I have heard this brother speak countless times, in person and not. I’ve read most of his published works. And, yet, his wisdom never ceases to amaze me.
His approach is so “approachable” and humble…and yet his eloquence is profound.
Okay…so I am a West Groupie. That is not what this post is about. As usual, hearing him speak sparks thoughts of my own. His theme the other night was legacy, and our charge to continue legacy, but that this charge is no longer really being led by our people. We run the risk of losing ourselves because we are no longer willing to champion our legacy.
And, so I got to thinking…is this true? I began thinking back to all the books I’ve ever read that champion legacy..from the latest vingette Victoria Rowell’s the Women who Raised Me to Toni Morrison’s Beloved to Gayl Jones’ Corrigedora to Octavia Butler’s Lilith’s Brood to Angela Davis’ everything and bell hooks everything and even Elaine Brown’s A Taste of Power. But, I am a reader and these all came out in my generation–old enough to know better but not old enough for wisdom.
So, Spike Lee and Julia Dash tell our stories, and so are Tyler Perry and John Singletary. How about music…I do think Ericka Badu, the Roots, and others are staying the course with expressing lyrically our love and strength and our beauty, which will never be mainstream. And while there may not be the breadth and quantity that comes out of a Black Renaissance ala the 1920s 30s and 60s and 70s–there are quality voices keeping the beauty and strength of our people alive in 2K, as they did in the 40s and 50s.
Barak Obama, while being our hope as a leader (and one who far outshines many of our pop culture “black leaders” today) he is, to me, yet another of *many* Black people who are eloquently giving voice to the very real social and political and economic voice of Black Americans today (just listen to Michel Martin at NPR). This new voice should resonate a loudly in that we are expressing the unique citizenry of our people in the United States–while loudly decrying our continued treatment as less that valuable. (Even Clarence Thomas is still getting death threats for being a black man married to a white woman ala Emmitt Till–but dont speak that too loudly, he might have to say he is part of our community and legacy. Too bad Till wasnt given an opportunity to run for
Supreme Court, nor to have body guards to safegaurd his health and well-being. Who knows, perhaps we would have had a voice on the court for this generation. And, yes, we still love Clarence Thomas.)
I think rather than losing our legacy…we losing our neighborhood. We are losing our intimacy as friends, as lovers, as brothers and as sisters.
But, I’ll return to that in a few.*smile
