Retrospective of Sunji Ali and Soul Vision with poetry readings and community calendar

Jazz and Around What is jazz to me? What is a wildflower? Steaming in a forest grove A painting, a picture Of bird and deers flattening fists On 52nd Street What is a beat? A sweet, black, brown, and beige A rhapsody Free as the wind In a restless breeze A counter melody A masterful stroke What is jazz to me? What is jazz to me? The beginning and the end Of an endless affair A warm something else Cannonball And Miles used to play When Adam Lee Adam Lee's were in The weather was for the birds And Oscar Peterson Made honey out of a wildflower Called baby, baby All the time Jazz to me Was like when I was living A less life On top of the world Jazz and Around By Sunji Ali Welcome to the Qumran Report May the peace and blessings Of the life-giving creative spirit Be upon you and upon your family My name is Melvin Ishmael Johnson And I'm a jazz fan And I'm in the studio With my two co-hosts Earlene Anthony and Tyrone This week we will be looking At a retrospective Of the life and work Of Sunji Ali Teacher, poet, playwright Founder and guiding light Of Soul Vision An organization located Right here in Los Angeles His goal was to provide A venue for creative After-school education In the studio To introduce all the best To all the earth To all the earth To all the earth To all the earth Shirley Simmons, longtime member of Soul Vision. How you doing, Shirley? Hi, yes, this is Shirley, aka Isis, and I'm doing great. How you doing? Oh, I'm doing fine. Now, Shirley, you are part of the original Soul Vision, what Sunji called the front-line poets. Sunji had a message for young people, especially for those caught up in gang life. He was a teacher, and he would say to me often that he wanted Soul Vision to be an organization to help guide our young people. I would like to play a great song by Sunji and Tyler Homeboy, and then we'll come back and continue our discussion. Okay. There's no sense in us trampling on the stones. It's us down, down to the bone. Blood is thick. Waters were known well. Cousins were kept apart. Mothers were often memories. Fathers were not favorites on the farm, for he could do some harm. He could wreck them as the skin, for he, brothers, could dream. Your mama ain't no saint. Your daddy died in a shallow, deep stream, but your uncle, Dr. King, did have a dream, my brother. And what is your real excuse? Why can't you study your lessons and stay in school? Why can't you study your lessons and stay in school? Free love and sex ain't nothing but a game. Don't never last. Try hope. Take a chance on love. Register to vote. Money ain't everything, but you could buy her a ring. Listen to Little Blackbird sing. Buy you a record of a yard bird with wings. Get into the swing of things. Oh boy. Try some tenderness for a change. Oh boy. Home is where your history is, and it's not too late. Your uncle, Dr. King, wrote a book called Why We Can't Wait. Oh boy. Birmingham was yesterday. The mad dogs, the mad dogs came to call on your mother's mother and sister. Your granddaddy, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, your grandmother, You know what I'm saying, cuz It ain't but one blood It's called fight for freedom Now, homeboy Love, love, love Homeboy, fight for freedom Homeboy, your mama ain't no saint Your daddy died in yesterday's freedom jazz dance Your sister's on the streets Doing it with whomever she meets Everybody you know is weak Don't be strong Women are free Ain't nobody in school Homeboy, listen to me I know who you are I see you up close and from afar Listen to a poet tell you of a race that used to be strong Now, ain't no poet singing And what's going on? Homeboy We used to work for a living A nickel was a nickel A dime a dime Waters were deep Rivers rose But nobody froze when it got cold Homeboy Take time out And think of who you really are Don't die off a dozen and one demons Live for your mama and your daddy too They had trouble and so will you But live and let live Take all of your history and dream Take all of your history and dream Take all of your history and dream Take all of your history and dream Take all of your history and dream Take all of your history and dream Many thousand dark voices still sing Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy Homeboy the founder and guiding spirit of Soul Vision. Now, we're back on the line with Shirley Simmons. Shirley, first of all, tell us about the event for Soonji coming up this Sunday. Yes, sure. We're going to have a retrospective of the work of Soonji Ali. That will be this Friday, February the 5th, at the Exchange on 114 West Street, located downtown. It's going to be a fantastic event. We're going to have a lot of entertainers from Soul Vision and some that just want to involve themselves in Soonji Ali legacy. We're looking forward to that. What's that, at 1 o'clock? I know we're going to hear more about that in the community calendar that will be coming up. Now, Shirley, tell me something. How did you get involved with Soul Vision? First of all, how did you meet Soonji? Wow. Soonji Ali I met when I moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wanted to do my poetry. God brought me to his venue, and we met, and he said, You want to do poetry? Let me see what you got. And he was the first to give me the opportunity, like he did many of others before me, to say my poetry live and on stage. I met him in 2001, and it went on from there for the last 12 years. That's right. For 10 years, I should say. He passed a year and a half ago or so. Mm-hmm. Oh, that's great. Now, tell us about Soonji's last book of poetry entitled Obama's Dream Walk, and then tell us what poem you'll be reading from the book. Sure. Well, as we all know, Soonji had a passion, a great passion for jazz and blues, besides eating good food. He always told me that jazz and blues were his mistress. He could always take it to bed, he said. And it was one thing. It was one thing that would bring him in the state of mind of utopia and slowly walk him back down into submission. And the book he wrote called Obama's Dream Walk portrayed a lot of his old jazz and blues singers from the past who were history makers, the greatest of the great. And if you were to listen to this one poem that I would like to read, it's called Miss Cece Writer. Okay. Go ahead. Let us hear that. Okay. That's related to what I just spoke. Miss Cece Writer. Oh, Cece, oh, Cece Writer, see what you have done. You've gone and left me. You know, this was one of the greatest songs from back in the day. It was like flour and butter and honey over biscuit and bacon. It was crisp. It was slow. And everyone didn't even have to know the words, cause it was down into their soul. Spirits fire. Everywhere there were spinger bees. Honey wasn't far behind. Now, I'm asking a century later, can Cece Writer come home to me? And maybe melody be like honey and rhymes when all else is sea and sand. I know there's a ship somewhere on the stormy wave of a sea that used to mean something to me. There's a riverboat riding a happy trail, a mountainous venue deep like nothing else is deep, like a river. Always blowing at my backyard. Can Cece Writer please come home to me? You know, Cece Writer, she's pure and sweet as sugar. Not a best place after all. She's moist. She's slow. She's down where pure poetry is to be found. One day when I was lost, she found me and rocked me and rocked me slow. Till Brownie McGee, up to the wild. The lightning, Hopkins that we all know, he responded tender and mild. Like cherry red had come and gone, so was Cece Writer. But there was still the sweetness of memory worth savoring. Like the moisture in her song, the steam and the sting of her sensation. Cece Writer, can you take me down slowly? Her music is alive where joy is the walk and the rhythm of her music. And the music is the ride. Like Jimmy Smith bringing Plum Nelly home for the first time. It was sweeter than wine. Where the music and jazz got down real low. And Cece Writer told all her secrets in the late afternoon. That's titled Cece Writer, One of the Gorgeous Mistress. Thank you, thank you. Cece Writer. Okay, now, Charlotte, for those who want to get in touch with you about the event, what is your contact information? Sure. I can be contacted at area code 310-800-3. I'm sorry, 310-800-8379. Or I could be emailed at Shirley, the number one Simmons. Just Shirley1Simmons at yahoo.com. Okay, thank you, Shirley. Shirley Simmons of Soul Vision. Thank you very much. Thank you, Melvin. Thank you, Melvin. Have a great evening. See you Sunday. Thank you. Bye. At this time, I would like to turn it over to Miss Earlene Anthony for our community calendar. This is the community calendar, February at the Exchange. Sunday, February the 5th, 1 p.m., Soul Vision along with Drama Stage Koon 1 will be producing, a retrospective of Soonji Ali's work, along with many of the longtime poets of Soul Vision and the frontline poets. Drama Stage and friends are asking that all of you pass the word and come out and participate in this event to honor Soonji. On February the 9th will be the Arts Walk, starting at 7 p.m. There will be special music throughout the Arts Walk. Featuring Willis and Shante, Victor Allen, Kylan Burt, Vicki Robinson, Jerome, Jack Rivera, and many others. On Sunday, February the 12th at 2 p.m., Drama Stage Koon Run, along with ICUJP and other organizations, present a dramatic reading of Reckoning Torture. You'll be reading memos and testimonies from War on Terror. We'll be back in just a moment. We'll be back in just a moment. On Sunday, February the 19th at 2 p.m., Drama Stage will present the movie Skid Row. This movie is about one-third of the Grammy Award winning group, the Fugees, who came down to Skid Row and lived on the streets for about nine days and did the documentary. And the movie is called Skid Row. Sunday, February the 26th at 2 p.m., Drama Stage Koon Run Community Program, called DECOP, will be distributed in hygiene kits and clothing to the community. For more information on these events, you can call 323-850-4436, and the exchange is located at 114 West 5th Street, downtown Los Angeles. And if you have a community event that you would like announced on our show, send the information to DramaStage1 at yahoo.com. Attention early, Anthony. And once again, our call-in number for the show is 800-893-9562. Now, back to our host. Okay, right now, I would like to play a short interview that I did with Soon-Jia Ali a few months before he passed. The interview is a little over three minutes. A little in-depth talk about, a few questions I want to ask you. First question I want to ask you is, what is the message of Dr. King to the youngsters, to the young people today? I think it's two things. Number one is resistance. Resistance to the forces that would incarcerate you. Resistance to the forces that would degrade you. No matter how much money is involved. See? Because our parents didn't have money. Million dollar contracts. That's the first message. And then the second message to all of us, black, white, green, whatever our color, that we have to stand together as united people. United. Now, when you think about Dr. Martin Luther King, you think about the concept of nonviolence that he stressed all the way to the end of his life. How did that fit into the violent period in which we live in today? Did you see a war going on everywhere? Yeah, that's a really tough question, brother. I think that as I was watching the programs today, all of us, hopefully you get a chance to watch and see it in, I've been kind of slowly but surely watching some of the programs, and they were talking about playing this life story over and over. In fact, there was a history channel that chronicled his life, but I think the thing is, he would be forced to do what he wanted to do, and his disdain for war. But I think at the same time, he would be supportive as much as possible of a black man being in the White House. There's other villains there. There's a two list. Du Bois called it a two list. On the one hand, there's being opposed to the negativity of war, but yet on the other hand, trying to be supportive of a man who inherited these things and said that he would enforce the Constitution. Okay. Now, tell us, how long Soul Vision been in existence? 1987. What was the purpose of starting Soul Vision? To be honest with you, because I wanted to read my poetry more than, you know, I love the group that I was in, but I just felt that I would like to read and express myself more and then give other, give other people an opportunity to read and perform. That was it. I had people like Donald McKeer, Dr. Mongo here, had shown me that there was actually a career in spoken word. I saw that. But within the context of what we had going, we would have a poetry reading maybe once or twice a year. I said, well, what if we could have a poetry reading, poetry performance once a month? That's the concept. Okay. So, I think that's the concept. Okay. So, I think that's the concept. Okay. So, I think that's the concept. Okay. So, you're going to do one more piece for us. What piece you going to do for us? Well, you know, blues is my favorite. So. Your favorite blues? Blues is my favorite. We'll twist that around. Actually, there's another one that I like that, instead of worried blues tonight, since people have heard it. I don't think they've heard this one as much. Okay? Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Brother Sukey Ali. Well, all right. All right, now, I think right now we have another member of Soul Vision on the line, Ms. Tanya Bird. Tanya, how you doing? Tanya. Tanya. Yes, hello. Hey, how you doing? I'm doing great, and you? Oh, I'm just fine. So glad to have you on the show tonight. Thank you. I'm honored. Yeah, tell us a little about how you met Soonji and how you become part of Soul Vision. Yes, I was looking through some of my old literature today. We went back to about 2003, and I would travel with him and the other poets all over Los Angeles, and we would recite poems. We had a workshop. We had a workshop at the library that we went to every Saturday, and I met him through Edwina Gaines. She was the mother of the Watts Summer Festival, and he was quite a mentor to me. He told me that I was going to be a teacher, and for sure enough, I did become a teacher. And that's about, well, there's a whole lot more. I don't know what more to say, but that was like a quick summary. Yeah, let me ask you this. I know you're coming out to the Retrospective this coming Sunday at the Exchange, and I'm anxious to hear you surely tell me that you do a lot of comedy and et cetera like that. Yes, I'm calling myself an up-and-coming poet. I mean, excuse me, comic. I've been doing poetry for years. However, when I speak and talk to people, just talking about real-life stuff, they always laugh. And I say, you know what? I'm serious. So I'm looking forward to just feeling the water, putting my foot in the water. I've done a little bit of comedy. I did a little bit last year. I've done one open mic down here in Long Beach. And I just want to try my talents. One thing, when I get to heaven, I can tell them, hey, I used everything. I used everything that they gave me. Look, do you have something you could read for us now? Absolutely. I'm pretty sure I can put my hands on something. Yeah, let us hear some of your work. Okay, you know, I've got to get my reading glasses. I'm sure I have something right here at my fingertips almost. Okay. Actually, it was a poetic moment. I was overwrote. Last year, I was invited to recite some poetry. I can't think of the name of the place. Anyway, to make a long story short, the Japanese earthquake was that night. And a lot of my poetry is about natural disasters and the things that happen in the world. Okay? So this one is called The Reality Aftershock. And this is the big earthquake. Okay, let us hear it. Okay. An earthquake world arise if sleeping flees awake. This catastrophe claimed the people to take. After the quake, a testimonial water wave. Higher than high ground, no people found. No people to say, oh, washed out at sea. Ah, people like you and me. Grandmamas. Pompous sons, daughters, and babies. Thousands of people tiptoe on winding paths and roads of maybe so. And destination, I don't know. Lost their houses and their spouses in the same boats with bright futures and hopes. The going is tough. Even the highest hill, not high enough. Technical terror. Cell phone warning beep. You pray the Lord your soul to keep. For you got shelter, food, electric, and heat. Breach in the nuclear leak using flashlights for what they seek. The nuclear juice is loose. No need for sneaking and creeping. A moon grace. It's God's place. Who you think created this earthquake tsunami race? Shake you up and toss you around. Houses pull up out the ground. Distant screams the only sound. Opening the gate to powerful and polluted bashing water and waves. Biblical sign of dead fish watching to shore. Stay tuned, there's more. Never dealt a hand like this before. Ain't no jokers, queens, or kings. Just life. Spinning like tops and toys and things. Water taking everything in its path. You do the math. Floating on wood and debris. A nightmare of devastation created in this sea. Destination. Mass evacuation. Shakes and aftershocks. Cannot sleep. Ain't no need for clocks. Trying to keep it together. Oops. Uncertain weather. Come and go. Which way will the wind blow? Only God will really know. No need to worry. Give God the glory. Peace. Okay, Tanya, we expect you to come over there Sunday and have a good time. I would like to hear that when you come over Sunday. Bring some people with you. Let's come over here and celebrate soon to Sunday and have a great time. Oh, I am absolutely looking forward to it. It has inspired me so. Let me ask you this. What are some of your vivid thoughts of Sunji Ali? Did you say biblical? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Vivid. Vivid. Vivid. Oh, vivid. Him, the river. He has that Miles Davis. I love the poem that he had. They talk about miles and the blues and the! I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. And if you really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really kind of guy you know what i mean yes i know he reached out to the youth you know he saw something in everybody i know he saw something in me and i just think that i'm honored i'm just really hated actually that what he has wished for is coming to pass who would know that we would all get back together and and come along these winding paths and celebrate and celebrate yeah it's just definitely a celebration and again i'm very honored thank thank you tanya and uh we're looking forward to seeing you over there sunday thank you very much what time over there one one o'clock wonderful okay i'll definitely be there and bring some people with you so we can have a good time i certainly will invite them thank you very much thank you i will see you on sunday thank you tanya bird longtime member people long time member of soul vision now at this time i'd like to play a poem that soon you did on president obama before he was elected president the poem is entitled barack obama in the white house yet i'm part of the mainstream a sundowner who continues to dream to plan to weep to to cry out loud because nobody knows about blues and roots and charles biggest was alive blues didn't go for a joyride it's with the summersville for a swing many people got it in their souls that jelly roll was a match a rhythm and theologians was a mighty mighty monk thank you for that piece historians and people like you and myself will be debating barack obama for years to come perhaps even in fact even at the point of my own departure the good and the bad i wrote this uh a few uh months before he took office so you may call this upon a prophecy because i didn't know that he was going to take office So we got to look at it and see it for what it is. I call it Barack Obama in the White House. My name is Barack Obama. I never knew Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi when it was hot and heavy with grief. I'm an original African son born centuries back in the midst. I was an original clown that made thunder rain down through the years when Africa was a source and Europe a dream of things to come. Now I'm a black American dream walking through the valley. I'm the shadow of death still trying to bring life. I am an original African son born centuries back in the midst. Yet I am no gorilla, no lion. I can't do the elephant walk, but with power I can make poor blacks and whites talk about common themes. Like the growing bankruptcy of the nation under Bush and Cheney. Greasy oil men who kept a war machine going for the sake of an already depleted dollar. With power I will give Ms. Clinton a rightful place. My first act will be to pardon all white folks for the treacherous deeds. My second act will be to invite all Americans to a new covenant. Branded religion, temperance, and a common struggle that brought forth Lincoln, Kennedy, and a king. That tore at Reagan's soul. And created false jobs. And destroyed and bushland. I invite all Americans to build up our stock and trade. To invite the nations to our cause. My third act will be to build brick by brick. Stone for stone. New homes for the bleeding poor. To make the American land a free world again. Thank you. Thank you again. The speculators, the inherited rich, must give back to a united trust. To feed the hopes and dreams of a desperate souls without means. I am Barack Obama. And when I enter the White House, I will leave race behind. And sign on to an American Kennedy left behind. I will see America in the shadows. Blue, black, red, white, and green. I will see and embrace the other America. And build on the dreams of America beyond the King. Thank you. Thank you. I'm not really Barack Obama, but maybe I am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, that was Soon-Chi Ali reading this great poem, Barack Obama in the White House. And right there in the studio, I know we got Dr. Mongold coming. She's trying to call right now. But what we're going to do, we're going to do, you know, I want to get some reflection, some in-house reflection, starting with Ms. Earlene Anthony, about how she met Soon-Chi and what do you think about Soon-Chi's vivid information? Vivid impressions. I'm not too sure when I met Soonji, but he came to Drama Stage Coon Run. And when he'd come, he would always bring somebody with him. And Soonji wanted to write a play. And somehow or another, I was the one chosen to help him write the play. He would bring post-it notes, a lot of scribbled things on scraps of paper, his handwritten notes. And we'd sit down and we'd go back and forth and we'd decipher stuff. And he'd always come the next week or whatever. We got to get this in. And finally, he came up with the play Black River Rising. And it was a tribute to his friend, Dadishi. And we did the play a few times. And it turned out to be a great work. And we're able to get all of this done before he passed on. But that's some of my memories of Soonji. And he was always full of life, always laughing, and always, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.! you know just just when i was introduced to him i'm thinking to myself something special about this guy you know and uh as your other callers people you know uh he was such an angel i saw what you might call an angel of sorts or a prophet you know what i'm saying because everybody that came in contact with him right he bought the best out of him it was i mean just like he just bought just drew it out and he showed them how to get it out you know that's what mr early just said huh right you know saying he tell you what to write just write you know and uh hey he's just a special guy you know what i'm saying uh and the more you hear about him you know just even the people who never knew him just to sit down and listen to people talk about him you would get that same feeling this guy was really special man and right today we need them we need the sunji alice in the world man we need we need them badly i agree i agree okay so at this time yeah i'm i would like to do one of the poems from uh sunji's uh great book obama's dream walk it and i feel honored that he wanted to put one of my poems in the book it is called jazz and the hum of the bumblebee i'm going to do this poem um right now and it's it was one of the sunji's uh favorite poems one of my favorite poems and i'm going to read it to you now and i'm going to read it to you now and i'm going to read it to you now jazz and the hum of the bumblebee sweet jazzy sound are hearing you all of the sounds of the universe your rock your pop your sweet jazzy sound will always be around until the end of time and then some the harmonious nature of all sounds are told to mental trip sweet jazzy sound i hearing you all of the sounds of the universe the birds the bees the flowers in the trees sweet nectar of life the hum of the bumblebee sweet jazzy sound i give you your crown the king of sound the queen of melody a spiritual healing for the soul like honey your gospel your rap your pop all the baby all the baby all the baby all the Your tap. The hum of the bumblebee. Can't you see? Like Dizzy G. Sweet as honey. Like a bumblebee. Count Basie. Duke Ellington. Coltrane. And Theonius Monk. Rock, pop, and jazzy punk. Louis Armstrong. Come blow your horn. Yardbird Parker. One of the best ever born. Sweet jazzy sound. I hear in you all. The sounds of the universe. Your sweet jazzy sound. Will always be around. Until the end of time. And then some. Thank you. Okay. Right now. Our in studio guest. Actor, activist. Lee Shaw. He was close. He was close out this section with a reading of Marcus Garvey. A role that both Soon-Jee and Lee played in the play Catch the Tap. Yes, yes, yes. Where is the black man's government? Where is his king and kingdom? Where is his president? His country? His army? His navy? I could not find them anywhere. So I declared. I will help to make them. If Europe is for the European, then I say Africa for the African. It is time for a new way of thinking. We must begin to think for ourselves and do for ourselves. A new way of doing things. We need programs that really help our people. We have reached a time when every minute and every second must count for something done. Something achieved in the cause for Africa. We need the freedom of Africa now. At this moment, I see Ethiopia stretching forth her hands unto God. And I see the angel of God taking up the standards of the red, the black, and the green, saying, follow me. If Europe is for the European, then Africa for the African. Then Africa shall be for the black people of the world. We say it. We mean it. I've just come back from a 38-state tour. In order to study the condition of the black people in America, let me tell you what I found in this year of 1916. I found that the Negro leaders of our people have no program. They're just living off their so-called leadership while our people continue groping in the dark looking for a little light. Why are these so-called leaders so dependent upon the support and goodwill of the white men? Why are these so-called leaders so dependent upon the support and goodwill of the white men? Why are these so-called leaders so dependent upon the support and goodwill of the white men? Why are these so-called leaders so dependent upon the support and goodwill of the white men? Thank you, Mr. Lee Shaw. Now, our last section for tonight is from the Voices from the Ether portion of the show. Thank you. Frontline poet, performers, or events. Tonight, on the phone is Michelle Autry. And Michelle was one of Sanji's contemporaries and frequently performed in the same spoken word circles. Evening, Michelle. Welcome to the Ether. Hello? Hey, Michelle. Hey, how you doing? I'm doing much better now that I know that you're on. You're on the phone with us here in the Ether. Tell us briefly some of your experiences with Sanji. Well, you know, I might not have been an official member of the Soul Vision, but I know that I just considered Sanji to be a really most important, I think, mentor for me spiritually, spiritually. And as well as creatively and as well as poetically, of course. Sanji and I had an interesting kind of a spiritual tete-a-tete, because we were always evolving to hopefully, let's see, hopefully express our true sentiments as Christians, not only through our work, but and also evolving. you know i think to that uh more positive and and more contributing um percentage personification in our communities we would always talk about slavery he'd be like well you know that happened for a reason michelle and i'm like yeah of course it happened for a reason but we had very different ideas uh through it all i love cindy dearly and i know that his life his love his work and all that he stood for lives on not only through those of us that are still here um but it just it just lives on um through through spiritually through all that he was able to contribute all that he was able to do and i'm so glad we have a chance to honor and give homage and celebrate not only his life uh other brothers like ron allen and we give thanks for those that are still here paving the way like melvin ishmael johnson and early you and anthony so i i just we love you cindy we know you're still here again you're manifest and personified and all that we continue to be and do so uh again i just uh give thanks to celebrate the life of an incredible man incredible poet incredible artist and like i said his energy is still here so you know i i just uh i just continue to live we all have to continue in that legacy i think that's why we're still here exactly exactly so so michelle um you're gonna do a piece tonight and um it's inspired by your life and times with him i am assuming yes uh i really i wasn't sure which one i was going to do but um yeah i think i'm gonna just do an inspirational piece uh sunji he was he was so encouraging and suji i think was a personification not only of of um realizing potentials and encouraging other artists but i he really walked and lived and he really he practiced what he preached and that was i think was so inspirational about sunji so he encouraged me he encouraged me of course to be honest and to express myself continually and be more productive and prolific i think um most of uh his uh the members of soul vision can remember that to be productive be prolific continue to write and continue to be productive and be productive and be true to self so uh oh i'm gonna do this this poem is called be free be free very good very good it's uh it's again dedicated to the memory of sunji and the love that we have for sunji ali and all of uh the great poets and artists who have uh continued to uh express themselves and encourage and enrich our lives so this is for you sunji i know sunji ali would love and would encourage all of you and me to be free be truly free spiritually truly free spiritually free from captivity no bondage no slavery not physically mentally spiritually truly and totally free from all captivity can you feel me for all of you who have been with me for so long i'm going to say to you that i'm going to say to you that i'm going to say to you that i am free if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you if all of you That's the beginning of true prosperity. Free, absolutely, achieving some deeper degree of prosperity. Poverty is a curse. So let's rise, change, because if we don't, that situation could get worse. Let's be free. Free your mind. Free your heart. Free your soul. Indeed, you and me, we remember Soon-Jia Lee. Let's really ask, knock, seek, and be free, clean, free, mentally, spiritually, physically, financially, today, now, and forever, each and every day, in each and every way. Let's just rise to that height, that highest height, where I know Soon-Jia Lee is right now. Spiritually free. I encourage you. I encourage all those who are listening. Let's continue in the legacy and the love. And the expression. And the best, most fondest memories that we have for Soon-Jia. Let's continue to be free and live this legacy endlessly and eternally. So I give thanks. Thank you so much for an opportunity. I just encourage everyone to continue and to be progressive and to be prolific and to participate fully, as fully as you can in life, each and every day. Let's live each life, each day, as if it was the very last day. And it's the very last day of our lives. So thanks again for an opportunity. I hope that's encouraged someone to live life the way Soon-Jia Lee lived it. Your words tonight definitely echoed my personal experiences with Soon-Jia over the years. They were short years, but you definitely have echoed what he would say. And your poem was very, very timely, considering. And what he always wanted everyone to be is just be yourself and put it out there the best way you can. Thank you, Miss Shea. Being the best that we can possibly be, just continuing to grow, continuing to develop, continuing to participate, continuing to contribute in the community. I think because the community is such an incredible reflection of what... Mm-hmm. ...each individual can continue, like I said, to contribute, so that we're growing, contributing, participating. And I think in our poetry and any aspect or any gift that we have to that end, I think is the greatest testimony that any poet can leave. And I think Soon-Jia Lee really, really did that. And that was encouraging, not only his words, not only his poetry, but his life was encouraging. His life was a testimony. So I just encourage each of us to continue to realize that. Mm-hmm. And each and every day, every way that we possibly can, so that we can continue to move our people forward. Mm-hmm. We can continue to move forward. Yeah, as Soon-Jia had a great love for black people. He had a great love for humanity. Period. So, okay. Thank you so much. Thank you. For the opportunity. Okay. Thank you, Michelle. Okay. Good night. Don't go running off like that, but thank you very much. And we look forward to seeing you on Sunday also. Okay? Okay. I'll be there. Thanks so much for the Qumran. And we'll look forward to hearing from the next poet. Thanks so much. You all have a good evening. You too. Thank you. Thank you. That was Michelle Autry, one of our favorite visiting poets here to the ether. In closing tonight, I'm going to be reading a poem from Obama Dreamwalk, Poetry for the New Millennium. One of Sunji's last books that he did before his... passing. My relationship with Sunji began, I believe, with Black River Rising also. Drama Stage introduced me to him. I'll take that back. Actually, I think, Melvin, wasn't he playing the role of Marcus Garvey for a minute? Yes. And I think that's where I saw him first. Somebody else photographed the show and I said, oh, God, this guy's huge. He's a big man. He's a big man. Huge in stature. But when I actually first met Sunji, he was just this small man with big briefcase with papers flowing all over the place. And, you know, we would meet once a week, he and I, almost once a week at Denny's over there in Vermont and Wilshire and put things together. I was his $25 a week administrative assistant, as he put it. But... $25 a week administrative assistant, as he put it. But... $25 a week administrative assistant, as he put it. But... $25 a week administrative assistant, as he put it. But we finally put this book together. And it's quite a book. And I'm going to read a poem from it tonight. I don't even consider this poetry. I consider it to be news for the senses, actually. The name of the poem is called Getting Down to Business. And a lot of our Qumran reports have been about entrepreneurship and, you know, putting things together here in the 21st century where things are all falling apart. So I'm going to take a few moments here to read this piece, Getting Down to Business by Sunji Ali. For the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Paulson, Mr. Geiger, and Mr. Obama. To oversimplify American business is a result of supply and demand, profit and loss, scales of justice tilted towards the rich and themless. And that have. Poor people who miss the safety net can, for the most part, fight amongst themselves. Yet people can thrive, strive, make something out of themselves. It's about digging deep, foregoing many, many nights of endless sleep, giving pleasure the night off every now and then. Bending the backs into that book you know will make you strong. Bending the backs into that book you know will make you strong. It contains many psalms to live by, grow by. Business is about land that you never really had. It's about interest off profits and prosperity. That has been squeezed to turn profit before catastrophic loss sets in. It's you if you're in the inner city where the rats and the roaches dwell. Where hell is every night. Where hell is every night on the street. Get you some business or die. A skill so you can leave a will. Hustle if you must. Turning tricks can temporarily help pay the rent. Fifty cent can make you a thousand dollar bill if you're willing. Business is what we crave, profit and loss. Markets in the inner city mall. Johnson and Johnson. Coca-Cola. Michael Downell for Winfrey. Silken gowns. Kobe Shaq. A plenty bulging under the sweat aroma of U.S. Bank. Getting down to business with ebony green statuettes in the park. Langston Hughes and Bessie Coleman did have wings. Now America is coming in on the wings of an African night flyer. Driving, singing, blending. Sunsets and shadows. Ride America. It's your land. From the green, the valley, sunlit peak. The breathtaking shores. The heartland where the prairie seems ever so still. And to run forevermore. America will return on the wings of Obama. Lord. Equal justice, equal pay for equal work. The river shall be pure again. The lakes and streams. And dreams will walk again. That's an excerpt from Obama Dreamwalk Poetry for the New Millennium. Written by Sanjay Ali. And at this time, we still have some time here in the ether. Melvin? Thank you very much, Tyrone. Yeah, we do have some time. I just want to remind everyone to come on out this Sunday, February the 5th, 2012 at 1 o'clock. At the Exchange. And celebrate the work and life of Sunji Ali. The Exchange is located at 114 West 5th Street. And I'd like to reach out to all of the members of Soul Vision. Come out and support this event. And also, we're trying to put together what Sunji was talking about. Creating some creative after school programs for these young people out here in the community. Where we can teach some poetry. Poetry class. Writing class. Et cetera. Like that. And who better name than Sunji Ali and Soul Vision to run this program under. And so, right quick, I'd like to get a minute, a quick little minute comment from my in-studio guests. Lee Shaw, Tyrone, Earlene Anthony. A little quick thought on Sunji. Yeah. You know, it's... I say special people. You know, we don't have enough of them. And the ones, you know, we have to kind of think about Sunji and his work. And those who follow him. You know, those who he inspired to do better. I learned a lot about Sunji. Maybe it's been talking to Ms. Andrea Ross. You know, because she didn't have no idea she could do what she did. And she was glad to tell you right quick that because of Sunji, he drew it out of her. You know what I'm saying? And we had you. We look at... You know what education means? It means to draw out. And that's what he did. He drew it out. That's right. Thank you, Lee. Earlene. We can remember Sunji as a teacher because he was always teaching. And like I say, he always had his little notebook with him and, you know, that little old black and white book. And he was always teaching. But Sunji wanted to be an actor. And he aspired to be marketer. And if you look at all the books that Bruce Bruce Bruce says all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all the books all have at the event on Sunday some CDs right Melvin? and I think we have a DVD and we have DVDs that are going to be on sale that will help to promote the dream that Sanji had to continue this program on for after school education and the money is going to go to the Soul Vision Frontline Poets so that they can basically finance another event it does take money to put on these events and so far we're only doing it once a year that's why we're calling all Frontline Poets or anyone that has known Sanji please get on board the dream and help us to at least try to squeeze another event in so that we can have at least two events a year to continue this memory on I think we're going to be selling the CDs and DVDs for what five? five dollars something like that CDs and DVDs five dollars about Sanji and the history of Soul Vision thank you Melvin and I think we'll probably even give you a deal if you buy a CD and a DVD both at the same time but if you can't make it to the show we can always mail them out to you so if you're listening and you can't make it to the show contact Trauma Stage or contact Shirley Simmons and we can get copies to you in the mail as long as you send us a check or a money order made out to Trauma Stage, Kumran and that should do it thank you Tyrone you're welcome now I would like to extend a special thanks to our in-studio guest activist Lee Shaw on the line with Shirley Simmons on the line with Tanya Bird and Michelle Autry to my co-hosts Earline Anthony and Tyrone and a special thanks to Jeremy Sonia and the Skit Row Studio thank you Sonia now you can check out our past shows of the Kumran Report on iTunes, Facebook, Twitter skitrow.la or www.dramastage-kumran.org thank you for tuning in to the Kumran Report and I leave you with Sunji's last performance and the song Jazzin' Around it's a dream walkin' and talkin' a mountain top movin' thunder rainin' in lightning I'm sorry thunder rainin' in despair lightning hopkin' singin' blues early in the mornin' when his mind is on vacation a poem is an experiential truth that you can see forever! like when I first saw the mississipi river it was almost tearing in the face I was travelin' high and lookin' low the blues was all around me and one false move and I would lose everything I had a journeyman not long ago said the metaphor is the crowning jewel in the bullet's arsenal he said you better wake up America come on now you better wake up America everybody you better wake up America freedom's on the run you gotta change your ways wait! or your cities will burn jazzin' around what is jazz to me? what is a wildflower steamin' in a forest grove? a painting, a picture of bird and deers flattenin' fists on 52nd street? what is a beat? a sweet black, brown, and beige? a rhapsody? free as the wind in a restless breeze a counter melody a masterful stroke what is jazz to me? the beginning and the end of an endless affair a warm something else cannonball and miles used to play when autumn leaves autumn leaves were in the weather was for the birds and Oscar Peterson made honey out of a wildflower called baby, baby all the time jazz to me was like when I was livin' a lush life on top of the world