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By Any Means Necessary
“Your Life Represents: Never Give Up.” Dr. Mutulu Shakur
I love you, beautiful one. I know it wasn’t easy. Your love, you gave it to your people and humanity, while changing your name and face to live in exile. You were loved just the same. No matter the name or the face you presented, you were our exile of New Afrika. Oh how they loved you. Not knowing your personal pain. The degree of hope chambered in your soul that fueled your spirit of understanding, demanding of yourself “don’t give up,” your heart wanting to yell “LOOK AT ME. I HAVEN’T!” Daring others to compare, not judge. Never giving up, refusing to be ashamed, realizing I and those who love you, know that which is chambered in your soul is what fueled this journey in hopes for a better tomorrow in another land. We thank the people of Cuba who cuddled you, cried with you, and joined their voices in the chant “We are worth it. We will never give up.” I wanted to hug, love, and dance a victory lap of victory for all of our band who has sacrificed, wounded . . . yes, something the struggle against repression can not avoid, that which your father spoke of in your ear on his knee. “Don’t give up. We’re not broken yet.” As he protected our leader Malcolm, you inherited in your genes the obligation to protect the dream of our people and the “Have Nots, wherever they may be. You knew there was a place for us “have Nots.” The address was located in our hearts. You were loved, Nehanda. It was infectious. You gave more than was possible. never losing faith, smiling on the path for the realization of hope in exile. Vanessa and Hakima were scars of pain you constantly endured. Whenever their names were mentioned you cried tears of joy and pain, as well as tears of anger and despair over the choice made. Holding out for the extended family so the flames of life would not be extinguished. Oh how we pain at your agony over the lost opportunity for your love to be given to your children. The love they were surely due. We honor them today. Their sacrifices are no less weightier. Our great history teaches us how love for our children can not truly be left as a “hung run-away”, never able to explain that life taken on this tree with a noose around the neck was a sacrifice in order to give them a chance of a better place on earth. Somewhere on this earth is a better place where we belong. “Never give up.” Nehanda, I love you. You are my hero. And as you’ve done for many others, you’ve saved my life as well when no one else could’ve. And at a time when you had options. You brought peace, courage, audacity, love, and hope. You were never perfect, whatever that is. I’m so proud of you. Not because it was text book perfect or politically correct. No, it was AGAINST ALL ODDS, with many pit falls. You snatched Victory to move forward to the next level. Never giving up. You never gave up. Never whatsoever. Your circumstances and critiques that you were taught to internalize, you fought and won the desire to “NEVER” give up. You believed in our friends. You held out many times with complete despair waiting . . . waiting, knowing how it would feel to receive their love, and dance the dance, and give a big hug and say “I knew you would come.” You never gave up. Nehanda, I’ll always love you. You taught us to never give up, and I thank and love you so much. These tears and pain will never express the delicacy and perfection of your persuasion, structuring your circumstances into a plan to carry-on! At times it has caused you to hit your toe on a rock, but you only laughed it off, and made it into another lesson to be taught and learned. The international hip-hop conferences in Cuba that helped spread the culture around the world for an international political perspective deemed you the Momma of Hip-Hop of Black August internationally. Your lectures on the struggle in America, the role of our people for justice made you a scholar of the subject. So many of your students you’ve mentored, as well as tourists, and researchers, have reached out to us to get a realization of your life’s purposes. They believed in your analysis. I have spoken to many of them and read their letters. There’s so much I do not have the authority to speak on, such as how you’ve touched so many lives and encouraged them to support the struggles you belonged to. Thank you. We will never forget, and we will go forward.