A Once Sacred Place in a Once Sacred Space ..
is now reduced
2 a pile of rubble …
A rubble of red bricks
now sit on the spot
at the end of my block
A pile of red bricks
that sit unknown
against the night sky
as I
pull the car up to see
the crime .. up close...
A murder in the night…
There’s no red tape around the corpse.. but
It still feels like a death in the darkness...
where someone took away my heart and my soul...
Yes … my Big little “Red Schoolhouse’..
The Elks Hall…
Where they used to hold “Elks Affairs”
With B.B. King as a headliner
Where they dressed in their best..
With beautiful fur collars and 2 inch heels.
And Dobb hats
The end of an era..
of important Black Elks who started up in Bronzeville
back in the day.
I remember the cars that lined the block and
how the lots were full when there was an “Elks Affair..
I remember when guitarist, George Freeman, brother of Von Freeman..
and Byron Barbour and Terry Norman ... played gigs there.
I remember after many years,… when the Elks had gone..
and the Temple of the African Community came...
With Dr Jake Carruthers as their leader,
we looked forward to the works of the Kemetic Institue
but .. alas.. he passed away
and the dreams seemed to leave with him..
because the building was never brought to the original vision.
I came to say goodbye
To a piece of my light…
A part of my family history
Growing up on the block..since 1966
Growing up...
knowing
that
I could go get some
Jays potato chips... and a pop..
and watch the elders talk ...
about important 'things' that elders talk about..
and feel safe...
knowing that the BIG RED BUILDING stood
at the end of the street
towering like a big red Fortress
protecting 'Short Vernon from the Hawk,
protecting 'Short Vernon from the Hawk,
the folks...
and that it had a history ...
but now it's
Reduced to nothingness...
against the night sky
It’ s cold… and I stare and stare
before taking a picture
I am alone..
Feeling some kind of way…
like a lone warrior who cared…
like a Bronzevillian Shogun
who guarded ... the Stable...
who watched over...
and groomed and
maintained the grounds.
I know I tried..
to imagine
a school for the Arts
The children inside ..
a place of learning
filled with music again..
with community again..
learning about the beauty, the history that we
have in Bronzeville
and interfacing that history with the world..
The world who always came to visit 43rd St
They would stop at my door
to learn about the Checkerboard Blues club...
And they would always ask
"What y'all going to do with that Big Red Building
at the end of the block?
And I would always say..
"Some of us would love to see it become a
Historical place of learning.."
A place where the Arts & Technology can flourish...
Where literacy can rise..
Where literacy can rise..
But what really happens 2 a dream when it gets no support
Too little.. too late…
No support from those..
who have cultural roots here
but No imagination..
No love..
No Interest..
No Interest..
For a Stable built in the 1890’s
surrounded by cobblestones...
surrounded by cobblestones...
With a rich history..
I’m having a flashback
A FLASH BLACK
2 a whole 'nother time..
In Bronzeville
On 'short Vernon
Which is the nickname
for this block on 43rd St..
because it is only one block long...
on Muddy Waters Drive
for this block on 43rd St..
because it is only one block long...
on Muddy Waters Drive
With its own rich history..
A flashback to when they tore the Checkerboard down..
As I watched from the window…
It was a long time coming…
And it hurt just as much..
By Aki Antonia c2018 12418