well i believe the old rootdoctor is withdrawing
from the fray
couple of reasons, this hoodoo listserve ive been
hosting is pretty much defunct, i been struggling
to keep it alive and finally realized that everything
has its trajectory and this one was good for what
it was good for and now its over - thats cool
as with many of my ideological initiatives, it had to serve
too many masters, too many agendas, as gloria lynn once sang
in we are the dreamers - a tower too tall to be strong
thought about shutting it down but every once in awhile
it flares up and goes someplace interesting, ima
just let it be whatever its gon be
then i thought about this phase of my mission
and i think ive pretty much played it out
ive said all i have to say (over and over)
my primary statement is that hoodoo must
evolve in the 21st century, it cant stay where it is
and be a viable tradition in the 21st century
my particular suggestions are the addition of highmagic
to the folkmagic focus it now manifests
and defining ourselves as the prophetic tradition
of the atr (african traditional religion) family
which entails the prophetic willingness to
speak hard atr truths
a willingness to speak out on atr reforms such as:
- the atr obsession with blood ritual
- the inordinate role of money in atr initiation
- the potential for abuse in godparent hierarchies
- fundamentalist vs progressive impulses in the tradition
- atr's role in society and its contribution to the human condition
and other issues that atr folk fear to raise
or are unable to see
obviously this willingness to speak truth to power
must apply to our own beloved tradition and to that
of the global spiritual community
to all the world
and i have myself personal had a vision of the future
of the blackrace and all humanity
a vision of the destiny of all things
as this constant aspiration to higherground
to the next step in human evolution
whatever it is at any given point and time
i work to manifest that vision
the hoodoo world (not to mention the atr world) has so
thoroughly rejected it (me), that i have to seriously
reconsider my positions - perhaps its time to listen for awhile
and i know its time to go into the woodshed and finish
rest for the weary
i figure its my works that really manifest my vision
so im withdrawing from the fray for awhile
if i can make rest for the weary
do the things i want it to do
if i can pull off that african american holybook
that i see the hoodoo book of flowers to be
couple other Works i got in mind
then history will absolve me, and when all the folk that are dissing me now
will have faded away, it will be me & my work that stands the test of time
my vision
the geas of rickydoc
for this i will take any blow
i have my entire adult life wanted to be a champion of the people
with all my heart and soul i want to be a hero
a champion of the people
that means i got to step into the arena sometime and mix it up
and its a different arena now than what say martin and malcom faced
different from what harriet, gullahjack, ol prophet nat or david walker faced
its a far more complex arena, a far more complex struggle
and ima tell you the arena can be hard on a man
and sometimes i step out a little too far ahead of the pack
and sometimes i get buked and i get scorned
and sometimes i get stoned, but it comes with the territory
i like being me and i long ago decided to accept the hammers
that come with blessings of this nature
but im tired now - im weary unto my soul
the price of service gets higher every day
and i fear i have exposed too much of my secretself
and i have exposed i believe, too much of my secretwork
to ridicule (damned internet encourages you to let it all hang out)
at first i was discouraged, another ideological initiative
that seems to have died on the vine, my life as an organizer
has been full of them, nothing seems to work
i guess when you set out to change the world you
got to be prepared for a little frustration
but i have struggled to put it all in perspective
thats one of the things i love about being a writer
win or lose, its all grist for the literary mill
and so i believe its time to withdraw into the shadows again
where i see but am not seen
i have always taken a page from the iching on this one
the iching says the superior personality has two primary modes
trying to effect change in the world and withdrawing
for reflection, reassessment and regeneration
i translate that as two modes
in the world and in the woodshed
a spiral modality that feeds on itself
and for a writer born (well at least a writer trained), it is
in the woodshed that the real work gets done
all the rest is research
ima leave the listserve on minimum maintenance and
try to bring rootwork.com up to speed
ima keep rootsblog going and my nsoro column
but otherwise im going into a lurk mode
rickydoc trickmaster withdraws from the fray
I been in the arena for awhile now
and I have learned a great deal during this phase
of my ministry
empowerment of the blackworld is my fundamental mission
totally nonnegotiable - but there are vexing issues of race
and identity and human destiny that me and the whole world
struggling with right along in here
i want to be as much a voice of the humanrace as i
am a voice of the blackone
so how do i most effectively serve both of my families
and just how does one go about being a true voice/force
for the enhancement of the human condition at this
point, place and time
and im curious about shaping and defining the 21st century
im pondering that every day
and as always i got to reassess my style
i been a little strident lately (frustration will do that)
clearly time for reflection and evolutional self definition
i do that periodically, and
time to concentrate on getting rest for the weary done
to a certain degree
my efforts have always been research
for rest for the weary
i was recently called an academic hoodoo
implication being not a real hoodoo
but though i do teach to make a living,
and though i do have an intellectuals approach to hoodoo
i am not an adacamic, i am an artist
there is a difference
i am a writer - an artist and ideological orchestrator in the griotic
tradition of african american literature, and i aspire
to be historical, the folk academics study
I believe in trying to live out my best dreams
I dreamed of being a writer – I have done so
I dreamed of being a hoodooman – I have done so
I have dreamed of being a prophet – and I am so doing
fumbling, stumbling, kinda figuring it out as i go along
but i have made the decision to manifest - to publically
declare myself a prophet of the hoodoo way
a visionary
a hoodoo visionary
and so shall it be
i will take the hammer
i am a delta griot, a trained literary visionary in
the line of john o killens - the great griot master of brooklyn
i can do this, i know i can, so i got to try
i got this
and even in withdrawal, im still trying to manifest
if my Works are the seeds of future realities
my ideological orchestrations are merely
preparation of the ground
i try to get folk to See but i am not heartbroken
if they dont, i speak more to the generations and
it is my Works that are the most integral aspect
of my hoodoo ministry
and getting my Work done aint on nobody but me
even more than i want to be a hero
more than i want to live and breath
i want to be a great writer
and how can I write w/fictional and magical authority
about a sorceror who aspires to be a prophet
unless I have myself walked the path
i will be back
this story is yet to be told
in spirit and struggle
rickydoc flowers
21st century rootdoctor
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