Navigation
| Subscribe to the BSEC |
|
| Discussion List |
| Visit this group |
Subscribe to HOAP
| Subscribe to Heart of America Progressives Announcements |
| Visit this group |
User login
ROSA PARKS
The morning when Coretta Scott King died, I was still working as a janitor at the station (KKFI). So when I arrive at work that morning, I remember asking the person who was operating the on line program if he had heard that Coretta Scott King had died that morning. His reply is something that has never left my sub-conscious mind. He said, Coretta Scott King, wasn't she Martin Luther King's wife or something like that?
Something like that...Let go a step further, while every station in town was broadcasting her death, I stood there and witness my own station, continue to play it scheduled program (blues).
It was probably then that I realized that we as black people were allowing the memory of our past great Black heroes to be forgotten. They were now a mere “something like that”. It was then I made a decision that from that day on, I would do whatever was necessary, or within my grasp to see that I as an individual (black American) did my part to keep our former black heroes contributions known to all Americans.
I knew then I may not be making a lot of friends (similar to what has happen this past week) from both the black as well as white world, but like now, as far as I am concerned, I have only began to defend our black contributions.
This contest being sponsored by the Kansas City, Kansas YWCA is as far as I am concerned an outstanding example of what we can support as a Sustainable Earth Community.
Creating 4-6 minute PowerPoint presentation is a real grown up activity. That will require a certain amount of work and preparation on both the person who agrees to get involved as well as the girls who agree to participate.
I am asking coalition members as well as my fellow KKFI’s board members to step up to the plate and lets see how many young ladies in the 9th to 12th grades we can find to submit as a group to the YWCA people responsible for the contest.
The girls do not have to be black, so it is not necessary to leave your own personal comfort zone. Plus the more we teach non-white students the beauty of our black contributors; maybe in time what we see going on now, will have been eliminated from our future generations.
I see myself as being a messenger, passing on what I have found to be beneficial. Since beating up the messenger is our generation's way of life, I have asked Shery Greene to represent BSEC (Building A Sustainable Earth Community) role in this project.
If you have any questions or would like to help Shery organize our approach to this project, please feel free to contact her at: sgreene59@sbcglobal.net.
The contest celebration is March 8th, 2008. The deadline for entries is Friday February 22, 2008. Lets see how many of our girls can beat that deadline.
Hopefully we as a coalition and station will be able to do something for the girls we submit, regardless of their results.
Remember it is all about building our individual organizations and/or groups. Being able to involve the parents and or guardians of the children we submit, will aid us greatly in that pursuit.
Thanks for giving me your time...I just hope we all enjoy making this project a success.
Richard Mabion
www.africanartwholesale.com
913-481-9920
PS:
Please no debate!
- rmabion's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Comments
So what are you going to do about it?
First of all, it was my co-worker who said "what's the big deal?", not me. I posted that story to show that insensitive and uninformed folks are found in all walks of life and in all cultures. I am also a firm believer in the philosophy that my life isn't defined by what happens to me but in how I choose to deal with it. I just refuse to wring my hands over things I am not responsible for and cannot change. I could sit here and type story after story of rude, insensitive and cruel things African Americans have done to me. But what would that accomplish? I would much rather build a community than destroy one. And if we can't move on to a more productive agenda, we won't have much left here to build. One of the people who reads emails on this list commented to me yesterday that there are over 70 people on the Google group yet 3 or 4 are driving the racial issues discussion. Something to think about, perhaps?
What noble cause?" - Cindy Sheehan
Involvement with KKFI needed to prevent incidents related above
KKFI is an all volunteer organization except for a couple people working in the office. We need volunteers who care about their community and want to help fulfill our mission. The incident mentioned above is sad and unfortunate but to label KKFI as a racist organization doesn't make sense to me. It’s quite possible that there are racist people involved with the station but there are also folks who are passionate about building a better community for all. Please become involved so something like this doesn’t happen again. Volunteers who invest effort can become active members and have a say in policies and join the committees that governs the station including deciding when to preempt a scheduled show for a special event like Misses Kings death. Steve
Same thing happened to me
The day after John Lennon was murdered, one of my co-workers who was African American said "Wasn't he in the Rolling Stones or The Beatles or something? What's the big deal?"
"What noble cause?" - Cindy Sheehan
The Big Deal?
IMMartinsFriend
The big deal was that the station continued
with regular programming instead of acknowledging
the passing of an American icon. She stepped up
to the plate to continue promoting Martin's dream
of establishing a "Beloved Community."
This story reflects a sharing of a story of
personal pain. These stories should not be
minimized and it may be a simple matter of
stepping into Richard's shoes for a moment---
long enough to feel his discomfort, and perhaps
experience empathy. Healing cannot happen
without this telling of our stories. We cannot
continue to hold our heads under the sand when
people have the courage to speak up and say
"This is what happened to me. It still hurts
today." That is the big deal, the festering wounds
that make us who we are that other people
don't want to look at.