What Would Jimi Do?

This is dedicated to all the families who have lost loved ones due to injustice... no matter what Race, Creed, or Color. It really is time for the World to Change!

Imagine, if you will, a young James Marshall Hendrix and his friend James Edward Brooks [Rosa Lee's brother] dressed in their military uniforms, both handsome and striking, members of The 101st Airborne Division stationed in Fort Campbell Ky Circa 1962. One day, they were hungry and decided to get hamburgers at a local burger joint. James from Los Angeles California and Jimi from Seattle Washington thought nothing of strolling up to the first Hamburger Stand they came upon and ordering the burgers they were craving. But instead of burgers, they found themselves staring down the barrel of a shotgun with the owner snarling at them, “Git outta here you Niggers, we don't serve your kind!”

Jimi and James were first surprised, then shocked; that shock turned to a bit of fear when they realized this person meant what he said and their lives were no more valuable to him just because they were in a United States of America Military Uniform... talk about culture shock. Jimi and James did not run, but they got out of there quick, fast, and in a hurry. If the military had taught them anything, it was how to choose their battles. This was not one the two of them could win.

Even this horrific experience did not inspire hatred or bitterness in Jimi's Heart, it only prepared him for more of the same; only now the insidious, covert racism would invade his life later, at the height of his meteoric career. People who knew Jimi and Rosa Lee Brooks, his "Golden Rose," did tell me they do not ever recall Jimi using the word "hate"... I really don't think it was even in his vocabulary. Also, I, myself, have never ever read anything where he used the word, unless he was speaking against it.

While reminiscing with my friend Rosa Lee Brooks about the Kentucky incident, she went straight to the heart of the matter:

"My brother and Jimi risked their lives for this country. Jumping out of airplanes is very dangerous."

Jimi was all about love of all races, colors, cultures... his mission was to unite all people of the world through his music, which was all colors AND colorless. I know if he was here today he would be at the forefront; trying with everything in his heart, soul, and spirit; to end the hate that feeds racism... and he would be doing it as ONLY Jimi could do it, through his music.

"Strive for Universal Love On Both Sides Of The Sky"—from Original Song Just Like Jimi Copyright PeeCee/SDC

QUOTE FROM JIMI HENDRIX:

“I don't feel hate for anybody, because that's nothing but taking two steps back. You have to relax and wait to go by the psychological feeling. Other people have no legs or no eyesight or have fought in wars. You should feel sorry for them and think what part of their personality they have lost. It's good when you start adding up universal thoughts. It's good for that second. If you start thinking negative it switches to bitterness, aggression, hatred. All those are things that we have to wipe away from the face of the earth before we can live in harmony. And the other people have to realize this, too, or else they're going to be fighting for the rest of their lives.” [This quote is an edited excerpt from Starting at Zero: His Own Story.]