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May 19-a poem for Malcolm X's Birthday
May 19, 2001-Malcolm X's Birthday
Dear sisters and brothers,
This past week we had a very powerful meeting in Richmond,
California as we are organizing to open up a community center or possibly
a clinic inside of an elementary school (Chavez Elementary). For about
two minutes I showed the members of the collaborative clips from our
16-day hunger strike back in 1995 (for affirmative action) from the UC
Irvine campus. As that took place students at St.Mary's were ending a
present day hunger strike to protest 'sexual assaults' on campus. At the
same time the UC Regents have decided to 'symbolically' rescind the July
20th, 1995 vote which ended affirmative action. It is all a bit ironinc,
don't you think? With that, at the end of a historic week, on this May
19th, I am left wanting to remember Malcolm X. Happy Birtday Malcolm.
This is for you, and for all who dream/live like you.
Amen.
cesar a. cruz
(a poem as an offering)
i want to
Remembering Malcolm x
i want to
remember malcolm
amidst power outages
and
rising gas prices
i want to
forget why he existed
but remember
why he shined
i want to
think of his final days
as his firsts
and his end
as rebirth
i want to
pretend we no longer
need him
and believe
that as grandma says
"indeed things have changed."
i want to
stand like him
talk like him
walk like him
but only for a little while
i
remember malcolm
amidst amnesia
and
rising hysteria
i remember
that he still exists
and still
shines
i remember
that these final days
are our actual firsts
and his end
came for our beginning
i can’t pretend
we don’t
need him
but I do believe
grandma also said
"sometimes all that changes is the time."
i must
stand like him
talk like him
walk like him
but only for a little while longer.
cesar a. cruz
written may 19, 2001-malcolm’s b-day
To Comfort the disturbed, and to disturb the comfortable
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