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Black Bird Press News & Review: The Human Earthquake meets Dr. Nigger, poet Neal Hall, MD, author of the collection Nigger for Life
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The Marvin X Fan Club
Letter to Marvin X from the Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair
Marvin,
Thank you for coming to the Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair. You were the fire. It was delightful meeting you, seeing you, and hearing you in action. You have quite a fan contingent in Sacramento.... But you were a great presence. I"m so glad you came, and again, thank you.
Thank you for coming to the Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair. You were the fire. It was delightful meeting you, seeing you, and hearing you in action. You have quite a fan contingent in Sacramento.... But you were a great presence. I"m so glad you came, and again, thank you.
Dave Covin
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Teaching While Black: Racism at Claremont MIddle School
Teaching While Black: Exposing Institutional Racism at Claremont Middle School
It’s becoming increasingly evident that the school administration is feasting off of a culture of exclusion and intimidation to achieve its end goal. Claremont has had a troubled history for many years due to a massive amount of administrative turnover. However this began to change when Reggie and Ronnie Richardson were hired in 2011. The Richardsons were co-principals who were turning the school around; so much so, they received local and nationwide press. However the Richardsons did not return for the 2014-2015 school year, accepting a position instead with a neighboring school district. Once again, Claremont was left in a state of transition. The staff at Claremont prepared to collaborate with new principal Jonathan Mayer and Vice Principal Tonia Coleman. Former Afterschool Site Coordinator Aries Jordan noted, “It was unfortunate when (the Richardsons) left but I stayed because I’m committed to the children… I wanted to support the students through this transition.”
Racially-Based Student Tracking
“This is all about race.”
Kurt Kaaekuahiuu witnessed this firsthand during a teacher meeting in which Principal Mayer stated, “This is all about race. We know that the white kids will go to places like Stanford or Berkeley with or without our help. We would be lucky if black students at best graduated from high school and went to a junior college.” Another tracking program-“Math Intensive”- is happening concurrently in 7th grade. It’s a class designed for the more advanced students. Math teacher Alonna Haulcy teaches both Math Intensive as well as the traditional math class and notes, “I do think there are some (black) kids who are capable of being in Math Intensive. I’ve expressed that to the principal. He said he would have the department head look at their test scores and I never heard back from him.”
Demoralizing Teachers of Color
“They’re not giving me my own voice.”
Another major problem is Principal Mayer’s top-down approach along with an outward hostility towards any staff member who attempts to question his methods. Kaaekuahiuu states, “From the beginning, Claremont was framed from a complete deficit model. They looked at everything that was wrong with the school without prior knowledge or asking teachers.That says a lot about who you are as a manager.” Kurt used to be the Ethnic Studies teacher until he received an email that the school would no longer support the class. A 7th grader at Claremont reflects on the cancelled Ethnic Studies program: “All the students were engaged because he went outside of the book. His whole class was decorated with Ethnic Studies quotes and pictures. They were torn down by the end of the year and I wondered why.” Alonna Haulcy also feels constricted, “They’re not giving me my own voice. She noted that she is the only veteran teacher who is getting five classroom evaluations; something that is only required for new teachers. When she inquired about it Mayor gave no explanation; but she’s the only black teacher on the list.
Aries Jordan also discusses her struggles working with the administration while coordinating the afterschool program which is “99.9 percent black.” Ms. Jordan had a difficult time running the program this year since the cafeteria burned down in February. Instead of the Claremont administration accommodating the program with unused classrooms in the school, they forced students to have their after school program outside despite cold weather conditions. Moreover, Principal Mayer claimed that he wanted to make technology a priority in the afterschool program however, Jordan’s students weren’t allowed to use the computer lab or the 60 Macbooks and laptops owned by the school. “They recommended this technology program to us and then turned around and denied us access to the abundant resources available.” states Jordan. Finally, the administration conceded by loaning 4 outdated MacBooks to the entire program. Apparently the Claremont administration wants to institute a tuition policy at the after school program next year; yet another barrier to access students will be up against.
Removing Black Teachers
“Every person of color is leaving.”
It started with Ms. Bebe, a staff member who challenged Principal Mayer’s thinking and also questioned his racial biases. Soon after, her position was consolidated and she was transferred. Mirishae McDonald was next. She continued to advocate for her students by questioning the administration’s tactics and was given a notice of non-reelect shortly afterward. A non-reelect is something that is possible for all teachers in OUSD to receive during their first two years of teaching. If a teacher receives a non-reelect, not only are they not allowed to teach in the school for the following year, but they are banned from teaching in OUSD. There is no due process and it’s left completely up to the principal’s discretion. According to Music teacher Vincent Tolliver-a teacher with 23 years of experience in OUSD,“Your evaluations are irrelevant. You can get good evaluations and it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, it’s become a tool that an administrator can use to eliminate someone and not do their job of providing adequate training.”
Tolliver is also a member of the Oakland Educator’s Association who will soon conduct research for a report that investigates the disproportionate number of Oakland’s teachers of color who are non-reelected. He sees OUSD’s stated desire to recruit more teachers of color as lip service. “If you look at their practices, they’re not conducive to recruiting and retaining them.” Afterschool Site Supervisor Aries Jordan, was also fired by the administration through intimidation practices, and now other teachers are choosing to leave because of the hostile environment. Kurt Kaaekuahiuu and Vincent Tolliver will leave after this year, describing the work environment as “severely damaged.” Kurt looks on this experience solemnly. “I loved Claremont but now I feel incapacitated; not from the work but the professional culture of Claremont. People are devalued. Every single person of color is leaving.” Alonna Haulcy’s plans are unclear but she does admit that, “this is the first time I’ve wanted to leave.”
Moving Forward
“Classrooms are a political battlefront; being present everyday is a political act. Nothing is neutral.”
The New York Times recently published an article about racial disparities in the teaching field which showed that “despite the fact that minority students have become the majority in this country, more than 80 percent of teachers are white.” (Rich, 2015) The article cited this trend in major East Coast cities however, it’s something that extends into the city of Oakland. Claremont Middle School is not just an isolated incident of institutional racism fueled by poor leadership, it’s a microcosm highlighting the poor treatment of black teachers in the U.S public school system. It raises many questions regarding institutional racism, and if school systems truly believe in the ability and agency of black educators. When asked about his next steps, Kaaekuahiuu strongly states, “I needed a wake up call. I needed a grave reminder of the gross inequities and the systematic attack on black and brown communities. Classrooms are a political battlefront; me being present everyday is a political act. Nothing is neutral.” Aries Jordan reflects on her traumatic experience and remains hopeful and determined, “My goal is to connect my experience to what’s happening across the U.S. How many other educators of color are being pushed out?” Mirishae McDonald also remains courageously outspoken, “I will not be bullied into silence. We need to come together and show that we are not afraid.”
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Marvin X meets his muse in Sacramento, Superwoman Fahizah Alim
Marvin X and Muse Fahizah Alim
While attending the Sacramento Black Book Fair, Marvin X was blessed to have dinner with his longtime friend, student and muse, Fahizah Alim, editor emeritus at the Sacramento Bee. The two had dinner along with two current students of Mr. X, Aries Jordan and Prosperity Carter. Fahizah gave us a rare reading of her poetry, astounding Marvin and the budding writers. She gave many words of wisdom to the young women, including her analysis of the political personalities she's encountered in Sacramento. Gov. Jerry Brown recently appointed her Communications Director of a State Civil Rights Agency.
Prosperity Carter, Marvin X, Aries Jordan
Aside from reading their original poetry, Prosperity and Aries performed parables from Marvin's collection The Wisdom of Plato Negro, parables and fables, Black Bird Press, Berkeley CA. Aries did a dramatic reading of Parable of Woman on the Cell Phone, Prosperity choreographed his Parable of Woman in the Box.
The Wild Crazy Ride Called the Marvin X Experience will participate in Juneteenth Festivals in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and possibly Fresno.
Letter to Marvin X from the Sacramento Black Book Fair
Marvin,
Thank you for coming to the Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair. You were the fire. It was delightful meeting you, seeing you, and hearing you in action. You have quite a fan contingent in Sacramento.... But you were a great presence. I"m so glad you came, and again, thank you.
Thank you for coming to the Second Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair. You were the fire. It was delightful meeting you, seeing you, and hearing you in action. You have quite a fan contingent in Sacramento.... But you were a great presence. I"m so glad you came, and again, thank you.
Dave Covin
Marvin X is available for readings/speaking engagements coast to coast. Call 510-200-4164. Send letter of invitation to jmarvinx@yahoo.com
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Sun Ra Mix Tapes
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Book Review: Reginald James takes a peek at Marvin X's (Dr. M) manual for a Pan African Mental Health Peer Group
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Artist's Corner - Juan Felipe Herrera
WASHINGTON (AP) — A son of migrant farm workers in California, Juan Felipe Herrera will be the next U.S. poet in chief.
The Library of Congress announced Wednesday the appointment of Herrera as the nation's 21st poet laureate for 2015 through 2016, beginning in September. Herrera, 66, whose parents emigrated from Mexico, will be the nation's first Latino poet laureate since the position was created in 1936.
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Juan Felipe Herrera Named U.S. Poet Laureate
Juan Felipe Herrera Named U.S. Poet Laureate, The First Latino To Hold The Post
| By BRETT ZONGKER Posted:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A son of migrant farm workers in California, Juan Felipe Herrera will be the next U.S. poet in chief.
The Library of Congress announced Wednesday the appointment of Herrera as the nation's 21st poet laureate for 2015 through 2016, beginning in September. Herrera, 66, whose parents emigrated from Mexico, will be the nation's first Latino poet laureate since the position was created in 1936.
Librarian of Congress James Billington said he sees in Herrera's poems the work of an American original.
"His poems engage in a serious sense of play — in language and in image — that I feel gives them enduring power," Billington said in a written statement. "I see how they champion voices, traditions and histories, as well as a cultural perspective, which is a vital part of our larger American identity."
Some of the works Herrera said he most enjoyed writing were captured in "Half the World in Light," a book of poems lauded for his experimentation and for documenting his Chicano experience in America.
Herrera was born in 1948 in Fowler, California. His family of migrant workers moved often, at times living in tents and trailers along roads. His father learned English by paying fellow workers pennies to teach him each new word.
Herrera said he is humbled and overwhelmed to be named U.S. poet laureate and to be the first of Latino descent.
The laureate position involves crafting poetry projects and broadening the audience for poetry. The 2013-2014 poet laureate, Natasha Trethewey, launched a series of reports from locations nationwide for a "PBS News Hour" poetry series to explore societal issues.
For his term, Herrera is envisioning a program with the Library of Congress that he calls Casa de Colores — House of Colors — to include people of every color and cultural background. He may host voice ensembles with young people to engage with poetry, perhaps taking a poem by Walt Whitman and then having a group write a poem together to perform in spoken word or with music. Or perhaps the public could contribute to a national writing project by making submissions online.
"Yes, I am the first Latino poet laureate in the United States. But I'm also here for everyone and from everyone. My voice is made by everyone's voices," Herrera said.
At the same time, he said, he also wants to encourage more young Latino students to write and read and benefit from the Library of Congress' resources.
"You know, we speak about understanding each other, having those conversations nationwide — culturally, historically — and yet there's a lot of gaps," he said. "So I want to assist with closing the gap of knowing about and hearing about our Latino communities in terms of literature, in terms of writing.
"And I want our young Latinos and Latinas to write their hearts out and express their hearts out and let us all listen to each other."
Herrera grew up speaking Spanish in his early years and became ashamed to speak at school, so he shut down, he said. But he eventually found his voice through joining choirs in middle school and high school.
Herrera eventually graduated from UCLA, earned graduate degrees at Stanford and the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop, and built a career in teaching.
From 2012 to 2015, Herrera served as poet laureate of California. In March, he retired from teaching creative writing at the University of California, Riverside and is now a visiting professor in ethnic studies at the University of Washington.
Fowler, California, birthplace of poets
Marvin X (1944) and Juan Felipe Herrera (1948)
Fowler, California is a small raisin growing town nine miles south of Fresno in the Central Valley.
Juan Felipe Herrera and Marvin X participated in the BAM Poet's Choir &Arkestra at the Black Arts Movement Conference, University of California, Merced, 2014 (A Kim McMIllan/Marvin X production)
First row: Eugene Redman, Marshall Trammell, Tarika Lewis, Aries Jordan, Zena Allen, Avotcha Back row: Marvin X, Kalamu Chache', Juan Felipe Herrera, Tacuma King, Lakiba Pittman, Askia Toure, Genny Lim, Umar Bin Hassan, Ayodele Nzinga
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Wanda Sabir calls for libations to the African Ancestors of the Middle Passage
Greetings Everyone:
If you are not busy, I'd like to invite you to the Libations for the Ancestors on Saturday in Oakland.
Visit our website for the details. If you can't make it to Oakland, then pour libations where you are. http://maafasfbayarea.comWhen: Sat., June 13, 9:00am – 9:30am
Where: Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA, USA
Description: Lake Merritt in Oakland - across from the Merritt Bakery where the fountain is: E-18th Street at Lakeshore Drive)
Save the DATE: October 11, 2015, the 20th Annual Maafa Commemoration. We can use help. Let me know if you are interested. We need help fundraising (direct mail, grant writing, donor solicitation), public relations, programming support (venues and follow-up), transportation.
Peace and Blessings,
Wanda Sabir
(510) 712-4015 mobile
Visit www.wandaspicks.com
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Ornette Coleman joins Ancestors, Marvin X Elegy for Ornette Coleman
Elegy for Ornette
Marvin X
He played to us ornate sounds beyond the beyond
who would not want us to transcend American madness
mythical dream of eternal white supremacy
Ornette
let your sounds gather the army of independence
we must have some of this land to call our own
Elijah said
We deserve it for 400 years free labor
sing Ornette
scream Ornette
break down brain cells
music heals
armies march to music
music kills
give us healing music
sing Ornette
Scream
Scream
Ornette
We hear you
in our bowels
we hear you
in the bottomless pit of our treacherous souls
we hear you
dancing prancing on mountains hills
Ornette
Playing having fun raising the dead
black arts movement sounds of liberation
We love you
Ornette
ASE ASE ASE
--Marvin X
6/11/15
It's with great sadness that I report
the death of my dear friend and one
of the great master musicians of the ages
Ornette Coleman.
Ornette's approach to music was so radical
that it caused other master musicians at
the height of their creative powers to
step back and entirely reassess their own
art.
As an instrumentalist (particularly on
the alto sax), a composer, a band leader,
an educator, and a philosopher of music and
life he was peerless.
To meet him and spend any time at all
with him and be receptive to the experience
was to have your life changed for the good.
He was a thoroughly decent and kind
human being who cared as passionately about
others finding their voices as he fiercely
defended his right to explore and develop
his own.
By coincidence we screened tonight's video
recently.
In case you missed it - or even if you did
see it - this is one of the best film
documentations of Ornette the musician and
human being available.
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/26650.html
- Ken McCarthy
- Lester Perkins
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Please share Jazz on the Tube with your
friends and colleagues.
If they like jazz, they're going to love this.
Send your friends to this link and tell
them what we do...
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/content/su1.html
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Reflections of a Human Earthquake Victim
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Reflections of a "Human Earthquake" Victim
Reflections of a
"Human Earthquake" Victim
Meet Marvin X
Marvin X in Harlem, NY, 1968
photo Doug Harris
I’m sure we all have those teachers from our past who have impacted our lives. Some have encouraged us to dig deep within and unleash untapped potential. Some have inspired us to think beyond our little world and reach new heights. I can’t remember, though, very many teachers who have shocked me into a dizzying stupor, made me laugh, then ultimately made me love them for their unbridled “Hootspa” (or as we were fond of saying in my hometown….“Huevos”)
Meet Marvin X
I believe it was the fall semester of 1982 when I walked into the first day of my English class. I was attending Kings River Community College in the small, heavily Mennonite town of Reedley, CA. Our quaint little town was your typical white-bread, very conservative, farming community. So when we all took our seats and noticed that our instructor was not your typical white, middle-aged teacher with patches on his jacket sleeves, but was in fact an african american man, staring us down, we were all a bit off of our game.
“Hello, welcome to my English class. My name is Marvin X. My legal name is Marvin Jackmon, but I don’t use that name because that was given to me by some white slave owner”! The classroom did a collective head scratching, while some more disturbed students got up and walked into the wall several times, then returned to their seats and joined the head scratching asking panically “Um…your just a sub, right??”
Everyday in Marvin X’s class was like a field trip though a box of Cracker Jacks. There was always some prize waiting for our small town J.C. minds to grapple with. Mr. X always encouraged lively conversation and I took full advantage of that, because we all know that asking a thousand questions equals a passionate interest in the subject which equals a passing grade!!!!
The thing I love most about him was that he loved…no, he fed on tossing little “shock and awe” bombshells our way. Which was always followed by that jubilant grin and sparkle in his eye’s. He kept taunting us that some day he would share some of his poetry with us. But he warned us, “My poetry is really “street” …so I’m not sure your ready for it”.
Several more weeks passed, full of lively conversations, debate and complete pandemonium swirling through our young impressionable little minds. Finally, one day he came to class and announced that we were now officially ready for one of his poems. Once again, he reiterated that his poetry was pretty “street” and not for the faint of heart. We did a collective gulp and nodded our heads.
This poem is called…
(wait for it)
“Confession of a Rapist”
(Oh dear Lord!!….um…uh…OK,, I can handle this! I can be street…or at least avenue)
He looked up with that sly grin and glimmer in his eyes, then proceeded with the opening line…
“I took the P***Y”
(we’re not talking about sweet little kittens here, folks.)
He just piloted his Enola Gay B-29 and dropped a bomb (a “P” bomb at that) amongst us citizens of Hiroshima Junior College!
Visualize those old black & white films of Atomic bomb testing somewhere in the deserts of Nevada. The “Shock Wave” was so insanely intense, our faces were wobbling and contorting to the massive G-forces, that I’m pretty positive not one person heard another line from that poem. Outside, after class, we quickly and hastily put together an emergency Triage unit to asses the damages and re-attach any limbs or brain matter that may have needed attending to.
Some fellow Christian students from the class were discussing the possibility of assembling a mob with torches and pitch forks, the likes of your typical Frankenstein movie. We soon realized that we were all fine. A little shaken, but fine.
Oddly enough, there was maybe one complaint in class from a student, and he very patiently and lovingly discussed it with us. In the end, we all came through it like old trench buddies. Mr. X helped lift, perhaps rather firmly, us out of our little comfort zones.
In the last few remaining weeks of class, we had several more great conversations and debates. One sunny day he even held class outside under a tree and we studied the book of Job from the Bible. I believe he said he loved it because it read like a screenplay. He had lots of great insight and challenged us daily.
There are only a handful of teachers from my two and a half years of college (and no degree to show for it) that I have maybe a millisecond of memory of them. Mr. X, however, made such an impact on me that his memory is burned into the synapses of my brain. Was he shocking? Yes! However, even more, he loved reaching through to us. He made us think….really think!
Before I began writing this, I Googled him. Sure enough, there he was…
with that sly grin and glimmer in his eyes!
Thank you, Mr. X!
Comment Marvin X:
Let me thank all those beautiful students who attended my English class at Kings River College, 1982. I had the time of my life, but my academic career ended there, even though I received a 97% retention rate. I simply no longer desired to teach again. It is indeed ironic that my career ended not far from where my life began in Fowler, Ca., a few miles down the road from Reedley. My mother was also born in Fowler but never went to Reedley because the town was too racist.
But during my brief tenure at Reedley, the students treated me royally, bringing me gifts of fruits, vegetables and herbs from their farms. Two of my greatest poems were written during this time, i.e., For the Women and Black History is World History. My students, nearly all White and/or Chicano, did research papers on Black History is World History. One of my Black students was from an Alabama town that hanged his friend from a light post during the semester. Yes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. But I am humbled by the reflections of my student from Reedley Community College, aka Kings River College.
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San Francisco Juneteenth, Saturday, June 13, Fillmore Street
Catch Marvin X's booth
at San Francisco Juneteenth
Catch him next weekend at
Berkeley Juneteenth,
Sunday, June 21
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Haiti and it's recovery after the Earthquake: Misuse of U.N Funds and Do...
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Dr. Ayo Nzinga Poem
 | the builder & the grapevineby Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD |
i send regards to the fig tree
i have been uprooted again
on a new porch sending prayers
by crows to oshun & shango
i whisper to the grape vine
promising it grapes
i am here
you will be cared for as long as
i have in this place
we don't know how long
that will be but tell the
bare apple tree
out back that i am here
you will be tended
ask the crows they know
tell them to ask the fig tree
it will tell you tales of
the builder set adrift roots
pulled up the road open gypsy
time again oya & the wind travel with
the child of the whirlwind with no resting place
fragmented buried in a million places
still three eyes wide freshly wounded
but not distracted
stone sharpens stone
the builder has been sharpened to
razor clean cut the meat off the bone
so clean it don't bleed sharp
barefoot on rocks wandering the sorrowland
coming to overstanding like a place on the shore
the grapevine knows i will listen
it is old it knows stories about the dirt
what is buried beneath it it knows
it has been waiting for someone to listen
i am a listener
here is closer to the water
i feel it
underwater ocean child growing
on the side of a stone hard to kill
like the grapevine & the apple tree
like the fig tree & lottie's bell tree the builder has
learned about being left behind
fending for self
how to build on shifting ground
to leave signs of passing
to pack the tent leave in the night
to preach on the shore in the morning
like sun rising
depend on my ascending
i send my regards to the fig tree & ask
that it tell stories of me
me of the everywhere like tales of
geronimo & sitting bull
leaning on diaspora nothing else can
hold the journey of blistered feet
sore souls the consuming hiraeth grown in rented rooms
landless dreams carried in dark bodies
like beating hearts
the builder has learned to practice flowing like
water planted in determination
rising like the sun disrupting the notion of
boundaries sacrosanct an institution without
borders bond by only natures law
a phenomenon intent upon thriving
the builder has planted
to be pulled like a weed
carried seeds planted again
harvesting the wind & planting
dreams of fire in it
the crows know
they carry the tale
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How Bill Clinton stole billions in Haitian Relief Money
CLINTON’S CRIMINAL INDUSTRIAL ZONE – Stolen Haitian Relief Money-Added COMMENTARY By Haitian-Truth
by Stephen LendmanTuesday Jul 10th, 2012 12:47 AM Haiti
Stolen Haitian Relief Money
by Stephen Lendman
Following Haiti’s catastrophic January 12, 2010 earthquake, billions of dollars in relief aid were raised. Suffering Haitians got virtually none of it.
Hundreds of thousands remain homeless. A cholera emergency still exists. On June 19, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent said:
“There is a significant probability of a major cholera emergency in Haiti in the coming months but resources have been severely diminished.”
Increased numbers of cases were reported in the Artibonite, Nord-Ouest, Nord-Est, Ouest, Gonave island, and homeless camps in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) estimates another 170,000 new cases by end of 2012.
Haiti’s problems are severe. Deep poverty, deprivation, and unemployment torment millions. Earthquake devastation compounded them. Little relief came. It was stolen for commercial development.
It’s common practice to divert relief aid to private developers. In 2004, a second tsunami struck Sri Lanka. The first one took 250,000 lives and left 2.5 million homeless throughout the region.
Coastal areas were scrubbed clean. Everything was gone. Sri Lankans living there lost everything. New rules prohibited rebuilding homes where they once stood. Buffer zone restrictions insured it.
Beaches were off-limits to people who once lived there. Displaced Sri Lankans were shoved into temporary grim inland camps. Soldiers prevented them from coming home.
At issue was developing coastal areas for profit. Luxury destinations were planned. Formerly occupied land was sold to commercial buyers. Privatization was the new game.
Displaced residents were entirely left out. What they lost, they never got back. Land grab money making became policy.
Tsunami victims in other ravaged countries suffered the same fate. The pattern repeated everywhere. People were prohibited from rebuilding where they once lived.
What nature wrought, corporate developers and corrupt politicians compounded by stealing their land for profit.
New Orleans Katrina victims suffered the same way. Blank became beautiful. Erased communities were replaced with upscale condos and other high-profit projects on choice city real estate.
Residents who once lived there were forced out. Politicians conspired with developers to assure they didn’t come back.
History not only rhymes, as Mark Twain once said, a lot of times it repeats. Haitians now suffer like Sri Lankans, other East Asian tsunami victims, and Katrina displaced New Orleans residents.
Haitians are no strangers to adversity and anguish. For over 500 years, they suffered severe oppression, slavery, despotism, colonization, reparations, embargoes, sanctions, deep poverty, starvation, unrepayable debt, and natural calamities.
They included destructive hurricanes and numerous magnitude 7.0 or greater regional earthquakes.
The last major one came in 1946. A magnitude 8.1 quake struck adjacent Dominican Republic. Haiti was also affected. Earlier catastrophic ones were in 1751 and 1770. Both devastated Port-au-Prince. In 1842 Cap-Haitien was destroyed.
After its worst catastrophe in nearly 170 years, Haitians need food, housing, medical care, clean water, and other vital services, not military forces confronting them repressively. They still do.
US marines are gone. MINUSTAH shock troops remain. For years, they’ve committed murders, kidnappings, extrajudicial detentions, rapes, non-sexual assaults, physical threats, and other type abuses. They’re enforcers for political and corporate crime bosses.
Haiti always was open for profit and exploitation. Earthquake devastation created new opportunities. The country was declared open for business. Washington and other Western predators took full advantage.
So did hundreds of for-profit NGOs. They skim most relief aid donations for themselves. So do corporate developers and other profiteers. They steal private donations and pledged amounts freely. Haiti’s pseudo-government then and now acquiesces. In January, Bill Quigley and Amber Ramanauskas headlined “Where the Relief Money Did and Did Not Go – Haiti after the Quake,” saying:
Despite billions in pledged and donated aid, “Haiti looks like the earthquake happened two months ago, not two years.”
Rarely does this news get covered. Over half a million people then remained homeless. They still do. Most debris lay where it fell. Cholera was killing thousands. It’s still out of control because too little is done to stop, control, and treat it.
Instead of relief going to help Haitians, it’s given to profiteering companies and NGOs. Haitians then and now ask where did the money go? It hasn’t helped them.
Washington diverted the largest amount. Instead of helping, it sent in the marines, let contracts for corporate predators, and funded well-connected profiteering NGOs. Haitians got hardly anything. They’re still waiting for desperately needed aid.
Their government got 1% of the money. Little went to Haitian companies or local NGOs. Private companies specializing in disasters got funding. Much of what was pledged never came. It happens every time.
Other funds received weren’t spent. Quigley and Ramanauskas are human rights lawyers. They said:
“Respect, transparency and accountability are the building blocks for human rights.”
“Haitians deserve to know where the money has gone, what the plans are for the money still left, and to be partners in the decision-making for what is to come.”
Once relief aid stops, they’ll be responsible entirely for solving problems so far not even addressed.
On July 5, The New York Times headlined “Earthquake Relief Where Haiti Wasn’t Broken.”
It provided a rare mainstream glimpse at how Haitians have been harmed and cheated.
“On the first anniversary of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, in a sleepy corner of northeast Haiti far from the disaster zone, the Haitian government began the process of evicting 366 farmers from a large, fertile tract of land to clear the way for a new industrial park.”
They didn’t “understand why authorities wanted to replace productive agricultural land with factories in a rural country that had trouble feeding itself.”
Many other troubling incidents followed. Haitians are virtually helpless to stop it.
Bill Clinton co-chairs the so-called Haiti recovery commission. He celebrated the Caracol Industrial Park project by “cementing an agreement with the anchor tenant – Sae-A-Trading.” Wife Hillary helped seal the deal.
Sae-A is a South Korean clothing manufacturer. It’s a major supplier for Walmart and other large retailers.
They, like other local manufacturers, want to exploit Haitians lucky to have work no matter how poorly they’re paid and treated. They get below poverty wages. They’re treated little better than slaves.
Two and a half years after the quake, “Haiti remains mired in a humanitarian crisis.” Hundreds of thousands are homeless. They’re largely on their own to survive.
This and other commercial developments benefit profiteers, not Haitians. “Caracol Industrial Park is hardly reconstruction in the strictest sense.”
Its developers downplay labor and environmental concerns. They came to make money, not help Haitians. Sae-A has an odious reputation. It closed its Guatemala factory over troubled labor relations.
The AFL/CIO urged Haiti’s government not to accept them. A detailed memo described “egregious antiunion repression.” It includes “acts of violence and intimidation.” Guatemalan monitor Homero Fuentes called Sae-A “one of the major labor violators.”
Worker Rights Consortium executive director Scott Nova calls the company “a big player in a dirty industry with a track record that suggests a degree of ruthlessness even worse than the norm.”
Other critics expressed concerns about its Guatemalan labor and criminal law violations. Company executives used every dirty tactic imaginable to squeeze out profits. Manufacturing is conducted amidst intimidation, death and other threats on workers.
Nonetheless, Bill and Hillary Clinton welcomed Sae-A with open arms.
Caracol Bay contains Haiti’s most extensive mangrove reserve and valued coral reef. Better suited sites were bypassed. Haiti’s Audubon Society head Arnoud Dupuy called doing so “heresy.”
Environmental considerations were ignored. Despite objections, development went ahead as planned. It includes a heavy fuel oil power plant, a dense housing project, and port on a soon to be lost pristine bay.
Instead of promised “building back better,” profits superseded environmental and people concerns. Local backers and US officials downplayed the enormous damage done.
Haitians won’t be helped. They’ll be ruthlessly exploited for profit. Caracol’s mayor, Landry Colas, wasn’t consulted. He’d have picked a different site, he said.
This one is vast. It comprises nearly a square mile. It’s in Haiti’s north, south of Cap-Haitien. It’s bisected by the Hole of the North River and fed by the Massacre Aquifer.
Land was cleared last year. Small farmers were evicted. The tract resembles “a gravelly lunar landscape. Its perimeter is fenced, and outside the gate, a banner drapes a church, proclaiming ‘Sae-A Loves You.’ ”
It reminds some of Orwell’s “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Sae-A executives see Caracol Bay as a blank slate to develop and exploit as they wish. Haitians have a much different view. Land chosen has a history of foreign exploitation and agrarian struggle. Peasants alternated between occupation and eviction.
Bill and Hillary Clinton added more. Aggrieved Haitians won’t forget or forgive. The William J. Clinton Foundation and Inter-American Development Bank lured hundreds of potential investors to Haiti.
Big profits were promised. The industrial park was bait. Away from Haiti’s devastated south, it was ideal.
Ravaged areas remain troubled by slow rubble removal, problems securing land, and institutional ones.
Export processing zones aren’t new in Haiti. Choosing the best sites are prioritized. Professor Laurent Dubois calls developing industrial parks a “tired” idea, saying:
“The way I see it, in a deep, long, historical way, Haiti was founded by ex-slaves who overthrew a plantation system and people keep trying to get them to return to some form of plantation.”
“There have been cycles of (these) type project(s), where the idea is that foreign investment will modernize the country. But things have gotten progressively worse for Haitians.”
A local bank manager called developing a garment maquiladora zone a last resort idea. Free land, slave wages, extensive infrastructure development, and other investment incentives lured Sai-A. In return, it’s spending a modest amount.
Environmentalists were shocked that the company would anchor a giant industrial park. Before Haiti’s quake, they designated Caracol Bay to become the country’s first marine protected site.
Development imperils conservation. Haiti’s government chose the site. Washington’s heavy hand made the difference. It has valued soil and water resources. It’s ideal for farming.
Environmental impact studies weren’t done. After the fact, concerns were raised. It was too late. Caracol’s mayor Colas worries that his city will become another Cite Soleil slum.
He added that he feels like he’s being used. Signing ceremony attendees stop by City Hall, he said. They greet him, but there’s no relationship or involvement in planning or deals signed. Foreigners know more about what’s going on than he does, he complained.
Millions of Haitians have known nothing but brutal exploitation and numbing poverty for hundreds of years.
Caracol Bay and other commercial development projects change nothing. Haitian suffering continues.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen [at] sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled “How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War”
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COMMENT: HAITIAN-TRUTH.ORG
The industrial development, mentioned in this article, is a truly criminal enterprise that will see a bunch of pirates establishing a manufacturing complex within 700 miles of the Continental United States – a major market.
The destruction of valuable farmland is a major crime.
Haiti has a few thousand square miles of land that could be used for inductrial purposes.
Unfortunately, Haiti does not have a government with any sort of social conscience.
And, some cynics suggest Bill Clinton received a brown bag, or Haliburton case full of fresh American $100 bills.
Whatever the case may be, there should be a reassessment of this entire project.
It must be relocated.
The key operator must be replaced with a better, more socially oriented one.
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How ISIS gets its ice and how it melts
We are getting an idea of ISIS' greatest asset and Achilles' heel
Business Insider
June 12, 2015
The Islamic State is one of the most well-funded terrorist organizations in history thanks to the tax base it has managed to establish in its vast swaths of conquered territory in Iraq and Syria.
Running operations to maintain this tax base, however, may prove unsustainable for ISIS in the long run.The militants are quickly racking up more expenses than they can cover, and their oil revenues have been cut by nearly two-thirds due to US airstrikes on oil refineries and the low price of crude, Indira Lakshmanan of Bloomberg reported.The US has tried to cut off ISIS' sources of revenue with little success, however: The group has compensated by levying hefty taxes on salaries and businesses, in some cases demanding residents and companies pay them as much as 20% of their income or revenue — 50% if they are employed by the Iraqi government, the New York Times reported.
And after conquering Mosul in June 2014, ISIS imposed a "protection" tax on every Iraqi Christian who refused to convert to Islam. Christians who refused to pay would not receive the protection of ISIS gunmen and could either leave or be killed.
All in all, ISIS takes in an estimated $1 million every day from extortion and taxation, according to analysts at the nonprofit RAND Corporation.
"ISIS makes most of its money from plunder," Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider in May. "We're seeing that over and over again. They go from one town to the next and knock over a bank or several banks and go house to house and extract whatever is of value."
"It's a racket," Schanzer said. "And that's how ISIS continues to survive and thrive."
And after conquering Mosul in June 2014, ISIS imposed a "protection" tax on every Iraqi Christian who refused to convert to Islam. Christians who refused to pay would not receive the protection of ISIS gunmen and could either leave or be killed.
All in all, ISIS takes in an estimated $1 million every day from extortion and taxation, according to analysts at the nonprofit RAND Corporation.
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Roots of the Black Activist Tradition by Dr. Muhammad Ahmad (aka, Max Stanford)
Deeper Roots of the Black Activist Tradition
“Know Your Local History”
by Dr. Muhammad Ahmad, aka, Max Stanford
One of the principles of community organizing is for the organizer to walk the area he/she plans to organize. In canvasing the community, one finds out who are the bridge leaders the ones making organic connections between people in various strata or positions in society as well as those who are in organizations, institutions, those who are able to obtain resources, have connections with the local or regional power structure (the movers and shakers).
If at all possible, the organizers and their organizations or networks try to obtain research or a history of the community concerned.
The next aspect for the organizers is for them to decide what element of the community is most progressive, or receptive to the message upon which the social movement is based.
Then, they want to target that sector for their primary (re-education and mobilizing effort.) Within the analysis of the community, the organizers should assess the broad middle strata of where the people’s consciousness or mood is at.
Third, the organizers should analyze the various reactionary sectors, forces and/or organizational leaders, etc., who oppose progressive social change and the reason for their opposition.
Fourth is to “root in” or as Walter Rodney would say, “Grounding with my Brothers.” And of course, we also say, “Groundings with My Sisters.”
Fifth, is initiating a process which uproots and exposes opportunists reactionaries and racist opposition of all forms. This takes a mass re-education of people by the masses of the people or “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.”
Now how does this enter into the deep roots of the Back Activist Tradition in knowing your local history? Often the light or spark of developing an endless self-educational process for a young person in the community is stimulated by an elder or elders who nurture young people through athletics, cultural forms or various civic activities or by an older peer. In every community there have been “unsung heroes and sheroes”, who have dedicated a lifetime to developing and contributing to the advancement of the community.
Forty or fifty plus years ago, a young person had various immediate positive role models. But with the contracting of the pool of unskilled or semi-skilled labor, combined with the 47 year assault of chemical warfare on the African American community, the African-American family has been devastated and the social ethos or traditional positive values of the community have been temporarily destroyed.
The once, all strata, African-American community has now become diversified, based on economic income. Many of the positive role models are no longer in the traditional lower working class African-American communities. Many have moved to the suburbs in order to raise their children and grandchildren in better schools and in a safe environment.
In an economy based on electronic production, employment is not longer expanding. This is reinforced by the racist financial monopoly capitalist system's labor pool, which is shrinking and uses the destructive drug culture which funnels African-American youth into prison.
This also keeps the white middle class (BA’s, MA’s, PhD’s), mental health, social workers, parole/probation officers, hospital workers, medical doctors, pharmacy workers, etc., and a large section of the white workers (police, prison guards, security personnel) and industrial workers related to prisons, prison construction, and maintenance employed. All of this is related to monitoring, maintaining and controlling the lumpenized African-American underclass.
Thus the United States of America has evolved into the Fourth Reich. (A Democratic Fascist Police State).
In the Inner City (Urban poor underclass), African-American community, the concept or image of a decent hard-working class person (mentality) has been marginalized and replaced by the 24/7 electronic media psychological propaganda warfare blitz (offensive) of the successful gangster/pimp/prostitute.
This is illusionary, because in reality it may bring “fast money to an individual,” but leads to massive death and destruction of the African-American community. Through the gangster hip-hop culture comes the socialization that creates the “school-to-prison pipeline.” It negates positive “self-consciousness” of African-Americans long struggle for human rights, self reliance and self-determination. Seeking the “knowledge of self”, “African-African-American history” becomes a “no-no”, because to aspire to be a freedom fighter might lead to the transformation of self and dis-engage one from the “self destructive genocidal process.
Thus the positive role models of the 60s and 70s are marginalized for the 21st century electronic based generation.
The existence of positive role models are very seldom projected in terms of educating African-American youth by the establishment. Each generation of African-American youth are thrust into the present contradictions of the racist monopoly finance capitalist system without any understanding of what in the past led to what they are facing now and how to struggle to advance the movement forward for their liberation.
This is due to the historical discontinuity that is forced on our community by the oppressive system.
The racist system negates the history of African-Americans 24/7, thru the negation of “national consciousness” or resistance of the African-American people to their oppression.
Each upsurge is social psychologically repressed by replacing the positive images or knowledge of self of the previous movement and personalities that attempted to uplift the community; replacing them with negative images, personalities or culture.
With the destruction of the African-American family due to the state policy of the welfare system, chemical warfare and the racist, anti-Black electronic media on a 24/7 basis; the socialization process in the African-American community is no longer the same as it has been since the end of slavery.
Due to the overseas expansion of unskilled and semi-skilled jobs; reducing Black workers both male and female to low-paying jobs which cause African-American parents to work two or three jobs just to maintain, often they have to work different shifts with no health benefits or retirement, which causes the traditional African-American family to continuously be destroyed.
The children of low income African-American families are forced to be raised on fast food (McDonald’s, etc.) and are baby-sat by the T.V. (racist anti-Black propaganda).
From eating habits, which transform the traditional structure of the African-American family where the family congregated at dinner time to social life and social morays, there is a social disconnect between them and their historical lineage.
Therefore, it is imperative that a new cultural, political, historical re-education process be initiated. Such an effort should not come from the traditional established institutions of this society because their initial orientation was and often is an anti-African-American liberation style.
For the overall local African-American community to heal and center itself in a positive direction it should know about its leadership, past and present in order to prepare its future leadership properly. Local Freedom Schools that are outside of the establishment need to be created.
Often, due to the years of chemical warfare against our community, many of our children are raising themselves. There was also a generation of parents who lack parenting skills to prepare their children for the future because many are parents before completing their adolescent years; were thrust into an economic, social and cultural crisis, while lacking basic survival skills.
Let me say at this point, at no time can one say ‘It’s their fault’. Our people (African-Americans) are victims of a vulturistic, capitalistic system which wages psychological war against African- Americans to break the “esprit de core” (or moral fiber), the will to resist and to crush the “national consciousness” that we are captives of war. This is done to derail African-Americans from realizing that the right reactionaries of the system are preparing to eliminate African-Americans.
We are being conditioned for self destruction, reduced to be only consumers and producers of products produced by “slave labor” behind the walls of “21st century slavery.”
When that slave labor can be replaced by robots as we self-destruct and go behind the walls (upstate), eventually, we will never come back. We will gradually disappear as a people.
All Americans are being programmed (numbed to allow), to accept the elimination of the African-American people. There is a continuous, gradual, silent genocide occurring. This is why all layers of the African-American community need to be re-educated or go thru a new cultural revolution that will prepare us to resist, arrest and counter our destruction.
Since those immediate positive role models are no longer there, then the historical positive role models can act as a substitute in re-establishing a positive self-esteem in our community, as example to emulate.
“What we are likely witnessing is a situation in which it is no longer possible for the capitalist class in crisis to rule the people of the United States in the old way. A process is underway that involves the withering away of liberal democracy and arrival of a not-so friendly fascist order meant to bolster capitalism through a resort to authoritarian discipline. How far this process goes depends on political events and the efforts of the ongoing economic crisis on public consciousness.”
So by knowing your local history one can pass on the baton to another, of each one, teach one, creating a continuous or a revivalist liberation movement for our survival and self-determination in the 21st century.
The problem of the 21st century is still “the problem of the color line”.
Black Lives Matter! We Will Win!
4/16/15
Dr. Muhammad Ahmad (Max Stanford, Jr.) has been involved in the struggle for self-determination, justice and equality since 1960 (55 years) and has taught at the college/university level for 27 years. Comments, inquiries, communication can be made through: ahmadjr1993@gmail.com
“Mass Migration in the Stage of Electronics,” Rally Comrades/The Voice of the League Revolutionaries for a New America, Volume 25, Edition 2 March-April 2015, p. 1
Henry Heller, “The Nazi Threat in the United States: Imported or Homegrown?” Monthly Review, Volume 66, Number 12, April 2015, p. 56
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Kentucky poets stop by Academy of da Corner
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Oakland Police murder man for sleeping in car while black with gun in seat
Oakland: More than a hundred gather for vigil for 30-year-old shot, killed by police
More than 100 people gathered in Oakland on June 12, 2015, for a evening vigil at Lakeshore Avenue and Lake Park, the site where police shot and killed 30-year-old Demouria Hogg. (David DeBolt/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND -- More than a hundred people gathered Friday evening on Lakeshore Avenue at the site of where police shot and killed 30-year-old Demouria Hogg.
The vigil organized by the Anti Police-Terror Project drew family, friends and supporters to the busy shopping district along Lakeshore Avenue at Lake Park Avenue for a peaceful protest.
Organizers took over the intersection at 6:30 p.m. and traffic on Lakeshore Avenue came to standstill and the Interstate 580 westbound off-ramp was backed up as protesters locked arms around a makeshift replica of the vehicle Hogg was found sleeping in.
Once attendees took the street, they had a moment of silence for Hogg. Activists planned on blocking the intersection until sundown.
More than 100 people gathered in Oakland on June 12, 2015, for a evening vigil on Lakeshore Avenue and Lake Park, the site where police shot and killed 30-year-old Demouria Hogg. (David DeBolt/Bay Area News Group)
"This is where they murdered him, this is the street we'll hold," said activist Cat Brooks.
Attendees heard from Hogg's family and relatives of other people killed in officer-involved shootings.
They're demanding that police release any footage that captured the shooting and police or coroners reports. Relatives also demand that an independent investigator be brought in to investigate the fatal shooting.
"It's disturbing someone could be asleep in their car, and the only action officers can take is to kill (somebody)," said Brianna Gibson, 23, of Oakland, with the Oakland Chapter of Black Youth Project.
As the street takeover began, organizers worked as traffic control to direct drivers on the off-ramp to turn right and not left toward Lakeshore Avenue. Oakland Police directed motorists from I-580 to take Wesley Avenue soon after. About a dozen officers were on standby near the vigil.
There were no arrests as of 7:30 p.m.
Hogg, a father of three, was killed June 6 after a standoff with police. City firefighters called police to the area about 7:30 a.m. after seeing Hogg passed out behind the wheel of a BMW, with a loaded handgun sitting on the passenger seat, police said.
Over the next hour, police tried to wake Hogg by using a loudspeaker, breaking out the car's windows, and ordering him to surrender. When police approached the car to apprehend him, a female officer shot him twice, authorities have said. He was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital.
An attorney for the officer said she fired because Hogg reached for the pistol next to him. The police department has not identified the officer, who has been with the department for a little more than a year.
Hogg's family and family friend and activist Brooks have questioned the shooting, and called for police to release more information. Hogg was recently living in Hayward but has ties to Oakland.
His family said he wasn't a violent person and carried a gun for protection. He has been wanted since April on a parole violation and has served five years in prison after his conviction for drug possession and being an accessory to a felony, records show.
There were no arrests as of 7:30 p.m.
Hogg, a father of three, was killed June 6 after a standoff with police. City firefighters called police to the area about 7:30 a.m. after seeing Hogg passed out behind the wheel of a BMW, with a loaded handgun sitting on the passenger seat, police said.
Over the next hour, police tried to wake Hogg by using a loudspeaker, breaking out the car's windows, and ordering him to surrender. When police approached the car to apprehend him, a female officer shot him twice, authorities have said. He was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital.
An attorney for the officer said she fired because Hogg reached for the pistol next to him. The police department has not identified the officer, who has been with the department for a little more than a year.
Hogg's family and family friend and activist Brooks have questioned the shooting, and called for police to release more information. Hogg was recently living in Hayward but has ties to Oakland.
His family said he wasn't a violent person and carried a gun for protection. He has been wanted since April on a parole violation and has served five years in prison after his conviction for drug possession and being an accessory to a felony, records show.
Staff writer Katrina Cameron contributed to this report. David DeBolt covers breaking news. Contact him at 510-208-6453. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt.
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Human Earthquake rocks San Francisco Juneteenth in the Fillmore--NEXT: Berkeley Juneteenth, Sunday, June 21, 2015
As per 2015, no one can equal the philosophical thought of Master Teacher Sun Ra. For sure the UC Berkeley lectures are not enough to encompass the vision of Sun Ran, with whom Marvin X was a student and artistic associate. "Master Sun Ra taught me many things. Some I recounted recently at the University of Chicago. I was so honored to perform a concert with the surviving members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, leader Marshall Allen, 91 years old, and Danny Thompson, a youngster but in fact the enforcer of the Arkestra!
Dear Friends, Supporters, and Programming Editors:
Regarding the attached media releases, please consider promoting and covering the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival taking place on Sunday, June 21, 2015, from 11am-7pm, in the city of Berkeley
2015 participants, please note on your social sites your performance at the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival.
We are accepting vendor applications up to the day of the event.
Looking forward to seeing you all there!
Delores Nochi Cooper
Publicity Chair
Berkeley Juneteenth Association, Inc.
FYI, Marvin X will
speak/read and autograph books
at Berkeley Juneteenth.
Look for his booth near Alcatraz and Harmon Streets.
Marvin X rocked the Sacramento Black Book Fair--Sacramento will never be the same--better "ax" somebody! He's on fire with truth!
He is a truth talker supreme
His friends have joined the ancestors:
Amiri Baraka
Sun Ra
Eldridge Cleaver
Huey Newton
Mae Mallory
Queen Mother Moore
Sam Napier
Lil Bobby Hutton
John Huggins
Alprintice Bunchy Carter
He is a truth talker supreme
His friends have joined the ancestors:
Amiri Baraka
Sun Ra
Eldridge Cleaver
Huey Newton
Mae Mallory
Queen Mother Moore
Sam Napier
Lil Bobby Hutton
John Huggins
Alprintice Bunchy Carter
San Francisco Juneteenth,
June 13, 2015
According to Marvin X, marriage laws cannot transcend natural laws as per the birds and bees. Let's be honest, men are predators by nature, they seek to conquer and control, i.e., dominate, rule. But if truth be told, and it must, the patriarchal mythology must be cast into the dustbin of history. History itself must be cast into the dustbin and replaced with the Sun Ra Mythology of Mystery or My story/her story, for sure, no more history (his story).
Other brothers are retired judge Corbett, also a San Francisco State University student warrior, along with SFSU student/warrior Terri Collings, GM of KPOO Radio, the People's station in San Francisco.
Marvin X can go on KPOO anytime anyday and speak his truth as long as he desires. Ancestor Joe Rudolph founded KPOO and when he joined the ancestors, left behind an institution for eternity, KPOO. All praise due Joe Rudolph, who taught Marvin X how to talk on the radio. In his last conversation with Marvin X, Joe called Marvin X over to a tree in Oakland's Mosswood Park. He whispered in Marvin's ear: "Marvin, ain't gonna be no mo' like us, is it?" Marvin X responded, "No, Joe, ain't no mo' like us."
Juneteenth visitors at X's Academy of da Corner Tent
Oh, the Mythology of Pussy and Dick. I am so thankful I am out of the box of Western patriarchal sexual suppression. I love my body and all bodies in their natural state of beauty and truth. Once you leave America, you see other people are not as sexually repressed as Americans, Black and White. Americans are sick with sexual repression and totally confused about their sexual identity, when gender is, yes, the ultimate decision in gender identity formation. Traditionally, gender identity formation is established in womanhood and manhood training rituals. In the absence of manhood and womanhood training rites and rituals, there is gender identity confusion leading to madness.
But Kujichagulia says, "If you think I'm just a physical thing, wait til you see the spiritual power I bring!" FYI, Marvin X loves the physicality and spirituality of the Black African Goddess of the Universe. Somebody better say ACHE! up in here!
For sure, I have transcended the western mythology of sexual repression that so many North American Africans are addicted to as a result of White supremacy socialization.
For sure, I have transcended the western mythology of sexual repression that so many North American Africans are addicted to as a result of White supremacy socialization.
Russian woman joins Marvin X Fan Club at
Fillmore Juneteenth, 2015
Fillmore Slim, singer, manager of women, with his protege Gangsta Brown
Marvin X supports these brothers in what they do of righteousness! When they showed up at his Tenderloin Black Radical Book Fair with original narratives of their life travels, Dr. Julia Hare told them to not feel guilty about their pimping life because, "We have ecclesiastical pimps as well."
Marvin X
will perform and autograph books
at Berkeley Juneteenth
Sunday, June 21, 2015
be there or be square
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Dear Friends, Supporters, and Programming Editors:
Regarding the attached media releases, please consider promoting and covering the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival taking place on Sunday, June 21, 2015, from 11am-7pm, in the city of Berkeley
2015 participants, please note on your social sites your performance at the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival.
We are accepting vendor applications up to the day of the event.
Looking forward to seeing you all there!
Delores Nochi Cooper
Publicity Chair
Berkeley Juneteenth Association, Inc.
FYI, Marvin X will speak and autograph books at Berkeley Juneteenth. Look for his booth!
Marvin X is on fire.
Let him wake up your city
Most recently Marvin X rocked the University of Chicago Sun Ra Conference
then
the University of California, Merced
Professor McMillan's Theatre and Social Justice class
then
The Sacramento Black Book Fair
then
San Francisco Juneteenth Festival in the Fillmore
up next
the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival
then
the Oakland Juneteenth in North Oakland at the Youth Center
Book Marvin X as a speaker at your event
Must have a freedom of speech clause in contract
including honorarium, travel, lodging, food
510-200-41654
Will speak and read coast to coast
especially in the Dirty South, Midwest, East coast
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