Blood MoonOn October 8, between 1:17 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
view the eclipse of the moon. Called the blood moon because of its red
hue, it should be pretty spectacular and weather permitting, you can see
it all from Oakland:
http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/oakland There will be a partial solar eclipse October 23 also visible from Oakland.
Maafa Commemoration 2014This
is just a reminder that Sunday, October 12, 2014 marks our 19th Annual
Maafa Commemoration. This is a time when we gather to remember our
African ancestors, especially those who endured the transatlantic slave
trade or the Middle Passage, the Black Holocaust. It is a time for Pan
Africans to gather and celebrate life and recommit ourselves to the
work of liberation: spiritual, psychological, economic and political.
We
have our 501 (c) 3 now, so if anyone wants to make an endowment or
give us property like a building or car or van, you can write it off
(smile). The ritual is as always here in the Bay at Ocean Beach, Fulton
at the Great Highway. It starts before sunrise, about 5:30 or so. Wear
white, dress warmly (so if your warm clothes are not white—wear them
(smile), bring your kids, instruments, breakfast items to share, flowers
for the ancestors (white and red for the Ritual of Forgiveness),
blankets to sit on or chairs. We can always use more chairs and tables
for the food. If you’d like to carpool, especially if you can pick up
people who are traveling from as far away as Vallejo, Sacramento, maybe
Los Angeles, Oakland, Hayward, Alameda. . . let us know. We can use
donations to pay Urban Shield (security) and to rent the port-a-potty. A
few people are carrying all the costs. If you’d like to help,
especially with 2015, drop me a line: maafasfbayarea.com@gmail.com We
still need a rehearsal space for the Ritual. Visit
http://maafasfbayarea.com or call (641) 715-3900 ext. 36800#
Health and WellnessThe
"Be Still Retreat,” a place for black people specifically to learn
about self-care and stress reduction, is Saturday, October 4, 2014, 10-4
(at 9 a.m. there is a mindfulness walk). Sponsored by Black Women's
Media Project, its in a new location: Mills College in the Graduate
School of Business (GSB) building. 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland. 94613.
To attend call 510-834-5990. It is a free event.
Day of Prayer for Mental HealthAlameda
County Mental Health Awareness Annual Day of Prayer is Tuesday,
October 7, 8-9 a.m. at 1221 Oak Street. There will be representation by
diverse faiths, Observance of Japanese Crane, a Proclamation by the
Board of Supervisors, and Refreshments. The goal will be to lift up
those in need of mental wellness support, prayer and love, especially
African American males.
The Spirituality Factor ConferenceThe
following week is the Spirituality Factor Conference: Weaving
Spirituality & Behavior Health Using Evidence on October 9th and
10th in Oakland at Allen Temple Family Life Center, 8501 International
Blvd. Go to www.mhspirit.org to learn more and get registered to attend.
The
title of my presentation is: Where Is Home for the Pan African as
Exemplified through the Baseball Metaphor Jackie Robinson and Home Plate
TheatreColor Struck 2014-2015: Conversations N Color Tour,
written and performed by Donal Lacy Jr. Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4 at Laney College
Join
Donald Lacy Jr. for an evening of thought-provoking conversation about
race relations in America. Audiences will find themselves both
laughing and then pinching themselves once the tears stop rolling down
their cheeks--
That really wasn't funny, was it? Will be the
operative thought that night as the interrogation looks at deep wounds
and scars in the American psyche --wounds which are not just
contagious, they are deadly.
For tickets call 510 One Love or online at
colorstruck.net Portions of the ticket proceeds benefit
LoveLife Foundation's Art & Media Training Academy.
Traveling while Black?After
a rockin' debut in in March of 2013, Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe's
“Traveling While Black” returns to the Brava Studio, 2781 24th Street,
San Francisco, for a full run, Oct. 3-26. With direction and design by
Jose Maria Francos, TWB is part travelogue, part history lesson, part
stand-up comedy and based on a lifetime of travel as a touring artist.
Based on treks through Europe, the Americas and Africa, “TWB” is part
travelogue and part history lesson and seeks to exploit the tensions
between tourism and colonialism as it interrogates boundaries and
reveals cultural connects and disconnects. Inspired by Langston Hughes’s
“I Wonder As I Wander,” “TWB” examines the post-slavery condition of
Black travel, both fanciful and forced. TWB is part of a trilogy of
plays by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe. The first production of the trilogy,
“Adventures Of A Black Girl In Search of Academic Clarity and Inclusion”
has been published in the anthology, solo/black/woman by Northwestern
University Press. For information visit
brava.org or call (415) 641-7657.
Edris
Cooper-Anifowoshe (Actor/Writer) is an award-winning director, actor
and writer and has performed at many regional and independent theaters
and for more than a decade was a lead artist for Rhodessa Jones’ The
Medea Project; Theatre for Incarcerated Women. Edris’ original solo
performances have been seen at Northwestern University, the University
of Illinois and the University of Florida in Gainesville; and in San
Francisco at AfroSolo Festival, Intersection for the Arts and other
small independent venues, including her own former Sugar Shack
Performance Gallery and Cultural Center in the Lower Haight.
Internationally, Edris has performed in Ibadan, Nigeria and Berlin,
Germany and presented scholarship on performance in Mexico, the UK and
the Netherlands.
FilmThe 37th Mill Valley Film Festival is October 2-12
http://www.mvff.com / Films of African Diaspora Interest include:
Timbuktu,
dir. Abderrahmane Sissako (“Bamako”). This new film takes place during
the Jihadist take over in 2012. Recounting events influenced by a
public stoning of an unmarried couple. Selected to compete for the Palm
d ’Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film
Festival. At Cannes it won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the
Francois Chalais Prize. Screens Sunday, October 5 at 1:45PM at Smith
Rafael Film Center; Monday, October 6 at 3PM at Sequoia.
The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the Public Toilet at
Kilometer 375, dir. Omar el Zohairy. This short film from Egypt
follows the aftermath of a single sneeze which takes on Kafkaesque
proportions for a government official. Screens as part of 5@5 Round and
Round on Monday, October 6 at 1:30PM at Sequoia; Wednesday, October 8
at 9:15PM at Smith Rafael Film Center;
Black and White,
dir. Mike Binder. After the deaths of his wife and daughter, an
attorney (Kevin Costner) becomes entangled in a custody battle with his
biracial granddaughter’s paternal grandmother (Octavia Spencer). This
hopeful ! lm explores a volatile discussion in American life and aims
straight for the heart. Screens Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30PM at Smith
Rafael Film Center;
Finding The Gold Within,
dir. Karina Epperlein. Bay Area filmmaker Karina Epperlein follows six
African American college freshmen, alumni of the unique Ohio mentoring
program Alchemy, Inc., and well-equipped with self-confidence and
critical-thinking skills, as they leave home for the first time. Cast:
Kwame Scruggs, Jerry Kwame Williams, Darius Simpson, Brandyn Costa,
Stacee Starr, Shawntrail Smith. Screens Friday, October 3 at 8PM at Lark
theater; Saturday, October 4 at 8PM at Smith Rafael Film Center;
F R E E,
dirs. Suzanne LaFetra and David Collier. A feature length documentary
following five teens through a year in an Oakland dance program. Their
journey in the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company reveals how
collaborative art can be a foundation for personal discovery, turning
the courage, determination, and stamina demanded of their lives into a
contagious joy. Screens Saturday, October 11 at 7:30PM at 142
Throckmorton; Sunday, October 12 at 2:30PM at Smith Rafael Film Center;
Gardeners of Eden,
dir. Austin Peck. Even in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park, elephants
aren’t safe from poachers. The surging price of ivory has given rise to
organized gangs that hunt and kill these majestic creatures for their
tusks, usually leaving orphans in their wake. Continuously on the
lookout and always ready to come to the rescue, the David Sheldrick
Wildlife Trust has a well-established protocol for transporting and
caring for the traumatized baby elephants and, just as crucially, a
remarkable record of successfully reintroducing them to the wild.
Screens Saturday, October 4 at 2PM at Sequoia; Sunday, October 5 at
4:45PM at Smith Rafael Film Center; Tuesday, October 7 at 11:45AM at
Smith Rafael Film Center;
How I Got Over, dir.
Nicole Boxer’s documentary follows a group of women all residents of
Washington, DC, recovery community N Street Village as they prepare to
turn their harrowing life stories into a theater piece that will be
performed at the Kennedy Center. Screens Sunday, October 5 at 7:45PM at
Sequoia; Thursday, October 9 at 2:45PM at Smith Rafael Film Center;
Saturday, October 11 at 8:30PM at Smith Rafael Film Center;
Imperial Dreams,
dir. Malik Vitthal. In the electrifying debut, Imperial Dreams (winner
of The Best of Next award at Sundance), aspiring novelist Bambi
returns to his Watts neighborhood after two years in prison to
extricate himself and his young son from their criminally compromised
family. Screens Saturday, October 4 at 5:30PM at Lark theater; Sunday,
October 5 at 2PM at Smith Rafael Film Center; Wednesday, October 8
11:30AM Smith Rafael Film Center; Sooleils, dir. Oliver Delahaye. Part
road trip through time, part heroine’s journey through memory,
Soleils
is a beautifully rendered meditation on the wisdom of Africa, as a
young woman is initiated into the roots and legacy of her heritage.
Screens Saturday, October 11 at 5PM at Sequoia; Sunday, October 12 at
5:15PM at Smith Rafael Film Center.
Art
Visions at Twilight:
Día de los Muertos 2014 group exhibition, Saturday, October 11–Saturday,
November 8, 2014. Opening Event is Friday, October 10, 6–9pm, $12–15
sliding scale admission. Exhibition unveiling features live music by
Rupa, interactive installations and Día de los Muertos inspired artist
market. Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Friday, 12–7pm, Saturday 11am–5pm,
Sunday, 11am–3pm. Cost: Free admission during gallery hours
Information:
https:///www.somarts.org/visionsattwilight To listen to an interview
with artist Candi Farlice about her piece this year which looks at the
politics of the black male body:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2014/09/26/wandas-picks-radio-show-dia-de-los-muertosArt con’t.“Candi
Farlice: Musings from an Artist's Life” currently at the San Francisco
Main Library, 100 Larkin, San Francisco, African American Center (3rd
Floor) through Oct. 16. Visit
http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1017575901 TheatreAfrican American Shakespeare Company presents: The TempestThe
time is 2020, the place is a trash island in the middle of the ocean,
Prospero, the former CEO of SYCORAX, a multi-product industrial
conglomerate based in Milan, charged with polluting the environment
lands here when his ships capsizes. Directed by Nancy Carlin and
starring Michael Gene Sullivan as Prospero, The Tempest inaugurates the
20th Anniversary Season (2014/15) of the award-winning African American
Shakespeare Company. The last time we saw The Tempest was in 2001, a
full 13 years ago.
With his daughter Miranda in tow, along with
the single inhabitant of the island, Caliban, and an
application/personal assistant called Ariel, he builds from reclaimed
circuitry and other detritus, Prospero begins his campaign of
holographic manifestations and manipulation of weather patterns to help
settle the score.
The staging of the play also touches on
topical environmental themes. "We set this production set on an island
of garbage in the middle of the ocean," says Callender, "because there
is such a place, several of them actually, these massive structures
floating in our oceans. What if they are creating their own life forms?
Could a Caliban be a result? We were interested in stretching our
imaginations and the imaginations of our audiences, young and old."
The
play runs October 18-November 9, Saturday at 8pm; Sunday Matinee at 3
p.m. at the Buriel Clay Theatre, African-American Art & Culture
Complex, 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco. Tickets are $15-$34.00:
http://www.african-americanshakes.org/productions/the-tempest/ To listen to an interview with Mr. Callender, the director Nancy Carlin, and actress Ponder Goddard who portrays Ariel,
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2014/09/26/wandas-picks-radio-show-dia-de-los-muertos (final guests).
Michael Gene Sullivan’s play, “Recipe” opens at Central Works Oct. 16–Nov 23 Michael
Gene Sullivan serves up the laughs in this delicious take on a circle
of sweet old grandmotherly bakers, who just happens to be dedicated to
the armed overthrow of the United States government. But baking pies
and cakes isn’t enough to satisfy these four intrepid refugees from the
sixties, and their burning desire to “Up the Revolution!” It’s one
thing to say “The government is probably listening to my calls,” but
what do you do when you find out it’s true? If it seems that the
government that you call “a fascist, surveillance state” has
specifically targeted you, is specifically watching YOU (it’s not
paranoia if they really are after you!), then what? How do you live
your life knowing that all your fears may, actually, be true?
Performances
are at the historic Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley,
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8 pm, and Sunday at 5 pm (with Post-show
talk-backs on Oct. 19 and Nov. 9). Ticket prices: $28 online at
centralworks.org, $28–$15 sliding scale at the door. Pay-what-you-can:
Previews and every Thursday, at the door as available. For reservations
and information: 510.558.1381 or centralworks.org
(30)
Art
THE MORRIE MOVEMENT: The Influence of “Wee Pals” Cartoonist Morrie TurnerNovember 8, 2014 – January 29, 2015
“The
Morrie Movement: The Influence of ‘Wee Pals’ Cartoonist Morrie Turner”
will follow Candi Farlice’s solo show this month at the African
American Center of the San Francisco Main Library’s from November 8,
2014 to January 29, 2015 at 100 Larkin Street in San Francisco. The
exhibit opening/panel discussion will take place on November 16, 2014,
from 1-3 pm in the Koret Auditorium. The exhibit is created and
curated by Kheven LaGrone.
The Egungun Many
trees have fallen in the forest this year, more recently Elder Herman
Ferguson (Dec. 31, 1920-Sept. 25, 2014), whose comrade and age-mate,
Yuri Kochiyama passed a bit before, followed by the much younger, yet
fierce revolutionary composer, musician, designer and host of the
Scientific Soul Sessions, Fred Ho (Aug. 10, 1957-Apr. 12, 2014).
Both
Iya Yuri and Brother Ferguson were 93. Baba Ferguson’s memoir “An
Unlikely Warrior Herman Ferguson: Evolution of a Black Nationalist
Revolutionary” written with his wife Iyaluua Ferguson, a woman with
over a half century of activism in the struggle for human rights and
the liberation of Black people under her own belt, gives context to the
marvelous history Baba Ferguson has lived beginning with his early
years in the then rural southern town, Fayetteville, North Carolina,
reared by a mother and father who valued education and more importantly
taught their children to stand tall for their rights.
In
between Mrs. Ferguson’s narration we have the voice of Elder Ferguson
speaking about seeing Malcolm X the first time. Brother Malcolm was
walking to a dais where he was to speak. Ferguson had heard him before,
but never seen him live. The two men he says, nodded to each other.
Later Ferguson would head the education wing of the Organization of
Afro-American Unity, this after much community organizing and work as
Assistant Principal at PS 40 in Jamaica Queens, New York. The educator
speaks about a leadership training the OAAU hosted which graduated ten
students in its first class, Yuri Kochiyama one of those who received a
certificate signed by Brother Malcolm who was killed before the OAAU
could host its next session. In the book, which is a quick yet
satisfying read, we learn of the formation of the Republic of New
Africa, what it means to stand trial when not only are your peers
absent from the stand, so are your people. Truly prisoners of war,
Unlikely Warrior speaks to this inconsistency.
Brother Herman
says of this time when he decides after 19 years to return to New York
from Guyana, “[he and his co-defendant, Arthur Harris] had been
convicted in Queens of a 1967 plot to assassinate then NAACP head Roy
Wilkins and Urban League Chairman Whitney Young, among other things.
[They] were also accused in court on the morning after Senator Robert
F. Kennedy was gunned down in Los Angeles of having a hit list that
included his name! [Ferguson asks rhetorically], What can I say? It was
a no-win situation before an all white, all male jury. Lynch law was
in full effect” (230).
After a retiring from his work as
“architect of the Guyanese education system, founder of the country’s
youth training service (the Guyana National Service, equivalent to the
U.S. Job Corps), Lt. Colonel in the Guyana Defense Force (GDF),” he
says, “There was no one to sit around with and talk about old times.
There was no life for [him]” (234-235). At 68, he was in good shape, a
fact the FBI agents who arrested him once his plane landed in New
York, commented. At his arraigning the day after his arrival and
arrest, the courtroom was filled with comrades fists raised, among them
Yuri Kochiyama, two of his sons and others.
Brother Herman
also says of his return that “when you believe in something, you stand
and fight for it.” This is something Brother Malcolm told him when
Ferguson asked him why he returned and kept returning when he knew it
wasn’t safe.
“I had no illusions,” the activist, founder of
Black Brotherhood Improvement Association (BBIA), an organization
ideologically linked to Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X’s work of black
liberation, stated on his return. He knew “what was going to happen to
me and what I would be able to accomplish if I came back. I was not
going to be the Black knight on the black horse returning to save the
day. But I would run no longer (236).
Herman Ferguson says he
was fighting for economic justice and human rights. This was the call
when he organized the Jamaica Rifle and Pistol Club Inc. so that the
BBIA could protect itself from police violence. This was the motivation
earlier when he successfully organized the Rochdale community around a
development project that did not offer jobs to residents nor plan to
allow any of them to live there either.
I could just imagine
seeing the shock on the faces of construction foremen arriving at work
September 5, 1963 to the sight of four men and a woman chained to cranes
dangling precariously high above ground. If the workers started the
machines the protestors could have fallen to their death (112-113). If
the FBI didn’t know the Assistant Principal’s name, they certainly knew
if now (smile).
The men were arrested and when they went to
court, Judge Bernard Dubin called them “’patriots’ for their bold action
and dismissed the charges” (112). The ancestors guided Brother
Ferguson’s feet and he listened. There were so many times he writes,
where had he been present, let’s say in Attica, when the police shot all
the leaders point blank, he would have been in that number. Even the
way comrades escorted him back to this country, allowing media to put a
hidden microphone on him so that they could monitor what happened to
him if they were separated, all contributed to his safety.
The
last time I saw Brother Herman was at the annual Dinner Tribute to the
families of Political Prisoners in Harlem, the same day Brother Baraka
was laid to rest in Newark. The salute to the wonderful couple was
quite moving. Lynn Stewart was there with her husband. It was her first
public appearance after her release. Pam Africa and her husband were
also in attendance as were Russell Maroon Shoat’s daughters and son.
Robert H. King was there and so many others, like the couple’s great
granddaughter who spoke about her Great Grandmother and being raised in
the Black Liberation Movement and what that meant and how normal it was
to know what she knew about nationhood and the state’s injunction
against her people, and her right to self-defense.
Among his
other legacies, Baba Ferguson formed the Malcolm X Commemoration
Committee; was the Administrator of the New Afrika Liberation Front;
founding member along with Safiyah Bukari and Jalil Muntaqim of the
National Jericho Movement, publisher of “NATION TIME,” and served as
Co-chair of the Queens chapter of National Coalition of Blacks for
Reparations in America (NCOBRA). He is the father of four, step-father
of two, grandfather of ten, and great-grandfather of fourteen.
great-great grandfather of two. Ashay.
Mr. Herman B. Ferguson’s
Memorial Service is 1:30 p.m., Saturday, October 4, 2014 at the Funeral
Home, 1515 New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, NC. Moments of visitation with
the family, 1-1:30, prior to the Service:
http://www.stevenlyonsfuneralhome.com/new_view.php?id=5343526
Brother Syed Malik Al KhatibI’m thankin’
I’m thankin’ each droplet of uninterrupted water
Washing, cleansing purifying me
Each ray of sun choosing me as the one
Beating upon my pores
Healin’ all my sores
I’m thanking revelations conversations
With you on my side
Blessin’ this holy ride
Fillin’ illusions optical conclusions
Leavin’ me alone with you again
I’m thankin’ the sin
The scrapes and the falls
Allowin’ me to hear your calls
Givin’ me your holy name
Usin’ me the same way you usin’ creation
Humblin’ elevation
Dancing to the rhythm of your song
My life, our life, his life— a prayer in your palm-
-by Koren ClarkWhen
I learned of Brother Syed Al Khatib's transition I was surprised.
There is never time to prepare for such, especially when one is not
close to the recently departed. So I hadn't known of his illness over
the past year(s), otherwise I would have certainly visited him. Alas,
another ancestor whom I get to know more intimately once I have
opportunity to read an obituary—I think about the conversations we
could have had, that we will now have from alternative dimensions. As
African people, he is not gone and nothing is lost (smile). His family
and friends who remain will serve as conduits to a wonderful man whose
work in black psychology, theology and philosophy is unparalleled. When
one thinks about the scholarship that institutionalized black
psychology as a discipline, perhaps Dr. Al Khatib's name does not ring a
bell, but it should. He is the father of the discipline, his
theoretical children--Dr. Wade Nobles one of the more popular or
visible, yet Baba Wade certainly had company as the young black
scholars met then Dr. Cedric Clark at Stanford University where his
work looked at corporate media and its construction of black image(s).
Dr.
Al Khatib’s journey was long, but perhaps not long enough for daughter
Koren and his three grandchildren, ex-wives, brothers, sister and
friends, yet, as a scholar his work is well documented, all that needs
to happen is to perhaps pull the essays together into a Syed Al Khatib
Reader. Perhaps a graduate student at his alma mater, Michigan State
University or where his work touched so many lives— Stanford
University, San Francisco State University, Princeton, etc., will take
his voluminous work on as a graduate thesis? We'd all be more than
grateful. After he left Stanford, he spent the same number of years at
San Francisco State, and the same again at Marist College in
Poughkeepsie, New York.
Dr. Khatib challenged Dr. William
Shockley, Stanford University, Noble Prize winning physicist, on his
theory of black genetic inferiority and the money he offered often poor
black people to voluntarily sterilize themselves. Dr. Frances Cress
Welsing, MD (in Ebony Magazine July 1974) says that Shockley admitted
he had no medical background to base any of these claims. He also
stated that environment had nothing to do with cognitive development,
which we know is false.
Dr. Al Khatib’s scholarship also looked
at the notion of the “exceptional” black in popular TV roles. These
black attorneys and teachers, property owners and police detectives,
did not mirror the reality on American streets. It just confused black
America who sought this fiction in reality yet kept running into nooses
and auction blocks where opportunity said slavery and discrimination
were over?!
After driving around for quite a bit I found parking
and headed over to Juma Prayer and the Janaaza Funeral service for Dr.
Al Khatib, Friday, Sept. 12. I'd never been to this particular masjid
before. Built from the ground up, the Oakland Islamic Center (just down
from Summit Medical Center) was enclosed in glass –lots of windows, so
I could see the brothers inside. As I walked thought the parking lot, I
was able to see the entrance for the women, and where they sat, which
was up a steep flight of stairs. The very full room reminded me of a
similar tight-space in Dar es Salaam last summer.
I removed my
shoes, walked up the stairs, checked out the scene and then retreated
to the cooler space at the entrance until I hear the Iqamah or call to
prayer and went back upstairs to participate. The khutbah or sermon was
in Arabic, which I do not understand, so I was surprised when the
funeral prayer was preceded by a few instructions in English. The first
part of the prayer is a series of Allahu Akbar (God is Great) followed
by Al Fatihah (The Opening chapter of the Qur'an) recited silently. In
between the silent utterances one is to pray for the deceased person’s
soul and ask that his sins be forgiven and that his ascension is
swift. The body, which we could not see upstairs, was downstairs in a
closed cardboard box. After the short prayer, when I came downstairs
and put my shoes on and went outside I saw Dr. Al Khatib's body carried
in a box on the shoulders of about six men and put into a hearse. The
family was outside by then. I knew his daughter Koren Fatimah Clark,
and met visiting elder brother, Peyton Clark and younger brother, David
Clark, grandchildren and former-wife and friends, Wade and Vera Nobles
and members of their family (whom I also knew) were there as well.
I
took photos of the group and asked if I could hitch a ride to the
cemetery for the burial. I rode with Dr. Syed’s former wife Carolyn
Martin Shaw, her friend, Nubra Elaine Floyd with her life partner at the
wheel. Dr. Carolyn’s granddaughter Amasha Lyons-Clark kindly took the
middle seat in the back between Nubra and me. I'd been given a short
obits to read at the masjid and told that Sunday at the Nobles’s home
there would be even more shared about Brother Khatib's scholarship and
life.
The drive to Livermore to 5 Pillars Farm Cemetery where
Brother Khatib's remains were laid to rest was without incident. We
arrived after the prayer, but before his remains were covered. I'd been
worried. The family took turns shoveling dirt into the grave. . . the
physicality of this gesture one of both closure and embodiment. There is
something about death that feels final to the human being. I don't
know how other living beings experience this, but for this woman, when I
see the hole opened up, filled then closed, there seems to be
something irretrievable about this moment that feels like a loss, a
missed opportunity, finality . . . even when I know intellectually that
the person's spirit or true essence is not in the hole. The carcass or
the garment is and I know I will miss seeing the person walking about
in such finery.
Heaven or the idea of a here-after is distant
and more philosophical than real at that point, so the idea that such a
moment could be rushed by people who do not understand "the African
way," is sacrilegious. Grief cannot be rushed and the internment is
important to those left behind perhaps more than to those who have moved
on. In African villages among the Dagara people in Burkina Faso where
traditional healer and scholar Malidoma Patrice Somé (Ph.D.) hails,
there are wailing choirs (smile) whose job is to stir the heart, while
other villagers’ jobs are to take care of the family who might want to
go with the departed love one. Granted, the deceased is present
physically, seated in a chair dressed in his or her best clothes. Gifts
are given to the family by close friends and relatives. The ceremony
sounds so wonderful. It is said that if there is no ceremony, the
deceased does not ascend. If there is no noise, no tears, no signs of
grief . . . the deceased paces the earth, haunts the family and village,
so to properly mourn is an important skillset modern society has
lost.
Though not present physically, the ritual at the
Nobles’s compound in Oakland was the true funeral or home going
celebration of Dr. Syed Malik al Khatib. On more than one occasion
people attested to his presence, whether that was his daughter Koren's
testimony regarding what she wore and what of her father's work she
brought to share or Baba Wade's recollection of his first time in
Africa with his wife Vera, Dr. Cedric and Carolyn and his encounter
with an elephant.
Present were colleagues who'd known him for a
long time and those who knew of his work, like the Dean of Ethnic
Studies from SFSU, who arrived at Stanford just after Dr. Al Khatib
left. His treating physician was there, as was his nurse,
grandchildren, former wife, daughter, siblings and extended community.
When I arrived I heard a conch shell call from behind the house;
however, when I got to the back, the assembly was moving indoors.
There
was poetry and great lifting of spirits as loved ones shared sacred
moments with the beloved Dr. Al Khatib, called brother or dad or
grandfather or comrade or even Dr. Cedric X.
I'd know Dr.
Cedric as a youth when he was director of Muhammad University of Islam
No. 26 in San Francisco on Fillmore and Geary. Having graduated at 15
from the same institution, I was a young student teacher when he came
on board. What I remember of Brother Khatib (Dr. Cedric is what we
called him then), is how impressed I was to meet a black man with a
doctorate. He had swag and brought to the school other smart lettered
black men, who talked to us, encouraged us and pushed us to excel.
He
didn't wear suits, yet his authority was present in his poise and
carriage. Well maybe he did, I just remember his white shirts and the
rolled sleeves. I can still see his smiling face and sparkling eyes. He
was really happy and always greeted me with a smile. I remember when
Dr. Na’im Akbar was getting a tour of the school and I was introduced.
Brother Sunni Ali Shabazz was the Assistant Director then and I
remember the talk swirling around me about attending UC Berkeley, where
Brother Sunni went.
Then he was gone.
I never forgot Dr.
Cedric and don't know why his tenure as director of MUI was the brief
whirlwind it was, yet when I saw him years later and learned he'd
retired from Stanford, that he was that close all this time, I wished
that we'd stayed in touch. It would have been nice to talk to him about
higher education. It has been tough being the only one again and
again.
He made being intelligent cool, not just for me, a young
woman who didn't know any black people with undergraduate degrees, let
alone doctorate degrees, but for all of us on Fillmore and Geary. Youth
from families that were living just above the poverty line. I knew
Dr. Cedric would not lie to me, so if he believed in me, I should
believe in me too. I knew that I could achieve the same level of acumen
I admired in him and his peers. I always felt capable in his eyes. I
always felt I could do whatever I set my mind on, even if I had to work
a bit harder than my peers. And I have, Al Hamdulilah (praise God).
Dr.
Cedric was a true role model, subtle yet highly effective. He told me a
maybe a couple years ago that he was proud of me and what I had
achieved. He was so tickled about an article I wrote about a statewide
black mental health initiative (published in the SFBV) that he sent me
an email (smile).
What else could one ask for— praise from one's
role model? That he noticed was beyond phenomenal. I valued his
opinion, a rock star, he not only gave me an autograph, he called my
name (smile). Dr. Cedric or Syed Al Khatib (translated means: “Mister
Teacher/Clerk/Scribe.” What a name!) Dr. C knew my trajectory . . . 40
years ago to now, may Allah bless this great man with immediate access
to the highest levels of Jannah or paradise.
Professor in Psychology
and Communications, Executive Editor at Ebonic Editing, his academic
work at Michigan State University, where he graduated with Doctor of
Philosophy in Communications and Media Studies (Linkedin), he certainly
has earned the preferential treatment.
After the salutes people
shared in a repast and read Dr. Khatib's scrapbook which included clips
of news articles and record of debates, scholastic achievement and
other publications. We then gathered on the patio next to the pool as
the sun retreated on the horizon to participate in a Kikongo ceremony,
where we put wishes and requests on tiny sheets of paper for the newly
inducted ancestor and burned them in a roaring fire on the patio.
The Egun or ancestors need to be kept busy I’ve heard on more than one occasion; they've nothing but time (smile).
Dr. Cedric has a good head start.
Ashay! (And so it is.)
serving on local and national executive boards and was national president, the first non-lawyer to hold that position in the Guild's 75-year history, joins us to talk about a recent trip to Palestine (May '14), hosted by 
