Tribute to Stanley Tookie Williams
Our friend and colleague Stanley Tookie Williams, was executed at San Quentin State prison on December 13th 2005. What I want to talk about is a subject that was important to my brother. A subject that he, Ajani and I discussed at length, and that is redemption, which was instrumental and deeply linked to his transformation. As a former gang member, Tookie understood that gang members who grew up in the ghetto, the slums and impoverished neighbourhoods across America were conditioned to be desensitized as a survival mechanism and as a way to cope with the daily conflicts and crisis that permeated their lives. As a result of being desensitized, the conscience becomes supressed and numb in order to not feel because feelings can be antithetical to gang life. Tookie became aware of his important connection because for him, the reawakening of his conscience was the first step to his redemption. In his book, Blue rage, Black redemption, he stated “The path of education and introspection enabled me to reason and to develop a conscience that rejects criminality, drugs and senseless violence. Redemption allowed me to acknowledge and atone for my past indiscretions. Vowed never to repeat and create new ones and to extend an olive branch to youth and adults who desire peace”. You see, Tookie learned to connect to his conscience, which allowed him to develop his capacity for empathy, the ability to see himself in others and therefore, connect and reacquaint himself to his own humanity. Of course, there were a convoy of naysayers and doubting Thomases who opposed and questioned Tookie’s redemption and transformation but he expected and anticipated this when he wrote “no one can give redemption to me, no one can intercede on my behalf, I have to earn it myself.” Tookie’s statement clearly conveys a philosophy of self-responsibility that self-improvement and self-transformation has to come from within the individual because that is the only way it is authentic. Tookie wanted everyone to know, especially gang members that the circumference of your life did not have to be defined by being in a gang and that you didn’t have to stay stuck there. He believed that redemption, and rightfully so, was tailor made for those labelled as social outcasts and the wretched of the earth. He used to say “if redemption wasn’t made for people with our experiences, then for whom?” He saw himself as proof, as a prime example of someone who has sunk to the bottom of the well but found a way to swim to the surface and rise spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and mindfully aware. He had hoped the work he undertook would play a role in inspiring his kinsmen to do better and be better because he himself believed without practice, there can be no improvement. He wanted to show that even living under the spectre of death he could not cancel his determination, his vision, his purpose and his mission. Redemption, to Tookie, wasn’t an abstract concept and it went way beyond philosophical rhetoric. He whole heartedly embraced ideas he believed in, but was open minded enough not to be attached to them if new facts submerged that challenged those ideas. He drew heavily from the strength and wisdom from ancestors like, Harriet Tubman , Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Fred Hampton and many other historical figures who he respected and was proud of, because of their commitment to the struggle, in which, he was following and in the same noble tradition. From a prison cell, Tookie was able to touch the lives of people around the globe, whether they personally knew him or not because of the result of the things he accomplished or said that resonated with people. It is for this reason he will forever be an important archetype in our consciousness and a brother I will never forget. Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara) San Quentin Death Row
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I believe a warrior is a champion of courage, and courage to me is the ability to confront and overcome fear, even when you are frightened.
A warrior understands negative energy can be fatal if you hold on to it. That is why a warrior must hold on to nothing. The ego is an enemy to the warrior. The warrior knows that anytime the ego is forced to lead, get involved in decision making it taints and impairs the judgement because the ego can’t get out of its own way .A true warrior is aware he will incur difficulties and experience adversities because it comes with the territory. It is a test of his resolve and spirit. How he or she responds to a crisis determines the level of strength and depth of their character. The moment a warrior begins to internalise problems will be the moment he loses his edge and sharpness. His responsibility in any crisis is to remain calm, stay focused ,centred, disciplined and be at one pointed mind because these qualities are what will carry him through the fire. A true warrior is one who struggles and fights for what he believes in and he knows in the course and heat of any battle, casualties are inevitable. He accepts the possibility of his own death and those like him, as a natural result of war of struggle. He understands that being a warrior means making sacrifices and requires sturdy legs, a strong heart and strong mind to carry a heavy load. I believe every human being has an inner warrior within them. This inner warriorism is played out in small ways, barely noticeable in everyday walks of life. It doesn’t necessarily begin with an individual performing some bold act or taking on a great feat. But it is the person who wakes up every day, who has the warrior's spirit to be present even when they are knocked down. A person who is true to him or herself even when it is unpopular. The person who faces the daily challenges of life even when there are set backs, that’s a warrior. A warrior is a fighter, a warrior doesn’t seek accolades or applause for what he was born to do. He understands his mission and the final analysis what counts. His deeds and actions will speak for themselves and what he did to further the cause. He acts and moves without fanfare because he understands his role. There is a Zen proverb that says “the obstacle is the path." A warrior knows this because his journey entails overcoming and managing obstacles throughout his life. So when a warrior departs this world he doesn’t seek to be elevated to sainthood or. The greatest tribute paid to a warrior is to honour his memory, follow his example and learn from both his successes and mistakes because in the end what a warrior hopes is to make a difference . Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara) San Quentin Death Row We live in a time of change because that is the nature of life. That is the nature of history. The rev Dr, Martin King jr says “There is nothing as tragic as sleeping through a revolution.” Ask yourself have you ever slept through a revolution or moment of change? If so, why? Then ask yourself have you ever had a gut feeling? A reoccurring thought or intuition that you wanted your life to go in a different direction? That you needed to do something different or better? That you are tired of going nowhere. Well this gut feeling, reoccurring thought, or intuition is what my brother Ajani Kamara calls a personal moment in change. He explains that it is a moment in which you can make a conscience choice to change whatever aspect of your life you want but to do this you have to create a spark of initiative. You have to grab at what you want like a pit bull. If you don’t it won’t happen for you. You see, people fail to seize their moment of change because of trepidation, old habits, attachment external pressure and a lack of belief in themselves. Not believing in yourself is a deathblow to self-confidence because confidence is what gives you the courage to believe and trust in your inner resources (your mind ,your body, and your spirit). The desire to want something better for yourself has to be stronger than your attitude of self-defeat and all your excuses. Simply saying “I don’t care” or “I don’t give a damn” is nothing more than complacency and complacency is an impediment to growth, development, creativity, innovation, and initiative. In fact it is nothing more than giving up. A moment of change acts as an internal compass that points what’s going to elevate you. It can create a profound shift in your prospective, your attitude, your conciseness and in your spirit. To take advantage of your moment of change when you recognise it, you need to be present, focused, determined and resolved and you need to be driven in your quest. Being consistent and persistent builds the attitude to succeed. A moment of change can come as quick as the speed of light or it can move slow at a snail’s pace but it will come and when it does its decision time. What will you do? Will you be ready? Will you recoil? Will you capitulate? Or will you move forward and seize the moment. Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara) Death Row San Quentin Transported to another time
I’m seated on the auction block of the courtroom. Curious spectators wait to witness a legal lynching. The court stenographer chronicles every spoken word, History will not forget this day. Waist chains gird my wrists and waists. Lay shackles fastened to my ankles, I’m transported to another time when men hunted men, cruelly enslaving them. Not as prisoners of war but for profits. I am a commodity reduced to invisibility, where batteries of neuro psychologists and psychiatrists are paid thousands of dollars not to testify about my humanity, but about my saneness, my fitness to be tried, to be executed. Every morning the sun rises I chant an African battle hymn. Every evening the sun sets I chant a freedom song. I am stronger today than I was yesterday but not as strong as I will be tomorrow. Victory is mine. County jail buses are vessels containing black, brown and white bodies. I am transported to another time where slave ships have morphed into slave buses. Where slave fort is the new prison fort. Where a whip, a rope, a chain utilized to punish, brutalize and control are updated to tasers, pepper sprays and stun guns. Commanded by men and women who wear green, the color of money, the color of greed. I’m transported to another time when I’m poked and prodded. Flanked by armed guards. Misdirected and directed to kneel, to be still. And when the shackles come unclamped, I am not free to walk out of a prison, but into a cage, another fort where I sleep until I am transported to the plantation , again. Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara) One last time
Light a candle for me when the room darkens, when the trumpets have blown for the last time. Say a prayer before invoking my name, to temper my spirit for the next journey. Chant a healing mantra and burn frankincense while pouring libations to bless my soul. Bathe me in jasmine, sprinkle lavender on my feet and wrap me in silk while singing my favourite songs. Spread fresh roses around me with the tips of your finger and let the traces of your tears run down your cheeks. When you think of me, think fondly, and if you must weep child, weep finally one last time. Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara) |
Adisa Kamara
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