It is disheartening, once again, to see the butchery of truth by an oversimplification of complex phenomena in a place that has become a metaphor for the grave ills of post-colonial Africa – Somalia.
As we say out here, don’t believe the hype! Or, as Bob Marley and the Wailers succinctly put it, half the story has never been told.
Let’s get through the debris of Gaza, the wasteland of Eastern Congo and the blighted plains of Darfur to get to the facts about Somalia and the Great Pirate Threats to Western Civilization as we know it. (more…)
A New Development Aid Model
Recently I was introduced to an upcoming book on development (or lack thereof) in Africa that caught my attention like few books have in the past. In her book, Dead Aid, the Zambian economist, Ms. Dambisa Moyo adds her voice to the bold conclusion that foreign aid to Africa is doing more harm than good, that it is in fact one of many obstacles to development in Africa. Without getting into details (I have yet to read the book), I find myself in complete agreement. The fact of the matter is, no matter the good intention of the donors, only fractions of aid to Africa actually go to the causes intended. If and when they do, they provide at best Band-Aid solutions to chronic issues with roots far deeper than the headlines. But how do you tell good Samaritans not to stop when they see one of God’s angels by the side of the road? (more…
Urban Griots Spoken Word Awards
It’s about time! This apple may be mini, but when it comes to the arts, Minneapolis and the surrounding areas are second to very little. When it comes to spoken word in particular, the Twin Cities area is one of the most prolific, creative and innovative community in the country (if not the world). And so it has been for at least a decade. So when I found out that the Twin Cities spoken word community are having their very own award show, the first thing that came to mind was simple: it’s about time! (more...)
The Price of Not Looking "American"
Maybe it’s because my own mother is losing her mind to the same wicked disease, but I just read a story about an old lady that just broke my heart.
As the story goes, back in 1994, a mute elderly woman was found wondering a mall in New Jersey. When the police picked her up, she didn’t have any identification on her person, and in addition to being mute, she was found to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. For 15 years all attempts to identify her returned nothing. Not fingerprinting, not police investigation, not photo circulation…nothing could yield her identity. So where would you suppose she was kept for all 15 years? Not in a nursing home, as you would suspect counting her condition. The poor sick old lady (always well dressed according to witnesses) was sent to live in a psychiatric hospital. Yes, that is right, among mentally diseased individuals. Don’t get me wrong, Alzheimer is also a mental disease, but there is a difference between it and psychotic. (more…)
Recently, I stopped by the Artists' Quarter's monthly "Soap-Boxing" Slam to have some fun with the poets. Here's the winning poem. Read the text
For more on Minnesota's spoken word/poetry slam community click on over to Minnesota Microphone.
Adventures in Single Dad-dom - At Last
On Friday evening, my adventures in single dad-dom came to an end, right on schedule. And that right there is one of the most humbling lessons I have learned in this little experiment of mine. I guess that is the difference between an adventure and life. No matter how hard some of the days were, I knew the end, if not quite in sight, was looming not far behind; I could tell myself to hang in there, because when this day ends, it would be one less to go.
Unfortunately, that is a luxury most single-parents don’t have. When they are sick or tired, down and under, yesterday and today, they still plow through the day knowing tomorrow life continues. It can either be paralyzing or motivating. (more...)
Don't forget to check TC Happenings for other events.
Adventures in Single Dad-dom - All Alone
I knew this week was going to come. Maybe not exactly as it did, but I knew the honeymoon was going to be over. One way or the other.
Last week I thought I would take the kids up north to St. Cloud to visit my sister and her family; but more importantly, with more adults in the house, I could get a much needed break.
My enthusiasm was a little dashed when I was told I had to pick up a cousin (a four year old girl) on my way. But I still kept hope alive. Three adults to four children is still better than lonely old me to two of them. (more…)
Caterpillar
Civilization
We have not always been on the outside of its definition
Absent from worldly negotiations
G8 summits without representation
We have not always been Third
No, we have not always been at the receiving end
Of strings-attached aids
The barrel of triggers pulled by our own
Donated by agents in faraway lands
use to be a party animal. I was never the drinking kind, but man, I loved the club scene. I started going before I was barely in my teens. That was back in Koindu, Sierra Leone. At Disco J you couldn’t tell us we were not Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown and George Michael all wrapped in one. When I came to America, I took a break in Chicago, but quickly found my steps going to school in St. Cloud. Before 21, I brought the party home. Long story short, I got kicked out of quite a few apartments. (more…)
Tale of Two Climates
This may be stating the abvious. But sometimes even the obvious takes time to sink in. So today, I’m watching teevee–Another 48th Hours of betrayal leads to murder– when the bloody scene blacks out to the 10 O’clock News. My teevee lights up! My family room fills with the sound of happy children and I wondered why. I looked up at my television set and saw sun beaming on glistening snow-packed earth under the feet of children at play. The sheer joy that came from these people was extraordinary. The announcers, the parents, the children…it was as if right outside my door gold flakes had fallen from the sky. And the camera was right there to capture it, and tonight pour it in my family room in all its bounty. (more…)
Adventures in Single Dad-dom
I’m an African man. Hold on, scratch that. I’m a Guinean man. No, even that involves some generalizations I’m not comfortable making. I’m a Maninka man, a Maninka father. I have been in America for more than half my life, but I am a Maninka at my core. This fact defines many things I am. (more…)
Cultured Hell
I’ll be the first to say
She and I America
We ain’t been best of friends
But I must admit
Like McKay, I love this cultured hell that test by youth
This wicked stepmother with heart of gold
Torched blue hand of stone
Across the Atlantic
“Give me your tired , your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
And cactus feet
From the Caribbean to the Pacific
Yearning for a concrete fence of separation (more…)
The Future of the Human Race
It’s the idealist in me. I recycle. At least I try every opportunity I get. Give me an empty bottle, and I’m looking for a recycling bin. Yes, I drive a truck (for practical reasons, I like to think). But, I walk whenever possible. I sincerely think cheap gas is not the solution. No gas is where we need to be. So I walk. Whenever possible, I take the train. I take the bus, I ride my bike, I turn off lights; I use the same thing over and over until I can’t use it anymore; I even have my own ceramic cup at work from which I drink my tea. I’m seriously thinking about having my own reusable plate and utensil. (more…)
Who Wants to be a Millionair?
Okay, today I’m writing like I got A.D.D. First I was writing about the future of life here on earth. (Yeah, I know, what the heck!), then Bob Marley pulled my attention to another piece. And just as I move to my third paragraph on that, I got a phone call from someone telling me she got my number from some lady I did some Obama campaign event with. I did a lot of Obama campaign events with a lot of people. Needless to say, I have no idea who she is talking about. But I encouraged her to go ahead. She started first by telling me she used to work as a nurse, and now she is doing that only on an on-call basis. Why? Because she has this home business that is making her a bundle! And by the way, it is endorsed by Donald Trump! I was like oh, oh, I heard this before. Matter of fact, I heard this just last night. But I let her continue...more
Tonight Before Tomorrow
It’s a new dawn
With promises of a new beginning
Unfortunately, it’s winter
Sunrise doesn’t come as early as it used to
So the children are still in bed, sleeping
Mom and dad were out late last night
They too are still in bed, sleeping
Might as well
When today leaves you spent and broken
By the side of the highway
Next to speeding Cadillacs
You take comfort in sleep
It’s the only way you can help from spitting your lungs out...more
A Reminder to Say Thanks
I’ve always been of the school that believes holidays in the United States are more about commerce than spirit. For this reason, I’ve hardly been a fan. Like every overworked American worker, I appreciate the occasional day or two off here and there, because God knows, the shortest hours are between Friday evening and Monday morning. However, besides helping to grow the economy by keeping the dollar circulating, I don’t understand why anyone would need a national moratorium to say thanks to their mother, their father, their wife, or their secretary for that matter. more
Ant Walk
No she doesn’t understand
How could she
Feel your pain
When you cry
Because of a pinch
She shrugs, shakes off blows
Life’s kinks and kicks
Every noon and evening
Twice in the morning
Before stepping out her building. (more…)
Is Africa and Africans Cursed?
As a Pan-African with afrocentric leaning, it pains me to even contemplate this, let alone verbalize it. But I believe it’s worth discussing, if not yesterday, then definitely today, in the hope that we won’t have to tomorrow.
Earlier this week, I was flipping through the Minneapolis Star Tribune when I came across a picture of two crying African children next to the caption, “Fighting – And Heartbreak – Spreads. Siblings wept as they looked for their parents in Kiwanja, a village in eastern Congo.” ...more
Proof of a More Perfect Union
It’s been some 17 years since I came to this country. Almost immediately after landing I realized for the first time I was black. Not because the lights were brighter (even if they were), not because the mirrors were clearer, not because all of a sudden I developed a RGB-256 sight. Because I looked in the eyes of people I interacted with and saw what they saw covering my body. I was black and lazy, black and poor, black and violent, black and less intelligent, less motivated, less trust worthy, less of everything that could be good in a man, and more of all that should be loathed, feared and suspected....more
A Message in Black and White
To White America
Yes, there is still racism in America. Just because you voted for Obama doesn’t mean you get a pass on checking yourself. You could still harbor prejudice against people not your skin color. You still can’t use the N-word. Not “nigga”, definitely not “nigger”. If you are singing a song and come across it, skip right over it. The cops still pull Black people over for “Driving While Black”. People of color still get discriminated against. The reason that Black guy is down is not necessarily because he refuses to apply himself. Going forward, when you see a successful Black person, don’t say, “Obama made that happen”. You may not be racist but your neighbor could be. Hell your dad could be....more
It’s about time! This apple may be mini, but when it comes to the arts, Minneapolis and the surrounding areas are second to very little. When it comes to spoken word in particular, the Twin Cities area is one of the most prolific, creative and innovative community in the country (if not the world). And so it has been for at least a decade. So when I found out that the Twin Cities spoken word community are having their very own award show, the first thing that came to mind was simple: it’s about time! 
Maybe it’s because my own mother is losing her mind to the same wicked disease, but I just read 
