Elisabeth Eybers (born February 16, 1915) – South African poet
Eerste Liefde / First Love
Ons liefde het gesterf met die oggendstond,
En ons het haar begrawe, bleek en stom;
teer lentegras en geurige voorjaarsgrond
bedek haar, sonder smuk van krans of blom.
Onthou jy haar?.... Sy was tingerig-fyn,
met vingers slank en lig, haar stem was sag,
en haar blou wonder-oë vreemd en rein.
Haar dood was vreedsaam, sonder rougeklag.
Ek mag nie om haar ween: haar stil vertrek
was beter as 'n kwynende bestaan
- maar, ag, ek wonder of jy ooit, soos ek,
'n oomblik by haar graf in mym'ring staan.
The love we shared died in the early morning light,
and we buried her cold and pale;
tender spring grass and fragrant early-year's ground covers her,
without mourning by wreath or flower.
Do you remember her?...She was fine and delicate,
with fingers long and slender, her voice was soft,
and her astounding blue eyes, pure and bewildering.
Her death was peaceful, without cries of heartache and pain.
I may not mourn her loss: Her quiet departure
was better than a dying existence.
But, oh, I wonder if you ever, like me,
just for a moment at her grave in mourning stand.
Otis Blackwell (born February 16, 1932) U.S. songwriter / singer – “Great Balls of Fire”
Read about Otis Blackwell here and here and here
Listen to Elvis Presley's "Fever," written by Otis Blackwell
Paul Gilroy (born February 16, 1956) U.K. scholar, historian (black culture) – Between Camps (Against Race) 2000
Paul Gilroy speaks about slavery and the
culture of ignorance:
here
[minute 11:00] We need to think about ignorance in a different way ... as a systematic product. We need to think about the politics of ignorance. This is a country where at least 4 million people can't read. This is a country where 7 million people can't add two three-figure numbers together. Where the highest percentage of school students still think they're not sure whether the holocaust ever happened. So for me, the meaning of revisiting this history of slavery and abolitionism is framed by this incredible culture of ignorance. An ignorance that suits and serves the interests of those in power.
[minute 12:30]...We can't solve the mystification and confusion found here among many black and white people by offering them some ready-mixed history of slavery.
[minute 13:10]... I know Rebel MC is a bit ante-diluvian philosophy but he had one line I'll always remember: 'There's more than just slavery to the history -- we have dignity.'
Paul Gilroy and Russell Brand talk about racism here
[minute 22:40] Gilroy: All my life, and I'm 61 now, I've been told to go back to my own country. The enduring, resilient motto is 'go back to somewhere else.' Well, I've never had anywhere else to go.
Ice-T (Tracy Lauren Marrow) (born February 16, 1958) U.S. rapper, songwriter, author
First verse to 6 'N The Mornin (1986)
6'n the morning' police at my door
Fresh adidas squeak across the bathroom floor
Out the back window I make a escape
Don't even get a chance to grab my old school tape
Mad with no music but happy 'cause I'm free
And the streets to a player is the place to be
Gotta knot in my pocket weighin' at least a grand
Gold on my neck, my pistols close at hand
I'm a self-made monster of the city streets
Remotely controlled by hard hip hop beats
But just livin' in the city is a serious task
Didn't know what the cops wanted
Didn't have the time to ask
Watch a short biography video of
Ice-T