This song by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti (1938-1997) goes out to PotBangerz volunteers and supporters and to EVERYONE who is an ally or advocate of our unhoused brethren & sistren.
Fela Kuti sings that he will offer “NO AGREEMENT” to a societal structure that leaves “my brother hungry” or “my brother homeless.” The singer declares that he will not see homelessness or hunger around him without calling it out to the authorities; he will not compromise with business as usual.
On February 14, the PotBangerz mission continued as it does every Thursday while Mama Cat was in Tornillo, Texas, taking part in demonstrations targeting the Trump administration’s immigration and detention policies.
The food outreach on the 14th included turkey & gravy, potatoes, a vegetable, bread and a snack bag. We delivered meals to individuals on the streets of the city and dispatched banquet pans of food to Destiny Family Church. Temperatures were in the 20s with only light wind, far more hospitable than the sub-zero temps of late but still cold enough to require shelter. We asked the unhoused as we offered meals whether they needed shelter for the night.
Meanwhile, Mama Cat is part of a delegation in Tornillo, where she and others demonstrated in December 2018 on behalf of child migrants. On Friday, the group caravanned a 20-mile stretch encompassing Tornillo and Southwest Key Detention center demonstrating with music and art and communicating their solidarity with youth behind the fence.
No agreement to the status quo, no compromise. Indifference is an enemy.
Fela Kuti used his remarkable song to transmit a militant message to the military government of Nigeria in 1977 and it remains every bit as powerful and relevant in our own time.
ghsth