The Black Arts Movement Conference, University of California, Merced, Feb 28 thru March 2, 2014
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Photos from NYU Tribute to Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka, Feb. 4, 2014
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Marvin X.mov
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Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Revolutionary poets Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka, RIP
Baraka's last words were inviting me to perform at New York University at the tribute for Jayne Cortez which turned out to be a tribute for him as well. My world is very empty at this hour but we shall continue our cultural revolution until victory!
Marvin X reading
at NYU
Poets celebrate the lives of Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka
L to R seated Quincy Troupe, Ted Wilson, Rashidah Ishmaili, Sandra Esteves
Standing: Arthur Pfister, Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure, Marvin X, bassist Henry Grimes who accompanied Marvin X
Left to right: Quincy Troupe, Askia Toure, Felipe Luciano of the Last Poets, Marvin X, Sandra Esteves, Haki Madhubuti, Rashidah Ishmaili, Ted Wilson, Linton Kwesi Johnson
We thank revolutionary sister Rashidah Ishmaili for hosting that wonderful reception for me at her beautiful harlem apartment. We thank her for taking over the MC role at NYU that AB was supposed to handle.
Marvin X with arms around Rashidah Ishmaili, host of his Harlem reception and MC of the NYU tribute for Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka
Marvin X and Nuyorican poet Nancy Mercado at Harlem reception
Marvin X and Nuyorican poet Nancy Mercado at Harlem reception
Revolutionary poet Mohja Kahf of Syria and Marvin X
a supporter of the democratic revolution in Syria
Marvin X with Henry Grimes, living legend jazz bassist and violinist
Mrs. Amina Baraka, revolutionary poet--think of Winnie Mandela and Nelson, then think of Amina Baraka and Amiri Baraka, you got the concept!
We thank Ras Baraka for catching the baton passed from his father, AB. We look forward to seeing him as Mayor of Newark, NJ, and we pray his team of city council persons will win so that he will not be blocked by a hostile council. Anytime North American Africans make it to a meeting at 9:30am on Saturday morning, there is hope for the Race!a supporter of the democratic revolution in Syria
Marvin X with Henry Grimes, living legend jazz bassist and violinist
We give peace and love to Nisa Ra, Queen Mother of the Ashanti Nation in Philadelphia. We thank her for her hospitality while we visited the City of Brotherly Love! We thank Pam Africa for inviting us to participate in the 60th birthday celebration of Mumia Abu Jamal, April 24,25,26.
Nisa Ra, Queen Mother of the Ashanti Nation in Philadelphia, dear friend and former wife of Marvin X and mother of their daughter, Muhammida.
We must express extreme concern for the treatment Temple University is giving two of our greatest revolutionary scholars, Dr. Tony Montiero and Dr. Muhammad Ahmed (Max Stanford), both have been denied tenured although they are the most popular North American African professors on campus.
Molefe Asante, recently appointed chair of African American Studies, must get it right. Is he sailing down the Nile (as in denial) or is he on the Hapi River? See my Parable of the Poor Righteous Teacher and Parable of the Black Bourgeoisie below.
The economic and political dependence of this African neo-colonial bourgeoisie is reflected in its culture of apenmanship and parrotry enforced on a restive population through police boots, barbed wire, a gowned clergy and judiciary; their ideas are spread by a corpus of state intellectuals, the academic and journalistic laureates of the neo-colonial establishment.
--Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Decolonizing the Mind
The black bourgeoisie is a class of very sick people who go about their daily round pretending all is well. They have a gang of police who do not carry guns but are yet dangerous because they use masking tape to gag and silence the mouths of any and all who dare defy their sick value system of addiction to white supremacy that is full blown.
The culture police will silence or simply ignore those who refuse to speak the language of the black bourgeoisie, a language taught to them in the neo-colonial schools, churches, mosques and workplaces.
This class of trained monkeys includes artists, teachers, preachers, politicians and media parrots who make sure those who defy the culture police are punished by silence or ignored by non-invitation to their world of make believe.
They are not interviewed in the media, or invited to speak or teach at schools, colleges and universities, unless at their own expense. They may sometimes be invited and paid, but the culture police make sure no students are there to hear them, so they speak in an empty auditorium, even though they are paid handsomely. The black bourgeoisie don't care how much they are paid, just don't let students hear what they have to say. The culture police will actually speak after they speak and admit they have nothing to say, that they are rambling on to neutralize the atmosphere, to negate any raw truth that may have been said.
The black bourgeoisie culture police place those who defy them on house arrest, similar to the woman in Burma, for those who resist are not allowed to work, unless they agree to sing Silent Night, the national anthem.
One cannot say the A word, B word, C word, D word, E word or F word. In short, one must shut up and go along with the "King's English," of course the King was a pervert, oppressor, exploiter, robber and rapist, so who in their right mind would want to speak the "King's English"?
Rather than teach the masses in their own language, the "Mother tongue," how to behave, how to stop beating their partners, how to love themselves, the black bourgeoisie would rather the common people beat, maim, and kill their mates. Even when the masses or common people fight and steal the literature in their "Mother-tongue," the black bourgeoisie don't care, for they cannot allow them to speak in their language, they must be stopped by any means necessary.
And yet, the "King's English" and the language of the black bourgeoisie is filled with lies, duplicity and contradictions. Their language hides truth, especially of their sick, pitiful lives, terror in their mansions, in bed, hours of drunkenness and drug abuse, lechery and depravity, the golden handcuffs, incest, adultery, prostitution , emotional and verbal abuse--yes, in their moment of passion the black bourgeoisie actually use so-called foul language, yes, the very language they despise and condemn in the common people and those who speak or write in such language.
And still they walk with an air of superiority. They cannot speak or greet you on the street. There are perpetually in a rush or in a hurry going nowhere but to some din of iniquity where they wink and blink to increase their inordinancy and conspicuous consumption.
Their pseudo puritan language covers a multitude of sins and wickedness. Smiling faces belie the terror of their lives, for are they not sycophants of the worse kind, ass kissers in short, for some boss, some high class pimp in a suite, far above the street.
And yet, the black bourgeoisie are only one paycheck away from the street people who drink rot gut wine and push shopping carts, but at least they love each other with a love that is true and real!
Baraka said, "Where the soul's print should be there is only a cellulose pouch of disgusting habits." They suffer negritis, an inflammation of the negroid gland at the base of the brain, caused by negrocities or bad habits!
The black bourgeoisie were told long ago by E. Franklin Frazier about their world of make believe and conspicuous consumption. Nothing has changed, except there is more of the same.
--Marvin X
3/30/10
Parable of the Black Bourgeoisie
The economic and political dependence of this African neo-colonial bourgeoisie is reflected in its culture of apenmanship and parrotry enforced on a restive population through police boots, barbed wire, a gowned clergy and judiciary; their ideas are spread by a corpus of state intellectuals, the academic and journalistic laureates of the neo-colonial establishment.
--Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Decolonizing the Mind
The black bourgeoisie is a class of very sick people who go about their daily round pretending all is well. They have a gang of police who do not carry guns but are yet dangerous because they use masking tape to gag and silence the mouths of any and all who dare defy their sick value system of addiction to white supremacy that is full blown.
The culture police will silence or simply ignore those who refuse to speak the language of the black bourgeoisie, a language taught to them in the neo-colonial schools, churches, mosques and workplaces.
This class of trained monkeys includes artists, teachers, preachers, politicians and media parrots who make sure those who defy the culture police are punished by silence or ignored by non-invitation to their world of make believe.
They are not interviewed in the media, or invited to speak or teach at schools, colleges and universities, unless at their own expense. They may sometimes be invited and paid, but the culture police make sure no students are there to hear them, so they speak in an empty auditorium, even though they are paid handsomely. The black bourgeoisie don't care how much they are paid, just don't let students hear what they have to say. The culture police will actually speak after they speak and admit they have nothing to say, that they are rambling on to neutralize the atmosphere, to negate any raw truth that may have been said.
The black bourgeoisie culture police place those who defy them on house arrest, similar to the woman in Burma, for those who resist are not allowed to work, unless they agree to sing Silent Night, the national anthem.
One cannot say the A word, B word, C word, D word, E word or F word. In short, one must shut up and go along with the "King's English," of course the King was a pervert, oppressor, exploiter, robber and rapist, so who in their right mind would want to speak the "King's English"?
Rather than teach the masses in their own language, the "Mother tongue," how to behave, how to stop beating their partners, how to love themselves, the black bourgeoisie would rather the common people beat, maim, and kill their mates. Even when the masses or common people fight and steal the literature in their "Mother-tongue," the black bourgeoisie don't care, for they cannot allow them to speak in their language, they must be stopped by any means necessary.
And yet, the "King's English" and the language of the black bourgeoisie is filled with lies, duplicity and contradictions. Their language hides truth, especially of their sick, pitiful lives, terror in their mansions, in bed, hours of drunkenness and drug abuse, lechery and depravity, the golden handcuffs, incest, adultery, prostitution , emotional and verbal abuse--yes, in their moment of passion the black bourgeoisie actually use so-called foul language, yes, the very language they despise and condemn in the common people and those who speak or write in such language.
And still they walk with an air of superiority. They cannot speak or greet you on the street. There are perpetually in a rush or in a hurry going nowhere but to some din of iniquity where they wink and blink to increase their inordinancy and conspicuous consumption.
Their pseudo puritan language covers a multitude of sins and wickedness. Smiling faces belie the terror of their lives, for are they not sycophants of the worse kind, ass kissers in short, for some boss, some high class pimp in a suite, far above the street.
And yet, the black bourgeoisie are only one paycheck away from the street people who drink rot gut wine and push shopping carts, but at least they love each other with a love that is true and real!
Baraka said, "Where the soul's print should be there is only a cellulose pouch of disgusting habits." They suffer negritis, an inflammation of the negroid gland at the base of the brain, caused by negrocities or bad habits!
The black bourgeoisie were told long ago by E. Franklin Frazier about their world of make believe and conspicuous consumption. Nothing has changed, except there is more of the same.
--Marvin X
3/30/10
SUN RA SPEAKS
Sun Ra taught the necessity of discipline rather than freedom in all things, especially in creativity. Sun Ra said if you don't do the right thing the Creator's got things fixed so you can't go forward or backward, you just stuck on stupid with Super Glue on your ass!
Marvin X and Sun Ra, a Philadelphia native. Sun Ra was the philosopher and mystic of BAM. He worked with Marvin X in theatre coast to coast.
Marvin X speaks at last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka
Marvin X tour schedule, 2014
February 17
Eastside Arts Center Tribute to Amiri Baraka, et al
February 22
Marvin X speaks at Hinton Community Center, Fresno CA
February 24
Marvin X speaks at Fresno City College
February 28 thru March 2
Marvin X co-producer (with Kim McMillan) of the Black Arts Movement Conference
University of California, Merced
March 15
Marvin X speaks in Seattle WA
April 24,25,26
Marvin X in Philadelphia for 60th Birthday of Mumia Abu Jamal
May 29
Marvin X celebrates 70th birthday at Contra Costa College, Richmond CA
for more information or to book Marvin X, please call 510-200-4164
email letter of invitation: jmarvinx@yahoo.com
visit his blog: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com
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National Call to Reinstate Temple University's Dr. Anthony Monteiro and Dr. Muhammad Ahmed (Max Stanford)
We are not clear why Dr. Muhammad Ahmed (Max Stanford) is not part of the national call since both brothers are in the same situation. We just departed Philly and talked with Muhammad who showed us his termination letter. So please add Muhammad Ahmed to this conversation. --Marvin X
PRESS CONFERENCE – National Call to Reinstate Temple University’s Dr. Anthony Monteiro
Feb 12, 2014. 11:00 a.m. At 1199c Union Hall, 1319 Locust Street (btw Broad & 13th)
Associate Professor of African American Studies, Dr. Anthony Monteiro, Ph.D., a long-time advocate for Mumia Abu-Jamal, distinguished W. E. B. Du Bois scholar and community activist, has been dismissed from his position in Temple University’s African-American Studies Department. It is clearly a case of a “retaliation firing,” even though Temple administrators deem it simply “end of term” for Dr. Monteiro. For one report on the firing see this story at The Philadelphia Tribune.
The National Call, below, contests the dismissal, protests the retaliatory firing and seeks Dr. Monteiro’s reinstatement.
If you are an educator and wish to sign this Call, send your name to johanna.fernandez@baruch.cuny.edu AND mark.taylor@ptsem.edu, subject heading: “Signature Monteiro.” Please give your name as you would like it listed and your institutional affiliation (which will be shown for identification purposes only).
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A National Call for the Reinstatement of
Temple University’s Dr. Anthony Monteiro
WE UNITE with Philadelphia faculty members, labor, community and student organizations to call for the immediate reinstatement of Professor Anthony Monteiro as Associate Professor in African-American Studies. After Dr. Monteiro’s 10 years of distinguished service in Temple University’s historic Department, the first to offer a doctorate in African-American Studies, he has been informed that his contract will not be renewed, in a letter of Jan 6, 2014 from Dean Teresa Soufas of Temple’s Liberal Arts College. No reason was given for dismissal of so highly respected a scholar, particularly for his Du Bois scholarship, but also in African American Studies, generally.
WE DENOUNCE AND DEPLORE this apparent violation of Dr. Monteiro’s academic freedom and this disparagement of his dignity as scholar and person. In the absence of any reasons for Dr. Monteiro’s dismissal, this refusal to renew his contract must be labeled a “retaliation firing” based on the following indicators:
Retaliatory and threatening moves against faculty by administrators have recent precedent at Temple, especially from this Dean. Professor Monteiro’s dismissal came after he helped spearhead public campaigns that challenged the Dean’s attempt to strip the faculty of autonomy in administering of its department. In particular, Dr. Monteiro helped defend public efforts to secure African American scholars to Chair the African American Studies department, in spite of the Dean’s objection to the department’s own proposed candidates.
Scholar, Lewis Gordon, previous holder of Temple’s distinguished Laura Carnell Professorship, resigned protesting racist practices and “a series of retaliatory actions” that he and other Black and Jewish staff experienced from this Dean and other administrators. He recounted these at his website and in Temple’s own Faculty Herald publication.
Gordon, who had also served on Temple’s Great Teachers Award Committee, resigned along with his wife, an award-winning scholar and teacher in political science, also reports along with others, that, on at least two occasions the Dean ordered surveillance of Black and/or Jewish faculty in their classes and on campus, and also called the police to campus when another professor mentioned Dean Soufas’ ongoing attacks against black male faculty.
Not only was no reason given for Dr. Monteiro’s dismissal, administrators also appear to hold contempt for Dr. Monteiro’s work on community issues of mass incarceration, public education, and police corruption. Following two major events organized by Dr. Monteiro on political prisoners, Mumia Abu-Jamal and Russell Maroon Shoatz, which drew large participation from the local Black community, Temple began to prohibit Dr. Monteiro from reserving campus rooms. As a result, he has been prohibited from continuing to host important gatherings on campus, like his long-standing Free Saturday School for students and community, entitled “Philosophy and Black Liberation. This policy now prohibits his organizing the W.E.B. Du Bois lectures and symposia, for which he has become known in scholarly circles. This essentially targets Monteiro’s academic freedom as well as his interaction with the community as a scholar, which in fact is called for by African American Studies’ own Mission Statement. Dean Soufas has said publicly to the Department, “I do not see a Black Community.”
Graduate students in the African-American Studies Department have organized with Black Philadelphia groups to protest what they view as a series of attacks on the Department, reporting hostility and a climate of threat designed to intimidate them.
At a Department meeting before Dr. Asante had become Chair of African American Studies, the Dean pointed her finger, disparagingly, in Dr. Asante’s face. On at least two other occasions she threatened Dr. Asante with dismissal from his faculty post.
WE RECOGNIZE, CELEBRATE AND WILL NOT SEE DEMEANED DR. MONTEIRO’S SCHOLARSHIP AND SERVICE, in the light of which his recent firing can only appear as an act of flagrant racism and repression of academic freedom. Dr. Monteiro’s eminent record includes:
A distinguished publication record, featuring over 100 published articles and essays in varied journals. He is among the most frequently cited in his department, not only in African-American and Du Bois Studies, but also in political science, history, urban education, race and feminist studies, to name a few. Already, Monteiro has produced five articles on Nelson Mandela and Amiri Baraka, just since their recent deaths.
Ten years of exemplary and creative professional achievements at Temple since 2003, serving as Associate Professor without tenure, after having left a tenured position at another institution for a promise of tenure at Temple. He was one key architect of the Center for the Study of Race and Social Thought at Temple, becoming its Associate Director in 2005. Although supporting Dr. Asante’s appointment as Department Chair, Professor Monteiro, along with others, was himself also nominated for that role. Further, he has served on five dissertation committees, and chaired one.
National and international renown for conceiving and directing scholarly events on W. E. B. Du Bois at Temple, hosting the annual Du Bois Lectures and Du Bois Symposia. These draw scholars from Columbia, Princeton, Drexel, UPENN and elsewhere. As a leader in Du Bois studies, the University of Pennsylvania selected Monteiro to bestow upon Du Bois its Emeritus Professorship in Africana Studies and Sociology. He is especially respected for his fresh theorization of Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction in America as form of “historical logic.”
Unusually strong student respect and support at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Monteiro’s Du Bois seminars are deservedly popular, as also his graduate course in Black Social and Political Thought. These draw students from multiple departments. In 2005 and 2007 he received merit points for scholarship and teaching. Understandably many of his students are in the forefront of today’s struggle for his reinstatement.
Innovative Planning of University & Community Relations in Temple’s North Philadelphia community. Dr. Monteiro started the ongoing Free Saturday School, granting Temple students of many disciplines a vibrant interaction with the community. He leads neighborhood studies of Martin Luther King’s work, and consistently shows up at public events, often bringing his sociological expertise to bear on mass incarceration issues. Monteiro thus embodies the Department’s own commitment to linking its discipline to “positive change in our communities” (“Mission,” second paragraph).
An embodying for our time of Du Bois’ tradition of political critique and public resistance in the face of systems of domination, whether in society or the academy. In this regard, we note his forming “The Radical Philosophy Circle” for Temple students, his decades of public support for innocent political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal (even hosting campus screenings of the award-winning documentary on Abu-Jamal, and featuring phone conferences with Abu-Jamal in his classes). He hosted at Temple a book party for Maroon the Implacable, a volume of essays by political prisoner, Russell Maroon Shoatz. Monteiro also organizes support for the community’s political leaders, as with his conference in 2012, “Pam Africa: Our Revolutionary Daughter of the Dust.”
WE SCHOLARS STAND VIGILANTLY BEHIND DR. MONTEIRO knowing that today, throughout the U.S. academy and nation, programs in African American and Ethnic studies are all too frequently attacked or neglected by small groups of deans, provosts and board members. These often use their power to foster or tolerate misrepresentation, harassment, repression and removal of reputable scholars of color and conscience – those most necessary for equipping us all with knowledge for promoting and guarding a truly just society.
The reinstatement of Dr. Anthony Monteiro is essential for Temple University now to safeguard its historic reputation in African American Studies.
*This National Call is a project of Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal and was drafted by its coordinators.
Signatories (with institutions listed for identification purposes only):
Lewis R. Gordon. Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy, African American Studies, and Judaic Studies at University of Connecticut, Europhilosophy Visiting Chair, Toulouse University, France; Nelson Mandela Distinguished Visiting Professor, Rhodes University, South Africa.
Johanna Fernandez, Ph.D.Department of History and Department of Black and Latino/a Studies, Baruch College CUNY. EMAJ Coordinator.
Mark Lewis Taylor, Ph.D.
Departments of Theology, Religion & Society, Princeton Theological Seminary. EMAJ Coordinator.
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Abdul Alkalimat, Ph.DUniversity of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
African American Studies
Elisabeth Armstrong, Ph.D.Smith College, Women & Gender Studies
Subhasis Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D.Bengal Engineering and Science University
Dept. Humanities & Social Science/India
Allen H. Barton, Ph.D.Columbia University, Sociology Department (former Chair)
Tameka Cage-Conley, Ph.D.Literary Artist/Independent Educator & Scholar
Richard Curtis, Ph.D.Seattle Central Community College
Jamie Owen Daniel, Ph.D.
Independent Scholar and Educator, English
Hester Eisenstein, Ph.D.Queens College and the Graduate Center (CUNY)Sociology
Joe Feagin, Ph.D.Texas A&M University, Sociology
(former President, American Sociological Association)
Douglas Ficek, Ph.D.John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Philosophy
Ariane Fischer, Ph.D.Temple University, Intellectual Heritage Program
Joan P. Gibbs, Esq.Medgar Evers College (CUNY)
Jane Anna Gordon, Ph.D.University of Connecticut (Storrs)
Political Science & African American Studies
President, Caribbean Philosophical Association
Ellington T. Graves, Ph.D.
Virginia Tech, Africana Studies/Sociology
Farah Jasmine Griffin, Ph.D.Columbia University, English and Comparative Literature,
African American Studies
Robert L. Harris, Jr., Ph.D.Cornell University, Africana Studies and Research Center
Stephen N. Haymes, Ph.D.DePaul University, School of Education
Joy A. James, Ph.D.
Williams College
Ryan Cecil Jobson, Ph.D. cand.Yale University, Anthropology & African American Studies
Bob Hodges, MA, Ph.D. cand.University of Michigan, English
Waldo Katz-Fishman, Ph.D.Howard University, Sociology
Gregory Laynor, Ph.D. cand.University of Washington, English(Temple alumni)
Davil Lloyd, Ph.D.University of California/RiversideDistinguished Professor of English
Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Ph.D.Harvard University
History, Literature and Public Policy
Keon M. McGuire, Ph.D. cand.
University of Pennsylvania/Education & Africana Studies
Patrick McHenry, PhDGeorgia Institute of Technology
School of Literature, Media & Communication
Steve Macek, Ph.D.North Central College (Naperville, IL), Urban and Suburban Studies
Gerald Meyer, Ph.D.
Hostos Community College (CUNY).
Gregory Meyerson, Ph.D.
North Carolina A&T State University, English
Mechthild Nagel, Ph.D.SUNY Cortland, Philosophy
Director, Center for Gender & Intercultural Studies
Yusuf Nuruddin, MBA, Ph.D. cand.University of Massachusetts/Boston. Lecturer in Africana Studies
Gary Y. Okihiro, Ph.D.Columbia University
School of International and Public Affairs
Alex Ortega, Ph.D.
UCLA, Health Policy & Management
Kamala Platt, Ph.D., MFA
Independent Scholar, educator & author
Meadowlark Center, KS & San Antonio, TX
Vijay Prashad, Ph.D.Trinity College
South Asian History, International Relations
Michael P. Predmore, Ph.D.Stanford University, Iberian & Latin American Studies
Richard Pressman, Ph.D.St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, TX)
Joseph G. Ramsey, Ph.D.University of Massachusetts/Boston
Russell Rickford, Ph.D.
Dartmouth College, Ass’t. Prof., History
David Roediger, Ph.D.University of Illinois, History
Robyn C. Spencer, Ph.D.Lehman College, History Department
Victor Wallis, Ph.D.Berklee College of Music, Liberal Arts Department
Carolyn Nur Wistrand, MFADillard University, School of the Humanities
Marvin X, MA
Academy of Da Corner, downtown Oakland CA
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Did you vote Nigguh? Did ya do time to pay faya crime?
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. called Tuesday for the repeal of laws that prohibit millions of felons from voting, underscoring the Obama administration’s determination to elevate issues of criminal justice and race in the president’s second term and create a lasting civil rights legacy.
In a speech at Georgetown University, Mr. Holder described today’s prohibitions — which in some cases bar those convicted from voting for life — as a vestige of the racist policies of the South after the Civil War, when states used the criminal justice system to keep blacks from fully participating in society.
“Those swept up in this system too often had their rights rescinded, their dignity diminished, and the full measure of their citizenship revoked for the rest of their lives,” Mr. Holder said. “They could not vote.”
Mr. Holder has no authority to enact the changes he called for, given that states establish the rules under which people can vote. And state Republican leaders made clear that Mr. Holder’s remarks, made to a receptive audience at a civil rights conference, would not move them.
“Eric Holder’s speech from Washington, D.C., has no effect on Florida’s Constitution, which prescribes that individuals who commit felonies forfeit their right to vote,” said Frank Collins, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican.
The speech by Mr. Holder reflects his role as the president’s leading voice on civil rights issues. Mr. Obama has spoken only sporadically about race during his presidency, approaching the subject gingerly.
But Mr. Holder has made racial inequities a consistent theme, and in recent months he has made it clear he sees criminal justice and civil rights as inescapably joined.
He has sued Texas and North Carolina to overturn voter-identification laws that studies show are more likely to keep minorities and the poor from voting. He is pushing Congress to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. And he has encouraged low-level drug criminals sentenced during the crack epidemic to apply for clemency.
“On all the issues that he’s framed, he’s put these two themes together and he sees them very much as intertwined,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a research group that favors more liberal sentencing policies. “The criminal justice system is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. He hasn’t used those words, but that’s what I hear when I listen to him.”
Mr. Mauer said Mr. Holder was the first attorney general to advocate repealing voting bans. The Justice Department said it knew of no other attorney general who did so.
Like mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine offenses, laws banning felons from the voting booth disproportionately affect minorities. African-Americans represent more than a third of the estimated 5.8 million people who are prohibited from voting.
Nearly every state prohibits inmates from voting while in prison. Laws vary widely, however, on whether felons can vote once they have been released from prison. Some states allow voting while on parole, others while on probation.
Some states require waiting periods or have complicated processes for felons to reregister to vote. In Mississippi, passing a $100 bad check carries a lifetime ban from voting.
In four states — Florida, Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia — all felons are barred from the polls for life unless they receive clemency from the governor.
“This isn’t just about fairness for those who are released from prison,” Mr. Holder said. “It’s about who we are as a nation. It’s about confronting, with clear eyes and in frank terms, disparities and divisions that are unworthy of the greatest justice system the world has ever known.”
Mr. Holder’s statements carry little political risk. Congress could pass a law guaranteeing felons the right to vote, but similar proposals have failed before and the Obama administration has not advocated similar legislation, despite Mr. Holder’s comments.
Studies show that felons who have been denied the right to vote were far more likely to have voted for Democrats than for Republicans. In 2002, scholars at the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University concluded that the 2000 presidential election “would almost certainly have been reversed” had felons been allowed to vote.
In Florida, the state that tipped that election, 10 percent of the population is ineligible to vote because of the ban on felons at the polls, Mr. Holder said.
In 2011, Governor Scott required felons to wait five years after completing their sentence before they can apply to vote again.
“For those who are truly remorseful for how they have wrecked families and want to earn back their right to vote, Florida’s Constitution also provides a process to have their rights restored,” said Mr. Collins, the governor’s spokesman.
In Iowa, felons can apply to the governor to restore their voting rights if they can prove they have paid their fines and court costs.
“Iowa has a good and fair policy on restoration of rights for convicted felons,” said Jimmy Centers, a spokesman for Gov. Terry E. Branstad, a Republican. “We don’t have any plans to change the process.”
Kentucky, however, is considering changing its Constitution to allow some felons the right to vote. The proposal passed the Democratic-led House last month, and Republicans, who control the Senate, have indicated a willingness to consider it.
Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky, a Democrat, says felons — except for violent offenders and sex criminals — should get to vote again once their sentences are complete. He supports the proposal being considered in the Senate, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.
In general, state laws have become more lenient toward felon voting over the past two decades as crime decreased and voters cared less about tough-on-crime policies. More recently, liberal Democrats have found allies among civil libertarians as the Tea Party movement gained momentum.
Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and a possible presidential candidate, has endorsed his state’s effort to give felons the right to vote. He has also joined Mr. Holder in calling for reducing the prison population and an end to mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug crimes.
“His vocal support for restoring voting rights for former inmates shows that this issue need not break down along partisan lines,” Mr. Holder said.
of Mr. Paul.
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Islam and the Black Arts Movement: Marvin X's Love and War poems, 1995
Marvin X was a prime shaper of the Black Arts Movement (1964-1970s) which is, among other things, the birthplace of modern Muslim American literature, and it begins with him. Well, Malik Shabazz and him....
Declaring Muslim American literature as a field of study is valuable because recontextualizing it will add another layer of attention to his incredibly rich body of work.He deserves to be WAY better known than he is among Muslim Americans and generally, in the world of writing and the world at large. By we who are younger Muslim American poets, in particular, Marvin should be honored as our elder, one who is still kickin, still true to the word!--Dr. Mohja Kahf
Cover art by Emory Douglas, Black Panther Party Minister of Culture
Fly to Allah, 1969, is the beginning of Muslim American literature, according to Dr. Mohja Kahf.
Marvin X, 1972. His Black Educational Theatre performed Resurrection of the Dead, a myth-ritual dance drama, 1972. His actors were students from his drama class at University of California, Berkeley.
Syrian poet-professor-activist, Dr. Mohja Kahf
Love and War
poems
by Marvin X
review by Mohja Kahf
Have spent the last few days (when not mourning with friends and family the passing of my family friend and mentor in Muslim feminism and Islamic work, Sharifa AlKhateeb, (may she dwell in Rahma), immersed in the work of Marvin X and amazed at his brilliance. This poet has been prolific since his first book of poems, Fly to Allah, (1969), right up to his most recent Love and War Poems (1995) and Land of My Daughters, 2005, not to mention his plays, which were produced (without royalties) in Black community theatres from the 1960s to the present, and essay collections such as In the Crazy House Called America, 2002, and Wish I Could Tell You The Truth, 2005.
Marvin X was a prime shaper of the Black Arts Movement (1964-1970s) which is, among other things, the birthplace of modern Muslim American literature, and it begins with him. Well, Malik Shabazz and him. But while the Autobiography of Malcolm X is a touchstone of Muslim American culture, Marvin X and other Muslims in BAM were the emergence of a cultural expression of Black Power and Muslim thought inspired by Malcolm, who was, of course, ignited by the teachings and writings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. And that, taken all together, is what I see as the starting point of Muslim American literature. Then there are others, immigrant Muslims and white American Muslims and so forth, that follow. There are also antecedents, such as the letters of Africans enslaved in America. Maybe there is writing by Muslims in the Spanish and Portuguese era or earlier, but that requires archival research of a sort I am not going to be able to do. My interest is contemporary literature, and by literature I am more interested in poetry and fiction than memoir and non-fiction, although that is a flexible thing. I argue that it is time to call Muslim American literature a field, even though many of these writings can be and have been classified in other ways--studied under African American literature or to take the writings of immigrant Muslims, studied under South Asian ethnic literature or Arab American literature.
With respect to Marvin X, I wonder why I am just now hearing about him-I read Malcolm when I was 12, I read Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez and others from the BAM in college and graduate school-why is attention not given to his work in the same places I encountered these other authors?
Declaring Muslim American literature as a field of study is valuable because recontextualizing it will add another layer of attention to his incredibly rich body of work.He deserves to be WAY better known than he is among Muslim Americans and generally, in the world of writing and the world at large. By we who are younger Muslim American poets, in particular, Marvin should be honored as our elder, one who is still kickin, still true to the word!
Love and War Poems is wrenching and powerful, combining a powerful critique of America ("America downsizes like a cripple whore/won't retire/too greedy to sleep/too fat to rest") but also a critique of deadbeat dads and drug addicts (not sparing himself) and men who hate. "For the Men" is so Quranic poem it gave me chills with verses such as:
for the men who honor wives and the men who abuse them
for the men who win and the men who sin
for the men who love God and the men who hate
for the men who are brothers and the men who are beasts....
"O Men, listen to the wise," the poet pleads: there is no escape for the men of this world or the men of the next.
He is sexist as all get out, in the way that is common for men of his generation and his radicalism, but he is refreshingly aware of that and working on it. It's just that the work isn't done and if that offends you to see a man in process and still using the 'b' word, look out. Speaking of the easily offended, he warns in his introduction that "life is often profane and obscene, such as the present condition of African American people." If you want pure and holy, he says, read the Quran and the Bible, because Marvin is talking about "the low down dirty truth." For all that, the poetry of Marvin X is like prayer, beauty-full of reverence and honor for Truth. "It is. it is. it is."
A poem to his daughter Muhammida is a sweet mix of parental love and pride and fatherly freak-out at her sexuality and independence, ending humbly with: peace Mu it's on you yo world sister-girl.
Other people don't get off so easy, including a certain "black joint chief of staff ass nigguh (kill 200,000 Muslims in Iraq)" in the sharply aimed poem "Free Me from My Freedom." (Mmm hmm, the 'n' word is all over the place in Marvin too.) Nature poem, wedding poem, depression poem, wake-up call poems, it's all here. Haiti, Rwanda, the Million Man March, Betsy Ross's maid, OJ, Rabin, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and other topics make it into this prophetically voiced collection of dissent poetry, so Islamic and so African American in its language and its themes, a book that will stand in its beauty long after the people mentioned in it pass. READ MARVIN X for RAMADAN!
Mohja Kahf
Associate Professor
University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
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Prof. Umoja discusses why he wrote We Will Shoot Back
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Molefe Asante--the Afro-centric (Euro-centric) Nigger!
Reinstate Anthony Monteiro – Shun and Denounce the Betrayer, Molefi Asante
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
Only months after community and student activists saved Temple University’s African American Studies department and Dr. Molefi Asante’s job, chairman Asante has collaborated in the firing of his colleague, Dr. Anthony Monteiro. “Dr. Asante may have earned the gratitude of his masters at Temple University, but his tenure as a person of respect in Black America, is over.” He is beneath contempt.
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
Only months after community and student activists saved Temple University’s African American Studies department and Dr. Molefi Asante’s job, chairman Asante has collaborated in the firing of his colleague, Dr. Anthony Monteiro. “Dr. Asante may have earned the gratitude of his masters at Temple University, but his tenure as a person of respect in Black America, is over.” He is beneath contempt.
Reinstate Anthony Monteiro and Muhammad Ahmed – Shun and Denounce the Betrayer, Molefi Asante
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
Only months after community and student activists saved Temple University’s African American Studies department and Dr. Molefi Asante’s job, chairman Asante has collaborated in the firing of his colleague, Dr. Anthony Monteiro. “Dr. Asante may have earned the gratitude of his masters at Temple University, but his tenure as a person of respect in Black America, is over.” He is beneath contempt.
Reinstate Anthony Monteiro – Shun and Denounce the Betrayer, Molefi Asante
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
“Asante is a back-stabber who should never again be allowed into a position of Black trust.”
Temple University needs to be taught a lesson, and so does Dr. Molefi Asante, the professor who chairs the university’s African American Studies department. Both Temple University and Dr. Asante must be made accountable for their crimes of arrogance and disrespect to Black Philadelphia and to African Americans at large.
Temple University, an elite white-run institution, and Molefi Assante, a man who claims to be a disciple of Afrocentricity, have conspired to fire the brilliant public intellectual and activist Dr. Anthony Monteiro, who has been an associate professor in African American Studies for the past ten years. We know why Temple University might resent Dr. Monteiro, who has worked tirelessly to bring the surrounding Black community onto the campus, and to make the university more accountable to its Black neighbors. It is to be expected that an elite white institution might be uncomfortable with a scholar like Dr. Monteiro, who organized on-campus events in defense of Mumia Abu Jamal and other political prisoners. And, it should come as no surprise that Temple’s white overseers might not appreciate Dr. Monteiro’s deep knowledge of, and commitment to, the Black liberation struggle – that he lives what he teaches. In short, there is no mystery to Temple University’s refusal to renew Dr. Monteiro’s contract. It’s called racism in higher education, 101. And we know how to deal with it.
However, Dr. Molefi Asante’s betrayal is much more hurtful. He has put his considerable prestige at the service of racists, while stabbing Dr. Monteiro in the back and spitting in the face of every Black Philadelphian who has had the misfortune to trust Asante. Last year, student and community protests forced the university to back off a plan to take away the African American Studies department’s autonomy, and to name a white woman with no expertise in the subject as chairperson. At least twice, Dr. Asante was threatened with firing. Instead, the community and student forces that Dr. Monteiro had helped summon, won the day. With Dr. Monteiro’s support, Dr. Asante was named department chairman.
“Asante shuffled, like a minstrel in a dashiki.”
Just a few months later, the white female dean of liberal arts refused to renew Anthony Monteiro’s contract, effectively firing him. What was Dr. Asante’s response? Asante confirmed that the dean had consulted him about the firing, and that his position was that Dr. Monteiro “has a year to year contract and it’s up to the dean.” Then Asante shuffled, like a minstrel in a dashiki. He said he couldn’t “worry about… if somebody signs a contract and then gets upset when someone says your year is up.”
Dr. Asante may have earned the gratitude of his masters at Temple University, but his tenure as a person of respect in Black America, is over. Asante is a back-stabber who should never again be allowed into a position of Black trust, a grasping opportunist who apparently believes that “Afrocentricity” means everything revolves around him. The university’s dean would not have fired Dr. Monteiro if she hadn’t been confident that Uncle Asante had her back – that he would provide Black cover for the racist termination of his colleague. Therefore, two things must happen in this fight. One, Dr. Monteiro must be reinstated. Two, Molefi Asante must be shunned and expelled from the company of honest people for his treachery.
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
If you are an educator, we ask that you sign the petition calling for Temple University to reinstate Dr. Anthony Monteiro. Send your name to johanna.fernandez@baruch.cuny.edu and put “Signature Monteiro” in the subject heading.
For more information, go to http://www.emajonline.com/call-for-monteiro/
Comments
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Africans Screwed by Immigration Reform or Watch Your allies and multi-cultural friends!-- Dr. Ron Daniels
Regrettably, I am compelled to report that Blacks are getting screwed! Our interests are being violated with little or no visible, vocal, persistent outcry from Black leaders or advocates on this issue. The most blatant example is the gutting of the Diversity Visa Program which provided an opportunity for more than 25,000 continental Africans and Caribbean immigrants to enter the U.S. every year. Frankly, this Program was the absolute minimum our Democratic Party and Latino “allies” should have fought to preserve to ensure the equitable inclusion of people of African descent in immigration reform legislation.
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Black Arts West Tribute at Eastside Arts Center, Oaktown
Tribute to greats of Black Arts. With transitions of Amiri Baraka, Richard Dedeaux (Watts Prophets), and Gil Scott Heron, we take time to celebrate culture and Black Art.
Featuring:
Father Amde Hamilton (Watts Prophets), members of GSH's Amnesia Express Band, Ama Evolution, Ayodele 'Word Slanga', Marvin X and more.
$10 Donation, Fundraiser for Race for the Times Documental Volume 1
Exclusive clips of the film will be shown including The Watts Prophets, Amiri Baraka and more.
Get there early, space is limited !!
Don't miss this historic event, with Father Amde Hamilton performing some new work, as well as some classic words. The Watts Prophets formed after the Watts Riots of 1965, to create a powerful group of poets. Sampled by Digable Planets, NWA, and a host of others, The Watts Prophets were
the first group to say "rap" on record. The real originators of real rap.
Featuring:
Father Amde Hamilton (Watts Prophets), members of GSH's Amnesia Express Band, Ama Evolution, Ayodele 'Word Slanga', Marvin X and more.
$10 Donation, Fundraiser for Race for the Times Documental Volume 1
Exclusive clips of the film will be shown including The Watts Prophets, Amiri Baraka and more.
Get there early, space is limited !!
Don't miss this historic event, with Father Amde Hamilton performing some new work, as well as some classic words. The Watts Prophets formed after the Watts Riots of 1965, to create a powerful group of poets. Sampled by Digable Planets, NWA, and a host of others, The Watts Prophets were
the first group to say "rap" on record. The real originators of real rap.
Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, aka Wordslanger
AB and MX
Revolutionary Poets Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka joined the ancestors
Marvin X and his star student, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga
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Black History at Atiola's Cafe, Philadelphia
Dr. Muhammad Ahmed (Max Stanford), Pam Africa, Queen Mother Nisa Ra, Marvin X and granddaughter Mahadevi Professor Muhammad, along with Dr. Tony Montiero, received their
termination letters from Temple University. Dr. Molefe Asante, chair of African American Studies,
refused to aggressively fight for their retention, although the professors, students and community fought for him to gain the chair position.
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Black Arts Conference at UC Merced, Feb 28 through March 2, Merced CA
Revolutionary Black Art by Elizabeth Catlett Mora
Black Arts Conference at UC Merced
An international conference on the Black Arts Movement will draw world-renowned scholars, musicians and artists, and offer new scholarship and perspectives on the 1960s and 1970s movement.
The International Conference on the Black Arts Movement and Legacies, scheduled Feb. 28 through March 2 at UC Merced, will provide opportunities to hear and appreciate the elders, activists and artists who proclaimed “black is beautiful” in their art, music, poetry and writings, while also shedding light on recent assessments of the movement, according to a UC Merced news release.
Askia Toure, Ishmael Reed, Marvin X, Eugene Redmond, Umar Bin Hassan, Nathan Hare, Emory Douglas, Judy Juanita, Avotcja and other key writers, musicians and artists from the Black Arts and Black Power movements will discuss their work and perform at the conference, according to a campus press release.
Scholarly panels, poetry, art, theater presentations and workshops on a wide variety of topics from the state of black studies in America to the impact of the Black Arts Movement past and present are on the agenda, according to the release.
The conference is free for UC Merced students and Merced County youths, and $40 for the general public. To register or for schedules or information, visitwww.ucmercedbamconference2014.com or email kmcmillon@ucmerced.edu.
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Invite Marvin X for Black History Month 2013
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Black Bird Press News & Review: The Black Arts Movement Conference, University of California, Merced, Feb 28 thru March 2, 2014
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Marvin X and Sun Ra, a Philadelphia native. Sun Ra was the philosopher and mystic of BAM. He worked with Marvin X in theatre coast to coast.
Marvin X speaks at last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka
Marvin X tour schedule, 2014
February 17
Eastside Arts Center Tribute to Amiri Baraka, et al
February 22
Marvin X speaks at Hinton Community Center, Fresno CA
February 24
Marvin X speaks at Fresno City College
February 28 thru March 2
Marvin X co-producer (with Kim McMillan) of the Black Arts Movement Conference
University of California, Merced
March 15
Marvin X speaks in Seattle WA
April 24,25,26
Marvin X in Philadelphia for 60th Birthday of Mumia Abu Jamal
May 29
Marvin X celebrates 70th birthday at Contra Costa College, Richmond CA
June 19, Juneteenth
Marvin X participates:
Fresno Juneteenth
Berkeley Juneteenth
San Francisco Juneteenth
for more information or to book Marvin X, please call 510-200-4164
email letter of invitation: jmarvinx@yahoo.com
visit his blog: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Marvin X and Sun Ra, a Philadelphia native. Sun Ra was the philosopher and mystic of BAM. He worked with Marvin X in theatre coast to coast.
Marvin X speaks at last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka
Marvin X tour schedule, 2014
February 17
Eastside Arts Center Tribute to Amiri Baraka, et al
February 22
Marvin X speaks at Hinton Community Center, Fresno CA
February 24
Marvin X speaks at Fresno City College
February 28 thru March 2
Marvin X co-producer (with Kim McMillan) of the Black Arts Movement Conference
University of California, Merced
March 15
Marvin X speaks in Seattle WA
April 24,25,26
Marvin X in Philadelphia for 60th Birthday of Mumia Abu Jamal
May 29
Marvin X celebrates 70th birthday at Contra Costa College, Richmond CA
June 19, Juneteenth
Marvin X participates:
Fresno Juneteenth
Berkeley Juneteenth
San Francisco Juneteenth
for more information or to book Marvin X, please call 510-200-4164
email letter of invitation: jmarvinx@yahoo.com
visit his blog: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Marvin X and Sun Ra, a Philadelphia native. Sun Ra was the philosopher and mystic of BAM. He worked with Marvin X in theatre coast to coast.
Marvin X speaks at last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka
Marvin X tour schedule, 2014
February 17
Eastside Arts Center Tribute to Amiri Baraka, et al
February 22
Marvin X speaks at Hinton Community Center, Fresno CA
February 24
Marvin X speaks at Fresno City College
February 28 thru March 2
Marvin X co-producer (with Kim McMillan) of the Black Arts Movement Conference
University of California, Merced
March 15
Marvin X speaks in Seattle WA
April 24,25,26
Marvin X in Philadelphia for 60th Birthday of Mumia Abu Jamal
May 29
Marvin X celebrates 70th birthday at Contra Costa College, Richmond CA
June 19, Juneteenth
Marvin X participates:
Fresno Juneteenth
Berkeley Juneteenth
San Francisco Juneteenth
for more information or to book Marvin X, please call 510-200-4164
email letter of invitation: jmarvinx@yahoo.com
visit his blog: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Black Bird Press News & Review: Marvin X returns to the Bay Area after attending the last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka, Godfather of BAM
Marvin X and Sun Ra, a Philadelphia native. Sun Ra was the philosopher and mystic of BAM. He worked with Marvin X in theatre coast to coast.
Marvin X speaks at last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka
Marvin X tour schedule, 2014
February 17
Eastside Arts Center Tribute to Amiri Baraka, et al
February 22
Marvin X speaks at Hinton Community Center, Fresno CA
February 24
Marvin X speaks at Fresno City College
February 28 thru March 2
Marvin X co-producer (with Kim McMillan) of the Black Arts Movement Conference
University of California, Merced
March 15
Marvin X speaks in Seattle WA
April 24,25,26
Marvin X in Philadelphia for 60th Birthday of Mumia Abu Jamal
May 29
Marvin X celebrates 70th birthday at Contra Costa College, Richmond CA
June 19, Juneteenth
Marvin X participates:
Fresno Juneteenth
Berkeley Juneteenth
San Francisco Juneteenth
for more information or to book Marvin X, please call 510-200-4164
email letter of invitation: jmarvinx@yahoo.com
visit his blog: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com
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Martin Luther King III--Is this the guy who wants to sell his daddy's Nobel Peace Prize and other archives?
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More Pages to Explore .....
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Comment
Parable of the Poor Righteous Teacher
for Haki Madhubuti (Don L. Lee), Dr. Anthony Montiero
Sooner or later, they always come for the teacher. After all, the more popular, the more dangerous. The more serious and sincere, the more a threat to the bourgeoisie whose philosophy is do nothing, say nothing, know nothing. Thus, the serious teacher has no seat at the table. Yes, he is tolerated for a time, maybe a long time, but the plot was hatched the first day he arrived to teach, when the contract was signed, his doom was sealed.
No matter what chairs he established, no matter how many institutions he created in the name of God. The bourgeoisie care nothing for God, only as a cover for their filthy behavior in the dark, their winking and blinking at the water hole.
The teacher must know absolutely if he is on his job he won't have a job, for no matter how many years he gives of his soul, his mental genius, he is not wanted. No matter how many students he is able to raise from the box, his services are not wanted.
The bourgeoisie do not want Jack out of the box, this must be understood. They prefer Jack and Jackie stay confined and proscribed in the box of ignorance. They are mere pawns in the game of chance the bourgeoisie play until they are removed from power, after they steal all they can, when the coffers are empty, the institution bankrupt and they are under indictment.
Now they will never put down their butcher knives, never turn into Buddha heads. This is why one must practice eternal vigilance with them. They are planning and plotting the demise of the poor righteous teachers at every turn.
So the teacher must teach his students about power, but when he does, his exit papers are signed. He may not know this. He may believe he has friends on the board of trustees, but he is only fooling himself. He is a starry eyed idealist, a dreamer, who shall be awakened from his dream one day for sure. And on that day he shall find his office door locked. His classroom door secured by a guard. His students transferred to other colleagues he thought were with him. But they will only say to him, "Sorry, brother."
--Marvin X
4/5/10