We are on hiatus...we will be back in late August with a whole new attitude: check back then!

Hello Everyone,

We are on hiatus until the start of the Democratic National Convention in late August. We are reworking the website and changing the theme to be more broad and inclusive of additional progressive audiences. We will have a new URL and website (which will be linked from this one)and an online biweekly radio program.

Look for new features, like book and documentary reviews and interviews with provocative guests.

Check back in late August!

BENI DAKAR
Publisher, The Black American Discussion

Hillary Clinton Endorses Barack Obama for President

The Black American Journey: 1619 to Barack Obama

by

BENI DAKAR



VOYAGE TO AMERICA


SLAVERY


EMANCIPATION


POST RECONSTRUCTION


JIM CROW




CIVIL RIGHTS ERA


BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES


THE ROAD CONTINUES...

Obama is the dream and the hope of the slave (Tonight he clenches the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States)

by

BENI DAKAR

Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama will become the Democratic Presidential nominee before the evening is over. This is historic and worthy of respect and a commitment by all of those who are weary from the last eight years of the current administration and who cherish our American way of life and our democracy to put their time and money into ensuring that Senator Obama becomes the forty fourth president of this republic.



This publication is required to take Obama and anyone in the public domain to task, if there is a reason. However, let us make it plain, Barack Hussein Obama is more than qualified to be president of all of the American people and we strongly endorse his bid to serve our nation as President.

More to come…

Life Beyond The Clouds (for Nailah Franklin), 28 year old Chicago murder victim

Note: This poem was submitted by the distinguished Chicago poet, Doreen Ambrose, in memoriam of Nailah Franklin, a 28 year old pharmaceutical representative, who was brutally murdered in Chicago in September 2007.

BENI DAKAR

READ MORE...Bring Nailah O. Franklin Home

Life Beyond The Clouds (for Nailah Franklin)

by

DOREEN AMBROSE

My heart was heavy upon hearing 'body of young,
beautiful and gifted woman read aloud,
I couldn't fully process the shock but I took comfort
in knowing that there is abundant life beyond the
clouds.

I know that she is experiencing everlasting joy, peace
and no more pain or stress,
She is with the Father living in certainty with no
need to wonder or guess.
The moment she entered the heavenly gates the angels
saw her their arms were outstretched.
They immediately embraced her and said 'you are safe
from evil doers, demons and wretches.'
Upon handing her a halo they said there are no veils
of secrecy, no politics, plots, pretenses
or cover ups or shrouds,
Nailah, you are in a better place, you are
experiencing life beyond the clouds.

Copyright © 2007 Doreen Ambrose

MORE DOREEN AMBROSE AT THE BLACK AMERICAN DISCUSSION, "Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee, provocative Chicago poet"

California Supreme Court clears way for same-gender marriage

by

BENI DAKAR

Author's note: Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

When gays and lesbians are denied legal marriage, they are also denied other rights that most of us take for granted — such as the right to transfer and inherit wealth from and to our spouse, make medical decisions for our spouse, and an array of rights concerning child welfare. Same-sex marriage is more than a matter of love, but it is about all adults having the same opportunity for economic and social security; regardless of their sexual orientation.

Forty-one years ago, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that anti-miscegenation laws, which barred interracial marriage, were misguided and that love is colorblind. I believe that opposition is always strongest right before a breakthrough and that in the next decade many Americans will begin to see that love is also blind to gender. The ruling by the California State Supreme Court is a significant step in the right direction on allowing all adults to form legal marriage relationships. Kudos to the brave Justices who voted to affirm what should be a fundamental right for all adults: the right to share and build a life that is recognized by the law, with whomever you love without regard to gender.

Read More: California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage, The New York Times

The Price of the Ticket to Elect Obama President: Does it cost too much?

by

BENI DAKAR

I think that Reverend Wright has the right to preach from his pulpit what he and his congregation desires to hear. Much of what Wright has said, I have heard in the black community, for example, suspicion about HIV/AIDS and drugs being imported into black communities to control, conquer, and destroy black people.

I do not endorse anti-Semitism under any circumstance and I vigorously differ with anyone who communicates that ugly message, regardless of the messenger. That includes Reverend Wright who is reported to have made some inflammatory anti-Jewish statements. But the point is that Wright's message about addressing the real and imagined hypocrisy of America is not alien to the black community. Wright's sermons are currently inconvenient for those who want Obama to win the Presidency; because we know how Wright's messages that take America and her foreign policy to task may sound and be received by the larger society.

Like a lot of people, I am troubled by Obama's twenty year long association with Wright; but not in the same way most people are. I think that while in the smaller universe of Chicago politics it was expedient for Obama to have a cozy relationship with Wright who is a prominent Chicago pastor; but since his magnificent speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and his swift rise to U.S. Senator and now a run for the Presidency; he is in a larger and more luxurious playing field than Chicago and now Wright is inconvenient and he [Obama] is abandoning Wright after a two decades long relationship. Will Obama easily abandon others in his circle, if they too become an obstacle for him? The price of the Presidency for Obama is to end his public friendship with Wright.

If Obama was not running for the Presidency and Wright was attacked and mocked by the press and conservatives for his critical sermons about American history and America's role on the world stage, most blacks would be outraged and defensive of Wright; because many would believe that he was being singled out for "speaking truth to power" and that the sanctity of the Black Church was being threatened. But with the Presidency possible for Obama most of us are willing to sacrifice and ridicule Wright along with Tavis Smiley for challenging Obama about not attending the State of the Black Union Conference in New Orleans last February. Any real or perceived threat to Obama securing the Democratic nomination and the Presidency must be "crushed" at all costs it seems. Even if it means that people with a strong track record of being advocates for the black community, such as Wright and Smiley are kicked to the curb.



The author James Baldwin spoke about "the price of the ticket" for full participation in American life in a brilliant essay and book titled by the same name. I suppose how some black folk are treating or more accurately mistreating other black folk who question or challenge Obama is the price of our collective ticket for a chance for a black to be President. I hope "the cost of the ticket" is worth it!

Why Obama’s huge loss in West Virginia should worry Democrats

by

BENI DAKAR

Senator Hillary Clinton wallops Obama in West Virginia by a 2-1 margin as the Democratic contest winds down and Obama is thought to be the presumptive Democratic nominee and there is seemingly little concern or disquiet that the front runner [Obama] is beaten so severely in a state that every Democratic president has won since 1916. It is troubling that Obama took an early victory lap at the U.S. Congress, when he could have used that time to court the voters of West Virginia. Whether Obama inadvertently or intentionally ignored West Virginia voters is irrelevant, what is important is that either way the message conveyed to West Virginians that somehow they do not matter or matter less may come back to haunt Obama in the fall, if he is the Democratic Presidential nominee.

The Democratic Party top brass and the Obama campaign are delusional if they do not consider the reality that Clinton is garnering white working class votes. White voters, with most being working class or struggling to stay middle class are 66% of the electorate.

Obama appeals to highly educated, well off, whites and black Americans. Also, he carries the college crowd. Elite whites have more access to the media and their contacts and their access to media resources I think have enormously helped form the perception of Obama and his campaign for all of us.

Blacks are 12% of the American population. As a voting bloc, blacks can and do have enormous presidential electoral power in states like New York and Illinois; but even with robust black populations in states like Virginia, the Carolina’s, and Georgia, it is still not enough to override the conservatives in those southern states in a general Presidential election. The South, even with a black voter turnout at historic high levels will unlikely be enough to turn those states blue in November.

During the Democratic primary black voting strength is magnified in southern primaries, because African-Americans make up 40% or more of the smaller universe of Democrats only; but in the general election the demographics include all voters and that shrinks the significance of black votes in southern states. Otherwise, why do states like Georgia have two conservative GOP U.S. Senators and a conservative GOP Governor, despite Obama’s big win in that state’s Democratic Primary?

The burden is on Obama and the Democratic Party leadership to do all that they can to effectively and earnestly communicate with and form relationships with white working class voters. This constituency is important and is needed for Democrats to win the White House in November. Moreover, it is unconscionable to write off any group of Americans as simply “backwards” or “racist” and not try to relate to them as human beings and earn their respect and their votes. We [Democrats] need to honor every constituency – most of all because it is the right thing to do.

If Obama is the Democratic nominee and then loses in the general election because he under performs with white working class voters it will be easy to blame them for being racist; but the real answer might be that Obama and his campaign have not done enough to seek out and build viable relationships with these voters.

Jeremiah Wright, please accept my apology

by

BENI DAKAR

Fear that Reverend Wright’s comments at the National Press Club might inhibit Obama’s success in the general election caused me to take a wrongly critical view of Wright. Obama is the likely Democratic presidential nominee and I want him to succeed in his bid against GOP challenger John McCain in November. I wrote a now deleted blog that challenged Wright's motivations for speaking out and called his remarks "buffoonish". Reverend Wright is a distinguished theologian, pastor, and scholar. Moreover, he has spent his life being an advocate for those on the margins of life. Reverend Wright is worthy of respect and I regret not always giving him that respect.

In searching not only myself intellectually but my soul, I know that much of what he [Wright] has said is part of black people’s psychology in how we process our American experience. Wright is misunderstood mostly when he talks about subjects like slavery, Jim Crow, and American imperialism; because some whites either don’t know or care to know and openly acknowledge this troublesome American history, because it doesn’t fit with the usual sanitized and singularly heroic view of America. (Note: Not all whites, blacks, or any group of people think a single way; but sometimes there are certain mindsets that are more prevalent or acceptable among certain groups.)

America is a great nation and I love her fiercely and I am devoted to her and I believe that Reverend Wright probably feels the same way. That is why he chastises America (sometimes in a way that sounds harsh to those who don’t know intimately the history of Native Americans, blacks, Asians, and others outside of the mainstream culture in a meaningful and substantive way).

Instead of demonizing and marginalizing Reverend Wright we must move beyond bellyaching that his fiery sermons may offend some people and begin to look at some of our history that has shaped Reverend Wright's and millions of African-Americans worldview and use that as a launching point for a deep and ongoing constructive conversation about race in America. (Note: Wright has a distinguished military career in both the Marines and the Navy and he worked on a medical team that treated President Lyndon Johnson who had surgery while in office. Wright, the man is far more complex than the snippets of his speeches played in the media. Moreover, he has admirably served his country.)

Americans of all shades and class levels must begin to make better efforts to learn about each other's American experience. We must respect each other and learn to work cooperatively with each other. Only collectively as one people, acknowledging and validating our individualized American experience can we be competitive in the new world order of the 21st century.

Sorry Reverend Wright, for allowing my fear to get the best of me; but I have found my courage and I openly welcome and support your right to speak freely, like any other American citizen. If voters use your comments about confronting the real and perceived hypocrisy in our nation as Obama's former pastor as an excuse not to vote for Obama, then they probably never really had any intention in supporting his candidacy anyway.

What is the most important thing I know?

by

BENI DAKAR

I graduated today from a leadership program. Each graduate was asked to prepare a two minute speech on "The Most Important Thing I Know" and it could not be about faith or family. Here is a copy of my speech.

Whenever, I leave home, the authoritative voices of my childhood echo in my psyche, “Beni, remember to mind your Ps and Qs”.

Isn’t it incredible how The Most Important Thing I Know wasn’t learned in a college class or on any corporate job but from the humble sages from an increasingly distant youth?

What those wise one’s meant was for me to always be on my best behavior and be careful with my speech.

Minding my Ps and Qs.

Let’s detail them…

Passion –Approaching work, play, and relationships with enthusiasm. Genuine “passion” breeds the desire for excellence and commitment.

Perseverance – Bringing a since of urgency to everything. Using the desire to succeed as a vehicle to victory.

Patience – Viewing personality clashes and extended time lines as fertilizer to grow your fortitude and not your frustration.

Peacemaker – Winning peace and reconciliation even in the most difficult situations by being fair and willing to compromise on everything, But Your Morals.

Quick Study – Shortening your learning curve by being fervent, fully present, and asking for help when required.

Quality Person – If something does not feel right, trust your gut. If you would be embarrassed for your family and friends to know that you engaged in certain behavior; then you probably should not behave that way.

Quitting is not an option – If you are on the “right road” but the terrain is difficult to navigate or there are enemies about, Keep Going. But if you ABSOLUTELY know that you are on the wrong path, give yourself permission to make an about face.

Yes, The Most Important Thing I Know, Is To Mind Your Ps and Qs.

What is the most important thing that YOU know?

The real tragedy: Jeremiah Wright’s speeches about race in America or that Obama is no longer the “post racial” black candidate?

by

BENI DAKAR

Note: This is an encore publication. This post first appeared on Satruday, March 29,2008.

Race: It was the elephant in the room that everyone tried to pretend was not there since Senator Obama began his skillful campaign for the presidency. What is troublesome to me is that Obama tried to feed into the illusion that because of his biracial and multicultural background that he was somehow above and beyond race. That is impossible, since race along with class are the underpinnings of much of America’s history and its institutions.

In February, Obama said that his tight schedule while campaigning for the Texas Primary and Caucus did not allow him to attend talk show host Tavis Smiley’s “The State of the Black Union” held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana; but some (me included) believed it was because Obama who wants black votes (much of his success in the South is due to heavy African-American support) did not want to be seen and possibly branded as a “black presidential candidate” by attending this esteemed forum of black scholars and other black leaders.

So in some way, I am glad that the controversy over his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright has made it expedient for Obama to address race in America. I thought that his speech about the matter was elegant, well crafted, and substantive. Let us hope that it will inspire an earnest national dialogue on the topic; with Americans of all shades and colors sharing and listening to each other about their experiences with and perceptions of America. Some of the stories may expose an America that falls short of the ideals that she purports; but only by being honest with each other about race and other important issues can the country move closer to the actual manifestation of those noble ideals of educational and economic opportunity, liberty and justice for all.

With the onslaught of immigrants from throughout the world coming to America; with the Hispanic and Asian populations growing exponentially; race in America is becoming even more complex and nuanced. Gleefully, America has moved a long way from her slave holding and Jim Crow past; but there is still quite a distance to go before anyone can legitimately claim that America is in a post racial phase of her history.

Read More… "Why Barack Obama is ‘black enough’ for America", from September 10, 2007, The Black American Discussion and Chicago Tribune, The Swamp: Obama, race and time to squirm

Is Wright "right" about race in America or is he sabotaging Obama's presidential aspirations?

by

BENI DAKAR

Watch the video and decide for yourself!

Clinton wins Pennsylvania: Why her staying in the race is good politics

by

BENI DAKAR

In the long view [all Americans] especially women candidates for political office from both major parties will respect and admire that the first viable woman candidate for the presidency (Senator Hillary Clinton) was tenacious and did all she could to break the historical glass ceiling on the American presidency being a “male only” club.

Moreover, I think it is a good thing that voters in these later primaries are able to have an opportunity to help determine who the Democratic presidential nominee is; rather than just endorse the candidate that the early primary states have chosen as “their” nominee for all of us

Clinton is right to fight on for the nomination. Why should she demure in a close race to Obama and make his road more comfortable and easy? I think if Clinton were a man with this same relentless spirit that she would be celebrated and admired for being "Bull-dog tough", like Winston Churchill in the face of the Nazi’s in WWII. Instead she is said to be trying to “steal” the election and harshly criticized for being a dogged determined competitor of the first order.

If Obama is the nominee, he will be battle tested and battle hardened for a tough fight in the general election because of his sparring with Clinton. McCain and the GOP will be tough on Obama and because of the lessons learned during this primary season, he should be better prepared to succeed against GOP assaults. Moreover, Obama must do better with winning white working class, so called Reagan Democrats, if he is to be viable in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania against McCain in the fall. He can thank Clinton for showing his weakness with this Democratic constituency and work to win these voters over by the November election.

Hang in there Hillary! Time will show that you were right on with doing so.

READ MORE...ON DEADLINE: Why Obama can't close deal By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press Writer

Tavis Smiley quits the Tom Joyner Morning Show, are "black thought police" behind his decision?

by

BENI DAKAR

Tavis Smiley who has been a fixture on the syndicated radio program “Tom Joyner Morning Show” since 1996; Joyner told his audience today called him and said he quit. Supposedly Smiley said that he has too many projects. The "real" impetus of Smiley’s departure is thought to be the continued fallout from his February 14 commentary about Senator Barack Obama’s refusal to attend his “State of the Black Union” event in New Orleans on February 23. Smiley reportedly refused to accept Obama's wife Michelle as a substitute. (My take it that Smiley who has both a television and radio program on PBS, who writes and publishes books, etc. has outgrown the Joyner show and was overdue to move on.)

Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination Senator Hillary Clinton and the presumptive Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain were also invited. Only Clinton accepted Smiley’s invitation and he greeted her respectfully and warmly at his forum.

There was a host of negative commentary about Smiley (formerly black America’s darling) over his criticism of Obama for not attending the forum in New Orleans. I believed that Smiley was correct that Obama (Obama himself and not his wife or any surrogate should attend) and published the following article on February 16, 2008 “Tavis Smiley unfairly “catching hell” for implying that Obama was mistaken in refusing to participate in his “the State of the Black Union” Conference.

Distinguished black commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson has posted a brilliant and thought provoking piece in the April 11, 2008 edition of “The Huffington Post" about “black thought police” and how they seek to shun or strangle any black who dares have an independent political thought.

I want to be free to think for myself and make my own decisions. As a conscious human being dedicated to the liberation of people of color and women and others oppressed by class, sexual orientation, mental and physical disabilities, religion, and other human factors that some use to divide and conquer people; I am dedicated to making responsible decisions that are progressive and uplifts human beings. I refuse to turn over my mind to anyone who wants to control it; whether that perspective is Eurocentric or ostensibly Afrocentric. My thought life and political perspectives are mine and if they mirror someone else's beliefs it is coincidental; but not because I was coerced into mimicking the crowd.

Below is Hutchinson's post on the matter.

Hang in There Tavis Smiley, Don't let the Black Obama Thought Police Run You Out

Posted April 11, 2008 | 01:07 PM (EST)

As late as this past January, black talk show host Tavis Smiley was the darling of black America. Three months later he's the butt of black America. The tip off that Smiley's personal stock has plunged was his abrupt announcement that he was quitting his long standing post as political commentator on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner morning show. The Joyner show is virtually the airwaves Bible for legions of blacks. For more than a decade, Smiley was the show's black political and social issues voice. He was widely considered the go to guy for blacks on cutting edge social and advocacy issues.
So what is Smiley's great sin? He had the temerity to be less than a court cheer leader for candidate Obama. He compounded the sin with the black Obama thought police by having the added temerity to invite and warmly greet and thank Hillary Clinton for speaking at his annual State of the Black Union (formerly State of Black America) forum in February. Then he had the added added temerity to publicly criticize Obama for offering to send his wife Michelle as a fill-in.

That did it. The howls went up that Smiley was A. anti-Obama B. A closet Hillary backer C. an egoistic, self-absorbed, full of himself, bad host and ingrate. One columnist summed up the chorus from the black Obama thought police with this plunge the knife in the back title "Who Died and made Tavis King?" That title and the sentiment behind it would have been nothing short of heresy in January.
But putting the suddenly hate Smiley tide aside for a moment. There are two shames and tragedies here. The first is that if an African-American, and it makes no different whether it's a Smiley, or anyone else, even dares breathe a kind word about Hillary Clinton they will be run out of Dodge on a rail. Heaven forbid if they declare that they will vote for Clinton. No matter how many reasoned arguments they give--her experience, grasp of the issues, programs, and positions, staunch history in support of civil rights, women's rights, and social justice issues and Obama's paper thin if not outright dubious record on all of the aforementioned. Then remind the Obama chorus that the last time they looked the strength of democracy and the first amendment is the right to back a candidate of their choice and not be subjected to a verbal public lynching for making their choice.

The second shame and disgrace is that those blacks that exercise their democratic right to pick the candidate they think will do the best job and not blindly back a candidate based solely because he's black are considered race traitors. This is almost a text book variation on the old Orwellian Animal Farm saga of when the formerly oppressed flip the power table and suddenly become the new masters. They think, act and behave like the bunch that they kicked out of power. They are just as oppressive, stifling and thick headed toward any views and opinions that don't conform to theirs.

Given the history of the racial scorn heaped on them, blacks should be the absolute last ones to impose a racial code of conduct on other blacks. Unfortunately, in their absolute dogmatic, unyielding, Obama mania, they have turned what in any other season would be a healthy give and take reasoned dialogue and even debate on political issues into finger pointing, name calling, bashing, and yes as Smiley unhappily said "hate" toward any black who disagrees that Obama is the second coming of Dr. King.

Here's the challenge to Obama. Smiley has given him countless opportunities on his TV show, website, radio show, a presidential debate, and other public venues that he's hosted to amply express his views. That hardly sounds like an inherent political enemy. Why not issue a statement simply saying that Smiley's a stellar and consistent media and public voice for black causes, and a man worthy of respect and admiration. But most importantly, he has the right to hold and voice his political opinions on the presidential candidates and that even includes principled criticism of candidate Obama.

He has the right to do that without being vilified and verbally assailed. This in no way diminishes his credibility or value to black America. In other words, knock off the "hating" on Smiley (and others). Tavis, let me know when, but more likely if, that statement is ever issued. Meanwhile hang tough, and don't let the black Obama thought police run you out.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

Read More...Tavis Smiley Will Cut Ties With Joyner Radio Show
Listeners Have Been Critical of Commentator's Tough Stance on Obama, The Washington Post

Do U.S. soldiers want a Democratic president?

by

BENI DAKAR

The military claims to be apolitical; but many of the troops are expressing their political opinions about this November’s presidential election. During the 2004 presidential election about 73% of American servicemen and servicewomen voted. This time those numbers are expected to increase; with the top concerns being the war in Iraq and the economy.

Many of the soldiers interviewed in the ABC video below want either Senator Barack Obama or Senator Hillary Clinton to be the next president. If American civilians follow the lead of their troops, then a Democratic president should be on the horizon.

What do you think?

News Flash Buck Wheat Has Been Shot!!

by

BENI DAKAR

This is just off the wire...

News Flash Buck Wheat Has Been Shot!!

Turn on the local television station
Because BUCKWHEAT has been SHOT!
Turn to CNN if that is all that you got!
Turn on the radio and they will announce
The same thing,
BUCKWHEAT has been SHOT the airwaves sing!
Read the local paper looking for an update,
It reads BUCKWHEAT has suffered an awful
fate!
Talk to your friends and they will repeat
BUCKWHEAT has been SHOT down to his feet!
Go and surf the Internet,
Tell me if you don't read that BUCKWHEAT'S
Chest has gotten WET!
We are so inundated with terrible news,
All of the so called updates are only a ruse.
We interrupt this program to tell you,
BUCKWHEAT HAS BEEN SHOT!!!!
We haven't found his killer
We are just stirring up the pot!

Ode To Saturday Night Live

Copyright © 2005 Doreen Ambrose

From The Black American Discussion archives: Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee, provocative Chicago poet

“A BLACK WOMAN'S SMILE” by SPOKEN WORD ARTIST TY GRAY-EL

“A Black Woman’s Smile” performed by spoken word artist extraordinaire Ty Gray-EL is absolutely beautiful and amazing. Gray-EL’s words and the resonance and passion in his voice explain the historical reality of black women in America and praise her resilience.

The poem resonates with me in a deep and meaningful way because sometimes when I am concentrating (not angry or sad, just serious and intense), some folk have taken it upon themselves to remind me to smile. Many people are threatened and ill at ease by a black woman without a constant “Mammy” like grin or her face. I prefer smiling; but sometimes you need a good reason to smile and Brother Gray EL does a brilliant job of sharing that in the video below.

Mr. Gray-EL both wrote and performed this piece and Sneak A Peek Productions, LLC did the photography and the production of the video.

Share your thoughts about the poem and Mr. Gray-EL. Enjoy!

BENI DAKAR



Ty Gray-EL in inset photo, Courtesy of AuthorsDen.com




Meet Ty Gray-EL: Breath of My Ancestors, LLC and
Read Ty Gray-EL: Breath of My Ancestors...Whisperings from the Conscience of an African in America; sold by Harvard Booksellers and Ty Gray-EL: Performance Poet, Actor & Human Rights Advocate

The Black Prayer

The “Black Prayer” was sent to me by Sister Robbie Bible, who along with her husband Vince Bible operate Open Arms Outreach International, Inc. in Riverdale, Georgia. Sister Bible is a powerful prayer warrior and I am glad to be part of her cyber prayer circle. She is also an attorney, poet, published author, and savvy businesswoman. Her prayer ministry is international and growing exponentially. Mrs. Bible is someone who is making a difference worldwide and changing lives in positive and meaningful ways.

I think that all readers will enjoy this wonderful prayer that testifies to the worth of black humanity and in turn all humanity. Each one of us is a Divine creation worthy of love, respect, and an opportunity to develop and offer our best selves to the world.

Thank you Sister Bible for sharing this prayer and its wisdom with the readers of The Black American Discussion!

BENI DAKAR


The Black Prayer

Why Did You Make Me Black Lord .
Lord ... Why did you make me black?
Why did you make someone
the world would hold back?

Black is the color of dirty clothes,
of grimy hands and feet...
Black is the color of darkness,
of tired beaten streets...



Why did you give me thick lips,
a broad nose and kinky hair?
Why did you create someone
who receives the hated stare?

Black is the color of the bruised eye
when someone gets hurt...
Black is the color of darkness,
black is the color of dirt.

Why is my bone structure so thick,
my hips and cheeks so high?
Why are my eyes brown,
and not the color of the sky?

Why do people think I'm useless?
How come I feel so used?
Why do people see my skin
and think I should be abused?

Lord, I just don't understand...
What is it about my skin?
Why is it some people want to hate me
and not know the person within?

Black is what people are 'Labeled'
when others want to keep them away...
Black is the color of shadows cast...
Black is the end of the day.

Lord you know my own people mistreat me,
and you know this just ain't right...
They don't like my hair, they don't like my
skin, as they say I'm too dark or too light!

Lord, don't you think
it's time to make a change?
Why don't you redo creation
and make everyone the same?


God's Reply:

Why did I make you black? Why did I make you black?

I made you in the color of coal
from which beautiful diamonds are formed...
I made you in the color of oil,
the black gold which keeps people warm.

Your color is the same as the rich dark soil
that grows the food you need...
Your color is the same as the black stallion and
panther, Oh what majestic creatures indeed!

All colors of the heavenly rainbow
can be found throughout every nation...
When all these colors are blended,
you become my greatest creation!

Your hair is the texture of lamb's wool,
such a beautiful creature is he...
I am the shep herd who watches them,
I will ALWAYS watch over thee!

You are the color of the midnight sky,
I put star glitter in your eyes...
There's a beautiful smile hidden behind your pain...
That's why your cheeks are so high!

You are the color of dark clouds
from the hurricanes I create in September...
I made your lips so full and thick,
so when you kiss...they will remember!

Your stature is strong,
your bone structure thick to withstand the
burden of time...
The reflection you see in the mirror,
that image that looks back, that is MINE!

So get off your knees,
look in the mirror and tell me what you see?
I didn't make you in the image of darkness...
I made you in the image of ME!

MEET SISTER ROBBIE BIBLE: Open Arms Outreach International Inc. Meet the Founder and Pray with Sister Bible Monday-Friday at 6:00a.m. and Tues/Thurs at 12:00 Noon (EST), Click "Listen Now"

Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee, provocative Chicago poet

Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee is a poet out of Chicago. Doreen is an amazing talent and she writes powerful and provocative poetry in the tradition of Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni. She uses her experience of growing up in the former Chicago housing project Cabrini-Green as the fuel for her fiery poems. Below is one of my favorite poems by Doreen called “Invisible Woman?”

BENI DAKAR

Invisible Woman?

by Doreen Ambrose

You glare at me
You stare at me
You look past me
You drop doors on me

Because I don't stand
5'2, possess tiny breasts
and weigh 90lbs
Soaking wet

You jeer at me
You peer at me
You step on my toes
To get

To the place where you can
call her your nubian queen
And in the same breath
You call me a fat bitch

I've been here before
Like Maya Angelou said.
I've seen this road before,
But Still I Rise!

With the wind beneath my wings,

Because I am a Phenomenal Woman,

A Woman Phenomenally,

Despite how you feel about me,
I am not Invisible
I am here to stay!

I've been called
Big Drawers, Bertha and Bessie Smith
And a host of other b's
That you have in your
Arsenal waiting only for me

Because I don't fit
Your standard of beauty
But that's okay
You'll get over it

Historically, I've been looked over,
Overlooked,
Overcharged
And overworked

Because of the frame
I'm housed in
But not to worry
Things are getting better

You'd like to think
That I'm invisible
But how can I be?
How?

When you devote so
Much of your time
Desperately trying to decimate
Me?

If I was Invisible
You wouldn't have to
You try to box me
Into

A non existent category
But I refuse to let you
Take me there....
And hold me there...

I take my beautiful brown
hands
and I unfold them and I come out WRITING!
Because I am a Phenomenal Woman

A Woman Phenomenally...

WATCH: Cabrini Green: Past and Present (To learn about where Doreen grew up).



Read More... Cabrini Green Diary and "Diary of a MidWestern Getto Gurl"

Is Obama, “The Spook who Sat by the White House Door?”

Below is an interesting analysis of Senator Obama’s quest for the presidency by Kevin Weston, courtesy of New America Media, Posted: Mar 26, 2008. Weston draws a comparison between Obama and the character of the first black CIA agent in “The Spook who Sat by the door” written by Sam Greenlee and published in 1969. There are links to an excerpt from the book, a trailer of the movie, and the full 1:43 minute movie at this website. What do you think?

BENI DAKAR

The Spook who Sat by the White House Door

New America Media, News Analysis, Commentary, Kevin Weston, Posted: Mar 26, 2008





Read More...Google Books, excerpt "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" and The Spook Who Sat by the Door Wiki
WATCH THE ENTIRE MOVIE: The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)