@ khalfani

truth is : __________

there's a word , that many will use today . i choose not to , because i think i've lost sight of how powerful it is .

as a child , i've heard many times : ' sticks and stones may break my bones , but words can never hurt me ' . this isn't the truth . highly inaccurate . sticks and stones may break your bones , but words can either hurt or compliment you in ways things physical never could .

. . .

truth is ; i miss a woman .

. . . alot of men can say this , and be fine the next minute . in my case , every minute i think about it the left side of my chest tightens up , it gets difficult to breathe for a second , and all i have are memories . vivid memories . then i wonder ' what if ' . smh . there's no worse feeling than the one that it may be too late , or you'll have to wait . it being too late means it's the end you didn't imagine coming , and waiting means that at some point she'll be hurt . catch twenty two .

truth is ; i've never told her a word i didn't mean .

. . . i've given her three of my own that mean much more than the world to me . it's complete surrender of self to enter in solidarity with another , and accept it's infinite possibilities .

truth is ; aiming to be whole when you believe you may have found another half of yourself is difficult . as a mf .

truth is , there are some words i wanna use . i choose not to , because i've lost sight of how powerful they are . what i haven't lost , is the will to implement the actions that make these words relevant . what we have is an opportunity to do something amazing .

so , truth is ; sabali is my best friend . patience .

distant relatives | ' patience '

distant relatives "patience" from nabil elderkin on vimeo.

this album is almost a year old , and is one of the best kept secrets in music of all time . this is both a sad and a great thing , i'd be highly upset if an album so amazing were to be open to be saturated by those turning whats black and white into the mediocre ( the grey of things ) . a great message , an honorable OURstory being told as only the best of bards could tell it .

erykah badu | gone baby don't be long

erykah badu - gone baby, don't be long from beeple on vimeo.

letter from mecca : truth

never have i witnessed such sincere hospitality and the overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient holy land , the home of abraham , muhammad and all other prophets of the holy scriptures . for the past week , i have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness i see displayed all around me by people of all colors .

i have been blessed to visit the Holy city of mecca . i have made my seven circuits around the ka'ba , led by a young mutawaf named muhammad . i drank water from the well of zem zem . i ran seven times back and forth between the hills of mt . al - safa and al - marwah . i have prayed in the ancient city of mina , and i have prayed on mt . arafat .

there were tens of thousands of pilgrims , from all over the world . they were of all colors , from blue eyed blonds to black skin africans . but we were all participating in the same rituals , displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in america had lead me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white .

america needs to understand islam , because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem . throughout my travels in the muslim world , i have met , talked to , and even eaten with people who in america would have considered ' white ' -- but the ' white ' attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of islam . i have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together , irrespective of their color .

you may be shocked by these words coming from me . but on this pilgrimage , what i have seen , and experienced , has forced me to re - arrange much of my thought patterns previously held , and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions . this was not too difficult for me . despite my firm convictions , i have always been a man who tries to face facts , and to accept the reality of life as new experiences and new knowledge unfolds it . i have always kept an open mind , which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth .

during the past eleven days here in the muslim world , i have eaten from the same plate , drunk from the same glass , and slept in the same bed , ( or on the same rug ) -- while praying to the same god -- with fellow muslims , whose eyes were the bluest of blue , whose hair was the blondest of blond , and whose skin was the whitest of white . and in the same words and in the actions and in the deeds of the ' white ' muslims , i felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black african muslims of nigeria , sudan and ghana .

we were truly all the same ( brothers ) -- because their belief in one god had removed the ' white ' from their minds , the ' white ' from their behavior , and the ' white ' from their attitude .

i could see from this , that perhaps if white americans could accept the oneness of god , then perhaps , too , they could accept in reality the oneness of man -- and cease to measure , and hinder , and harm others in terms of their differences in color .

with racism plaguing america like an incurable cancer , the so-called ' christian ' white american heart should be more receptive to a proven solution to such a destructive problem . perhaps it could be in time to save america from imminent disaster -- the same destruction brought upon germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans themselves .

each hour here in the holy land enables me to have greater spiritual insights into what is happening in america between black and white . the american negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities -- he is only reacting to four hundred years of conscious racism of the american whites . but as racism leads america up the suicide path , i do believe , from the experience that i have had with them , that the whites of the younger generation , in the colleges and universities , will see the handwriting on the wall and many of them will turn to the spiritual path of truth -- the only way left to america to ward off the disaster that racism inevitably must lead to .

never have i been so highly honored . never have i been made to feel more humble and unworthy . who would believe the blessings that have been heaped upon an american negro ? a few nights ago , a man who would be called in america a ' white ' man , a united nations diplomat , an ambassador , a companion of kings , gave me his hotel suite , his bed . by this man , his excellency prince faisal , who rules this holy land , was made aware of my presence here in jedda . the very next morning , prince faisal's son , in person , informed me that by the will and decree of his esteemed father , I was to be a state guest .

the deputy chief of protocol himself took me before the hajj court . his holiness sheikh muhammad harkon himself okayed my visit to mecca . his holiness gave me two books on islam , with his personal seal and autograph , and he told me that he prayed that i would be a successful preacher of islam in america . a car , a driver , and a guide , have been placed at my disposal , making it possible for me to travel about this holy land almost at will . the government provides air conditioned quarters and servants in each city that i visit . never would i have even thought of dreaming that i would ever be a recipient of such honors -- honors that in america would be bestowed upon a king -- not a negro .

all praise is due to allah , the lord of all the worlds .

sincerely ,

el - hajj malik el - shabazz ( malcolm x )

kwanzaa : kuumba

kuumba ( creativity ) : to do always as much as we can , in the way we can , in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it .

be creative .

kwanzaa : nia

nia ( purpose ) : to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in
order to restore our people to their traditional greatness .

this joint describes it , perfectly .

kwanzaa : ujamaa

ujamaa ( cooperative economics ) : to build and maintain our own stores , shops , and other businesses
and to profit from them together .

in my opinion , one of the most important principles . growing up in a predominantly african american neighborhood , one thing i've come to notice is that we don't produce anything we buy , and we LOVE to buy things an not produce . even if we're selling something , it's only because we're the middle man . -_- . cooperative economics means cluster development , investing in your community no matter what .
shall we ?

kwanzaa : ujima

ujima ( collective work and responsibility ) : to build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems , and to solve them together .

simply put .

kwanzaa : kujichagulia

kujichagulia ( self - determination) : to define ourselves , name ourselves , create for ourselves ,
and speak for ourselves.

simply , define who you are . it will be one of the most difficult things you'll do in life , but in defining who you are you find the TRUEST liberation .

kwanzaa : umoja

' umoja ( unity ) : to strive for and to maintain unity in the family , community , nation , and race . '

u - n - i - t - y , let lauryn tell it . i'm dedicating every day after this one to creating unity in my family . hitting up a family member i haven't spoken to in a minute , letting them know i love em still . what's a community without ' common + unity ' ? as far as my nation i haven't gotten there yet , but setting out a plan doesn't hurt much . i vote , then act accordingly afterwards . as for race , i'm tired of sob story ol' ' masta still owes me ' type black folks . i'm trynna eat , martin luther king junior himself stated that he feels he was ' leading our people into a burning house ' through segregation and it is our job to be the firemen ( and women , lol ) . learn who you are , your history then add to it ! thats what i'm up to .

nah mean ?

' in the matter of color '

' race and the american legal process : the colonial process '
a . leon higganbotham jr .

a difficult read , to say the least .

' in the matter of color ' is a time series / cross examination of the steady process of legalizing the oppression of negroes . this study is of the colonies ( in order by time of establishment ) virginia , massachusetts , new york , south carolina , georgia , and pennsylvania , where as early as 1622 the process of transporting africans into the colonies solely for financial gain came into being .

a difficult read , for obvious reasons . it could be the constant and consistent treatment of african peoples as property only to be supported by the laws and religion of each colony , or the perpetuating reminder that the purpose of african peoples being in the colonies was for one sole purpose ; financial gain . the enigma of these times is the subjection of human beings to a status seen as not equal to another based off the color of skin . . . when in actuality the property that was ' the african ' , is contradictory to the reasoning of the settlers leaving in the first place .

' we hold these truths to be self evident , that all men are created equal ' , which is only possible with the de-humanizing of africans . moral of the story .

it takes everything in me to not take this history personally , but as an american . . . this is my history .
on both ends . the oppressed and the oppressor .
what happened , happened and i'd rather be informed fully , no matter how painful it is , than to be upset with no just reasoning as to why .

' there is a nexus between the brutal centuries of colonial slavery and the racial polarization and anxieties of today . the poisonous legacy of legalized oppression based upon the matter of color can never be adequately purged from our society if we act as if slave laws never existed . '

- a. leon higginbotham jr .

vip | yes please .

autofashion fourth annual vip festival from joey fyc on vimeo.

one day . one day . . .

fifteenth floor of joy

i'd love to agree that
as men we need more lawyers ,
and more doctors
but i don't .
i say we need more poets to preach to our daughters
serenade our mothers . . . you know , a drink of fresh water
we need bards , who truthfully spit bars about the power in our honor
to no end ,
no periods ,
one or two comma's .
we more isis ,
less rihanna .

see , words are the water that help planted seed take form .

i'd love to get lost in the math and science projected by others persona
but woman your rhythm got me trippin
god is one hell of a mathematician
praises due to whoever took their fine pointed pen
and took some time to come up with the divine that is you
what it means to be a man can easily be misconstrued
it's difficult , but i'm glad we have someone to be warm to

and thats my position .
it feels like i'm flying
but i'm still grounded firmly where i stand
not on cloud nine , but on the fifteenth floor
with joy being much more than i can hold in my hands . . .

twenty two . balance .

obvious .

i'm 22 , thats balance . i'm thankful for it .

balance , by definition is ;

a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution ofweight, amount, etc.

word . have i found it yet ? nah , but i'm getting there . for the last summer and some months , i've been reading wildly in no apparent direction and the things i've learned in such a short amount of time amaze me . not fluffing my feathers or flexing my prowess , i'm saying that even in such a short amount of time there is so much knowledge to be gained , and with knowledge comes the next step of setting an agenda , then application . slowly , but surely i'm working through those stages .

i wish i could share everything , but my mind comes first . once the mind is free ,

everything else follows . balance .

not very ecstatic , but definitely thankful for another year in the books .

i found it crazy how relevant this track on one of my favorite albums is ( minus the alcohol and drugs ) .

let go . . . and let god ? will do .

law forty eight

assume formlessness

' by taking a shape , by having a visible plan , you open yourself to attack . instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp , keep yourself adaptable and on the move . accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed . the best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water ; never bet on stability or lasting order . everything changes . '

everything changes .

word .

rally to restore sanity | march to keep fear alive

#epicwin

in humor , we have found common sense .

' a message to my brothers '

look ,

i don't blame the plants for not growing
when the soil is barren
there’s an ill collective understanding
a never ending cycle fueled by ill planning
and i think it's time we took a look at these problems and aim to solve them so ,
here's my say ;

fellas our decline is a never-ending cycle of repetitive repetition
fueled by ; strength confused as being aggression
seeking freedom through license
politeness confused as compassion ,
battling with those who wish they carried your likeness
and this unjust , unrealistic definition of ' being a man ' has gotta get dropped
long story short we been got .
believing that a man is only as much as he can hold in his hands

can’t deny the obvious , we no longer have the luxury of changing the channel .
these this world is politics, and this life is all mathematics ,
which just so happen two of our worst subjects
it’s all about understanding the rhythm and vibrations , intertwining relations
i mean , getting we see picture but don’t seek to comprehend the captions
too much knowledge to learn that we can’t afford turning our backs on
if we don't wrap our heads around what it means to be male in a black body
we will no doubt continue to keep this cycle rolling
and not all movement is forward progress

so i ask you , what is it that we are pursuing ?
in what direction are we moving ?
no doubt we are reaping what we’ve sewn , only so little can be said for what we’ve been doing
cause having dreams and aspirations is great and all ,
but if we don't wake up and put our feet on the ground and get to moving forward it's gone be too late for us all , <

i don't blame the plant for not growing
when the soil is barren
it’s an ill understanding going around a never ending cycles fueled by what the definition of a man is ,
and i think it's time we took a look at these problems and aim to solve them so ,
here's my say ;

it’s easy to look through someone else’s glasses and not like what you see . . . and all we think is
' i have got to get better , i have to make a change ' . . . and my brother ,
we'd all be right sayin that , but remember ? not all change is progress !
this is the beginning of the process and stress makes everything urgent ,
so preemptively our understanding is a mess and things get out of control far beyond what can be guessed
we move with no spine !
we move with the wrong template ,
we live by the unoriginal form , with the lack of the full original definition
some of the best lessons are learned through repetition ,
but we have GOT TO MOVE ON
i’m tired of singing this old and tired song ,

and it's to everyone’s detriment whether they know it or not .
because the spineless , ill defined man just might one day ask for your hand
and the pickings aren’t ripe enough .
who’s to teach our sons how to be men ?
who’s to sing to our daughters to of fatherly love !?
then they hand us any ol' solution that builds higher walls to this box

look ,

we are a product of oppression, oppression creates certain maladies
times of desperation and needed liberation will lead to the accepting of fallacies
we cannot move forward , through accepting what isn’t yours ,
and has never worked in the past
so stop kicking your own ass ,

my brother ,
i dare you to learn and love who you are .
in doing so you will shoot for the moon , and land on the stars
you will find your queen , you will raise royalty
you’ll find that you , cannot be bullshitted even by the best bullshitter
you will learn that knowledge of yourself , is the only wealth worth having and
everything else , will fall in order . . .

understand . black man .
we live by the mutated form , with the lack excitement caused by connections to the original definition
some of the best lessons are learned through repetition ,
but we have GOT TO MOVE ON
i’m tired of singing this old and tired song ,
i don’t blame the plant for not growing ,
especially if the soil is barren
but if that plant has an avenue of moving through the correct understanding ,
then i must hold our plant accountable .
remove yourself from this soil ,
cause here ? there’s nothing to be grown .
lets move on , and find our way home .

my brother

" if you'n know how ta' rhyme , you better learn how ta' add . . . it's mathematics "
- mos

a black woman's smile | ty gray el

a black womans smile

in all of god's creation there is nothing more alluring, more appealing, or attractive;
nothing more beautiful, more charismatic, more charming or captivating; nothing more delightful, more elegant, or exquisite;
nothing more fascinating, more gorgeous, more inspiring, or intoxicating; nothing more magnificent or lovely than a black woman's smile.

ty gray - el
" a black woman's smile "