Black Arts Movement West at Laney College, Saturday, February 7, all day, free/donations accepted

BAM update: San Quentin Prison Art arrives at Laney College for Black Arts Movement 50th Anniversary Celebration, Feb. 7

Left to Right: Carol Newborg of the William James Prison Art Project, Black Arts Movement co-founder, poet/playwright Marvin X and Dr. Leslee Stradford, Laney College Professor of Art and curator of the exhibit produced by the BAM/Post News Group Isaiah 61 Art and Literature Project.
photo Nicole

Cornel West in Oakland, Jan. 31, First Congregational Church, 7:30

 

Cornel West supports Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour. Save the date: Black Arts Movement 50th Anniversary Celebration, Saturday, Feb. 7, 10AM thru 8pm, Laney College.

GAME by Augusta Lee Collins

Augusta Lee Collins will perform at the Black Arts Movement 50th Anniversary Celebration at Laney College, Feb. 7, 2015, 10am thru 8pm Free Admission/donations accepted

Marvin X's fable of the Black Bird

The Black Bird—A Fable By 

Marvin X

1968

The cage door was always open, but the little bird wouldn't come out. He loved the cage, he had been in it so long. Other birds would fly into the white house and beg the little bird to come out, but he wouldn't. Sad, the other birds would fly away home to paradise, their hearts white with anger and sorrow for their lost brother who loved the cage. "He is so hard-headed, "the other birds said on their way home, "but we will get him out, we will get him out...." He was a smart bird. Nobody could tell him anything—except his master.

He could sing too. When the master sang, the little bird sang. He knew all of the master's songs by heart. He didn't like to sing bird songs. From all around, people came to see him do tricks. The little bird knew a lot of tricks the master had trained him to do when visitors came to the white house. He was a good house pet. The little bird was so good his master always left his cage door open; he knew the little bird had forgotten what freedom was. "Come, fly away to freedom with us," the other birds would say. But the little bird didn't want to go for self!  "I like being in a cage," he said. "You birds are the crazy ones—get away from me!!!"

For days and days, the black bird would sit in the cage looking at himself in the mirror. "He is such a beautiful black bird," all the visitors said. "Yes," the master said, "I have a good bird." To himself, the master said, "This little black fool has made me rich doing tricks and he's too dumb to fly away to freedom—what a stupid bird!"

The master would feed the bird crumbs from his table. The little bird loved the crumbs so much he wouldn't eat anything else, not even when the other birds sneaked into the master's house and offered the little bird some righteous soulfood.

One day the master's house caught on fire. Nobody knew how the fire started, not even the little black bird. The master fought hard to put the fire out, but there were too many flames, so he ran outside, leaving the little black bird behind. The flames grew bigger and bigger, but the little black bird just sat in his cage. Maybe he was waiting for his master to return....

Then, suddenly, a friendly bird flew into the burning white house, "Black bird!" he yelled, "don't you know the house is on fire??? Hurry—come fly away with me!" "But I love my cage," the black bird cried, "I want to stay!"

"You want to burn," said the friendly bird. The friendly bird went into the cage, grabbed the black bird and flew away from the burning house. "Bye, master," the black bird yelled as he passed his master who was crying in the yard. "Bye, master," the little bird called out again—he was on his way home.

from The Wisdom of Plato Negro, parables/fables, by Marvin X, Black Bird Press, Berkeley.

(c)1968, 2007 

The Black Bird is Marvin X's classic fable written in 1968. Many children were taught this story by conscious parents, including the parents of  journalist Wanda Sabir of the San Francisco Bayview newspaper.

Marvin X speaks at the Black Caucus of California Community Colleges Conference, Merritt College

Marvin X will speak on the Origins of the Black Arts Movement at the BCCCC Conference, February 13-15, 2015, Merritt College, Oakland. 

BAM bandleader/poet Marvin X performing with David Murray, Earl Davis and the BAM Poet's Choir and Arkestra at the Malcolm X Jazz/Art Festival, May 17, 2014. On February 6, Marvin X will read at San Francisco City Hall's Black History Event. Feb. 7, BAM will celebrate its 50th Anniversary at Laney College. Call 510-200-4164 for more information.

Linguist Chomsky on Obama's Drone Program: The Most Extreme Terrorist Campaign of Modern Times!

Published on

Monday, January 19, 2015

by

Common Dreams

Noam Chomsky: Obama's Drone Program 'The Most Extreme Terrorist Campaign of Modern Times'

Famed linguist takes aim at western hypocrisy on terrorism.

by

Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Noam Chomsky speaking in May, 2014.  (Photo:  Chatham House/fickr/cc)

World-renowned linguist and scholar Noam Chomsky has criticized what he sees as Western hypocrisy following the recent terror attacks in Paris and the idea that there are two kinds of terrorism: "theirs versus ours."
In an op-ed published Monday at CNN.com, Chomsky notes how the deadly attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a supermarket last week sparked millions to demonstrate under the banner "I am Charlie" and prompted inquiries "into the roots of these shocking assaults in Islamic culture and exploring ways to counter the murderous wave of Islamic terrorism without sacrificing our values."

No such inquiry into western culture and Christianity came from Anders Breivik's 2011 attack in Norway that killed scores of people.

Nor did NATO's 1999 missile strike on Serbian state television headquarters that killed 16 journalists spark "Je Suis Charlie"-like demonstrations. In fact, Chomsky writes, that attack was lauded by U.S. officials.

That civil rights lawyer Floyd Abrams described the Charlie Hebdo attack as "the most threatening assault on journalism in living memory," is not surprising, Chomsky writes, when one understands "'living memory,' a category carefully constructed to include Their crimes against us while scrupulously excluding Our crimes against them—the latter not crimes but noble defense of the highest values, sometimes inadvertently flawed."

Other omissions of attacks on journalists noted by Chomsky: Israel's assault on Gaza this summer whose casualties included many journalists, and the dozens of journalists in Honduras that have been killed since the coup in 2009.

Offering further proof of what he describes as western hypocrisy towards terrorism, Chomsky takes at aim at Obama's drone program, which he describes as "the most extreme terrorist campaign of modern times."

It "target[s] people suspected of perhaps intending to harm us some day, and any unfortunates who happen to be nearby," he writes.