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"
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
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)
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)
Monday, May 07, 2007
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"
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"
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Islam Awareness Week
Tonight!
Imam Mahdi Bray presents
Why I Became A Muslim
7:30 @ the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union
Imam Mahdi Bray presents
Why I Became A Muslim
7:30 @ the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union
Monday, April 30, 2007
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
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
Monday, April 23, 2007
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
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)
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)
Friday, April 20, 2007
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)
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)
Monday, April 16, 2007
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
Thursday, April 12, 2007
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)
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)
Monday, April 09, 2007
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
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
Monday, April 02, 2007
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)
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)
Friday, March 23, 2007
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
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Ten Years After Biggie's Death
Great article from Village Voice writer Tom Breihan about the late/great Notorious B.I.G. (read more)
Monday, March 12, 2007
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
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)
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)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Al Sharpton's Family Ties
I found an interesting article in Slate (online publication)on Al Sharpton's family history.
read more...
read more...
Monday, March 05, 2007
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
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
Monday, February 26, 2007
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?
"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?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
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.
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.
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