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Playlist: Rise Up!
2008-01-25 20:00:00
I was feeling rebellious this morning, so I queued up my iPod playlist with power-to-the-people songs, I-want-some-change songs, I'm-mad-as-hell-and-I'm-not-gonna-take-it -anymore songs.Harvest for the World Isley BrothersDear Mr. President Pink w/The Indigo GirlsRain on the Scarecrow John MellencampA Change is Gonna Come Sam CookeBullet the Blue Sky U2Peace Train 10,000 ManiacsExodus Bob Marley and the WailersNot Ready to Make Nice Dixie ChicksIn "Dear Mr. President," Pink says all the things I wish I could say to George Bush, but with better pitch and more soul.How can you sayNo child is left behindWe're not dumb and we're not blindThey're all sitting in your cellsWhile you pay the road to hell...Take a listen.
More About: Playlist , Rise , Rise Up

Who's to blame for the Hovey Street murders?
2008-01-24 22:13:00
On Monday, Jan. 14, 2008, five men broke into a home on the 3200 block of Hove y St. in Indianapolis, looking for drugs and money. They found Gina Hunt, 24, and her son Jordan, 23 months, and Andrea Yarrell, 24, and her daughter, Charlii, 4 months. One man unleashed a volley of shots from a Glock, killing the women and children. The perpetrators and the victims were black. Read more at http://www.indystar.com/.A recent discussion of the Hovey case on What About Our Daughters evolved into a discussion of how the poor choices of Hunt and Yarrell resulted in the women's deaths and the those of their children. Okay. Duly noted. But shouldn't most of our anger be reserved for the five men who callously murdered two women and two BABIES over weed?As I commented on Professor Tracey's post on WAOD:Why is our community loathe to place blame and/or responsibility on the shoulders of black men who commit crimes. Whether it is Genarlow Wilson or R. Kelly or Mike Tyson or O.J. Simpson, there i...
More About: Street , Blame

Brother, can you spare a dime?
2008-01-23 19:29:00
"If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." --Mother TeresaFor most of us, it is uncomfortable to be confronted with homelessness. Or maybe I should just own this. It is uncomfortable for ME to be confronted with homelessness. Sometimes I avert my eyes, move over on the sidewalk, walk a little faster, say a hasty "not today." Oftentimes, though, I give something--usually a little money, but sometimes food or just a smile. I'm not looking for praise for treating a fellow human being like, well, a human. Half of my motivation is selfish. I feel bad when I pass by a homeless person--guilty, like a bad citizen, like I'm racking up bad karma. What are a couple of dollars to me? Not even a tall latte or a couple downloads at iTunes. A couple dollars for a homeless person can mean the world. So, you see, I give as much for my own soul as for my fellow (wo)man's. I've written about this before, but...When I lived in Chicago, I sometimes volunteered dishing out free Sunday...
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Mixed Race America asks: What is race?
2008-01-22 13:37:00
Head over to Mixed Race America , where Jennifer asks the provocative question, "What is race?"I was about to dash off an answer to her query, when I realized that I don't have one--at least not an easy one. My first inclination was to say that race is the intersection of skin color (or biology) and culture. But what of the child adopted from China and raised by white parents in a small Nebraska town. Is that child, raised outside of her native culture, no longer Chinese? I've been told too many times that my suburban upbringing is contrary to black culture and I loathe that idea. So, maybe culture has nothing to do with race. Then I was tempted to say that race is just a social fiction woven around skin color. Barack Obama, though biracial, is black because he "looks black" to Americans (and because he identifies as such). The "whiter" biracial Mariah Carey was viewed differently before she started hanging with the R&B/Hip Hop crowd. But then a commenter, CVT, eloquently point...

On black folks selling out
2008-01-21 22:16:00
I wanted to get across to her that black critical thinkers often face an extra step in the writing process -- we have to separate what we think from what our comrades of color expect us to believe, presume we believe, or would rather we didn't discuss in racially mixed company, in public, or at all. For us to reason independently of Negro orthodoxy -- especially to criticize sacred cows of black America like affirmative action -- means risking banishment from the black community. The threat of getting kicked out of blackness (impossible as that sounds), or at least being seen as outside black solidarity, looms large. SOURCE   What do Condoleeza Rice, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, Shelby Steele and John McWhorter have in common? Some black folks would be quick to say that one adjective describes them all: sellout. But I've always had a problem with the notion that African Americans must adhere to prescribed dogma or have their "black cards" rev...
More About: Selling , Black

Check me out at Anti-Racist Parent
2008-01-21 13:52:00
I'm a new guest contributor at Anti -Racist Parent , one of Carmen Van Kerckhove's trio of blogs. Check out my introductory post with a scary big picture of me.

What's the matter with American voters?
2008-01-20 14:20:00
This is a long video, but the speech captures perfectly why I believe John Edwards should be America's next president. I just can't understand why the message that life shouldn't be so damned hard for the middle and working classes hasn't caught on. After all, most American s are middle or working class, and our lives have been pretty hard in these last eight years. Author Thomas Frank asked What's the Matter with Kansas? in his book that explored the rise of conservative populism using his native state as an example: Kansas has evolved from a radical hotbed to a Republican stronghold with a citizenry who perpetually vote against their own interests. Lately, I've been asking myself: "What's the matter with American voters?" Two faults immediately come to mind: our media and our immaturity.Let's take media first. Shame that you have to go to a comedy show to get insightful commentary, but...These are the people we let choose our leading candidates. (Don't think the media choo...
More About: Hillary Clinton , Voters

Biting MDC's style...
2008-01-19 16:54:00
I love how my blog sister incorporates music into her site on Mes Deaux Cents. I am a particular fan of Music Saturday's. So, I was inspired to post something that has been getting heavy play on my iPod.If you haven't heard of Ray LaMontagne, you should check him out. His first album, Trouble, is my favorite. Great soulful voice... interesting back story...here he is:
More About: Style

Do you boogie?
2008-01-18 20:05:00
When the Clinton campaign unleashed its followers to attack Barack Obama's loyalty to the black community, it demonstrated (Karl) Rovian shrewdness. Clinton is tapping on Obama's Achilles heel. For what is a successful person of color accepted by the mainstream to do? If Obama sets out to prove his blackness--as if it needs to be proven--by calling in to black radio talk shows, hanging in the pulpits of black churches and dropping by barbershops in the hood--his race will become too apparent for many white voters. He'll start looking like an Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, and we all know how their presidential campaigns ended.But this isn't just about race.Hillary Clinton has a similar Achilles heel--gender. Many of the panelists on last night's Black Women's Roundtable (listen using the widget in the right-hand column) believe that Obama holds the black community at arms length. If that is so, then Clinton can be accused of holding women at arm's length. How often does she ad...

Damn the passage of time
2008-01-17 17:52:00
Mike Score, Flock of Seagulls, yesterday and today I am 30-something years old. Want to make me feel like a fossil? Tell me some pop icon from my teen years has hit middle age. This morning I was driving in to work listening to the radio. The host was doing the "today's celebrity birthdays" thing. Betty White is 86...Okay...Eartha Kitt is 81...Cool...James Earl Jones is 77...Makes sense...Jez Strode, ex-drummer for Kajagoogoo is 50...Wait...What?...Jez Strode is freakin' 50 years old!? What is an 80s chick to do? The Material Girl turns a womanly 50 this year, too. Billy Idol turns 53. George Michael will be 45. And Nick Rhodes, synth man for Duran Duran, who I once thought was so, so hot with his eyeliner and glossy lipstick, will be 46. I hear Duran has a good album out, but I'm afraid to listen...well, really...look. I hate to think that the pretty, young, painted boys that sparked all my adolescent fantasies now look like aged drag queens. Did you ever watch that VH1 show, Ba...
More About: Time , Damn

I hate BET. Here's why...
2008-01-16 20:44:00
Dear Anonymous,I read your comment to Why Do Black Folks Love the Clintons So Much:Let's be done with this quasi-intellectual clit flicking/meat beating over the Clintons and BET. Many of US think white, talk white, walk white because WE are ashamed to embrace the fullness of OUR blackness, including any such images of US broadcast by US that don't conform to white norms. You got me thinking. Maybe I have not made clear on this blog why I abhor Bob Johnson and BET. So for you, Anonymous, and anyone else who is confused, here's the straight dope:I don't hate BET for broadcasting tepid, mediocre shows. You can find those all around the "dial." I don't hate BET for showing black folks dancing, of which you say:And as for those BET booty shaking videos, think surviving (though perverted) Africanisms. If the white man his woman hadn't blasted OUR mother cultures, plural because though WE are all African, WE, as Tami has said, are not a monolith, the images many of US hate to see wo...
More About: Hate

Why do black folks love the Clintons so much?
2008-01-15 12:56:00
Let me say, I like Bill Clinton. I like him in the way that one likes a president that presided over eight years of prosperity. I voted for Bill Clinton. And I was sorry to see the right wing make so much hay over the Lewinsky affair. The man appears to be a shitty husband, but still he was a good president. Yeah, I like Bill Clinton, but some of my sisteren and bretheren appear to love Bill Clinton. I mean, if I may be colloquial, "love his dirty drawers" kind of love. And that love seems to translate into a fierce loyalty for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential election.Just a few days ago, Sideshow Bob Johnson said:Bill and Hillary have long been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues? (Whatever those are. We are not a monolith, Bob.)Now, I was a cute young thing in the 90s, fresh out of college. Maybe I was sleeping it off after a night at the club the day the Clintons rode through the black community throwing money from their sleigh. (But you would think they woul...
More About: Love , Black , Linton

America wins front row tickets to the (race) theater
2008-01-15 00:10:00
It seems clear to me that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her crafty minions have been subtly and not-so-subtly playing the race card in their recent attacks on challenger Barack Obama.   Exhibit A: Clinton supporter and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo declares that: "you can't shuck and jive at a press conference."   Exhibit B: The Clinton camp brings in BET founder and smut peddler Bob Johnson to blast Obama for not doing enough for the black community. (If that ain't the pot calling the kettle...well...black.)   Exhibit C: Frequent references to Obama's youthful drug experimentation, including intimating that the Senator may have dealt drugs.   Yeah, I smell the stink of race-baiting, which has put the Obama camp and would-be supporters on the defensive. If Huffington Post is to be believed, the Obama campaign recently drew up a memo listing the Clinton's racial attacks, perhaps as part of a strategy to fi...
More About: America , Theater , Race , Tickets , Front

Review: Oswald's Ghost on American Experience
2008-01-14 19:47:00
If, like me, you are a fan of politics and American history, check out Oswald's Ghost , which premieres tonight on PBS's American Experience . (Check local listings.) I received an advance copy of the documentary and found it fascinating.    Using a wealth of archival material, much of it never before publicly seen or heard, director Robert Stone chronicles America's 45-year obsession with the pivotal event of a generation. Quietly implicit throughout the film is a haunting parallel to 9/11 and its aftermath. Oswald's Ghost explores, in part, why Americans are so determined to believe in conspiracies. According to the documentary, 70 percent of all Americans believe that JFK's death was the result of a conspiracy. The film suggests that we are not comfortable with the nerve-racking randomness of life, so we try to create order where there is none. Historian Robert Dallek asks, "How could someone as inconsequential as Lee...
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I am not a hooker, a prop or a bitch
2008-01-12 19:12:00
Courtesy of the fabulous blog, Black Women Vote:Tell Viacom that Enough is Enough, and let the United States Army and Navy know that it is not okay to use your tax dollars to support the denigration of women. Details at What About Our Daughters.
More About: Bitch , Hooker , Prop

Are we angels or devils?
2008-01-12 15:01:00
Recently AfroSpear asked, ?What is the true nature of mankind??As a species, do we fall primarily under the Darwinian law of ?survival of thefittest?, the resulting by-product of which are the wars, conflicts, genocidesand other atrocities which we continually face throughout the ages, the presentand into the future? Are we engaged in a losing battle against the very natureof humankind, i.e., the ?so-called? 7 deadly sins: pride, jealousy, greed,gluttony, lust, anger, laziness? when we put forth the effort to be humble,supportive, generous, sharing, exercise self-control, forgiving and responsible?Are the virtues of justice, equality, liberty, integrity, charity, kindness,mercy, etc., figments of our imaginations and delusions of our spirit? And ifdoing ?evil? is not the natural state of humankind, then what is it, why aren?twe doing it and how do we get there?Deep down, at our essence, are we all angels or devils?I believe we are both. And the sooner we accept this, the sooner we c...
More About: Angels , Devils

Dear Gloria Steinem: The Sequel
2008-01-11 04:02:00
I listened to Gloria Steinem's interview today on NPR's Tell Me More and I'm now more angry than before. She now says that it is ridiculous to rank sexism vs. racism.But, she DID rank it. She wrote: "Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life." MOST--using that word is RANKING. She wrote that black men were able to vote before white women to illustrate that black men are better off than white women. SHE WROTE THAT!Rather than apologizing or simply saying, "Yeah, sexism is worse. Bite me!" Gloria Steinem is doing what privileged people often do...interestingly, she is doing what men in power often do to women...pretend that the oppressed person is crazy, too sensitive and unhinged. Clarence to Anita: "I never sexually harassed you. You're crazy." Isaiah to Anuche: "I never called you a bitch. You're crazy." Gloria Steinem to feminists of color: "I never said sexism was worse than racism. You're crazy."You know what...bump the feminist label. So many women of...
More About: Sequel

I wanna get lost in your rock-n-roll and drift away...
2008-01-11 01:53:00
You shut your mouth.How can you sayI go about things the wrong way.I am human and I need to be lovedjust like everybody else does.- The Smiths, "How Soon is Now?"Classic!I had to step away from the Internet this morning. I was a little depressed by the Gloria Steinem debacle; less by the op-ed than the arrogant reaction in the comments section at Feministing. It all just made me feel a little less hopeful that one day we might all understand one another.So this morning, I was rather happy that I wasn't commuting to work with my husband. That meant I wouldn't have to listen to his dreary jazz station (yawn), or compromise on something we both like. I could lose myself in my favorite songs and lift my spirits. This morning, I wanted to ROCK! So, I got in the car, hooked up the iPod, cranked the speakers, and let my newest playlist roll:La Breeze by SimianJohnny Appleseed by Joe Strummer and the MescalerosHow Soon is Now? by The SmithsChampagne Supernova by OasisKashmir by Led Zeppel...
More About: Lost , Rock , Rock N Roll , Roll , Drift

Dear Gloria Steinem: Ain't I a woman too?
2008-01-09 20:04:00
From time to time, I am challenged by other black women for calling myself a feminist. Some of them believe that while all women suffer from sexism, white women who make up the feminist mainstream do not understand the extra burden of race faced by women of color. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem's Jan. 8 Op-ed in The New York Times just made it even harder for me to defend myself. In it, she declares that sexism trumps racism and that true "radical" feminists are casting their votes for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. Not only does Steinem show a remarkable ignorance and arrogance regarding the issue of race in America, but she seeks to make women's choices more narrow than those of the rest of the electorate.Steinem begins her opinion piece by going for a gold medal in the oppression Olympics. "Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life," she writes.Really? Before she decided that sexism beats racism, I wonder if Steinem asked someone who was both a ...
More About: Woman , A Woman

A Chinese Jamaican goes home
2008-01-09 02:09:00
I generally applaud myself for being enlightened about race. I should know better. The minute I pat myself on the back for being conscious, something happens to remind me that my view of race and nationality can be as narrow as anyone's.Did you know there is a thriving Chinese community in Jamaica? I didn't. In her latest post, Jennifer at Mixed Race America writes passionately about her Uncle Frank who, though he lived for years in the United States, never lost his connection to his homeland.For my Uncle, he would have told you that being Jamaican was in his blood (andhe wouldn't have cared if you quoted anti-essentialist rhetoric at him). Hislicense plate on his car read "rahtid," he cheered for the Jamaican soccer(excuse me, football) team every chance he got, the Jamaican flag and variationsof it (the Jamaican colors of black, green and yellow) adorned his home, Reggaemusic (and I don't mean Bob Marley--no disrespect intended, but my family tendsto scoff at Marley and think ...
More About: Home

Are you registered to vote?
2008-01-08 20:08:00
With primaries looming in every state, and a crucial presidential election coming in the fall, the best thing you can do to keep this country great is to VOTE. Black people and women fought long, hard battles for the freedom to exercise this basic right. Don't let our ancestors' sacrifices be in vain.
More About: Vote

TONIGHT: A special Black Women's Roundtable
2008-01-08 13:11:00
Will Obama continue his winning streak? Will Edwards defy polls and best Clinton again? Can Huckabee gain any ground in a state without a significant Evangelical base? Is Romney finished? How will the policies of the last candidates standing affect black women?Tonight --Don't miss a special Black Women's Roundtable, hosted by our fearless leader, Gina the Warrior Princess, at 8:30 p.m. EST. Hear me and the rest of the What About Our Daughters family discuss the New Hampshire primary as results roll in. Plan to call in. We want to hear from YOU. Dial 646-478-4750.If you miss tonight's live broadcast, listen to a recording using the widget in the right-hand column of What Tami Said, or hop on over to What About Our Daughters.
More About: Special

Aaaaaaaah!
2008-01-08 01:59:00
I could write about Hillary Clinton tearing up on the campaign trail, about New Jersey considering issuing an apology for slavery, about the Roger Clemens controversy, about the canceling of the Golden Globes, but I don't want to kill my buzz. Tonight I took part in my employer's weekly yoga class.Now, I have avoided this class for more than a year. Something about folding into an inelegant downward dog, in a tank top, next to the HR manager, made me a little uncomfortable. But what I was reminded of this evening is that while yogis are rejuvenating their minds and spirits, they aren't looking at fellow practitioners' exercise attire or back fat or wobbly arms in plank pose.So, I eased my body into positions it hasn't known for almost a year. I raised my arms energetically toward the sky for sun salutations. I struck strong triangle poses. I relaxed deep into corpse pose--probably my favorite part of yoga class, when you lie inert, pillow over your eyes, breathing deeply and sa...

What does it mean to be friends with a racist?
2008-01-07 00:11:00
Racialicious provided a link to the latest column by Salon advice-giver Cary Tennis. In it, a New England liberal white woman and her husband learn that their new friend is a racist. "Should we keep him as a friend?" She asks. Read the entire letter and Cary's response here, but the gist is:This friend of yours appears to have mistaken beliefs. It is difficult forthose of us with all the correct beliefs to extend courtesy, love andunderstanding to those with mistaken beliefs. But it is an affliction of yourtime to believe your own beliefs -- to believe your own beliefs are the onlyones that matter and are correct and represent the pinnacle of social progress.If you take an imaginative leap to the 12th century, or the 18th century, or the1930s, you will notice how radically beliefs change. We who are now alive thinkwe know what is right and correct, as did the Spanish in the Inquisition and theProtestants in the Reformation and the Maoists in the Cultural Revolution; it isthe privil...
More About: Friends , Racist

A Year of Living Consciously: Week One
2008-01-06 16:04:00
One good thing about announcing your resolutions on a blog for all to read is that it forces you to regularly take stock of where you stand. My year of living consciously is off to a rocky start. Isn't it funny how, when your world is at its craziest, when you need to slow down and focus your intention...you somehow can't do it. My job is crazy on its own, but I've also committed to an exciting project in my spare time. I am blogging and guest blogging. I have a short story that I am really proud of that is almost finished. I want to submit it to some writing contests to see how it fares. My mind is spinning with ideas, opportunities and, yes, fears.I promised myself that I would sit and meditate for just five minutes each morning, to rest my mind, help myself focus and rejuvenate my spirit. I didn't do it once. And I've been eating too much and spending too much time on my ass in front of a computer screen. But I have made strides in point two of my conscious living plan: bein...
More About: Living , Week , Year

Are ya'll ready to riot?
2008-01-05 21:42:00
...cause that's what Jonah Goldberg of the right-wing National Review thinks black folks are going to do if Barack Obama doesn't become president. Oh, he didn't say it outright. He just floated this theory:...I think it's worth imagining a certain scenario. Imagine the Democratsdo rally around Obama. Imagine the media invests as heavily in him as I think weall know they will if he's the nominee ? and then imagine he loses. Iseriously think certain segments of American political life will becomecompletely unhinged. I can imagine the fear of this social unraveling actually aiding Obama enormously in 2008. Forget Hillary's inevitability. Obamahas a rendezvous with destiny, or so we will be told. And if he's denied it,teeth shall be gnashed, clothes rent and prices paid. (Emphasis mine.)Hmmm...certain segments of America. Wonder who those segments might be. This is how the rabid right does it: Use coded language to get certain other segments of America believing that blacks are ...
More About: Ready

UPDATE: War (reporting): What is it good for?
2008-01-05 01:55:00
A commenter on my previous post about men and women of color being noticeably absent from war reporting, introduced me this wonderful site in memory of black and Hispanic women who have given their lives for their country.Visit Tribute to Black Women and keep these brave women and their families in your prayers.
More About: Update , Good

Take THAT pundits!
2008-01-04 21:24:00
I commented over on Professor Tracey's blog Aunt Jemima's Revenge that the curse of the today's 24-hour news cycle is that 10 minutes worth of facts are often inflated to hours and hours of opinion positioned as gospel truth. Since the beginning of the 2008 election season, pundits have postulated that:- Hillary Clinton is unbeatable.- Rudy Giuliani is a top-tier candidate.- White Americans, especially those in the flyover states, won't really vote for Barack Obama.- Mike Huckabee is too corn pone and naive to garner Republican votes.But last night, Barack Obama swept the Iowa caucus and John Edwards nudged Clinton out of the way to take second place. Mike Huckabee trounced all comers even Rudy Giuliani, who barely made a ripple in the political waters. So, now what?I'll tell you my opinion: I think folks like me are tired of media telling us the outcome of elections before we have a chance to step into a voting booth. Media, in part, create top tier candidates by who they choo...

War (reporting): What is it good for?
2008-01-03 12:45:00
Blacks accounted for 14 percent of all those who signed up for activeduty Army service in 2005. That number is down from an astonishing 24percent in 2000, but slightly higher than the U.S. population. SOURCEIn fiscal year 2001, Hispanics made up 10.5 percent of active-duty Armyrecruits. In fiscal year 2005, they comprised 13.2 percent of active-dutyrecruits, according to Army statistics, slightly higher than their overallpercentage in the U.S. population of 12.5 percent. The percentage of Asianrecruits rose from 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2001 to 4.1 percent in fiscal year2005, about on par with their percentage of the U.S. population. SOURCEHistorically, Native Americans have the highest record of military serviceper capita when compared to other ethnic groups. Today, there are nearly 190,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives military veterans, according to DoD statistics. Citing that statistic, Hill noted that Native Americans today represent 1 percent of the Navy's total stren...
More About: Good

Who is allowed to laugh at black culture?
2008-01-02 19:42:00
Today's New York Times includes a review of comedian Chris Rock's New Year's Eve stand-up performance at Madison Square Garden. the review alleges that while Rock is still edgy and, most importantly, funny, the comedian has shifted his approach to racial comedy over the years. Kelefah Sanneh writes:   Where once he held forth conspiratorially, flattering fans by sharing taboo insights with them, now he is more likely to hold forth confrontationally, as a way (perhaps) to acknowledge the Michael Scotts in the crowd. Where once he was mainly descriptive, now he is prescriptive too. Monday's set included a long bit about when it is permissible for white people to use his favorite racial epithet (there is only one hypothetical occasion, and it involves extreme suffering); advice to women with careers not to complain to their nannies; and an explanation of why no one should have been surprised when Don Imus made his comments about the Rutgers women's basketbal...
More About: Culture , Black , Laugh , Allo