WS Chronicle

By English Bradshaw

Phoenix: A Greek mythological bird that lives for a long time and dies and periodically regenerates itself from its own ashes. However, Herodotus, known as the Father of History, and Thucydides, dubbed as the Father of Scientific History, simply say that the phoenix simply went bung and decomposed before.

And so now, circa 2020 AD, Flow The Magnificent,aka the Father of Shut Up and Do, accompanied by Benedict The Moor, enters The City of Diswith its emblazoned banners warning “Abandon All Hope Ye 

Who Enter Here.” – please research the ancestry of St. Benedict the Moor. 

Miraculously, Flow The Magnificentinternalized this mortifying abyss and issued a clarion call for this phoenix to rise up before it goes bung and unequivocally stated that it is now time that we fundamentally address the racial divide that has torn at the soul of our country since its founding. As he gazed across the Rubicon at Dante’s Sixth Ring, he witnessed the enormity of the task and pondered. where do we even start 

to repair? (Hmm …) 

As is his fashion, Flow The Magnificent and Benedict The Moorissued an encyclical stating that we do not have to turn our backs or sigh about what a tragedy this is. (Bring it!)We can act. He noted that the young people taking to the streets are filled with a passion to change what we have been to become what we could be. (C’mon now!) They care about our Cityand they want this City to flourish and rebuild hope and justice and to rise from the ashes … We are in a moment of transition, full of ambiguity and hope, he 

shouted! (Halleluja!) 

The encyclical continues: 

So what do we do? How do we respond to this moment? How do we both listen and respond to the demands of the moment and work to address deep fundamental change? (Hmm …) 

First, we need to listen to and act upon the very clear and specific issues that have been articulated by the recent and thoughtful protests in our community. The energy and focus of these protests have been a profound model of peaceful democratic engagement. An engaged citizenry is at the heart of a vibrant 

community and we must keep this energy going by acting now. (Praise Him!)

Secondly, we know that race and poverty are interwoven in this community into a systemic problem that involves education, health, housing, hunger, crime, and jobs. We need to bring together all of the resources 

we have in this community to address this. (Hot Damn!) 

We need all of the foundations in this community, the companies, health systems, universities, non-profit organizations, city government, universities and colleges, and any organization that wants to invest in our community to make a 5-year commitment to align and focus their resources to address these areas 

for the purpose of profoundly altering generational poverty in this community. (Great Googly Woogly!)

We need health clinics in neighborhoods so that every person has access to health care, food co-ops, access 

to daycare, Pre-K for every child, a school system radically committed to literacy for children, an army of tutors trained in structured literacy, after-school recreation for every child, three meals a day for every child, safe housing, crime-free streets – it is a long list but we must make this the focus of our community. We need to prioritize and focus organizations and resources. We need to stop making excuses. We need to stop talking about it. We need to go do it. It is time to put a stake in the ground that our future is going to 

be different than our past.We need to invest in creating a new future for our city: WS Rise. (Glory!)

And so, Flow The Magnificent aka The Father of Shut Up and Do has offered his personal resources and treasure – matching his moniker – to develop a plan which will give assistance to minority-owned enterprises and organizations. The citizens have begun to gather. They are chatting with each other and about each other. They have formed committees and subcommittees and they are very vigilant that this will be a bottoms-up approach involving all citizens in the community – not community gatekeepers and corporations. 

Many hours are now being spent by citizens with varying expertise and experiences in planning and developing ways of making a thorough-bred horse of this golden opportunity given them. However, speaking from my perch on Parnassus, I wish to warn these dedicated citizens to take care and be aware that a dromedary camel is a horse designed by a subcommittee and a Bactrian dromedary camel is one that is a modified (improved) camel by a full committee. (Look it up). 

Hush! My caution regarding this opportunity was not fleeting. It didn’t take long for the buzzards to begin to circle the wagons overhead and the varmint footprints of the past began to appear in the sand. However, the wagon master aka Miss Integrity Plus, has demonstrated a strong defense to ward off any impending carnage and a commitment to ensure that any semblance of the spectacle of the unfettered shoveling of COVID and guilt money to any minority operative seeking such money would not occur like COVID which shoved money to practically anyone who asked without a trace of accountability. 

Be quiet! Truly, during this mad rush to snatch a crumb of this money from this trough, I was approached by an applicant who asked me what was the meaning of EIN and had nothing to show as a business enterprise but a two-page document stating that it was serving the community. They submitted an application and they received approval for a grant. I attempted to call the recipient and – the number you have called is not in service at this time! 

Conversely, the citizens in the WS Rise Initiative are painstakingly ensuring that 100 percent accountability and integrity are integral parts of participation. If the template is followed as driven by Miss Integrity Plus, I am comforted that the seeds of the phoenix granted by Flow The Magnificent will enable the wings of the bird to begin to flutter. The bird will spawn other broods and will once again rise and the Citywill begin to resemble how it once was with viable minority-owned enterprises and with its emblazoned banners beckoning to passers-by and the inquisitive – They Tried to Bury Us, But They Forgot That We Were Seeds: Welcome All Ye Who Enters Here.