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Stand Up, Look 2017 in the Face, and Make It Happen

12/31/2016

Like plenty of you, 2016 offered me more than my share of challenges. And since I realize the drop of the ball tonight doesn't guarantee anything will change, I know there are no magic assurances for 2017. In fact, there are plenty of uncertainties, but we are a struggling people. A proud people. Our people say that "even a dead fish can swim with the current" or "if you see me fighting a bear, help the bear, pour honey on me!" So, if you are looking for gloom and doom, this isn't the piece for you because we don't believe in that. Instead, we are optimistic on this evening. We are encouraged. We are motivated, and we are determined.

Instead of drowning in our failures, errors, and struggles, we are excited about being able to use the new year to symbolize our opportunity to work to correct all of those issues. And, since a significant aspect of African culture is our collective and humanistic tradition, we have to approach anything we do with strong recognition for all those who paved the way for us to get here. So, I'm thinking tonight about the Cuban Revolution which celebrates its 58th birthday on January 1st. Since so many people, especially in the U.S., know absolutely nothing about Cuba, but think they know everything, the 58th birthday should serve as a clue to everyone that a revolution is not an event, but a process. A work in progress. In other words, Cuba has spent the last 58 years working through the problem legacies of hundreds of years of oppression. And, despite so many haters who wish to pin their revolution back to what they did in the 60s, 70s, etc., their victories and progressions are clear proof that they are moving forward. So, I'm thanking Fidel, Che, Vilma, Celia, Camilo, Juan, Frank, Raul, etc., for all their work and sacrifices. You have always been my inspiration and you will continue to be. Thank you for teaching us not to pay the slightest attention to what people think about our struggles because those critciques will do absolutely nothing to help advance our just causes.

I'm thinking about all those Africans who struggled for our liberation. My ideological father - El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, or Malcolm X. His light continues to shine down on me 40 years after I came to know who he was. I'm eternally grateful for his example. I'm grateful for Ahmed Sekou Ture and Kwame Nkrumah. Both of these African ideologues have given me more to think about than anyone else and they have provided a clear blueprint for us to build upon to achieve Africa's salvation - the key to all African people's salvation. You may need further convincing, but my mind is clear on this question. There are obviously so many others. Lumumba, Cabral, Sankara, Peirera, Camara, Shakur, Newton, Ji Jaga, Garvey, Garvey, DuBois, Dubois, Briggs, etc. They breathe life into me every day and I love them for their inspiration and sacrifices.

I'm thinking about Marilyn Buck who I came to know quite closely when she lived. I'm thankful for her guidance and love and I trust that people dig deep to discover her character and commitment.

And finally, I'm thankful to Boahinmaa Omawale. You more than likely don't know who she is because she's not a real person. She's the central charactor in the series of novels I've written and are writing. I'm thankful to her because creating her has taught me an extremely valuable lesson in life. I have experienced so much criticism for creating her - a European woman - and of course, pretty much all of that has come from African people. The lesson is not one of those persons who has waged criticism - none of which ever comes directly to me (it's always over the internet or through other cowardly people) has read either of my books. They are always basing their criticisms on their perceptions of my motivations. Everyone, and that means literally dozens of people, who have read my books have never criticized my creation of Boahinmaa because since they are actually reading the story, they understand the context that she represents. And, this includes African women who have read my books, including my own daughter who helped me edit them. They realize the story isn't necessarily about Boahinmaa as much as it is about all of us. And I know they get that because they communicate that to me, often, and in very personal and heartfelt ways. I love each of these people for their feedback and the lesson I've learned from this is I have to follow my mission in life, regardless of what anyone else thinks about it. So, I'm thankful to Boahinmaa because everytime I sit to put a pen to more activities for her, which is practically everyday as I work on my third book in this series, I'm reminded of this important lesson.

The common theme for all of this is 2017 is going to be a life changing year for me. I can assure you of that because its time for me to have that type of year in my life and consequently, I'm determined to make that happen. I've had all the signs to illustrate to me that I need to focus all my energies into making this happen. And, anyone who knows me knows that if I say I'm going to do it, you can take that to the bank. So, they can elect Godzilla if they want. They can throw truckloads of criticisms at my writing. They can slander and verbally assault Fidel Castro all they want. They can distort Malcolm's influence and work. None of that matters one bit because I'm claiming 2017 for me, my people, and humanity. So when you see us coming, if you aren't with us, protect yourself. Get the hell out of our way because we are coming to claim what rightfully belongs to us.

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Initial Thoughts after Spending Time in Tanzania

12/28/2016

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A typical barbershop in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. As you will find everywhere in Africa, this shop has images of Western Africans like Ice Cube, Chris Brown, P Diddy, etc. This is extremely common, thus eliminating the often told Western lie that Africans on the continent have no connection to their lost family members in the Western world

I've just returned from spending the last couple of weeks in the East African country known as Tanzania.  I'm honored and fortunate to have followers of this blog from countries all over the world, but since a good percentage of readers are in the U.S., and I know the U.S. educational system receives a solid and consistent F grade on its education about Africa, any aspect of Africa, its important to give some brief introductory information.

Tanzania is a large Eastern African country whose size permits it to border several countries; Kenya in the North, Mozambique and Zambia in the South, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo in the West, and the Indian Ocean in the East.  The country's population is 51 million, making it one of Africa's largest countries population wise. Most of what the Western world knows about Tanzania is related to its natural wonders e.g. Mount Kilimanjaro, the largest mountain in Africa, and one of the largest in the world. Also, the live animal parks like Serengeti, etc. The dominant language in Tanzania is Kiswahili. "Official" sites will tell you that English is also an official language. This is historially true since Britain did colonize Tanzania (previously the region was two countries - Tanganika and Zanibar), but in recent years, Tanzania - like other African countries - has taken a turn (forward) towards reducing its dependence upon English and featuring Kiswahili as its national and official language. As a result, you find that very few people on the streets speak much if any English at all.

Another issue of clarification for people in the West is that most of folks here view international travel as something you do specifically for vacation purposes e.g. tourism. That's why some of you are dumbfounded when people like me tell you no, I didn't go on a safari. Nothing against those who do, its just not my personal interest. I figure that if I see a lion strolling in my neighborhood, I am potentially in danger and have the right to defend myself if needed. Consequently, I feel that if a lion sees me in their neighborhood, they have that same right. Therefore, I secede their neighborhoods to them and they needn't be conerned about me invading their space. Besides, I wasn't in Tanzania as a tourist. I was there as an organizer for the All African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) the same way I've been present in all of the glorious countries and continents I've traveled to. Our purpose for going to Tanzania was to build ties with our young comrades in the A-APRP there in an effort to help solidfy our work to build a worldwide fighting force for our objective: Pan-Africanism, the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism.

That means our initial assignment was to touch bases with our young organizer comrades who would guild us during our stay in Tanzania. This happened immediately with those comrades greeting us at the airport in Dar Es Salaam. Dar, as its affectionately called by people in Tanzania, is the country's largest city at just about 4.5 million people. The first task before leaving the airpot was converting U.S. dollars into Tanzanian shilling. The transfer rate was $1.00 USD for every 2,170.00 shilling. Then we were off and since we are not tourists, we don't ever stay in big fancy hotels, although Tanzania has those types of hotels. Downtown you can stay at the luxourious Hilton or the East Africa Hotel, but that's never our tract. We stayed at the home of local people. A wonderful family related to one of our organizers. We stayed in their very comfortable home which operated as a collective and commual type environment with several neighbor families. They had expansive and wonderfully scenic land and they raised chickens - hundreds of them - to raise money to supplement the husband's day job. Practially all of them spoke no English, but we had no difficulty communicating around food, bathroom usage, and social activities. This is true because African culture is universal. Although words may be different, mannerisms and styles of communication are universal within African culture so if you are in tune with that, communicating around issues is not always easy, but it can be accomplished. I've seen this in all of my travels although it is essential that Africans in the West begin to prioirtize learning African languages for various political and economic reasons.

Our activities consisted of standard fare work for A-APRP organizers. We did presentations in the schools operated by A-APRP comrades in Dar. We spoke in a school of dozens of young students with the full support and encouragement of the school's headmaster, something that I could not imagine happening in Western capitalist schools. We traveled to meet various comrades throughout the city and we participated in community events. Including one where a Western trained economist tried to assert that Tanzania's economic dependence was the result of bad trade relations. Of course, we didn't let him get away with that. Tanzania, and all of Africa's, bad trade position continues to be the direct result of capitalist domination of international trade since and during the colonial period. It was interesting how some of the local people in attendance seemed to view Tanzania's "Ujaama" economic period of the 70s and 80s with the perspective that socialism doesn't work, but we were able to effectively explain that because of imperialism's balkenzation of Africa and its colonial and neo-colonial exploitation of the continent, it is not possible for any African country to successfully implement a socialist program because the country's as they currently exist were created and imposed by imperialism and are therefore not economically viable through any economic system on their own as Tanzania attempted to do. Our argument, which is ill-refuable, is that the only solution for Africa is one unified socialist continent under one unified government, but the discussion was valuable because it reveals how important it is for us to continue our political education work for Africans everywhere.

After several days in Dar, we traveled by bus to Arusha. It was a grueling twelve hour bus ride that was highlighted by sightings of the Masai people herding cattle and goats as well as several baboon sightings. Our objective in Arusha was to connect with the United African Alliance Cultural Center (UAACC). The UAACC was founded by Charlotte O'Neal (affectively called Mama C), and her husband Pete in the early 70s. Both were former Black Panther Party members in Kansas City. Pete was targeted by the FBI'S illegal counter intelligence program and he and Mama C had to flee the U.S. to escape him being railroaded into a long imprisonment. U.S. prisons are filled with dozens of comrades who were unable to escape before being unfairly incarcerated, but Pete and Charlotte made it to Tanzania, were enthusiastically welcomed by the government there, and established the UAACC. Today, the UAACC is a sprawling center with dozens of comfortable rooms, a wonderful community meeting area known as the Red Onion, a recording studio, a school, and many other wonderful attributes. The center is the stopping point for international travel abroad programs. It was also the landing space for Geronimo Ji Jaga (Pratt) who made the UAACC his home after being released from prison in 1997 after 27 years of wrongful imprisonment after being targeted by state police for his involvement with the Panthers in Los Angeles in the late 60s and early 70s. For note, Geronomo received the largest wrongful imprisonment settlement to date in U.S. history and he used those resources to relocate to Tanzania and help strengthen the UAACC.

There are many fascinating things about the UAACC, but one of the most important is how that center has become a landing spot for Africans from other parts of the world who are hoping to relocate to Africa. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the story of these brave people is a story that is virtually unknown in the Western world. We met several Africans from the U.S. and the Caribbean who have moved to Tanzania. Some have been there for years. Other's for months. All of them possessing great skills and a desire to contribute to Africa. I've made no secret of my personal plan to follow these people home to Africa.  Their existence at UAACC, some as people who stayed there and have since gotten their own homes in the Arusha area, others who are in the process of transitioning to their own homes, is an inspiration for those of us who recognize that our home is in Africa. They are learning Kiswahili and by their own admission not having a difficult time adjusting to life there. In fact, they are thriving and this is the narrative the U.S. slave plantation so desperately wants to hide from its 50 million slave descendents. We do have options and choices. There is life, a much better llife, outside of the U.S. In the Arusha area, I observed 2000 square foot homes, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, tiled floors granite counters, plumbing, electricity, cable ready, two car garages, for the shilling equivalent of about $100.00 USD to rent per month. Most landlords require about six months advance rent (Africa has no credit bureau type evaluation system - thank God!), so for about $600.00 USD you can move into the home of your dreams! But many of you don't hear me though because Uncle Sam has you tricked. Maybe that's not a bad thing for now because that could mean that when I'm ready to make my transition within the next five and one half years, not many of you will have moved to take advantage of this opportunity which means prices will remain stable for people like me. No, actually, I'd welcome higher prices if that means more of us returning home.

We met and hung out with wonderful people at the center. We talked about expanding the A-APRP's work there to complement what's happenig in Dar and we had conversations about the conditions of African people late into the warm nights. Since the center is a hub for the arts, there were jam sessions and I felt perfectly at home sitting in that wonderful Red Onion and spending hours writing and editing my current novel project. There's nothing like sitting in Africa, writing a story about Africa. Its a sense of motivation and inspiration that I just cannot capture in the Western world.

Sadly, after a week, we left Arusha to take the 12 hour bus ride back to Dar. One thing about the bus ride. The movies shown give you quite a glimpse into popular Tanzanian culture. There is a growing phenomenon called Tollywood which features Tanzanian movie stars and story lines. Some of them are extremely entertaining and interesting.

Back in Dar, I had one of my life's most honored experiences by being welcomed into the Cuban Embassy and given a personal tour by the Cuban ambassador of the secret apartment inhabited by Ernesto Che Guevara in 1964/65 after the unsuccessful military mission to liberate the neighboring Congo from imperialist domination after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1961. Che regrouped in Dar and it was there at the initial contacts were made in Africa between Cuba and African liberation movements that faciliated Cuba's outstanding role in helping defend Africa up through the 80s. Seeing where Che slept, studied, and ate, will forever be a highlight of my life. His example has always inspired me. I joked with the local comrades who were back and forth with the Cuban ambassador about future follow up and work to be done there while I was mostly focused on my spiritual connection to Che and the Cuban revolution. They have continued relations with Cuban officials while that has not been a possibility for us in the U.S. so I weighed in the experience. For the Cuban ambassador, they have always valued and respected the relationship with the A-APRP. They know that we have maintained consistent support for them long before it became vogue to do so. And that support will continue. So, all haters of Che and Cuba, here's hoping your hate makes you rot! We have absolutely no concerns for your feelings. I was proud to express my personal sadness at the loss of Fidel Castro to the Cuban ambassafor and if that offends someone please let me know so I can acknowledge how happy I am to have hopefully ruined your day.

Finally, there were the days leading up to the so-called Chiristmas holiday. The only thing I'll say about that is we spent that time with the family in Dar, participating with the community members. There was much food and absolutely no presents exchanged. Not a single one. There were scores of children and none of them expected presents. They were all happy to have family and friends. I spent a lot of time with one of the neighbor's children, a child named Arafat (yes, after the Palestinian leader and founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization). Arafat had no inclination to expect material presents on Christmas. Instead, all that child wanted from me was to dance, which I happily obliged. In fact, everyone did a dance together called the Quittoo dance. Here in the U.S., it would be called the electric slide. Again, African culture is universal. And, I'm happy that I missed the consumer, capitalist driven madness that disguises itself as Christmas in the U.S.

Twenty right hours of flying later, I'm back in the U.S. I'm thankful to the two young comrades who guided us around Tanzania. I'm thankful to the new friends we met in Arusha and relationships we started building. I'm thinking about 2017 and the work that must be done. I'm also thinking of concrete steps I'm going to be taking to solidy my transition home. Pan-Africanism is on the move. I'm on the move. And, no force on Earth can stop us.

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Worried about Fascism in the U.S.? Africa is a Real Solution

12/19/2016

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Within the U.S., the emergence of Donald Trump as president has many people terrified. Since I've been on the receiving end of racist violence multiple times in my life, and as a result, I've developed a pretty clear vision of what that backward society actually is, for me, Trumpism simply represents the scab coming off a wound that has always been there, but for those who consciously or unconsciously hold a vision of hope for fairness and justice in the U.S., I can understand how these times are very stressful for you.

When we are children, when we are faced with trauma and stress, most of the time, the source we seek out for a calming influence is our mother. As it relates to Trumpism, this is no different. The solution is really still our mother - Mother Africa.

I already have every intention of transitioning to live in Africa. I've already started on my road to preparation. I've eliminated debt in my life and have reduced my life to living very simple over the last five years. I'm currently organizing my financial plan, and I'm engaging in discussions with my daughter to encourage her to consider making the move in the few years also. I'm on a five to seven year plan to move to Africa, but as I sit here in the East African country of Tanzania, in a small town named Arusha, I wonder why I would even go back to the U.S. at all? For now, the answer is there are some things I am committed to do on a political level there, but besides that, I have nothing forcing me to stay there any longer than I can organize myself to move.

Now, for some of you, this sounds either outragious, or, if you are a white supremacist, you may be saying "what are you waiting for? Just go!" Since the U.S. is the land of the Indignous peoples of the Western Hemisphere and those lands were stolen violently from them, you white supremacists don't get to ask us Africans, who were kidnapped and brought here, anything. You are the descendents of thieves and murderers and since you have adopted the same values of your ancestors, your opinion about anything is about as valuable as a loud fart. Still, there is some merit in your racist question which will be addressed shortly. First, I want to acknowledge the legitimate fears, concerns, and anxiety that African people in the Western Hemisphere have towards the question of going to Africa. This aversion is the result of 500+ years of negative propaganda agaisnt Africa designed to justify the continued rape and exploitation of our Motherland. Instead of making a strictly hardcore political argument about the reasons we should want to connect with Africa, as I'm sitting here in Africa, I will just simply make some basic practical arguments that hopefully can smash right through that backward propaganda.

Expenses in most U.S. cities have made it virtually impossible for most people, especially Africans, to live in a healthy fashion. People often have to make decisions about keeping lights on or having food. Certainly, bills like student loans, credit debt, and other obligations are immediate casualties and since poverty and/or the inability to pay something, is a crime in the U.S., this creates adverse conditions that are without question cutting our lives in half. By the same token, I see where houses in Tanzania cost a fraction of what they cost in the U.S. and I'm talking about fully equipped houses e.g. cable ready, plumbing, electricity, internet ready, and all the amenities you have (and more) in the U.S. I'm talking about beautiful houses. In fact, it is extremely easy here to have a large house and employees to help you run the house on a budget of the equivalent of about $600.00 USD per month. That includes rent, ulitities, food, everything. The house help seems to be a necessity because if you possess a bourgeois concept that you don't want to exploit anyone by hiring them to clean, etc., you are unaware of the realities of Africa. Due to colonialism and neo-colonialism, there is basicallly no consistent economic infrastructure in Africa. As a result, people have no options to apply for government jobs or any other type of jobs. Those positions exist, but they are few and far in between. So, you employing two, three, people is considered your contribution to the community you live in. To not do that is considered rude and selfish. So, $600.00 per month. That means you could retire and live comfortably on a Social Security check if you needed to.

As for the other concerns people have, there's no ebola and cholera here and although malara does still exist in Africa, there are medications you can buy over the counter here that can wipe it out immediately. You can't even do that with a cold in the U.S. As for the people, they are warm, humble, and extremely welcoming e.g. karibou! (welcome in Kiswahili). Speaking of Kiswahili, its not a difficult language to learn. The vowell structure matches that of English which makes pronouncing the words much easier than say Twi, the West African language I'm teaching myself. In Twi, I know many words, but I often don't know the proper way to pronounce them. With Kiswahili, this is much less of a concern.

Many people have worries about political stability in Africa. This is laughable coming from a country that has Trump as an incoming president. Countries like Tanzania, Ghana, etc., have extremely low crime rates. They have extremely low cases of violent death and since very few people see the need to have guns, even the police seldom carry them, there is no sense of foreboding danger with every encounter that you have.

In other words, the quality of life is not comparable. The only obstacle is our psychological fear of Africa. That's all. Besides that, we are back to the political question from our virtual white supremacist. As I said, I'm ready to go and I'm making preparations, but let's not forget that the entire U.S. economy has been built and is maintained, on exploiting Africa. I just had the privilege of speaking out at an event on Tanzanian debt in Dar Es Salaam last week where myself and other A-APRP comrades attacked claims by the academic presentors that Africa is poor due to anything else besides imperialism's exploitation of Afirca. So, when I leave the U.S., and when anyone else born in the U.S. decides to leave and return to Africa, that doesn't mean white supremacy wins all access to the U.S. It also doesn't mean that we are running from anything. We should stay equally committed to supporting the Indigenous people in reclaiming their self-determination as well as supporting any of our people, and all just loving people, who stay in the U.S. For me, the only difference after I make my transition from what I do now is that I'll be helping my Native folks in the Americas by continuing to fight for Africa's liberation (in Africa instead of the U.S.) because I know that once we win, the Indignous people's of the Western Hemisphere will taste victory immediately.

The U.S. is nothing except illusions and lies. African people, no matter how hard we try - and we have been trying hard for over 500 years - will never fit in the U.S. And, I'd argue the only reason why we think we want to is because we have been trained for centuries to believe doing so is our only alternative. An amazing story that has yet to be told is that of those Africans from the U.S. have made the decision to leave the U.S. on their own and live in Africa. Here in Arusha, Tanzania, at the beautiful United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC) where I'm writing this from, there are dozens of people within this center and in the surrounding community, who have left the U.S. for good. There are Africans here from Georgia. North Carolina. Ohio. California. Some of them have been here for years. Others, months. Many of them have family members planning to join them. They are all ages, interests, and backgrounds. Mama Charlotte and Pete O'Neal run the UAACC. They are former Black Panthers from Kansas City who came here in the 70s because of trumped up charges against Brother Pete that still exist. That's their story. Other folks have are not even politically active. They just got tired of the rat race and the inhumane conditions within the U.S. Most Africans within the U.S. have no idea these communities exist in Africa.

We are creative people. If you can figure out how to live in the U.S. on extremely limited resources, dodging daily obstacles of racism and class oppression, you cannot tell me that you cannot figure out a way to live in a much less stressful environment, in much better conditions, for $600.00 a month. You can figure that out in days once the anti-Africa propaganda is wiped away.

So, think about this seriously. Its almost 2017. Far past time for us to continue trying to beg for acceptance. The U.S. needs us, we don't need it. Hear your mother. She is calling out to us. Begging us to return home.

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The NFL and Its Perfection of the Racist Double Standard

12/11/2016

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Today I have something I don't typically have a lot of - down time. My flight to Tanzania is delayed because of severe weather conditions in Chicago where I was scheduled to connect to my international flight. So, the best reroute is hours later so I have that rare opportunity to do what I have historically liked doing on Sundays, watching a National Football League (NFL) game, but I'm not doing that. I haven't watched a single series of football today and the reason I haven't is I'm definitely not feeling it.

I'm not feeling it because I believe the best thing that has happened in sports in years has been the courageous protests led by Colin Kaepernick. Yes, there are criticisms being waged against him from every sector of society, but we have quoted Sekou Ture repeatedly for you when he said "if the enemy isn't doing anything against you, you aren't doing anything!" Most of Kaepernick's critics are so uninformed about the issues he's protesting that you couldn't fill a human pore with the level of analysis that they possess. But, worse than those ignorant people, the reason I can't bring myself to watch today is I'm sick of the contradictions. Don't get me wrong. I realize completely that the NFL is simply a corporation and with that comes all of the components that represent corporate exploitation, but because I like the game of football e.g. I played it and I've always watched it, I still managed to separate the politics out briefly so I could just enjoy the game for what it had to offer. I know that that for the most part, the players are nothing to be respected. I admire their athletic ability and their capacity to perform on the field. Its never been more than that, until Kaepernick's brave stance. Now, I have had in him a player that I actually admired as a human being. So, although I realize that power concedes nothing without a demand (Frederick Douglass) I have been insulted by the NFL's efforts to blame Kaepernick for the league's lower television ratings this year. They are saying the protests are turning people off. And, consequently, more and more turned off people are refusing to watch football games, because of Kapernick's principled protest against police terrorism.

So where we are is the NFL would have us believe that people are more offended by Kaepernick standing up against police violemce than they are at all the senseless murders of people by police. I'm offended by that just like I'm offended by the fact the now late Fidel Castro can be called an evil dictator and a brutal oppressor of the Cuban people when I know Cuba has one of the lowest incarceration rates in the world. I also know that there have been less than 1000 state sponsored executions by the Cuban government since the revolution started in 1959. By comparison, U.S. police have murdered over 800 people this year alone! So clearly, there is something seriously wrong with anyone who criicizes Kaepernick while ignoring the problem he is protesting against. And, there is also something very wrong with the NFL if they feel they can even suggest that their image problem is because of Kapernick without them even considering that maybe people are more turned off by the significant number of woman abusers who don NFL uniforms. I'm offended because the NFL would never say that their ratings are down because they are only rhetorically committed to being against the abuse of women. I'm offended because as low as consciousness is in this society, maybe its true that more people are offended by Kaepernick than the reasons he's protesting. Maybe more pepole do care about respecting a disgusting flag than they do the loss of life or the abuse of women.

If the above is true, I don't blame the average person because they are pretty much only going to know what the capitalist system makes available to them. I do blame the NFL because the people making decisions for them know better. They know that they promote players who don't have an ounce of integrity while hanging Kaepernick out the dry, the player who has demonstrated the most integrity of anyone in their league. So much for creating youth role models. So, I blame the NFL completely. I blame them for striking a deal with the U.S. military to accept millions of dollars from the Department of Defense. That's why you have the constant presence of military exercises and presentations at NFL (and National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball) games. Its a simple marketing technique by the military to further advance the false notion that you should be thankful for people using your tax dollars to go overseas and dominate and kill hundreds of thousands of people to advance multi-corporate agendas.

The NFL is a disgrace. And, its another clear example of why capitalism doesn't work because this system is only concerned about one thing, profit, profit, profit. So, Colin Kaepernick is the only good thing about the NFL. And since I'm San Francisco born and raised, I loved the fact Kaapernick, wearing the S.F. uniform, is taking his brave stance. I've enjoyed getting peeks at him performing on the field, playing pretty well for the most part, therefore validating his political posture.

The NFLs' claim against Kaepernick and their ratings makes it clear that we cannot expect to win this propaganda battle on their terms. We have to make the NFL pay a price for disrespecting us as a people. I can't control with others do, but I can make my statement by refusing to watch right now. I can continue to raise this issue within the context of our larger struggle. I don't know for sure, but I'll keep trying to figure that piece out. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be in Africa where there are no NFL games and I'll do what I can to inform people of these and other contradictions. Everyone needs something to help them decompress. Since I don't smoke - anything - drink, or do any type of narcotics, watching sports is one of the ways I decompress. I guess I need to start looking for otehr alternatives.

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Will 2017 Be the Year of the Bonfire? Or the Brush Fire?

12/7/2016

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If you read these articles with any level of consistency, then you already know that I quote Kwame Ture (formally Stokely Carmichael) quite regularly. I do that because that African knew what he was talking about. He knew because he didn't just fly into the struggle for three or four uneven and inconsistent years before disappearing forever. He joined the struggle as a very young man and spent the better part of 40 years in active struggle. And, by active, I don't mean just showing up at events. Showing up is good. That means you are a willing participant in being mobilized to support statements of forward progress. Again, this is commendable, but mobilization e.g. planning demonstrations, rallies, protests, etc., has always been the first level of organized struggle. Kwame did that. He mobilized people to come out to vote in the most hostile conditions that you could ever imagine. The difference between him and so many people today is that he didn't just stop at mobilizing people. He continued to advance his skills so that he eventually became an extremely effective organizer. There is a clear difference between mobilization and organization and this is a difference that is missed by most who are involved in active struggle today. An example of mobilization is a protest march or even an urban rebellion, or what many of you would mistakenly call a riot. These events happen, cause great public awareness to the problem, but there is no follow up after that. This means you don't necessarily know who is at the event and you have no way to follow with them to insure there is follow up to continue to build capacity. The awareness piece is great! Its essential, but it is the basic first level of activism work. Or, as the saying goes, awareness is the first step to solving the problem. The best activists are the ones who advance beyond mobilization to organization. An example of organization is to not just put together a one off event like a protest in reaction to something, but to build something that is sustainable. Something that not only builds awareness, but has a focused awareness and a plan designed to give participants a role in furthering the struggle. The Convention People's Party, Democratic Party of Guinea, African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau, Partido Communista of Cuba, Black Panther Party, these are all examples of organizing capacity. All these organizations were/are focused on not only building awareness, but in creating new human beings who can do the work to usher in a new type of society. For example, although the Black Panther Party has ceased to actively exist for 34 years, their legacy of organizing work has been studied and emulated all over the world. Their examples are inspiring people today. Our breakfast program and subsequent freedom school were completely inspired by the Black Panther Party's model so that makes it fair to say that their work has existed for 50 years. That's the type of models we need if we are going to build capacity to win.

So, again, mobilization is always a good thing, but we also have to develop organizing capacity as well because organizing propels us beyond just reacting to oppression and towards building to dismantle oppression and create something better. So, going back to Kwame Ture, we know that every good organizer is also a great mobilizer, but many mobilizers have very limited to no organizing skills. This is why I can assure you that if you study mobilizers e.g. people who organize events, compared to organizers e.g. people that build institutions, the organizers will have a much longer shelf life than the mobilizers. Understanding all of this is why we quote Kwame Ture so much because he had a clear understanding of this entire dialectical contradiction. That's why he would always greet everyone who wanted to swoon over him with the same greeting: "Are you a brush fire or a bonfire?" Most of the people had no idea what he was talking about and to be honest, it took me a little bit before I developed a proper comprehension, but his point was are you here for the moment, or are you here for the long haul? This is a critical question because the enemy we are fighting - international imperialism - is committed to being here for the long haul so if you haven't made that same level of commitment, you are not going to be able to defeat imperialism. What that means is if you are in and out, if you are inconsistent, if you come late all the time or can't be relied upon to come at all, if you don't follow up with anything, you are fooling yourself if you think you are going to seriously challenge imperialism. A brush fire burns hot quick, but burns out fast. A bonfire burns hot slow and burns hot for a long time. Who is going to be a bonfire in 2017? This is an essential question because there are so many people who are new to this work. People who came in with the Mike Brown national awareness from 2014. Its wonderful that these folks are here, but we cannot pretend that you always know more in your two years than people who have engaged in this struggle for decades. Certainly, everyone has contributions to make and everyone can learn something from anyone, but we would never pretend that a first year med student knows more about practicing medicine than a seasoned surgeon. Now, its quite possible, and I've even experienced situations where new people do know more than so-called seasoned people, but this must be established through practice. What I unfortunately find more often than not, is many of the newer people don't want to even listen to those who have experience to determine if they have something you can learn from or not. And, the reasons for this are sad. Often its because of the breakdown of family structures caused by the oppression we experience from the capitalist system. Consequently, many younger activists have no principled relationships with older organizers, especially older men organizers because so many men behave in so many unprincipled ways. As a result, younger organizers don't trust older organizers and this is a struggle that sits solely on the shoulders of us older organizers to resolve. I believe that if us older organizers start behaving in more principled ways, that will help the younger organizers learn more humility. This is all critical. I know that I'm disrespected by young activists on a regular basis. Mostly its unintentional, but whatever way it happens, I never blame the person. Instead, my hatred of the capitalist system intensifies. I continue to work and every time, eventually, when that person gets used to working with me, instead of viewing me through a dysfunctional lense, they learn to trust me more and the disrespect stops. I believe its my responsibility as a revolutionary organizer to humble myself for the good of the struggle. I've had to learn the difference between humility and suffering abuse, but I think I have that figured out for the most part at this point. So, I say that we all need to try to engage in these practices all the time. Less ego and more humility. That's a formula that will serve our work overwhelmingly.

So, this is a call for everyone to approach 2017 with a commitment towards humilty and patience. If you don't have strong skills in those areas you are doing it wrong. Impatience is an ideolgoical tenet of elitism so unless you are proud to be elitist, you must always struggle against impatience because this element implies you have more knowledge than others so you therefore cannot understand why they are not on your level, thus your impatience with them. Impatience is dishonest and unprincipled because somebody had to hold your hand too. In fact, whether you can see it or not, I guarantee you that someone is holding your hand in some way right now. So, let's practice these things in 2017 because if we do that, we will create a world full of activist bonfires and if we can do that, we can create a foundation that will ultimately net us the victories we so rightfully desire. Are you ready to challenge yourself? Or, are you content to burn hot quick, and burn out fast?

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My Experience Proves how Stupid this Injustice System Really Is

12/3/2016

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Any and everyone who has either experienced the so-called injustice system, or knows persons who has, knows that this system has absolutely nothing to do with punishment for crimes committed. And these folks definitely know that it certainly has nothing to do with justice and/or rehabilitation. So, if you are one of the few misinformed people who still believes on some level that the incentive to incarcerate folks and get them entangled in "the system" has anything to do with anything besides feeding a profit motivated industry, listen to my personal story.

In March of 2015, after attempting to intevene and confront a violent domestic abuser, I ended up getting in a physical confrontation with him at his initiation. After I got the best of our physical engagement and began walking away, the abuser made a serious attempt to run me over with his car. Had I not dived out of the way, I would have been seriously injured at best and killed at worst. Still, true to the nature of this vicious and backward capitalist system, this European (white) abuser called the police on me and I was later arrested. Although there was video of the encounter, and the only thing clear in the video was that he definitely tried to kill me, he was never arrested (the incident took place in a supermarket parking lot). The police charged me with felony assault and menacing. Subsequently, I learned that in Oregon, and most places, you cannot be charged with a felony if no weapon was utilized. The abuser claimed I hit him with a hammer several times during our scuffle. No hammer was used, only my fists, but because I refused to talk to the police, I was arrested and booked into jail.

I tell you with absolutely no bravado that I was so angry that the question of fear, which honestly had to be present, was so overshadowed that I didn't think of it once. Instead, I went through the bureacratic processes, treating the jail staff with the same level of respect that I felt they exhibited towards me. When the medical person demanded I share my medical history with them and that I sign a release giving them authority to request my medical records (I'm diabetic) from my healthcare provider, I refused. This person than took my blood suger reading, refused to show me or tell me the results, but then insisted my readings were high. He mentioned something about an insulin shot to which I told him they would have to knock me unconscious to do that. My day to day routine does a good job keeping my blood sugar under control, and I don't use insulin to do it so there was no way I was going to let these gestapos inject me with anything. I did sign the form indicating that I wasn't going to cooperate with the medical guy and I was promptly booked in by a sheriffs deputy. He explained to me that my standard bail would be $10,000.00 and that I would need to come up with $1,000.00 of that in order to be released. He told me that if I didn't come up with the grand, I would stay locked up "until you do." Remember that statement.

By this time it was about 3am. I was placed in a cell with seven or eight other men. The snoring was so loud and my brain was working so hard that I knew there was no way I was going to go to sleep so I lay there on the hard mat covering the concrete slab and I contemplated getting someone on the outside to access my finances so they could get me out of there as quickly as possible. At 5:30am, they turned the lights on and ordered everyone up through an amplified announcement. Everyone was ordered to come out in the day room. I separated myself from everyone else and proceeded to do dozens of push ups and burpies to get my blood flowing. Once I completed my exercises, I noticed a 30 something African who was sitting there staring at me. He motioned me over and two or three other Africans came and sat with us. We made introductions and I sat and listened to them talk for about an hour about their fantasies of how they would get out of jail. What I learned is that all of them were there for various real and imagined violations; firing a weapon into the air in an apartment complex, drug possession, petty burglary, more drug possessions. One African who was also there for an assault charge explained to me the differences between assault 1, 2, 3, and 4. They told me where not to go to run into the neo-nazis. What was most dominant in listening to them is that none of them had any money, any chance of raising the $1,000.00 bail, and no hope that anyone else would raise it for them. Consequently, many of them had been in there for months, without hearing anything from anyone. In other words, they have no hope of getting out, regardless of how insignificant their alleged crimes were. After several hours of this we were served the most disgusting pile of unedible carbs that you could ever see. I only ate two or three bites of pancakes that were so dry they would have worked better as paper towels. All during this time, I observed the sheriff on duty barking out instructions and admonitions to several people, many of whom he knew by name. He constantly made sarcastic remarks about how they were there because of their inability to perform basic functions in life. After "breakfast" as I sat again with the brothers. After more listening on my part, I decided this was as good a time as any for me to do what I do, inject as much political analysis into the situation as I could. My message to them, more than one of two who were there for gang related charges, was that since I was the oldest African there, they should consider listening to me when I told them not to let the police and/or anyone in that institution convince them that they belonged there. That they were not worthy of being anywhere else. That they were destined to be in jail or prison for the rest of their life. I told them that despite whatever obstacles they had financially, they should spend every waking moment trying to figure out how to get out of there and they can't let anything or anyone distract them from that focus. I told them that they needed to find some way to put legs under their dreams to get bailed out of there. Other non-African men heard my comments and they also began to sit down around me. Very soon, our group had about 10 people. The on duty officer came over to listen and I never flinched, nor did I even look at him when I declared openly that they should do everything in their power to avoid letting the people upholding the system win the propaganda battle. I told them to never accept that there was anything wrong with them and that despite whatever reason they were there, this was happening to them because of this backward system. I told them that the officers judging them every second were most likely alcoholics who beat their wives and engaged in extremely backward behaviors. The officer on duty scoffed during this time and walked away. I still never looked at him because I wanted these young men to experience the sensation of establishing their own environment under their terms. I wanted them to gain confidence to do that. I knew I had no intention of staying in there so my time to interact with them was going to be extremely limited. So, I spent much of that morning talking to them, especially the very young brother who limped profusely because of a gunshot wound he suffered on the streets of N.E. Portland. By mid morning, he started to ask me questions and I ended up sitting and talking to him for the rest of my very brief stay there.

After being bailed out, I was scheduled for an arraignment three days later. This is critical because at the moment I was bailed out, I was scheduled to go to arraignment an hour or two after being released. My goal was to get out before this happened because I didn't want to go into court in the orange jail jumpsuit. I didn't want to be hand and leg cuffed because I don't care how open minded and progressive you think you are, seeing someone that way strongly suggests they are guilty because why would they be shackled like that if they hadn't done anything? And since so many of them are forced to have thier court proceedings that way, they are doomed at rates of dozens everyday in that same courtroom to be judged that way immediately, thus making any chance for a fair experience null and void. On the contrary, by the time my arraignment came days later, I showed up in a professional suit and tie with the private lawyer I was able to hire.

After several turtle pace hearings, my lawyer was able to get the charges reduced to misdameanor assault and menacing. I decided to take that plea deal because my other option was to go to trial in front of an almost assured white jury in Oregon. No thanks. I was convicted of misdemeanor assault and menacing and given 18 months of probation. I also had to attend anger management classes. If this wasn't such a sad scenario, it would actually be hilarious because the class instructor had overwhelming anger management issues. He used his position in the class to belittle people who mistanly sat in his chair, although all the chairs were exactly the same. If anyone challenged him - even on legitimate points - he threatened to call their probation, or in the case of some of them, parole officers, "and you will go back to jail or prison." When I started my first class, he announced that the course was for people convicted of domestic violence. I then noticed the book I was given was completely about domestic violence issues. I quietly told him I wasn't there for domestic violence to which he responded in front of everyone "well, you were sent here so you must have been convicted of domestic violence." During the class introductions, we were instructed to state specifcally our reason for having to take the classes. I ended up being the only person who wasn't there for domestic violence and when my turn came I said I was there for beating up a domestic abuser. The room was completely silent and this so-called instructor called me out into the hallway. Once there, he told me if I continued to be disruptive, he would call my probation officer to which I replied that I wished that he would so he could finally accept what I was telling him. We said nothing more and I sat through the most useless and condescending lesson in psychological tearing down that you could imagine. And, did I mention that the classes cost $40.00 a week? If you didn't have it, you could go to one class without paying, but you had to pay both classes the next class or you couldn't attend any further. And remember, if you couldn't attend, you would go back to jail or prison. Fortunately, I have a good job, but more than a few men dropped off and I'm unfortunately sure that a number of them ended up back inside because of their financial inability to keep pace. The classes were so easy and useless to me that I day dreamed during them. I thought about how that entire anger/domestic abuse class situation was an industry. This guy was getting paid, the rent of the facility, etc. So, that explained to me why he had no interest and incentive to lift people up because people being stuck in their dysfunction meant the chances they would return to jail and thus his classes, were much higher. This is the process that kept his lights on. Four weeks into it, he calls me aside and tells me he got my file and that I wasn't convicted for domestic violence. He told me this as if he was informing me of something I didn't know. I just scoffed at him and went back into the class. By then, I was clear that my objective was simply to get out of there as quickly as possible and I had 20 weeks total (if you are counting, that's $800.00 + the $200.00 initiation fee and the $100.00 exit fee - consisted of a five minute discussion - for a total of $1,100.00 for the most worthless experience of my life). One requirement was that you write three different letters in order to complete the program. One was what you did wrong. The others were to the victims and how you would change your behavior towards the victim in different circumstances. I had a minor victory by forcing the instructor to waive my last letter since I didn't have any type of relationship with my so-called victim. I couldn't even recognize him if he walked right up to me and slapped me. That last letter was for those who had acted out violently with persons they were in relationships with. I had absolutely no trouble writing the other two letters. They were approved immediately, but many of the men had serious difficulties with their letters. Some of that was due to writing difficiencies, but many of them also had issues coming to terms with their abusive behaviors. As a result, they wrote the letters passing blame to the survivors and they were directed to think that part through and correct it. This to me was the only worthwhile part of that entire program. Still, I wonder if some of them ever figured out how to fulfill that requirement.

While I struggled to get through those classes, the other element of probation was having to check in with your probation officer, or PO. This required an orientation. During this meeting I was given a folder with a single sheet of paper in it that explained the things you cannot do while on probation. I noticed everyone else in the room had a thick folder. I learned the difference is I had no conditions on my probation other than completing it without problems. The others? They had drug and/or alcohol issues. They had restraining orders against them. They had requirements to see their children again. All of this means they had to check in four or five times oer week. They had to pee in cups, etc. I had to check in once every three months. My first meeting I prepared for. I went with copies of my books I've written, news clippings of my political work, anything I could think of to demonstrate that I have a life, a wide ranging and productive life, and I therefore have no inate desire to go back to jail. What was made clear to me immediately was that none of the different POs I met each time I went had any interest in any of that. One of them leveled with me and told me he had 477 cases and mine was squarely situated on the bottem in terms of priorities. When I asked him why I needed to be on probation then, his response, without looking up from paperwork he was completing that had nothing to do with me, was "its the fees dude!" I forgot to tell you that I had to pay supervision fees every month. In other words, I paid to visit someone who asked me nothing for two minutes each time I went. I literary spent five times as much time in the waiting room than I did talking to POs.

Finally, as I was nearing the end of my probation (about 90 days to go), I was feeling that I had weathered everything. Those classes were long over and I had been approved to travel everywhere I wanted, including to Africa last December. So, when I researched the process, I learned of this thing called "Bench Probation" where I could be upgraded to no longer have to check in. When I inquired about that, I was then floored to learn I had to pay $3,500.00 for damages to the abuser's car. It was then that I remembered that I had picked up a landscaping brick and thrown it at the car after he tried to run me over. I was told in that meeting that if I couldnt pay the entire amount in 90 days, my probation would be extended. This was unacceptable. I spent a few days trying to figure out how to raise the money when I happened to mention my predicament to a friend in town. She asked me if she could help me and I told her I was open to all suggestions, but I forgot about our conversation after that. To make a long story short, this angel set up a gofundme page, posted words about what happened and my perceived impact on the community and that post was shared hundreds of times. Dozens of people donated and no more than four days after that, I had the entire $3,500.00 to promptly pay off my fine thus making me eligible for Bench probation. There were so many people interested in donating that I actually had to turn down about 10 people who inquired with me after the money was raised. I'm still humbled and eternally grateful to my friend and everyone who donated, thought to donate, and wished they could donate.

I think the takeaways from all of this are that locking people up is a 30,000 mile high industry that racks in billions. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who depend upon this industry to earn a living. Bail bonds people. The phone company providers who charge outragous fees by the minute in order for you to talk to the people inside. The entire probation and parole industries and the accompanied drug and alcohol counseling and other related supporting agencies like the anger management course I had to take. The biggest scam is that most of those people who are incarcerated are there for nonviolent crimes. Their stays are extended because they can't raise bail and the counties get funds for them being there so there is no incentive to release them. Also, the sentencing process is a complete joke. The so-called district attorney who was calling for me to be sentenced started out reading the wrong case. Fortunately, I had a great lawyer, but I wonder about those who don't. I could have been up for conviction for the wrong case if my lawyer and I hadn't been paying close attention. I could go on and on, but if the point was for me to leave that entire process last week when my probation ended feeling like I'm in a better place, I do, but not because of anything I experienced. I'm in a better place because I made it through that wicked process. I think about all the people who aren't able to get beyond it as I have and in doing so I've been ingrained with an even stronger desire and determination to fight against every aspect of this backward and criminally insane system.

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Stand Up, Look 2017 in the Face, and Make It Happen

Initial Thoughts after Spending Time in Tanzania

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The NFL and Its Perfection of the Racist Double Standard

Will 2017 Be the Year of the Bonfire? Or the Brush Fire?

My Experience Proves how Stupid this Injustice System Really Is

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