# 1 National Town Hall Meeting The Black Agenda and the 2008 Presidential Election Moderated by Bev Smith and Mark Thompson Panelists: Marc Morial, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Dr. Ronald Walters, Dr. Iva Carruthers, Atty. Nkechi Taifa, Dr. Elsie Scott, Atty. Faya Rose Sanders, Dr. Mtangulizi Sanyika
# 2 Pan African Policy Forum The Role of the Diaspora in the Development of Africa and the Caribbean Moderated by Danny Glover Panelists: Ambassador Dudley Thompson, Ambassador H.E. Amina Ali, Ambassador Abdul Iscandari, Ambassador to the United Nations, Sierra Leone Minister Abel Agbebleo, National Assembly Member Cristalina Perleira
# 3 Ndaba I -- Opening Session The Future of the Black Freedom Stuggle: A New Generation of Leadership Moderated by Dr. Kimberly Ellis and Mark Thompson, Intro by Dr. James Turner Panelists: Malika Sanders, Marc Lamont Hill, Davey D, Veronica Conway, Thenjiwe Keynote Address: Dr. Ron Daniels
# 4 Ndaba II -- Call to Work Moderated by Rick Adams Keynote Address: Dr. Maulana Karenga
# 5 National Mentoring Care Working Session Speaker/Presenter: Susan Taylor
# 6 Cultural Extravaganza and Legacy Awards Celebration Moderated by Dr. Ron Daniels Award Recipients: Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Honorable Dudley Thompson, Dr. Adelaide Sanford, Susan Taylor, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Dr. Maulana Karenga, Willie "Mukasa" Ricks
# 7 Ndaba III -- Call to Faith and Action Moderated by Leonard Dunston and Jackie Patterson Keynote Speaker: Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Click here to watch the video of NYOIL, Davey D, Jasiri X, Paradise and Dr. Goddess interviewing Rev. Jeremiah Wright (There's been some edited deletions but it's a great compilation nonetheless).
We're the Institute of the Black World and we approve these messages ;-)
Thank you all for your support for and participation in the phenomenal State of the Black World Conference II in New Orleans, LA this past weekend. The leadership institute, the workshops, the speakers, the networking, the artistry, the poetry, the singing, the discussions, the building, the agenda-setting, the solution-providing, the work accomplished, the music, the leadership, the awards, the sharing, the caring, the love . . . it was all there.
We'll be posting information about when the Town Hall Meeting will be aired on C-SPAN shortly; but if you can't wait, CLICK HERE TO SEE some of the video.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to this interview of the younger generation (Davey D, NYOIL, Jasiri X, Paradise Gray and Dr. Goddess) with our elder, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award by the IBW this year.
We are now moving to maintain our networks for the Institute of the Black World and continue with the solutions-oriented success of leadership in our communities and beyond.
On behalf of our Convener and President of the Institute of the Black World, Ron Daniels, and the entire Planning Committee, thank you for your support and we forward to continuing to build, lead, learn, grow and love.
I'm Dr. Goddess and we hope you approve our message!
p.s. Obama!
p.p.s. The "Obama Poem" will be made available shortly!
President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama to be Focus of Global Black Leaders
Our Agenda in Our Time
Register Now! State of the Black World Conference Nov. 19 – 23, 2008 New Orleans, LA Ernest R. Morial Convention Center Hotel: Astor Crown Plaza (Conference Headquarters, Rooms still available!) 739 Canal Street, adjacent to the French Quarter, 504-962-0500
Call Us Toll Free: (888) 774-2921 or (917) 686-0854
Contact Carolyn McClair, SOBWC Administrator
And . . .
MIN. FARRAKHAN IS COMING!!
As hundreds of participants prepare to journey to New Orleans for the potentially milestone conference, we are delighted to announce that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam and the visionary architect of the historic Million Man March and Day of Atonement, has agreed to attend the conference to accept the Institute of the Black World’s Legacy Award and deliver the keynote address at the final session, The Call to Faith and Struggle, Sunday, November 23. Minister Farrakhan’s address will be a fitting climax to the SOBWC given his strong support for the process of building the Institute of the Black World over the years.
SPECIAL SESSION ON HAITI
Building a constituency for Haiti in the U.S., particularly among African Americans is the principal international work of IBW via the Haiti Support Project. Accordingly, Dr. Ron Daniels has asked Massachusetts State Representative Marie St. Fleur and Dr. Joseph Baptiste, President of the National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians (NOAH), to join him in Co-Convening a Special Session on Haiti, Friday November 21, 9:00 am – 12:00 Noon at the Astor Crowne Plaza, the headquarters hotel for SOBWC. An invitation has been extended to President Rene Preval or his designee to attend the conference to participate in this session and the Pan African Policy Forum. Congress Members John Conyers, Donald Payne, Yvette Clarke, Gregory Meeks and Kendrick Meek have also been invited to participate in this session – which will take up the following agenda:
▪ Key policy issues which should be addressed by the new administration in order to enhance the process of democracy and development in Haiti.
▪ Creating an effective humanitarian aid and developmental assistance network in the African American community with an emphasis on the education.
▪ Promoting cultural-historical tourism, especially among African Americans, as an important source of economic development.
PAN AFRICAN POLICY FORUM
IBW/SOBWC is eager to contribute to the process of forging mutually beneficial bonds among people of African descent throughout the Black World to achieve the following basic goals:
▪ Promote cultural and educational exchanges as the basis for building functional unity
▪ Encourage cultural historical tourism as a source for economic development for people of African descent nations and countries with significant African populations. Encourage economic/business investment
▪ Encourage the practice of Pan Africanism within the increasing diverse African community in the U.S. by building bridges and promoting operational unity among Continental Africans, Caribbean Americans, Afro-Latinos and African Americans.
▪ Positively impact U.S. policy towards Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America
Schedule for Pan African Policy Forum
Friday, November 21, 1:00 – 5:00 PM -- A Heads of State, Ministerial, Ambassadorial and Government level Roundtable:
▪ The Role of the Diaspora in Developing Sustainable African Nations
Saturday, November 22, 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM -- Three sessions focused on the following themes/issues:
▪ The New “Scramble” for Africa: Challenges and Opportunities -- 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
▪ Envisioning the Future of Africa in 2050 -- 2:30 - 5:00 PM
▪ Mobilizing the Diaspora to Impact Policy Toward Africa and the Caribbean -- 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Confirmed and Invited Speakers and Panelists Include: Hon.Dudley Thompson, former Foreign Minister and Minister of Security, Jamaica Hon. Zainab Bangura, Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone * Hon. Prince Olagunsoye Oyinola, Governor of Osun State, Nigeria * Hon. H.E. Amina Ali, African Union Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Ousmane Sene, Director, West African Research Center, Senegal Danny Glover, Chairman of the Board, Trans Africa Forum Emira Woods, Co-Director, Foreign Focus, Institute of Policy Studies Nicole C. Lee, President, Trans Africa Forum Dr. Niara Sudarkasa, President Emeritus, Lincoln University Dr. James Turner, Chairman Emeritus, Africana Studies/Research Center, Cornell University Maurice Carney, Friends of the Congo Ben Afrifa, African Federation Briggs Bomba, Africa Action James Early, Director, Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Joseph Beasley, President African Ascensions Dr. Jemadari Kamara, Black Studies Department, UMass/Boston Minister Akbar Muhammad, Nation of Islam
*Invited/confirmation pending
OPENING PLENARY/INDABA TO SHOWCASE NEW GENERATION OF LEADERSHIP
One of the highlights of SOBWC will be the inclusion of a new generation of young Black leaders in all aspects of the conference. The Opening INDABA will showcase some of the most outstanding young leaders in Black America. Moderated by Africana Studies Scholar, Activist and Cultural Artist Dr. Kimberly C. Ellis, the opening panel on "The Future of the Black Freedom Struggle" will include:
Monifa Akinwole Bandele, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement Bakari Kitwana, Author / Cultural Critic, "The Hip Hop Generation" Malika Sanders, 21st Century Movement, Selma Alabama Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, Correspondent, Fox News, Professor, Temple University Davey D, Hip Hop Journalist, "Breakdown FM" Veronica Conway, CCPC, Black Professional Coaches Alliance
Post-Discussant:
Dr. James Turner, Chairman Emeritus, Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University will offer opening remarks on the historic role of young leadership in liberations struggles as context for the panel discussion.
Dr. Ron Daniels, President of IBW will conclude the session with the Keynote Address.
CYRIL NEVILLE TO HEADLINE CULTURAL EXTRAVAGANZA LEGACY AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED TO OUTSTANDING LEADERS
High profile edu-tainment and fundraising event, Saturday evening November 22,, 9:30 PM – 12:00 AM to honor long distance leaders in the Black Freedom Struggle and concluding with a “Party with a Purpose.” Music by Cyril Neville (of the Neville Brothers) and Tribe 13. Poetry and Spoken Word by Haki Madhubuti and Sonia Sanchez with invited guest Talib Kweli.
Legacy Awards
Hon. Dudley Thompson, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Susan Taylor, Danny Glover, Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan, Dr. Vincent Harding, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Congressman John Conyers, President Imari Obadele,Dr. Adelaide Sanford,Dr. Josef Ben-Jochannan, Dr. Walter Lomax, Grand Master Mele Mel, Kool Moe Dee, the Neville Brothers
Pan African Service Award
Willie "Mukasa" Ricks
The Who’s Who of Black America Will Be In New Orleans for SOBWC Partial List of Confirmed Participants
Bev Smith, Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Marc Morial, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, George Fraser, Dr. Elsie Scott, Atty. Faya Rose Sanders, Susan Taylor, Dr. Iva Carruthers, Emira Woods, Dr. E. Faye Williams, Makani Themba-Nixon, Dr. Maulana Karenga, Haki Madhubuti, Sonia Sanchez, Jim Clingman, Danny Glover, NYOIL, Greg Akili, Congressman John Conyers, Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, Councilman Charles Barron, Grand Master Mele Mel, Kool Moe Dee, Davey D, Bakari Kitwana, Monifa Akinwole Bandele, Malika Sanders, Dr. Kimberly C. Ellis, Kimberly Richards, Rick Adams, Mtangulizi Sanyika, Jaribu Hill, Askia Muhammad Toure, Nkechi Taifa, Adjoa Aiyetoro, James Early, Minister Akbar Muhammad, Marc Batson, Bob Bullard, Dr. Beverly Wright, Dedrick Muhammad, Kenny Barnes, Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vincent Sylvain, Lorraine Jacques-White and Danny Glover.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Carolyn McClair, SOBWC Administrator:
Toll Free Information Line 888.774.2921 or (917) 686-0854
Minister Farrakhan to Address State of the Black World Conference in New Orleans
New York, NY October 28, 2008 – As momentum builds towards the election of Barack Obama as the first person of African descent to be President of the United States, the mobilizing/organizing effort is in full gear for the State of the Black World Conference (SOBWC), November 19 – 23 in New Orleans at the Ernest Morial Convention Center and Astor Crown Plaza Hotel. Convened by the New York-based Institute of the Black World 21st Century, under the leadership of veteran social and political activist Dr. Ron Daniels, SOBWC will be the first great gathering of Black people from the U.S. and the Black World after the election to develop a priority policy agenda to present to the new administration.
As hundreds of participants prepare to journey to New Orleans for the potentially milestone conference, organizers are buoyed by news that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam and the visionary architect of the historic Million Man March and Day of Atonement, has agreed to attend the conference to accept the Institute of the Black World’s Legacy Award and deliver the keynote address at the final session, The Call to Faith and Struggle, on Sunday, November 23. “We are absolutely elated that Minister Farrakhan has agreed to return to New Orleans for this extraordinary gathering,” Dr. Daniels said, “His address will be a fitting climax to the SOBWC given his strong support for the process of building the Institute of the Black World over the years.”
Minister Farrakhan informed Leonard Dunston, President Emeritus of the National Association of Black Social Workers, of his decision after the recent rededication of Mosque Maryam in Chicago. Minister Farrakhan called on Leonard Dunston, who is an IBW board member, to Co-Convene a Black Family Summit as part of the Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March and launch of the Millions More Movement in 2005. He and Brother Dunston reconvened the Black Family Summit in New Orleans in January of 2006 as part of the Martin Luther King Weekend Mobilization to support the right of return of displaced residents and evacuees in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
At that time, Minister Farrakhan declared that rebuilding New Orleans would be a major priority of the Nation of Islam. “The Minister’s return to New Orleans for SOBWC is very much in keeping with his commitment to keep the national and international spotlight on the unfinished struggle of our sisters and brothers to reclaim this city as a major center of African culture and struggle,” Brother Dunston commented. “I was delighted to get the word that he will be joining us for SOBWC.”
A broad cross-section of leaders from Black America are confirmed to participate in SOBWC including: Bev Smith, syndicated Talk Show Host on the American Urban Radio Networks; Rev. Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College; Marc Morial, President/CEO, National Urban League; Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, President, National Rainbow/Push Coalition; Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus; Dr. Elsie Scott, President/CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Attorney Faya Rose Sanders, Founder of the Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama; Susan Taylor, former Editorial Director, Essence Magazine; Dr. E. Faye Williams, President, National Congress of Black Women; Dr. Iva Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference; Makani Themba-Nixon, Executive Director, Praxis Project; Dr. Maulana Karenga, Creator of Kwanzaa and Professor of Africana Studies and Chairman of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach; Haki Madhubuti, author, poet and Distinguished Professor, Chicago State University; Sonia Sanchez, internationally acclaimed author and poet; Dr. Ronald Walters, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland; Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law Professor; and, Danny Glover, actor and humanitarian.
▪ For further information, contact Carolyn McClair: 917.686.0854 ▪ Toll Free Information Line – 888.774.2921 – Email: sobwc@ibw21.org ▪ Web Site www.stateoftheblackworld.org # # #
This says it all and why there is still so much work to be done - click on www.myspace.com/cyrilnevilleandtribe13 then click on the picture of Gaynelle Neville, Cyril's wife - to see their new video "Cry for New Orleans"
See ya'll in New Orleans,
Hotep,Badi
About Cyril Neville & Tribe 13 The gumbo has spilled into the chili.
We've got a new flyer! Check it out and REGISTER on our website: http://www.stateoftheblackworld.org!
dr. goddess
Sunday, August 31, 2008
September, 2008
Bev Smith, Charles Ogletree to Moderate Town Hall Meeting At New Orleans Confab
Press Release
Excitement is building as organizers across North and South America, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean are preparing to lead delegations to the State of the Black World Conference (SOBWC) in New Orleans, November 19-23, 2008. The Conference is timed to occur two weeks after an historic presidential election. While people of African descent are excited about the prospect of an Obama victory, most seasoned observers concur that a myriad of issues rooted in institutional racism and poverty will continue to plague Black people in America and the world whoever wins the White House. “The failure of government to respond effectively to the tragedy of Katrina mirrors a failure to act in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti. Millions of our people around the world suffer because of these failures of vision and will,” remarked Rick Adams, Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee. “SOBWC will be our political convention, a time to collectively embrace priority policy proposals to present to the new administration.”
In that spirit, the opening event for SOBWC will be a National/International Town Hall Meeting, Thursday, November 20th, at the Ernest Morial Convention Center focused on the theme The Black Agenda and the Presidential Election. This marquee session will be moderated by Bev Smith, host of The Bev Smith Show on the American Urban Radio Networks (AURN), and Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law.
The distinguished panelists include: Marc Morial, President/CEO National Urban League; Rev. Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network (NAN); Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, President, National Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; Ben Jealous, the new President/CEO, NAACP; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President, Bennett College for Women; Dr. Ronald Walters, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland; Dr. Elsie Scott,President/CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation: Dr. Iva E. Carruthers General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc.; Atty. Faya Rose Sanders, Founder, Voting Rights Museum, Selma, Alabama; and, Dr. E. Faye Williams, President, National Congress of Black Women. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Leader of the Nation of Islam, has also been invited to be a panelist for the Town Hall Meeting.
Centered on the theme - Return to the Source, Restoring Family, Rebuilding Community, Renewing the Struggle, SOBWC is being convened by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, under the leadership of veteran social and political activist Dr. Ron Daniels. A major goal of the conference is to focus national and international attention on New Orleans and the Gulf in support of the right to return of evacuees/displaced persons and their heroic struggle to reclaim and rebuild their homes and neighborhoods.
Dr. Daniels hopes SOBWC will attract hundreds of people from Black communities across the United States and people of African descent communities in Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and Africa. “It is crystal clear that massive public and private investments in people, families and communities is what is required to rebuild communities like New Orleans in America and the Pan African World,” according to Dr. Daniels. “The only way that is going to happen is if there is a massive national and international movement anchored by institutions like IBW to demand social justice and social change. SOBWC will be a modest step in galvanizing such a movement,” he continued.
In addition to the Town Hall Meeting the program/schedule will include the Damu Smith Leadership Development and Organizer Training Institute; Katrina Policy Roundtables; a Special Session on Haiti; Pan African Policy Forum; Black Family Summit; a wide range of issue area Working Sessions; and Intergenerational Dialogues.
Members of the Conference National Planning Committee include Rick Adams, Co-convener of the West PA Black Political Assembly; Kimberley Richards, Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond, Co-Chairperson; George Turner, Events Planner; Badi Murphy, Production Coordinator. Larry Hayes, National Association of Black Social Workers, and Walter Umrani, Millions More Movement are the New Orleans Liaisons. Carolyn McClair, CMPR Public Relations, is the Conference Administrator.
Persons interested in attending SOBWC should register now and make hotel and travel accommodations as soon as possible.
For further Information call: 888.774.2921 or email sobwc@ibw21.org or visit http://stateoftheblackworld.org/
It's Dr. Goddess and I'm reporting to you after attending the National Hip Hop Political Convention in Las Vegas. I'm very glad I went and had a great time because I was there to learn, to network, to (re)introduce myself, to contribute, the whole nine. So, shouts to NYOIL, Rosa, Maria, Mona, Marc, Davey, Pam, Roderic, Asheru, Andre, Byron, TJ, Jay, Troy, I had a great time speaking with all of you and hanging with you. I'll write more on my observations in a minute; but Hip Hop journalist, Davey D has a lot of links to the Convention on his site, so you can listen on Breakdown FM. Enjoy those programs and stay tuned to this blogspot for an update.
So much to say, so much to cover but let's check out this most recent radio program on WBAI, Free Speech Radio, 99.5 FM in New York City, with the show, "Night Talk" because many of these persons will be at the State of the Black World Conference this November 19-23, 2008. Will you?
Listen:
Hosts: Dr. Ron Daniels, President, Institute of the Black World Clifford Benton, Publicist, Grandmaster Mele-Mel, Kool Moe Dee, etc. Peter Noel, co-host, "the flamethrower" Kamau Khalfani, Engineer / Participant
Did you just say you didn't know who Grandmaster Mele-Mel was? Forgive them, Father, for they have sinned . . . LOL. Now, for your penance, watch the video below and then give us five daily blasts of "rrraahhh"!
And here are some quotes and paraphrases from the program (this is not complete, just a snippet of stuff I heard and wanted to capture from a two hour conversation, all errors are mine):
Mele-Mel (Mel) speaks on Hip Hop's origins: First it was just entertainment, it later graduated to the political.
[Mel continues about rappers these days] - You forgot the blueprint. You don't always have to be a messenger but you DO have to entertain. I don't know from the beginning of your first rhyme to the end of your last rhyme because everything you said is based on the same thing, "you're gonna sell dope, you're gonna kill somebody".
NYOIL (NY): Yeah, 'cause Alicia Keys came out and said they brought gangsta rap out to quell the ability of black men to rise . . .
[about many popular rappers these days] - You're a race traitor. You standing on [our ancestors'] shoulders and you defecatin' on 'em.
[Dr. Goddess Editorial: NYOIL has a song out entitled, "Y'all Should All Get Lynched". LOL. Peep it below]
Kamau Khalfani: I don't know if I want to save you by cuttin' your head off but . . .
NY: I'm not gonna go to a gunfight with a knife . . . and certainly not with a pillowcase .
Peter Noel: Gangsta Rap saved alot of lives in L.A. during that time.
[Dr. Goddess Editorial: Peter Noel was partially playing devil's advocate throughout this entire conversation but he was also making the point that West Coast rappers were just describing their lifestyle and their very real life battles with the police, as a result of COINTELPRO, the creation of a national police squad and the desire to maintain (and contain) civil disobedience and general rebellion. While Peter has a point, we have to recognize that the "fall" of Public Enemy from the mainstream radio and television is in direct proportion to the "rise" of groups like "N.W.A." and it was a purposeful calculation and from the same label, so this is not rocket science. The corporate media created "gangsta rap" and permeated popular culture with its nonsense. All rappers and labels and groups are co-conspirators and accomplices. Hence, the other guests were taking about the gangsta POSTURE that so many of these present-day rappers take from the names of mobsters (Gotti, Junior M.A.F.I.A., etc.) to labels and groups glorifying death (Murder Inc., Death Row, G-UNIT), to individuals who sing about it, propagate it, etc. (too many to name but rappers like C-Murder later being brought up on Murder charges is a classic example). Of course, it becomes real, these so-called gangsters change their tunes real quick. Hence, we now have labels like "The Inc." and "Tha Row" (which was just sold for a paltry sum, anyway). In short, lots of posturing and wayward dreaming. Got it? Let's continue . . .]
NYOIL: So-called gangster rappers always bring up the violence in movies and films and they bring up Arnold Schwarzenegger like the classic example;but they forget that first of all, Schwarzenegger is now the Governor of California. Second, after he wraps his movies, he puts on a goddamned suit or some civilized-looking clothing and does a "press junket", where he goes around talking about the film, examining it and reinforcing the fantasy of it all. When you talk to these other rappers, you never know if you're talking to Curtis Jackson or 50 Cent, you never know if you're talking to the real person because these liars try to pretend that they live this gangster lifestyle and that this is who they are all the time. They are liars and frauds.
Mel: Rap, as an art form, it died with Rakim, basically . . .
Nobody has been able to eclipse Biggie or Pac.
There is no generational divide in music. All you have is a guy who will put themselves in this place, someone like Andre Harrell or Russell Simmons, they are the dividers.
Mel: And they gonna try to change the game and act like what we did . . . so, that's the point right there. It has to be a point where we as men or even them or we, as intelligent people, have to get to the point where you just face the truth. You have a pimp that would have a voice, a drug pusher that would have a voice, a hoe that would have a voice. Everybody has a platform in Hip Hop except, guess who? . . . The RAPPER! The EMCEE!!!"
NY: This is these hyper-masculine, hard rappers and that appealed to young people.
Prisoners have more value on the street . . . a loser . . . but then somebody can come home after four years for going to college, this kid's a sucka, he don't get no love.
Take the word, "saggin'", write it down on a sheet of paper and read it in reverse.
Question: How come a group like X-Clan, who developed a movement, doesn't even get mentioned?
Mel: Well, that's the problem . . . Because in the scope of what hip hop turned out to be, they took in what they wanted to take in . . . it ain't even hip hop, it's gangsta rap but if you put it out there like it's gangsta rap . . . but they hijacked our title, which is hip hop, and put it on their product and then they sold it and it worked like crack . . . all these cats that listen to . . . rhyme after rhyme after rhyme of killin' . . . they stuck . . . I'm sorry, you ain't goin' nowhere. All them women that's naming their kids after anything . . . instead of studying their name that they gotta take into their future . . . they ain't goin' nowhere.
CoolClyde: They took alot of spirituality away, man . . . people are not talking about God. And that's the element that's missin', man. Man repeats history, this is all gonna come back. By using our minds and intelligence to find a way to bring it back to its new essence . . .we do have a responsibility. We have minds and we can use it as a powerful tool. When you look at this ...
Big Pun had said "For the right price / I'd do Jesus Christ . . . I smoke weed in bible paper" . . . that's blasphemy.
If you look at the effect of what it does to the average cat on the street, you notice these cats wearing these rock n roll . . . they turned themselves into devil worshipping, white boys, that's the white-ification of Black America.
Mel: Hip Hop is supposed to be a culture. We lost it. Right now, Hip Hop has a black eye. People are using Hip Hop in the wrong way.
Ron: Where do we go from here? There's a problem . . .
We need to talk more about the implications of race in the industry . . . and how that evolved.
NY: Because if it's about income and revenue, then you are willing to do alot of different things that you weren't willing to do before, because it's about money . . . For Hip hoppers now, if you want to even call them that . . . They're not in the industry, they're not doing this music because they love rap, because they love syllabic math, because they love the genuis that is involved in it . . . they're doing it because they want to make money.
[they start to take callers and the responses are wonderful, off-the-chain, fantastic, the reverberation is deep. I will never forget the caller who said, "God just breathed a great breath into the black race tonight".]
Mmph. Discuss . . .
If you like that, just know that all these cats will be on panels and in workshops at the State of the Black World Conference, November 19-23, 2008, Ernest Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA. Register now, people.
The first great gathering of the African Diaspora after this Historic Presidential Election.
Where will you be?
What will be our agenda?
What is the State of YOUR Black World?
Bros. Ron, Peter, Mel, Clyde, NYOIL, Kamau, thank you so much for that.
Holla at ya girl.
I'm Dr. Goddess . . . and I approve this Message! <--- hey, it's election time, whatchu want?
Let us know what you think about this program and what you'd like to talk about at the State of the Black World Conference?!
Major conference in New Orleans to celebrate historic election
Special to The Final Call
Anticipating the election of Democratic Senator Barack Obama as the first person of African descent to become president of the United States, the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), under the leadership of veteran social and political activist Dr. Ron Daniels, will convene the Second State of the Black World Conference (SOBWC) in New Orleans, November 19-23, 2008. Centered on the theme, “Return to the Source, Restoring Family, Rebuilding Community, Renewing the Struggles,” a major goal of the conference is to focus national and international attention on New Orleans and the Gulf in support of the right to return of evacuees/displaced persons and their heroic struggle to reclaim and rebuild their homes and neighborhoods.
Strategically positioned after an historic presidential election, SOBWC will be the first major opportunity for Black America and the Pan African world to celebrate a monumental victory. As such organizers view the conference as a veritable post-election political convention where an agenda of priority public policy proposals will be developed to present to the new administration with the objective of revitalizing Black communities in the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa.
“We’re excited about the prospect of Obama winning the White House,” Dr. Daniels commented, “but we must work to create and advance a progressive Black agenda no matter who wins the White House. The crisis afflicting New Orleans, before and after Katrina, is a metaphor for the conditions facing Black people across America,” he continued. “We must not make the mistake of believing that the new president will be able to resolve all our problems without a powerful grassroots movement to promote our agenda. This is very much in keeping with Barack Obama’s position that change comes from the bottom up.”
With enthusiasm about the presidential election at a fever pitch, SOBWC is expected to attract the Who’s Who of Black America as speakers, workshop presenters and resource people as well as hundreds of grassroots/community based activists and leaders.
Bev Smith, syndicated Talk Show Host on the American Urban Radio Networks; Rev. Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College; Marc Morial, president/CEO, National Urban League; Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, president, National Rainbow/Push Coalition; Dr. Elsie Scott, president/CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Atty. Faya Rose Sanders, founder of the Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Ala.; Susan Taylor, former editorial director, Essence magazine; Dr. Iva Carruthers, general secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference; Makani Themba-Nixon, executive director, Praxis Project; Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa and professor of Africana Studies and chairman of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach; Haki Madhubuti, author, poet and distinguished professor, Chicago State University; Sonia Sanchez, internationally acclaimed author and poet; Charles Ogletree, Harvard law professor, and Danny Glover, actor and humanitarian, are among the luminaries who have already confirmed their participation in the conference.
In addition, SOBWC recently received the endorsement of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan who has pledged the support of the Nation of Islam and the Millions More Movement. Though Min. Farrakhan has cut back on his rigorous schedule of engagements, the organizers have invited him to join other notable civil rights/human rights, religious and political leaders as a presenter at the National/International Town Hall Meeting, which will be the first public session of the conference. Invitations have also been extended to a number of heads of state and ministers of government in Africa and the Caribbean as well as to community-based leaders, organizations and agencies from every region of the Pan African World.
The full schedule for SOBWC will include the National/International Town Hall Meeting; Damu Smith Leadership Development and Organizer Training Institute; Katrina Policy Roundtables; a Special Session on Haiti; Pan African Policy Forum; Black Family Summit; and 16 topical Working Sessions addressing crucial issues affecting the Black community such as crime and gun violence; poverty and economic underdevelopment; public school drop-out rates and poor performing schools, health disparities; the crisis of the Black male and the prison-jail industrial complex.
It is in the Working Sessions that participants will discuss public policy proposals, private self-help projects, programs and initiatives to revitalize and strengthen Black communities. SOBWC will also feature a series of Intergenerational Dialogues with emerging leaders in the global Black freedom struggle.
Assessing the significance of the conference at such a historic moment, Dr. Daniels concluded, “SOBWC is designed to have a major impact on the socio-economic and political future of Black America and the Pan African World. As such it has the potential to be one of the great gatherings of people of African descent in the 21st Century.”
Here in the United States of North America, we're on the brink of having, literally, the first African American presumptive nominee for President of the United States of America. Barack the Vote, people.
But truth be told and on a much dimmer note, on this date (June 1, 1921), Black folks in Tulsa, Oklahoma were catching it. Because of class jealousy, racial hatred and the absence of law and order, an entire Black community was burned to the ground and hundreds of African Americans and so-called "Black Indians" were robbed of their inheritance. It started, of course, with a false accusation of a Black man raping a white woman.
Dr. Goddess did her dissertation on this topic and it remains close to the heart. Just a blast from the past to help you as you consider the state of your world.
So, tell me, what's the State of YOUR Black world?
I'm peeping the following:
Haiti is getting some assistance from the U.S. in a more official capacity.
I hear Africans in Toronto, Canada are doing their thing in a controversial move towards African-centered education.
Word is that in Bermuda, there's an African Diasporic Conference coming up.
Jamaica just finished their Calabash Festival for writers and I'm so sad that I missed it.
Ghana is preparing for a Pan-African Literary Festival.
Even Africans in China are preparing for the Olympics in Beijing.
What's the State of Your Black world? This is Dr. Goddess here and I wanna know:
Did you attend the State of the Black World Conference in Atlanta in 2001? Even though it was immediately after September 11th, there were hundreds of persons in attendance, including big celebrities like Danny Glover and Chris Tucker.
So tell me, were you there? And if so, what was your experience?
. Focus national and international attention on New Orleans and the Gulf in support of the right to return of evacuees/displaced persons and their heroic struggle to reclaim and rebuild their homes, neighborhoods and Cities.
**
· Provide an analysis of the socio-economic and political condition of Africans in America and the world as a basis for prescribing strategies for empowering and reconstructing our communities.
**
· Identify critical issues and crises affecting people of African descent communities and examine struggles and models which are currently addressing these vital concerns.
**
· Present models/prototype institutions for Black empowerment that can be utilized to effectively mobilize human and material resources to address current crises and rebuild our communities.
**
· Enhance IBW’s capacity to function as a Resource, Communications and Information Center to promote research, policy formulation, advocacy, inter-organizational /institutional /agency networking and collaboration, leadership development, training and technical assistance.
**
· Create and sustain a network of support committees within the U.S. and the Black World to advance the vision, mission and program of IBW as an engine of global empowerment.
**
· Promote inter-generational dialogue and engagement in the planning of SOBWC II and the follow-up.
**
· Adopt strategies for self-support resource and fund development to enable IBW to fulfill its mission free of dependence on government, foundation and corporate assistance
**
Institute of the Black World 21st Century Mission Statement
The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) seeks to rekindle the historic legacy of scholar-activists, women and men, who founded the original IBW in 1970.
In that spirit, through research, policy and advocacy, IBW 21st Century is committed to building the capacity of the Black Community to struggle against racism, sexism and oppression of any form, to work for the social, political, economic and cultural uplift and development of Black America and the Global Black Community and an enhanced quality of life for all oppressed people. IBW is rooted in the values of cooperation, community and mutual respect. It is founded on the principles of self-determination, African humanism and social justice.
**
The struggle for social transformation through the creation of new relationships and institutions is central to our task. The objective of the struggle is to acquire and maintain power, to reconstruct our communities, to build viable and vital nations, to create greater unity among people of African descent and to transform our condition as oppressed people inspired by the vision of a new, non-exploitative social order.
**
Strategies for Implementation IBW will implement its mission by working with individuals, organizations, institutions and movements that aspire to transform and reconstruct communities of African descent. The Institute is both catalyst and facilitator as well as analyst and policy maker. Creating networks, facilitating linkages and fostering communications among individuals, between organizations and communities is an essential part of our mission.
**
The Institute does not necessarily seek to implement projects alone, rather to provide access to information and resources which allow local groups to initiate projects and build linkages with others doing similar work. Strategic partnerships and local support committees will also be vehicles for collaborative implementation of IBW projects and Initiatives.
March 11, 2007 Jodi Kantor The New York Times 9 West 43rd Street New York, New York 10036-3959
Dear Jodi:
Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years. You sat and shared with me for two hours. You told me you were doing a “Spiritual Biography” of Senator Barack Obama. For two hours, I shared with you how I thought he was the most principled individual in public service that I have ever met. For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service, and as a man who refused to announce his candidacy for President until Carol Moseley Braun indicated one way or the other whether or not she was going to run.
I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing it would be for someone who knew about Islam to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, Didn’t I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family? I told you how important it would be to have a man who not only knew the difference between Shiites and Sunnis prior to 9/11/01 in the Oval Office, but also how important it would be to have a man who knew what Sufism was; a man who understood that there were different branches of Judaism; a man who knew the difference between Hasidic Jews, Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews and Reformed Jews; and a man who was a devout Christian, but who did not prejudge others because they believed something other than what he believed. I talked about how rare it was to meet a man whose Christianity was not just “in word only.”
I talked about Barack being a person who lived his faith and did not argue his faith. I talked about Barack as a person who did not draw doctrinal lines in the sand nor consign other people to hell if they did not believe what he believed. Out of a two-hour conversation with you about Barack’s spiritual journey and my protesting to you that I had not shaped him nor formed him, that I had not mentored him or made him the man he was, even though I would love to take that credit, you did not print any of that. When I told you, using one of your own Jewish stories from the Hebrew Bible as to how God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?,” that Barack was like that when I met him. Barack had it “in his hand.” Barack had in his grasp a uniqueness in terms of his spiritual development that one is hard put to find in the 21st century, and you did not print that.
As I was just starting to say a moment ago, Jodi, out of two hours of conversation I spent approximately five to seven minutes on Barack’s taking advice from one of his trusted campaign people and deeming it unwise to make me the media spotlight on the day of his announcing his candidacy for the Presidency and what do you print? You and your editor proceeded to present to the general public a snippet, a printed “sound byte” and a titillating and tantalizing article about his disinviting me to the Invocation on the day of his announcing his candidacy. I have never been exposed to that kind of duplicitous behavior before, and I want to write you publicly to let you know that I do not approve of it and will not be party to any further smearing of the name, the reputation, the integrity or the character of perhaps this nation’s first (and maybe even only) honest candidate offering himself for public service as the person to occupy the Oval Office.
Your editor is a sensationalist. For you to even mention that makes me doubt your credibility, and I am looking forward to see how you are going to butcher what else I had to say concerning Senator Obama’s “Spiritual Biography.” Our Conference Minister, the Reverend Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman who belongs to a Black church that Hannity of “Hannity and Colmes” is trying to trash, set the record straight for you in terms of who I am and in terms of who we are as the church to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years. The president of our denomination, the Reverend John Thomas, has offered to try to help you clarify in your confused head what Trinity Church is even though you spent the entire weekend with us setting me up to interview me for what turned out to be a smear of the Senator; and yet The New York Times continues to roll on making the truth what it wants to be the truth. I do not remember reading in your article that Barack had apologized for listening to that bad information and bad advice. Did I miss it? Or did your editor cut it out? Either way, you do not have to worry about hearing anything else from me for you to edit or “spin” because you are more interested in journalism than in truth.
Forgive me for having a momentary lapse. I forgot that The New York Times was leading the bandwagon in trumpeting why it is we should have gone into an illegal war. The New York Times became George Bush and the Republican Party’s national “blog.” The New York Times played a role in the outing of Valerie Plame. I do not know why I thought The New York Times had actually repented and was going to exhibit a different kind of behavior. Maybe it was my faith in the Jewish Holy Day of Roshashana. Maybe it was my being caught up in the euphoria of the Season of Lent; but whatever it is or was, I was sadly mistaken. There is no repentance on the part of The New York Times. There is no integrity when it comes to The Times. You should do well with that paper, Jodi. You looked me straight in my face and told me a lie!
Sincerely and respectfully yours, Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Senior Pastor Trinity United Church of Christ
The State of the Black World Conference will be Honoring Rev. Wright this November!
. Focus national and international attention on New Orleans and the Gulf in support of the right to return of evacuees/displaced persons and their heroic struggle to reclaim and rebuild their homes, neighborhoods and Cities.
· Provide an analysis of the socio-economic and political condition of Africans in America and the world as a basis for prescribing strategies for empowering and reconstructing our communities.
· Identify critical issues and crises affecting people of African descent communities and examine struggles and models which are currently addressing these vital concerns.
· Present models/prototype institutions for Black empowerment that can be utilized to effectively mobilize human and material resources to address current crises and rebuild our communities.
· Enhance IBW’s capacity to function as a Resource, Communications and Information Center to promote research, policy formulation, advocacy, inter-organizational/institutional/agency networking and collaboration, leadership development, training and technical assistance.
· Create and sustain a network of support committees within the U.S. and the Black World to advance the vision, mission and program of IBW as an engine of global empowerment.
· Promote inter-generational dialogue and engagement in the planning of SOBWC II and the follow-up.
· Adopt strategies for self-support resource and fund development to enable IBW to fulfill its mission free of dependence on government, foundation and corporate assistance
Institute of the Black World 21st Century
Mission Statement
The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) seeks to rekindle the historic legacy of scholar-activists, women and men, who founded the original IBW in 1970. In that spirit, through research, policy and advocacy, IBW 21st Century is committed to building the capacity of the Black Community to struggle against racism, sexism and oppression of any form, to work for the social, political, economic and cultural uplift and development of Black America and the Global Black Community and an enhanced quality of life for all oppressed people. IBW is rooted in the values of cooperation, community and mutual respect. It is founded on the principles of self-determination, African humanism and social justice. The struggle for social transformation through the creation of new relationships and institutions is central to our task. The objective of the struggle is to acquire and maintain power, to reconstruct our communities, to build viable and vital nations, to create greater unity among people of African descent and to transform our condition as oppressed people inspired by the vision of a new, non-exploitative social order.
Strategies for Implementation
IBW will implement its mission by working with individuals, organizations, institutions and movements that aspire to transform and reconstruct communities of African descent. The Institute is both catalyst and facilitator as well as analyst and policy maker. Creating networks, facilitating linkages and fostering communications among individuals, between organizations and communities is an essential part of our mission. The Institute does not necessarily seek to implement projects alone, rather to provide access to information and resources which allow local groups to initiate projects and build linkages with others doing similar work. Strategic partnerships and local support committees will also be vehicles for collaborative implementation of IBW projects and Initiatives.
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