Gunpowder Plots, Firecrackers, & Flags
Friday, July 4, 2008 at 01:54PM Good afternoon b-boys and b-girls.
On this day, every year, two trains of thought depart from my cerebral platform. These twin locomotives parallel the concept of the Double Consciousness of Black Americans introduced to the world by W.E.B. Du Bois, and head in opposite directions. One is of the tradition of Thomas Jefferson, the eloquent, somewhat hypocritical (slave owner), and allegedly racially mixed Third President of the United States.
…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States…
These words make a 232 year celebration of the declared independence of the United States of America just and necessary. They are a landmark in the history of all oppressed and free peoples; a foundation upon which many have been inspired to assert their unique identities as nation-states and to buckle the yoke of injustice and imperialism. However, the continued oppression of people of color, those of African decent in particular, propel another train from the same platform at light speed. This vehicle is best embodied by the words of another American Patriot, an orator that 76 years later forced listeners on an Independence day in antebellum America to focus on another evident truth about the democracy in which they lived.
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.
–Frederick Douglass, July 4, 1852.
Are times so different now? America has become the type of imperial power from which Jefferson and his colleagues sought succession. How many black-op political assassinations occurred in democracies throughout the Third World for the protection of our economic interests? Our nation is spending 1.5 billion dollars a month on a war that has done nothing more than cause us to occupy another sovereign nation; an oil producing nation whose fields were given to Halliburton along with a blank check. We have soaring gas prices to show for it. Despite the faults of this country, its intended ideals remain the same: the America that Jefferson envisioned through rebellion, the America that Douglass attempted to awake through dissent.
We find ourselves in 2008 on the potential eve of a season of change. Imagine July 4, 2009, a year where the Presidential address on Independence Day may be an African-American. On such a day, it may be possible for both the words of both Jefferson and Douglass to be realized, at least partially. The election of Senator Barack Obama will not eradicate racial prejudice, poverty, or the disenfranchisement of oppressed peoples within this country. What it would provide, however, is a potential catalyst for lasting and sustainable change. In the years, decades, and centuries to follow, his words and deeds would be weighed and reflected upon in the same manner as the two men I have mentioned in this blog, amongst the company of other historical heavyweights. I pray that in the upcoming months that Senator Obama is able to fulfill the potential that we all see in him.
What I hope for is a future where my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can celebrate The Fourth of July with a sense of pride and ownership that do not require a raging internal battle. How can anyone stand astride two moving trains and not be lost to division.
To the promise of change.
Inshallah,
Timothy William Prolific Veit Jones
Huey P. Newton on activism & homophobia
Monday, February 18, 2008 at 04:27PM (re-posted from the blog of Timothy Prolific Jones)
I was on Okayplayer (www.okayplayer.com) earlier on the activist boards, and came across an interesting thread. The top of the thread was "Can you be revolutionary AND homophobic." It sparked quite a discussion. The poster included an essay by Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton on the topics of homophobia and sexism in the activist ranks. It is easy to sweep our own inequities and flaws under the rug (I too am sometimes guilty of this) when it comes to checking certain types of behaviour, however true progress is inhibited by living and behaving in a manner that encourages or perpetuates oppression and prejudice. This essay was published 40 years ago, yet it still rings true today. In our small community of progressives & activists, it is sad to see that we have not progressed much in this area.
Peep the essay, and reply with your thoughts, if you have any. I'll include my own thoughts as replies.
Uhuru,
Pro
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Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion. I say " whatever your insecurities are" because as we very well know, sometimes our first instinct is to want to hit a homosexual in the mouth, and want a woman to be quiet. We want to hit a homosexual in the mouth because we are afraid that we might be homosexual; and we want to hit the women or shut her up because we are afraid that she might castrate us, or take the nuts that we might not have to start with.
We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude that the White racists use against our people because they are Black and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover something that he does not have. So you're some kind of a threat to him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established norm.
Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say that we recognize the women's right to be free. We have not said much about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the most oppressed people in the society. And what made them homosexual? Perhaps it's a phenomenon that I don't understand entirely. Some people say that it is the decadence of capitalism. I don't know if that is the case; I rather doubt it. But whatever the case is, we know that homosexuality is a fact that exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: that is, a person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants.
That is not endorsing things in homosexuality that we wouldn't view as revolutionary. But there is nothing to say that a homosexual cannot also be a revolutionary. And maybe I'm now injecting some of my prejudice by saying that "even a homosexual can be a revolutionary." Quite the contrary, maybe a homosexual could be the most revolutionary. When we have revolutionary conferences, rallies, and demonstrations, there should be full participation of the gay liberation movement and the women's liberation movement. Some groups might be more revolutionary than others. We should not use the actions of a few to say that they are all reactionary or counterrevolutionary, because they are not. We should deal with the factions just as we deal with any other group or party that claims to be revolutionary. We should try to judge, somehow, whether they are operating in a sincere revolutionary fashion and from a really oppressed situation. (And we will grant that if they are women they are probably oppressed.) If they do things that are unrevolutionary or counterrevolutionary, then criticize that action. If we feel that the group in spirit means to be revolutionary in practice, but they make mistakes in interpretation of the revolutionary philosophy, or they do not understand the dialectics of the social forces in operation, we should criticize that and not criticize them because they are women trying to be free. And the same is true for homosexuals. We should never say a whole movement is dishonest when in fact they are trying to be honest. They are just making honest mistakes. Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women's liberation front and gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies, and we need as many allies as possible.
We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have about homosexuality. When I say "insecurities," I mean the fear that they are some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this fear. Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity in the American male, homosexuality might produce certain hang-ups in us. I have hang-ups myself about male homosexuality. But on the other hand, I have no hang-up about female homosexuality. And that is a phenomenon in itself. I think it is probably because male homosexuality is a threat to me and female homosexuality is not. We should be careful about using those terms that might turn our friends off. The terms "faggot" and "punk" should be deleted from our vocabulary, and especially we should not attach names normally designed for homosexuals to men who are enemies of the people, such as Nixon or Mitchell. Homosexuals are not enemies of the people.
We should try to form a working coalition with the gay liberation and women's liberation groups. We must always handle social forces in the most appropriate manner.
Huey Newton, "A Letter From Huey To The Revolutionary Brothers And Sisters About the Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements," The Black Panther 21 Aug. 1970: 5."