OCKG Talk  

Harambee Everyone,

Village Talk w/ Kokayi Ufanifu will continue next week, Inshallah (if God wills)!  

 Yesterday -- February 7th, I attend an Obama Rally at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. . People were electrified waiting in line outside and engaged in small talk before we were allowed to enter the building.  While waiting in line I purchased three Obama buttons and gave two away to acquaintances of mine standing in line with me. It was purely spontaneous on my part and I had no intention of doing such a thing in advance.   The sun was shining and warm, however there was still a February chill in the air, but yet a break from the cold snap of previous days.

 When we were finally allowed inside we had to wait a while for Obama to appear. I occupied myself with a book I had picked up from the Main Library Downtown on Harriet Tubman by Catherine Clinton.  Harriet Tubman was a strong and courageous woman only five feet tall.  She would have been pleased I think at this scenario in American Life.  A son of previously enslaved Africans -- running for president of the United States of America!

Harriet Tubman herself was born enslaved -- an African-n-America.  She later in her life escaped to freedom and went back twelve times to personally conduct 300 people from the unrelenting claws of slavery as an conductor on the Underground Railroad (UGRR).  During the Civil War she was also a nurse and a spy who provided valuable information to the Union Army who in turned freed many more hundreds of Africans from slavery!

But back to the crowds of people still streaming indoors and stackin up inside the Auditorium,  there were people of different colors and no color and especially young and old occupying themselves with shouts of “Obama” and “We want Change” to intermittent Waves through the crowd!  I even began to stand up and down as others did around me. I had a great view although in retrospect I’d liked to have shaken President Obama’s hand. If I had only went to standing room on the main floor -- rather than sitting in the bleachers.

Personally, I'm taking a cautious approach towards the Obama Campaign for President of the United States of America. I’m not so much relying on whose president as what we can do at the grassroots level in Omaha -- working together in the Spirit of Kwanzaa to make our lives better.   Obama even said himself “that change is not from the top down” (because the top already have their’s), “but from the bottom up” (where the people who suffer from the status quo lie)!  And I agreed.

 However he is the first candidate I have actually sent money to in order to help them with their campaign.  I started off cautiously with 5 dollars and now I have increased that amount.  I will continue to invest in his campaign in small amounts.  Imagine if everyone sent in 5 dollars or more every two weeks, he wouldn’t need special interest money.  This would be a true Populist political movement.  And that is just what is happening.  People are sending money across the board to Obama’s Campaign.  I say keep it up!

In addition to that, the Mayor of Omaha Mike Fahey and the Governor of Iowa Chet Culver have endorsed Baraka Obama’s Campaign!  For Baraka Obama to have gotten as far as he has maybe on the surface, if not deep down the Caucasian Majority is growing up politically if not necessarily on an economic and social level!  To me economics is where it’s at. 

We as Africans-n-America had better start to save as much money as we can and invest it together (Ujamaa & Ujimaa) to control our economic, political and social lives.  We are still too depended on others to meet our needs and desires.  We are investing yes, but not locally in our own communities and not in businesses for us to control!  We need to invest as a block to control companies that will establish us strategically in the coming 100 years. 

What are some of those key companies?  We need to invest in companies and ideas that will give us the ability to communicate with each other more effectively since everyone is mobile and has different schedules.  Those companies/ideas involved are laptops/edu-puters/e-books, interactive learning games for Nintendo or X-box to accelerate the learning process and decentralize the learning curriculum with more culturally and historically sensitive materials to build the self-esteem of our children along with Internet radio, You Tube, Broadcast Radio and TV content and delivery systems.  Then we move on to the building trades: home construction, plumping, electricians, furniture making, etc! Plus farming to establish independence!

Bottom up not Top down! Community people, Community leadership!

A la porchaine fois (French: “See you next time”)