Kwanzaa - a time for reflection

Heri za Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa is a time for spiritual reflection, a festive and joyous holiday...a cultural celebration. Kwanzaa has no ties to a particular religion. It is practiced by African people of all faiths, who come together based on their rich, ancient and varied common African heritage. Today, the seven-day observance of the Kwanzaa holiday is celebrated by millions of African-Americans and Africans around the world.

Habari gani?  UMOJA! (Unity)

At this time of racial turmoil, confusion, police brutality and the war on black males in this country it is important that any discussion of race begin with us.  Our young, gifted and black children need to know the truth of who they are more than ever. They need to know their true history and share in the stories of our  black experience as told in a way that only we can tell it. Youth must be taught, and perhaps many of us need to relearn,  what it means to participate in the betterment of our communities.  The positive messages of today are taught through example in our homes, in our schools, in our places of worship and, importantly, in the media. Foolishness begets foolishness.  Pride begets pride.

So I will continue to celebrate Kwanzaa in my home and in any public forum available to me. I will continue to seek and strive for unity within my family, in my community including my church, in the nation and in my race.

UMOJA!

“At its core, the principle unity is about attachment - attachment to each other and, most importantly, to the values which define us as family, as community and as a people.” – The   Kwanzaa Guide http://bit.ly/1CXpct3

Debi Mason, Teller
Oby House Projects - Oby House Tellers

Storyin' With Auntie D - National Association of Black Storytellers

National Storytelling Network

www.obyhousetellers.com

www.facebook.com/obyhousetellers

@DebiOak

Debi Mason, author

Arizona Clay available via Amazon.com

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

My country 'tis of thee...

The older I get the more patriotic I have become.  This is about all that has been fought for and all of the freedoms gained. This is about battles won against racism, bigotry, injustice, hate. The good fight that was fought from the time I was a little girl growing up in the sand and desert of Phoenix, Arizona. I know how hard it was for my parents to shield us from the prejudices and segregation of the 1950s and early 60s before this thing called civil rights became a reality. Those were tough times but our parents stood the course, did the right thing and fought that good fight so that I may enjoy this freedom today and write this blog post.

And those of us that are old enough to have marched and protested so that black men and women could vote, please rest assured that your tears over lives lost were not in vain. Lord, I was proud to stand in line to vote yesterday.  I have never felt more powerful and impowered.  These are feeling that have carried over into today the day after.  And because I am feeling this, I know that these feelings of strength will carry over into the rest of my days on this planet.  Thank you, Donald Trump!                                

With the outcome of this election one thing I know for sure is that I am not afraid.  I believe that the God of my salvation is protecting His people.  I vow to continue the struggle for freedom against the racism and injustice that is still very much alive and well in this country. I know without doubt that I am in HIS grip. I will take it to the streets, the internet including social media and in print and I will do whatever is necessary to keep our young people safe and out of harms way and I pray that what I do now will be the change felt by future generations..  I have no fear. I have no doubt. This is the right thing to do.  

We are living in the last days for sure. It is brother against brother, sister against sister.  We are a divided nation and "a house divided cannot stand". We are about to experience life on a whole nuther level and we have the choice to either go to bed and cover up our heads until this stink goes away or we can stand up and proclaim in the words of Langston Hughes..."I, too, am America..." 

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.

Job 37:5

WE are Americans first -- Barack Obama

Was That One by Paul Mason

There is no better way for me to say thank you and that I love you right now than to share this on my blog.  Paul Mason this is brilliant and very, very touching.  I am proud of you.  God has prepared you for such a time as this. Get ready, little brother.  Great things are in store for you.  Take your time and listen to the signs and pay attention to the wonders.  Don't expect acknowledgement from anyone or even expect anyone you know to get it. Believe me, somebody half way around the world is going to be moved and touched greatly because God has directed it to be so. Amen? Read:

Was That One

Was that one
no regrets no remorse
did it all for none
to have fun and be done
pleasure set my course
in, out and about
till one day
one was without
no love but no hate
my world as a toy
without air
a ball
tossed to and fro
over the fence
I fall
the darkness
the suspense
none to catch me
Yet One as a child
Searched
He found me
waiting for Him
Gentleness like none
game over
now has come
the war has been won

iampaulmason714
My five minute meditation and writing

(c) 2016, USA

Mind Wonderings

Sometimes my mind wonders from thing to thing. 

Skipping with joy through fields and streams. 

Relishing moments of carefree freedom

Flying high on unbending time’s wing.

Sometimes when my mind wonders

God is directing my path

Babbling stream of sediment -

Dreams long ago past

Hope - a welcoming road that is clear

Fore the things I hold sacred 

Are things I hold near.

(c)2016, USA

www.facebook.com/obyhousetellers

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Cooperative Economics/Ujamaa

Habari gani?  UJAMAA! (Cooperative economics)

Cooperative Economics/Ujamaa: Sharing and pooling our financial resources and goods and services for the common benefit of family and community participants with the goal of building and sustaining cooperative economic enterprises.

This practice Ujamaa grows from a shared understanding that we as humans on this planet are dependent on each other and that loving, sharing, and caring are cardinal virtues.

I am honestly doing some sincere self-assessment here.  On this, the fourth day of Kwanzaa,  I have to ask myself how much am I really supporting black business, enterprise, community efforts for the betterment of our cities, towns, communities, neighborhoods and, yes, our race?

As I look around in parts of the City of Oakland, of all the closed storefronts in black neighborhoods, how many of those were former black businesses?  As an artist and a former arts manager, I am wondering how many of those black arts endeavors have gone by the wayside due to lack of support and how many are going to make it beyond 2015?  Personally I cried when the Oakland Ensemble folded after umpteen years of teaching me to live the life of black art with pride and resilience in spite of dwindling funds from the public and private sector.  Arts organizations that taught me how to produce the art on a dime seemingly no longer exist.

How often have I said out loud or in a whisper that this item would be cheaper at the big box store?  Or, perhaps, I  just gave my good money to the foreign looking and talking man on the corner because he is in my neighborhood.  Did it ever occur to me the reason he is in my neighborhood with his stale bread and cheap liquor?  We as a people can be an easy prey.

We spend hundreds on hair from a foreign land, bought in a store owned and operated by someone that speaks little or no English. We put his kids through college and pay the mortgage on his house that displaced us through that magical word called gentrification.  And, yep, my man is driving a better car and is more technically advanced and advantaged.

This year I am going to at least make the effort to buy black and support black.  I will support black endeavors not only with lip service but with my dollars as well.  The amount of money we are all guilty of wasting throughout the year could indeed go a long way toward the sustainability of that group of black poets, those black theatre companies, black dance studios, black community organizers, black bookstores, black restaurants, black barbershops and beauty salons, black dress makers, and black cake makers.  I will not be afraid to buy a membership or give a donation to a black cause that I care deeply about keeping in mind that no amount is too small.

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Blessed to be a blessing ...

I am fully aware that we can’t do anything to fix the problem of homelessness in the bay area. Yet I am also moved to an awareness that says we can ignore that feeling of helplessness and do something, anything for people that are less fortunate. 

We come in contact with the homeless each and every day.  Something that I read said that many would greatly appreciate it if someone would just acknowledge their existence.  One homeless gentleman said that he would rather someone look them in the eye and say no to his request for money or food or whatever than to do what we all are guilty of – we treat that homeless man or that homeless woman is if they were invisible.

My heart grieves when I hear a saint of the Most High God say that most of the homeless are drunks or drug addicts or that they choose to be homeless. Some, maybe, but not all. I wish I could say that this thinking was not true of us on this side but I just heard it and I am sure that Jesus heard it, too. Yes, there are those with mental issues but I have to think that their condition must be exacerbated upon the realization that they have no place to go but the gutter, a trash bin or a shelter where they are disrespected and treated as so much of nothing.  Think about it. What would this condition do to a mind that is already fragile and perhaps broken?  It is time for us to change the way we look at the world. If the Lord was not on my side, where would I be?  Where would you be?

So, instead of just thinking about the idea and talking about it, I am doing it. I following my heart in obedience and making  the determination that this Christmas is going to be different for me.  I don’t have much but what I do have is a blessing from God.  So, without a doubt, God has blessed me so that I can be a blessing to someone else. This is going to be a very merry Christmas. Amen.

Blessing Bags

Gallon size Ziplock bags

Items that could go into in the bags:

chap stick

packages of tissues

toothbrush and toothpaste

comb

soap

trail mix

granola bars

crackers

pack of gum

band aids

mouthwash

$2 cash (could be used to make a phone call, or purchase a food item)

hand wipes

you could also put in a warm pair of socks, and maybe a Starbucks gift card

Stories From Granny's Porch, 2016

Donate Now

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Granny's Porch, 2016 : preserving the art of story

Our fundraising campaign starts today! Follow this link: 

 https://www.gofundme.com/d9anh2bg  

Opening in Oakland, California, February, 2016: Stories From Granny's Porch. This is a creative project of Oby House Productions featuring the artistry of Debi Mason. First presented on the Lyceum stage as part of the 14th Annual Kuumba Fest of the African American Council of the San Diego Repertory Theatre in 2006 Stories From Granny's Porch shares a view into the lives of those most affected by gentrification in America's cities. Told through the eyes of Granny Arilea Bell, these stories of Montezuma Streets most colorful characters come to life. Pre-production audiences have laughed out loud, shed a tear over the reality of homelessness, addiction and abuse and danced in the aisles to the jazz/blues and gospel rifts of a live combo of musicians. Want to support this project and have your name listed as a true patron of the arts? Search Go Fund Me for Granny's Porch and contribute today! We thank you and appreciate you greatly.

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak