BULLETIN BOARD
To Reggaezine,
I want you to know that I appreciate your review of Gregory Stephens'
book "On Racial Frontiers". I am forwarding a conversation
that went on between myself and the owner of Jahworks.org, a reggae
site that gives Gregory a forum to be heard on the Internet. Mine
is a perspective of an American Indian mixed blood in Texas. Native
people overstand the attraction that Anglos have towards cultures
not of their own. They are specifically attracted to Black and
American Indian cultures. Native and Black people share more than
just a common oppressor. We have not lost our connection to the
drum/bass. The drum/bass which has always connected us
to the hearbeat and rhythms of Mother Earth. Jah's Earth, where
he has made himself in form to provide for our every need, as
a mother would for her child. Anglo people have been disconnected
from their drum since Christianity arrived with all of it's sexual
repression, taking away the drum, as it was too "primitive"
and "primal". Anglos were connected to their drums and
the Earth, at one time, however, they have lost that connection
and are looking for it, it is in their DNA too. This, in my opinion,
is why so reggae has touched so many in the Anglo communities.
We are at a time in history that will require them to reconnect
to their drum and the Earth before they frig it up for everyone
else, time for them to wake up to their destruction. Look at Anglo
music throughout history, classical, bluegrass, even rock...all
strings, no drum/bass. At all the festivals here when there are
drum circles, it is all white kids, with tribal tattoos, Indian
jewelry and dreaded hair. The drum/bass is one of the things that
draws them to reggae music. Once they are here, the concious lyrics
opens up their own cultural memories buried deep within their
being. They have lost their culture and are desperate to be accepted
into ours. Now it's their turn to want to be accepted for who
they are, but they are not always finding that door to be "wide
open". This is a problem for them as their egos are not used
to this lack of privilege. 'Nuff said. Feel free to re-post this...
Respect,
Cristala
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To: Jahworks -comments on Gregory Stephens
I'm not wanting to be negative but this is important...
I must vehemently protest your supplying Gregory Stephens
with a public forum. Many people in the Rasta community
are appalled and offended at his arrogant and disrespectful portrayal
of Marcus Garvey, not to mention his misrepresentation of Bob
Marley and spirituality in general. His book is solely
endorsed by Anglo University professors.
I personally had a conversation about this subject last week with
Spear when he was in Austin. He heard about this book, and is
quite disturbed by the availability of it, this man, and his untruths
regarding Marcus Garvey.
If Bob had wanted a book written about him, I highly doubt that
he would have chosen an Anglo Southern Baptist College professor
to write it.
I am an American Indian spiritual activist who speaks on the Annual
Bob Marley Tours in regards to the sacred medicines. I have read
this book, it is simply filtered through the mind of a man whose
value system thrives on arrogance and spiritual poverty. If the
man had any sense of humility he would never have given
himself permission to write it in the first place. Many of
the spiritual comments he made in the book offended me greatly,
it is obvious that he has very little spiritual overstanding.
He is misleading the youths as to what Bob's message actually
was, based upon his own desperate desire to be accepted
into the community. And, he his lining his pockets with profits
at the same time. Babylon fi' real!. While I respect people's
right to opinion, his work is not the work of one walking in
good.
If people want to understand Bob's message, all they have to do
is listen to his music. Those are his owns words, inspired
by the sacred 5 leaf and Creator/Jah. Sorry, but it only waters
things down when twisted through the mind of some "western
thinker" who has arrogantly given himself permission to represent
Bob's life to the world.
I ask that you keep Jahworks pure. Don't help Gregory to continue
to lead naive young minds down the wrong path. The Native American
Indian community deals with this issue all the time. We understand
that Anglo people are searching for their tribal roots and for
acceptance into those communities. However, they forget to leave
their Euro-arrogance behind, this is the most important step they
miss in their attempt to be accepted. They have little respect
for the purity of the cultures they so seek to be accepted
into, they always place their own spin on things.
It is neccessary to put down this arrogance and pick up some humility.
They must learn that in these matters, they will always
be the student, and never the teacher.
Gregory's book only serves his own ego, not the works of Creator/Jah.
If you want your website to have full support within the Rasta
community, I would suggest that you discontinue his opinions on
Rasta culture. He is so alseep that he doesn't even realize that
all he is doing is and spreading his unconcious ego out to the
world (as an expert on Bob, no less).
Maybe you could add a spiritual button onto your page..."ask
a Rasta" for people who have questions and a sincere desire
to overstand. But please, use a real Rasta.
Respect & Guidance,
Cristala
Comanche/Caddo
Native American Church
Austin, TX
cristal@netlifestyles.com <mailto:cristal@netlifestyles.com>
Dear Cristal,
Thank you for voicing your concerns. I always want to get feedback, whether positive or negative.
I understand your concern about Gregory Stephens' background. True, he is not a Jamaican nor a black man. But does that make him unqualified to study his subject field or less of a scholar? Because you are a woman, can you not be interested in mens' sports or politics?
Although I don't agree with everything he says or writes, I think he makes some great fundamental points. Namely, it's time to look beyond race and color. We all breathe the same air, live in the same world, and deal with many of the same issues that present themselves in the beginning of the 21st century. What Gregory's greatest achievement has been is getting people to question the role of race. What does a black man in South Central L.A. have in common with a farmer in Ghana besides skin tone? What does a Chicana woman going to Yale have in common with a mechanic in Mexico City? She might not even speak Spanish. Race plays a big role in how we see ourselves, but many other factors play into culture as well, like class and location. So how much importance should we place on race?
I have given Gregory a forum to express his views, as we all deserve the freedom of expression. However, if you wish to submit a piece with opposing views, I am open to look at it, as it is only with dialogue that we reach understanding.
Thanks again for voicing your opinion.
Blessings Always,
Laura
****************
Laura,
Thank you for your kind response.
I also agree that color should not be the issue, it is
culture that is the issue. An Anglo man (from a Native
viewpoint) should not represent himself as an expert on someone
else's culture that he has just recently gained entree' into,
seen? It is simply rude. I have seen Gregory speak, and he does
a good job at turning off people of all races who are present.
He is trying too hard himself to be accepted. He has portrayed
Marcus Garvey as a separatist and a racist. This has offended
many in the Rasta (and Native) community, which shows a general
lack of understanding of those cultures. If he were wiser, he
would study his "subject" for another twenty years
or so before writing his book. Right now, he is still unaware
of how little he actually knows.
Many Anglos feel that people of color are seperatists because
we have a desire to see our races and cultures continue on into
eternity. We are proud of our culture and do not want to assimilate
as some want us to, into one race of beige. Our identitiy is tied
to our culture, not our race. That is why historically
when Anglo people were adopted into a tribe, the tribe considered
them as a true relative, irregardless of the color difference.
True 'nuff, we should all learn to accept each other for our similarities
and our differences. But it is rude and destructive to
take someone else's culture and spirituality and misrepresent
it to naive people as though you had been authorized by the community
to do so.
What a black man in L.A. and Ghana have in common is ancestry
and traditional culture, they are tied forever through that link,
whether they are aware of it or not. Same with the Chicana and
the mechanic. It is only because of Euro-oppression that these
two have been separated. Hence people of color tend to resent
a Anglo college professor, who probably knows little about the
difference in value systems, to be the self-appointed spokesman
for bringing the races together. That is the kind of arrogance
that makes people of color totally disregard his words.
I appreciate and enjoy this time of reasonin' and hope you take
it without malice, as that is not my intention.
There will be no peace on the planet until the the race in power
learns to respect other people's cultures and value systems. That
is not about race. It is about spiritual humility, that
is why Gregory harms more than he helps.
Respect,
Cristala