What was known to me as the world’s most elusive game of “Hide and Seek” has now come to an end. On Sunday May 1st, President Barack Obama declared “Osama Bin Laden a murderer of thousands is dead” as people here and abroad began to celebrate the death of the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks with many cheering and singing “God Bless America.”
Bin Laden was killed along with two of his sons and others during a US –led operation in his compound located in Pakistan. Following his death, Osama Bin Laden was buried at sea.
With headlines across the globe declaring a victory I am left to wonder what really is the actually victory in the death of Osama Bin Laden?
We all know the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001 - with many Americans still feeling the unceasing pain of loss ten years later. I like many others will never forget that dark period of American history as well as the other terrorist attacks led by Bin Laden. Yes, I along with the rest of the country want those who were responsible for the innocent deaths of 9/11 and the other terrorist attacks brought to justice. These are real feelings that Americans share and can’t be overlooked or ignored.
I do believe in Justice. However, I do not believe that the death of Osama Bin Laden is justice – nor will it lead the world closer to it. The end of hate and silence of fear brings justice not the death of a man or as Dr. King said “a lasting peace.”
With the death of Bin Laden we can expect to see the American cable news and others put a perverse spin on justice and how a country has falsely achieved it.
Justice prevails when the end of gross discrimination and prejudices purported against our Muslim brothers and sisters are no more. We can expect a new rise of “islamaphobia” because of new national security threats fearing followers of the deceased Bin Laden will strike in retaliation against the murder of their leader. Which begs me to question the authenticity of this justice that is achieved and is followed with a new threat or level of fear? The expected heighten security measures will profile innocent members of our community and moves them further into a place of fear and unfortunately - shame. Where is the justice in that?
However, what is also disturbing is the quick pronouncement by some of Mr. Obama’s 2012 re-election. If we believe that death of Bin Laden is "sure victory" for Mr. Obama then I am concerned about the health and spirit of our democracy. It is unfortunate that Republicans and Democrats can agree on this death but can’t agree when it comes to the lives of the “least of these” suffering here in America. Bin Laden’s death has not secured one job, has not stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, hasn’t rebuilt the poverty stricken south, or has stopped a massive budget cut be it federal or state. What Bin Laden’s death has done is exposed an open wound – one that shows we have a lesson to learn in justice and values.
It is imperative that we think critically with the information that is being presented to us through all forms and even more cautious with those things concerning justice. If we allow the American media and others to prostitute the concept of justice what will become of the justice we seek here in America for our own brothers and sisters?
I am reminded of the prophetic words spoken by Kahlil Gibran, “Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?”
Now that as the Noble Peace Prize winner - Mr. Obama has declared “Justice is done” shall we bring an end to those three wars we are engaged in?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Misplaced Priorities in the Age of Carnival Barkers
Yes, it is true President Barack Obama was born here in the United States of America. Shall I repeat for those who didn’t hear it for the first, second, or fifty-leventh time?
This morning President Barack Obama confirmed and presented evidence to solve one of the greatest mysteries in American history second to that of the location Jimmy Hoffa’s body. During today’s press conference Mr. Obama released his “long form birth certificate” with hopes to put at the ease the long debated conversation on the geographic location of the president’s birth.
Never in the course of American civilization has there been such controversy or as my grandmother likes to say “a hissy fit” over the location of birth of any American president. Recently a poll released by the Pew Center showed only 25% of American people actually believed that he was born in another country. Interestingly enough 45% of Republicans believed he was born in another country and 45% of Tea Partiers believe the same exact thing. Coincidence? I think not.
Can irony be found in the fact that the very self-proclaimed patriots that we’ve come to know as the “Tea Party” of this country honestly believed that the American system is flawed and has evidently failed them by electing a president who was not born here and most assuredly is a Muslim?!
And yet coming of the heels of a potential government shutdown and in between another expected battle of the vote to raise the debt ceiling for the country, American cable news seems to think we are more interested in hearing what a majority of us know to be true or could care less about.
The misplaced priorities of government and the American cable news has diverted the attention of the American people to things of no real importance to the current deteriorating condition of minorities and low-income families. Yes, the racial undertones of the “birther movement” demanding the “papers” of the first African-American President (in the truest sense of the term) are quite disturbing and unacceptable.
However, unless we – the American People - use this opportunity to engage in a serious and intentional dialogue about racism, the implications of a dangerous social construct and its connection to both state and federal policies than we will find ourselves; we will once again have to deal with another attempt to delegitimize our country’s first black president and continued devastation of those of us “with our backs against the wall.”
In a different world, on this morning we would have all been celebrating yesterday’s ruling by the US Appeals court declaration of our brother Mumia Abu Jamal’s death sentence unconstitutional or the announcement by US Department of Education that they will forgive the debt of Morris Brown College.
Well so much for the perfect world. The reality is while we are concentrating on irrelevant items while our basic right to vote is being compromised in over 2/3 of states across the country and state budget cuts are forcing young black mothers to be jailed for the basic freedom of a quality education.
I guess now that this will be the official end - for me at least - of the “birther movement” we have only how many more days and hours to be lulled to a political sleep by the cable news coverage of the Royal Wedding while the blood of our brother and sisters in Northern Africa run freely through the streets at the hand of oppressive regimes?
Thank you Mr. President, now that we have all seen your birth certificate can we finally address things of importance i.e. the stalemate of black youth unemployment, shrinking of the safety net…you know things that are of importance to us the other 75% American people.
As a dear friend of mine once said “the balloons have popped and the clowns have gone home” thank you birthers and Donald Trump but your elongated 15 seconds are over.
“We’re not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers” – President Barack Obama
This morning President Barack Obama confirmed and presented evidence to solve one of the greatest mysteries in American history second to that of the location Jimmy Hoffa’s body. During today’s press conference Mr. Obama released his “long form birth certificate” with hopes to put at the ease the long debated conversation on the geographic location of the president’s birth.
Never in the course of American civilization has there been such controversy or as my grandmother likes to say “a hissy fit” over the location of birth of any American president. Recently a poll released by the Pew Center showed only 25% of American people actually believed that he was born in another country. Interestingly enough 45% of Republicans believed he was born in another country and 45% of Tea Partiers believe the same exact thing. Coincidence? I think not.
Can irony be found in the fact that the very self-proclaimed patriots that we’ve come to know as the “Tea Party” of this country honestly believed that the American system is flawed and has evidently failed them by electing a president who was not born here and most assuredly is a Muslim?!
And yet coming of the heels of a potential government shutdown and in between another expected battle of the vote to raise the debt ceiling for the country, American cable news seems to think we are more interested in hearing what a majority of us know to be true or could care less about.
The misplaced priorities of government and the American cable news has diverted the attention of the American people to things of no real importance to the current deteriorating condition of minorities and low-income families. Yes, the racial undertones of the “birther movement” demanding the “papers” of the first African-American President (in the truest sense of the term) are quite disturbing and unacceptable.
However, unless we – the American People - use this opportunity to engage in a serious and intentional dialogue about racism, the implications of a dangerous social construct and its connection to both state and federal policies than we will find ourselves; we will once again have to deal with another attempt to delegitimize our country’s first black president and continued devastation of those of us “with our backs against the wall.”
In a different world, on this morning we would have all been celebrating yesterday’s ruling by the US Appeals court declaration of our brother Mumia Abu Jamal’s death sentence unconstitutional or the announcement by US Department of Education that they will forgive the debt of Morris Brown College.
Well so much for the perfect world. The reality is while we are concentrating on irrelevant items while our basic right to vote is being compromised in over 2/3 of states across the country and state budget cuts are forcing young black mothers to be jailed for the basic freedom of a quality education.
I guess now that this will be the official end - for me at least - of the “birther movement” we have only how many more days and hours to be lulled to a political sleep by the cable news coverage of the Royal Wedding while the blood of our brother and sisters in Northern Africa run freely through the streets at the hand of oppressive regimes?
Thank you Mr. President, now that we have all seen your birth certificate can we finally address things of importance i.e. the stalemate of black youth unemployment, shrinking of the safety net…you know things that are of importance to us the other 75% American people.
As a dear friend of mine once said “the balloons have popped and the clowns have gone home” thank you birthers and Donald Trump but your elongated 15 seconds are over.
“We’re not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers” – President Barack Obama
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Untitled...
Here is piece that I did awhile back. I hope you enjoy. I rarely post on my blog because as an artist I am sensitive about my...well you know the rest.
I too am a runaway slave. Harriet Tubman leads me to my destiny. Her pistol points and aims me to my purpose. Many of thousand have been freed. Many of thousand have been freed. Many thousand have been freed. Tell me then why not me?
In the quandary of doubt, fear, and torment of the mind I often wonder what is holding me back from the created me – the divine inspired me. The me - that was created as freed being bound not by the enslavement of the extremities of that have been projected as the way to be.
The oppression of the hounds of the forced identity of hyper masculinity, the whips of poverty, the chains of defeat beckon out to me no boy you can’t be free.
Yeah many of thousand have gone. In the still of the night of doubt. Yeah a many of thousand have gone. Not knowing what lies ahead in the cold wet swamps life and hidden paths of uncertainty. Navigated by hope and not being lead by the drunken wine of optimism. Searching for the candle in the dark on the next stop on invisible rail track – taking the chance, the risk and asking with boldness “are you a friend of a friend”
I hear her in the stillness of the night. I hear her calling my name. I hear the gathering of the freed souls cloaked in bondage.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Reading is fundamental! Well for me it is........
I will confess that I love to frigging READ! It may not be the biggest or most interesting confession but you just don't know how fond I am of a good thick juicy......BOOK (mind out of the gutter please). I believe that I came out of the womb with a book in one hand and a blackberry in the other. I laugh now thinking about how my sister and I use to sneak books to church. We somehow would always managed to get caught, maybe it was because my mom was an usher and our church was not much larger than a matchbox. And can you believe my mom --a school teacher at that--would cut our fannies because we were reading in the church house (yeah I said fannies and church house).
So today I was looking around my apartment and was slightly overwhelmed by all the books that I have all over the place - including in my never used fireplace and even in my freezer too; (how else can you turn a soft cover hard?!) when the thought came of starting an online book club via Facebook. I am sure out of the thousands of friends -- known and unknown -- some of them must share the same passion for reading as I do. So here is the game plan:
Peace!
So today I was looking around my apartment and was slightly overwhelmed by all the books that I have all over the place - including in my never used fireplace and even in my freezer too; (how else can you turn a soft cover hard?!) when the thought came of starting an online book club via Facebook. I am sure out of the thousands of friends -- known and unknown -- some of them must share the same passion for reading as I do. So here is the game plan:
- Send an email to devenanderson@gmail.com expressing your interest in the book club
- Spread the word to your friends who are avid readers
- Subscribe to my blog (The AutoBLOGraphy of an Ex-Colored Man) for updates as we move forward in this great endeavor.
Peace!
Currently reading: The Shack by WM. Paul Young and "Here Comes
Everybody: the Power of Organizing without an Organization" by Clay
Shirky
Listening: "Unplugged" performed Lauryn Hill
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I am NOT stuck on STUPID. My response to Palin's comments about Community Organizers
I am NOT stuck on stupid………..
The plantation and ghetto were created by those who had power, both to confine those who had no power and to perpetuate their powerlessness. The problem of transforming the ghetto, therefore, is a problem of power – confrontation of the forces of power demanding change and the forces of power dedicated to the preserving of the status quo. It is the strength to required to bring about social, political, and economic change….”power is the ability of a labor union like the UAW to make the most powerful corporation in the world, General Motors, say ‘Yes’ when it wants to say ‘No.’ That’s power.”
-Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Where Do WE Go From Here?
The plantation and ghetto were created by those who had power, both to confine those who had no power and to perpetuate their powerlessness. The problem of transforming the ghetto, therefore, is a problem of power – confrontation of the forces of power demanding change and the forces of power dedicated to the preserving of the status quo. It is the strength to required to bring about social, political, and economic change….”power is the ability of a labor union like the UAW to make the most powerful corporation in the world, General Motors, say ‘Yes’ when it wants to say ‘No.’ That’s power.”
-Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Where Do WE Go From Here?
I am more convince today than ever before that life is a series events that have already happened and if we befriend time we will one day catch up in fact and find our call – our purpose. My purpose is deeply rooted in my community. At this critical juncture of political and tense partisan divide; a conversation that I care not to indulge is if in fact the Democrats are more concerned for the general welfare of people or if the GOP values and embodies the importance of self-reliance; which most assuredly implores the well used illustration of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. I am not concerned about the sensationalized politics or the embitter game of who has the most experience. I am not concerned about a pregnant teenager or about the color of a candidate’s skin.
What am I concerned about is the challenged indirectly issued to community organizers everywhere tonight by the GOP.
In a move to discredit and devalue the community work of Sen. Obama and make light of the fact that every day ordinary American citizens work in the trenches of their communities have been depreciated by the party of those who have a “monopoly on Patriotism.”
The acclaimed unimportance of being a Community Organizer to me is disheartening and all but short of hypocritical. Yet, they appreciate the “executive experience” of the Governor from Alaska but yet do not find organizing work equally comparable. When it’s quite clear the real change comes from the bottom up and not from the top down.
If the appreciation and importance of having an “executive” position is necessary than I can only imagine how life would be with another “executive” like the same “executive” who sits on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Tonight – trying to correct a wrong that can never be made right (Katrina) and trying to salvage a legacy that was destroyed on Day One.
Tonight I sit in silent tears as I have witnessed the virtual mockery of the years, tears, successes, setbacks and comebacks of the forerunners of the movement for “justice for all”
laughed at by those who know nothing about the common man or the issues he or she may face.
Once again the “Conservatives” have made a spectacle of their internal struggles of not being true to the morals and beliefs they supposedly hold dear use as a solid foundation to be the Party of Lincoln and Reagan.
Once again the “Conservatives” have made a spectacle of their internal struggles of not being true to the morals and beliefs they supposedly hold dear use as a solid foundation to be the Party of Lincoln and Reagan.
Since the inception of Mr. Obama’s run for the presidency, the GOP has been pulling old tricks out of the bag of “Fear Politics” using the puppets of Fox News trying to convince Americans that Sen. Obama is of another faith when in fact he has better understanding of the essence of Christianity that many may never get nor understand.
The GOP, known for its moral implications and its Christian rhetoric, seem to have no idea of who they worship or claim to be followers of.
To be a Christian according to most accounts is being identified as the follower of Christ.
How then can we say to profess to be a follower of Christ if we know not the walk of the Messiah or the talk of the Holy One? Only referred to in the New Testament as the “King of the Jews” twice – once two after he was born in lowly manager by the three wise men and again when he was hung on across in between two thieves – was referred more times as the Son of Man. This title illuminates his divine humanity.
How then can we say to profess to be a follower of Christ if we know not the walk of the Messiah or the talk of the Holy One? Only referred to in the New Testament as the “King of the Jews” twice – once two after he was born in lowly manager by the three wise men and again when he was hung on across in between two thieves – was referred more times as the Son of Man. This title illuminates his divine humanity.
A common man raised in the obscure and despised village of Nazareth – known today as on the wrong side of the tracks – took to the streets with the simple mission of liberation and freedom to his community. Encountering no strangers but leading followers with the common belief of changing the world one life at time. Always eating with the “least of these” while exposing the “best of thieves” to include Pharisees and Sadducees – the biblical conservatives. But according to the GOP he had no “real responsibilities.”
The record is clear that the original community organizers are found in between the words of “In the Beginning and the End” - Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Nehemiah and the list goes on - were the foundation of Rev. King’s belief of transformation from the dire symptoms of individualism and the cancerous thoughts of me, myself, and I - now I know why those conservatives have misconstrued views.
After watching tonight’s convention speeches the question resounds more clearly than ever in the ears of Community Organizers across the nation, “Where do we go from here?”
It is clear that after tonight we must not be dismayed or feel any hatred towards those who sit on the wrong side thought.
However it is evident the work must continue lest we found ourselves on the plantations of moral deprivation and in the ghettos of oppression.
The work of must continue on to have the boldness to stand and say “No” to the Status Quo and “Yes” to the will power within each of us to continue this fight to manifest Kennedy’s Dream of the “World as It Should Be.”
The work of must continue in our communities, in our homes, on our campuses, on our jobs, and in our churches to show the forces of darkness that our light of love and compassion for one toward another cannot and will not be hid.
The work must continue on the streets, on the corners, at the bus stops to put into practice the pronouncement of The Teacher “to preach the good news to the poor”
This work must continue as we follow our moral compasses to know that we are all “entangled in the fabric of destiny” that we are our brother and sisters keeper and what happens to one effects us all.
However, today I accept the challenge that as young Community Organizer I must continue my work of “real responsibilities” and one of those responsibilities include ensuring that the “Old Man with the Short Hand” and the “Pit-bull with lipstick” do not take the helms of this ship that we call America for the “eyes of the future are looking back praying” that I see – we see - beyond our own times.
I sit at my table tonight in Raleigh, NC angry not to point of a violent reaction but to a point of solemn action. An action that will in fact bring about the change that each of us can believe in.
A change that will come on this November 4th when you and I, old and young, the rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, Muslim and Christian, elected official and community organizer stand together and say “NO” to the status quo of the largest corporation on this Earth – the American Government and elect a Community Organizer – Sen. Barack Hussein Obama.
Don’t believe the hype but keep up the fight. The woods are still lovely, deep and dark but there are miles to go before I sleep……….
A change that will come on this November 4th when you and I, old and young, the rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, Muslim and Christian, elected official and community organizer stand together and say “NO” to the status quo of the largest corporation on this Earth – the American Government and elect a Community Organizer – Sen. Barack Hussein Obama.
Don’t believe the hype but keep up the fight. The woods are still lovely, deep and dark but there are miles to go before I sleep……….
Friday, August 29, 2008
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: My Historical Reflections
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history……
-Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Its 1:22 in the morning and I find myself still reflecting on yesterday. Even though it was only twenty-three minutes ago History beckons me – no it forces me to a transcendent moment of expression. Yesterday we honored the 45th Anniversary of “The March on Washington.” (The march, the movement was bigger than King or the “I Have a Dream” speech) Yesterday we celebrated the acceptance of the first African-American to receive and accept the nomination of a major American Political Party. However, today we sit, kneel, and work in a quiet mood solemnity as we pay homage those who were lost in the waters of Katrina and to those who are still displaced from their homes.
I am sitting in between Yesterday and Today and thinking what does all of this mean to me?
As I walked into my apartment it finally struck me of what yesterday and Today all meant to me. On my table in my apartment I have my Bible opened to 126 Psalms. Time to time when it seems like I am under the distress of this world and it seems like the words of Langston Hughes’ “Hold Fast to Dreams” have escaped my mental intellect. I reflect on the v.1 where it says,
“When the lord brought back the captives to Zion we were like men who dreamed.” For those unfamiliar with this text; scholars believed that the author was referring to the period of captivity when the Children of Israel were displaced, disenfranchised, and disbursed in the pagan land of Babylon. However, during that time of captivity – a time of disillusionment with no sense of self all they had to hold onto was their dreams.
They held on to dreams of a better tomorrow, a dream of being somebody, a dream of not being subject to oppression but truly experiencing in its essence – Freedom.
When the Lord brought the captives to Zion they were like men who dreamed.
After 400 years of mental anguish, physical enslavement, and suffering from PTSD – Post Traumatic Slave Disorder
When the Creator brought the captives to the March on Washington they were like men who
dreamed.
In 2000 and 2004 many of people that look like you and I votes were not counted and felt cheated, robbed, and disenfranchised.
When the Most High brought Barack Obama in front of 75,000 plus people of all nationalities, race, creed, sexual orientation, and denomination they were – we were – like men, women, boys and girls who dreamed.
Many of people feel as though now the “dream of the Dreamer” has now become a reality. However my Today brought a sobering reality. Today we mark the 3rd Anniversary of a “city lost in water” and yet it seems we forget that there is still work that has to be done- that must be done. Today in Moncure, NC the Woodworkers Local Lodge W369 – an overwhelming majority Black and Latino – is on week six of a strike because of unfairness on the job. Today our brothers and sisters are still faced with genocide in Darfur. Today to be Black in America still plays to the negative stereotype of that is constantly and consistently portrayed by the media and yes ourselves. Today the dropout of our young brothers is still higher than that of any other race.
We are confronted with so much today that seems like our yesterday is presents us with a false sense of hope and that tomorrow is clouded with suspicions of doubt.
However, I submit that we must be like men who dreamed. We must not let this moment of celebration be deciphered as a moment of Arrival. No we have not arrived. We my brother and sisters are still travelling. Yes we may have left the jurisdiction of Jim Crow and may have crossed into the city limits of Progress but we have yet to arrive.
Be skeptical of the media portraying the point of Arrival just as Dr. King was critical of “tokenism” in his book Why We Can’t Wait.
It is not enough to walk around with Obama on a shirt. It is not enough to have a bumper sticker on your car. It is not enough to update your Facebook status to say that you are down with Obama or that you were a witness to history. It is not enough to be a Democrat or a Republican. It is not enough to think that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama will save us from the turmoil and strife we face in America. It is not enough to simply register people to vote.
We must not be lured into thinking that because Obama is young, gifted, and Black that we should not be critical. It is imperative that we register, educate, organize, and mobilize our brothers and sisters and get them to the polls. No one should tell you a sad story or give you a history lesson how someone fought, bleed, and died but you should vote because it is a primary indicator of a FREE American.
Brothers and sisters it is time to be critical. It is a time to return to the original American dream – the Constitution of the United States of America and know without a shadow of doubt that “we the people” can and will change the world – now that’s a change you can believe in. When we dream of that more perfect Union that promotes the general Welfare of all people than and only then will the America that Mr. Obama so eloquently articulated can and will come into fruition.
Tomorrow we must start anew. We must make a commitment not to become involved in the hype of symbolic politics but back to the basics and knowing that we are the “We the People.”
Forty-five years ago, Dr. King asked the simple question "when will we be satisfied?" We will not be satisfied until our Tomorrow looks nothing like our Today and the dreams of Yesterday be the guide for the future that is ahead of us.
Win or lose on November 5th the work must continue – the fight must go on. Our activism, our thirst for change must not be dependent on who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania but it must be because the strength of our moral intellect will not let us rest until Democracy flows from the chambers of the Congress into the halls of local municipalities. We can not rest until the world as it should be is no longer a talking point in speech but is a reality.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep but we have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep. The struggle continues and beckons us to wake up!
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise -- that American promise -- and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess
- Sen. Barack Obama
-Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Its 1:22 in the morning and I find myself still reflecting on yesterday. Even though it was only twenty-three minutes ago History beckons me – no it forces me to a transcendent moment of expression. Yesterday we honored the 45th Anniversary of “The March on Washington.” (The march, the movement was bigger than King or the “I Have a Dream” speech) Yesterday we celebrated the acceptance of the first African-American to receive and accept the nomination of a major American Political Party. However, today we sit, kneel, and work in a quiet mood solemnity as we pay homage those who were lost in the waters of Katrina and to those who are still displaced from their homes.
I am sitting in between Yesterday and Today and thinking what does all of this mean to me?
As I walked into my apartment it finally struck me of what yesterday and Today all meant to me. On my table in my apartment I have my Bible opened to 126 Psalms. Time to time when it seems like I am under the distress of this world and it seems like the words of Langston Hughes’ “Hold Fast to Dreams” have escaped my mental intellect. I reflect on the v.1 where it says,
“When the lord brought back the captives to Zion we were like men who dreamed.” For those unfamiliar with this text; scholars believed that the author was referring to the period of captivity when the Children of Israel were displaced, disenfranchised, and disbursed in the pagan land of Babylon. However, during that time of captivity – a time of disillusionment with no sense of self all they had to hold onto was their dreams.
They held on to dreams of a better tomorrow, a dream of being somebody, a dream of not being subject to oppression but truly experiencing in its essence – Freedom.
When the Lord brought the captives to Zion they were like men who dreamed.
After 400 years of mental anguish, physical enslavement, and suffering from PTSD – Post Traumatic Slave Disorder
When the Creator brought the captives to the March on Washington they were like men who
dreamed.
In 2000 and 2004 many of people that look like you and I votes were not counted and felt cheated, robbed, and disenfranchised.
When the Most High brought Barack Obama in front of 75,000 plus people of all nationalities, race, creed, sexual orientation, and denomination they were – we were – like men, women, boys and girls who dreamed.
Many of people feel as though now the “dream of the Dreamer” has now become a reality. However my Today brought a sobering reality. Today we mark the 3rd Anniversary of a “city lost in water” and yet it seems we forget that there is still work that has to be done- that must be done. Today in Moncure, NC the Woodworkers Local Lodge W369 – an overwhelming majority Black and Latino – is on week six of a strike because of unfairness on the job. Today our brothers and sisters are still faced with genocide in Darfur. Today to be Black in America still plays to the negative stereotype of that is constantly and consistently portrayed by the media and yes ourselves. Today the dropout of our young brothers is still higher than that of any other race.
We are confronted with so much today that seems like our yesterday is presents us with a false sense of hope and that tomorrow is clouded with suspicions of doubt.
However, I submit that we must be like men who dreamed. We must not let this moment of celebration be deciphered as a moment of Arrival. No we have not arrived. We my brother and sisters are still travelling. Yes we may have left the jurisdiction of Jim Crow and may have crossed into the city limits of Progress but we have yet to arrive.
Be skeptical of the media portraying the point of Arrival just as Dr. King was critical of “tokenism” in his book Why We Can’t Wait.
It is not enough to walk around with Obama on a shirt. It is not enough to have a bumper sticker on your car. It is not enough to update your Facebook status to say that you are down with Obama or that you were a witness to history. It is not enough to be a Democrat or a Republican. It is not enough to think that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama will save us from the turmoil and strife we face in America. It is not enough to simply register people to vote.
We must not be lured into thinking that because Obama is young, gifted, and Black that we should not be critical. It is imperative that we register, educate, organize, and mobilize our brothers and sisters and get them to the polls. No one should tell you a sad story or give you a history lesson how someone fought, bleed, and died but you should vote because it is a primary indicator of a FREE American.
Brothers and sisters it is time to be critical. It is a time to return to the original American dream – the Constitution of the United States of America and know without a shadow of doubt that “we the people” can and will change the world – now that’s a change you can believe in. When we dream of that more perfect Union that promotes the general Welfare of all people than and only then will the America that Mr. Obama so eloquently articulated can and will come into fruition.
Tomorrow we must start anew. We must make a commitment not to become involved in the hype of symbolic politics but back to the basics and knowing that we are the “We the People.”
Forty-five years ago, Dr. King asked the simple question "when will we be satisfied?" We will not be satisfied until our Tomorrow looks nothing like our Today and the dreams of Yesterday be the guide for the future that is ahead of us.
Win or lose on November 5th the work must continue – the fight must go on. Our activism, our thirst for change must not be dependent on who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania but it must be because the strength of our moral intellect will not let us rest until Democracy flows from the chambers of the Congress into the halls of local municipalities. We can not rest until the world as it should be is no longer a talking point in speech but is a reality.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep but we have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep. The struggle continues and beckons us to wake up!
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise -- that American promise -- and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess
- Sen. Barack Obama
Friday, May 16, 2008
Blast from the Past Part IV: Letter to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Posted on their website www.jointcenter.org
Dear Joint Center Journal:
The reception for Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday (Jan. 22) at S.C. State University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) was filled with excitement, hope, and inspiration. It was evident that young people are committed to his vision for change; many of them waited in the rain, just barely gaining entry into the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. To see my peers standing in line for something other than a party, refund checks, or a concert shows that someone has “the audacity to hope.” This event only highlights the excitement that students have for Mr. Obama versus the other Democratic candidates. The inspiring message that he has to offer -- along with the celebrity surrogates -- brings something fresh and new. I served as the coordinator for “The Justice Speak Out” sponsored by Black Youth Vote, a project sponsored by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. This was my first major test as an organizer. Working on a tight time schedule, I collaborated with the “movers and shakers” on my campus including the Student Government Association, (SGA), the NAACP and the Pan-Hellenic Council presidents. We also connected with SGAs at other, neighboring HBCU’s including at: Claflin University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) and Voorhees College (in Denmark, S.C.).We canvassed the campus, knocked on doors, did e-mail blasts, posted flyers, used Facebook and made announcements in various classes. In spite of the rain and a last- minute change in location, the turnout for the event was wonderful. More than 150 college students from various schools in South Carolina were represented, as well as a group of students from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Even some the members NCBCP drove from Atlanta.
All who were in attendance were empowered by the words of S.C. Rep. Bakari Sellers, BYV! Co-Chair Chancee Lundy and BET’s Jeff Johnson. Students left feeling empowered and excited about making a difference by having their votes count in the upcoming primaries.Right now, we are in the process of making contact with those in attendance to make sure they go out and vote on Saturday; we are using the information on their pledge cards to reach them. These cards were signed by each person in attendance as a pledge to go out and vote and to make their votes count. Students are approaching this presidential campaign with a different perspective since South Carolina is a key early primary state. There is universal understanding that South Carolina has the power to influence the nomination for either party because of the diversity of South Carolina, with half of the voters being African-American. I believe that the political atmosphere can be sensed on our campus, so many students have no choice but to give some thought to becoming politically engaged due to the many stops made by various presidential campaigns. Even if they aren’t talking about it everyday, there is at least some knowledge on the importance of this upcoming election.
There are some students who volunteer with the local campaign offices; many of them are a short walk from the campus. I think the candidacy for Sen. Obama has inspired a lot of young voters not only because he is African American but also because he brings that same youthful passion that young people felt during the time of John F. Kennedy and when they heard the masterful rhetoric that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used while moving our people towards freedom.Sen. Obama so far has had the best presence on this campus. One of his regional campaign offices is located across the street. His wife has been to our campus and Mr. Obama has visited our campus twice, along with many of his notable surrogates. The other candidates haven’t visited campus except for their participation during the 2007 Democratic Presidential Debate sponsored by NBC. Sen. John McCain has been the only Republican candidate to visit our campus, with little excitement from the students.Political activity on campus is taking a different direction because we are the largest HBCU in the state as well as the only HBCU that is a public institution. A lot of attention is placed upon our school by those who are seriously courting the black youth vote. I think that students finally understand the importance of being politically engaged and the level of political activity is improving. A lot of students from S.C. State participated in the “King Day at the Dome” rally (on Jan. 21).
Despite the extreme cold, many of our fraternities and sororities turned out in large numbers to celebrate the dream while continuing the fight to remove a symbol of hate and bigotry off the grounds of our State Capitol. Few students attended the (Democrats’) debate (in Myrtle Beach, S.C.) because of the distance as well as inability to gain entry into the event because of not having a ticket. While those who volunteered with various campaigns were in the area, many students watched the debates in their rooms
The reception for Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday (Jan. 22) at S.C. State University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) was filled with excitement, hope, and inspiration. It was evident that young people are committed to his vision for change; many of them waited in the rain, just barely gaining entry into the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. To see my peers standing in line for something other than a party, refund checks, or a concert shows that someone has “the audacity to hope.” This event only highlights the excitement that students have for Mr. Obama versus the other Democratic candidates. The inspiring message that he has to offer -- along with the celebrity surrogates -- brings something fresh and new. I served as the coordinator for “The Justice Speak Out” sponsored by Black Youth Vote, a project sponsored by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. This was my first major test as an organizer. Working on a tight time schedule, I collaborated with the “movers and shakers” on my campus including the Student Government Association, (SGA), the NAACP and the Pan-Hellenic Council presidents. We also connected with SGAs at other, neighboring HBCU’s including at: Claflin University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) and Voorhees College (in Denmark, S.C.).We canvassed the campus, knocked on doors, did e-mail blasts, posted flyers, used Facebook and made announcements in various classes. In spite of the rain and a last- minute change in location, the turnout for the event was wonderful. More than 150 college students from various schools in South Carolina were represented, as well as a group of students from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Even some the members NCBCP drove from Atlanta.
All who were in attendance were empowered by the words of S.C. Rep. Bakari Sellers, BYV! Co-Chair Chancee Lundy and BET’s Jeff Johnson. Students left feeling empowered and excited about making a difference by having their votes count in the upcoming primaries.Right now, we are in the process of making contact with those in attendance to make sure they go out and vote on Saturday; we are using the information on their pledge cards to reach them. These cards were signed by each person in attendance as a pledge to go out and vote and to make their votes count. Students are approaching this presidential campaign with a different perspective since South Carolina is a key early primary state. There is universal understanding that South Carolina has the power to influence the nomination for either party because of the diversity of South Carolina, with half of the voters being African-American. I believe that the political atmosphere can be sensed on our campus, so many students have no choice but to give some thought to becoming politically engaged due to the many stops made by various presidential campaigns. Even if they aren’t talking about it everyday, there is at least some knowledge on the importance of this upcoming election.
There are some students who volunteer with the local campaign offices; many of them are a short walk from the campus. I think the candidacy for Sen. Obama has inspired a lot of young voters not only because he is African American but also because he brings that same youthful passion that young people felt during the time of John F. Kennedy and when they heard the masterful rhetoric that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used while moving our people towards freedom.Sen. Obama so far has had the best presence on this campus. One of his regional campaign offices is located across the street. His wife has been to our campus and Mr. Obama has visited our campus twice, along with many of his notable surrogates. The other candidates haven’t visited campus except for their participation during the 2007 Democratic Presidential Debate sponsored by NBC. Sen. John McCain has been the only Republican candidate to visit our campus, with little excitement from the students.Political activity on campus is taking a different direction because we are the largest HBCU in the state as well as the only HBCU that is a public institution. A lot of attention is placed upon our school by those who are seriously courting the black youth vote. I think that students finally understand the importance of being politically engaged and the level of political activity is improving. A lot of students from S.C. State participated in the “King Day at the Dome” rally (on Jan. 21).
Despite the extreme cold, many of our fraternities and sororities turned out in large numbers to celebrate the dream while continuing the fight to remove a symbol of hate and bigotry off the grounds of our State Capitol. Few students attended the (Democrats’) debate (in Myrtle Beach, S.C.) because of the distance as well as inability to gain entry into the event because of not having a ticket. While those who volunteered with various campaigns were in the area, many students watched the debates in their rooms
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)