zutopia

family day 01.12.07

when i was young, like I guess starting when i was like 6 or 7 my family and a group of other families would get together in mid january for FAMILY DAY :). just thinking about it makes me smile. It was a made up holiday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. This of course was way before it was a national holiday and 'instituted' by my parents and their friends to celebrate this great man. It was basically a bunch of black families getting together at someones house, usually at my Dad's best friend, Brother Takbir's house in Laurelton, Queens cuz they had the biggest basement and a piano... yes a piano, because at family day all the kids had to get up and perform. we'd pretty much spend the first two weeks of the year preparing this performance, sometimes it was a song, or a tap dance (dat was me), or an ensemble performance of a rap song, and of course some brave soul would memorize the "i have a dream" speech and recite it to cap off the evening. it was a wonderful day.. we looked forward to it all year.. it was a chance to get together with all our friends.. a community consciously established by our parents to nurture, sustain, and provide for us - - and eat, play, celebrate, and be together... i dont know.. i've not been very verbose lately and this blog doesnt seem to have conveyed the importance of this holiday... it was beautiful.. well have a wonderful weekend. party hard on sunday night!! i'll be thinking of you --- my family, given and chosen that continue to keep Dr. King's dream alive. give thanks. love, Zu

posted by z.a.k. @ 7:15 AM