Indoctrination And Assimilation Ain't Progression

Part of my lifestyle and happiness is accepting people, particularly my friends and family, 4 exactly who they R. ALL of us have some effed up characteristics about us but outside of any type of deviant, insidious behaviors that harm others, I'm pretty cool with how others choose 2 live their lives. This does not mean I have 2 agree with other's lifestyles 4 us 2 B cool but sometimes, on rare occasions I may have something 2 say about certain parts of those lifestyles, in general. This is 1 of those times. 

My little cousin has decided 2 pledge 1 of the contradictory named Black Greek Letter Orgs. While I philosophically disagree with what these orgs stand 4, (& I ain't arguing with none of U zealot-ass acolytes about what that is no matter how cool we R) I have MANY friends and family who I love, cherish and respect, who R members. Again, people do what they want and I don't desire a say N it.

HOWEVER, as my cousin approaches the pledging process their mother tells me how much the organization is REQUIRING my 21 year old cousin 2 pay in order 2 do so. Foolishly thinking it was an excessive 2-500 dollars I was quickly corrected that it would B $21-2500! R U fu**ing kidding me???

So in addition 2 an exorbitant tuition, extreme school fees and living costs, these "progressive" organizations expect a family (cause who else is gonna run that doe) 2 put 2gether 21-2500 more dollars just 2 B N one of these "U-can't-sit-with-us ass, civic, bourgeoisie social clubs?!? Maaaaaaaaaaaan, FU** DAT! 

Almost all of these orgs R at least 100 years old. N those 100 years of fraternal and sisterly kinship I don’t know (& I’m open 2 being corrected) of 1 fortune 500 company that’s been opened and operated by any one or combination of those groups 2 ensure our people, or even just their members, post-graduate employment. Not 1 Alpha hotel chain. No Omega hospitals. No Nupe farms or food brands. Nary a Delta textiles or Sigma shipping line. Not even a simple National Pan-Hellenic Council political lobbyist group. N 100 years of bringing young educated Black minds 2gether, not a single org has created and dominated a single area of industry as a economic force 4 our people. 

I’m NOT discounting the far-reaching lengths European-Americans have gone 2 KILL Black economic progression N general. I’m NOT saying any other organization has achieved this basic achievement and been able 2 maintain its operation to this day either (recognition goes 2 Garvey’s notable attempts with the Black Star Line, Negro Factories Corporation, etc…). BUT what other organizations have been around as long and boast memberships as large as the BGLOs? If anyone touted unity as the answer 2 collective Black socioeconomic elevation or helping us counter Black oppression, BGLOs have glaringly helped 2 prove otherwise. 

And THESE R the organizations asking 4 upward of $2500 2 join their ranks? So an individual can dress alike, B N step shows and do some basic ass charity drives??? I’ve come 2 the aid of my brothers who I didn’t need 2 “take wood” with N ways that their organizations didn’t. Where was their return on that investment? Do we really need a handshake and goofy ass call 2 help and recognize each other other than a Black fist and a head nod? In my humble opinion I’m only Cing them sell “networking” as the reason 2 join the same way pulpit pimps sell “eternal damnation.” GTFOHWTBS. 

I know we can B a tribal people. Many of us love having secret handshakes, signs and calls 2 distinguish us from that infamous “everybody else.” I’m not knocking that. Some folks R naturally joiners and they need that. That’s their prerogative. GDs, Crips, Bloods, and Blackstones hook up 4 similar reasons and take similar ass whuppins 2 get N. Folks do what they do. But if said organization is supposedly about uplifting a member, Y would they B charging them $2100+ 2 B a part of them. Where the fu** does all that money go when these orgs literally OWN no businesses or political lobby groups? Most of them don’t even have formal “houses” 4 their members 2 live N like their pink counterparts. Naw, this is some bullsh** and I just needed my moment 2 talk about it. Rep yo set if U like but ain’t no rationale 4 taking that kinda bread from a college student. It’s 2 many Black degreed phenomenons out here looking 4 careers and the “Divine Nine” ain’t hiring 1 of them. 

Thanks 4 reading,
K.

I blame colonialism 4 all chaos all over the world. 

~Baba Hugh Masekela

I don’t remember what year it was but somewhere along my lifeline I was asked 2 write a poem 4 and open 4 Hugh Masekela. Coming from a well-versed musical family I was aware who Baba Hugh was but I didn’t KNOW him. I knew “Grazing In the Grass” from repeated plays on the Herb Kent show. I wasn’t fluent in everything that he was and all that he represented. I couldn’t fully appreciate the invitation but I would soon.

It was Margarite Holberg of the HotHouse who booked me 4 the gig. The HotHouse, which had been closed down at that point, was an unusually accessible space N Chicago 4 home-based and international artists 2 come, express their craft and B paid. Audiences could connect with non-commercial artists that made our hearts race that we may not have seen anywhere else N the heavily segregated, heavily regulated city of Chicago. There really was nothing else like it and it was Margarite’s baby. Having produced numerous shows there prior 2 its closing I was honored that I got the call. It wasn’t paying much and I believe I was going 2 turn it down if not 4 the insistence of my then manager, Chamille who felt that this moment, at that point in my career, was more important than money.

I don’t remember the show N vivid detail. What comes 2 mind is the research I put N2 the piece, having some idea that this was way bigger than “Grazing In the Grass.”  What I uncovered (pre-internet) 4 myself was a true revolutionary; a man who had sacrificed much and gave even more 2 the People through his music. I found a lover of people of color the world over stemming from a love 4 those same people in his home country. I found a man who inspired generations 4 6 decades far more than he simply entertained them. And I discovered a king who would never make anyone else feel like a peasant. 

I was taken 2 meet him in his dressing room B4 the show. We hugged. I presented him with a copy of the poem. He graciously accepted. As we talked, I remembered there was a South African word or name in the poem that I had trouble with and asked him 4 help. He asked me 2 read it 2 him. I did and of course I pronounced it wrong. He corrected me. I said it wrong again. He worked with me and wouldn’t let me go until I got it right. I felt like a stupid American but I was so appreciative that he did. Members of the South African embassy were there, native South Africans living in Chicago and many more. I didn’t want my limited, colonized tongue 2 show and Baba Hugh did his best 2 make sure it didn’t. Can’t remember if I got it right on stage but if I didn’t, it wasn’t his fault. HA! It’s a moment that I never 4got and I am appreciative of the light he personally shared with me then.

I am thankful that I was able 2 honor him long B4 his transition and while he could fully receive it. His presence and work made this planet a better place. I hope that the legacy that he leaves us grows and inspires far more 2 grow, evolve and artfully resist injustice wherever and whenever it rears its hideous head. I encourage U 2 dig a little deeper N2 his discography and life and B moved as well.

Thanks 4 reading

Khari B.
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Who U Calling Soft?

Welcome back 2 the past. It’s a place that we haven’t quite figured out (or don’t want 2) here in the 21^st century.  The 2 have folded N on 1 another and not enough of us R paying attention. As the saying by Jorge Santayana goes, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," mirrored by the honorable Marcus Garvey, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” With this entry I hope that I will stimulate some memories 2 strengthen some roots.

As I write this there R people attempting 2 peacefully negotiate the discontinuation of “progress and expansion” that threatens the land and water of our people. In many, if not most, urban areas populated by us, Europeans R popping up, having heard of these fertile grounds, snatching the land, extoling Christian values without a care 4 the displaced people who R sent to concentrated areas of those cities that the thieves didn’t want & arguably has or will have less resources when they get there. Roving bands of Caucasians, some commissioned by their government, others simply organized 4 that purpose, R killing melanated men, women and children across the country in collusion with mass media that denigrates the image of those melanated people so that their murders somehow seem justified.   In fact the propaganda machine is so strong and omnipresent that many of the melanated people R confused as 2 who they R and fail 2 recognize 1 another from region 2 region.  Whether U R only focused on the present or solely knowledgeable of the past, all of these things should ring a bell with U.

Our parents, worse than our grandparents, gave birth to us who are worse than they, and we shall in our turn bear offspring still more evil. ~Horace (Roman poet)

Whether we’re talking about the Dakota Access Pipeline project or the transcontinental railroad expansion between 1863 & 1869; whether, from the above description U pictured the Homestead Act of 1862 or modern day gentrification pacts in urban cities; whether U thought I was referencing the Seminole Wars of the early 19^th century, the Trail of Tears of 1838 or the 2day’s levels of police brutality and murder; whether U felt the parallel between the slave trade undertaken by pirates and privateers on the water or the system of mass incarceration undertaken by modern day slave catchers on the land, U WOULD B CORRECT. This is the same sh**, remixed and done over just enough that an unwary mind may not recognize it. But recognize we must. We cannot let this loop N history continue.

N that, I’m watching a lot of my people post, “Dear Racism, I am not my grandparents. Sincerely, These Hands,” 2 note how overt racism will not B tolerated N this day & age as their apparently more passive ancestors did. Though humorous and cute at 1^st, it’s bothered the sh** outta me. It says that my people still 2 this day do not know their long tradition of resistance and there4 have not proper context, image or inspiration on the battle we’re facing and the war we’re fighting. 

Yo people ain’t never been no punks

I get it. We’re not widely taught about the Africans who fought against the kidnapping of their people on the grounds of Africa, long B4 honored ancestors like Yaa Asantewaa and Mama N’zinga in the 1800’s. We don’t know that our ancient Mexican ancestors, the Aztecs successfully resisted Cortes’ onslaught until a smallpox infection, brought by the Spanish, decimated their numbers, NOR do we know our connection 2 them as African descendants (despite them depicting themselves in shades of brown, building pyramids and practicing similar traditions as the Mande and others). Successful Black towns R ignored. We don’t talk about John Horse and the Seminole Wars and the freeing of hundreds of enslaved people around Florida 25 years B4 Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation.”   

We’re instead given briefs on our warriors that were stopped, from Babas Nat Turner and Gabriel 2 Chairman Fred Hampton and the esteemed Brother Malcolm. We’re taught defeat and that it was through the efforts of non-violent protestors that concessions have been won in the U.S. but it’s just not true. Not fully. It is and always has been the threat &/or examples of our physical prowess, courage, organization and action that has forced the U.S. government 2 relent N those spaces that they have. That goes 4 our participation in the Civil War to the self-help programs of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.

And that is what we must teach. Extol our triumphs everyday so that we will know them as well as we know our defeats. The Haitian Revolution, from both a physical and spiritual angle, should be common knowledge and daily inspiration 2 us all as we move 4ward. The very public assassinations of our shining leaders like Brother Malcolm, Chairman Fred and Ken Bridges R no different than what is outlined in the Willie Lynch letter on how 2 control a slave plantation. The murders and brutality of brown-skinned women and men across social network sites damn near daily R the same as the 1000’s of lynchings recorded on postcards in the early 1900s. Compare the division that propagandized labeling had on our ancestors (Indian, slave, negro, freedman) 2 how it works 2day (African-American, Latino, lightskin, darkskin, feminist, rich, poor etc…). Look at the effect that these things have on the spirit of the people and then recognize WHY many of us falsely believe that our forefathers and mothers were a passive people.

We have fought, often successfully, against the infection of pink pathology/European domination/racism intellectually, spiritually and physically since they 1^st came out of Europe spreading that disease. We made many mistakes along the way. We underestimated the savagery of our enemy constantly. We falsely believed in their humanity but left enough of our story 4 us 2 learn from those mistakes and 2 correct our trajectory accordingly. We ARE our ancestors in every way. Energy cannot B created or destroyed. We R everything that ever was & will B and our ancestors ain’t never been no punks. Honor that.

Thanks 4 reading. Keep fighting.

Sincerely,

These Hands

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What Do We Do Now

N the wake of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling murders I was having an after-workout convo with a friend of mine. She voiced the common concern of what could she do that can help change these/our conditions 4 the better. N the weeks prior 2 those lynchings this question has been the subject of conversation quite often. I waited, got still and thought long about it B4 I posted any substantive answer.  I still can’t tell U that I have THEE solution. I don’t believe that anyone really does, if such a thing does exist. However I do know of a few actions that every one of us can do if we R earnest N our desire 2 dismantle the diseased structure of European domination and fix those conditions amongst melanated people, the world over, that desperately need correcting. I VERY humbly offer these suggestions.

Step 1: Ego check -  As I understand it, the ego is largely emotional. Its ability 2 guide us rationally is limited at best and typically acts as a send-off when left unchecked. In the area of raising a community it’s the ego that makes us think that we’re the only 1 with the right answers, ideas, or initiatives. It makes us want 2 B in charge or not B involved at all. It is often what blocks cooperation with our comrades and it is definitely that sense that led many a traitor 2 sell-out their people/organization/crew because their ego was somehow bruised or not given the praise they were really seeking.

If U’re in a nation building organization 4 the praise, please quit. Find other work 2 do. Praise is nice but this action is not 4 U.  If things like religion, philosophy, political affiliation and other illusional divisions divide U from working with your brotha and sista with the same goals, B off. This is not 4 U. There’s only 1 goal. Live fully. Dismantle European domination and raise our people up from their ills. That’s the only area we need 2 agree on. Everything else is personal and should B dealt with that way. This is business. Get past petty differences 2 do the work that needs 2 B done. Don’t B so hyped 2 B the 1 N charge. & PLEASE stop taking sh** so personal. This is a we thing.

Step 2: Integrity/Truth - Do what U say U’re gonna do. Let’s face it, we R scared of 1 another; afraid of being let down, sold out, taken advantage of, etc…  It’s happened B4 and we’ve allowed those past situations 2 define our present. European domination has infected ALL of our minds in some way and that infection is often reflected in the actions of some of us who wrong those of us who rely on or look 2 4 assistance, leadership or service. That has 2 change. As I wrote a friend of mine earlier, we must B so about our word that trust amongst us is infallible and impenetrable. Ego & distrust has left us continually vulnerable 2 exterior aggravation and instigation and our ignorance in our participation of falling prey 2 these traps has got us 2 where we R 2day; being murdered N the streets without remorse or recourse and so scattered that there is no end in sight 2 these atrocities. B about your word to your people and a stronger community will rise around that.

Step 3: Culture - 2 root ourselves in culture, which is done through education, both formal (school) and informal (home/community), is 2 give us a singular accord and goal as a people. It binds a body of people 2gether 4 their present and future survival. Through European domination we have been conditioned 2 rebuke and fear the traditions that we as Africans carried 2 America long B4 and after Columbus’ violently disruptive arrival. Those R the characteristics that sustained us 4 thousands of years here and abroad and those R the characteristics that we R 2 (re)implement back N2 our lives while updating those things 2 fit our present reality. It’s going 2 take some study. It ain’t just dashikis and hairdo’s, though that’s part of it. Embracing our traditions is going 2 do wonders 4 our growth and protection of our people against the savagery of those committed 2 our demise.  

If U R from a city that has a Chinatown (New York, Chicago, San Francisco), have U ever heard of a cop murdering a young man of Chinese descent there? EVER??? Is there a special segment of police training that keeps them from doing so? Hypothetically, what do U think would happen if such a thing did occur? The Chinese make up a far smaller segment of the population than Africans in America so how is it that there is no worry 4 them, as another U.S. minority, of any of their children or men or women being shot down, unarmed at the whim of some cop? Their culture HERE, negating how China itself would respond, would never allow U.S. cops 2 murder so many of their people in Chinatown. They R clear about their culture and it continues 2 protect them in so many ways.

Step 4: Build institutions around our culture. Help improve and expand what already exists rather than start your own. I’m not talking about the NAACP or other outdated questionable institutions but community-based businesses, schools grocery stores, etc… We have 2 B able 2 feed, shelter, clothe and (since we’re living N a capitalist society) employ one another. Dependency on the same kind of savages that R murdering us and limiting our access 2 resources 2 do that 4 us is not merely insane but it’s kept us in the condition where we R fighting amongst ourselves out of anger, lack and ignorance. March if U wanna but put up that doe. Eventually we’ll even have 2 get away from using “their” currency.  Foreign countries have been toppled and leaders slain 4 this 1 but in the meantime get everyone at the next march 2 up $50 2 build or fortify our banks, schools, grocery stores, jobs, clothing lines, etc…

  

Do these things comfortably and unapologetically! Display unconditional integrity amongst ourselves. Do away with putting ego N2 these matters, except in the spaces where it keeps U from being stopped by any opposition. Reaffirm who we R culturally, and nationally build institutions around that culture, not at the exclusion of anyone else but 4 the complete inclusion of our people.

& finally and possibly most important, let go the fear of change. Be real with yourself about what this is. We R being terrorized by terrorists who R trained, financed and armed by a system of European domination using institutional racism 2 deprive people of color of LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No? This BS has got 2 change. We R that change but it has 2 begin internally and it has 2 build communally.  Until they feel the pain we feel - until there is some fair and equitable consequence 2 their transgressions against us, by us, these transgression will continue. History has given us all the lessons we need 2 know 2 do what we need 2 do. Learn from it and get 2 work. Not another sista or brotha need B murdered in this crisis.

I know I wrote this 2 sound like general suggestions but I suggest we look at each of these steps N a very specific way and start 2day. Leave your BS at home and deal with it there.  It’s nation building time.

I'm ready 2 work with U. 
Thanks 4 reading.
Khari B.