Aboard the Slave Ship

Can you imagine being held captive on A Slave Ship? On a two month journey from Africa to the Americas, separated from family, eating mush, seeing people you've grown close to during your treacherous journey being thrown to the sharks that follow your vessel.

Here are your sleeping accommodations:



Many people do not want to be reminded of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We're supposed to forget it because it was a long-time ago; however, slavery still exists in the world, and America, in many forms, whether it be human trafficking for sexual exploitation and sweat shop labor, domestic servitude in many societies, or the warehousing of Black Men in the U.S. often called the "Prison Industrial Complex."

Today, my History professor played The O'jays' song, "Ship A'hoy." The song is an appropriate accompaniment for our text, Marcus Rediker's "Slave Ship: A Human History." The book approaches the European-dominated Transatlantic Slave Trade, in which cheap manufactured goods from Europe were shipped to Africa in exchange for labor (human beings) that (who) was (were) shipped to the Americas for raw materials. He approaches the "drama" focusing on the trade as a commercial set of transactions that affected everyone, including not only enslaved Africans, but the crews who worked in the trade, and merchants who sponsored and "invested" in the sale of human beings. Simply: It's a story of human beings and the machines that carried them.



The O'jays also provokes another memory. Besides a profound connection to the plight and suffering of my unnamed ancestors who survived the Maafa, I remember my first experience with Leadership Excellence's workshop, "The Middle Passage." The experiential workshop exposes participants to a sliver of a glimpse of what our ancestors experienced: pre-colonial life, Middle Passage, enslavement, Jim Crow, Civil Rights/Black Power Movement, to our present condition.

So I write this to honor those who came before me. Both those who would rather die than serve White Supremacy and Capitalism, as well as those who endured in order for us to breathe and breed in hopes that one day, we would see a freedom that shines brighter than the gold coin in the sky.

Read more...

The Importance of Following Instructions

This evening, I received an email from my family and comrades of the African Women's Charity Organization entitled, "The Importance of Following Instructions."



Growing up, I was hard headed. I didn't want to listen, pay attention, or follow instructions. Especially when it was from those I did not trust or respect. (However, being able and willing to follow instructions, for a variety of purposes, is a different matter.)

At any rate, at the end of the message were the following "Rules of Discipline" from Baba Kwame Nkrumah's Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare. LISTEN UP!

1. Obey orders in all your actions.
2. Do not take a single needle or piece of thread from the masses.
3. Turn in everything captured.
4. Speak politely.
5. Pay fairly for what you buy.
6. Return everything you borrow.
7. Pay for anything you damage.
8. Do not hit or swear at people.
9. Do not damage crops.
10. Do not take liberties with women.
11. Do not ill-treat captives.
12. Keep your eyes and ears open.
13. Know the enemy within.
14. Always guide and protect the children.
15. Always be the servant of the people.

This past summer at Oakland Freedom School, my Brother Daniel Muhammad reinstilled this necessity within me -- especially when leading our young. But actions speak louder than words. Peep the technique!



FREEDOM! One.

Read more...

Oakland legend - Chappell Hayes - Environmental Justice advocate, West Oakland leader

Photo: EBRPD

This weekend, I visited the beautiful Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. This little known gem in West Oakland has a fascinating geographic history. Instead of getting into that, or how the East Bay Regional Park District will cease to operate this park in 2011, I will focus this blog on one man's legacy.

As I've studied more and more about the history of Oakland, environmental justice and other land use issues in Oakland, I learn more about the role Black folks have played in defining the the East Bay. I vaguely recall hearing the name, Chappell Hayes before.

This summer, I took a group of students from Oakland Freedom School to 14th and Mandela Parkway, where I talked about the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. As part of an ongoing education series for my "Ida B. Wells" class, I spoke about environmental racism. I framed this around the issue of where the Cypress Freeway was built.

Initially a viaduct to mitigate traffic to the Bay Bridge, in 1957, the Cypress Freeway was built, cutting an increasingly segregated West Oakland in half. West Oakland residents fought the creation of a freeway through their community, though to no avail.

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake brought down the Cypress, killing over three dozen people. West Oakland residents, though surviving the depressing Reagonomic era of violent, crack covered violence, came to the rescue of many commuting motorist passing their own neighborhoods overhead.

In the 1990s, West Oakland fought against the rebuilding of the freeway in their community. Considered the leading advocate of relocating the freeway, Chappell Hayes.


Photo: Pinetree3 via Panaramio

The observation Tower above is named in honor of Mr. Hayes. Below is a photo of a plaque located at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park.



Below is the plaques description. Breathe in Peace Mr. Hayes.

"A community activist and environmentalist, Chappell Hayes was the driving force behind the Clean Air Alternative Coalition, which successfully convinced Caltrans to re-route the new Cypress freeway away from West Oakland neighborhoods. Mr. Hayes developed programs for at-risk youth and help to redefine environmental issues to include broader urban concerns such as poverty and racism. As an entrepreneur, community leader, member of many boards and commissions, and devoted community builder, Mr. Hayes raised the consciousness of West Oakland residents and neighbors, including the Port of Oakland, to work for clean air and environmental justice."

Below is a 2004 Oakland Tribune article about the dedication to Hayes, by his nemesis, the Port of Oakland.

Visionary Hayes Honored by PortSunday, January 25, 2004
by Paul T. Rosynsky, Staff Writer

Oakland ~ During his brief 45 years of life, Chappell Hayes inspired hundreds and changed the lives of thousands with his stoic leadership of West Oakland's never-ending fight for environmental justice.
As an outspoken critic of governmental policies that favored industrial development over community cohesiveness, Hayes stood as a beacon of hope for thousands of disenfranchised residents who neither had the means nor the knowledge to fight against the destruction of their neighborhood.

So it was fitting Saturday, exactly 10 years after Hayes' death, that his nemesis, the Port of Oakland, dedicated its prized environmental achievement to the man who made it happen.

In an emotionally stirring ceremony, more than 100 family members and friends, including his wife, City Council member Nancy Nadel, and daughter, Sele Nadel-Hayes, helped the port turn a new observation tower at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park into a monument celebrating Hayes' life and achievements.

"The naming of the observation tower is very fitting for Chappell," Nadel said, wrapping up a two-hour dedication ceremony. "With his feet on earth and head in the clouds, he served as an inspiration to me and Sele. Now, he has the ability to inspire us all to infinity."

Hayes, who died of cancer in 1994, is credited for helping West Oakland begin its long and continuing battle against polluting industries and the governments that support them.

With a grassroots campaign that tapped the unused pool of West Oakland residents, Hayes successfully fought various initiatives and projects, which many said would have destroyed an already struggling neighborhood.

Hayes fought against construction of a new Cypress Freeway through the center of West Oakland, forced the port to spend millions on environmental initiatives and helped get like-minded residents elected to organizations throughout the Bay Area.

All the while, he worked with West Oakland youth showing them a life outside of poverty and violence and teaching them how to make their voice heard.

"He shaped me into who I am today," said a tearful Anthony McNeal, a former drug dealer who became Hayes' campaign manager. "Chappell Hayes, to me, is like the father I never had and I mean that. Today, I just want to tell him some of the things I have accomplished."

Those include a 28-year marriage, raising a daughter now attending college and governor's award for saving people trapped on collapsed I-880 freeway during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Others had similar stories of Hayes who's most memorable line, "It's not over until we win," was repeated throughout the ceremony.

"Chappell always worked for this community, he worked night and day," said Ellen Wyrick Parkinson, a long-time ally of Hayes. "If he was here today, I would love to tell him that we got it done. I can see we made a difference."

Port officials decided to name the tower after Chappell two years ago after West Oakland residents, who helped design the new park, came up with the idea.

And with this stunning views of the San Francisco skyline and its proximity to both the environment and the port's maritime operation, officials thought it was the perfect tribute.

"It's a magical place where the sky meets the Bay, while standing here you can see the pulse of the Bay and the nature that uses it," said Port Commission President John Protopappas. "How symbolic it is of us to name the tower after a visionary. This tower watches over Oakland as a sentinel and a gateway to the city."

Read more...

Happy Indigenous People's Day

The exploits of Christopher Columbus led to the genocide of the First People of the Americas, but it foreshadowed the Black Holocaust.

Considering that America is the greatest purveyor of violence in this world, it is no surprise that many are celebrating Columbus Day.

Not on my blog.

Peace to the Indigenous People who cared for American colonists. Respect to the Indigenous People who were slaughtered under the guise of Manifest Destiny. Peace to Indigenous People who are my ancestors too.

And as a Bay Area native, peace to the Ohlone people.



And with banks and courts closed yesterday, there is no greater symbol of the tools used to oppress both Indigenous and African people. The financial markets and the judicial system are two of the greatest domestic and international terror engines.

Video: ReconsiderColumbusDay.org

Read more...

Sailing Away commemorates Black San Francisco Ancestors

I was completely exhausted this week. Besides launching a story I had to triple fact-check before publishing, I had a couple projects I was working on.

The most challenging project was the most rewarding. I created a newspaper for an upcoming dance performance in San Francisco called, "Sailing Away." The show is a guerilla dance performance taking place on Market Street about the history of Black folks in early San Francisco.

Most of my friends know I don't like San Francisco. But this performance will warrant me taking a trip across the pond.

The performance talks about early Black San Franciscan's like Mary Ellen Pleasant, Mifflin Gibbs and Archy Lee, and the climate that led to the Black Exodus of 1858, when hundreds of Blacks left California for Canada. It's a fascinating story that I'm only familiar with because I used to do the layout for the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper.

California was a free state. But that good old "Compromise of 1850" led to the reintroduction of the Fugitive Slave Act. What made matters worse in California, laws were set up where only white people could testify. In fact, if a Black woman was raped, but no whites "witnessed" it, there was no crime. Just like slavery when white men had complete control over our bodies.



In this climate, Blacks – who then preferred to be called "Colored" – organized a major convention to fight back. When I think of these colored conventions, which took place while their brethren were still enslaved in the South, remind me of the Pan-African Congresses that began in the 1900s.

Moving on. Despite the discrimination, Black folks in Frisco were making moves. Owning property, businesses while being freedom fighters.

Mary Ellen Pleasant was widely known because she was a madam. But, like I wrote in the newspaper's headline, "Mary's more than Pleasant." Mary was a freedom fighter. Besides predating Rosa Parks and Ida B. Wells in her fight for transportation justice – she was discriminated against while getting on a streetcar – and she also used her fortune to fund abolition. As her tombstone says, "She was a friend of John Brown's."

And Gibbs was the founder of the first Black Newspaper West of the Mississippi; Mirror of the Times.

If you are in the city this weekend, be sure to go to Market Street and check out Sailing Away. The show takes place between Battery and Powell Street starting Thursday, October 7 and runs through Sunday, October 10. Performances will take place at the top of each half hour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Be sure to get a newspaper. It has a lot of great historical information about the people I mentioned above, and many others.

Photo Credits: San Francisco Arts Commission

Read more...

Influence of Marcus Garvey

Recently, my Oakland Freedom School class watched, "Influence of Marcus Garvey." This documentary, available free on You Tube, about the life of Pan-African leader Marcus Garvey is a great resource to educate people on his life.

Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) is responsible for the creation of the beautiful Pan African flag, or "Red Black & Green" flag.

Garvey was a journalist and printer by trade. He published the Negro World newspaper, an international Black newspaper that was printed in three languages. Eventually, it was banned in African "colonies" by Europeans, due to its potency.

His UNIA claimed four million members. His parades in Harlem were splendid. Unlike other Negro (or colored) leaders at the time, Garvey was interested in a mass movement of the people. Not just a "talented tenth." This brought him at odds with W.E.B. DuBois. The two had a nasty feud, played out in the Black Press (including the Negro World, and DuBois and the NAACP's "The Crisis").

I remember my brotha Ise Lyfe, during his "Are we crazy?" presentation pointed out how many high school youth could identify a ski-masked wearing image of Plies (the rapper), but were unable to recognize Marcus Garvey. We must teach the youth.

The Influence of Marcus Garvey: Part 1


The Influence of Marcus Garvey: Part 2


The Influence of Marcus Garvey: Part 3


The Influence of Marcus Garvey: Part 4


The video was a great way to introduce people to Garvey's work, "Africa for the Africa," the power of organization, the real definition of "snitching" vis-a-vie J. Edgar Hoover's information/provocature's like "800" and, of course Pan-Africanism and economics.

Shown at Oakland Freedom School, July 27.

Read more...

'National Ride on the Front of the Bus Day" honoring Rosa Parks' Birthday

Happy Revolutionary Birthday Rosa Parks! Rest in Power


Photo: NYTimes.com

Today is our ancestor Rosa Parks' birthday.

The civil rights icon stood up by sitting down -- just like the Greensboro Four.

The South was segregated in all aspects; lunch counters, churches, education, water fountains and public transportation. Black people had to sit on the back of the bus and give up their sits

In 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger and move to the back of the bus.

"All I was trying to do was get home from work," Parks said.

She wasn't the first to challenge these segregation laws; however. Probably the most known, but unknown was Claude Colvin, who refused to give up her seat nine months prior.

What made Rosa Parks different -- as Cedric the Entertainer joked in the movie Barbershop, was that Parks was the Secretary of the Montgomery Chapter of the NAACP. While Cedric jokes that all she did was "sit her black a$$ down" it was much more this time.

Her organizational skills and history made her the perfect person to challenge segregation laws.

As a proud bus rider, I appreciate Rosa Parks for standing up. I was wrote a parody of Mistah F.A.B.'s rhyme on "Sick Wit' It" that:

"I'm not a dummy, retarded or ride the Yellow Bus/
I ride with Rosa Parks 'cuz she rode for us/"

Unfortunately, Parks wasn't always honored for her contributions. Parks was robbed and beaten in her Detroit home in the 1990s and folks may remember that Rosa Parks sued Hip Hop legends, "Outkast" in 1999 for their song, "Rosa Parks."

"Rosa Parks"

Original Outkast "Rosa Parks video

Ironically, 55 years later and young Black folks choose to sit on the back of the bus.

Here's a poem I wrote 50 years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott in October 2005:

Rosa Parks poem (circa October 2005)

Riding home on the bus, smelling like must
My mind on the Creator, in God I trust
But all the seats shaking like they ready to bust
I'm wondering why ain't no brothers sitting up front?
Did you hear that Rosa Parks passed last week?
Brother looked away like I didn't speak
He's been working all day and ready to sleep
Mine preoccupied and can't dig too deep
Peep, other brother in the back rolling weed
Like it's the only thing we need
And we feed the stereotypes created by white
Supremacy, but it ain't gonna blemish me
Tarnish my thoughts or alter my perceptions
I get up, go in the opposite direction
I look back, dude thought I was telling the driver
Dry snitch that he had that fire, but I AM fire
Rarely restrained cannot be contained
Igniting frightening brains, am I insane for saying
Before you finish rolling that or spark:
Sit on the front of the bus like you rolled for Rosa Parks/

In honor of Rosa Parks Birthday, I, Reginald James, blogger of the Daily Regiment, declare February 4, 2010 as "National Ride on the Front of the Bus Day." Special shout out to Felix Solomon of the Laney Tower for the idea.

If you are riding the bus today, ride in the front. But it's okay to give up your seat for an old lady.

Today is also the birthday of my beautiful sister Shantel James.

Read more...