Dear All,

Thought I would just say…

BAF

With three poets, and songs too. All in English.

Tuesday 22 April, 20:30h.

Location:  Nikki Broos Portet Amsterdam
               Binnen Bantammerstraat 4
               Amsterdam
www.nikkibroosportretamsterdam.nl
www.lilykiara.nl
www.blackangelfish.com

limited seatings! please make reservations at: sibylsings@lilykiara.nl

Dr. King,  so moved by the sentiments of the men concerned, would explain his reasoning for entering the Vietnam debate in what can only be best described as the greatest piece of literature I have ever read, Dr. King’s speech is titled,  “Beyond  Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” 

In  the speech Dr. King states:   “The truth of these words is beyond doubt but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one,” he stressed on “speaking up.”

His speech further outlined:  “Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war.  Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one’s own bosom and in the surrounding world.  Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.  Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak.  We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation’s history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the higher grounds of firm dissent based upon the mandates conscience and the reading of history.  Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements well and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.”

As tension are building fuelling political fires in almost every part of the world (today) what is needed most of all is a movement towards certainty and calm, noting history is only important if it helps with our future.

To read Dr. King’s April 04, 1967 Speech:  “Beyond Vietnam :  A Time to Break Silence by Rev. Martin Luther King, click on the link below:  

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/058.html.  

I found out that I love 5-star hotels and friendly people and Black jokes and Whites’ too, as long as it is told by an old, good friend. 

I have decided to turn back on the television set now that I know it is me who must draw the line.   No more trying to be perfect.  Perfect, didn’t save the Greeks, the Romans, the French, the Germans, nor the Spanish; and it won’t save me.   Fashion and reason don’t do much for stinky people with no dreams of cleaning up, but we all stink sometimes.

Everybody stinks; the needy, the hopeful, just like the ignorant.  And, hell yes, the players stinks, the suckers, the masses, the fish and the high-rollers, they all stink.  Traditions or propaganda subtle to a fool or one misguided reeks of decay. 

However, we must go on, we are about growth; and beside, everybody knows we humans can’t resist the urge to change. 

Maybe I’ll stop smoking.

Written by Fitzgerald Brown, introducing the new title, Bridges 2007: a book of poems and prose 

(In response to the call of life)

I should be angry if it wasn’t for the oath

Life has never been easy and the weak still fall

Like landmines exploding in my mind

I’d go

Naked

If it hadn’t been done before

So I went down to the river

Pining like one pining for gold

Or a lost love

I pined for

A reflection of myself

Before the dream

Before the industry and the excitement

Before I arrived at the edge

Away from myself

Passing ships are calling

Free your mind

The flag ship is closing in

Prepare for the coming

Dress your houses and want no more

The wind shifts to the

Trees

Trees are to be revered, enjoyed

And the songs of birds should be mocked

Every word should be a joyful one

And march on

I should be angry, If it wasn’t for the coming

Raindrops sent one by precious one

By Fitzgerald Brown

She doesn’t understand me

My belly is growing

She tells me, I’m pregnant

My breast have swollen

My feet, back and shoulders ache

Everything seems to annoy me or

Makes me sentimental

And no one understands me

I guess I must be pregnant

By Fitzgerald Brown

I am a firm believer that we are simply no more than our attention. Many of you have noticed that I haven’t been writing that much on my Blog, of recent. The reason has been because of the changeover, or the New Year.

I believe everyone needs to take time from his busy schedule to reflect on the world around him. Many people go, in and out, of each New Year and right into the next, without reflecting on last year’s success and its failures.

Around November through December, is when I began the process of self- inventory. Which is no easy process, let me tell you. But it was a process that I could not ignore.

In my evaluation I discovered in 2006 my focus was on becoming a voice for the common man. I wanted to be one of the capable, who would champion the cause of the weak and the incapable in this war of the riches. That is, what the fuss really is all about anyway- the riches. Thankfully, no one has to assume, why we struggle, like we do. The explanation of want and desire heralds every conflict worldwide. The poor want this and the rich want to keep that; and, we struggle.

In coming out of 2006, which for me was a year of revolution and revelation I have decided to make 2007 the year of peace and focus.

I realize man cannot help wanting the things he wants. And I know the reason or reasons will always be personal and justifiable in his mind. That would lead me to the discovery that in the absence of the struggle is peace. And, peace is what we need most above all things.

While we move into the New Year, the Year 2007, I want to encourage all of you to embrace the New Year and focus on whatever it is, you love.

Peace,

Black Angelfish

who am i? 

Who am I, I am your brother like the
night Train whistling a tune
on a new day. I got rhythm, I got music,
I got my life, who could ask for anything more.

Catch me if you can
Blackangelfish

By Fitzgerald Brown

Dear Readers, A piece from my story: Notes of an African American on the Run…

     As a child growing up in Charleston, South Carolina often I would drift away, from the many contradictions and conflicts I found around me and would dare to dream the American Dream.         

     Much later in life, I would have the opportunity of living out that dream in Europe and it would be the years, which I’d spent in Amsterdam, leading up to the September 11, 2001 Attack on America I would begin to realize that I was a drifter, living an immature man’s dream in Europe with little regard to the African American dream of equality, which I abandoned when I arrived in Amsterdam, almost some 10 years ago.        

     The part of my life that I would spend in Europe after September 11, 2001 is the time of my life I would gain an important insight into my past frustrations which would generate a spiritual reconciliation which I needed in order to reconcile all that I was feeling inside. I found that part (of me) locked away and buried in my childhood memories. The essence of all man, (the Good) in me, perfect in every way, but made to feel imperfect in an imperfect world.         

      I was younger; I’d just arrived in Amsterdam. As I exited the Central Train Station, I opened my eyes to a magical new world. A sea of orange and I was wearing white. I stuck out like an elephant among the thousands of human pedestrians that filled the international city streets, in honor of the Queen of Orange’s Birthday. I was large and the city was in a state. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed a city like Amsterdam could really exist. Written descriptions do the city little justice.   

      Mythical, were my first days and months, which soon turned into years. I was lost among the talented, the bright, the indifferent, in a place where coffee and sex were had, early. Open gardens with ancient legendary homes, canals, rowboats, prostitutes, bicycles, trams and fairytale bridges, coupled with outside cafes, whoresons, beautiful people, young and old helped me to forget my earlier days of endless roaming, hiding and concessions.        

      My life was a series of unanswered questions and mixed up dreams. I was caught in the middle, a reactionary. I struggled to understand the meaning of it all, which was kept away from me due to what I now attribute to my immaturity.   

      I was a victim; that was my role, never starring, but always in attendance; Fitzgerald Brown. Life for me was one constant struggle. I always felt I had to do what was expected of me, which I always tried to do, not necessarily because I felt it or wanted to, but most shockingly, because I believed I had no choice.   

      From day one, my life was someone else’s great accomplishment (my parents). I was but a mere feature. All my life, I would try to romanticize my conception and birth, but, for the life of me; I could not understand why it had to be me. There is a song out now by an unknown new British artist, called Wicked and I’m Lazy, that best describes my feelings about myself before September 11, 2001.   

    Even in a liberal, tolerate, environment such as the Netherlands, I could not help but notice the many young males “junks” as they’re called in Europe, predominately men of color, wandering the streets and alleyways of Amsterdam, shadow-figures among the many privileged in Amsterdam’s open and international city.  This sight for me, as a Black male, was thought-provoking, worrying and downright scary. 

    That’s when I decided I would put my thoughts on paper, not knowing if they would ever be read by anyone else. I assembled a few notes and sent it to a friend who then suggested I try to get them published.  After receiving my share of rejection letters from various publishers in Holland, I then decided to extend my search beyond the Netherlands. To my surprise my article, Notes of an African American would be published in the summer 2003, Ten Year Anniversary Issue of the UK’s oldest Diversity Magazine, New Impact giving voice to my perspective of an African American in Europe.  However it would be the amazing response generated from the article that would prompt me to -publish my notes, The Gospel Truth, Notes of an African American on the Run - A Black Man’s Guide to Europe and the rest of the world.   

      My book details what I now affectionately call the “inner” journey to a deeper understanding of the collective SELF, and reminds us all, that life is our inheritance.    Through my genuine love for writing I have come to embrace the journey we all must make to a new understanding and in doing so reflect “hope” to souls that have been darkened by fear and pain.   Following the release of my book in 2005, I began the Black Angelfish Network in Amsterdam, NL. 

The mission of the Black Angelfish website is to provide a place for like-minded souls to come together and exchange ideas and opinions, that will encourage and inspire others to go deeper beyond traditional borders to extracting the gold that is  within us all. 

Peace,

Blackangelfish

 One day while we were exchanging stories and observations about life as Black males in
Europe I informed him about the book I had written, The Gospel Truth: Note of an African American on the Run, published at the end of 2004.

 For all those who haven’t had a chance to get a copy, my book is an autobiography about my early life growing up in the aftermath of the Negro and Panther Movements of the 1960s in America,  and it notes the observations I made after moving to the Netherlands in search of a better life.

 Daniel then began to tell me of a book he read (in his youth) about a Black German during the 1920s Nazi Germany.  At first I thought he was joking, “a Black German” I couldn’t believe my ears, until I did a Google search and found his book, Growing up Black in Nazi Germany, Life of Hans Massaquoi. 

 What I learned about Hans Massaquoi’s story further deepens my resolve that, everyone regardless of circumstances, dreams of a normal life. 

 Massaquoi, the son of a German mother and Liberian father, grew up in Hamburg, Germany in the 1930s under the Nazi regime. He miraculously survived the war and extermination. After immigrating to the United States, he served in the U.S. Army and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism and communications.

 To read more about this dynamic man, click on the link below.  Knowledge is indeed power!!!

http://news.fiu.edu/diversity/spring2002/conversation_hans.html.