Drumming
For my Australian readers' benefit "drumming" is the word I will use in place of the word campaigning. I am trying to drum up support for men of colour all over the world, and in particular for the much maligned African-American man.
Time and space do not permit me to individually catalogue here the boundless courage, strength and compassion inherent in the African-American male spirit. So whilst my praises and salutations are indeed for us all, I necessarily focus, albeit briefly, on one African-American man whose interactions with his imprisoned brothers command praise and salutatory attention.
I/we thank, praise and salute Dr Ja. A. Johannes, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Savannah State College, in Savannah, Georgia. This highly respected world renowned scholar, lecturer, poet and author of several meritorious books has been the only link I have had (and as a consequence, other prisoners here, indirectly, through me) with an African-American academic.
He went out of his way to encourage interaction with me, and, among other things, he taught me how to absorb the written/spoken word with a totally new degree of comprehension. Through correspondence and frequent exchanges of ideas therein, he demonstrates a genuine concern for all his incarcerated brothers and sisters. To me, these are unusual demonstrations of love and care in action as opposed to the more usual lip service that is so common among his colleagues.
Black men in prison in America need more brothers like Dr Johannes. Black academics need to really give a damn about the cultural and intellectual stagnation the US prison system subjects us to. There are, at best, few or no rehabilitative programs to encourage or inspire positive changes in the anti-social behavioural patterns among those of us who want to change.
With pride, in recognition for his many achievements and all the spiritual, mental, cultural and academic contributions he has made to those of us consigned to the dehumanising corridors of prison, I/we thank, praise and salute the humanity of one of our "free" brothers who not only recognises our humanity, but also does so with a lot more than lip service.
Let me share the following two selections of Dr Johannes' "cultural prose" with you.
BLACK MAN, BLACK MAN
Black man, black man
No prison bars can hold you
Your spirit force is the essence
Of the universe, transcendent of time
Overcoming place
Expanding or enfolding unseen
Footsteps are for the primitive,
Libraries are for the mortal
You live beyond beginning
And call yourself by one name
Beyond the end of history
You [are forced to] play games with your memory
To entertain yourself
They say you came out of Africa
But Africa came out of you.
Before the descendants was the darkness
Formless, engulfing
You did not step into being
Being was born of your un-named-ness
KNOWING
First you got to know that
You know that you are black
Then you can know that
You know that you are white
And red and yellow too
Then, you can know that you are
Black
Thank you, Dr Johannes, for giving the drummers (like us) some. Please know that you are respected and that your drum beats loud and clearly here in my heart and throughout this prison.
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to receive letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]