Journey 2 Womanhood

Soul capital Part 1

30 poems/ 30 days

Day 17

Soul capital Part 1

by Aries Jordan

In my political science classes we studied
GNP the measures of success
Capital
My English teacher told us to be objective and take out the passion
write about the facts
whose facts
On the debate team
Don’t make it personal
So I leave passion in the streets
Try to not to give em the look like Bitch please
My soul currency
The essence of me
Capital inside of me
Who am I not to be me

News Review: Dr. Nathan Hares 80th Birthday Celebration

On April 13,2013  guest from all over the bay area and as far as England gathered at Geoffery’s Inner Circle downtown, Oakland to  celebrate the life and 80 year legacy of Dr. Nathan Hare. Dr.Hare known as the “Father  of the Black studies” is  one of the greatest philosophers and intellects on Black culture. Nathan Hare was the  first coordinator of the Black studies program in the United States, at San Francisco State University in 1968.  Dr. Hare  is also the founding publisher of  “The Black Scholar”, The author of the “Miseducation of the  Black Child” and countless books. 

Dr. Hare  founded the  Black think Tank with  his wife Julia Hare to promote a movement for  better black male/female relationships  . Dr. Hare  has a long legacy of scholarship and dedication to the advancement of African Americans and the African Diaspora. His greatest achievement is his unwavering devotion to his wife Julia hare of over 40 years.  The celebration was organized by Marvin X  and The Community archives project. Dr. Nathan and Julia Hare were not in attendance due to health crisis.

Though they were not physically present, they were there in spirit. The Birthday Celebration was hosted by Dr. Ayodele  Nzinga of the Lower Bottom Playas. Ayodele reminded the audience the importance of “celebrating the living Lions among us, while they are alive because they can’t smell the flowers when they are dead!”.   Libation was led by Oba T’shaka who paid homage to the ancestors that sacrificed their life to preserve the dignity and integrity of Black culture. The Program included live music from legendary trumpet player Earl Davis and a Birthday tribute by violinist Tureeka Lewis and Songstress Mechelle Lachaux.

 Friends of the Hare Family took the stage to pay homage to the father of Black Studies which has paved the way for ethnic studies around the world. Benjamin Stewart shared the impact Dr. Hare has had on Black consciousness and his role in the Black community. “Nathan remains accessible to the Black community; many of our Black scholars don’t take risk anymore like Dr.Hare did because they are not willing to sacrifice their tenure and comfort.” Many shared how Dr. Nathan and Julia Hare’s commitment to Black love, their courage to bring forth a Black agenda, their Advancement of African Thought/philosophy and commitment to the Black Community has profoundly impacted their lives.  Bay area gems Marvin X,  ToReadah Mikell, Mechelle Lachaux, Earl, Ayodele and Tarika did an impromptu dedication to the Hares that had everyone snapping and moving.

 Marvin x   who is working on the archives of Dr. Nathan Hare and Dr. Julia Hare asked the audience for assistance to complete the project that contains over 200 boxes of materials. The Birthday celebration was taped and the Hares will receive a copy.

The gun debate in my head

30 poems/ 30 days: Day 9 (to read poems from day 4-8 visit my page on facebook: Don’t forget to like and respond (https://www.facebook.com/Ariesthepoet)

Gun control debate in my head

I don’t remember how old I was
Or how I found the gun tucked behind my parents dresser
I held it in my hand
I felt the rush like I was in some action movie
I would sneak and hold it
Until one day it was gone
Good thing it was moved
And I didn’t end up on the news
My parents in jail because they didn’t have it in a lock box
I remember when I wanted to get a gun
Being young, single woman living in the town
I remember when my little sister was a attacked by that dude
Who chilled in front of the corner store
It took the police 3 hrs to come
He knew exactly where we lived
No male relatives close
Would we feel safer if we had a gun?
I remember when my students asked me who made the first gun? And Why?
I didn’t have an answer
I remember when Marvin told me about the Myth of Yacoub
And his children’s addiction to steal
It didn’t seem like a myth but a reality
When I found out the US is the worlds biggest manufacture of guns
I never remember seeing a gun factory in the hood
But have heard gun shots ring out in the day and in the night
City to city
Suburb to suburb
We dying from gun violence
In your gun debate where is discussion about police corruption
And their reckless use of guns
I remember when they did cash for guns in Oakland during holiday season
Like the drugs confiscated in raids and shake downs,
Guns are sold back to the same people they were taken from
In your gun debate where is the 10 year plan to close down these gun plants
I remember on mother’s day when my mom told me the restaurant got robbed
They came in with rifles and she was able to run out the front door
But had scratches all over her leg from when she fell
I remember when I came that summer
She showed me the semi-automatic next to the register
She showed me how to take off the safety
And told me I can’t shot ‘em in the back
Because I would be the one going to jail
Even if they were trying to rob the restaurant
I remember watching the nightly news
Everyday some store or Brinks truck was getting robbed in Miami Dade
I remember praying when I sat behind the register
That I wouldn’t have to make a choice
That we wouldn’t get robbed and I wouldn’t have to blast off
Now this is the gun debate going on in my head and heart
That may never make CNN

Day 3: Blood on my Hands

Blood on my hands by Aries Jordan

I got blood on my hands

But I ain’t ever owned a gun

Ain’t never guided a drone over blue skies

Never dropped a bomb

I got blood on my hands

Its seeping through my clothes made in China in some factory

Where workers make a dollar a day

In unsanitary conditions

Can’t leave till they meet their quota

To meet my needs for fashionable cheap clothes

I got blood on my hands

Dripping off my finger tips

As I like post on Instagram

My electronics madefrom Coltan  found in Congo

Child soldiers

Militias fight

For a share of the black market for minerals

Companies profit from  tribal wars

To feed our technology needs

I got Blood on my hands

Even though I would never intentionally hurt a soul

I want an Ipad

Even though I know of the 11 workers that jumped from  the Foxconn building in china

Forced labor, sweat shop conditions

When did this Black girl

Become addicted to technology

Addicted to a destructive way of living

Willing to sacrifice my human family for trinkets

The real question is

What do I do now that I know what I know

Day 2: Serial Dater

Serial Dater by Aries Jordan

When the butterfly’s disappear
The texts are down to one word
When the nuances of you calling me baby is gone
Bored
When I roll my eyes when you whisper in my ear
When we no longer explore
Because we have discovered each others spot
Bored
When the chase is gone and I am willing to surrender my heart
No more games I am yours and Your mines
When you know that I can cook and my signature dishes start getting old
Bored
When that new smell starts to wear off
When you have smelled my morning breathe
And we get into a routine
Start hitting up the same spots
Bored
Addicted to the newness of new relationships
The endorphin rush
The butter flys
Then reality of you and me sets in
Two choices
Pack up and get a new fix or
Scratch beyond the surface and find new ways to deepen our bond
And have that everlasting love

In a so called Democracy why do people have to scream so loud to get heard?

So I was reading about the murder of Christopher Doner. Last week I read his manifesto and he describes the breaking of a Black man and an even bigger truth about racism in the LAPD department and a code of white supremacy that transcends race or ethnicity. Many people have dismissed him as a crazy lunatic but he is only a side effect of a crazy lunatic corrupt system. In his manifesto he outlined the protocol he went through to report abuse and police misconduct.As a result he was fired for going against his own.

While others were rewarded and promoted for their brutality of black and brown folks. Ex: the officer “seen on the Rodney King videotape striking Mr. King multiple times with a baton on 3/3/91 is still employed by the LAPD and is now a Captain on the police department”. Even the law enforcement behind the unconstitutional “Stop and frisk” in NY and LA are going around the country to train other departments despite their well-documented track record of corruption and abuse.

Doner focused on the LAPD but what he described was any (fill in the Blank)PD. The American judicial system is rotting from the inside out. Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Oscar grant, Amadou Diallo, Rodney King clearly show the the failures of the judicial system. Even with public outcry and demand that the justice system deliver justice with a blind eye to race, it fails every time. We live in a society where the systems are failing, crumbling and unraveling at the core.

As a society we so scared to talk about race and racism. But it is in our classrooms, in the board room, in leadership and in our systems, how much more statistics you need? How many more acts of violence do we need ? How many more Youtube videos we going to watch of police brutality to wake up from the American dream haze.

I still have my humanity and don’t support the killing of innocent people. But let me ask you in a so called Democracy why do people have to scream so loud to get heard? Why do people have to go to the extreme measures to have change? What does that say about the society we live in?

I will wait

I will wait for you Black man

To rise up like a phoenix from the ashes

For you to get yourself together

I will wait for you in the meadow

Where love resides

I will wait for you to see the pain

Your absence has caused

I will tend to the wounds you left behind

I will keep the fire burning

A carbon copy of you will not do

I will wait for you in the ocean

I will wait for your liberation

I will wait for your understanding

I will wait for you to see how your machismo, bravado and male privilege has hurt me

I will wait for you to return

From the battle fields at home and abroad

I pray war hasn’t spoiled you

Made your heart cold

I pray for the return of your soul

Will you recognize me?

I will wait for you at the top of the mountain

With an extended hand

What if you never show up

Will my waiting be in vain

Have I wasted my life away waiting for this phantom Black man?