The human voice itself is the greatest instrument. Black folks' tradition begins with the voice . We try to make our instruments sound like our voices. Art Tatum vocalized the piano. John Coltrane vocalized the saxophone. Miles Davis vocalized the trumpet. It's the human voice you hear in the instrument. The human voice goes beyond technology, the poetry of the written page, and instrumental music. Where would our black culture be without the abundance of our musical genius? It lifted up, maintained our sanity, and directed our moves towards freedom. Today's session from Dr. Cornel West's Hope on a Tightrope, this session is MUSIC.

Today as I begin my journey on this Memorial Day Weekend 2020. I call out just a few names of the names of black excellence that are buried at America's Arlington National Cemetery. This historic site which was once the home of many enslaved blacks owned by the Custis Family as well as Robert E. Lee. Now, this plot of land is the final resting place for thousands upon thousands of our black ancestors who battled on both the battlefields of foreign shores and the battlefields of the lands of this nation​ seeking our full black equality and citizenship. As I read the names that were listed on the Arlington National Cemetery's website I do so with solemn recognition of each one's​ lifelong sacrifice, many of whom battled on faraway​ shores dying for the cause of democracy. Only to be persistently being denied those rights of democracy on the soil of their birth.

June 30, 1960
Saluting A True Global Warrior Patrice Lumumba