The Gathering

By Claude Paradise Gray

I just returned from one of the most awe inspiring and eye opening retreat/conferences that I have ever attended, traveling with fellow "One Hood" members Khari Mosely (League Of Young Voters), Minister Jasiri X (Nation Of Islam) and Luqman Salaam (Sankore Institute).

"The Gathering" - A three day retreat organized by Elder Harry Bellafonte (pictured left with Paradise) and hosted by The Council Of Chiefs, The Elders and Clan Mothers of the Onondaga Nation on sovereign land just south of Syracuse. The Onondaga people adhere to a time-honored democratic system and have a deep respect for cultural and spiritual traditions.

The meetings were opened and closed in Onondaga tradition with a thansksgiving prayer giving thanks and respect to all beings in Gods creation, from the birds to all animals, the wind, the water, the plants, the trees, the Sun, the Moon and the Creator.

The Gathering was well attended by young energetic Black and Brown leaders from New York, Los Angelos, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Oakland,  Boston, Mexico, San Franciso, Detriot, Houston, Washington D.C., Georgia, San Jose, Maryland and many other cities.

Mr. Bellafonte explained that this was the third such gathering and the purpose of the gatherings are not for the elders to tell young people what to do or how to do it, but to engage the minds of young leaders, bring us to places where we may converse amoung each other giving us an opportunity to see what each other is already doing, speak of our successes and create cross racial/cultural relationships and coalitions.  Teach us the successes and failures of previous movements and officially pass the torch from the elders of the civil rights movement to the next generation of prepared young leaders.

Mr. Bellafonte spoke of the importance of patience and non violent action.
He said: "Preach to the choir, if you don't they may stop singing, and if the sermon is good they will be inspired to sing louder and better". He also asked us not to be intolerant of redundancy, because the first time it was said or done the goal was not achieved.

"In a participatory democracy all voices must be heard. The struggle is universal. We need to speak to the global community. We must reach for a universal solution to dealing with a common oppressor.  
Murder, mayhen , violence death, all the cost of the civil rights movement.
The gathering is bigger than the small issues that face each of us daily.
You have to see beyond the fight you're in." Said Harry Bellafonte.

Chief Oren gave us a historical view of his people and told us how they were robbed of 95% of their land by New York State:  "The ruling power in 1492 was the roman catholic church, 2 flags Roman/Catholic & Spanish flag came with Colombus. They gave us the Bible and took our land. The Pope declared if the people are not Christian they have no title to land by god's law (the law of nations).  So they took our land by declaration, in 1496 King James also declared the land free to take if there were no Christian owners. (Google the "Doctrine Of Discovery").

Chief Oren also explained that The Onondaga Nation is an independent, sovereign government that does not accept federal money from the U.S. government, nor do they pay taxes to the U.S. government. They also honorably are not involved in the casino business or any other gambling ventures and do not allow alcohol to be sold on their land. He told us of the importance of our Elders and the the importance of knowing our history: "Elders are important, there is no shortcut to experiance."  "The more you know about history the better you can prepare, if you don't know how they did it, they can do it again".

Many of the young leaders representing diverse organizations spoke and explained the work that their organizations were doing on the grassroots level in local neighborhoods around the country. Khari Mosley, Luqman Abdul Salaam and the brothers from Milwaukee (all representing The League Of Young Voters) gave the most spirited presentation of the conference. "It was critical for us to tie in ex-offender voting participation with criminal justice reform issues. If ex-offenders become a voting block, allied with other supporters I think that we will begin to see changes within the prison industrial complex". It was incredible to have legends of the civil rights movement such as Harry Bellafontte and Ivanhoe Donaldson to share ideas and strategies for movement building with young organizers who appear ready to receive the torch and carry on the works of our Ancestors and Elders".
Said Khari Mosley (The League Of Young Voters).
 
"It was a enlightening experience, I was amazed by the similarites between the Onondaga Nation and The Nation Of Islam. I thank the Onondaga people and Mr. Bellafonte for their hospitality" - Minister Jasiri X (Pittsburgh Representative of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan)

We were encouraged to reach out to other disenfranchised people, to learn their struggles, and to be the keepers of the peace as in the ways of The Onondaga Nation: "The tree of peace is the spiritual law, if you abandon the law you cannot win". - Chief Oren

Elder Danny Glover was a guest speaker at the conferance.  Mr. Glover is a gifted and knowledgable speaker who was obviously not just there for a photo op, as he was totally involved in every process for all 3 days.

I learned more during this 3 day event than I have in the past few years. I am truely grateful to Mr. Bellafonte, The Elders, The Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers of the Onondaga Nation for you have shown me with my own eyes what it truely means to be FREE.  

Paradise Gray
paradise_gray@hotmail.com