Friday, July 2, 2010
Parable ofOakland, A Beautiful Day in the Bay
Today, Friday,July 2, 2010, was a beautiful day in the Bay. No matter the siege ofpolice terrorizing the hood, as per usual, but even more so inanticipation of violence when the verdict is announced in the murdertrial of the BART police officer who murdered Oscar Grant in cold bloodwhile he lay handcuffed on his belly, shot in the back by a brute beastin blue uniform.
Today, was a beautiful day in the Bay. The suncame out early, the fog disappeared before morning. What a blessing tosee the sun, to feel the ocean breeze off the Bay waters. TheOakland/Berkeley hills in the background. It doesn't get better thanthis anywhere in the world. The Bay is one of the most beautiful placeson earth. Yes, San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities onearth. And no one loves San Francisco more than Plato Negro. It is ahustler's paradise and he was king of the hustler's, controlling thelucrative Union Square area as if he owned the turf, rending out blocksof turf to street vendors--and this was during his tenure on Crack, buteven then he was called the richest Negro is downtown San Francisco bythe old me who watched him hustle at Market and Powell. The old men sayhe made three hundred dollars per hour hustling on the street at theCable Car turn-a-round. Even Dr. Nathan Hare tells how he boughtsunglasses from Marvin X at Market and Powell. And when it rained, hesold umbrellas. At the 1984 Democratic convention, he sold politicalbuttons. The San Francisco Chronicle called him the Button King.
Thatwas long ago. It is 2010 and Marvin X, aka Plato Negro is in Oakland at14th and Broadway, location of his Academy of Da Corner. WriterIshmael Reed observed him at work and said he was Plato teaching on thestreets of Oakland. Ishmael said, "If you want to learn about motivationand inspiration, don't spend all that money attending workshops andseminars, just go stand at 14th and Broadway and watch Marvin X atwork."
Marvin X was at work today. There was a riot at hisAcademy of Da Corner. No, there was no gathering across the street atFrank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall where the people shall meet at6pm on the day the verdict is announced, although the media was there isfull force anticipating the verdict, along with a contingent of policethroughout the downtown area, although many shops and businesses wereclosed as they were directed to do from City Hall. Many workers had theday off.
Marvin X arrived at his Academy of Da Corner early andbegan giving out 11x17 posters of Oscar Grant with X's parable ofOakland Police Riot on the backside. Some people gave donations, butmost of the posters were given away freely as per his custom.
Thereason he calls this the most beautiful day in Oakland because never inhis memory of hustling on the streets of the Bay have people from themulti-national communities approached him for information. Africans,Asian, Europeans, Latinos and others asked for copies of the Oscar Grantposter. Asians rarely ask North American Africans for anything. Butthey came time after time throughout the day for the poster, Whites aswell as Gays, Lesbians, Africans, including Ethiopians, who rarely ask aNorth American African for the time of day, but they came this day,wanting to know about Oscar Grant, crucified like Jesus but even worsebecause he was handcuffed on his belly, then shot in the back by a beastin blue uniform.
Everybody wanted to know when the verdict wasgoing to be announced, or if it had. The poster said whatever day itwas announced there would be a rally at City Hall Plaza across thestreet from Academy of Da Corner at 6pm.
The OPD pigs passedthroughout the day in great numbers, there agents were sent to obtain acopy of the poster given out at Academy of Da Corner, which managed tohave the biggest gathering of people during the day. Many people camebringing donations to Plato Negro. The day before a Christian lady hadgiven a donation to Plato Negro and told him to give something out inthe name of Jesus. When the woman gave him the generous donation andrequested him help the people in the name of Jesus, Plato wasmomentarily perplexed since he had Jesus confusion, but he concluded ifthe woman told him to give her donation in the name of Jesus that he wasduty bound to do exactly as she requested. But she came by as he wasdialoguing with his students on this most beautiful day in the Bay, andhe introduced her to them. She said it didn't matter to her if Platogave her donation in the name of Jesus or in the name of goodness, itdidn't matter. She had fallen in love with Plato's grandson, Jah Amiel,the three year old who had told his grandfather that he could not savethe world, but Jah Amiel could.
On that beautiful day in the Bayanother woman had come by to say she had come one day with a gift forthe little savior boy but he was not to be found.
And so therewas no riot on this day, only at the Academy of Da Corner where all thepeople of the Bay came through for a blessing. Even people drove up incars to deliver gifts, such as the people who came with a poster forPlato Negro to give out that said "Love Not Blood for the streets ofOakland." Even BART Board Director Carol Ward Allen drove by and shoutedfrom her car for a poster, although she gets my emails on Facebook.
Butit was this kinda day in the Bay. People anticipating the verdict, butseeking truth beyond the verdict. Humanity wanted answers in the name ofhumanity. Shall injustice reign or justice?
How can a coward go freewho kills under the color of law? No national can understand this, norational human being of any stripe or color or gender. Yes, the gay andlesbian brothers and sisters came by asking for a poster.
OneChristian brother asked for numerous copies to give out to people in thename of Jesus. I did not deny him. Several people came to get postersto post in windows of businesses to let people know they were down withOscar Grant, reminding one of the 65 Watts Riot when Asians posted signsin their windows saying "Me Soul Brother Too!"
What beauty isthis, what wonder, what price glory, what strange fruit, what horror inthe night and day of our loneliness. A Latino photographer arrived andtook pics of Plato giving out posters. A sister came to say she wantedjustice for the cowardly murder of Oscar Grant, nothing less, nothingmore, no buildings on fire, no broken glass, no beat downs by police,only justice for Oscar Grant, punishment for the coward who killed himin cold blood. She said he should not walk this earth any longer for hiscrime against humanity. She dared the photographer to record herremarks.
We know this woman, yet we know her not. We know herbecause she was in the riots of the 60s, she was the cause, the reasonfor the season, she defended her son against the police, the pigs, shetranscended death to assume a new life beyond death, beyond passivityand weakness, she was that holy woman who came forth in defense of hermanchild. She was there to ignite the flame of rebellion, without herman, the father of her manchild in the promised land.
And she wasthere today as the sun shined brightly on the Bay, no matter the pigsfour deep in their cars and SUVs who circled repeatedly around theAcademy of Da Corner, but they don't understand, the Academy of DaCorner stands on the blood of martyrs , on the blood of Lil BobbyHutton, Eldridge Cleaver, Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton, Fred Hampton,Bunchy Carter and John Huggins and George Jackson, they don't understandwhy we stand fearless at the Academy of Da Corner daring anymotherfucker on this earth to fuck with us. Yes, we stand on theshoulders of Lil Bobby Hutton, Eldridge Cleaver, Huey Newton, SamuelNapier, Bunchy Carter, George Jackson, Brother Booker, Fred Hampton,Ruchel McGee, William Christmas, Fleeta Drumgo, et al.
Abeautiful day in the Bay. The sun was hot, the sea breeze cooling, theriot was at the Academy, students gathered around for Supreme Wisdom.What greater day than this?
--Marvin X
7/2/10
https://theblacklist.net/
Comments