black president - brenda fassie

I had wanted to include a video to this song back when I started my "black president" series but didn't find one until now. Here is South African pop star Brenda Fassie singing about a different history-making Black leader. Personally, I think one of the most beautiful, powerful aspects of the song is that it was actually written several years before Mandela was elected. The dream became a reality. (And here is a clip of a sparser, more beautiful, less "pop" version of the song)





The year 1963
The people's president
Was taken away by security men
All dressed in a uniform
The brutality, brutality
Oh, no, my black president
Him and his comrades
Were sentenced to isolation
For many painful years
For many painful years
Many painful years
Of hard labour
They broke ropes
But the spirit was never broken
Never broken
Oh, no, my, my black president

Hmm maa (3x)
Mama
Hmm maa (3x)
Mama

Hmm maa (3x)
Madiba
Hmm maa (3x)
Madiba
Ahh, nyu ye uyee huu

He broke ropes
But his spirit was never broken
Never broken
Oh oh oh, my president

Now in 1990
The people's president
Came out from jail
Raised up his hand and said
'Viva, viva, my people'
He walked the long road
Back, back to freedom
Back, back to freedom
Freedom for my black president

Let us rejoice for our president
Let us sing for our president
Let us pray for our president
Let us sing, let us dance
For Madiba give us freedom
We thank you Lord
For listening to our prayers
Night and day
Oh oh oh, my president

Madiba

Zulu /Xhosa lyrics

My president
I will die for my president
I will sing for my president

I will stand and say
Viva, viva, viva, viva, viva, viva

obama: the recap

If I was President...
black presidents (part one)
black presidents (part two)
if al gore was president aka black presidents (part three)
black presidents (part four)
black presidents (part five)
black presidents (part six)
jimmy smits and the west wing



Obama and the Church
thoughts on obama's resignation from trinity united church of christ
the compassion forum
jeremiah wright and the black church
rev. 'icarus', the obama campaign, & the left
hiv/aids and the us government
rev. jeremiah wright: a change is going to come / national press club
there is nothing wrong with rev. wright
bill moyers and rev. jeremiah wright



Obama and Islam
more from zaid shakir
barak obama on the middle east
obama's islamic past
two calls for pan-africanism from the muslim world
this is what a non-muslim us presidential candidate looks like



Obama and Latinos
latinos and obama
obama and black latinos
president obama and afro-latinos



The Horserace
obama roasts mccain at the alfred e. smith dinner
some brother must have really done her wrong...
another bit
political bits
hispanic governor, bill richardson, endorses obama over clinton
morrison endorses obama for president
obama wins maine and a grammy
racism and the mcain-palin campaign



Obama and other religions
obama redraws map of religious voters
obama and different religious communities



Misc.
here's another thing i don't get...
an open letter to certain white women who are threatening to withhold support from obama in november
the dark knight: the rise of "the real" obama
obama and father's day
heru: barack obama is septimius severus
obama: the death of white supremacy?
barack's black dilemma
"well, i'm not gonna take the white house in 2008 on just my sparkling wit and funding from hostile governments."
mumbo jumbo with ishmael reed

day break

I haven't talked about Afro-futurism for a while, so I figure I should mention that I recently saw Day Break, a prematurely-cancelled television series starring Taye Diggs. It has a premise similar to Bill Murray's Groundhog Day in that Diggs' character keeps reliving a particular day until he gets it "right". But instead of being a cutesy romantic comedy, Daybreak is a somewhat violent drama series about a Black hero being apparently framed by the (mostly-white) powers that be. In this case, the role of "The Man" is played (in part) by members of a group called the Santayana Club. (George Santayana is the Spanish philosopher who is famous for having said: "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it". On the other hand, almost all the people of color are at least portrayed rather sympathetically (even the criminals). An interesting show... it manages to keep the suspense and interest going, revealing layer after layer of an intricate story.

Here are all 13 episodes

pot. kettle. black. aka mccain and rashid khalidi (and ayers)

the empire strikes back

As we approach one of the most important elections (symbolically and otherwise) in US history. it is heartening to see signs of a growing consensus around Barack Obama (see Republican and conservative support for Barack Obama in 2008 and also Republicans and Conservatives Endorsing Barack) which has the potential to unify the country and redraw the political map. On the other hand it is a source of concern that the McCain campaign in its death-throes (inshaAllah) along with other elements of the far right are getting more vicious as election day approaches. (Feds disrupt skinhead plot to assassinate Obama)

i voted today

Oh my God, the line was soooo long. The process took about 3 hours from beginning to end. I kept thinking back to tv images of the first post-apartheid Election Day in South Africa when Mandela was on the ballot. I spent most of the time outside, waiting to be let into the Lemon City Library (Miami). Then I got a numbered ticket and was eventually let in. Once inside (which was still 70+ deep), I had to wait for my number to be called before being let into a seperate room where all the voting booths were. Fortunately for future early voters, the governor is extending the poll hours for the rest of the week.

20 questions with upski

In These Times: 20 Questions with Billy Wimsatt Wow, I went to school with this kid. Cool guy.

I like the way he describes his politics:

I’m for the underdogs and the polar bears. I’m for matriarchy and Barack Obama. I’m for green jobs, not jails. I want to turn the Titanic around before we hit the iceberg.

I believe we need deep transformation at all levels of society, individual and systemic. I hate the game, not the players. I love the suburbanites, not the suburbs. I believe that evil is real but good is real too! I believe in God and evolution and I believe it is our moral obligation to protect God’s creation. I believe that all life is sacred and that right now humans are out of balance. I believe that a society that worships material wealth cannot be reconciled with the Ten Commandments. I believe humans are trying to play God, and that genetic engineering, robotics and nano-technology are radically altering the fabric of human life into a scary science fiction novel.

I believe we need to change the game, re-invent the game, get together, hold hands, take a big deep breath, and come up with a new game where there are more winners and fewer losers. I want to see a happy ending in which humanity ultimately survives. I believe that whether the glass is half-full, one-quarter full or one-tenth full, we’ve gotta play the cards we are dealt. I believe in big baby steps.

racism and the mcain-palin campaign

For a while I've been meaning to do a post about how the McCain-Palin rallies have been starting to reveal an uglier, more bigoted side to the far-right's resistance to Obama. Of course, that was before Obama was lynched-in-effigy on a Christian College campus and before a McCain volunteer mutilated her own face and made up a story about how she was attacked by a big black Obama supporter. The McCain camp may try to distance itself from the behavior of its supporters but in reality, such extreme behavior is really just a natural reflection of the top of the ticket. It just seems like their real face is coming out now that their campaign seems to be in its death throws.

Capitol Hill Blue: McCain: racist, bigot & homophobe

Grenada's past;
mccain camp silences muslim organizer or "with friends like these..."
sarah palin on obama's winning the democratic nomination for president : "sambo beat the bitch!" (what ?!?!?!)
more on mccain's racially problematic politics
mccain, racism and religious bigotry
mccain - romney ?
mccain's spiritual advisor hates muslims and islam
should john mccain reject and denounce minister john hagee?
john mccain: "i hated the gooks. i will hate them as long as i live."

afro-latinos to declare columbus day as "the day of atonement"

Blacklatino.net: Day of Atonement: Afro-Latinos to declare Columbus Day as "The Day of Atonement" by Christopher Rodriguez

the n-word is flourishing among generation hip-hop latinos

The Village Voice: The N-Word Is Flourishing Among Generation Hip-Hop Latinos by Raquel Cepeda

president obama and afro-latinos

Blacklatino.net: Will President Barack Obama make a difference for Afro-Latinos? by Christopher Rodriguez

obama redraws map of religious voters

NPR: Obama Redraws Map Of Religious Voters by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

mccain camp silences muslim organizer or "with friends like these..."

CNN host Rick Sanchez said he was "mystified" by a last minute decision by the McCain campaign to pull a Muslim grassroots organizer from appearing on his show.

The aide, Daniel Zubairi, had been scheduled to appear on Sanchez's mid-day program after he was caught on video talking down an anti-Muslim protester outside a McCain rally in Woodbridge, Virginia. But, even after telling the network that an interview was "good to go," the McCain shop pulled Zubairi at the last minute, leaving Sanchez in limbo on live TV.

"Wouldn't you think they would have wanted him to come on?" the CNN host would later tell the Huffington Post.

CNN Host "Mystified" By McCain Camp Silencing Muslim Organizer

obama roasts mccain at the alfred e. smith dinner

submachine 5: the root

I've talked about the submachine games before. Here is Submachine 5: The Root by Mateusz Skutnik.

the collapse of the monetarist system

As I mentioned previously, the Murabitun take a pretty hardline stance against usury and the current system of paper money. So it shouldn't be surprising that their leader, Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi has written a series of pieces on The Collapse of the Monetarist Society.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Read Part 3

For another Muslim's perspective on the crisis you can check out Robert D. Crane's somewhat pessimistic (and surprisingly right wing) piece Are There Islamic Solutions for Economic Justice: Or Is the Insanity of Faux Money an Incurable Western Disease?

an exemplar of reconciliation

In the article An Exemplar of Reconciliation Salim Muwakkil shares his own thoughts on the passing of Imam W.D. Mohammed and the significance of his legacy. To provide a little bit of context, Muwakkil himself was a past member of the Nation of Islam (but his current religious beliefs are unclear).

Planet Grenada and Salim Muwakkil

register to vote!

www.maps.google.com/vote
Rock the Vote!
Declare Yourself!

Remember, in many locations the deadline to register is only days away.

btw, is Jamie Foxx wearing a kiffeyeh?

"if money is the root i want the whole damn tree" (the remix)

I'm no economist but I've been thinking about the current crisis in the US credit markets along with the Wall Street bailout and have wondered how the situation could be viewed through an Islamic lens.

For example, many of the practices and approaches which are currently deemed responsible for the crisis (e.g. predatory lending) are clearly prohibited in Islam (see Islamic Perspective on Meltdown in American Markets by Liaquat Ali Khan).

This suggests that Shariah-compliant financial institutions could be insulated from some of the effects of the crisis and in fact, this seems to be supported empirically to some degree (see Asia's Islamic finance sector weathering storm well)

It will be interesting to see if after the dust settles, we will see more growth in the Shariah-compliant sector of the economy (e.g. Islamic bonds could give London leg up in growing sphere of Shariah finance)

I also wonder if some of the more radical voices (like members of the Murabitun who hold that U.S. paper currency is based on usury and advocate bringing back the Islamic dinar) will also gain support in the wake of the crisis.

For some articles on their views see:
Building Sound Economic Foundations (part 1)
The Role of the Market in any Future African Economy
Zakat-The Fallen Pillar
The Islamic Money System

Finally, for a previous post on Islamic finance see:
"if money is the root i want the whole damn tree"

eid mubarak!

Is it just me or are more and more communities deciding to use "calculation" to determine the start and end of Ramadan? (See moonsighting.com for more articles)