rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

the delta, new orleans & the stormflood of 2005: the struggle has just begun

THURSDAY
the struggle has just begun

my neworleans family members are safe
but they have become part of this caravan of refugees
on the road, they are currently in a memphis hotel
but plan to bunk with family as the magnitude of
the disaster becomes clearer

another aspect of this tragedy is its how hard its
hit the poor black populations of the delta, the ones
most likely to have been left behind when the
initial evacuation was effected and unable to get out
because of lack of money and transportation

i am also concerned that they will be the last to be
given assistance, i am concerned that they will
be the last to be rescued, that they are the bulk
of the refugees suffering in the superdome,
that they will be least able to weather the
disruption to already precarious lives

i am concerned that blacks who want to help or donate will end
up sending their monies through organizations that are
not effective at getting help to the most needy at the bottom
of the pecking order, we will have to monitor them closely

impromptu black networks are being set up to try
to address these issues and alleviate the suffering
to come

this is an effort that the leading black organizations
should take a high profile on
this is an effort that can be addressed by local
organizations in the cities that have become refugee
centers in mississippi, texas, tennessee, alabama
and points beyond

churches, schools, fraternal organizations, families
can probably make the best dent in refugee suffering
in their own locales

i will try to make rootsblog a clearing house of information
for the next couple of weeks/months/whatever

i am not sure just yet what to emphasize or where concrete
actions are being taken, i guess i will just go with what i got
and see how things develop

below are some email messages that have been circulating
if i have attributed them wrongly or there are objections to
private emails being publically circulated, please inform me
and i will redress

at this point the energy seems to be mostly a call to action
i will keep you informed as concrete steps materialize

stay strong

THIS ONE ORIGIANLLY CAME FROM THE VIVA ART NETWORK I BELIEVE

  
From: viva ARTS <[email protected]>
Date: August 31, 2005 10:09:05 AM PDT
To: [email protected]

Subject: NEW ORLEANSwe want to hear the voices of the FOLKS!   
de:vivaARTS network

Information sent courtesy via vivaARTS network… 
510-464-3025                     [email protected]

A special thank you to Jada Harris & Dr. RaShon for inciting awareness
and putting forth the CALL!  Interviews: 404-932-5760

Any awareness elevation, mobilized efforts towards facilitating  
life sustaining efforts to our sister communities, please put forth  
your voice, resources, ashe’ Call a local or national media person,  
public official, Church and or Service agency to incite more  
participation. Prayers of uplift & support to all those affected.   
We give praise to life and continue to Salute Mother Nature in awe.

BLACK Media/Network/Grassroots/leadership/Community CALL

NEW ORLEANS…we want to hear the voices of the FOLKS!

Having returned from New Orleans during a hurricane alert only a  
month & half ago, I received an alarming phone call 7ish this  
morning from a childhood friend J. Harris flanked with noted  
priest, scholar, and artist, Dr. RaShon safely in Nashville, after  
having evacuated quickly from a now flooded New Orleans!; We had  
last seen each other then…Their dedicated efforts to generate a  
CALL TO ACTION provided the following info:

Their call, where is the Black Press/leadership?! “the Call” to  
represent the plight of the 87% population of Africans, who, lived  
near those broken levy areas, are encased in a poorly condition  
ridden Superdome, slated to be bussed to a defunct astrodome in  
Houston, Texas, and subjected to perpetual media criminalization  
images of “looting”. According to these sources, folks are taking  
non-perishables, like water, medicine, food and diapers…those  
essentials that one needs in such a crisis, and it’s all those  
folks who can’t get $40 worth a gas, let alone a car to evacuate,  
that would be a great portion of the city, that would be a great  
portion of Black folks…

What was the city’s planning efforts of evacuation in light of this  
alert, why did it take so long.

Initial efforts involved officials in row boats going door to door,  
axes on top of city roofs, helicopter lifts, and the Superdome  
occupation. FEMA and the Coastguard is now present, nevertheless,  
the planning for the exodus of such a large population of people,  
primarily African American requires more of a NATIONAL effort as it  
is a monumental task, greater than what is being reported in media.  
Access to the city is hard to get IN now OUT for the average citizen!

For Immediate Inquiry:

-There seems to be no leadership to represent the largest sector of  
New Orleans population and their plight; evacuation, relocation  
having been hit the hardest by initial burst of Lake Pontchatrain  
and the now irreparable levy repair

-Other than the obvious, what of people of these areas heavily  
populated by African American folks; The Treme district, Bywater,  
Gentilly, the 9th Ward hit hard; St. Claude Avenue, east of the  
French Quarter and into St. Bernard Parish – we need to hear their  
voices and not just have their images reported through a voiceless  
National medium.

-Desperate people will do desperate things, this also includes the  
Military and Police response to the “looters” turning rifles on the  
faces of people, in their efforts to protect the City’s precious  
downtown area “Canal Street” near the “French Quarter area, as  
witnessed by these sources; the survival involves All citizens who  
are trying to secure goods to survive the repercussions of this  
catastrophic event.

-The surmounting health conditions resulting from the broken levy,  
West Nile virus threat, stagnant unsanitary waters, arising medical  
problems of the remaining citizens, hospital closures and lack of  
foods & medicine supplies.

Online references of note:

*cut & paste in address bar
http://prosandcons.us/    (stories, photos & photos of actual  
account/experiences in New Orleans)

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2005/2005-08-31-01.asp  
(economical affects)

http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/ 
news-4/1125283561138731.xml?nola (Superdome refugee accounts)

this information was written in an genuine effort to incite action  
to save lives of  peoples and communities we hold dear!


FROM MELVIN GIBBS ON THE HOODOO WAY LIST

I cant help but feel, as the time for prayer ends, that this situation 
is a test for African-America. A test for us on the individual as well 
as collective level. A test of our ability to mobilize as well as 
organize. It's pretty obvious what's going to happen to us as a people 
if we let ourselves GET mobilized and orginized. But who can we trust 
among the organizations involving themselves in this situation or among 
the current A-A leadership to address this situation? This is a 
situation that calls for concrete action either in time or monetarily.
 
But the reality is if you give money you're lucky if 10% of it gets to 
the cause. My understanding is the usual is 4-5%. The rest goes to the 
the organization invovled. but in spite of that fact concrete action IS 
necessary. But we should understand that when we give money we wont 
(unfortunatly) be giving money to the needy as much as we will be 
growing an organization. Choose wisely.

peace



THIS ONE CAME FROM MIRIAM DECOSTA WILLIS
LEGENDARY MEMPHIS ACTIVIST AND SCHOLAR

Here's another message that I received from a friend who has some very good ideas, and here are some follow-up possibilities:
1.  Use our e-mail networks to ask for help of some kind from our friends.
2. Make donations through our neighborhoods, churches, and other
organizations.  The Red Cross will get a LOT of money;  I prefer the
smaller groups that have fewer administrative costs.  Here are some
that were listed in the Post recently: America's Second Harvest,
Catholic Charities USA, Church World Service, United Methodist Comm. on
Relief.  I'm going to check out a web site that was recommended: 
Giving.com  It gives info on various organizations.
3.  Think of ways that we can actually DO something tangible:  have a bake sale, hold a flea market, give a party, etc.
4.  Involve children and teenagers so they can feel a part of the effort
5. Discuss ways of saving resources: turn off the lights, use the air
conditioner sparingly, use the car only for essential errands and then
do them all at once, walk to the grocery, post office, and drugstore,
etc.
6.  Share ideas with friends.  (One woman on t. v. offered to
take in a refugee family.  Now that was something!)  A friend who lives
in Lafayette, LA has gotten her church involved;  they're feeding
people & finding homes for them.
7.  Some people want to send water, diapers, & toiletries, but these goods present logistics problems;  it's better to 
send a monetary donation.
As one newscaster commented, "This is our country's tsunami," and another person called New Orleans the modern-day Pompeii.
Please get back to me--or to each other--with comments, suggestions,
questions, whatever.  By the way, does anyone know what has happened to the colleges--Xavier, Dillard, and Southern--and their students?
Peace,
Miriam 

KALAMU (AND OTHERS): taking care of our own

on the personal and the literary side, kalumu and his family seem to be stranded in houston and is asking for work

if you are in a position to help, i have one request: i need work: speaking engagements, lectures, readings, short term residencies, writing assignments. please contact me via email:
[email protected] or [email protected]

(we should also identify other members of the artistic community who are in need, perhaps some clearing house list - man the way im stumbling around makes it clear that i dont know what a clearing house is, i guess i will figure it out as i go along, much like the rest of us)

MOVEON.ORG HAS SETUP AN EMERGENCY HOUSING LINE

"to connect your empty beds with hurricane victims who desperately need a place to wait out the storm.  You can post your offer of housing (a spare room, extra bed, even a decent couch) and search for available housing online at:

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

housing is most urgently needed within reasonable driving distance (about 300 miles) of the affected areas in the Southeast, especially New Orleans

Please forward this message to anyone you know in the region who might need help"

i guess thats it for the moment, any information you think i need to know let me know
[email protected]   or   [email protected]

in struggle
arf

TUESDAY
hello world

man, new orleans flooding like that
gives me the blues
and poor mississippi ravaged like that

as a delta boy from memphis
neworleans sistercity upriver
when neworleans and the delta gets hammered like that
we always feel the fringes of the storms power

and so we got that connection and
this one hurt, i can feel it all the way
up here in newyork this one hurt
this one of the legendary big ones
the stormflood of 2005

weve taken storms & floods before
this too shall pass

but my heart goes out to neworleans
and the delta

natural disasters bring to mind the question why
pain and suffering if god is almighty

cosmic harmonies it seems, a matter of scale
when the earth shifts in search of its own harmony
people die - when universes shift planets die

there are harmonies greater than our own
songs far greater than any weve sung

we got to trust in the
great song

but my heart is in the delta this evening
condolences to those who lost life
loved ones, homes and possessions

may you have fortitude in your
struggles to come

may the gods be more
solicitious in your need

arf

going down slow: the legacy of august wilson

august wilson. 60, has inoperable liver cancer
folk say he crunching radio golf, the last play in his series
gon clean it up till the very last minute

a true artist, i have always been proud of him
and never as much as now

reminds me of that story about the 3 mountain climbers
they were about to climb the highest mountain in the world
when they were told they had been exposed to radiation
and had 24 hours to live

mountain climber 1 was asked what he was going to do
he said i will go home and be with my family, eat a good meal
mountain climber 2 was asked what he would do
he said i will make love to every woman ive ever desired

mountain climber 3 was asked what he would do
he said im gon climb this mountain

blessings to august wilson and his family during this moment
but i suspect hes okay with it
he got his work done, his ambitious creative vision
all 10 of them, got em done

and thats all an artist asks for, let me finish this one god
and i will be okay, whatever you want to do is cool w/me
just let me get this one done

thats our purpose for being on the planet - to leave a body of work
behind that speaks to the generations - it is to that purpose
that we dedicate our lives - and when your work takes x years
to get done its all a big gamble that you could so easily lose

august wilson bet and he won

and now i can hear my fellow blues devotee
singing one of the most classic blueslines:

ive had my fun if i dont ever get well no more
my health is failing me but im going down slow

i remember doris jean austin once said every book finished
makes it easier to die

the true tragedy was not that doris jean died, we all have to die
but that she didnt get but one book done before she left
(i once heard a hippie call it a graduation)

i was just thinking about mortality today
crunching rest for the weary and looking at the clock

i turned 55 just last month and im very conscious
of the clock ticking,

anything could go wrong at any moment, death, crippling injury, mind goes soft
talent goes soft - its a constant negotiation -  if i can finish rest for the weary, god
(and the hoodoo book of flowers) i will  check out easy

and hopefully i will check out as graciously
Ive lived a blessed life, august wilson says, im ready

in struggle
arf

from the tradition: highjohn the conqueror and brer rabbit come calling

hello world
(stone sticking it w/RFTW, kneedeep in the zone)

two story excerpts from Rest for the Weary
(main char, tucept jubilation highjohn, is a storyteller)

first is riff on highjohn the conqueror (as is tucept)
my version of  jackie torrences version of a piece zora neale
did in the 40s mythologizing highjohnny conqueroo

the photos are me doing my witchdoctor thing at the
medgar evers juneteenth ritual at coneyisland
for the ancestors who didnt make the middle passage

the second is tucept jubilation telling stories to neighborhood kids
during juneteenth celebration in memphis' riverside park, a riff
on stories told by the great afroam storyteller, baba george
also known as uncle remus

Highjohn de Conqueror The Way Zora (and Jackie) Tell It.

For a longtime Highjohn de Conqueror was just the name of a plant that grew wild in the marshland. It was dug and dried and carried in the hand or worn about the neck to ward off haints, disease and nightmares. Its the power root. Break any obstacle. Cause any problem to fall. After awhile that plant became so powerful it began to walk like a natural man.

Now Highjohn the human kept out of the sight of folk. Live like Legba child 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, listen good and 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

Claim this our day. Claim to know the way.

Zora say its the Conquerors voice come through clearest on Sunday morning. Say its the Conquerors worksong sustain you in the field. Say whereever 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.

Zora say he the sweetness in an apple pie and the quick cunning of breh rabbit. The cool breeze on a hot summer night and 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. Snake 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 there is a need. Say you call him and he be there before you finish saying his name.

Highjohn de Conqueror

Thats what Zora Neale said. Ask her yourself if you dont believe me.

Me and the Rabbit

How many of you know, Highjohn ask a gaggle of spellbound kids from the neighborhood, that Brer Rabbit and his crew live in the Park here.

Anklebells jangling, Highjohn walks to the edge of the stage and sits down amongst them. He drops his voice like it is a secret between them. That’s why I live here he told them because they tell me things I couldnt get nowhere else.

Now the Rabbit and them, they wary of humanfolk but sometimes late at night I settle back and close my eyes and act like Im sleeping see and soon enough old Brer Rabbit he come peeping in the door and when he see me sleeping like that he call the rest of them in and they commence to partying.

Brer Rabbit he pull out he bluesharp and Bear he play the bones, Brer Alligator he dance on he tail and Sister Coon she play she guitar bigger than she and Brer and Sister Fox commence to kicking up their heels and sometimes I get in the spirit and I forget myself and I open my eyes and the music stop and they all hide away till I remember to close my eyes again.

holding on:postnotes from a weary traveler

WEDNESDAY
links and connections: queen latifah busts a move

rudy informed me that my jazz and blues (and rap) link
wasnt working, i fixed it, but let me take this opp to
speak on another library find that kinda fits that post,

queen latifahs dana owens album in which she sings
r&b and jazz and all as only the queen could

i loved it so much i went out and bought it so
she could get props for it

that rudy be looking out for me dont he
ima stick him in rest for the weary somewhere
thats what i do w/folk that i really like

arf

MONDAY
all that jazz (and rap too)

article about how jazz and blues were treated
in their day like rap is being treated in ours

leaders today rant against gangsta rap (myself included)
like webdubois and a phillip randolph ranted against
jazz and the blues as degrading folk in their day

in the 50s martin luther king asked afroamerica not to listen
to r&b and rock&roll because it:
"plunges mens minds into degrading and immoral depths"

article says before you start dumping on rap
make sure you on the right side of history

well, devotee of jass and the blues that i am
im still down on gangsta rap,

rap itself i consider a powerful manifestation of the oral trad
but gangsta rap clearly plunges peoples minds into
degrading and immoral depths

another contemporary phenomena
that i find troublesome is the bush machine
(doctorow says our presidents define us and
he is not impressed with bushs america)

i am still astounded
that bush and the neocons are so adament against
a fundamentalist theocracy being imposed on the iraqis

but dont have any problems with trying to impose
a fundamentalist theocracy on us

(at least they say they are, they seem to have accepted
a shiite theocracy in order to delcare victory w/iraqi constitition)

they talk about iraqis political rights but a recent krugman column
made it clear that they dont mind violating ours

history is going to scratch its collective head when
it tries to figure out how bush got away with murder

arf

props for jackie wilson

ive been listening to music from the onadaga library collection
all summer and recently picked up the mr excitement boxset
of jackie wilsons work and my respect for jackie wilson has
gone from pretty much zip to 100 in the 2 hours or so it took
me to listen to that collection and read the book

ive been reading books/liner notes while listening to 100s of cds
and its been a major music education for me in so many ways

so just wanted to give jackie wilson some props
he was a helluva singer and he paid downhome dues
and probably doesnt get the respect he deserves

and so many of his works were works that took me back
to earlier days and i didnt know/remember they were his

i really enjoyed listenng to that box set
nothing like when you find a singer you thought you liked one or two
of their works and find out you like almost everything they did

okay, im outta here, i got to get todays work clocked
i can only hope that folk of the future will oneday get
the pleasure of finding my work that i got out of that boxset

later
arf

SATURDAY
holding down the fort: they shall not pass: not here

interesting article from berkley daily planet
suggesting that blackfolk are the last bastions
of liberalism,

according to some study its black majority cities
and college towns were white middleclass/intellectual liberals
still hold sway that are dwindling bastions of liberalism:

"more reminiscent of penguins clustering together around
a sinking iceberg than of a vibrant growing political movement"

sobering article, reinforcing what we already know
raising the question how do we invigorate the liberal
or as we euphemize it these days, progressive tendencies
in the american ideal/polity

i have actually put some thought into this
how do we finesse the rightwing drift of america
only thing ive come up with is it wont be easy

the rightwing has put 50 years and two generations
into planting these seeds and we only just now gearing up
its going to get much worse before the dawn

but this pendulum will swing again
with a lot of serious hard penquin work
we gon get america back on the goodfoot

long as us penquins stick together
long as we keep thinking in generations

i will have to put some thought into this
been trying to come up with one of my sharp closers
but this one i think i got to put more thought into

later
arf

FRIDAY

and you o liar, o teller of tales
o fool of a trickster
is there nothing you hold sacred
is there no line you will not cross
in search of a song . . .

i love fiction, nonfiction is easy, you put the hours in you get the product
but fiction, you put the hours in and it never quite sings
like you know it can, eventually you kinda
accept what you can get

sometimes i curse ever becoming a devotee of babajohn o killens
the great griot master of brooklyn
wasnt for babajohn i would have been some other kind of writer
some easier kind of writer,

but novels are the only thing that really challenge me, fiction is
the only thing i could have done in life that i might fail at

o but when it does work
o when you feel a work sing
if but a momentary song
there is nothing quite like it

god i love it
for all its cost me in life
i love being a writer

i love the literary life


THURSDAY

john o killens: the great griot master of brooklyn
finally getting some props

had john o killens on my mind
possibly because of this hwg thing

went online to check out his google stats
last time i did that, maybe a year ago
there were about 20 google hits for john
this time there were 100s

aint that good news
man aint that good news

john o killens not only taught me
how to write, he taught me how to be a writer

it was john o killens taught me the longgame
(what he called being a 'long ditance runner')

it was babajohn taught me how to be
a visionary

and on that note
back to work

arf

WEDNESDAY
anthology of harlem writers guild just came out

beloved harlem by bill banks, its current execdir
encased within theme of literary harlem (good game)

nice work, im impressed
only problem is that they left me out

not only was i a member for some 10 years
i was executive director for a couple of them
(a tumultuous reign to be sure but still)

they not only excommunicated me, they excommunicated
our whole hwg generation, including t mac, doris jean austin
(they honorable mentioned doris jean and spelled her name wrong)
barbara, jacqui and ashanti and adero and akua  and connorbey
and dukes and alakoye and wesley and other folk who should
have been included (and bill ford should have been in there too, on gp)

just cause we broke off and formed newren
now i feel responsible for folk being erased out the line
cause they were supporting me

no, thats not going to happen
hassle though it may be i still consider myself
master of that line

the line of o killens
(i guess i needed to be reminded of that)

the move is to finish this novel of course
(all roads lead to timbuktu)
then use higher profile to gear newren up a notch
put a little vision on it and claim african american literature

who on earth got time for all that
and write too

maybe get in touch with the old crowd while they feeling
the sting of being pushed out of the line, get them while they hot
tell them i got a plan, see if i can blow that trumpet one more time

or maybe let history take care of all that
so much work to do and so little time

arf

TUESDAY

good days work so far
so far

was thinking what irk me most about iraq
beyond the dead and the suffering and all

is that we spending lives and teasure to
protect a fundamentalist shiite thug theocracy in
the making, fighting their enemies for them
making new enemies and dying for them
to end up with another iran

this is a really really bad joke

bush actually is the bumbler we always
thought he was, spending lives like its a
fratboy game

on the bqe coming into brooklyn, big sign on
the side of a building says the worst president ever

MONDAY
hello world

sorry i been so sporadic w/my posts
novel stone kicking my ass
i work so hard to get so little it seems

somedays it feels like ima make it (end of year deadline)
somedays it feels like i dont have a chance in hell

or more likely my standards will start decaying and
i will make it but the manuscript wont be primetime
god help me i got to find another gear somewhere

okay, a couple of little quickie comments and its
back to the woodshed for rickydoc

interesting the cindy sheehan thing
how she has invigorated the antiwar movement

how those wildcard crossroads moments/actors
will impact the most pragmatic extrapolations

note the gamelanguage, destinic speculation,
gon do more of it but right now i got to go,
hellhounds on my trail

in struggle
arf

hoodoo destinywork and the geas of rickydoc

hello world
as you may know i been off the grid
still on the road so i been posting sporadic

below is a listserve post from the hoodoo way
sometimes i put them in rootsblog when they reflect
a development of my worldview, my vision

have recently it seems focused on destinywork
both in my Work and in Rest for the Weary
wherein a concern for Fa drives protagonist
tucept jubilation highjohn

and noticed an evolution of my destiny thing
happening in this post

been interesting when i see development of a position
over a period of time reflected in online work

one of my standing tensions as a contemporary black voice
is trying to work with that imperative of being a black voice
and also being an effective voice for all humanity

and i have noticed lately that my concern has expanded
from trying to shape the destiny of the black race
to incorporate the destiny and wellbeing of all humanity
while remaining first and foremost a black voice

which is something i have proposed in theory
so its interesting seeing it work itself out in my own vision and Works
the diifficulty of a lifelong black nationalist reaching for higher ground

this post also reflects the ongoing evolution of my attempts to modernize hoodoo
as a true power in the 21st century, my hoodoo prophet thing

this particular post (revised) was in response to an inquiry about what was happening
with the list, energy been low and i had pulled back as i have
done with all my online activities, in pursuit of this novel
and other reasons as laid out below:

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

hello all

i dont really know how to answer that question
thought about dropping it but there are so many strong folk
on it that it seemed a waste to let it go

as you know it flares up occasionally and its always
illuminating when it does
so i decided i would let this list do what it wanted to do
when it wanted to do it

ive personally pulled back right now because
one im concentrating on finishing my novel this year

and two i have lately felt a sense of inadequacy about my hoodoo knowledge
as moderator

most of the things that interest most hoodoos dont interest me
so my basic knowledge has holes in it

(for instance im not really interested in magical recipes, i was when i
started out, but in my hoodoo maturity i work more with my head than my hands)

but anybody who is interested in dialoguing conventional hoodoo topics please do so
and i will participate to be best of my inadequate knowledge

samesame atr related hoodoo dialogues, as an uninitiated hoodoo my
atr knowledge is also limited, i try to keep up best i can w/those limitations
because atr has become so interwoven with contemporary hoodoo
and appreciate all the atr related hoodoo knowledge you can bring to the table

and the things that do really interest me dont interest everybody else
i want to develop new skill sets for hoodoo

this vision of mine about empowering hoodoo as a spiritual/magical tradition
about  manifesting hoodoo as guide and guardian of human destiny

which is going to require new hoodoo skills, new hoodoo dialogues
(and a new hoodoo mythology)

at one point when it was clear the list energy was fading
papa ce suggested a more craftbased focus for the list

which i got no problem with but my idea of 'craft' is just so different from
everybody elses, far as im concerned it has been a craftbased discussion

i want to be a destiny player
i want human destiny to be part of our gameboard as hoodoos
the ever evolving ability to influence or shape human destiny as we see fit

that entails the development of new ideological and prophetic skills
and perhaps new magical skills, or rather the development of our
highmagic skills along with the folkmagic skills we now emphasize

folkmagic focus was good when we were a folk people but we
are not a folk people anymore and strictly folkmagic just wont get it
in the 21st century

i aint saying dump folkmagic im saying that cant be all that we about
hoodoo has to evolve if its going to be a viable 21st century power
and the power is already in our hands if only we are bold enuf to take it

but i felt like folk were getting tired of  me constantly hitting this
and instead my attempts to dialogue it were turning folk off instead
as witnessed by the steadily declining activity on the list

decided to concentrate on novel because hopefully my novel will
make my vision clear in a more complete and compelling manner
than listserve activity

i have done much thought on the dynamics of listserve activism
and it seems that the pattern is that a few folk hold conversations
while the rest of the list mostly lurks and perhaps listens with
occasional input

the problem there is that this list is so small that often we dont
maintain critical mass

its still only about 40 folk some of whom who came on early
probably could be dropped because they arent interested in
the direction that its taken

its also an awkward mix of practicing hoodoos who are intrigued by destinywork
and literary/artistic destinyworkers who are intrigued with or dabblers in hoodoo
(and a couple of wildcards im not quite sure how to define)

but there is a gap in their interests and approaches
and often the twain does not meet

my goal is to bring those two threads together and enable hoodoo destinywork
as a primary hoodoo skill of the future

the folk on this list been cherrypicked
each and every one a player of power and potential
each one somewhat interested in shaping the hoodoo future

in using our power to save and empower the blackrace and culture
to nurture and empower its generations
to ameliorate the human condition
to heal the sick, the deaf dumb and the blind
to awaken the sleeper, protect the weak and guide the strong

in being true powers on this planet
in making this a better world

ive run up on some more but it embarrasses me now to ask folk of power
to join a list that is not active

also my own knowledge inadequacies have begun to bug me
but you know hoodoo knowledge is a lifetime thing so
im trying to fill in my knowledge gaps all the time

right now my primary focus is my novel
i got to put this puppy to bed
finish that novel and i wont have to do so much
begging and cajoling to make things happen

so im only going to be so available to the world, rickydoc
is in the woodshed this year

but this list is still my heart

i have met so many wonderful spiritworkers with such great heart and power
through this list, it has given me a hoodoo community to be part of
and i have learned so much through our interactions and part of the
reason i have withdrawn is feeling the need to grow some
into the power of us as a hoodoo community

something that could not have happened before when hoodoos were
regional and isolated forces, the internet has enabled hoodoo communities
and dialogues and an evolutionary process that has only just now begun

it would behoove us to attempt to shape that process, to shape our hoodoo future
to conjure our own realities rather than allow other realities to be imposed upon us

are we or are we not conjurors

nowhere else am i challenged as i have been challenged here
and i love so much that we have been hoodoo family
and nowhere else have i been able to speak about the things that are important to me

the future of hoodoo
the cultural roles and responsibilities of hoodoo
the nature of hoodoo power and that of its practitioners
hoodoo as guide and guardian of the blackrace
hoodoo as guide and guardian of the human race
the evolution of hoodoo as one of the worlds great spiritual/magical traditions
the evolution of atr as one of the worlds great religious traditions
the destiny of the human race

and so forth along those lines

woodshed and inadequacies aside
ima try to put a little more energy into the list i guess
(if you know of folk who would fit the hoodoo/destiny focus
of this list please invite them to join it, with the understanding
that it is a very tight list and only a very few folk gon fit the profile)

i appreciate gedenibos call even though he messing w/folks head
or maybe its highjohnny conqueroo fucking w/folk
they both love that trickster knowledge

in spirit and struggle
rickydoc

rootsbag0801: american sanctioned torture: the death of general mowhoush and the graduation of john garang: a luta continua: jebal barkal still stands

WEDNESDAY

torture and the american way

i really dont understand how the american people
can condone torture, and even torture unto death
by american forces and not demand accountability

unsettling washingtonpost article on the death of iraqi general mowhoush
who refused to yield to american torturers and was handed
from army interrogators to cia interrogators for more intense treatment
and when he still continued to resist them, he was handed over
to a secret iraqi cia team for even more brutal beatings and
finally stuffed into a sleeping bag and suffocated by american
soldier sitting on his chest

if you cant read the washpost article (subscription) you can
get a redacted reading here but the post article lays out the
details of the case

this is truly intolerable to know that american forces have
employed torture so routinely and we do nothing about it

it is a tragedy

two recent articles on higher education

one from village voice on 'crises' in
african american studies programs

and nyt (subscription) article on
the graduation rate at historical black colleges
low of course, and how hbcs are addresssing it

education has been perhaps the single most
effective tool of african american empowerment

a pulse upon which
we must keep our fingers

TUESDAY

two part article ( one and two) on the ford family
a colorful memphis political dynasty 
of which harold jr is the latest flagbearer

its unfortunate that harold jr aint the fireburner
his daddy was - harold is running for the senate
so hes triangulated himself w/questionable positions

hard not to wish him luck cause he a south memphis boy
but hes been a disappointment to me

harold jr, you needs a hoodoo advisor on your team
somebody with vision, call me

MONDAY

hello everybody
ive been on the road all july
that traveling bluesman bit
gets old quickly these days

tragedy for the sudan in the death of garang
one cannot help but wonder if the sudanese
did him in somehow but i just dont see how
they could get uganda to go along with it

this is such a tragedy, just when things
seemed to be going well

fortunately garang just put a replacement in place
one salvir kiir mayardit, who while not as politically adept
as garang will hopefully grow into the role

a quick update for the uninformed
garang was the leader of the southern sudanese
a sudanese army officer sent south in the 70s
to quell an uprising of southern soldiers, instead
joined it and became its leader

peace was declared once before and garangs forces folded
into the national army but it faltered when the north
tried to impose sharia on the christian and animist south

ethic tensions between arab north and black south come into play
as does the discovery of oil in the south

for 21 years garang fought the north to a standstill and
was recently installed as vice president of the sudan
and leader of the south

it has been a brutal war with millions dead mostly from
the south and mostly from displacement and disease

there have been factional conflicts between southern forces
the arabs have been accused of enslaving blacks
and the south is mortally undeveloped,

in 6 years the south will be allowed to vote on whether it
will remain part of the sudan or withdraw from it
(i am not convinced they will be allowed this vote, not as
long as oil is primarily in the south)

and we eagerly await investigations into the crash
inquiring minds want to know

because of the islamic/christian factor, the southern sudan
has gotten more support from the christian right than it
has the african american network - is that not a travesty

as we move into the post garang phase of struggle
hopefully that will change

jebal barkal is a mountain that played a holy role in the ancient
blacklands of nubia, kush, the sudan and upper egypt

the old tales (and the destruction of black civilization by chancelor williams)
say as long as jebal barkal stands the blacks will prevail

jebal barkal, like much of the ancient black holyground, is buried now
under the waters of the ashan dam

still standing, like blackfolk, under the most adverse conditions
but still standing

my prayers are with the new leadership of the southern sudan
the gods be with them

a luta continua

rightwing has had a string of victories lately

the energy bill, bolton, and the teflon
supreme court pick is a done deal,

(its not really a defeat though, forcing
bush to appoint a stealth candidate was about
the best we could hope for - the perils of defense)

hopefully the stars will move into a more benign alignment

in the meantime keep the faith - took us a minute
to recognize the full magnitude of this challenge
but we on it now

when it was a matter of sniggering at the rightwings
efforts to validate creationism that was one thing

but when folk dying in iraq thats entirely another

when they control all three branches of government and
and using that control fair or foul to further dominate us
and establish a one party state  thats entirely another

and we got bush and company dismantling the
great society programs that are life and death
for so many of us (socsec, medicare, environment, etc)

and constantly skewing income distrubtion towards the rich
and damn not only the poor but all the unrich -

ruthlessly dumping on the little people and convincing them
to drink their own kool aid - this is no longer a joke

and whats with the christian right, why this huge effort to impose
their fundamentalist beliefs on the rest of us

i man do not want to live under a rightwing theocracy
not in america i dont, my children either,

this is becoming a problem that we can no longer afford to indulge
it will take generations of hardwork to put america on the good foot again

im starting to get an attitude
so i will stop now and let this one cool down
this is a battle we got to fight cool
cold calm and collected

later
arf

well maybe not gone just yet

saw where the only black member
of harvards board, one conrad k. harper resigned when
said board voted a raise for president summers
said he thought summers should resign and if he wont i will

said after summers problems with blacks, nativeamericans and women
he "saw a pattern" he could no longer support

surprise surprise: the deck is stacked

and is anybody really surprised
that the pentagon has been accused
by its own army prosecuters of
stacking the deck against the
gitmo bay defendants

or that the army investigation of said
allegations cleared the army of
all charges

duuuhhh