Master teacher Marvin X and his student poet, author Prosperity Carter. She is studying at the University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. She has studied the craft of writing for several years under the guidance of Master Writer Marvin X.
photo Johnny Burrell
When people heard about my notes on Sf juneteenth 2, naturally they wondered what I would write about the 30th Anniversary of Berkeley Juneteenth 2017. Of course I write ofteactn as a participant observer, so as such I cannot be everywhere while holding down my booth to vend my books, distribute the BAM/BAMBD newspaper, The Movement, along with my perennial work as a lay mental health counselor, in the tradition of my mother who worked as a real estate broker, but her true mission was to counsel her clients in the spiritual teachings of Christian Science as instructed by founder Mary Baker Eddy.
My spiritual counseling involves the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, i.e. Black Man/woman is god/goddess; along with the Man/God/God/Man teachings of His Holiness Guru Bawa, the Sufi Master. The young man who assisted Marvin at his booth noted to Marvin that he peeped Marvin's constant theme that we are divine beings in human form, just as Jesus claimed to be such. Marvin was overjoyed recently when his comrade in struggle Jahahara informed him that he corrects youth when they call him O.G. He replies, "No, I am not O.G., I am G.O.D.!"
Thank you Jahahara for advancing a solution to the North America African's psycho-linguistic crisis! Alas, the crisis is due to a lack of linguistic consensus. Alas, how can we have a freedom struggle when there is no consensus on the definition of freedom! Some North American Africans salute the red, white and blue as the symbol of freedom, some raise the red, black and green flag as the universal symbol of Pan African liberation and nationalism. Alas, before we departed the Berkeley Juneteenth, Marvin asked a photographer to shoot a pic of us holding the BAMBD red, black and green with the sankofa symbol inside a heart. When the photographer asked some brothers to get in the pic holding the flag, they declined, saying they had to research the origin and meaning of the red, black and green. I told the photographer, let them Google it!
FYI, we understand that after the Honorable Marcus Garvey heard a white racist song saying, "Everybody got a flag cept a coon!", he was inspired to create the Pan African flag consisting of three colors: red for blood, black for the people and green for the land, Africa. He taught us, " One God, one aim, one destiny: Africa for the Africans, those at home and those abroad!"
In terms of reviving and inspiring the national and Pan African consciousness of North American Africans, I have called upon our people to display the red, black and green in the hood, but more especially in Oakland's Black Arts Movement Business District along the 14th Street corridor, from the lower bottom, i.e., Pine Street, to Lake Merritt. Although we honor and praise the Warriors for their victory, in the short/long term, the Warriors will be gone to San Francisco. Ironically, Oakland shall yet remain the city of warriors, the city of resistance, like Falujah in Iraq, Oakland, city of the Pullman Porters Union, city of the Black Panther Party, city of McClymonds High Warriors, some of the greatest athletes in the world.
FYI, Marvin X was on the Lowell Jr. High basketball team with Warrior emeritus Joe Ellis. Marvin was also on the Merritt College basketball team with many McClymonds star players. He won a trophy at a free throw contest against Mack Warriors, shooting nine out of ten to defeat a future NBA player Paul Silus.
Of course, all the West Oakland hoop players worked out at Defermery Park/aka Bobby Hutton Park, from Bill Russell, the Akins brothers, Pointers brothers, et al, including Marvin X. After all, if one didn't play at Defermery, one had no standing as a basketball player of any merit in the hood. FYI, players from deep West Oakland got their training at New Century Recreation Center, adjacent to McFeely Elementary School where Marvin attended and after school played at New Century, where he first recognized the most beautiful women in his young life expressing her African beauty, dancer, choreographer, teacher Ruth Beckford! Ruth wore an Afro in the 50s, so confident of her African aesthetics and royalty. Marvin recognized Ruth's beauty in the deep structure of his African child's mentality. He never discussed Ruth Beckford with any of his childhood friend's such as Leon Teasely or Paul Cobb, but his mind told his Ruth Beckford was something special, yes, even beyond her dancing. Her aura was overwhelming and consuming to the young poet/dramatist, who was first called a nigger when he performed in a child's play at Mosswood Park, during which performance time a little white girl called him a nigger and told him to get out of the sandbox!
Marvin defied little Miss Ann to become one of the greatest dramatists in North American African history. Alas, his docudrama One Day in the Life, based on his addiction and recovery from Crack cocaine became a Recovery cult classic, seen by recovering addictions of every stripe, Blacks, Gays, Lesbians, Native Americans, Asians, Latins, Whites, et al. They came to know the script and as recently as San Francisco Juneteenth, a recovering addict told Marvin he had seen his play and helped his recovery. He sincerely thanked and praised Marvin for his recovery drama.
While many consider Marvin X a narcissistic maniac, those who know him know he is utterly humble and totally unable to take praise. Yes, he is better equipped to praise himself than hear others do him the honor. And who can criticize him more than he can himself. Yet, he is amazed at critical analysis from scholars such as James Spady, Ishmael Reed, Mohja Kahf, Bob Holman, Rudolph Lewis, et al.
As per Berkeley Juneteenth, Marvin's observations were in harmony with another artistic comrade who was at SF Juneteenth, and despite his disabilities, made the BART ride to Berkeley. He was pleased to see all the beautiful women at Berkeley Junetenth, and Marvin agreed. Yes, Berkeley Juneteenth had some of the most beautiful women in Bay Area, and they intellectually challenged Marvin X as per his classic pamphlet Mythology of Pussy ( and Dick). When they confronted him with the fact that women in clubs want to dance but the brothers are standing cool against the wall, Marvin said, "Go grab Mr. Cool from the wall and make him dance with you. No matter if he wants to say you are aggressive, grab Mr. Cool and make him dance with you." Marvin X was suggesting what he may need when in clubs as one of the "cool cats". Sister said, "Well, if we grab Mr. Cool, he will say we're too aggresive!"
Marvin replied to the sister, "Fuck what Mr. Cool thinks, grab his ass and make him dance!" He needs to dance with you as a prelude to having sex with you which is his sole desire, and yet he totally fails to understand dancing with you is indeed a prelude to making love with you. In the deep structure of his mind he wants to dance with you because he does indeed want to make love to you, so challenge him and make him submit to you, after all, you know Mr. Cool wants the pussy and will submit to you if you make him, alas, after all, it is your pussy and if he wants such he must dance to the tune!
Hey, bro, fake the funk if nothing else. Yes, it is sad that he wants to ignore the prelude yet if he does he will discover you are not ready for him to enter your queendom! He must come right or not at all. Have you not heard the woman say, "I was going to give you the pussy until you said 'that', but since you said 'that' I ain't giving you shit. Go home!"
No matter, Berkeley Juneteenth was a beautiful myth-ritual of North American love, art, culture and economic activity. Whenever our people can gather in peace and conduct business, converse in peace, educate each other, dialogue, debate and try to reach a consensus in the midst of a plethora of ideological and spiritual positions that do indeed confound many budding intellectuals challenged with the myriad points of view that are overwhelming, mystifying and beyond the comprehension of those who transcend common sense.
A woman I was dating told her son who was my student, "Marvin was one of those cool cats who only danced the last dance so he could get the pussy, which he did if he danced the last dance to let you know he was yours."
She was right. Even in high school, I was one of those cool cats against the wall who was only going to dance the last dance (slow dance) so I could leave with my baby to get the pussy. More than likely, if I did not dance the last dance with her, I was not going to get the pussy, thus my total objective was to dance the last dance even if I had to interrupt a negro trying to grind on my lady during the last dance.
My Black Arts West Theatre comrades, Duncan Barber, Hillery Broadous, Carl Bossiere, had joined with Amiri Baraka and his Communications Project at SFSU and apparently the Berkeley Black Arts Movement celebration was without me since I had broken with Amiri and my BAW comrades when I established the San Francisco Black House with EC, Ed Bullins, Ethna X. Wyatt, and Willie Dale.
I was happy my Black Arts West comrades had connected mentAmii because they were a thorn in my side and I appreciated connecting with Eldridge and playwright Ed Bullins, along with my partner Ethna X. aka Hurriyah Asar. We made the Black House a true political/cultural center that gave birth to the Black Arts Movement and the Black Panther Party.
This is why I dispute Larry Neal's assertion BAM was the sister of the Black Power Movement. No, the Black Arts Movement was the Mother of the BLM. Sisters and brothers were initiated in BAM and went on to join revolutionary organizations such as the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam. e
As per the power of art and culture, Bobby Seale will state clearly that it was only after Marvin X's play Flowers for the Trashman was performed at Merritt College that the student movement took off to become the Blank Panther Party, thus the critical role of art and culture in revolution.
--marvin x
6/18/17