IN PRAISE & REMEMBRANCE OF BLACK FATHERS EVERYWHERE

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers in hand made sandals

or bare feet

who with their resourceful wives & children

were born in a world

when nothing had a name

yet through trial & error portals of intuition & spirit

pushed earth’s history into position for its’ dawning song

from lush or arid bush

Black fathers journeyed through mystery & uncertainty

to ponder & define

connections to each evolutionary step

then from mud huts designed & organized city states

wrote & divined countless books for the world’s first libraries

danced with ghosts & created the 7 wonders of the world

empowered their own volition to formulate

& define the context & parameters for geometry’s

source & use

then woke up mathematics from its’ second sleep

to map out a galaxy of stars while sleeping on verdant savannas

that teemed with predators & virgin roads

roads that our early black fathers feet made as each discovery

arrived through a primal scream

but in the everywhere yesterday i must ask Black fathers

if you could turn back time and attend to opportunities lost

would you have paid more attention

to those brother uncle cousin clan & neighborhood fathers

that left history stained by marks of dread & puzzle piece infernos of pain

would you have paid more attention and blocked those fathers

by offering alternative paths where pain didn’t interrupt growth

& keep children from languishing in a security of love & teddy bear dreams

In praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

who understood the beckoning call of creation’s heart beat

So embraced each poly-rhythmic tone

signaling from inside day & nights’ unfolding contents

that made a drum talk in magic aspirations of language

until even the trees understood

each salutation to the path of ancestor bones

embracing tradition passing down the knowledge of ages

with reverence to god & breath

In remembrance & praise of Black fathers everywhere

that united the spark & spunk of gospel seeds

long before slavery chains & auction blocks

oppressed a blues people under brutalization & cracking lash

& there were always Black fathers

who were never duplicitous directly or indirectly

in sending millions of black souls across the earth as slaves

to bring civilization to all corners of the world’s fruit again

giving pax whitie its’ gold standard

from a fast forward exploitation smothered by hatred’s

centuries of damaging wrongs

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

forced to juggle & carry revolutions’ vast entropy of change

as a break down burden of human flesh

& sent spinning toward the second coming of jesus

yet made a way out of no way

lumpen proletariat brothers

kicking down multiple closed doors to opportunity

where racism used skin color identification

to even bar black fathers from menial jobs

sweeping floors

living in “for whites only” places where fear ran rampant

& segregation roared

But in the everywhere yesterday i must ask Black fathers

If you could turn back time and attend to opportunities lost

Would you have paid more attention

to those brother uncle cousin clan & neighborhood fathers

that left history stained by marks of dread & puzzle piece infernos of pain

would you have paid more attention and blocked those fathers

by offering alternative paths where pain didn’t interrupt growth

& keep children from languishing in a security of love & teddy bear dreams

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

living in some hovel where poverty lingered like maggots on a corpse

supporting self-hatred married

To crime

no place to be somebody

in a drop dead nigga world

where a starved intellect

kept its’potential from the light

but

still here

weather beaten broken driven crazy contrite

yet unable to go sweetly into a transformative night

in praise & remembrance of black fathers everywhere

that prayed hard on bended knees

and were not afraid to surrender their lives

fighting back countless times against the intolerance

of brotherhood & each stalemate of righteousness detouring

hope

let us praise & remember Black fathers everywhere

they

us

we

that still became doctors

lawyers

dream weavers

teachers

ministers

councilors

protest marchers

defiant agitators against injustice

farmers share croppers pawns brick layers inventors artists

athletes factory workers soldiers politicians thinkers

or whatever trade or profession that could be achieved

becoming a man inside racism & hatreds’ weeds

becoming a man

despite a childhood of perhaps a fatherless home

where disconsolate Black fathers who couldn’t or wouldn’t

pick up their cross abandoned their families

& children leaving them on worn out linoleum

With no cherished memories or care

finally

In praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

proud deep root men who didn’t maim

didn’t punch or hit

didn’t hurt

or didn’t blacken the eyes of their wives

frightening the children

drunk

or drugged unable to handle their own feelings of inadequacy

worn like a stop sign in front of the sad sorry mess they made of their own lives

but in the everywhere yesterday i must ask Black fathers

if you could turn back time and attend to opportunities lost

would you have paid more attention

to those brother uncle cousin clan & neighborhood fathers

that left history stained by marks of dread & puzzle piece infernos of pain

would you have paid more attention and blocked those fathers

by offering alternative paths where pain didn’t interrupt growth

& keep children from languishing in a security of love & teddy bear dreams

In praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

that laughed when the sky was falling

that nurtured their children even when and if the cupboards were empty

and never had anything leftover to barter or share

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

black fathers that took common sense mother wit wisdom

sweat & flair to conquer fear

to make it possible to stand up Black to sing

still here

By Arthur Theodore Wilson, June 19, 2011
For the Father’s Day Program
First Baptist Church of Cranford, New Jersey

FOR ARTHUR…

My Mentor and Godfather (Pardrino)

My Respect and Love

ARTHUR THEODORE WILSON * Rest in peace

Arthur Theodore Wilson, 78, of Jacksonville passed away June 6, 2024. He was born in New Jersey on July 7, 1945n to Elmer and Dorothy Wilson.

I have loss the man that taught me the magic of creating art with young artist. He taught me to stand tall and take responsibility for the gift of life and the art I create. My mentor/protector Actor, Playwright, Poet, Educator *

Rest in peace, my teacher – my friend – my brother …my Padrino (Godfather – Yoruba).

…The loss is unmeasurable ARTURO ~ ASHE’

– JUNE 5th, 2024

iforcolor.org

Arthur-Theodore Wilson
Roselle, NJ, USA

Artistic Disciplines
Poetry, Fiction, Playwriting, Acting

K-12 Schools, After School Program, College/University, Community Center, Library
About the Teaching Artist

Dramatists Guild Of America; Writer’s Project NJSCA; Residency APlaywrights Theatre Of New Jersey New Jersey Writers Project Young Audiences Of New Jersey Arts Horizons Artist Collective For Soical Change New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Playwrights Theatre Of New Jersey New Jersey Writers Project Young Audiences Of New Jersey Arts Horizons Artist Collective For Soical Change New Jersey Performing Arts Center

40 year track record with arts institutions, collages, and community centers in New York and New Jersey.
Why Creative Aging?
Part of the process I use for writing workshops with adults is the sharing of children’s writing — which acts as a motivation for discussion, catharsis, and examining themes linked to multi-generational aspirations.

Dear Godfather ~ (My Artistic Mentor / Griot)
This is the start of the first’s…
My first celebration of your day of birth that I
can’t call you.
My first of not being able to hear your laughter… deal with your words of wisdom, both intellectually and spiritually…
I can no longer find inovative ways of saying thank you, because you hated mussy stuff and moving forward was always your agenda for me… not the look backwards,
{ No more lessons } WOW! The be a man of positive objectives! A human of solutions – not problems,
A hard day… because selfessly… I miss you, my Brother.
I know you would lovingly say “GET OVER IT!” and then laugh.
Your friendship… since 1986 are a blessing. I will dwell on that joy.
A Heavenly Birthday shout to you. ASHE’ – Dale July 2, 2024

Arthur Theodore Wilson – Actor, Playwright, Poet, Educator

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers in hand made sandals

or bare feet

who with their resourceful wives & children

were born in a world

when nothing had a name

yet through trial & error portals of intuition & spirit

pushed earth’s history into position for its’ dawning song

from lush or arid bush

Black fathers journeyed through mystery & uncertainty

to ponder & define

connections to each evolutionary step

then from mud huts designed & organized city states

wrote & divined countless books for the world’s first libraries

danced with ghosts & created the 7 wonders of the world

empowered their own volition to formulate

& define the context & parameters for geometry’s

source & use

then woke up mathematics from its’ second sleep

to map out a galaxy of stars while sleeping on verdant savannas

that teemed with predators & virgin roads

roads that our early black fathers feet made as each discovery

arrived through a primal scream

but in the everywhere yesterday i must ask Black fathers

if you could turn back time and attend to opportunities lost

would you have paid more attention

to those brother uncle cousin clan & neighborhood fathers

that left history stained by marks of dread & puzzle piece infernos of pain

would you have paid more attention and blocked those fathers

by offering alternative paths where pain didn’t interrupt growth

& keep children from languishing in a security of love & teddy bear dreams

In praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

who understood the beckoning call of creation’s heart beat

So embraced each poly-rhythmic tone

signaling from inside day & nights’ unfolding contents

that made a drum talk in magic aspirations of language

until even the trees understood

each salutation to the path of ancestor bones

embracing tradition passing down the knowledge of ages

with reverence to god & breath

In remembrance & praise of Black fathers everywhere

that united the spark & spunk of gospel seeds

long before slavery chains & auction blocks

oppressed a blues people under brutalization & cracking lash

& there were always Black fathers

who were never duplicitous directly or indirectly

in sending millions of black souls across the earth as slaves

to bring civilization to all corners of the world’s fruit again

giving pax whitie its’ gold standard

from a fast forward exploitation smothered by hatred’s

centuries of damaging wrongs

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

forced to juggle & carry revolutions’ vast entropy of change

as a break down burden of human flesh

& sent spinning toward the second coming of jesus

yet made a way out of no way

lumpen proletariat brothers

kicking down multiple closed doors to opportunity

where racism used skin color identification

to even bar black fathers from menial jobs

sweeping floors

living in “for whites only” places where fear ran rampant

& segregation roared

But in the everywhere yesterday i must ask Black fathers

If you could turn back time and attend to opportunities lost

Would you have paid more attention

to those brother uncle cousin clan & neighborhood fathers

that left history stained by marks of dread & puzzle piece infernos of pain

would you have paid more attention and blocked those fathers

by offering alternative paths where pain didn’t interrupt growth

& keep children from languishing in a security of love & teddy bear dreams

in praise & remembrance of Black fathers everywhere

living in some hovel where poverty lingered like maggots on a corpse

supporting self-hatred married

To crime

no place to be somebody

in a drop dead nigga world

where a starved intellect

kept its’potential from the light

but

ARTHUR THEODORE WILSON * Rest in peace