Voices Of Spirit

Some time ago I began to contemplate a possible replacement subtitle to Forty Million And A Tool.  Phrases like “in search of a birthright” and “our birthright is at hand” came to mind.  I compared them with “no more waitin’ or beggin’ for reparations” and while I gave serious thought to somehow getting the theme of “birthright” into the subtitle a James Brown lyric popped into my head saying “I don’t want nobody to give me nothing – open up the door, I’ll get it myself.” 

I received and accepted that as a voice of spirit clarifying for me that even those contemplations subliminally embodied elements of waitin’ and beggin’.  They did not fully capture the charge that our birthright is something we have to get ourselves, nor did they loudly proclaim or announce that the door is now fully open.  I sat back and marveled at how words I’d first heard when I was ten years old still spoke volumes many years later.

This compelled me to conduct an inventory of my psyche for other words, chants, phrases or lines that could be classified as voices of spirit.  By that I mean voices that speak to us as a people and give us critical guidance, inspiration and pride, often during our toughest moments; words that actively transcend time and place, staying eternally relevant and providing for us the sustenance we don’t find elsewhere.  By merely opening my spirit, out came a barrage of voices: “say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud,” “ain’t no stoppin’ us now,” “brothers’ gonna work it out,” “we’re a winner,” “if there’s hell below we’re all gonna go,” “it’s time (to make a change),” “we’ve been down too long,” “up you mighty race” and “it’s nation time.”

Needless to say, I kept the original subtitle, but I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that these voices and the messages they embody were of vital importance to us.  While lyrics and the like can be copyrighted and owned by individuals, once those words electrify our spirits they become an endowment owned by all and none at the same time.  It is precisely this type of electrification that J. Edgar Hoover sought to dampen when black leaders rose to challenge white supremacy during his tyrannical reign at the F.B.I.  I’d bet ten dollars to a dead rat that each time a song, poem or lyric electrified us en masse an F.B.I. file was generated, the piece cataloged and the writer/performer placed under surveillance, if not outright harassed and vilified.

Today’s electricity is being generated by the word reparations.  It is a word that splits America virtually in half when polled along racial lines. While there are some black people against reparations and some white people supportive of it, the vast majority of opposition vs. support is, percentage wise, evenly split. It kind of reminds me of slavery.  Most whites wanted things to stay the way they were; most slaves wanted their full and complete freedom.  Slaves, however, had very little say in the matter while whites went to war with each other.  As for reparations, I believe whites will go to war with their own government again if reparations were made law, and you and I will find ourselves in a race war at all levels.  Just listen to the venom of the most vocal critics on talk radio.  Visit the web sites of white extremists, conservatives and their many counterparts.  And just look at what happened on January 6, 2021.  Any reasonably intelligent person, black, white or whatever, can see that any form of government sponsored reparations to African Americans will tear this country apart.   I believed this before January 6th and I’m more certain of it now.

That’s why we must elevate the whole reparations debate to a level where there is no debate.  You see, debating reparations is a trap that diverts us from realizing that debate is no longer necessary.  We can extract all the opponents of reparations from the equation and relegate them to the sidelines by simply practicing “Self reparations.”  What I’d expect then from the sidelines is high praise for a people that finally woke up, but I have my doubts.  If my history is correct it’s precisely when black folks mount a serious “do for self” initiative that the saboteurs come out in full force.  Some come with friendly and familiar faces; others simply are outright against our advancement.  The common thread that runs through both camps has been that they (not us)  know what’s best for us.  The questions Forty Million And A Tool will pose to anyone (black or white) who say they have our best interest at heart are these: 1) why aren’t you professing that wealth is the birthright of African American descendants of slaves? and 2) are you ready to support the move from reparations to Self reparations?

It seems to me that after 155 years of emancipation somebody ought to stand up and say exactly what our just due is in plain damn English.  The last several generations of black folk are not trying to hear that tired ass negro first formula of black achievement and prosperity.  We clearly see the “one step forward, fifty steps back” quality of the approach and it’s played out.  Still, as James (Mamba) McCuller would say, “somebody aughta say something.”  As flawed and imperfect as I am (with many amends to make) I’ll say it.  Our just due is nothing short of immense wealth; it’s our very birthright and it’s the only thing anyone who claims to be a champion for black folk should be after.  Once we get that, along with the education and undeterred focus we need, we can solve all of our problems as a people and as Americans.  Then and only then will we be free.

The greatest voice of spirit I listen to comes from Harriet (Moses) Tubman. She got free, but went back because she knew that it wasn’t about just a handful of us making it. The handful of us that have made it today do give back and come back, but are guided by this notion that if they help just one person they will have done their job. That’s another trap that keeps us from remembering that 40 million of us have unfinished business as a group and that accepting crumbs and handouts, no matter where they come from, are tantamount to allowing insult to the original injury.