rickydocs state of black america 2008

hello world, gave my baobab society presentation last night
it was well received, i give good presentations and i appreciate

them asking me,

not quite the presentation, you always riff it during the speech itself, but ive already put enuf noveltime into it, im outta here

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rickydocs state of black america 2008   

(conch: lord legba open this gate, it is i rickydoc rootdoctor ask that this gate be open this work be done - in the name of the conqueror let it be so)

well, the spirit & essence dinner, finally made it, missed it last time, told erin i owed her, told her id always be available to the baobab society, told her you want me you call me, didnt actually think she would –

i am however honored that you’ve again asked me to speak at your dinner, im moved that you’ve asked me back - i appreciate being appreciated - you call me i will come

I like doing black history month presentations because its my opp to speak as a black voice, since i too am subject to the tensions i speak of in this presentation and generally try to speak for all -

so this has basically become my annual state of black america address, and i dont think you can speak about the state of black america in 2008 without looking at the campaign of barack obama

how bout that obama, my boy racking it up aint he, you know you proud of him
now a large part of his success is that he got the skilz, he a serious politician

but a large part of what he doing is because the time is right for him, lets look
at america today, and the nature of african american struggle in the 21st century

the premise of this presentation is that the old paradigms of african american struggle, the old definitions and strategies, have played themselves out  - the premise is that we need new paradigms of struggle to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

the movement looking kinda shaky these days - folk giving up, going for self - look at the condition of blackfolk today and its hard not to despair - aids, bush, gangsters, the black family stressed

a shift in focus from external to internal dynamics that has made for infinitely more nuanced struggle – not only are blackfolk drifting but black solidarity considered quaint these days

o these are singularly hardtimes but we have known hardtimes before – our problems have always been insurmountable - slavery. southern peonage. urban sojourners. - our struggle has always been epic and we have always overcome.

it is only when you remind yourself of just how far we've come that you regain perspective - we have come to understand as did the angolans when they won their colonial war, a luta continua - the struggle continues

the ongoing struggle for survival and empowerment that has been waged by the black people of the americas and the world - it has spanned continents, cultures and centuries,. it evolves according to our concrete conditions and the successes and failures of preceding phases. - it is the struggle that shapes us as a people, it is the struggle we must shape

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

each generation has to define itself, has to determine for itself what the nature of struggle is for it

what i would like to do this evening is ask what is the nature of struggle for you, what strategic issues does your generation have to address - and how are they manifested in the campaign of barack obama

this campaign, this movement has illuminated so many of the issues that will define african american struggle in the 21st century - the most salient of which is racial identity in a multiculti reality  - what does to be black, to be african american, in the multi culti reality of the 21st century:

the goal: survival as a people - we are only 10% of the population and no longer most favorite minority, our culture on one hand is strong, on the other hand its totally dysfunctional, we could actually disappear as a people

the biggest strategic challenge we face in the 21s century is surviving as a distinct people and culture - in the evolving uniworld culture of the future some cultures will make the cut, some will not  - 

european culture will continue to have agency, other cultures of the world, asian, arabic, latin, etc etc, staking their ground - what ground will afroam (and african) culture stake

will we evolve and prosper or will we disappear as a people and culture as substantial black populations in south america or arabia have done (and still doing in the sudan where blackfolk claim they notblack war on blacks who do)

used to be a slave population in arabia as large as the americas, what happen to all those blackfolk - they claim they wasn’t black until eventually they werent – they disappeared, like the blacks of mexico - gone – will we too disappear as a people & culture

or will we evolve and build a culture so powerful that other folk in the world identify with it and it becomes one of the definitive cultures of the future oneworld mix -

we must all over the world manifest a vibrant black culture of illumination and empowerment so appealing that black identity is valued and folk are proud to consider themselves black

i remember in my lifetime when african american culture was respected around the world, i remember when we were the model for liberation struggles worldwide – now what does the world think of african american culture, they think we all thugs, criminals, bitches and hoes - and whiney too.  doesnt take long for immigrants to this country to start dissing blackfolk like natives

but thats on us, that aint on them, its a function of how we carry ourselves, we have to each and every one of us take individual responsibility for our condition

cant be blaming other folk for our condition.  wherever in the world you got blackfolk they are on the bottom of their respective societies, that aint nobodys fault but ours, somehow someway we must transform into strengths the weaknesses that have crippled us in global competition - we got to re Work our souls

or just give up and accept our status as the worlds bottomfeeders forever and that
aint gon fly – i aint having it – the old conjureman just will not have it

1st thing we got to do is accept responsibility for our
condition, we have been our own worst enemies

sitting around crying about racism is like a sailor cursing the sea because its wet, surely by now
we have factored racism into our strategic posture - crying about it is a waste of time

i can relate to a lot of what bill cosby be saying, its just that bill dont understand that complicity
in our condition is cross class

we middleclass strivers we aint been correct either - when we value flash over substance, when we just save ourselves and dont worry about the rest of the race - when we dont understand that we are only as strong as our weakest links

we achievers and cultural custodians got particular responsibilities - we got leadership responsibilities

the definition of blackness is constantly evolving, in my lifetime i been colored, negro, black and african american, i think we still trying to figure it out - whatever the definition of black folk is in the 21st century, its got to be inclusive

we want to grow our numbers, no lessen them, this is critical for positioning in the multiculti future

now obama, he could have claimed to be cablinasion or something, whatever passing is called these days, but no, obama defined himself as black - oldchool - we always been a bastard race, who aint got whitefolk, latinos, nativeamericans, asians in the family tree

african american is a cultural construct, always had blackfolk look white and would tear the heart out of anybody try to deny them their blackness, then you got clarence thomas, all blackfolk aint black

blackness is a cultural construct, toni morrison say once upon a time we were forced to be black, now we choose to be black.

and in the multi culti future we want to retain the allegiance of blackfolk choosing to be proudly black, and of mixed folk like obama,

why on earth would we want to give up the one drop rule just when it gives us an advantage in the multi culti reality of the future -  when we want to expand our genepool and our numbers

im my heart of heart im still a black nationalist, still a child of the 60s - i was there in the temple the night king say he been to the mountaintop, when he say i might not get there with you but i know that we as a people will get to the promiseland - feel like ive been in the struggle all my life

im what they use to call a race man, southern black bougie that feel like we got a responsibility to take care of the community, to take care of the people

who feel like like harriet tubman when she escaped slavery and went back for the rest of her family, you cant just save yourself, whats the point of that 

(look, you right down the street from harriets grave in auborn, make sure you make that pilgrimage while you here)

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."

but i call myself a sophisticated black nationalist, who understand that the old definition of black nationalism wont work in the 21st century, the world has become too interconnected

remain exclusively tribal and you putting yourself outside of the historical flow - but you cant turn your back on your people either cause they still suffering – water still rising

we have to figure out how we serve both our families, both blackfolk and all humanity - because serving humanity is the strong way to go - and the only way to go when you only 10% of the population and you dont want to be marginalized - got to have allies, got to define your positions so they represent the widest body of folk, the most powerful progressive coalitions

black activists have always known you cant just serve blackpeople, once something get tagged as exclusively black it will be rejected by the mainstream and even other minorities, baracks trouble reaching hispanic and asian voters is reflective of that tension, that competition

he has to prove to them that he wont marginalize them in favor of blackfolk – got to serve everybody if you want to run 21st century game – and those tensions between our communities, we got to work them out

black activists have always backed progressive policies that help everybody w/the understanding that help blackfolk too - like establishing public education during reconstruction, like promoting living wages and universal health care, like resisting school vouchers, cause you cant just give up on public education

obama represent a new breed of black politician, when jessie jackson said obama wasnt black enough for not going to jena, jessie's son, jesse jr., obamas national co-chair, responded with an op-ed article in the chicago sun-times titled "you're wrong on obama, dad”

the new black politicians, in order to appeal to whites and others and still represent - folk like deval of mass and booker of newjersey, they have sold themselves as managers not as blacks - and of course they still have to be better than anybody else, thats one rule thats still operative, black achievers still have to be twice as good as anybody else

obama didnt get where he is by being black, if anything he got there in spite of being black, he got there by being better than anybody else at what he do, because he did his homework, because he running a campaign without any room for error

look at the innovative way hes used the internet to get his word out, to raise money
to inspire and engage legions of folk new to politic - folk like you

he has outorganized and outmaneuvered the competition on every hand, its interesting that folk now trying to say hes just words and not  doer - cause when you look at his campaigns effectiveness and theirs, look to me like he the doer too

and im proud of my people for understanding the nature of the game, and giving him the room he need to do his thing,

i remember when media was questioning whether obama was black enough, well i guess we showed them, 80, 90% support w/o demanding he be overtly black, this political sophistication tickle me

this is indicative of the sophistication we need to bring to the 21st century
the ability to see the longgame, to be players on the hoodoo board of destiny

in the words of babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn "our struggle for liberation was indeed a long long distance race, for we are out for nothing short of winning the entire human race and we were up against a formidable foe, and to win this race would require planning, pacing, discipline and stamina, and a belief in our ability to win the long protracted struggle. . . .we must construct one hundred year plans.  two hundred year plans.  we must construct institutions for generations yet unborn .. ."

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

we have to forge a people capable of systematically responding to changes in their political environment in both a timely and effective manner  - stopping the aids scourge through monogamy, education, healthcare, etc, is the quickgame - using a cultural hammer of this magnitude to make good health practice a cultural trait in our communities is the longgame

winning seats and beating the republicans in 2008 is the quickgame, delegitimizing 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 - 

utlimately thats what obama relying on - illuminating the american soul - providing a better way, to
an america hungry for one

how do we maintain allegiance to both our two families, blackfolk and all humanity?
by equating the black struggle with the struggle for human dignity   -  obama

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  - obama

by positioning ourselves as guide and guardian of humanitys destiny –
of humanity eternal struggle to evolve, to be better, to be greater than it is

by showing america there is a better way
by showing 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

this is how struggle will play itself out in the 21st century
this is what will get us out of this historical trickbag we have found ourselves in

this the finesse, this whats gon put us ahead of the curve
what hollywood calls the magical negro, yall know the magical negro right

the one thats always giving whitefolks soul in the movies, teaching them how to feel - bagger vance,
the green mile, independence day, pretty much any role sidneyportier, queenlatifah, morganfreeman
ever played

lot of blackfolk want to put the magical negro trope down, but there is something very powerful in that
classic american trope that we need to ride, just like obama doing - weve always put soul in the mix

weve always operated as americas conscious and consciousness
the canary in the mineshaft of american democracy

but you cant be no magical negro, cant represent no better way
unless you striving always to be greater than you are

cant be waddling around in the mud if you want to play destinygames

and whats truly significant here is how much of his support comes from the millennials,
thats you, thats your generation, you funky multi cultis

you college students, you overachievers and would be counterelites,
what dubois called the talented tenth, what im gon call the committed

carrying the hopes and dreams of all the folk, all the ancestors whove come before you
all the dreams of your familes that have come together in you,

the dreams of your community, 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

when you look at barack obama life, it has been a career of service
community organizer, civilrights lawyer, politician, presidential aspirant

a rough and dicey job by the way, with a lot of compromises if he gets it
there will be times his policy decisions will break our hearts but thats the way it plays

dont never give your heart to no politician,
your head maybe but not your heart

but politicians they got their role to play, everybody dont play the same role - everybody dont struggle the same and we have to respect that - we a nation of activists and there is more than enuf struggle to go around

and wont everybody be committed either, like dubois talented 10th you
can only expect about 1 in 10 folk in any group to be committed, to feel that

sense of responsibility to the rest of us, folk like the baobab society

you have no idea how proud i am of you, how moved i am that youve asked me to speak again
you have no idea how much I value the special relationship i got with the esf crew,

that tribal relationship with students of color on campus is important to me

because without you we are nothing, you are our dream, you are our future
you are our legacy, buddy of mine, sekou sundiata once said the slaves

dreamed us, when they were able to climb into their own space, they dreamed us up
and my generation, we dreamed of you  -  and its okay too that everybody aint committed,

cant begrude folk wanting to live their lives and raise families, thats the pure essence of struggle, but for those of us who do want to help the race, who do want to make a difference - to make a contribution,

we have choices to make - some choices i assume you have already made, if the
environment wasnt important to you i suspect you wouldnt be here

but the major challenge of the committed life is to figure out how does one live a life rich in grace, comfort and achievement that is still yet one of absolute and lifelong commitment to struggle - what my mentor, babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn, called being a longdistance runner.

being able to sustain struggle throughout your lifetime, avoiding burnout, maintaining an
effective strategic posture, staying on the cutting edge

and taking the longview, what i call the longgame - working in generations

cast your vision young hoodoo as far as you can see, determine the challenges the tribe
will face, prepare the tribal soul to meet them

o i have become comfortable with the glacial pace of social change.
when you’ve gone through as may phase of struggle as i have, you know that

phases of struggle come and go.  you win some you lose some   -  you keep on struggling
you note the lessons you make your adjustments    you keep on struggling

every day and every way, relentless, focused, smart and strategic
building institutions, shaping generations

then when you come to those crossroads moments, when destiny lies
in the choice of the moment, moments like this one, this very moment, you ready

to stand up and be counted, got resources to bring to the table

and i would that you leave here this evening renewed     in struggle
refreshed and regenerated      in struggle     in life

strong in your power and confident in the victory of all that is good,
of all that makes us human, of all that makes us care

weve come a long way you and i,   weve climbed some difficult mountains
but we still got so very far to go

and only thing certain is that life will knock you around some
and the only thing fatal   is giving up

and when the hardtimes come, and they always do, i want you to keep
on keeping on     want you to hold on   you must be strong     you fight the battles friend

nobody else could win  (bluesharp closure)
nobody else could win

i am mythmaker, a weaver of conjure and a worker of storm a caster of bones and tomorrows truth i make myth myth makes tomorrow as i define so shall it be for you see my friends i am a conjuror a dread delta hoodoo with twisted left hands and seared mouthharp lungs come to call through fierce arrogant hunger to me o mighty race for i too have had visions, i too have seen the promised land

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

i say we consider the security and prosperity of our generations the prime directive. i say we calm, cool and collected,. 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

the ol conjureman ultimate goal is that blackfolk be so strong in spirit, so powerful a people that no matter where in the world, or the cosmos, we find ourselves in the foreseeable and unforeseeable future - that we not only survive and prosper as a race and culture but that we are illuminated and empowered -  forces of righteousness and the evolution of the human condition

i ask only that you be the great and glorious people you
were meant to be, the illuminated children of the sun

humanitys living ancestors and god true chosen

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

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

in the name of the conqueror
that is all, this spell is done

Comments

[rod]

On the one hand I appreciate the sentiment. On the other I'm a little embarrassed by the shoutout. Don't expect to see my name when I read rootsblog. Especially when my few words aren't deep. But as Adam said, keep the faith, baby!