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Parole Bid for Malcolm’s Assassin Halted?

By LittleRed:

A funny thing happened while on the way to a press conference officially condemning the release of an assassin of Malcolm X from the NY state prison system, Zayid Muhammad, the press officer for the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, got one of the most polite phone calls he had ever received.

The call came from of all places the NY State Parole Board.

“We had already made our condemnation known to the governor. We sounded the drum for the community to do the same. I guess someb
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Lessons from Confederate History Month

By Ezrah Aharone:

Next year in April commemorates the 150th anniversary of America’s Civil War. So under the pretext to “encourage tourism” in Virginia, which has over 100 Confederate monuments, GOP Governor Bob McDonnell dusted-off an old proclamation that declares April as “Confederate History Month.” Not only did he revive it, he removed a clause stating “that slavery was one of the causes” of the war.

President Obama called this “an unacceptable omission,” while members of Virginia’s Legisla
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Friday, April 23, 2010

BlackBird Press Benefit Read in/teach in


Black Bird Press/Academy of Da Corner
Benefit
Read in/teach in
Book Party

To celebrate the publication of The Wisdom of Plato Negro, Parables/Fables,I am asking poets, writers and community people to join in readingfrom the parables/fables. The following are especially invited toread:

Ishmael Reed, Cecil Brown, devorah major, Ayodele Nzingha(confirmed), Linda Johnson, Phavia Khujichagulia, Tureada Mikel,Paradise (confirmed), Art Sheridan,
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Comments: 0
DMV

Haley's Comet

April 22, 2010

Raynard Jackson

Just like Halley’s Comet only comes around every so often, so does a politician like Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour. He is completing his second term as governor and is term limited from seeking another term. Barbour, a lawyer by training, has one of the most impressive backgrounds of anyone on the political scene today.

He ran for the U.S. Senate in the early 80s (lost), worked in the Reagan White House, the campaign of Bush 41, and served as chairman of the pa

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The Education of Jah Amiel

Wednesday, April 21, 2010


The Educationof Jah Amiel

Jah Amiel went out the backdoor ofhis house and knocked on his grandpa's door. Grandpa was lying downproofreading but got up when he heard his grandson at the door. He hadto get up for the little savior of the world, as his grandson told himhe was going to be.

He opened the door and Jah Amiel came in on amission as he nears his third year on earth, May 31. "I want to see theAmerican," he told his grandpa excitedly.

What?
The American!
What?
TheAmeric
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Comments: 3

Parable of the Catholic Church, et al.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010



Parable ofthe Catholic Church, et al.

They have defiled children forcenturies, without hesitation or remorse. They molested children wholost their innocence forever, who in turn became molesters themselves,passing on this evil from generation to generation.

Hiding behindtheir robes was filth and squalor, deceiving the righteous of theirbirthright to be holy and pure as the driven snow. They are anabomination unto the Lord and He shall destroy this house utterly, rootand bran
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Comments: 1

The Manhood Line by Mike Ramey

MEMO: KILLING THE ‘LEADERLESS’ LIE

BY MIKE RAMEY

While the Depression-that-no-one-wants-to-admit-we-are-in continues, the end of the school year is rapidly approaching. Schools across the land are getting hammered with firings, layoffs and a variety of hiring and pay freezes. Not just the ‘great’ schools but ALL schools--whether they be private, parochial, public or charter.

And the teachers said: “AMEN”.

However--left out of the discussion is the fact that a lot of school WASTE has been exposed to

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Parable of the black brotherhood

Parable of the Black Brotherhood




The brotherhood is in shambles, from hood to hood, coast to coast, sea to shining sea. It is as Walter Rodney described in his monograph West Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade: brother is against brother. There is no trust, only hatred, only the desire to kill at the drop of a hat, the glance of an eye. And sometimes it is on purpose, for the hatred is solid and unequivocal, based on religion or ideology or class or color. Christians hate Muslims, and the revers
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Comments: 0

Parable of the Ash Cloud


Parable ofthe Ash Cloud

"When the earth is shaken to its utmostconvulsion
And the earththrows up its burdens from within
And man cries distressed, 'What is the matter with it?....
--Al Qur'an, Surah 99, Al Zalzalah
(TheEarthquake)

The calamity!
What is the calamity?
And what will make thee know how terrible isthe calamity?
The daywherein men will be as scattered moths.
And the mountains will be as carded wool.
Then as for him whose measure (of gooddeeds) is heavy
He willlive a pleasant life.
And asfor him w
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www.kpfa.org

MarvinX and Rashidah on KPFA Monday, 9pm


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MarvinX and Rashidah Sabreen on KPFA Monday, 9pm
Marvin X will be interviewed and perform on the Greg Bridges s
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Comments: 0

Parable of Iraq

Friday, April 16, 2010







Parable ofIraq

The war in Iraq has not begun. It shall beginwhen the Americans leave--now what day might that be? They are still inGermany, Japan, and elsewhere. They ain't in Vietnam, ha? But in Iraq,they have merely opened Pandora's box. As they draw down, the spiritsshall dance in the desert winds.

The Shia have power they'venever had before, not since before the martyrdom of their imams afterthe death of the prophet. The Shia say to hell with the democraticprocess, there
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Comments: 1

Parable of Desirelessness




Parable ofDesirelessness

During his life, he'd hadeverything, money, dope, women, more love than any man could handle. In short, he was spoiled rotten. Now he was bored to tears. Maybe he was just an ungrateful bastard, since his cup had run over with goodness and mercy.


While on drugs, he discovered he needed very little,although he desired much. As a dope addict he survived on nothing but dope. No woman, no sex, food, clothes, bath, place to stay. Nothing but dope. For a time he lived in a card
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Parable of the Old Lovers



Parable of the Old Lovers

They met in their twenties. Shecelebrated her 21st birthday with him, making mad love in his room on Page Street in San Francisco. It was the 60s, around the time of that great Summer of Love. Haight Street was full of hippies in love. These lovers were among them, black hippies. Smoking weed. Dropping LSD. Spreading black nationalism. Studying Islam. Black Arts West Theatre. Black Panthers. Black Student Union. Huey, Bobby, Eldridge, Kathleen, Angela. Malcolm. Elijah. M
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DMV

Republicans and Adult-ery

Republicans and Adult-ery

April 15, 2010Raynard Jackson

Now that I have everyone’s attention, let’s talk about the one way the Republicans can negate the momentum they have gained heading into the fall elections.

Political analysts all agree that this fall’s elections will be a referendum on the Obama administration and the Democratic controlled Congress. If the elections were held today, in all likelihood, the Democrats would be handily defeated in both the house and the senate (not enough to take

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Parable of the Elephant






Parable ofthe Elephant








An African elephant lived in a zoo and oftenperformed in a circus doing tricks. His keeper dominated him, oppressing his natural desire to be free. The trainer made him do tricks he had no desire to do, but he went along with the program.

One day theelephant got tired of following commands. He no longer wanted tostand on his hind legs or on one leg.

He rebelled and stomped his trainer. Whenhis master came to the rescue, the elephant stomped him too. He broke from the circus a
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Parable of the Girl Ignut of Men




Parable ofGirl Ignut of Men

There was a girl who didn't knowmen. Her mother and father were too busy doing drugs, so they didn'thave time to teach her about men or anything else. In fact, theyabandoned her, so she grew up in foster care.

She was diagnosedmanic depressive but went faithfully to her therapist, even though itwas a white person located in a rich area of town. But most of the timethe girl seemed to stay balanced, although there were times when shetalked out of her head.

When she was on
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Comments: 1

Parable of the Witch Doctors


Parable ofthe Witch Doctors



Witch doctors fromaround the world are in Oakland for the 40th anniversary of theAssociation of Black Psychologists at the Marriott. As in the case ofHarry Belafonte’s Gathering a few months ago, hardly anyone in Oaklandknows of the event. I was able to attend as a journalist for theOakland Post, even though I must be considered a lay psychologist withthe publication of my manual for a Pan African Mental Health PeerGroup: How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supr
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Comments: 0

Fable of the Donkey


Fable of theDonkey

In memory of Ali Sharif Bey,
my teacher






Theso-called Negro is the donkey of the world, everybody rides him tosuccess. If you need a free ride to success, jump on the Negro's backand ride into the sunset. He will welcome you with open arms. No saddleneeded, just jump on his back and ride him to the bank.

Theso-called Negro lives in Negroland, and the whole world is welcome,free of charge. He claims it as his turf, but not really because he runswhenever popocomes. Why would he run i
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Now Available from Black Bird Press







The Wisdom of Plato Negro
Parables/Fables

Marvin X



“Is Marvin X a parable or fable? We doubt a Marvin X exists! We double doubt there is a Plato Negro!”

—Amiri Baraka



"He's the USA's Rumi!"
--Bob Holman








"Jeremiah, I presume! I am sure these parables are a first in America exploiting this literary category.
People will wonder where to place these parables and fables. You have expanded contemporary literature. I suspect there is nothing like them in post-modern Ameri
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Comments: 1

Parable of the Heart


Parable of the Heart



There was a man who loved God. He went to churches, mosques, temples in his search for God. He married, had children, a good job, yet still didn't feel he knew God. He prayed day and night until
his knee caps had sores. He called out for God to make Himself known in
his life. Hearing nothing from God, he balled his fists at God, in anger
and frustration. Why won't God talk to me, he wondered?


He loved his family and they loved him. He gave them all the material comforts,
yet he w
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Comments: 0

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