Pretty Politico

Goodness Gracious!

I am having a positive day. After a week of struggles and tests, possibilities are begining to reveal themselves. I woke up this morning thinking about my dad singing Shirley Caesar's gospel anthem "He's Working it Out". It came at an interesting time where many things have been testing my tenacity and faith. I am a very spiritual person and I believe that I can feel energy changing around me. I am excited for blessings that may not be known to me at this present time--but I know they are coming. It seems that so many signs are pointing me toward renewed faith and a focus on letting go. I am currently reading a great book by Gabrielle Bernstein, the founder of Her Future. I learned so much during her "Knowing Your Worth" workshop with the founder of Daily Worth. I am already experiencing fantastic results after applying some of their basic principles and focusing on the idea that "the universe has my back".

Another cool thing happened today! I just found out that I am going to be Fly Girl of the Week on one of my absolute FAVORITE blogs. Check me and the other FGOTW's out on theFLY blog!

Gift of words

My father has mastered the art of recitation. Daddy posesses an amazing ability to memorize poems, speeches, prayer quotes, and witticisms. I love the wise words he shares with me. I will always cherish every poem, prayer, and song he has exposed me to. In many ways, words are one of his greatest gifts to me. He has written his own beautiful poetry and opened my mind to the expressions of others. I'll never forget his stunning version of Paul Revere's ride, a dramatic bedtime story that brought a smile to my young face. I'll always remember being scared by his tales of Edgar Allen Poe. If it were not for Dad, I would not have known Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare, Phillyis Wheatley, and Langston Hughes by the time I was four.

Today, I thought of him and his words. My mind held an image of him teaching me a poem by Amiri Baraka when I was thirteen. I remember it like it was yesterday. If it weren't for my Papa, I would not know the Beats. If it weren't for Daddy, my world would be so much smaller. I am forever grateful for him and the passion he shares with me to this day.

Here is one of the poems he recited for me. One of the poems that I will never forget. It seems to me that the African American narrative tradition is taking new meaning, but the core spirit that drives it is going strong.

 
 [My beautiful parents on their wedding day in 1974]

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

Lately, I’ve become accustomed to the way
The ground opens up and envelopes me
Each time I go out to walk the dog.
Or the broad edged silly music the wind
Makes when I run for a bus…

Things have come to that.

And now, each night I count the stars.
And each night I get the same number.
And when they will not come to be counted,
I count the holes they leave.

Nobody sings anymore.

And then last night I tiptoed up
To my daughter’s room and heard her
Talking to someone, and when I opened
The door, there was no one there…
Only she on her knees, peeking into

Her own clasped hands

–Amiri Baraka, 1961

Calling em' out!

Public intellectual and scholar Tim Wise's Facebook status inspired me to laugh out loud yesterday. Speak brother, speak:

 

"Tim Wise thinks he understands the right-wing anger over the President's education speech & the importance of hard work in school. See, they prefer the last President--the one who bragged at Yale commencement about being a lazy, mediocre C student, a...nd told them how that was ok, because you could be mediocre and still become President. And they love Hannity and Limbaugh: both of whom found college too hard and quit..."

 

I'm proud of Tim Wise for calling these neo-conartists out on their #$*%. It is seriously time that they choke on the Kool-Aid they have been drinking and realize that their privilege has nothing to do with merit and everything do with their status in a race/class/dominant sex/colonialist driven caste system.

 

My blood boils thinking about all of these same individuals claiming that Obama lacks experience and qualifications in order to feed into racist, fear-driven stereotypes.

 

I love Tim Wise for laying it all out.

 

My only regret is that he didn't dig up a little bit of Sarah Palin's CV to add into the mix. No wonder these people hate academic freedom.