Happy Birthday, C.L.R. James

The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution (1938), by Afro-Trinidadian writer C. L. R. James (4 January 1901–19 May 1989), is a history of the 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution.

Sources:  Blackfacts.org and Wikipedia.

Stokely Carmichael Quote

Stokely Carmichael

[aka Kwame Toure 1941-1998]
Quote taken from Boogie Down Productions/Edutainment 1990

"History can never be made by one man, we must smash this one quickly. History is made only by the masses of the people, this is clear. Even a cursory glance at the fallacious presentation Of History by the American Capitalist system, will demonstrate just this. Take George Washington, as bad as he is... put him in the middle of Valley Forge, by himself, surrounded by the British, he can do nothing. Take Martin Luther King as righteous as he is... put him in the middle of Birmingham by himself, speaking out against racism, he would be lynched. But you take this same King, you take this same Washington put them in Valley Forge, put them in Alabama surround them with thousands of people who have the same ideas they do, willing to make those ideas reality and the situation changes drastically."

Photo and info source: sunyulster.edu and wikipedia.org

I was just feeling a little Edutainment by KRS-One and Boogie Down Production. It was one of my favorite cds from my college days in Savannah. I wish for you all a safe and wonderful weekend. Peace~

Poetry: God's Creation

God's Creation

(For the people of the Caribbean)

SHE IS GOD’S CREATION

I CAN LOOK INTO HER EYES
AND SEE COLUMBUS AT THE MOMENT
SHE DISCOVERED HIM
THERE ARE TRACES OF AN ANCIENT PEOPLE IN HER FACE

OLD FOLK SAY THAT
THE CREATOR BLENDED CLAY WITH WATER FROM THE NIGER AND LAYOU RIVERS TO FORM THE BEAUTY OF HER STRUCTURE…
A SPLENDID MIXTURE OF

SWEET YAMS
and CASSAVA PONE

SHE IS SWEET TOO BAD -- BAD TO THE BONE
THIS EARTHLY ALCHEMY OF INDIGENOUS, AFRICAN, EUROPEAN, AND EAST INDIAN -- TRINI STYLE -- CALYPSO DRIVEN = PURE HUMAN.

Poetry: Patiently Waiting

"Whatever we are waiting for -- peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance -- it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart. "
Author: Sarah Ban Breathnach


Hurry up and wait!
I should have waited
....I should've stated that I wanted it before it's conception
Feelings of lost and shoulda-couldas cloud my mind and crush my wishes
curried dishes distorting a vicious reality
I should have waited
I see your picture and I imagine myself in your time and space
invading your place
but not wanting you to feel displaced or disgraced
tasting the remnants of southern dishes smothered with shrimp and white sauce
It was like that Sunday in Savannah or
that Saturday night at Lady & Sons
Paula Deen wasn't there but we didn't care
We took a walk on the boardwalk and
watched the Sun set on Tybee
Remember that swinging chair and the wind blowing through your hair
We could see ships floating along the horizon that evening
We should leave....it looks like a storm is coming