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October 30, 2002
Political Animal
Uncivil Fights 
"I was appointed just days before," she recalls. "We're all up on a platform in a line of chairs. The commissioner sitting next to me manages to turn her back on me even though it's a straight line of chairs. Then we were introducing ourselves to this Florida audience and I say, 'I'm Abigail Thernstrom. I'm a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. I'm co-author of 'America in Black and -- .' And Mary Frances Berry says, 'We're not going to announce our books.' I said, 'Can I say something? "America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible." ' She never welcomed me to the commission. She never said, 'Hello. I'm Mary Frances Berry. I look forward to working with you.' I have never walked into such a hostile scene in all my life, and I doubt I'll ever walk into such a hostile scene again."
When Berry, 64, hears that quote read to her, she smiles mischievously.
"Oh, poor baby!" she says.
Then she says it in Spanish: "Pobrecita!"
Then she bursts out laughing. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!! Mary Frances Berry is a trip. Washington Post
Political Animal
Job Loss Didn't Make the Underclass "By the late sixties, at the very moment that blacks were winning political victories ensuring their civil rights, this enterprising, hardworking community was rapidly coming undone. One could now see the stirrings of a new black Indianapolis--a place where, three decades later, the SoulFest murders would be regarded more as same-old, same-old than as aberrations. Indianapolis had its first race riot in 1969, set off by a clash between black radicals and white cops on-ironically-Indiana Avenue. By 1973, central Indianapolis's black neighborhoods were so threatening that special escorts now ushered black kids to and from school." City Journal
October 27, 2002
Political Animal
Show's Over "For instance, according to guidelines given to Robertson by John De Castro, president of the Potrero Hill Boosters, Lingba Lounge must agree 'there shall be no live rap, heavy metal or hard rock music at the premises.' In addition, the bar wouldn't be allowed to promote its events 'on any electronic media outlet that features rap, heavy metal or hard rock.' Robertson needs the association to withdraw its opposition in order to get the permit." San Francisco Bay Guardian
Political Animal
The Race Reason "As antic as the images may be -- crowds of little white folks running from one section of the cartoon map to another, waving their weapons, with stricken looks on their flat little faces -- the point is made. Much fear in the United States is racially based. Moore goes on to point to a variety of examples, some more clearly related than others -- 'Africanized' killer bees, racialized designations of the 'evildoers,' Willie Horton, Susan Smith (who accused a 'black man' of carjacking the children she killed), Charles Stuart (who accused a 'black man' of murdering his pregnant wife), and the ongoing fear of perps 'of color' inculcated and promoted by the long-running series Cops." Ugh. Cops is a terrible, terrible piece of propaganda. PopPolitics.com
Political Animal
Foreclosing on Bed-Stuy "Those who do own homes are often longtime residents who, while not having much income, do have a nice stash of equity in today's market. 'The folks I have seen in Bed-Stuy have all been seniors,' says Tara Benigno, housing developer for ACORN. In short, Bed-Stuy, with a large population of elderly African Americans with wealth invested in their homes, meets the exact demographic that attracts predatory lenders. 'The predatory lenders came in, and they said, "We can give you this and that,"' says Perry. 'They came and lent the money, and it was a scam. The same houses they took from our seniors are the ones they were selling back to us.'" It's also happening in Washington, DC. Village Voice
Political Animal
Can Coke Prevent AIDS? "The protest in New York began slowly. The twenty police officers assigned weren't expecting very many people. 'Maybe 200,' one officer noted. But Karen Ramspacher from ACT UP, an organization known for civil disobedience and surprise protests, whispered, 'We're expecting hundreds--they're just around the corner.' As a procession of 400 protesters, most of them from ACT UP Philadelphia, began marching down Fifth Avenue toward the Coca-Cola building, organizers began inflating a twenty-five-foot Coca-Cola bottle with 'Coke=Death' stretched across the front. Police officers scrambled to expand their pen system. The crowd began chanting, 'Pills cost pennies! Greed costs lives!' as the frontmen, robed in African dress, beat their drums." The Nation
Political Animal
Getting Whitey "The eagerness of urban black audiences for movies with black casts, stories, and themes, and particularly for black heroes, exemplars of racial pride, has created the first situation of guaranteed profit for commercial film makers since the 1940s. Recent genres like the youth film, the drug-addict cycle, and the revisionist Western have failed after a few box-office successes, or failed altogether, but at the moment, any film which shows blacks facing down whites in violent confrontations (the more corpses the better) is going to do quick and heavy business in the big cities. From large studios like MGM to fly-by-night outfits that barely exist on paper, everyone is struggling to get a few black movies into the theaters before the bottom falls out of the market; within the next year as many as two dozen features for the black audience should be released--some directed by whites, but most of them made by young blacks experienced in stage and television directing, still photography, film acting, and documentary." Written in 1977 but still relevant. The Atlantic
Music
The Congo Sound "There was no store in France devoted to African music in 1976, even though there were already more than a million Africans living in the country, many of whom came from the French-speaking nations of Gabon, Benin, Togo, Mali, Chad, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, as well as from Zaire--the country now known as Congo--whose music, called soukous, or just la musique moderne, was the least parochial and most widely embraced throughout Africa. Moreover, a number of the Congolese expatriates living in Paris happened to be that country's greatest musicians. And even though there was nowhere to buy African music in France in the mid-seventies, much of it was actually being recorded in studios in Paris and in Brussels and shipped back to Africa for release." New Yorker
October 24, 2002
The Stacks
Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record "It must be emphasized that little effort is made to interpret the images and establish the historical authenticity or accuracy of what they display. To accomplish this would constitute a major and different research effort. Individual users of this collection must decide such issues for themselves. However, we have made every effort to ensure bibliographic accuracy and the correct identification of both primary and secondary sources from which the images have been obtained, as well as correct identification of the area, country, or region to which the image refers. The dates we assign may refer to the date an image was published, at other times to when an author visited an area; in other cases, we could only assign a general time period. Despite our efforts at ibliographical and chronological accuracy, errors remain, and we welcome any comments, suggestions, or corrections." Bookmark this. University of Virginia
Site Seeing
The Voodoo Spiritual Temple "The Voodoo Spiritual Temple is a place where you can find peace and comfort. It is a place for not only educating people about the Voudan Religion but also yourself and activities that occur in everyday life. In Voudan you obtain a better self balance not only about the religious structure but also your life." Plep
October 19, 2002
Music
Stick This Into Your Mind "'It's expected for black men to be homophobic. It's a part of the way we construct black male identity. Black male equals homophobic. And when journalists give excuses to "conscious" rappers like Common, it's like, "Oh well, Common is just a black male who grew up in a black environment where being homophobic is accepted." No it's not. My mother didn't allow my brothers to use the word "faggot" in my house. People make assumptions about the black community that are unfair. I mean, these kids all come from black families, and when they leave SMAAC, they go home to their black mommies, their black daddies, and most of those family members know that they're gay and lesbian. And we're not getting that side of the story.'" If you want to hear samples of their music, visit Deep Dickollective's website. San Francisco Bay Guardian
Music
Viewing the World's Politics From Down in the Boondocks "As to McGruder's being allowed to say the things he says only because he is black, it would probably be more accurate to say that he is able to see the things he sees because he is black. Loath though many Americans are to accept it nowadays, having a different historical experience--whether it be slavery and segregation for blacks; pogroms and Holocaust for Jews; Communist totalitarianism for Eastern Europeans; extermination and reservations for Native Americans, or whatever it is we'll eventually call what's happening now to people who look Middle Eastern--gives one a different perspective on life and issues." Chicago Tribune
Site Seeing
Cave Canem "In 1996 poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady began a weeklong summer workshop/retreat designed to counter the under-representation and isolation of African American poets in writers' workshops and literary programs. From the beginning, Cave Canem has offered a safe haven for black poets – whether schooled in MFA programs or poetry slams – to come together to work on their craft and engage others in critical debate." via Plep
Site Seeing
Black People Love Us! "We are well-liked by Black people so we're psyched (since lots of Black people don't like lots of White people)!! We thought it'd be cool to honor our exceptional status with a ROCKIN' domain name and a killer website!!" The "One Love" link is funny. via Metafilter
Beef-a-Real
Globalization of Beauty Makes Slimness Trendy "But soon pride gave way to puzzlement. In a culture where Coca-Cola-bottle voluptuousness is celebrated and ample backsides and bosoms are considered ideals of female beauty, the new Miss World shared none of those attributes. She was 6 feet tall, stately and so, so skinny. She was, some said uncharitably, a white girl in black skin." Black women just can't win. Too fat in the U.S., too skinny in Africa. New York Times
October 14, 2002
Political Animal
GM Performs Magic Tricks For Sales "'We had the Vibe in all the theaters with a promotion for everyone who bought a ticket during the kickoff weekend of the movie Barbershop,' Robinson said. 'People had the opportunity to reach into a bowl for a key. If they pulled out a green key, they got popcorn; if they pulled out a red key, they got movie passes. We handed out mini CDs with information on the product.' GM collected several thousand names of prospects that weekend, he said." You don't even have a chance to win the car?! What a rip. Automotive News
Political Animal
Will Hampton Univ. J-School Avoid 'Muckraking?' "Grimes' views were supported by Eddith Dashiell, associate professor at Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Dashiell said Harvey expressed his contempt even for local-news reporting when she was a visiting instructor teaching broadcast news at Hampton last year. 'President Harvey looked at me -- and this is a direct quote -- and said, "Oh, I'm not interested in my students covering local news,"' she said. What Harvey wanted broadcast students to do, Dashiell charged, was sit on a stool and read the stories they got out of the newspaper. 'It's more than just "muckraking."' she said." Newspapers don't engage in muckraking? Editor & Publisher
Books
'American Skin' Poses a Provocative Question That Goes Unanswered "Yes, racism still exists, though popular culture and commerce increasingly employ the styles, practices, products and nomenclature of minorities -- both racial and language-defined. The result is that business can -- and does -- incorporate these disparate elements for profit. Salsa outsells ketchup. Shaquille O'Neill is a superhero, and La Vida Loca is a hit song.? Miami Herald
Political Animal
Race Not an Issue in N.Y. Gov. Race "Talking to the New York Association of Black Journalists last week, he was asked if race had been a factor in limiting his fund-raising. 'Race is a factor in everything,' he said, and then moved on." Newsday
October 13, 2002
Review
An Undeserved Altar "The elevation of Puff Daddy to celebrity status illustrates a phenomenon that will one day be of interest to social historians seeking to understand the sources and manifestations of American cultural decline in the late 20th and early 21st century. It may be argued that the rise and veneration of celebrities has been a characteristic expression of this decline." I thought it was P. Diddy. National Review Online
Political Animal
Open Polis: New Yorker Runs for Athenian Office "Born in New York, educated in Boston, this basketball star turned talk-show host, who moved to Athens 20 years ago, hopes to become the first black person elected to municipal office in Greece." A Greek Oprah? Christian Science Monitor
Poetry
Out of the Ashes, Drops of Meaning "This legacy joined with the reality of inner-city life in Brooklyn, where Hammad grew up the oldest of five children raised by a homemaker and a grocer. Hammad was an all-American girl, sporting Nikes, door-knocker earrings and gold chains. Using cans of colorful spray paint, she plastered her "butterphoenix" graffiti tag through hallways and along streets alive with beat-boxers, break dancers and rappers." What an interesting description for "all-American". Washington Post
October 8, 2002
Beef-a-Real
Boys' Case Is Used in Bid to Limit Trials of Minors as Adults "The King case is the third high-profile trial in Florida in the last two years in which minors have been charged with murder, all of which were televised on Court TV. But support was fragmented and mostly local for the other boys, Lionel Tate, who was 12 when he beat a 6-year-old playmate to death in 1999, and Nathaniel Brazill, who was 13 when he shot his teacher in 2000. Nathaniel was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving 28 years in prison without parole, and Lionel was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
Those boys are black, and Derek and Alex are white. But the King brothers' supporters say race has nothing to do with the more intense public focus on that case.
'If I had seen the others I would have become involved then,' said Katie Riley, 46, who is white and owns a transcription company in Fort Smith. She has teamed up with Wings and has placed advertisements about the King brothers' petition in newspapers. 'I actually thought this was the first case,' Ms. Riley said. 'I don't see a racial disparity, and I am doing some research on those two cases now.'" The whole trial was on CourtTV, how could you miss it? New York Times
Political Animal
In a New South Africa, an Old Tune Lingers "'There is one thing we don't play: this rap, this underground township music,' Mr. van den Berg said. 'Good Western music is known by its melody, not by its rhythm. For rhythm, you need nothing more than a drum and a stick. For melody, you need 30 or 40 instruments.'" New York Times
Political Animal
The Complete 9/11 Timeline "This document I have made is veeeeery, very long. Its chock-full of information and may be difficult to get through. You may want to tackle a bit at a time, (and if you're impatient, start from around July, 2001 to get to the 'good stuff'). But 9/11 was possibly one of the most pivotal events in world history, and its impact will be felt on all of our lives for years to come. You owe it to yourself to go beyond the sound bites and the simplified official story. This is an extremely complicated story with numerous players and motives. Not everything makes sense or fits neatly together. Its a story full of espionage, deceit, and brazen lies. But if there are forces out there tricking us, they can only succeed if we, the general public, remain ignorant and passive." Center for Cooperative Research
October 5, 2002
Review
Camera Trouble "I first saw 'African Ceremonies' at a friend's home in Lome, Togo, the coastal West African city where I live. Southern Togo is the homeland of 'vodun,' the African ancestor of voodoo, and Beckwith and Fisher shot an entire chapter within an hour's drive from my house. It is true, as one might surmise from their photos, that streets in Lome are frequently filled with thunderous drumming, white-robed women waving goat's-hair switches, and the sacrificial slaughter of chickens. What one would not surmise from the photos is that this takes place in a medium-sized city where urchins in secondhand Metallica T-shirts watch kung-fu movies at video clubs, and the muezzin's call and Christian hymns compete with the traditional gong-gong." Boston Globe Online
October 2, 2002
Interview
Deep in the Heart of Dixie "I would say that there is certainly that tension there, but it's not completely fair to say that people who are there already don't want change. An awful lot of them do. But if you live in a town like Greenwood, it's hard to rock the boat. It was really hard in the fifties and sixties when the White Citizens' Council, a segregationist organization, was running things, and if you did try to rock the boat, you were quite likely to find yourself friendless and jobless in very short order. I think there's still a certain residual sense that people have an awful lot to lose. If you've grown up in a place like Greenwood, I think you can see its faults and yet at the same time love it dearly and not want to leave. So what do you do, if you want to change things and you're not willing to leave? That puts people in a very hard position. I have a card that somebody gave me who couldn't go to one of my readings. She wrote, 'Your book is wonderful'—this is somebody from Greenwood—'I, too participate in a confederacy of silence, but maybe one day I will have the courage to speak up.' And that moved me greatly. I feel for this woman. I understand, that's the thing. You have to be careful. I would say that you had it dead right when you said that I had less to lose. The good people who want things to change have to walk a tightrope, and it may take them a while to figure out how to assert themselves." The Atlantic