baobab society presentation: destinywork and the longgame: oneworld

hello world, did my esf baobab society presentation
it didnt go over that well, i mean it was okay, im always okay

but i didnt dazzle them, you can always tell

knew the speech wasnt right for them when i walked in
i cut out most of the black oriented stuff because it was truly multiculti
and the black stuff would have bored them, i kept some but most i cut

that didnt leave much

then the political components didnt go over well i could tell
they wanted motivational rah rah and i call myself raising issues

that would make them think but they werent in the mood for political

i could tell immediately upon walking in
tried to give it a different flavor while doing it but that just made it raggedy

i would edit it down here to reflect final speech but im not feeling it
not one more moment of worktime ont his piece, im moving on

also i preached at them when it was a more initimate environment
i should have adopted a more conversational tone, ohwell live and learn

my trouble dont last storywork would have blown them away
but i was too eager to reprise the convocation victory

flops are part of being a mack, sometime the magic dont show
you got through the motions but the magic aint there

ever more resolved to say no mas
wasnt worth the anxiety, the sense of failure

i disappointed them - why go out of my way to chase the blues

got the community service flag waved at me again today and i reluctantly said yes
but ima call back and pull out - i got to focus - its so hard to tell folk no - no mas

that will be my mantra henceforth - no mas

ohwell, moving on
two of my endgame obligations out of the way

last hoodoo lit class today (good discussion on the cattlekilling)
and the baobab society presentation - check

one good thing - got my hoodoo divination chain from papa gede nibo bey lakwa

got it a couple of days ago actually but was hesitant about opening it
i carried it around in the mailer for a couple of days, waiting until the right moment

i figured this was it, give me some fortitude for this presentation
so i did and it did, its a wonderful work, just wonderful,

i threw and i threw and i threw
it will encourage me to throw

it will encourage me to get
the hoodoo book of flowers done

this chain gon be a tribal legacy
the 1st hoodoo divination chain

good looking out papa gede nibo bey lakwa
i owe you (a rdoc legbawork, got to get to the studio)

in the name of the conqueror
rdoc

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i am flowers of the delta clan flowers and the line of o killens.  I am mganga muau.  high hoodoo and babagriot of the hoodoo way

(conch - lord legba, its is i rickydoc rootdoctor ask that the gate be opened - that the work be done  - this is an invocation to struggle – for these are trying times)

well well esf and the baobob society, finally made it, missed it a couple of times
thanks for asking me, repeatedly - my apologies for standing you up before

because i am really touched and honored that you asked me, oh i remember esf in the house, this the wildbunch – and having that kind of tribal relationship with students of color means a lot to me - esf in the house

so then the question, what to say, I already gave you my best lines at convocation
im thinking what is the moment, about to go out into the world and seek your fortune

find your destiny

only thing certain is that life will knock you around some
best thing I can say is never give up, that’s the only thing fatal, giving up

when times get hard, just keep on keeping on

this is an interesting moment in your life, the whole world yours to shape and mold
and these are particularly interesting times for people of color

between the imperial presidency, the rightwing ascendancy and iraq we seem
to be in a couldn’t happen in america moment

emperor say he dont need no clothes
say who you gon believe, me or your lying eyes

o these been some real interesting
historical times

and one of the forces shaping america is its evolving multicultural reality: its your world
globalization putting pressure on everybody to step up to the plate

there are many issues of the 21^st century that are particular to people of color

saw an interview where this korean american was talking about how she felt when she heard the v tech guy was asian and how she hoped this wouldnt further stereotype asians as asocial and I

could relate cause the 1^st thing I think when I hear stuff like this is hope he wasnt black
as you know whatever one black do reflect on all blacks

I suspect the arabs get it whenever there is a terrorist on the loose

seem like everytime one do something wrong we all get the whats wrong w/you people look

representing, whether you want to or not – representing, all for one and one for all
representing sometime work against you, sometime it work for you

a certain pride when one of ours achieve
its not he or she, its we did that

folk be trying to do the individual thing but on a certain level we always representing
in particular you achievers, you counterelites, what dubios called the talented 10th

achievers - you who would be leaders of your people –heros and sheros all

achievers -carryiong the hopes and dreams of all the folk whove come before you
the dreams of your family, your tribe and all humanity

achievers got responsibilities other folk dont

for you and i, we have been blessed
and there are certain responsibilities
that come with blessings of this sort

we talking leadership now

now in order to represent well, to be good at heroing, at leadership
it behoove you to be a force in the world,

to practice what I call destinywork,
what I call the longgame – shaping generations

longgame strategies are ideological orchestrations designed to shape generations, to train us into the kind of people we want most to be - this is the essence of conjuration - conduct yourself as you aspire to be and you shall.

for instance aids - stopping the scourge is the quickgame, using the magnitude of this hammer to make good health practices a cultural trait is the long , then we will have turned adversity into strength and turned the trick – otherwise its just a tragedy

winning seats for progressive politicians in 2008 is the quickgame,
de legitimizing the rightwing impulse in american politics is the long

using the 2008 effort to institutionalize our power and make us better more sophisticated players in the electoral system is the long – training ourselves in power is the long

illuminating the american soul is the long, calling on it to live up to the dream of what america could be, that’s the longgame, shaping souls

i aspire to be a man of power
I wanna be a hero, a leader of my people

wanna to walk w/harriet tubman, with martin and malcolm
and zora neale and ida b, I want to walk w/those who did what they could
\wanna hit a straight lick with a crooked stick

as a wouldbe leader and man of power
i am systematically concerned w/the ethics of power

got to be exemplary, I cant be no leader out for himself
out to make a buck, power for powers sake

leadership mean more than that

mean commitment and sacrifice, mean taking care of the people
with everything you got – guide and guardian

i wanna be a hero, i wanna represent

it like to broke my heart when I missed that baobob commitment
cause that aint representing, that aint being the model of struggle

that I want to be to you
my word is bond, my word is iron

I tell you ima do something ima do it
i wanna be a hero and heroing dont come easy

so just what is effective activism in the 21st century
just what constitutes effective change in this world

in ideological competition its not the strongest force that wins but the most innovative ones, fighting todays battles with tomorrows strategies

folk still think of mobilization as 60s style mobilization - antiwar marches, online petitions, letters to the editor, etc - the makedo strategies of the weak and powerless - but more info based approaches possibly more appropriate to the historical moment

the most effective mobilization of late has been that of the rightwing ascendancy. which forged new infobased techniques of shaping public opinion and mobilizing their forces (wasnt for bush and iraq they would still be going strong).

wehavent even mastered that model yetmuch less come up with something new, something aint been seen before, thats your job, I got your back, something that evolves and trains us as we struggle into the people we want our generations to be

what do i get instead. - reparations – begging by any other name is still begging.

how did begging, waiting for the powers that be to give us something get to be the primary strategy of the 21^st century, whatever happened to self determination - reparations fails the test of effective longgame,. longgame should train us to be the people we need to be

reparations will train us only to be better beggars. is this the best post-most-favorite-minority strategy we can come up with. is this the best strategy we got for the 21^st century – begging - give me a break blackpeople, work with me

everywhere in the world you got blackpeople they are on the bottom of their respective societies, everywhere, that aint nobodys fault but ours, somehow someway we must transform into strengths the weaknesses that have crippled us in global competition

an ongoing cultural process, deciding which cultural traits are functional and worth nurturing
which are counterproductive and must be left behind

never thought theyd fire imus but lo and behold they did
i felt sorry for the young sisters he dissed but hopefully they dismiss the ravings of a fool

but you know o regulators the only reason folk like this think they can call us any old thing
is cause we do it ourselves, bitches niggers and hos - all the time

all cultures are simultaneously dynamic and entropic, a constantly fluctuating blend of strengths and weaknesses. – everyday we shape our culture

through its cultural products, manifesting into it what it needs to transcend its challenges and finesse its weaknesses - the wars over gangster rap and mercenary, escuse me urban literature, are wars over our cultural traits, our destiny, our fate, our fa

imus aint the problem, imus is sidegame - so we got imus out - now if we can just get those knucklehead gangstas to straighten up and fly right we be good to go, got to keep insisting its just as wrong for blacks to perpetuate this as it is for whites

and racisim?

crying about racism is like a sailor cursing the sea because its wet – surely by now we have factored racism into our strategic posture - no, we got to be on it, we have to take responsibility for our own condition and quit blaming other folk for it, that dont get us nowhere fast

whats really critical is that we have to define our challenges well, they really have to address the stresses of 21^st century engagement or our energies will be diverted into sidegame that doesnt move us on the board

health education and welfare is pretty consistent, as is economic security and the various empowerments - economic, political, social, cultural and my personal favorite, community empowerment  – globalization and political polarization, etc etc, but the fundamental issue of the 21^st century will be racial identity in a multicultural reality

racial identity - as you well know its a ticklish question
too much is a problem, as is too little

folk want to jack up obama, claim he aint black enough and lord know politicians are heartbreakers by definition, boy want to be president he probably gon have to make compromises I wont approve of

but obama could easily have claimed to be multicultural, or cablinasian or whatever passing is called these days – and blackfolk always been a mixed breed, cant have folk turning their back on the blackness, on the blessed onedrop rule,

obama came down on the blackhand side and he doing it with the dignity, boy seem to be looking for a new groove, ima slide him some slack, give him room to be a politician, and see how he dance - show me what you got son

but that multiculti background of his is so 21^st century, and just what we need to get right with the world, obama would be really interesting after bush, globalization constantly shrinking this world of ours into a oneworld multiculti reality

remain exclusively tribal you putting yourself outside of the historical flow
but you cant turn your back on your people either cause they suffering

everywhere in the world you got blackpeople they are on the bottom of their respective societies
everywhere - cant blame everywhere on nobody but ourselves, somehow someway we must
transform the weaknesses that have crippled us in global competition

and if the leaders and the achievers abandon the people, the people going down
stranded on somebodys rooftop with the water rising

babagriot david walkers words as good today as when he said them during the great gitting up morning, "our greatest happiness shall consist of working for the salvation of our whole body. when this is accomplished a burst of glory will shine upon you which will indeed astonish you and the world."

how do we as overachievers maintain allegiance to both our two families,
both tribe and all humanity,

by equating our struggles with the struggle for human dignity

by taking responsibility not only for our own struggle and our own destiny, but for the destiny of all peoples and all creation great and small- by positioning ourselves as guide and guardian of humanitys destiny – of humanitys eternal struggle to evolve, to be better.to be, greater than it is

by showing america there is a better way
the world and fundamentalists everywhere

there is a better way

for in the final analysis the battle will be one of grace
which is the better way

when you come to the crossroads always take the highroad
always strive to be better than you are.

your thoughts, your actions, your institutions, your world
it is clear to the old rootdoctor that our struggle must be as much spiritual as it is political

got to be a better way

we remain forever vigilant, we maintain an ever evolving, multifaceted strategic posture - some moves bold and strong, some hidden in shadows, some waiting silently in the wings.

masters of strategy: the key that opens all locks

how does one live a life rich in grace and comfort that is still yet one of absolute and lifelong commitment to struggle - what babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn, called being a longdistance runner. what i call the longgame

never give up children, that’s the only thing fatal
you take your punches you keep on pushing

yes weve come such a long such a long long way – but we still got so very far to go

and when the hardtimes come, they always do, I want you to hold on, you must be strong
you fight the battle nobody else could win

(conch) nobody else could win

listen o traveler to the geas of rickydoc and
i will give you a mission greater than your adversity

masters of the longgame
i will give you a destiny

awaken the sleeper, protect the weak, guide the strong
and when you need me you call me i will come

i am rickydoc

that is all
this spell is done