KRIP-HOP EVENTS CALENDAR

Hello again, my ancestor, Cedric J. Robinson,  I am continue with my letter that I wrote to you in 2024 at the end of my masters’ thesis entitled,  Krip-Hop Nation: Community-Based Education at the Intersection of Blackness & Disability that letter brought up questions from your 1983 book, Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition.  Now I have read your 1997 book, Black Movements in America I have more questions.

As a Black activist with a disability growing up in the 1970’s to 1990’s, I’m was excited to read in your book, Black Movements in America.  In that book, you mentioned my Black disabled ancestors that played a role in the Black movements however I noticed you didn’t mentioned their disability as part of their identity but I understand because especially in your time and sadly even today as I write this the Black community as a whole don’t see disability as political, as an identity that holds history, culture, activism and a vassal of contributing to movements.

In chapter one of Black Movements in America entitled The Coming to America and in chapter two, Slavery and the Constitution you wrote, I’m paraphrasing , “some slave rebels didn’t wait for their arrival to express their rage… Through my research and being a Hip-Hop head KRSOne taught me that origin of the Dozens who were disabled Africans who were separated from their non disabled family members come up with some type of telling oral stories to pass the time then the White settlers looked at it as entertainment so many were force to entertain them.  I see that as cultural rebellion.  You go deep into George Washington how he said “that all slaves must return to their American owners” for those who lost their slaves because of the rebellion.” 

However I had to go back to a White disabled academic scholar, Rosemarie Garland Thomson and her 1996 book entitled, Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature where she writes about a blind and deaf elderly Black woman, named, Joice Heth who was an exhibited by P.T. Barnum and was a  nursing mammy of George Washington. Her exhibition under these claims, and her public autopsy, gained considerable notoriety.  Also when you write about Harriet Tubman on page 30 & 31 with no mentioned of the abuse from her “owner” that led to her disability.   I was excited to read names like Elisa Hill, who was born with his physical disability and took KKK to court in 1871 and led Black people after the court case to Liberia, Africa.

Two more important inclusion of disability in Black Movements in America, on page 105 talked about the antilynching movement and the NAACP reaction however it didn’t mention the lynching of a Black disabled teenager, Jesse Washington in Waco, TX.. The book, The First Waco Horror: The Lynching of Jesse Washington and the Rise of the NAACP by Patricia Bernstein mentioned his disability.  Also the writings of Ida B. Wells also mentioned that Black disabled people were lynched during her years and she wrote about these cases.   

Lastly in chapter six, The Search for Higher Ground,talks about avenues of Black culture like radio, magazine, movies, music even mentioned black theater that put on the play, Porgy however didn’t mentioned Porgy’s disability and the negative reaction from the Black community.  Lastly there is no mentioned about the Jazz and People’s Movement of 1970 that was started by a Black blind jazz musician, Rahsaan Roland Kirk.  

Now I know it is up to Black disabled scholars of today to bring your Black Radical Tradition into Black disabled community what I call Black kripping.aka bringing our Black disabled selves with our politics, histories and cultures.  I have learned how other Black groups like Black women, Black queers and Black movements like Black Lives Movement have all incorporated you Black Radical Tradition into their work.  

It’s about time that Black disabled scholars, activists, Disability Studies, Disability Arts including Krip-Hop Nation and Disability Justice to look at and incorporate Black theory like the Black Radical Tradition.  As I see from your writings that the opportunity is there so I challenge myself and others Black disabled scholars/activists/ artists to  continue to do that research, writing, speaking and teaching, building to  this Black Disability Radical  Tradition!  Knowing this is a lifelong work  and I probably won’t see the full goal in my lifetime but realizing others and I as Black disabled radicals have began to build on what you,  Cedric J. Robinson left us for generations of Black disabled scholars/activists/artists to come!

Once again thank you Cedric J. Robinson