rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

rootsblog: african american identity and friendly fire

SATURDAY

the signifying monkey

i have been this week far more frank than
i care to be

I am very uncomfortable with yesterdays post
I think it was the russian situation w/the kids
that fired me up on that

between bush, iraq, terrorism, the sudan, aids and poverty, etc
growing rightwing fundamentalism all over the world
and in particular a rightdrift in the us that makes this
this 2004 election so frighteningly important
not to mention a whole slew of personal problems
im feeling beleagured these days
im feeling stressed

my strident tone this week is probably reflecting that

but im doing what kerry got to do w/bush
man kerry got to tell the truth about bush
in spite of the social compact pressures
to just hint at the magnitude of his incompetence
kerry cant afford to fiddle faddle around the bush
kerry got to speak ruthless truth to the people

samesame situation for blackfolk
there is pressure to follow the prevailing lines

like blaming whitefolk for our problems
like refusing to call out the arabs of the sudan for fear of
being considered reactionary
like identifying reparations as the absolute foolishness
that it is, just absolute foolishness

but I am resolved to be a strategic voice
in the destiny of the world and blackfolk

i aspire to be a visionary
and generate tribal actions that will deliver us from this evil

and if i pander to geopolitical bullshit
that does not free us but instead
delivers us deeper into this historical trickbag
we have found ourselves in

which means i got to say truths that are very uncomfortable
i cant afford to parrot the little evasions that smooth out relations

generally I signify rather than state bluntly
but i think the weakest thing about blackfolk is that
they dont know the real deal

we go running after any parade that comes down the street

i may game and signify in the larger public
but my contract with you is that here in rootsblog ima give you the best
longgame strategic analysis that im capable of giving

my primary ambition, even more than saving blackfolk
is to make the world a better place
to shape a better and more enlightened future for humanity

a greater destiny

I am uncomfortable with the implications of playing hardball
but i believe in a flexible strategic modality

soft when you can and hard when you must

i dont mind if fully informed you choose to play softball
in fact i prefer it

i have looked many generations down the line
and it is as an illuminated people that i see our survival
prosperity and empowerment

but if we are to be true contenders in this world
we got to know whats really going on
we got to know whos gaming who
and be prepared to finesse all comers

i am going to continue to speak out on our own weaknesses
im going to lay out the strategic dynamics of our relations
with other groups

im going to treat blackfolk as if we were in truth significant players in this world
instead of the marginal flunkys that we really are

im gon conjure

THURSDAY

ruminations on dar al sudan: land of the blacks

im looking at all the hell that radical islam
is raising all over the world

im looking at the fact that radical islam
just might beat the west if the west dont
get a more strategically sophisticated team in charge
at this critical moment of world history

the wests greatest strength is also its biggest liability
the wests open society is ripe for infiltration
and cooption

next thing you know our great grandchildren
will be subject to sharia up in here

how to digest the muslim impulse w/o
submitting to it will be one of the big challenges
of the west in this conflict

and ima tell you what you already know
finessing militant islam in the west while sustaining civilrights
requires more finesse than this crew is capable of

im looking at the situation in the sudan

where the arabs are genociding blackfolk
like they been genociding and enslaving
blackfolk for some 3000 years now

killing and demeaning blackfolk
erasing blackness thru arabized identity
all across the crescent of north africa
which once upon a time was black

im looking at this martyr thing they got going
and this fanaticism thing and im thinking
what do we have that will contend with that
strategic instrument

when we do have to go head to head
like in the sudan
because make no mistake
one day we are going to have to go up
against the arabs and islam

its difficult for me to say this cause i know ima catch flak for it
but one day we are going to have to back them up
and get them off our case

islam must be made to understand that it is a guest in africa
and not a conqueror

right now we would lose that battle
and lose it bad

the kind of resistance they putting up in iraq
we aint got nothing like that happening
if the west wanted to take us down it would be a cakewalk

and the arabs (and islam) are accustomed to
having their way with us
they been cleaning our clock for 3000 years

and you see how they treat blacks who have gone islamic
in the sudan when push come to shove

i got to give my people some power
that will stand up against arab fanaticism
much less the power of the west

im betting on trickeration
strategy: the key that opens all locks

and the first step in strategic relations
is to act like we still dont know the deal
and cover all tactical moves w/a progressive veneer

but amongst you and me, this the real deal

i would you my people be masters of strategy
ruthless masters of the game

hardtimes are coming

WEDNESDAY

hardball

gay activists have been in conflict
over tactic of outing closeted gay politicians
who practice antigay politics

the latest of which was conservative
republican edward schrock of virginia
who recently withdrew from reelection campaign
after being outed

i felt sorry for him, 63 retired naval captain, married w/family
until i read the defense of one of the gay activists who outed him
“they declared war” he said “we’re not going to respond w/a hug”

i cant argue with that
its about time progressive forces started playing
hardball

we been way too nice
and we have almost lost
our country

mission impossible

bush been flip flopping
one day he says we cant win war on terrorism
the next day he says we can

kinda ironic
everybody knows we cant
win a war on terrorism in the conventional sense

but hes gotten himself in such a bind that when
he attempts to express nuance
its such a diversion from his relentless doublespeak
about how well the war is going
about how well the economy is doing
that it trips him up

that’s good
now he got to keep on lying
which hopefully will create
terminal dissonance
for undecided voters

we taking this sucker down

heads we lose, tails we lose too

what just played out in najaf was internal shiite politics
allawi represents securlarist shiism
sistani a moderate religious shiism and
al sadr fundamentalist shiism

and real conflict is which brand of shiism will be dominant in iraq
the us obviously would like secularist shism
something like what they had before we stumbled into the chinashop
forget democracy, at this point they will accept a strongman secularist
and call it a day

but the heavy handed us occupation is compromising secuarlism
sistani was the winner in the recent conflict but so was al sadr
the only real loser was allawi

we shall see how this plays out
either way we have a client shiite state
to protect and nurture
with blood and money

life is just one big irony sometime

TUESDAY

schoolhouse blues

well, school has started
cant give rootsblog the kind of time i been giving
got to find a new rhythm

didnt finish my novel
got a whole lot of work done but not enuf

still in that stage where the harder i work
the deeper i dig myself into the whole
sorry i meant hole

novel still growing
which means raw manuscript
which means a lotta rewrite
lotta reconcepting

ohwell, one endures
deadline has been moved to the
end of the year

loving what im coming up with
its finally looking like a real novel

a luta continua

just who is an african american

alan keyes claims obama not really african american

"my ancestors toiled in slavery in this country," mr. keyes said. "my consciousness, who I am as a person, has been shaped by my struggle, deeply emotional and deeply painful, with the reality of that heritage."

well if folk like keyes and clarence is what that process delivers
better none of us claim african american

keyes is just trying to pimp the phrase
but there have been tensions between american and foreignborn blacks

personally Im fond of the term 'black' because it covers
more demographic ground

my understanding is that in the multiculti future
we want numbers (and wouldnt mind more diversity)

we want the term african american to cover
as many folk as possible

onedrop or foreignborn its all good

why on earth would we try to define african american narrowly
and lose constituients

in truth the term african american should cover any
black person in this hemisphere anyway

im pleased that african/caribbean and so forth blacks
want to be defined as African American instead of
wanting to isolate themselves from us as social pressures
sometimes incline

its all in the family
its all good

office of very special plans

this guy, larry franklin, accused of spying for israel
is part of a cabal of neocons in the bush admistration
affiliated in some way w/israeli expansionism
and in particular the likud party

feith (franklins boss), pearle and other necons in 1996 prepared a

'strategic manual' for prime minister netanyahu advocating taking out iraq
for israeli security, not american security mind you, israeli security

this neocon cabal has been pushing war in iraq
syria and iran as part of this effort to establish israeli hegemony
in the middle east
long before they used sept 11 to convince babybush to go for it

nobody could figure out why we just had to attack iraq behind sept 11th,
one of the few islamic powers that hadnt attacked us
using terrorist tactics
that had in fact never attacked us period

and so now we have reaped a bitter and enduring harvest
of terrorbased antiamericanism in the islamic world
just when we could afford it least

paying in the blood of our soldiers
and standing in the world
because of the confused allegiances
of those in power over us

israel feels that only hegemony will ensure their survival
but why should we be forced to fight their wars if we dont agree
with their strategies

i thought they were supposed to be our proxy forces
not us theirs

just who is in charge of this 'strategic' relationship
that continues to cost us so much in blood and money
and moral standing in the world

how many of us must die before
we refuse to play israels hegemonic games

anybody who notes the israeli connection
of the neocon agenda is accused of antisemitism

im susceptible to that
i tend to restrain my criticism of israel
not to be charged with that
but some things just have to be said

and rickydoc flowers aint gon never be scared
to speak truth to the people
i speak in the name of schwerner, chaney and goodman

obviously cant blame all of iraq on israel
just as obviously israels needs played a role

tell you the truth i admire the israeli hold on us foreign policy
i wish we had that kind of muscle in africas name

the jews got solidarity
while our strongest players often play for opposing teams
selling themselves to the higest bidders

israels response to these allegations has been
we dont have to spy on you
we already got you by the balls

its enuf to give you a headache

singer laura branigan, 47 years old,
recently died of a brain aneuryism

she reportedly suffered a powerful headache for 2 weeks
and medical folk saying she should have had it checked

apparently sharon stone had this happen to her and
said on a recent oprah show
"if you have the worst headache you've ever had, go to the hospital because by the time you get to the hospital, you're as far gone as you wanna be."

those of you who get a headache of this sort take note
those of you without insurance must fend for yourself

the unwashed millions

apparently the numbers of uninsured have risen drastically
during the bush presidency
as have the numbers of folk who have fallen into poverty
to the tune of 3 million or so in the last year

this is what bush calls
economic success

i guess its akin to what he just called the war in iraq
"a catastrophic success"

god deliver us from any more
successful bush policies

fire from the right

there this group of conservative black bloggers
out there that call themselves bookeristas
as in booker t washington revolutionaries

im impressed with the power of their mackeroni
they're good
and they got this effective network thing happening

wellworth keeping a finger on that pulse
they strike me as sincere if misled
and there are many roads to timbuktu

but they
make me wonder where are the young progressive
black voices in the blog world

most of the progressive blogs like say freedomrider about my age

though im not quite sure how old prometheus6 is

we got more established voices like rudy of chickenbones
and the folk at black commentator

but the young talent seems to be coming from the right
this is not a good thing

apparently more and more young blacks considering themselves
conservatives
we got to finesse this trend toward black conservatism

why should racial uplift be considered
the rights territory
and what they call victimhood reserved for progressives

we being outdefined and out generationed here

we got to stop regurgitating the same old tired lines
and strategies
and speak to the upcoming generations
on both sides of the divide

i will have to put some thought into this when i got time
right now i have to go prepare for class

hangtough

zora neale hurston and highjohn the conqueror

johnny conqeroo. highjohnny conqeroo. john the conqueror. the conqueror. etc. etc.
lot of variants on highjohn the conquerors name. depending on what you calling him for

highjohn the conqueror root. the hoodoo power root. conquers all obstacles.

when you in need of extra power you dress it and carry it with you and you are invincible. this is the prime root of hoodoo. and highjohn the conqueror its patron spirit

the afroamerican trickster spirit

if there is a patron spirit of hoodoo the conqueror is it. a manifestation of the african american spirit and condition. the conqueror is in the house.

our understanding of the conqueror continues to evolve. the first good riff was zora neale hurston. the second by story teller. jackie torrence.

i googled him recently and most of the hits were advertisements for highjohn roots
almost nothing about highjohn himself, which is indicative of current highjohn knowledge

at least lucky mojo give you some knowledge with the pitch

my own highjohn knowledge is shaky
but let me tell you what i think i know about highjohn mythwork
and perhaps delineate the difference between
knowledge and wisdom

it was zora neale, past master of litericizing folklore
who first connected the highjohn root and the john the trickster slave stories
into a recurring cultural hero myth, whose spirit resides in the highjohn the conquer root
and returns whenever blackfolk in need

(great mythwork zora baby)

it was the beginning of worldwar ii
the country was reeling and she came up with the highjohn myth
to give, she said, america hope
i once objected to that move but in my hoodoo maturity i understand
her motive for sharing it

then storyteller jackie torrence took zoras riff, cleaned it up and wound it tight
focused the conqueror as custodian of the tribal will to struggle
she did an incredible job though i dont recall her ever giving zora credit for the seed

now the question is what is the conqueror to our generations
and to the generations of the future
my own highjohn mythwork is (as is my rickydoc mythwork)
based on the returning cultural hero motif
if you program it right it serves many generations by renewing itself as necessary

john the trickster slave stories dont seem to have the cultural impact
they once had, they dont speak to our generations anymore
whereas highjohn the conqueror has potential of being trueforce

i believe we have to develop an updated mythwork for highjohn the conqueror
and the conquering trope he stands for in afroam/hoodoo culture
the empowerment trope he stands for in african american culture and destiny

i would like to get an understanding of highjohn de conquerors next trick
and spin highjohn knowledge into highjohn wisdom
evolutionary speculation - of what use is this trope to our generations

thats my boy
if i serve anybody i serve the conqueror
which i speculate to be a particularly african american manifestation of legba force

this the riff i do when i do the conqueror
basically jackies riff on zora with a few touches of my own

------------------

for a longtime highjohn de conqueror was just the name of a plant that grew wild in the marshland.

back in slaverydays it was dug and dried and carried in the hand or worn about the neck to ward off haints, disease and nightmares.

this the hoodoo root of power. the problem solver. the obstacle breaker.

after awhile that plant became so powerful it began to walk upright like a natural man. now highjohn the human kept out of the sight of folk. live like legba chile out in the swamp somewhere. but whenever you in trouble you whisper his name and you can feel the conqueror as he pass you in the breeze. if you listen real close you hear him whispering in the trees.

zora claim the conqueror must walk on the wind, cause he move so fast. say maybe he in mississippi when the lash fall on a slave in the sudan, but before the blood dry on the back the conqueror is there. beating the unbeatable and superior to the whole mess a sorrow.

to all who are burdened, highjohnny conqueroo will show you the way

zora say its the conquerors voice come through clearest on sunday morning. say his worksong the one sustain you in the field. say wherever the work the hardest the conqueror is there. lifting the hoe higher than anybody else and still have time to wipe the sweat from your brow. to give you a cool drink of water.

he the sweetness in an apple pie and the quick cunning of breh rabbit. the cool breeze on a hot summer night. the wetness of a sweet summer rain.

he the hopebringer. the burden bearer. the battlefighter. the jackpot winner. a mighty force. an ultimate power.

when you whisper his name, bees dont sting. sqeeters dont bite. snakes dont strike.

zora claim the conqueror helped the slaves get free by tricking old massa. say after the slaves were free, the soul of the conqueror went into the highjohn de conquer root. waiting to return whenever the folk in need

zora say whenever you need him you just call him and he be there before you finish saying his name.

highjohn. highjohn. highjohn de conqueror

thats what zora neale said. ask her yourself if you dont believe me.

stewardship and the geas of rickydoc

lord legba open this gate

as an elder practitioner of the hoodoo way
stewardship is something that very much concerns me

occasionally the question of ethics come up in hoodoo forums
usually related to the use of spells on or against people without their knowledge

there are a wide range of positions on this matter
from a moralist concern with the ethics of soulcare
to a total rejection of ethical restraint on magic

most fall somewhere in between, the long as i dont hurt nobody position
and of course there are those who just dont care

i somewhat abashedly tend to the soulcare extreme.
if its not about caring for souls, it its not about healing and nurturing souls
its not about anything far as im concerned.

ima spiritdoctor

thats what I do

and souls are very fragile entities
to be handled w/a very light touch
w/a very delicate hand

its all stewardship:
at the moment and for some reason
this clients soul has been entrusted to my care

i man not speaking to the folk who have no sense of stewardship,
the predators among us who specialize in taking advantage of the weak and the desperate
pigs grown fat on the pain of those who come to them for help or guidance

i man speaking only to the righteous and
i will not abide a thief of souls.

i speaking only to those who do consider this a calling of service
and believe that it is in that service that we find our strongest power
a true and significant power, a power capable of changing the world

i believe that sense of stewardship once restricted to client
family or immediate community
must be expanded to encompass the whole of human destiny.

this i believe could be construed as a naturally evolving function of hoodoo magic
and our role as spiritworkers
reaching for a greater influence in the course of human events
and manifesting an afrospiritual vision unto the world

in this context i believe stewardship an unequaled power
and were we to take up the challenge of it
we could guide our generations and all others
into a prosperous and illuminated future

i believe that stewardship at its most fundamental entails
being effective forces for evolutionary change in this world

this reality

its only a question of how deep do you want to take it

there are many %s of stewardship:

striving yourself to always be greater than you are.
helping your clients grow and evolve
empowering and illuminating your chosen tradition/house
encouraging whenever possible the highroad in the traditions of others
accepting responsibility for humanity’s march into its ever greater self

its destiny, its fa
gods holy instrument

now i understand this dont speak to everybody
i dont get no attitude cause folk dont see my vision
thats why they call it a vision

my personal understanding of stewardship is that i must always strive to be a positive and empowered force in human destiny and that whenever the choice is given, grace lies in choosing the greater me

this i must do

beyond that i go with the flow. good stewardship is apparently something along the lines of fa, something you must constantly strive to understand

i do know that as a wouldbe visionary my vision of human destiny must at all times be a great and grand and glorious one, one worthy of the people i would our generations be

listen then o ye firstborn to the geas of rickydoc and i will give you
a vision greater than your adversity

this then is my vision, this is what i see:

i see struggle, i looking generations down the line and i see generations of struggle

but i see humanity always striving towards its ever greater self, always striving to evolve and take the next step in human evolution, whatever it is, whatever that be

and i see a great and grand and glorious people. humanity’s living ancestors and gods true chosen . striving always to be greater than you are

for if you would reclaim your legacy as gods holy instrument you must stand on higher ground.

and when you come to the crossroads always take the highroad
guardian of humanity’s march into its ever greater self.

it is the geas of rickydoc

may the gods be good
to you

Rootsbag:0815: Trust Me

FRIDAY

many rivers to cross

sudan and the janjaweed
still driving blackfolk into chad
30,000 waiting for the river at the border
to get low enough to cross

sudan and the arab league
still asking for more time

i have nothing more
to say

armchair revolutionaries of the world unite

here i sit at the sacred desk

words are my primary weapon
sometimes they are powerful
sometimes they are not

god give me the grace
to know when and how
to use them best

and when to stand and
let them be

sudan: passion of the present

resource website for activists interested in actually helping in the sudan

bushwhacked

what irks me most about bush is that the
world feels so much more fragile since hes
been in charge

no one can afford to sit this one out

his domestic and international policies affect us all
they will afflict our children

these trying times have made it clear that
human progress is such a precious thing
and i treasure it ever more

everybody has to do something to
put humanity on the good foot
again

i beg of you

strategic martyrdom

al sadr would have to be a fool
to give up the shrine

no matter what they tell him
they will hunt him down

he might as well play it out

apparently this confrontation started
when gung ho marines took over
from the army and just as they did in falluja
w/o coordinating w/us or iraqi authorities
aggressively bit off more than they could chew

this kind of blind recklessness has
crippled the us policy aim in iraq

in spite of glowing official reports
this has been an incompetant occupation

and it is w/some reluctance
that i admit admiring al sadr
for so doggedly resisting the
occupation of his country

im very uncomfortable admiring a sworn enemy
especially a fundamentalist one

but the player in me
respects good game

readership

numbers going up
thats good, i like that

but they not going up fast enough
to feed my need

i would appreciate it if those of you
who do read rootsblog regular
maybe pass the url on to maybe 10
of your chosen friends
you think might enjoy the work

empathize with the game
players and wouldbe players

i crave me more readership

my deal w/you is that i will give
you in return the best and most strategic truths
i have to give

i will entertain you
make you smile when i can
think when i cant
and never waste your time
w/the insignificant

i will deal only in graceful
words of power

be safe

arf

THURSDAY

the myth of mammy pleasant

still working on a listing of hoodoo ancestors
one meroe turned me onto that i knew nothing of is
san francisco’s mammy pleasant

i googled her
she is a most interesting personality
most accounts were either sensationalized
or sanitized

but all indicative of the complex mythwork she left behind her

i am very deeply into mythwork and being a mythworker
it is one of my most valued skilz
so the mythic quality of her life interests me

its mostly fed by a dramatic ambiguity about her life
that would be difficult to achieve in this mediaage

which also brings up the question of self promotion
hoodoo practitioners are conflicted on self promotion
it is an occult tradition after all and a % of secrecy integral to its power

but at the sametime its hard to ignore the internet as
an evolving hoodoo instrument

a magical instrument of unimaginable power

part of which entails crafting an online persona
and selling it
putting it to work

as a writer and cultural opinionmaker
promotional skills are essential

but when does self promotion become counterproductive
and work against your true power

i guess for me it would be
when it inclines you to shallow work that sells/plays better

or when you no longer do it gracefully

instead of you got the demon the demon got you

i am a delta mythmaker
i work very hard at crafting my hoodoo persona of rickydoc
and the mythwork of it for future generations

sometime realwork you dont get paid for it
in your lifetime

and while i do hope my promotion/mythwork
enhances the marketability of my realwork

my Work work

its all part and parcel of my efforts to shape the
future of the tradition
the destiny of the blackrace and all humanity

to make real into the world that which was not

planting seeds and preparing the ground

my every move is prettymuch judged by how it shapes the mythwork of rickydoc
there are times when im uncomfortable promoting myself so vigorously

but my mythwork i consider sacred ground

WEDNESDAY

the banana republicans of florida

bob herbert say
florida state troopers have been going to the homes
of black voters in orlando florida in an
'investigation of voting fraud'

they are targeting
the orlando league of voters
elderly black voters (president is 73) who
have been a powerful electoral force in orlando

now their elderly participants are afraid of being
caught up in ashcroftian investigations and refusing to
work with voter league workers

this suppression of floridas black vote must be
understood in a pattern of suppression
highlighted by the felons list florida was recently
forced to abandon

as a child of the civilrights movement
this infuriates me

this is the kind of thing we fought against
back in the delta of 68 and like the rev said
our right to vote has been paid for in blood

to think these good old swampboys still think so little of us
that they would commit blatant disenfranchisement

and dare us to whimper

TUESDAY

southern discomfort

oldschool racist james hart has won the republican nomination for the us house (tenn)
running against racemixing with “the poverty genes of less favored races"

the republican party tried to stop him
that oldschool racism embarrasses them

he didnt get the memo

bottletrees and holygrounds

i been trying to sanctify my yard

been wanting for sometime to do me a bottletree
but truth be told i didn’t know how they worked
or what they were for

id like to tell you the knowledge was passed on to me
but since it wasnt i went to that grand repository of
cultural authenticity - the internet

apparently bottletrees come from old congo practice
of hanging glass as talisman against evil spirits
the spirits get caught up in the beauty of sunlight
in the glass and get trapped

when the wind blows you hear them singing

nairobi bound

looks like im going back to nairobi
looks like the kenyan summer literary seminar is on

jeffrey renard allen will be doing fiction
wanda coleman will be doing poetry
josip novakovich will be doing nonfiction
binyavanga will be lecturing on african lit
i will be lecturing on african american lit

last time i did the kenyan sumlit it went sacred on me
& im looking forward to hanging out w/the kwani crew again
they got their own little nairobi renaissance going

two weeks in nairobi w/option of
last 3 days in mombasa

god is good

what are they trying to hide

whats w/this american campaign against journalists in najaf

the iraqi police have been arresting journalists
after telling them they all had to leave najaf
and last sunday fired 'warning shots' at their hotel

warning shots at journalists?

an iraqi police lieutenant threatened to kill protesting journalists"we are going to open fire on this hotel. we are going to smash it up. i will kill you all."

the americans trying to say its an iraqi policy
that they wouldnt dare treat journalists like this
that they wouldnt dare try to hide their actions
from the media

whats up with that

SUNDAY

cointellpro 04

the fbi has been interviewing and even subpoenaing
potential protestors of the republican convention
in an apparent attempt to chill protest next month

their response to folk who have raised concerns about
freespeech and civilrights has been
trust me
we are only concerned about violence, not protest

but the folk they’ve been monitoring are your
garden variety peaceniks

trust me is the bush administrations response to
all the transgressions that have come to light
before the ugly truths are ferreted out

we can trust them alright
we can trust them to do wrong whenever they think
they can get away with it

fight like an iraqi

these bush league imperialists chose iraq in part because
they thought the iraqis wouldn’t fight

so now we have pissed off folk like the

crippled militant carrying his AK47 while
being pushed five hours in a wheelchair
in an effort to get into the fight at najaf

people who know they are being abused will fight you tooth and claw
while if you know you are the abuser you crippled w/reservations

this is not a just war and god
is not on our side

people of color united

the rightwing has sponsored a 'black' political action group
running ads against kerry and his wife on black radio stations
ads designed to get blackfolk mad at him or discourage them from voting in november

a repub dirty tricks operations that obviously considers us gullible little sambos
theyve been funded by this guy rooney,
a rich rightwing hitman made richer by repub healthcare policies
a supporter of school vouchers who swears he knows black folks needs
a plantationstyle great white father

"I have a long history of involvement with and support of the black community," Rooney said. "For 21 years I have gone to an all-black church. They finally elected me over other black people to their church board. I'm one of them.”

well gag me w/a spoon
just put me out of my misery

rwandans in the sudan

rwandan troops have deployed in the sudan

this is kidna ironic don’t you think
the survivors of one african genocide protecting
the victims of another
and probably part of the reason they volunteered early
and moved in early as the vanguard of the african unions attempt
to secure the sudan

supposedly there will eventually be a couple thousand au troops
to secure an area the size of iraq

okay, its a start, the initial 300 was supposed to have been deployed earlier
but planning and logistics have postponed the deployment

come on african union
get your act together

I want you to succeed in this
as much as I want the killing
stopped in darfur

the global african presence

runoko rashidis site
is dedicated to chronicling the global black presence

he got so much blackworld historical on this site
that it will take me some time to get thru it

but he seems to be avoiding the excesses of afrocentricity
like the claim for a black jesus for instance

it is a manifestation of our weakness and our needy insecurity
that we will spend so much energy trying to
claim jesus and god knows who else

god knows i hate it when blackfolk act all
weak and insecure

course now it is a known fact that slavery
was merely part of legbas plan to make us a global people

it takes a global people to contend for power in this day
and fortunately we have been dispersed all over the world

a move in legbas game

a cautionary tale

the resignation of nj gov mcgreevy reminds me of a joke:

a happily married ant had a onenight stand w/an elephant
the elephant got happy and died of a heart attack

the ant said damn, for a moment of pleasure
i got to spend the rest of my life digging a grave

a hoodoo legacy

djenra windwalker recently made a case for identifying our hoodoo ancestors

i will start chronicling some of the great hoodoos
as i myself learn more about them and their legacies

folk like dr moore of the tree of life in harlem

folk like aunt caroline dye

folk like jim jordan

the hoodoos chronicled in hyatt
the gullah buzzard flocks

my boy gullah jack

and contemporary masters like
djenra windwalker herself

Rootsblog:0708: Perspective

THURSDAY

sisterspace is gone

they lost their eviction battle
and washington has lost its
literary heart

groundwar

the repubs have focused on their groundwar
on getting out the troops in november

i was reading an article about how the conservative
churches are mobilizing

we got to get busy
and sign on to somebodys
get out the vote operation

we got the passion
now we got to manifest
the skilz

hook or crook we got to get voters to the polls
be innovative with it

rebuilding a progressive america

provocative article in la times about need to rebuild a progressive america

gon give you the gist of it because its a subscription thing
which i try to stay away from but this one made such an important point

cause i believe as important as the 2004 election is
the real need is to move the public consensus and bring them
back to a progressive vision of what america could and should be

the rightwing has done an admirable job of organizing
and redefining issues in ways that have moved public consensus sharply to the right

part of which comes from democratic support of the civilrights movement
progressive forces paid a heavy cost for doing the right thing
and still do

basically said the real need of our generation is to rebuild a progressive movement
and a progressive public consensus
(through innovative organizing techniques not yet seen)

article made a good case for a more populist democratic rhetoric and activism

notice how quickly the repubs will charge any populist democrat
w/waging class war
thats them trying to cripple what they know to be a good move

this article argued that the progressive newdeal policies
of the last hundred years or so
didn’t just appear fullborn but were the result of decades of struggle
by unions, activists and other such progressive forces

brick by brick and inch by inch

”today, while liberals sit around congratulating themselves on their personal virtue, the right has embraced the task of building a movement that speaks to those at society's bottom, that addresses them on a daily basis. from liberals, the nation's working class hears little, but from the conservatives it gets an explanation for everything. even better, it gets a plan for action, a scheme for world conquest with a wedge issue.”

this is an important point
i will have to get more deeply into this when ive got the time

the rightwing has been cleaning our ideological clock
for about 4 decades now
its about time we got serious about this

progresives of the world unite
throw off your chains

sudan is playing games

the sudan is not sincere about stopping the janjaweed

everymove they make is designed to fake out the world
on this matter

apparently domestic politics play a part
the conflict between al turabi and bashir has added web to the weave

article also claims that the sudan thought they could get away with this because
they were stomping fellow muslims and thought the west wouldn’t care
like they did about the christians of the south

interesting that they didn’t think that blacks would come to the aid of blacks
or didnt care
and it warms my heart to see the blacks of the world come together on this

kofi annan has been the primary force for change in this equation
channeling fellow ghanian nkrumah (must be something in the yams)

boy got heart and his name will be writ
large in the great black book of generations

im not quite clear how this will play out
the west diddles while darfur burns
the arab league has supported the sudans positions
(no help for fellow muslims of darfur - whats up w/that)
and the record of the african union is not encouraging

guess we just keep the presure on
full court press and hope for the best

again i say the true resolution of this situation will come about
only when the blacks of the sudan are capable of defending themselves

and outplaying their oppressors

god aint that the truth all
over the world

a luta continua

legbas gift

lord legba n me
we got an understanding

legba told me
i didnt have to follow no rules

told me i could do it the hoodoo way
anymethod anytime

long as i did it right
got my work done

in legbas name
a cosmic instrument
in legbas game

legba told me
papa got a brand new bag

and so do you

word
by rickydoc

TUESDAY

an illinois minstrel show

alan keyes is running against barack obama for senator
this redefines the definition of the word farce

first a little clarity on obama himself
the powers that be have chosen him as a viable contender
because he is what they consider to be a comfortable black

hes half white
fair skinned
his black part is foreign black instead of afroam black
and he grew up in hawaii or somewhere exotic like that

and hes shown them he knows how to step thru the gates
that he understands the rules of play and is a master of the game

far as the powers that be are concerned
hes about as neutral black as can be found and
still counted on the diversity channel

thats cool, at least they trying

and im glad to say that the brother himself
is showing no confusion on this score
brotherme identifies himself black
period

instead of multiracial or cablinasian
or whatever passing is called these days

it is to our demographic advantage that black
continue to be define loosely

we have always been a bastard people
with a little something something
from everybody in the mix

strategically speaking onedrop is a multiculti godsend

its all identification and the brother
got strategic clarity on that

plus he got sophisticated mackeroni suitable to the political age

he still a politician and compromised by definition but
i am conditionally impressed and I welcome him to the table

back in memphis folk are concerned that obama is going to eclipse
harold ford jr but harold jr for all the hype aint never been a real player
not like his daddy was, his daddy was a scrapper

harold jr was born to the manor and he don’t rock no boats,
he just there marking dlc time, which has been unfortunate
we memphians expect more out of a ford, but be that as it may

obama is poised to be a viable and progressive political force
so up steps the evil illinois republican party

we "needed to find another harvard-educated african american who had some experience on the national political scene," said republican state sen. steven rauschenberger. "we need that because the democrats have made an icon out of barack obama. the only way to fight back is to find your own icon, and that is not an easy thing to do."

so they dig up alan keyes, the colored idiot from maryland
some black neocons you feel like they have some integrity
actually believe they making a contribution
im sure I could name a couple if I took a moment to think about it
but most are whores

alan keyes is a whore and his candidacy
will be an embarrassing farce

the repubs know keyes doesnt have a chance
they crippling obama by turning his upcoming election
into a colored roadshow

hopefully brother obama will resist keyes inevitable invitations
to roll about in the minstrel mud

my daddy used to tell me never wrestle with pigs
you just get dirty and the pig enjoys it

word

arf

MONDAY

hello everybody
im back from the delta
feeing a little tired and woreout

got a million emails to get thru
if im supposed to be in touch i
will get back to you sometime
this week

the schoolhouse has been sending me emails
about next semester
i been refusing to read them but any minute now
i got to come out the woodshed
and give life its due

o such a wretched man am i
i need a sabbatical, thats what i need

and forget lastweeks truth telling
I decided the only truths Im afraid to tell
are personal ones

and those moral weaknesses I was talking about
I decided were more strategic ones
(though in truth I don’t see a difference)

and I don’t feel like talking about my own weaknesses
(maybe when im feeling feisty again)

I have to say
I do not like putting my business in the streets
even though it is my job as a writer to do so

sometimes though you get weary
which is more than tired
im talking weary
and today im feeling weary

speaking of weary
I need to give my sister some props
like so many of my generation we
have moved into the aging parents mode

and my sister is doing an unbelievable job
taking care of my mother 24/7
and mama just as happy as she can be
under the circumstances

both of them growing

i am just astounded
who would have ever thought she had it in her
she skating on thin ice and carrying that load
with unbelievable grace

and me, ima typical male son
aint worth diddly when it comes
to real heroism

too busy trying to save the world

i call myself in life acting out the role of a culture hero
but my sister elise is the real hero in this family

be safe be well

arf