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Volume 9 Issue 15…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…April
14, 2006
Atlanta
Vibe
Poetry Month 2006
By John Burl Smith
Considering the tremendous obstacles that blocked Africans living in America
from building a means of self-expression, Poetry Month should rank alongside
Black History Month in importance. Black orators, writers and poets have always
been in the forefront of the freedom struggle in America.
Cast
against the backdrop of today's immigrant protests, Africans were kidnapped,
forced to endure the horrors of the "Middle Passage" and put ashore
where unfamiliar tongues were spoken. From all over the Western coast of
Africa, blacks were herded together. Not speaking a common language was a
formidable hurdle to overcome. Understanding the demands of white overseers and
masters was a life and death matter for slaves.
Powerless
in their estrangement and bondage, slaves held onto their beliefs and customs
by slipping away into fields and swamps at night to commune. Unable to prevent
the clandestine meetings, masters substituted Christianity for African
traditions.
The
ability to understand and speak the master's language became keys to leadership
among slaves. Oratory, the art of public speaking or the skillful use of
rhetoric, was developed among slaves as a means of controlling their religious
expression. Preaching was the earliest form of oratory allowed. Once slaves
realized the power of spoken word, they began to improvise and disguise the
real meaning and intent of their speech and ideas. Nat Turner, a preacher who
led one of the bloodiest slave revolts in America, was the most famous slave
orator.
During
this period, George Moses Horton, a slave in North Carolina, taught himself the
art and power of poetry. Horton's work is considered by black historians to be
the first truly African American poetic expression. Unlike Phillis Wheatley or
Richard Allen, who were formally educated, Horton was self-taught. He kept his
poems catalogued in his head (over 100), until his master's wife helped him
learn to read and write. Assisted by abolitionist societies, Horton published
several anthologies and became a hero of the anti-slavery movement. Unable to
purchase his freedom from a master who vowed he "would never breathe free
air," Horton ran off to meet Sherman's advancing Union Army near the close
of the Civil War.
Reading
and writing came at great cost to slaves. These communication skills were
acquired under the threat of beatings and loss of limbs. After losing fingers,
if a slave persisted and was caught with a book, they would be drawn and
quartered or hung. Thus, it is little wonder writers like David Walker and
Frederick Douglass were Northerners.
Although
there were impediments to getting an education in the North, blacks with a
thirst for knowledge that persisted could acquire one. Walker's Appeal
(1829) was such a powerful statement to slave and free blacks alike,
southerners sent death squads North to kill him. They passed laws banning the
dissemination of Walker's Appeal in the South and the pamphlet's
possession was a hanging offense.
Today,
not only during Poetry Month, spoken word artists like Aqiyl Thomas, Lotus, We
One, Freedom Speaks and Yohannes Sharriff carry on the oral tradition by
building connections and speaking truth. They carry our story to international
audiences and give voice to the desires and desperation in the African
Diaspora. These poets and writers are the architects of tomorrow's black world.
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is officially thirteen years old on
Sunday. Given his lackluster academic performance, his grandfather grandly
threatened, as if he could, to cancel his birthday. When asked for comments on
this auspicious occasion, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro declared, "He canceled
my big day, so I have nothing to say!"
Bit of
History
Norma Merrick Sklarek
"Architecture should be working on improving the environment of people
in their homes, in their places of work, and their places of recreation. It
should be functional and pleasant, not just in the image of the ego of the
architect."
Born in New York, New York on April 15, 1928 to West Indian parents, Norma
Merrick Sklarek is a product of the public school system. She graduated from
Hunter High, an all-girls magnate school, which only accepted students that
scored high on admission tests in English and mathematics. An only child,
Merrick credits her father, Dr. Ernest Merrick, with nurturing her desire to
pursue a traditionally male profession. With grades good enough to pursue any
field, her father suggested architecture, a profession that required all her
skills and interests, which included art, math and science.
Sklarek studied liberal arts for a year at Barnard College and four years at
the Columbia University School of Architecture. She passed the four-day-36 hour
architect's licensing exams the first time she took it (1954), becoming the
first black woman to become a licensed architect in New York.
After being turned down numerous times in the private sector, Merrick accepted
a position with the city of New York Department of Public Works. She soon left
the civil service job and spent four years with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill,
one of the largest and most prestigious US architectural firms.
She moved to Los Angeles, where she joined Gruen Associates (1960). She became
the firm's first female Director of Architecture. Sklarek's many significant
projects include: the American Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, the Fox Hills Mall in
Culver City, CA., the California Mart and the San Bernardino, CA City Hall,
which was selected by the Library of Congress and the American Institute of
Architects as one of the Nation's Outstanding City Halls.
After twenty years at Gruen Associates, Sklarek joined Welton Becket Associates
as a Vice President, serving as Project director for Passenger Terminal One at
the Los Angeles International Airport. In 1985, Sklarek became a principal in
Siegel-Sklarek-Diamond, an all-female owned architectural practice. From 1989
to 1992, Sklarek was a principal at The Jerde Partnership.
In addition to her architectural pursuits, she has taught and lectured on the
graduate architectural level at a number of universities. She has served as
director of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects
(AIA), Vice President of the California Council AIA, Commissioner to the
California Board of Architectural Examiners and Master Juror for the National
Council of Architectural Registration Boards, (NCARB). Semi-retired, Sklarek
serves as Chair of the AIA National Ethics Council. In her honor, Howard
University offers the Norma Merrick Sklarek Architectural Scholarship Award.
(Sources: www.aaregistry.com, www.pecklaw.com/ and www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Norma_Sklarek.html)
Architects of Time
By Sandra S. Corona
Building blocks, mere toys,
for wee girls and boys
teaches them lessons
that later bring joys.
Architects of time
shape us by design
strengthen every goal,
make us tow the line.
Bodies—machine made—
barely make the grade.
Shrinks analyze galore
poured by Gatorade.
Architects are fine
for buildings … not minds;
an education—
intelligent sign.
Freewill is a choice
to listen, give voice.
We each are unique—
with our brain as host.
Architects of time
(as ancient as rhyme)
give nature her due …
don’t e’er cross her line.
News You Use
The Age of Synthetic Terror
A scientific panel investigating 9-11 has reviewed the evidence and concluded,
"the so-called terror attacks of September 11, 2001 were faked." This
assertion is not new. Literally thousands of individuals and organizations with
Internet sites express doubts about the official version of 9-11.
However, the Physics911 Panel is no ordinary group. It is composed of more than
thirty experts in the fields of science, engineering, architecture,
intelligence, the military, medicine, Islamic studies and other disciplines.
Calling this the Age of Synthetic Terror, they present a scenario of 9-11 that
is in stark contrast to what is disseminated by corporate media. The panel
claims, "terrorism" and its most infamous purveyor, al Qaeda, are the
brainchild and product of western intelligence agencies. They were created
"to foment domestic anger at Muslims in order to justify a) the
invasion of sovereign nations, b) seizure of their oil resources, c) mass
murder designed to look like sectarian violence, d) establishment of permanent
military bases and e) the installation of puppet governments in the affected
countries.
The Physics 911 panel believes the mass murder of 9/11, which was blamed on
Arab/Muslim patsies, was only the opening scene of a deadly drama. With many
acts and hundreds of thousands of murders to follow, bringing this program of
synthetic terror to an end is of utmost urgency.
To that end, the public must be informed. The corporate media may never break
this story. The fact that Venezuela has undertaken an international inquiry
into 9/11 is still not commonly known. Most folks are unaware of Charlie
Sheen's 9-11 allegations, the deception in Iraq or that the Osama tapes are
faked. We must be informed to prevent the next massive military operation,
which may well be against Iran. Such an attack would require a triggering event
in which a few Muslims, Iranian this time, would be blamed for bombing a
western target, possibly involving a nuclear device, given the (pretended)
concern over Iran's nuclear program.
If you have questions concerning these assertions or wish to examine panel
members' profiles, visit http://www.physics911.net
Leaks
and Lies
Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Minority Member of the House Government Reform
Committee, is one of the few members of Congress that asks tough questions and
demands documentation in an effort to perform the important oversight role
granted Congress by the Constitution. According to his April 6, 2006 letter to
George W. Bush, which can be read online at www.house.gov/waxman/,
" the White House leaked classified intelligence to further its faulty
case for war and improperly concealed information regarding Bush's personal
knowledge about that faulty intelligence. Waxman is requesting the full
declassification of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE),
which was partially leaked " in order to blunt criticism from former
Ambassador Joe Wilson" about Bush's "improper use of intelligence in
the run-up to war," and the President's Summary of the National
Intelligence Estimate on Iraq.
The White House selectively leaked portions of the NIE to a few journalists. It
now claims the leak "amounted to a declassification of the document."
"Only three people - Bush, Dick Cheney and I. Lewis "Scooter"
Libby - knew the key judgments of the NIE had been declassified." After
the leak, those portions of the NIE were formally declassified
As White House officials leaked classified information about the NIE and CIA
covert operative Valerie Plame's identity, they kept secret the
"President's Summary" of the NIE on Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction. It explicitly warned that experts at the Departments of Energy and
State rejected the claim that aluminum tubes intercepted on their way to Iraq
were part of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. The tubes were one of two key
pieces of evidence that Iraq had reconstituted its nuclear weapons program (the
other being the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger).
Bush's top advisors have claimed that he was not informed of these warnings.
According to the National Journal, "Karl Rove, President Bush's chief
political advisor, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that
Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly
disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to
war had been challenged within the administration."
Rep. Waxman is urging the Bush administration to declassify the President's
Summary of the October 2002 NIE. It is the only way Congress and the American
people can determine whether classified information was mishandled for
political purposes before and after taking the nation to war.
Disgruntled wants to know:
The architects of
war are busily drafting another blueprint. Paying lip service to diplomacy,
they are, according to news reports, developing plans for a possible nuclear
strike against Iran. The reported plans and reasons for war seem similar to
those proposed in the lead up to war in Iraq. And, apparently, mainstream media
are onboard or imbedded, because daily the nation is pummeled with televised
Iranian transgressions. Every reason publicly stated for going to war in Iraq
has since been proven false. The US military remains in Iraq to "protect
its fragile democracy." The public bought the architects' war plans for
Iraq. Has it learned its lessons or will it be seduced and duped by another set
of facile blueprints?
Disgruntled says:
According to alternative news sources, Dick Cheney's secretive energy task
force, which divvied up Iraq's oil fields before the war, gave us the nation's
current energy policy. Depending on where you reside, the price of a gallon of
gasoline has risen more than fifty cents in the past month. Indeed, the price
of practically every necessity has risen. In the real world, inflation is a
problem, particularly at the gas pump. It is time for the oilmen, George W.
Bush and Dick Cheney, to use some of their capital to jawbone down the price of
gasoline. That is, if they are concerned about the future of working men and
women in this country.
Disgruntled feels:
Messianic! It is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, when George W.
Bush describes the fanaticism of Islamic terrorists out to "destroy our
way of life." If these "terrorists" are dedicated to their case,
then Bush is downright messianic in his desire to control Middle East oil.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Phone Calls
Email heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk
Bush and neocons beating war drums for attack on Iran...By Linda S. Heard...The
lunatics have taken over the asylum. Even as most rational people realize that
the invasion of Iraq was oiled on the back of fake pretexts and downright lies,
the US and its allies are beating their war drums against Iran, using exactly
the same pretexts. The really frightening component is that so many of us are
willing to be conned all over again just three years on. A few days ago, I
watched the latest "Doha Debate" on BBC World, moderated by Tim
Sebastian. The motion was "Iran poses the greatest threat to security in
the region," supported by more than 36% of the audience. It's
mind-boggling that so many consider Iran the greatest threat when it is a
signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and there is absolutely no
proof that it is developing nuclear weapons. Conversely, Israel isn't, though its
has at least 200 nuclear warheads pointing at Middle Eastern states,
nuclear-armed submarines patrolling the Gulf, and has actually threatened to
bomb Iranian nuclear sites, just as it did Iraq's Osirak reactor in June 1981.
One member of the audience, who said he was an American, told the panel that he
considered the US posed the greatest threat to the region- a comment which
received hearty applause.
Email
vikingjohn@juno.com "The truth is
useless. You have to understand this right now. You can't deposit the truth in
a bank. You can't buy groceries with the truth. You can't pay rent with the
truth. The truth is a useless commodity that will hang around your neck like an
albatross all the way to the homeless shelter. And if you think that the
million or so people in this country that are really interested in the truth
about their government can support people who would tell them the truth, you
got another think coming. Because the million or so people in this country that
are truly interested in the truth don't have any money."- Jeb Bush
Email
www.bushwatch.com/ Top Earners In
Iraq...By Evelyn Pringle...There has never been an investigation into Cheney's
involvement in awarding Halliburton no-bid contracts making the company the
number one war profiteerer in Iraq. People have forgotten about the March 5,
2003 e-mail between the Army Corps of Engineers and a Pentagon employee that
stated the contract "has been coordinated w VP's office." They also
seem to have forgotten that Cheney continues to own stock in Halliburton, which
has risen in leaps and bounds since its former CEO moved into the White House
and developed the most prolific war profiteering scheme of all time.
Email
www.msnbc.msn.com Bush declared in a May 2003
television interview, "We have found the weapons of mass
destruction." The claim, repeated by top administration officials for
months afterward, was cited at the time as supporting evidence for the decision
to go to war. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that experts on a
Pentagon-sponsored mission who examined the trailers concluded that they had
nothing to do with biological weapons and sent their findings to Washington in
a classified report on May 27, 2003.
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