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Books by Marvin X
Love and War: Poems /
In the Crazy House Called America /
Woman: Man's Best Friend /
Beyond Religion Toward Spirituality
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Crack Society
By Marvin X
The idea of the negro in the window actually
happened during the height of the Crack era, during this time
the negro and negress stood on the auction block of the crack
house trading sexual favors for drugs. The most beautiful men
and women stood butt naked before the dope man or woman.
Husbands not only traded their wives but ultimately themselves.
After offering his wife, one of my friends whispered that I
could have him too. I was so shocked I pretended not to hear.
Before long the naked, raw display and behavior of the Crack
auction became the new sexuality, AIDS included. Several of my
friends died of drug/sex related AIDS. The nude display in the
Crack House soon became the new norm in ghetto sexuality.
Whoring reached new limits.
Actually, the Crack Ho put the
prostitute out of business in the hood. How can a nigguh pimp a
two dollar Crack Ho? Those men familiar with the crack ritual no
longer bothered dating square women. The Crack Ho made the
"chase" unnecessary. She was more accessible and
reasonable than the square woman and the prostitute. No
conversation was necessary, just drop the rock on the table and
it was on. She performed all manner of tricks, surpassing any
monkey in the zoo.
And now her sexual manners have infected hip
hop culture. The video ho's reflect the Crack Ho's unabashed
shamelessness and debauchery. Actually, the video ho is a Miller
lite version of the Crack Ho. The video ho's origin is the Crack
House because it was there that the negress performed for
basically nothing, a crumb of crack. The video ho's also perform
for nothing, for a chance to be seen. My daughter closed down
her New York casting company because she became tired and
disgusted sending her sisters out to be video ho's.
It is almost laughable to hear women speak of themselves as
"Sisters of Integrity," in light of all I have seen
and participated in during my sojourn as a Crack Head. But I do
admit there are sisters of integrity still around, but I look at
them with a jaundiced eye because I saw how quickly sisters of
integrity sank to the depths of lechery after that first hit and
I understand the same is now occurring with the drugs Ecstasy
and Speed.
Where do we go from here? Hopefully towards a revolution in
morals and manners. As Sun Ra taught me, life is really about
discipline rather than freedom. If we think we can get away with
any and everything, we will do it. Elders like myself who think
we can get out of our responsibility toward children and youth
will be forced to contradict ourselves and reach out to the
generation without fathers or mothers, to the children who've
had to raise themselves because of the pervasive drug culture
and socioeconomics, including the criminal justice system.
We
must return to the old days of every child is my child, my
responsibility to mentor, guide and direct. We cannot abuse them
sexually or otherwise, if we do, they shall curse us and
continue the pattern of disrespect so apparent in the dope
culture where they call us punk bitch men and women for being
gullible old fools rather than the wise men and women our
children need so badly as they search for light in a dark world.
Happy Father's Day, Brothers!
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Catch
the Last Poets and Marvin X at the July 4 Freedom Concert at
Recovery Theatre, 133 Golden Gate, between Leavenworth and Jones, San
Francisco. Make reservations, seating is limited. Call 510-7989155.
Advance, $15.00, at the door $20.00.
posted 31 July 2008
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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Weep Not, Child
By
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
This is
a powerful, moving story that details the
effects of the infamous Mau Mau war, the
African nationalist revolt against colonial
oppression in Kenya, on the lives of
ordinary men and women, and on one family in
particular. Two brothers, Njoroge and Kamau,
stand on a rubbish heap and look into their
futures. Njoroge is excited; his family has
decided that he will attend school, while
Kamau will train to be a carpenter. Together
they will serve their country—the
teacher and the craftsman. But this is Kenya
and the times are against them. In the
forests, the Mau Mau is waging war against
the white government, and the two brothers
and their family need to decide where their
loyalties lie. For the practical Kamau the
choice is simple, but for Njoroge the
scholar, the dream of progress through
learning is a hard one to give up.—Penguin
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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Negro Digest /
Black World
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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updated 11 April 2009
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