A Song of Freedom (for Asif Khan)

From the splintered nations of Africa

through London and the endless rows

of houses, repetitive as sin, orphans 

of empire barged along the Avon 

in the wake of restored galleons, symbols 

of our mothers’ grief, our fathers’ shame

on a river that forgave, but would never forget

our tortured questions of birthright that rise 

with vespers from Bristol Cathedral 

where newly ordained curates stroll

across College Green to embrace 

children in starched dresses and suits 

under the gaze of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, 

books tucked under his arm, in this city of refuge.

***

A poem for the writers from the African Diaspora, who participated in the Yardstick Festival: Lorna Goodison, Tanya Shirley, Lemn Sissay, Warsan Shire, Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Nick Makoha, Leeto Thale, Jamal Safari, Emman Egya Sule, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Dean Atta, Chioma Okereke, and Dee Jarrett Macauley;  the organizer, Asif Khan and his team: Yoma Smith, David Danderson, Bertel Martin, Sam Downie, and Jon Craig; and Faruk Choudhury, the Lord Mayor of Bristol, a city of refuge.

A Celebration of the Life and Work of Dr. Olive Lewin, O.J.

***
The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support.

Yardstick Festival Authors: Dean Atta

I Am Nobody's Nigger

Rappers when you use the word "nigger" remember that's one of the last words Stephen Lawrence heard, so don't tell me it's a reclaimed word.

I am nobody's nigger
So please, let my ancestors rest in peace
Not turn in their graves in Jamaica plantations
Or the watery graves of the slave trade 
Thrown overboard into middle passage 
Just for insurance claims
They were chained up on a boat
As many as they could manage and stay afloat
Stripped of dignity and all hope 
Awaiting their masters and European names
But the sick and the injured were dead weight to toss
And Lloyds of London would cover that cost.

I am nobody's nigger
So you can tell Weezy and Drake 
That they made a mistake 
I am nobody's nigger now
So you can tell Kanye and Jigga 
I am not a nigger... in Paris
I'm not a nigger in London
I'm not a nigger in New York
I'm not a nigger in Kingston
I'm not a nigger in Accra
Or a nigger with attitude in Compton
Cos "I don't wanna be called yo nigga"

How were you raised on Public Enemy
And still became your own worst enemy?
You killed Hip Hop and resurrected headless zombies 
That can't think for themselves or see where they're going
Or quench the blood lust because there's no blood flowing
In their hearts, just in the streets 
They don't give a damn as long as they eating
Their hearts ain't beating, they're cold as ice (bling)
Because they would put money over everything
Money over self respect or self esteem
Or empowering the youth to follow their dreams
Stacking paper cos it's greater than love it seems
Call me "nigger" cos you're scared of what "brother" means

To know that we share something unspeakable
To know that as high as we rise we are not seen as equal
To know that racism is institutional thinking
And that "nigger" is the last word you heard before a lynching.

Yardstick Festival Authors: Lemn Sissay

Having spent 18 years as a child of the state in children's homes and foster care, you could say that I'm an expert on the subject, and in being an expert, I want to let you know that being an expert does in no way make you right in light of the truth.

If you're in care, legally the government is your parent, loco parentis. Margaret Thatcher was my mother. (Laughter) Let's not talk about breastfeeding. (Laughter)

Harry Potter was a foster child. Pip from "Great Expectations" was adopted; Superman was a foster child; Cinderella was a foster child; Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, was fostered and institutionalized; Batman was orphaned; Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman's "Northern Lights" was fostered; Jane Eyre, adopted; Roald Dahl's James from "James and the Giant Peach;" Matilda; Moses -- Moses! (Laughter) Moses! (Laughter) -- the boys in Michael Morpurgo's "Friend or Foe;" Alem in Benjamin Zephaniah's "Refugee Boy;" Luke Skywalker -- Luke Skywalker! (Laughter) -- Oliver Twist; Cassia in "The Concubine of Shanghai" by Hong Ying; Celie in Alice Walker's "The Color Purple." All of these great fictional characters, all of them who were hurt by their condition, all of them who spawned thousands of other books and other films, all of them were fostered, adopted or orphaned. It seems that writers know that the child outside of family reflects on what family truly is more than what it promotes itself to be. That is, they also use extraordinary skills to deal with extraordinary situations on a daily basis.

How have we not made the connection? And why have we not made the connection, between — How has that happened? — between these incredible characters of popular culture and religions, and the fostered, adopted or orphaned child in our midst? It's not our pity that they need. It's our respect. I know famous musicians, I know actors and film stars and millionaires and novelists and top lawyers and television executives and magazine editors and national journalists and dustbinmen and hairdressers, all who were looked after children, fostered, adopted or orphaned, and many of them grow into their adult lives in fear of speaking of their background, as if it may somehow weaken their standing in the foreground, as if it were somehow Kryptonite, as if it were a time bomb strapped on the inside. Children in care, who've had a life in care, deserve the right to own and live the memory of their own childhood. It is that simple.

My own mother — and I should say this here — she same to this country in the late '60s, and she was, you know, she found herself pregnant, as women did in the late '60s. You know what I mean? They found themselves pregnant. And she sort of, she had no idea of the context in which she'd landed.

In the 1960s -- I should give you some context -- in the 1960s, if you were pregnant and you were single, you were seen as a threat to the community. You were separated from your family by the state. You were separated from your family and placed into mother and baby homes. You were appointed a social worker. The adoptive parents were lined up. It was the primary purpose of the social worker, the aim, to get the woman at her most vulnerable time in her entire life, to sign the adoption papers. So the adoption papers were signed. The mother and baby's homes were often run by nuns. The adoption papers were signed, the child was given to the adoptive parents, and the mother shipped back to her community to say that she'd been on a little break. A little break. A little break. The first secret of shame for a woman for being a woman, "a little break." The adoption process took, like, a matter of months, so it was a closed shop, you know, sealed deal, an industrious, utilitarian solution: the government, the farmer, the adopting parents, the consumer, the mother, the earth, and the child, the crop.

It's kind of easy to patronize the past, to forego our responsibilities in the present. What happened then is a direct reflection of what is happening now. Everybody believed themselves to be doing the right thing by God and by the state for the big society, fast-tracking adoption.

So anyway, she comes here, 1967, she's pregnant, and she comes from Ethiopia that was celebrating its own jubilee at the time under the Emperor Haile Selassie, and she lands months before the Enoch Powell speech, the "Rivers of Blood" speech. She lands months before the Beatles release "The White Album," months before Martin Luther King was killed. It was a summer of love if you were white. If you were black, it was a summer of hate. So she goes from Oxford, she's sent to the north of England to a mother and baby home, and appointed a social worker. It's her plan. You know, I have to say this in the Houses -- It's her plan to have me fostered for a short period of time while she studies. But the social worker, he had a different agenda. He found the foster parents, and he said to them, "Treat this as an adoption. He's yours forever. His name is Norman." (Laughter) Norman! (Laughter) Norman!

So they took me. I was a message, they said. I was a sign from God, they said. I was Norman Mark Greenwood. Now, for the next 11 years, all I know is that this woman, this birth woman, should have her eyes scratched out for not signing the adoption papers. She was an evil woman too selfish to sign, so I spent those 11 years kneeling and praying. I tried praying. I swear I tried praying. "God, can I have a bike for Christmas?" But I would always answer myself, "Yes, of course you can." (Laughter) And then I was supposed to determine whether that was the voice of God or it was the voice of the Devil. And it turns out I've got the Devil inside of me. Who knew? (Laughter)

So anyway, two years sort of passed, and they had a child of their own, and then another two years passed, and they had another child of their own, and then another time passed and they had another child that they called an accident, which I thought was an unusual name. (Laughter) And I was on the cusp of, sort of, adolescence, so I was starting to take biscuits from the tin without asking. I was starting to stay out a little bit late, etc., etc. Now, in their religiosity, in their naivete, my mom and dad, which I believed them to be forever, as they said they were, my mom and dad conceived that I had the Devil inside of me.

And what -- I should say this here, because this is how they engineered my leaving. They sat me at a table, my foster mom, and she said to me, "You don't love us, do you?" At 11 years old. They've had three other children. I'm the fourth. The third was an accident.

And I said, "Yeah, of course I do." Because you do.

My foster mother asked me to go away to think about love and what it is and to read the Scriptures and to come back tomorrow and give my most honest and truthful answer. So this was an opportunity. If they were asking me whether I loved them or not, then I mustn't love them, which led me to the miracle of thought that I thought they wanted me to get to. "I will ask God for forgiveness and His light will shine through me to them. How fantastic." This was an opportunity. The theology was perfect, the timing unquestionable, and the answer as honest as a sinner could get.

"I mustn't love you," I said to them. "But I will ask God for forgiveness."

"Because you don't love us, Norman, clearly you've chosen your path."

Twenty-four hours later, my social worker, this strange man who used to visit me every couple of months, he's waiting for me in the car as I say goodbye to my parents. I didn't say goodbye to anybody, not my mother, my father, my sisters, my brothers, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my grandparents, nobody. On the way to the children's home, I started to ask myself, "What's happened to me?" It's not that I'd had the rug pulled from beneath me as much as the entire floor had been taken away.

When I got to the — For the next four, five years, I was held in four different children's homes. On the third children's home, at 15, I started to rebel, and what I did was, I got three tins of paint, Airfix paint that you use for models, and I was -- it was a big children's home, big Victorian children's home -- and I was in a little turret at the top of it, and I poured them, red, yellow and green, the colors of Africa, down the tiles. You couldn't see it from the street, because the home was surrounded by beech trees.

For doing this, I was incarcerated for a year in an assessment center which was actually a remand center. It was a virtual prison for young people.

By the way, years later, my social worker said that I should never have been put in there. I wasn't charged for anything. I hadn't done anything wrong. But because I had no family to inquire about me, they could do anything to me.

I'm 17 years old, and they had a padded cell. They would march me down corridors in last-size order. They -- I was put in a dormitory with a confirmed Nazi sympathizer. All of the staff were ex-police -- interesting -- and ex-probation officers. The man who ran it was an ex-army officer. Every time I had a visit by a person who I did not know who would feed me grapes, once every three months, I was strip-searched. That home was full of young boys who were on remand for things like murder. And this was the preparation that I was being given after 17 years as a child of the state.

I have to tell this story. I have to tell it, because there was no one to put two and two together.

I slowly became aware that I knew nobody that knew me for longer than a year. See, that's what family does. It gives you reference points. I'm not defining a good family from a bad family. I'm just saying that you know when your birthday is by virtue of the fact that somebody tells you when your birthday is, a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, a grandparent. It matters to someone, and therefore it matters to you. Understand, I was 14 years old, tucked away in myself, into myself, and I wasn't touched either, physically touched.

I'm reporting back. I'm reporting back simply to say that when I left the children's home I had two things that I wanted to do. One was to find my family, and the other was to write poetry. In creativity I saw light. In the imagination I saw the endless possibility of life, the endless truth, the permanent creation of reality, the place where anger was an expression in the search for love, a place where dysfunction is a true reaction to untruth.

I've just got to say it to you all: I found all of my family in my adult life. I spent all of my adult life finding them, and I've now got a fully dysfunctional family just like everybody else.

But I'm reporting back to you to say quite simply that you can define how strong a democracy is by how its government treats its child. I don't mean children. I mean the child of the state. Thanks very much. It's been an honor. (Applause) (Applause)

Haiku for Lemn Sissay

The African dream

of flying home to Addis,

Lifted us tonight.

***

Dispatches from the Yardstick Festival: Lorna Goodison

"Let's just end this discussion about postcolonial literature," said Lorna Goodison, effectively dismantling entire departments in Caribbean studies.. I'm learning so much from her (again). Even her offhand remarks are gold.  

THE UNIA MARCUS GARVEY AWARDS CEREMONY

On August 17th in 1887, Jamaica's first National Hero was born. Marcus Mosiah Garvey would later emerge on the world stage as the founder of the largest Pan-African mass movement ever. The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was founded in the city of Kingston in 1914 and became the platform from which Garvey commanded the attention of the world.  The confraternity launched a plethora of programs and ventures designed to inspire the race toward self-reliance and nationhood.  From agriculture and education to business and the arts, Garvey intended an African empire that would meet the challenge of the world industrially and socially while lending its protection to Africa's sons and daughters at home and abroad.
On  August 17th 2013, in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the birth of our founder, the UNIA is proud to host the fourth annual Marcus Garvey Awards dinner and ceremony honoring ordinary Jamaicans who are accomplishing extraordinary things.  Join us at 7 p.m. on the East Lawns of Devon House in honour of our first National Hero in this our 50th year of independence as we recognize Jamaicans who have given unselfishly to improve the lives of their fellow countrymen.

All Proceeds to Charity
We invite you and your company to help bring change by supporting the social intervention programs established by the UNIA including literacy classes, African martial arts training, and a free music school. These programs are conducted at the organization’s Garvey House located inthe West Kingston community where Marcus Garvey lived and first established the UNIA. 
Our other community outreach activities include:
GARVEY HOUSE Kingston Restoration Project- Refurbishing UNIA HQ in downtown Kingston.
UNIA MUSIC & LITERACY PROGRAM – Free reading and music lessons 
GARVEYISM REHABILITATION OUTREACH (GRO) – educational prison program.
MCPHERSON HALFWAY HOME – Training house for young men out of state institutions.
Event Details: 
LOCATION: The East Lawns, Devon House
DATE:  Saturday 17th August, 2013  Marcus Garvey (Jamaica’s first National Hero’s Birthday)
DRESS: Formal.  
COCKTAILS: 7pm   
AWARD CEREMONY: 8 p.m.
PERFORMERS: Surprise
AFRICAN CUISINE MENU: Cameroon, Gambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Congo, Tanzania
SPECIAL GUESTS: Private Sector, Government Agencies, African Ambassadors, Entertainers
TICKETS/COSTS: $5000 Single. $8000 Couples
AWARDS: Agriculture, Arts, Business, Education, Industry, Journalism, Music, Social, Trade
Past Performers: Queen Ifrica Etana, Tarrus Riley, Tony Rebel, Protoge, Jimmy Tucker, Perfect, Warrior King, Sharon Tucker, African Drum....Ensemble....

Register for this event now at : http://uniamarcusgarveyawards2013-atom.eventbrite.com


Your kind support is greatly appreciated as we work together for a better Jamaica.

***
The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..

My Books @Yardstick Festival

A few of my books  (and a couple in which my work appears) on display at the Yardstick Festival:

Dub Wise

Xango Music

Uncle Obadiah and theAlien

Who’s Your Daddy?

Benjamin, my son

The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories

Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa 

Visit my author page for the other books: 

Geoffrey Philp

***

Lineup for the Yardstick Festival

Inshallah, I will be joining these talented writers for four days of literary bacchanalia at the Yardstick Literary Festival on June 27-30, 2013.
Lorna Goodison,  Tanya Shirley,  Geoffrey Philp  Lemn Sissay  Warsan Shire  Mukoma Wa Ngugi  Nick Makoha  Leeto Thale  Jamal Safari  Emman Egya Sule  Nii Ayikwei Parkes  Dean Atta  Chioma Okereke 

If you are anywhere in the British Isles (or even if you're not!), come and full-joy (as I&I would say) four days of poetry, storytelling and all round good times:  http://www.yardstick.org.uk/2013-programme/#.Uccl_fmshzI

***

Now Accepting Entries: Jamaica 51 Essay Competition

The Consulate General of Jamaica in Miami is now accepting entries for its Annual Essay Competition to commemorate Jamaica’s Independence 51st Anniversary.

The competition is open to all Jamaican children, first and second generation, residing in Florida State, and forms part of the Independence celebrations across the Florida communities.

Eligible students can choose from a selection of topics related to the island’s cultural heritage some of which include community leadership, entertainment, education, history, cultural heritage, geography and national development.

Applicants must be between five and eighteen years of age, normally resident in the State of Florida, and submit entries in one of three age categories -  five to eight (5-8); nine to twelve (9-12); and thirteen to eighteen (13-18).

For more information, please follow this link:
J51 Essay Competition - Consulate General of Jamaica:

'via Blog this'

***

The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:
http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..

Call for Papers: Islands in the Mainstream: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Caribbean Rhetoric

Proposals are sought from scholars, teachers, practitioners, and researchers in rhetoric, communication, literature, Caribbean studies, indigenous studies, diaspora studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and the visual and performing arts for contributions that explore aspects of Caribbean rhetorical expression from an interdisciplinary perspective. In particular, original essays are sought that will contribute to and fortify emerging work in the study of Caribbean rhetoric by envisioning the scope and dimension of what such work might entail. Such essays will engage, challenge, and move beyond the traditional perimeter of rhetorical analysis, encompassing the epistemic, pedagogical, and public work that occurs in a broad range of Caribbean texts: oral/aural, visual, scribal, tactile, digital, environmental, supernatural, etc.. Essays about the anglophone, francophone, and hispanophone Caribbean are strongly encouraged, though authors are asked to submit their proposals (and their essays, if accepted) in English, except in the case of specialized terms, phrases, and concepts (annotated accordingly).

The first of its kind to specifically consider the rhetoric of Caribbean cultural production from interdisciplinary perspectives, this collection will provide scholars, teachers, and students with innovative approaches for discussing the range of motives, histories, and social realities that necessitate inquiry and inclusion in rhetorical studies. Similarly, it will contribute to Caribbean studies and other disciplines represented in the volume by providing a dynamic set of robust rhetorical theories for reading Caribbean culture. In addition to defining theoretical parameters for reading Caribbean rhetoric and exploring areas of practice for further research, contributors will be encouraged to consider the pedagogical implications of their ideas. This can include developing curricula (introductory, intermediate, or advanced courses in rhetorical education among undergraduate writing majors, or courses that respond to particular writing-intensive programs, writing centers, or Writing Across the Curriculum), community literacy/publishing initiatives (ongoing or envisioned), or research studies (archival, ethnographic, qualitative, quantitative, etc.) on projects that engage students on matters of Caribbean import. Essays that are collaboratively authored by faculty and students and/or faculty and professionals are particularly welcome.

While the following list is not exhaustive, possible chapters may fall within these broad categories:

• Carnival Theatre
• Dance/Performance Art
• Digital Humanities/New Media/Technology/Broadcast Media
• Fine Art/Photography
• Food
• Geopolitics
• Historiography/Interrogations of Historical Narratives
• Labor Union/National/Political Parties
• Literature
• Music
• National/Sub-Supranational/Transnational
• Oratory/Public Address
• Pedagogy
• Postcolonial/Neocolonial
• Public Archives/Public Memory/Concepts of Vernacular Memory
• Race(d) Relations
• Surveillance
• Vernacular Bodies/Love, Sex, Sexualities

Please submit a proposal, approximately 500 words, that discusses the proposed chapter to the editor, Kevin A. Browne (browne@syr.edu). Questions and queries are welcome. The deadline for proposal submissions is November 1, 2013.

Celebrating Juneteenth 2013

We've freed our bodies, now it's time to free our minds. 
'"We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind."  ~Marcus Garvey.
Juneteenth Facts
***
The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey 
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support..

Interview With Jamaica Diaspora on Blog Talk Radio: Geoffrey Philp

Listen to internet radio with Jamaican Diaspora on BlogTalkRadio

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jamaican-diaspora-/2013/06/18/geoffrey-philp

***
The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..