Revolutionary poets Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka, RIP
Baraka's last words were inviting me to perform at New York University at the tribute for Jayne Cortez which turned out to be a tribute for him as well. My world is very empty at this hour but we shall continue our cultural revolution until victory!Marvin X reading
at NYU
Poets celebrate the lives of Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka
L to R seated Quincy Troupe, Ted Wilson, Rashidah Ishmaili, Sandra Esteves
Standing: Arthur Pfister, Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure, Marvin X, bassist Henry Grimes who accompanied Marvin X
Left to right: Quincy Troupe, Askia Toure, Felipe Luciano of the Last Poets, Marvin X, Sandra Esteves, Haki Madhubuti, Rashidah Ishmaili, Ted Wilson, Linton Kwesi Johnson
We thank revolutionary sister Rashidah Ishmaili for hosting that wonderful reception for me at her beautiful harlem apartment. We thank her for taking over the MC role at NYU that AB was supposed to handle.
Marvin X with arms around Rashidah Ishmaili, host of his Harlem reception and MC of the NYU tribute for Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka
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Marvin X and Nuyorican poet Nancy Mercado at Harlem reception
Marvin X and Nuyorican poet Nancy Mercado at Harlem reception
a supporter of the democratic revolution in Syria
We give peace and love to Nisa Ra, Queen Mother of the Ashanti Nation in Philadelphia. We thank her for her hospitality while we visited the City of Brotherly Love! We thank Pam Africa for inviting us to participate in the 60th birthday celebration of Mumia Abu Jamal, April 24,25,26.
We must express extreme concern for the treatment Temple University is giving two of our greatest revolutionary scholars, Dr. Tony Montiero and Dr. Muhammad Ahmed (Max Stanford), both have been denied tenured although they are the most popular North American African professors on campus.
Molefe Asante, recently appointed chair of African American Studies, must get it right. Is he sailing down the Nile (as in denial) or is he on the Hapi River? See my Parable of the Poor Righteous Teacher and Parable of the Black Bourgeoisie below.
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Parable of the Poor Righteous Teacher
for Haki Madhubuti (Don L. Lee)
Sooner or later, they always come for the teacher. After all, the more popular, the more dangerous. The more serious and sincere, the more a threat to the bourgeoisie whose philosophy is do nothing, say nothing, know nothing. Thus, the serious teacher has no seat at the table. Yes, he is tolerated for a time, maybe a long time, but the plot was hatched the first day he arrived to teach, when the contract was signed, his doom was sealed.
No matter what chairs he established, no matter how many institutions he created in the name of God. The bourgeoisie care nothing for God, only as a cover for their filthy behavior in the dark, their winking and blinking at the water hole.
The teacher must know absolutely if he is on his job he won't have a job, for no matter how many years he gives of his soul, his mental genius, he is not wanted. No matter how many students he is able to raise from the box, his services are not wanted.
The bourgeoisie do not want Jack out of the box, this must be understood. They prefer Jack and Jackie stay confined and proscribed in the box of ignorance. They are mere pawns in the game of chance the bourgeoisie play until they are removed from power, after they steal all they can, when the coffers are empty, the institution bankrupt and they are under indictment.
Now they will never put down their butcher knives, never turn into Buddha heads. This is why one must practice eternal vigilance with them. They are planning and plotting the demise of the poor righteous teachers at every turn.
So the teacher must teach his students about power, but when he does, his exit papers are signed. He may not know this. He may believe he has friends on the board of trustees, but he is only fooling himself. He is a starry eyed idealist, a dreamer, who shall be awakened from his dream one day for sure. And on that day he shall find his office door locked. His classroom door secured by a guard. His students transferred to other colleagues he thought were with him. But they will only say to him, "Sorry, brother."
--Marvin X
4/5/10
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The economic and political dependence of this African neo-colonial bourgeoisie is reflected in its culture of apenmanship and parrotry enforced on a restive population through police boots, barbed wire, a gowned clergy and judiciary; their ideas are spread by a corpus of state intellectuals, the academic and journalistic laureates of the neo-colonial establishment.
--Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Decolonizing the Mind
The black bourgeoisie is a class of very sick people who go about their daily round pretending all is well. They have a gang of police who do not carry guns but are yet dangerous because they use masking tape to gag and silence the mouths of any and all who dare defy their sick value system of addiction to white supremacy that is full blown.
The culture police will silence or simply ignore those who refuse to speak the language of the black bourgeoisie, a language taught to them in the neo-colonial schools, churches, mosques and workplaces.
This class of trained monkeys includes artists, teachers, preachers, politicians and media parrots who make sure those who defy the culture police are punished by silence or ignored by non-invitation to their world of make believe.
They are not interviewed in the media, or invited to speak or teach at schools, colleges and universities, unless at their own expense. They may sometimes be invited and paid, but the culture police make sure no students are there to hear them, so they speak in an empty auditorium, even though they are paid handsomely. The black bourgeoisie don't care how much they are paid, just don't let students hear what they have to say. The culture police will actually speak after they speak and admit they have nothing to say, that they are rambling on to neutralize the atmosphere, to negate any raw truth that may have been said.
The black bourgeoisie culture police place those who defy them on house arrest, similar to the woman in Burma, for those who resist are not allowed to work, unless they agree to sing Silent Night, the national anthem.
One cannot say the A word, B word, C word, D word, E word or F word. In short, one must shut up and go along with the "King's English," of course the King was a pervert, oppressor, exploiter, robber and rapist, so who in their right mind would want to speak the "King's English"?
Rather than teach the masses in their own language, the "Mother tongue," how to behave, how to stop beating their partners, how to love themselves, the black bourgeoisie would rather the common people beat, maim, and kill their mates. Even when the masses or common people fight and steal the literature in their "Mother-tongue," the black bourgeoisie don't care, for they cannot allow them to speak in their language, they must be stopped by any means necessary.
And yet, the "King's English" and the language of the black bourgeoisie is filled with lies, duplicity and contradictions. Their language hides truth, especially of their sick, pitiful lives, terror in their mansions, in bed, hours of drunkenness and drug abuse, lechery and depravity, the golden handcuffs, incest, adultery, prostitution , emotional and verbal abuse--yes, in their moment of passion the black bourgeoisie actually use so-called foul language, yes, the very language they despise and condemn in the common people and those who speak or write in such language.
And still they walk with an air of superiority. They cannot speak or greet you on the street. There are perpetually in a rush or in a hurry going nowhere but to some din of iniquity where they wink and blink to increase their inordinancy and conspicuous consumption.
Their pseudo puritan language covers a multitude of sins and wickedness. Smiling faces belie the terror of their lives, for are they not sycophants of the worse kind, ass kissers in short, for some boss, some high class pimp in a suite, far above the street.
And yet, the black bourgeoisie are only one paycheck away from the street people who drink rot gut wine and push shopping carts, but at least they love each other with a love that is true and real!
Baraka said, "Where the soul's print should be there is only a cellulose pouch of disgusting habits." They suffer negritis, an inflammation of the negroid gland at the base of the brain, caused by negrocities or bad habits!
The black bourgeoisie were told long ago by E. Franklin Frazier about their world of make believe and conspicuous consumption. Nothing has changed, except there is more of the same.
--Marvin X
3/30/10
Parable of the Poor Righteous Teacher
for Haki Madhubuti (Don L. Lee)
Sooner or later, they always come for the teacher. After all, the more popular, the more dangerous. The more serious and sincere, the more a threat to the bourgeoisie whose philosophy is do nothing, say nothing, know nothing. Thus, the serious teacher has no seat at the table. Yes, he is tolerated for a time, maybe a long time, but the plot was hatched the first day he arrived to teach, when the contract was signed, his doom was sealed.
No matter what chairs he established, no matter how many institutions he created in the name of God. The bourgeoisie care nothing for God, only as a cover for their filthy behavior in the dark, their winking and blinking at the water hole.
The teacher must know absolutely if he is on his job he won't have a job, for no matter how many years he gives of his soul, his mental genius, he is not wanted. No matter how many students he is able to raise from the box, his services are not wanted.
The bourgeoisie do not want Jack out of the box, this must be understood. They prefer Jack and Jackie stay confined and proscribed in the box of ignorance. They are mere pawns in the game of chance the bourgeoisie play until they are removed from power, after they steal all they can, when the coffers are empty, the institution bankrupt and they are under indictment.
Now they will never put down their butcher knives, never turn into Buddha heads. This is why one must practice eternal vigilance with them. They are planning and plotting the demise of the poor righteous teachers at every turn.
So the teacher must teach his students about power, but when he does, his exit papers are signed. He may not know this. He may believe he has friends on the board of trustees, but he is only fooling himself. He is a starry eyed idealist, a dreamer, who shall be awakened from his dream one day for sure. And on that day he shall find his office door locked. His classroom door secured by a guard. His students transferred to other colleagues he thought were with him. But they will only say to him, "Sorry, brother."
--Marvin X
4/5/10
Parable of the Black Bourgeoisie
The economic and political dependence of this African neo-colonial bourgeoisie is reflected in its culture of apenmanship and parrotry enforced on a restive population through police boots, barbed wire, a gowned clergy and judiciary; their ideas are spread by a corpus of state intellectuals, the academic and journalistic laureates of the neo-colonial establishment.
--Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Decolonizing the Mind
The black bourgeoisie is a class of very sick people who go about their daily round pretending all is well. They have a gang of police who do not carry guns but are yet dangerous because they use masking tape to gag and silence the mouths of any and all who dare defy their sick value system of addiction to white supremacy that is full blown.
The culture police will silence or simply ignore those who refuse to speak the language of the black bourgeoisie, a language taught to them in the neo-colonial schools, churches, mosques and workplaces.
This class of trained monkeys includes artists, teachers, preachers, politicians and media parrots who make sure those who defy the culture police are punished by silence or ignored by non-invitation to their world of make believe.
They are not interviewed in the media, or invited to speak or teach at schools, colleges and universities, unless at their own expense. They may sometimes be invited and paid, but the culture police make sure no students are there to hear them, so they speak in an empty auditorium, even though they are paid handsomely. The black bourgeoisie don't care how much they are paid, just don't let students hear what they have to say. The culture police will actually speak after they speak and admit they have nothing to say, that they are rambling on to neutralize the atmosphere, to negate any raw truth that may have been said.
The black bourgeoisie culture police place those who defy them on house arrest, similar to the woman in Burma, for those who resist are not allowed to work, unless they agree to sing Silent Night, the national anthem.
One cannot say the A word, B word, C word, D word, E word or F word. In short, one must shut up and go along with the "King's English," of course the King was a pervert, oppressor, exploiter, robber and rapist, so who in their right mind would want to speak the "King's English"?
Rather than teach the masses in their own language, the "Mother tongue," how to behave, how to stop beating their partners, how to love themselves, the black bourgeoisie would rather the common people beat, maim, and kill their mates. Even when the masses or common people fight and steal the literature in their "Mother-tongue," the black bourgeoisie don't care, for they cannot allow them to speak in their language, they must be stopped by any means necessary.
And yet, the "King's English" and the language of the black bourgeoisie is filled with lies, duplicity and contradictions. Their language hides truth, especially of their sick, pitiful lives, terror in their mansions, in bed, hours of drunkenness and drug abuse, lechery and depravity, the golden handcuffs, incest, adultery, prostitution , emotional and verbal abuse--yes, in their moment of passion the black bourgeoisie actually use so-called foul language, yes, the very language they despise and condemn in the common people and those who speak or write in such language.
And still they walk with an air of superiority. They cannot speak or greet you on the street. There are perpetually in a rush or in a hurry going nowhere but to some din of iniquity where they wink and blink to increase their inordinancy and conspicuous consumption.
Their pseudo puritan language covers a multitude of sins and wickedness. Smiling faces belie the terror of their lives, for are they not sycophants of the worse kind, ass kissers in short, for some boss, some high class pimp in a suite, far above the street.
And yet, the black bourgeoisie are only one paycheck away from the street people who drink rot gut wine and push shopping carts, but at least they love each other with a love that is true and real!
Baraka said, "Where the soul's print should be there is only a cellulose pouch of disgusting habits." They suffer negritis, an inflammation of the negroid gland at the base of the brain, caused by negrocities or bad habits!
The black bourgeoisie were told long ago by E. Franklin Frazier about their world of make believe and conspicuous consumption. Nothing has changed, except there is more of the same.
--Marvin X
3/30/10
SUN RA SPEAKS
Sun Ra taught the necessity of discipline rather than freedom in all things, especially in creativity. Sun Ra said if you don't do the right thing the Creator's got things fixed so you can't go forward or backward, you just stuck on stupid with Super Glue on your ass!
Marvin X and Sun Ra, a Philadelphia native. Sun Ra was the philosopher and mystic of BAM. He worked with Marvin X in theatre coast to coast.
Marvin X speaks at last rites of his friend, Amiri Baraka
Marvin X tour schedule, 2014
February 17
Eastside Arts Center Tribute to Amiri Baraka, et al
February 22
Marvin X speaks at Hinton Community Center, Fresno CA
February 24
Marvin X speaks at Fresno City College
February 28 thru March 2
Marvin X co-producer (with Kim McMillan) of the Black Arts Movement Conference
University of California, Merced
March 15
Marvin X speaks in Seattle WA
April 24,25,26
Marvin X in Philadelphia for 60th Birthday of Mumia Abu Jamal
May 29
Marvin X celebrates 70th birthday at Contra Costa College, Richmond CA
for more information or to book Marvin X, please call 510-200-4164
email letter of invitation: jmarvinx@yahoo.com
visit his blog: www.blackbirdpressnews.blogspot.com