Honoring Rubie Curl-Pinkins: a ‘sister who dared’

Excerpted remarks made by Wayne Curtis, a local artist and former Black Panther Party member, at Detroit’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. Curtis’ work was presented to Rubie Curl-Pinkins, recipient of the 2009 award, who successfully fought eviction from her home in July (see workers.org, Aug. 3).

Rubie Curl-Pinkins WW photo: Alan Pollock

First of all, I’ll say all power to the people, all power to Ms. Rubie Curl-Pinkins. And all power to the people’s revolutionary movements and political institutions that are serving the people’s needs, as the true servants of the people throughout the world, on the North and South American continents and Gaza.

As we remember the birth of MLK today, we can see that we have not been defeated! Our glorious struggle still continues to develop on all levels and fronts, as the corporate people are trying to implement their brand of hate and total control throughout the world.

This struggle will continue until the world’s people have the freedom to determine their own destinies. But for now we will continue to develop the forces to create a people’s societal environment that will enable us to ignore, with complete protection, the hideous regulations, laws and economic procedures of the capitalist dominant culture.

The forces of nature did not create Ms. Rubie Curl-Pinkins to submit to the foreclosure of her home, to become homeless because of a hideous economic procedure, even if it is the law. Huey [Newton] taught us—people do not obey laws; laws obey people. In other words, people make laws to serve them. We are here today to celebrate the power of the people and the power of Ms. Curl-Pinkins, who together were able to denounce corporate law and announce that the laws of nature and humanity are best to sustain us.

We are here today to give homage to Ms. Curl-Pinkins as a sister who dared to make history in the face of her false adversaries—the Countrywide mortgage company, with their illusionary prestige of power—with a drawing I created called “Sisters Who Dare,” that was a gift to my mom.

Ms. Ruth Ann Curtis-Mitchell, my mother, was a sister who dared to change her role in this capitalist misogynist society. She defied the racism and misogyny that would have made her marginal and later displaced.

She told me once that somebody at GM [General Motors] told her that her bosses would become angry about her free will in that so-called workplace. “I have no bosses,” she replied. My mother fought on that level for civil rights and human rights. She educated her enemies by her actions of nonsubmission to their backward ideology.

I am pleased to present this drawing of “Sisters Who Dare” to you, Ms. Rubie Curl-Pinkins. I say, “All power to the people! All power to Ms. Rubie, a sister who dared!”