God Bless America
My biggest inspiration is Black America and what they’ve done in the arts. I have always felt like an outsider in America, and what Black Americans have done to add their chapter to this book called the American dream, and to be so unapologetic and true, and have added so much to art and culture in the world. ~ Hasan Minhaj
Gathering of the Tribes
A Reckoning for Humanity
As America goes, so goes the world. This issue is devoted to American
Barbara Blake
Producer & Host
Black culture, which is loved and enjoyed by millions everywhere. It is, in fact, the joyous, graceful, leading-edge inspiration for contemporary world culture from Oslo to Paris, Tokyo to Sydney and beyond.
The legacy of slavery in America echoes the ancient hatreds and wars of every nation, creed & color throughout history. The latest hammer-blow to our view of ourselves as a free and fair nation was the atrocity of George Floyd’s brutal, undeserved and illegal murder by a Minneapolis police officer. It’s all happening in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, record unemployment and catastrophic climate-change. We even got the biblical plague of locusts.
It has our attention. Whether you pray to God, talk to the Universe or think there is nothing beyond the material world, the great “It” is sending messages loud and clear.
We’re being called to evolve. Non-violent, righteous fury at unequal treatment of Black people has risen up, bursting forth into the streets. Black Lives Matter and other organizations have specific policy proposals to address structural issues of racism. With a contentious election straight-ahead, there are a lot of opportunities to upgrade the outdated paradigm we’re living in.
Each of us has a role to play in the fulfillment of the American ideal as expressed by the sacred promise of “liberty and justice for all” in our U.S. Constitution. We the people must protect it and our common humanity from destruction. Yes we can…with open, strong hearts and minds.
Love & light,
Barbara
