By,
Maisha
Melinda Contreras-Byrd
February 2014
Born
in the United States 60 years ago,
The
essence of my black life has been captured in “Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man”
and Samuel Greenlee’s “The Spook Who Sat By The Door”.
Invisible
as one of only a few in college classes where my point of view
Was
overlooked, misunderstood or repressed.
Brilliant
and complicated nuances of my people missing from the academic curricula of
music class, experiences and thinking of my people deemed unnecessary to a full
and scholarly understanding of U.S. life and history.
I
have been there In the back of the bus, there in great numbers behind the
scenes, there behind the curtain, behind the machinery, there bent over in
countless fields, there among a sea of black faces marching for the right to be
seen, generations of Black men raising signs saying, “I am a man” faceless and nameless black mothers wanting
nothing for ourselves except that our children will one day be seen – so wave
if you can see me!!!
Everyday
the lives of Black people get harder and stranger and not appreciably closer to
being other than the other!
President
Barack Obama –can I get a witness!?
Every
time that someone in the United States is born “Black”
There
should be a solemn and discreet ceremony to mark the occasion.
Music
from the twilight zone should begin to play and a voice from above should echo
out…
"There
is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as
vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between
light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit
of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of
imagination. It is an area, which we call the Twilight Zone. "
"You're
traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound
but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of
imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight
Zone!"
Every
Black child should be set aside, warned and soundly and thoroughly educated
concerning the critical otherness that her or his life will be
Every
school district and university in every state and county of the United States
should offer on going, I mean, never-ending
courses in the application of a theory of “otherness”.
These
courses should be required for every White person living in the U.S. to be able
to be granted any employment or educational opportunity. No White person unable to pass this course
should be granted a mortgage, voting rights, or a driver’s license.
Anyone
unable to pass should not be eligible to run for public office or be granted
citizenship.
Because
my life is that important,
Because
even if the US still does not acknowledge the truth --there are real life
consequences to not seeing or hearing or understanding the truth of my
existence…it is critical, it is crucial, it is non-negotiable, so
Clap
if you feel me!
I’m
repeating what Nat Turner was trying to tell you,
I’m
reinterpreting what Denmark Vesey was preaching.
I’m
voicing the sentiments expressed by the Newark riots, the
Detroit
riots, The Attica prison uprising
I’m
speaking through the blood of Martin Luther King Jr.
I’m
talking loudly about the fact that we watched Rodney King crawling on the
ground surrounded by armed police officers who beat him mercilessly on national
TV. and then told us not to believe what we saw
I am
talking loudly about a gentle, friendly Ethiopian man who was gunned down
with bullets because a wallet is so
menacing in a black hand,
I’m
yelling about Trayvon Martin a child killed justifiably when his hoodie became
a weapon.
I’m
yelling about Jordan Davis – unarmed and murdered. I’m yelling that a jury of his peers could
not reach a verdict about yet another unarmed Black child whose music and black
face constituted a lethal threat warranting 10 bullets and no second thoughts
about ending his life.
You
are expected to stay in your homes and remain calm.
You
are expected to understand.
But
I do not understand. I do not want to
stay in my home and I do not want to remain calm.
I
refuse to understand….like Rachel weeping and refusing to be comforted…. I join with the voices from the blood of the
innocent shed in this country….
We
can no longer be silent in the face of full fledged statements about the
irrelevancy of Black life in the U.S….It is 2014 and the twilight Zone Music is
still playing! We continue to live
lives of invisibility, we continue to be
stepped around, left out, not seen as essential.
It
is 2014 and the twilight zone music is till playing in our background trying to
drown out what I am saying…
”You're
traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound
but of mind”
Can
you hear it playing in the background ?….but
I am playing in the foreground !!
I
will not be silent I will Holla Justice,
For
Amadou Diallo, in New York City, Holla
if you hear me!!
Holla
Justice……….for Oscar Grant at Fruitvale Station
Holla
Justice …………for Trayvon Martin in Sanford Florida
Holla
justice for……….Jordan Davis, in Jacksonville Florida
Hola
justice for …….. Michael Brown in New York City
Holla
justice for ……Eric Garner in Ferguson, Missouri
Holla
Justice, Holla justice!
Holla
if you hear me!!
Maisha
Melinda
Contreras-Byrd
February 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment