…up there, up here…All God’s Children Have Wings
…in the Eugene O’Neil’s 1924 play, starring Paul Robeson, “All God’s Children Have Wings,” a very powerful message was delivered that opened the eyes of a generation.
Towards the end of the 1910s and the beginning of the ‘20s “random and organized acts of violence” were raged against the African-American community. The twenties were also a time where the Ku Klux Klan was at its height and the talk of integration clashed with a culture practicing segregation.
Fast forward nearly 100 years and I don’t need to wonder about the thunder in our streets — the raged and un-silent war against Blacks (and most people of color) by Whites — the resurgence of the KKK — the practices of fake-laws separating families — fantasies of James Bond movies played out through the creation of a new military division — the decimation of Social Security related services…and more.
I don’t need to wonder, but before I wander into a state of guided disparity….I hear the lyrics of the song, which became a theme of Eugene O’Neil’s most controversial play:
ALL GOD’S CHILLUN GOT WINGS
I got a robe, you got a robe/All o’ God’s chillun got a robe/When I get to heab’n I’m goin’ to put on my robe/I’m goin’ to shout all ovah God’s Heab’n/Heab’n, Heab’n/Ev’rybody talkin’ ‘bout heab’n ain’t goin’ dere/Heab’n, Heab’n/I’m goin’ to shout all ovah God’s Heab’n
I got-a wings, you got-a wings/All o’ God’s chillun got-a wings/When I get to heab’n I’m goin’ to put on my wings/I’m goin’ to fly all ovah God’s Heab’n/Heab’n, Heab’n/Ev’rybody talkin’ ‘bout heab’n ain’t goin’ dere/Heab’n, Heab’n/I’m goin’ to fly all ovah God’s Heab’n
Heab’n , Heab’n/Ev’rybody talkin’ ‘bout heab’n ain’t goin’ dere/Heab’n, Heab’n
I got shoes, you got shoes/All o’ God’s chillun got shoes/When I get to heab’n I’m goin’ to put on my shoes/I’m goin’ to walk all ovah God’s Heab’n/Heab’n , Heab’n
Ev’rybody talkin’ ‘bout heab’n ain’t goin’ dere
Is We Is, or Is We Ain’t, going to keep repeating/stuttering and standing still, while sinking in the essence of denial? Shall we “wing on” or get busy fixing ourselves?
r.u. Cyrius¿
