THOUGHTS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

THOUGHTS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE – still evolving¬_ PLEASE SHARE In the strictest definition of the word culture – that is, people with a common language place art belief sense of oneness awareness of the diaspora – the Black Americans culture is still developing; it is not yet mature. Some black folk find it difficult to say they are an American. As a collective, we do not see ourselves Americans. Most of us don’t consider ourselves Africans even though we admit having African roots. We are not a homogeneous group of people. We are clumps of black people scattered about the United States with each clump having only a vague notion of its relationship to other clumps. The African Diaspora is little more than a cliché to most of us. We neither have a collective consciousness of other Africans scattered about the globe nor they of us. Without shared common goals a collective consciousness can never be developed. We are ambivalent about calling ourselves Americans. Our social and political views are all over the place. Until we agree on essential goals designed to benefit all African Americans our culture will not mature to the point of benefit for all. Our place in this country has been bought and paid for by the involuntary and voluntary labor and blood of our fathers and mothers, our fore-parents and our African ancestors. The mortgage has been burned. We maintain our citizenship by serving in the defense of this nation, by maintaining our homes, our neighborhoods and paying our taxes. We don’t have to ask permission to be here in America: it is our home. And everything around us should speak to that fact. We should pay our artist and architects to make that abundantly clear in all of their works. Their works should inspire and inform all who live or set foot in these United States that we are a proud people; that we live here; that this is our home. adolphusward@aol.com

THOUGHTS ABOUT IMMIGRATION

THOUGHTS ABOUT IMMIGRATION – illegal made legal As a black man whose ancestral presence in America was not by way of legal or illegal immigration but by force – I did not choose to be here. It’s difficult for me to kindle pure empathy for those striving to make America their permanent home. I can, however, empathize with any human being who strives for the opportunity to have a better life for themselves and their kind. I can also empathize with the desperation felt when the opportunity for a better life is suddenly made unattainable. Freedom and prosperity enjoyed by white people was in sight of a slave but unattainable. During slavery and the extended period of Jim-Crow laws and accepted social practice black people were not allowed to share in the benefits of their own labor – enforcement was justified by law. This ambiguity in the law has, for a very long time, prevented my blind obedience to it. I think the rule of law is a good thing but the BUT is always there. There may still be a few Americans who believe our country is a kind a melting pot – a jolly jumble of all kinds of ethnic groups. It is in fact a predominantly white country and was intended to be that at its inception. Yes, there were biases between white ethnic groups but that was short lived and more social than legal practice. Beginning with the so called Founding Fathers, white ethnic groups colluded to restrict the populations of Non-Europeans both by social practice and law. Immigration Laws is but one way that enables the government to control our country’s population balance. Illegal immigration is the reason why the subject is such a hot political issue. It messes with the government’s effort to control populations. The illegal numbers are pumped up with propaganda to make it seem the country is over run by non-whites. This hype scared the shit out of some white Americans and helped Trump become president. Some of the hype was directed to black workers saying that illegals were taking jobs away from them – as if blacks were in competition for jobs no one else wanted. During my days of social activism I knew an activist who left me with an indelible Axiom – when the government and major media says it’s true, it’s probably a lie. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FEAR OF BLACK MEN

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FEAR OF BLACK MEN – another view It is true that an idea repeated often enough will eventually be accepted as fact. I have the habit of examining any idea supported too often by too many people: particularly when the idea is repeated with the same words in the same context. It’s become almost fashionable to justify the killing of an unarmed black man out of a justifiable fear – that fear is assumed to be both rational and legal. Some voices of authority have gone so far as to state that the white fear in rooted in the injustice heaped upon black people by whites and that the specter of a black man is seen as an avenging demon. I have found nothing remotely close to facts to support this assertion. I have another view of why unarmed blacks are killed by whites – the killings are driven not by fear but impunity. Not too long ago the killing, by torture and lynching, of black people was a public event; a spectacle attended by jubilant crowds of white families – men women and children. Jubilation has not suddenly turned to fear in the American culture. However, jubilation has been replaced by a conscious disregard for black life; there is a conscious regard for white life. That regard is intensified when a person is white and young – that disregard remains the same for black people whether old or young. A citizen’s call to police for suspected mischief by a black person is approached as fact – the same call to police for suspected mischief by a white person is approached for verification. Verification is a must before lethal force is used against a white suspect. Verification is subjective when a black is suspect. Black life does not share the same conscious regard as white life. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT MISSED MOMENTS OF LIFE

THOUGHTS ABOUT MISSED MOMENTS OF BLACK-LIFE – millions of lives billions of moments This thought has come to me in many forms so I’ll attempt to give it coherence in this post. What I want to focus on is those moments missed while struggling to stay alive. The American government has robbed black folk of more than their labor pride heritage culture freewill family-hood spirituality and self but has also prevented them from experiencing those moments that could have enriched and given purpose to their lives. Following my four years plus of service in the Marine Corp my Father arranged for me to be hired at a large steel manufacturing company in Milwaukee, a company he would retire from after more than thirty years. I’d never been inside dad’s workplace while growing up and it was fascinating to me. Starting out I was a GOFOR, you know, go for this go for that. I worked my way up to assistant press operator; huge machine as tall as a three story building that shaped steel into frames for trucks automobiles and farm equipment – including siloes; during WW-II the company manufactured bombs tanks and other war material. I went to the company’s welding school to learn rod and gas for line work. Line welding is a blend of humans and machines producing parts at a high rate of speed – this is piecework: more parts meant more money. Each person on the line pushes the other to go faster. Repetition gave me and the other workers rote memory – meaning we didn’t have to use a lot of brain power to do the job. That was particularly true of me. I planned my development and that of my family while working on that line. Now I’ll give a morbid twist to my story. A slaver sells me to the company, the company puts me to work on the line for no money, the company hires a driver with a whip whose job is to make me produce lots of parts all day every day into the night, the company allows me to stay in a shack with my wife and kids but the company attends to their needs – they look to the company for everything. I can’t protect my family, I can’t buy my kids candy, I can’t give my wife flowers, I can’t have time for romance, I can’t walk in a park, watch the leaves fall, watch a sunset, speak my mind, I can’t choose to live and at the same time stay alive. We owe it to our ancestors to mend our broken lives – to heal the pathology (sickness) that still plagues us. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE

THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE – through my eyes and mirror Sunday is my day for assessing what I said I’d do or continue working on, and what I actually did. Lately some weeks my DO STUFF sucks – perhaps its age as in older age. Even though my mind says do my ass says fuck-it. This past week was a fuck-it week. I really don’t know how to do nothing, even when I’m doing nothing. Meaning, when I’m not doing what I said I’d do I’m always doing something; it’s just not what I said I’d do. I said at the beginning of the past week, or more like the past few weeks, I’d work on my memoire and continue work on merging my three novels into one book. I also said I’d do more preliminary work on getting more jobs in film and telephone. Instead of this DO STUFF I’ve been following local and world news events, reading books, sitting in coffee shops and drinking cappuccinos with soy – before my recent heart attack I would drink double espressos. I call what I’ve been doing CREATIVE AVOIDANCE. I haven’t added my voice to those in visual and social media defending or attacking the actions of our President. I frankly don’t think I’m able to add or take away anything significant. I do think some of his actions intentionally divide the country along racial line – in that sense he is a racist. I think we do need to keep close watch on white race haters in order to protect black people, families, and neighborhoods from harm. I also think we need to join hands with black elected officials and black think tanks in fighting to repeal or block the enactment of laws that harm black people. Some black African countries (peoples) are moving to confiscate land and take back control of their natural resources from former white colonizers. More black Americans should come to realize that slavery and discrimination based on race has a value that can be interpreted in dollars, land, and other resources. Black American must come to realize that America owes black people an enormous debt that must be paid. REPARATIONS is not just an empty word it describes actions to be taken to heal the harm, the injustice, done to a people – making them whole and not remain broken. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FILM BLACK PANTHER

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FILM BLACK PANTHER – a story in cinematography I saw the film on Monday following its opening. The theater was near capacity and my mind was captive of the story from beginning to end. My thanks and congratulations to author and director Ryan Coogler for seamlessly creating a tapestry of fiction and reality, of the past present and future – all in a mesmerizing fantasy that both hypnotized and pleased my 6 senses. I bow to Chadwick Boseman Angela Bassett Forest Whitaker Andy Serkis and John Kani for living the soul of the story. My thanks and love to all who contributed to the tapestry. BLACK PANTHER reaches far beyond what is seen on the big screen – it challenges one to go to that place. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT MY CURIOSITY

THOUGHTS ABOUT MY CURIOSITY – the why of things I’ve always questioned the why of things in my life or that which influenced my life in any way – love, people, animals, trees, birds, stars, solar systems, galaxies, universes, gods, devils, angels, and aliens. I read a lot so it may be the engine that drives my curiosity. I lost the fear of asking questions about my curiosities some time ago. No one person gives me the last and only position on anything, no one. Love, for instance, has been defined in many ways – some with flowing eloquence. I don’t believe there are many kinds of love. Love is simply an animal emotion where one considers another as themselves. The emotion can be imbued with many intentions: a mother’s affection for her child, affection of one person for another – friendship, sexual, marriage. Some love is imbued with affection for nature, animals, plants and flowers, even for stars. Some love is strong in its intent some weak. The flip side is the hate emotion. As an atheist I don’t believe in a God of any kind. It follows that I don’t believe in a Devil, a Son or Daughter of God or Devil, a Heaven, a Hell, or a Place in between. The people who believe in these phenomena might be right – but I don’t share the belief. What seems to be of more importance to me, than Gods or Devils, is how the human animal will create more love than hate for humans and all else. Our solar system will one day go BOOM!; taking all life with it. The human Hate emotion can now end all life on this planet long before our Sun runs out of gas. Humans are really the only Gods and Devils we’ll ever know. www.adolphusward.net