ii-20 - angela davis (annotation by infamosa)
TRANSCRIPT
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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Peter Ablinger
Voices & Piano (1998-2007)
für Klavier und CD
Angela Davis
score annotated by A. Infamosa
Performance directions
Sixteenths and triplets: strong and clear, poco forte, maybe portato playing also for
sixteenths (a little bit like Keith Jarret when he plays jazz eighths - never legato!
Chords (all quarters, also single note quarters) : softer, mp, accompanying
Audio directions
Single, centered speaker in front of piano (“like the tenor of a Schubert song-cycle”)
with mono left channel only going to audience
Pianist plays with small earphone : right channel only (clicktrack + voice)
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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text transcription:
Before anything else, I am a black woman, and I’ve dedicated my life to the struggle for the
liberation of black people, my enslaved, imprisoned people.
I am a communist because I believe that the reason we have been forcibly compelled to eke
out an existence at the very lowest level of American society has to do with the nature of
capitalism. If we’re going to rise out of our oppression, our poverty; if we’re going to cease
being the target of lynch mob… of the lynch mob mentality, of racist policemen, we’ll have to
destroy the American capitalist system. We will have to obliterate a system in which a few
wealthy capitalists are guaranteed the privilege of becoming richer and richer; whereas the
people, who are forced to work for the rich – and especially black people – never take any
signify;cant step forward.
I am a communist because I believe that black people, with whose labor and blood this
country was built, have a right to a great deal of the wealth that has been hoarded in the
hands of the Hughes, the Rockefellers, the Kennedys, the Duponts : all those super powerful
white capitalists of America.
Further, I am a communist because I believe that black men should not be coerced into
fighting a racist, imperialist war in Southeast Asia, where the U.S. government is violently
denying a non-white people the right to control their own lives, just as they suppressed us for
hundreds of years.
I am in prison, but we should remember this: there will continue to be frame-ups such as
mine, and we will be continued to be forced to hide. Just because they caught me doesn’t
mean that every one of us will be captured. They set all their running dogs of me. This they
can afford to do only a few times over.
We must refuse to allow them to strike terror among us, for this was obviously the intent oftheir actions. Furthermore, because of the intensified repression we are experiencing, we’ll
have to begin to talk about creating a viable apparatus to allow freedom fighters, black
freedom fighters, to remain in this country and remain active in the black liberation
struggles.
First of all, I’m sure that J. Edgar Hoover, in collusion with Nixon and Reagan, decided to
make an example of me. The F.B.I. unleashed an enormous amount of manpower in this
search: much, much more than they could afford to use ordinarily.
…Anyone who believes such flagrant lies has been terribly deceived by the Nixon/Reagan
clique; for they’re the ones who devised such underhanded methods of questioning ourstruggle!
I am a communist, a black woman communist. Furthermore, through me, the government is
attempting to further attack and terrorize black people… as they have done in the case of
George Jackson, Huey Newton, Bobby Seal, Erica Huggins… and I could go on and on and
on. Therefore, black people need to talk about rising up, not only in the defense of political
prisoners, but in their own defense.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing which could deter me from continuing to fight with all
my energies for the freedom of my people. And, there’s no need for me to cry because I’ve
been captured! But, there’s all the more reason to be strong and keep fighting. During thetime I was participating in the efforts to free the Solidad brothers, I continually warned that
any one of us could be set up as the next target of the government’s policy of repression – of
the repression of black revolutionaries.
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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Be-fore
anything
else, I'm a black wo-man.
ca-ted my life
to the struggle for
the liberation ofblack people, my enslaved, emprisoned people.
and I've dedi-
I am a communist because I'm con-vinced that the reason we have been
forcibly
compelled to eke out an existence
at the very lowest
level of
American
so-ci-e-ty has to do with the nature
of ca- pi- ta- li- sm. If we're going
to
rise out of our
oppression, our po-ver-ty;If we're going to cease being the
targets of lynch mob...
of the lynch-mob mentality,
of racist po-
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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-licemen, we'll have to destroy the American
capitalist sys- tem.
We will have
to
ob-
li-
ter- ate
a system
in which a few wealthy ca-pi-ta-lists are gua-ran-teed
the pri-vi-lege of be- co-ming
richer and
richer, where-as the peo-ple who are forced towork for the rich, and es-pe-cially black people, never
take any
sig-ni-fi-
cant step forward.
I am a communist, because I be-lieve that black people, with
whose labor and
blood this country was built
have a right
to a great deal of the
wealth that has been hoarded in the hands of the Hughes,
the Rocke-
fellers, the Kennedys, the Duponts... Allt ose
super-power u
white capi-
talistsof A-me-ri- ca.
Fur-
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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ther, I am
a
com-
mu-nist be-cause I believe
that
black men should not be coerced into
fighting a
racist, imperialist
war in Southeast A-
sia where the U. S. gov-ern- ment is vio-lent-ly denying a non-white people the right to control their own li-
ves, just asthey sup- pressed us for hundreds of years.
I am
in pri-son, but we should remember this:
there will con-
tinue to be
frame-ups such as minebe continued
and we'll
to be forced to hide.
Just because they caught
me doesn't
that every one of us will be cap-tured; They set all their... run-ning dogs on me.
This they can af-ford to do on- ly a few times o-ver. We must re-fuse
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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to al-low them to strike terror among us for this
was obvious- ly the intent of their actions.
Fur-ther-more
because of the intensified re- pres- sion we are experiencing
we'll haveto be- gin to talk a-
bout... cre-a-ting a viable apparatus to allow freedom
fighters, black freedom fighters sought
for by the police to remain in
this country
and remain active in the
black libe- ration strug-gles.
First of all, I'm sure that J. Edgar Hoover, in collusion
with
Nixon and Reagan, decided to make
an ex- am- ple of me.
The F. B. I. unleashed and enormous amount
of manpower
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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much, much more than they could
af-ford to
use or-di-na-ri-ly.
An-y-one who be-lieves
such
flagrant lies has been ter-ribly
deceived by the Nixon/Reagan clique for they're the ones who
devised such under-handed
methods of
question-ing our struggle.
I am a communist, a
black woman commu-nist. Furthermore,
through
me the government
is attempting to further at-tack
and terrorize black peo- ple as they.. bl uh as they have in the case of
George Jackson, Huey Newton, Bobby Seal, Erica Huggins... and I could go
on and on & on...
Therefore, black people... have to begin to
7/25/2019 II-20 - Angela Davis (Annotation by Infamosa)
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Talk about rising up, not only in the defense
of political prisoners, but in their own defense.
There is no-thing, absolute-ly no- thing which could de-ter me from con- ti- nuing to
fight
with all my for the of my peo-ple.energies freedom
And there's I've cap-tured
no need for me to cry because been
But there's more to be strong and keep fighting.
all the reason
During the time I was participating in
the efforts to free the Solidad
brothers
I continually warned that An- y one of us could be set up as the next target of the
government's policy of re-pres-sion... of the repression of black re-vo-lu- tio-na-ries.