I used to DREAM,
I used to glance,
Beyond the STARS.
Now I don't know
Where we are;
Although I know
We've drifted far.
What about yesterday?
What about the SEAS?
The heavens are falling down,
I Can't Even BREATHE!
(Michael Jackson)
®The MARTIN LUTHER KING JR National Holiday ~
The Third Monday of every January is the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday in the USA.
It has been earmarked, under law (1983), to CELEBRATE the achievements of Dr King ; especially in regard to the Civil Rights Movement.
He had been awarded much earlier, the Nobel Peace Prize (1964).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Where Is The AMERICAN DREAM?
In July 2014, Eric Garner, an African-American living in New York was 'choked' to death by a white police officer.
Police Officer?
Ironically too, a grand jury saw nothing wrong in the offending officer's act. Worse still, in the loss of a precious human life. An American Life.
A grand jury?
BUT his 'dying note' to the police officer and the grand jury, and to all Americans were three forever-indicting words:
"I Can't Breathe!"
Now more than five decades past the historic March On Washington and the enunciation of the Civil Rights Act (1963), the Negro in America is yet strangled, in a 'racist chokehold'.
And he is crying, perhaps in muted tones:
"I Can't Breathe!"
It is more than one-and-a half centuries past the Founding Fathers' rhetoric, the American Dream.
Yet, in this twenty-first century, with America's rhetoric on Life and Liberty, the African-American is still protesting:
"I Can't Breathe!"
I could tell why I am
-The way I am-
But I don't want to;
-And you don't give a damn-
(Langston Hughes)
These sad notes, a recurrent decimal in race relations in America, inspite of the Civil Rights Act (1963), give the impression that whites in America are still insinuating that the black American is nothing but a second class
citizen.
And worse still, despite the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), the negro is made to remember his burden of the slavery years -
A victim groaning under the suffocation of unjust laws, left with ONLY a throaty cry:
"I Can't Breathe!"
Therefore it is not surprising, that sometimes when the negro musician presses his beautiful fingers on the keyboard, the faint undertones of pain and anger never cease to leave a melody...that lingers in the soul.
In 1963, Mahalia Jackson delivered just such a melody at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC:
"I've been Rebuk'd and I've been Scorn'd."
That rendition was all that Dr King needed, to present his memorable speech:
"I Have A Dream".
According to the Civil Rights Activist, Andrew Young, King's Speech "was not just a black speech. It was not just a christian speech. It was an ALL-AMERICAN SPEECH."
Invoking the Letter-and-Spirit of the Founding Fathers, King reiterated there-in, that the Declaration of Independence "was a Promissory Note to which all Americans were to fall heir":
We hold these truths
To be self-evident,
That all men are created equal-
That they are endowed
-By their Creator-
With certain
-Unalienable Rights-
That amongst these are:
-Life, Liberty-
And the Pursuit of Happiness.
(Thomas Jefferson)
However, the poetry of The Dream Speech, to all intents and purposes, is yet to resonate deep inside the Spirit-man of America.
Barack Obama puts it in better perspective for us, when he said in summary:
"It's NOT enough to have a black president."
Somehow, America must figure out a way to wipe away the tears of the African-American who is still currently 'choking' under unjust laws, crying:
"I Can't Breathe!"
I am speakin' very seriously,
And this isn't an overstatement:
I pick'd cotton,
I carried it to the market.
I built railroads
-Under some else's whip-
For nothing.
For nothing.
(James Baldwin)
2) AMERICA...Is GOD'S Own Country ~
AMERICA is a country with an otherwise enviable name and identity.
What's in a name?
I believe Pablo Neruda, an ancient Canto General, answers the question well enough:
"America, in voco tu nombre en vano."
Meaning:
"America, I do not invoke your name in vain."
Right from the outset, the Pilgrims ventured away from the 'choking' confines of Old England - leaving behind, an old and uncertain identity.
Landing safely in the freedom of New England, they sought to establish for themselves and posterity, a new and concrete identity.
They needed Religious, Economic;
[ and Socio-political Freedom ].
In gratitude to God, whose 'name they had not invoked in vain', Americans likened the New World to the biblical stereotype:
"A City Upon A Hill".
They were echoing the voice of their spokesman, John Winthrop.
This Land, considered the City of God, was to be governed by solid principles.
It was created to engender the curious study of every man and every nation.
RACISM IN AMERICA, and indeed anywhere else in the World - in whatever guise - undermines the lessons of human history.
It questions the very origins of a country - its name and identity - especially a country like America.
It belittles All America's Citizenry - whites, blacks, and every other hue...and cry.
According to historian Kimani Nehusi, "If we are unclear about identity, we will be unclear about everything else."
America owes its name and identity to varied historical events, as well as human exploits.
Today, the white supremacists of the so-called 'Christian Party' era, acknowledge their Nordic character in the establishment of America.
The Gothic term 'Amalric', according to them, stands for:
[ "Kingdom of Heaven" ].
Likewise, black adventurers lay claim to an African influence on the development of the American Continent.
These include the Inca, Aztec, and Mayan civilizations.
The Mayan term 'Amerique', with its African undertones, suggests a Country with prominent hills and perpetually strong winds:
[ "Land of the Wind" ].
But more deeply America or, 'Amerique' is a metaphor for:
[ "A Spirit that Breathes" ].
Heaven is ruled by GOD...A Spirit that breathes.
Earth is populated by MAN...A spirit that breathes.
Revisiting Genesis, the biblical history of mankind...'Breath' is a significant metaphor for 'Life'.
So, the 'Breath' of God...is a metaphor for Life, and Liberty, and All.
Same for the White man; the same for the Black man.
In America. In the World.
At this juncture in human evolutionary history, the great questions waiting to be answered are:
In a Land of Wind, what has happened to America - the Spirit that Breathes?
Why is the Negro American, an offspring of God - in much the same way as the white man - still crying today:
Gimme the "American Dream"?
Gimme the "Kingdom of Heaven"...here on earth?
Gimme the "Land of the Wind"..."I Can't Breathe"?
3) AMERICA...Thy Name I Love ~
We must note that the title of the 'New World' (Novus Mundi) alone, revolutionized the concept of the COSMOS.
And that the Declaration of (American) Independence in black-and-white, changed forever the perception of HUMANKIND.
In 1492, the explorer Christopher Columbus discovered a large expanse of Land beyond the Atlantic Ocean, but in error he thought it a part of Asia.
But the Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, christened the Land the 'New World' -
considering it as separate from Asia and Europe.
More importantly, the Gothic equivalent of Amerigo is 'Almarich'. Its translation is:
[ "Master Workman" ].
To top it off, the German cartographer Martin Waldseenmuller, who first placed America on the "Map of the World", described Amerigo as:
[ "A Man of Intelligence" ].
TODAY, America stands curiously, for a Country of Labour and of Progress.
And its founders as Intelligent and Master Workmen.
BUT, we must remember that America's greatness is the result of joint Labour -
Black and White labour!
We must remember too, that America's power came out of joint deliberations or knowledge - black and white intelligence!
Through the influences of all its component races, America has attained a reference position in the affairs of all men and all nations.
The night is beautiful,
So are the FACES of my people;
The stars are beautiful,
So are the EYES of my people;
Beautiful also is the sun,
Beautiful also are the SOULS of my people.
(Langston Hughes)
4) RACISM: But I Too, Sing AMERICA ~
Once Upon A Time, the Harlem Renaissance.
The writer Langston Hughes wrote an autobiography entitled:
"The Big Sea, And I Wonder As I Wander".
Up until 2014, when Eric Garner was killed by a white police officer, the man in the diaspora never ceased from wondering.
His mind has wandered through the maze of this so-called Land of Opportunity and Progress.
He has wondered, endlessly:
why Racism?
The Blackman, an 'intelligent' American man, still wonders today, as he wanders his way through America.
In much the same manner as Langston Hughes.
Along the length and breadth of America, they have walked.
From the east coast to the west coast.
Through the Pacific seaboard and the Atlantic seabed.
But the 'Big Sea' he and his kindred are yet to cross, is that of 'Racial Discrimination.
Why is the coloured citizen in the U.S still crying:
"I Can't Breathe"?
"A great people who had created a great civilization had become a nation of silent onlookers.
"They remained silent in the face of hate, in the face of brutality and in the face of mass murder.
"America must NOT become a nation of onlookers. America MUST NOT REMAIN SILENT", re-affirms Joachim Prinz, a Rabbi and one-time President of the American Jewish Congress.
The negro artists who create
Now intend to express our individual
-Dark skinned selves-
Without fear or shame.
If white people are pleased,
We are glad.
If they are not,
It doesn't matter.
We know we are beautiful,
And ugly too.
The tom-tom cries,
And the tom-tom laughs;
If coloured people are pleased,
We are glad;
If they are not,
Their displeasure doesn't matter either.
We BUILD our temples,
For TOMORROW;
Strong as we know how.
And we stand on top of the mountain,
FREE WITHIN OURSELVES.
(Langston Hughes)
5) AMERICA...And The Civil Rights Question ~
YESTERDAY, it was the Black Codes.
Jim Crow. Ku Klux Klan. And James Fitzstephen Lynch.
Racism.
Between 1882 and 1968, about 31,446 black people were lynched in America.
In 1991, Rodney King was beaten by the police on a street in Los Angeles.
In 2012, Trayvon Martin was murdered in cold blood by George Zimmerman, right inside a gated Sanford Community, in Florida -
and the culprit was acquitted by the jury.
In 2014, just in the wake of Eric Garner's death, an unarmed 18 year-old Michael Brown was also killed by the police in Ferguson, Missouri.
Racism.
It comes as a great shock,
-To discover that the flag-
To which you have paid allegiance,
-Has not paid allegiance to you-
It comes from Europe.
-That's how it got to America-
It raises the question
Of whether or not civilization
Can be considered equal?
Or whether civilization has a right
-To subjugate, in fact destroy another-
(James Baldwin)
Today, death statistics have shown that more black babies are killed in their mothers' wombs, than were lynched in those previous years.
Clenard Childress, an American, claims on record:
that 1:4 black children have died yearly, for the last 40 years; in sharp contrast to whites.
Mostly by the hand of white abortionists.
"The most dangerous place for an African-American to be, is in the womb of their mother", laments Childress.
In a 2007 sermon, the Cleric John Piper concurred with Childress:
that abortion - as much as the lynching - of blacks, was more or less a race issue.
Everyday, about 1,300 Negro and 700 Hispanic babies die from abortion.
? Racism.
As the lungs of these dying babies "long for air", in the wombs of their mothers ; they're asking a country questions.
Especially one that claims to be the "Land of the Wind"!
The very question they are asking America is:
Why should their spirits differ from that essential Spirit of America - the Spirit...that Breathes?
"Everything that was ever gained by the Civil Rights Movement is worth nothing to the dead black child", regrets a black observer ( The Lancaster Document ).
"Make no mistake, abortion is a Civil Rights Issue", he re-affirms.
COLONIALISM was a game. Slavery was a game.
Lynching was a game. KKK was a game.
Jim Crow was a game. The 'Black Codes' was a game.
And Racism is a game.
Still a 'robbing' game...that the white man plays.
The idea of depriving A CONTINENTof its i-d-e-n-t-i-t-y was one of the cruel games;
That the colonists played...against the colonized.
Likewise, depriving A PEOPLE of their n-a-m-e is to set in motion, a serious problem of human identity.
In other words, robbing a People and a Continent of their name and identity, alters their PSYCHIC CHEMISTRY.
Racism obscures the ELEMENTAL MEANING or COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE of that particular continent.
Why is my FREEDOM,
My citizenship in question now?
This is a Land of the Free,
And a Home of the Brave;
None can challenge that statement,
It's a matter of historical record.
What one begs America,
-For ALL SAKES-
Is simply to accept our history.
(James Baldwin)
6) AMERICA...Tell Me The Colour Of Your Mind ~
The UNITED STATES of AMERICA has a 'Birth Certificate'.
Put otherwise, America's got a 'Baptismal NAME', dating back to 1507.
The irony is that the African-American citizen is denied, by one unjust law or the other, by one racist act or another, the identity of being:
AN AMERICAN.
The compelling paradox is that, while America as a country has a birth certificate, the unborn African-American child does not - due to the poor decision of both its mother and the white abortionist.
The African-American in-utero is yet being denied a Birth Certificate...or a Baptismal NAME!
No identity. No name.
Up until 2014, in a Country that otherwise has an enviable identity, and a world-class name.
"The negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and for safety", re-echoes Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
IN 1963, about 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, to listen to MLK deliver:
"I Have A Dream".
Amongst the mammoth crowd were celebrities: Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, Sammy Davies.
Josephine Baker flew in from France.
In attendance too, was a blackman called James GARNER.
Perhaps...just perhaps, an ancestor of the victim, Eric Garner.
And to make the picture more vivid, actor Marlon Brando wandered around the premises with 'an electric cattle prod', a symbol of police brutality.
"I sat on the grass and listened to the speakers, only to discover that we had DREAMERS, instead of leaders....
"Just about every one of them stood up there, DREAMING.
"MLK ,Jr went on and on talking about his DREAM.
"I sat there thinking that in Canton, we never had time to sleep, much less dream", observed in irony, Anne Moody, a black activist who had made it to Washington DC from Mississippi.
In 2014, the white supremacist had refused to listen to the mature African-American man and woman as they cried out:
"I Can't Breathe".
In 2015, we hope that in the Spirit of the Founding Fathers and Dr King, that Americans - white and coloured - will allow the cry of mercy:
From the Unborn Child, to reach their EARS and touch their HEARTS.
So even though we face the difficulties
-Of Today and Tomorrow-
I STILL HAVE A DREAM!
(Martin Luther King, Jr)
Finally, BLACK symbolizes the Unknown.
In much the same way that his Creator symbolizes the Unknown.
Like LIFE itself, the Blackman is an ever Mysterious Being.
Especially to the Whiteman...especially in regard to his perception of the former's place in history , or maybe future relevance, in the comity of men.
In America. In the World.
Black happens to be a complexion, that even after so many centuries of enquiry, still invites every other race to wonder and delve deeper.
Into the mystery that surrounds Racism.
BUT more positively, the African-American's blackness seems to be inviting us - TODAY and TOMORROW - like a blank slate.
With no visible prejudice or pre-conceived bias.
A Black man symbolizes like his Creator, a "Spirit that breathes"...
a Soul infinite in POTENTIAL and POSSIBILITIES.
Even in 'God's Own Country', Lemme breathe!
The history of the AMERICAN NEGRO
-Is the history of this strife-
This longing:
-To attain Self-conscious Manhood-
To merge his double self
-Into a better and truer self-
In this merging,
He wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.
He would NOT Africanize America;
For America has too much
To teach the WORLD.
(James Baldwin)
No comments:
Post a Comment