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Human Earthquake hits Central Valley: Marvin X at University of California, Merced, Kim McMillan's Theatre class

May 27, 2015, 6:11 pm
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Professor Kim McMillan's Theatre and Social Justice students welcome Marvin X to University of California, Merced. They treated him to a reading of his first play Flower for the Trashman, a Black Arts Movement Classic; it appears in the anthology Black Fire and the just released SOS: A Black Arts Movement Reader. It was written in 1964 while he was an undergrad in the English/Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University, and produced by the Drama Department at SFSU. He received his B.A. and M.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.



Marvin X was invited to have a conversation with UC Merced students in Professor Kim McMillan's Theatre and Social Justice class. Students surprised the poet when they took turns reading his first play Flowers for the Trashman, musical version Take Care of Business, music by Sun Ra. Students have also read the scene Salaam, Huey Salaam about his last meeting with Black Panther co-founder Dr. Huey P. Newton in a West Oakland Crack house. Salaam, Huey, Salaam, a scene from One Day in the Life, the docudrama of Marvin's addiction and recovery (It's the most powerful drama I've seen--Ishmael Reed) was co-written by playwright Ed Bullins and produced in New York at Woody King's New Federal Theatre. The full length drama was produced in New York at Sista's Place in Brooklyn and the Brecht Forum in Manhattan; in Newark, NJ, it was performed at Amiri Baraka's house.

He enjoyed hearing the students read Flowers for the Trashman that is included in SOS: the Black Arts Movement Reader, edited by Sonia Sanchez, John Bracey and James Smethurst, UMASS Press.
During the Q and A, Marvin told the students Flowers for the Trashman was not only written at the beginning my writing career, but it was written at the beginning of the 1960s Black Arts and Black Liberation Movement. The language reveals Marvin's leaning toward the Nation of Islam which he joined in 1967. Salaam, Huey, Salaam was written in the fourth quarter of my life and at the end of the Black Liberation Movement. The revolutionaries at Sista's Place in Brooklyn said no excuse was acceptable for radicals like Marvin, Huey and Eldridge getting addicted to Crack, but Marvin says we were exhausted from years of struggle. In the scene, Huey tells Marvin, "We had to experience this, Jackmon. But we can come out of it, we came out of slavery." But Huey and Eldridge never made it back from Crack!


Student reading Marvin's first play Flowers for the Trashman, produced by the Drama Department at San Francisco State University, 1964, while he was an undergrad in the English/Creative Writing Department. the novelist John Gardner was the professor who suggested he write Flowers for the Trashman since he was flunking Gardner's English Lit. class. Gardner took the script to the Drama Department.





Catch Marvin X at the 
Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair, June 5, 6, 7, 2015


View album
This album has 2 photos and will be available on OneDrive until 8/19/2015.

The SecondAnnual Sacramento Black Book Fair June 5-7, 2015  is presented in conjunction with the Juneteenth Festival

The historic McClatchy Park known as “The Village,” Saturday, June 6 and June 7, 2015 will be jumping at the Callie Carney Amphitheaterfeaturinggospel, jazz music, bands, poetry, food trucks, vendors and much more!!!

Free and open to the public!!

·         Join Sacramento Juneteenth, Inc. & Sacramento Black Book Fair (SBBF),Saturday, June 6 from 12 noon-5:00pm at McClatchy Park @ Callie Carney Amphitheater, (35th Street & 5th Ave.) Sacramento, CA 95817. The event will feature the Juneteenth Festival’s auditions,bands, vendors, food trucks, Oak Park Farmer's Market, and much more!!! For more info visit:http://sacramentojuneteenthinc.org/festival/auditons
  • Join the Sacramento Black Book Fair (SBBF) Sunday, June 7from 12 noon-5:00pmMcClatchy Park at Callie Carney Amphitheater. The program will feature: Stacey Noble, Singer, Norman McDaniel & EarCandy ~ Jazz,, gospel music, vendors, Brother Hypnotic & local poets, food trucks, music, and much more!!!  

For more info visit. http://www.sacramentoblackbookfair.com.
 Thank you and join the celebration!!!
Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair (SBBF)
2015 Co-Sponsors/Community Partners:
African Research Institute
Black United Fund of Sacramento Valley
The Black Group
Brickhouse Art Gallery
Blue Nile Press
City of Sacramento – Neighborhood Services Department
Friends of the Sacramento Public Library
JTEnterprises
Roberts Family Development Center
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
Sacramento City Councilmember Allen Warren
The Sacramento City Teachers Association
Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen
Sacramento City Councilmember Rick Jennings, III
Sacramento City Councilmember Jay Schenirer
Teichert Foundation
The Talking Drums News
Colonial Heights Library Affiliated Friends
Kakwasi Somadhi
Underground Books
Sacculturalhub.com
Drexel University Sacramento
Sacramento Juneteenth, Inc.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.,Eta Gamma Omega Chapter
Sacramento Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Fred and Ruth Foote
ZICA Creative and Literary Guild
Center for African Peace & Conflict Resolution, CSUS
Black Humanists and Non-Believers of Sacramento
Sacramento Section- The National Council of Negro Women
Mary McLeod Bethune Readers are Leaders Club
Tracy & Symia Stigler
Young Scholars –Calvary Christian Center
Sacramento Poetry Center
Sister to Sister Book Group
100 Black Men of Sacramento
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
Brenda’s Mane Event
Black Parallel School Board
Literary Ladies Alliance
The Merritt Law Clinic
Sisters Quilting Collective
NIA –Women of Purpose
Leslie & Faye Wilson Kennedy
Sacramento Chapter-Black Child Development Institute
Pam Haynes
Black Images Book Club
The Borden Family
OBBC (Book Club)
Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce
Allegro Book Club
Sacramento Public Library Foundation
The California Endowment
The Office of Campus Community Relations, University of California, Davis
Los Rios Community College District
Roy Kaufman
Sacramento Observer Newspapers
California Black Chamber of Commerce
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Dr. Tchaka Muhammed
Crystal Bowl
Brenda & Keith Dabney
The Scott Family
Dorothy Benjamin & Family
Sacramento Chapter of The Links Incorporated
Phil Nelson & Family

 Endorsed by:
Mayor Kevin Johnson
Women's Civic Improvement Club
Oak Park United Methodist Church
Guild Theater
Sacramento City Unified School District
Sacramento Public Library
Assembly member Kevin McCarty
California Legislative Black Caucus
916Ink
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS)
Sojourner Truth Art Museum





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Marvin X is Nazzam Al Sudan, Organizer of the Black Nation

May 27, 2015, 11:48 pm
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Marvin X's first Arabic  and Islamic teacher  was Ali Sheriff Bey, who gave him the name Nazzam Al Sudan, Organizer of the Black Nation. A master of languages, Ali Sheriff Bey told Marvin  Nazzam means organizer, systematizer,  one who creates an original mythology with the body of his work.

We know you agree Marvin X is writing his mythology before our very eyes. He wrote his memoir of Black Panther Minister of Information Eldridge Cleaver on the internet, day by day, chapter by chapter; in three weeks; the man he introduced to the Black Panthers, the man he'd visited in Soledad Prison as part of a visit of Black Dialogue Magazine staff arranged by Cleaver's lawyer Beverly
  Axelrod.When Eldridge returned from exile, as with his release from prison, again, the first person he hooked up with was Marvin X. When they established the Black House, Marvin was the secretary, one who controlled communications. He had control when anybody called Eldridge at the Black House. Calls from Cleaver's lawyer/lover came through Marvin X; calls from the man Eldridge mentored Bob Avakian of the RCP or Revolutionaruy Action Party, Marvin transferred to Eldridge.
Marvin X says the most dangerous motherfucker in any organization is the secretary. This is the motherfucker who knows everything. As per Eldridge Cleaver, I probably know more about him than any man. I taught him how to tie a tie. He paid me to organize his ministry the Eldridge Cleaver Crusades, but the supreme irony was that his chore staff were Black Muslims, the only Blacks who were fearless enough to work with him. The Christian Blacks were in mortal fear they were going to get killed for fucking with white man. As we know, the majority of Negroes or North American Africans are mortally afraid of the white man. So Cleaver's core staff were Black Muslims because they were fearless.

In order to advance his ministry, he used the Muslims as props while giving his testimony. The Muslims didn't care because they were getting paid, so he told Christian audiences that he had saved these heathen --and the Christians, Born Again Christians, ate it up like a hog eating slop/

We did not know our  visit to Soledad Prison Cultural Club was the beginning of the American Prison Movement. WE could see when we entered the meeting inside Soledad Prison that the brothers had organized a revolutionary organization inside the prison. Prison Movement Kumasi says while the masses were having their revolution in the streets, the brothers in prison were having our revolution. It was clear to us the Eldridge Cleaver and Alprintis Bunchy Carter were fully in charge of the Black Culture Club. Any brother in prison would tell you it was kill or be killed, so we must understand lessons learned in prison were practiced when brothers got on the outside. In the Black Panther film Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Marvin X says, "Do you think a personality such as Eldridge Cleaver would not impose control in anhy organization?"





























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Berkeley Juneteenth, Sunday, June 21, 2015

May 30, 2015, 7:23 am
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Catch Marvin X at Berkeley Juneteenth!


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Chicago recording of Marvin X reading with poet Kazembe and musicians, May 23, 2015

May 30, 2015, 7:32 am
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Chicago musicians and poet Kazembe accompanying BAM Master in recording studio: left to right Marvin X, Eliel Sherman Storey, sax, David Boykin, sax, Tony Carpenter, percussion, Lasana Kazembe, poet

sosmusic25@yahoo.com
sent you some files
‘Thanks Marvin, what you think?’
Download
Files (522 MB total)
23-05-15.aiff
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Bay Area says goodbye to Black Arts Movement icon Michael Lange

May 30, 2015, 4:42 pm
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Today, Saturday, May 30, 2015, the Bay Area celebrated the transition to ancestorhood of Michael Lange, educator, filmmaker, theatre director, actor, singer. Michael was the son of Bay Area media diva Jerri Lange and brother of actor Ted Lange (Love Boat). Folks packed St. Columba Church on San Pablo to celebrate our dear brother, one of the kindest souls who walked the planet earth. He was repeatedly described as a true trooper, true friend, brother and fighter for social justice. He directed and/or produced and performed in plays on Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others. In 1980 he helped Marvin X plan the Black Men's Conference at the Oakland Auditorium.

Plans are in motion to establish the Michael Lange Foundation. Paul Cobb, Oakland Post News Group Publisher, made the first donation to the foundation. As part of the Black Arts Movement District along 14th Street, downtown Oakland, from Martin Luther King, Jr to Alice Street, Marvin X is calling for Alice Street to be renamed Michael Lange Way.--Marvin X

Lifting up BB King and Michael Lange: Reflections on lives well lived

May 28, 2015

by Wanda Sabir

Michael Lange
Michael Lange

The thrill isn’t gone, but certainly without BB King (Sept. 16, 1925-May 14, 2015) singing it, living it, being an example of it, well – the world without him and his faithful Lucille will not be quite the same any longer. Good times? Well, they are on “pause” presently.

And then there is Michael Lange, our Malcolm X. Michael made his transition May 20, the day after what would have been Malcolm X’s 90th birthday. Michael was 66. His mother, Jerri Lange, made 90 this year. She and El Hajj Malik El Shabazz were age mates. Michael’s Memorial Celebration is Saturday, May 30, 12 noon, at St. Columba Catholic Church, 6401 San Pablo Ave., Emeryville, CA, 94608.

I never knew El Hajj Malik Shabazz, so when I saw Michael perform his speech, “Ballots or Bullets,” the first time in the James Moore Theatre at the Oakland Museum, I was mesmerized. I knew it wasn’t MX but certainly in front of me was a man who’d channeled his energy and brought him to life. Michael later performed this piece again at an event at West Oakland Branch Library I hosted honoring Malcolm X.

Imam Abu Qadir El Amin spoke about El Hajj Malik the Muslim and Robert Henry Johnson performed “Creation,” a poem written by James Weldon Johnson. I’d seen RHJ at Black Choreographers Moving Towards the 21st Century, and he agreed to perform at our community celebration of this wonderful man’s life.

Michael Lange and a friend pose at the reception leading into Black Media Appreciation Night on Sept. 13, 2014. – Photo: Malaika Kambon
Michael Lange and a friend pose at the reception leading into Black Media Appreciation Night on Sept. 13, 2014. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

I don’t know if I knew Michael’s day job was running the City of Oakland’s Feather River Camp then. However, when I was hired one summer to teacher a writing class – California Gold Rush History – his office was a great place to hang out. Slim’s guitar and boots were near the door and as a staff and camper that first summer, I was treated to the talent night where Michael as Slim emceed and performed.

I went to Feather River Camp a few more times over the years with my granddaughter and nieces for camp cleanups and Family Camp. Even after the City of Oakland no longer ran it, Slim would still come up and perform and teach music workshops.

Michael was so generous. His was a life completely devoted to service. I loved the way he took care of his mother too. Theirs was an example of reciprocity, teamwork and loving kindness.

He and I also sat on the board for the Northern California Center for African American History and Life, the trustees of the archives that the African American Museum and Library, Oakland, houses. Michael was the president. He served until he had a heart attack – his body’s message to him to slow it down.

He listened and devoted himself full throttle to art. He directed films and plays. In fact, when he died, a play going up at the Black Rep was in rehearsal. He was also working on a film. Michael led a really full life.
Jerri and Michael Lange stand in front of Jerri’s portrait in the renowned Alice Street Mural in downtown Oakland. Journalist Jerri Lange, 90, mother of thespians Michael and Ted Lange, was one of the Bay Area’s first African-American women radio and TV personalities and also a professor at San Francisco State University.
Jerri and Michael Lange stand in front of Jerri’s portrait in the renowned Alice Street Mural in downtown Oakland. Journalist Jerri Lange, 90, mother of thespians Michael and Ted Lange, was one of the Bay Area’s first African-American women radio and TV personalities and also a professor at San Francisco State University.

I think his portrayal of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in America’s “The Expulsion of Malcolm X,” which he also directed, was brilliant, as was his stunning performance of William Grimes, a fugitive slave who wrote about the tyranny of captivity and published the book too (1825) in Regina E. Mason’s play based on her great-great-great grandfather’s life.

Yearly at the Oakland Ensemble Theatre, I would look forward to the seasonal productions of Jeff Stetson’s “The Meeting,” which Michael, as Malcolm X, would perform opposite James Brooks as Martin King.

For a while Michael and Lonnie Elder had a theatre in Oakland called the Bay Area Repertory Theater, where they produced original work and classics. One of the pieces mounted was Michael’s “Prophet Nat,” a musical docu-drama that explores the life of enslaved prophet Nat Turner, who led the first successful rebellion of enslaved Africans in Virginia in 1831. As a storyteller and singer, Michael has penned over 40 songs whose lyrics convey a story of hope at a time when today’s world is at the crossroads between freedom and oppression. It was a really wonderful production.

James Brooks and Michael Lange perform a staged reading of Frederick Douglass’ “What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July” on July 3, 2007. – Photo: Wanda Sabir
James Brooks and Michael Lange perform a staged reading of Frederick Douglass’ “What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July” on July 3, 2007. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

When the Oakland Public Conservatory was on Franklin, their Alternative July 4 event featured Michael and James Brooks performing a staged reading of Frederick Douglass’ “What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July.”

For a while Michael managed what was then the Alice Arts Center. There he and Edsel Matthews, founder of Koncepts Cultural Gallery, would have great conversations. At his farewell salute the evening he made his exit, ideas flowed unabated as people thought about Michael’s life and his legacy – the Michael Lange Foundation, a street named after him were just a few ideas contemplated.
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Oakland's White Supremacy Book Festival this Sunday, May 31, at City Hall

May 31, 2015, 7:47 am
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Oakland Book Festival

Some New York whites in conspiracy with local whites and multiculturals have been funded to present the Oakland Book Festival today at City Hall and Frank Ogawa Plaza. We had no knowledge of this event until yesterday when a novelist asked to share a booth with me. I emailed her back that I had no knowledge of this event so she emailed the link to the festival. When I saw the program featuring 90 authors, I noticed three or four Black authors, including Tennessee Reed, Al Young, Elaine Brown and Judy Juanita. We think this is shameful for Oakland to allow such a basically white racist event in City Hall and Frank Ogawa Plaza. --Marvin X

Ishmael Reed replied with the following statement:  

Marvin, several groups from Manhattan are doing "festivals" out here and are accompanied by their tokens like Paul Beatty, when we have black writers out here, local black writers. It's a Manhattan take over and local funding groups are giving them money but won't give us the time of day. They even brought a guy from England for an Oakland panel, Lewis Lapham, a rich guy, is doing the keynote. He don't know dick about Oakland. I organized a panel called "the Mahattanization of Oakland literature."Show up and make your voice known, i'm out of town. Ishmael

We recall Mayor Libby Schaaf's endorsement of the Black Arts Movement 50th Anniversary and her call for Black Arts Movement literature:  



“Oakland is lucky to have an incredibly talented and diverse art community. The African American Arts Movement is a vital, historically significant part of the Oakland Arts Community.  With its focus on justice, equality, and self-realization, the message of black artists is crucial to support.  From rage to celebration, art allows expression, and expression is essential to a community as varied as Oakland.  The recent 1% for Public Art that I authored ensures that new art will be a priority in Oakland in the future. I agree with Post Publisher Paul Cobb that BAM 50th Anniversary celebration should encompass all cultural genres: visual, literary, and performance.  Age-appropriate books for African American students about the Black Arts Movement will literally bring the lesson home for families to share and aspire to.”





 

May 31, 2015 11AM-6PM / City Hall and Frank Ogawa Plaza
Oakland Book Festival
Read. Debate. Celebrate.

One Day • Seven Hours • 90 Writers • 40 Events

Doors open to the public at 10:30am, with panels beginning promptly at 11:00am.

Readings and conversations with Ben Fong-Torres, Edwidge Danticat, Tracy K. Smith, Matthew Zapruder, Jenny Offill, Novella Carpenter, and others

Panels with Paul Beatty, Astra Taylor, Vikram Chandra, Elaine Brown, Leo Hollis, Anthony Marra, and many more

Rick Prelinger with Lost Landscapes of Oakland

Children's Area by Fairyland, MOCHA, and Oakland Public Library

Music by HipHop4Change, Oakland Youth Chorus, and Oakland School for Arts


GETTING THERE

You can reach City Hall by the 12th Street/City Center BART station and AC Transit lines at the 14th Street/Broadway stops.

For those driving, parking at the Clay Street Garage (1414 Clay St, Oakland) is available for a flat fee of $5 for the day.

 

SATURDAY MAY 30, 2015, 6PM - 8PM
OPENING PLENARY
Keynote Address: Lewis Lapham
Reading Oakland: Stories from our City's Literary Past

SUNDAY MAY 31, 2015

Doors open to the public at 10:30am, with panels beginning promptly at 11:00am.

PRESS THE POLICE [NEWLY ADDED PANEL] 
Presented by Mother Jones
Laurel Book Store: 3:45—4:30pm
Jaeah Lee, Lateefah Simon, Ali Winston

LOST LANDSCAPES OF OAKLAND
Council Chambers: 11am—12:30pm
Presented by Rick Prelinger and Alex Cruse

ALEXANDER COCKBURN: A RADICAL LIFE
Hearing Room 1: 11am—12pm
Bruce Anderson, Frank Bardacke, Joe Paff

MANHATTANIZATION OF OAKLAND'S LITERARY SCENE
Presented by PEN Oakland
Hearing Room 2: 11am—12pm
Judy Juanita, Tennessee Reed, Tony R. Rodriguez, Floyd Salas, Al Young

BAY LIT 101
Presented by Litquake
Hearing Room 3: 11am—12pm
Kim Bancroft, Jerry Cimino, Benjamin Griffin, Steve Lavoie

FICTION AND CIVIL WAR
Hearing Room 4: 11am—12pm
Mark Danner, Anthony Marra, Nayomi Munaweera

AFFIRMING EXISTENCE THROUGH ART
Laurel Book Store: 11am—12pm
Ian Davis, Zakiya Harris, Dom Jones, Karen Seneferu

LAKE MERRITT AND UTOPIA
Hearing Room 1: 12:15—1:15pm
Veronica Graham, Benjamin Grant, Pendarvis Harshaw

VOICES: POETRY
Hearing Room 2: 12:15—1:15pm
Will Alexander, Greg Mahrer, Tennessee Reed, Matthew Zapruder

THE LABOR OF FOOD
Presented by UC PRESS
Hearing Room 3: 12:15—1:15pm
Julie Guthman, Seth M. Holmes, Dana Perls

THE GENIUS OF THE METROPOLIS
Hearing Room 4: 12:15—1:30pm
Vikram Chandra, Leo Hollis, Gary Kamiya, Kathryn Myers

FICTIONAL HISTORIES
Laurel Book Store: 12:15—1:15pm
Molly Antopol, Maria Hummel, Michael McGriff, J.M. Tyree 

VOICES: BEN FONG-TORRES in conversation with DERK RICHARDSON
Council Chambers 12:45—1:30pm

OAKLAND WRITERS RECONSIDERED
Hearing Room 1: 1:30—2:15pm
Stacy Carlson, Aleta George, Dorothy Lazard

LOST UTOPIAS: TEXAS AND IRELAND
Hearing Room 3: 1:30—2:15pm
Roger D. Hodge, Linda Norton

OAKLAND GROWN
Laurel Book Store: 1:30—2:15pm
Rod Campbell, Novella Carpenter, Zac Unger

VOICES: RECENT AMERICAN FICTION
Council Chambers: 1:45—2:30pm
Adam Johnson, Jenny Offill

QUESTION EVERYTHING
Hearing Room 2: 1:45—3pm
Simon Critchely, Mark Greif, Frank B. Wilderson, III

THE RESHAPING OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
Presented by ZYZZYVA
Hearing Room 4: 1:45—3pm
Paul Beatty, Vanessa Hua, Héctor Tobar

VOICES: FICTION
Hearing Room 1: 2:30—3:15pm
Akhil Sharma, Ayelet Waldman

BUILDING A FOOD LITERATE SOCIETY
Presented by UC Press
Hearing Room 3: 2:30—3:15pm
Kiera Butler, Anna Lappé, Kim O’Donnel, Naomi Starkman

WRITING SEX
Laurel Book Store: 2:30—3:30pm
Melanie Abrams, Leslie C. Bell, Tracy Clark-Flory, Maria Dahvana Headley

VOICES: EDWIDGE DANTICAT in conversation with László Jakab Orsós
Council Chambers: 2:45—3:30pm

LITERARY JOURNALS: A NEW GOLDEN AGE?
Hearing Room 1: 3:30—4:30pm
Roger D. Hodge, Clara Jeffery, David Rose

RADICAL CITIES/RADICAL LIVES
Hearing Room 2: 3:30—4:30pm
Elaine Brown, Astra Taylor, Frank B. Wilderson, III

WHAT IS GENTRIFICATION?
Hearing Room 3: 3:30—4:30pm
Lance Freeman, Malo André Hutson, Gordon Young

FAITH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Hearing Room 4: 3:30—4:30pm
Gregory Jordan, Reverend Dr. Harold R. Mayberry

VOICES: TRACY K. SMITH in conversation with Matthew Zapruder
Council Chambers: 3:45—4:30pm

QUESTION BRIDGE
Hearing Room 1: 4:45—6pm
Chris Johnson

WHISTLEBLOWING AND TRUTH-TELLING
Hearing Room 2: 4:45—6pm
Kathleen McClellan, Eyal Press, Eric Schmitt

FIGHTIN’ WORDS: PEN Oakland presents Oakland Out Loud
Hearing Room 3: 4:45—6pm
Lucille Lang Day, Judy Juanita, Genny Lim, Ruben Llamas, Floyd Salas

MULTICULTURALISM OR POLITICAL CORRECTNESS?
Presented by the Before Columbus Foundation
Hearing Room 4: 4:45—6pm
Lorna Dee Cervantes, David Meltzer, Gundars Strads, Armond White, Shawn Wong

CLOSING REMARKS: WHAT MAKES A CITY?
Council Chambers: 4:45—6pm
Simon Critchley, Leo Hollis, Khafre James, Reverend Dr. Harold R. Mayberry, Dashka Slater, Atra Taylor

PLAZA PROGRAMMING

Children’s Area

11:00—11:30 Oakland Public Library, Reading Favorite Children’s Stories

11:30—12:00 Fairyland Presents: Tweedle-dee

12:00—12:30 Chapter 510: What if an Artist Ruled the World
Chapter 510 and North Oakland Community Charter School students read from What if an Artist Ruled the World/Si un artista dirigiera el mundo

1:00—1:30 Fairyland Presents: Little Miss Muffet

1:30—2:00 Oakland Public Library, Reading Favorite Children’s Stories

2:00—2:30 Fairyland Presents: Tweedle-dee

2:30—3:00 Oakland Public Library, Reading Favorite Children’s Stories

3:00—3:30 Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl read from Rad American Women A—Z 

3:30—4:00 Fairyland Presents: Little Miss Muffet

Amphitheater

11:00—12:00 Oakland Youth Chorus, Miracle Chorus

12:00—1:00 Oakland School for the Arts Classical Guitarist Ensemble

1:00—2:00 HipHop4Change presents: Dizzy, J-Mal, Khafre Jay

2:00—3:00 Oakland Youth Chorus, Concert Chorus

3:00—4:00 DJ Simmons

4:00—5:00 HipHop4Change presents: Breathless, Golden Age, Dom Jones

CLOSING PARTY

Sunday May 31, 2015, 8pm
XOXO Nightclub, 201 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607
Performance by Critchley and Simmons

 

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Photo essay: Marvin X's grandchildren graduate high school and head to college

May 31, 2015, 3:12 pm
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Congratulations James, Jazmin and Jordan on your graduation from high school and on entering college. 

Peace and Love,
Marvin X
Grandfather
 
 James Houston Rhodes (center), grandson of Marvin X

 James Houston Rhodes

 James Houston Rhodes, grandson of Marvin X

 Jazmin Jackmon, granddaughter of Marvin X

Twins Jordan and Jazmin Jackmon, grandchildren of Marvin X

 Jazmin, Marvin K, Maryann, Jordan

 Marvin X's father, Owendell Jackmon (a Race Man), with sons of Marvin X: Darrel (RIP) and Marvin K

 Jazmin, track star since childhood
 Jordan and friends

 Jordan and friends

 Jordan, soccer star

 Jordan

 Jordan with the Marvin X look

Congratulations James, Jazmin and Jordan on your graduation from high school and on entering college. 

Peace and Love,
Marvin X
Grandfather
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Marvin X new poem: Have you angels in your life

June 1, 2015, 5:44 pm
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Have you angels in your life
did you notice
was everything for granted
when the angel smiled
you did not notice
you mean God is among us and we are blind
after all the waiting for God
Lord Savior
you mean He has come and gone
we missed him in our prayers
Lord have mercy
He came while we were praying
We missed Him.

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Year of the Black Male

June 2, 2015, 7:07 am
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Canada's cultural genocide!

June 3, 2015, 6:21 am
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Will America admit the cultural genocide of North American Africans in the public schools and religious institutions, i.e., turning Africans into Black Anglo-Saxons?--Marvin X, How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, Black Bird Press

Canada's church-run schools for First Nations were 'cultural genocide,' says report


TORONTO –  Canada's decades-long government policy requiring Canadian First Nation children to attend state-funded church schools amounted to "cultural genocide," a long-awaited report has found.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Justice Murray Sinclair said Tuesday the residential schools represent one of the "darkest and most troubling chapters in our collective history."

The report is the result of a six-year study of Canada's former government policy requiring Canadian aboriginals to attend the schools, often the scenes of physical and sexual abuse. First Nation leaders have cited the legacy of abuse and isolation as the root cause of epidemic substance abuse on reservations.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 aboriginal children were required to attend Christian schools to rid them of their native cultures and languages and integrate them into mainstream Canadian society.

More than 130 residential schools operated across Canada.

The federal government previously admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the once-mandatory schools was rampant and Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued an historic apology in Parliament in 2008. Many students recall being beaten for speaking their native languages and losing touch with their parents and customs.

The goal of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to give survivors a forum to tell their stories and to educate Canadians about that dark chapter in the country's history.

Sinclair, a First Nations Canadian judge, described how the commission heard from residential school survivors who were robbed of the love of their families.

"They were stripped of their self-respect and they were stripped of their identity," Sinclair said.
The commission was created as part of a US$5 billion class action settlement in 2006 between the government, churches and the 90,000 surviving First Nation students.

Alma Scott was one of thousands of survivors in Canada who recounted her experience to the commission. She described being taken to a school in Fort Alexander, Manitoba, at the age of five.
"I just remember feeling really sad, and I was in this truck full of other kids who were crying, and so I cried with them," said Scott.

Among the TRC report's 94 recommendations, it calls on the federal government to launch a national inquiry into the number of missing and murdered aboriginal women. It also seeks an apology from the Pope on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. And it recommends the government fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the "framework for reconciliation."

The TRC's summary also makes clear that the expectations of the aboriginal community in the wake of Harper's apology for the residential school tragedy in 2008 have not yet been met.
Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde said the prime minister's 2008 apology will be empty if it is not followed with action.

Harper said he apologized for the devastation caused by the schools seven years ago. He didn't call it a cultural genocide Tuesday or promise to enact any of the report's 94 recommendations.
Sinclair said he was scheduled to sit down with Harper later Tuesday.

A center at the University of Manitoba will become the permanent home for all statements, documents and materials gathered by the commission. It is scheduled to open this summer.

In Australia, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology in Parliament in 2008 to the so-called Stolen Generations — thousands of aboriginals who were forcibly taken from their families as children under assimilation policies that lasted from 1910 to 1970.
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Photo essay by Afrah: Marvin X ends Chicago tour at South Shore recording studio

June 4, 2015, 4:46 pm
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf on the BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT #2

June 5, 2015, 7:25 am
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The Ethnic Cleansing of North American Africans by USA White Supremacy

June 5, 2015, 7:33 am
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The Black Community Is Gradually Being Erased, And Black People Are Being Turned Into Nomads And Cultural Refugees

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

The Black Community Is Gradually Being Erased, And Black People Are Being Turned Into Nomads And Cultural Refugees
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PROLOGUE

The Black community has been so quiet in its response to the last installment of this article addressing the need to get out and fight for the late Billy Higgin's "World Stage" being declared a historic landmark, and Leimert Park Village being preserved and maintained as a center of Black cultural Art,  that I thought I'd try it again, but this time I'm going to outline the big picture. I think initially I made the mistake of assuming that the current generation understands the sacrifices that were made for them during the sixties, but maybe that was an unwarranted assumption - one of the biggest mistakes that any writer can make.  So I've converted this piece into a primer on the Black experience and what we stand to lose.  I've even taken the time to provide a detailed plan of action on how we MUST address this cultural robbery of the Black community.
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Many of us have become virtual scholars when it comes to Black history.  We can quote chapter and verse all of the atrocities that's been perpetrated against Black people since the beginning of time. We can also make reference to all of the illustrious Black kings, queens and warriors of the past, and cite everything that Black people have accomplished throughout history.  But what's the purpose of having all that knowledge if we don't use it to move ourselves forward?  We're not doing that. We tend to just sit back and watch the White establishment mount one assault on our culture after another, and then use our knowledge of Black history to say, "Well, there they go again, just like during Reconstruction." 

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What good is that doing us!!!?  We need to use our knowledge of history to defend ourselves against repeated cultural assaults just like EVERY other culture in America - and the fact that we're not doing that  explains why we're on the very bottom of the socio-economic ladder, and newly arrived immigrants step right over us to become our bosses and economic superiors. That's also why whenever anyone needs a victim, they single us out - because they know we're not going to do anything about it but complain. If we're the product of greatness, let's PROVE it instead of just talking about it.  This is no time to talk. It's time to either SHOW what we're made of, or shut up, because at this point, those very same illustrious ancestors that we like to point to with such pride, would be holding their heads down in shame at what we've allowed ourselves to become - victims.
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Now, I realize that life is a struggle for Black people, and many of us have given priority to our personal dreams for the future, but if we fail to give priority to our culture as a whole, we won't have a future.  If we don't have a strong and viable culture, we're going to be disrespected and marginalized as individuals, and plucked off one at a time as we're already seeing in Ferguson, New York, Los Angeles and all across this country. America is rapidly becoming the new Beirut.  So we've got to wake up and get on top of this, folks, unless we've completely given up on ourselves as a people. Where's that greatness that we're always talking about!!!?  There's got to still be some vestiges of it left in us somewhere!
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I've been sending this message out - in this case, regarding the raping of Leimert Park Village in particular (since this seems to be the latest assault on our people) - to the community, community leaders, politicians, and clergy alike, but all I've heard in response are crickets.  We've got to do better than this, Black people, or your children's future will be null and void - in fact, in another generation, WE, will be null and void.  Look around you.  They've already dragged us back  fifty years. It's gotten to the point where a young Black man needs a hall pass just to walk down a city street. For the police, just being a young Black male constitutes "probable cause," and if they kill him, the nation's juries view it as a public service.
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So what does that have to do with Leimert Park Village?  What's going on in Leimert Park is the latest assault on our culture, so it's past time to come together, organize, and fight back - and in a PROACTIVE way, instead of waiting around and reacting AFTER we're displaced, marginalized, or another young life is lost for simply having the audacity to come into the area. At this point, the future victim is probably a toddler who was born in Leimert Park, but by the time he's a teenager, Leimert Park will be off limits to "his kind." So NOW is the time to get on top of this, because the next young life that's snuffed out, just might be a life that YOU brought into this world, and then, all the demonstrating in the world, won't bring him back.
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The Black Community Is Gradually Being Erased, And Black People Are Being Turned Into Nomads And Cultural Refugees
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National Action Network's Los Angeles
Representative, Najee Ali, In The Trenches 
I've gotten relatively few responses on the piece linked below.  I would have thought people would have been falling all over one another to defend our cultural heritage, but I guess many Black people are not up to fighting for their culture. We only tend to REACT when something goes desperately wrong, instead of being PROACTIVE in an attempt to ensure that life and justice works in our favor. That explains a lot about our position in society, and why our children have to go to Google (if they have access to a computer) or the public library to DIG for self-esteem. We've got to do better than this. If we don't, within a few years Black people will only be a memory in Leimert Park and many other Black communities across this nation. We'll be dispersed, filtered into, and hopefully tolerated, within the communities of others, and without one scintilla of political clout.
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That's why Los Angeles' Leimert Park and it's environs is much more than just a neighborhood; it's also a cultural and political stronghold that's worth fighting for. Without it, the Black culture and our political clout will be effectively erased in the city of Los Angeles - and that's exactly what many forward-thinking social manipulators have in mind. You see, the demographics are changing, so the powers that be are out to dilute the impact of as many minority voters as possible. So this issue is much more important than sharing recipes online, folks. This is probably the most important issue that the Black community has ever faced in this city.
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Many of the problems that the Black community is facing across this country is a direct result of our tendency to be reactive rather than proactive.  Take Ferguson, Mo, for example.  The Black community could have avoided the problems they had in that city by simply voting.  The Black population in Ferguson is 67%, yet only 7% turned out to vote.  As a result, the police department is 94% White. In the last election they corrected that problem with record Black voter turnout, but it was a little too late for Michael Brown. So let us learn from the Ferguson experience and be PROACTIVE in our response to what's taking place in Leimert Park, because much like in the case of Michael Brown, it's going to be much too late to try to demonstrate AFTER the fact. So NOW is the time to get up-in-arms.
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If we fail to address this issue, Black people are going to be run out of the area, the park itself is going to be bulldozed, and our young people are going to be subjected to being stopped-and-frisked for just coming into the area. The social manipulators will have to take those steps just to make rich White folks feel safe enough to visit their new up-scale art galleries.
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Tatia Dokes of Denver said:
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"We are facing this same issue in my neighborhood. The last historically black neighborhoods in Denver. We have gentrification meetings and how to combat it every month with less than 5 black folks there and the rest are white folks wanting to "understand." Then when I'm walking my dog all I hear is the few black folks left complaining about the skyrocketing rent, none of their friends live in the neighborhood anymore and all the white folks. I just want to SCREAM! BUT YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! I go to these meetings...voice my opinions...looked at like I'm militant and aggressive but I don't care...I will not be driven out without a fight! We just had an election for city counsel members. 20,000 ballots for our district were sent out and only 5000 voted and I bet it was mostly white folks! I'm so tired...so so tired!"
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Bonnie Flournoy in Chicago said:
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"Same thing in Chicagoland . . . and thanks, Eric, et al. for the reminder. . . I don't know how I overlooked it, cuz as I witness it going down in Chicago, I mainly focused on the financial aspect . . . like all affordable housing GONE . . . Houses with big red 'X's on them meaning they are slated for demolition . . . closed schools, etc.  But you're absolutely correct . . . these neighborhood-destroying tactics also destroyed the voting block . . . the wrong people are winning elections, not because folx are voting for them . . . they won because there's nobody left . . . many have moved away, or foreclosed upon, etc. We bettah wake up!"
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Michelle Gordon-McFalls, Denver:
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"Same happens in schools that are being closed in black neighborhoods, properties bought up by others, businesses begun in black neighborhoods because rent is cheap. None of the black parents were ever seen at any PTA meetings, council meetings to save the neighborhoods or lines at the banks/loan companies to begin their business. Now there may be legitimate reasons for no shows, but it's a catch 22. Unless we are present and voicing our opinions, negative change will happen. Until we begin showing up at every PTA, PTCO, mtg., our schools will continue to close and our children continue failing. I understand that many cannot attend because they are working and if they leave to attend they will lose their jobs. However, many are home watching TV w/o a concern. I've sat by and watched Five Points, once a beautiful and thriving historical black area in Denver, (where I used to live), decay, turn hood and now more white's live there than blacks and the housing market has skyrocketed. Denver is one of the most expensive cities to live, in the USA."
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So brothers and sisters, if we don't organize and get the attention of the politicians (who were elected to protect OUR interest, not feather their own nests) we're going be erased - no history, no community to call our own, and no political clout. Actually, our politicians themselves are being shortsighted, because once the area is gentrified they're going to be voted out of office as well. So again, if we don't act NOW, they're going to turn us into a "community" of nomads and cultural refugees. Remember where you heard it first.
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Help Save Leimert Park Village As A Black Cultural Arts Center
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The Thrill Is Gone - But I Have A Dream That Can Sustain The Legacy
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Yes, the thrill is indeed gone. We would be highly remiss in writing  about Black culture without mentioning the recent passing of two lions of that culture - The great B.B. King, and the fabulous Bobby "Blue" Bland. On Thursday, May 14th of this year, not one, but two Blues legends passed into history - the Great B.B. King, and his ever-loyal companion, "Lucille," slipped silently into the night. Ironically, B.B.'s health seemed to rapidly fade shortly after his longtime friend, and another Lion of the blues, Bobby "Blue" Bland, passed into history on June 23rd of 2013.  These two old road dawgs of the blues, though neither highly educated, could have taught us much about what it means to be Black in America, and the necessity to collaborate as Black people to survive.  
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But we've lost more than just two giants in these two great men.  With every Black person of their generation that passes, the Black community is also losing part of its collective memory of another way of life; a way of life where Black people understood the importance of sticking together, and working together for a common cause.  A lot of people don't know it, but Bobby Bland used to be B.B. King's chauffeur. That's right, but you'd never know it to see them above as peers honoring one another and singing each other's songs. That's the way Black people did it when they were coming up - "If I got a job, we both eat. If I see your kid getting into something he or she shouldn't, don't worry about it; I'll handle it (I was personally the victim two of the best whippings I ever had from neighbors)." Black people had to look out for one another just to survive in the Jim Crow environment that Bobby and B.B. King came up in. That's why even though Bobby was already a well known singer, he doubled as B.B.'s chauffeur.  B.B. was helping to supplement Bobby's income. They were hanging out anyway, so why not pay Bobby to drive - and well?   
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But things are rapidly changing in the Black community, and we're paying a a heavy price for it.  The social manipulators have managed to divided the Black community. They've convinced a segment of the community that they've "arrived" and life is now about class these days so it's everybody for themselves. So we have many Black people looking down their noses at the people in the community who continue to struggle, and that attitude among some of our people is preventing our community from moving forward as a whole. Many seem to equate "having arrived" with getting as far away from other Black people as they can get. Others are lifting boulders to try to find a reason to criticize the first Black President of the United States in order to prove that they've become so far removed from their former "Blackness" that they feel just as comfortable in attacking the most significant symbol of  Black competence in the world as any barefoot Hillbilly. It's sick, and it's an attitude that serves to keep the White supremacist system securely in place all over America.
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A good example of how the Black community is allowing itself to be manipulated can be found in Leimert Park, Ca. Leimert Park has been a premiere center for Black culture and art for decades. It's the home of the late drummer, Billy Higgins'"World Stage," a cultural center that has featured some of the greatest musicians, poets, and artists of all kind in the world today. But with the arrival of the new Metro Rail coming through Leimert Park Village, the powers that be have a vision - which many Black people are helping to promote - in spite of the fact that the Black community as a whole plays very little part in that vision. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people who's predisposed to looking under every rock for instances of racism, but I am a Black man in America, and my experience as such tells me without a bit of uncertainty that these people are not spending all of the money they're spending and snatching up all of the property in Leimert Park Village (on the down-low in many cases), in order to benefit Black people.  What we're watching take place in Leimert Park is a disgusting stampede of avarice, selfishness, and greed.
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A Home In The Black Community of 
Baldwin Hills, Ca. 
Leimert Park is perfectly located in one of the most beautiful parts of the city.  It's in the shadow of Baldwin Hills, one of the most prosperous Black communities in Los Angeles, and quite possibly America. It's minutes from the beach, and major freeways going both North and South, and, East and West, It's also within a block or two of the Crenshaw shopping mall. Then when you take into account the hundreds of billions - maybe even trillions - of dollars that can be made by converting the apartments in the "Jungle" and surrounding area into upscale condos, their dream begins to come into focus. 
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So yes indeed, the powers that be definitely have a dream for Leimert Park, but that dream doesn't have anything to do with the Black people who are currently living in the community or have businesses there . The pattern is already clear. Not even the workman who are working on the various projects in the area are Black - and where are the politicians who are supposed to be looking out for the community's interest!!!?
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So okay, maybe they do intend to keep The Village an art center, but we're not talking about an art center filled with Black people viewing portraits of Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon or Sarah Vaughan, we're talking about art galleries filled with rich White folks viewing pictures of Campbell's soup cans - and in order to pull that off, they're going to have to demolish the park and run off all of the street vendors (and many other Black people) so White folks will feel safe in the area.
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But I Have A Dream Of My Own
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Olvera Street is in the oldest part of
 Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA,
 and is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles
Historic Monument.
It starts with community activists like Najee Ali and Earl Ofari Hutchinson enlisting the local clergy to educate and organize the community to press the city to seize "Billy Higgins' World Stage" through eminent domain and declaring it an historic landmark. In addition, I don’t think it would be too much to ask the powers that be to recognize the community by designating the block of Degnan - between 43rd Place on the South (including the park), 43rd Street on the North, and Leimert Blvd. on the East - be preserved by declaring it a cultural village. After all, it is one of the last - if not THE last - significant Black cultural centers in Los Angeles. Why can't the Black community have their Olvera Street? 
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Thereafter we should form a Black Cultural Arts Consortium that includes the surrounding businesses, our churches, and the community itself to support Leimert Park Village and help to make it an asset for the community. We can turn it into a world-class Black arts center and tourist attraction. If the people in the community would just invest $10 a month in the Village the consortium would be well endowed. Some of the money could also be used to provide affordable childcare for working mothers. That's one of their biggest expenses. Unemployed mothers and retired professionals within our churches can be hired to help instruct the children in everything from reading, writing and math, to music, poetry, and various other arts and crafts.  We could also help to support the numerous musicians in the community by placing them on salary to teach music and perform in the Village at night, and to hold sessions in the park during the day. That way, when people passed by on the Metro Rail, they'd be encouraged to get off in the Village and shop. The Village would also enhance property values, so the $10 a month would be well worth it.
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DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY'RE 
DOING THIS FOR BLACK PEOPLE?  
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THEY
DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN WATTS?
The Village could utilize the talents of people like Linda Morgan and Robert Carmack to organize events, and we'll need a citizen's committee to oversee the finances - and require multiple signatures to withdraw any funds. That will keep the self-serving deadbeats out. Because as we all know, we can  ALWAYS depend on having people around who'll try to corrupt anything positive that's trying to be done in the community. It's rumored, for example, that one musical wannabe who frequents the Village has organized a musical event at a nearby club and demanded that all of the participants who have CDs to sell give him a cut off of every CD that they sell - and he was only paying the performers peanuts to begin with. It has also been suggested that this very same individual has emulated a brand in order to confuse the public into thinking that his events are being sponsored by a more well-known promoter. The citizen's committee must immediately identify and ostracize such people. If we want to ensure The Village to be a viable endeavor, we must banish ALL self-servers from our midst. 
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We should also consider trying to enlist the The Nation Of Islam for security.  The Fruit Of Islam would provide a strong incentive for any would-be gangsters to avoid the area, because most gangsters understand that many of the FOI are former OGs themselves. If we did that, we could keep the people's contact with the LAPD to a minimum. Then later, if we're able to brag of zero crime, it would both give us a pride of community, and it would go a long way toward negating the demonization of Black people as a whole. 
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In addition, we should also encourage our churches to use some of their tithes to create businesses in the community and hire our young people ("They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham" - John 8:39). This is not a novel idea. The Black community of Greensboro, North Carolina has seen the light, just as we should.  The African Globe reports the following:
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"Winn Dixie and other large grocery chains had divided up market territory, resulting in the closing of some stores despite their profitability. The loss of this Winn Dixie turned Northeast Greensboro into a food desert . . . For more than 15 years, there were many efforts to lure a new grocery store into the space. However, while the store would be profitable, it wouldn’t be profitable enough to satisfy the demands of the shareholder-based economy of a large corporation. Fed up with essentially begging for access to affordable, quality food,  residents of this predominantly African-American and low-income neighborhood decided to open their own grocery store.
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"After learning about cooperative businesses, they decided to open a community-owned grocery store. The store would meet local residents’ needs for access to quality food and dignified, well-paid jobs. And now it’s going to happen. When the Renaissance Community Cooperative opens in 2015, it will be a conventional grocery store (like a Food Lion or Kroger) where wages start at $10 per hr."
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The Black Community Controls $1.1 Trillion - equal To Germany, The Third Riches Nation In The World
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The African American community controls as much in spending power as the Gross National Product of Germany, the third richest industrial nation in the world.  So why are we whining to the White man to provide for our needs?
Dr. James P. Neelankavil, a professor of marketing and international business at Hofstra University, says in his book, International Business Research, that "Since the output of a country is an indicator of its economic activity, the GNP [Gross National Product] is often used as key factor in evaluating a country’s economic strength. The five largest countries in the world based on their GNP are the United States, $7 trillion; Japan, $2.5 trillion; Germany, $1.1 Trillion; France, $873 billion; and China, $393 billion." 
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So based on Professor Neelankavil’s data, the African American community’s buying power of $1.1 trillion is equal to the economy of Germany, the third largest industrial economy in the world. We control $127 billion more than France, and $607 billion more than the gross national product of China. But here's the problem. Currently, a dollar circulates in Asian communities for a month, in Jewish communities approximately 20 days and white communities 17 days. How long does a dollar circulate in the black community? 6 hours!!! African American buying power is at 1.1 Trillion, and yet only 2 cents of every dollar an African American spends in this country goes to black owned businesses"(http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2014/02/african-americans-1-1-trillion-dollars-buying-power-putting-good-use/).
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But in spite of the $1.1 trillion passing through the Black community, there are many who still insist on coming up with the excuse that the problem is with the banks - they won’t finance Black businesses. That’s a lame excuse, and we really need to stop trying to make excuses for our condition, because by coming up with all of these excuses, we’re simply giving ourselves a convenient excuse for failure. With all of the money that passes through the Black community, if we came together we could establish our OWN banks. 
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Finally, I'd like to thank the Los Angeles Times for the front page coverage of B.B. King's passing. The Times sent B.B. out like the King he was, and by doing so, they not only honored him, but they honored the entire Black community.  Now it's time for us to honor ourselves.  Let's get on it. Talk to 'em, Bobby.
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Eric L. Wattree 
http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com 
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA) 
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
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Friday reception at Sacramento Black Book Fair

June 5, 2015, 8:30 am
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Superman and Lois Lane

June 5, 2015, 9:01 am
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Family of Boston man murdered by terror investigators shocked

June 5, 2015, 10:35 am
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Family of man shot by terror investigators shocked by claims

By DENISE LAVOIE1 hour ago

Boston suspect's family says he wasn't inspired by ISIS 
 
Boston suspect's family says he wasn't inspired by ISIS
State of Baseball with Jon Heyman: 6/5
BOSTON (AP) — A man shot to death by terrorism investigators showed no signs of radicalization, and his family was completely shocked by allegations he planned to kill police officers, the family's attorney said.
 
Ronald Sullivan, a Harvard Law professor, said Usaama Rahim's family considered him "an energetic young man trying to make his way in this world" and saw no behavior or demeanor changes that would lead them to suspect he would espouse violence.

Surrounded by Rahim's brothers, mother and wife on the sidewalk where Rahim was shot, Sullivan said Thursday that they hope to work "productively and cooperatively" with investigators in a "joint effort to search for the truth."

"Let me be clear: The family is not making any substantive claims at this time about what happened in this case," Sullivan said.

The family and Sullivan met with Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley later Thursday and viewed video of the shooting.

In deference to the family's wishes, the video will not be released publicly until after Rahim's funeral, Conley said in a statement.
 
Ibrahim Rahim, second from right, brother of shooting …
Ibrahim Rahim, second from right, brother of shooting victim Usaama Rahim, reacts with a relative 
 
Conley promised a "thorough, impartial and unbiased investigation" into the shooting.
A Sullivan spokeswoman said in an email Friday that the family would not comment on the video.
Rahim, 26, was fatally shot Tuesday after investigators said he refused to drop a military-style knife as they sought to question him about "terrorist-related information." Police have said the video shows officers backing up and Rahim moving toward them before they fired.

Sullivan said Rahim's brother Ibrahim Rahim, a well-known imam in Boston, regrets posting a Facebook message based on incorrect, third-hand information claiming that his brother had been shot three times in the back.

"We now know we simply did not have all the facts at that time," Sullivan said.

Two men escort the widow, center, of shooting victim …
Two men escort the widow, center, of shooting victim Usaama Rahim, after a news conference on Thurday
 
Police Commissioner William Evans said Rahim had talked about beheading blogger Pamela Geller before deciding to target police officers. "There was some mention of that name," said Evans, who dismissed the idea as "wishful thinking" while speaking on the "Today" show.

A Muslim leader said Thursday that his killing by Boston police and the FBI was reckless and unnecessary. Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, who is close to the Rahim family, said he believes they wanted him dead.

"You can capture elephants, lions and tigers without killing them," Faaruuq said. "The intent was not to capture him and keep him alive."

Rahim will be buried Friday, but the family is keeping it private.
Geller is a combative personality known for provoking Muslims by campaigning against a mosque near the World Trade Center site, sponsoring inflammatory advertisements and organizing Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas.
 
FILE - In this May 7, 2015 file photo, Pamela Geller …
FILE - In this May 7, 2015 file photo, Pamela Geller speaks during an interview at The Associated Press
 
"They want to make an example out of me to frighten the rest of the US into silence and submission," Geller wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday. "This is not about me. This is about whether the US will stand for freedom or submit and cower before violent intimidation."

The FBI said Rahim and his nephew, David Wright, plotted to commit some kind of attack, and Rahim ordered three large knives on Amazon.com a week earlier.

The FBI said police confronted Rahim after he told Wright on Tuesday that he had changed his mind about beheading an out-of-state victim and instead planned to kill local police officers either Tuesday or Wednesday.
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Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo contributed to this story.
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Human Earthquake hits Sacramento suffering 95 degree heat

June 6, 2015, 1:46 am
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 Sacramento's North American African Mayor Kevin Johnson addresses Sacramento Book Fair

Mayor Johnson, President of the US Conference of Mayor's, received a call from President Obama after the Mayor  got US Mayors to endorse his trade agreement. UMass professor Bill Strickland blasted the Mayor for endorsing an agreement that is a secret. Professor Strickland is seated on the left.

Marvin X's memoir of Eldridge Cleaver, written in three weeks in Houston, Texas

The Human Earthquake hit Sacramento, adding to the 95 degree heat--with no breeze, something the Human Earthquake loves about the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area. But no breeze in Sac, the capital of California, as if the Human Earthquake is not used to the Central Valley weather, having been raised in Fresno where it used to be 113 degrees at midnight.

The Human Earthquake was not a stranger to Sacramento, having lived in the Oak Park District during his addiction to Crack cocaine in the 90s. For a time he lived on La Soledad Ave. with his Black Arts Movement mentor Alonzo Harris Batin. Alonzo Batin, a career criminal, recruited the Black Arts West Theatre crew into the Nation of Islam, including Duncan Barber, Hillery Broadous, Ethna Wyatt and Marvin X. BAW members playwright Ed Bullins and Carl Bossisere (cousin of Michael and Ted Lange) did not join but were also impacted by the BAM guru Batin, who'd spend time in San Quentin with Eldridge Cleaver, author of Soul on Ice, that Marvin X introduced to Black Panther co-founders Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. Another Black Panther named Earl Anthony, aka, Earl the Squirrel, wrote a play about Eldridge and Alonzo Batin, produced off-Broadway by Woody King. As per the Oak Park District, Marvin suggested it would be nice to name a street in honor of the Black Arts District.

The Human Earthquake also has a plethora of cousins in Sacramento, two were present at the Sacramento Black Book Fair reception at Underground Books and the Guild Theatre, Stan Murrill and Michael Benjamin. Michael is a member of the Sacramento Black Arts Movement. He has produced and directed plays in Sac for decades, often working with Paul Carter Harrison. He is quick to let people know he and Marvin X are family!


Of course, he calls his muse, former Sacramento Bee writer Fahizah Alim, Lois Lane. But in fact she was Superwoman for Sacramento North American Africans. When in trouble, Blacks in Sac called Fahizah to voice their problems with white supremacy. She is a Marvin X student. He is accompanied at the Sacramento Black Book Fair by two current students mentored at his Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland, Aries Jordan and Prosperity Carter. Fahizah describes his writing as "orgasmic"!

After the reception at Underground Books, two panel discussions were held next door at the Guild Theatre; a panel on the Voting Rights Act with Professor Bill Strickland and Professor Pinderhughes and a panel on the Black Arts Movement with Professor Emeritus Eugene Redmond and BAM co-founder Marvin X, aka, The Human Earthquake. You've already heard Professor Strickland's remarks on the trade bill. In his conclusion on the Voting Rights Bill, the professor confessed he had to submit to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who said the white man is the devil!
Professor Pinderhughes essentially said the same, they are obstructionists, devious, diabolical, in the attempt to keep Blacks and other minorities from voting.

The Black Arts Movement panel began with Marvin X: in the words of Paul Robeson, we are artistic freedom fighters. Art and culture prompted the Black Power revolution of the 60s, thus the power of art and culture. He quoted Mrs. Amina Baraka, "Everybody who say they was in the Black Arts Movement wasn't in the Black Arts Movement."

Larry Neal said BAM was the sister of the Black Arts Movement. Marvin X said BAM was the mother of the Black Power Movement. He quoted Huey Newton: "Marvin X was my teacher. Many of our comrades came through his Black Arts Theatre, i.e., Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, Emory Douglas, Samuel Napier, et al."

He told of a recent speech by Virtual Murrell, representing Bobby Seale, who said at the 50th Anniversary of Peralta Colleges in Oakland, including Merritt College where Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, and Marvin X were students: "It was when Marvin X brought his play Flowers for the Trashman to Merritt in support of the Soul Students Advisory Council, that the Merritt student movement took off, powered by the Black Arts of Marvin X."

As a demonstration of how cunning and vile the addiction to white supremacy can be, Marvin X told the Sacramento folks that a white man seated at his table ($175.00 dinner) said to him after the remarks by Virtual Murrell, "If I'd known you were somebody important, I would have had a conversation with you!"

The audience  succumbed to the Human Earthquake. After his presentation, Marvin X was mobbed by the audience. A young married woman said she was in love with him. Marvin X told her, "If you are in love with me, leave your husband tonight and come with me." A 60 year old woman let him know she was ready to rock and roll with him. He told her, "It ain't about your age, it's about your energy. I know some 29 year old women who are tired and need to take some Geritol! A 23 year old woman told me, "I thought you was an old man!"

 Marvin X at his Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland, renamed the Black Arts Movement District. He claims his classroom is the most dangerous in the world. FYI, in was the site of the Oscar Grant rebellion, Occupy Oakland and Black Lives Matter. During Occupy Oakland, the poet was tear gassed.
photo Adam Turner

Graphics Adam Turner

We suspect Marvin X will be mobbed whenever he speaks Saturday and Sunday at the SAC Book Fair. SAC was inspired by the energy in his words, and the truth!


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Blue Nile Press and Community Partners
invite you to the opening events for the
Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair
All on Friday, June 5, 2015
6:00PMOpening Reception to meet and greet the featured writers
at underground Books,2814 35th Street, Sacramento CA 95817
6:45PMOpening Panel Discussion by the featured writers
at The Guild Theater
2828 35th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
(Next door to underground books)
9:00PMPost Panel Mixer
Live jazz, refreshments, and opportunity to converse with
featured speakers and participating authors
at the Brickhouse Art Gallery, 2837 36thStreet, Sacramento, CA 95817
Please RSVP by Sunday, May 31, 2015 to Faye Wilson Kennedy (916) 484-3749 or emailing:Faye at Faye@bluenilepress.com
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2015 Co-Sponsors/Community Partners:
African Research Institute
Black United Fund of Sacramento Valley
Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour
Black Bird Press
The Black Group
Brickhouse Art Gallery
Blue Nile Press
City of Sacramento – Neighborhood Services Department
Friends of the Sacramento Public Library
Jtenterprise
Roberts Family Development Center
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
Sacramento City Councilmember Allen Warren
The Sacramento City Teachers Association
Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen
Teichert Foundation
The Talking Drums News
Colonial Heights Library Affiliated Friends
Kakwasi Somadhi
Underground Books
Sacculturalhub.com
Drexel University Sacramento
Sacramento Juneteenth, Inc.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.,Eta Gamma Omega Chapter
Sacramento Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Fred and Ruth Foote
ZICA Creative and Literary Guild
Center for African Peace & Conflict Resolution, CSUS
Black Humanists and Non-Believers of Sacramento
Sacramento Section- The National Council of Negro Women
Mary McLeod Bethune Readers are Leaders Club
Tracy & Symia Stigler
Young Scholars –Calvary Christian Center
Sacramento Poetry Center
Sister to Sister Book Group
100 Black Men of Sacramento
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
Felicia Armelin
Brenda’s Mane Event
Black Parallel School Board
Literary Ladies Alliance
The Merritt Law Clinic
Sisters Quilting Collective
NIA –Women of Purpose
Leslie Wilson Kennedy
Sacramento Chapter-Black Child Development Institute
Pam Haynes
Black Images Book Club
The Borden Family
OBBC (Book Club)
Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce
Allegro Book Club
Sacramento Public Library Foundation
The California Endowment
The Office of Campus Community Relations, University of California, Davis
Los Rios Community College District
Roy Kaufman
Sacramento Observer Newspapers
California Black Chamber of Commerce
 Endorsed by:
Mayor Kevin Johnson
Women's Civic Improvement Club
Oak Park United Methodist Church
Guild Theater
Sacramento City Unified School District
Sacramento Public Library
Assembly member Kevin McCarty
California Legislative Black Caucus
916Ink
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS)
Thank you and join the celebration!!!


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The Human Earthquake meets Dr. Nigger, poet Neal Hall, MD, author of the collection Nigger for Life

June 7, 2015, 12:29 am
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Black Arts Movement poet Marvin X and poet Dr. Neal Hall of Philadelphia attended the Sacramento Black Book Fair. When Dr. Hall came to Marvin's chatroom today, he asked the poet to read his classic Dr. Nigger, from his internationally acclaimed collection Nigger for Life. Dr. Hall travels to India on June 9, 2015. Marvin X says, "I am a Nigguh fa life!:

Translated: I am a bad motherfucker and I will chop off yo motherfuckin head if you fuck wit me in the wrong way!"

Saturday, June 6, 2015, The Black Arts Movement panel at the 
Sacramento Black 
Book Fair
Marvin X
Eugene Redman
Halifu Osumare

Dr. Nigger on the Streets of Oakland



Dr. Nigger on the Streets of Oakland


When Oakland folks stop by Marvin X's Academy of da Corner at 14th and Broadway, crossroads of the East Bay, he let's them peruse Journal of Pan African Studies, Poetry issue--he was guest editor. The poems people like, they proceed to read aloud. To date, the most oft-read poem is Dr. Nigger by Philadelphia poet/physician Dr. Neal Hall, author of Nigger for Life, 2009.

Dr. Nigger

Dr. Nigger
Can you cure me without
touching me with nigga hands
Can you save my life
without changing my life
Can you dance soft-shoe while
humming those negro tunes
when my white life codes blue
Can you reach inside yourself
beyond the shit we put in you…
past painful moments we put in you…
past despair and hopelessness
we’ve put in you and
find that old black magic in you
to save my life without changing
all the shit we put in you
Dr. Nigger
Can you breathe in me
air free of nigga
from a nigger not free
to breathe in free air
Can you stay on the colored side
of the color line and reach across
without touching me with nigga hands
to restart my blue heart without
changing my cold heart
Can you reach past the life
we’ve taken from you to
save my life and not
let white life pass me by
Dr. Nigger
save my life
without taking my life
Cure me without
touching me with nigga hands
Dance soft-shoe while
humming negro tunes
while you save my life
without changing my life
when my white life codes blue
--Neal Hall, M.D.,
Copyright 2009




“…a warrior of the mind … a warrior of the spirit,
an activist, a poet.”
- Cornel West, Ph.D.

Neal Hall, M.D., graduate of Cornell and Harvard, ophthalmologist and poet, has published a critically acclaimed anthology of verse, Nigger For Life, reflecting his painful, later life discovery, that in “unspoken America,” race is the one thing on which he is “first” judged, by which he is “first” measured, “first”, against which his life and accomplishments are metered diminished value, dignity, equality and justice. All of which have everything to do with accessing choice, opportunity, power and freedom in America.

It’s no ordinary muse that has Dr. Hall becoming as much a part of his poetry as his poetry has become a part of him. Rather it’s a deep sense of betrayal combined with a passion for life that shows through. He can’t help but bare his intelligence, his wit and his dreams. His anthology is as confronting as it is illuminating, as disarming as it is thought provoking.

Two notable and well respected minds best describe why Nigger For Life is important and timely: Cornel West, Ph.D., (Princeton University) said of the book “…his poetry has the capacity to change ordinary people’s philosophy on social and racial issues”.

Beth Richie, Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Chicago) stated the “ … images and issues addressed in Nigger For Life are tremendously important to our [African American] people and the academic field of African American Studies”

Nigger For Life’s candid, gut wrenching clarity gives it it’s tremendous power and impact to provoke both thought and honest dialog regarding race, racism, equality and freedom, not just in America, but throughout the world. The book’s unique ability to open minds, touch hearts and change philosophies of ordinary people is immeasurable.

The body of poetry is extraordinary … meaningful beyond black and white, worthy of – down through the ages – analytical and academic study for their compelling, empowering commentary. Nigger for Life should be read, studied and included amongst the great poetry volumes written.

Nigger For Life can be obtained at: www.surgeonpoet.com
Email: info@NiggerForLifeBook.com
Online Interview at: www.caribbeanbookblog.wordpress.com.
Conversations LIVE! Radio http://conversationslive.blogspot.com




Marvin X was guest editor of the Journal of Pan African Studies poetry issue

 


The Journal of Pan African Studies works to become a beacon of light in the sphere of African world community studies and research, grounded in an interdisciplinary open access scholarly peer-reviewed construct, simultaneously cognizant of the multilingualism of our audience, and the importance of universal access in cyberspace; regardless of geography, economic, social or cultural diversity.
::More Information
::Editorial Board
::Contact The JPAS

::Instructions for submitting a manuscript









CURRENT ISSUE


Volume 4 • Number 2 • 2010
This special issue of The Journal of Pan African Studies is edited by guest editor Marvin X and dedicated to Dingane aka Jose Goncalves, the publisher and editor of the Journal of Black Poetry, which has published some 500 poets.

Groundation


● JPAS: Dedicated to Dingane, Jose Goncalves
by Marvin X
[ view PDF ]

● The Poets
by Marvin X
[ view PDF ]

● Letters to the Editor
[ view PDF ]

● Dingane Joe Goncalves, TheJournal of Black Poetry & Small Non-Commercial Black Journals
by Rudolph Lewis
[ view PDF ][ view PDF ]


In My Negritude


● Shaggy Flores, Ras Griot, Phavia Kujichagulia, Chinwe Enemchukwu, L. E. Scott, Rodney D. Coates, J. Vern Cromartie, Dike Okoro, Neal E. Hall, Marvin X, Mohja Kahf, Ayodele Nzingha, Askia M. Toure, Michael Simanga, Amiri Baraka, Kalamu ya Salaam, Kola Boof, Louis Reyes, Rivera, Aries Jordan, Ptah Allah El, and Hettie V. Williams
[ view PDF ]

● Teaching Diaspora Literature: Muslim American Literature as an Emerging Field
by Mohja Kahf
[ view PDF ]

● Mother Earth Responds by Askia Toure
reviewed by Kamaria Muntu
[ view PDF ]

●Tainted Soul by T. Ptah Mitchell
reviewed by Zulu King
[ view PDF ]


The Whirlwind


● Tracey Owens Patton, devorah major, Anthony Mays, Bruce George, Jeanette Drake, Itibari M. Zulu, Renaldo Manuel Ricketts, Nandi Comer, Al Young, Ghasem Batamuntu, Mona Lisa Saloy, Eugene B. Redmond, Fritz Pointer, Gwendolyn Mitchell, Felix Orisewike Sylvanus, Rudolph Lewis, Kamaria Muntu, Ed Bullins, Mabel Mnensa, Kwan Booth, and Tureeda Mikell
[ view PDF ]

● Poetic Mission: A Dialogue on the Role of the Poet and Poetry
by Rudolph Lewis (dialogue team: Marvin X, Jerry Ward, Mary Weems, and C. Leigh McInnis)
[ view PDF ]

● The Poetic Mission: Art II: Reviewing a Life, A Calling
by Haki R. Madhubuti
[ view PDF ]


Amour of Ancestors


● Everett Hoagland, Charles Blackwell, Jacqueline Kibacha, John Reynolds III, Darlene Scott, Jimmy Smith Jr., Sam Hamud, Opal Palmer Adisa, Amy ‘Aimstar’ Andrieux, Lamont b. Steptoe, Avotcja Jiltonilro, Anthony Spires, Benecia Blue, Neil Callender, Tanure Ojaide, Pious Okoro, Tony Medina, Dr. Ja A. Jahannes, Brother Yao, Zayad Muhammad, Nykimbe Broussard, Kilola Maishya, Niyah X, Adrienne N. Wartts, Greg Carr, Darlene Roy, Tantra Zawadi, Ishmael Reed, Quincy Scott Jones, Bob McNeil, Ariel Pierson, Marie Rice, Yvonne Hilton, Bolade Akintolayo, Latasha Diggs, Felton Eaddy, and B. Sharise Moore
[ view PDF ]


Reviews, News, Views
● Medical Mythologyby Ramal Lamar
[ view PDF ]

● Qaddafy’s Apology for Arab Slavery: A Dialogue Between Poetsby Rudolph Lewis, Sam Hamud, and Kola Boof
[ view PDF ]

● Prize and Award: Chinua Achebe and Haki R. Madhubuti
[ view PDF ]

● Two Poets in Oakland: Ishmael Reed and Marvin Xby Ishmael Reed and Marvin X
[ view PDF ]

● A Pan African Dialogue on Cuba: From Black Bird Pressby Dead Prez, Carlos Moore, Pedro de la Hoz, and North American African Activist, Intellectuals and Artist
[ view PDF ]

● Black Arts West Celebrates Amiri Baraka at 75a photos essay by Kamau Amen-Ra
[ view PDF ]

● Amiri Baraka Entertains SF: ‘Lowku’ versus Haiku Revives Fillmore Spiritby Lee Hubbard and Marvin X
[ view PDF ]

For a print version of Journal of Pan African Studies, Poetry issue, contact Black Bird Press, 1222 Dwight Way, Berkeley CA 94702, 475 pages, $49.95. Your donation supports Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland.
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Berkeley Juneteenth, Sunday, June 21, 2015

June 7, 2015, 8:44 pm
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MUMIA IN THE NATION MAGAZINE

June 8, 2015, 7:56 am
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HiMarvin,


We are rising up for Mumia.  This past week we placed a full-page Ad in The Nation which calls for Mumia's freedom. 

Now, I'm calling on you to support us and help us as we cover the cost of the Ad.

We are doing this because we believe in Mumia's voice.  He reaches out to us, so we reach out for him.   Check out his new commentary "NSA Anyway" by Mumia Abu Jamal (2:12) 6-7-15

This Ad will act as a nation-wide catalyst for tens of thousands of people to join Desmond Tutu, Alice Walker and Cornel West by signing an Open Letter demanding medical treatment and freedom for Mumia.   

MARVIN X ADDS HIS NAME IN SUPPORT OF MUMIA.
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