Know Thyself
And give birth to freedom and equality
By Mark Harris
On successive days, two people asked me if I was a man of faith. A white Catholic woman, and a black dread, and really my thought was, would they recognize my faith? (Life is suffering, all my relations. You suffer because you love what deceives you. Do your best to acquire peace within you. I am the dream and the hope of the slave, I rise, I rise, I rise.)
Neither asked me which brand of faith, but my most recent confirmation of faith was in the eyes of children born 22 years apart. With one child, I was the first person she saw in this life. Her response to my explanation of why Frederick Douglass was a radical Republican: They believed the only solution to slavery was to completely end any legal basis to White Supremacy. That is: Free the slaves, give them land and the tools to work it, educate them, give them tools of the mind, give them the vote and a voice in democracy, give them reparations to assist in building a free society, and full citizenship equal to that of whites. She said, “Equality with whites is radical?” “It’s a thin line between radical and common sense.” Indeed.
I watched her birth an Afro-Chata-Taino-Celtic Gemini girl with kyanite eyes. Kyanite is a stone reputed to induce calm and tranquility even in times of great stress. No wonder she named the child for an ancestor, captured /stolen as a young child, surviving the middle passage, sold away from her mother and infant sister at age 4, teaching herself literacy, numeracy, and the self-sufficient way to freedom: Knowledge is a food. Trust not the slaver, or any institution rooted in the enslavement of human beings, to give you the knowledge you need to be free. Be suspicious of those who work for such institutions unawares.
When in Rome, don’t become cruel like Romans, indifferent to human suffering. What they have done to the least of those, they’ll do to you. Forgive them for they know not what they do. Know thyself, look into the night sky, or the depths in a child’s eyes, and know the only thing greater than yourself. Raise others to equal greatness. This baby’s spirit punched through a condom as if it weren’t there. She hung out for the better part of an hour in the birth canal, without distress. (I survived the middle passage, yo, what’s a birth canal. Is this all you got? Whatever.) She came to us, and I was reminded of people’s struggle birthing freedom and equality.
There is something about an idea whose time has come that is so ancient, primal and yet totally new, that getting it out is like labor. Labor is a loud, sweaty, teary, bloody mess. Amidst shouts of encouragement, protest, anger, pleading, joy. Do not confuse noisemaking with progress. Beware, conservative Romans crucify common sense radicals. When birthing at home of what is precious within, you have to push. It’s in your hands.
Mark Harris is an instructor and substance abuse prevention coordinator at LCC.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
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