Call for Paper: Imagining the Black Female Body

Text and Contexts in Literature and Culture

Hortense Spillers said it best when she proclaimed: Let’s face it. I am a marked woman, but not everybody knows my name. ‘Peaches,’ and ‘Brown Sugar,’ ‘Sapphire’ and ‘Earth Mother,’ ‘Aunty,’ ‘Granny,’….or ‘Black Woman at the Podium.’ I describe a locus of confounded identities, a meeting ground of investments and privations in the national treasury of rhetorical wealth. My country needs me, and if I were not here, I would have to be invented. Spillers’ posturing points to the complex and delicate challenges black women encounter in the minefield of mental, spiritual, and cultural “codings” that, as Spillers stresses, create markers of identity so loaded with mythical prepossession that there is “no easy way for the agents buried beneath to come clean.”

But what is it about black women’s identity that makes them marked women? What is it about their presence—their essence—that makes them a threat in some social circles? Much of this uneasiness can be traced to the tension that exists between the real and imagined properties of black womanhood that circulate in America’s Grammar book (borrowing from Hortense Spillers). This book, a virtual roadmap of the history that has created and sustained the false imaginings of a culture bent on promoting whiteness and its privileges, distorts the ideal of black womanhood.

What this volume proposes to do is explore the various “imaginings” of the black female body in print and visual culture, sports, America’s iconic landscape (i.e. the mammy figure and the video vixen), politics, and law. Contributors can also write on literature, science, music, photography, or the fashion industry. Papers should discuss not only how this black female body is framed, but also how black women (and their allies) have sought to write/rite themselves back into these social discourses on their terms. It is my hope that this volume will create a dialogue with other outstanding volumes on the black female body.

If you are interested in being a part of this book, please forward to me an abstract by January 15, 2008. Entire papers will be due by September 1, 2008. You can send your abstract via email to ceh@udel.edu. Or you may send your abstract by landmail to:

Dr. Carol E. Henderson
Associate Professor of English and Black American Studies
212 Memorial Hall
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716.

Hip Hop Jam

We seek engaging and accessibly written essays for a proposed edited collection of close analyses of hip hop music. Tentatively titled, The Hip Hop Jam: Messages and Music, this collection examines hip hop music from multiple micro-level, up-close perspectives. We seek to help the music and its messages come alive one song at a time.

Each submitted essay should focus on one song by any artist in any hip hop musical genre. We welcome submissions from scholars across disciplines that apply their tools of interpretation, their ways of reading and listening, to the analysis of one song each.

Each close reading should examine lyrical and/or musical form and content in detail as well as consider how history, gender, sexuality, race, class, political, geographical, religious, and/or economic issues inform the song. Essays should be free of esoteric discipline-specific argot. Aim for an undergraduate readership. The goal is to illuminate what can be made of the rich complexity of hip hop music if one stops and takes the time to listen and to analyze.

Authors should submit an abstract of 250 words and a CV by December 15, 2007. The abstract should contain the author’s name, contact information, and the working title of the proposed analysis. Proposed manuscripts should be original work not concurrently submitted elsewhere. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Accepted authors will be notified by January 31, 2008. Ten to twelve page MLA formatted manuscripts will be due on May 31, 2008.

Abstracts and inquiries should be forwarded to the Hip Hop Jam Editorial Board: Ebony Utley, Jordan Smith, Christina Zanfagna, and Loren Kajikawa at hiphopjam08@gmail.com.
Email: hiphopjam08@gmail.com

Quote of the Week

If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive

Audre Lorde

Event of the Week
KU Press Release

Civil rights leader, congressman to receive Dole Leadership Prize

LAWRENCE — Legendary civil rights activist U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., will receive this year’s Robert J. Dole Leadership Prize from the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. Roll Call magazine has called Lewis “a genuine American hero and moral leader who commands widespread respect in the chamber.”

The program takes place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Lied Center. Tickets are required but are free.
(click here for more info)

Goal of the Week:
Undergraduates!!!
It is time for midterms. Most of you have probably taken your exams and many of you are recovering from them as I type this message. Your challenge for this week is to make an appointment with 2 or more of your professors and discuss your progress. If you are having a rough time in class, this is the time address your strategy for the remainder of the semester. This is your second chance (should you need it) so take the initiative and be progressive.

Peace

KU Libraries receives grant to help fund jazz programs

LAWRENCE — The Thomas Gorton Music and Dance Library at the University of Kansas has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to present a series of six jazz programs in partnership with the Lawrence Public Library. All of the events are free and open to the public.

“Looking at Jazz: America’s Art Form” is a video-and-discussion program for libraries that examines the development of this uniquely American musical genre. Every Friday for six weeks, different jazz topics will be explored through documentaries and expert panel discussions. Faculty members from KU’s Interdisciplinary Jazz Studies Group will lead discussions following each film.

Dates and topics of discussion:

Oct. 5 — New Orleans and the Origins of Jazz
Oct. 12 — The Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance
Oct. 19 — Jazz Vocalists
Oct. 26 — The Swing Era
Nov. 2 — Jazz Innovators: From Bebop, to Hard Bop, to Cool and More
Nov. 9 — Latin Jazz and International Jazz

Each event will take place at 7 p.m. at the auditorium in the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.

Recordings and other materials from the Gorton Music and Dance Library and the Sound Archive will be on display at each of the events. George Gibbs, head of the Gorton Music and Dance Library, said he hopes the programs will alert the public to the extensive jazz collections the library holds.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have one of the most comprehensive jazz archives in the Midwest right here at KU,” he said. “I hope that these programs will shed light on this amazing collection and on the art form itself.”

The programs will be presented by Re:New Media in collaboration with the American Library Association and Jazz at Lincoln Center, with major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. An application submitted by the KU Libraries brought the program to Lawrence.

The Gorton Music and Dance Library contains more than 111,000 scores, books, sound recordings, videos, microforms and serials. It has the leading music collection in the Great Plains region.

-30-

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.

Oh, Lino Graglia...You Bitch!!!

I'm writing this in retrospect, and I don't feel very secure that I'll remember what I wanted to say well enough to express my disgust sufficiently enough, but I'll try.

Yesterday, 4 October 2007, Professor Lino Graglia from the University of Texas, a constitutional law professor, was invited to lecture on the horrors of Affirmative Action by the Federalist Society of the University of Kansas. That nigga is a bigot! I generally try to conserve such accusations for those who might be offended by such suggestions. Lino Graglia, perhaps, would not care about being labeled as such. Anywho, I wouldn't be fair if I didn't at least give a brief synopsis of his arguments:

"Affirmative Action...blacks...blacks...blacks...blacks...blacks...blacks...blacks...blacks...racial preference...blacks...blacks...blacks...Italians...blacks...blacks...blacks in the 12th grade at the level of 8th grade whites...blacks...blacks...blacks..."

If you haven't caught my first complaint, it's the abnormal fixation upon blacks. Gragley justified his obsession in the question and answer section by stating that "if it weren't for blacks (whining?) there would be no affirmative action." He then went on to say that Latinos and Asians merely jumped on the race preference bandwagon after schools began to develop programs for blacks.

Gragley's central argument was that blacks in the 12th grade, at some point in time, were only educated to an 8th grade level. Such an academic disparity did not warrant "racial preferences" because "race preference" programs merely placed inferior black students in Ivy League schools that they can't handle. At no point did Gragley suggest a solution for the root problem of academic disparities. In fact, if I recall, he actually suggested that there is no solution for such a racial disgrace. He instead supported the ending of affirmative action so that "blacks" can go to schools where they can compete.

End of his lecture!

Racial insensitivity aside, Graggs must be stupid if he thinks that everyone in the audience isn't at least minutely aware of the number of black youths who disproportionately suck at life. What astounded me, is that despite the glaring fact that white women have been the leading beneficiaries of affirmative action programs ever since they fanagled their way into being a minoritized group (which I'm not denying that they are, but white women need aff. act. in the workplace so much more than in undergraduate colleges, but that's a separate discussion), but he proceeded to bypass all other minority groups, saving his most scathing attacks for "blacks." (he NEVER mentioned white women.)

Furthermore, Graggila made it a point to first make an erroneous distinction between "race mixing" programs and diversity programs--as if by having a diversity of races, you don't automatically acquire diversity. And then, after making the distinction, he proceeded to attack the importance of diversity in general! (That man must have wet dreams of his experiences at CSU--Caucasia State University.)

I call Grag-gizzle a bigot because: 1) his unusual desire to lay all of the blame on "blacks" reveals an internal conflict between himself--as a white male--and black people in general. 2) The only possible explanation for why he would carry such opinions of affirmative action, while simultaneously declaring that the central cause of his objections is the academic disparity between the races, is a (perhaps subconscious) desire for racial self-preservation--the man is languishing in his own white privilege and white supremacy, the simple fact that he chose not to research the causes of black under-education but instead the birth pains of black over-education is evidence that his concern lies not with blacks, but with whites; his concern is not with education, but with race; he cares little for collective progress, and denies the potential for collective oppression (simply put, ivy league blacks threaten white privilege and superiority over time).

Attacking affirmative action is a defense mechanism that overprivileged whites develop to justify their privilege. Attacks on affirmative action that are based upon the failures of the American public (secondary) education system are merely a defense mechanism to support and maintain notions of white (academic) superiority. Attacking the scores of blacks in high schools--most of whom never make it to Universities, sadly--says nothing of the blacks in college. Such statistics have no place in College Affirmative Action discourse!

He disacknowledges claims that blacks deserve affirmative action if for no other reason than they weren't granted the right to an education by law at one time. (Alternately, blacks could deserve affirmative action because it generally will improve competition in white collar arenas (that is if whites were willing to hire highly educated blacks that are not conservative) but Graggle Rock apparently is not interested in competing with blacks--at least not on an equal footing. Also, one could argue that the reason for Groggles opinions is because when he was in school, he was drowning in a sea of white opinion. Perhaps, a little diversity would have saved him from the sin of ignorance. But he addresses none of these ideas either.)

One of the more frustrating discussions was about a timeline. Graggy Bear didn't even suggest timelines, the more moderate Federalist Society guy did. He asked "When are affirmative action programs supposed to end?" This is all I have to say on that matter: Blacks were not supposed to be legally treated as equals under the law from the first time black slaves walked on colonial American soil until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. No one has any right to discuss timelines until we get close to the same number of years. If actual equality is achieved--not just in law, but in society--there should be a discussion regarding the ongoing merits of affirmative action policies. Until then, shut your goddamn bigot mouth!

My greatest indictment of the whole concept is this: Why are school admissions programs a matter of law subject to the constitution? Education is not guaranteed by the constitution. If it was, no one would ever PAY to go to college, it would be completely subsidized/socialized. Since schools receive government funds, but are not government entities, I imagine that they should receive the same legal treatment as any other non-governmental BUSINESS that receives government aid. If the federal government can give billions to the airline industry without controlling basic hiring procedures, if the federal government can subsidize farmers without telling them what and when to plant, then why is the government sticking their greasy palms in my education. If a school wants to increase diversity, then let them do so. Don't ride the University of Michigan's dick just because they create a quota system that WORKS.

As an aside, I don't know a single white person that has a right to complain. Let's talk rhetoric: if a white person chooses to attack a school for creating a race-based affirmative action policy while simultaneously maintaining that "blacks" anything, they are rhetorically subjecting themselves to racial grouping as well. In that sense, we can talk raw numbers. Because he (or she) is white, and 70% or more of the college is white anyway, they have no complaint. If I am supposed to be grouped in with my black brothers and sisters whenever you make a flagrant generalization about my race, I too reserve the right to generalize about yours. And white people single-handedly dominate college campuses. So shut your trap and be glad that white supremacy still stands.

~Thank your lucky stars that Harvard, Yale, or Princeton doesn't decide to go entirely over to merit based admission. The moment the United States decides to suppress race admissions in favor of pure merits, I personally will make a movement to have minority students of excellence enroll in those schools. I will demand that they flood traditionally white Universities with brown faces until white students are the minority of the freshman...sophomore...junior...and someday Senior class. What could they do in a merit based system? They would have to let us in. Eliminate legacy programs, balance the financial aide programs, tame the athletics privileges, and BOOM! Be prepared to lose your much coveted spot to SUPERIOR minority academics.

But that would never happen. I just thought I might suggest the possibility. There's no way I could rally that many black, latino, and asian academics to a single school for four years. But if it were possible, if there was that much unity, I think affirmative action programs would be largely unnecessary. But there's not. And black people need a real reason to come to a school with a hostile racial environment. And yea, from what I hear, Ivy Leagues do not favor middle and lower class black youth. So suck it up white people, in the general sense, it's not so bad.

Oh, and Lino Graglia is a BITCH!!!!





And here's a general list of arguments from his lecture:

1. the only reason for race preference is because blacks underperform
2. the gaps (between the races) are too great to be ignored or overcome
3. the root (of the problem) is poor black academic performance
a. there is a 4 yr gap in reading and math between white and black students
4. the gap IS NOT decreasing--that is "pure fantasy"
5. without "preferences" the number of blacks (at ivy league schools?) would drop below 11%
6. instead of going to schools where they can compete, blacks go to schools where they are academically inferior
7. "Ethnic Studies" (was created) to (try to) prove white racism and conceal inferiority



And here's a link to one of his essays, ***warning, it is not for the egalitarian of heart***:

"The Affirmative Action Fraud"

Quote of the Week:
Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision.

--Stevie Wonder

Book of the Week:
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Event of the Week:

"African-American Male/Latino Empowerment Summit" AALO
(How do you do you in Academia Successfully?)

Keynote addresses by Michael Eric Dyson and Joe Hernandez-Kolski

Next on the Mic!!!

Featuring Sir AMP (The Cunning Linguist of KU)


Apathetic Desires:

guiltless appetites, consuming neophytes
consumptive apathy, reductionist strategies
messianic deliveries in the church of greed
emotional bulimia succeeding gratuitous feed

antipathetic collectivists, antiseptic strategists
hygienic demagogues white-washing moral fabrics
prophesied enlightenment? heliotropes are morally anemic
cathartic practices oxygenate while you morally asphyxiate

guilt subsumed within the democratic machinations
squeeze the lungs tighter constricting inhalations
air pressure rises and release becomes imminent
consumptive fires spread through the bellows exhalations

omniscient eyes prime
seismographic paradigm
more, but why?

pandora’s box opens
unfulfilling prophecies
dreams startled awake

the omniscient eye of a free-market conspiracy
emblazons subliminal visuals inside and outside the enigmatic psyche
mass-produced psychology syncopating automatons’ rhythms
producing mechanized didacts propagating cloned seeds

guilt at the vanguard of the battle scence
white-washed stigmas legislate proper hygiene
pseudonyms make the planet shine - they wanna keep the race clean
kaleidoscopic imperialism shining underneath the green

supplemental cultural narratives are replacing moral imperatives
hermeneutic context is industrial appeal
unsung questions capitulate to tyrannical prerogatives
get past the mask to find what the subterfuge reveals

helplessly we wait
apathy consumes action
guilt sheds like snake skin

manumitted emotions enslave sovereigns’ burgeoning potential
inaction fuels the embers of the fires
what refuge remains is ostensibly inconsequential
the appetitive gluttony of apathetic desires




AMP is new to the Black Tuesday Collective. Bringing an Environmental/Literary/Activist approach to the African American experience, AMP is a true scholar and gifted linguist.

Guest Poet Coming to the Stage...

Real Talk Vol.3

I was birthed to a generation that has conditioned itself to promote selfishness
A generation that prides itself in screaming "look what i got!" and broadcasting what you dont have
Flossin
And instead of seeing that we all struggle
We steady tossin ourselves to the sharks of vices and big businesses
When what we missin is that our culture, in itself, has become big business
See execs sit at long tables, debating over ways to maximize their profits off of our ignorance
And we let em
We’ve divided ourselves senselessly, a people that once had the
Potential to be the supreme example of unity
Now, black youth grow up with a distorted view of "by any means", coming up with dreams of cars and big necklaces that, to me, resemble slave chains
Something went wrong
Somewhere in between all those old church songs and today's 50 Cent
We lost our common sense on how to maintain
But honestly, who do we blame?
Cause I dont think its just rap music
And hip hop never asked to raise our kids
So maybe we should step up and take responsibility for our own, or we'll keep missin out on what the real problem is
Understand that before all the Don Imuses and Micheal Richardson's, the problem still remained
And if every rapper in the world disappeared today, things would still be the same
But, this game has never really changed
Way back, slave masters use to put us to shame by tearing apart the family
Removing the male and disrupting the mother's sanity by forcing her to breed more workers
With no man in the home, women were left alone with the task of raising boys into men who would one day grow up to be fathers
And today, black fathers are now viewed as an endangered species
Standing as a testament to Willie Lynch's means of destruction
Corruption now sweeps through our neighborhoods
Leaving no trace of name or identity
And it leaves me to question if this is how God meant it to be
Because, how could a people so beautiful and gifted, so easily be lifted out of our natural course
I dont have all the answers, but I do know that, unless we force ourselves to become our own biggest critics, then young black boys and girls will continue to turn up as statistics on the daily news
And we'll continue to be misviewed as a people without hope
...But I'm not having it
Because for every drug advocate, there's a college graduate
And for every pacifist, there's an activist
We just have to decide that we will no longer hide behind the shadows of self-destruction
Because somewhere, there's and 11 year old child who's silently screaming for instruction
His eyes are as big as the Moon
And his imagination has the type of innocense that would move masses
As he sits in his room, he slowly puts on his glasses and his backpack to get ready for school
In his left hand is a revolver and in his right hand is a textbook
And if none of us are strong enough to stop him, we'll look up and lose this child who used to believe that he could grow up to change the world
And I cant live with that on my conscience
....Can U?

David Abdullah Muhammad aka "Brotha Newz" 2007
David was born in Kansas City, MO and currently resides in Overland Park,KS
He is a Senior at Emporia State University, majoring in Secondary Education (Social Sciences). David has aspirations of teaching high school and running a successful martial arts school. Beyond that, Brotha Newz continues to write dope pieces, make Hajj, and search for a woman who will be his queen, mother, and father.

Texts on Colorism

Brief book/film list on the color complex/race changes. Enjoy!

Books

Passing by Nella Larson

The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman

Black No More by George Schuyler

The Color Complex by Kathy Russell

Trick Baby by Iceberg Slim

Caucasia by Danzy Senna

Don't Play in the Sun by Marita Golden

The Black Notebooks by Toi Derricotte

Mulatto America by Stephan Talty



Films

The Jerk

Imitation of Life

Black Klansman

The Landlord

School Daze

Whiteboys

Cosmic Slop




These are just a few to get you going. Please feel free to add more items in the comments section or email me: cartertwin@hotmail.com

A Letter to My Elder(s)

I wrote this e-mail to a gentleman who I met in this last year who shows a genuine interest in alleviating some of the problems of the black community. Most importantly, he is interested in ending the cycle in which the black youth are encapsulated. I wrote this to him as a response to something we (Black Men of Lawrence) were discussing only the night before. I was writing it, and it blew-up into something very important, but unexpected. So, I'm offering it to you here:

I wanted to e-mail you about what was being discussed last night at the black men of lawrence gathering. Mostly, I wanted to discuss the education thing. Derrais and myself were discussing what your associate was saying about the youth and we agreed that a drastic difference between your generation (or at least his) and our generation is that the black community had more control over the school system. One of the greatest sacrifices that black people made to facilitate integration was selling their children to the machinations of a white dominated educational system. Rather than the school board having to answer to a black majority, the schools now have to answer to a white majority. The white majority never did--and still doesn't--care about or desire their children to learn black history. Derrais and my experiences both attest to that reality. I would assume that it is no better anywhere else in the midwest, and probably worse as you approach inner-city schools that are controlled more directly by the state. I think that No-Child-Left-Behind is a part of that. By having a federal program that decides what kinds of information a student must know in order for the school to be accredited, the schools are pressured even more to ensure that the black students assimilate. Since the black students are not interested in assimilation, drop out rates are only more likely to increase.
I asked Derrais how much black history he had in his youth, and it appears to me that if you asked all of the more advanced black students to find a commonality that explains their status as academics in contrast to their dropped-out counterparts, you'd probably find that most of us had parents that were engaged in our education. Furthermore, and most importantly, they taught us black history where the school system didn't. I contend that, either it is job of the black community to demand that some alternate history and racially respectful curriculum be added in the school systems--or at least the black community provide that black history base to their pre-pubescent child's home life.
I think an important way of developing the black youth, would be to create a short book list of "must-reads." A list of books that will give black children the kind of background that they need to love themselves and respect what they are learning. The only book that I'm certain of is the Autobiography of Malcolm X, which should probably be read during the middle school generation. I think that a brief black inventors book should be a part of the elementary school period. Also in high school should be the alternative history of the United States, such as Howard Zinn's People's History or something along those lines.
To me it seems that black youth fail to embrace education because it is white washed. They teach that the Greeks invented math, science, and philosophy. They teach that everything of value in our lives is white. I guarantee you that no more than 1% of black youth know that math, science, and philosophy was originally taught to Greeks by Africans. Even fewer think of Egyptians as black--because they are consistently presented as white. Astronomy is just as African as it is European. They don't teach that the Mayan calendar included eclipses--which means that astronomy existed in the "New World" at least a 1000 years before Columbus. The school system is denigrating towards minoritized histories. Whiteness is treated as fact, and imperative. Black youth have nothing to love about themselves, and even less to love about a school system that teaches that for white students but not black students.

Think of it this way. How do white people learn their identities? How do black people learn their identities? White people learn it everywhere, and all the time. Black people have to search for it. If black people are inundated with sensory information that tells them that the nature of blackness--authentic blackness--is criminality, ignorance, and irrelevance, and no one is correcting that sensory information, then it should be no surprise that the black youth are on the purely survivalist level. Why should they develop beyond that; they've been told their whole lives that they should aspire to nothing more than survival.

As I said in my last e-mail. Black people have all of the skills necessary for success, it is merely misplaced energy. When black people are doing for self, you can see the abundance of talent, focus, determination, dedication, and discipline that we all inherently have. When black people feel like they're not benefiting from their efforts--like white-washed schools--you can literally watch their energy turn from enthusiasm to exasperation. Then, when they are punished for their disinterest--because the whole of society tells them they should be interested in whatever it is that white society is inundating them with--they are traumatized.

My generation is only one generation removed from social revolution. Our heroes are at most ten years removed from the Civil Rights Movement. We only know the aftermath of those efforts. What black people really need is to take a cold look at the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement and see how much has changed. I can say, and see, that while the laws have changed, little else has. Even the laws are getting reversed--into de facto forms of archaic Jim-Crowism.

Watch the supreme court decisions in regards to integration, affirmative action, and civil rights legislation. Ask yourselves, how much of Martin Luther King's work is sticking around? School integration? White flight fixed that, and the supreme court is ending it now. Affirmative Action? George Bush and congress have taken care of that--but the supreme court got first bite. Civil Rights legislation...such as the Voting Rights Act? How many of us actually vote? Not enough to matter as a political block. Our voting has been destroyed by gerrymandering, gentrification, the electoral college, and direct bigotry. To my generation, we don't see the glories of the Civil Rights Movement. To us, it was nothing more than a failed black unity movement...cause we don't even have unity.

My point is, your generation saw it all. You saw the good, ran with it, and in-between all of your success--the rest of us slipped through the cracks. While the black middle class rose, the black lower class fell. The black youth that you are concerned with are not (necessarily) the children of the black middle class. They are the children of the people who DID NOT benefit from the Civil Rights Movement. They are the second generation of integration losers. Our grandparents were farmers, and ghetto residents. We felt the sting of the neo-conservative movement; and the bitter loss to the neo-liberalist movement. While the black middle class shakes their head at the losses and changes. The black lower-class is racing through the ghettos keening with their guns, tears streaming down their hardened faces, wondering where hope went.

I'm sending you a set of song lyrics attached to this e-mail. It's a song by the Hiphop group Dead Prez. The song is titled "They Schools." It's uncensored because I think it's important to our understanding of their perspective. I honestly don't think that any of the black youth comprehend their problem on the level of Dead Prez--many of them probably FEEL that, but are incapable of comprehending or articulating what's wrong in their world. I'm also giving you a link to something I wrote called the "Black Student's Manifesto." I wrote it a while ago when a childhood friend of mine insinuated to another friend of mine that being an AAAS major was anything but worthwhile. It only speaks to the idea of black identity. Hopefully some of this helps to make sense of the perspective and problem of black youth today. It's no easy task that you're pursuing. You're not only battling against the hardened hearts of black youth, but in order for you to reach them at all, you must be willing to put up a fight against the white majority who might be the foundation of your income. To win this fight, you must have a healthy fear of the battle.

Black Student's Manifesto

I hope this wasn't too long. I wasn't thinking very linear. But I hope it helps some. I'll drop by your office sometime next week.

Chris

For those who don't know me, I spit. When I say I spit, I mean I rap...on occasion. And, I'm not bad. At least I think I'm better than most of the people you hear on the radio. Needless to say, when Docta' Carter invited me to write on his blog, it was perfection. It fit. But as of yet, I have not placed any of my work on here. I'm usually afraid to. I like what I write and have every intention of using any worthwhile bar I put together. However, I wrote a set the other day. It will inevitably be an album opener in the future, but I wanted to put it on here. So, as Missy Elliott once said, "copy written so don't copy me." I can't stand biters, as if anyone on here is prepared to take on my lyrics in a public arena. You'd have to be an idiot. Thank God I am.

There's a title for this, but I'm never going to say it outright. I want people to choose their own titles. It will mean different things to different people. Any questions, just ask:

I pledge allegiance
To the salvation of the nation
The end of brown incarceration
To the death of assimilation
I swear my dedication
To equalitarian integration
Even if it means separation
Cause I will neither hate
Nor wait
On any caucasian
For my emancipation
My soul's vexation
Is false representation
Borne of ofay media motivation
H.E.R. commercialization
A product of capitalist dollarization
My persistent dis-representative spiritual taxation
Will only turn this slow burn
Into a cultural conflagration
My small ax
Will fight back
Without the slightest hesitation
I embody individualization
But have never forgotten my communal originations
Though you attempt my homogenization
I will not fall prey to your monolithic presentations
Force fed criminal acculturation
And societal dreg inebriation
I will not be your photo negative imitation
Nor your self-indulgent propogandation
Through our collective demonization
I will uproot the very foundations
Of your glorified civilization
Not liberal but independent
Revolutionary 'til we finish...

~Complex

Call for Papers

Pacific Sociological Association: The Crossover: Hip-Hop, Commercialization and American Culture

2008 PSA Meeting – April 10th-13th, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in Portland, OR.

Presentation proposals are now being accepted for The Crossover: Hip-Hop, Commercialization and American Culture session of the 2008 Pacific Sociological Association meeting in Portland, OR, April 10th -13th 2008. The session organizer seeks presentations from faculty and/or graduate students who are currently involved in research on the effects of commercialization on Hip-Hop music and culture and also on how the commercialization of Hip-Hop has affected the broader American culture in the last 25+ years. All disciplines are welcome!

Please send presentation titles and abstracts of 200-250 words via e-mail or mail (e-mail is greatly preferred) by November 1st 2007 to Michael Barnes at the addresses below. Make sure to include home department and institutional affiliation with your proposal.

Michael Barnes
Session Organizer: PSA 2008
Department of Sociology
University of California-Berkeley
410 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
mpbarnes@berkeley.edu

For additional submission information from the Pacific Sociological Association and more details on the conference:
http://www.pacificsoc.org/2006/06/2008_annual_mee.html

Michael Barnes
Session Organizer: PSA 2008
Department of Sociology
University of California-Berkeley
410 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
Email: mpbarnes@berkeley.edu
Visit the website at http://www.pacificsoc.org/2006/06/2008_annual_mee.html

Quote of the Week:
I've always been proud to be black. But proud and obsessive are different things.

- Jacob Lamar

Websites for t-shirts

Urban Profile

Artistic Tees

House of Nubian


Book of the Week:

Their Own Receive Them Not
by Horace L. Griffin

Opportunity of the Week:

I have a call for submissions list for all writers. Contact me for more information

carterda@ku.edu

NYC here I come!

I am at the airport right now waiting to board my flight to NYC. Just ahead of me is a tv with a CNN news alert. Apparently, the east coast has has some weather issues (i.e. tornado warnings). How bout that?

Call for Submissions: Words, Beats and Life Journal

Call for Submissions: Words, Beats and Life Journal



It Ain’t My Fault: Blame it on Hip-Hop
Many believe rap music to be culpable for the failing within black communities. Jay-Z and Lil’ Jon have become more popular targets than racism and poverty for political pundits and self-appointed race men. The WBL Journal staff is looking for submissions that address this re-emerging phenomenon. The overarching theme for this issue is “It Aint My Fault: Blame it on Hip-Hop,” but below you will find themes to guide your research.
From C. Delores Tucker to Bill Cosby: Conservative Attacks in Black Face

In the past 10 years, we have seen a record number of Black men and women running for elected office as Democrats, Republicans and Independents. The writer can delve into explanations for black and Latino leaders’ support of more conservative candidates, such
as Russell Simmons backing Michael Bloomberg in New York and Michael Steele in Maryland. Authors could also explore why some hip-hop artists, such as 50 Cent and Eazy E, and “activists” like Jeff Johnson are slowly beginning to support more conservative candidates. One can also address Mr. Cosby’s disparaging remarks about hip-hop dialects and the lower class communities of color. One can also examine the Citizen Change and
Vote or Die campaigns, their agendas and effectiveness. (Russell Simmons’ work with the Urban League traditionally conservative Hip-Hop Reader project).

Panthers: Hip-Hop’s Black and Brown Radical Roots
Many people refer to hip-hop as “multicultural movement.” Interestingly enough, very few hip-hop artists have made it a priority to move beyond discussing this phenomenon as a movement of multicultural consumers. The author should look at how hip-hop generation activists and organizers are moving beyond the black/white racial dichotomy of the 20th century. With the immigration debate, terror bills and the general xenophobia pumped out of your local TV and radio station, how are hip-hop generation youth moving beyond, working through or navigating around personal racial politics? What effect is this environment having upon the state of the individual communities in America across color lines? Ideally, authors should place hip-hop within a historical context of Black radical activists who worked across racial boundaries.

Parental Advisory: A History of Censoring Black Speech
The author can investigate and build a timeline of censorship of Black music and political speech. One can also explore the ramifications of such censorship. We are trying to convey a link between the two, and show that Black music and political commentary are often one in the same. Writers can also look at how government agencies such as the FBI and local police have followed rap artists such as NWA and 2 Live Crew, much like they did individuals and organizations like Amiri Baraka and the Black Panther Party. Tipper Gore, Bill Clinton, and Rush Limbaugh have all tried to use their influence to silence rappers.

Ridin’ Dirty on 85: Rap’s Great Migration to the South
On their most basic level, articles covering this topic should look at how New York-based rap artists have responded to the great remigration of Black people and culture to the South. This section is intended to provide a contemporary look at the state of rap music and its migration to the south. This phenomenon should not be looked at in a vacuum but rather be tied to census data outlining the impact of African American Migration from the Northeast to the South and Midwest. This migration of culture need not just be tied to the music itself, but to the democratization of access to the necessary means of production, promotion and distribution of music and culture.

Same Old Song: The Blues, Gospel and Hip-hop
Firstly, one can document the critique from the religious establishment of Black popular music and contemporary gospel. In this section, we are especially interested in the effect of denigrating Black popular culture in African American Churches. It would also be important to look at examples of how churches have appropriated Black popular culture in the creation of “gospel happy hours,” “hip-hop choirs,” and even “hip-hop churches.” In addition, the author could explore the explosion of Christian hip-hop and the fusion of traditional gospel styles and hip-hop. One can also write about how fringe religious sects such as the Nation of Islam and the Five Percent Nation exploit hip-hop as a vehicle for proselytizing their dogma. It would be appropriate to examine the use of hip-hop to promote Islam, and how that stands in opposition or solidarity with Muslims and Christians. This article can consist of interviews, essays or scholarly reviews outlining the history of condemnation of contemporary Black music by Black churches or mosques.

From Bridging the Gap to Passing the Torch: Where Do We Go From Here?
This article should examine bonds made between civil rights generation and current youth activists in attempts to make mutual progress.

Submission Forms
Scholarly Submissions
Multimedia
Creative Writing
Research Papers
Visual Art
Essays
Interviews
Photography
Poems
Short stories

Process of Submitting
All submissions are accepted on a continuous basis and need not be limited to the themes outlined below. All submissions designated as scholarly require an abstract of 150 words or less and up to five key words. All scholarly submissions should also follow the APA style guide. Please send all submissions to: submissions@wblinc.org, or in the case of compact discs:
WB&L Journal / 1524 Newton. St. NW / Washington, D.C. 20010. Deadline for submission for this issue is October 19, 2007.

Personal and Academic Progress

Quote of the Week:

To be black is to live with anger as the defining emotion of a racial experience. To be successful is to learn how to keep the emotion from consuming or debilitating black ambition.

Audrey Edwards and Craig K. Polite

Book of the Week:

Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop
by Michael Eric Dyson

Event of the Week:

University of Kansas McNair Scholars Programs will host a research symposium this Friday. Scholars from various academic disciplines will present research on topics ranging from Biology to Poetry Therapy.

(Click here for details)

The Black Student's Manifesto (work in progress)

This entire post...from another blog...could be equally applied to anyone who does not identify themselves (or cannot identify themselves) as white in America. That doesn't mean that it is irrelevant for white people, simply that it takes an "enlightened"--yeah, I know that sounds really offensive. i'll change it when i think of a better word choice. until then, sorry--white person to accept what I'm saying as potential truth and ACT accordingly. I don't mean to exclude anyone, I just got caught up in a thought and pursued it. I mean what I'm saying, but I did want to be completely clear that I could have equally called this the "Minority Student's Manifesto", I simply don't feel as though I have any right to speak for a group that I only remotely identify with. And there's plenty of black conservatives who would disagree with me anyway. So I'm not universal with mine's. But too the meat!--------->

A friend of mine, when he found out that I was an AAAS major, asked, "So did Chris become the typical African-American Studies major?" My response was, "there's an AAS archetype/stereotype?" Apparently so. Or at least I suppose so. I'm not upset by that, because that requires an admission of a black intellegentsia--somewhere--that whether he agrees with the premises of that intelligentsia, he has to acknowledge its existence, thereby acknowledging me as a member of the "talented tenth." (Did I forget to mention that my friend is a moderately conservative, white Republican?) Anyway, so I thought to myself, if I were the one who told him of my major, what would he have said to me? I think he would have asked something along the lines of "why?" So here it is:

I can't imagine surviving as a black person in America without at some time or another examining my identity. White people don't share that anxiety. There is no question of whiteness--despite the existence of whiteness studies, which is an attempt to problematize whiteness in the same way that blacks have problematized their negrescence--it is an accepted fact. There is no standard of whiteness. Despite thousands of years of art, cultural development, and recorded history, whiteness is maleable and virtually transcendent of the racial signifier that is "white." Blackness doesn't have that. Not in America at least. When I go to class, I learn about the triumphs of western civilization. My classes glorify the tyrannical nature of western expansion. The enlightenment is seen as an era of intellectual growth; as opposed to the period that produced western racism and dogmatic white supremacy. The Greeks created philosophy; rather than Greek philosophy being a product of Greek conquest in Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia. We laud western civilization in American schools rather than critique it, more often than not. The western world is designed to reaffirm the whiteness of every white person that is fully immersed within it. Which, to me is...okay(?). I'm not complaining about the fact that white civilization actively promotes and affirms white identity. What should I expect? But when white people hear my major and ask me, "what are you going to do with that?" My first thought is, "how can you believe that an active, scholastic, search for identity is an impractical endeavor?" The successes of white students over black students in America just might be, in part, a result of an undefined identity. A certain dissatisfaction with whom one is and can become. True, white people can REdefine their identity; but the fact is, it has been defined once--if not numerous times--already. Black people do go to college to learn, but every adult will admit that college is just as much about education as identity assimilation. It is designed to put you in a successful frame of mind. To mold you into a confident, intelligent human being. And I find it sad and oppressive to think that so many people don't understand the importance of tracing my...identity.

Here is a compelling metaphor. A black man in America is a human on Mars. Sure, presuming that Martians are humanoid, a human could get along on Mars. You could learn Their history, Their culture, assimilate to the way They do things; but that won't get You through the day. At the end of it all, you still have to come to terms with the fact that you are not a Martian, but a (wo)man. And that that reality must be realized, recognized, and accepted by the Martian world for you to be comfortable living there. If Martians wore boots on their ears (and I don't mean earrings) and expected you to assimilate, you might not like it. But given 400 years, you wouldn't think twice about it. There would be a loss, that once discovered, would have to be unearthed in its entirety. You must be developmentally satiated to survive life in a foreign environment.

I know...I'm an "American." I was born here, I live here, and I'll probably die here. But the fact is nobody has said what that means. And if they did, I wouldn't agree. I don't like dogmatic definitions of identity factors. While I may be American by birth, we still haven't had a president who looks like he could be related to me. When I make moves to pursue my future, I do it through people who see my skin color first--and my work and ideas second. When the world thinks about Americans, they know that there are black people--hell they know there are indigenous people, but they imagine white flesh. Part of the reason they integrated the military during Vietnam is because the Viet-Cong wouldn't shoot black soldiers. (Divide and conquer?) Imagine sending segregated black troops into an occupation in Africa. Who would the black soldiers sympathize with? Am I an American? By the text book definition yes. Am I an American in reality...not yet. With problems like white flight, privilege, supremacy, I'm at an integrative loss. I can't integrate into a society that doesn't want me as me. I can't assimilate into a society that tells me that assimilation equals glorifying the past of their forebears--but mine were immaterial, inferior, and primitive. For all of your intellect, Chris, I'm more afraid of you than admirous of you. I would rather shun you than compete with you. The world I live in DEMANDS me to find me. If I can't learn it the same way that white people learn their identity--everywhere--I'll learn how black people learn their identities--anywhere.

Can You Taste the Bitterness?

There was a guy on another blog I post to who was writing about Michael Moore's movie "Sicko"--the link is connected to the title above. He was discussing how f***ed up Americans must be to allow the kind of corruption that exists in American politics and business. He went on to say that both the media and politics have sold themselves to the corporate world. So...I couldn't resist the urge to reply. And here it is:

I once wrote a blog entry about the town I'm living in. It was a rant. I referred to it as: "A petit-bourgeoisie society with a 1960's hangover."

My point is, after Reagan, America resigned revolutionary actions to the past. Post-Reagan politics have been about portraying America as THE model of democracy and success, even if we can't get our domestic stuff straight. It's not that our politicians our liars...it's that they're in politics. They don't work for what they believe in, they work to get re-elected.

Politics isn't a convocation anymore, it's a business--not a calling.

In the first generation after America's "founding" the "founding fathers" had jobs! Politics was their pasttime. They practiced politics part time, and did other stuff full time. America didn't have full time politicians who were paid gross amounts of money to debate crap that's not really very debatable. How do you argue against universal healthcare...really. Other than the fact that it's a socialist program in a quasi-democratic state (which isn't mutually exclusive despite the ignorance of many Americans), why would anyone be against it. The only answer is because capitalism comes before democracy. America has been, since its inception, less about what is right than about the right dollar.

Take the 3/5 clause in the constitution for example. The only reason it exists is because they didn't want southern cash to take a hit. Many of the "founding fathers" owned slaves, which they released upon their deaths. One of them, Madison, was adamantly against slavery. If it had been up to him, everyone would have been free after the "American Revolution".

My point is, C.R.E.A.M. applies to politics just like it does our lives. America is a fucked-up-repugnant nation because we have misappropriated our energies. We are the wealthiest nation because we put energy that should be given to our neighbors into ourselves. We've sold the soul of the nation for money, and there's no sign of change. We decided that revolution belongs to other countries, with "dictators," like Iraq, Iran, North Korea, countless African nations, Cuba, and Venezuela under Hugo Chavez...but we're controlled by a post-Reagan legacy of dictatorial manipulation. We're taught to believe that we HAVE TO vote democrat or republican. We're raised in families with ties to one or the other. We pay them! our politicians, to be partisan rather than American. And it's all b******t.

I'm ranting on your blog. Ignore me anyway. I'm a "Black Nationalist" revolutionary type. The media doesn't like what I have to say anyway. And you do whatever the media says right?

The N-Word

So, the NAACP recently buried the N-word.

I would like to give an unenthusiastic cheer for the talented tenth. You have truly saved me from the harsh realities of being a black, male, hip hop head in America. Now that the N-word is symbolically stricken, I guess the cultural myopia I continuously face will come to an end.

For all intensive purposes, the "n-word" will now substitute n***** and n****.

I recently read an opinion piece by critic (and hip hop antagonist) Stanley Crouch (article). The article is entitled Good riddance

Burying the N-word, driving stake through the heart of hip-hop's demons

Although very catchy, the whole "driving the stake" thing would be more applicable had the current hip hop generation been actively engaged in this issue. We can easily look at figures such as Chuck D and say that there are prominent artists who are contributing, however, even Chuck knows that there are generational differences in hip hop. I applaud Crouch in his desire to consistently castigate whenever possible, but in all honesty, disrespect didn't start with hip hop. We can bury all of the negative words we want, but as long as people can begin a sentence with "yo mamma..." somebody's feelings will get hurt.

The burial of the "n-word" will help a lot of people sleep well, but it will also hinder an understanding of the business of popular culture. In the aftermath of Imus vs. Rutgers, record industry execs met to discuss the use of offensive language in rap albums. During a Rapsessions Town Hall Meeting (which aired on C-SPAN), T. Sharpley-Whiting called the meeting a "moment of White supremacy culture, patriarchy, and capitalism coming together to discuss black women’s bodies". At the end of the day, that's what it came too. Finding ways to justify moral crusades against art is like pouring water out of a boot with instructions on the heel. There must come a critical look at the business behind the art. As much as we argue about hip hop and art, the business aspect has been there since Kool Herc's sister was throwin' parties back in the day.

Crouch also notes a comment made by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick:

"we are not just burying the N-word, we're taking it out of our spirit. We gather burying all of the things that go with the N-word. We have to bury the pimps and the ho's that go with it."

One would be hard-pressed to think that one generation will get rid of centuries of pimping. Sure, it sounds good, but where would America be without the pimp mentality (google Beth Coleman's essay "Pimp Notes on Autonomy").
Finally, rappers do need to step their intellectual game up; but so do hip hop fans and critics. In the Souls of Black Folk W.E.B. DuBois writes "[w]ords and music have lost each other and new and cant phrases of a dimly understood theology have displaced the older sentiment". With the burial of the n-word, we have found yet another topic to store in Black America's closet of sacred cows (just below colorism, and 3/5 of an inch above O.J. ). This event should not be used to escape the contradictions of black life. It sould be used to address the "real" concerns of the community. We should see how education, arts, and commerce all make the "n-word" real.

A Letter to a Government Official

I sent this letter to Charlotte, NC mayor Pat McCrory after he had this to say about black youth:

"too many of our youth, primarily African American, are imitating and/or participating in a gangster type of dress, attitude, behavior and action."

Here's my letter:

Mayor McCrory,

I'm not in the regular practice of writing e-mails to government officials. I usually don't consider it necessary. I don't even live in North Carolina, but I've been keeping up more with politics because I feel that it is important to do so. Needless to say, I came across your comment in regards to black youth and took note of your attitude towards apologizing. I think that what you had to say about my generation of black youth was despicable. Your treatment of Hiphop culture is offensive, and I would like to establish a brief dialog with you in hopes that perhaps I can convince you of your wrongdoing.

I'll be the first to admit that under normal conditions I would be far more...aggressive in my expressions of discontent, but whereas I am trying to establish dialog--and it is better to attract bees with honey--I'll restrain my typically militant tendencies, and merely speak to you as I would anyone that I honestly believed was worthy of my attentions.

As an example of what I would like to note about your statement, I want to explain what your indictment sounded like to me: your characterization of Hiphop style and culture as cultural gangsterism hearkens back to the long-standing characterizations of black men as "brutes" and "bucks." The approach you have taken to Hiphop culture is extremely reminisceient of the writings and speeches of American Nazi party founder George Lincoln Rockwell. Similar statements about black people, men specifically, have been made by racists throughout America's political history. The statement you have made aligns you with people like Rockwell and Trent Lott in the minds of black people--and any white person who heard what I heard behind your statement when I read it. There is such a thing as latent racism, and I can more than see it in you by your statement.

It is my firm belief that most politicians desire to cleanse their spirits of racism. I would hope that you would like to. For that to happen, it becomes imperative that you see what you have done wrong. And whether you apologize to the black constituency in North Carolina or not becomes irrelevant to me as long as you learn from your mistake and learn to articulate what you truly mean in a way that does not demean an entire populace.

You're better than that Pat McCrory, and only by choosing to be above sweeping indictments and mild forms of racism can you help to bring about the kind of racial harmony that was once America's dream. I hope you're listening.

Sincerely,

Chris De La Cruz

The angrier version of my comments appears in my personal blog. But I thought that the Black Tuesday crowd might be interested in my little side project. I expect to receive a half-hearted e-mail from his secretary telling me that he meant no offense and blah, blah, blah, he's not apologizing and doesn't feel that he's wrong. Regardless, this should be interesting. I've never tried to discuss anything with a government official. I'm not fond of politicians, but I hope there's more to them than bs. There's flesh in there somewhere.

Oh, and I do not have any intention of posting his e-mails (if I get any) on here. That would be wrong, even if he is a public figure. But if he pisses me off...

Just Read This

(to read the associated article, click on the title)

I am completely against American mythologizing of history. Romantic notions of both the "founding" (raping) of America and the "Gone With The Wind" and "Song of the South" spin on ante-bellum America make me just as sick as white and black bullsh*t concepts of the Civil Rights Movement. Even I, at times, fall into the trap. But I think that the link I'm giving might help whomever a little to free their mind of lies and spin.

I'll say this a million times: history is linear. At no point does it completely fracture so that the time line itself ceases to be a single history. Africa's pre-colonial history is just as much of the global narrative as China's, India's, the Aztec's, Mayan's, Olmec's, and Europe's. The appropriate timeline is global in concept. Not regional. We are learning history wrong. Nothing in history occurs in a vacuum. It all goes back to someplace or something. That being said, the Civil Rights Movement didn't "begin" in the late 50's and "end" in the late 60's. It began when Africans were first brought to America, and ends whenever the dreams of the African slave are fulfilled. So, what congress is talking about doing is exactly the same thing we've done to historical figures like Christopher Columbus, and George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. We're creating clear-cut binary figures of good and evil, when that has never been real. We need a postmodern perspective of history for our people, American people, all people to grow up mentally healthy. Read it, and decide. Speak out, think in.

the black student

(to read the associated article, click on the title)

I set up my personal blog so that it would be easier to check the news for relevant black issues. Today I came across news about black graduates in X state. I really didn't care about the state, because black male dropouts are a nationwide phenomenon rather than a regional one.

When I was in the 8th grade, there wasn't one black male graduate in my hometown. That is a fiasco. It is a failure of the school system, and more so a failure on the part of black culture. No matter how racist a school system is, it takes genuine disinterest to just drop-out in a society that requires a high school diploma for even the most remedial of jobs.

I realize that there are no black parents that want their children to dropout. But there must be someone other than the school system that has to take responsibility for establishing a sense of dedication and will in a child. You don't have kids, you raise them.

I also realize that countless black parents are incapable of spending a lot of time with their children because they are forced to work multiple sh***y jobs just to get by. That's systematic: but just because the parent is trapped in the system doesn't mean the children have to be. If black parents today would show the kind of dedication to education that black parents had fifty years ago, we just might be better off.

Here's how I see it: The Black Power movement gave us something we desperately needed and we bastardized the message and robbed ourselves of something equally necessary. We needed our pride, we need a strong sense of history, we need to know that the school is structured for white kids and that if we want to know some Truth...we can't get it there. But the lies in school are no excuse for ignorance. If you aren't learning what you want to learn in school, don't choose to be stupid. Use that thirst for knowledge. Go to the library. READ A MUTHAF***IN BOOK!

I have to question whether black parents are doing what they need to do to create that thirst for knowledge in their children. I'm not sure how my mother pulled it off. I know plenty of black parents who were able to do just as well as my mother in far worse conditions. I suppose it's all in the attitude.

Don't confuse it, you can be militant and intellectual, but being militant and stupid makes you a pawn. The question is: is my generation a generation of pawns to be used by the racist, military-industrial, capitalist machine; or is my generation to grow and become a class of strong, intelligent, autonomous black people capable of dethroning the power-structure that has long kept our people under the yoke of oppression.

You cannot stop what you don't know exists. Learn something.

And to my black brothers who are getting an education: If you aren't doing anything for your people after you get that cash...you might as well put on some white gloves and cork. And I mean that!

Reversing the Revolution

This is my first post on the Black Tuesday Blog...hopefully you'll like it: actually, I hope you don't.

In a recent search of google news I discovered that the Supreme Court has voted to eliminate affirmative action programs in the public school system. This is only years after the windfall decision to eliminate affirmative action programs in all public instituions of higher learning. What this means for anyone who is not a white male--and in primary school just white--is that now, thanks to the glories of white flight, good schools can no longer give you entrance into their school for the purpose of creating diversity. Without directly saying it, the Supreme Court has singlehandedly rejected the importance/relevance of an ethnically diverse student body to a rounded education. To the rest of us, non-white people, that means that the ignorance that somehow survives the already "diverse" educational system will only get worse. Get ready for it.

Under normal conditions, as a "black nationalist", the idea in and of itself doesn't bother me. I've long thought that it was a stupid idea to bus black kids out of their neighborhoods to go to school with a bunch of white kids, without first improving the schools that remain in the black community. If the government doesn't improve the inner-city public school system, how does integration really benefit anyone. So granted, integration didn't do anything but make sure white kids knew a few black kids. Good. Okay. We're on the same page. The problem with the Supreme Courts decision is multi-faceted: It eliminates the only real benefit that came with integration--an answer to the ignorance component of racism (to the detriment of the long traumatized black children who integrated, but that's beside the point), it results in de facto segregation--the long-standing way of the North--thanks to the post-Civil Rights white flight phenomenon (which has actually existed as long as n****'s been free), it cripples the very root of the Civil Rights movement--Brown v the Board of Education, and it sets the tone for a reversal of all of the economic and political progress that had been made in the last forty years.

What I want to emphasize is the Brown v BOE decision and the economic and political progress component of my thinking. Look at it like this: Brown vs the Board of Education was meant to prove that segregated schools were mutually detrimental to both black and white students. Racially segregated schools are inherently unequal. That is still the case today when you look to inner-city schools versus suburban schools. Even with de facto segregation you can still observe the disparity between the white haves and the minority have-nots. By suddently arguing that it is more important to return to region-based student selection (which is likely to be what it becomes) than it is to use race-based student selection, the doors are opened to treat regional racial demographics as the ultimate out for white communities who don't want blacks. What will inevitably happen, is that black parents who want their children to get an education in predominantly white communities will have to prove that their children are academically superior enough to be around the white students--thereby affirming white superiority--and find their own way of getting there--because the government will inevitably no longer bus a bunch of minorities from the inner-cities to outside communities for their education. If the government were to invest in poor communities, it wouldn't be so bad. But they won't. Nothing will change except demographics, and whites will have all the reason in the world to reduce integration to pure tokenism. (As if it wasn't that way already.)

My other main point is this: over time, twenty/thirty years or so, the inferior education of inner-city schools will reach the point that it will again become a 1950's style academic divide. It is a statistical fact that the more educated an individual is, the more likely they are to vote. By leaving all of the minorities in communities which are notoriously non-voting, and then under-educating those children, when they become adults, there will be an entire generation of lost voters. You've disempowered an entire generation of minorities by one single action. You've also economically disempowered an entire generation of minorities by one single action. This is not to suggest that the world is better because a few black kids get into white schools, but rather, the world is worse when very few minority students, from academically inferior communities are rejected entrance into academically superior communities simply because conservatives have found a way of spinning things to make it sound like race-based affirmative action is discriminating.

I'll end with this thought: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS REVERSE-DISCRIMINATION!!! Reverse-discrimination is a neo-conservative, white privileged tool of establishing an undeserved victim status to a race of people who have been, and continue to be, collectively, empowered. Conservatives use "reverse-racism" to point the finger away from themselves and blame minorities for their inability to re-establish their global superiority. Reverse-discrimination is white people upset that they don't get their privileges and minority empowerment tactics. They don't want to pull their hand out of the cookie jar. They're standing up screaming, "N*gger get your hand out of my pocket!" But telling us that if we don't we're racists. Okay.

It's not that I don't understand their logic. Meritocracies sound nice on paper, but doesn't equality come first, and a merit-based society second? I think that the conservative movement is destroying the world for black people (in the Malcolm X sense of the term black). True, it is due time for race-based legislation and codes to be abolished, but it is the failures of society that have perpetuated the need for such legislation. Change society, then the laws. Stop reversing a revolution that has yet to be completed!

Making it blend

Last week, I gave a lecture on how to incorporate hip hop into a liberal arts education. When I hit the English/Cultural Studies portion, I discussed the ways that hip hop music and history could be incorporated into an English courses. This leads me to the final entry for Black Music Month:

Artists of the Week:

Al Green and Nasir Jones

Album of the Week:
DJ Swindle Presents...Almatic (listen)
Almatic blends the Nas' lyrics with Al Green's music. It is an interesting combination. Check it out.

Event of the Week:

DMX @ the Granada
Lawrence, KS
Thursday June 28th
(details)

The Temptations

Movie of the Week:

The Temptations



















Video of the Week:

I Love the 80s!!!

Billie Holiday

Quote of the Week:

"If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling"
- Billie Holiday


Video of the Week:



Book of the Week:

If You Can't Be Free, Be A Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday
by: Farah Jasmine Griffin

B-GIRL BE: A Celebration of Women in Hip Hop

Building on the last two years’ wildly successful festival, Intermedia Arts is proud to present the third annual B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop, a multimedia festival encompassing the four elements of hip-hop: MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.

The mission of B-Girl Be is to influence and inspire leadership to change the perceptions and roles of women in hip-hop for current and future generations. This annual event is a place to make connections, build confidence, sharpen skills and gain access to the tools to create music, film, poetry, rap, aerosol art and dance.
(more info)

Art and Craft: The Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference

August 9-11, 2007

Summer Session is pleased to announce the third annual Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference, a noncredit summer institute in writing and revising novels, poetry, short stories, and nonfiction for adult and young audiences. This four-day conference is tailored to new writers, established writers, and anyone seeking a fuller understanding of the craft - and business - of writing. Participants have the opportunity to select from a host of seminars, panels, workshops, and optional manuscript consultations, all designed to give participants new perspectives on their work in the supportive company of other writers. "Creative jumpstart" sessions focus on brainstorming, free writing, and experimentation and thus are useful to writers at all levels. Other workshops run concurrently and address a variety of genres so that participants may work in smaller groups with other writers who share their interests.(more info)

Black Music Month!!!

For those of you who didn't know, June is Black Music Month. I just wanted to share a few lines from Kanye West:

There's somethin' bout the way the Nina Simone piano flow,
It's like a Micelangelo painted a portrait of Maya Angelou
And gave it to a sick poet, for the antecdote
If music get you choked up
this is the tree and the rope
Get By Remix

Peace

Summer Reading

Hello Everybody,
I must apologize about last week's entry (or lack there of). Summer has officially began and I challenge everyone to read at least 5 books. It doesn't matter what genre you prefer; share it with friends and family and keep this cycle of knowledge going.

This week's focus is Melvin Van Peebles.

Book of the Week: The True American by Melvin Van Peebles

Film of the Week: How to Eat Your Watermelon In White Company (And Enjoy It)


Web articles about Melvin Van Peebles internet article


Soul Flicks

Hip Hop, Japan, & the War on Terror: Locating Politics in Japanese Language Rap Music

Lecture by Ian Condry, Associate Professor of Foreign Languages & Literatures, M.I.T.
------------------------------------------------


Cultural anthropologist Ian Condry will discuss his new book Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization (2006, Duke Univ. Press) to explore the relationship between language, performance, and politics. Examples will include Japanese rap songs that critique America's "war on terror." How and why do Japanese rappers creatively deform and reinvent their own language? How do the cultural and linguistic flows of hip-hop influence America's image, and the image of African-Americans, on the world stage? What can Japanese rappers teach Americans about transnational perspectives on media and culture?

The event is co-sponsored by the UCLA Discourse Lab and free and open to the public.

Date: Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

UCLA
352 Haines Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Book of the Week:
White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty

Film of the Week:
Watermelon Man


Quote of the Week:
"I am because we are"

Black Athletes Forum @ Morehouse

By Gene Wojciechowski

You know how sometimes you see a movie like, say, "Syriana," and you walk out of the 40-plex two hours later not knowing what the hell you just watched? I mean, no clue. So you try to fake it with your wife and mumble something about "geopolitical fissures," whatever that is, and hope she buys it.

But here's the thing: Sometimes, even if you don't get it ... you get it. Something clicks.

Anyway, that's exactly how I felt about the Black Athlete Forum held earlier this week at Morehouse College. The forum, moderated by Morehouse Man Spike Lee (Class of '79), was supposed to focus on, among other things, the glaring disparity between the number of African-American athletes (a lot) and the number of African-American sportswriters (not so much). And it did -- for a little while. (read more)

Quote of the Week:

Be thankful for what you got


Album of the Week:



The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Gil Scott-Heron


Book of the Week:



Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women
By: T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting



Thoughts on Rebirth:

This is not the first time I came to the planet
But everytime I come, only a few could understand it
I came as Isis, my words they tried to ban it
I came as Moses, they couldn't follow my commandments
I came as Solomon, to a people that was lost
I came as Jesus, but they nailed me to a cross
I came as Harriet Tubman, I put the truth to Sojourner
Other times, I had to come as Nat Turner
They tried to burn me, lynch me and starve me
So I had to come back as Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley
They tried to harm me, I used to be Malcolm X
Now I'm on the planet as the one called KRS

KRS-One "Ah Yeah"

Islam Awareness Week

Tonight!

Imam Mahdi Bray presents

Why I Became A Muslim
7:30 @ the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union

Movie of the Week:

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Book of the Week:

Caucasia by Danzy Senna

Quote of the Week:

Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth.
Kahlil Gibran

Event of the Week:

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic
May 9th
The Crossroads KC, 417 E 18th Street, Kansas City, MO

Event of the Week:
Flores A. Forbes, author of “Will You Die With Me?: My Life and the Black Panther Party,” will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union. The Hall Center for the Humanities and the KU Department of Theatre and Film are sponsoring his talk. (read more)

Quote of the Week:
“learning is for liberation, and knowledge must be turned to social benefit if we are to justify the faith placed in us by our forbrears”
Michael Eric Dyson

Book of the Week:

The Vulture
&
The Nigger Factory

by Gil Scott-Heron

Rahzel speaks about sexism in hip hop music

Brought to you by Professor Kim...

Grammy winning beatboxer Rahzel spoke with me today about the latest controversy over sexism in hip-hop. In this 18-minute interview, he rejected Don Imus' comparison of his scurrilous remarks about the Rutgers Women's basketball team to rap lyrics, but added that rappers who use terms such as "ho," have a responsibility "to clarify what they're talking about."
He also talks about how he has held true to his artistic vision despite the pressure to "come hard."
(Click here for the rest of Prof. Kim's piece)

Black Panther Party leader turned urban developer to speak April 24 at KU

LAWRENCE — An author and urban developer who was a leader in the Black Panther Party of the 1960s and ’70s will speak about his new book and the turbulence of those years at the University of Kansas.

Flores A. Forbes, author of “Will You Die With Me?: My Life and the Black Panther Party,” will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union. The Hall Center for the Humanities and the KU Department of Theatre and Film are sponsoring his talk. (read more)

Moment of Silence

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Thirty-three people, including the gunman, were killed on a Virginia university campus Monday in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. At least 26 other people were injured, some of them as they leapt to safety from the windows of a classroom building. (read more)


Song of the Week:
Someday We'll All Be Free - Donny Hathaway

The Color of Comfort?

Check out this article by Jim Wilkes of the Toronto Star

When the new chocolate-coloured sofa set was delivered to her Brampton home, Doris Moore was stunned to see packing labels describing the shade as "Nigger-brown."

She and husband Douglas purchased a sofa, loveseat and chair in dark brown leather last week from Vanaik Furniture and Mattress store on Dundas St. E.

Moore, 30, who describes herself as an African-American born and raised in New York, said it was her 7-year-old daughter who pointed out the label just after delivery men from the Mississauga furniture store left.
(Read More)

Book of the Week: Shadowboxing by Joy James

News: Hip Hop Figure Skating? (read more)

Event: Relay for Life @ the University of Kansas

Album of the Week: Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis

KU Pride Week 2007!!!

University of Kansas student group, Queers and Allies, is hosting the 2007 Pride Week. (more info)

Book of the Week: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Quote of the Week: "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house"

Event of the Week: Talib Kweli @ The Grenada (Lawrence, KS) tomorrow night!

Need skills? Need money? Check out these internships (get it)

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

Once again, filmmaker Byron Hurt will be at the University of Kansas on Monday March 26th. Hurt will be showing his film Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. For those of you who haven't seen this documentary, you should get access to it immediately (suggestion: do an inter-library loan asap). There will be a discussion panel immediately after the film. The event is free and open to the public.


For more info on the film click here

Ten Years After Biggie's Death

Great article from Village Voice writer Tom Breihan about the late/great Notorious B.I.G. (read more)

Book of the Week:

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Movie of the Week: The Jerk starring Steve Martin

Scholarships - No GPA Requirements:

Alvin Cox Memorial Scholarship

BlackNews.com

Daylon E. Kinney

Byron Hurt at KU

University of Kansas Press Release

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas graduate students will join award-winning film director Byron Hurt for a panel discussion following a free and public screening of his documentary “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” at 7 p.m. Monday, March 26, in the Kansas Union ballroom.

After the screening, Hurt, who recently appeared on a CNN special titled “Hip-Hop: Art or Poison?,” will moderate a discussion with the audience.

Shown at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Hurt’s documentary provides an in-depth look at machismo in rap music and hip-hop culture. His candid interviews present divergent voices of fans and social critics speaking about the struggle to negotiate the exciting creativity, seductive rhythms, blatant violence and homophobia in what is now an international music form. (read more)

Al Sharpton's Family Ties

I found an interesting article in Slate (online publication)on Al Sharpton's family history.

read more...

The World Outside...

Book of the Week: Angry Black White Boy

Artist of the Week: Jill Scott

Album of the Week: Jill Scott Collaborations

Challenge of the Week: Get a Passport!
To undergraduates:
I encourage you to look up study abroad programs at your school. It's important that we all venture out into the world and understand that education occurs outside the classroom. Many of us take college for granted, so we fail to look for other opportunities outside of job fairs and "multicultural" events. They are $97 at your local post office. Don't let life pass you by.

Just a thought

Quote of the Week:
"Everybody is somebody. But nobody wants to be themselves"
Gnarls Barkley

Book of the Week:
Yo' Mams's Disfunktional! by Robin D.G. Kelley

Song of the Week:
Tennessee by Arrested Development

Documentary of the Week: Bastards of the Party
This is a great film on the history of L.A. Gangs.


Event of the Week: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company presents Color-ography at the University of Kansas Lied Center on Wed. 28th.


A personal note:
I would like to advocate the spread of cultural histories throughout the year. Many people act as though Black History can only be openly advocated through these 28 days in Feb. To me, that's like saying that Black people are only influential for a month and no more. It is up to us to further they ways in which Black history can be learned, taught, and promoted. This is something I encourage via Black Tuesday. We are key players in the construction of future interpretations of Black culture. If we don't take it seriously; who will?

Ankh Presentations

Here's some info on my next presentation. It well be at Emporia State University on Feb. 21st. It's free and open to everyone. If you can't make it, tell somebody who may be interested.

Keepin' It Real: Authenticity and Hip Hop

"Keepin' It Real" has become a popular metaphor for truth. This dialogue hopes to probe the very construct of "real-ness" by exposing some of the falsehoods associated with it. We will also discuss the role authenticity plays in arguments about the gap between the Civil Rights Generation and the Hip Hop Generation.

Attention all Dangerous Negroes!!!

BlackNews.com recently sent me a press release about a Black Empowerment Apparel Company called Dangerous Negro. I checked it out and I'm really feelin' the content. Not only do you get clothing which reflects black empowerment, but you also get reading lists. There's also a section for young black entrepreneurs. So folks, when you get some free time (NOW!) be sure to check out the site and spread the word.

Dangerous Negro Website

Peace