Thursday, November 6, 2008

Freedom and music from Africa: April 25, 1974-November 5, 2008

Revolução dos CravosMr. PresidentToumani DiabatéThe overthrow of the fascist dictatorship in Portugal as a consequence of the failure of the colonial war in Africa and its impact on Portuguese officers. The election of Barack Obama. Twice in my lifetime, in my direct experience, the horrors that Europeans visited on Africa, the moral rot of discrimination and prejudice, were returned to us Europeans and descendants of Europeans as an opportunity to start afresh. Tonight, the great Malian musician Toumani Diabaté dedicated his overwhelming performance in San Francisco to the New America. As Diabaté played, I so wanted to hug the "kids" — Elena, Daniel, and Deva — hoping with them for a bit more peace, a bit more fairness, a bit more tolerance, a bit more reason, and a lot more music and reawakening of our better natures from Africa.

5 comments:

steve said...

indeed

rosa sat in 55, martin walked in 63, barack ran in 08. that our children might fly.

Modulo12 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Modulo12 said...

Awww, this left a lump in my throat. I love you, too, Dad.

addiragram said...

Very, very well my brother!

SeaSaltBlues said...

May our children have the chances their parents had, at least, even when they had to leave their "home" country. And let the African children see the world. Nice post, thanks.