undeclared “war” in VietNam was raging. Black men were being snatched off the streets via the draft, and college classmates were being pulled into the fracas as well.

As an activist, I helped Black people to vote for the first time in Virginia; I had sat in, kneeled in, marched, all of the things that we did when were trying to equal rights for our people in Oklahoma. But in college, I had decided I would never march or sit in again, so I had whole souled embraced the tenents of BLACK POWER, which were first enunciated to us by Stokely Carmichael at Lincoln University. I sported a natural that made Foxxy Brown, Angela Davis, and Kathleen Cleaver look bald – you could see my natural before you saw me.  But then, I was barely 99 pounds, and a lot of mouth, and definitely militant. Studying under Dr. Charles V. Hamilton, with a side of Sam Anderson and Tony Montiero to boot, I was definitely Black and Proud; especially since the book, “Black Power” was written at Lincoln U, I had plenty of time to practice my Blackness.

But, I needed to get a job, and unfortunately, those particular traits were antithetical to the proscribed persona most whites look for when selecting who to hire. I was living in Philadelphia at the time, and there was plenty going on in terms of Black consciousness. The Rev. Leon Sullivan had started the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) to train Black people to start their own businesses or qualify for jobs. Playthel Benjamin was one of the most erudite of Philly's philosophers on Black pride.  Naturals were everywhere - cultural activities were the norm.  We had everything but jobs.

The Philadelphia Inquirer was full of job opportunities. So I naively responded to several of them. Everyone was very enthusiastic on the phone. But when I showed up, natural and all, the job was suddenly no longer available – or it had just been filled ten minutes before I arrived.

Such was the case when I applied for a position with the City of Philadelphia to work as a counselor to the “hard core unemployed.” I had spoken with a Mr. Neuhaus, who, after talking with me for less than five minutes, ascertained that I was just what they needed. He invited me to come down and interview with them for a position that would be jn Deputy City Manager, Richard Olanoff's office.

I dressed in my best business attire – my natural gleaming in the sun from Afro Sheen; and went to the office at 13^th and Arch Street, with resume in hand. I waited for over an hour, when finally Neuhaus came out and said the position was no longer available. To which I countered that having spoken with him the only day before, I found it difficult to believe that this was the case. He apologized, and ushered me to the door, promising to hold my resume on file for 6 months, and contact me the minute anything else suitable came up.

It was in July, 1967.   I had been job hunting for nearly four months without success. I went back home and the TV news was flashing Newark, NJ  “riot” reports.  The following day the Inquirer had a huge picture of LeRoi Jones on the front page, he had a bloodsoaked bandage around his head, anger in his eyes, and that famous gap in his teeth. A huge caption read “WHAT DOES LEROI JONES WANT???”

My best friend, Maxine Stewart and I were cracking up. We put his picture on the wall and wrote under it LeRoi Jones– Black Power in Action.

Two days later I got a call from the City of Philadelphia's Neuhaus asking me if I was still interested in the job I had applied for. It had suddenly become available again, at a slightly larger salary, with more benefits, if I could start immediately.

Of course I said yes. I started the following day. They placed my desk in the very front of the office so mine would be the first face you saw as you came in the door, as if to say “look, we have a Black person working for us. We're the good guys.”

I teased Amiri about this for years, and told him had he not been instrumental in frightening the bejeebers out of the Philadelphia racists, who were fearful of the Camden and Newark unrest crossing over into Philly; I would still have been job hunting. It was our standing joke for decades.

Memories of Amiri have had me in a reverie for the last several days. I had been praying for his complete recovery, but knew as well that if it didn't happen, it was because his mission on this side of the planet had been accomplished.  So  I felt, rather than heard, his transition. It was Thursday afternoon around two.  I was boarding a bus to somewhere.   My mind suddenly did a rewind to the story I just related you.  At the same time, my friend Barbara Killens Rivera called me – I saw her name on my cell phone. I didn't answer. I already knew what she was going to tell me: Amiri had made his transition. January 9, 2014, two days after the anniversary of Lou's passing - and I was still dealing with those memories. I've been having Amiri Baraka  memory flashbacks ever since.   

I met Amiri in person for the first time the following year when the Black Power Conference of 1968 was held in Philadelphia. I wanted to thank him for being the catalyst in getting me employed in Philly.  As it turned out  Amina, his wife, and I were the only two women with young children at the conference. Obalaji, their newborn son, and my daughter Kira Malaika, were still wearing diapers, and needed a lot of attention. Care and feeding was an issue, while at the same time trying to be a part of the event. So Amina, who was still known as Sylvia at the time, stayed at my home for part of the conference. When Obalaji was younger,  I used to tease him about changing his poopy diapers.

He had just changed his name to Imamu Amiri Baraka - amiri means "commander" and baraka means "blessing" in Swahili.  During the Black Power Conference of 1968, Amina and I confabbed on the role of the Black woman and Black mothers in terms of raising conscientious and proud Black children. I attended the women's workshop, the cultural and the educational workshops. Those were heady times, and Amiri and Ron Karenga were the fulcrum of all the activities. 

But the biggest memory was watching the way Amina and Amiri worked together. It was like a well choreographed dance between two lovers, who, while they were in a world and realm of their own, were still unselfish enough to share that love they had for each other with those in the room. You fairly soaked it up like osmosis. They set such a great example for Black man and woman hood, Black marriage and family relationships. I have always admired them. It was great being around them. They were a dynamic pair. It was clear that they were made for each other. I was so impressed with Amina and the fact that she had drawn this dynamic brother, valiant, brave, creative, charismatic - a man of letters in more ways than one. The fact that they were together, earned my instant respect and friendship. 

Amiri, Amina, Obalaji Baraka 1968

In 1968, having found myself among such Black heavy hitters as Max Stanford, of the Black United Front; Maulana Ron Karenga of US, H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, of SNCC, William “Bill” Sayles, Sam Anderson, among others, all I wanted to do is sit back and absorb the wisdom and energy, and play whatever  small part I could.  Amiri's goal was to involve regular African Americans who had been disenfranchised into the nation building process; and make Black education and Black pride a practical, liveable way of life. We began to rekindle interests in African history; the fact that we came from royalty and were descendents of the great kings and queens of Africa; and develop communalistic programs where Blacks shared responsibilities, profitabilities, etc.

Those were heady, heavy times, and Amiri was at the epicenter. There was a point when I had actually considered moving to New Ark to be part of their newly established Black cultural nationalist organization, work with the women and the educational system. But my path took me in a totally different direction. I moved to New York and became the director of student activities for the SEEK Program at City College. We had many militant students, and frequently I would bring either Amiri or the Last Poets come to address the Black and Puerto Rican student body, much to the annoyance of the white administration.

Then, in 1969 I was out of the country for the next two years – Haiti, Martinique, Guadaloupe, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. John, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, then to California on my own African cultural nationalist odyssey.  Over the next few decades we continued to run in concentric circles - at Black cultural events in New York, New Jersey, DC or Philadelphia. The many conferences and workshops from DC to NYC.

In 1976, Lou and I were living in Altadena, California, and took a Black Music class at Pasadena City College. As it turned out, the required text books were Amiri Baraka's "Blues People" and "Black Music. "   It was one of the best classes we ever had. We had a lot of fun with it, and it gave me an even greater level of respect for Amiri. I think one of the heaviest things we got out of it was the impact of timbre on the Black idiom in music and vocality that are unmistakeable influences on how we do what we do.  For us it took Amiri out of the realm of poet and activist, and placed him squarely in the realm of educator and sage. 

When I returned to New York City in 1984, I had lost touch with what was happening in NYC and Newark.  But it never takes long to get back in the swing of things.  And they embraced me like I never left.  I remember hanging out with Amiri and Amina at a favorite East Indian Restaurant in Manhattan following the funeral services for a friend whose name escapes me. Verta Mae Grovesnor and other friends were there, and we kicked it until well into the night. 

When I was housing coordinator for the City of Jersey City, I was always running into Amiri at Newark's Penn station when he was headed one way I was headed another – we'd stop hug, exchange greetings, and keep running to our respective trains. This happened on several occasions.

The deep and abiding horror and sadness we all felt when Amiri's daughter, Shani. was found murdered; and how we wept for him, Amina and the whole family as they sat during the murder trial hearings as if being a watchdog for justice.

Sitting with him and Amina at the Harlem Book Fair;  especially the one in 2012 when Amiri and Sonia Sanchez were both honored, and wowed us with their newest work. It was like being in a special privileged place.

At the African Voices Awards Ceremony in Harlem, shortly after McGreevey rescinded the accolade of Poet Laureate that had been accorded to Amiri, we all gathered to support him. I remember writing that perhaps McGreevey had rescinded the because of pillow talk with his closet paramour.  It was a scathing article on the duplicitous manner with which he had treated Amiri; and the lack of courage of his convictions.  

Amiri stood before a packed audience and spoke of the harassment, the fact that he had been branded anti-semitic, and that they had tried to put a gag order on him to not read or recite the poem again. And there had been threats of arrests and charges of treason for his accurately pinpointing issues the meanstream media had chosen to ignore.  He related this with that great gapped-tooth smile of his, which meant that he was definitely not taking it seriously; nor was he phased by any of it.   So in front of a packed audience, after having given us the full scope of what he had endured, Amiri Baraka proceeded to read “Somebody Blew Up America!” much to our thrill and delight.  We half way expected the CIA or gestapo to come running in and grab him from the podium; but no - and as he delivered line after line, it became apparent why they did not want that poem read.  So, the full poem is at the end of this blog tribute, for those of you who either didn't read it, or don't remember it.

Newark, NJ did a five-day tribute in honor of Amiri's 75th Birthday Anniversary.  I attended three of the events where he was feted by all of NewArk -  including Jazz vespers performed by Randy Weston;  a jazz performance and salute at WISOMMM – with Danny Glover giving the keynote salute. Not only was Newark honoring their favorite native son for having lead the city through major crises; but also for having never left or abandoned the city during its darkest days; and for trying to bring Black Cultural and Political control to New Jersey's largest city.

In 2012, at the homegoing services for fellow poet/writer/activist Louis Reyes Rivera – Amiri stayed for the entire service and repast, and didn't want to leave. He said “I don't know if I said everything I needed to say to him.”  Amina remarked to me, "This is really hard for him. He's said to me 'let's go' at least seven times, but then he keeps coming back in.  I'm just going to sit until he really decides he's ready to leave." 

The Late Louis Reyes Rivera

Sitting and talking with him at the homegoing services for our dear mutual friend, Jitu Weusi, back in May of 2013 at Jitu's Jazz Club, For My Sweet.  We all gathered for the final good byes to the gentle giant who had, like Amiri, dedicated his life to Black people.  "There aren't any more like him coming through," he said to me very quietly, as we listened to jazz artists perform in tribute to his memory.

In speaking with Amiri after the tribute to Elombe Brath –a charismatic leader in his own right with whom Amiri had a long collaborative history; and another brother with whom I have had a long term friendship – the event was sponsored by New York State Senator Bill Perkins and held at the Harriet Tubman School in Harlem.  Amiri and I were  talking with Elombe's wife Nomsa –  reminiscing over all the things that had transpired from Black in the day.  Amina had performed a song specifically dedicated to Elombe, and Amiri had performed a poem in his honor.  It was the first time I noticed that he was wearing a hearing aid.  

Amiri and Amina at tribute to Elombe Brath, 2013 - Photo by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

But one of the funniest memories I had was dancing with Amiri who had just turned 75.  We were at a fund raiser for Felipe Luciano who was running for political office.  I remembered thinking that I had to be real careful with Amiri.  If something happened and he got hurt or something, Amina would never forgive me.  I was looking at him from the standpoint of being 75 years old.  And he got out there on that floor and blew me away.  He could Latin  as well as he did when he was younger!!  He moved around that dance floor in a way that it put most guys half his age to shame. It was the first time I had seen him dance since the days of the Soul Sessions in New Ark Black in the day.  He quipped, "Not bad for an old man, eh?"

There is no end when there are so many wonderful memories of this wonderful Fine Black Man.  And there are no condolences deep enough to offer to Amina and the family.  "Sorry for your loss" is trite, and definitely not true - because there is no such thing as "loss"  when you consider that the very spirit of Amiri Baraka permeates Amina and  each and every one of their children.  They are indeed mini-clones of both their father and mother, with their own special individualizations thrown in for good measure.  There are so many moments of Amiri to treasure - indelibly implanted in our psyches.  So instead of condolences, I offer congratulations because they  got to live with, be raised by, and influenced by one of the finest minds on the planet.  

And to my sister/friend Amina, his lifemate, how wonderful it is to have had the love of this great brother.  And I know it wasn't always moonlight and roses - but those thorny times were mitigated by all the other overriding blessings you two shared over the years.  I fully admit, I loved your love for each other.  In the face of all the negatives  from outside forces and sources, and the meanstream media, with the invectives and epithets, you prevailed - and did it beautifully.  My love, friendship/sisterhood and blessings go out to you and the entire family; and the city of NEW ARK.  

Now, I would have ended this with "rest in peace" - but you and I know that now that you've got John Watusi Branch, Louis Reyes Rivera, Jitu Weusi and Amiri Baraka all back together again, if things aren't right, by the time these guys get through with it, everything will be. 

Stay Blessed & 

ECLECTICALLY BLACK

Gloria Dulan-Wilson

As promised, Amiri's Poem -

Somebody Blew Up America
by Amiri Baraka

They say its some terrorist,
some barbaric
A Rab,
in Afghanistan
It wasn't our American terrorists
It wasn't the Klan or the Skin heads
Or the them that blows up nigger
Churches, or reincarnates us on Death Row
It wasn't Trent Lott
Or David Duke or Giuliani
Or Schundler, Helms retiring
It wasn't
The gonorrhea in costume
The white sheet diseases
That have murdered black people
Terrorized reason and sanity
Most of humanity, as they pleases

They say (who say?)
Who do the saying
Who is them paying
Who tell the lies
Who in disguise
Who had the slaves
Who got the bux out the Bucks

Who got fat from plantations
Who genocided Indians
Tried to waste the Black nation

Who live on Wall Street
The first plantation
Who cut your nuts off
Who rape your ma
Who lynched your pa

Who got the tar, who got the feathers
Who had the match, who set the fires
Who killed and hired
Who say they God & still be the Devil

Who the biggest only
Who the most goodest
Who do Jesus resemble

Who created everything
Who the smartest
Who the greatest
Who the richest
Who say you ugly and they the goodlookingest

Who define art
Who define science

Who made the bombs
Who made the guns

Who bought the slaves, who sold them

Who called you them names
Who say Dahmer wasn't insane

Who? Who? Who?

Who stole Puerto Rico
Who stole the Indies, the Philipines, Manhattan
Australia & The Hebrides
Who forced opium on the Chinese

Who own them buildings
Who got the money
Who think you funny
Who locked you up
Who own the papers

Who owned the slave ship

Who run the army 

Who the fake president
Who the ruler
Who the banker

Who? Who? Who?

Who own the mine
Who twist your mind
Who got bread
Who need peace
Who you think need war

Who own the oil
Who do no toil
Who own the soil
Who is not a nigger
Who is so great ain't nobody bigger

Who own this city

Who own the air
Who own the water

Who own your crib
Who rob and steal and cheat and murder
and make lies the truth
Who call you uncouth

Who live in the biggest house
Who do the biggest crime
Who go on vacation anytime

Who killed the most niggers
Who killed the most Jews
Who killed the most Italians
Who killed the most Irish
Who killed the most Africans
Who killed the most Japanese
Who killed the most Latinos

Who? Who? Who?

Who own the ocean
Who own the airplanes
Who own the malls
Who own television
Who own radio

Who own what ain't even known to be owned
Who own the owners that ain't the real owners

Who own the suburbs
Who suck the cities
Who make the laws

Who made Bush president
Who believe the confederate flag need to be flying
Who talk about democracy and be lying

Who the Beast in Revelations
Who 666
Who know who decide
Jesus get crucified

Who the Devil on the real side
Who got rich from Armenian genocide

Who the biggest terrorist
Who change the bible
Who killed the most people
Who do the most evil
Who don't worry about survival

Who have the colonies
Who stole the most land
Who rule the world
Who say they good but only do evil
Who the biggest executioner

Who? Who? Who?

Who own the oil
Who want more oil
Who told you what you think that later you find out a lie

Who? Who? Who?

Who found Bin Laden, maybe they Satan
Who pay the CIA,
Who knew the bomb was gonna blow
Who know why the terrorists
Learned to fly in Florida, San Diego

Who know why Five Israelis was filming the explosion
And cracking they sides at the notion

Who need fossil fuel when the sun ain't goin' nowhere

Who make the credit cards
Who get the biggest tax cut
Who walked out of the Conference
Against Racism
Who killed Malcolm, Kennedy & his Brother
Who killed Dr King, Who would want such a thing?
Are they linked to the murder of Lincoln?

Who invaded Grenada
Who made money from apartheid
Who keep the Irish a colony
Who overthrow Chile and Nicaragua later

Who killed David Sibeko, Chris Hani,
the same ones who killed Biko, Cabral,
Neruda, Allende, Che Guevara, Sandino,

Who killed Kabila, the ones who wasted Lumumba, Mondlane,
Betty Shabazz, Die, Princess Di, Ralph Featherstone,
Little Bobby
Who locked up Mandela, Dhoruba, Geronimo,
Assata, Mumia, Garvey, Dashiell Hammett, Alphaeus Hutton

Who killed Huey Newton, Fred Hampton,
Medgar Evers, Mikey Smith, Walter Rodney,
Was it the ones who tried to poison Fidel
Who tried to keep the Vietnamese Oppressed

Who put a price on Lenin's head

Who put the Jews in ovens,
and who helped them do it
Who said "America First"
and ok'd the yellow stars

Who killed Rosa Luxembourg, Liebneckt
Who murdered the Rosenbergs
And all the good people iced,
tortured, assassinated, vanished

Who got rich from Algeria, Libya, Haiti,
Iran, Iraq, Saudi, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine,

Who cut off peoples hands in the Congo
Who invented Aids
Who put the germs
In the Indians' blankets
Who thought up "The Trail of Tears"

Who blew up the Maine
& started the Spanish American War
Who got Sharon back in Power
Who backed Batista, Hitler, Bilbo,
Chiang kai Chek

Who decided Affirmative Action had to go
Reconstruction, The New Deal,
The New Frontier, The Great Society,

Who do Tom Ass Clarence Work for
Who doo doo come out the Colon's mouth
Who know what kind of Skeeza is a Condoleeza
Who pay Connelly to be a wooden negro
Who give Genius Awards to Homo Locus
Subsidere
Who overthrew Nkrumah, Bishop,
Who poison Robeson,
who try to put DuBois in Jail
Who frame Rap Jamil al Amin, Who frame the Rosenbergs,
Garvey,
The Scottsboro Boys,
The Hollywood Ten

Who set the Reichstag Fire

Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed
Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers
To stay home that day
Why did Sharon stay away?

Who? Who? Who?

Explosion of Owl the newspaper say
The devil face cd be seen

Who make money from war
Who make dough from fear and lies
Who want the world like it is
Who want the world to be ruled by imperialism and national
oppression and terror violence, and hunger and poverty.

Who is the ruler of Hell?
Who is the most powerful

Who you know ever
Seen God?

But everybody seen
The Devil

Like an Owl exploding
In your life in your brain in your self
Like an Owl who know the devil
All night, all day if you listen, Like an Owl
Exploding in fire. We hear the questions rise
In terrible flame like the whistle of a crazy dog

Like the acid vomit of the fire of Hell
Who and Who and WHO who who
Whoooo and Whooooooooooooooooooooo! 

Copyright (c) 2001 Amiri Baraka. All Rights Reserved.

GIL NOBLE of Like It Is Joins the Ancestors

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson


The first time I saw Gil Noble I was a kid fresh out of college, having recently graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He was among the first African American TV reporters, and I thought then, as I do now, wow, that he was so very handsome, he should have been a male model (I later found out that he had been). I was new to New York at the time, and happy to find they had Black people on TV talking about things important to us. At the time I was a college administrator, and an activist, not a journalist. So I made sure my students watched any and all Black shows.

I remember thinking the name "Noble" really suited him, because he always carried himself in a very noble, dignified, professional, yet affable, manner. I wondered whether it was his real name or a name chosen for TV. I later found out that Gil had been NOBLE all his life.

The second time I saw Gil, was when his art director, and my friend, Cecil Brathwaite - a/k/a Elombe Brath, artist, activist, founder of the Grandassa Models, the first Black women to model African styled clothes with natural hair - introduced me to him just prior to a protest to save Michaux's book store from being destroyed to make way for a State Office Building that was to be erected on the corner of 125th and 7th Avenue. At the time the community had made it clear that they wanted a high school to be constructed there so youth would not have to travel outside the community. As you can see, it fell on deaf ears.

Gil interviewed Dr. Michaux, members of the community, representatives from the state. And each time it struck me how professional, genteel, and disciplined this brother was; how well versed he was in issues concerning Black people, and regardless of what was going on, he was determined that it not be buried under either rhetoric or watering down of the facts.

He had just started as news anchor for "Like It Is" (which, for the uninitiated is short for the phrase "telling it like it is"), with actor Robert "Bobby" Hooks as host, and was dedicated to doing just that. When Hooks moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, Gil became the host. His staff was extremely small. ABC did not provide them with a camera van, so 90% of everything was done on foot. Elombe Brath - who in his own right was an activist, artist, designer, and community leader - was instrumental in getting him inside information on issues in the Black community, as well as access to the guests and community leaders who would often appear on the show. (It was Elombe who came up with the signature logo of the Red Black & Green Flag with the African mask in front of it, and the drummers in the background.)

But the monumental thing about Gil, was that he provided the inside information, in depth about our community without condemnation. He appeared to pull himself out of it from a personal standpoint, while at the same time allowing the voice of the community to be heard, the scenes to be viewed - there were no sound bytes here. No snippets of information with a white overlay of misinterpretation. And we loved it, because we lived it; and we loved him for presenting it in a forum that allowed the rest of us to make some informed decisions, or corroborate what we knew to be true (or debunk the lies).

It was always reassuring to see Gil and his cameraman on scene - he was at Riverside Church for the homegoing services for Dr. Betty Shabazz (Malcolm X's widow). He was likewise at Lena Horne's homegoing services nearly 20 years later, still standing tall and on the case at the age of 79. Unlike Eyewitness News, Gil would come and stay. No pretense of giving you 11 minutes and he gave you the world." No! It was letting the world in on events "and issues they may not have had access to otherwise. It was presenting the other, the true face of Black culture, which differed greatly from what so many news reports led you to believe.

When he did the one-on-one live interview at the Apollo with Harry Belafonte, it was the first time I had ever known him to be nervous. But what a thrill! What a tour de force to have these two great minds sitting together, discussing issues of the Black world in particular, the world in general - face to face in front of a packed audience. Wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Gil Noble always had an open door policy at Like It is. His studios were located on 67th and Columbus at ABC Studios. But as the climate changed, and Black issues became passe` in the white world, things around him began to be less hospitable at WABC, who had decided that his show was no longer relevant. During the first of many attempts to cancel his show through attrition, they stripped him of practically all his staff, including Elombe Brath, leaving him with a series of associate producers. But Gil soldiered on. They began to shift around the times the show would air. Originally it came on at 9:00 AM, giving church goers plenty of time to watch before attending Sunday services; also giving us plenty to talk about after church. They moved it to 11:00 AM, prime church time in the Black community; then to 1:00 PM. And, finally, after the community really began to protest, finally settled at 12:00, which is where it had remained until Gil's illness.

To further harass him (and us) they would pre-empt the show with bogus sports reports, as though that was much more important than issues happening the Black community. Or they would truncate it to a half an hour instead of the full hour for which it was allocated. To add insult to injury, Like It Is was the only show that was not promoted during the course of the week - no highlights of upcoming events or guests. We had to find that out on our own, or wait until Sunday to find out. Of course Gil would announce who his upcoming guest would be; but there were no promotional pieces in the interim for a show that was considered a public affairs program (which used to be mandatory under FCC regulations).

You could no longer "stop by" to see Gil, either. They began to set up a series of checks and clearances to visit his studio. Gil had to also fight to maintain editorial integrity with his show, as ABC liked to saddle him with interns and "overseers" who in most cases were only there to try and censor the information coming though his show.

When WABC threatened to cancel the show, CEMOTAP, under the leadership of Bettye Dopson and Dr. James MacIntosh, confronted WABC-TV on his behalf (and ours); and offered to provide the sponsorship money necessary to have the show placed in a better time slot, and to provide the kind of staff he required. WABC refused! Now when is the last time you've ever heard of a TV franchise turning down money?

In other conversations with Gil, he stated that he was not allowed access to the vast collections of his shows dating back to the 70's. He had wanted to syndicate them, and burn them into DVD's using the new technology, to make them available to the new generation of youth; not to mention those of us who were part of that history. They would not release his library to him!

Paralleling Like It Is back in the day was a show called Black News, which later morphed into The McCreary Report, which came on Channel 5, and was hosted by Bill McCreary, long time friend of Gil Noble. The how was a longrunning success before Rupert Murdock bought the station and it became Fox Five Television. Those two shows kept the Black community informed, along with Gary Byrd's GBE (Global Black Experience), Black people in New York and parts of the tri-state area, were pretty much up to date on issues in the community and the world.

However, it was clear that a trend was in place to silence these Black voices. Bill McCreary was excised from Fox Five even though, at the time, he was a sitting Vice President at the station. Protests in his behalf brought him back for a short period of time, but it was clear that Murdock wanted to get rid of the show, and he finally had his way (interestingly enough, under the original FCC rules, you could only own a radio or TV station if you were an American - wonder what happened to change that?) . Later, Gary Byrd's show (which had broadcast live from the Apollo Theatre, giving the community an opportunity to be involved live, on the air, was cancelled for "philosophical differences," ending that era. And Tony Brown's Journal just dropped off the planet completely - totally unannounced - gone!

Gil Noble was our last man standing!! And stand he did!! He stood through all the hostility, sabotage, and just plain crazy-making double-talk they leveled at him. He maintained his ground, his integrity and the quality of Like It is through all that. He stood when they didn't market the show for sponsors; he stood fast when they denied the show Black sponsors. He was/is one of my personal heroes. I know that I could not have done what he did - there aren't many of us who could take it day after day, week after week, year after year, without losing our cool, our tempers and ultimately or job.

But he took it!! Gil was devoted to educating and enlightening the Black community. A lesser man would have thrown in the towel; or groveled at the feet of the TV honchos. Not Gil Noble! He could see through their machinations, realizing that compared to what he was about, they were dust in the wind. It was interesting to me that he and my mom shared the same birthdate, February 22, although my mom will be 90 next year, they both have that determination to see things through regardless of the peril. If they believe in something or some one, nothing will shake them. Challenges bring out the best in them. That's my mom. That was definitely Gil Noble. Go over it, around it, under it, through it, without a complaint - a stoicism that came from the inside out. You'd never see it in their faces, or hear it in their voices. They not only handled the situation - whatever it was - it was so seamless you'd never know there was a problem. Must have really been problematical to Gil's antagonizers to see how he continued on in spite of and because of them.

My fondest memory of Gil, and one of those special bonding moments was when Gil, Kwame Brathwaite, and I were standing together at the back of a sound truck, with cameras in one hand and mike in the other, reporting the low-fly buzzing of Rudy Giuliani's attack squad helicopters over the Million Youth March in 1998! What a day. We had been there from the very first speaker. The event was winding down, and Khallid Muhammad had decided not to speak because he felt the previous speakers had fully expressed all that needed to be said to the audience. The police had set up barricades throughout the street; closed the Subway entrances and exits, re-routed the buses, and had a phalanx of mounted police near Marcus Garvey park, apparently ready to sweep through the crowd. However, much to their chagrin, the crowd had been orderly, and cooperative. They had listened to and cheered the speakers, and had prepared to disburse in an orderly fashion. The sudden appearance of the helicopters overhead totally changed the atmosphere, and Khallid Muhammad then called for the participants to not be subjected to police assaults, but to return violence for violence.

Here we were standing there with our cameras and tape recorders capturing all this. It did not occur to either of us to move or protect ourselves. We were so absorbed in the surreal nature of the moment, not to mention injustice of the whole thing - who in their right mind would buzz a group of youth with helicopters? To do what? When everything finally subsided, we just stood together, looked around and realized that we had come very close to being fatalities ourselves. From that point on, my regard for Gil escalated off the charts! As I am sure it did with the rest of the Black community.

When it was learned that out dear brother Gil had suffered a stroke, I, like so many others, immediately went into prayer mode. I had hoped for one of those miracles where he would have been able to rally and recover completely. But the Infinite had other plans. The reason he lingered so long among us was probably because he was negotiating some final shows to be done in the future.

I also prayed for the rest of us in the Black community as well. Not only has a great voice been stilled, it had been stilled at a crucial point, when there was no heir apparent to step in and fill those considerable shoes of his - Gil was not only very handsome, even at the age of 80, he was 6'5" and walked like a giant. His soft spoken ways carried a lot of weight.

Some had speculated his son would be able to take the reigns; others recommended Gary Byrd, a great choice and a great voice for the community; still others viewed Milton Alimadi (publisher of the Black Star News), who was a frequent visitor to the show, and a great friend, as the next host. Years ago, I had spoken to Gil about having a co-anchor who could be written into the contract at some point, so there was no gap, in case he wanted to take a break. He said he had considered that, but had not worked out the details of who it would be and how often they would be on. He also felt it would be an uphill battle getting WABC to agree to it. At the time he was still trying to get control over his past shows.

Interestingly enough, when Mike Wallace left 60 Minutes, his son Chris Wallace was able to step in and maintain continuity. CBS apparently didn't have a problem with making it happen. (By the way, Condolences to the Wallace Family; Mike Wallace was also a great journalist in his own right. It was clear that both he and Gil Noble loved and cared deeply for what they did. They were Icons in the industry of news and public affairs.).

Isn't it strange that WABC-TV couldn't have managed to make that happen for Gil Noble and Like It Is, and their Black viewership as well? But then, if their past actions are any indication, they have long been trying to kill the show; Gil's demise has now made this possible. WHAT!!! I'm just saying....! They've concocted some show entitled "Here and Now" to fill that time slot, rather than do the "noble" ethical thing, and extend Like It Is under a new anchor, it so that the essential voice for the Black viewers can be preserved and expanded. In the parlance of TV those kind of shows are evergreen - like Saturday Night Live, or 60 Minutes. When you have such opportunities, and you have a following, you obviously don't want to kill it. You would want to expand that market - not truncate it, or supplant it.

Over the last 44 years that Like It Is has been on TV, Gil Noble has brought into our living rooms the likes of Desmond Tutu, C. Vernon Mason, Rev. Al Sharpton, Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Muhamnad Ali, Bill Cosby, Nelson Mandela, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Cong. Charles Rangel, Dr. Joy deGruy Leary, Regent Adelaide Sanford, Adam Clayton Powell IV, and so many, many others. He was and is an Icon of Black Reportage. There should be classes in journalism taught based on his style of reporting and interviewing. There should be standards of ethics and professionalism extrapolated from his example. He was the epitome of cool under pressure.

But we can't just let it go there, and say that this is it. Gil's transition should not spell the end. Maybe a comma (,) or a colon (:), but not a period (.). We owe something back to Gil Noble for the nearly 50 years of service he dedicated to us. Not an empty monument or a statuette. We owe him a living legacy. We owe him the solid backing of the extension of his show on WABC, or move it to a station that will honor the right and necessity for Black journalism and cultural reportage. We owe him to ensure the syndication of his work so that we and our youth can have access now and into the future. Others, such as Tupac, Biggie , etc., have been given more credence and support, and yet have not made nearly the contribution that Gil Noble's Like It Is has done. This debt, this obligation rests with us, his Black family, his viewers. We, who have benefited so greatly from all that he has said, been and done, can do no less than to make sure all his work does not go unheralded, and unpreserved. And I'm just telling you "like it is:" Our job is to keep Gil Noble's legacy alive!

Gil Noble won 7 Emmies for his work, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award. This gentle giant, former jazz artist, father of five, has been an integral part of the fabric that goes to make up the tapestry of the Black community. His family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the GIL NOBLE ARCHIVES, PO Box 43138, Upper Montclair, NJ, 07403.

Condolences to his wife Jean, his four daughters, Lisa, Lynn, Leslie, Jennifer and his son, Chris. It must have been special growing up in that family. Blessings to them and his eight grandchildren. There are so many of us who loved Gil as much as his family did. We know that they were the wind beneath his wings that made it possible for him to come out each day and face those battles.

The wake and viewing will be held at Abyssinian Church, on Thursday, April 12, 2012 from 7:00pm til 10:00pm. Gil's homegoing services will take place Friday, April 13, at Abyssinian Baptist Church, 10:00am.

And for those of you who are saying "rest in peace" to Gil, disabuse yourself of that concept right now. I guarantee you that has already set up some interviews with people like W.E.B duBois, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Duke Ellington - his dream interviews with cultural Black Icons of the past. After all, we are talking about Gil Noble. Just because he's made his transition to the next plane of action does not mean that he's going to stop doing what he loves: telling it "LIKE IT IS" - even in Heaven.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Posted by Gloria Dulan-Wilson at 12:19 AM
Labels: Gil Noble, LIKE IT IS, Mike Wallace, WABC-TV
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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.