Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk

Garvey's Ghost Responds to Rising Son (The Real One)

Well right after I posted my "taking a break" post I happened upon comments to my last post regarding responses to Common's commentary on "Dreads" with White women. Apparently my post caught the attention of one of the artists whom took issue with Common's words who proceeded to post the following the comments section:

WOW.....i'm lost for words. You think i want to "Eliminate the black man". haha. You don't even know me, and you've not spoken to me to find out what i ACTUALLY have to say about it. All YOU've done is take QUOTES from other sources and formulated an opinion, and in doing so you have managed to label me (not in so many words) as a racist. For a website called "Garveys ghost" you don't seem to have anything positive to say about Rastafarianism, which i'm not sure if you're aware that Garvey revolutionised this in Jamaica. It's why Burning Spear openly pays homeage to the man. To mock the belief that "Selassie is not dead" is almost blasphemous because people say the same thing about Christ and i dont see you being sarcastic about that at all. So already you have made a mockery of what your name represents, not a good start. As you can probably tell from my tone i am far from happy.
I am extemely hurt by the way you have made me out to be some kind of Anti-Black mixed race boy with some kind of identity problems. I know who the hell i am. My mother is white and my father was a revolutionary who did more for the black race than You and probably anyone you know. If i mention some of the names of the people he worked closely with you will faint. Assata Shakur is one of them, do you even know who that is? Allow me to tell you some more about my father.....
He grew up in Trinidad at a time when the americans had pretty much colonised the island. He fought for the rights of Black women to have jobs in Black banks in a Black country. He had to fight for that and they eventually won. He has had guns put to his head, been buried alive and all sorts, fighting for black power. He was also a part of the movement that went down to the american airbase in Port of Spain and burnt it down sending all the americans packing back to america where they stayed. They liberated Trinidad. That means any family you had there at the time was Liberated by my dad and his people. Thats a lot of history there, a history that i am so PROUD of.
So can you imagine now my anger at people like Common when they make comments like the ones he's been making. It's almost like all that history i just told you goes out the window because he went out with my mum, and he becomes a "sellout". Never mind the fact that he was a Black Panther and fought for equality and almost died hundreds of times for Black people. That really hurts. I don't think a lot of people actually get what we're trying to say. You and many others seem to think that we're trying do discredit the black woman by encouraging black men to pay more attention to white women. No WAY. I'm sorry but it's not that. I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER (i put that in bold because i want it to be CLEARLY understood) WITH ANY PERSON FROM any PART OF THE WORLD WHO PREFERS TO STICK TO THEIR OWN RACE. i uNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF RACIAL PRESERVATION, AND I THINK THAT IN THE bLACK COMMUNITY ITS EVEN MORE IMPoRTANT DUE TO THE ALARMING RATE IN WHICH YOUNG BLACK MALES ARE KILLING EACHOTHER. However, on the track, All i'm simply saying is that you cant go around condemning people for the people they choose to love. Yoko Ono was married to john Lennon and nobdy Chinese said a God Damn Word, why, because it's not important. I don't hear common telling blacks not to mix with indians or malaysians or anyone else, so to only pick on the white race (and i don't really care what you say) Is RACIST. It's reverse racism. And until EVERYONE IN THE WORLD stops behaving so, there will always be racism and we will keep going round in circles. My dad is NOT a F**king sellout and i will fight anyone who says that he is because he is part of the reason why we are even in england today with the rights that we have. I'm sorry if my defending this has upset you, but quite frankly my dear i don't give a f**k and if you think that i'm a racist you can go to hell. I am proud as hell of my African Heritage thank you very much, so you can take your sorry, unresearched, opinionated review and stick it up your over sensitive ass.

Soooooooo I guess it would only be right for me to respond, though perhaps this discussion ought to be carried out between Rising Son and Common.

So lets examine this post first Rising Son says:

WOW.....i'm lost for words. You think i want to "Eliminate the black man". haha. You don't even know me, and you've not spoken to me to find out what i ACTUALLY have to say about it. All YOU've done is take QUOTES from other sources and formulated an opinion, and in doing so you have managed to label me (not in so many words) as a racist.

Well actually I never said that I think Rising Son want's to "eliminate the black man." I simply quoted the verse off the track he was on which was quoted in UK Magazine in which he is quoted saying:

Rising Son refers to Common as a "racist bitch" and spits, "I predict the future is mixed/ Marking the end of all this racism sh--."

So if Rising Son has a problem with the quote he ought to take it up with UK Magazine. Real PAn-Africanists would never ever have that kind of commentary fall out their mouths anyways. My commentary on the statement said:

So while these MC's think they are on some higher plane than Common, they are found to be repeating the racist commentary of Mexico, Brazile and other counries in which "Lightening up" the black population was/is the ideal.

Thus I was comparing how these MC's, presumable including Rising Son, happened to share the worldview of some racist places. Does that imply that Rising Son is racist? By no means, It implies, well actually states, that Rising Son and his compatriots in thier attempt to address racism have actually fallen into the trap laid by racists by calling for a future of "mixed" humanity which will eliminate racism, just as the Presidenst of said countries in the past ( and perhaps present) believed they could eliminate the "Negro Problem" by eliminating "the Negro." So this is all a matter of history.

Next Rising Son takes aims at my 'Garveyist" credentials stating:

For a website called "Garveys ghost" you don't seem to have anything positive to say about Rastafarianism, which i'm not sure if you're aware that Garvey revolutionised this in Jamaica. It's why Burning Spear openly pays homeage to the man. To mock the belief that "Selassie is not dead" is almost blasphemous because people say the same thing about Christ and i dont see you being sarcastic about that at all. So already you have made a mockery of what your name represents, not a good start. As you can probably tell from my tone i am far from happy.

Well sorry your not happy mate. For the record I have Burning Spear's seminal Album " Marcus Garvey" and Infamous "Garvey's Ghost" dub album. That Rasta think of Garvey as the "Black Star" of Africa does not diminish my issues with Rasta and Rasta ideology as practiced today.

Those interested in the links between Garvey and Rasta ought to read:
Rasta and Resistance by Horace Campbell
Also a reading of Marcus Garvey by Rupert Lewis, would enlighten the reader as to the attitude that Garvey had towards Rasta, specifically the worship of Haile Selassie as God. The latter issue Rising Son falls into. Rising Son, clearly not a regular here at Garvey's Ghost fails to realize I have plenty of venom for Christianity and Islam and am a practicioner of Ifa, a traditional religion of the Yoruba of Nigeria. A religion unpolluted by European ideology I might add. To say that Selassie is dead, because it is true is not blashemous, it's simply true. But truth hurt. Hurt bad.

Rising Son continues to show is "revolutionary bonifides" with the following:

I am extemely hurt by the way you have made me out to be some kind of Anti-Black mixed race boy with some kind of identity problems. I know who the hell i am. My mother is white and my father was a revolutionary who did more for the black race than You and probably anyone you know. If i mention some of the names of the people he worked closely with you will faint. Assata Shakur is one of them, do you even know who that is? Allow me to tell you some more about my father.....

Ok. I'll stop laughing right now, since had Rising Son spent some time reading Garvey's Ghost he would have run across the "Hands off Assata" post from May 4, 2005. I'm not going to get into the "Mixed race" argument since the emotive response here merely underscores the issue as discussed in the original post. Rising Son is here and may indeed do more for black folks than Jonas Savimbi so I ain't gonna go picking at his gene pool. But please don't go assuming to know what I am doing, ask.

In the next paragraph Rising Son tells me about his fathers exploits in Trinidad. I'm not going to discuss that except that I think Kwame Toure, another Trini has a far more impressive record and..ahem.. slept black...ahem....anyway....

Rising Son, apparently very emotional at looking into his past and defending the circumstances of his conception, which he really doesn't owe anyone to do states:

So can you imagine now my anger at people like Common when they make comments like the ones he's been making. It's almost like all that history i just told you goes out the window because he went out with my mum, and he becomes a "sellout". Never mind the fact that he was a Black Panther and fought for equality and almost died hundreds of times for Black people. That really hurts.

Common was just pointing out how "odd" it is that a man who supposedly was so down, couldn't settle down with a black woman. I think it's a valid question. Rising Son really isn't the person to speak to it. We all know, or should know, the great psychological pressure that exists in Caribbean society to marry light, no doubt this was under Rising Son's fathers skull. It was Under Frantz Fanon's and as much as I respect Frantz Fanon, I still think his choice of a mate spoke volumes about his inner conflicts. Are we saying we cannot question the motives of our comrades in struggle? As much as a respect and Honor Garvey, He isn't beyond critique so why does Rising Son, think he or his father should be beyond question for thier choices?

Rising Son starts to close with this, which is in complete contradiction to the record he was on:

I'm sorry but it's not that. I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER (i put that in bold because i want it to be CLEARLY understood) WITH ANY PERSON FROM any PART OF THE WORLD WHO PREFERS TO STICK TO THEIR OWN RACE. i uNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF RACIAL PRESERVATION, AND I THINK THAT IN THE bLACK COMMUNITY ITS EVEN MORE IMPoRTANT DUE TO THE ALARMING RATE IN WHICH YOUNG BLACK MALES ARE KILLING EACHOTHER.

This simply is not the case made in Rising Son's response to Common with it's references to Segregation (the album cover reference) and the "future is mixed" commentary. If Rising Son wishes to retract the record, then I think he should and do so publicly, stating it was not reflective of his true ideas and he was spitting out of emotion.

Rising Son points out:

However, on the track, All i'm simply saying is that you cant go around condemning people for the people they choose to love. Yoko Ono was married to john Lennon and nobdy Chinese said a God Damn Word, why, because it's not important. I don't hear common telling blacks not to mix with indians or malaysians or anyone else, so to only pick on the white race (and i don't really care what you say) Is RACIST.

I already discussed the "love" think in my last post so I'll refer right back to it. I ain't talkin' about John Lennon and Yoko. But if I was, Rising Son ought to visit some Asian web boards and see how mad many Asian males are about Asian females getting tagged by white men. Believe me there are some not too happy Asians out there. Also, I can't speak for Common, but I would assume that the reason "mixing" with other POC's (that's People of Color) isn't discussed is related to the shared oppression by white men and women. But do know that even in London, which I've been to many times, There are black women who are none too happy about that kind of mixing too. Now see how Rising Son goes and falls into the "reverse discrimination" trap. " Oh It's racist to critique connects with whites!!!" Still ain't get the point.

Rising Son closes with this:
until EVERYONE IN THE WORLD stops behaving so, there will always be racism and we will keep going round in circles. My dad is NOT a F**king sellout and i will fight anyone who says that he is because he is part of the reason why we are even in england today with the rights that we have. I'm sorry if my defending this has upset you, but quite frankly my dear i don't give a f**k and if you think that i'm a racist you can go to hell. I am proud as hell of my African Heritage thank you very much, so you can take your sorry, unresearched, opinionated review and stick it up your over sensitive ass.

My, my, I don't think I'm the sensitive one here. My original problem with Rising Son, et al. was thier crass "whole world mixed" commentary. Otherwise I think they would have had an excellent retort. This really isn't about his dad and he really shouldn't spend his time speaking for him. His father, and mother should speak for themselves and speak honestly about their circumstances (If they speak at all). As for "rights in England", well given the latest warning about the "Ghettoization" threat in England as well as the incidences that have been going on there, I wouldn't be so quick to give props to England. Especially when the police shoot to kill colored folks because they "mistook him" for a terrorist.

Anyway my suggestiong to Mr. Sun is that he spend less time defending his fathers breeding preferences(or his own) and if he's really that proud of his African Heratage he ought to find a nice brown woman to have kids with and stop getting quoted saying "the future is mixed."