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A Litany of
Thanksgiving
Marian
Wright
Edelman
Guest
Columnist
In this season of
Thanksgiving, I wish you
wealth in the things of true
value ? family, friends,
health and peace of mind and
spirit. For those of us with
plenty, it's a time to stretch our
waistbands with customary
comfort food ? turkey, dress
ing, mashed potatoes and
cranberry sauce. This is a joy
ous indulgence because it's
shared with loved ones.
Thanksgiving is also the
flow ?>hdn ....
watch tele
vised parades,
usually punc
tuated by the
arrival of
Santa Claus
and the begin
ning of the
countdown for
Christmas
shopping. It is
my hope that
those of us
who begin our
gift shopping
the day after,
known to
some as
'Black
Friday," will
remember the
families who
are less fortu
nate, especial
ly the chil
dren. When
my family
gathers in this
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begin the holy season leading
to Christmas and Hanukkah
with the prayer of African
American theologian Howard
Thurman, A Litany of
Thanksgiving, to help us
remember for what and how
much we should truly be
thankful.
In Your presence, O God,
we make our Sacrament of
Thanksgiving.
We begin with the simple
things of our days:
Fresh air to breathe,
Cool water to drink,
The taste of food.
The protection of houses
and clothes.
The comforts of home .
For all these we make an
act of Thanksgiving this day!
We bring to mind all the
warmth of humankind that we
have known:
Our mothers' arms.
The strength of our fathers.
The playmates of our
childhood,
The wonderful stories
brought to us from the lives of
many who talked of days gone
by when fairies and giants and
diverse kinds of magic held
sway; ^
The tears we have shed,
the tears we have seen;
The excitement of laughter
and the twinkle in the eye with
its reminder that life is good.
For all these we make an
act of Thanksgiving this day.
We finger one by one the
messages of hope that await us
at the crossroads:
The smile of approval from
those who held in their hands
the reins of our security.
The tightening of the grip
of a single handshake when
we feared the step before us in
the darkness.
The whisper in our heart
when the temptation was
fiercest and the claims of
appetite were not to be denied.
The crucial word said, the
simple sentence from an open
page when our decision hung
in the balance.
For all these we make an
act of Thanksgiving this day.
We passed before us the
mainsprings of our heritage:
The fruits of the labors of
countless generations who
lived before us, without whom
our own lives would have no
meaning,
The seers who saw visions
and dreamed dreams;
The prophets who sensed a
truth greater than the mind
could
grasp, and
whose
words
could only
find fulfill
ment in the
years which
they would
never see.
The
workers
whose
sweat has
watered the
trees, the
leaves of
which are
for the
healing of
the nations.
The pil
grims who
set their
sails for
lands
beyond all
horizons,
whose
courage made paths into new
worlds and far-off places.
The savior whose blood
was shed with the recklessness
that only a dream could
inspire and God could com
mand.
For all these we make an
act of Thanksgiving this day.
We linger over the mean
ing of our own life and com
mitment to which we give the
loyalty of our heart and mind:
The little purposes in
which we have shared with
our loves, our desires, our
gifts.
The restlessness which
bottoms all we do with its
stark insistence that we have
never done our best, we have
never reached for the highest.
The big hope that never
quite deserts us, that we and
our kind will study war no
more, that love and tenderness
and. all the inner graces of
Almighty affection will cover
the life of the children of God
as the waters cover the sea.
All these and more than
mind can think and heart can
feel, we make as our sacra
ment of Thanksgiving to Thee,
Our Father, in humbleness of
mind and simplicity of heart.
Marian Wright Edelman is
President of the Children's
Defense Fund and its Action
Council whose Leave No
Child Behind mission is to
ensure every child a Healthy
Start, a Head Start, a Fair
Start, a Safe Start and a Moral
Start in life and successful
passage to adulthood with the
help of caring families and
communities.
Whither the Sudan?
Bill
Fletcher
Guest
Columnist
In the last several weeks the
Sudan, wracked by the Darfur cri
sis, faced yet another challenge.
Frustrated by the alleged failure of
the Khartoum government of
President Al-Bashir to implement
agreements signed in 2005, the
Sudan People's Liberation
Movement (SPLM) withdrew
from the Government of National
Unity. This step sent shockwaves
throughout the Sudan and
throughout much of Africa as
well, due to its potential implica
tions.
SPLM has been the leading
force representing the southern
Sudan in its multi-decade civil
war with the north. As a legacy of
colonialism the Sudan was creat
ed in such a way that it weaved
together a mainly Muslim north
with a mainly Christian and ani
mist south.
In the 1980s when a long-run
ning peace agreement between
the north and the south was violat
ed by the demagogic (then) leader
of the Sudan (President Numiery,
who desperately sought to cling to
power), war was reignited. In
2005 a peace agreement was
reached whereby a border was to
be established demarcating the
south/north; oil revenues would
be redistributed; political reforms
would be instituted; and the south
would gain the opportunity for a
referendum on self-determina
tion. After two years of apparent
stalling by the Al-Bashir govern
ment, the SPLM had enough.
Though they have not returned to
armed struggle, the situation
remains quite tense.
If the north/south conflict
were the only challenge for the
Sudan, the country's future would
still be questionable. If, however,
one adds to the north/south con
flict the genocidal war in Darfur
carried out by the Khartoum gov
ernment and its allies; the brutal
struggle within Darfur between
opponents of the Khartoum gov
ernment; and, the pro-democracy
movement in the country overall
(which includes the SPLM)
which confronts the Al-Bashir
tyranny, the Sudan faces a possi
ble challenge to its very existence.
Numerous northern-based
cliques have dominated the Sudan
since independence and have
refused to share power with other
segments of Sudanese society,
whether in the name of Islamism,
ethnicity, or raw politics. This
arrogance and short-sightedness
has served as the basis for near
continuous instability, including
military coups and civil wars.
On one level, pointing out the
tyranny of the Al-Bashir govern
ment simply states the obvious.
What is needed now, more than at
any other time, is a comprehen
sive peace, reconciliation and
democratization process. This is
more than the cessation of fight
ing and the holding of multi-party
elections, but rather guaranteeing
that the traditionally excluded
groups have a significant role in
deciding the future of the Sudan
This means getting the govern
ment of President Al-Bashir to the
table with the host of constituen
cies and forces that often see it as
a mortal enemy.
Though the USA was instru
mental in the 2005 peace agree
ment?perhaps the only positive
contribution of the Bush adminis
tration?it currently lacks the
moral legitimacy and trust to
serve as an honest broker. This
role? of honest broker? is one
that the African Union needs to
serve. If the USA is to do anything
positive at this point in the Sudan
it should be to support the work of
the African Union rather than
making nonsensical pronounce
ments.
It might also be the case that
the Congressional Black Caucus
could offer its services to work
alongside the African Union in
helping to bring about the sort of
comprehensive settlement so des
perately needed. This would be a
form of Pan African solidarity that
could make a significant differ
ence in the future of Africa's
largest country.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a labor and
international writer and activist.
He is the immediate past presi
dent of TransAfrica Forum and
can be reached at
papaq54@hotmailjcom.
O) OWN, PmENT, CUE, OK.
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A 2006 AIDS Awareness poster featuring famous faces.
A day I will never forget
Bev
Smith
Guest
Columnist
There was a day I will
never forget. I was.sitting on
my deck in beautiful
RockvilteV Md., drinking
vodka gimlet with one of my
best friends and we were dis
cussing all of the AIDS work I
had done on my nationally
syndicated talk show.
He said, "Oh Bev, you
don't know how this work is
going to change lives." He had
always been interested in my
show, but this was different.
We got quiet and were just
enjoying living in suburbia
and as I was thinking how
blessed I was, he looked at me
and said, "I have AIDS."
I broke down and cried.
This was the moment I made
up my mind I would make a
difference in the lives of not
only him, but anybody
touched by this disease. I lost
Ricky, Jack from New York
and Flynn from Washington,
D.C. They were people who
had beautiful hearts, souls and
spirits whose families had
abandoned them. There was
also Gregory, who I worked
with in Washington, D.C.
We thought he was going
to beat the disease, but he died
too. This disease is always liv
ing with me because there is
not a day that goes^by that I do
not miss and wish I had Ricky
in my life. As long as I live, I
will do whatever 1 can to stop
this disease from ruining
lives.
As the only female
African-American nationally
syndicated talk show host for
the American Urban Radio
Networks, I have always been
involved with issues regarding
HIV/AIDS.
I have been in the business
for more than 40 years and the
theme for my talk show is
"Get Involved." I push this
phrase and even put it onto T
shirts: "Stand up, Be Counted,
Get Involved." v*
Why? First of all, I am not
just your average talk show
host. I am an activist.
Therefore, my talk show is not
about sitting around and talk
ing, but about making changes
in peoples' lives. This is what
I'm all about.
However, my awareness
on AIDS/HIV was heightened
after reading Randy Shilts'
book, "And The Band Played
On."
As the first black in Miami
with a talk show, I began to
get involved because I could
not believe that the Centers
for Disease Control could put
out a theory that said a green
monkey bit a man who went to
San Francisco and had sex,
and went from San Francisco
back to New York and that is
how it spread.
It just sounded like I ought
to be singing "dooda,
dooda." I thought that was
asinine. I believe the origins
of HIV/AIDS is man-made.
According to "Queer Blood:
The Secret AIDS Genocide
Plot," by Dr. Allen Cantwell
Jr., M.D. the smallpox eradi
cation vaccine program spon
sored by the World Health
Organization was responsible
for unleashing AIDS in Africa.
Cantwell also debunks the
African green monkey theory
of AIDS and explains how
AIDS started as a covered-up
genocide experiment, using
blacks and gays as guinea
pigs. I also think the Black
community is ignorant about
AIDS. According to the Henry
J. Kaiser Family Foundation,
in 2004 African-Americans
represented 61 percent of
HIV/AIDS cases among 13
to-24 year olds.
This alarming statistic tells
me there is a hidden silence
that says: "Don't talk about it
and it will go away" and
"Don't mention you have a
gay friend." "Don't mention
that there are gay people in the
pulpit, gay people in the
White House." "Don't talk
about it and it will go away."
The people who do talk
about it are generally those
who have sons or brothers
with HIV or AIDS. For the
most part, I think the Black
community is just ignorant
about it and fearful that it will
be one more negative stereo
type of our community.
1 would like to see that
mindset changed, because we
still do not get how widely
this disease impacts us all. No
matter how many young col
lege women I have on the
show who say, "I just went
wi<ir him one time" or no mat
ter how many wives who say,
"My husband came home
from prison and I contracted
the disease," the Black com
munity still sees this as the
gay disease.
We have senior citizens
with AIDS! Yet, our churches
are still too judgmental, but
God will deal with them. Still,
I am going to talk about it no
matter what kind of response I
get from the audience. I am
straight up.
So, if you do not like it,
turn the channel. When there
is a problem, whether it is
racism or George Bush or
whatever, I am going to
address it. So, I am not afraid.
I have never had a problem.
Maybe, I am just blessed.
Maybe, the Lord just says,
"I'm going to take care of this
fool." But if you don't stand
up for something, you're
going to fall down for every
thing.
Bev Smith is host of the
Bev Smith Show on American
Urban Radio Network.