Derrion Albert, the 16-year-old murdered student from Chicago, was not the first tragic killing of an Afrikan by an Afrikan. It also wasn’t the last, unfortunately. What it was is the latest in a series of acts of self-hatred. Malcolm X called that Afrikans wearing the mask of self-hatred. He said that making Afrikans wear that mask was (is) to worst thing white supremacy did to us and that it was (is) our responsibility to get the mask off our face and our people’s face (mind).
Any of us, who truly believe that Malcolm was “Our Shining Black Prince” disrespect his memory if we continue to seat silent while other deaf, dumb, and blind Afrikans continue to wear that mask. We disrespect the tremendous sacrifice of the Three-Ms – Medgar, Malcolm and Martin -- by not doing something to remove the mask from the mind of “our children”. We disrespect the principles of our Afrikan Heritage and Ancestry by not teaching “our children” to respect Black Life.
Whether we say it elegantly and Ebonically, our Elders’ Voices must make the point to “our children” that every Black Life has real value and must not be senselessly extinguished before it has fulfilled the Creator’s intent. Our Elders must pass on the wisdom, rituals and traditions of living an Afrikan-centered life-style to “our children” for be they cursed deaf, dumb and blind for eternity yet we fail them.
The alternative for Afrikan people living a cursed life is to live life to become the kind of people that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., envisioned us becoming when he described us by saying, “When the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, “There lived a great people – a black people – who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.” It is that majestic vision of black people that we must imbue into “our children” that will have them “believing in the spirituality, humanity and genius of Black people, and in our renewed pursuit of these values” (from the New Afrikan Creed).
And by-the-way, Jacksonains do not need to go to Chicago to witness senseless violence in the Black community. Most recently, we simply need to remember, and never forget the 27 year nurse who simply wanted to enjoy a night out at Birdland. Yatashi Johnson has to be the straw that broke the camel’s back of “Silent from the Elders” in our community. We do not have to wait for the next one. We have to hear Medgar Evers telling us “Every time I think about kids and their innocence, I would wonder how whites can make the youngsters suffers so.” Although, today he undoubtedly would ask how we can make our own children suffer so.
These messages from Malcolm, Martin and Medgar has to resonate today in the Black community through the Afrikan Elders in our community as a message to the next generation to value Black Life. That message must be sent out to “our children” repeatedly by Our Elders until it sinks in for “our children”. And mechanisms must be put in place for “our children” to be able to properly deal with and release their anger and frustrations without harming themselves and others. The Afrikan Village must begin to raise “our children”.
To get it started, I make myself available, and/or will organize a panel of Afrikan Elders from our community, to mediate any dispute where the combatants are receptive to mediation. Simply contact Brotha Lukata at 601.957.2969 for a free consultation on setting up an African Village Meditation Session for yourself and/or a family member. We have got to make the effort for “our children”.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Jackson-MS Chapter of N'COBRA
African People
"Pulling Together to Repair Ourselves"
601.957.2969 or 601.982.0861
Showing posts with label reparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reparation. Show all posts
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, March 26, 2009
N’COBRA: Open Letter to First Lady Michelle Obama
Dear Mrs. Obama:
It is with highest homage and admiration to you that I write this letter. I am the Northeast Regional Representative, and Board Member, for the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. The Reparations Movement, of which N’COBRA is a member, implores you to start a national dialogue on a reparations accord for Blacks in America. This national dialog must be firmly rooted in the historical context of the “trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the “holocaust” of African enslavement in the United States which is anchored in the destruction of life, culture, and human possibilities.
Our ancestors were terrorized by injustices codified in the Constitution of the United States by America’s founding fathers and carried out by religious organizations, corporations, and units of government. Left unchanged, This collaborative will continue in perpetuity impacting African-Americans’ capacity to develop all of their human possibilities if reparations are not paid for the damage done.
Chattel enslavement, and the de facto and de jure racism that have grown from it, was not that long ago as opponents of truth and justice would lead the voting public to believe. As a distinct people in America, African-Americans, with a pre-determined social, economic and political status, have been “free” for only 144 years (1865-2009). This also means that 100 years of our so-called freedom (1865-1965) were spent trying to repair ourselves and seeking recognition as humans.
Our ancestors were “freed” dead broke, without brick, bread, or thread, despite, the promises made, while the enslavers were compensated for the lost of their chattel. Still, today, 44 years later, even with the election of your husband as the President of the United States of America, African-Americans are still not fully recognized.
Therefore, a true national dialogue on a reparations accord for Blacks in America is appropriate within this founding context of America. Reparations are the cross-road solution to these historical injustices and our current undeveloped human capital. This past due debt, left unpaid, will forever contradict the U.S. Constitution you know so well, as well as the Holy Bible you held and where your husband placed his hand to take the Presidential Oath of Office.
Congress passed, and President Obama signed, a stimulus bill to save large financial institutions and corporate America, of which significant amounts were used to pay bonuses to the very corporate executives under whose watch the current economic crisis has deteriorated. Now is the time for Congress and the President to come up with a stimulus check to pay for the damage done to Blacks in America.
There is no statute of limitations for this moral and economic debt owed. This is why America should participate in the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Durban Review being held in Geneva Switzerland next month.
I ask that you remind the President, in the ways only you can, that he has the wherewithal to make real the God-given words of our beloved servant-leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, spoken boldly in 1963, on the steps of our nation’s Capitol, in his “I Have a Dream” speech,
“So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Dr. King’s 1963 speech is indelible as truth is,
“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.”
So I write this letter openly to remind the First Family that a reparations accord would stimulate America’s economy and give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. And I close this letter with the reminder of the “fierce urgency of now.” Dr. King said it this way,
“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism...Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.”
Thank you for your fidelity. It is with my fervent faith that I trust you will realize that God brought you to the White House, as First Lady, for such a time as this, to help with, amongst other things, the dialogue on a reparations accord and support for House Bill H.R. 40, sponsored by the Honorable Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
For our ancestors and our descendents,
Minister Ari S. Merretazon, M.S.CED
Northeast Regional Representative
Board Member, N’COBRA
www.ncobraphiladelphia.org
215-850-1699
It is with highest homage and admiration to you that I write this letter. I am the Northeast Regional Representative, and Board Member, for the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. The Reparations Movement, of which N’COBRA is a member, implores you to start a national dialogue on a reparations accord for Blacks in America. This national dialog must be firmly rooted in the historical context of the “trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the “holocaust” of African enslavement in the United States which is anchored in the destruction of life, culture, and human possibilities.
Our ancestors were terrorized by injustices codified in the Constitution of the United States by America’s founding fathers and carried out by religious organizations, corporations, and units of government. Left unchanged, This collaborative will continue in perpetuity impacting African-Americans’ capacity to develop all of their human possibilities if reparations are not paid for the damage done.
Chattel enslavement, and the de facto and de jure racism that have grown from it, was not that long ago as opponents of truth and justice would lead the voting public to believe. As a distinct people in America, African-Americans, with a pre-determined social, economic and political status, have been “free” for only 144 years (1865-2009). This also means that 100 years of our so-called freedom (1865-1965) were spent trying to repair ourselves and seeking recognition as humans.
Our ancestors were “freed” dead broke, without brick, bread, or thread, despite, the promises made, while the enslavers were compensated for the lost of their chattel. Still, today, 44 years later, even with the election of your husband as the President of the United States of America, African-Americans are still not fully recognized.
Therefore, a true national dialogue on a reparations accord for Blacks in America is appropriate within this founding context of America. Reparations are the cross-road solution to these historical injustices and our current undeveloped human capital. This past due debt, left unpaid, will forever contradict the U.S. Constitution you know so well, as well as the Holy Bible you held and where your husband placed his hand to take the Presidential Oath of Office.
Congress passed, and President Obama signed, a stimulus bill to save large financial institutions and corporate America, of which significant amounts were used to pay bonuses to the very corporate executives under whose watch the current economic crisis has deteriorated. Now is the time for Congress and the President to come up with a stimulus check to pay for the damage done to Blacks in America.
There is no statute of limitations for this moral and economic debt owed. This is why America should participate in the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Durban Review being held in Geneva Switzerland next month.
I ask that you remind the President, in the ways only you can, that he has the wherewithal to make real the God-given words of our beloved servant-leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, spoken boldly in 1963, on the steps of our nation’s Capitol, in his “I Have a Dream” speech,
“So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Dr. King’s 1963 speech is indelible as truth is,
“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.”
So I write this letter openly to remind the First Family that a reparations accord would stimulate America’s economy and give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. And I close this letter with the reminder of the “fierce urgency of now.” Dr. King said it this way,
“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism...Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.”
Thank you for your fidelity. It is with my fervent faith that I trust you will realize that God brought you to the White House, as First Lady, for such a time as this, to help with, amongst other things, the dialogue on a reparations accord and support for House Bill H.R. 40, sponsored by the Honorable Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
For our ancestors and our descendents,
Minister Ari S. Merretazon, M.S.CED
Northeast Regional Representative
Board Member, N’COBRA
www.ncobraphiladelphia.org
215-850-1699
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Message to Our Fellow 'Whites' upon the Inauguration of President Barack Obama
Hope and the Central Contradiction
A Message to Our Fellow 'Whites' upon the Inauguration of President Barack Obama
From the Executive Board of Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation
People of all races, ages, ethnicities and nationalities are celebrating today with high hopes for the Obama Administration. They look for their own best selves within the Illinois Senator, asking him to change what is wrong with America and rescue a way of life they believe was founded upon worthy ideals.
In our own lifetimes, we've seen that those who work for a more just future do sometimes experience a step forward. When we come together, resolute in putting our lives on the line to effect change, change has been possible. Many now see the election of Barack Obama as one of those successes. It is a bold step, one that many of us did not imagine we would live to see.
However bold, it's not the arrival of the 'post-racial world' as our TVs would have us believe. The ideology of white supremacy -- the idea that white people are 'more human' than others -- was built into our Constitution, and continues to be part of our lives. It is as blatant as the untimely deaths of African-Americans years before their white counterparts, and as insidious as subtle images in the media. It is as powerful as the tenfold difference in wealth between black families and white ones.
Yet many of us 'whites' cannot imagine what step we could take to end this legacy -- just as once most of us could not imagine an end to Jim Crow, or even an end to slavery, that did not seem to invite chaos and social disorder.
As we have in the past, we can look to the black community for an idea of how to proceed. When no one could see an end to slavery, enslaved Africans found their own ways to undermine it and bring it to crisis. When Jim Crow seemed like a permanent fixture, the black-led Freedom Movement brought it down.
The long-standing movement for slavery reparations, deeply rooted in Black America, is a next step that directly reflects the noble ideals of liberty and equality. Reparations can bring the change that so many hunger for to complete our unfinished American Revolution.
The financial institutions that today clamor for $700+ billion bailouts are heirs of those that financed slaving ships and plantations and insured the human 'property'. The desire of the landed to increase their family wealth framed the desire of children of peasants to enslave Africans and 'settle' Native people from their land. It seems that every issue we face today, if we do so honestly, returns us to the central contradiction: a country that values freedom and liberty has been built on stolen land by enslaved peoples.
The reality is that we cannot save ourselves by saving only our family or 'our kind.' Facing global risks, we must learn we are one humanity sharing one planet, and act with the morality and mutual respect that requires.
The good feeling that many enjoy as we watch Barack Obama take office is only a taste of what we could know if we worked to transform not just today's changing of the guard, but the underlying direction of the nation over which he now presides.
The righteous demand for reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans is key to this re-direction. It deserves our support, not our dismissal. Indeed, it would be far better to dismiss the propaganda of those made fat by exploitation, and seek instead a path for redeeming the soul of our nation.
We call on young people, particularly, to make this the challenge of your generation. Just as generations before you ended Jim Crow and the war on the Vietnamese people, now you can end this nation's war on people of color, both at home and abroad. Real repair of the damage done by the system of white supremacy would inaugurate not just one man, but a transformed world.
---------
Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation is an organization of white Americans and their allies, which supports and advocates reparations proposals put forward by Black leaders. In the organization's Statement of Beliefs, the group calls "upon the families of the white American aristocracy that directly benefited from slavery to voluntarily pay their fair share of the reparations debt with wealth gained from slavery, the slave trade, and slavery related enterprises." Your comments are welcome at http://www.reparationsthecure.org
A Message to Our Fellow 'Whites' upon the Inauguration of President Barack Obama
From the Executive Board of Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation
People of all races, ages, ethnicities and nationalities are celebrating today with high hopes for the Obama Administration. They look for their own best selves within the Illinois Senator, asking him to change what is wrong with America and rescue a way of life they believe was founded upon worthy ideals.
In our own lifetimes, we've seen that those who work for a more just future do sometimes experience a step forward. When we come together, resolute in putting our lives on the line to effect change, change has been possible. Many now see the election of Barack Obama as one of those successes. It is a bold step, one that many of us did not imagine we would live to see.
However bold, it's not the arrival of the 'post-racial world' as our TVs would have us believe. The ideology of white supremacy -- the idea that white people are 'more human' than others -- was built into our Constitution, and continues to be part of our lives. It is as blatant as the untimely deaths of African-Americans years before their white counterparts, and as insidious as subtle images in the media. It is as powerful as the tenfold difference in wealth between black families and white ones.
Yet many of us 'whites' cannot imagine what step we could take to end this legacy -- just as once most of us could not imagine an end to Jim Crow, or even an end to slavery, that did not seem to invite chaos and social disorder.
As we have in the past, we can look to the black community for an idea of how to proceed. When no one could see an end to slavery, enslaved Africans found their own ways to undermine it and bring it to crisis. When Jim Crow seemed like a permanent fixture, the black-led Freedom Movement brought it down.
The long-standing movement for slavery reparations, deeply rooted in Black America, is a next step that directly reflects the noble ideals of liberty and equality. Reparations can bring the change that so many hunger for to complete our unfinished American Revolution.
The financial institutions that today clamor for $700+ billion bailouts are heirs of those that financed slaving ships and plantations and insured the human 'property'. The desire of the landed to increase their family wealth framed the desire of children of peasants to enslave Africans and 'settle' Native people from their land. It seems that every issue we face today, if we do so honestly, returns us to the central contradiction: a country that values freedom and liberty has been built on stolen land by enslaved peoples.
The reality is that we cannot save ourselves by saving only our family or 'our kind.' Facing global risks, we must learn we are one humanity sharing one planet, and act with the morality and mutual respect that requires.
The good feeling that many enjoy as we watch Barack Obama take office is only a taste of what we could know if we worked to transform not just today's changing of the guard, but the underlying direction of the nation over which he now presides.
The righteous demand for reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans is key to this re-direction. It deserves our support, not our dismissal. Indeed, it would be far better to dismiss the propaganda of those made fat by exploitation, and seek instead a path for redeeming the soul of our nation.
We call on young people, particularly, to make this the challenge of your generation. Just as generations before you ended Jim Crow and the war on the Vietnamese people, now you can end this nation's war on people of color, both at home and abroad. Real repair of the damage done by the system of white supremacy would inaugurate not just one man, but a transformed world.
---------
Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation is an organization of white Americans and their allies, which supports and advocates reparations proposals put forward by Black leaders. In the organization's Statement of Beliefs, the group calls "upon the families of the white American aristocracy that directly benefited from slavery to voluntarily pay their fair share of the reparations debt with wealth gained from slavery, the slave trade, and slavery related enterprises." Your comments are welcome at http://www.reparationsthecure.org
Monday, January 19, 2009
Reparations / Celebrations and Struggle
As African-Americans prepare celebrations for Dr. King’s Birthday and Black History Month, we are taken away from the ideals of what both occasions called for. Dr. King’s life did not revolve around celebrations. Dr. King’s life was mirrored by the Civil Rights Movement. He was beaten by the police on several occasions as he led boycotts, freedom rides, marches, protests and sit-ins against discrimination and injustice. Blacks should realize statistics show they are far from equality, so there is a great need to resume the struggle for equality! African-Americans are still victims of the main crimes Dr. King spoke out against such as police brutality and inadequate housing, employment, health care and education. Blacks can never reach equality if they continue to turn their backs on problems that are causing massive damage for the majority of African-Americans and the black community.
African-Americans have got to start spending as much time trying to solve their problems as they are in giving to churches, charities and celebrations. If you look at a calendar to see all the events that blacks are gearing up for, to celebrate and honor one another’s achievements, in the midst of the spread of AIDS and Drugs in our communities; it is as if Dr. King, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hammer, Queen Mother Moore and Sista Callie House never existed. It is a shame to know blacks are becoming less and less concerned with how their immediate family and extended family across America and especially in Africa are treated. It hurts me deep in my soul and I am going to die trying to get blacks to wake up, so that we can form a power base to solve our problems!
Black History Month and the election of a Black President should inspire African-Americans to rekindle the movement to demand equality. They have sacrificed too many lives in wars and made too many valuable contributions that have benefited both America and the entire western civilization, for them to remain victims of racism, hate crimes and discriminatory practices. Black people are going to have to look beyond their churches, civil rights groups and leaders to do the work that is necessary to free their race from racism and oppression. Even though blacks are constantly giving tithes and charitable gifts, these groups and individuals have been bought and sold out. They do not care about the masses of blacks who are victims of obvious and elusive tactics that are designed to maintain white dominance and black oppression.
I hope and pray that blacks are not blinded by these celebrations and evil tactics and begin to pay tribute and honor those who came before them who made it possible for them to enjoy the little bit of success they have among their people today. Black people do not own any land, cities, schools, hospitals or businesses to provide housing, employment, health care and a quality education for their people. This is a shame because blacks have earned the right to have an infrastructure that would amount to 40 acres and a mule from slavery. As long as they have to go to those who really don’t care about them for these essential needs of life they will remain locked out of the system and at risk of acquiring a life threatening or habit forming disease.
Now is the time for blacks to get serious about their future and stop falling for all these 501 c3 lies and faith based initiative tricks that were supposed to bring them to equality two decades ago. The best move blacks could make is to agree that they are still victims of inequality, injustice and disparities and that reparations are long over due to repair damage done in the past and present, in order to have a better future for themselves and generations to come. Check out the Black History Website at www.rula1.com and go to the How to Win Reparations section to see how blacks can form a power base to resume the fight against injustice and start a national campaign to win reparations.
In memory of our ancestors,
Brotha Pruitt
Reparations Leader and Chairman
Committee for African-American Reparations (CAAR) CA
Reparations Union Lobbying Association (RULA) NC
www.rula1.com
African-Americans have got to start spending as much time trying to solve their problems as they are in giving to churches, charities and celebrations. If you look at a calendar to see all the events that blacks are gearing up for, to celebrate and honor one another’s achievements, in the midst of the spread of AIDS and Drugs in our communities; it is as if Dr. King, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hammer, Queen Mother Moore and Sista Callie House never existed. It is a shame to know blacks are becoming less and less concerned with how their immediate family and extended family across America and especially in Africa are treated. It hurts me deep in my soul and I am going to die trying to get blacks to wake up, so that we can form a power base to solve our problems!
Black History Month and the election of a Black President should inspire African-Americans to rekindle the movement to demand equality. They have sacrificed too many lives in wars and made too many valuable contributions that have benefited both America and the entire western civilization, for them to remain victims of racism, hate crimes and discriminatory practices. Black people are going to have to look beyond their churches, civil rights groups and leaders to do the work that is necessary to free their race from racism and oppression. Even though blacks are constantly giving tithes and charitable gifts, these groups and individuals have been bought and sold out. They do not care about the masses of blacks who are victims of obvious and elusive tactics that are designed to maintain white dominance and black oppression.
I hope and pray that blacks are not blinded by these celebrations and evil tactics and begin to pay tribute and honor those who came before them who made it possible for them to enjoy the little bit of success they have among their people today. Black people do not own any land, cities, schools, hospitals or businesses to provide housing, employment, health care and a quality education for their people. This is a shame because blacks have earned the right to have an infrastructure that would amount to 40 acres and a mule from slavery. As long as they have to go to those who really don’t care about them for these essential needs of life they will remain locked out of the system and at risk of acquiring a life threatening or habit forming disease.
Now is the time for blacks to get serious about their future and stop falling for all these 501 c3 lies and faith based initiative tricks that were supposed to bring them to equality two decades ago. The best move blacks could make is to agree that they are still victims of inequality, injustice and disparities and that reparations are long over due to repair damage done in the past and present, in order to have a better future for themselves and generations to come. Check out the Black History Website at www.rula1.com and go to the How to Win Reparations section to see how blacks can form a power base to resume the fight against injustice and start a national campaign to win reparations.
In memory of our ancestors,
Brotha Pruitt
Reparations Leader and Chairman
Committee for African-American Reparations (CAAR) CA
Reparations Union Lobbying Association (RULA) NC
www.rula1.com
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