Walter Rodney & Working People

Greetings,
Last Friday, June 13th, marked the 28th year since Walter Rodney was assassinated in Guyana by agents of the state. In tribute to the work and dedication of this scholar activist, a groundings of sisters and brothers was held in Little Five Points, in the Radio Free Georgia building, in Atlanta GA. Appropriately, the gathering was made up of working people, that strata of society that was essential to Walter's analysis, his thesis and his activism. This grounding humbly tried to remain true to the vital massage of integrity evident in Walter's work for the liberation of working people everywhere.This includes his appreciation of their critical role not only in the production of goods and services, but in the creation and maintenance of culture.
The focus of the discussion was on the conditions facing working people today and looking at Walter's scholarship and activism for direction. Essentially the cost of living, the cost of working is becoming increasingly prohibitive. This is realised in the price of energy in the US, the price of food globally and the impact on the lives of those who toil to produce the wealth for the mega corporations, but do not benefit from the profits. These were the issues, the economic oppression, injustice that informed Walter Rodney's understanding of the importance of grounding with his brothers and yes, sisters. Hopefully the message can make it into the consciousness of the others in academia, who seek to honor or be guided by the service of this intellectual worker.
Walter's appreciation and service to Pan Africanism was noted, particularly to the point that this was evident in his application of theory, of history, to the challenges in the objective conditions facing Africans and oppressed people around the world. Walter Rodney did put Marxist theory to significant use in his assessment, exploration and application of possible solutions to the plight of the oppressed. In this he was quite clear about the role of imperialism and its neo colonial and neo liberal structures in the oppression of the working class. Correspondingly Walter was not willing to give a "pass" to the contradictions within those oppressed communities themselves. Indeed it was on this critique, this level of integrity, that he challenged the corruption within Guyanese society in the 1970s and for which he was ultimately assassinated.
The major theme that emerged was the discussion was the inadequacy of the current dominant global culture in addressing the needs of the working class, indeed of humanity. To be sure, we noted that the current unipolar world, the dominant economic world order was not designed to serve the masses anyway. Walter Rodney's work, points to the need not only for an intellectual critique of the ills of imperialism, but for us to do the disciplined work of assisting in the liberation, the self emancipation of people's creativity, of people's power, to create a better world, a more humane society.
It was agreed by the gathering, that we should convene ongoing groundings in the communities of the working people of Atlanta, in this way we propose to honor the legacy of Walter Rodney by actively engaging the lives of the working class.

"People's Power, No Dictator"

The Worth of the Work We Do

Greetings,
I was reflecting on the ever present question of the worth and meaning of our work. It stands to reason that if we are spending the most productive part of our day, putting forth our best physical and mental efforts, a lot more than a nice paycheck should be forthcoming. I would be simplistic and suggest that whatever our vocation it should be nourishing to us and our communities. Is this your situation? This has been the quest of my work life so far and indeed in the relationships I have built, I have found that nourishment. So take a look around in your work station and appreciate the nourishment coming your way. If it is not....................question for you to answer.
In this stream of consciousness I reflected on the work of one dear sister and comrade and tried to wrap a few words of appreciation for the love, labor and wisdom that she is offering to the youth in summer camp.


If you have created a space for young minds to journey
Then you are fulfilled
If you have helped guide the youth to a place of safety and enlightenment
Then the honor is yours
If you have inspired the creativity in latent souls
Then you are the lightening rod
If you have helped soothe a bruised heart
Then you are the healer
If you have helped the young grow beyond their own selves
You are our sacred guide
If you have brought strangers together as friends and comrades
Then you are indeed mother goddess
Birthing
A better world for us all
Medase

On Current Economic Challenges

Greetings Friends/Comrades,
It has been a long time. Since I last posted the dire economic straits, have gotten even more dread and not just for the captains of industry and the mega corporations, who we see crying the blues in the corporate media everyday and then some. Indeed one could be excused for concluding that the major victims of this economic meltdown are the rich and powerful and that the common citizen caused the crisis by greed and risk taking, manifested in the fashionable reason for all current capitalist problems...the sub-prime market.
Well to me there are several factors that figure in this equation. Firstly the proposal that it is the inevitable outcome of a system driven by the principle of ever increasing profit and demand, that is coming apart on its own inherent contradictions.
Secondly the world has been experiencing this global war on terror that is extracting from humanity, particularly the Iraqi people, a terrible price for the imperial pursuits of the militarily dominant, global power. The economic costs of this war is a factor not normally included when the popular media, seeks to address the problems of the global market we suffer in.
In third place is the mega profits being reaped by oil barons from the astronomic rise of oil/gas prices, driven by the knock on effects of the war and the inability of the hallowed marketplace to balance that conundrum or maybe even desire to put a brake on rising prices. After all economic suffering for some adds up to huge profit for others.
My main thought this morning is that the rising cost of energy, transportation, housing, food and other staples of life, is having a devastating effect on working peoples lives and raising the question about the cost of working. Some are already finding that it is costing an obscene amount of money to actually get to work, even as the traditional benefits of pension, health, vacation and the like continue to shrink.
Well I don't think it all has to be doom and gloom. At the end of the day several sectors of society were already struggling, even when the economy was doing better. Now we may find it more appealing to look to our comrades and friends as we seek to address the economic challenges that face us. Indeed just on the level of transportation and purchasing or even growing food, it might be of significant benefit to revisit the option of a collective process as we work to improve the conditions of life and living in these times. Maybe it time to think, act, work and live in cooperative, collective communities, where we produce what we need and consume what we produce.
Peace
Sizwe

Work and Culture

Greetings,
It is a good thing when young people take the responsibility to seek out employment for the summertime, generate their own source of income,gain some vital work experience and it is wonderful that corporations, such as Six Flags offer them to opportunity do so. For the youth it is an act of responsibility, for Six flags, it is an act of civil responsibility by being offering corporate leadership to society, thereby enriching us all. So it came as a distinct surprise when I was told that my daughter would not be hired because of her locks and because she refused to exercise the option of seeking religious accommodation. Several issues emerge here, the main kind of defense is that Six Flags claims, it does not discriminate because you can get the job if you have a religious exemption. Nice but my position, grounded in constitutional and International Human rights, that Six Flags is a Signatory to, is that this policy is a violation of the basic human rights to choice, that is nit a health and safety violation. That the real reason for the discrimination is strictly economic, a marketing posture that is driven by the perception that people with locks are not good for business. Six Flags has every right to do that, but it violates this right by talk about religious accommodation a mere fig leaf to deter people that they deem unattractive form equal opportunity. Here are a few exapmles of corporations that hire people with locs. It would also be nice if the millions of patrons, many with locks themselves were aware of this apartheid policy

Working & Living the Beloved Community

Greetings Fellow Travelers,
I hope that this weekend was as enriching for you as it was for me. Still basking in the glow of the wonderful family/community celebration for my daughter the prior weekend, I was replenished by the commemoration of International Workers Day on May 1st. Then this weekend healing/liberating energy was released by the sacred gathering of African people in Atlanta, to commune with, honor and most of all take direction from the ancestors. That energy was indeed palpable for me and I am sure many others, who might not have been physically present at the two day ceremony. Loving appreciation is due to those devoted to offering these forums of honor.
But it was the sunrise grounding with beloved comrades, who hold a most special space of healing, liberation, restoration and creativity, that allowed me to fully appreciate the essence and scope, the functional meaning and value of these uplifting events of celebration. This work has the impact of facilitating in my life the pursuit of the sacred. The wisdom of love offered so generously by this collective, is for me an expression of our historic mission, it is the way we work and live, not only to honor the ancestors, but to hold that as permanent state of being. For us honor and love, our quest to increase good and be guided by our highest and most sacred aspirations is not a promise, or a struggle, it is our lifestyle, our way of being with each other and the world. We strive, without reservation to enrich our lives and make no apologies for the beautiful results that issue forth from our work and comradery.
Recalling the beautiful wisdom that allowed our wise sister, to offer that we ourselves are the "walking shrines" of our ancestors, such profound clarity. Even as we work to attain these lofty heights, I note that in our humble circle and I am sure so many others, the results of this consciousness is already in effect. I am proud and simultaneously humbled, by the expression of this dynamic. It is evident in the integrity of our relationships, the care, concern and tenderness that underscores our friendship with each other. There is the acceptance that allows us to be vulnerable with each other and the honesty that permits us to offer objective and principled support for each other.
In all this, we are guided by our historic mission to free ourselves from all forms of oppression, to heal from the trauma of the ongoing MAAFA and do our part to reconnect with and restore the circle. This is the legacy of our beloved ancestors, who liberated the space needed for us to come forth. This is in recognition that the first order of duty is to simply, attend to the immediate needs of our friends and family in struggle. We work as comrades, to create the world we envision and that our ancestors fought for, in the irrepressible quest for freedom.
I am sure that by now you are familiar with the theme of our struggle, and the underlying principles that guide this work.
For us the endgame, the strategic objective, is not the defeat of the oppressor. That is but an inevitable condition on our journey to our ultimate goal of freedom. Much like the surgeon, demolition worker, the soldier etc, our work as healers and freedom fighters, is to create the conditions for the liberation of the artist, the "freeing up" of our infinite creative potential.
The experience of this past weekend is just another example, that when we choose our agenda, when we are clear about who we are and our purpose, we can attain that victory, we can achieve our vision. Far from burying our heads in the sand as imperialism crumbles around us, we remain aware but not overly engaged in dealing with it's demise. We appreciate the observation by El Hajj Malik el Shabazz, about what the appropriate response of the slave when the master's house catches fire.
Even now we recognize and are committed to constructing the type of principled committed relationships amongst family and community, that must survive the end of imperialism. Drawing on the vital lessons of the Arusha Declaration, the Beloved Community, the principles of Ubuntu, Maroon Communities and even of course the Toltec we seek and are bringing forth a nourishing and enriching world.Our collective offers us the ever present opportunity to do just that, but at one higher dimension, we are about being, about living in the present, the world we envision. It is possible because we offer that world, that affirmation through the sacred connection we have with each other and the world. As Peter Tosh and so many others offered "the word is, as it always was...love". Not a concept, a promise, a dream or a vision, love is our lifestyle, our life's work.

Labor Day Greetings

Greetings To All,
Thursday, May 1st, was the celebration of International Workers Day, initiated by international workers to commemorate the Haymarket Massacre, 1886 in Chicago.
Today, I would like to extend warm and fraternal greetings to all who struggle, toil to feed, house and clothe their families and the rest of the world. In this increasingly challenging, for some overwhelming, global community the vital role of the working class comes into stark relief. If any practical solution to the issues of the international and domestic economies, global warming, the chaos of war etc, thenworking people will remain as we always have the crucial ingredient for winning peace, justice and integrity for all.
Indeed working people are increasingly being forced to bear the brunt of the devastating rise in food prices, the dislocation as a result of war and climate change. Compliments to the valiant visionary action of the Longshore Workers on the West Coast of the USA, who stood tall on Thursday against the tyranny of war.
Too often workers forced to endure the in your face arrogance, of the super rich, whose tainted fortunes, often produced or stolen from the said communities, continue to rise on the backs of the working poor. Witness the chronic oppression of the poor communities in Nigeria, who had the misfortune to be born/located upon the black gold that Chevron, Shell and others seem to claim as their birthright. This predicament is cause for much frustration and even anger, but could also give direction to the permanent struggle to for justice and freedom, in effect to remain on the upward trend of the human experience.
One dimension of this observation relates to the question of relationships, what nature of relationships does the prevailing conditions dictate.
To me it is about unity and solidarity among working people, built not only around the acknowledgement of our common plight, but of equal importance, the fact that we are stronger together, and can create the world we desire only if the fruits of our labor and knowledge are organised to meet our needs and goals.
So on this labor day, I offer wishes for the best of times for you and your loved ones. But I really hope that we work for a common agenda, that the outcome be to build a global and local community, where individual workers, on the job or in the home, become friends and friends become comrades in the universal struggle for a better world, a more humane culture as the ultimate goal of our labor.
Check out indymedia and allafrica.com for some labor day coverage.

Towards A Nurturing Work Environment

Greetings,
Challenging to do regular postings, ironically due to work schedule and changes, positive ones, on the home front. Anyway here I go with today's post.

About a nurturing work environment:


A key ingredient in the aspect of job maintenance is that of the experience of nourishment. This is obviously a multi faceted factor, but based on a primal need to be in the natural process of growth, growth facilitated by the care, support and motivational resources available and accessible. The nourishment we receive, the validation of our thoughts and efforts, while engaged in our major and often most productive activity, defines the quality of our work experience and by extension all other aspects of our life. I propose that job maintenance is a concrete outcome of this of a nurturing work environment, a responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the employer, the individual worker and the team as a collective cultural expression. So I will attempt to list some of the elements that may be considered to meet our need for nourishment, not exhaustive and in no particular sequence of importance:



1. Acceptance
2. Accommodations
3. Affirmation by coworkers and supervisors
4. Accessibility of leadership
5. Cultural cohesiveness
6. Community feeling in work place
7. Comradery
8. Challenge
9. Comfort level of workplace
10. Sense of integrity
11. Encouragement
12. Nourishment
13. Opportunity for growth



This list can go on and on and yield uniquely personal expectations that still hold true to the underlying theory. The workplace like any other area of endeavor, must meet our primal human needs in order for us to be productive. The failure to do so, or worse, if the workplace becomes a threat to our essential human needs, the goal of job maintenance and a fulfilling and productive work experience, would most likely be compromised. Simply acknowledging the very real human needs of all in the work environment, can go a long way towards creating the desired conditions. If you are in a situation where your needs and concerns are continuously kicked to the curb, or devalued, you may want to consciously take responsibility for the solution. If not the inevitable burn out, or at best frustrated survival and resentment, may well become a looming, too persistent feature of one's occupational landscape.