Mos Def has this song on “The New Danger” called “Bedstuy Parade and Funeral March for Fighters and Lovers”. That’s what I think of when I think of the survivors, and the dead, of Hurricane Katrina.
I just watched Spike Lee’s “When the Levees Broke” and am pretty torn up. There are so many scenes that choke me up – and then there’s one that both catches my throat and makes me light inside. It’s of a New Orleans funeral. The procession to the grave site was graced with beautiful, somber jazz music by a large brass band. Walking away from the grave site, the procession is lively, with a catchy, gorgeous, lively tune – lively. The person being interviewed called it a celebration: “It’s like, ‘I’m sad that you’re gone, but I sure am glad to have known you.’” Then he said something along the lines of, “the celebration is a time for expression. It’s so we don’t stay silent or hushed about death.” I think I’ve never seen or heard anything so beautiful.
Fighters and lovers, fighters and lovers. Fighters and lovers, these dead, these displaced, these daring. These survivors.
As I wrote on my now-defunct blogspot blog: “I don’t get the phrase ‘mere survival’. To me, there is nothing ‘mere’ about it. Survival is not a step one takes on the way to ‘higher’, ‘better’ things. Survival is worthy of all the energy we put into it. It is essential. It is astonishing. It is powerful. It is brave. It is difficult. It is chancy. It is not guaranteed. It is, against all odds. It is a goddamn miracle. Breathe in. Breathe out.”
I wrote those words month ago, but the New Orleans funeral march somehow infuses the words with new meaning. It’s now September 11th again, and a year ago the levees broke, and all over the bombs and bullets are raining – softly drizzling in some places and thundering down in others – and hunger snuffs out light after light after light after miraculous, precious light. No more lights.
Who turned out the lights? How many more funerals for fighters and lovers? And why – why the great conspiratorial hush around death, the unspoken understanding that we will not break out wailing wherever we are, and dance, and grieve, and weep, and weep?
Lance Garrett said,
August 22, 2008 at 10:07 am
Katrina and government neglect are solid facts. Despite how many times George W.’s handlers send him to New Orleans during these last days of his reign, it’s just window dressing for posterity. George W. has been a puppet spokesman for right wing Republicans and a toady for Pappa for the last 8 years. Lest we forget, both his “elections” were rigged, thanks to electronic voting machines and a corrupt supreme court.
Weeping tears for New Orleans is one thing. Doing something about it is quite another.