so very much has happened, but it's late & im finna go to bed.
actually it's only 11:10, but i been goin to sleep by 12 everynight & wakin up before my alarm clock evrymornin. its pretty dope. makes my days seem a lot shorter.
im back at school.
i saw my baby over the break. we spent a week bein grown & making love & giggling like 12 yr olds. it was beautiful & ill probably be writing about it for the next 5 months.
im ridiculously stressed. all this MLK shit man. i was ready to quit til i got this email from my old teacher Bryan Trabold not 3 minutes ago. it's given me a 2nd wind. im gonna do my damndest to make this a success. then im not doin anything else other than homework the rest of my time here.
and i cant figure out why he leaves the 'e' out when he types 'trace.' *shrugs*
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I read the stage directions for MLK day and they look AWESOME! I was so impressed. Let me ramble about all of the things I loved.
First, as much as I admire Dr. King the man, I couldn’t agree with you more that this day is intended to reflect on the broader struggle, and not deify one individual. And as you accurately state, King HIMSELF would agree with this idea!
Second, I love how you show that the struggle has been at times radical and even angry (rightfully so). Another aspect of some MLK celebrations that can be infuriating is the tendency sometimes to present the struggle a little too “nicely” so as not to make white people uncomfortable.
Third, you brilliantly show how the struggle is ongoing and that the African American community is still being misrepresented today. This is linked in a way to the second point: All too often, MLK day is used to send the implicit message: “Hooray! The good guys won! There’s nothing left to fight for anymore!”
Finally, I’m so glad that you included “A Change is Gonna Come”, Gabriel’s favorite song. He had me play him this very song this morning! (And do I have a story to tell you about this! But it must be in person!)
Your presentation will expose people to the important, daily acts of resistance that I’m guessing a good part of the audience at Transy has never even considered. This is really brilliant stuff, Trac! I love it!!! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to see it in person.
Bryan
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i needed to read that.
