Bunny Wailer – Liberation!

When I was a part of the Uhuru Movement here in Oakland Ca, back in the late 1980s, I was introduced to alot of powerful protest music, and most of it was Roots Reggae.  I was already familiar with Bob Marley, since his hit Roots, Rock, Reggae was played “on the R and B” here in California, U.S.  But I started getting a fuller understanding of the power of this roots music as I was exposed to other artists.  This black liberation music  taught me alot about who I am and the struggle that I find myself in.  It also taught me that I and all black people should be involved in the fight. Get in where you fit in!
There was one album that stood out for me.  It was titled, “Liberation” by Bunny Wailer, who was one of the original members of Bob Marley and the Wailers.  In the beginning they were simply called The Wailers.  But stuff happens, and eventually they separated and Bob Marley became the most well known and famous of the three, which included Peter Tosh.
Every song on the Liberation album is powerful and spoke to our struggle as black people!  I especially like “Rise and Shine”.  The song is classic for the bassline intro alone, but the beginning chant (lyrics below) along with that powerful bassline ought to move you!  I remember how this music encouraged me and propelled me to continue struggling for black liberation and my own mental freedom!
I’m wondering, is this type of powerful liberation music still being made anymore? 

This is the cry of a people
who were robbed and raped from their homeland
and their loved ones.
A people stripped of their culture,
their dignity, their liberty and their rights
and by the cruel and presumptuous
hands of the colonial and imperialistics slavers
were cargoed into the west,
where for over 400 years they have toiled and laboured,
and with their blood, their sweat, them tears and hands
they have built the great city of Babylon,
only to be paid with the wages of the taskmaster’s whip,
torture and death.  continue

Then the lyrics to Bunny’s song “Ready When You Ready” is another powerful one, speaking directly to the people about revolution of the shitstem.

Hey!
Mi ready when you ready fi go chant down Babylon, dutty system.
Mi ready when you ready fi go lick down Babylon, in a rhythm.
Mi ready when you ready fi go tear down Babylon.
Mi ready when you ready fi go mash down Babylon.

Them nah do it like how dem say dem plan
dem just a dash it out dey in a foreign land.
A hungry nation is a angry one
and it is bound to cause a revolution.
Power struggle a bubble it a bubble
and starvation is on the double.
The ghetto children don’t seem to stand a chance
instead of opportunity it’s self reliance.  cont.

As the last surviving member of the original Wailers, Bunny Wailer is that unsung giant of the black liberation struggle.  He’s only 63 years young and is still fighting through his music.  One Love!

A Luta Continua!

Bits and Bytes: The Chill of Black History Month

 

I have become quite blasé about Black History Month over the last few years. It’s not that I don’t consider it important, but in reality, it’s not something we really own.

I believe that we as a people need to invest our time and energy learning about our various histories, beginning in Africa and then in the lands, or islands of the Diaspora where we were forced to emigrate. We need to acknowledge, understand and appreciate first and foremost, that there were a variety of cultures in Africa before the invasion of the Arabs and Europeans and that there are also a variety of cultures within Africa today. The same can be stated about the variety of cultures throughout the African Diaspora. 

Once we come to the realization that although we are not homogeneous in thought, beliefs, values and culture… and not fear but appreciate this… and focus on the fact that as African people we do have a shared experience, historical as well as contemporary that we can build a sense of unity upon, then I believe Black and African history will be significant to us. Then it won’t be just an Eurocentric based illusion to pacify the African/Black savages, a trinket given once a year, in the shortest and coldest month of the year, as a penance to sooth the European conscience. Then it will be something we own daily, as we educate and enlighten ourselves daily, as we educate and enlighten our sons and daughters daily, as we educate and enlighten our family and community daily. 

It is in this spirit that I share these articles by John Henrik Clarke with you entitled, “The African’s Influence in the New World”. It’s a lecture he gave in London England in 1986. It is presented in a 3 part series in the African Executive webzine.  

The African’s Influence in the New World Part 1
The African’s Influence in the New World Part 2
The African’s Influence in the New World Part 3

Taking a Siesta in Cuba

Feliz Navidad!     Joyeux Noel!     Merry Christmas!

Is Sammy Sosa a Self-hating Negro…

or is he… as we Jamaicans like to say: ” ‘im jus a fallah fashun! “

We all consider ourselves attractive… or at least want others to consider us attractive. There are billions of dollars spent for products and surgeries, by both men and women, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, region and religion, in a personal effort to attain a semblance of what is considered attractive by the society at large. This begs the question: what is considered to be “attractive” by our particular society? Obviously, since our dominant community is eurocentric based and their influence is indeed worldwide, then European features are presented to us in daily images, whether on t.v. or in print, as the standard to which attractiveness is judged and therefore to be attained.

Straight hair (preferably blond), pointy nose, thin red lips, blue or light coloured eyes, white complexion, red cheeks, slim body, large but firm breasts, flat butt and long straight legs is the measure of perfect eurocentric beauty. Now most people in the world do not conform to this ideal image, however any combination which includes as many of these traits as possible, moves one up on the attractive-ness scale.

We see the effects of this within the black community. Black women sporting straight hair or weaves, with red lipstick, red blush on their cheeks, white powder to lighten their skin clour… and some even going so far as to wearing contacts to make their eyes lighter. Take a look at any fashion magazine, or magazine in general for that matter, which features Black models and/or female celebrities like Beyonce, and you will observe that the lighter the Sister and the more European features she displays, the more attractive they are considered… so the more prominent they are. Look at the cover of any issue of O magazine. Oprah’s skin tone is always “lightened up” with bright red lips, long straight hair and airbrushed to look thinner and firmer than she really is. I remember the buzz around the July 2008 issue of Italian Vogue which featured “Black” models. Click on the image below to see a preview of some of the pics. It’s interesting what is blatantly portrayed as black beauty.  

One of our more popular posts here is “Do Black Men Respond To Natural Hair”, which brings to mind the documentary produced by Chris Rock called “Good Hair”. It has been estimated that Black women spend an estimated $9 billion per year getting the kink out of their hair!

Growing up in Jamaica, I observed the issues around colourism in a neocolonial eurocentric society. Light-skinned women and men, with predominant European features were considered more attractive and therefore desirable. They were referred to as “Royals” or “Brownings”. Jamiacan reggae singer Buju Banton’s first hit in 1992 was a song entitled “Love me Browning”. Conversely, African features such as dark black skin, woolly hair, a broad nose and thick black lips were considered ugly. Here is an excellent and informative article about the issue of colour in the Dominican Republic where Sosa is from entitled: “Black Denial”.  

So really it’s no wonder that Sammy Sosa feels that to be considered more attractive, desirable and therefore acceptable by the society at large, including the Black community, he needs to lighten his skin and wear green contact lenses. Although the obvious poster child for this mindset was Michael Jackson, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us are complicit in some way in making it a “fashun”.

Stuff Black People Like…

When I wrote this post “Stuff White People Like”, I had planned to do one about Black people too. Well that time has come so here it is. These are the 10 things that first came to mind, which are based on my observations and experiences. They are in no particular order of relevance or importance.

1. A White Jesus

You ever go into a Black persons home and the first thing that meets your eye as you enter is a picture of a white hippie looking, blond hair and blue eyed Jesus!? The one that really get’s me is the picture with the “sacred heart” on the outside of his chest. In previous times, I would ask the host (usually a family member): “who is the white hippie dude in the photo? Is he family!?” They would look at the photo and I could tell that the wheels in their mind would start to turn… then they would look at me long and hard, like they couldn’t believe I wasn’t struck dead (and probably silently praying that I would be), then and there by lightening! If you close your eyes and think about Jesus and the above image comes to mind, then read this and you may also want to read this book.   

2. Barack Obama 

On the flip side of worshipping a white Jesus, Black folks all over the world worship Barack Obama as the “Black Messiah”. I swear that when they see him, ole negro spirituals starts playing in their heads! He can do no wrong in their eyes. He is Moses and Jesus all rolled up into one, sent by the Almighty to bring them into the new heaven and the new earth. The post-racial promise land that is America. 

3. Hating on Tavis Smiley 

Ever since Tavis Smiley called on then presidential candidate Barack Obama to be accountable to the Black American electorate, he has caught hell from that community (see here). I recently read a post where the author referred to Tavis as a “self promoting race hustler”. “A self promoting race hustler!?” Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson… maybe. Tim Wise and Soledad O’Brien… for sure. But Tavis!? I guess if you criticize or question the Black Messiah and don’t get struck by lightening, then the true believers are obligated to demonize you. 

4. Swagga  

I like this definition of Swagga from the urban dictionary: “one’s own unique style or personality that sets them apart from anyone else.” There is no doubt that we are the leaders and trendsetters… worldwide… when it comes to the originality and uniqueness of style. From the Caribbean to Africa… from the Americas to Europe… whether it’s in popular culture, fashion, urban wear, hair styles, art, music, dance, slang, etc., we set the bar. Individually and collectively, we get our “swagga on” like no others! 

5. Saying “hello” to other Black people    

I have been blessed to travel to many parts of the world and the one of the things I find that really defines us, is our acknowledgment of each other. Whether it’s a lift of the brow, a nod, a smile, a wave, or a simple hello, we will greet each other, especially when we are in an environment where there aren’t that many of us (if you know what I mean). Granted not all of us are like this and some of us are even down right nasty and disrespectful when it comes to dealing with another Black person. However overall, I find that overwhelmingly there are many more good experiences with this than bad… and I hope we never lose that quality with each other. It brings a certain level of community and reassurance. 

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Mahatma Gandhi

Don’t ask: “Why does God allow this to happen?”

Pray: “God… give me the wisdom and strength to do what I must to stop this from happening?”  

Obamamania: A view from north of the 49th parallel

I find reading the discussions of Obama here and over at thefreeslave quite amusing. Since his win in Iowa (and he is predicted to win today in New Hampshire), and surge in the polls, there is a renewed (or maybe it just more focussed and serious) debate of whether his nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate or even win of the Presidency would be advantageous for African-Americans. As an outsider here in Canada looking through the window of America, this is my take on some of the issues in the discussions surrounding Obama, voting and “Revolution American Style”. 

In general, I have always been amazed of how much African-Americans have primarily thrown all their eggs into the basket of the Democratic Party. I shake my head at the emotionally charged and irrational polarization between Blacks who support the Democratic and Republican Party, signified by the back and forth name-calling which I have observed, which has only benefited the “divide and conquer” strategy of the dominant society well. Even within the Afrosphere, I have seen Black bloggers, some of our brightest and best, who self-label themselves as “progressives”, quit working coalitions with other Black bloggers, because they didn’t want to be associated with those who identify themselves as Republicans! Ridiculous and shameful! 

November Carnival: “Reparations:what is the value of what we’re owed?”

I have never been a strong supporter for the call for reparations. I find that I expend enough energy just trying to get what I am currently entitled to, while I am struggling to hold on to what little I already have. Therefore I have not been really interested in fighting to get an apology and/or monetary compensation from “white” people for the past and current atrocities, injustices and other consequences that stem from slavery.

However, I recently received an interesting email which got me thinking more about this issue. It was from Brother Pruitt, who is the Reparations Leader and Chairman for the Committee for African American Reparations (CAAR) and the Reparations Union Lobbying Association. On his website he states:

“African-Americans should form a Reparations Union creating a power base in the tradition of lobbying and special interest groups that will consist of rich, middle class and poor blacks in addition to community conscious whites, jews and others who would like to see blacks win reparations and attain equality. This would enable African-Americans to announce the need for a congressional hearing to address the ills in society that exist because of slavery, segregation, institutional racism and discrimination. African-Americans owe it to themselves and their ancestors to expose politics and people responsible for maintaining corruption perpetuating unethical activity.”

From what I understood from his email and website, reparations is just one component, but a significant part of the overall healing and empowering process we need to go through as a community. 

What are your views on the issue of reparations? Is it a worthy cause or just a waste of time and energy? Will monetary compensation address the injustices and atrocities of the past in any significant way…. or will it lead to what Biggie Smalls once warned: “Mo’ money, Mo’ problems”? Is reparations only an issue for those in the Diaspora or should those on the African continent demand reparations also from Europeans and Arabs for the theft of human and natural resources and the continuing effects of colonialism?

Please have the link to your post submitted by Sunday 04 November at Afrospear@hotmail.com, and the carnival date will be Monday 05 November.