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Black History Month

Black History Month

Week.ly: From the Mind, Memes and Musings of Hakim Bellamy

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on February 26, 2017 Respond

Week.ly 5 (2.24.17)

Last week, I told you I’d try and spare you Señor Trump’s face (but never “that ass”). After reluctantly watching Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus’s staged Rom-Com at CPAC yesterday (Thursday) afternoon … I realized that I am, in fact, the opposition party (read: media). And here I was thinking that I was a constituent of the President doing my patriotic duty? Relentless pursuit of information and healthy critique of government and power so I can make the most informed decision possible when I go to the polls … right? At least that’s what JFK said … before “they” shot him.

“The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.”

President John F. Kennedy

But in this new world where the polls are wrong and the news is fake, what’s fella to do…other
than meme it out. Because Americans don’t read books any more, so I’m over here trying to use
images laced with as few words as possible in an effort to instigate civic discourse … in hopes that you all do the same. Romantic, I know. Naive even. But sometimes, even as a poet I know words are inadequate … sometimes this shit writes itself … and you can’t make it up.
So I took a stab at a few less words last week. – hb

but then again … wordiness is all i know … and my pa told me to stick with what you are good at … so here is today’s #DebutMeme:

Week.ly 5

And a few more from last week…because apparently this Administration is at a loss for … history … when it comes to iconic leaders during Black History Month.

Week.ly 5

… and in other news …

Week.ly 5

All the news that’s fit to meme, find my previous articles here…
For more memes follow me @HakimBe on Twitter & Instagram
*****
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Hakim Bellamy

Hakim Bellamy

Hakim Bellamy is Albuquerque’s Inaugural Poet Laureate. He is also a scholar, educator, musician, and poet. Community Publishing has published Hakim Bellamy’s Samuel’s Story, a multimedia children’s story featuring the music of DJ Flo Fader and the illustrations of Melvin Mayes available in Print and Digital editions.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities. We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market and the Monte Vista Fire Station. Need help with your web presence and social media marketing? Click here to find out how we can help you!

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Guest Poet: Afrodite

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on March 26, 2015 Respond

By hakim bellamy

Just beyond the shoreline
of cheek lies a body
of water.
Nothing against the brackish blue
of beach and baywatch.
Nothing against the shallow
and swallow of water,
clear as spit.
But you are different.
Your eyes, dark.
Your oceans, deep
like the person pooling inside you. Black
as a body at the bottom
of the Atlantic.
And when you lie on your back
balancing my nose atop yours,
our lips pointing at each other
like a reflection,
I can make out ancestors
desperately trying to stay afloat
in the abyss of your gaze.
They are still
as beautiful as the mutiny
that landed them overboard.
As beautiful as the flesh
colored torpedo
that sometimes sunk
the shipping and handling
of chattel, in half.
As beautiful as
the pair of wings you ingested
and blossomed into gills.
The flood in your voice.
The oceanspray still on your breath
The saltbeds just beneath the shoreline
of your cheek.
Your beauty does not evaporate,
it never drowns.
So much so,
those jealous of your beauty
try to bottle it.
So Precious
they will sell you by the ounce.
Swap pedestals for auction blocks
to remind you the consequences
of your audacity.
How dare you
rival the flawless fascade
of Adonis?
Survival is beautiful.
Just like you.
The spoils of natural selection
and its amazing that you still
have your figure,
that black still don’t crack
after all these years of trying to
eliminate the object
of their aphrodisia.
And people would have you
consider yourself fortunate that
genocide hasn’t left a mark.
Your beauty has become that
of myth and make-up.
Their firehose fetish tried
and failed to segregate beauty
from your Brownstone face.
Different
is what makes beautiful,
beautiful.
At least noteworthy.
Unlike anything else
and you
are different.

(c) Hakim Bellamy February 12th, 2015
*a self-love poem for Black History Month, about a Black person.

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Hakim Bellamy

Hakim Bellamy

Hakim Bellamy is Albuquerque’s Inaugural Poet Laureate, and counts, educator, musician and community organizer among his many ventures. Hakim’s multimedia Children’s book, Samuel’s Story is scheduled for release by Community Publishing in the Spring, 2015. Image courtesy of Joy Godfrey
Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Guest Poet: Million Man March

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on February 25, 2015 Respond

By Maya Angelou

The night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

Under a dead blue sky on a distant beach,
I was dragged by my braids just beyond your reach.
Your hands were tied, your mouth was bound,
You couldn’t even call out my name.
You were helpless and so was I,
But unfortunately throughout history
You’ve worn a badge of shame.
Million Man March PoemI say, the night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark
And the walls have been steep.

But today, voices of old spirit sound
Speak to us in words profound,
Across the years, across the centuries,
Across the oceans, and across the seas.
They say, draw near to one another,
Save your race.
You have been paid for in a distant place,
The old ones remind us that slavery’s chains
Have paid for our freedom again and again.

The night has been long,
The pit has been deep,
The night has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

The hells we have lived through and live through still,
Have sharpened our senses and toughened our will.
The night has been long.
This morning I look through your anguish
Right down to your soul.
I know that with each other we can make ourselves whole.
I look through the posture and past your disguise,
And see your love for family in your big brown eyes.

I say, clap hands and let’s come together in this meeting ground,
I say, clap hands and let’s deal with each other with love,
I say, clap hands and let us get from the low road of indifference,
Clap hands, let us come together and reveal our hearts,
Let us come together and revise our spirits,
Let us come together and cleanse our souls,
Clap hands, let’s leave the preening
And stop impostering our own history.
Clap hands, call the spirits back from the ledge,
Clap hands, let us invite joy into our conversation,
Courtesy into our bedrooms,
Gentleness into our kitchen,
Care into our nursery.

The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are a going-on people who will rise again.

And still we rise.

*****
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Million Man March Poem

Dr. Maya Angelou

“Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Johnson on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. Maya Angelou became one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. With over 50 honorary doctorate degrees Dr. Maya Angelou became a celebrated poet, memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.” Read more, click here.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Guest Poet: Langston Hughes

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on February 11, 2015

As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes

It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun—
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky—
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!

Originally published in 1925. All Rights Reserved. 
*****
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Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He published his first poem in 1921. He attended Columbia University, but left after one year to travel. His poetry was later promoted by Vachel Lindsay, and Hughes published his first book in 1926. He went on to write countless works of poetry, prose and plays, as well as a popular column for the Chicago Defender. He died on May 22, 1967.

Community Publishing will be publishing a Multimedia Book written and Illustrated by Seth Hoffman titled, Janie and the Hummingbird. Seth is a musician, artist and educator based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Follow his adventures here every Tuesday. 

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