Portraits & Poems
Part I
presented by Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre
See Portraits & Poems
Part II
HOLOCAUST
Please consult
People, Places, Neighbors and Things
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Love from My Father
by Carole Gregory Clemmons
Poetry - Black Youth Program
-For Superstars
-Forever Under
by Oscar Brown Jr.
DOUBLEDUTCH - Concerning The Swing of Things
by Oscar Brown Jr.
DOUBLEDUTCH - Vom Schwung der Dinge
von Oscar Brown Jr.
Reflections on Malcolm X in 1992
by Dr. Abdul Alkalimat
Elegy for the Seventh Son
by Robert Earl Price
For Malcolm X
by Margaret Walker
How Poets Make Money
by Martin Newell
Interview - DANCE - Past, Present,
Future - Mr. Robertjohn Lange
Conversation - YOUNG VOICES -
Marcus Sonnemann
Mottoes
Paul Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois
Prof. Gayle McKinney Griffith and Arthur Mitchell
John W. Griffith
Love from My Father
Left like water in glasses overnight
in a cold house,
iced children are fierce.
They see fathers slobbering, staggering
into the living room chair
and race through his pockets for nickels and quarters.
The cold gives the children pneumonia and sends
red balloons tied to hospital beds, and
a caseworker to turn the heat on.
There are many gifts,
other drunks sleep in thrown paper
and green wine bottles behind billboards
but my father brings fresh glazed donuts in a white bag.
Carole Gregory Clemmons (1945- )
Back to top
BLACK YOUTH PROGRAM
by Oscar Brown Jr.
Permanent Black Underclass
In an unsuccessful mass
Prejudice will not let pass
Without kicking in the ass
You see how the system runs
Realize there are few funds
Allocated for your buns
Except to provide more guns
Weapons with which you get shot
By each other, like as not
Or by the police who plot
To see you stay on the spot
So you can be held by force
Sentenced by contemptuous courts
Jailed in barred, barbed wire resorts
Measures governments endorse
Governments that make you pay
Without having too much to say
In the policies that they
Formulate from day to day
Underclass can afford
No political reward
So, of course, you are ignored
By the great white overlord
Being permanently down
You remain where you are found
On the shabby side of town
Deep in squalor, tightly bound
Not included in the pot
Not about to have a shot
At what other folks have got
Sentenced to be a "have notâ€
Born to be a welfare case
To stay in your "proper placeâ€
While the system defecates
On a populace it wastes
You are destined to remain
Hooked on booze and crack cocaine
Narcotics to kill the pain
As your life goes down the drain
But how does your being black
Justify racist attack?
And why must black people lack
Coins white people get to stack?
Why should you be satisfied
With always being denied
Anything that might provide
Great prosperity and pride?
What more do you have to lose
By resisting such abuse
For which there is no excuse
And no talk of any truce?
The United States must know
That given no chance to grow
You who are restricted so
Have only one way to go
If your state is "permanentâ€
It is evidently meant
Your entire life will be spent
In perpetual descent
It must be, undoubtedly
United States policy
To oppose you solidly
Should you seek equality
So the system must beware
And in every way prepare
To resist if you should dare
Try to gain a greater share
In a capitalist state
Where it always was your fate
To be subject to race hate
How much longer can you wait?
To what party can you turn
From what teacher will you learn
To gain goals for which you yearn
But are not allowed to earn?
from left: James Baldwin, Mikell, Oscar Brown Jr.,
Barbara Harris
Little do you have at hand
To gain goals you may have planned
If you do not start to stand
Under your own strong command
As a class you must unite
To confront your funky plight
So that through your combined might
You can undertake a fight
Using weapons you can wield
That will force your foes to yield
And go flying from the field
With their weaknesses revealed
First you have to recognize
Blackness is itself a prize
Full of prowess none denies
Upon which to capitalize
That's why Africans were sought
By white slavers, hunted, caught
Shackled and in bondage brought
To where you're still sold and bought
In your African physique
Lies the power that you seek
You have talents quite unique
An overwhelming mystique
Talents in which you display
Excellence from day to day
Entertaining fan so they
Look upon you in dismay
You have always had a trait
You uniquely demonstrate
An excitement to create
Others recognize as great
When it all is said and done
Measured by its force for fun
What black champions have done
Must be rated number one
It's you on whom all depend
To come up with a hip trend
Or cause fashions to extend
Out toward their stylish end
But you still don't have control
Over body mind and soul
You do not collect the toll
In the entrepreneur's role
You cannot become the boss
On coins other people toss
Always subject to great loss
And the dirty double cross
Only when you find you can
Be your own woman or man
And with others make a plan
Beneficial to your clan
Learn to exercise the force
With which you can open doors
And receive for all you chores
That which rightfully is yours
That is when you will begin
To wage battles you can win
To control the fight you're in
Change the way its always been
Oscar Brown Jr.
One difficulty you face
Is to organize you race
Against the black self it hates
Overcome its slavish traits
Study history's evidence
Of African excellence
Learn of its accomplishments
Pay your forebears compliments
Build up a morale that's strong
Celebrate yourselves in song
Sing your praises loud and long
And sic righteousness on wrong
Look into your soul's design
Realize you are divine
And then let your virtue shine
As your words and deeds combine
There's no devil you defeat
When you lie and steal and cheat
Misuse, abuse or mistreat
Other people you may meet
Noble words and righteous deeds
Are what everybody needs
A creative force that leads
Races, nations, colors, creeds
Young black people you, of course
Must provide that righteous force
Realizing you're the source
Of what every fan adores
Not because you shoot to kill
But for beauty you instill
Your ability to thrill
Through your entertaining skill
That is your leverage with those
Millions who enjoy your shows
You have talent to expose
That is where your power grows
You will find great riches there
Growing in the spotlight's glare
Attack permanent despair
By increasing market share
With wealth your talent creates
And your genius cultivates
You can build a power base
With which to rescue your race
If you but increase your smarts
Purify your minds and hearts
Demonstrate your skills and arts
You will play the leading parts
High officials will get pissed
The government will resist
Threaten you with the iron fist
Gun you down if you insist
If you fall into their trap
Violent minds are going to snap
Ready to bomb, blast and zap
With their most destructive crap
Those by whom you'd be so harmed
Therefore, have to be disarmed
Kept confined and "funny farmedâ€
As you keep their children charmed
Charmed by that with which you're blessed
Rhythm you always possessed
That you've naturally expressed
By which they're always impressed
Your insisting on revenge
And on taking great offense
Only insures violence
As a brutal consequence
Players of the dirty trick
Bearing guilt that's made them sick
Fearing phantoms that predict
Punishments you might inflict
They pray somehow to be saved
From the violent, depraved
Manner in which they behaved
As they kidnapped and enslaved
Get them stepping to your beat
So they'll follow where you lead
Not to violence and greed
But toward harmony we need
There is little we can gain
But more poverty and pain
If our enemies remain
Sociologically insane
With their prejudice and hate
Every day they demonstrate
That we all face an ill fate
From conditions they create
Conditions we can't endure
Will blow us all up for sure
Unless we can work a cure
Based on motives that are pure
Back to top
FOR SUPERSTARS
Do you think you would be living life on the fast track
Could you have the talents that you show me
If you did not have the benefit of being black
And of being challenged by your homey?
Do you feel if you had been raised somewhere in the 'burbs
In surroundings white and antiseptic
You'd have got the practice your ability deserves
So your aptitude could be perfected?
Do you think had you not had the blood of Africa
Pulsing its perfection's through your veins
You would be among the richest in America
Making fabulous financial gains?
Does it not occur that you must definitely owe
Some of your successes to your race
And that you have homeys that you ought to help to grow
And not leave to simply rot in place?
There are other energies in which you ought invest
Like those with which Africa blessed you
They should share the benefits with which you have been
blessed
It's to them that your success is due
There are enterprises you might help to put in place
From the capital that you now earn
To provide your people a strong economic base
Opportunities for which they yearn
From the prominence upon which you now proudly perch
You could help sisters and brothers soar
Develop foundations for deep study and research
And from what is learned develop more
It is Mother Africa who gave your legs their spring
Mother Africa who made you strong
It is Mother Africa who taught you how to sing
And it is she who composed your song
It is her extended family that you are in
Your ancestors were got from her flanks
It's through them that you gained your ability to win
Therefore, to her you owe profound thanks
Gross ingratitude would be a monumental sin
Ultimately you could self destruct
You are obligated to help rescue your own kin
With the wealth up on which you have lucked
Do you think you would be living life in the fast lane
Would you have the bankroll that you show me
Were it not for Mother Africa and all her pain
And the chance to practice with your homey?
Back to top
FOREVER UNDER
Finding yourself born to be among
Members of a great impoverished mass
(African American and young)
Called "the permanent black underclass"
How
would you then react if you saw
Out
of poverty no legal way
Found (within the confined of the law)
Down
was where you were assigned to stay/
Learning that your number was quite vast
Would it then be valuable to know
How
long "permanent" is apt to last
And
how far down "under" has to go?
Would it help you if you understood
Just
exactly where it is you stand
That
the future bodes so little good
That
you are the lowest in the land?
If
you found out those who educate
Have
no real instructions they can give
To
remove you from your sorry state
Or
improve the way you have to live?
If
you could not learn in public schools
How
to put your life in better shape
If
such education taught no rules
By
which you might manage your escape?
Once
you were confronted with the fact
That
for you the country holds no hope
How
do you suppose you would react
Why
would you not turn to dealing dope?
Back to top
"DOUBLEDUTCH"
by Oscar Brown Jr.
Concerning the swing of
things
CHAPTER ONE
Three little girls are
playing jump rope. Two at either end are turning while one in the middle
jumps. The jumper´s concentration is, of course, on occupying the space
created by the rotation of the rope, so as to jump it each time it nears
her feet. Soon the three girls become bored, and decide, therefore, to
jump "doubledutch". To the first rope, another of equal length is added,
and the girls at the ends begin rhythmically turning the two in counter
rotation Doubledutch is obviously more fun than jumping just one rope,
because doubledutch is far more complicated. Instead of the rotation of a
single strand, the jumper must concern herself with the combined
circumferences of two rotating ropes. She has to put herself in a space
that belongs neither to one rope, or the other, but is a combination of
both rotations. To accomplish this, all three girls must be conscious of
what is called "duple" rhythm. "Duple" simply means, "double", and so
doubledutch jumping is by definition a duple rhythmic activity. Those who
can´t deal with its duplicity can´t play this enjoyable game. For that
reason, the chances are about 99 out of a hundred that this trio of girls
is black. A few girls of other races have learned to accomplish the feat,
but doubledutch is by no means the natural occurence in their
neighborhoods that it is in virtually all black communities. Why? Because
apparently people of African origin have a sense of balance and grace that
is exceptional. The removal of color bars from popular sports has resulted
in a virtual take over of certain activities by black athletes. The
National Basketball Association comes quickly to mind, but boxing, and
certain so called "skill positions" in football also belong almost
exclusively to black players, and it is they who brought back most of the
track medals won at the 2000 Olympics in Australia. Why?
In his book, "Taboo", Jon
Entine deals seriously with the question of black dominance in sports that
has occured thoughout the years. As interesting as the book is, however,
it still does not answer the "controversial" question it raises. All
manner of studies are cited, but none has been conclusive. Many have been
ludicrous. Racism has made some nasty remarks in pushing its white
supremacist agenda. A lot of blacks are still scared to discuss the
subject. It seems they are afraid that if their physical superiority were
to be acknowledged, intellectual inferiority would automatically be
inferred. Black Americans tend to feel so miserably about themselves and
each other that even obvious achievements, are subject to denigration and
discount. Concentration on basketball, football, boxing and track is
low-rated, by the Euro-centric intelligentsia. Before long, some
lugubrious intellectuals will probably lament the "disservice" Tiger Woods
and the Williams sisters have done by turning their young sisters and
brothers on to golf and tennis. There is, we are told, excessive emphasis
placed on sports by young blacks, while few bemoan the fact that there is
a great plethora of preachers. Careers in law, medicine, dentistry,
business, together with teaching and politics are vaunted. Computer
services are extolled, but we are led to believe athletes are jocks, whose
heroics do not reflect what the race needs most. Brains. Singing and
dancing are reviled as an affliction by those who would rather we sold
stocks and bonds, than words and music.
Brains, of course, are
useful only if you have some clue as to what to think about. Most people
today are denied sufficient information to adequately use their
brainpower. For the descendants of African slaves in particular, there
appear no sensible suggestions for solving the serious problems associated
with race. A media blitz has bombarded the American masses with
combinations of Little Black Sambo, O.J. Simpson and trashy sex. Violence
is, of course, as always, a grisly game for children of all ages. It is
difficult to find leadership emerging from any of the institutions that
ought to be providing it. There are no new political ideas or tactics
advanced. "Marches" follow "summits" between "conferences" of minimal
consequences. Doublespeak appeals for "reparations" acompany our income
tax returns. The intellectual direction provided by Malcolm X and Martin
Luther King has been reduced to slogans. Current black leadership
apparently lacks focus, therefore we fail to see that we are the record
holders and trendsetters. Or seeing it, we almost totally discount our
solid influence against the fractionalized fictions of Wall Street.
"The white man has the money and the
guns," we moan to ourselves.
"We are helpless against his power."
But "White Men Can´t
Jump," and do not deny it. That means simply that the European
individual´s relationship to the universal force of gravity is admittedly
limited compared to the African´s. One has only to think of the
overwhelming, ongoing influence of gravity at every instant of all our
lives, to imagine what tremendous advantage there is in the African´s
talents for balance. Here is a heritage on which to center attention. The
agility, the quickness, the style and the grace inherent in persons of
African descent, is a gift of cosmic proportions. It is worthy of our
closest scrutiny for it relates, not only to mundane appeals, but to
spiritual supplications, as well. The many uses to which rhythm has
historically been put in Africa, involved not only accomplishment of work,
celebration of events, or paying homage to tradition. Appeals were made to
the gods, and replies of such great significance were received, that the
spiritual practices continued until their overthrow by slavery and
colonialism. Even so, the access lines remain open. The spirits to whom
Africans have traditionally appealed remain in place. Their presence is
still available to those who apply to them. The doctrinaire of all faiths
will decry references to competing deities, however ancestral. But if it
is not to the gods of our ancestors we owe worship, then to whose?
Every sort of being has a
clearly defined relationship to the force of gravity. For fish in the
water that relationship is far different than it is for fowl in the air.
Gravity´s grip on an insect is not what it is on you, your pet cat, or
the average duck. Bugs have wings on which to dart about; the cat enjoys a
better lift than you; and the duck can do it all, fly, swim and walk.
However, for one and all, it is their sense of balance that determines how
they go about getting a daily living. This is genetically determined. The
African genealogy that characterized so many of the leading sports figures
and top entertainers over the last half century is not an accident of
birth. It is a consequence of birth to parents of African blood. African
blood carries in it a relationship to the force of gravity that is more
balanced than that of other races of humanity. It is their proclivity to
rhythm that provides the spring in the swing of black athletes and
musicians. Swing is the harmonic motion by which all energy moves in waves
through the universe. Making time swing, enabled the African slaves to
"get over" during their centuries of captivity. It is our relationship to
harmonic motion that has given our energetic efforts a superiority that is
evidenced in the records of major sports and entertainment figures during
the last half dozen decades. Society is "hooked" on us. Grudgingly,
perhaps, but "hooked" non-the-less. Our performances have provided such
pleasure and excitement for so many, for so long, that there would be no
way for basketball to go back to pre-Julius Irving or Michael Jordan
standards, or for boxing to revert to its complexion before Joe Louis, or
Muhammad Ali. Baseball before Jackie Robinson or Willie Mays is
practically unthinkable. It is clear that once the color bars came down,
attendance shot up, as did revenues at the box office and from television
rights. Curt Flood´s heroic challenge of baseball´s "reserve clause" has
even got players in on the big bucks.
Still we fail, somehow,
to notice the leadership we provide and the reliance of world youth on
black American youngsters for style and direction. We appear not to see
what we are doing in setting standards for physical prowess. We don´t
realize what an enormous wealth is to be poured into our purses if we but
market and distribute our own gifts and abilities. We have been "slave
bred" to believe we lack the intelligence and drive to make decisions on
our own. We still feel beholden to "Mr. Charlie", which is tragic because,
apparently, poor Charlie is mad. He seems to grow more fascist in his
outlook every day, determined to seize military industrial control of a
world that he constantly stands on its head. For example, chess play is
considered "brilliant" while, basketball play is not, but no one can
describe and intellectual difference between the two. Obviously, the team
sport poses communication problems that are not involved in chess, but
otherwise, the objectives and tactics in both games are remarkably alike.
The fact that basketball requires athleticism does not make it any less an
intellectual undertaking. For Julius "Dr. J" Irving to perform the
basketball feats he did, he had first to conceive of them. Or for Irvin
"Magic" Johnson to work his bewildering sleight of hand, it had first to
be conceptualized. The fact that these intellectual wonders are performed
at computer speed takes nothing away from the intelligence they demand.
There is nothing more innate about a "double dribble", a "foul line", or a
"zone defense", than there is about "squares on a chessboard". The game
has to be learned, absorbed, and executed, to be dominated, as basketball
is by black youth. It requires more than muscle mass, rapid speed or great
height. Our failure to give our youth all due respect for their
overwhelming achievements is a crushing blow to the race´s already
severely bruised collective ego.
Of course we see we are
extremely good. Our championship has become quite apparent, yet we still
see white people as superior. It is a ruse the whites themselves
perpetrate with indefatigable zeal. Since the days when Joe Louis was
introduced as "credit to his race", his race has taken far more "credit"
than can conceivably be calculated. But whatever the incalculable amount,
it has not been sufficient to offset the black self hatred that results in
drug addiction, gang war and the hopelessness of a "permanent underclass"
trapped in a system by which it has politically, socially and economically
been written off. For the descendants of African slaves in the Americas
this condition is altogether unacceptable. We have been downgraded and
discounted for far too long. There is a desperate need for re-evaluation.
An upgrade based on a genuine appreciation of our African heritage must be
developed to lift our dispirited people. I do not recommend simply a
louder re-iteration of the old "we come from kings and queens" assertions
that characterized our Afrocentricity of a generation ago. It is the
combination of intellect and athleticism that makes us winners. The kings
and queens from whence we come had generations of loyal subjects. It is in
that noble African mass that our evident superiority has its root. The
2000 Olympics have again confirmed a superiority to which we seem all but
ashamed to publicly admit. Ashamed, or afraid because of a possible
violent backlash from well armed, rich Europeans and European Americans.
But as Franklin D. Roosevelt once advised the American people, "we have
nothing to fear but fear itself". The heritage to which we of African
descent can naturally lay claim is not a force to easily be dismissed. It
is in our natural African relationship to the laws of gravity that we
discover our greatest legacy. The key is balance. Our sense of rhythm, and
exquisite timing. There is only one time. It is limitless, but measurable,
and subject to account from the sweep of the stars, to the ticking of
clocks, the stroke of a drum, or the beat of our feet and our hearts.
Sadly, a hybrid race
called "African American", today marches thoughtlessly to the beat of an
alien drum. Black children are being simplistically hypnotized. The
Almighty dollar is the slave chain to which they now have become attached.
But our battle is not for the dollar, nor to amass materials the European
manufactures and admires. Rather, our struggle must be for control of
ourselves and our energies, indivudually and collectively. We can no
longer be bought, unless we sell out. We will cease to sell ourselves out,
once we realize our value. We are in control of time, and can make it
swing. We are in harmony with the universe, and maintain superior
equilibrium on earth. These are not idle boasts, but evident facts. It is
a fact that we have created every musical style and dance form that has
become popular in the United States of America since the end of chattel
slavery, which tells us exactly where the nation´s cultural leadership is
coming from. The building of enormous new sports arenas, stadiums,
ballparks and fields in cities coast to coast, testifies eloquently to the
popularity of black athletic prowess. Our leadership and our abilities,
however, are subject to corrupting by the descendants of our captors, a
current generation I call, "The Mastersons". Instead of playing the
leadership roles to which our natural gifts entitle us, we habitually
subordinate ourselves to the weapons and wishes of "The Mastersons". But
to be free, we must begin to see ourselves as free people. We will have to
exhibit the basic equilibrium to which Africa has entitled us, and take
control of the beats to which we move. Commanding our own rhythms
automatically will create both physical and spiritual harmonies to unify
and glorify us. We will trust each other and, therefore, begin to turn our
affairs over to one another in our own best interest. As we establish our
equilibrium, the awkwardness of "The Mastersons" will become evident and
ugly. There will be threats, but they will be idle. "We have nothing to
fear..."
CHAPTER TWO
While the rhythmic
superiority of black people to white is obvious, the significance of this
superiority is not. Little is made of it by those who, for one reason or
another, are reluctant to acknowledge any advantage black people may enjoy
over others. No wonder. Rhythm relates to balance. It is in their balance
that rhythmic people reveal their talents: agility, quickness,grace,
physical fluency, timely sophistication, and spring. Balance relates
basically only to one thing: The force of gravity. Three generations have
scientifically investigated gravity, and while discovering much of what
the force does, have not been able to discern just what the force of
gravity is. I believe gravity to be the by-product of centripetal forces
created when equilibrium is established between counter orbiting astral
bodies. Let me explain:
All massenergy is moving
in spacetime, and to avoid constant collisions each one has to keep to
itself. All massenergy must, therefore, turn away from all other
massenergy, and as a result, confine itself to an orbit. Within its own
orbit, each massenergy conserves itself by becoming centripetal, that is
by internalizing all of its energy, instead of flinging it out with
centrifugal force. Gravity is created by the centripetal pull of
counter-orbiting massenergies moving through cosmic agreements. Or put
another way:
MATTER OF GRAVITY
I found the 411
On just how gravity has run
The earth, the moon, the sun
As ´round each other they are spun
Rotating in their reels
Great cosmic wheels in wheels
This orbiting reveals
They are involved in astral deals.
Deals all the stars accept
At which the planets prove adept
So distances are kept
No mass´s energy is swept
Into another shere
Where it might disappear
To remain free and clear
To itself a mass must adhere
The planet earth, of course
Has a strong centripetal force
So energy like ours
And mine, is secured to its source
Pulling us actively
Acting attractively
A force that has to be
The one that we call "gravity"
Gravity must be dealt
With or an injury is felt
In its grip all is held
And nothing ever is repelled
When any body tries
Lifting from where it lies
It will be found a rise
Always requires exercise
Gravity causes strain
And gravity produces pain
You battle it in vain
Unless good balance you maintain
Find equilibrium
Otherwise you become
A victim of the sum
Of heights that you have fallen from
Balance: gravity´s friend
Is in a spot to recommend
What energy you spend
As gravity lets you extend
Above the solid ground
To which every mass is bound
You pay for every pound
Therefore, good balance must be
found
No savior has been sent
With divine orders to prevent
A plummeting descent
Or catch you in any event
Whether you live and learn
Is none of gravity´s concern
For energy you burn
All you receive is what you earn
Even though lives are claimed
People fall, get killed and maimed
Among the culprits named
Gravity never has been blamed
Lament a balance lost
But you never feel double crossed
At paying the full cost
Of any fall down you get tossed
By forcing us to fall
Gravity has preserved us all
For whether large or small
Dumb mass is at its beck and call
At gravity´s command
You must have balance just to stand
Misplace your balance and
You learn how you are bound to land
You are brought down to earth
From the first moment of your birth
Which will,for what it´s worth
Afford you little cause for mirth
Caught in earth´s orbit, tight
You´re spun around with all its
might
Orbiting day and night
During a universal flight
Though gravity, as such
Consists of nothing you can touch
It influences much
Clasping all tightly in its clutch
A force too firm to fight
Of which nobody catches sight
Gravity will decide
Any disputes concerning height
Gravity´s like a debt
That you ignore to your regret
For gravity won´t let
A payment to go by unmet
Gravity´s on your backs
And its collections don´t relax
You pay its basic tax
Or rapidly gravity acts
There can be no delay
In paying what you have to pay
Gravity will not stay
Its sentences in any way
But you can see that so
You pay however much you owe
That much you have to know
Or down you will be bound to go
Damages from a fall
Depend on circumstances and all
Whether a drop is small
Or from a story that is tall
No matter how you feel
Gravity stays on even keel
It has a strong appeal
In any deal that you may seal
I got the 411
On how the deal is being done
And so I have begun
To have myself a bit of fun
As I enjoy my share
While knowing how I must take care
Displaying how I dare
To play by rules I feel are fair
The sun, the earth and moon
With one another are in tune
They balance out or soon
With debris heaven would be strewn
Therefore, I realize
That you and I can only see clear
skies
Long as things harmonize
And equilibrium applies
Whether or not the
forgoing is understandable, we can all agree that gravity exerts a
constant pressure in our lives. Every move we make involves our overcoming
it to some degree. Simply standing erect requires a gravitational
agreement. Agreements with gravity must be equitable. Gravitational equity
is called equilibrium, or balance. Only through the medium of balance can
we deal with gravity. Balance, therefore, is essential to our every
operation and activity in life.
Because blacks have
superior balance, they excel in activities requiring immediate challenges
to gravity. This is evident, particularly with regard to music and sport.
Every popular form of music and dance since emancipation has been the
creation of the descendants of the African slaves, not only in the
Americas, but the islands of the Caribbean, as well. In the creation of
music, balance relates more to vibrations than to gravity. Harmonies in
the heavens must be accessed in creating music. It is their African sense
of balance that enhances the talents of black people in making music in
general, and improvised music, in particular. All peoples hear sounds that
are music to their ears, but the creations of black people has been music
to ears, worldwide. The secret to its success can only be in the rhythm;
the balance; the dances it does with gravity. The history of popular
entertainment in America testifies to the overwhelming influence of
rhythmic black talent, despite white racist resistance. Today, hip hop,
like ragtime, jazz, and be bop before it, is targeted for attack.
Advocates of white supremacy are aghast. They fear loss of their power to
the vibrations of those they have for so long robbed. The fractious
flailing of European dance was never a match for the smooth moves of
Harlem, New Orleans, Kingston, Havana, or Rio. The racists know this,
therefore, they seek always to divert our attention with first one gun
battle then another. This is their only hope, which means they are
hopeless. Our concentration on the incalculable legacy represented by our
superior rhythm, is all that is required to offset the assaults of the
naturally clumsy. The time for that is now.
As our championship
continues to grow, generation after generation, it has not only benefited
blacks, but whites, too. However, black youth in particular currently has
access to riches as never before. Dynamic role models are being created in
virtually every sport. These are young black people, accustomed to
pressure, to wealth, to life lived large, whose aspirations and
inspiration can set them and their peers off in powerful, positive new
directions. A comparable influence is exerted by exceptional black
entertainers, in various media, where creative talents are being combined
with an entrepreneurial interest taken in their industries. This produces
both cash and credit, not only in domestic, but also in global markets.
Internationally, we are, indeed, the "dream team". If only we knew what
that meant. It indicates a global idea; a level of achievement beyond
reality. The play of a great array of black athletes in several sports
exhibits an aspect of the absolutely unbelievable. It keeps each season,
each big game, each major bout, fan filled and fresh. Despite racism, we
win. We have but to process our victory into spiritual, economic and
political triumphs. To accomplish this we must first accept the enormity
of the gift we enjoy, and appreciate it.
Gravity is God, not
because we worship it spiritually, but as it regulates and controls our
very presence in the universe. The better our balance, the more profound
is our relationship to gravity. Gravity is representative of equilibrium
in the astral relations of the heavens. To be balanced is to appreciate
something of infinite worth throughout our cosmic community. With a
balanced approach we can overcome mundane madness and vibrate with
harmonious health. Heaven hums with health. Hell has none. The achievement
of equilibrium ought to be our imperative as it is heaven´s. This does
not call for frantic, fanatic, drastic moves, but for definite wise ones.
Our objective is not to dominate, but to destroy domination by those who
rule by violent force.
This is a different
approach. It does not see democracy as necessarily the political ideal to
be sought by humanity. The rule of the majority is by definition
imbalance. It may suppress unrest, but rarely achieves equity. Indeed,
equity is hardly democracy´s aim. However equity is the basis of our
planet´s fundamental relations to its solar system, its galaxy, and the
universe. And so a different approach appears in order, a balanced,
universal approach that reflects order in all aspects of our lives.
Gravity is the chief enforcer of this order on earth, and balance is its
govenor. As the species of humanity blessed with the world´s finest
balance, the chief responsibility of blacks in Africa and in the Americas
is to govern. It would seem the world is in great trouble if we fail.
Fortunately, a balanced approach to life can be made by anybody with a
sense of equilibrium. The approach can be initiated personally, and extend
to any area of human activity and organization.
A problem that plagues
great social movements, religions, political parties, and social
societies, of course, is their reliance on leaders and/or a collective
agreement. Establishment of equilibrium eliminates this dependency,
because the responsibility for action rests solely with each individual,
individually. To be sure, cooperation with the efforts of others, can be
beneficial but it is not crucial. Only personal commitment is crucial.
Therefore:
No permission beyond a personal
commitment is required.
The commitment is to actively
maintain good balance.
Drastic moves are counter
productive.
Equilibrium comes in increments that
are carefully weighed.
Progress is gradual.
There is no leadership other than
your own on which to depend.
No genuine effort is wasted.
Unnecessary delay is unacceptable.
Constancy is a great virtue.
Emulation the harmonious examples of
nature is vital.
Excesses and extremes are to be
eliminated.
Change and readjustment are to be
expected.
Mistakes will be made, but so will
corrections.
CHAPTER THREE
Considering the
accomplishments of those who descend from the African slaves, it is clear
that, far beyond surviving the hideous madness of their captivity, they
have surpassed their captors in fields of human endeavor that produce the
greatest joy and highest sense of physical and joyful excitement and moral
achievement in contemporary society. Black championship is denigrated as
the instinctive achievement of mindless brutes, but this is merely to mask
the fact that descendants of Africa receive little or no competition from
descendants of Europe, when it comes to popular athletic events. Ever
since Joe Louis, the ranks of boxing champions have been overwhelmingly
black. Since Jesse Owens´ performance, black participation in Olympic
track and field events has all but eliminated whites from dashes, runs,
hurdles and jumps. Basketball teams at the college and professional levels
exhibit the overwhelming dominance of black players in that widely enjoyed
sport. Records from the old "Negroe Leagues", have documented the high
standard of black baseball play that long preceded Jackie Robinson´s
historic career. Lately, of course the take over of golf by Tiger Woods,
and the great tennis triumphs of Venus and Serena Williams, have extended
black championship into corners of country clubs, where such youngsters
used to be caddies and ball girls, if that.
It is pretended that the
reason for these spectacular success is not known when in fact it is
altogether apparent. The rhythmic performance of black players has been
documented and admired for generations. Despite the absurd assertions of
white supremacists, tangible evidence in the form of box office receipts,
television and radio revenues, performance records, and hours of enjoyable
recreation make it quite obvious. The superior level of performance that
is repeatedly demonstrated by black people is accomplished precisely
because they are black people. To attribute this to "instinct" without
superb "intellect" insults the intelligence of everyone involved in such
events, fans, officials and players alike. It is a reactionary,
propagandistic distortion of reality aimed at befuddling people so they do
not comprehend the heroism happening right before their eyes.
Given the horrendous
conditions, under which black contenders traditionally entered competition
in any major sport, our victories in every major sport are phenomenal. The
odds against which we struggled would seem to have guaranteed our failure,
and yet we have succeeded nobly. Our successes result from some
indomitable African quality that evidently is in harmony with the energy
of the universe through which we swing. It is evident in the language of
our bodies, and in the sounds of our music. If creative interests are
subordinated to force of inferior talent, only an inferior result is to be
expected. On the other hand, if those gifted with privileged access to
harmonic motions of the universe, are allowed to exercise their natural
endowments, the result will be cheered in privileged performances. The
privilege that is constantly revealed in the style and grace that blacks
naturally exhibit, is the consequence of an extraordinary African
relationship to the omnipresent force of gravity. There is buoyancy in the
being of most Africans that is born of this balance. Whether the rhythm
was begot by the drum, or the drum begot the rhythm is a "chicken vs. egg"
type of inquiry that I find pointless to make. The resulting performance
as it translates into today´s tongues is what demands attention. Our
victorious attainments are here to behold. The value of these victories
should accrue equitably to us, as a means of relieving the rampant
suffering currently to be found in our communities, worldwide. Our
charities need, obviously, to begin at home. Why should we, rich in
talent, not be comfortable in the natural, and political environments in
which our talents are expressed? Why must the gifted be downtrodden? Why
must the greedy be exalted? What is aggravated by the employment of
violence, other than more violence? Why ought the gifted not peacefully
market their gifts on their own behalf?
The reference here is not only sport.
Consider music.
There has been no popular
form of music and dance in the post-Civil War era that was not originated
and initiated by the "black bottom" of American society. From the
"Cakewalk" through the "Charleston", "Boogie-woogie", "Jutterbug" and its
myriad variations on to the breakthrough of the "Breakdance", and
"Hip-Hop", we have created the tunes and turnes through which this nation
traditionally has "Twisted". The style of music pioneered by Louis
Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Berry Gordy, Kool and the Gang
and all the generations of their peers have creatively directed the
culture of the entire country. For decades now, the last have been first
in determining the popular recreation of the American people. To be sure,
whites in their media declare themselves "kings" of every thing in sight,
but it is only the "black bottom" that determines what comes next. Of
course, white people seem to be in charge, and when it comes to those
things that money can buy, and lie about, often they are. However, in
music cash is no substitute for creativity, and so the white owned and
operated music industry today finds itself being driven sporadically by
forces it cannot control. The "bosses" have no choice but to be "lackeys".
Which they will readily do, provided the price is right, but then their
situation becomes what Thomas Jefferson descibed when he wrote:
"We have a wolf by the ear. We can
neither
Hold it, nor safely let it go!"
Efforts to maintain a
grip on the creative forces of black talent is made even more futile by
technological explosions in the communications field. These explosions,
which seem to occur with "machine gun" rapidity, tremendously facilitate
the creation and distribution of music. Satellite, internet, cable, dvd,
dat, fax, phone, radio and television expand and sophisticate, and make
possible the dissemination of entertainment to greater audiences every
day. But as promising as is the technological revolution we witness, it is
puny compared to the legacy of which black people are soon to become
aware. It relates to the latest fashions and fads, but to fundamental
forces of existence in the lives of every individual. We dwell here on a
planet that is in harmony with the cosmos. We are subject to the rigors of
a solar system ruled by a balanced sun, in an orderly galaxy, and a
perfect universe. Our spacetime on earth is limited. It is governed by
powers of which we have limited knowledge, and little control. Religious,
political, economic and social interpretations are vigorously offered and
violently defended. Might is allowed to make right without question.
Conflicts deliberately developed, advance whatever views are being
promulgated. Tyrants dictate. Power corrupts. Revolutions overthrow. Wars
rage. Sex seduces. Money talks. Hypocrites lie. Tomorrow comes. And we go.
Meanwhile, many influences are exerted, in many ways, but none as magical
as music and movement.
To be the most musical
and powerfully athletic people on the planet is both a blessing and a
curse. It is a blessing for the joyful beauty it exposes, and a curse for
the hateful envy it attracts. It puts us in the unenviable position of
welcoming lovers, while warding off assailants. Ours has not always been a
balanced approach. The appeal of our oppressors is strong. They are rich
and well armed. They appear set in their will to dominate by whatever
means, however cruel. In confronting such a beast, sudden moves are an
invitation to disaster. The beast is prepared for unending deadly
conflict. It must be tamed. Soothed. And subjected to better balance. Its
nature has it terrified of retaliatory attack. It is defensive, yet, at
the same time predatory. Calming these deadly inclinations will require
every bit of finesse available from any source. Finesse is not something
money easily can buy. Finesse is an inherent quality that shows up as a
subtle dance movement, a way of walking, a spirit that sings and creates
styles as easily as it smiles. There is no mold, nor rule of thumb by
which that which is Sanctifism is manifest. There will be no particle of
it that white people, characteristically can dissect and reduce to nothing
much. Finesse is a feeling, like cool. It is an inbred behavior, or one
assimilated with outstanding fidelity by most who are born black. This is
not to deny this, or any other talent to any other people. Let us all go
for what we know. But in so doing, let those of finesse remain cool in
order to win peace, rather than wage war. There is no positive point to
engaging a gun manufacturer in a gun battle. There is no advantage in a
balanced person´s losing equilibrium, when contending with a clumsy one.
By maintaining balance, and behaving with cool finesse we cannot lose, no
matter what our foes may attempt. If by birth we are endowed with talents
for balance, we need to examine the endowment for all it´s worth.
All massenergy moves in
harmonic motion, swinging through spacetime in equitable orbits. Every
body is for itself, and therefore has to respect every other body, and
give it space. Examination of the heavens told the ancients some truths
about cosmic order. Spacetime had to accommodate energetic mass, and this
was best accomplished rhythmically. So the heavens are alive with
agreeable bodies, minding their own business. And on one planet we would
do well to copy the cosmos. If any people on the planet can accomplish
this, it has to be the ones who do all the challenging of gravity with
balance. The black ones with an African endowment. How mechanics will
endeavor to measure this quality, I shudder to imagine. How we might
exploit it, I eagerly imagine. What is so exciting is the fact that this
endowment seems immeasurable. The buoyance of a balanced body has no
material being. It is a presence that activates and enhances relations
with gravity, and appears as speed in running, elevation in jumping, and
creativity in music. These are activities in which the better balanced
prove to have a distinct advantage. For the clumsy to win would be a
calamity requiring quick correction. For the championship to blow their
cool would be total disaster.
Therefore, there can be
no serious consideration given to anything but realizing the enormous
potential we have, and working with it. In the ensuing struggle we will be
equipped, not with the means of destruction, but with the capacity to
create and inspire. If we put our minds to it, we can mediate with beastly
forces, and subdue them. "Putting our minds to it" speaks once more to a
personal commitment to maintaining equilibrium. It can be made now, or any
time from now on.
Back to top
BELOVED
Prof. Gayle McKinney Griffith & Roman Brooks
"DOUBLEDUTCH"
von Oscar Brown Jr.
Vom Schwung der Dinge
KAPITEL EINS
Drei kleine Mädchen
springen Seil. Zwei, mit jeweils einem an jedem Ende, drehen das Seil,
während eins in der Mitte springt. Die Springende konzentriert sich
natürlich darauf, den Raum einzunehmen, den die Drehungen des Sprungseils
schaffen, damit sie es überspringen kann, immer wenn es sich ihren Füßen
nähert. Bald schon langweilen sich die drei Mädchen und entschließen sich
daher "Doubledutch" zu springen. Zu dem ersten Seil wird ein zweites von
gleicher Länge hinzugefügt und die Mädchen an jedem Ende fangen an, die
zwei Seile rhythmisch in einer Gegendrehung zu bewegen. "Doubledutch"
macht offensichtlich mehr Spaß als das Springen mit nur einem Seil, weil
es viel komplizierter ist. Statt sich auf die Drehung eines einzigen Seils
zu konzentrieren, muss die Springerin sich jetzt mit den kombinierten
Drehungen zweier Seile beschäftigen. Sie muss den Raum einnehmen, der
weder zu dem einen noch zu dem anderen Seil gehört, sondern aus der
Kombination beider Drehungen entsteht. Um dies schaffen zu können, müssen
sich die drei Mädchen des sogenannten "Duple"-Rhythmus bewusst sein.
"Duple" heißt einfach "Doppel" und demzufolge ist "Doubledutch"
Seilspringen per Definition eine "doppel-rhythmische" Aktivität. Wer nicht
mit der "Duplizität" dieses Spiels klarkommt, kann bei diesem
unterhaltsamen Spiel nicht mitmachen. Aus diesem Grund kann mit etwa
99%iger Sicherheit festgestellt werden, dass diese drei Mädchen schwarz
sind. Einige Mädchen anderer Rassen haben gelernt, diese Leistung zu
schaffen, aber "Doubledutch" ist keineswegs eine gewöhnliche Erscheinung
in iher Nachbarschaft, wie das in fast allen schwarzen Umgebungen der Fall
ist. Wieso? Weil Menschen afrikanischer Herkunft angeblich ein Gefühl für
Gleichgewicht und Eleganz haben, das außergewöhnlich ist. Das Entfernen
der Rassenschranken aus den Volkssportarten hat dazu geführt, dass
schwarze Athleten bestimmte Sportarten praktisch übernommen haben. Schnell
denkt man hier an die "National Basketball Association", aber Boxen und
auch die sogenannten "Schlüsselpositionen" im Fußballspiel werden fast
ausschließlich von schwarzen Spielern beherrscht. Und sie sind es im Jahre
2000 gewesen, die die meisten gewonnenen Medaillen in den Laufsportarten
der Olympischen Spiele aus Australien mitbrachten. Wieso?
In seinem Buch, "Taboo"
("Tabu"), bespricht Jon Entine ernsthaft die Frage der schwarzen
Herrschaft im Sport, die im Laufe der letzten Zeit in Erscheinung trat. So
interessant das Buch ist, beantwortet es dennoch nicht die "strittige"
Frage, die es hervorruft. Alle möglichen Studien werden erwähnt, jedoch
hat keine sich als schlüssig erwiesen. Viele waren lächerlich. Der
Rassismus kommt mit einigen gemeinen Äußerungen zum Vorschein, während er
die Ordnung einer weißen Überlegenheit vorantreibt. Viele Schwarze
fürchten sich immer noch davor, dieses Thema zu diskutieren.
Augenscheinlich haben sie Angst davor, dass, falls ihre physische
Überlegenheit erkannt wird, man daraus bei ihnen automatisch auf
intellektuelle Unterlegenheit schließen würde. Schwarze Amerikaner neigen
so sehr dazu, über sich selbst und ihresgleichen negativ zu denken, dass
sogar eindeutige Erfolge verunglimpft und geschmälert werden. Sich auf
Basketball, Fußball, Boxen und Laufsportarten zu konzentrieren, wird als
niedrig eingestuft - von der eurozentrischen Intelligenz. Es wird
wahrscheinlich nicht lange dauern, ehe irgendwelche kummervollen
Intellektuellen sich über den "schlechten Dienst" von Tiger Woods und den
Williams Schwestern beklagen werden, den diese erwiesen haben, indem sie
ihre jüngeren Geschwister zum Golf- und Tennisspiel brachten. Uns wird
erzählt, dass eine übertriebene Betonung auf Sport von schwarzen
Jugendlichen existiert, während es wenige gibt, die die Tatsache beklagen,
dass es eine Unmenge an Predigern gibt. Karrieren in Jura, Medizin,
Zahnheilkunde, Business und zusätzlich auch im Lehrwesen und Politik,
werden gelobt. Computerservices werden gepriesen, aber man wird dazu
verleitet zu glauben, dass Athleten beschränkt sind und ihre heldenhaften
Taten nicht das widerspiegeln, was die Rasse am meisten braucht: Verstand.
Die Sanges- und Tanzkünste werden als eine Bedrängnis geschmäht von
denjenigen, die lieber hätten, dass wir Aktien und Anleihen verkauften,
statt Worte und Musik.
Verstand ist natürlich
nur insofern nützlich, als dass man irgendeine Ahnung hat, worüber man
nachdenken sollte. Den meisten Menschen heutzutage werden hinreichende
Informationen, um ihre geistige Leistungsfähigkeit angemessen einsetzen zu
können, verweigert. Für die Nachkommen der afrikanischen Sklaven
insbesondere lassen sich keine vernünftigen Vorschläge erkennen für die
Lösung der ernsthaften Probleme bezüglich dem Umgang mit Rasse. Ein
Medienangriff hat die amerikanischen Massen mit einer Mischung von Little
Black Sambo, O.J. Simpson und geschmacklosem Sex bombardiert. Gewalt ist
natürlich wie immer ein grausiges Spiel für Kinder jeden Alters. Es ist
schwierig, Leitlinien zu finden, die aus denjenigen Institutionen
hervorgehen, die eine solche Führung eigentlich bereitstellen sollten. Sie
bringen keine neuen politischen Ideen oder Taktiken hervor. "Märsche"
folgen "Gipfeln" zwischen den "Konferenzen" mit minimalen Konsequenzen.
Doppeldeutige Berufungen auf "Rückzahlungen" begleiten unsere
Einkommenssteuererklärungen. Die intellektuelle Führung, die Malcolm X und
Martin Luther King gegeben haben, ist auf Slogans reduziert worden. Der
heutigen schwarzen Führung fehlt es anscheinend an Fokussierung, daher
gelingt es uns nicht zu erkennen, dass wir die Rekordhalter und
Trendsetter der Gesellschaft sind. Oder falls wir es doch erkennen,
schmälern wir unseren starken Einfluss, überwältigt von den brüchigen
Lügen der Wall Street.
"Die Weißen haben das
Geld und die Waffen", jammern wir unter uns.
"Gegen ihre Macht sind wir hilflos."
Aber "Weiße können nicht
springen" und das verleugnen sie nicht. Das heißt, einfach gesagt, dass
die Beziehung des europäischen Individuums zu der universalen Schwerkraft
zugegebenermaßen begrenzt ist im Vergleich zu der des Afrikaners. Man
braucht nur an den überwältigenden, immerwährenden Einfluss der
Schwerkraft auf jeden Moment unseres Lebens zu denken, um sich vorstellen
zu können, welch immenser Vorteil im Talent des Afrikaners für Balance
liegt. Hier hat man ein Erbe, auf das man seine Aufmerksamkeit richten
sollte. Die Behändigkeit, die Geschwindigkeit, der Stil und die Grazie,
die Menschen afrikanischer Herkunft vererbt wurden, sind eine Gabe
kosmischen Ausmaßes. Sie verdient unsere konzentrierteste Betrachtung,
weil sie nicht nur zu weltlichen Reizen in Beziehung steht, sondern auch
zu spiritueller Hingabe. Die vielen Gelegenheiten, zu denen man Rhythmus
der Geschichte nach in Afrika eingesetzt hat, waren nicht nur die zur
Ausführung der Arbeit, zur Feier von Ereignissen oder Traditionshuldigung.
Man hat die Götter angerufen und Antworten von solch großer Bedeutung
erhalten, dass die spirituellen Bräuche weiter gepflegt wurden bis zu
deren Untergang durch Sklaverei und Kolonialismus. Trotzdem bestehen die
Annäherungswege weiterhin. Die Geister, an die sich die Afrikaner
traditionell gewandt haben, bleiben an ihrem Platz. Ihr Wesen ist noch
vorhanden für die, die sich an sie wenden. Die Lehren aller
Glaubensrichtungen werden jegliche Anwesenheit von konkurrierenden
Gottheiten verwerfen, so traditionell sie auch sein mögen. Aber, wenn es
nicht die Götter unserer Vorväter sind, denen wir Huldigung schulden, wem
dann?
Jede Art von Wesen hat
eine deutlich definierte Beziehung zur Schwerkraft. Für die Fische im
Wasser unterscheidet sich diese Beziehung sehr von der der Vögel in der
Luft. Der Halt, den die Schwerkraft auf ein Insekt ausübt, ist nicht der
gleiche wie auf dich, deine Katze oder auf eine gewöhnliche Ente. Wanzen
haben Flügel, mit denen sie wie Pfeile durch die Luft schnellen können;
einer Katze fällt es leichter hochzuspringen als dir; und die Ente kann
alles, fliegen, schwimmen und laufen. Wie auch immer, für alle ist das
Gefühl für die Balance ausschlaggebend dafür, wie sie ihr tägliches Leben
meistern. Dieses ist genetisch bestimmt. Die afrikanische Genealogie, die
so viele der führenden Sportfiguren und bekanntesten Entertainer der
letzten fünf Jahrzehnte kennzeichnet, ist kein Zufall der Geburt. Es folgt
aus der Abstammung von Eltern afrikanischen Blutes. Afrikanisches Blut
trägt eine Beziehung zur Schwerkraft in sich, die ausgeglichener ist als
die jeder anderen menschlichen Rasse. Diese Neigung zum Rhythmus ist es,
die diesen Sprung in den Schwung schwarzer Athleten und Musiker ausmacht.
Das Schwingen ist die harmonische Bewegung, nach der sich alle Energie in
Wellen durch das Universum bewegt. Die Zeit schwingen zu lassen, hat den
afrikanischen Sklaven dazu verholfen, ihre Jahrhunderte in Gefangenschaft
"zu überstehen". Es ist unsere Beziehung zu harmonischer Bewegung, die
unseren energischen Anstrengungen eine Überlegenheit gegeben hat, was
durch die Leistungen der wichtigsten Sportler und Entertainer der letzten
sechs Jahrzehnte bewiesen ist. Die Gesellschaft ist von uns "abhängig".
Widerwillig vielleicht, aber trotzdem "abhängig". Unsere Leistungen haben
so lange für so viele große Unterhaltung und Anregung bedeutet, dass
Basketball unmöglich auf ein Niveau vor Julius Irving oder vor Michael
Jordan zurückfallen dürfte, oder das Boxen auf ein Niveau vor Joe Louis
oder Mohammed Ali. Ein Baseballspiel wie zu Zeiten vor Jackie Robinson
oder Willie Mays ist praktisch undenkbar. Eins ist klar, als die Schranken
der Hautfarbe fielen, sind die Besucherzahlen in die Höhe geschossen, so
wie auch die Einnahmen an der Kino- und Theaterkasse und die über den
Verkauf von Fernsehrechten. Curt Floods heldenhafte Herausforderung der
"Reserveklausel" im Baseball hat selbst dazu geführt, dass viele Spieler
ebenfalls am großen Geld teilhaben können.
Und trotzdem gelingt es
uns irgendwie nicht, uns der Führungsrolle, die wir bekleiden, und der
Abhängigkeit der Jugend der Welt von schwarzen amerikanischen
Jugendlichen, was Mode und kulturelle Richtlinien betrifft, bewusst zu
werden. Wir scheinen nicht zu bemerken, was wir tun, wenn wir Maßstäbe für
physische Leistungsfähigkeiten setzen. Wir erkennen nicht, was für einen
enormen Reichtum wir für uns erwerben könnten, wenn wir nur unsere eigenen
Begabungen und eigenes Können vermarkten und verteilen würden. Wir sind
"zu Sklaven erzogen", um zu glauben, dass uns die Intelligenz und Tatkraft
fehlen, unsere eigenen Entscheidungen treffen zu können. Wir fühlen uns
immer noch "Herrn Charlie" verpflichtet, was tragisch ist, weil der arme
Charlie augenscheinlich verrückt ist. Seine Einstellung scheint jeden Tag
faschistischer zu werden, indem er immer mehr entschlossen ist, die
militärindustrielle Kontrolle über die Welt zu ergreifen, die er dauernd
auf den Kopf stellt. Das Schachspiel wird zum Beispiel für "genial"
gehalten, im Gegensatz zum Basketballspiel, obwohl niemand einen
intellektuellen Unterschied zwischen den beiden beschreiben kann. Der
Teamsport wirft offensichtlich Kommunikationsprobleme auf, die man beim
Schachspiel nicht hat, aber ansonsten ähneln sich die beiden Spiele recht
bemerkenswert in Hinsicht auf Ziele und Taktik. Die Tatsache, dass
Basketball athletische Fähigkeiten erfordert, macht es nicht weniger
intellektuell herausfordernd. Damit Julius "Dr. J" Irving die
Meisterleistungen im Basketball ausführen konnte, musste er sie erst
überdenken. Oder ehe Irvin "Magic" Johnson seine verblüffende
Fingerfertigkeit einsetzen konnte, musste er sie zuerst konzipieren. Die
Tatsache, dass diese geistigen Wunder in der Geschwindigkeit eines
Rechners ausgeführt werden, schmälert um nichts die Intelligenz, die sie
erfordern. Ein "double dribble", eine "foul line" oder ein "zone defense"
sind genauso wenig angeboren wie die "Quadrate auf einem Schachbrett". Das
Spiel muss man erlernen, in sich aufnehmen und ausführen, ehe man es
beherrschen kann, wie die schwarzen Jugendlichen dies beim Basketball tun.
Es erfordert mehr als Muskelkraft, hohe Geschwindigkeit oder Größe. Unser
Versagen, unserer Jugend allen Respekt zu geben für ihre überwältigenden
Leistungen, ist ein zerquetschender Schlag auf das schon sehr beschädigte
kollektive Ego unserer Rasse.
Natürlich sehen wir ein,
dass wir äußerst begabt sind. Unsere Meisterschaft ist offenbar geworden,
dennoch halten wir Weiße immer noch für überlegen. Es ist eine List,
welche die Weißen selbst mit unermüdlichem Eifer anwenden. Seit der Zeit,
als Joe Louis als eine "Ehre für seine Rasse" gehuldigt wurde, hat seine
Rasse viel mehr "Ehre" erworben, als womöglich fassbar ist. Aber wie
unfassbar groß diese Ehre auch ist, sie reicht noch immer nicht aus, um
gegen den Selbsthass der Schwarzen zu bestehen, der in Drogensucht,
Bandenkrieg und die Hoffnungslosigkeit einer "endgültigen Unterklasse"
resultiert, die in einem System gefangen ist, das sie in politischer,
sozialer und ökonomischer Hinsicht abgeschrieben hat. Für die Nachkommen
der afrikanischen Sklaven in Amerika ist diese Lage vollkommen untragbar.
Wir sind viel zu lange niedriger eingestuft und geschmälert worden. Es ist
dringend erforderlich, eine Neubewertung zu veranlassen. Eine Aufwertung,
die sich auf die ernsthafte Anerkennung unseres afrikanischen Erbes
gründet, muss entwickelt werden, um unserem entmutigten Volk Auftrieb zu
geben. Ich empfehle nicht einfach eine aufdringlichere Wiederholung der
alten "wir stammen von Königen und Königinnen"-Behauptungen, die unsere
Afrozentrizität der letzten Generation kennzeichneten. Die Kombination von
Intelligenz und athletischen Fähigkeiten ist es, die uns zu Gewinnern
macht. Die Könige und Königinnen, von denen wir abstammen, hatten
Generationen von treuen Untertanen. In dieser noblen afrikanischen Masse
hat unsere ersichtliche Überlegenheit ihre Wurzeln. Die Olympischen Spiele
im Jahre 2000 haben erneut diese Überlegenheit bestätigt, für die wir uns
fast schämen, sie öffentlich anzuerkennen. Wir schämen uns oder wir haben
Angst vor einem möglichen Rückschlag gut bewaffneter, reicher Europäer und
europäischer Amerikaner. Aber wie Franklin D. Roosevelt einst dem
amerikanischen Volk riet: "Wir haben nichts zu fürchten, außer die Furcht
selbst." Das Erbe, auf das wir von Natur aus Anspruch erheben können, ist
eine Kraft, die wir nicht so einfach verwerfen können. In unserer
natürlichen afrikanischen Beziehung zu den Gesetzen der Schwerkraft,
entdecken wir unsere größte Erbschaft. Der Schlüssel ist das
Gleichgewicht. Unser Gefühl für Rhythmus und unser vorzügliches Timing. Es
gibt nur eine Zeit. Sie ist grenzenlos, aber messbar, und ist als Mittel
der Betrachtung der Bewegung der Sterne, dem Ticken einer Uhr, dem
Schlagen einer Trommel, den Beats unserer Füße oder unseres Herzens
vorbehalten.
Leider marschiert die
Mischrasse, genannt "afrikanischer Amerikaner", heute gedankenlos nach dem
Schlagen einer fremden Trommel. Schwarze Kinder werden schlichtweg
hypnotisiert. Der allmächtige Dollar ist die Sklavenkette, an die sie
jetzt gehängt wurden. Aber unser Kampf geht nicht um den Dollar, noch
darum, Material anzuhäufen, das der Europäer herstellt und bewundert.
Unser Kampf sollte vielmehr um die Kontrolle über uns selbst und unsere
Energien, in individueller wie auch gemeinschaftlicher Hinsicht, gehen.
Wir können nicht mehr
gekauft werden, außer wenn wir uns selbst verkaufen. Wir werden erst damit
aufhören, uns selbst zu verkaufen, wenn wir unseren Wert erkennen. Wir
haben die Kontrolle über die Zeit, und können sie schwingen lassen. Wir
stehen im Einklang mit dem Universum und bewahren das überlegene
Gleichgewicht auf Erden. Dies ist keine leere Prahlerei, sondern eine
bewiesene Tatsache. Es ist Tatsache, dass wir jeden Musikstil und jede
Tanzform, die jemals seit dem Ende der Sklaverei in den Vereinigten
Staaten populär geworden ist, geschaffen haben. Und das zeigt uns genau,
woher die kulturelle Führung dieses Landes kommt. Das Bauen von riesigen
neuen Sportarenen, Stadien und Spielfeldern in den Städten von Küste zu
Küste, zeugt ausdrucksvoll von der Popularität schwarzer athletischer
Meisterschaft. Unsere Führung und unsere Fähigkeiten sind jedoch der
Korrumpierungen durch die Nachkommen derjenigen ausgesetzt, die uns
gefangen hielten - eine heutige Generation, die ich "The Mastersons" ("Die
Mastersöhne") nenne. Statt die Führungsfunktionen zu erfüllen, zu denen
unsere natürlichen Begabungen uns berechtigen, stellen wir uns aus
Gewohnheit ständig unter die Waffen und Wünsche der "Mastersons". Um aber
frei sein zu können, müssen wir damit anfangen, uns selbst als ein freies
Volk zu sehen. Wir werden das grundlegende Gleichgewicht offenbaren
müssen, zu dem Afrika uns berechtigt hat, und die Kontrolle übernehmen
über die Beats, nach denen wir uns bewegen. Indem wir unsere eigenen
Rhythmen beherrschen, werden wir automatisch sowohl physische als auch
spirituelle Harmonien schaffen, die uns vereinen und erstrahlen lassen
werden. Wir werden einander vertrauen und somit beginnen, unsere
Angelegenheiten einander anzuvertrauen in unserem eigenen Interesse.
Während wir unser Gleichgewicht festigen, wird die Unbeholfenheit der
"Mastersons" deutlich und unangenehm werden. Es wird Drohungen geben, die
aber leer sein werden. "Wir haben nichts zu fürchten..."
KAPITEL ZWEI
Während die rhythmische
Überlegenheit der Schwarzen über die Weißen offensichtlich ist, ist es die
Bedeutsamkeit dieser Überlegenheit nicht. Sie wird heruntergespielt von
denjenigen, die sich aus irgendeinem Grund davor scheuen, jeglichen
Vorteil, den Schwarze über andere genießen könnten, anzuerkennen. Kein
Wunder. Rhythmus hängt mit Gleichgewicht zusammen. In ihrem
Gleichgewichtsgefühl offenbaren rhythmische Menschen ihre Begabungen:
Behändigkeit, Schnelligkeit, Eleganz, physische und zeitliche Gewandtheit
und Schwung. Gleichgewicht bezieht sich eigentlich nur auf eines: die
Schwerkraft. Drei Generationen haben die Schwerkraft wissenschaftlich
untersucht und während sie viel entdeckt haben von dem, was die Kraft
bewirkt, haben sie noch nicht herausfinden können, was die Schwerkraft
genau darstellt. Ich glaube, dass die Schwerkraft ein Nebenprodukt der
Zentripetalkraft ist, die entsteht, wenn sich Gleichgewicht zwischen den
sich gegenläufig bewegenden Umlaufbahnen von Astralkörpern einstellt. Ich
werde es so erklären:
Alle Massenenergie bewegt
sich in der Zeit des Raumes und, um ständige Zusammenstöße zu vermeiden,
muss sich jede Energie zusammenhalten. Alle Massenenergie muss sich
deshalb von allen anderen Massenenergien abwenden und infolgedessen alle
Bewegungen auf seine eigene Umlaufbahn begrenzen. Innerhalb der eigenen
Umlaufbahn erhält sich jede Massenenergie dadurch, dass sie zentripetal
wird, d.h. alle Energie nach innen richtet, statt sie mit der Fliehkraft
hinauszuschleudern. Die Schwerkraft entsteht durch die zentripetale
Zugkraft der entgegengesetzt kreisenden Massenenergien, die sich nach
universalen Vereinbarungen fortbewegen. Oder man könnte es so sagen:
(Gedicht - siehe
englische Version)
Mag das Obenstehende
verständlich sein oder nicht, wir können uns alle darauf einigen, dass die
Schwerkraft einen ständigen Druck in unserem Leben ausübt. Jede Bewegung,
die wir machen, verlangt von uns eine gewisse Überwindung der Schwerkraft.
Selbst das einfache Aufrechtstehen fordert eine Vereinbarung mit der
Schwerkraft. Vereinbarungen mit der Schwerkraft müssen ausgeglichen sein.
Gravitationsgleichheit heißt Gleichgewicht oder Balance. Nur durch die
Mittel der Balance können wir mit der Schwerkraft umgehen. Die Balance ist
deshalb unentbehrlich bei jeder Tätigkeit oder Aktivität im Leben.
Weil Schwarze ein
überlegenes Gleichgewichtsgefühl haben, zeichnen sie sich in Aktivitäten
aus, die unmittelbare Herausforderungen an die Schwerkraft darstellen.
Dies wird vor allem deutlich in bezug auf Musik und Sport. Jede populäre
Form von Musik und Tanz seit der Sklavenbefreiung ist eine Schöpfung der
Nachkommen der afrikanischen Sklaven gewesen, nicht nur in Amerika sondern
auch auf den karibischen Inseln. Zur Schöpfung von Musik gehört ein
Gleichgewicht, das mehr in Beziehung zu Vibrationen steht als zur
Schwerkraft. Der Zugang zu himmlischen Harmonien muss vorhanden sein, um
Musik zu schaffen. Es liegt in ihrem afrikanischen Gefühl für
Gleichgewicht, dass schwarze Menschen eine verstärkte Begabung für das
Schöpfen von Musik im allgemeinen und für improvisierte Musik im
besonderen haben. Alle Völker können Klänge hören, die für sie Musik in
ihren Ohren sind, aber die Schöpfungen der Schwarzen werden für alle
Menschen weltweit wie Musik wahrgenommen. Das Geheimnis ihres Erfolgs kann
nur im Rhythmus liegen, im Gleichgewicht, in den Tänzen, die sie mit der
Schwerkraft führt. Die Geschichte der populären Unterhaltung in Amerika
zeugt von dem überwältigenden Einfluss der rhythmischen Begabung der
Schwarzen, trotz des weißen, rassistischen Widerstands. Heute ist Hiphop,
wie früher Ragtime, Jazz und Be Bop, Zielscheibe für Angriffe. Die
Vertreter der weißen Überheblichkeit sind fassungslos. Sie haben Angst
davor, ihre Macht zu verlieren gegen die Vibrationen derjenigen, die sie
so lange beraubt haben. Das störrische Herumfuchteln des europäischen
Tanzes hat es nie aufnehmen können mit den weichen Bewegungen von Harlem,
New Orleans, Kingston, Havanna oder Rio. Die Rassisten wissen das und
versuchen uns darum ständig abzulenken mit dem einen und anderen Kampf der
Waffen. Das ist ihre einzige Hoffnung, was bedeutet, dass sie hoffnungslos
sind. Wir brauchen nur unsere Konzentration auf unsere unfassbare
Erbschaft zu richten, die sich in unserem überlegenen Rhythmus
niederschlägt, um die Anschläge der von Natur aus Unbeholfenen
aufzuwiegen. Die Zeit dafür ist jetzt gekommen.
So wie unsere
Meisterschaft ständig wächst, Generation für Generation, ist sie nicht nur
von Vorteil für Schwarze gewesen, sondern auch für Weiße. Wie dem auch
sei, besonders schwarze Jugendliche haben heutzutage bessere
Möglichkeiten, Wohlstand zu erlangen, als je zuvor. Dynamische Vorbilder
entwickeln sich in praktisch jeder Sportart. Es sind junge Schwarze, die
den Druck aushalten und an Reichtum und daran, das Leben in vollen Zügen
zu genießen, gewöhnt sind, deren Streben und Inspiration sie und
Gleichaltrige in machtvolle, positive neue Richtungen führen. Einen
vergleichbaren Einfluss üben die außergewöhnlichen schwarzen Entertainer
in den verschiedenen Medien aus, wo die kreativen Begabungen mit einem
unternehmerischen Interesse an deren Aktivitäten zusammengefügt werden.
Das produziert sowohl Bargeld als auch Anerkennung, nicht nur auf dem
heimischen sondern auch auf dem weltweiten Markt. In internationaler
Hinsicht sind wir tatsächlich das "dream team". Wenn wir nur wüßten, was
das heißt. Der Begriff deutet ein globales Ideal an, ein Leistungsniveau
jenseits der Realität. Das Spiel einer stattlichen Reihe schwarzer
Athleten in verschiedenen Sportarten offenbart einen Aspekt des völlig
Unglaublichen. Es sorgt dafür, dass jede Saison, jedes große Spiel, jeder
wichtige Wettkampf kein Mangel an Fans hat und immer frisch bleibt. Trotz
des Rassismus gewinnen wir. Wir brauchen nur unseren Sieg in spirituelle,
ökonomische und politische Triumphe umzuwandeln. Um das zu erreichen,
müssen wir zunächst das Ausmaß des Geschenks, das wir genießen dürfen,
annehmen und es zu würdigen wissen.
Die Schwerkraft ist Gott,
nicht weil wir ihr auf spiritueller Weise huldigen, sondern weil sie
unsere Existenz im Universum reguliert und kontrolliert. Je besser unser
Gleichgewicht, desto tiefer ist unsere Beziehung zur Schwerkraft. Die
Schwerkraft ist der Repräsentant für das Equilibrium in den astralen
Beziehungen im Universum. Ausgewogen zu sein heißt, etwas, was von
endloser Bedeutung für unsere ganze kosmische Gemeinschaft ist, begreifen
zu können. Mit einer ausgewogenen Einstellung können wir den weltlichen
Wahnsinn besiegen und mit harmonischer Gesundheit vibrieren. Der Himmel
summt von Gesundheit. Die Hölle hat keine. Das Gleichgewicht zu erreichen,
sollte unsere Pflicht sein, so wie es die des Himmels ist. Das erfordert
keine hektischen, fanatischen und drastischen, sondern eindeutige,
vernünftige Schritte. Unser Ziel ist nicht zu beherrschen, sondern die
Herrschaft derer, die mit gewaltsamer Macht regieren, zu zerstören.
Das ist eine andere
Herangehensweise. Sie versteht Demokratie nicht unbedingt als das
politische Ideal, nach dem die Menschheit streben sollte. Das Gesetz der
Mehrheit ist per Definition unausgeglichen. Es mag zwar Unruhen
unterdrücken, aber sehr selten erreicht es Gleichheit. Die Gleichheit ist
in der Tat kein Ziel der Demokratie. Aber die Gleichheit ist trotzdem die
Basis der grundlegenden Beziehungen unseres Planeten zu seinem
Sonnensystem, zur Galaxie und zum Universum. So scheint eine neue
Einstellung die Order zu sein, eine ausgewogene, universelle Einstellung,
die die Ordnung in allen Bereichen unseres Lebens widerspiegelt. Die
Schwerkraft ist der Oberbefehlshaber dieser Ordnung in der Welt und das
Gleichgewicht ihr Gouverneur. Als die menschliche Spezies, die mit dem
besten Gleichgewichtsgefühl der Welt gesegnet ist, liegt die
Hauptverantwortung der Schwarzen in Afrika und in Amerika darin, zu
leiten. Es scheint, die Welt würde sich in großen Schwierigkeiten
befinden, würden wir versagen. Glücklicherweise kann jeder mit Sinn für
das Gleichgewicht eine ausgewogene Einstellung zum Leben erreichen. Die
Einstellung kann persönlich entwickelt werden und sich auf jeden Bereich
menschlicher Tätigkeiten und Organisationen übertragen.
Ein Problem, das die
großen sozialen Bewegungen, die Religionen, politische Parteien und
soziale Vereine quält, ist natürlich ihre Abhängigkeit von Führern
und/oder von der kollektiven Vereinbarung. Das Schaffen eines Equilibriums
beseitigt diese Abhängigkeit, weil die Verantwortung für Aktionen einzig
bei jedem Individuum persönlich liegt. Natürlich kann die Kooperation mit
den Anstrengungen anderer von Vorteil sein, aber es ist keine Bedingung.
Nur die persönliche Verpflichtung ist entscheidend. Deshalb:
Keine Erlaubnis außer einer
persönlichen Verpflichtung ist erforderlich.
Die Verpflichtung ist, sich intensiv
damit zu beschäftigen, ein gutes Gleichgewicht zu erhalten.
Drastische Bewegungen bewirken das
Gegenteil des Gewünschten.
Gleichgewicht entsteht durch
Zuwächse, die vorsichtig abgewogen werden.
Fortschritt ist etwas Allmähliches.
Man braucht sich auf keine Führung
zu verlassen, außer auf die eigene.
Keine aufrichtige Anstrengung ist
Verschwendung.
Unnötige Verzögerung ist
unannehmbar.
Beständigkeit ist eine Tugend.
Den harmonischen Beispielen der
Natur nachzueifern ist lebenswichtig.
Übermaß und Extreme müssen beseitigt
werden.
Änderung und Neuorientierung werden
erwartet.
Es werden Fehler gemacht werden,
aber auch Korrekturen.
KAPITEL DREI
Wenn wir die Leistungen
derer berücksichtigen, die von den afrikanischen Sklaven abstammen, wird
uns deutlich, dass sie mehr als bloß den entsetzlichen Wahnsinn ihrer
Gefangenschaft überlebt zu haben, vielmehr ihre Eroberer in Bereichen
menschlicher Bemühungen übertroffen haben, die in der heutigen
Gesellschaft die größte Freude und das höchste Gefühl für physische und
freudige Begeisterung und moralische Werte hervorrufen. Die Meisterschaft
der Schwarzen wird als die instinktive Leistung hirnloser Rohlinge
verunglimpft, was aber nur dazu dient, die Tatsache zu verschleiern, dass
die Nachkommen Afrikas, wenn es um populäre athletische Veranstaltungen
geht, wenig oder sogar keine Konkurrenz in den Nachkommen Europas haben.
Seit Joe Louis ist die Liste der Boxchampions in überwältigendem Ausmaß
mit Schwarzen besetzt. Seit Jesse Owens Auftritt hat die Teilnahme
Schwarzer in olympischen Leichtathletikwettkämpfen die Weißen aus dem
Sprint, den Läufen, dem Hürdenlauf und dem Hochspringen fast vollkommen
ausgeschlossen. Basketballmannschaften an den Colleges und auf
professionellem Niveau zeigen die überwältigende Dominanz schwarzer
Spieler in dieser weltweit populären Sportart. Dokumente der alten "Negroe
Leagues" belegen das hohe Niveau des Baseballspiels der Schwarzen schon
längst vor Jackie Robinsons historischer Karriere. In der letzten Zeit
haben natürlich die Ablöse im Golfsport durch Tiger Woods und die
großartigen Tennistriumphe der Venus und Serena Williams schwarze
Meisterschaft in die Ecken der Country Clubs hineingetragen, in denen
solche Jugendlichen früher nur Caddies oder Ballmädchen sein durften, wenn
überhaupt.
Es wird vorgegeben, der
Grund dieser hervorragenden Erfolge sei nicht bekannt, aber eigentlich ist
er vollkommen offensichtlich. Die rhythmischen Leistungen schwarzer
Spieler werden seit Generationen schon dokumentiert und bewundert. Trotz
der absurden Behauptungen der weißen Herrscher machen es die belegbaren
Beweise aus Einnahmen durch Kartenverkäufe, Fernseh- und Radioeinkünfte,
Aufzeichnungen von Aufführungen und der stundenlangen schönen Unterhaltung
unumstritten. Das überlegene Leistungsniveau, das wiederholt von Schwarzen
demonstiert wurde, erreichen sie genau deshalb, weil sie Schwarze sind.
Dieses nur dem "Instinkt" und nicht dem ausgezeichneten "Intellekt"
zuzuschreiben, ist eine Beleidigung der Intelligenz aller, die an solchen
Ereignissen teilnehmen, Fans, Funktionäre und Spieler gleichermaßen. Es
ist eine reaktionäre, propagandistische Verdrehung der Realität, die
darauf abzielt, die Leute so zu verwirren, dass sie das Heldenhafte, was
sich direkt vor ihren Augen abspielt, nicht erkennen können.
Wenn man bedenkt, unter
welch schrecklichen Umstände schwarze Bewerber traditionell in die
Wettkämpfe jeder wichtigen Sportart gingen, erweisen sich unsere Siege in
jenen Sportarten als phänomenal. Die schlechten Aussichten, gegen die wir
gekämpft haben, schienen unser Scheitern eigentlich zu garantieren, aber
wir haben es trotzdem würdevoll geschafft. Unsere Erfolge resultieren aus
irgendeiner unbeugsamen afrikanischen Eigenschaft, die offensichtlich mit
der Energie des Universums harmoniert, durch die wir schwingen. Sie lässt
sich in unserer Körpersprache und durch die Klänge unserer Musik erkennen.
Wenn kreative Interessen den Kräften minderwertiger Begabung entsprängen,
könnte man nur ein minderwertiges Ergebnis erwarten. Andererseits, wenn
denjenigen, begnadet mit einem privilegierten Zugang zu den harmonischen
Bewegungen des Universums, gestattet wäre, ihre natürlichen Begabungen
auszuüben, würde das Ergebnis bei besonderen Auftritten bejubelt werden.
Das Privileg, das sich ständig im Stil und in der Anmut, die Schwarze von
Natur aus zeigen, offenbart, ist die Folge einer außergewöhnlichen
afrikanischen Beziehung zu der allgegenwärtigen Schwerkraft. Es liegt ein
Schwung im Wesen der meisten Afrikaner, der aus dieser Beziehung
hervorgeht. Ob der Rhythmus von der Trommel abstammt, oder die Trommel vom
Rhythmus ist eine "Huhn oder Ei"-Frage, die ich für zwecklos halte. Die
daraus folgenden Leistungen, wie sie heutzutage umgesetzt werden,
verdienen unsere Aufmerksamheit. Unsere siegreichen Errungenschaften sind
es, die festgehalten werden müssen. Der Nutzen dieser Siege sollte uns
gleichermaßen zukommen als Mittel, um das wachsende Leiden, das
gegenwärtig in unseren Gemeinschaften weltweit vorkommt, zu lindern. Mit
unseren Wohltätigkeiten sollten wir offenkundig zu Hause anfangen. Warum
sollten wir, reich an Begabung, uns nicht in den natürlichen und
politischen Umgebungen, in denen wir unsere Begabungen zum Ausdruck
bringen, wohl fühlen? Wieso müssen die Begabten unterdrückt werden? Wieso
sollten die Gierigen alles überragen? Was bewirkt die Anwendung von
Gewalt, außer noch mehr Gewalt? Warum sollten die Begabten nicht in
Frieden ihre Begabungen für sich selbst vermarkten dürfen?
Hier verweise ich nicht
nur auf Sport. Betrachten wir auch die Musik.
Es hat noch keine
populäre Form der Musik und des Tanzes seit dem Bürgerkrieg gegeben, die
nicht von dem "black bottom" ("schwarzen Boden") der amerikanischen
Gesellschaft geschaffen und eingeführt wurde. Vom "Cakewalk" zum
"Charleston", "Boogie-Woogie", "Jitterbug" und den zahlreichen Variationen
darauf, bis zum Durchbruch des "Breakdance" und "Hip-Hop", haben wir die
Melodien und Drehungen kreiert, zu denen dieses Land traditionell
"twistet". Die bahnbrechenden Musikstile von Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Charlie Parker, Berry Gordy, Kool and The Gang und allen
Generationen ihresgleichen haben kreativ die Kultur dieses ganzen Landes
geführt. Schon seit Jahrzehnten sind die Letzten die Ersten gewesen, indem
sie die populäre Unterhaltung des amerikanischen Volkes bestimmt haben.
Natürlich ernennen sich die Weißen in den Medien zu "Königen" von allem,
was sie erblicken können, aber nur die "black bottom" bestimmen, was
daraus folgt. Natürlich scheinen die Weißen die Führung zu haben, und wenn
es um die Sachen geht, die man mit Geld kaufen und über die man lügen
kann, ist es auch meistens der Fall. Dennoch, im Musikwesen kann Geld kein
Ersatz für Kreativität sein, und darum wird die im Besitz der Weißen
befindliche Musikindustrie heutzutage hin und wieder von Kräften
getrieben, über die sie keine Kontrolle hat. Die "Bosse" haben keine
andere Wahl außer "Lackaien" zu sein. Welche Rolle sie gerne übernehmen,
vorausgesetzt der Preis gefällt, aber dann befinden sie sich in einer
Lage, die Thomas Jefferson wie folgt beschrieb:
"Wir haben den Wolf an
den Ohren.
Wir können ihn weder festhalten noch ohne Gefahr loslassen!"
Bemühungen, den Griff auf
die kreativen Kräfte schwarzer Begabung zu halten, werden durch die
technologischen Explosionen im Kommunikationsbereich noch sinnloser. Diese
Explosionen, die sich mit der Geschwindigkeit eines Maschinengewehrs
auszubreiten scheinen, vereinfachen gewaltig das Kreieren und Verbreiten
der Musik. Satellit, Internet, Kabel, DVD, Dat, Fax Telefon, Radio und
Fernsehen erweitern, kultivieren und ermöglichen die Verbreitung der
Unterhaltung unter einem jeden Tag größer werdenden Publikum. Aber so
verheißungsvoll die technologische Revolution, die wir erleben, auch sein
mag, sie ist winzig im Vergleich zur Erbschaft, deren sich Schwarze bald
bewusst werden. Sie bezieht sich nicht auf die neuesten Moden und Marotten
sondern auf die elementaren Kräfte der Existenz im Leben jedes Einzelnen.
Wir bewohnen hier einen Planeten, der mit dem Kosmos im Einklang steht.
Wir sind den Unbilden eines Sonnensystems, von einer sich im Gleichgewicht
haltenden Sonne reguliert, in einer geordneten Galaxie und einem perfekten
Universum ausgesetzt. Unsere Zeit-Raum-Welt hier auf Erden ist begrenzt.
Sie wird von Kräften beherrscht, von denen wir begrenzte Kenntnisse und
über die wir wenig Kontrolle haben. Religiöse, politische, ökonomische und
soziale Interpretationen werden energisch vertreten und gewaltsam
bekämpft. Macht hat die Erlaubnis, Recht zu haben ohne Anzweifelung.
Konflikte, mit Absicht entwickelt, dienen dazu, wie auch immer geartete
Sichtweisen zu verbreiten. Tyrannen diktieren. Macht korrumpiert.
Revolutionen stürzen. Kriege wüten. Sex verführt. Das Geld macht's.
Scheinheilige lügen. Der Morgen kommt. Und wir gehen. Unterdessen werden
verschiedene Einflüsse auf verschiedene Weise ausgeübt, aber keiner ist so
zauberhaft wie die Musik und die Bewegung.
Das musikalischste und
kraftvoll athletischste Volk dieses Planeten zu sein, ist sowohl ein Segen
als auch ein Fluch. Es ist ein Segen wegen der erfreulichen Schönheit, die
es offenbart, und ein Fluch wegen des hässlichen Neids, den es auf sich
zieht. Es bringt uns in die nicht beneidenswerte Lage Liebhaber willkommen
zu heißen, während wir uns vor Angreifern schützen müssen. Eine
ausgeglichene Einstellung ist nicht immer unsere Sache gewesen. Die
Wirkung unserer Unterdrücker ist stark. Sie sind reich und gut bewaffnet.
Sie scheinen unerbitterlich entschlossen herrschen zu wollen, mit allen
Mitteln, so grausam sie auch seien. Wenn man so einer Bestie
gegenübersteht, können plötzliche Bewegungen eine Katastrophe
herbeiführen. Die Bestie ist auf einen endlosen tödlichen Konflikt
vorbereitet. Sie muss gezähmt werden. Beruhigt werden. Und mit einem
besseren Gleichgewicht konfrontiert werden. Ihrer Natur nach, ist sie
voller Angst vor Vergeltungsschlägen. Sie ist defensiv, aber zugleich
räuberisch. Diese tödlichen Neigungen zu beruhigen wird jede Finesse, aus
jeglichen Quellen entspringend, erfordern. Finesse kann nicht einfach mit
Geld gekauft werden. Finesse ist eine vererbte Eigenschaft, die sich in
Form einer feinen Tanzbewegung darstellt, als eine Art zu Gehen, eine
Seele, die so einfach singt und Stile kreiert, wie sie lächelt. Es gibt
keine Form, keine Faustregel, nach der sich das, was als "geheiligt"
bezeichnet wird, offenbart. Kein einziges Stück davon werden die Weißen
zerlegen können, wie es charakteristisch für sie ist. Finesse ist ein
Gefühl, ähnlich wie "cool" zu sein. Es ist ein angeborenes Verhalten oder
eines, das die meisten Schwarzen in herausragender Genauigkeit annehmen.
Damit will ich anderen diese oder jene andere Begabung nicht absprechen.
Lasst uns alle das nutzen, was wir wissen. Aber indem wir das tun, lasst
diejenigen, denen die Finesse eigen ist, ihre Gelassenheit, um Frieden zu
erlangen und keinen Krieg zu führen. Es gibt nichts Positives daran, einen
Waffenproduzenten für einen Waffenkrieg einzustellen. Es gibt keinen
Vorteil daran, wenn ein ausgeglichener Mensch im Kampf gegen einen
unbeholfenen Menschen sein Gleichgewicht verliert. Wenn wir unser
Gleichgewicht erhalten und uns mit kühler Finesse verhalten, können wir
nicht verlieren, egal was unsere Feinde versuchen mögen. Wenn wir von
Geburt mit einem Gefühl für Gleichgewicht begabt sind, müssen wir diese
Begabung möglichst genau studieren.
Alle Massenenergie bewegt
sich in harmonischen Bewegung, schwingt durch den Weltraum in
gleichartigen Umlaufbahnen. Jeder Körper existiert für sich und muss
deswegen jeden anderen Körper respektieren und ihm Raum geben. Bei ihren
Untersuchungen des Himmels lernten die Menschen der Antike einige
Wahrheiten der kosmischen Ordnung. Der Weltraum musste den Massenenergien
Platz bieten und das konnte er am besten in rhythmischer Form.
Infolgedessen wimmelt der Himmel von mit sich in Einklang stehenden
Körpern, die sich nur um ihre eigenen Angelegenheiten kümmern. Und auf
einem Planeten täten wir gut daran den Kosmos nachzuahmen. Wenn
irgendwelche Menschen auf dem Planeten das erreichen können, dann sind es
diejenigen, die die Schwerkraft mit ihrem Gleichgewicht herausfordern
können. Die Schwarzen mit ihrer afrikanischen Begabung. Ich schaudere
davor mir vorzustellen, wie Ingenieure diese Eigenschaft messen könnten.
Wie wir sie nutzen könnten, stelle ich mir unbedingt vor. Das Spannende
daran ist genau die Tatsache, dass diese Begabung unmessbar scheint. Der
Schwung eines Körpers im Gleichgewicht hat keine materielle Existenz. Es
ist ein Wesen, das die Beziehungen zur Schwerkraft in Gang setzt und
verstärkt, und es offenbart sich als Geschwindigkeit während des Laufens,
als Höhe eines Sprungs und als Kreativität in der Musik. In solchen
Aktivitäten beweisen diejenigen mit dem besseren Gleichgewicht ihren
deutlichen Vorteil. Würden die Unbeholfenen gewinnen, wäre das ein
Unglück, das möglichst schnell korrigiert werden müsste. Würden die
Meister ihre Ruhe verlieren, wäre das eine unsägliche Katastrophe.
Daher kann keiner
wichtigeren Sache mehr Bedeutung beigemessen werden als der, unser enormes
Potential zu realisieren und mit ihm zu arbeiten. Im bevorstehenden Kampf
werden wir nicht mit den Mitteln der Zerstörung ausgestattet sein sondern
mit der Kapazität, zu gestalten und zu inspirieren. Wenn wir uns darauf
besinnen, können wir es mit bestialischen Kräften aufnehmen und sie
besiegen. "Sich darauf zu konzentrieren" verlangt wieder eine persönliche
Verpflichtung dazu, das Gleichgewicht zu erhalten. Dies kann jetzt
geschehen oder zu jeder Zeit von jetzt an.
Back to top
An Agenda for Peace
To pre-empt and prevent war,
we must deal with the deepest
causes of conflict:
economic despair,
social injustice and
political oppression.
Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali
former
U.N. Secretary General
Reflections on
Malcolm X in 1992
by Dr. Abdul
Alkalimat
Perhaps even more
than most people, Malcolm X was a man in motion. He experienced life
so fully and so intensely that in his brief 40 years one has to say,
he led several lives. Anytime someone attempts to define Malcolm X
without regard to his full development, they run the risk of
distortion. And worse, this is often done as a cover for
sectarianism, claiming Malcolm belongs to one's own political
tendency. The responsible answer to this question requires examining
his entire life and not one part of it.
With the collaboration
of Alex Haley, Malcolm X wrote a classic autobiography in the great
tradition of the slave narratives of Gustavus Vassa, Frederick Douglass,
along with the autobiographical texts of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B.
DuBois. This is our greatest single source about Malcolm X.
Malcolm Little (1925
- 1941)
Malcolm was born May
19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl and Louise Little. Earl Little was a
Georgia born baptist preacher and organizer for Marcus Garvey in the
Universal Negro Improvement Association. Louise Little was a Grenadian
born outspoken activist in the UNIA as well. He had nine brothers and
sisters.
When Malcolm was 6, his
father was brutally killed after suffering years of racist persecution.
Six years later his mother succumbed to the pressure of the welfare
system after trying to care for her children in poverty. She was
committed to a mental hospital where she stayed from 1937 to 1963.
Malcolm Little was a
Black youth alienated from his family through racist violence, and
forced into the street to search for his manhood.
Detroit Red (19411
- 1952)
After spending three
years in a foster home and detention school, and still not escaping
institutional racism and individual prejudices, he moved to Boston with
his eldest paternal half-sister, Ella Collins. In Boston he turned away
from what he considered the hypocritical imitative lifestyle of Black
middle class, taking to the cultural dynamics of the streets, the
nocturnal fast lane of pop culture.
First in Boston, then
in New York, Malcolm explored the full range of illegal alternatives. He
did everything that still haunts the Black community today: drugs,
prostitution, robbery, and violence in many forms. He formed a gang of
robbers in Boston, that quickly led to a prison term in 1946. By his
21st year, he was a school drop out, a drug addict, and a jail-bird! He
put it this way in his autobiography.
"Looking back, I think
I really was at least slightly out of my mind. I viewed narcotics as
most people regard food. I wore my guns as today I wear my neckties.
Deep down, I actually believed...one should die violently."
Malcolm X (1952 -
1963)
While he was
incarcerated, Malcolm came to understand how he had been isolated and
rendered powerless, other than as a source of vulgar, naked violence. In
this depth he experienced one of the great reversals of the 20th
century, the rehabilitation and conversion of a hardened criminal. He
met Bimbi, a prison intellectual, who taught him to respect language,
books, and reasoning. Malcolm was introduced by his brothers and sisters
to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. These two men
guided him to self-emancipation, reading and writing his way to
intellectual growth, and a reversal of habits which reinforced a new
lifestyle and moral code.
He went into prison a
degenerate criminal, after seven years he had become a model of
commitment, dedication, and discipline upon his release in 1952. Malcolm
was now a man. He was moving in the path of his father, as a Black
nationalist organizer attempting to save Black people from the
destruction of a white racist society.
For the next 12 years
Malcolm became the main leader for the Nation of Islam and the driving
force in their growth, increasing membership from 400 to 40,000, with
Temples organized in virtually every major city in the United States.
After being in Detroit, he went to live and study with Elijah Muhammad
in Chicago. He was then assigned to organize key cities. He became
Minister of the New York Temple and became the National Spokesperson and
leader for his organization He married and had 6 daughters.
Omowale (1964 -
1965)
Malcolm acted as one of
the many sons of Elijah Muhammad, and was an extremely dedicated
follower. However, strains developed on a personal and political level.
The strain turned into conflict and led to separation. Allegedly, Mr.
Muhammad had fathered several children out of wedlock with two very
young assistants. In Malcolm's eyes, this was a devastating
transgression, only to be exceeded by the cover-up hoax to validate his
behavior through biblical reference. Malcolm violated Muhammad'd mandate
to remain silent after Kennedy's assassination, with his famous
statement, "the chickens were coming home to roost." He was simply
saying, "those who live by the sword die by the sword." However, in
Muhammad's eyes this was an intolerable act of insubordination. Malcolm
was silenced December 3, 1963. He formally announced his independence
from the Nation of Islam on March 8, 1964.
Over the next year,
Malcolm spent nearly 6 months abroad after announcing the formation of
two organizations, the Muslim Mosque Inc. And the Organization of
Afro-American Unity. In his last year, Malcolm lectured in and visited
over a dozen countries and established himself as a theoretical leader
of the Black liberation movement. He became even more dangerous outside
the sectarian Nation Of Islam. People from all areas of the Black
community, and the world were searching him out, seriously considering
his ideological and political leadership. However, having lived less
than 40 years, Malcolm was assassinated February 21, 1961 in New York
City at the Audubon Ballroom while lecturing to his followers. After
becoming a man advocating world brotherhood, he was brutally murdered.
Published by
Fountainhead® Tanz Theatre in the
XII. Black
International Cinema Anthology 1993-1997
Back to top
Elegy
for the Seventh Son
Robert Earl Price
I.
Even after he had fallen
He
hung over the hall
Like
smoke hung over Watts
and
his sacred blood stained
the
fabric of our minds
For
once again we mourned
Became acolytes
in an
American rite
agents in a morality play
We
were adders and asps
Frogs
and snakes
all
come to the ballroom
the
icy Audubon ballroom
to
witness him hang like
smoke
over Capetown
And
we are frozen in February
An
eternal Audubon audience
repeated witness
as
all shades or red are shattered
and
scattered about the stage
like
shards of scarlet glass
Where
have we been
and
what have we done
since
our bright and flaming star
lay
like liquid glass
red
in all hues
scattered about the stage
St.
Malcolm fallen and risen
and
none of us with courage enough
to
canonize the people's prophet
O the
mourners wept like crocodiles
Neo
Africans swore revenge
but
no one claimed the shoes
of
our martyred saint
No
one wants the shoes
of a
martyred man
II.
All hues of man missing
The
loss crammed our ears
and
clogged our minds
He
took his last breath
and
flecked the air with seeds
tiny
red stars
sparks for the fire
and
we are left to smolder
with
no one to warn us
when
the chickens come home to roost
O the
sky was pallid
a
planet with no sun
on
that holy day when Malcolm fell
fell
in all hues of red
was
shattered and scattered
about
the Audubon stage
like
shards of scarlet glass
Pieces of Detroit Red, Dirty Red, Dago Red
each
horrified by another Good Friday
An
instant of agony from Angola Red
to
Zulu Red
each
cut by liquid glass
Shards from our bravest mirror
red
in al hues
silent on the stage
electric in the air
O the
mourners wept like crocodiles
the
Mystics organized a cult
'cause its easy to worship a cold dead man
It's
easy to worship a martyred man
III.
FLASHBACK
Mrs. Little could see the future
and
the future was red
First
it was them night riders
tiny
night riders
in
the corner of her eye
gnats
in the middle of her day
omens
to bring her husband back
from
across the bloody tracks
And
little Malcolm Little
born
fiery red
She
slept among the harpies
night
riders that buzzed like gnats
the
bloody rails bearing a bleeding reverend
And
little Malcolm Little fiery red
red
jelly on his mouth
red
sun in this eyes
His
playground blood dripping
on
white kitchen tile
The
reds bothered her
until
she made up her mind
to
make her mind
a
pane of coral tinted glass
She
trapped all her demons
in
the thin red mirror of her person
and
then like a man swinging a hammer
she
deliberately smashed the pane
and
scattered her royal mind
like
dust from an exploded ruby
O her
neighbors wept like crocodiles
and
sought an orphanage for her children
but
we must not forget
that
a crazy woman gave birth to a mighty man
A
crazy woman gave birth to a martyred man
IV.
So mama went crazy and papa dead in hell
little wonder that little Malcolm grew
into
a bright red devil
with
a mind as caustic as conked hair
A
plague from Detroit to Boston
Little red rider turned big red robber
A big
fiery demon
a
lava flow of rage
a
molten wolfman
locked down in chain gang hell
He
found a scarlet seed in a red bound book
He
chewed every page like it was a bar on his cell
and
then he sat waiting....
Waiting until little bitty Elijah Poole
part
Garvey and part Daddy Grace
took
red clay wisdom and remade himself
into
the Honorable Elijah Mohammed
to
whom all praise is due
all
praise is due
because he reached down into hell
where
a dangerous red devil was devouring
books
And
using Georgia mother wit
Elijah delivered the people's flaming saint
Malcolm Little was a devil
Malcolm X was a phoenix aflame
He
rose like a splinter
from
flint and steel
and
where Malcolm reasoned
we
followed like sparks on a comet's tail
Minister Malcolm spoke and we heard
about
devils and due
about
cleaning up and rising up
Brother Malcolm began to raise the dead
and
when he was his brightest
he
was shattered and scattered about the
ballroom
like
shards of glass
red
in all hues
O the
mourners wept like crocodiles
pretenders said that they knew him well
'cause it is easy to forget the truth about a
martyred man
It's
easy to forget the truth about a martyred man
V.
The X could not contain the great fox
Separating eagles from chickens
Minister Malcolm gave devils names
He
placed hell on the map
and
taught us how spades were dealt
all
in the name of Allah and Elijah
his
prophet to whom all praise is due
The X
could not name him
when
he spoke
liars
blushed
He
delivered the messenger's message
Clean
up, rise up, remember the past
so
that we may act in the present
to
shape the future
Clean
up, rise up, remember the past
so
that we may act in the present
to
shape the future
His
tongue was red pepper challenge
"If a
man raises his hand to you
let
him be prepared to lay down his life"
O he
was ours in all his brightness
a red
arrow tracking the racist heart
ballots for bullets
giving reason to rhyme
Malcolm, we didn't know your worth
until
your were shattered and scattered
shards of deep red glass
splashing on the Audubon stage
O the
mourners wept like crocodiles
Claimed his courage for their own
Remember it is easy to befriend a martyred man
It is
so easy to befriend a martyred man
VI.
El Hadj Malik El Shabazz
a
humble muslim
traveled from Mecca to Accra
tasting the coca and cola of Nkrumah's liberty
Over
there in the once shameful jungle
he
found genetic links with griots and gris-gris
He
sat on a stool
as
healers and sages
came
and laid hands upon him
Each
took a piece of him
until
the chips of himself
were
scattered about the room
like
sunbeams along the veldt
When
the sun had set
spirits came and gathered him up
and
spoke to him in voices full of snakes
They
asked, "Are you little red Malcolm Little,
Minister Malcolm X, El Hadj Malik El Shabazz?"
And
our red self answered, "I am yours in all my
names."
Then
beautiful and curious women
marveled at his color and asked,
"Were
you born in hell?"
And
our brave self answered,
"I am
the color of flame
and
yours in all my names
and
yours in all my faces."
He
rose like a rouge eagle
and
all his fear and doubt was scattered
like
shards of red stained glass
spangling a ballroom stage
O the
mourners wept like crocodiles
glib
men claim his as a son
'cause Malcolm was among us
Malcolm is with us
Malcolm will endure
for
he is legend and longer
the
wafer for our sins
Though he sits in the company
of
Che, Geronimo and Lumumba
still
he is here flecking the air
with
dust from crushed jewels
He is
the crimson in the baby's skin
the
red eye of our sorrow
the
glowing coal of our anger
We
are a relentless river
he is
the under tow
Our
bond is seamless
He
lives in our every righteous act
although he was shattered and scattered
slivers of red in all hues
he is
ours and our bond is seamless
a
song we have not sung
he is
the color red
and
ours
from
first tint of daybreak
to
the last flame of sunset
El
Hadj Malik El Shabazz
your
enemies were ours
El
Hadj Malik El Shabazz
our
enemies are yours
El
Hadj Malik El Shabazz
our
bond is seamless
for
your are ours in all your names
and
all your faces
'cause they will never destroy
the
legacy of this martyred man
(Say
it with me)
They
will never destroy
the
legacy of this martyred man....
Back to top
For Malcolm X
All
you violated ones with gentle hearts;
You violent dreamers
whose cries shout heartbreak;
Whose voices echo
clamors of our cool capers,
And whose black faces
have hollowed pits for eyes.
All you gambling sons
and hooked children and bowery bums
Hating white devils
and black bourgeoisie,
thumbing your noses
at your burning red suns,
Gather round this
coffin and mourn your dying swan.
Snow-white moslem
head-dress around a dead black face!
Beautiful were your
sand-papering words against our skins!
Our blood and water
pour from your flowing wounds,
You have cut open our
breasts and dug scalpels in our brains.
When and where will
another come to take your holy place?
Old man mumbling in
his dotage, or crying child,
unborn?
Margaret Walker
(1915
- )
Back to top
POETIC LICENCE
By Martin Newell
In an interview with
the literary magazine Mslexia, the poet Laureate explains that he makes
only about 5,000 pounds a year from his poetry. The magazine also says
that other well-known writers are often unable to survive on the income
from their books
How Poets
Make Money
While grave-digging,
after rainy weather
Always keep a long hollow pipe next
to you.
Another poet told me never to forget
this.
It will help you to breathe until
you're dug out.
When working split-shifts as a
kitchen porter
If the waitresses or the chefs put
knives
Or wine glasses in your washing-up
water
Shout at them. Get stitches and a
tetanus jab.
Don't write for academics or other
writers
Write for people who don't much like
poems.
If they want entertainment,
entertain them.
Later, much later, they may buy you
lager.
Forget bursaries, prizes or writers'
refuges
You need a shed with a bucket, next
to a pub
When your mind is empty and the
bucket is full
Down tools, borrow money and go to
the pub.
While loop-brained or vacant in the
public bar
Eyes bloodshot like central London
road maps
Never tell people that you have been
working
In the real world; writin' pomes int
proper work.
Many publishers are sympathetic to
poets.
No, I'm sorry. I don't know why I
wrote that.
If you want more than 7 to 10 per
cent,
Turn over a petrol station and
publish yourself.
A number of organisations exist to
help poets.
Their administrators are paid more
than you.
Among many ways in which to approach
them,
"Where's me dinner, slut?" is as
good as any.
Public readings, schools-work and
commissions,
Can all help to boost your income.
And so can
Upholstering sedan chairs or sewing
epaulettes.
And melancholy is a dog that rounds
up melons.
Don't be proud. Take every job that
comes in.
Ballads and rhymes are cages to be
brilliant in.
The poet who never sold out never
got asked.
Ever tried feeding your kids on
critical respect?
THE THURSDAY REVIEW
The Independent 11 November 1999
Back to top
DANCE
Past, Present, Future
Interview with Robertjohn Lange
We wish to introduce you to Mr.
Robertjohn Lange, now in his fifth season as Ballet Master for the
Heidelberger Tanztheater, formerly Ballet Director in St. Poelten,
Austria and Chairman of the Dept. of Classical Ballet at the Helsinki
Institute of Dance in Finland, where he taught and trained young dancers
for the world competitions in Moscow, Varna and Lausanne.
What is your family's
socio-economic background?
As is typical of many performers
and/or artists in the United States, I come from a small industrial
town outside of Cleveland, Ohio, of lower middle class parentage. And
from where I received my artistic spleen, can only be described as
Karma. That town and those surroundings, were not conducive to nurture
artistic potential.
What are the
factors that influenced your professional undertakings?
As a small child, possibly of eight
years, I saw the Holiday On Ice shows and wanted to become a skater.
Then in rapid succession, I discovered the movies. For my time in the
early 50's, Donald O'Conner represented what I wanted to become...then
Gene Kelly. I found Fred Astaire old and ugly. And stupid me, needed
many years to finally recognize the master. So it was SHOW BIZ or
entertainment that was appealing to me. Shortly afterwards I saw my
first ballet... Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo with SWAN LAKE act
II and NUTCRACKER, DIVERTISSEMENTS and GRADUATION BALL. I think I went
to the theater alone. But the big event was the Royal Ballet with
Margot Fonteyn in SLEEPING BEAUTY. Before I could make the decision to
become a dancer, I became seriously ill and the doctors thought, I
would never be able to participate in an activity that demanded so
much physical exertion.
Where did you
study, with whom and what were the techniques and personalities'
influence, upon your development?
My next station was Chicago and
there I met you, (Donald Muldrow Griffith and Robertjohn Lange met and
studied Ballet simultaneously) at Edward Parish, a brilliant teacher.
Then after studying in Chicago, I went to the Pennsylvania Ballet as
an apprentice and was enormously influenced by Edward Caton, one of
the great teachers, and John White, who began to awaken my pedagogical
instincts.
My era of studying and career was
during such a great time that I pity the now-generation's lack of
great personalities. As a child, I saw the original MY FAIR LADY and
WEST SIDE STORY on Broadway, that was my introduction to musicals. I
love this art form. The regular visits to American Ballet Theater,
with Carla Fracci, Cynthia Gregory and Erik Bruhn, New York City
Ballet with Edward Villella, Patricia McBride, Suzanne Farrell, Helgi
Tomasson, Jacques D'Ambois, Melissa Hayden, Violette Verdi and a young
Gelsey Kirkland. Gelsey and I used to train daily with Natalia
Makarova and other stars at Maggie Black's studio. Another colleague
in class was William Forsythe, and look where he is now!
Then there was the Joffrey Ballet,
Harkness Ballet with my idols Lawrence Rhodes and Brunhilde Ruiz, the
great Bolshoi Ballet with Maya Plisetskaya, Maris Liepa, Michail
Lavrovsky, Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev, Les Grands
Ballets Canadiens, Royal Winnipeg, Alvin Ailey with Judith Jamison,
the new Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and of course, Margot
Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev with the Royal Ballet, who gave us a
glimpse of Valhalla. But let's not forget Paul Taylor, the newly
organized, 1973 Martha Graham Company - what a revelation! - and Paul
Sanasardo. All of these events are seared into my soul. I have been a
WITNESS to this greatness and I give thanks...and this thanks is
hopefully visible in my work as a teacher and coach. These experiences
are my sources of inspiration.
I find the now-generation very
difficult to inspire, or in which to initiate enthusiasm. They are so
SELF conscious, "Do your own thing and PREFERABLY alone!" It is the
sociological malheur of the times. What we fought for, through the
60's with civil rights, women's Liberation, gay rights, Jewish
awareness, Vietnam, JFK, Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John XXIII.
Too much now, is simply taken for granted, without or with very little
humility and appreciation. I was in the United States after the fall
of the Berlin Wall and was quite shocked by the general public's
disinterest in this event and other similar developments. Nobody was
happier than I, at the rejoining of the former East and West Germany
or the fall of Nikolai Ceaucescu in Romania or Nelson Mandela's
release from prison.
As an optimist, I believe the
pendulum will 'swing' again, as possibly the death of Diana, Princess
of Wales, was a tragic beginning which brought about, the development
of a feeling of togetherness; the barriers of age, nationality,
religion, race, sexuality and social status were for a very short
period of time, dissolved.
"INSANITY
A confrontation with alcoholism"
A theatre production
directed and choreographed
by Fountainhead Tanz Théâtre
Actress: Angela Kramer
How would you
define the current state of "serious art" vs. "popular culture" in
the U.S.A. and Europe?
Is there really a difference between
the two? Can they coincide peacefully or are they two different
entities? Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were creating and performing
popular culture or entertainment, that is now considered art. Mozart
wrote many pieces of music, as Bach before him, and neither had any
idea that these pieces would be played after their commissioned
function. It was simply the way of things. I cannot believe that any
"serious" artist thinks that he or she is creating art. One simply
does one's best and hopes for good results. In capitalistic societies,
the emphasis is upon the highest possible monetary or material reward.
Spiritual and other values are deemed of secondary importance. I
believe the artist has a responsibility to him- or herself, society
and God, to place a higher premium upon the artistic, intellectual and
spiritual contributions he or she can possibly contribute.
Although I have enjoyed the benefits
of subventioned theater in Europe for twenty five years, there is
still much to be said for commercial theater. The German theater is
basically progressive, very strongly Brechtian influenced, but rather
without a heart or soul. In the past years, I feel theater directors
have forgotten the public and more or less, the performer. For me,
theater must make you feel and then think...theater and music are
visceral. You can intellectualize as much as you want, but no matter
how long you engage in this activity, it still won't replace strong
emotions. I think emotions are the binding tie of minds, the
phenomenon that overcomes intellectual, age, racial, religious and
gender barriers, i.e. MADAME BUTTERFLY, PORGY AND BESS, PHILADELPHIA,
LILIES OF THE FIELDS, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.
How would you
define the aesthetic of ballet? What is the influence of this
definition upon the paucity of Black ballet dancers in the U.S.A.
and Europe?
The aesthetic of ballet varies, and
is mainly a feeling of style. A beautiful well-trained body is a
beginning, but not every dancer can execute George Balanchine, Auguste
Bournonville, Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, Marius Petipa, Jerome
Robbins and Jiri Kylian or for that matter, in Modern Dance, Martha
Graham, Jose Limon, Merce Cunningham or Paul Taylor. There are
situations where one simply feels "at home", even when it means, just
one work of a certain choreographer. But it is wonderful to try and
even to fail; a luxurious advantage of subventioned theater.
There is a paucity of black ballet
dancers, but then sports is also disproportionate. Sport simply has
better publicity (how many pages of the newspapers are devoted to
sports?) and the big money.
Can we really speak about healthy
role models as an influence? It is wonderful with the passage of time,
that we have LIVING gay celebrities, that ALL races are visible in all
art forms. But a true calling to the arts is from within, Karma. Just
think of the Brontes, James Baldwin, Josephine Baker! I tip my hat to
those who find their way, even if they don't or didn't become as
famous as the above mentioned individuals.
What is the
relationship between the aforementioned issue and the development
and reception in the U.S.A. and Europe of the Dance Theatre of
Harlem and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre?
The Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theatre has enormous popularity in Germany and for that matter, in all
Europe. It is the American ambassador of dance based upon two basic
principles of Mr. Ailey: dedication and truth through JOY. Plus they
are beautiful people and beautifully trained.
Hard on the heels of this company is
the Chicago Hubbard Street Dance Company - I have seen them in Germany
and in Chicago with identical audience reactions - sensational
entertainment at the highest professional level.
I have my problems with the Dance
Theatre of Harlem as does the normal public. Their identity was badly
needed thirty years ago, but in the meantime, there are black ballet
dancers everywhere and Dance Theatre of Harlem's repertoire varies
little from other classical companies. We all know that black people
can dance ballet. I find it scandalous that they have existence
problems. Where are the black stars to offer a helping hand? Madonna,
Liza Minelli, Woody Allen and Gregory Peck have all financially aided
the Martha Graham Company in their effort to survive. Steven Spielberg
has a ballet studio at New York City Ballet named after him in
appreciation for his contributions. It is one of the scandals of the
U.S.A. to not have such institutions subventioned. Dance Theatre of
Harlem needs a face lifting, but should not suffer defeat.
How would you
contrast the economies of the U.S.A. and Europe? What have these
economic influences been upon the 20th century artistic and
cultural output of the U.S.A. and Europe?
The disasters of the century
starting with WW I, the Russian Revolution and WW II. helped us
immeasurably to establish a ballet culture through the offshoots of
Serge de Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, Lincoln Kirsten's successful
wooing of George Balanchine, not to mention music, theater and film's
appropriation of such people as Max Reinhardt, Fritz Lang, Billy
Wilder, Ernst Lubitsch, William Wyler, Fred Zinnemann, Marlene
Dietrich, Lilli Palmer, Peter Lorre, Kurt Weill, F.W. Murnau, Rudolf
Bing and the list goes on and on. One of the reasons for the
excellence of American orchestras and conservatories is Jewish
immigration. And as this episode in history strengthened the arts in
America, it weakened the arts in Germany. The ramifications are
reflected to this day!
Since America has almost no art
subvention, where would the orchestras, museums, theaters, ballet
companies be without the Jewish patrons.
What role, if any,
has Art/Culture to play developing an intercultural society?
More than ever before!
Especially in music, dance,
video/film/photo work and since our medium of dance does not utilize
the spoken word, it is easier for these forms, I think. As you know,
the dance world in Germany is comprised of 80% foreigners. I have
Polish, Russian, Japanese, Italian, Austrian, Filipino and five German
dancers at the moment. Since I have been in Heidelberg, we have had
African, Afro-American, English, American, Brazilian, Malaysian,
Afro-English and Canadian dancers. As a dancer or musician, it is
easier to combat prejudices. And I must say, I have rarely encountered
prejudices in these two spheres. When I have, they are people filled
with prejudices on all levels, and probably self-hatred in addition.
They are very difficult personalities to work with.
Does homosexuality,
in any way, influence the artistic contributions of individuals?
Strangely enough, a great many
choreographers have been or are gay, such as: Vaslav Nijinsky, Serge
Lifar, Leonide Massine, Anton Dolin, Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton,
John Cranko, Alvin Ailey, Hans van Manen, Rudi van Danzig, Maurice
Bejart and Rudolf Nureyev. There is a long list of contemporaries, but
I don't know who is "OUT" and I don't care to "OUT" anyone. The list
is as long in modern dance, where lesbians also have a strong footing.
Since AIDS, we have more heterosexuality in the scene, partially due
to the necessity for role models and partially because so many gay
competitors have died. Male Broadway dancing is not at the level it
was twenty years ago, when it was almost exclusively a gay world. The
ballet companies are also not as gay dominated as before.
In the October 1997
issue of Ballett International, Norbert Servos, in a critique of
Ismael Ivo and Johann Kresnik, states: (pg. 61, last paragraph)
"...When Ismael Ivo puts his trust in his own physical,
choreographic materials his ensemble also carves out a
sharply-defined stage presence and immediacy. What they are doing
must, however, be read differently; Ivo's dance theatre is not
nourished by European theatre conventions but is a descendent of
Afro-American ritual seeking the magical in the fusion of
different cultures - and in this he comes fairly close to the
revolutionary flights of Artaud's thought."
What is the relevance of the
distinction Mr. Servos is making?
After reading the original text in
German and the English translation, I still don't know what Mr. Servos
is trying to say. First of all, Ismael Ivo is not Afro-American, but a
Black Brazilian. His influences of mysticism (voodoo) are neither
African nor of American descent.
What is the future
relationship between economic globalization and art/popular
culture?
This is a big topic and a scary one
at that. We have just had some shakings of the stock markets in
America, Japan and Korea. But this is really not my line, to discuss
economics, because I am less than a dilettante on such matters.
Artistic globalization on the other
hand, I will risk to say, is a disaster for the arts. In the dance
world we are already seeing the loss of identities of the major
companies. Stuttgart, Hamburg, Munich and the Royal Ballet of England
all look quite alike. This has nothing to do with foreigners joining
the companies and at the same time, it has everything to do with
foreigners. Each foreigner brings another stylistic schooling based
upon cultural heritage, physical differences and aesthetics. There are
very few dancers with the gifts of Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail
Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova or Gelsey Kirkland to allow continual
learning and adept adaptation. The Danish men seem very prone to excel
at New York City Ballet, the Danish women on the other hand do not.
Almost no one can dance well, the work of Frederick Ashton anymore. I
am all for integrated companies, but not for the loss of identity.
Nederland Dans Theater is possibly the strongest company in not having
lost its identity, despite the fact that many nationalities are now
represented. The same can be said about the Alvin Ailey Company. It
all boils down to, possibly, style and spirit or aura.
The same can be said of the
orchestra; they are all beginning to sound alike and it is a pity.
Twenty to thirty years ago there was a very marked difference.
What are your more
recent and future undertakings?
This past season, I choreographed
the opera SALOME and the operetta ZAREWITSCH and presented a matinee
in which I spoke about 20th Century music and the development of
classical ballet in this century. As Ballet Master this season, I have
had to produce six versions of our new ballet DAS LIED VON DER ERDE
due to injuries, sickness and the sudden departure of one dancer's
return to Brazil. I am the teacher for the company and am responsible
for every production that has dance within and the quality of the
evening's performance.
As for next season, I don't know
which productions are being considered. I personally hope for a
musical.
Robertjohn Lange was interviewed
by Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith and Prof. Gayle McKinney Griffith,
co-founders, directors and producers of the Fountainhead Tanz Theatre,
XV. Black International Cinema
Berlin/Cottbus/Düsseldorf/Potsdam-Studio Babelsberg, Germany & U.S.A.
2000, The Collegium - Forum & Television Program in association with
Cultural Zephyr e.V..
Additional research and editing
by Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith, Prof. Gayle McKinney Griffith and
Marion Kramer.
Dear
Ed,
We appreciate the
years of patience, information, instruction and support
bestowed upon us with your gifts of humor, critical awareness and
friendship,
which prepared and enabled us to undertake our professional artistic
careers
and to mature as human beings.
In appreciation and
respect
Prof. Donald
Muldrow Griffith & Robertjohn Lange
Don & Bob
Stephen & Marvin
Rockford, Penny Holabaugh, Nana Shineflug,
Carolyn Hanson, Stellie & Nettie Majestic, LeVon Campbell,
Benji Carif, Nancy, John, Linda & Timothy Grensback, Linda Bass,
Barry Van Cura, D´Artagnan Petty, Tom Fredricks, Linda Reif-Snyder,
Steve, Ruby Avers, Fred Ivey, Sidney and many others...
Mr. Eldon Day "Ed" Parish
Mentor, Friend, Raconteur,
Dancer, Parent & Instructor of Ballet
Eldon Day "Ed" Parish, a longtime Illinois
dance teacher and professional dancer,
died November 23, 2003,
from a heart ailment. He was 77.
Parish was born December 30, 1924, near
Emmersburg, Iowa, and studied dance in Iowa,
New York, and Hollywood. After World War II,
he studied with Bronislava Nijinska and
danced professionally until an injury cut
short his promising career. Parish settled
in Chicago, where he taught Russian technique.
His teaching style continually challenged
dancers technically and musically, and he
encouraged students to work together.
His cheerful demeanor made dancers smile
and enjoy the moment. The emotional
shading of his choreography was remarkable.
He taught in Chicago's North Side neighborhoods
for twenty years. Parish continued teaching
while living on a farm near Rockford, Illinois,
where he set up a dance studio and foster
home for teens and pre-teens. He taught
steadily until 2001, despite his ill health.
Edward Parish is survived by his sister, Dawn.
-Benjamin "Benji" Caref Dance Magazine,
April, 2003
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YOUNG VOICES
A conversation
with Marcus Sonnemann and
Profs. Donald Muldrow Griffith and Gayle McKinney Griffith
Profs.
Griffith:
How old are you and what is your
socio-economic and educational background?
Marcus Sonnemann:
I am 18 years old and the son of a middle-class family. As the only
child, I was the center of attention and didn't really have to make
the effort to get something. Which doesn't mean that I got everything
just because of snapping my fingers, but for instance, I didn't have
to fight for the television program or the best seat in the car.
I am currently attending
the 13th grade of the Friedensburg-Oberschule and preparing myself for
the Abitur.
Profs. Griffith:
What are your parents socio-economic backgrounds?
Marcus Sonnemann:
Before he died very early, my father had been independent. If he had
been able to deal with money in a better manner, I would not
necessarily live in Kreuzberg today. My mother, on the other side, is
the mathematician in the family and can handle the money very well.
In regards to their
education and thinking, I would say they are more non-descript people
with a middle school education and they don't think differently than
ordinary people.
Profs.
Griffith:
What types of activities are you
engaged in, besides your school work?
Marcus Sonnemann:
Naturally going to school, is something that I am at the moment mainly
engaged in. Besides that, I meet with friends, work at some jobs and
in the media. I spend a lot of time at a radio station which is
stationed in a children's and youth center and whose goal is to
introduce children and young people to the world of media. And then I
am also working with THE COLLEGIUM, a television program whose
emphasis is on the co-operation and togetherness of people and
cultures.
Profs.
Griffith:
What is your opinion of the average
person of your age group?
Marcus Sonnemann:
Many young people, I think, are not conscious of their responsibility
in being a part of society. When I see kids "hanging around" all day
long, smoking or doing something "creative", I think it is rather sad.
Many of them just don't like to go to school anymore because they are
missing a future perspective. Unemployment already leaves its negative
impressions in school.
Profs. Griffith:
What would you suggest as to the methods that might be undertaken to
influence young people in constructive directions? How would you
define constructive?
Marcus Sonnemann:
Offering leisure-time activities to young people in order to get them
off the street, bringing a sense of responsibility and consciousness
of duty closer to them, I consider good ideas, but there are just not
enough offerings. Just accidentally and through a friend, I came in
contact with television and radio. There are a lot of interesting
activities accompanying it of which the public unfortunately doesn't
get to hear about.
Constructive to me means
that one can bring something about, and that you can change something
(positively).
It is the way towards a
better world. A world that would be appropriate after 2000 years of
our time.
Profs.
Griffith:
How prepared, in your opinion, are
young people for the socio-political and economic changes Germany is
undergoing?
Marcus Sonnemann:
The preparations are mainly in theory, but in practice, everything
almost always looks completely different. In fact, the school
undertakes something to make us more conscious about responsibility
for our future, but mostly we are much to young to understand what it
means to be unemployed. Now more than ever in today's job situation,
young people should take more initiative in school because right after
school the competition begins.
Profs. Griffith:
Will you vote in the September elections? What are your political
options in the September elections?
Marcus Sonnemann:
For sure I will vote in September. One can only change something if
one votes. But I have to admit that I also lost faith in politics. I
am still pretty disoriented, but for me, only a party politically in
the middle will be a possibility.
Profs. Griffith:
What are your future aspirations?
Marcus Sonnemann:
Human kind is pretty much developed in the field of science and
technique. My wish is that they will also accordingly improve in other
fields and not behave like primitive people and put their arguments
into clubs which they carry around.
We are one people and
are living on one planet. We should learn to look beyond our immediate
interests in order to work together for a better future.
Translation
German/English: Angela Kramer; Editing: Donald Muldrow Griffith,
Angela Kramer, Marion Kramer
Back to top
Mottoes:
"I may not make it if I try, but I
damn sure won't if I don't..." - Oscar Brown Jr.
"Mankind will either find a way or
make one." - C.P. Snow
"Whatever you do..., be cool!" -
Joseph Louis Turner
"Yes, I can...!" - Sammy Davis Jr.
"Yes, we can...!" - Barack Hussein Obama
"Yes, we can and Yes, we better...!" -
Barack Hussein Obama and Donald Muldrow Griffith
Back to top
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[Marion Kramer,
Anthony Phillips, Donald Muldrow Griffith].
Copyright © 1999 by [Fountainhead Tanz Théâtre/ Black
International Cinema Berlin/
THE COLLEGIUM - Forum & Television Program Berlin
in association with Cultural Zephyr e.V.].
Revised: January 28, 2021
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