In the Face of a Dark Orange Cloud
This year was the first of my entire adult working-life to date where I was given the day off for Martin Luther King Jr Day. I nearly started dancing at work when we got the email. To every other coworker of mine, it was probably just a nice three-day weekend, one more day to relax with family and hang out before the madness of the week floods back into our lives. For me, it meant so much more. Whether or not my employer realized it, I took this day as one in which I would be able to celebrate my blackness, my African-American heritage, and an excellent example of Black excellence and I was grateful for the opportunity (not to say that I don't celebrate it every other day, I was just able to do it with more gusto today). This celebration was especially welcome considering the pumpkin-hued Presidential inauguration just one short week away.
A friend and I attended an event in the city entitled, MLK Now 2017 and at the Riverside Church in New York City on the Westside. It was free as well which was also great. MLK Now's lineup for the day included some big names such as Uzo Aduba, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwicke, Q-Tip, Michelle Williams, and Andre Holland to name a few. Each entertainer performed a section, or the entirety of, a historic speech concerning Black America. Works from Audre Lorde, Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Michelle Obama, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mohammad Ali, and of course Dr. King, were recited or read. These orations were interspersed with musical selections, one of which included a Nina Simone piece, the song chosen was questionable in comparison to the multiplicity of other options but I wasn't complaining. At one point, a panel was convened on what to do if one wants to get into activism and working with the community for the cause of Black America. This was a welcome surprise. In short, the entire program was long but marvelous.
There was a lot to takeaway from the program so I’ll go over some of the points most worth taking home here:
First and foremost, activism, community organization, and knowledge production should be highest on everyone's list of priorities in light of the upcoming Trump administration.
Joshua Bennet, a poet and English professor performed an original work that was enough to move the entire crowd with its inspiration and resilience though it was originally written for 6th graders in the wake of the shooting of Mike Brown. He reminded us to hold our heads up, to demand respect at all costs, in every way, every day, at all times. He told us to love ourselves the way this country refuses to and make sure we uplift each other with a sense of our own importance. Because yes, your Black life does matter.
Jamilah Lemieux, VP and social media guru advised us on our media and news consumption. Make sure you keep aware of:
One part of the event I truly appreciated was the acknowledgement of Black women specifically. It seems so often that Black women are buried under the weight and strain of the struggle of Black men. We are ignored and left to fend for ourselves in the face of the "greater struggle for Black America." This program made sure to include the struggle of African-American women in the overall battle for freedom. Including ad libs of his own every so often while reciting a portion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists, Omari Hardwicke reminded us that the struggle for equality is not only among races, but also among genders. Education should not be based on gender. It should be based on merit, work ethic, and academic prowess. Speaking on the subject of women further was Olivia Wilde who performed Aunty Michelle (Obama)’s speech to the DNC the day after we learned Trump likes to grab women’s pussys, with or without permission. While I will admit, I found their choice of famous face to deliver the speech a bit surprising, I was no less moved by the words she spoke. Aunty Michelle told us to get up and get to it, there is work to be done. Why you might ask? Because when they go low, we go high.
They also included work from Audre Lorde, performed by Michelle Williams, who spoke on why we should not be afraid to speak up and speak out. Featuring such inspirational words from a queer Black female activist, an even more intersectional, controversial sect of women ignored by the mainstream only furthers my point that this event aimed to touch as many intersectional Black identities as possible and I fully support it. This program is a shining example, with the exception of its longevity, for anyone wishing have something similar.
Gentrification and the plight of the poor were also given a nod. In particular, one part of a speech by Malcolm X entitled, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” as performed by Andre Holland, told us that yes, you might move out of Black neighborhoods and keep “moving on up” but sooner or later, you’ll look around where all your new site neighbors used to live and they’ll be all gone and you’ll be there by your lonesome. Gentrification, as X was well aware, tends to be only for those of a specific skin pigment.
In closing, the fact that the speeches from the 1960s are still relevant today, is incredibly distressing. We know change is a slow-moving animal, but to be this low, to have gained so much but still have so much more to go, is truly unsettling. This is the generation that can and should break the cyclical and systemic oppression.
I’d apologize for the longevity of this piece but I’d be lying to you because I’m not sorry at all. The event was utterly amazing. To see a recorded lifestream of the event as well as hear the incredibly talented FM Supreme, a Chicago activist and artist, perform one of the most powerful spoken word pieces I have ever heard, click on this link.
A friend and I attended an event in the city entitled, MLK Now 2017 and at the Riverside Church in New York City on the Westside. It was free as well which was also great. MLK Now's lineup for the day included some big names such as Uzo Aduba, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwicke, Q-Tip, Michelle Williams, and Andre Holland to name a few. Each entertainer performed a section, or the entirety of, a historic speech concerning Black America. Works from Audre Lorde, Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Michelle Obama, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mohammad Ali, and of course Dr. King, were recited or read. These orations were interspersed with musical selections, one of which included a Nina Simone piece, the song chosen was questionable in comparison to the multiplicity of other options but I wasn't complaining. At one point, a panel was convened on what to do if one wants to get into activism and working with the community for the cause of Black America. This was a welcome surprise. In short, the entire program was long but marvelous.
There was a lot to takeaway from the program so I’ll go over some of the points most worth taking home here:
First and foremost, activism, community organization, and knowledge production should be highest on everyone's list of priorities in light of the upcoming Trump administration.
Joshua Bennet, a poet and English professor performed an original work that was enough to move the entire crowd with its inspiration and resilience though it was originally written for 6th graders in the wake of the shooting of Mike Brown. He reminded us to hold our heads up, to demand respect at all costs, in every way, every day, at all times. He told us to love ourselves the way this country refuses to and make sure we uplift each other with a sense of our own importance. Because yes, your Black life does matter.
Jamilah Lemieux, VP and social media guru advised us on our media and news consumption. Make sure you keep aware of:
- What is being said to you?
- What is being said about you?
- Who is it saying this to you?
- Where is it coming from?
- Is the source credible?
- Who owns that newspaper? Who owns that news network?
One part of the event I truly appreciated was the acknowledgement of Black women specifically. It seems so often that Black women are buried under the weight and strain of the struggle of Black men. We are ignored and left to fend for ourselves in the face of the "greater struggle for Black America." This program made sure to include the struggle of African-American women in the overall battle for freedom. Including ad libs of his own every so often while reciting a portion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists, Omari Hardwicke reminded us that the struggle for equality is not only among races, but also among genders. Education should not be based on gender. It should be based on merit, work ethic, and academic prowess. Speaking on the subject of women further was Olivia Wilde who performed Aunty Michelle (Obama)’s speech to the DNC the day after we learned Trump likes to grab women’s pussys, with or without permission. While I will admit, I found their choice of famous face to deliver the speech a bit surprising, I was no less moved by the words she spoke. Aunty Michelle told us to get up and get to it, there is work to be done. Why you might ask? Because when they go low, we go high.
They also included work from Audre Lorde, performed by Michelle Williams, who spoke on why we should not be afraid to speak up and speak out. Featuring such inspirational words from a queer Black female activist, an even more intersectional, controversial sect of women ignored by the mainstream only furthers my point that this event aimed to touch as many intersectional Black identities as possible and I fully support it. This program is a shining example, with the exception of its longevity, for anyone wishing have something similar.
Gentrification and the plight of the poor were also given a nod. In particular, one part of a speech by Malcolm X entitled, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” as performed by Andre Holland, told us that yes, you might move out of Black neighborhoods and keep “moving on up” but sooner or later, you’ll look around where all your new site neighbors used to live and they’ll be all gone and you’ll be there by your lonesome. Gentrification, as X was well aware, tends to be only for those of a specific skin pigment.
In closing, the fact that the speeches from the 1960s are still relevant today, is incredibly distressing. We know change is a slow-moving animal, but to be this low, to have gained so much but still have so much more to go, is truly unsettling. This is the generation that can and should break the cyclical and systemic oppression.
I’d apologize for the longevity of this piece but I’d be lying to you because I’m not sorry at all. The event was utterly amazing. To see a recorded lifestream of the event as well as hear the incredibly talented FM Supreme, a Chicago activist and artist, perform one of the most powerful spoken word pieces I have ever heard, click on this link.
Comments
Post a Comment