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Powerful Shit--- read it and then see the video!
jasiri x: Why I Wrote the Song "Checkpoint" and Exposed the Apartheid I
Witnessed in Palestine
<http://groups.google.com/group/sid-l/t/4f122ea949b68797>
*http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2014/01/why-i-wrote-the-song-checkpoint-and-exposed-the-apartheid-i-witnessed-in-palestine/
<http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2014/01/why-i-wrote-the-song-checkpoint-and-exposed-the-apartheid-i-witnessed-in-palestine/>*
*Black Youth Project January 29, 2014*
Why I Wrote the Song "Checkpoint" and Exposed the Apartheid I
Witnessed in
Palestine
*By jasiri x <http://www.blackyouthproject.com/author/jasiri-x>*
*Israeli soldiers checking my passport at a checkpoint in Hebron *
*Checkpoint video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6Y6LSjulU
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6Y6LSjulU>*
I honestly had no intention on writing a song based on the trip I
took to
Palestine and Israel recently as part of a delegation of
African-American
activists and artists, sponsored by the Carter Center. I'm still
having a
difficult time processing what I witnessed. I spent much of the trip
trying
to get my head around how one group of human beings could be so
inhumane to
another group of human beings. I still can't understand. By day 4 of
our 7
day trip I wanted to come home. The mental intensity of what I
saw<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151835834291681&set=pb.696031680.-2207520000.1391027370.&type=3&theater>that
the brutality of the stories
I heard
<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151840206561681&set=pb.696031680.-2207520000.1391027355.&type=3&theater>had
taken a toll on me to the point where I had
enough<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151840657121681&set=pb.696031680.-2207520000.1391027355.&type=3&theater>
.
In one of the few light moments of the trip writer and filmmaker Dream
Hampton joked that I would have a song and video out a few days after we
landed in the United States, because I'm known for doing topical
videos in
a short period of time. I remember laughing and telling her my only plan
when I got home was to rest, but Dream got the last laugh. Her
suggestion
actually caused me to think, if I did a song what would it sound
like and
how would the video look? And, although I had taken hundreds of
pictures,
the only places I recorded video were the checkpoints.
We as a group decided to walk through the infamous Qalandia checkpoint
because our guide, who was Palestinian, could not ride through the
checkpoint with us. Even though she had a permit and a passport, because
she was Palestinian, she had to walk through the checkpoint on foot. I
decided to record this journey, not because I had the idea to shoot a
video, but because of the ridiculous amount of Israeli soldiers with
machine guns surrounding the checkpoint. Being a victim of Stop and
Frisk
in places like New York City, I have gotten in the habit of
videotaping any
encounter with those in "authority" when I think there could be
danger . In
this particular situation, I thought it was best for the safety of our
guide and our delegation.
When we were stopped at a checkpoint in Hebron, I began recording again,
and I also was recording when armed Israeli soldiers boarded our van to
check everyones passport and visa. Realizing the checkpoint footage
was the
only video I had, I started to conceptualize the song "Checkpoint".
I felt
like checkpoint really summed up the apartheid conditions I witnessed in
Palestine. That's why the first line of the song I wrote was, "If Martin
Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint, he'd wake with loud
screams from
the scenes at the checkpoint". I truly believe if Dr. King was alive and
saw the discrimination and oppression we saw, he would breakdown and
cry.
At that point all that was left for me to do was find a beat that
captured
the emotional intensity of walking through a prison like checkpoint
guarded
by heavily armed soldiers. Thankfully, I had a beat from Agent of
Change,
who is producing the album I'm currently working on called P.O.W.E.R.
(People Oppressed Will Eventually Rise).
Looking back on the trip, I'm thankful I was able to go and see the
occupation of Palestine firsthand. I thought I knew what was going
on, but
I had no idea. I believe everyone who is able to should go and see for
themselves the colonialism our tax dollars are funding. I remain
inspired
by the resistance of the Israeli, Palestinian, and African organizers we
met. I hope my song and video helps contribute to the growing movement
of Boycotts,
Divestment, and Sanctions <http://www.bdsmovement.net/> against Israel.
When asked about my trip on Twitter I responded, the people are
beautiful,
but their reality is heartbreaking. The truth must be told.
*Video: **In Levinsky Park http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB287v66QFk
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB287v66QFk> (subtitled)*
--
---------------------
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Home: Phone 604-689-9510
Cell: 604-789-4803
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