Exiles in the Promised Land
This short video montage is based on footage and photos from my recent trip to Beirut, Lebanon. I was privileged to spend time with the people of Shatila, the Palestinian refugee camp in West Beirut. The trip ended with a talk that I gave entitled “Exiles in the Promised Land: New Orleans, Baghdad and the Quest for Home.” I am attempting to link the struggles of folks in New Orleans folks to those in the Middle East. My thesis is that one of the greatest sins of hegemony is the denial of home. Through the lens of the African American political and existential struggle in the midst of the American empire, I am trying to discern the similar crisis made manifest in the war on the people of Iraq and the Palestinian quest for home.
“Exiles in the Promised Land” has been selected for the Amnesty International Human Rights Arts Festival. Be sure to read Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou’s recent essay about post-Katrina New Orleans, “The Last Nail.”
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October 20th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Greetings Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, really enjoyed the footage and content of metaphor. Especially as you refer to the democratic essence of a Jazz band, performing without a designated leader. Please see the page titled ” The significance of Jazz and the speech by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on my web site at
http://www.drumsofchangedrumsofspirit.com
Peace and blessings,
Rev. Wesley Gray