I went to one of Central Park’s SummerStage events last Thursday evening featuring Sonia Sanchez and Amiri Baraka, two African-American educators, poets, authors, activists and pioneers of the 1960s Black Arts Movement. It was inspiring to hear them reading from their work and talking about the Black Arts Movement, contemporary African-American culture and other social and political issues. Although both were critical about much of what is happening both domestically in the US and externally, Sanchez came across as eternally optimistic while Baraka appeared cynical and disappointed in the direction black America has taken. I first read about Sanchez and her association with Malcolm X when I was a teenager and have always had the utmost respect for her but I tend to lean towards Baraka’s pessimism. An excellent evening ended with them signing two of their books for me.
On Friday I went to Prospect Park where Celebrate Brooklyn’s evening of conscious rap was headlined by hip hop legend KRS-One, one of the pioneers of socially and politically aware rap music. I have no time for modern hip hop and its sexist, violent message that perpetuates negative stereotypes of blacks in America and tells black Americans that the ideal life centres around guns, “bling bling”, drugs, skimpily dressed bimbos, champagne and limos, so this was refreshing. I think my Public Enemy and Gill Scott-Heron (the real grandfather of political rap) cds will be playing a lot over the next few days!
Showing posts with label Malcolm X. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malcolm X. Show all posts
Saturday, 4 August 2007
Thursday, 24 May 2007
Some of my Favourite Quotes
Not an exhaustive list:
"Dipped in chocolate,
Bronzed with elegance,
Enamelled with grace,
Toasted with beauty.
My Lord, she is a Black Woman!"
-Yosef Ben-Jochannan
Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf.
-Native American Proverb
Sorrow shared is halved. Joy shared is doubled.
-Native American Saying
"Seduce my mind and you can have my body. Find my soul and I’m yours forever."
-Anonymous
"Since the time of Homer every European, in what he could say about the Orient, was a racist, an imperialist, and almost totally ethnocentric"
-Edward Said
“Remember the solidarity shown to Palestine here and everywhere... and remember also that there is a cause to which many people have committed themselves, difficulties and terrible obstacles notwithstanding. Why? Because it is a just cause, a noble ideal, a moral quest for equality and human rights.”
-Edward Said
"My final prayer: oh my body, make me always a man who asks questions"
-Frantz Fanon
“He replied that he suddenly felt overcome at the thought that he had to stand there, before the assembled representatives of African nationalist movements, to try and persuade them that the Algerian cause was important, at a time when men were dying and being tortured in his country for a cause whose justice ought to command automatic support from rational and progressive human beings.”
-Peter Worsely, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester speaking of Fanon’s reply to his question of why Fanon had appeared to break down while delivering an address to the Conference on Positive Action in Accra, Ghana, 1960.
“As far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them.”
-Maya Angelou
“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
-George Bernard Shaw
Why should we take advice on sex from the pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn't!
-George Bernard Shaw
“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
-Mark Twain
“Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.”
-Noam Chomsky
“Resistance is feasible even for those who are not heroes by nature, and it is an obligation, I believe, for those who fear the consequences and detest the reality of the attempt to impose American hegemony.”
-Noam Chomsky
“Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it.”
-Noam Chomsky
“You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.”
-Malcolm X
"I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American.... No I'm not an American, I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy.... I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of a victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare."
-Malcolm X
“I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”
-Muhummad Ali
"Dipped in chocolate,
Bronzed with elegance,
Enamelled with grace,
Toasted with beauty.
My Lord, she is a Black Woman!"
-Yosef Ben-Jochannan
Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf.
-Native American Proverb
Sorrow shared is halved. Joy shared is doubled.
-Native American Saying
"Seduce my mind and you can have my body. Find my soul and I’m yours forever."
-Anonymous
"Since the time of Homer every European, in what he could say about the Orient, was a racist, an imperialist, and almost totally ethnocentric"
-Edward Said
“Remember the solidarity shown to Palestine here and everywhere... and remember also that there is a cause to which many people have committed themselves, difficulties and terrible obstacles notwithstanding. Why? Because it is a just cause, a noble ideal, a moral quest for equality and human rights.”
-Edward Said
"My final prayer: oh my body, make me always a man who asks questions"
-Frantz Fanon
“He replied that he suddenly felt overcome at the thought that he had to stand there, before the assembled representatives of African nationalist movements, to try and persuade them that the Algerian cause was important, at a time when men were dying and being tortured in his country for a cause whose justice ought to command automatic support from rational and progressive human beings.”
-Peter Worsely, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester speaking of Fanon’s reply to his question of why Fanon had appeared to break down while delivering an address to the Conference on Positive Action in Accra, Ghana, 1960.
“As far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them.”
-Maya Angelou
“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
-George Bernard Shaw
Why should we take advice on sex from the pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn't!
-George Bernard Shaw
“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
-Mark Twain
“Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.”
-Noam Chomsky
“Resistance is feasible even for those who are not heroes by nature, and it is an obligation, I believe, for those who fear the consequences and detest the reality of the attempt to impose American hegemony.”
-Noam Chomsky
“Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it.”
-Noam Chomsky
“You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.”
-Malcolm X
"I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American.... No I'm not an American, I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy.... I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of a victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare."
-Malcolm X
“I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”
-Muhummad Ali
Saturday, 19 May 2007
West Indian Fightback, Monty's Magic and Malcolm X
It was wonderful to see the West Indies fight back today. I was expecting the usual collapse and at 187-5 it seemed business as usual. Excellent innings by Bravo, Chanderpaul and Ramdin along with a gritty knock by Ganga ensured that the follow-on was avoided. Monty who many did not even expect to be selected to play on a pitch thought to be seamer friendly weaved his magic, but West Indians will feel that he was ably assisted by umpire Asad Rauf who give out three batsmen LBW in contentious circumstances. Some umpires have only recently begun giving batsmen out when struck in front playing forward to spinners. I believe that cricket is a game between bat and ball, I hate to see batsmen playing with their pads and I think in the past spinners have been disadvantaged by batsmen lunging forward with their pads in the knowledge that they will not be given out. However, if there is going to be a change it has to be across the board and it has to be implemented consistently- by each umpire every time he is called upon to make a decision and by the entire panel of international umpires. Yesterday Rauf made a mockery of the game- he had denied the West Indies a plumb LBW decision against Collingwood on the first day but then decided to undertake his experiment in interpretation of the rules when the West Indies were batting. I don’t want to appear paranoid but one must wonder if he has something against the West Indies.
West Indies did a lot yesterday but the game is still far from saved. It would have been ideal if one of the top order had made a significant contribution and Ramdin had not gotten out a couple of overs before end of play. England will still feel they have a chance of winning while West Indies will need to keep fighting hard to save the match- they will have to bat till lunch and reduce the England lead to fewer than 100. One plus for the Windies is Harmison’s miserable bowling performance. The man who destroyed us in 2004 was made to look just as bad as our bowlers looked during England’s first innings! Hopefully his confidence will be severely affected for the remainder of the series!
On May 19th, 1925 one of the greatest men of the 20th Century was born- Malcolm X, also known as Malcolm Little, Detroit Red and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. I read his autobiography when I was about 14 years and it has been a source of inspiration for me since then. Besides the fact that he had the courage to stand up and tell it like it is without any thought of the consequences for himself, what is outstanding about Malcolm is that firstly, unlike any of the other black leaders of his time, he made the link between the fight of blacks in America for their rights and the international fight of colonised people for freedom and secondly, he was man enough to stand up in public and say that what he believed when he was a member of the Nation of Islam cult was wrong. Not many people and furthermore those in the public eye have the guts or the humility to admit in public that they were wrong. His bravery in defying the status quo would ultimately lead to his murder but his message continues to inspire and enlighten millions.
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Sir Frank Worrell- West Indian Hero
40 years ago on this day, the Caribbean lost one of its greatest leaders. He was not a Prime Minister or Premier, but the first black captain of the West Indies cricket team. Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell succeeded in doing what no politician before him or since has been able to do- unite an archipelago of islands with a similar history but each with its own insular view of itself. It may not have been a political or economic union, but his achievement in bringing the region together through a beautiful game that is much more than a sport in the West Indies is unrivalled. Notwithstanding this, he was also a great batsman and a member of the legendary three Ws from Barbados. While Weekes was regarded as the best batsman of the trio and Walcott was a powerful hitter of the ball, Worrell was the poet and artist, being described as one who never made an ungrammatical stroke. Tragically, like quite a few other leaders and activists in the 1960s who challenged the status quo (Fanon, Malcolm X, MLK, Che, Lumumba), he died very young.
It was therefore fitting that the West Indies team which defeated Pakistan in the opening game of the World Cup today played like a cohesive unit instead of a bunch of disparate individuals like they have been doing so often in the past decade. While they started badly, once they had recovered, they never looked back. There were some questions over strategy but in the end everything worked out fine. Even more pleasing was that some of the players who have failed miserably to fulfil their obvious potential- Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels in particular- stepped up today and led the charge. If they continue to play like this and work on the weak areas, they can prove to be serious contenders for the Cup.
It was therefore fitting that the West Indies team which defeated Pakistan in the opening game of the World Cup today played like a cohesive unit instead of a bunch of disparate individuals like they have been doing so often in the past decade. While they started badly, once they had recovered, they never looked back. There were some questions over strategy but in the end everything worked out fine. Even more pleasing was that some of the players who have failed miserably to fulfil their obvious potential- Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels in particular- stepped up today and led the charge. If they continue to play like this and work on the weak areas, they can prove to be serious contenders for the Cup.
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