Sharing my Inspiration

2009-07-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

In this moment I am slightly overwhelmed by the many tasks at hand, which is to be expected of any person preparing for traveling overseas. In just three days I will return the sweet, dense air of Accra to relive the memories created and begin new ones on this second journey. I am close to tears at many times during the day contemplating the Incredible privilege I have been given by this second chance. Beyond this great gift of even traveling to Africa, I also reflect in awe and humility on the project I have been assigned, to paint a mural at the W.E.B. DuBois Centre.

So as to share a little of the magnitude of this endeavor I wanted to post the poem that is the inspiration for the mural. Only in my second finding of literature by DuBois did I come across this golden treasure. Its message relating to this project is mere perfection. I could not have asked for a better foundation, as my goosebumps demonstrate every time it is read. It is a little lengthy but I encourage you to read it as it encompasses the many topics I intendted to touch on in my mural. Enjoy.

Wishing you Blessings Always,

- Shelley

GHANA CALLS
(From Selected Poems of W.E.B. DuBois)

To Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah

I was a little boy, at home with strangers
I liked my playmates, and knew them well,
Whence all their parents came;
From England, Scotland, royal France
From Germany and oft by change
The humble Emerald Isle

But my brown skin and close-curled hair
Was alien, and how it grew, none knew:
Few tried to say, some dropped a wondering word or stray;
Some laughed and stared.

And then it came: I dreamed
I placed together all I knew
All hints and slurs and together drew.
I dreamed.

I made one picture of what nothing seemed
I shuddered in dumb terror
In silence screamed,
For now it seemed this I had dreamed;

How up from Hell, a land had leaped
A wretched land, all scorched and seamed
Covered with ashes, chained with pain
Streaming with blood, in horror lain
Its very air a shriek of death
And agony of hurt

Anon I woke, but in one corner of my soul
I stayed asleep.
For I could not,
But never would I remember
That hell-hoist ghost
Of slavery and woe.

I lived and grew, I worked and hoped
I planned and wandered, gripped and coped
With every doubt but one that slept
Yet clamored to awaken

I became old; old, worn and gray;
Along my hard and weary way
Rolled war and pestilence, war again;
I looked on Poverty and foul Disease
I walked with Death and yet I knew
There stirred a doubt: Were all dreams true?
And what in truth was Africa?

One cloud-swept day a Seer appeared,
All closed and veiled as me he hailed
And bid me make three journeys to the world
Seeking all through their lengthened links
The endless Riddle of the Sphinx

I went to Moscow; Ignorance grown wise taught me Wisdom;
I went to Peking: Poverty grown rich
Showed me the wealth of Work
I came to Accra.

Here at last I looked back on my Dream;
I heard the voice that loosed
The Long-locked dungeons of my soul
I sensed the Africa had come
Not up from Hell, but from the sum of Heaven’s glory.

I lifted mine eyes to Ghana
And swept the hills with high Hosanna;
Above the sun my sight took flight
Till from the pinnacle of light
I saw dropped down this earth of crimson, green and gold
Roaring with color, drums and song.

Happy with dreams and deeds worth more than doing
Around me velvet faces loomed
Burnt by the kiss of everlasting suns
Under great stars of midnight glory
Trees danced, and foliage sang;

The lilies hallelujah rang
Where robed with rule on Golden Stool
The gold-crowned Priests with duty done
Pour high libations to the sun
And dance to gods.

Red Blood flowed rare ‘neath close-clung hair
While subtle perfume filled the air
And whirls of whirls of tiny curls
Crowned heads.

Yet Ghana shows its might and power
Not in its color nor its flower
But in its wondrous breadth of soul
The Joy of Life
Its selfless role
Of giving.

School and clinic, home and hall
Road and garden bloom and call
Socialism blossoms bold
On Communism centuries old.

I lifted my last voice and cried
I cried to heaven as I died:
O turn me to the golden Horde
Summon all western nations
Toward the Rising Sun.

From reeking West whose day is done,
Who stink and stagger in their dung
Toward Africa, China, India’s strand
Where Kenya and Himalaya stand
And Nile and Yang-tze roll:
Turn every yearning face of man.

Come with us, dark America:
The scum of Europe battened here
The drowned dream
Made fetid swamp a refuge seem:

Enslaved the Black and killed the Red
And armed the Rich to loot the Dead:
Worshipped the whores of Hollywood
Where once the Virgin Mary stood
And lynched the Christ.

Awake, awake, O sleeping world
Honor the sun;
Worship the stars, those vaster suns
Who rule the night
Where black is bright
And all unselfish work is right
And Greed is sin.

And Africa leads on:
Pan Africa!

February, 1962

Welcome Loved Ones

2009-07-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

I am so glad to finally start this record of my experiences!

It will start out by tracing my journey to Accra Ghana, and I plan to keep it up long afterward. I feel that I have a calling to share my thoughts, lessons and gained wisdom through writing. I am so excited about this realization of my purpose and hope that you will gain from it in some positive way.

So while in Ghana from August 4th- 26th I will be doing research on Contemporary Visual Arts in Ghana, with a comparison to the Western art world I know so well here. It still presents itself as a very broad topic so you will see it evolve while I am away and interviewing various people in Ghana.

Also I have the esteemed honor and inexpressible gift of painting a mural at the W.E.B. DuBois Centre in Accra! This is Beyond and amazing; there are no words!!! I cannot wait to get started and share more of this with you. You can check out the location at: http://webdubois-gh.org/

With that I am tired and needing rest, but please look out for my emails as I do my best to keep you all updated. Love Love LOVE and divine blessings!!!

Always,

-Shelley

Reflecting On My Blessings

Sharing my Inspiration

Welcome Loved Ones