Memories of the Boston Marathon and Other Bombings by Melvin W. Smith

Dear friends,

With the permission of the author, I am posting, with great honor, this brilliant and concise essay below, in its entirety. 

One Love!

G. Djata Bumpus
****************************************

MWS Journal

22-April-2013

Memories of The Boston Marathon and Other Bombings
by Melvin W. Smith

  

The best commentary that I have encountered about the terrible ending of the race last Monday in Boston is written by one of my favorite sports writers, Dave Zirin. His piece, “The Boston Marathon: All My Tears, All My Love,” in The Nation magazine* reminded me of the special essence that the Marathon has come to represent: a promotion of international community, municipal pride, and determined individual human struggle which has become far more inclusive through the years.  Indeed, a matter of special attention and pride for me since 1988 is that the vast majority of front runners and winners have been African.

As an unofficial photographer at the Boston Marathon many years ago (1977 or 78, as I recall) I managed throughout the day to view the Marathon at various points along the route by riding a bicycle through the city, sometimes seeing the same runners at different locations as they progressed toward the finish.  I remember one runner, most of all—obviously not a serious competitor for top honors, but a celebrant of dashing style—who wore a bison headdress in the likeness of a Native American Blackfoot, perhaps, of the Great Plains region more than a century earlier.  Did he wear it for the entire race?  I don’t know, but I know that I saw him more than once during the day, as I was hard pressed on the bike to get ahead of the runners, if only slightly.  (Of course, I had to ride somewhat roundabout, not on as straight a course as the runners ran.)  A few times, after I had reached another spot with a good view of the passing racers, the bison-head guy would come striding by . . . again.  I took lots of photos that day, but almost all of the pictures—slides, negatives (the various formats of that time) and prints— have been lost.  This was my first and only attendance at the Marathon .  Although I have watched live TV coverage and news accounts of later marathons, the memory and some of the feel of that first one remain.

I agree with Zirin about the special meaning of the Boston Marathon, and I understand his lamenting the scarring of it by the street bomb attack.  He is also correct in citing other, more uplifting history and essence of the Marathon .  However, as our sympathy is extended to the injured and to the survivors of the dead, we are mindful of the real new world that has been created by the undue greed, hate, violence and militarism of the West—the empire of Europe and North America, today led by USA.  Thus, we should mourn also for the bomb victims—many by drone missiles—in Somalia, Yemen and other human locales targeted by our own nation’s leaders.

Is the US public now faced with the increased prospect blowback?  Are chickens coming home to roost?  Or, are the masters of the empire attempting to instigate fear among the public for the purpose of more easily implementing their agenda of achieving the declared Full Spectrum Dominance worldwide?  Please observe, in this context, the US increased acts of “humanitarian intervention” and military encroachment, especially in Africa (via NATO and AFRICOM, including the invasion and regime change in Libya), the deadly meddling in Syria , and the steady clamor to launch new wars on defiant nations such as Iran and North Korea .

The axiom “Might Makes Right” appears to be an all-American (rather, all-USA) slogan today. Aside from a theoretical appeal to “justice, US citizens largely learn to admire and respect the rule of crude power.  Thus, the largest military machine in human history goes unchecked, even in the face of claims about national budgetary shortages, fiscal cliffs, and such.  When the money is tight (having been stolen and either secreted away or squandered by Wall Street’s big-time gamblers, for example) the immediate solution posed is always to cut social services, especially those services available to the masses, including public education.  The cries of balancing the budget never, ever point to the segment of the federal budget devoted to war-readiness and war-making—the so-called defense budget— as an obvious source of funds to be diverted toward peaceful social maintenance and development.  No, no, no, the patriot-citizens object. Any such suggestion is entirely off the table (again), because the so-called Defense budget is sacred in this USA.

The vast, obscene wealth devoted to US war-making also includes non-budgeted covert projects like CIA.  Furthermore, private industrial enterprises like Lockheed Martin and Boeingare engaged in major Defense contracts, all of which comprise a significant contribution to the US economy.  The industrial might of the US is one of the central factors in its superiority in armaments.  US factories and laboratories produce every type of weapon and combat supply known to humankind, and these are produced in super-enormous quantities.  US stockpiles of weapons become a liability to their investors unless they are consumed somehow.  The capitalist system actually depends on high levels of consumption (demand) in order to satisfy its products (supply).  Supply and demand, right?  Thus, along with the supposed geopolitical gains and psychological uplift for a supposed “ American Way of Life,” the weapons must be used on somebody.  Consumed, you know.  Now, let’s see; who’s next?

The USA , indeed, is a war monger nation.  My God, what would happen to us if Peace should break out? some citizen-patriots have been suspected of thinking.  According to the objective conditions of US culture and economy, Peace cannot be afforded.  Accordingly, if we citizen-patriots cannot afford to make Peace (as in “The path to Peace is peace!”), then probably we do not deserve peace.  There will be a reckoning.  Blowback is to be expected.

Nevertheless, as the American Dream bubble bursts, we must continue to advocate for one human family—as from within my own pan-African perspective—striving together toward solutions for all.  We should not allow fear to break the celebrations of such.  I agree, again, with Dave Zirin that the Boston Marathon not be characterized by this recent dreadful incident, but I insist on demanding of fellow US citizens and our governments a genuine effort toward peace outside of the official rituals of sport and entertainment.  A rejection of militarism and imperialism is required.  Can we attempt to do it?  If we can, will we? 

                                                                                    --Melmanjaro

                                                           

*Also see Dave Zirin’s discussion at DemocracyNow! Tues. April 16, 2013.

Read full post

Dr. Ndibe briefly comments on the shaky murders of "terrorists in Nigeria (originally posted on 3/5/10)

"But Al Jazeera’s videos show soldiers and police sweeping through charred and still smoldering cities to arbitrarily round up targets. These “suspects,” some of them deformed men on crutches, were then ordered to lie face down and shot at close range. "

"Murder most foul"
by Okey Ndibe

Horror, that’s the word that came to mind as I watched Al Jazeera’s video documentation of Nigerian soldiers and police executing innocent civilians last year in the name of fighting Boko Haram. Last July and August, hundreds of Nigerians died in a fierce battle between the militant group, which denounced all western influences as corrupting, and Nigerian government forces. But Al Jazeera’s videos show soldiers and police sweeping through charred and still smoldering cities to arbitrarily round up targets. These “suspects,” some of them deformed men on crutches, were then ordered to lie face down and shot at close range.

Those who made a gruesome sport of killing their fellows should be identified and prosecuted. Any nation that would treat its citizens as if they were lower than cattle sows the seeds of its own destruction. Those who excuse the bestial extra-judicial execution on the grounds that the victims were rabid Boko Haram attack dogs are off the mark. For one, the soldiers and police had no way of proving who was Boko Haram or who wasn’t. Besides, a state that authorizes summary execution has cast itself as a jungle, not a community of humans.

At any rate, if Nigeria must adopt executions without trial, why not start with the politicians whose mindless looting creates hopelessness and fertilizes groups like Boko Haram? Read full post

Why won't the US government ratify the International Equal Rights Amendment Treaty?

The seven UN member states that have not ratified or acceded to the convention are Iran, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tonga, and the United States."

Dear friends,  
For all of the publicity that so many women in our society receive, from Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton to Beyonce and Kim Kardashian, why is it that neither the Equal Rights Amendment in this country or its international version have yet to be ratified? After all, as was done at the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, most advanced countries in the world, through the United Nations, have agreed upon giving all citizens equal rights, regardless of "gender". Still, the non-compliance list reveals: The seven UN member states that have not ratified or acceded to the convention are Iran, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tonga, and the United States. 

I mean, nations that share in their absolute refusal to recognize females as equal citizens, much less beings, would not seem to include a country like ours that loves to spout brave words about "freedom and democracy". Moreover, Male Supremacy, euphemistically called sexism, rules, even in the countries that have signed the treaty mentioned above. People can talk about White Supremacy, euphemistically called racism, all day. However, to talk about Male Supremacy is a no-no. Even in places where racism isn't the problem, Male Supremacy remains. 

Worse yet, just as most non-Europeans have internalized racism or White Supremacy, and, therefore, contribute to its proliferation through practices of self-hatred towards each other, all females, regardless of culture or skin color, have internalized the oppression and exploitation of sexism or Male Supremacy, as they too contribute to its proliferation via the self-hatred that exists between females. Consequently, neither Michelle Obama nor Hillary Clinton would ever dare mention the term Male Supremacy to their husbands - or in public. Think about it! 

G. Djata Bumpus 

Read full post

Four Women

Dear friends, 

 In 1916 four women--who were formely enslaved--gathered at a reunion in Washington, DC. All were centenarians. Annie Parram, 104; Anna Angales, 105; Elizabeth Berkeley, 125; and Sadie Thompson 110. From the National Photo Company Collection. 

 One Love! 

 G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Jen Armstrong on Obama's latest faux pas

Dear Friends, 

Okay, on the link below, my longtime friend, award-winning journalist Jen Armstrong of the Philadelphia Daily News, is the older version of Dr. Namandje Bumpus, when it comes to rightfully denouncing men objectifying women.. Still, I look forward to the day when that same protest, regarding the objectification of women, is directed towards men who either put on a wig and dress or have some scumbag surgeon make them a vagina, and then those same aforementioned men call themselves "women". .Ya dig?.

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/jenice_armstrong/20130407_Pretty_dumb_comment__Mr__Prez.html

Read full post

What's the next step for Black Journalism and NABJ? (originally posted 8/8/11)

“Why is it that we shoud concentrate our writing on the experiences of African American people?”

Dear friends.

For a number of years, there’s been a lot of talk about the demise of Black journalism. The conference of NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) that was held in Philadelphia last week shows that there is still an opportunity for African American writers in the government- and corporate-controlled media to move something forward. But about what should they write?

It’s interesting that the term journalist is bound to language or words. And as my old friend and colleague Professor Emeka Nwadiora of Temple University has insisted, “Language is thought”.

Of course, the words that we use not only represent our ideas or thoughts, but they also serve, for example, to establish purposive and legally-binding relationships (like two people saying, “I do.” at a marriage ceremony, for instance.)

Now, each cultural group develops its own language, based upon the real experiences of that particular group. For African Americans, our thoughts have been centered around a people who have been and still are attacked as a “marked” group, by another body of people of, mostly, European descent, who mean-spiritedly call themselves “white” in order to form an artificial “majority” group.

Yet, if these same European Americans called themselves by their cultural names - e.g., Italian American, Irish American, and so forth, African Americans wouldn’t be seen as such a marked group or “minority”.

Nevertheless, especially since the end of the North American Civil War, the newfound freedom of our African ancestors has led us to continue to fight for genuine liberation. The battle has taken basically two different forms. They are: 1) Resistance. 2) Accommodation.

Beginning in the 1950s, the latter of the two became acceptable to the artificial majority’s government- and corporate-controlled media, but, unfortunately, that “accommodating” Civil Rights Movement is now being used to represent all of the battles of African Americans in the history of this country. They are even calling a great warrior like Malcolm X a civil rights leader.

Even worse, due to the racist arrogance of the aforementioned artificial majority, a White Supremacist Movement called the Gay Rights Movement (as if anyone can claim such a staunch “identity” with something as precarious, if not frivolous, as the human sexual appetite) is now being clumped in with the African American Civil Rights Movement
(which itself only represented about 15 years of our centuries-long struggle for equality, dignity, and justice.) Huh? How do you place the centuries-long struggle of African American people in the same category as preponderantly European American men, claiming to be a “minority”, who, based upon power and sexual greed, identify themselves by their genitals, as they pierce other men’s anuses with their erections? “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” (where’s Tina Turner when you need her?)

Meanwhile, beginning with slave revolts on enslavers' ships, on the Atlantic Ocean, that caused the creation of maroon societies like the country of Surinam on the northern border of South America, to the slave revolts on the Southern plantations of North America led by folks with names like Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner, to name a few, to a warrior queen named Harriet Tubman, to tens of thousands of African American warriors who fought with guns and helped end slavery, as well as, later, another warrior queen named Ida B. Wells, to Marcus Garvey’s “Back to Africa" Movement, and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam, to the Republic of New Africa, and the Black Panther Party, along with many, many more “resisters” of the Black Liberation Movement that began when the very first African was brought to these shores, not when Martin King became the voice of “civil rights”, there has continued to be a part of Our Movement that has been based upon a well-deserved hostility and resentment to our oppression.

During the past 50 years, there have been Black journalists who have worked solely for the government- and corporate-controlled media. However, the majority of Black journalists have worked for publications like Ebony Magazine, and nationally-distributed newspapers like Muhammad Speaks (followed by The Final Call) and the now defunct Black Panther. There have also been and are national, regional, and local publications that have featured the wisdom and work of Black journalists who have really tried to – and still do - inform and inspire African American people.

So where is the National Association of Black Journalists, as all this has been occurring? Why, they had a LOVE Party and a golf tournament in Philly. That’s very informative. On top of that, Eric Holder, Obama's chief Tom in law enforcement, gave a speech. That's crazy! This is the same Obama administration that boycotted the Durban Review Conference on Racism, but Holder can come and glad hand in Philly at the NABJ conference. Go figure.

Actually, NABJ grew out of the Black Consciousness Movement (@1965-85) – NOT the Civil Rights Movement that died with King. At any rate, we should never expect very much from mainstream media people, African American or European American.

To be sure, some will argue: Well, the market controls everything...We have to keep our jobs.

If that’s the case, then Black journalists, especially in the age of the Internet, may consider creating a market for African Americans that is based upon us controlling our own process of social reproduction or political economy, as opposed to allowing, as Professor Lloyd Hogan has said, “alien marauders” to continue controlling that aforesaid process, while oppressing and exploiting us.

Most of all, Black journalists, as a whole, must begin to inform and inspire African American people, by emphasizing the beauty that we have created and can continue making, as we begin to develop loving and prosperous communities that are filled with educated, industrious people.

“Liberation!” - Dr. Barbara Love

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Chinua Achebe - a literary titan - has passed

"I met him, back in the late-Eighties, right before he had an horrific car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was a professor at the University of Massachusetts then."

Dear friends,

The great Chinua Achebe passed yesterday.

I met him, back in the late-Eighties, right before he had an horrific car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was a professor at the University of Massachusetts then.

It was during that time that he brought a then fairly young Nigerian writer/scholar named Okey Ndibe to America, for the purpose of the latter becoming Editor of an international, progressive magazine that changed names a few times, before becoming African World magazine@1995. I was one of several progressive intellectuals who, occasionally, had pieces published in that now-defunct, albeit important, periodical.

However, my lifelong friendship with one of Chinua's prize student, the aforementioned Dr. Okey Ndibe of Brown University, is still going strong more than two decades later.

Finally, my condolences go out to our beloved Chinua Achebe's family, and the Ndibe family (which includes his wife, Professor Sheri Ndibe, and their three wonderful progeny/my boxing students Chibu, Chiamaka, and Chidibe).

One Love!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/world/obit-chinua-achebe/index.html Read full post

Looking back at the great Phyllis Hyman - a video interview

Dear friends,

She needs needs neither an introduction or comments. Here, o the link below, she raps with Arsenio Hall. Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwHjp5gruQE Read full post

NCTV interviews Djata Bumpus about Pioneer Valley Boxing School

Dear friends,

On the link below is a half-hour video, taped on September 10th, 2012, regarding my boxing school. I'm very happy with the way that it came out, except for one little mistake that I made, when I referred to Howard McCall, brother of the great Philly trainer Quinzell McCall,  as the two-time state boxing coach, when I meant to say two-time state boxing commissioner (of PA). Otherwise, please check it out! Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJw_lFS9dK0&feature=share&fb_source=message

Read full post

Organized Aghani women resisting Oppression and Exploitation!!! (originally posted 9/29/10)

" RAWA is the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy and women's rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977..."

Dear friends,

Here's the Website of a serious women's movement that has been going on in Afghanistan for some time. It is very exciting!!!! Please check out this link. One Love! http://www.rawa.org/index.php

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Looking back at the late great Fatimah Ali on "For Colored Girls" who need work

"...at least in this country, Black actors, male and female, generally-speaking, do not practice creating art that is both functional and liberating..."


(originally posted 11/17/10)
Dear friends,

While I still don’t plan to see it any more than I would want to see “The Ku Klux Klan cheerleaders go to Hollywood”, Tyler Perry’s latest effort to outdo himself as the King Coon of Black cinema has, apparently, had some success. The sad part is: because, at least in this country, Black actors, both male and female, generally-speaking, do not practice creating art that is both functional and liberating, the insatiably greedy market has found a niche for them to embrace that allows such actors and actresses to work at their crafts without dignity, while, simultaneously, being well-compensated.

Of course, I don’t know whether or not Perry even admits to an attempt at creating art. Still, I wonder why he doesn’t take advantage of his ability to reach so many loyal supporters and do a film about Ida B. Wells or former Panther chief Elaine Brown, for example, where his aforementioned supporters can learn some practical ways to gain the respect and dignity that they so obviously crave.

Moreover, the idea that people cannot entertain themselves by pro-actively exercising their inner powers like both physical and mental energy, concentration, memory, and persistence, to name a few, and, instead passively sit, listen, and watch thoughtless plays and movies only magnifies their individual frustrations of feeling so powerless and helpless in this lonely experience called human life.

Worse yet, attempts to find union with others in order to relieve themselves of their anxieties about feeling separate and lonesome, unfortunately, makes, in this case, some females cling to each other under a veil of sentimentality. In the process, they commiserate with each other about how “men” treat them, as if all women are models of moral rectitude. Yet, as long as the market determines the meaning of “value” in our society, as opposed to vice versa, Tyler Perry and the “actors” he employs will persist.

In any case, on the link below, I am honored to share a piece that came out a few years ago, regarding Tyler Perry’s new movie “For Colored Girls”. Thoughtful, but entertaining, it was written by a dear friend of mine from the Philadelphia Daily News, the late, great Fatimah Ali. Enjoy!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20101109_Fatimah_Ali__In__For_Colored_Girls___cast_trumps_the_grim_material.html Read full post

Stop the Violence!!!...How much are you like your neighbor?

"He did a whole lot of wrong stuff," said William Harris, a retired construction foreman who has lived on 81st Street for more than 40 years. "But this murder stuff really surprised me…If the accusations are true, Harris may be left wondering not just what that says about his neighbor but what it says about the moral compass of his neighborhood.” - Sandy Banks


Dear friends,

In our efforts to develop loving and prosperous communities, it is easy to point fingers at people who behave in unthinkable ways. Yet, what does that say about us as individuals, in any particular neighborhood, if we live and associate with the same people who we denounce, without taking pro-active, positive steps to help create an environment where we live that encourages social interactions between members of the community that are based upon respect, trust, kindness, and honesty?

Still, from random killings to domestic violence to sexual harassment of all kinds - to various forms of robbery, assault, and deception - to forced prostitution, violence against females - regardless of their ages, skin colors, or social statuses - is the world’s biggest problem. Period! It, literally, affects not only half of the population in the US, but, as well, an equal amount of humankind worldwide. Moreover, it is the most immediate threat to our survival as a species than even the suicidal “nuclear proliferation” of all developed countries combined, or the current so-called “world economic crisis”.

In any case, on the link below, a few years ago, Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times delivered, in her usual thought-provoking manner, a piece that, aqt least to me, entices us to confront our own inadequacies and insecurities about being good neighbors. Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks-20100710,0,5099090,full.column Read full post

Male Supremacy rules in Nigeria/Africa too!!!

"Why are males, of all ages, so insecure that they need to get their self-worth at the expense of females, of all ages?"

Dear friends,

On the link below is a 25 minutes-long video about human trafficking in the nation that has the world's largest Black population, Nigeria (Brazil is 2nd, the US is 3rd). The real problem, even more so than White Supremacy, is: Male Supremacy. It fosters both economic, physical, and emotional violence against females, literally, every second, of every minute, of every day.

Let's stop it! Why are males, of all ages, so insecure that they need to get their self-worth at the expense of females, of all ages?

G. Djata Bumpus
http://saharareporters.com/video/video-human-trafficking-prostitution-and-organized-crime-nigeria-nigerian-connection-film-part Read full post

Wisdom of a Female Scientist about Violence against Women

“Instead of women, including myself. focusing on our chances, or lack thereof, of getting married we need to actively combat the objectification of women... “Dr. Namandje Ne'fertiti Bumpus

Dear friends,

About three years ago, I read a piece by a dear friend, award-winning journalist Jenice Armstrong of the Philadelphia Daily News. In her article, Jen talked about the difficulties of, particularly, middle-aged professional African American women finding a suitable mate once they have passed 40 years of age .

One of my daughters, Namandje, a medical scientist and college professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has just reached thirty-two years-old, but she has spoken with me about the here-to-mentioned stats before.

Therefore, when I read Jen's piece, I forwarded it to her for comments. Her response showed that she had more concern for the recently (2010) murdered grad student from Yale, Annie Le, and how that incident relates to male/female relationships generally. Namandje's response appears below.

Stop the Violence!!!

G. Djata Bumpus ***********************************************

Hey Dad,

The Yale graduate student murder is the issue that is most on my mind. A young woman and young pharmacologist was strangled in a lab she was working in doing her thesis research perhaps by a man that worked with her and was interested in her. She had done research at the NIH (National Institute of Health) and was now a student at Yale.

Yale has a very well-respected pharmacology graduate program so we are talking about a serious graduate student that was serious about developing her science. She wanted to become a professor in academia, when statistics show that many women for whatever reason (family commitments, etc.) choose not to go that route. This hits close to home for me.

The lab for people that are dedicated to our craft is not the same as the average person's workplace. We live in the lab mentally and even physically in a way. We dream about experiments and wake up to write down what we were thinking and run into lab to test it the next day. Many of us spend more time there than we do at home. The fact that a woman could be victimized and murdered in that setting is very troubling. Women cannot walk down the street at night, or sleep in their home alone or even work in a lab in broad daylight alone apparently without having to think about the fact that they might be attacked by a violent predator.

Instead of women, including myself. focusing on our chances, or lack thereof, of getting married we need to actively combat the objectification of women. Once this happens the definitions of men and women and our places in society can evolve to a place that does not depend on women being lesser which currently in many ways they do. Perhaps then we will all approach looking for and entering into a life partnership in a more productive and intellectual manner.

Namandje Read full post

African American Teenage Girls Need Our Support Too

"Parents themselves must have a meaningful way to look at life, other than collecting trinkets and baubles, because your children are watching you!"

Dear friends,


Last year (2012), six beautiful African American teenage girls (I wonder if anyone ever has called them beautiful, because of their darker complexions) attacked a middle-aged, mentally-challenged woman (who I'm presuming is African American), in Chester, PA recently.

For all of the emphasis on "Black males", who do people think bear the latter, through pregnancy?. Yep!. Females.

Therefore, at least to me, it is time for African American people to STOP placing so much emphasis on our male youths only.. After all, to continue concentrating on their male counterparts only, furthers male promotion of, as well as, female submission to, Male Supremacy, no matter how well-intentioned the efforts in favor of emphasizing on males is.

Moreover, it is the responsibility of ALL parents, African American or otherwise, to give their children direction and guidance that is based upon informing identity through the connection between generations, along with their true historical and cultural experiences, so that the "market" doesn't suck our youth into all of the nonsense that has culture being defined outside of generational processes (genuine culture), with nonsense about "gang" culture, "gay" culture, "youth" culture, and all other such idiocy!.

Parents themselves must have a meaningful way to look at life, other than collecting trinkets and baubles, because your children are watching you!

One Love!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120930_Six_teens_charged_in_brutal_Chester_beating.html
Read full post

So Long - Mama Africa (originally posted 11/14/08)

Mariam Makeba aka "Mama Africa" (1932 - 2008)






Dear friends,

Almost forty years ago, I had both the pleasure and honor of meeting Mariam Makeba. At the time, she was married to Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture). Stokely was the chief icon of the Black Consciousness Movement. Mariam was a celebrated singer and activist in her own right. The two had married not quite two years earlier.

They had been living in Africa, while Stokely studied under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the former president of Ghana and the main proponent of the concept of Pan Africanism at the time. On this, his first trip back to the States, word got out to activists in Boston's Black community that Stokely was coming through Logan Airport. In a hurry, a group of us, which included some Black college students from Northeastern University, were able to get a hall for him to speak and an honorarium. We then set out to get an audience. It wasn't difficult, considering Stokely's stature. The place was packed, by the scheduled time for Stokely to speak. This all happened in a matter of five or six hours, as I remember.

The last time that I ever saw Mariam Makeba was when we bid the couple farewell in the parking lot behind the building in which Stokely spoke. The two were arm-in-arm, smiling, beneath an umbrella, as the weather had become drizzly. I will always remember that hectic but incredibly positive experience.

On the link below, is a piece that I saw on the Website of WDAS radio in Philadelphia that gives a short biography of Mariam's life. Her spirit will live on in many.

One Love,
G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.wdasfm.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104659?feed=104653&article=4561480 Read full post

Wisdom of a Female Scientist about Violence against Women

Instead of women, including myself. focusing on our chances, or lack thereof, of getting married we need to actively combat the objectification of women... Dr. Namandje Ne'fertiti Bumpus
(Originally posted 3/20/11) 

 Dear friends, 

Last year, I read a piece by a dear friend, award-winning journalist Jenice Armstrong of the Philadelphia Daily News. In her article, Jen talked about the difficulties of, particularly, middle-aged professional African American women finding a suitable mate once they have passed 40 years of age . One of my daughters, Namandje, a medical scientist and college professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has just reached thirty years-old, but she has spoken with me about the here-to-mentioned stats before. Therefore, when I read Jen's piece, I forwarded it to her for comments. Her response showed that she had more concern for the recently (2010) murdered grad student from Yale, Annie Le, and how that incident relates to male/female relationships generally. Namandje's response appears below. 

 Stop the Violence!!! 

 G. Djata Bumpus 

********************************************* 

 Hey Dad, The Yale graduate student murder is the issue that is most on my mind. A young woman and young pharmacologist was strangled in a lab she was working in doing her thesis research perhaps by a man that worked with her and was interested in her. She had done research at the NIH (National Institute of Health) and was now a student at Yale. 

 Yale has a very well-respected pharmacology graduate program so we are talking about a serious graduate student that was serious about developing her science. She wanted to become a professor in academia, when statistics show that many women for whatever reason (family commitments, etc.) choose not to go that route. This hits close to home for me. 

 The lab for people that are dedicated to our craft is not the same as the average person's workplace. We live in the lab mentally and even physically in a way. We dream about experiments and wake up to write down what we were thinking and run into lab to test it the next day. Many of us spend more time there than we do at home. 

 The fact that a woman could be victimized and murdered in that setting is very troubling. Women cannot walk down the street at night, or sleep in their home alone or even work in a lab in broad daylight alone apparently without having to think about the fact that they might be attacked by a violent predator. Instead of women, including myself. focusing on our chances, or lack thereof, of getting married we need to actively combat the objectification of women. Once this happens the definitions of men and women and our places in society can evolve to a place that does not depend on women being lesser which currently in many ways they do. Perhaps then we will all approach looking for and entering into a life partnership in a more productive and intellectual manner. 

 Namandje Read full post

Videos of Malcolm, Martin, and James

"Considering the recent cartoon that was deliberately posted during Black History Month by the New York Post (in 2009), the series of videos here seem quite timely..."

Dear friends,

Considering the fact that America is still wrought with economic and social problems, regardless of the president's skin color, is Black Nationalism still an answer to the woes of Black people? Below is a link with videos of and about Malcolm X, including interviews with Dr. Martin Luther King and James Baldwin.

One Love,
G. Djata Bumpus
Videos of and about Malcolm X, including interviews with Dr. Martin Luther King and James Baldwin Read full post

"Ebony Woman" by Nicki Mathis - a poem

"I wrote this in 1986, as a tribute to Black Women"





"EBONY WOMAN"
by Nicki Mathis

Beautiful are your eyes
Strong, creative, and tender
are your hands
Spiritual is the heart
of my Black sisters

Your eyes are the eyes of the world
Sparkling in the sunlight
Glowing in the moonlight
Girl, I see you dancing in the twilight

Your hands are the hands that weave
webs of life's mysteries
Place me in your stories
Taste the nectar of your love
Bear the fruit of your trees

Sing a song of love and praise
Your adventurous spirit is ageless
You leave me more than misty haze
For my song of love and praise
You foretell all the mazes
To make my life's mirror
So much clearer

I told you about my first love affair
This time before I wake
Listen to my dreamlife without care
And my last heartbreak

My courageous sisters
You cheered me on
You ran this race before me
You taught the lesson so well
You left a priceless legacy
You loved the world enough to tell
All the time you showed me
I can choose not to fail

Now it’s your brilliance
That I bask in
You breathe the breath of life
And it’s I who’s asking
To see the mold that you’re casting
It’s everlasting, everlasting, everlasting

And ever beautiful
You’re the richest of all my treasures
Or how else can I measure
What my life is meant to be
You have made me see
The Universe in me

So I sing my love song to you
I need to be with you girl
I’m so lost without you, and you, and you
My mother you are beautiful
Sister you are beautiful
My love and my friend
You are beautiful Read full post

Pimpin’ the Arts – Grammy, Academy Awards, and other award shows

“S/he serves as a bridge between the appreciator and that which is either real or imagined.”

Dear friends,

Having just aired stories about the anniversary of the unfortunate demise of the great Whitney Houston, all of the network television charlatans are getting North Americans ready for the annual “Awards” circuit. The Oscars are about to happen.

But what is the real point of giving awards to artists? I mean, the artist is asking for someone to “Come listen” or “Come see” or “Come hear” his or her work. The reason? S/he serves as a bridge between the appreciator and that which is either real or imagined.

In the process, art can serve the purpose of liberating or simply providing pleasure of some sort. And seldom are there financial rewards for being an artist.

Moreover, having people appreciate your creations, much less be willing to surrender some of their money to purchase them, in order for the artist to continue to survive so that s/he can keep creating his or her work, is the actual reward in and of itself.

Now, for most occupations, be they teachers, construction workers, architects, police officers, or janitors, or those in super markets, clothing stores, realty offices, automobile outlets, you name it, advertisers and their sponsors have a fairly easy time getting into the pockets of the average citizens mentioned above. However, artists are different. As well, their spending habits are unpredictable. Besides, for the very few who make any money, that means that a lot of money is left on the table. So how do you get some of that money, from these rich, non-traditional members of our society?

Guess what? You play on their egos. It’s that simple. The result is a myriad of formal clothing and hotel rentals. However, more importantly, television commercials that sell at astronomical rates prevail. Millions!

And so, for example, at the show, the announcement is made for the best singer. Then a commercial. Next, an award for the best singer who wore a blue dress. Then another commercial. Then a “Special Achievement Award” for the best singer to have ever worn a blue dress. I imagine that you get the point, by now.

Meanwhile, artists sit around engaging in an orgy of emotional masturbation, basking in illusions of their self-importance. And everyday people watching on television see the aforementioned commercials, and go out and buy more and more silly gadgets that they do no even need.

And there’s no better way to spend one’s time. Right?

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Re- visiting "Precious" - was it a cinematic masterpiece or a movie full of Black self-hatred, obesity,and greed?

"Still. at least to me, the issue of obesity should actually be attached to the much larger problem of emotional/sexual greed, much less the violence - due to Male Supremacy - against females. that fosters that whole social/health epidemic (i.e., obesity) and helps it proliferate."

Dear friends,

Seeking happiness is, perhaps, the main reason for which, as individuals, we tolerate the burdens, inequities, and inconsistencies of life in an advanced civilization such as ours. That is, it seems worth it. Additionally, in dealing with the aforementioned burdens, inequities, ad inconsistencies, we devise a variety of ways to internally run from ourselves, as opposed to confronting problems..

Consequently, passive entertainment like watching thoughtless Hollywood television and movie productions, instead of pro-active entertainment such as engaging our physical and mental powers through exercise of some sort – from running to reading, leaves most folks in this country in a constant state of apathy and confusion.

Moreover, it is to the benefit of those who control our society to make sure, as much is possible, that we, as a population, maintain homogenous thoughts and tastes about as many circumstances and towards as many things as possible. It would not be in the interests of the rulers, if our thoughts and tastes just mentioned were too heterogeneous, after all. We would be tough to manage and control.

So. through advertising conglomerates and a variety of cultural institutions like schools and government- and corporate-controlled media, the aforesaid rulers make certain that they stay in power, at all costs, for generations on end. And they legitimize their unfair existence by using the threat capacity of the police and military. Let’s face it; as Adam Smith put it so adequately and eloquently in his classic volumes that are titled The Wealth of Nations: For every rich man there are five hundred poor ones, and he wouldn’t get a night’s sleep if it weren’t for the local magistrate.

In any case, it has been interesting how, other than the exceptional Jen Armstrong of the Philadelphia Daily News (who also happens to be a very dear friend of mine), most journalists and other such opinion-makers who I’ve recently read have skillfully circumvented discussing that disgraceful cinematic expression of Black self-hatred based upon a book called Push, by the director of that movie, along with its executive producers and actors. Was the author of the book, or were any of the other “Black” folks who I just noted being greedy when they made this film? Who knows their intentions? Was either Stepinfetchit, or his spritual descendant Eddie “Professor Klump” Murphy, being greedy when he made/makes films? Who knows? In fact, no one ever knows the intentions of another, unless you subject the person to some kind of torture. Even then, you may only be told what the victim thinks you want to hear.

I do know that Black actors in this country continue to make plays, movies, and other performances that either invite us to come laugh at ourselves or make “white” folks feel sorry for us.

Nevertheless, up tp this point, aside from the fact that, other than a male transvestite named “Divine”, I’ve never heard of a morbidly obese “white” actress starring in a single Hollywood production – television or movie. Yet, “Precious” featured a young African American female who fit that bill named Gabourey Sidibe. Why is that?

Still. at least to me, the issue of obesity should actually be attached to the much larger problem of emotional/sexual greed, much less the violence - due to Male Supremacy - against females. that fosters that whole social epidemic (i.e., obesity) and helps it proliferate.

Paradoxically, the greed mentioned above is directly related to the fact that people in our society are starving from a lack of emotional/sexual fulfillment. Therefore, because the pursuit of happiness discussed earlier is so personal and always ongoing, folks are easy to manipulate, especially since, again, most citizens choose a passive route to satisfaction, as opposed to a pro-active one.

And so, obesity results from something that could happen to anyone who uses food to satisfy herself or himself in any way - for whatever reason(s). So why is there so much hype about people in our society being overweight? We all need food in periodic intervals or we will succumb. Everybody knows that.

However, from the Tiger Woods syndrome to the “Big Losers” television program, the insatiable market (conveniently claiming to be based on "supply and demand") takes no prisoners. Instead, voyeurism and consumption lead the sheep to the slaughterhouse of emotional/sexual greed. And, of course, greed is always short-sighted. That’s why it’s so hard for people to control their appetites of whatever sort, in this country. Hence, again, the obesity.

But, to me, the real educationally-useful point of “Precious” should have been about violence against females, including incest (which few people are willing to honestly discuss).

Violence against females was trivialized as being the personal problem of a Hollywood movie character, instead of what it really is: the number one human problem in the world today, over the “economy” - and even worldwide nuclear war.

As a matter of fact, as far as I am concerned, First Lady Obama should be focusing more on the aforementioned issue of violence against females, as opposed to an inescapable problem in an advanced civilization that thrives on power and emotional/sexual greed. She does have two daughters, by the way. And Male Supremacy along with the violence of all kinds that it brings against females already affects those two little girls – and Michelle too. Therefore, one may ask, “Does Mrs. Obama stand on genuinely moral grounds to be criticizing obese people?” Let’s keep it real, folks.

One Love,
G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Hollywood & Lies about LIncoln

"Why is there so much lying? And some wonder why we need to embrace Black History Month."

Dear friends, 

 There are often great misconceptions about the results of the Civil War. However, one thing is for certain. No one "freed" the enslaved. Rather, African Americans - along with many European Americans - stopped the Southern enslavers' oligarchy from expanding their evil economic system while, at the same time, destroying the institution of slavery itself. The above-mentioned soldiers did all of this with courage, skill, determination, and WEAPONS! 

 Even Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation is falsely represented in the government- and corporate-controlled media, and both public and private school systems. For there were actually two prior proclamations. The first was issued by General John Fremont, governor of the Missouri territory, almost two years earlier (August 31, 1861). Upon Lincoln getting word of Missouri captives being freed, the "Great Emancipator" sent a letter ordering Fremont to stop the releases. When the feisty general ignored him, Lincoln ordered Fremont back to Washington DC, and revoked that very first proclamation himself. The second one, by Governor David Hunter of South Carolina, issued in July of 1862, suffered Lincoln’s same condemnation. It was only soon afterwards, when it was clear that , especially since there were already thousands of Black Confederate soldiers who were fighting to preserve slavery, since there were also thousands of Black slave owners in the ante-bellum South, that Lincoln decided to allow the Emancipation Proclamation, the third one, mind you, to move forward. (see Lerone Bennett Jr.'s classic book, Before The Mayflower). 

 There is also plenty of literature in any local public library, as well as your Internet browser, to support that simple fact. Of course, the Hollywood garbage called "Lincoln" not only, conveniently, doesn't mention that just mentioned above, it also doesn't have any mention of Frederick Douglass who was the main person behind inspiring Lincoln to follow through with the enactment of both the 13th and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution. Why is there so much lying? And some wonder why we need to embrace Black History Month. 

 G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

MusicWomen Conference October 9 through 13, 2013, in Ft Lauderdale, Fl‏

Greetings,

Pls MARK YOUR 2013 CALENDAR, and SAVE THE DATE - Nicki Mathis' Afrikan Amerikan Jazz will be performing at the MusicWomen Conference October 9 through 13, 2013, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Early Registration began October 9, 2012, through http://www.jwfamilytravel.com

The webpage: http://www.wijsf.com/conference.htm

Contact

Joan Cartwright, Executive Director

Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc.

2801 S. Oakland Forest Drive #103

Oakland Park, FL 33309

 954-740-3398

FACEBOOK and TWITTER

Support women musicians!

www.wijsf.org

Read full post

FIGHTING THE CRIME INDUSTRY

"A dear friend of mine who lives in Florida has assured me that her state gives youngsters at the lower elementary level (2nd- and 3rd grades) statewide exams that help that state government decide how much additional prison space will be needed in future years, based upon how many youngsters fail the aforementioned exams. Imagine that! Did someone say, 'Crime Industry'?"

Dear friends,

Many of the young people in Our community, especially the teenage boys, are not either in jail or in contact with the criminal justice system, because they have been lucky thus far. However, it is only a matter of time before they may get swallowed into what is essentially an industry in this country. It is, the Crime Industry.

In fact, I do not care how well you raise your kids, for some reason, particularly, African American youth can fall prey to foolishness. Many great parents and those who work with youth through supportive community programs will attest to that. In other words, even those youngsters who have had all of the right parenting, environment, and so forth, can become food for the vultures of the Crime Industry. It's tough. The Crime Industry does not care about guilt or innocence. They make stuff up. Our children suffer. Also, peer pressure to be like the frauds on the hip-hop records is a major problem.

Again, it must be said: Crime in the USA is an industry just as enterprises that manufacture, for example, food, clothing, real estate, and automobiles are. Crime as an industry makes sense, of course. After all, less crime would mean less police, judges, prosecutors, corrections officers, court officers, prison architects to design prisons and construction companies to build them, food- and other types of vendors, you name it. Moreover, without the salaries and pensions of those groups just mentioned a large part of the overall economy of this country would be destroyed.

Actually, one would think that our energies should be used towards more useful purposes like finding cures to human maladies and the like. However, manufacturing crime is, also, a major component of programming for both print and electronic media - another source of great income for many.

Still, in especially urban settings, we hear talk about need to have more police and less guns in our communities as a means to solving our crime problems. Domestic guns are being made mostly for police purposes and sport hunting. Consequently, without the Crime Industry, the gun industry itself may have succumb by now. Let’s face it. In Philadelphia alone, during 2006, for instance, it has been reported that, at least, 20 people were killed by the police (17 of them unarmed). Consequently, the aforementioned data reveals that more police simply means more guns - and more deaths.

In all fairness, that just mentioned reflects only one side of the Crime Industry. On the other side, we have an inordinate amount of African American and Latino young people who display absolutely no dignity for themselves or respect for others, including a lack of consideration for authority. In other words, we have a population filled with young people who, emotionally and intellectually, seem to want to remain in the infant stage of the human experience.

Many of these youngsters were brought into this world by those who were children themselves. Now, the former are repeating what their parent(s) did. Moreover, these African American and Latino youth are the chief commodities of the Crime Industry, whether as petty thieves, drug-dealers, stooges for either drug distributors or the district attorney and the like, or those who are caught up in the court and prison systems with its probation and parole agents. The worst part of all of this lies with the fact that, in the general population of US society, European American (so-called white) youth, clearly, must commit more crimes, because of their numerically greater levels of poverty; however, they are not victims of a marked group that is "profiled".

At any rate, our children’s current behavior reflects our own. Let’s face it, again, history is the story of generations of families of varying sizes. Historically, these families have been headed by a single mother, because men have died young, gone off to war and been killed, or just left to indulge in selfish behavior. The fantasy of the Ozzie and Harriet two-parent household is a fabrication of Hollywood. Moreover, wisdom suggests that a young person, male or female, having a male figure around to help direct him or her through life's uncertain journey, is essential. Yet, single mothers do quite fine, and have done so for millennia. Hence, what is even more important than having male “mentors” is having a community that supports the development of its youth.

Of course, a civil society certainly needs some of those people mentioned at the beginning of this piece (e.g., police, judges, lawyers, and so forth). However, many jobs are created, specifically for and because of the Crime Industry, and maintained by those whose best interests are served by continued criminal behavior in our society. A good example lies with the fact that, all across the country, in many municipalities, district attorneys, are allowed to use confiscated drug money, for instance, for future hires, raising wages in their offices, and improved pensions for the same workers just mentioned. It is not, therefore, in the best interests of prosecutors and their agents to be too “tough on crime”. Dig? As a matter of fact, it makes more sense for such people (DAs, and so forth) to actually regulate crime.
******************************

Here are a few ways that we can fight against the proliferation of the Crime Industry which robs African American people of so much of our potentially productive energy and resources. Can you think of some ways to do the same?

1.) Free Buses To Prisons Program

Transport children to prisons for the explicit purpose of having reading lessons with their incarcerated parents. Dr. Seuss books and other “phonics” type of reading materials are a great way to start. Many of these folks who are incarcerated have only first- and second grade reading levels. By learning their phonics better and due to the fact that they are older than their children, thus more experienced in life, invariably, these "parents" will begin to read at a higher grade level, acquiring deeper comprehension as well as greater mental stamina. This means that they will gain new ideas, by reading more informative literature, instead of only consuming thoughts from people who, like them, are locked up as well and just as clueless about how to be productive citizens.

As stated above, many of the brothers in prison either cannot read or read only at first- or second grade levels. More help in the classrooms at the first- or second grade levels (and a relationship with a loving elder) may have kept them trying in school longer. Their children deserve a better chance than they had. Also, regarding females, sisters in prisons are often there because of some knucklehead males. Therefore, young girls will also benefit from having a wider range of caring adults in their lives, whether those elders are incarcerated or not. Note: A dear friend of mine who lives in Florida has assured me that her state gives youngsters at the lower elementary level (2nd- and 3rd grades) statewide exams that help that state government decide how much additional prison space will be needed in future years, based upon how many youngsters fail the aforementioned exams. Imagine that! Did someone say, "Crime Industry"?

2.) Letters to Prisoners Program

Get people to be pen pals with inmates in area prisons. The main problem here will be that we need to make sure that inmates are not being selfish and engaging in deceitful behavior, in order to borrow money or get “favors” done on the outside. Telephone calls should be prohibited from being a way for inmates to connect with their pen pals. Incarcerated people should learn to write, so that they can think about why they are in that situation in the first place. A phone call does not require such reflection; people can just talk and feel good - then hang up.

3.) Convict Redemption Program

Get those convicted of either human or property damages - of any kind, to construct ways themselves to make up for their transgressions against their fellow community members. For example, as part of the “Buses” program, inmates who are not parents can still donate time to read and learn with young people.

Inmates must redeem themselves! Merely proclaiming belief in God or asking to be forgiven does nothing to repair the damage done. Besides, neither apology or claims of religious loyalty has meaning, if the person has not repaired the damage that he or she caused. For example, people go to AA and NA meetings and hold what amounts to religious revival forums. Yet, as far as I know, not a single member of those groups has ever gone back to a victim and said, "Here's the $100 that I stole from you." Instead, that AA or NA person says, "Will you forgive me for what I did?...I believe in God now." Well, guess what? Everyone on death row, conveniently - now - believes in God, after the fact. Moreover, no one can forgive anyone else. Rather, people must forgive themselves, then redeem themselves by trying to undo the wrong committed against the victim. Otherwise, there is no justice. You just have a crook who has gotten away once more.

The three programs mentioned above are only some of the ways that the community can reach out to our fallen brothers and sisters, in hopes that they will be appreciative for the love that the community has shown them, and, thus, return to the community as productive members.

One Love,
G. Djata Bumpus Read full post