Nubian Mafia Launch #FuckTheFourth Movement w/ Event f. Oshun, Zuri Marley + More
Many around the country will be celebrating Monday, July 4 as Independence Day, but this Brooklyn-based collective has a different perspective. Read below for an open letter by Nubian Mafia, entitled "FUCK the Fourth." The below message does not represent the views of Okayplayer.
NUBIAN MAFIA PRESENTS : FUCK the Fourth
This article is an ode to our martyred ancestors who struggled, fought, and died in hopes of a better America -- to our mothers and fathers who recognized their and our inherent power and refused to be excluded from the Constitutional mantra that “All (wo)men are born equal.”
INDEPENDENCE -- the act or state of being free from outside control; not depending on another's authority.
No longer will we celebrate holidays that praise a terrorist culture.
No longer will we abandon our culture and embrace that of our oppressor.
No longer will we be so blinded by the sparks of fireworks that we forget our history.
We loudly and proudly scream FUCK the Fourth, because July 4th, 1776 didn't do shit for us but birth the independent American economy -- an institution that not only intensified the tortuous conditions of American slavery, but is also the source of a plethora of undeniable acts of terrorism throughout the modern world.
FUCK the Fourth is a call to action -- it's more than a tweet or a Facebook status. It's more than a conversation in a Black Studies classroom or a late night talk between two "conscious" lovers. It's even more than this article. Rather, it is a space for radical minds and fearless hearts to come together and reconnect our minds, bodies, and spirits to the past, present, and future.
Like slaves, we are so mentally, socially, and spiritually controlled or satisfied that we don’t even consider (or are too fearful to discuss) the injustices of our past and current state. So many of us love the 4th of July because we get to sport our American flag bikinis and fitted caps, kiss bae under the fireworks, and turn up with the homies at the neighborhood cookout or pool party.
On the surface that’s all great, and often Independence Day fuels the further lit-ness of the summer. However, shit is too real for us to stay satisfied. We’re getting murdered left and right by the police, there is an active government-based initiative to keep our men incarcerated (and work as constitutional slaves for all the major corporations that provide us with the same food and clothes we utilize on days like July 4th), and Donald Trump might be the fucking president bruh.
It is pure fact that many of our African-descendent ancestors have fought, struggled and died for this country. We’ve been raised by resilience as motherless children in this now familiar land for generations. We’ve made history, created culture, and changed a lot for ourselves and fellow Americans. This country is as much ours as it is anybody else’s.
At the end of the day though, America STILL got us allllllll the way fucked up. In order to manifest change for the long term, change that we can pass down to our descendants,we first need to change the ways in which we treat ourselves. The one consistent motif you can find in cumulative American history is the disregard of Black people. Think about it. How is it that Emmett Till was murdered by “community protectors” for doing what he wasn’t “supposed to be doing”as a Black child 50 YEARS AGO, and in so many ways that is the same fate as our fallen brother Trayvon Martin? How is it that we’re more than a century past the abolition of slavery and Black folk haven’t at least gotten some type of government-based psychological debriefing for the generational trauma we’ve faced?
We KNOW legislative America doesn't care about the Black body, mind, or spirit. We’re in a revolving door, expecting change to come from begging for an unknown justice that has been denied from jump. We will find much more progress in embracing, building, and celebrating what is OURS than in assimilating to the holidays and customs of our great-great-great grandparents’ slavemasters.
All of these issues point to the main problem: We are disconnected from ourselves. Our heritage, our history, and our ancient power has been stripped from us, so much to the point where most of us don’t even know we’re missing it. While individuality is important, we walk through life as Black Americans without sustainable cultural unity. And although it’s not our fault, it is still extremely detrimental that we don’t know, and often times reject our names, our beauty, and our ancestors’ presence and accomplishments, all dating back to the beginning of time.
INDEPENDENCE -- the act or state of being free from outside control; not depending on another's authority.
no longer will we celebrate holidays that praise a terrorist culture
no longer will we abandon OUR culture and embrace that of our oppressor
no longer will we be so blinded by the sparks of fireworks that we forget OUR history.
With this being said, in hosting FUCK the Fourth, Nubian Mafia is motivating the Black community, and the world, to independently abandon the traditions of our oppressors and spend our time learning more about and celebrating ourselves. We are encouraging our brothers and sisters to utilize our own culture and knowledge to bring the truth to light, to educate each other about our history, capabilities, and resources, and to have a good time doing it.
How exactly is Nubian Mafia & FUCK the Fourth going to do that? You gotta come through and find out! What we can tell you though, is that Nubian Mafia is a Brooklyn, NY based network of Black creatives and manifesters on a mission to arm Black people with knowledge.
The event will begin with an official presentation of our collective mission and the traditional practice of pouring libation, commemorating the spirit of our enslaved ancestors who were the furthest from "independent" the day that America formed a new nation separate from British rule.
The evening, hosted by Saba Jenga and DJ’d by Zuri Lyric Marley, will feature live performances by OSHUN, Tre'von Lyle, Light Upp, Khalil, Flo Kennedy AND Highclass Hoodlums!!! There will also be a screening of "PRÆY", a short film by Proda, vending by Artist Ameshia, MoonWannie Manifestations, and MORE, FREE FOOD (vegan options available) AND creative, constructive conversation about OUR steps to Freedom.
#FUCKtheFourth, don’t forget to to hashtag it!
SEE YOU ON MONDAY, PEACE TO THE RIGHTEOUS ONES!
-Thandiwe Young
½ of OSHUN
Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar at New York University
Magical Black Girl
