tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36240936246740455402024-03-13T01:15:40.223+00:00The Chronicles of SLAM U ALL PEEPS.Speak the truth even if your voice shakes!
The place for Scribes,Vibes and Tribes
of the 21st Century
A New Black Renaissance!Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-89557825612337668692019-09-12T12:58:00.000+01:002019-09-12T12:58:01.142+01:00Welcome to the "Sorry they are unable to be here Awards"."Sorry they are unable to be here Awards"..<br />
A fantastic new Awards night were bands and Artists that should be nominated in categories are invited to watch the proceedings, while bands and artists who are clearly not of a high enough standard to win a raffle, are actually contesting the nominations to win.<br />
We listened Glass in hand excitedly sipping Prosecco while we surveyed the room in anticipation of an inviting glimpse of any trays coming into vie loaded with tasty Canapes,however these quickly ran out within half an hour of the proceedings starting.. Baffled yet? Don't worry you will be!<br />
The best way to achieve full and true bafflement would be to hire a Compere who is completely out of his depth and quite frankly has no knowledge of the subject..Maybe the Compere could swear and shout a bit to help pad out the evening plus where would we be without adding various random unfunny asides about conversations with a neighbour,t heir mum or some other relative that doesn't mean a damn thing to anyone present!Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-65015914098606340332015-11-12T11:08:00.000+00:002015-11-12T11:11:09.988+00:009 People Other Than MLK Jr. Who Sacrificed Their Lives to Fight For Black Liberation.<h1 class="entry-title" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="date published time" style="font-size: small;" title="2014-02-05T11:31:31-05:00">February 5, 2014</span><span style="font-size: small;"> | Posted by <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/author/tracy/" rel="author" title="Tracy">Tracy</a></span></span></span> </h1>
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<span class="tags">Tagged With: <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/african-leaders/" rel="tag">African Leaders</a>, <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/black-liberation/" rel="tag">Black Liberation</a>, <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/harry-and-harriette-moore/" rel="tag">Harry and Harriette Moore</a>, <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/medgar-wiley-evers/" rel="tag">Medgar Wiley Evers</a>, <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/patrice-lumumba/" rel="tag">Patrice Lumumba</a>, <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/steve-biko/" rel="tag">Steve Biko</a>, <a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/tag/walter-rodney/" rel="tag">Walter Rodney</a></span></div>
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Black
history has been celebrated in America throughout the month of February
since 1976, and 50 years prior in Negro History Week. During this time,
classrooms across America typically engage in activities from plays and
artwork to writing assignments that highlight the contributions of
Black people.<br />
Despite its nearly 100-year history, Black History Month often
excludes the contributions of African and Caribbean-born leaders and
even some American-born leaders, who get buried beneath staples such as
civil rights activists Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. These
leaders and activists have earned their rightful place in history,
however a disservice is done to countless other leaders from around the
world who too fought for Black liberation.<br />
<b><a href="http://d39ya49a1fwv14.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/liberation-lumumba.jpg"><img alt="liberation lumumba" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-165772" src="http://d39ya49a1fwv14.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/liberation-lumumba-600x380.jpg" height="380" width="600" /></a>Patrice Lumumba, 35 </b>(July 2, 1925 – Jan. 17, 1961)<b><br />
</b><br />
Patrice Lumumba was the first democratically elected leader of what
is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lumumba was a
Pan-Africanist who spoke boldly and bravely against the atrocities of
colonialism and passionately about a united Congo with full political
and economic independence.<br />
The Congo, considered then to be Africa’s richest country, had been a
colony of Belgium since the late 1800s, which ruled over it with
brutality while plundering its natural resources. Lumumba’s vision for
making the Congo the “pride of Africa” through true political and
economic independence was a threat to the Belgians and the United States
who were not prepared to relinquish full control of the country’s
resources and labeled him a communist.<br />
The CIA, acting under the orders of U.S. President Dwight
Eisenhower, conspired but failed to assassinate Lumumba via poisoning.
Instead, the United States and Belgium covertly funneled cash and to aid
rival politicians headed by Joseph Désiré Mobutu, who seized power and
arrested Lumumba.<br />
According to Amy Goodman of <i>Democracy Now</i>, on Jan. 17, 1961,
after being beaten and tortured, Lumumba was shot and killed by a
firing squad along with his newly appointed ministers Maurice Mpolo and
Joseph Okito.<br />
<a href="http://d39ya49a1fwv14.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/liberation-biko-1.jpg"><img alt="liberation biko 1" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-165773" src="http://d39ya49a1fwv14.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/liberation-biko-1-600x337.jpg" height="337" width="600" /></a><br />
<b>Stephen Bantu Biko, 30</b> (Dec. 18, 1946 – Sept. 12, 1977)<br />
Steve Biko, regarded as an icon in the anti-apartheid movement,
founded several organizations in an effort to mobilize Black people
against the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. Biko co-founded the
South African Students’ Organization in 1968, an all-Black student
organization focusing on the resistance of apartheid. He later founded
the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), which would empower and mobilize
much of the urban Black population, and co-founded the Black People’s
Convention in 1972.<br />
The BCM gained the most ground as it not only called for resistance
to the policy of apartheid and more rights for South African Blacks, but
also helped to instill Black pride among Black people in the country.<br />
Biko was arrested many times for his anti-apartheid activism. On
Sept. 12, 1977, Biko died in police custody from injuries he sustained
from the arresting officers. In 1997, five officers confessed to killing
Biko after reportedly filling an application for amnesty to the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission.<br />
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Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-37256546695726639372014-12-26T21:24:00.001+00:002014-12-26T21:24:34.855+00:00Leigh Anne Tuohy, Racism, and the White Saviour Complex<h1 class="title">
<a href="http://bellejar.ca/2014/12/15/leigh-anne-tuohy-racism-and-the-white-saviour-complex/" rel="bookmark" title="Leigh Anne Tuohy, Racism, and the White Saviour Complex">Leigh Anne Tuohy, Racism, and the White Saviour Complex</a></h1>
<a class="date" href="http://bellejar.ca/2014/12/15/leigh-anne-tuohy-racism-and-the-white-saviour-complex/">
<span class="day">15</span>
<span class="month">Dec</span>
</a>
Leigh Anne “That Nice Woman Sandra Bullock Played In <em>The Blind Side</em>” Tuohy recently posted the following picture and caption on her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheLeighAnneTuohy/photos/a.499180890154372.1073741824.127801797292285/789847224421069/?type=1&theater">Facebook</a> and Instagram accounts:<br />
<a href="https://bellejarblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10513495_789847224421069_4829368822853743530_n.jpg"><img alt="10513495_789847224421069_4829368822853743530_n" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4231" src="https://bellejarblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10513495_789847224421069_4829368822853743530_n.jpg?w=490" /></a><br />
“<em>We see what we want! It’s the gospel truth! These two were
literally huddled over in a corner table nose to nose and the person
with me said “I bet they are up to no good” well you know me… I walked
over, told them to scoot over. After 10 seconds of dead silence I said
so whats happening at this table? I get nothing.. I then explained it
was my store and they should spill it… They showed me their phones and
they were texting friends trying to scrape up $3.00 each for the high
school basketball game! Well they left with smiles, money for popcorn
and bus fare. We have to STOP judging people and assuming and pigeon
holing people! Don’t judge a book by its cover or however you’d like to
express the sentiment! Accept others and stoping seeing what you want to
see!!!</em>“<br />
The comments on both posts are full of people praising her – telling
her how awesome she is, how open-minded, how kind. Reading these
responses is completely baffling – like, did these people and I all read
the same words?<br />
Let’s break down what happened here:<br />
1. Two teenagers were sitting alone and completely minding their own business.<br />
2. A white woman decides that based on the fact that they are
“huddled” in corner “nose to nose,” they must be “up to no good.”
Because obviously whenever Black people (especially Black men) gather in
public, it’s bad news for the rest of us!<br />
3. Another white woman, one Leigh Anne “I Adopted A Black Boy So I
Can’t Possibly Be Racist” Tuohy, decides that White Lady #1 is wrong.
Which is actually the correct assumption for Ms. Tuohy to make, so I
guess this is where some people are getting confused because we see that
her intent is good, and that makes us want to believe that the action
that follows will also be good. She’s at a crossroad here – two roads
diverged, etc. Had she taken the road less travelled, Ms. Tuohy might
have said to her friend, “Wow, you’re being really racist right now! I’m
not comfortable with how this conversation is going.” Instead, she
decided to confront the teenagers who, as a reminder, have done
absolutely nothing wrong.<br />
4. Leigh Anne Tuohy walks over to the two boys and sits there in silence. I’m sure that wasn’t scary for two Black teenagers <em>at all</em>, especially given recent events.<br />
5. After what was certainly the most awkward ten seconds of those
boys’ lives, Ms. Tuohy asks what’s “happening” at the table. Like, other
than two teenagers sitting there talking like anyone sitting at a table
might do? Some kids are hanging out and chatting. That is what’s
happening.<br />
Unsure of the correct answer to this question – other than “we are
two friends sitting together and not causing any trouble,” which
probably seemed too obvious for them to point out – the boys remain
silent.<br />
6. Leigh Anne tells them that this is her store and they need to “spill.” Again, these kids have done <em>nothing</em> except be in public and be Black.<br />
7. After being interrogated by this woman, and probably afraid that
at the very least she’s about the call the cops, the boys show her their
phones. This part just breaks my brain, like, these two kids had to
show this woman <em>evidence</em> that they are doing exactly what they seem to be doing: sitting at a table and having a conversation.<br />
8. Apparently satisfied with the evidence the boys have presented her
with, Leigh Anne Tuohy gives them bus fare and money for popcorn, but
not before she has White Lady #1 take her picture with them.<br />
9. Ms. Tuohy then posts this picture to social media and receives
thousands of responses lauding her for being such a good person.<br />
Leigh Anne Tuohy profiled two Black kids, invaded their privacy and
interrogated them, but somehow people are behaving as if this is some
kind of wonderful social justice moment. No. Not even a little. This is
some fucked up racial profiling combined with white saviourism, and it
is racist as hell. Assuming that those kids were doing something bad was
racist. Assuming that she could take up space at their table was
racist. Insisting that they talk to her was disrespectful and racist.
Wanting evidence that they weren’t up to no good was racist. Treating
those boys as props to make her look good and then posting this picture
publicly (and honestly, I wonder if the boys consented to that) is
incredibly racist.<br />
Also, can we talk about how problematic using the phrase “don’t judge
a book by its cover” is when it comes to talking about race? First of
all, it begins with the assumption that the “cover” (or in this case,
skin) tells you something unappealing about the contents of the book or
person. It also implies that there is something unattractive or bad
about the “cover” (or, again, skin). I can’t believe that I have to say
this, but: there is nothing wrong or bad about Black skin. Black skin is
not unpleasant or ugly, and to imply that dark skin might devalue
someone is really, really fucked up.<br />
Black people aren’t things. They don’t exist just so that white
people can make a point about themselves. These are two real kids who
not only had to endure this woman’s microaggressions but have now had
their image splashed all over social media – the Facebook picture alone
has 150,000 likes and over 12,000 shares. Step away for a hot second
from this white woman’s narrative, and think about how those teenagers
must feel – having their privacy invaded, having assumptions made about
them based on their race, and now having a white woman use their images
to get praise for herself.<br />
Now tell me again about how Leigh Anne Tuohy did a good thing.<br />
UPDATE:<br />
One of the two teens involved has responded on Instagram (his name has been blurred out for privacy):<br />
<a href="https://bellejarblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/1610829_10154910203090551_2129773649951817695_n.jpg"><img alt="1610829_10154910203090551_2129773649951817695_n" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4251" src="https://bellejarblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/1610829_10154910203090551_2129773649951817695_n.jpg?w=490" /></a><br />
<strong>Person One aka Teen Leigh Anne Tuohy approached at KFC</strong>:<br />
<em>Yeah people don’t know what really happened because I actually
had money I have a job and have had one for over a year I was gonna pay
for my brother the other guy in the picture but he was insisting on
waiting on his uncle but his phone was dying so we were charging it
which is the reason we were in KFC in the first <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">place.and</span>
the game was only a 3 min walk up the street I don’t see why she said
bus fare that kinda ticked me off a little but the way she worded it is
making us sound less fortunate and that isn’t the case at all & when
she came over to us she never mentioned her initial reason was because
of her friends comment im just now finding that out</em><br />
<strong>Person Two</strong>:<br />
<em>May I ask how she asked for the photo?</em><br />
<strong>Person One</strong>:<br />
<em>Yeah she never actually asked for it as she was handing us the
money she was like “hey you know what I think this would be a great
picture” and everyone with her was yeah totally so we just kinda went
along with the situation like sure why not your Michael Oher’s mom but
the whole time I was thinking you know why’d she come up to us in the
first place I was still clueless up until she posted the picture on
social media and stated “the person with me said I bet they’re up to no
good.”</em><br />
<br />
<div class="fl" id="logo">
<span class="site-title"><a href="http://bellejar.ca/">Reposted from The Belle Jar</a></span><a href="http://bellejar.ca/about/"> I am, I am, I am Blog..</a>
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Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-47776832263692350392014-12-26T21:17:00.002+00:002014-12-26T21:17:41.997+00:00'Eyes On The Prize' the full series online.<span class="text_exposed_show"></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbv610vH3QY/VJ3QD7UEFrI/AAAAAAAAAWU/Jf_yyvChDo0/s1600/eyes%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bprixe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbv610vH3QY/VJ3QD7UEFrI/AAAAAAAAAWU/Jf_yyvChDo0/s1600/eyes%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bprixe.jpg" height="147" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />
"Eyes on the PRIZE is an American television series and 14-hour
documentary about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The
documentary originally aired on the PBS network and also aired in the
United Kingdom on BBC2. Created and executive-produced by Henry Hampton
at Blackside, Inc., the series uses archival footage and interviews of
PARTICIPANTS and opponents of the movement. The title of the series is
derived from the folk song "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize," which is used
in each episode as the opening theme music.<br /> Since its debut, the
series has been lauded for its depiction of the Civil Rights Movement.
The documentary is used extensively in primary and secondary schools, as
well as, other educational settings as a way to convey the experiences
and struggle for civil rights in the United States."</span></span></span></div>
<br />
Eyes On The Prize - 01 - "Awakenings" 1954-1956 <a href="http://youtu.be/hvi61zJRcJ0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/hvi61zJRcJ0</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 02 - "Fighting Back" 1957-1962 <a href="http://youtu.be/CSRSUp-nTZM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/CSRSUp-nTZM</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 03 - "Ain't Scared Of Your Jails" 1960-1961 <a href="http://youtu.be/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be</a><a href="http://youtu.be /CSRSUp-nTZM" target="_blank"> /CSRSUp-nTZM</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 04 - "No Esay Walk" 1961-1963 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FkMFm2dSEwfo&h=9AQHk-lO1&enc=AZNP3VfEzfSGgWG_7N-lWLvu1Jyt2DBeNNpaw7vYlQovj_2blfnd3M-t5XL3KtWoskfcpRKsn2-826qCTBdxQed9cG_88HM7ZMMNrdW_272_GqJGU8VvMtTFwt6yciHzeHTI_Wmv4yS5E8n-f2hwf7Omwc5m1V9yQb9YZsqK7rXgYw&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/kMFm2dSEwfo</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 05 - "Mississippi, is This America" 1962-1964 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2Fhvi61zJRcJ0&h=eAQFe-RvO&enc=AZMJ2dLLUj-ZSXEOt_kSav3khV-o1PmAiUy6UL90ytTSH61RyZdaUVOyDv0-e6HKoj5-zVGI3ZUAg1vYZ3uy0YQRw7wqVqyIX8rvxigtXS52nRIww03amQ0YrV37ppNerF0zQPWDATM-HypGejlfdyrNQQ6cnHlmrvTRilZklU6Dtw&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/hvi61zJRcJ0</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 06 - "Bridge To Freedom" 1965 <a href="http://youtu.be/n58lSQxLs-s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/n58lSQxLs-s</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 07 - "The Time Has Come" 1964-165 <a href="http://youtu.be/3tu9zcf-LVU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/3tu9zcf-LVU</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 08 - "Two Societies" 1965-1968 <a href="http://youtu.be/hy9S6sorjEk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/hy9S6sorjEk</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 09 - "Power!" 1967-1968 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FRC14zAhmTA8&h=5AQE6OCJF&enc=AZOx-GQPe-yPwZR0ROcghIVer7uTWVgPvgS3xHC4FrvQ71fm24HOJS03bNH-6i9ZG1uFx0NDi3uNoedWa2Ur72JwAF0qikEc2UN1Y8lKRqKzuA-03Pmv7iBVL2CCrCXcIXaFsMB25sK6yuFhlaWkPklim_vb1guQi65MOT5Euc48PQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/RC14zAhmTA8</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 10 - "The Promised Land" 1967-1978 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FQ3Ka9t1wCD4&h=sAQGMY4Qv&enc=AZPDFK3eNhHaGXLE7QfBpEQ5SaIRII7LDLCTt_oabUlhowwLhSfiK-nNvacAQiRlpP4bx99m4u4F9ZTa82A332rYErMxT67-iaErLEApP8lqnWY0gx0Fo4w5QetlDdobiC86KE5chkzoQyKLgm3MtBBLAeOOnOXbMMf-rRrf7pL63w&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/Q3Ka9t1wCD4</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 11 - "Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More" 1964-1972 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2Ft0Bltf60uEU&h=GAQFdN_T_&enc=AZOQ7M91-6mGYpirjRpluBdPjmi-TN01iQQpzg3SNVGzb5X7EyNQBOiVYsxt8nrAHDaVYltJzyN5LVHNe_z7smCBOET1I9gu0m8mRFuy5BrJ3DqBz98_6R-pwCMV_-G5V9hz_k0DuaEzY-zcpXdvg5n38UqYlfFEpbw2i0om8Mjr1w&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/t0Bltf60uEU</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 12 - "A Nation Of Law?" 1967-1968 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FdijilFFa9ws&h=PAQHH_hj3&enc=AZPpc0cbFaXLfdaqTUVqjqqswdLNUsCUBQoF6g5oHaEc6zeYP7Z5gZIvoLaDFk-V-g8ekg_L9mv17JS63AhjsaLvsCKkLNyvmFleOPx1uG9NMz6YSENuWg3NJ8YzK3PxVf57_5-26CZqbUY1YPwLpb9m6JVGgKXAhfF7j-Xt05E6rA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/dijilFFa9ws</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 13 - "The Keys To The Kingdom" 1974-1980 <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FI2C3WqOrURQ&h=JAQE70dKe&enc=AZN8ErLFjGsSTg-Q5asi-BgnR3yaO2AuziHFnAqfu9PR5PvGM9xScqZyh5jeOi_l-anq-knXK8KaJNoXK6M2v6AyQyAto1WoL2tkCKebi1CHcHgbKfeaIZncMEaNCUuVcfJ1IEM73hCxCCqrdu_5mjBNxymkpCkUmBlSSBSDLVuiOQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/I2C3WqOrURQ</a><br />
Eyes On The Prize - 14 - "Back To The Movement" 1979-1980s <a href="http://youtu.be/Z8OP2kLulOY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/Z8OP2kLulOY</a></div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-50881094652501778492014-10-23T17:41:00.002+01:002014-10-23T17:41:51.476+01:00Who sold the soul or the Misrepresentation of Black Music origins? <div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span>Who sold
the soul or the Misrepresentation of Black Music origins? </span></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>So one of the most important music legends Sir John
Holt died very recently and yet not a mention was made last night at the very
awards that should have been paying homage to his musical legacy. Even the
recipients of the MOBOs Reggae awards category omitted to say anything about
Sir John Holt. Therefore it's time to ask some serious questions about this
annual Corplantation back slapping event.<span> </span><span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Originally the idea behind
the MOBO awards from the organisers seems to have been to hold an awards
ceremony to acknowledge the Black contributions to various musical categories. Black
Artists who were continually ignored in the British music industries own annual
back slapping awards events would finally be recognised by their own. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>The regular Music industry events usually led to if
not a permanent place at least a temporary amount of quality access to the
international and home commercial music markets that many thought were very too
tightly controlled by larger concerns like the main Radio Stations (BBC), Major
Record companies & Media in order to keep the profile of Black British music
artists in check.<span> </span><span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Every year without fail a succession of creditable Black
British music artist were overlooked for any proper acknowledgement from the
main music industry awards. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Some would say that White privilege was in full effect
and the “We keep the masters and we will let you slave off that” Major Record
company mentality ruled supreme! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Major award ceremonies like the 'BRITS' for example
constantly promised but never delivered anything of worth to black music artists
who were for all intents and purposes ‘Invited to the house’ but it always felt
like they were made to metaphorically ‘stand in the garden’. Into this over the
top white privileged music world strode the self appointed Black Music awards
saviours the MOBOs who placed themselves right in the middle of the road to what
we hoped would be to put a stop to this oversight and at the same time to supposedly
be the antidote to all that was wrong with all the regular music Industry Awards,
I mean didn’t the Black Americans have the BET awards? At the same time these
MOBOs would take on the mantle of a kind of glittering noble Arthurian Black
Knights club, by naming themselves the MOBOs - motto ‘Saviours of all Music of
Black Origin’. We bring the funk to your awards world, however as we have seen all
that ‘glitters is definitely not gold’, because the funk cannot only move, it
can also remove! In this case it removed the main ingredient ‘Soul’.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>From its inception however the MOBOs had a troublesome
time in establishing or describing what it actually meant to do or stand for, by
choosing an anagram name that probably had good intentions at the outset but unfortunately
regularly missed the bus, by offering a kind of delusion of inclusion pick and
mix awards. Important categories like Rock; Blues & Soul were excluded to
the bemusement of everyone. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Instead the MOBOs seemed to take on the mantle of - in
the words of Screaming Jay Hawkins "Black music for White folk" Words
like Urban, R & B were the new grand titles or elements that were used on the
frontline of this new dawn to bamboozle MOBOs followers into believing that the
music of Black Origins were safe in their capable hands. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span><span> </span>“Show me the Mammy”</span></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>A showboating, all bells ringing Twerking spectacle
was offered up for the Corplantations for each MOBO awards night. Posturing faux
gangsters throwing shapes posing in Hired dinner jackets, clinking crystal -
drinking champagne, these fashion Chaps and Chapettes were the Bizniz, The happiest
and most welcome folk shown on our televisions in ages. Presented by Industry
standard walking Auto tune stalwarts, who were constantly changing costumes
like amateur dramatic pantomime Dames. What a show! Roll up, Roll up, Nuff Skin
Tweet, Instagraming, Facebooking film it on your phone. These were Native instruments
of a very different digital kind. If you were watching, looking, thinking you
could dig at all. Well this was a sign of the times, Come on get real or get
lost! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>This really was a new beginning further exasperated by
a heavy handed ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’ manoeuvre that
continually drained away at that most important of all the elements needed to
have full credibility in a Black Music experience ‘Soul” Yes a troublesome but
important four lettered word called Soul was fast becoming the MOBOs Kryptonite.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>The <b>NOBROs</b>
a name that has quickly been gathering pace, was a term coined from influential
Black British musicians, whose intelligent use of social media platforms has
helped to highlight issues and problems within the music industry and to show
their disapproval at the shallow path that the MOBOs has followed.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span>“Pop will
eat its Selfie”</span></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>How much product did the artists shift?<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Have they
crossed over into the Pop charts?<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Are they on the front
cover of any magazines?<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>These
seem to have been the gleeful guiding criteria looked at by those MOBOs in choosing
who were nominated and in designating categories as well as who actually won
the MOBOs awards. Normally these would be the main Criteria taken into
consideration for industry awards however the MOBOs had from the outset
promised so much more. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>The historic white privilege music industry key-holders
sighed in relief as its own artists continually won the MOBOs awards, It was pretty
much business as usual.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span>"Stop
talking all that Jazz”</span></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>There were also troublesome years when for instance
the Jazz category was inexplicably dropped from the awards!!!! Leading to
successful protest lead by Jazz musicians like Abram Wilson and Soweto
Kinch.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>I mean if Jazz is not of black origin then what is? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Fortunately the organisers were made to see sense
through the sheer weight of protests that they very quickly reinstated the jazz
Category the next year. By the way did you know most years the Jazz award
ceremony is held off camera? Yes, kind of like the Brother under the stairs or
just the black Sheep of the family. The winners are almost hidden away.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>So winners like his years much-deserved recipient Zara
McFarlane are unfortunately denied the chance to reach a wider audience in their
moment of triumph.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span>‘Soul the
MOBOs Kryptonite’.<span> </span></span></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Singer Omar & and Brit funk and Black music legend
Bluey of ‘Incognito’ fame, led well orchestrated protests that brought much needed
mainstream media attention to the fact that music with Soul was omitted from
any category recognition... To think if James brown were alive even he would
have trouble raising any interest from these MOBOs!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span>"Popularity
breeds contempt or is it much Hilarity?"</span></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>So in conclusion, as yet another years MOBO awards
ceremony garners ridicule, frustration & bemusement partly at the
Presentation, but mostly at the validity of something that is clearly not fit
for purpose. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>It once again raises vexed and very valid questions that
have rose each year.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>If music such as Rock, Blues, Soul, Funk are still not
afforded any place or recognition at the MOBOs then for what purpose does this
award ceremony actually serve? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>What in the eyes of MOBOS constitutes Black
origin music? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Or should the words
Misappropriation or Misrepresentation of Black Music origins be used instead? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-73389946771331423682014-10-11T03:15:00.001+01:002014-10-11T03:15:25.909+01:00Bob Law: History of Black Radio and the Removal of Black Militant Thought.... written by Bob Law<div class="breadcrumb" style="text-align: justify;">
Bob Law: History of Black Radio and the Removal of Black Militant Thought</div>
<div class="post-info" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="date published time" title="2014-09-24T18:55:20+00:00">September 24, 2014</span> By <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://hiphopandpolitics.com/author/nuttabutta/" rel="author">mrDaveyd</a></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://hiphopandpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screen-Shot-2014-09-24-at-6.04.13-PM.png"><img alt="Bob Law" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-12919" src="http://hiphopandpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screen-Shot-2014-09-24-at-6.04.13-PM-300x227.png" height="227" width="300" /></a>Over the past few weeks <b>Hard Knock Radio</b>
has been doing a series of interviews focusing on the state of Black
media. Such a series would not be complete without getting some critical
insight from long time freedom fighter and media justice advocate <b>Bob Law.</b> He is one of the Godfathers of Black radio and has never wavered in using the airwaves as a tool for liberation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In our conversation, he gives a serious history lesson not just on
the evolution of Black Radio and the role it has long played in the
Black Freedom Struggle, but he also talked to us about how there has
been an attempt to remove, silence and erase any institutional memory of
Black militant and radical thought. Law painstakingly details how that
has been happening and breaks down the reasons why.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Law pinpoints much of this removal with the release of the 1972 <b>Harvard Report, officially known as </b> ‘<i>Study of the Soul Music Environment</i>‘
. This was a white paper commissioned by Columbia Records and done by a
group of Harvard Business students on how to take over the Black
independent music scene. <b>Clive Davis</b> was the head of
Columbia at that time. Law details how that report coincided with other
attempts in film and TV to eradicate, marginalize and ridicule strident,
politicized Black voice in the music and entertainment industry.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
During our discussion, we play an excerpt from a speech given to Black music industry executives by <b>Minister Farrakhan</b> in 1979 who makes note of this change. That speech is contrasted with a speech <b>Martin Luther King</b>
gave to a similar body of Black music industry folks in August 1967,
where he heaped praise on them and emphasized that there would be no
Civil Rights Movement had it not been for Black Radio. The organization
he spoke to at that time was called <b>NATRA</b> (National Association of Television and Radio Announcers)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
During our interview Law details what took place after King gave that
speech. He explained that NATRA was destroyed by white industry
executives who were concerned about their growing power and political
influence. That destruction and silencing has never stopped.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This interview is a serious history lesson from a pioneering figure who really knows his stuff.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/mrdaveyd/hkr-09-22-14-bob-law-the-history-of-black-radio-no-justice-no-profit" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/mrdaveyd/hkr-09-22-14-bob-law-the-history-of-black-radio-no-justice-no-profit</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here’s a couple of things to give more context to Bob Law’s remarks..
First is a video fo from ABC News with former FBI agents talking about
studying and destroying Black Culture.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHnUFpCeGxQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHnUFpCeGxQ</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="embed-youtube" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The second is excerpts from that Dr King’s speech given to <b>NATRA</b> juxtaposed with Minister Farrakhan’s speech given 12 years later.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHdnMfGtAxM" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHdnMfGtAxM</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="embed-youtube" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Below is an article Law recently penned called <b>Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air.</b> It his take on where Black radio is at right now<b><br />
</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i> If one should desire to know if a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>of it</i><i>’</i><i>s music will furnish the answer. — Confucius</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i> <a href="http://hiphopandpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screen-Shot-2014-09-24-at-6.52.53-PM1.png"><img alt="Bob Law" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-12922" src="http://hiphopandpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screen-Shot-2014-09-24-at-6.52.53-PM1-300x247.png" height="247" width="300" /></a></i>Currently
the airwaves are filled with messages that are violently anti woman,
anti Black and in a real sense anti life itself. We are inundated with
lyrics, dialogue, and images, from music videos, song lyrics and DJ
comments that glorify violence while encouraging the degradation and
exploitation of women, to video games that require that you kill people
in order to stay in the game and move forward.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To understand our concern, perhaps it is helpful to understand the
emotional significance and influence of music. As noted musician David
Byrne has explained, music tells us things, social things, psychological
things, physical things about how we feel and perceive our bodies, and
it does it in a way that other art forms cannot. It is not only in the
lyrics as Byrne and others have pointed out, it is also the combination
of sounds, rhythms, and vocal textures that communicate in ways that
bypass the reasoning centers of the brain and go straight to our
emotions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Poet Larry Neal, one of the architects of the Black Arts movement of
the 1960’s has said that our music has always been the most dominate
manifestation of what we are and how we feel. The best of it has always
operated at the very core of our lives. It is the music that can affirm
our highest possibilities. That may be precisely why the best of our
music is under siege.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is also important to understand that in this society, music
conveys social status. Being associated with certain kinds of music can
increase your social standing, Consider the higher level of
sophistication associated with opera or classical music, or the level of
cool sophistication associated with the music of Coltrane, Monk and
Miles.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some have suggested that while we may indeed like the music, often
what we really like is the company it puts us in. In this sense the
music creates a community or life style that is validated by the
acceptance of the music. It is the music that validates the “Gangsta”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Currently the airwaves are dominated by a body of music, images and
ideas that has established a code of behavior that denigrates women, and
encourages the murdering of Black people. It is a lifestyle where all
women are “Hoes” and “B—–s”. Consider this “gangsta” lyric. “I got a
shotgun, and heres the plot. Takin Niggas out with a flurry of buckshots
. Yeah I was gunnin and then you look, all you see is niggas runin”.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Music, images and dialogue that offers another view cant get
reasonable airplay. The airwaves are regulated by the FCC, a commission
that was established in 1934 to regulate in the public interest. When
George Bush installed Michel Powell as Chairman of the commission, in
2001, Powell said he did not know what in the public interest meant.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since the 1996 telecommunications act which set the framework for
deregulation, the FCC has been reduced to pablum serving only to
sanction the acquisition of broadcast frequencies and license to the
mega media corporations which has resulted in the concentration of media
ownership into the hands of very few.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Under the major revisions of US telecommunications law, the first
since the 1930s, members of the general public no longer have “legal
standing” to challenge broadcast policy or to insure that the public
interest is served. Now it is the licensee (station owner) that controls
content.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Previously the station owners rented the airwaves, while the general
public owned the airwaves. That is no longer the case. None the less the
Federal Communications Commission is still directly responsible to
congress, and since Black media ownership is a major casualty of
deregulation, and since the diversity of opinion and ideas coming
directly from the Black experience in the world are being removed from
the marketplace of ideas, we have appealed to the Congressional Black
Caucus in general and the New York congressional delegation in
particular to urge congress to reexamine the current function and
effectiveness of the FCC.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our first appeal to the CBC was December 6 2012, and in spite of
additional attempts to reach members of the CBC, to date congress
members, Evette Clark, Gregory Meeks and Hakeem Jeffries have freely
dismissed our appeals to them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps if there is a link established between the murderous video
games and the young white boys who routinely walk onto a school campus
or shopping mall with automatic weapons and open fire, congress might
then act to reestablish some guidelines that would force broadcasters to
allow for input from the community in the effort to balance what is
being offered on Americas broadcast spectrum.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But as long as Black people, especially Black women are the primary
victims of this insidious violence, even the increasingly irrelevant
Black congressional leadership ignores us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Franz Fannon is correct, “Ultimately a people get the government /
leadership they deserve” It is time to support the kind of leadership we
truly deserve.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
written by Bob Law</div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-64412880340975294622014-10-10T22:12:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:12:03.727+01:00Julius Eastman: Gay Guerrilla (1979) 2/2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UfxQDoLC7H8" width="459"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-71889272807011537412014-10-10T22:11:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:11:40.404+01:00Julius Eastman: Gay Guerrilla (1979) 1/2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pdeckwHGoog" width="459"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-20700458101704695052014-10-10T22:10:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:10:10.841+01:00Julius Eastman: Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc (1981)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e7OJwk23SnA" width="459"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-8233298039332352642014-10-10T22:08:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:08:36.731+01:00Julius Eastman: The Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc (1981) 2/2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pL2heKRMtLk" width="459"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-9744111047104992822014-10-10T22:06:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:06:37.092+01:00Julius Eastman: The Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc (1981) 1/2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/prfD5o9d-aI" width="459"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-25359161912672886482014-10-10T22:05:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:05:05.996+01:00Julius Eastman - Crazy Nigger<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cNqsIXt48Ok" width="480"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-9118140872621844922014-10-10T22:04:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:04:08.691+01:00Julius Eastman - Evil Nigger (Part 2)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TIL2tJi7Lo4" width="480"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-9768117097953953592014-10-10T22:03:00.001+01:002014-10-10T22:03:18.463+01:00Julius Eastman - Evil Nigger (Part 1)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s2r_dL50BOM" width="480"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-47421097235408962272014-10-10T21:47:00.007+01:002014-10-10T21:47:56.854+01:0052 Niggers By Stacy Hardy. <h1 class="title" style="text-align: justify;">
52 Niggers<strong> </strong>
</h1>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Julius Eastman had a way of walking. He had a swagger, a way of
swinging hips. He rarely strolled or ran. Instead, skin tight jeans/
black leathers slung low on his waist, sucked down by the velocity of
his gait, he cruised and rolled. He played loose. He played cool. He
worked fast.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julius-Eastman-Photo-Donald-Burkhardt.jpg"><img alt="Julius Eastman Photo - Donald Burkhardt" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-789" height="471" src="http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julius-Eastman-Photo-Donald-Burkhardt.jpg" width="604" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He scored Stay on It in one sitting. He wrote through the night, the
full next day, the next night. He wrote fast. He wrote moment, place. He
wrote sentiment and soul. He orchestrated the body: his body, body in
motion, body as it flexes to move a pen, form a fist, make mark, lift a
drink.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He rewrote the classical music canon. He inserted pop. He noted free
improvisation. He bucked the conventions. He fucked minimalism. He
reworked the rulebook: Cage’s anal atonal progressions, Glass’ linear
additive processes, Reich’s phasing and block additive methods. He
started the Post Minimalist revolution, New Music, Improvisation, call
it whatever you like.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He made the call. He beat them all to it: John Cage, Steve Reich,
Philip Glass. This was 1973. This was America. Glass was still only
glistening on the surface. Reich was outside the country, hauled up
somewhere in Africa, playing poacher, plundering Ghanaian polyrhythmic
beats. Cage was still stuck in his cage, his soundproof room, his
anechoic chamber. Cage was still tuning silence; tuning into his nervous
system in operation, low throb of his blood in circulation. Cage was
tuning: “Until we die there will be sounds.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Who needs them? Eastman was already at the edge. While Cage could
only hear his body, Eastman’s music mapped those sounds: pulses
pounding, sweat producing, blood surging in veins. While Reich filched,
Eastman felched, digging his tongue deep, exposing himself, getting off
on his own shit. Fuck the division between private and public, feral
cruise and cocktail soirée. Fuck stuffy formalism of avant-garde
composition: “forms”, “malls”, “isms” and restrictions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“He had radar that could detect bullshit.” He hated that shit. He
hated hip hyp-o-crazy: the lecture halls, the concert chamber; the sound
proofed rooms and white gallery cubes. Everything purged of colour.
Specifically: all the walls and the ceilings and the floors; white. More
white than white, the kind of white that repels. No smells, no noise,
no colour; no doubt and no dirt. No nothing. No eating, no drinking, no
pissing, no shitting, no sucking, no fucking.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He rebelled. He headed out. He hit the gay clubs, the crack houses,
disco dens. He listened up to the sound on the street. He saw the
violence. He saw the hate. He saw anger. It moved him. It ran him. It
called his shots. He stayed cool with it. He stayed justified. He
channelled the rage. He wrote it down. He stayed on It; He spread the
word. He said: “Find presented a work of art, in your name, full of
honour, integrity, and boundless courage.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was futile. They ignored him. They indulged him. They used him.
They strung him along. A black face looked good on record. 1974. The
Creative Associates on the bench of the Albright-Knox Gallery. Official
photograph. Used by permission. Front, l-r: Julius Eastman. His features
a blur, the white balance thrown out – shooting for white – just a
duffle coat and sneakers, just an outline, a black smudge, a dark mark,
stop gap framed by smiling white faces.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They used him to fill the gaps. Petr Kotik looked him up. He was
putting together a concert series. Big names: John Cage, Earle Brown,
and Christian Wolff, the original New York School. They wanted to
diversify. They were looking for someone to represent. Kotik wooed him.
Kotik went through the motions. Kotik invited him around. Uptown
apartment. Konik at the door. He said, “Come in. Straight through here.”
He pointed with his hand. He led the way. He said, “Grab a seat.”
Eastman sat. Eastman stared. Fancy pad: white walls, plants and lights,
stiff long-back chair. Konik poured drinks. Konik smiled. Konik paid lip
service. “What kind of music do you want to hear? You hungry?”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He said, “Big Break.” He said, “Big names: John Cage, Earle Brown,
Christian Wolff.” Eastman sat, stared. Eastman listened. Eastman timed
the pause. He felt the hate. He felt the anger. He started to say – No,
wait. Maybe? He took a breath. He challenged the rage. He counted notes.
He took the score. He said, “Sure Pete!” He sat. He smiled. He had this
craaazy idea.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The performance took place. 1975. The June in Buffalo Festival, SUNY
Buffalo. Now legendary. Now infamous. Kyle Gale told and retold the
story: “Chaotic at best! Eastman performed the segment of Cage’s
Songbooks that was merely the instruction, ‘Give a lecture.’ Never shy
about his gayness, Eastman lectured on sex, with a young man and woman
as volunteers. He undressed the young man onstage, and attempted to
undress the woman…”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julius-Eastman-laughing.jpg"><img alt="Julius Eastman laughing" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-793" height="344" src="http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julius-Eastman-laughing.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He started with her top button. He worked fast. He worked
fastidiously. His hands jumped. He dripped sweat. Second button, third.
She wasn’t sure. She trembled. She shut her eyes. Fourth button. The
audience twittered. The audience buzzed. She looked up. She made eye
contact. Her eyes swam. She grabbed his hand. Everything froze. Time
hung back. She looked down. She broke free. The audiences erupted. The
audience roared. Someone stormed the stage. Someone hit the lights.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All hell broke loose. John Cage freaked. Cage raged. Was that meant
to be a joke? Who’s laughing? Am I laughing? He came down hard. He came
down spitting words, throwing authority. He said, “I’m tired of people
who think that they can do whatever they want with my music!” He
stormed. He banged the piano with his fist.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He said, “The freedom in my music does not mean the freedom to be
irresponsible!” He used his lecture’s voice. He couldn’t make the break.
For all his talk about crossing boundaries – noise/ music, life/ art –
he couldn’t take the leap. His “anti-art” was still the same old shit:
natural law devalued, social tradition minimized, rebellious gestures
only accepted if they stayed safely walled in, caged within the
tradition they sought to denied. Cage as cage.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even his thinking on silence was caged, locked within the audible
order, a lecturer’s voice: something to learn, rather than lose yourself
in. Silence as ambient sound, nonintended sound. Silence as the sounds
of life. He said, “Until we die there will be sounds.” He said there
will only be silence in death. The implication was left hanging: we
can’t experience our own death so we can’t experience silence. Silence,
like death was the impossible crossing of a border. Audibility vs.
inaudibility, life vs. death: oppositions that can’t be overcome,
borders that can’t be crossed. And the hierarchy was clear: Life was
where it was at. Death was the undesirable, a dispensable deviation,
something to be silenced.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cage said, “I have nothing to say and I am saying it.” Eastman had
something to say and he was unsaying it. Cage raged and lectured.
Eastman acted. He showed up the con of Cage’s “instructions”. He
de-con-structed. He gave voice to silence. He injected real life, lived
experiences, street politics into art. He created an unsound
politico-musical discourse, a line of flight that radically threatened
Cage’s abstract political discourse, the white language of the classical
avant-garde. He scared the shit out of Cage.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cage reacted. Cage hit back. He said, “Irresponsible!” He rallied
support. Walter Zimmermann called it “rotten”. Peter Gena said, “Abuse!”
Petr Kotik called it “sabotage”. He said, “I should have guessed he was
unsuitable.” He said, “scandal.” Eastman was tagged: Crazy Nigger. The
reputation stuck. The blacklist built: Eastman the Evil Nigger, Eastman
the Savant Saboteur, Gay Guerrilla sooo-preme.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His guitarist brother Gerry said, “Give it up Julius. Play jazz. At
least a black man can make half a living playing jazz.” Fuck that shit,
man. He refused. He knew the score; their story is history: crazy
black gay mutherfucker, all danger and despair and downward trajectory.
Ismael Reed’s old “post-Mailer syndrome”, the “Wallflower Order”: “Jes
Grew, the Something or Other that led Charlie Parker to scale the
Everests of the Chord… manic in the artist who would rather do
glossolalia than be neat clean or lucid.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He refused to be composed. He answered them with If You’re So Smart,
Why Aren’t You Rich? A 20-minute fuck you. Fuck you to your score. Your
over-determined definitions of what it means to be black. Pre-de-scribed
borders and hierarchies: beginning/end, classical/jazz, silence/sound,
hite/black, between order/ disorder, meaning and meaninglessness, life
and death.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He worked on unweaving the whiteness from within. He started at the
end, a funeral march, a single line, chromatic scales on slow ascent,
going going then BAM! Drawing it up, drawing it out, ripping it open, a
quickdraw halt, a slash, a silence, coma, full stop, semicolon connoting
rhythm of speech, interrupted thought. Then more scales, building
slowing, coalescing, multiplying the metre into a seething swarm, a
glowing brass mass where desire equals death, where death, and the
approach to human death, is no longer an end but a beginning.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He kept his own score. He rocked up for rehearsals dressed like a
jazz cat, a disco queen. All black leather and chains and dripping
desire and fuck yous. He pitched high or drunk. He hung loose, he jived,
whisky slung low in left hand, a tight fist. Then he hit the piano and
everything changed. Time changed. Time redacted. Space erased. Knuckles
became fluid, joints broken down, fingertips riding hard and wide;
trembling then going taut.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The contradiction was too much. They wrote him out. They wrote him
off. They accused him of silencing himself. “He could have had it so
good if only he hadn’t had the personality problems.” He lost his post
at SUNY-Buffalo. They called him in. The office. Two chairs. One desk.
The books lining the walls like ghosts from another epoch. The Professor
shuffled papers. His button down shirt perfect white, white on white.
He cleared throat. He glanced up. He said, “Take a seat”. He
cited, “Neglect of administrative duties.” Eastman didn’t stay for the
rest. He walked. He took the stairs. He said, Paperwork? Fucking
paperwork? He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Outside it was warm.
Thirty degrees at noon. Campus was crammed. Students between lectures,
taking lunch. They jostled him. They pushed past.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He kept walking. He followed the sound on the street. Downtown, 1980,
music pumped from open windows and revved motors, fragments and
samples, notes and the repetitions. Richard Pryor’s world of “junkies
and winos, pool hustlers and prostitutes, women and family” all
screaming to be heard.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He wrote hard and fast. He scored Evil Nigger, Gay Guerrilla, Crazy
Nigger in close succession. He tore into classical tropes and
constructs. He deconstructed. He found rhythm. Street politics embedded
in the beat, the repeated piano riffs, the propulsive badbadDUMbadaDUM
brass blasts. Cool cadence balanced rhythmic flow, as in poetry, as in
the measured beat of movement, as in dancing, as in the rising and
falling of music, of the inflections of a voice, modulations and
progressions of chords, moving, moving through a point beyond sight,
sound, vision, being.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He played the preacher man, rocking out on a counting-in chant,
“one-two-three-four”. He played the poet. He re-dubbed Lee Perry’s “I am
the Upsetter. I am what I am, and I am he that I am”. He wrote The Holy
Presence of Joan of Arc. He said, “This one is to those who think they
can destroy liberators by acts of treachery, malice and murder.” He
rapped Richard Pryor’s Supernigger. He was unstoppable.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He played The Kitchen. He hit the stage alongside Merdith Monk and
Peter Gordon. He hooked up with Arthur Russell. He toured Europe. He
filled houses. He flew off. He came back. He put out feelers to record.
He was ready to get it down. To get it out. Reich’s Music for 18
Musicians was going massive. Glass’ Metamorphosis was everywhere. He
contacted cats he knew via the circuit. He said, “What’ve you got
going?” He waited. He made more calls. He chain smoked and watched TV.
He slept through whole days. He woke. He drunk whisky. He slept. He
watched TV. Old Pryor skits on NBC. “White. Black. Coloured. Redneck.
Jungle bunny. Honky! Spade! Honky honky! Nigger! Dead honky. Dead
nigger.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julius-Eastman-Evil-Nigger-Score.jpg"><img alt="Julius Eastman - Evil Nigger Score" class="aligncenter wp-image-791" height="561" src="http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julius-Eastman-Evil-Nigger-Score.jpg" width="718" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He played the college circuit just to keep going. North Western 1980.
Members of the faculty took offence. The African American fraternity
didn’t like the nigger shit. It was like Édouard Glissant never existed.
Like Ismael Reed, Richard Pryor, hip-hop never happened. No word on the
street. He had to explain. From the beginning. “Recontextualization?
You know the whole ‘re-appropriation’, ‘recannibalisation’ thing?”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He took to the mic. He said: “There are three pieces on the
programme. The first is called Evil Nigger and the second is called Gay
Guerrilla and the third is called Crazy Nigger.” He spoke smooth. He
flowed easy. He mirrored Pryor’s buzz in making obscenities sing. He
paused after each title. He let it hang. He waited for it: the reaction,
breath suspended, waiting for a ripple, a laugh, some kind of
recognition of the humour at play. Nothing. Fuck. His audience was
silent. Not even a twitter, a nervous giggle. He held the pause a second
longer – Jesus, even he felt like laughing – but no, nothing. Just
silence, just Eastman, just his nerves’ systematic operation, his
blood’s endless circulation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He tried again. His voice wavered. His voice woofered. It bounced
high and wide. FUCK – Overfeed. Overamp. From the start. He said,
“Nigger is that person or thing that attains to a basicness or a
fundamentalness, and eschews that which is superficial, or, could we
say, elegant.” He said, “There are 99 names of Allah.” He paused. He
said, “There are 52 niggers.” But still it wouldn’t go away. The
whiteness always returned, whiteness woven into the fabric of Culture,
whiteness locking everything else out. Silent. White faces stared back.
Blank, unmoved: they could see only one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One more drink. One more pill. It was getting tight. 1982. Nothing
coming. The walls closed in. Cash was low. The apartment cost. The clubs
cost. The drink cost. He got headaches. He drank himself to sleep. He
swallowed whisky shooters. He popped uppers. He shot poppers. A downhill
slide. Cornell University turned him down. “He was just too damn
outrageous.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A failed application to the Paris Conservatoire. The letter came in
the post. One white envelope, black type. He said, “Damn them damn them
damn them.” He tore it up. He let it drop. He headed out to score. He
head east, the lower Eastside. Further out, the windows all covered
meshed-over glass burglar proof stuff; homeboys on the sidewalks rhyming
beefs, little men with big shirts and the chicks in tight skirts.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He kept going. He walked. He didn’t give a shit. He felt zero. He
felt zip. He felt ate up. His skin buzzed. He took a left. He crunched
glass underfoot. He took a right. Low door. Dark interior. Match boxes
and glass pipes. Cracker jacks on low stools. White smoke that hung in
low clouds. He took a seat. He took the hit. He sucked deep. He held it
in. He let go. He felt it hit. His mouth closed. His head dropped
black. His eyes rolled. And white appeared. Absolute white. White beyond
all whiteness.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
White of the coming of white. White without compromise, through
exclusion, through total eradication of non-white. Insane, enraged
white, screaming with whiteness. Fanatical, furious, riddling the
victim. Horrible electric white, implacable, murderous. White in bursts
of white. God of “white.” No, not a god, a howler monkey. The end of
white.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
[Julius Eastman died in 1990. <a href="http://www.newworldrecords.org/album.cgi?rm=view&album_id=15097" target="_blank">Unjust Malaise, a 3 set CD of his compositions</a>,
culled from university archives, was released by New World Records in
2005. This was Eastman’s first official release. No commercial
recordings of his work were made during his lifetime.]</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Stacy Hardy is a writer living in Cape Town. This essay is also available in print as a <a href="http://www.chimurenga.co.za/products/52-niggers-by-stacy-hardy" target="_blank">Chimurenganyana</a> and in <a href="http://www.chimurenga.co.za/chimurenga-vol-11-conversations-with-a-poet-who-refuse-to-speakjuly-07" target="_blank">Chimurenga 11: Conversations with Poets Who Refuse to Speak</a> (2007). </em></div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-47246338320819133742014-10-10T21:44:00.001+01:002014-10-10T21:44:46.832+01:00Julius Eastman: Stay on It (1973)<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Julius Eastman (1940-1990): Stay on It, per voce e strumenti (1973) -- <br />
Georgia Mitoff, voce; Petr Kotik, pianoforte; Benjamin Hudson, violino; <br />
Amrom Chodos, clarinetto; Joseph Ford e Doug Gaston, sassofoni; Dennis <br />
Kahle e Jan Williams, percussioni<br /><br />---<br /> <br />The music published<br />
in this channel is exclusively dedicated to divulgation purposes and <br />
not commercial. This within a program shared to study learned music of <br />
the 1900's (mostly Italian) which involves thousands of people around <br />
the world. If someone, for any reason, would deem that a video appearing<br />
in this channel violates the copyright, please inform us immediately <br />
before you submit a claim to Youtube, and it will be our care to remove <br />
immediately the video accordingly.Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-21482383121110633252014-10-10T10:00:00.000+01:002014-10-10T10:00:02.772+01:00"Hit the Nigger Baby" <div>
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<img alt="This was a common chant at numerous carnivals, fairs, and circuses across the United States throughout the late 19th century until the mid 1940s, as Americans took part in one of their favorite pastimes, "African Dodger."
The African Dodger, also known as "Hit the Nigger Baby" or "Hit the Coon" was as commonplace in local fairs, carnivals, and circuses as Ferris wheels and roller coasters are today. The purpose of the game was to hit the target with a ball-with one of your three throws-and win a prize. It sounds like a common carnival target game, but there was one unsettling part of the game, namely, the game's target was a real live human being, a "negro" human being. In St. Louis in 1913, it was reported that carnival organizers were "unable for hours today to secure an 'African Dodger' who would allow baseballs to be thrown at his cranium at the usual rate of three for 5 cents;" the reason was that future Hall of Fame fastball pitcher Walter Johnson was rumored to be at the fair ("Don't Want", 1913). The game was so popular nationwide that newspapers mentioned the African Dodger game along with trained animals, illusionists, penny arcades, merry-go-rounds and magic shows in the list of a carnival's attractions. Dodgers made headlines when they were seriously and horrifically injured-otherwise, they were nameless victims.
In 1904 in New York, the Meriden Daily Journal reported how a dodger was smashed in the nose by a professional baseball player. The Journal reported that Albert Johnson dodged "fifty or sixty cents" worth of balls thrown by "Cannon Ball" Gillen of the Clifton Athletic club. Finally Johnson "exposed his head and face a little farther than usual" and was caught by a curve ball that left him unconscious. The article, which was written as a play-by-play commentary on the incident, concluded with the report that it "will probably be necessary to amputate the nose in order to save Johnson's life" ("Hit African", 1904).
But this was not the only report of serious injuries to the dodger. There were numerous reports of such incidents; for example, at the Sheraden Methodist Protestant Church street fair in Pittsburgh, John Jones "failed to dodge" and was hit "squarely in the eye" ("Ball Hits", 1916). In Ohio, Grady Williams was struck in the eye by a stone by someone who "stood to one side and threw a stone at the negro" ("Threw Stone", 1915).
In Connecticut, Walter Smith was hit "with such force that several of the dodger's teeth were knocked out, and the ball was locked so securely within the negro's mouth that it had to be cut to pieces before it could be removed" ("His Mouth", 1908).
In Hanover, PA, William White was assaulted by local baseball players who brought their own heavy balls and "hit the 'coon' nearly every time." The reporter described how "courageously" White took the punishment and wrote that the "negro was pretty well used-up." Only after this, do we find out that the injuries sustained by White were internal and "may prove fatal" (" 'Coon Hitting' ", 1908).
At an Elks Lodge Jubilee in Washington DC, just 17 miles from the White House, the "visiting Elks were royally entertained" as "'nigger babies' were hit with baseballs until they were unable to maintain their upright position..." ("Elks Jubilee", 1908).
There may be no better example of the pervasiveness and brutality of the African Dodger game in American society than an advertisement in the Providence News on September 11, 1924.
Wants African Dodger to Face Balls at Club Fair
Do you want to earn a few precious dollars on the evening of September 19 and 20?
If you do and if you are not at all particular as to what happens to your head why apply at Room 10 in the building at 144 Pine street. Ask for Charlie and tell him you "saw his ad in the paper". Charlie is looking for a lion-hearted and hard-headed young man who will act as an African dodger at the big carnival to be staged by the West Barrington Community Club. The reward? That is a little matter that you can adjust with Charlie. He will treat you fairly and will see that you reach the Rhode Island Hospital safely in the event that that [sic] one of the baseballs comes in contact with your head.
We beg your pardon for not detailing the duties of an African dodger. He just puts his head through a hole in a big piece of canvass and permits the aforesaid head to be used as a target by young men who toss baseballs.
One day last week an African dodger was killed in Elizabeth, N.J., and the week before a dodger was killed in Hackensack, but don't permit these deaths to influence you. ("Wants African Dodger", 1924).
The African Dodger game was widespread in American society, in every part of the country. If you could not make it to the fair, you could purchase for $.69 an African Dodger table game, which featured a caricatured black face poking through a canvas reading "Hit the Dodger! Knock Him Out! Every Time You Hit Sambo The Bell Rings" ("Bloomingdales", 1893).
African Dodger Game
But how could this all be? How could such a barbaric practice be such an integral part of a "civilized" society? How could Americans justify this practice? Were there any objections?
One response to objections to the brutality of the African dodger game was to summon authorities to provide "scientific" findings on the topic. A short article in The Wayne County Democrat cited "authorities on anthropology" who "state that the negro has a very heavy and massive cranium constituting a bony arch of great resisting power. One scientist refers to the 'common habit of negroes, of both sexes in butting like rams'[which]...indicates that a negro's head bones have defensive strength unknown in the Caucasian race." The newspaper assures its readers that the dodger doesn't mind. "He seems cheerful about it." The players of the game, the ones who throw the ball, are just men with a "man's desire to display his powers", particularly in front of "women friends." The article finally concludes that until there is evidence that shows "fractured skulls or brain contusions" or until the dodger takes issue himself, the game will continue. A final warning is provided to the dodger who may be considering a new line of work that "He might regret to lose a daily wage that comes with less effort than manual labor" ("The Black Dodger", 1913).
After all, what could be so bad about a game that was an "innocent" sport ("Large Crowd", 19"7) and a game that was "fun for the small boys and the grown-ups as well" ("Dodger", 1907)? A game played by Governors ("Preparing", 1912), famous ball players like Ty Cobb ("Bob Thayer", 1911) and Babe Ruth (Wagenheim, 1974, p. 35), what could be wrong with that?
When legislation was presented in 1915 to ban some forms of the game at Coney Island, the headline read: BAN ON "BONEHEAD" HITS. The proposed ban was framed as "depressing news" for those who may be unable to participate in the "soothing exercise of hitting with a baseball the head of an 'Ethiopian' as it protrudes from a hole in a canvas sheet." But don't just feel sorry for the players, understand that "many persons who have no more profitable use for their heads will join the army of the unemployed" if the bill is passed and Africans are no longer allowed to dodge ("Ban", 1915).
Hit the Nigger Baby
In 1911, some carnivals ushered in a new game for the "progressive era" called the African Dip, the precursor to the dunk tank. The game was "arranged that every time a baseball hits the target a colored man, seated upon a bar, is thrown into a large pool of water. It's said to be lots of fun..." ("It's Called", 1911). This new game didn't entirely replace the African Dodger. Versions of the original African Dodger were still found in the 1950s. Some carnivals and fairs decided to use targets that resembled African Americans instead of using real people. Promoters sold entire family doll racks that were used as targets at Amusement parks (A. J. Smith Mfg. Co., 1914). The development of Amusement parks in permanent locations increased the popularity of the African Dip game because it was hard to travel with the African Dip dunk tank. Riverview Amusement park in Chicago Illinois, was well known for their popular African Dip attraction, which was a staple there until the late 1950s.
It may be hard to imagine a world where such barbaric games were accepted and played, and to understand why people would allow themselves to be targets. This is another example of the complexities of relationships during the Jim Crow era. The idea that African Americans were sub-humans was prevalent and widely accepted. Religious speakers, politicians, and scientists all agreed and "proved" that the African was a "less evolved" creature and therefore not subject to humane treatment. Almost everything in American society pointed to a hierarchical structure, whites on top and blacks at the bottom.
With everyday objects, forms of entertainment, advertising and public policies confirming this hierarchy, it is possible to see how whites came to believe they were superior and how some blacks could internalize these images, practices, attitudes and policies and come to see themselves as inferior and to accept the role of target. It's also difficult for many to see the negative impact of racist games when playing them is associated with fondness of yesteryear. One of the most popular attractions at zoos during this time was the "Negro Village" or "Human Zoo", but that's a topic for another day.
Franklin Hughes
Diversity & Inclusion / Jim Crow Museum
2012
References
Smith Mfg. Co. (1914, March 21). Amusement devices [Advertisement]. The Billboard, p. 76. Retrieved from
http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2015/Billboard/Billboard%201914/Billboard%201914%20-%200873.pdf
Ball hits African Dodger. (1916, July 22). The Gazette Times, p. 1. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=J-ba04ztB30C&dat=19160722&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Ban on "bonehead" hits. (1915, February 10). The Washington Herald, p. 6. Retrieved from
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1915-02-10/ed-1/seq-6/
The black dodger. (1913, September 19). The Wayne County Democrat, p. 3. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=wXCFTzxW9NYC&dat=19130919&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Bloomingdale's (advertisement). (1893, December 14). The Evening World, p. 8. Retrieved from
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1893-12-14/ed-4/seq-8/
Bob Thayer's sporting gossip. (1911, June 2). Washington Times, p. 15. Retrieved from
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1911-06-02/ed-1/seq-15/
'Coon Hitting' peril. (1908, September 22). The Philadelphia Record, p. 4. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=QDEWnZBrHwAC&dat=19080922&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Dodger is an expert but sometimes he is hit. (1907, October 31). Richland Shield and Banner, p. 6. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=cInq4TRmCz8C&dat=19071031&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Don't want craniums pelted with balls by Walter Johnson. (1913, July 19). Omaha Daily Bee, p. 2. Retrieved from
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1913-07-19/ed-1/seq-2/
Elks Jubilee ends. (1908, June 19). The Washington Herald, p. 14. Retrieved from
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1908-06-19/ed-1/seq-14/
His mouth full of ball. (1908, August 6). The Philadelphia Record, p. 1. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=QDEWnZBrHwAC&dat=19080806&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Hit African Dodger. (1904, August 17). The Meriden Daily Journal, p. 6. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=h-OLoDDdPfcC&dat=19040817&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
It's called the "African dip" and it's a new one out at Flemington. (1911, July 28). Trenton True American, p. 1.
Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=6g4f2aSzPAQC&dat=19110728&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Large crowd, ideal weather. (1907, September 19). Custer County Republican, p. 4. Retrieved from
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn94055463/1907-09-19/ed-1/seq-4/
Preparing for the fair. (1912, August 7). Red Bank Register, p. 1. Retrieved from
http://rbr.mtpl.org/data/rbr/1910-1919/1912/1912.08.07.pdf
Stegner, W. (1957). The Big Rock Candy Mountain. New York: Sagamore Press, Inc.
Threw stone at African Dodger; Hit him in eye. (1915, May 15). Youngstown Vindicator, p. 10. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=pqgf-8x9CmQC&dat=19150515&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Wagenheim, K. (1974). Babe Ruth: His life and legend. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Wants African Dodger to face balls at club fair. (1924, September 11). The Providence News, p. 19. Retrieved from
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Dnd9Dw9jpwAC&dat=19240911&printsec=frontpage&hl=en" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="281" src="https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10410966_529202733893220_4659004985478626735_n.jpg?oh=3dc4fd4fc5147e365b5a68081a78d5a6&oe=54CBD4EA" width="300" /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="mtm plm _5pcm" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="mtm _5pco" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
This
was a common chant at numerous carnivals, fairs, and circuses across
the United States throughout the late 19th century until the mid 1940s,
as Americans took part in one of their favorite pastimes, "African
Dodger."<br />
The African Dodger, also known as "Hit the Nigger Baby"
or "Hit the Coon" was as commonplace in local fairs, carnivals, and
circuses as Ferris wheels and roller coasters are today. The purpose of
the game was to hit the target with a ball-with one of your three
throws-and win a prize. It sounds like a common carnival target game,
but there was one unsettling part of the game, namely, the game's target
was a real live human being, a "negro" human being. In St. Louis in
1913, it was reported that carnival organizers were "unable for hours
today to secure an 'African Dodger' who would allow baseballs to be
thrown at his cranium at the usual rate of three for 5 cents;" the
reason was that future Hall of Fame fastball pitcher Walter Johnson was
rumored to be at the fair ("Don't Want", 1913). The game was so popular
nationwide that newspapers mentioned the African Dodger game along with
trained animals, illusionists, penny arcades, merry-go-rounds and magic
shows in the list of a carnival's attractions. Dodgers made headlines
when they were seriously and horrifically injured-otherwise, they were
nameless victims.<br />
In 1904 in New York, the Meriden Daily Journal
reported how a dodger was smashed in the nose by a professional baseball
player. The Journal reported that Albert Johnson dodged "fifty or sixty
cents" worth of balls thrown by "Cannon Ball" Gillen of the Clifton
Athletic club. Finally Johnson "exposed his head and face a little
farther than usual" and was caught by a curve ball that left him
unconscious. The article, which was written as a play-by-play commentary
on the incident, concluded with the report that it "will probably be
necessary to amputate the nose in order to save Johnson's life" ("Hit
African", 1904).<br />
But this was not the only report of serious
injuries to the dodger. There were numerous reports of such incidents;
for example, at the Sheraden Methodist Protestant Church street fair in
Pittsburgh, John Jones "failed to dodge" and was hit "squarely in the
eye" ("Ball Hits", 1916). In Ohio, Grady Williams was struck in the eye
by a stone by someone who "stood to one side and threw a stone at the
negro" ("Threw Stone", 1915).<br />
In Connecticut, Walter Smith was
hit "with such force that several of the dodger's teeth were knocked
out, and the ball was locked so securely within the negro's mouth that
it had to be cut to pieces before it could be removed" ("His Mouth",
1908).<br />
In Hanover, PA, William White was assaulted by local
baseball players who brought their own heavy balls and "hit the 'coon'
nearly every time." The reporter described how "courageously" White took
the punishment and wrote that the "negro was pretty well used-up." Only
after this, do we find out that the injuries sustained by White were
internal and "may prove fatal" (" 'Coon Hitting' ", 1908).<br />
At an
Elks Lodge Jubilee in Washington DC, just 17 miles from the White House,
the "visiting Elks were royally entertained" as "'nigger babies' were
hit with baseballs until they were unable to maintain their upright
position..." ("Elks Jubilee", 1908).<br />
There may be no better
example of the pervasiveness and brutality of the African Dodger game in
American society than an advertisement in the Providence News on
September 11, 1924.<br />
Wants African Dodger to Face Balls at Club Fair<br />
Do you want to earn a few precious dollars on the evening of September 19 and 20?<br />
If you do and if you are not at all particular as to what happens
to your head why apply at Room 10 in the building at 144 Pine street.
Ask for Charlie and tell him you "saw his ad in the paper". Charlie is
looking for a lion-hearted and hard-headed young man who will act as an
African dodger at the big carnival to be staged by the West Barrington
Community Club. The reward? That is a little matter that you can adjust
with Charlie. He will treat you fairly and will see that you reach the
Rhode Island Hospital safely in the event that that [sic] one of the
baseballs comes in contact with your head.<br />
We beg your pardon
for not detailing the duties of an African dodger. He just puts his
head through a hole in a big piece of canvass and permits the aforesaid
head to be used as a target by young men who toss baseballs.<br />
One day last week an African dodger was killed in Elizabeth, N.J., and
the week before a dodger was killed in Hackensack, but don't permit
these deaths to influence you. ("Wants African Dodger", 1924).<br />
The African Dodger game was widespread in American society, in every
part of the country. If you could not make it to the fair, you could
purchase for $.69 an African Dodger table game, which featured a
caricatured black face poking through a canvas reading "Hit the Dodger!
Knock Him Out! Every Time You Hit Sambo The Bell Rings"
("Bloomingdales", 1893).<br /> African Dodger Game<br />
But how could
this all be? How could such a barbaric practice be such an integral part
of a "civilized" society? How could Americans justify this practice?
Were there any objections?<br />
One response to objections to the
brutality of the African dodger game was to summon authorities to
provide "scientific" findings on the topic. A short article in The Wayne
County Democrat cited "authorities on anthropology" who "state that the
negro has a very heavy and massive cranium constituting a bony arch of
great resisting power. One scientist refers to the 'common habit of
negroes, of both sexes in butting like rams'[which]...indicates that a
negro's head bones have defensive strength unknown in the Caucasian
race." The newspaper assures its readers that the dodger doesn't mind.
"He seems cheerful about it." The players of the game, the ones who
throw the ball, are just men with a "man's desire to display his
powers", particularly in front of "women friends." The article finally
concludes that until there is evidence that shows "fractured skulls or
brain contusions" or until the dodger takes issue himself, the game will
continue. A final warning is provided to the dodger who may be
considering a new line of work that "He might regret to lose a daily
wage that comes with less effort than manual labor" ("The Black Dodger",
1913).<br />
After all, what could be so bad about a game that was an
"innocent" sport ("Large Crowd", 19"7) and a game that was "fun for the
small boys and the grown-ups as well" ("Dodger", 1907)? A game played by
Governors ("Preparing", 1912), famous ball players like Ty Cobb ("Bob
Thayer", 1911) and Babe Ruth (Wagenheim, 1974, p. 35), what could be
wrong with that?<br />
When legislation was presented in 1915 to ban
some forms of the game at Coney Island, the headline read: BAN ON
"BONEHEAD" HITS. The proposed ban was framed as "depressing news" for
those who may be unable to participate in the "soothing exercise of
hitting with a baseball the head of an 'Ethiopian' as it protrudes from a
hole in a canvas sheet." But don't just feel sorry for the players,
understand that "many persons who have no more profitable use for their
heads will join the army of the unemployed" if the bill is passed and
Africans are no longer allowed to dodge ("Ban", 1915).<br /> Hit the Nigger Baby<br />
In 1911, some carnivals ushered in a new game for the "progressive era"
called the African Dip, the precursor to the dunk tank. The game was
"arranged that every time a baseball hits the target a colored man,
seated upon a bar, is thrown into a large pool of water. It's said to be
lots of fun..." ("It's Called", 1911). This new game didn't entirely
replace the African Dodger. Versions of the original African Dodger were
still found in the 1950s. Some carnivals and fairs decided to use
targets that resembled African Americans instead of using real people.
Promoters sold entire family doll racks that were used as targets at
Amusement parks (A. J. Smith Mfg. Co., 1914). The development of
Amusement parks in permanent locations increased the popularity of the
African Dip game because it was hard to travel with the African Dip dunk
tank. Riverview Amusement park in Chicago Illinois, was well known for
their popular African Dip attraction, which was a staple there until the
late 1950s.<br />
It may be hard to imagine a world where such
barbaric games were accepted and played, and to understand why people
would allow themselves to be targets. This is another example of the
complexities of relationships during the Jim Crow era. The idea that
African Americans were sub-humans was prevalent and widely accepted.
Religious speakers, politicians, and scientists all agreed and "proved"
that the African was a "less evolved" creature and therefore not subject
to humane treatment. Almost everything in American society pointed to a
hierarchical structure, whites on top and blacks at the bottom.<br />
With everyday objects, forms of entertainment, advertising and public
policies confirming this hierarchy, it is possible to see how whites
came to believe they were superior and how some blacks could internalize
these images, practices, attitudes and policies and come to see
themselves as inferior and to accept the role of target. It's also
difficult for many to see the negative impact of racist games when
playing them is associated with fondness of yesteryear. One of the most
popular attractions at zoos during this time was the "Negro Village" or
"Human Zoo", but that's a topic for another day.<br />
Franklin Hughes<br /> Diversity & Inclusion / Jim Crow Museum<br /> 2012<br />
References<br />
Smith Mfg. Co. (1914, March 21). Amusement devices [Advertisement]. The Billboard, p. 76. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252015%2FBillboard%2FBillboard%25201914%2FBillboard%25201914%2520-%25200873.pdf&h=mAQHyQO7P&enc=AZNA8ceWh0b1PXhwGSKM5QfOPHkqzVNSJF9wwzWESqz0TqTkOP82p2LC-zI1V8LBjs-EEH-Hwb9cAPYX256Z53dHPcXcuWwy7bQymPqQW2Umaqx3rV_I-93SXVb_IycB5eKPKKJwEoWiMA09aJWS-zodxQ2u4WEZcVvAhpqKB7mrRQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://fultonhistory.com/…/…/Billboard%201914%20-%200873.pdf</a><br />
Ball hits African Dodger. (1916, July 22). The Gazette Times, p. 1. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3DJ-ba04ztB30C%26dat%3D19160722%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=pAQHvZjHA&enc=AZNkDOKnP0EdX-zBFAt8TVfk_E4YwvenuWJvrmKfR7rsmmSvMae5lTJagDmVwZBQNFe0RsshkKVobYF3Y1o3BqlhN7JBoiJ-qcaSvaX5AItC-J3CI0TIoGgdWt9BNggFKbGAS0FIztvulKYzAUK62rLA4e8YUPmHZ_MwHmio0HRPzA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Ban on "bonehead" hits. (1915, February 10). The Washington Herald, p. 6. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn83045433%2F1915-02-10%2Fed-1%2Fseq-6%2F&h=KAQEt2U6n&enc=AZOnfaZjYZx9SoeUYdu3POFTYrkJYoxLwttPzOAzxovBKcZyXjyiKxFs3dCPlZSn0sB3aYPR8mwphmzDLyPl7ARGvc7kt-efxzDemiQQE3QFZFiS1rXIEeGCNwP77OKmlK07U9l_E7D2zZfc_m2yNI1BlY0_DekN1A5Nl4DQqM8bhA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/…/…/1915-02-10/ed-1/seq-6/</a><br />
The black dodger. (1913, September 19). The Wayne County Democrat, p. 3. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3DwXCFTzxW9NYC%26dat%3D19130919%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=cAQGkXUns&enc=AZNeCqEblKNTKN2BVxyfbOF5BzgFRXbcqj4g1qj4YXZUBpiwnvZWnvtNG_WvB9TSfTkbuFjmm_SOVl1JaM1S_0lj2kC-776SpB50zkB8ooEiojjy4m3vSfDWiWo3JNva11WhdCPMGqgoZzNjJba4oy3EEFJxUlzkkoZAYX8XrVb_RQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Bloomingdale's (advertisement). (1893, December 14). The Evening World, p. 8. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn83030193%2F1893-12-14%2Fed-4%2Fseq-8%2F&h=YAQH4cbBP&enc=AZM2XHLk5E8EwO_gI_b0AYlBJ9n5Q50VELUo0OBEuke9MRuEdHFnc9Zc7tNAcEnwdzwcSMqmNj2_NVWa8SVrVMISHJ0P4Hlb4F1w8jk9b4hs1JhfB-FJcMvn0FjoEXaMWgkp9JLPQ8oYHZ69RQHAac2wFznrTEdQvnJo89USOehPGw&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/…/…/1893-12-14/ed-4/seq-8/</a><br />
Bob Thayer's sporting gossip. (1911, June 2). Washington Times, p. 15. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn84026749%2F1911-06-02%2Fed-1%2Fseq-15%2F&h=jAQFjSwOY&enc=AZNmpA1uUVboqlmEDdGJyrdPHnTAsCfhVRC6vUvtd-SQyTzko8Gc4OTizfwKYO98rt2D3QRXY5nJ3OceBeOwC9-HM5ttcrpNgogcyZEbmbp-zge5b7IbaD996aik-9_1d7myi9N-d6-9wQtpZJN-6RYavinRlIajIaw-jTOt8K7pmg&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/…/sn84026749/1911-06-02/e…</a><br />
'Coon Hitting' peril. (1908, September 22). The Philadelphia Record, p. 4. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3DQDEWnZBrHwAC%26dat%3D19080922%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=FAQFtU8bt&enc=AZNEKjBOQ34Eu06RmE5_Vy-lVedAEvxAzPZ_TKqianLbKzDEfPa5P0UbnMoCsxqlgqYChOz4FruUUNFPRPH2nR25EU03UR7nfz9gXqgqrvqkB7BjBRnKmY5V3QyPi-J-DsIwvcYvBsGjeKJCGT9z4ASARlW0FdP5CzmGoUsg47mbbw&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Dodger is an expert but sometimes he is hit. (1907, October 31). Richland Shield and Banner, p. 6. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3DcInq4TRmCz8C%26dat%3D19071031%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=pAQHvZjHA&enc=AZMoi_0XpadPm_uKuYHvgpSX8HzPPPbKC7bZWrpi-MD-lI_DpEbKSoXrUDRWfYe2_ZL1FK0tAJeSMqFmA3DWmUn8jNdUYyAWRGTa-vL1Y1oW0zL96O7IALJMwMohl34xG9MfKK2ujP0AWPQ-ff0zrk1offjkBFjDl1UQXYAiMQ_d6g&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Don't want craniums pelted with balls by Walter Johnson. (1913, July 19). Omaha Daily Bee, p. 2. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn99021999%2F1913-07-19%2Fed-1%2Fseq-2%2F&h=gAQHaMliZ&enc=AZO4N4YUNyNB0wKBRY_95AJ9S-KmTwm5mZl7LzPekcKQjqtm31jwTfPWH6GAX39oO_8ntoiipFQk8UOBWMqbGJyl-LciS-2V6gagg-ihWl4IhqaXzwLbgKPp639etrX0SrcBvy353GmAtUCc-QBVw-qFIlo90BGwI2pYzWs1rzmdnw&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/…/…/1913-07-19/ed-1/seq-2/</a><br />
Elks Jubilee ends. (1908, June 19). The Washington Herald, p. 14. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn83045433%2F1908-06-19%2Fed-1%2Fseq-14%2F&h=bAQENAl6Y&enc=AZOo-EIZ2NFrmIsb7RyChucW7fU5OdI2WZ2bIlGwuhwZMVpGwvjygwfyYBoopHD7ixnQJGW5kPv9jGU-MmzihfdwyX0jfRWnZ1WFFccMju1CM_1feMvoOLEi987kV0li3NC7FwL40clo1ky5c5jDrHG-5smsSgHsD2ELASsZdw_eMg&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/…/sn83045433/1908-06-19/e…</a><br />
His mouth full of ball. (1908, August 6). The Philadelphia Record, p. 1. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3DQDEWnZBrHwAC%26dat%3D19080806%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=NAQGPlYPN&enc=AZMvKe6jJlxCW-FTKiEP7MNElK0qr86SjZ41o2kPYfFCTGI1LFMK4zTjIY8gjpV_DhR5hgX6SgDl5t3ik7OKPTqeYunOD0gH8SYPxlpf_oaSJdAXffE7llu0MB9RGlGvSP-wSg617tag0iZxf-a4YsZEWTtlyb3DbArZSPXYKM8PIA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Hit African Dodger. (1904, August 17). The Meriden Daily Journal, p. 6. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3Dh-OLoDDdPfcC%26dat%3D19040817%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=aAQEN6v4H&enc=AZO-tu3PAuZItHFOcvPikzAthXM3QDddv8_RNKEOerbDj_Y2EgTro7lS67d5_zs0OQp0bzvwEnWVQaLKZ7H8TTS98r2I6Im1Cdp64kugyZ6wJgRsMy-b5F2mkg-yjyRWPpUe_hMk6IvEwqPzdCVBJ9yQag3BabxYTqKOVJ_Yo4JPHA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
It's called the "African dip" and it's a new one out at Flemington. (1911, July 28). Trenton True American, p. 1.<br /> Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3D6g4f2aSzPAQC%26dat%3D19110728%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=QAQGhhMMl&enc=AZNnQpP-BdhBWS-5DrSwOSNqYBLT3TEyna5aMnsgxmysZ057tvAvfLJ9T_rm1LO6Kplp7Uz4UgUuN5fG0ljuusj14VyScJhqG0SSt01ZsXvkUor_F-audme5NpNUt-UZOg5mYZmUBy_mdxQr2KRehOv2e1aSraNRQ-H7OdGAdnTbqQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Large crowd, ideal weather. (1907, September 19). Custer County Republican, p. 4. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn94055463%2F1907-09-19%2Fed-1%2Fseq-4%2F&h=JAQFlYtTz&enc=AZOGAxSD3uEespKmgj5bqjdcaT2K061TTXWMFJk5n-k-zwpb0MXQv0HOwaPIcI-fBQNv2-PbGneJHrZs6Y1Pw469IuVrktE0wdcCu_iqJmRHmNDZWpBCLKrktScOEuaYgyo1MjQIZDAEYksi32sQxl_SYSk-6bW4cnryzMgaFLPcjQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/…/…/1907-09-19/ed-1/seq-4/</a><br />
Preparing for the fair. (1912, August 7). Red Bank Register, p. 1. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://rbr.mtpl.org/data/rbr/1910-1919/1912/1912.08.07.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://rbr.mtpl.org/data/rbr/1910-1919/1912/1912.08.07.pdf</a><br />
Stegner, W. (1957). The Big Rock Candy Mountain. New York: Sagamore Press, Inc.<br />
Threw stone at African Dodger; Hit him in eye. (1915, May 15). Youngstown Vindicator, p. 10. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3Dpqgf-8x9CmQC%26dat%3D19150515%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=BAQEYaiPn&enc=AZPDpOeG6WJTpj0lLS2BXWyEyv6LzvF8zZoxD44wuoMxRLRaZ717_dbaxsDy455uMVYfaUswPFIPtKajzwT0L5s7qQVb7BFT7l6RhkznIIMWNf7aJfc6T5aF4dq8DlzMNWYTo_MRMQfXLDFLb6nami48LEGjJjdXDeel_xGxhx3WvQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a><br />
Wagenheim, K. (1974). Babe Ruth: His life and legend. New York: Praeger Publishers.<br />
Wants African Dodger to face balls at club fair. (1924, September 11). The Providence News, p. 19. Retrieved from<br /> <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3DDnd9Dw9jpwAC%26dat%3D19240911%26printsec%3Dfrontpage%26hl%3Den&h=vAQH_rgHk&enc=AZNNs3_QtGxUwf2wc2Dlj4vUali3jz12SIimSK9rzWbfFQ6RZg1Lf0qhNvJdNWqIBk-RhYaDfzL0oJeaqerakP_FRV3wxAmbbzDYw4hK6HQvgFyBwPEO8LupmjaYb-pon0mJZTyN5bKYoPbixWeMJEOVuqkXefSIckEVkpYPQgt2jQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://news.google.com/newspapers…</a></div>
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Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-21304877982822480012014-10-08T13:54:00.001+01:002014-10-08T14:06:51.780+01:00Nicki Minaj & White Supremacy Vs Malcolm X<br />
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Minaj desecrates iconic image of Malcolm X<br />
AFRICANGLOBE – Malcolm X and rap music have always fit together like a
needle in the groove, connected by struggle, strength and defiance. But
three recent episodes involving the use or misuse of Malcolm and other
Black icons have raised the question: Has rap lost touch with Black
history?<br />
Chart-topping rapstress Nikki Minaj provoked widespread
outrage with an Instagram post featuring one of Black history’s most
poignant images: Malcolm X peering out the window of his home, rifle in
hand, trying to defend his wife and children from firebombs while under
surveillance by federal agents. Superimposed on the photo: the title of
Sl*utty Minaj’s new song, which denigrates certain Black men and repeats
the N-word 42 times.<br />
That came after Minaj’s mentor Lil Wayne
recorded a verse last year using the civil rights martyr Emmett Till in a
sexual metaphor, and the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons posted a Harriet
Tubman “sex tape” video on his comedy channel.<br />
What is happening to mainstream rap music, which was launched by Simmons and is now ruled by the likes of Minaj and Wayne?<br />
“I don’t want to say today’s rappers are not educated about Black
history, but they don’t seem as aware as rap generations before them,”
said Jermaine Hall, editor-in-chief of Vibe, the hip-hop magazine and
website.<br />
While previous generations had to struggle with the
racism and neglect of the 1970s or the government sponsored crack
epidemic of the 1980s, Hall said, today’s young people have not faced
the same type of racial struggle — “They’re sort of getting further and
further away from the civil rights movement.”<br />
“In the ’80s,
whether it was KRS-One, Public Enemy, or the Native Tongues, that entire
movement, it was very in tune with Black history,” Hall said. “They
knew everything about Malcolm, about Martin, about Rosa Parks. Now, the
new rappers just aren’t as in tune.”<br />
Indeed, Minaj issued a
statement expressing disbelief at the uproar and apologizing to
Malcolm’s family “if the meaning of the photo was misconstrued.” Wayne
wrote to the Till family to “acknowledge your hurt, as well as the
letter you sent to me via your attorneys.” Simmons was the only one to
say, “I am sincerely sorry.”<br />
The apologies did not change much
for Pierre Bennu, a filmmaker and artist who said Malcolm X’s life was
dedicated to advocating for the humanity of Black people, while Minaj’s
song was simply dehumanizing.<br />
When he saw Minaj’s manipulation, Bennu said, “I felt punched in the gut.”<br />
The episode inspired him to post a mash-up video (<a href="http://bit.ly/1fpoFYB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1fpoFYB</a>)
laying Minaj’s song over the infamous 1941 Walter Lantz cartoon “Scrub
Me Mama With A Boogie Beat,” which depicts a town of lazy Black people
hypnotized by a seductive washerwoman.<br />
Various mainstream rap artists seem reluctant to defend Minaj and Wayne.<br />
Jasiri X, a rapper whose music focuses on Black empowerment and current
events, said many of today’s mainstream rappers use images of
revolutionary Black icons to promote an anti-establishment image.<br />
“All the while, they’re being funded and pushed by major corporations,” he said.<br />
“I see Nikki and other artists, whether Kanye or Jay-Z, adopting these
revolutionary images or using a clip or saying their name, but never
practice the principles which these revolutionaries gave their lives
for,” Jasiri said.<br />
It was not always so.<br />
Hip-hop began in
the early 1970s as an alternative to gang activity. Before the music was
recorded, founding fathers like DJ Afrika Bambaataa — whose slogan was
“peace, love, unity and having fun” — would play Malcolm X’s voice over
instrumental break beats.<br />
“Not only did it sound funky but it helped raise our consciousness,” Davey wrote on his website.<br />
Davey attended many early rap concerts at Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom,
where Malcolm was assassinated. As the music gained steam, X was
constantly honored on wax. KRS-One duplicated Malcolm’s
gun-in-the-window pose on the cover of his 1988 classic album, “By Any
Means Necessary.” In 1991, Tupac rhymed on “Words of Wisdom”: “No
Malcolm X in my history text, why is that? / Cause he tried to educate
and liberate all Blacks.”<br />
Malcolm’s voice and image appeared on so many records and videos, “many would remark that he was an emcee,” Davey wrote.<br />
Tubman also is a longtime rap staple, mentioned by everyone from Ice
Cube (“She helped me run like Harriet Tubman”) to Pharoahe Monch (“A
railroad to underground like Harriet Tubman”). Till, too, has been
mentioned in songs such as Kanye’s breakthrough 2003 single “Through The
Wire.”<br />
But today’s rappers reflect our money-obsessed society,
said Bakari Kitwana, whose Rap Sessions organization just moderated a
series of community dialogues between the civil rights and hip-hop
generations.<br />
“We see a lot of things going on with our young
people, and we don’t feel like we are teaching them values that can
compete with the way the value of money is ingrained in our culture,”
Kitwana said. “Everything is just focused on money. If you can get
money, whatever else you’re doing doesn’t matter.”<br />
“It’s reached a
crisis point,” he said. “I came up in the ’70s and ’80s, and greed has
always been present, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like it is
now.”<br />
He was echoed by Paradise Gray, who performed in the 1980s with the Afrocentric rap group X Clan.<br />
“Mainstream rap music has lost its reverence for anything besides money,” Gray said.<br />
Today’s rappers threaten to kill people who disrespect them, “but they
sit back and let you disrespect our legacy, our culture, our history,”
he said.<br />
“What,” Gray asked, “will the disrespect of your humanity and your blackness cost you?”</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qOq-j69GSYk" width="459"></iframe>Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-29735910273202305162014-10-04T13:01:00.004+01:002014-10-04T13:03:26.101+01:00African resistance and rebellion: The other side of World War I by Jacques Enaudeau @WWIAfrica<div class="articleOpinion-inner articleOpinion-inner--top js-articleWidth--captionOverlay" style="text-align: justify;">
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Selective memory of Africans’ role in the Great War shows the language of commemoration is rooted in colonial history.
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On Sept. 15, 1914, barely six weeks after war broke out in Europe and was quickly exported to the<a href="http://wwiafrica.ghost.io/remembering-east-africa-campaign/" target="_blank"> eastern</a> and<a href="http://wwiafrica.ghost.io/shots-fired-in-togoland" target="_blank"> western</a>
shores of Africa, something unexpected happened as it reached the
southern tip of the continent. While troops from the South African
dominion of the British Empire prepared to invade neighboring German
South West Africa (now Namibia), Christiaan Frederick Beyers, the
highest-ranking member and commandant of South Africa’s army, resigned.<br />
“It is said that the war is being waged against the ‘barbarism’ of the Germans,” Beyers reportedly <a href="http://www.thuto.org/ubh/etext/nlisa/nl22.htm" target="_blank">wrote</a>
to explain his decision. “We have forgiven but not forgotten all the
barbarities committed in our own country during the South African War.”
He was referring to the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/node/16635" target="_blank">Second Anglo-Boer War</a>, a brutal annexation campaign that the British launched and won against Afrikaners 12 years earlier.<br />
His resignation marked the beginning of the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/responses-south-africa-outbreak-wwi-afrikaner-response-and-1914-rebellion" target="_blank">Maritz rebellion</a>,
named after the general who allied with the Germans to boost its
chances of success. Over the next five months, Beyers and a number of
other military officers gathered 12,000 Afrikaner troops, proclaimed an
independent South African republic and battled an army of 32,000 men —
among them 20,000 Afrikaners loyal to the British crown — in hopes of
toppling the acting South African government.<br />
Though unsuccessful, the Maritz rebellion is a revealing episode of
World War I in Africa. Far from an isolated incident, it is a symbol of
the two wars that European empires fought in Africa during the first
worldwide conflict in history. As the world reflects on the legacy of
Europe’s Great War over the next four years of centenary commemorations,
we should question why only one side of Africa’s involvement is
publicly acknowledged.<br />
Across the Mediterranean, European powers fought one another to
defend their prized possessions and grab new ones when opportunities
arose. But there was another, lesser-known side of the war, with
colonial powers — with their extraordinary demands in men, money and
resources — in opposition to the African populations that resisted
colonial rule. The better-known side is an episode of European military
history fought across imperial boundaries; the other represents
important moments of African sociopolitical histories played out within
the limits of future national borders. Only the first registers in
public discourse, if briefly, whereas the second remains forgotten.<br />
European powers often claimed the African soldiers fighting for them
were nothing but loyal and aspired to serve in their respective armies.
Yet colonial administrators spent much of the war coping with local
resistance and rebellion, particularly in French West Africa. From
individuals feigning illnesses to entire villages fleeing, Africans
routinely evaded conscription, something to which only France resorted.
Where the French were considered especially vulnerable, locals seized
the opportunity to revolt, in northern Dahomey (now Benin), north of
Bamako (now in Mali) and in the southern desert of French Sudan (now in
Niger).</div>
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The
language of remembrance should not abide by the rules of commemoration,
lest we forget what Africans made happen for themselves during World War
I. </div>
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While West African troops fought on the western front under French
colors, France nonetheless faced the most serious challenge to its
colonial rule in West Africa. From November 1915 to September 1916, a
large alliance of fortified villages between the Volta and Bani rivers
(now in Burkina Faso) assembled to drive the French out. With an armed
coalition of 20,000 men at its peak, the revolt became an all-out
anti-colonial war. Only after committing overwhelming military
resources, bombarding and sacking entire villages did France manage to
stop the revolt, with great loss of lives on both sides.<br />
In the words of historian Gregory Mann, the war of Volta-Bani altered
the very fabric of relations between the colonial administration and
local populations, forcing France to adopt a “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Native-Sons-Veterans-Twentieth-Politics/dp/0822337681" target="_blank">language of mutual obligation</a>.”
Though different in context and numbers, the Chilembwe uprising in
Nyasaland (now Malawi) in January 1915 had a lasting impact as well, so
much so that the pastor who led the charge against the British has over
the years become a national hero, whose face can be seen on today’s 500
kwacha banknote.<br />
On the face of colonial maps, the scramble for Africa may have been
over in 1914. Except for Liberia and Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), the
European powers had divided up the continent among themselves 30 years
earlier, with only minor changes since. On the ground, however, the <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bNGN2URP_rUC&pg=PA193&lpg=PA193&dq=John+Iliffe+%22colonial+invasion%22&source=bl&ots=knBGDYE5Pg&sig=pkskDBzqd9axdUQ1LP8jYe5gVlk&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=HSEYVMjLIIOO7Aa-r4DIDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=John%20Iliffe%20%22colonial%20invasion%22&f=false" target="_blank">colonial invasion</a> continued through World War I, lowering the veil of its benevolence and revealing its exploitative face.<br />
Why, then, does the resistance of Africans to Europe’s Great War
remain so absent from the collective consciousness of African and
non-African citizens alike?<br />
The African side of World War I does have its historians. Since
African nations gained independence, they have flipped the mirror,
investigating the blind spots of colonial archives and piecing together
the significance and legacy of the white man’s war on the continent. Yet
the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/22/first-world-war-whitewashed-eurocentric" target="_blank">color of memory</a> remains essentially white, despite the global turn in historical studies of World War I.<br />
The vocabulary commemorating the role of Africans is deeply rooted in
the colonial past, which tied Africa and Europe together. Terms such as
“allegiance,” “bravery” and “service rendered” reflect a Eurocentric
perspective and need to be assessed in the context of their production.
Left unchallenged, they otherwise turn history into myth and help
maintain a patronizing colonial narrative. The language of remembrance
should not abide by the rules of commemoration, lest we forget what
Africans made happen for themselves during World War I.</div>
</div>
<div class="authorProfileBio" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="authorProfileBio-box">
Jacques Enaudeau is a French
geographer and freelance cartographer. He is a founder of the World War I
in Africa Project with Tanzanian cultural activist Kathleen Bomani.
Find out more about their initiative on the project’s <a href="http://wwiafrica.ghost.io/" target="_blank">website</a>.</div>
</div>
<div class="editorialPolicy" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="editorialPolicy-box" style="text-align: justify;">
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera America's editorial policy.
</div>
</div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-70831866035814424942014-10-04T12:50:00.001+01:002014-10-04T12:50:57.570+01:00Blue Black - like Krishna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CnhQUYAMf8E/VC_fDY64orI/AAAAAAAAAUY/lottFqHD8E0/s1600/blue%2Bblack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CnhQUYAMf8E/VC_fDY64orI/AAAAAAAAAUY/lottFqHD8E0/s1600/blue%2Bblack.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
Blue Black - like Krishna. The blackest blue in India and she is
subject to extensive prejudice cause of her dark hue! Dravidian ..The
ancient "blue race" of In<span class="text_exposed_show">dia still exists in the bloodlines. Dravidian indeed. Kushite<br /> Indian Beggar in Mumbai, South India</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
In Irish-Scottish Gaeilge (or Gaelic), people of African descent were
historically referred to as the fir gorum, or blue men. People of this
race were described as "blue" rather than as "black."<br />
<br />
AVATAR-The Blue Black People. <br />
In a 2007 interview with Time magazine, Cameron was asked about the
meaning of the term Avatar, to which he replied, "It's an incarnation of
one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form. In this film what that means
is that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a
human's intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body."<br />
Jake's avatar and Neytiri. One of the inspirations for the look of the
Na'vi came from a dream that Cameron's mother had told him about.<br />
The look of the Na'vi – the humanoids indigenous to Pandora – was
inspired by a dream that Cameron's mother had, long before he started
work on Avatar. In her dream, she saw a blue-skinned woman 12 feet (4 m)
tall, which he thought was "kind of a cool image". Also he said, "I
just like blue. It's a good color … plus, there's a connection to the
Hindu deities, which I like conceptually.</div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-23775161739747966602014-10-04T12:46:00.001+01:002014-10-04T12:46:17.234+01:00Brett Bailey, The Barbican and Black Britons Yvette Gresle | October 2nd, 2014
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The South African artist Brett Bailey’s installation, “Exhibit
B”, was supposed to open on Tuesday, September 23, at The Vaults, a
multi-disciplinary space located in underground sections of London’s
Waterloo station. The Barbican had hired out the space for Exhibit B. As
guests arrived for the opening of Bailey’s show, which featured black
actors chained and in cages, however, they were met by 200 protesters
who had blockaded the entrance. The Barbican condemned objectors for
preventing artists’ and performers’ “freedom of expression”, but
eventually decided that the installation, which was slated to have a
five-day run, should be shut down.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Exhibit B is described in PR material as critiquing “… the ‘human
zoos’ and ethnographic displays that showed Africans as objects of
scientific curiosity through the 19th and early 20th centuries.” Each of
the twelve tableaux in the exhibit “features motionless performers
placed in settings drawn from real life. Collectively they confront
colonial atrocities committed in Africa, European notions of racial
supremacy and the plight of immigrants today. As spectators walk past
the exhibits one-by-one, to the sound of lamentations sung live by a
Namibian choir, a human gaze is unexpectedly returned.” If Exhibit B was
the heartfelt, well-thought out critique of slavery and colonial
exploitation that Bailey and the Barbican claimed it to be, why the
furore? Why did people object to seeing “tableaux” of silent, entrapped
human beings — albeit with the power to gaze back at visitors, inciting
guilt, if not recognition of complicity, long-term repercussions on
present day circumstances of the descendants of those formerly enslaved
peoples, and the ways in which power and privilege continue to be built
on these historical practices?</div>
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/la-ca-0723-cultural-021.jpg"><img alt="Culture South Africa" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83440" height="433" src="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/la-ca-0723-cultural-021.jpg?resize=650%2C433" width="650" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the most obvious level, the exhibit has been criticized for its
cavalier treatment of slavery and racial violence. The protests were
well-organised, and supported by people across Britain; as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/sep/24/barbican-criticise-protesters-who-forced-exhibit-b-cancellation">The Guardian</a> reported,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
The campaign against the exhibition was led by
Birmingham-based activist and journalist Sara Myers but drew support
from around the country, including noted figures such as Lord Boateng,
Britain’s first black cabinet minister.</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We won’t revisit those efforts here. The best of the critiques about Bailey’s “provocative” work are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/12/exhibit-b-human-zoo-boycott-exhibition-racial-abuse">here</a> (by Kehinde Andrews), <a href="http://www.citypress.co.za/columnists/human-zoo-false-consciousness/">here</a> (TO Molefe) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PWjgsOU0JY">here</a> (Esther Stanford-Xosei). And London was also <a href="http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-03/black-human-zoo-fury-greets-berlin-art-show.html">not the first time</a> that Exhibit B faced protests or public criticism by antiracist campaigners; at <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/11/-sp-exhibit-b-human-zoo-edinburgh-festivals-most-controversial">Playfair Library Hall</a>, University of Edinburgh, it also faced serious criticism.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maybe Brett Bailey’s lack of self-reflection is to be expected; after
all, one of his former collaborators told The Guardian that he was well
suited to mount the exhibition because as a white South African, he was
sufficiently removed from colonialism. Then there was the bizarre
revelation (in TO Molefe’s piece in City Press-linked above) that the
South African government funded the work. But one of the most
significant results of the Exhibit B debacle was that it galvanized
people of color or of African descent in Britain; they organized
themselves, and rallied to protest their lack of representations in the
arts.All that ability to not only “return the gaze” but to also demand
and expect change meant that the Barbican was caught with its pants
down. Liberals, of course, love to give a ragged handout and claim that
downtrodden recipients should be grateful. Tell them what’s what, and
one becomes an “extremist.” Note how The Barbican framed the nature of
the protests in its press release</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
… it became impossible for us to continue with the show
because of the extreme nature of the protest and the serious threat to
the safety of performers, audiences and staff.</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They also cried over the fact that its power and privilege was checked:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
We find it profoundly troubling that such methods have
been used to silence artists and performers and that audiences have been
denied the opportunity to see this important work.</blockquote>
</div>
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Exhibit_B_3002028b.jpg"><img alt="Exhibit_B_3002028b" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83442" height="406" src="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Exhibit_B_3002028b.jpg?resize=650%2C406" width="650" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, who are the ‘extreme’ protestors imagined by the Barbican and who is silencing who?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It so happens that I know most of the protestors, many who are fluent
on matters of race in Britain, and alert to their right, as citizens of
the United Kingdom, to organised, and peaceful protest. The leaders of
this protest are highly respected members of the communities they
represent. I have personally heard these leaders, including Sara Myers
(the initiator and leader of the ‘<a href="http://www.change.org/p/withdraw-the-racist-exhibition-exhibition-b-the-human-zoo">Boycott the Human Zoo</a>’
campaign on Change.org), Lee Jasper and Zita Holbourne amongst them,
speak on matters of race and the history of organised Black political
protest in Britain. They are a diverse group of activists, role models,
cultural figures, and intellectuals. Not quite the mob Barbican dreamed
up in their Public Relations statements.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the day of the official hand-over of the petition started by
Myers, no one in a position of authority at the Barbican deigned to make
themselves available to receive the petition handed to them (despite
committing to do so), which was represented by 22,989 signatures of
white and black British people and, most importantly, South African
citizens.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/exhibit-b.png"><img alt="exhibit b" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83443" height="435" src="http://i2.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/exhibit-b-e1412261878689.png?resize=650%2C435" width="650" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Barbican’s refusal to engage with protestors is itself a form of
censure. It is one of the many forms that racial violence can take.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Arts producer Julia Farrington, <a href="http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-03/black-human-zoo-fury-greets-berlin-art-show.html">writing about Exhibit B for indexoncensorship.org</a>,
makes it very clear that art institutions and funding bodies in the
United Kingdom are certainly not thinking about Black artists, curators
and audiences when deciding to run shows like Exhibit B. Farrington
cites independent arts consultant Jenny Williams:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The black and minority ethnic community contribute around £62m per
year into the overall arts budget. Yet, the current yearly figure
currently invested in black and minority ethnic-led work is £4.8m.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Given this information, who exactly were the Barbican’s imagined
audiences? Bailey (who has been given space to argue his case, including
in The Guardian), contradicts himself about this: he has told us the
work is ‘for the diversion of (mainly) white audiences.’ Speaking
through the Barbican he has also told us: ‘Exhibit B is not a piece
about black histories made for white audiences.’</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And as Myers points out in her petition,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
Bailey himself sounds unsure as to the impact of this
work. In an interview with the Guardian he says: “For all I know, I
could look back at Exhibit B in 10 years and say, ‘Oh my God, I am doing
exactly what they are accusing me of.”
</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bailey and The Barbican have demonstrated that they don’t care what
the majority of black publics (especially in the UK) think. Neither
Bailey nor the Barbican appear to have taken black audiences into
account. Perhaps, for them, race is an abstraction, a commodity, a way
to draw audiences, or just the right ingredient that creates controversy
and notoriety – without, of course, affecting revenues for the
institution, or causing aversion to (or worse, a bored dismissal of) the
artist’s ill-conceived work.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bailey assumed the right to represent and speak on behalf of Black
Britons’ ancestors – be they of African, Caribbean, or South Asian
descent, without consulting those for whom these histories remain a
traumatic legacy. Part of Bailey and the Barbican’s public relations
campaign is their insistent presentation of so-called objective
evidence. They would have us believe that they cannot possibly be
racist, and they are teaching us all about suppressed histories. After
all, Bailey is fond of reeling out the responses of his black
performers: performer after performer is brought out to say that they’re
fine with what they are doing, that they understand what they are
doing, etc. Of course, none of these exercises include references to the
position of relative powerlessness in which an employee (the performer)
is placed, having to speak in defence of their powerful employer
(Bailey), from whom they are receiving payment, exposure, references for
a next gig, etc. In any case, none of these defensive tactics carry any
critical weight – not when those in the audience overwhelmingly decide
that the patronising exercise of guilt-trauma-drama in front of them
isn’t good enough. Full stop.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cdn.mg_.co_.jpg"><img alt="cdn.mg.co" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83444" height="365" src="http://i1.wp.com/africasacountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cdn.mg_.co_-e1412261941655.jpg?resize=650%2C365" width="650" /></a></div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-12431758861397845222014-10-03T23:52:00.004+01:002014-10-03T23:52:42.448+01:00Herero and Namaqua Genocide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lt_Xyqqpj1I/VC8oriSKwGI/AAAAAAAAAUI/LYoLwWrIYKI/s1600/herero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lt_Xyqqpj1I/VC8oriSKwGI/AAAAAAAAAUI/LYoLwWrIYKI/s1600/herero.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Herero and Namaqua Genocide was a campaign of racial extermination
and collective punishment that the government of German South-West
Africa (modern-day Namibia<span class="text_exposed_show">) undertook
against the Herero and Nama people. It is considered to have been the
first genocide of the 20th century. It took place between
1904 and 1907 during the Herero Wars.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="text-align: justify;">
On 12 January 1904, the Herero people, led by Samuel Maharero, rebelled
against German colonial rule. In August, German general Lothar von
Trotha defeated the Herero in the Battle of Waterberg and drove them
into the desert of Omaheke, where most of them died of thirst. In
October, the Nama people also rebelled against the Germans only to
suffer a similar fate.<br />
In total, 24,000–100,000 Herero and 10,000
Nama died. The genocide was characterised by widespread
death from starvation and thirst because the Herero who fled the
violence were prevented from leaving the Namib Desert. Some sources also
claim that the German colonial army systematically poisoned desert
wells.<br />
In 1985, the United Nations' Whitaker Report
classified the aftermath as an attempt to exterminate the Herero and
Nama peoples of South-West Africa, and therefore one of the earliest
attempts at genocide in the 20th century. In 2004 the German government
recognised and apologised for the events, but has ruled out financial
compensation for the victims' descendants..</div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-15545768520652127162014-10-03T23:28:00.002+01:002014-10-03T23:31:56.282+01:00Exploring the Hidden Racist Past of the Looney Toons by Matt Crowley | September 16th, 2014<div class="byline">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry clearfix">
<img alt="rabbitstew" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-63489" src="http://cdn.splitsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/rabbitstew.jpg" height="291" width="400" /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I
have an uncomfortable confession to make: I have never liked the Looney
Tunes. Despite the cultural pervasiveness of these characters, and a
lifelong love of animation on my part, they’ve always struck me as
annoying, repetitive, and boring — for all the pandemonium that Bugs
Bunny and his ilk ostensibly represent, their chaos is bland, their
destruction is predictable, and their lineage is corporate.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To be fair, my exposure to Looney Tunes at the time bore that out pretty well: I grew up in the age of <i>Space Jam </i>and the slew of jerseys, sneakers, McDonald’s toys, pogs, and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?keywords=Michael%20Jordan%20Ceramic%20Warner%20Bros&tag=petewill08-21">cookie jars</a>
that film spawned. Today is no better, with the Roadrunner and Foghorn
Leghorn perhaps most recognizable as shills for companies like Time
Warner and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8m4WCc0nfo">GEICO</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yet this was not always the case, as demonstrated by the excellent
Chuck Jones exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.
Entitled <a href="http://www.movingimage.us/exhibitions/2014/07/19/detail/whats-up-doc-the-animation-art-of-chuck-jones/">“What’s Up Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones”</a>,
this retrospective illuminates the originality and charm of Jones in
particular and the Looney Tunes in general. I learned that Bugs Bunny’s
smart-alecky attitude and cigar-like carrot were based on Groucho Marx,
and Wile E Coyote’s design was inspired by Mark Twain’s description of
the coyote as “a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton…with a
despairing expression of forsakenness and misery, a furtive and evil
eye, and a long, sharp face…The coyote is a living, breathing allegory
of Want.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was also surprised to discover how topical these cartoons were — as
a kid watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, I didn’t catch many of
the forty-year-old references. Yet Looney Tunes was a definite
forerunner to the adult animation of today, poking fun at contemporary
politics and pop culture. These cartoons were far from the squeaky-clean
version of today: they were vibrant, innovative, and often subversive.
While this certainly makes these shorts more interesting, it also means
that some of the uglier elements of the time are on full display.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Such elements are abundantly clear in the Censored Eleven, shorts
from the Warner Bros catalogue that were withheld from syndication due
to racially offensive content. These cartoons have not been broadcast
since 1968, though they are available online. I present them below, not
to glamorize them but to shed some light on an occasionally fascinating —
and often appalling — corner of an American institution.<span id="more-63485"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Hittin’ the Trail for Hallelujah Land</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giJBiwAuug0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giJBiwAuug0</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The oldest cartoon of the eleven, <i>Hittin’ The Trail For Hallelujah Land</i>
is notable for its plagiarism as well as its offensive subject matter.
Released in 1931 — the second Merrie Melodies short ever made — it bears
a striking resemblance to Disney’s 1928 release <i>Steamboat Willy</i>, including a Mickey Mouse-like character named Piggy who drives a steamboat.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The film was censored due to the character of Uncle Tom, a doglike
creature who runs afoul of some dancing skeletons (who are also markedly
similar to an earlier Disney creation entitled <i>The Skeleton Dance</i>).
The animal cast of this short makes racist portrayals less apparent,
and the stereotype that Uncle Tom falls into — that of the superstitious
black man — is so outmoded that I didn’t even initially recognize its
bigotry. Beyond this, a lack of focus and some half-baked gags are
likely to make this cartoon more of a curiosity than a joy for modern
viewers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Sunday Go to Meetin’ Time </b>& <b>Clean Pastures</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-qUqK5LovQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-qUqK5LovQ</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1936’s <i>Sunday Go To Meetin’ Time </i>and 1937’s <i>Clean Pastures </i>share
religious themes as well as large opening set pieces that provide an
opportunity to introduce a cavalcade of racial caricatures — country
folk in the former and city dwellers in the latter. <i>Sunday Go To Meetin’ Time </i>is
a standard morality tale, about an errant man (Nicodemus) who sneaks
out of church to go steal some chickens. When he’s hit on the head and
has a dream about the Hell that awaits him, he awakens repentant.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Clean Pastures </i>is, on the whole, a more entertaining and more complex offering. A parody of the film <i>Green Pastures</i>,
this short follows the angel Gabriel — a caricature of contemporary
performer Stepin Fetchit — as he tries to get Harlemites to come to
Heaven (or “Pair-o-Dice” as it’s called here). He is unsuccessful until
four angels — caricatures of jazz musicians — suggest using “rhythm” to
get people to paradise. The music is a huge success, and droves of folks
come to Heaven — including the Devil himself. Offensive stereotyping
abounds, but <i>Clean Pastures </i>has at least provided significant critical fodder. <i>Sunday Go To Meetin’ Time</i>, not so much.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Jungle Jitters </b>&<b> The Isle of Pingo Pongo</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssoFdlyd5uo&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa&index=6">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssoFdlyd5uo&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa&index=6</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A pair of riffs on the idea of island savages, <i>Jungle Jitters </i>and <i>The Isle of Pingo Pongo </i>(both released in 1938) share a few of the same barbarian-based gags as well as a surrealist bent. <i>The Isle of Pingo Pongo </i>is set up as a parody of travelogues, while <i>Jungle Jitters </i>is more of a fish-out-of-water scenario, following a traveling salesman who gets kidnapped by natives.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While both feature some cringe-worthy jokes (connecting savage island
music with contemporary jazz, a sign reading “Eat at the Dark Brown
Derby,” etc.) <i>Jungle Jitters </i>is stronger in terms of narrative
and sheer insanity. The climax, which features the islanders’ leader, a
Caucasian bird-woman, falling in love with the doglike salesman,
showcases a refreshing anything-goes lunacy that’s a Looney Tunes
hallmark.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Uncle Tom’s Bungalow</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xed3r2_uncle-tom-s-bungalow_shortfilms">http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xed3r2_uncle-tom-s-bungalow_shortfilms</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1937’s <i>Uncle Tom’s Bungalow </i>is something of a missed opportunity. Based on the famous abolitionist novel <i>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</i>,
this short generally holds true to the themes of its source material —
the slaver Legree is the clear antagonist, and the little white girl Eva
and little black girl Topsy are presented as friends and essentially
equals (making this the least racially segregated of the Censored
Eleven). Unfortunately, the slapdash nature of this cartoon undercuts
any potential message — the humor is lacking, it relies on an overuse of
jokey narration, and the final punch line is a racist gambling joke.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Angel Puss</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x120jht_angel-puss_creation">http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x120jht_angel-puss_creation</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The only one of the eleven directed by Chuck Jones, <i>Angel Puss </i>(1944)
is at once one of the most blithe and most offensive of the banned
cartoons. Its storyline of a cat outsmarting an African-American man who
is trying to drown him places it in line with the standard
aggressor/defender of Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd or Tweety &
Sylvester. The cartoon has the characteristic energy and wit of Jones
throughout. Yet everything about the African-American character, from
his design, to his name (Sambo), to his voice, to his superstitious and
foolish behavior, is pure prejudicial horror, and seeing it in such a
familiar context makes it all the more jarring. Note too the heightened
sadism of Puss, who turns to tormenting Sambo almost immediately.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Tin Pan Alley Cats</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Though <i>Tin Pan Alley Cats</i> (1943)is another simplistic morality
tale, it’s one peppered with a number of dexterous touches, including a
version of Hell that’s more agreeably insane and more effective than <i>Sunday Go to Meetin’ Time. </i>When
a smart-alecky cat — resembling entertainer Fats Waller — chooses a
nightclub over a prayer group, he’s tormented by visions of damnation.
When he comes to, he repents of his sinful ways. The animation of the
feline protagonist, albeit stereotypical, is particularly expressive and
sincere, allowing the audience to sympathize with his plight.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS2gxYPtbOw&index=14&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS2gxYPtbOw&index=14&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves </i>(1943)is a tricky one. On the
one hand, you need go no further than the title to discover the racism
that runs rampant throughout. On the other, this involved and detailed
parody of the Disney classic is the most masterful cartoon of the eleven
— it’s considered by some to be one of the best animated films ever
made. It’s also unusual for its jazz bona fides and its use of black
voice actors and musicians. Make no mistake: <i>Coal Black </i>is often jaw-droppingly offensive. However, its sly wit and madcap energy make it an offering well worth watching.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Goldilocks and the Jivin’ Bears</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC8ZY8DgnsU&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa&index=15">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC8ZY8DgnsU&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa&index=15</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Goldilocks and the Jivin’ Bears </i>shares a lot with <i>Coal Black </i>
— its fairytale structure, its musical-focus, its blackface
characterizations of all but the intensely sexualized protagonist. Yet
while <i>Coal Black </i>builds a coherent and surprising story about
World War II, this film is more of a hodgepodge, drawing humor from
non-sequitors, contemporary references, and the lazy stereotype that
black people like to dance. After the eponymous bears leave the house to
let their instruments cool down (yup), Goldilocks arrives and runs
afoul of a wolf — Red Riding Hood, you see, was delayed while working
“as a rivetater.” After being rescued by the bears, the short ends with
everybody jitterbugging.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>All This and Rabbit Stew</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgNjXeU5OTk&index=16&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgNjXeU5OTk&index=16&list=PLrTiY71ClzNlFU0iHgrgyUihZqTS9iiZa</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whereas most of these cartoons feature characters not seen elsewhere in the Looney Tunes canon, <i>All This and Rabbit Stew </i>(1941)features
Warner Bros’ biggest star, Bugs Bunny himself. Incidentally, the lack
of other Looney Tunes stalwarts on this list is not because Bugs and
friends were particularly enlightened — there are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8D93Awa434">plenty</a> of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFsGDJByP4">objectionable</a><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3wrrs_merrie-melodies-confederate-honey-1_shortfilms">scenes</a> that were cut out of now-classic cartoons. In the case of <i>All This and Rabbit Stew</i>, however, the racism is so pervasive that the entire film had to be removed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In many ways, this short resembles a typical Elmer Fudd hunting
rabbit scenario, but where Fudd’s stupidity is generic, the African
American hunter’s is specifically racial. Obsessed with playing craps,
the hunter loses the very clothes on his back to Bugs, leaving him with
only a leaf covering his crotch. Bugs pulls that off too during the iris
out — taking the hunter’s last shred of dignity with him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Matt Crowley has written for the </i>AV Club, The Daily Dot, CollegeHumor, McSweeney’s <i>and other online publications. Follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewPCrowley">Twitter</a>, won’t you?</i></div>
</div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-68440760785877627352014-09-20T11:15:00.003+01:002014-09-20T11:15:44.530+01:00Mahatma Gandhi DID NOT LIKE NOR RESPECT BLACK PEOPLE by SanCopha League<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFDBM4rsL5A/VB1TfBc-CdI/AAAAAAAAATo/LaHdZANixAo/s1600/gandhi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFDBM4rsL5A/VB1TfBc-CdI/AAAAAAAAATo/LaHdZANixAo/s1600/gandhi.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mahatma Gandhi is a man who is widely praised and remembered for his
mission for freedom and Liberation. His influence on Martin Lut<span class="text_exposed_show">her
King Jr. is often spoken about in mainstream education but what they
never tell you is that Gandhi DID NOT LIKE nor RESPECT BLACK PEOPLE. He
believed that Indians and their white oppressors were superior to
Blacks. In fact, the word Mahatma means “Great Soul” so I am even
reluctant to call him that. He is quoted several times referring to
Africans as “Kaffirs”; a word that is equivalent to the “N” word. He
believed that Africans were uncivilized savages BY NATURE and needed to
be saved. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Gandhi described us as
troublesome, very dirty, and living like animals. He had a serious
problem with Africans living among his people and wanted the two to be
segregated. In 1904, he would to protest the placing of Africans in his
city saying, “Ours is one continued struggle sought to be inflicted upon
us by the Europeans, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw
Kaffir. Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian Location should
be chosen for dumping down all the Kaffirs of the town passes my
comprehension.” He believed it was the greatest form of disrespect for
White people to consider Indians the same as Black People. It is very
important that we see through some of the illusions that are thrown our
way. Black people Stop praising Gandhi. Stop using his quotes. If he was
still here, he would not be praising you.</span><br /><span class="text_exposed_show"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".y2.1:3:1:$comment779711875414693_779727968746417:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".y2.1:3:1:$comment779711875414693_779727968746417:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".y2.1:3:1:$comment779711875414693_779727968746417:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Ghandi
was a champion of the Hindu caste system. In which placed Ayran
(lighter skinned indians) as superior to Dravidian Hindus (dark skinned
Indians) they referred to as the untouchables. The Dravidians are the
original inhabitants of the Indus Valley. The Aryan Hindus are a result
of invasion.</span></span></span> Written by @KingKwajo</span></div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624093624674045540.post-37007620325597412732014-09-10T08:58:00.004+01:002014-09-10T10:05:10.526+01:00Black People Are Cowards (Essay by Rapper Homeboy Sandman)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Homeboy Sandman 11:17am 4-28-2014</b><br />
In light of the recent decision by a professional basketball team,
comprised of mostly black players, to respond to their boss basically
saying “I hate niggers” by turning their shirts inside out the next day
at work, I have come to the decision that I agree wholeheartedly with
the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, and I too do not want black
people invited to my events.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s not for the same reasons that the Clippers’ owner doesn’t want
black people invited to his events. To be honest I don’t really know
what his reasons are. Perhaps he recently tuned in to an FM “hip hop”
station and after hearing song after drug, sex, and violence-laden song
decided that it might be a good idea to keep some distance. Perhaps his
media conditioning spans beyond music, encompassing the gamut of
stereotype-enforcing media, (media championed and praised by blacks,
where the most rich and famous coons are praised and idolized as
examples of black “success”). Maybe he’s been hanging out with George
Zimmerman, and they’ve been watching Love & Hip Hop, and Basketball
Wives, and the Tyler Perry collection, and Katt Williams and Kevin Hart
performances (anybody catch that Kevin Hart movie with the ex-rapper who
used to have a song standing up against police brutality playing a
police officer? Where Hart delivers the line that Zimmerman had no doubt
heard a thousand different times in a thousand different ways, shifting
his psyche to the point where he could be authentically terrified of
someone just because they were black . . . “you’re white. You don’t
fight.”)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
No, I’m lucky enough to spend enough time with black people to
recognize that we’re not the base form of human life that we continue to
support ourselves being portrayed as (though admittedly, it definitely
rubs off on us. A lot. So much so that it’s very puzzling to comprehend
how we could blame anyone who doesn’t get to spend much time with us for
fostering a wildly skewed perception. What can people know but what
they see?). No, I don’t want black people to stay away from my events
because I believe them to be uncivilized, or ignorant, or anything like
that.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don’t want black people at my events anymore, because black people are cowards.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In all the history I’ve ever studied, in all the fiction I’ve ever
read, I am hard pressed to find an example of cowardice to rival the
modern day black American, and nobody wants to be surrounded by cowards
right?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What if lions break out of the zoo and start trying to eat everyone?
What if aliens attack? What if the police department decides that they
want to grab their batons and blow off some steam? Are cowards really
the type of people that you want to be surrounded by?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Not me.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s why I don’t want black people at my events anymore. Athletes
that could refuse to perform until a killer is arrested, even until a
killer is convicted, who instead opt for taking a picture where they all
have their hoods on and then carrying on with business as usual: I
don’t want to be surrounded be these clowns. If you’re black, or white,
and you go back to work after finding out that your boss is grossed out
at the idea of being in the same vicinity with any black person except
for the cutie he’s sugar daddy to, I’m pretty sure you’re not who I want
in my corner during crunch time. Real crunch time. Life crunch time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The most common excuse I’ve heard for today’s cowardice is “they need
to feed their families,” which of course is a euphemism for “for the
money.” You know, the blacks that sold other blacks into slavery,
there’s a good chance they used some of that money to feed their
families too. So, that makes them cool with all of y’all? Here’s a
question, is there anything that we won’t do for money? Is getting paid
an excuse for everything? It’s an excuse for looking the other way when
innocent people are killed. It’s an excuse for supporting racism by
trying to win a championship for an openly racist owner. With regard to
hip hop and media it’s an excuse for purposefully, and most often
deceitfully, representing yourself and your culture as pretty much scum
who can only be validated by money. Thanks in large part to the
exceptional (it’s sad just how exceptional) bravery of Michelle
Alexander, (author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness) we live in a society where each day more and more
people realize the obvious truth that the goals of the criminal justice
system have way more to do with black enslavement than rehabilitation or
keeping people safe. Facing the reality of modern slavery, we continue
to allow ourselves to be enslaved day after day. (Granted, fear of death
is a far cry from fear of lack of wealth, but they’re both fear, the
currency of cowardice.) As KRS-One (whose “Sound of Da Police” was
actually the theme song for the trailer of that ridiculous movie I
referenced earlier, which all but brought a tear to my eye), pointed out
on his classic “Black Cop,” many policemen and policewomen are now
earning paychecks for gathering up their own brothers and sisters, on
charges that perpetually lead to a slap on the wrist for whites but
somehow manage to be the first domino in a lifetime of enslavement for
blacks. These cops get to use the “feeding my family” line too.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="Black People Are Cowards" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--gQtrfV7d--/qvbbvnrvzvcixzg9qsws.jpg" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We accept it, and go about our day, meek, bullied, and afraid to
assert authority against anyone but each other, and amongst each other
asserting authority with a ferocity that could only be explained by the
rage of hundreds of years of being bullied by everybody else. In New
York City, where infiltration and displacement are referenced using the
the thinly veiled insult “gentrification” (look up the root word.
“Gent.” If we accept and use a term the very definition of which
suggests that communities are becoming more noble and graceful, what
does that say about the people being pushed out?) natives know better
than to display any aggression towards white newcomers, but are as quick
as ever to stare down an unfamiliar black face who isn’t from the
neighborhood.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What do you call people who walk quietly to slavery? Who allow
themselves to be insulted without standing up for themselves beyond
wardrobe adjustments that in reality are nothing but a public show of
shame? What do you call people that pretend that these ridiculous
gestures actually hold some weight rather than face the fact that we are
the laughing stock of the entire planet, and as long there’s the chance
that someday maybe we’ll be rich there’s nothing that we’re going to do
about it?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I call us cowards.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s almost as if people have forgotten that struggle includes
struggling. You might have to lose your job. You might have to lose your
life. That’s what it takes for change to happen. There’s no easy way to
do this. If you’re scared to stand up for yourself, for whatever
reason, all I ask is that you stop pretending. Stop with the Facebook
posts. Stop with the meaningless conversations. Just stop. Be honest.
About how you behave. About your part in all this madness. About what
you are. A coward. Just a coward. No need to put on an act for the rest
of us. We can all see right through each other.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One last thing . . .</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For those of you who have made it this far without stopping for how
furious at me your shame has made you, I want you to know something. I
don’t really think black people are cowards. I think humans are cowards.
Most of us. I think that regardless of where one’s phenotype places
them within the imaginary concept of race, that the majority of us are
content to live on our knees rather than die on our feet.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="" src="http://www.okayplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Homeboy_Sandman-d83f13d5aca2166f5222b3943b3a5b84.jpg" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The problem is, we, us, black people, can’t afford to be like
everyone else anymore. Not if we want to survive. I don’t know how we
got here, but everywhere you look we’re at the bottom of the global
totem pole. We need to make history. We can’t be cowards like every one
else, not any more. In fact, we need to set a new standard for heroism.
For bravery. For courage. Maybe a standard never before seen in the
history of humankind. Extreme situations call for extreme measures, and
in modern times our inferiority is ingrained in every single aspect of
our lives, from our media, to our religion, to our science, to our
public education, to our higher education, to Africa appearing to be the
same size as Greenland on all of the maps despite the fact that in
reality Africa is 14 times larger. It’s harder to see our enemies than
it’s ever been. Our enemy isn’t white people. It’s people who value
greed more than human life. Racial division is one of their oldest
weapons, and media is their latest. We mustn’t forget how young this
weapon is. I didn’t grow up using the Internet. The television itself
isn’t even 100 years old. The idea of global celebrity, and global
transference of ideas and perceptions of culture, has never existed the
way it does today. Just as Howard Beale prophesized in Network in 1976,
we’re up against “the most awesome God damned propaganda force in the
whole Godless world.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We’re going to have to step it up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you’re down to step it up, let’s step it up. Let’s boycott.
Boycott was the foundation of the Civil Rights movement. Do you believe
that a cable network exists solely to manipulate the perception of black
people? Stop watching it. Don’t put up a post one day praising the
episode of Boondocks that never aired and then spend the next day
tweeting the entire BET awards. That doesn’t make any sense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let’s step it up. If every NBA player who wanted to stand up against
racism vowed not to play until the Clippers’ owner resigned, it would be
announced that he resigned before you were finished reading this. If he
didn’t want to, someone would make him. If we boycotted every night
spot that spins music about how much we love killing each other and
taking and selling drugs, every single one of them would have new DJs by
next week (don’t even get me started on these new DJs. The new drug
dealers. Admitting that they know what they’re giving people is bad for
them but caring more about getting paid). I went to DJ Spinna’s Michael
Jackson/Prince party at SRBs last night and there was more dancing and
mirth and free love in that place than every hip hop party in NYC in the
last 10 years put together. So when people tell you that we need
ratchet nonsense to dance, they’re gaming you. Don’t be so gullible.
Don’t act like black people only found out how to have fun when we lost
our connection to our own human decency.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let’s step it up and not buy magazines pushing music designed to glamorize a lifestyle certain to land our youth in prison.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let’s step it up and take off from work and stay home with our kids
until these preposterous tenure rules are revoked from public schools
and it’s the kids that can’t be fired, not the teachers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let’s step it and use social media to rally each other. Everybody
knew about that woman who fired a warning shot and got 20 years (I hear
she’s been released now. No thanks to us). Everybody knows about that
woman who got however many years for leaving her child in the car while
she went to a job interview. Every single week all over Facebook there’s
a new video of someone catching a beating as bad as the one Rodney King
caught, but I never see a post that says, “Share this if you’ll go on
strike from work until these police officers are fired.” “Share this if
you’ll strike until this woman is released.” “Share this if you won’t
spend a single dollar until Troy Davis is released from death row and
granted a new trial.” Can you imagine the impact that that would have?
Everybody is always trying to act there’s no solutions. There are plenty
of solutions. We’re just too cowardly to implement them. Worried about
this discomfort or that discomfort, great or small, that might take
place as a result. Having to find a new place to party. Or a new show to
watch. Isn’t the discomfort of oppression enough? There’s plenty of
solutions, just no easy ones, but if we can shift to courage instead of
cowardice, there’s more than enough solutions to guarantee our success.
Guarantee. Next time you’re complaining about how this country was built
on us, take a second to think about the fact that it still is. If we
want to, we can shut this whole place down.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So make a decision between cowardice and courage, and if you choose
courage, step it up. Step it up in any of the myriad of ways that are
available to us. I’ve named a few. Name a few more. Leave a few
suggestions in the comments section. Call up your friends. Tweet.
Facebook.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then start doing them. If you can’t convince anyone to do them with
you, do them on your own. Start right away because we’re running out of
time. I hear some states are fining people for sagging their pants. I’d
never sag my pants, but if we begin to allow people to be penalized
simply for attributes that we’ve allowed to be associated with being
black, we’re going to find the water getting even hotter very soon.</div>
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We’ve been cowards for a very long time. We have a lot of catching up to do. Let’s start right now.</div>
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For those of you who don’t want to step it up, do me a favor and at least unfriend me.<br />
<a href="http://gawker.com/black-people-are-cowards-1568673014" target="_blank"><b> http://gawker.com/black-people-are-cowards-1568673014</b></a></div>
Keith Mywrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14110557510021290680noreply@blogger.com0