tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40286054696645291142024-03-19T00:11:01.193-04:00Snakes On McCainPOTUS : FLOTUS : BROTUSLoganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-8525216118208141322016-01-05T11:29:00.001-05:002016-01-06T13:08:44.292-05:00What You Could Read and Watch in 2016Many New Year's resolutions reflect a desire to read more, to see more, to be more connected to thought and culture. I'm fortunate to have friends -- and even some enemies -- who are brilliant, thoughtful, and engaged. Their recommendations are priceless and much of my own education has been the result of conversations with them. <br />
<br />
I asked my network for the one "thing" that they are most thankful they experienced this past year. By "thing," I meant something like a book, movie, piece of art, etc.. Here is the list.<br />
<br />
<strong>BOOKS & READING</strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Just-Kids-Patti-Smith/dp/0060936223">Just Kids</a> - Patti Smith<br />
<em>Bo Ray</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Second-Ghetto-1940-1960-Historical/dp/0226342441/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451347627&sr=1-1&keywords=the+making+of+the+second+ghetto">Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago 1940-1960</a> - Arnold R. Hirsch<br />
<em>Casey Anthony</em><br />
<br />
Harvard Business Review - <a href="https://www.hbrsubscribe.org/?ploc=1014895">Subscribe</a><br />
<em>Noel Gordon</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Work-Rules-Insights-Inside-Transform/dp/1455554790">Work Rules</a> - Laszlo Bock<br />
<em>Noel Gordon</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/537640.Last_Evenings_on_Earth">Last Evenings on Earth</a> - Roberto Bolano<br />
<em>Jaime Sanchez</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Teeth-Novel-Zadie-Smith/dp/0375703861">White Teeth</a> - Zadie Smith<br />
<em>Lev Novak</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warmth-Other-Suns-Americas-Migration/dp/0679763880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451320619&sr=1-1&keywords=the+warmth+of+other+suns">The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration</a> - Isabel Wilkerson<br />
<em>Logan Cotton</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://themanbookerprize.com/books/little-life">A Little Life</a> - Hanya Yanagihara<br />
<em>Alexis Hoffman</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Killing_the_Black_Body.html?id=TPCRAAAAIAAJ&hl=en">Killing the Black Body</a> - Dorothy E. Roberts<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/0143120549/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451324750&sr=1-1&keywords=triumph+of+the+city">Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier</a> - Edward Glaeser<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/We-Animals-Justin-Torres/dp/0547844190">We The Animals</a> - Justin Torres<br />
<em>Julius Mitchell</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Dawn-Stray-Modern-Relationships/dp/1491512407">Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What it Means for Modern Relationships</a> - Christopher Ryan<br />
<em>Sam Cohen</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Dimensional-Man-Ideology-Advanced-Industrial/dp/0807014176">One Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society</a> - Herbert Marcuse<br />
<em>Neil Whittredge</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20820994-i-ll-give-you-the-sun">I'll Give You the Sun</a> - Jandy Nelson<br />
<em>Bianca Davila</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2015-fall/workshops-empire.htm">Workshops of Empire</a> - Eric Bennett<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297267/shahnameh-by-abolqasem-ferdowsi-translated-by-dick-davis-foreword-by-azar-nafisi/">Shanameh</a> - Abolqasem Ferdowsi<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18339763-undocumented">Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal</a> - Aviva Chomsky<br />
<em>Alex Ocampo</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Business-Etiquette-For-Dummies-Sue/dp/0470147091">Business Etiquette for Dummies</a> - Sue Fox<br />
<em>Derrick Stinson</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23316485-dragonfish">Dragonfish</a> - Vu Tran<br />
<em>Mickey Desruisseaux</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Taste_of_Power">A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story</a> - Elaine Brown<br />
<em>Ariel Stevenson</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Record-Tabulated-Statistics-Lynching/dp/1508472084/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452103600&sr=1-1&keywords=Red+Record">The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States</a> - Ida B. Wells<br />
<em>Jameelah Morris</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-How-You-Lose-Her/dp/1594487367">This is How You Lose Her</a> - Junot Diaz<br />
<em>Ariel Stevenson</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Am-Malala-Stood-Education-Taliban/dp/0316322407">I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban</a> - Malala Yousafzai<br />
<em>Lia Winograd</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Matters-Haunting-Sociological-Imagination/dp/0816654468">Ghostly Matters: Haunting and Sociological Imagination</a> - Avery Gordon<br />
<em>Jameelah Morris</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Racial-Formation-United-States-Michael/dp/0415520312">Racial Formation in the United States</a> - Michael Omi and Howard Winant<br />
<em>Suyu Zhang</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Whistle-Politics-Appeals-Reinvented/dp/019022925X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451402100&sr=1-1&keywords=dog+whistle+politics">Dog Whistle Politics</a> - Ian Haney Lopez<br />
<em>Suyu Zhang</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Your-Mother-Journey-Atlantic/dp/0374531153/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452103554&sr=1-1&keywords=lose+your+mother+saidiya+hartman">Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route</a> - Sadiya Hartman<br />
<em>Jameelah Morris</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/08/battle-lines-jihad-creswell-and-haykel">Why Jihadists Write Poetry</a> - Bernard Haykel<br />
<em>Munir Atalla</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537">Shantaram: A Novel</a> - Gregory David Roberts<br />
<em>Alden Sampson</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quantified-Redefining-Conservation-Next-Economy/dp/161091614X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452009735&sr=1-1&keywords=quantified+joe+whitworth">Quantified: Redefining Conservation for the Next Economy</a> - Joe Whitworth<br />
<em>Alden Sampson</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Short-History-Private/dp/0767919394/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452009784&sr=1-1&keywords=at+home+bill+bryson">At Home: A Short History of Private Life</a> - Bill Bryson<br />
<em>Sam Schuster</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Between-World-Me-Ta-Nehisi-Coates/dp/0812993543">Between the World and Me</a> - Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Arab-Future-Childhood-1978-1984-Graphic/dp/1627793445/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452010230&sr=1-1&keywords=the+arab+of+the+future">The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East</a> - Riad Sattouf<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sellout-Novel-Paul-Beatty/dp/0374260508/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452010300&sr=1-1&keywords=the+sellout">The Sellout: A Novel</a> - Paul Beatty<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Americanah-Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie/dp/0307455920">Americanah</a> - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie<br />
<em>Hala Abdulkarim</em><br />
<br />
NPR's list of the <a href="http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2015/?sf43329552=1">best books of 2015</a><br />
<br />
<strong>WATCH & LISTEN</strong><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUn7rEqpdq0">The Epic</a> - Kamasi Washington<br />
<em>Harold Moore</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/channels/highmaintenance">High Maintenance</a><br />
<em>Jaime Sanchez</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_%282015_film%29">Victoria</a><br />
<em>Evan Tarantino</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/147173661">The Less I Know the Better</a> - Tame Impala<br />
<em>Jaime Sanchez</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Whitey-United-States-of-America-v.-James-J.-Bulger/70299913">Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://gallery400.uic.edu/events/voices-frank-b-wilderson-iii">Punishment Park and the Limits of Gramsican Logic</a> - Frank B. Wilderson III<br />
<em>Jorge Cotte</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Summit/70268450">The Summit</a><br />
<em>Alexa Petersen</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Undefeated/70177633">Undefeated</a><br />
<em>Alexa Petersen</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Antarctica-A-Year-on-Ice/80018331">Antarctica: A Year on Ice</a><br />
<em>Alexa Petersen</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-High-Castle/dp/B00RSGFRY8">The Man in the High Castle</a><br />
<em>Neil Whittredge</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4938972/">Unslut: A Documentary</a><br />
<em>Vera Papisova</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/98653191">Joywave</a> - Tongues feat. KOPPS<br />
<em>Evan Tarantino</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUn7rEqpdq0">Dareka no Manazashi</a> - Makoto Shinkai<br />
<em>Kyle Wolken</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3076658/">Creed</a><br />
<em>Mickey Desruisseaux & Jameelah Morris</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolfpack">The Wolfpack</a><br />
<em>Evan Tarantino</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3749900/">Gotham</a><br />
<em>Jameelah Morris</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3231022/">Survivor's Remorse</a><br />
<em>Mickey Desruisseaux</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365050/">Beasts of No Nation</a><br />
<em>Ariel Stevenson</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://virungamovie.com/">Virunga</a><br />
<em>Lia Winograd</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blackfishmovie.com/">Blackfish</a><br />
<em>Lia Winograd</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318462/">Motorcycle Diaries</a><br />
<em>Suyu Zhang</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo_%28season_2%29">Fargo</a> (Season 2)<br />
<em>Evan Tarantino</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Murderer">Making a Murderer</a><br />
<em>Evan Tarantino</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392190/">Mad Max: Fury Road</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/">Inside Out</a><br />
<br />
<strong>FITNESS</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<a href="http://stronglifts.com/">Strong Lifts</a><br />
<br />
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Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-81303825440242036642015-10-05T09:08:00.000-04:002015-10-05T09:08:02.818-04:00What We're Reading Today (10-5-15)<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/the-populist-prophet">The Populist Prophet</a> - <i>The New Yorker</i><br />
Margaret Talbot<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/bernie-sanders-mayor/407413/">Bernie Sanders, the Socialist Mayor</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Russell Banks<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/black-incarcerations-uncomfortable-history/408733/">The Breakdown of the Black Family</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Kay Hymowitz<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122965/can-billion-dollar-corporation-zappos-be-self-organized">First, Let's Get Rid of All the Bosses</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Roger D. Hodge<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/obama-guns-and-the-politics-of-hopelessness">Obama, Guns, and the Politics of Hopelessness</a> - <i>The New Yorker</i> <br />
John Cassidy<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/10/01/444779762/many-former-foster-youths-dont-know-they-have-health-care?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202501">Many Former Foster Youths Don't Know They Have Health Care</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Ray Glier<br />
<i> </i><br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/09/donald_trump_is_a_modern_day_george_wallace_the_republican_front_runner.html?utm_content=buffer58573&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">Our George Wallace</a><i> - Slate </i><br />
Jamelle Bouie<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/28/opinion/charles-m-blow-jeb-bush-free-stuff-and-black-folks.html?_r=0">Jeb Bush, 'Free Stuff' and Black Folks</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Charles Blow<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-death-of-evan-murray/">The Death of Evan Murray</a> - <i>Grantland</i><br />
Charles Pierce<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/the-origins-of-public-carry-jurisprudence-in-the-slave-south/407809/">The Slave-State Origins of Modern Gun Rights</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Saul Cornell and Eric M. Ruben<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/public-school-funding-and-the-role-of-race/408085/">The Data Are Damning: How Race Influences School Funding</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i> <br />
Gillian B. White<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/nyregion/new-york-police-will-document-virtually-all-instances-of-force.html?_r=1">New York Police Will Document Virtually All Instances of Force</a> - <i>NY Times</i> <br />
Al Baker and J. David Goodman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-health-racial-disparities-va-20150922-story.html">Black patients fare better than whites when both get same healthcare, study finds</a> - <i>Los Angeles Times</i><br />
Alan Zarembo<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/09/arne-duncan-education-profile-000231">Arne Duncan's Wars</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Michael Grunwald<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/magazine/jorge-ramoss-long-game.html?_r=0&mtrref=www.nytimes.com">Jorge Ramos' Long Game</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Marcela Valdes<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/01/24/the-american-dream-shatters-in-prince-georges-county/">The American Dream Shatters in Prince George's County </a>- <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Michael Fletcher<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/senate-reaches-compromise-on-criminal-justice-reform-214278#ixzz3nIFiSuux">Senate Strikes Compromise on Criminal Justice Reform</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Rachael Bade, Daniel Lippman, and Sarah Wheaton<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/10/01/433229181/henry-dumas-wrote-about-black-people-killed-by-cops-then-he-was-killed-by-a-cop?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social">Henry Dumas Wrote About Black People Killed By Cops. Then He Was Killed By A Cop.</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Beenish Ahmed<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/29/inside-the-isis-blueprint-for-winning.html">Inside the ISIS Blueprint for Winning</a> - <i>The Daily Beast</i><br />
William McCants<br />
<i> </i><br />
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<i> </i>Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-50309982852100239292015-09-24T13:58:00.000-04:002015-09-24T13:58:02.695-04:00What We're Reading Today (9-24-15)<a href="http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/27986/the-washington-region-needs-bold-commitments-to-end-the-housing-crisis/#comment-293814">The Washington Region Needs Bold Commitments to End the Housing Crisis</a> - <i>Greater Greater Washington</i><br />
David Bowers (read the comments, as well)<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/05/whites_prefer_to_live_with_whites_why_integrating_america_s_neighborhoods.html">White Out: Why integrating America's neighborhoods and cities is harder than we think</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Jamelle Bouie<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://tinyletter.com/mattyglesias/letters/eyes-all-sticking-like-honey-on-bees">Eyes all sticking like honey on bees</a> - <i>Matt's Newsletter</i><br />
Matthew Yglesias<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-health-racial-disparities-va-20150922-story.html">Black patients fare better than whites when both get same healthcare, study finds</a> - <i>LA Times</i><br />
<i> </i>Alan Zarembo<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/09/rugby-world-cup-all-blacks-haka/406897/?utm_source=SFFB">What Rugby Can Teach America About Honoring Indigenous Culture</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
<i> </i>Jake Flanagin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/9/23/9352273/party-decides-trump-sanders">Political scientists think "the party" will stop Trump. They shouldn't be so sure.</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Andrew Prokop<i> </i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/taking-the-measure-of-pope-francis/?ex_cid=538twitter">What Does Success Look Like for Pope Francis?</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Five Thirty Eight<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/#ixzz3mZAQasP6">What Congress Really Thinks of the Pope</a> - <i>Politico</i> <br />
Katelyn Fossett<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/world/middleeast/as-others-flee-to-west-most-syrian-refugees-remain-in-region.html?_r=0">As Others Flee to West, Most Syrian Refugees Remain in Region</a> - <i>NY Times</i> <br />
Jodi Rudoren<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_913486595"></span><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/28/a-modest-proposal">A Modest Proposal</a><span id="goog_913486596"></span> - <i>The New Yorker</i> <br />
David Sedaris<br />
<br />
<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/09/how-conservatives-explain-away-islamophobia.html">How Conservatives Explain Away Republican Islamophobia</a> - <i>New York Magazine</i> <br />
Jonathan Chait<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/carly-fiorina-ceo-jeffrey-sonnenfeld-2016-213163">Why I Still Think Fiorina Was a Terrible CEO</a> - <i>Politico</i> <br />
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld<br />
<br />
<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/09/frank-rich-in-praise-of-donald-trump.html">The Importance of Donald Trump</a> - <i>New York Magazine</i><br />
Frank Rich<br />
<a href="http://harpers.org/blog/2015/09/bait-and-switch/"><br /></a>
<a href="http://harpers.org/blog/2015/09/bait-and-switch/">Bait and Switch</a> - <i>Harpers</i><br />
Clare Malone<i> </i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/09/white-house-behavioral-science-teams-report.html?mid=twitter_nymag">Here's What the White House's Behavioral Sciences Team Discovered in Its First Year</a> - <i>New York Magazine</i><br />
Jesse Singal<br />
<i> </i><br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/united-states-china-war-thucydides-trap/406756/">The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War?</a><i> - The Atlantic</i><br />
Graham Allison<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/the-black-family-in-the-age-of-mass-incarceration/403246/">The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/public-housing-success/406561/">The Power of Public Housing</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Alana Semuels<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/moynihan-mass-incarceration-and-responsibility/407131/">Moynihan, Mass Incarceration, and Responsibility</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<i> </i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqViJrNtlTHYZeAVc1E5qykksELCOh5XsgbY3XqsUHdGyvwIbTEbDqjdgePDt6JHXzfwfeF9r87t_OfFUZFUbtM4lySxFN_Bn68JntloIpbekcVoUVo9TtZft73Pm3ZnN-9TLc4qkdviw/s1600/papa-francesco-speranza.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqViJrNtlTHYZeAVc1E5qykksELCOh5XsgbY3XqsUHdGyvwIbTEbDqjdgePDt6JHXzfwfeF9r87t_OfFUZFUbtM4lySxFN_Bn68JntloIpbekcVoUVo9TtZft73Pm3ZnN-9TLc4qkdviw/s320/papa-francesco-speranza.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<i> </i>Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-46842803768097112442015-09-14T10:04:00.001-04:002015-09-14T10:04:40.691-04:00What We're Reading Today (9-14-15)<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/the-anti-redskin/403213/">The Anti-Redskin</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ariel Sabar<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/what-bernie-sanders-can-bring-to-liberty-university/404926/">The Intersection of Faith and Politics</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Erin Kotlan<br />
<i> </i><br />
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/09/09/the_vengeful_god_of_kim_davis_the_powerful_forces_we_ignore_when_we_fixate_on_one_kentucky_clerk/">The vengeful god of Kim Davis: The powerful forces we ignore when we fixate on one Kentucky clerk</a> - <i>Salon</i><br />
Brittney Cooper<i> </i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/393683/a-brief-visual-history-of-weapons/">A Brief Visual History of Weapons </a>- <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/09/silicon-valley-telepathy-wearables/404641/">Mark Zuckerberg and the End of Language</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
William Davies<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/scare-headlines-exaggerated-the-u-s-crime-wave/">Scare Headlines Exaggerated The US Crime Wave</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Carl Bialik<i> </i> <br />
<i> </i><br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/why-i-put-my-wifes-career-first/403240/">Why I Put My Wife's Career First</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Andrew Moravcsik<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122756/think-out-loud-emerging-black-digital-intelligentsia">Think Out Loud</a> - <i>The New Repulic</i><br />
Michael Eric Dyson<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122792/paid-leaves-champions-week-obama-hilton-hotels-saudi-arabia">Paid Leave's Champions This Week: Obama, Hilton Hotels, and Saudi Arabia</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Esther Breger<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122768/parenting-shouldnt-be-about-self-sacrifice-whatever-your-income">Parenting Shouldn't Be About Self-Sacrifice, Whatever Your Income</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Stacia L. Brown<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000003908776/no-7-train-opens-on-manhattans-west-side.html">The First New Subway Stop Since 1989</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Emma Cott and Colin Archdeacon<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/americas-teaching-force-by-the-numbers/404590/">America's Teaching Force, by the Numbers</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Laura McKenna<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/germany-merkel-refugee-asylum/405058/">The Staggering Scale of Germany's Refugee Project</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Heather Horn<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/09/the-words-that-mean-their-opposites/404815/">Enter the 'Smarmonym'</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Megan Garber<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-to-evaluate-the-economic-records-of-governors-who-want-to-be-president/">How to Evaluate the Economic Records of Governors Who Want to Be President</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Ben Casselman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/09/boston-then-and-now-1888-2015/405094/">Boston Then and Now: 1888-2015</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Alan Taylor<br />
<i> </i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9B4NkkZlgwApCxH81dRsoP7k22Bw__SkE7Qlbd1lZ4Hj-s484NWy8vOrzalPx0dUuD1KqjzDrXBlC3fyO55AoAv6JH20meR6YRWxvAnbCvtnA6yjPrF4k0xYX7KcT1bxEZvYskf75anoZ/s1600/lead_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9B4NkkZlgwApCxH81dRsoP7k22Bw__SkE7Qlbd1lZ4Hj-s484NWy8vOrzalPx0dUuD1KqjzDrXBlC3fyO55AoAv6JH20meR6YRWxvAnbCvtnA6yjPrF4k0xYX7KcT1bxEZvYskf75anoZ/s320/lead_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By: John Cueno</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i> </i>Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-109946480134666512015-09-07T14:43:00.001-04:002015-09-07T15:12:30.491-04:00What We're Reading Today (9-7-15)<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/chicago-graduation-rates/397736/?utm_source=SFTwitter">What Schools Will Do to Keep Students on Track</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Kate Grossman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-plan-to-shrink-new-orleans-after-katrina-failed/">Why the Plan to Shrink New Orleans Failed</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Gary Rivlin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/katrina-washed-away-new-orleanss-black-middle-class/">Katrina Washed Away New Orleans's Black Middle Class</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Ben Casselman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/ferguson-michael-brown-measuring-police-killings/">Tracking Police Violence A Year After Ferguson</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Donovan X. Ramsey<br />
<br />
<a href="https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail_August_Web/IPS-0120/DOC_0C05774218/C05774218.pdf">Chelsea Clinton's Letter to "Dad, Mom" about Haiti</a> - <i>US Department of State</i><br />
Chelsea Clinton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21660160-could-water-be-midwests-ticket-economic-rebirth-rustbelt-bluebelt?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/st/fromrustbelttobluebelt">From rustbelt to bluebelt</a> - <i>The Economist</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://blogs.kcrw.com/whichwayla/2015/08/watts-how-racist-housing-policy-helped-light-the-flame?utm_content=18876137&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">Watts: How racist housing policy helped light the flame</a> - <i>KCRW</i><br />
Jolie Myers<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-gop-clown-car-20150812?page=2">Inside the GOP Clown Car</a> - <i>Rolling Stone</i><br />
Matt Taibbi<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-passion-of-kanye-west-20060209">The Passion of Kanye West </a>- <i>Rolling Stone</i><br />
Lola Ogunnaike<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hillary-clinton-scandal-inevitable-problems/">Hillary Clinton's Inevitable Problems</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Nate Silver<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/opinion/police-abuse-is-a-form-of-terror.html?smid=tw-nytimes">Police Abuse Is a Form of Terror</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Charles Blow<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2015/08/15/432222309/a-historic-fight-over-public-housing-makes-for-fine-drama-on-hbo?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social">A Historic Fight Over Public Housing Makes For Fine Drama on HBO</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Linda Holmes<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gq.com/story/stephen-colbert-gq-cover-story?mod=e2this&utm_source=This+nightly&utm_campaign=296042f3a8-8pm_8_14_20158_14_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4b29b52ce6-296042f3a8-248194625">The Late, Great Stephen Colbert</a> - <i>GQ</i><br />
Joel Lovell<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/08/eric-foner-reconstruction-abolitionism-republican-party-lincoln-emancipation/">Struggle and Progress</a> - <i>Jacobin</i><br />
Eric Foner<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wbez.org/programs/morning-shift/2015-08-21/predicting-police-misconduct-it-happens-112704">Predicting Police Misconduct Before it Happens</a> - <i>WBEZ</i><br />
Chris Hagan<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/exodus/black-route/?tid=sm_tw">One family's journey from Aleppo to Austria</a> - <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Anthony Faiola<br />
<br />
<a href="http://web.stanford.edu/~nall/docs/nall--ident9.6.pdf">The Political Consequences of Spatial Policies: How Interstate Highways Facilitated Geographic Polarization</a> - <i>Stanford University</i><br />
Clayton Nall<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/5/14/8605917/highways-interstate-cities-history">Highways gutted American cities. So why did they build them?</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Joseph Stromberg<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blvckvrchives.com/chicagocabrinigreen/">Chicago: Cabrini Green 1942-2011</a> - <i>Blvck Vrchives</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/study-finds-ptsd-lingers-body-chemistry-next-generation/">Study finds trauma effects may linger in body chemistry of next generation</a> - <i>PBS</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122720/how-baltimore-prosecutor-marilyn-mosby-became-my-hero">How Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby Became My Hero</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Stacia L. Brown<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/new-orleans-education-decade/403558/">What a Decade Has Done for New Orleans's Schools </a>- <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Emmanuel Felton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/georgias-plan-to-close-the-30-million-word-gap-for-kids/403903/">Why Boosting Poor Children's Vocabulary Is Important for Public Health</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Emily Deruy<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/09/beyonce-made-in-america-2015-return-review/404065/">Beyoncé Returns</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Spencer Kornhaber<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/why-new-orleans-black-residents-are-still-under-water-after-katrina.html?_r=0">Why New Orleans' Black Residents are Still Underwater After Katrina</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Gary Rivlin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jamellebouie.net/post/56331188547/what-does-it-mean-to-be-privileged">What does it mean to be privileged?</a> - <i>Jamelle Bouie</i><br />
Jamelle Bouie<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating">Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse</a> - <i>Vanity Fair</i><br />
Nancy Jo Sales<br />
<br />
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/samueledyson/what-about-pain-s-dyson-sermon-8-9-15wav">What About Pain? A Sermon</a> - <i>Soundcloud</i><br />
Sam Dyson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/us/murder-rates-rising-sharply-in-many-us-cities.html?ref=topics&_r=1">Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many US Cities</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Monica Davey and Mitch Smith<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/14/the-worst-of-the-worst">The Worst of the Worst</a> - <i>New Yorker</i><br />
Patrick Radden Keefe<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-most-important-legacy-of-the-black-panthers">The Most Important Legacy of the Black Panthers</a> - <i>New Yorker</i><br />
Brandon Harris<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/07/an-exile-in-the-corn-belt">An Exile in the Corn Belt</a> - <i>New Yorker</i><br />
Ruth Margalit<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/24/the-yellow-house">The Yellow House</a> - <i>New Yorker</i><br />
Sarah M. Broom<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2015/09/leave-michael-vick-alone-racism-and.html">Leave Michael Vick Alone: The Racism and Misogyny of Football Fans</a> - <i>New Black Man in Exile</i><br />
Lawrence Ware<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2015/09/pullman-porters-ordinary-men.html">Pullman Porters: Ordinary Men, Extraordinary History</a> - <i>New Black Man in Exile</i><br />
Mark Anthony Neal<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/opinion/selling-off-apache-holy-land.html">Selling Off Apache Holy Land</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Lydia Millet<br />
<br />
<a href="http://noisey.vice.com/blog/chance-the-rapper-pitchfork-set-review">Chance the Rapper's Pitchfork Set Was a Perfect Tribute to the Strife and Growth of the City of Chicago</a> - <i>Pitchfork</i><br />
Britt Julious<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/opinion/sunday/our-racial-moment-of-truth.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0">Our Racial Moment of Truth</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Isabel Wilkerson<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3zOanLGcNFC-BE9WYE_B4PXa7T8z2JYdu8RQYmJehQLZUZsyrzhvTnxqnWC9Y_xzh7tWGgPo8qrg8msJgTK7WamfciZbROM4KF3CB7_EEhfLofGJTEgDDXBSoNjnb9cXtsR1SBE7qobm/s1600/150824_r26852-320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3zOanLGcNFC-BE9WYE_B4PXa7T8z2JYdu8RQYmJehQLZUZsyrzhvTnxqnWC9Y_xzh7tWGgPo8qrg8msJgTK7WamfciZbROM4KF3CB7_EEhfLofGJTEgDDXBSoNjnb9cXtsR1SBE7qobm/s1600/150824_r26852-320.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-22812779414452354132014-12-06T18:00:00.002-05:002014-12-17T00:36:51.491-05:00What We've Been Reading Recently - Mike Brown, Eric Garner, #BlackLivesMatter, and more (UPDATE: 12/16/14)A compilation of what I've been scouring on the InterWeb. It's by no means comprehensive or the most wonderful collection of links, posts, etc., but it's something to reference that shouldn't drive up your data charges like fracking through someone's Facebook Timeline.<br />
<br />
<b><u>UPDATED: 12-16-14 (11:05 PM Central)</u></b><br />
<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/magazine/off-target-on-toy-gun-regulation.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0">Off Target on Toy-Gun Regulation</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Jay Caspian Kang<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7275297/tamir-rice-police-shooting">Cleveland police shot and killed 12 year-old Tamir Rice as he carried toy gun</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
German Lopez<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<a href="https://modelviewculture.com/pieces/how-to-uphold-white-supremacy-by-focusing-on-diversity-and-inclusion">How to Uphold White Supremacy by Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion</a> - <i>Model View Culture</i><br />
Kyra<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/13/march-on-washington-ferguson-movement-al-sharpton">Another March on Washington? After Ferguson, 'That's not change. That's just church.'</a> <i>- The Guardian</i><br />
Steven W. Thrasher<br />
<br />
<a href="http://voiceproject.org/post_news/ferguson-new-york-haunting-poetry-music-street-performance-art-america/">From Ferguson and New York, the Most Impactful Protest Art in America</a> - <i>Voice Project</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/12/12/3602474/ptsd-low-income-children/">The Hidden Trauma Plaguing American Kids</a> - <i>Think Progress</i><br />
Sam P.K. Collins<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/us/school-discipline-to-girls-differs-between-and-within-races.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0">Schools' Discipline for Girls Differs by Race and Hue</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Tanzina Vega<br />
<br />
<a href="http://latinainstitute.org/en/latina-reproductive-justice-advocates-condemn-police-violence-against-black-communities-endorse">Latina reproductive justice advocates condemn police violence against Black communities, endorse national march</a> - <i>Latina Institute</i><br />
Loretta Kane<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/nyregion/unequal-treatment-of-2-protesters-in-eric-garner-case-one-white-and-one-black.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes">Unequal Treatment of 2 Protesters in Eric Garner Case, One White and One Black</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Jim Dwyer<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/12/the_fierce_urgency_of_now_why_young_protesters_bum_rushed_the_mic.html">The Fierce Urgency of Now: Why Young Protesters Bum-Rushed the Mic</a> - <i>The Root</i><br />
Kirsten West Savali<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/14/john-crawford-girlfriend-questioned-walmart-police-shot-dead?CMP=share_btn_tw">Video shows John Crawford's girlfriend aggressively questioned after Ohio police shot him dead in Walmart</a> - <i>The Guardian</i><br />
Jon Swaine<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/08/one-cheap-way-to-curb-crime-give-teens-a-summer-job/"><span id="goog_448232037"></span>Chicago gave hundreds of high-risk kids a summer job. Violent crime arrests plummeted<span id="goog_448232038"></span></a>. - <i>The Washington Post</i><br />
Emily Badger<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thegrio.com/2014/12/14/why-i-chose-not-to-march/">Why I chose not to march in DC</a> - <i>The Grio</i><br />
Jessica Pierce<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/sports/basketball/i-cant-breathe-tshirts-in-the-nba-how-jayz-lebron-james-and-others-made-them-happen.html">At Nets' Game, a Plan for a Simple Statement Is Carried Out t a T</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Scott Cacciola<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/12/13/in-n-c-death-of-black-teen-raises-question-was-it-suicide-or-a-lynching/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost">In N.C., death of black teen raises question: Was it suicide or a lynching?</a> - <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Todd C. Frankel<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-wealth-gap-between-whites-and-minorities-is-growing/">The Wealth Gap Between Whites and Minorities Is Growing</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Ben Casselman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://riaclu.org/news/post/data-shows-racial-profiling-increasing-in-searches-during-motor-vehicle-sto">Data Shows Racial Profiling Increasing In Searches During Motor Vehicle Stops</a> - <i>Rhode Island ACLU</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/police-shootings-rumain-brisbon-phantom-guns">Rumain Brisbon Is Just the Latest to Be Shot Dead by a Cop Over a Phantom Gun</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
Jaeah Lee<br />
<br />
<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/17427/when_police_reforms_only_legitimize_police_abuses">When Police 'Reforms' Only Legitimize Police Abuses</a> - <i>In These Times</i><br />
Michael Collins<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/12/rev_sharpton_responds_to_his_critics.html?wpisrc=burger">Sharpton Responds to Criticism That His Movement Excludes Younger Activists</a> - <i>The Root</i><br />
Jamal Watson<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>UPDATED: 12-10-14 (1:59 AM Central)</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/12/police-and-people">Lessons from Camden</a> - <i>The Economist</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://tuftsobserver.org/black-life-is-more/">Black Life is More</a> - <i>Tufts Observer</i><br />
Kris Manjapra<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/06/rasheen-aldridge-assault-charge_n_6278964.html">St. Louis Police Pursue Assault Charge Against Youngest Member of Ferguson Commission</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Ryan J. Reilly<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.afropunk.com/profiles/blogs/feature-to-my-unborn-son-the-yale-college-black-men-s-union">Feature: 'To My Unborn Son'</a> - <i>Afropunk</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30340632">Viewpoint: Why Eric Garner was Blamed for Dying</a> - <i>BBC</i><br />
Stacey Patton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-general-assembly-revives-recording-ban/">Illinois General Assembly Revives Recording Ban</a> - <i>Illinois Policy</i><br />
Jacob Huebert<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bustle.com/articles/52433-police-kill-black-women-all-the-time-too-we-just-dont-hear-about-it">Police Kill Black Women All the Time, Too -- We Just Don't Hear About It</a> - <i>Bustle</i><br />
Evette Dionne<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/eric-garner-widow-esaw-protestors-fighting-w-article-1.2036127">Eric Garner's widow Esaw on protesters: 'Keep fighting for what's right, to get justice.'</a> - <i>NY Daily News</i><br />
Erik Badia, Richard Shapiro<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/tips-for-being-an-unarmed-black-teen,36697/">Tips for Being an Unarmed Black Teen</a> - <i>The Onion</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/25-things-black-people-shouldnt-do-around-cops.html">25 Activities Black People Should Avoid Around Cops</a> - <i>New York Magazine</i><br />
Katie Zavadski<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/09/on-the-cheapness-of-life/63172/">On the Cheapness of Life</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blackspaceblog.com/2014/12/08/an-open-letter-of-love-to-black-students-blacklivesmatter/">An Open Letter of Love to Black Students: #BlackLivesMatter</a> - <i>Black Space Blog</i><br />
Editorial<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tuftsdaily.com/features/2014/12/08/turning-rage-action-indict-tufts-seeks-shatter-silence-fight-anti-blackness/">Turning rage to action: Indict Tufts seeks to shatter silence, fight anti-blackness</a> - <i>Tufts Daily</i><br />
Lily Sieradzki<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.forwardprogressives.com/ripping-apart-chicago-gun-violence-myths-part-1-racism/">Ripping Apart the Chicago Gun Violence Myths, Part 1: Racism</a> - <i>Forward Progressives</i><br />
Jasdye<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/prosecutors-police-inherent-conflict-our-courts?CID=sm_FB">Prosecutors and police: The inherent conflict in our courts</a> - <i>MSNBC</i><br />
Letitia James<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2014/12/08/crimingwhilewhite-alivewhileblack-ignite-conversation-about-white-privilege/">#CrimingWhileWhite, #AliveWhileBlack ignite conversation about white privilege</a> - <i>CBC</i><br />
Anna Maria Tremonti<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vice.com/read/ghostface-killah-isnt-down-with-the-peaceful-protesting-456">Ghostface Killah is Sick and Tired of Police Brutality in America</a> - <i>Vice</i><br />
Zach Schwartz<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vice.com/read/ghostface-killah-isnt-down-with-the-peaceful-protesting-456">At Eric Garner Protests, Some White Activists Are Being Called Out for Their Behavior</a> - <i>Village Voice</i><br />
Katie Toth<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thegrio.com/2014/12/08/police-officers-open-letter-black-protesters/">A police officer's open letter to black protesters</a> - <i>The Grio</i><br />
Officer Sanders<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/applying-broken-windows-to-the-police/383490/">Applying 'Broken Windows' to the Police</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Conor Friedersdorf<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.browndailyherald.com/2014/12/04/faculty-whiteness-complicates-classroom/">Faculty whiteness complicates the classroom</a> - <i>Brown Daily Herald</i><br />
Emma Harris and Joseph Zappa<br />
<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>UPDATED: 12-7-14 (7:39 PM Central)</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1fmYILwSy8&app=desktop">A Cambridge March on 12/5/14 Organized by Tufts Students. Black Lives Matter.</a> - <i>YouTube</i><br />
Nadeem Mazen<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/o1fmYILwSy8" width="560"></iframe></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10101394942505833">Black Brunch</a> - <i>Black Lives Matter: Oakland</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://thegrio.com/2014/12/07/derrick-rose-i-cant-breathe-dan-bernstein/">Reporter questions Derrick Rose over 'I Can't Breathe' shirt. Thinks player is inarticulate.</a> - <i>The Grio</i><br />
Jamilah Lemieux<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/191577/do-blacklivesmatter-white-athletes-lets-ask-them">Do #BlackLivesMatter to White Athletes? Let's Ask Them.</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Dave Zirin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/in-california-a-champion-for-police-cameras.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">In California, a Champion for Police Cameras</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Ian Lovett<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.citylab.com/crime/2014/08/even-when-police-do-wear-cameras-you-cant-count-on-ever-seeing-the-footage/378690/">Even When Police Do Wear Cameras, Don't Count on Seeing the Footage</a> - <i>City Lab</i><br />
Sara Libby<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/12/the-problem-with-body-cameras/">The Problem with Police Cameras</a> - <i>Jacobin</i><br />
Shaun Ossei-Owusu<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.upworthy.com/not-every-flash-mob-has-the-guts-to-do-what-they-did-whoa?g=3">Not Every Flash Mob has the Guts to Do What They Did. Whoa.</a> - <i>Upworthy</i><br />
Erica Williams-Simon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/7/reggie-bush-johnson-bademosi-sport-i-cant-breathe-/">Reggie Bush, Johnson Bademosi, wear 'I Can't Breathe' Slogan</a> - <i>Washington Times</i><br />
Jessica Chasmar<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/12/black_hollywood_speaks_out_about_police_violence.html">Black Hollywood Speaks Out about Police Violence</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Jamilah King<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/12/video_james_baldwin_i_cant_afford_despair.html">I Can't Afford Despair (VIDEO)</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
James Baldwin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/12/black_trans_woman_killed_while_pounding_on_compton_door_for_help.html">Black Trans Woman Killed while Pounding on Door for Help</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Jamilah King<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/12/uc_berkeleys_black_student_union_stages_45_hour_campus_sit-in.html">UC Berkeley's Black Student Union Stages 4.5-hour Campus Sit-In</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Jamilah King<br />
<br />
<a href="http://immigratingwithapurpose.com/2014/12/07/mike-brown-eric-garner-and-how-my-us-passport-makes-everything-ok/">Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and how my US Passport makes everything ok.</a> - <i>(Im)migrating With a Purpose</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/181648/women-color-and-hidden-trauma-police-brutality">Women of Color and the Hidden Trauma of Police Brutality</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Marie Myung-Ok Lee<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/your-money/elusive-effects-of-the-black-friday-boycott.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share">Looking for the Effects of the Black Friday Boycott</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Jeff Sommer<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/09/03/how-st-louis-county-missouri-profits-from-poverty/">How Municipalities in St. Louis Co., MO, Profit from Poverty</a> - <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Radley Balko<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/get-out-of-jail-inc">Get Out of Jail, Inc.</a> - <i>New Yorker</i><br />
Sarah Stillman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/opinion/thomas-edsall-the-expanding-world-of-poverty-capitalism.html">The Expanding World of Poverty Capitalism</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Thomas B. Edsall<br />
<br />
<b><u>12-6-14</u></b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/05/obama-ferguson-movement-oval-office-meeting">What President Obama told me about Ferguson's movement: think big, but go gradual</a> - <i>The Guardian</i><br />
Philip Agnew<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/barack-obama-ferguson-and-the-evidence-of-things-unsaid/383212/">Barack Obama, Ferguson, and the Evidence of Things Unsaid</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120338/bill-cosby-rape-allegations-why-america-took-so-long-wake">No One Wanted to Talk About Bill Cosby's Alleged Crimes Because He Made White America Feel Good About Race</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Rebecca Traister<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gawker.com/my-vassar-college-faculty-id-makes-everything-ok-1664133077">My Vassar College Faculty ID Makes Everything Ok</a> - <i>Gawker</i><br />
Kiese Laymon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/12/03/white_americas_scary_delusion_why_violence_is_at_the_core_of_whiteness/">White America's Scary Delusion: why its sense of black humanity is so skewed</a> - <i>Salon</i><br />
Brittney Cooper<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/10/the-old-jim-crow/381473/">The Old Jim Crow</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2014/11/ferguson-destruction-violence-really-isnt/">On Ferguson Protests, the Destruction of Things, what Violence Really Is (And Isn't)</a> - <i>Black Girl Dangerous</i><br />
Mia McKenzie<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/in-defense-of-looting/">In Defense of Looting</a> - <i>The New Inquiry</i><br />
Willie Osterweil<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-cosby-show/382891/">The Cosby Show</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/12/the-cutthroat-world-of-elite-public-schools/383382/">The Cutthroat World of Elite Public Schools</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Alia Wong<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gawker.com/the-worst-of-white-folks-882334097">The Worst of White Folks</a> - <i>Gawker</i><br />
Kiese Laymon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://wrightandleft.blogspot.com/2014/11/driving-with-blindspots-reflection-on.html?m=1">Driving with Blindspots: A Reflection on Ferguson</a> - <i>Wright and Left</i><br />
Greg Wright<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/25/cellphone_rights_guide_for_protesters_in_the_united_states.html?wpsrc=fol_tw">Cellphone Rights Guide for Protesters</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Lily Hay Newman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/5/akai-gurley-grandjury.html">Grand Jury to hear stairwell shooting case</a> - <i>Al Jazeera</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/-young-black-bodies--felled-by-bullets--368133699939?CID=sm_FB">MHP: A decade of black bodies felled by police bullets</a> - <i>MSNBC</i><br />
Melissa Harris-Perry<br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/prisonculture/status/540364155748753409">@PrisonCulture comments on #CrimingWhileWhite</a> - <i>Twitter</i><br />
Prison Culture<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2014/10/23/clair-huxtable-is-dead-on-slaying-the-cosbys-and-making-space-for-liv-analise-and-mary-jane/">Clair Huxtable is Dead</a> - <i>Crunk Feminist Collective</i><br />
Brittney Cooper<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/25/7287443/dorian-johnson-story">Michael Brown spent his last day with his friend Dorian Johnson. Here's what Johnson saw.</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Ezra Klein<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/25/7281165/darren-wilsons-story-side">Officer Darren Wilson's story is unbelievable. Literally.</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Ezra Klein<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/25/us/evidence-released-in-michael-brown-case.html">Mike Brown, Darren Wilson, Ferguson Transcripts</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://jezebel.com/who-really-burns-quitting-a-deans-job-in-the-age-of-mi-1665631269">Who Really Burns: Quitting a Deans Job in the Age of Mike Brown</a> - <i>Jezebel</i><br />
Eve Dunbar<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/nyregion/fatal-police-encounters-in-new-york-city.html?smid=tw-share">Fatal Police Encounters in New York City</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Eba Hamid & Benjamin Mueller<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gawker.com/it-is-time-we-treat-police-brutality-as-a-national-cris-1613935053">It Is Time We Treat Police Brutality as a National Crisis</a> - <i>Gawker</i><br />
Jason Parham<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thefeministwire.com/2014/10/blacklivesmatter-2/">A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza</a> - <i>The Feminist Wire</i><br />
Alicia Garza<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/06/nyregion/in-unpredictable-new-york-protests-organized-criticism-of-police.html?rref=nyregion">In Unpredictable New York Protests, Organized Criticism of Police</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Marc Santora & Al Baker<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thetalkingdrum.com/tmp.html">To My People</a> - <i>The Talking Drum</i><br />
Assata Shakur<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/charles-barkley-and-the-plague-of-unintelligent-blacks/382022/">Charles Barkley and the Plague of 'Unintelligent Blacks'</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2013/06/15/assata-shakur-prisoner-in-the-united-states-an-interview-part-1/">Assata Shakur: Prisoner in the United States (Interview Part I)</a> - <i>Prison Culture</i><br />
Prison Culture<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/12/05/3599910/justice-department-uncovers-absurd-levels-of-police-brutality-in-the-cleveland-police-force/">Justice Department Uncovers Absurd Levels of Police Brutality in Cleveland Police Force</a> <i>- Think Progress</i><br />
Ian Millhiser<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=817374031637765">10 Years of President Obama talking About Race</a> - <i>CNN</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://racismandnationalconsciousnessresources.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/joy-james-democracy-race-and-imprisonment.pdf">The Dysfunctional and the Disappearing: Democracy, Race ,and Imprisonment</a> - <i>Brown University</i><br />
Joy James<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/06/opinion/hope-and-anger-at-the-garner-protests.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0">Hope and Anger at the Garner Protests</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Brent Staples<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/12/questlove_urges_artists_to_write_more_protest_songs.html">Questlove Urges Artists to Write More Protest Songs</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Jamilah King<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thefeministwire.com/2014/12/black-lives-matter-black-life-matters-conversation-patrisse-cullors-darnell-l-moore/">Black Lives Matter / Black Life Matters: An Conversation with Patrisse Cullors and Darnell L. Moore</a> - <i>The Feminist Wire</i><br />
Monica J. Caspter<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thefeministwire.com/2014/11/black-feminist-doctrine/#.VHovbsJ0FX0.facebook">On Toni Cade Bambara and the Darren Wilson Jury Decision</a> - <i>The Feminist Wire</i><br />
Aisha Shahidah Simmons & Heidi R. Lewis<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/05/criming-while-white-people-privilege?CMP=share_btn_fb">#CrimingWhileWhite is Exactly What's Wrong with White Privilege</a> - <i>The Guardian</i><br />
Jessica Valenti<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/killing-rage-Ending-Racism-Book/dp/0805050272/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417906485&sr=8-2&keywords=killing+rage">Killing Rage: Ending Racism</a> - bell hooks<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Condemnation-Blackness-Making-Modern-America/dp/0674062116/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417906528&sr=1-1&keywords=condemnation+of+blackness">The Condemnation of Blackness</a> - Khalil Gibran Muhammad<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warmth-Other-Suns-Americas-Migration/dp/0679763880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417906547&sr=1-1&keywords=warmth+of+other+suns+by+isabel+wilkerson">The Warmth of Other Suns</a> - Isabel Wilkerson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warfare-American-Homeland-Policing-Democracy/dp/0822339234/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417906568&sr=1-1&keywords=warfare+in+the+american+homeland">Warfare in the American Homeland</a> - Joy James<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417906591&sr=1-1&keywords=rise+of+the+warrior+cop">Rise of the Warrior Cop</a> - Radley Balko<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Black-White-Masks-Frantz-Fanon/dp/0802143008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417906614&sr=1-1&keywords=black+skin+white+masks+frantz+fanon">Black Skin, White Masks</a> - Frantz Fanon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/carmichael-black-power-speech-text/">Black Power</a> - Stokely Carmichael<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Black-Jacobins-Toussaint-LOuverture-Revolution/dp/0679724672/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417906756&sr=1-1&keywords=black+jacobins">Black Jacobins</a> - CLR James<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1781683131/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i14?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-4&pf_rd_r=0MMWR44GMFG3NKD1FZME&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970566542&pf_rd_i=desktop">Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality</a> - Karen E. Fields & Barbara J. Fields<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5D4IS29ALiN9B2cCXxKoGAz9-CxxqiNk5RHycr_G8jAynnXNrZX2BPe9ihBzcdXUCaahbk0PU6E0EK8X7cC7jVQ-2_O1WtqI2B7FSigeB12zoE_S7jBo6lokSnR9jkqPfWz5YpYP9cEfR/s1600/10426181_2307145995562_8573435837950547526_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5D4IS29ALiN9B2cCXxKoGAz9-CxxqiNk5RHycr_G8jAynnXNrZX2BPe9ihBzcdXUCaahbk0PU6E0EK8X7cC7jVQ-2_O1WtqI2B7FSigeB12zoE_S7jBo6lokSnR9jkqPfWz5YpYP9cEfR/s1600/10426181_2307145995562_8573435837950547526_n.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-43239283068739854032014-07-30T12:13:00.001-04:002014-07-30T12:13:47.049-04:00What We're Reading Today (7-30-2014)<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118897/pro-life-movement-winning-abortion-battle-arizona-mississippi">Here's Proof That the Anti-Abortion Movement Is Winning</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Lane Florsheim<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/22/new_yorker_online_free_for_three_months_what_should_you_read.html?utm_content=bufferb0019&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">The <i>New Yorker</i> Stories You Should Read Before the Paywall Goes Up</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Eliza Berman and Slate Staff<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/opinion/Kimberl-Williams-Crenshaw-My-Brothers-Keeper-Ignores-Young-Black-Women.html?ref=opinion&_r=3">The Girls Obama Forgot</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Kimberle Williams Crenshaw<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/time-for-a-new-equal-rights-amendment-109519.html?ml=m_t3_2h#.U9kPNeNdXTF">Time for an Equal Rights Amendment</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Alexandra Brodsky and Elizabeth Deutsch<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/the-common-core-pr-war-109460.html?hp=l1">Moms Winning the Common Core War</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Stephanie Simon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/get-out-of-jail-inc">Get Out of Jail, Inc.</a> - <i>The New Yorker</i><br />
Sarah Stillman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/07/market_basket_protests_why_grocery_workers_are_rallying_around_their_ceo.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_tw_bot">Sympathy for the Overdog</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Luke O'Neil<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rand.org/blog/2014/07/rand-helps-to-develop-from-coverage-to-care-a-new-cms.html?utm_source=rand_social&utm_medium=hootsuite_rand&utm_campaign=hootsuite_rand_social">RAND Helps to Develop From Coverage to Care, a New CMS Initiative</a> - <i>RAND</i><br />
Laurie T. Martin and David M. Adamson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2014/Chicago-Transportation/?utm_campaign=Chimag+Future+Transit+072914&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral">Transit of Tomorrow</a> - <i>Chicago Magazine</i><br />
Adam Doster<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/a-florida-representatives-indian-american-gaffe-is-revealing/375121/">Whiteness Is Still a Proxy for Being American</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Peter Beinart<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/26/students-make-efforts-identify-immigrants-buried-unmarked-graves-near-southwest-border/4iDqnsqHzu9m8N6pPZXffI/story.html?src=longreads&utm_content=buffer7d09f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">The Unforgotten</a> - <i>Boston Globe</i><br />
Maria Sacchetti<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/syria-war-poets-refugees/375195/">Syria's War Poets</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Elliot Ackerman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/28/as-israel-enforces-its-buffer-zone-gaza-shrinks-by-40-per-cent.html">Israel Creates 'No Man's Land' in Gaza, Shrinking Strip by 40 Percent</a> - <i>The Daily Beast</i><br />
Jesse Rosenfeld<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/7/30/5949581/money-in-politics-charts-explain?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=ezraklein&utm_content=wednesday">40 Charts that explain money in politics</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Andrew Prokop<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/08/the-american-idea-at-war/373476/">The American Idea at War</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
James Bennet<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/satanists-troll-the-hobby-lobby-decision/375268/">Satanists Troll <i>Hobby Lobby</i></a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Emma Green<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/the-new-york-times-is-a-great-company-in-a-terrible-business/375240/">The New York Times Is a Great Company in a Terrible Business</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Derek Thompson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/07/the-port-authority-thinks-it-owns-the-new-york-city-skyline/375301/">The Port Authority Thinks It Owns the New York City Skyline</a> - <i>CityLab</i><br />
Polly Mosendz<br />
<br />
<a href="http://mic.com/articles/95236/psychologists-find-a-surprising-thing-happens-to-kids-who-read-harry-potter">Psychologists Find a Surprising Thing Happens to Kids Who Read Harry Potter</a> - <i>Arts Mic</i><br />
Tom McKay<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHDurSKUod4ToUcnn9xlmht0V_3EirEQG-I6BeH9sPrKqZaxEB9dpCUAx4PaUrr6j5sYjElhGBtEvSS6CpmCFEkDzKZEDLTbVy99qhUaKEHT54YD69RIFWq_dDs53KEdt6XzAeKinJ3ci/s1600/Btfyq2HCQAAAjHu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHDurSKUod4ToUcnn9xlmht0V_3EirEQG-I6BeH9sPrKqZaxEB9dpCUAx4PaUrr6j5sYjElhGBtEvSS6CpmCFEkDzKZEDLTbVy99qhUaKEHT54YD69RIFWq_dDs53KEdt6XzAeKinJ3ci/s1600/Btfyq2HCQAAAjHu.jpg" height="320" width="236" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-76527357814333203102014-07-23T16:24:00.004-04:002014-07-23T16:24:43.181-04:00What We're Reading Today (7-23-14)<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2014/07/21/women-penalized-for-promoting-women-study-finds/">Women Penalized for Promoting Women, Study Finds</a> - <i>Wall Street Journal</i><br />
Rachel Feintzeig<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/23/how-questlove-is-bringing-music-back-to-television.html">How Questlove Is Bringing Music Back to Television</a> - <i>The Daily Beast</i><br />
Kevin Fallon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2014/0723/A-pause-in-global-warming-Studies-try-to-better-explain-what-s-happened">A pause in global warming? Studies try to better explain what's happened</a> - <i>CS Monitor</i><br />
Pete Spotts<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/06/computer-science-programming-code-diversity-sexism-education">We Can Code It! Why computer literacy is key to winning the 21st century</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-W5q1kP_vuoYvtvgZYjzq71GOPvBX7RMNz1JpwCoQkJ6FXW3cCrbzsIfo9nyUdMXQK6299jsc-mKVOW5A-Dymob7ur85T6bQ8PXxMtl2XDGeymExkACsUJ7-5pc9Su47G1qMf9VcBKu-/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-W5q1kP_vuoYvtvgZYjzq71GOPvBX7RMNz1JpwCoQkJ6FXW3cCrbzsIfo9nyUdMXQK6299jsc-mKVOW5A-Dymob7ur85T6bQ8PXxMtl2XDGeymExkACsUJ7-5pc9Su47G1qMf9VcBKu-/s1600/Capture.PNG" /></a>Tasneem Raja<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/israel-gaza-united-states-assistance-unrwa">How America Finances the Destruction in Gaza -- and the Clean-Up</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
David Corn<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/jordans-quiet-emergency/374803/">Jordan's Quiet Emergency</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Alice Su<br />
<br />
<a href="http://theweek.com/article/index/265008/i-hate-ayn-rand--but-heres-why-my-fellow-conservatives-love-her">I Hate Ayn Rand but here's Why My Fellow Conservatives Love Her</a> - <i>The Week</i><br />
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ebony.com/news-views/why-black-people-must-stand-with-palestine-402#.U8_sCJRdVYD">Why Black People Must Stand with Palestine</a> - <i>Ebony</i><br />
Kristian Davis Bailey<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/07/atef_abu_saif_on_life_amid_the_bombing_of_gaza_israel_s_missiles_are_erasing.html">The Terrifying Madness of Waking Up in Gaza</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Atef Abu Saif<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darnell-l-moore/black-female-survival-and-white-gay-culture_b_5605828.html">Black Female Survival and the Myth of the White Gay Cultural Savior, or, Dear Anthony -- Stop It!</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Darnell L. Moore and Hashim Khalil Pipkin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/07/23/%E2%80%9Cthe_more_the_dead_the_better%E2%80%9D_israel%E2%80%99s_crumbling_media_war/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow">"The more dead, the better:" Israel's Crumbling Media War</a> - <i>Salon</i><br />
Deepa Kumar<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/07/22/obama-goes-there-on-acting-white/">Obama Goes There on "Acting White"</a> - <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Jonathan Capehart<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/07/gordon-college-the-new-frontier-of-gay-rights/374861/">How LGBT Students Are Changing Christian Colleges</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Philip Francis and Mark Longhurst<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kanyezine/my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantazine">My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantazine</a> - <i>KickStarter</i><br />
Fariha, Haley, Sara<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/7/23/5881083/suburban-sprawl-public-transit-economic-mobility">Suburban sprawl and bad transit can crush opportunity for the poor</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Danielle KurtzlebenLoganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-34016300189324694012014-07-21T16:12:00.001-04:002014-07-21T16:12:25.274-04:00What We're Reading Today (7-21-14)<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/us/austins-black-population-leaving-city-report-says.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1">Austin's Black Population Leaving City, Report Says</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Corrie Maclaggan<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/philadelphia-drexel-john-fry-108819.html#.U81u0pRdVYA">West Philadelphia, Reborn and Razed</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
John Marchese<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/netroots-nation-2014-hillary-clinton-elizabeth-warren-109138.html">What We Learned from Liberals at Netroots Nation</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Katie Glueck<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/white-gay-man-publishes-epically-stupid-response-to-stop-stealing-black-female-culture-245972/">White Gay Man Publishes Epically Stupid Response To "Stop Stealing Black Female Culture"</a> - <i>Autostraddle</i><br />
Yvonne<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/07/nyc-cant-afford-to-build-the-second-avenue-subway-and-it-cant-afford-not-to/374538/">NYC Can't Afford to Build the Second Avenue Subway, and It Can't Afford Not To</a> - <i>City Lab</i><br />
Benjamin Kabak<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blog.ted.com/2014/06/12/your-summer-reading-list-2014/">Your summer reading list: Rashida Jones, Elizabeth Gilbert, Bill and Melinda Gates and many more share their book recommendations</a> - <i>TED</i><br />
Katie Torgovnick May<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/why-the-voting-rights-act-still-matters/373541/">Why the Voting Rights Act Still Matters: The Case of Jasper, Texas</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Norm Ornstein<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118145/scott-walkers-toxic-racial-politics">The Unelectable Whiteness of Scott Walker</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Alec MacGillis<br />
<br />
<a href="http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/chicago-loop-cheap-luxembourg-trams-new-orleans-transit-plan">New Starts: New Orleans Transit Wish List, Loop Relief on the Cheap, Trams Return to Luxembourg</a> - <i>Next City</i><br />
Sandy Smith<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/its-expensive-to-be-poor-money/374361/">When You're Poor, Money Is Expensive</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Derek Thompson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rula-jebreal-msnbc-israel-coverage">MSNBC Contributor Slams Network For Pro-Israel Coverage: 'We Are Ridiculous!'</a> - <i>Talking Points Memo</i><br />
Tom Kludt<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vice.com/read/eric-garner-and-the-plague-of-police-brutality-against-black-men">Eric Garner and the Plague of Police Brutality Against Black Men</a> - <i>Vice</i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7op2fq_a-9c4P14lOHyABczrREug4Hla6qjiRQrRexzZ92RxsUL9l-ccO4CryxoF7DrICzcR-wFCkcguKgXG6wfN0SZ9Y-H0EbHgAe1tpIfrRb9wo-fHsfzsOetaPwd9vRD1ckxEfdMDb/s1600/illustration_kanye_west_by_visual_artist_dale_edwin_murray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7op2fq_a-9c4P14lOHyABczrREug4Hla6qjiRQrRexzZ92RxsUL9l-ccO4CryxoF7DrICzcR-wFCkcguKgXG6wfN0SZ9Y-H0EbHgAe1tpIfrRb9wo-fHsfzsOetaPwd9vRD1ckxEfdMDb/s1600/illustration_kanye_west_by_visual_artist_dale_edwin_murray.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a>Wilbert L. Cooper<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/the-point-of-life-according-to-kanye-west/374771/">Kanye West on the Meaning of Life</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Spencer Kornhaber<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201408/kanye-west?currentPage=1">Kanye West: A Brand-New Ye</a> - <i>GQ</i><br />
Zach Baron<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/black-palestinians-suffer-racism.html#">Black Palestinians shrug-off racism</a> - <i>Al-Monitor</i><br />
Almaa Al-Ghoul<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/7/21/5922727/12-new-yorker-education-articles-to-read-while-the-archives-are-free?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=voxdotcom&utm_content=monday">12 New Yorker education articles to read while the archives are free</a> - <i>Vox</i><br />
Libby Nelson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/07/17/the_middle_east_friendship_chart.html">The Middle East Friendship Chart</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Joshua Keating and Chris KirkLoganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-88332436895888948302014-07-17T11:13:00.000-04:002014-07-17T11:13:21.577-04:00What We're Reading Today (7-17-14)Jameelah has been harassing me everyday to give her articles to read. Jameelah, here is the dump. This should be like 20+ articles for you and the rest of The Horde to consume. Happy reading and happier summers to everyone.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2014/07/09/with-friends-like-these-on-the-military-occupation-of-chicago/">With Friends Like These... On the Military Occupation of Chicago</a> - <i>Prison Culture</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/07/12/330784587/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-violence-in-chicago?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social">What We Talk About When We Talk About Violence in Chicago</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Gene Demby<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/kafkas-joke-book">Kafka's Joke Book</a> - <i>McSweeney's</i><br />
John McNamee<br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/24/upshot/24up-scotus-agreement-rates.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0">Which Supreme Court Justices Vote Together Most and Least Often</a> - <i>NY Times</i><br />
Jeremy Bowers, Adam Liptak, Derek Willis<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/07/01/the_democrats_are_finally_turning_their_back_on_israel_and_its_high_time_they_did">The Democrats Are Finally Turning Away from Israel</a> - <i>Foreign Policy</i><br />
Michael A. Cohen<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/07/01/american_values_are_to_blame_for_the_worlds_chaos_democracy_human_rights_ukraine_iraq">Democracy, Freedom, and Apple Pie Aren't a Foreign Policy</a> - <i>Foreign Policy</i><br />
Stephen M. Walt<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/newspapers-that-arent-dying/373492/">Newspapers That Aren't Dying</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Devjyot Ghoshal<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-survivor-108018.html#.U8fYS5RdXTo">The Survivor: How Eric Holder outlasted his (many) critics</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Glenn Thrush<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/07/why-poor-schools-can-t-win-at-standardized-testing/374287/">Why Poor Schools Can't Win at Standardized Testing</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Meredith Broussard<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/">Lionel Messi Is Impossible</a> - <i>FiveThirtyEight</i><br />
Benjamin Morris<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/harry-reid-koch-brothers-108632.html#ixzz37P62zmxd">Behind Harry Reid's war against the Koch Brothers</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Kenneth P. Vogel<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-world-cup-of-dirty-dreams-inside-brazils-most-infamous-brothel-20140626?utm_source=vice&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=partner">The World Cup of Dirty Dreams: Inside Brazil's Most Infamous Brothel </a>- <i>Rolling Stone</i><br />
Amos Barshad<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/brazil-quilombos_n_5572236.html?utm_hp_ref=tw">Brazil's 'Quilombo' Movement May Be The World's Largest Slavery Reparations Program</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Roque Planas<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n21/jacqueline-rose/deadly-embrace">Deadly Embrace</a> - <i>London Review of Books</i><br />
Jacqueline Rose<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/07/democrats_should_push_for_redistricting_reform_no_political_reform_helps.html">Florida Deja Voodoo</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Ron Klain<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2014/07/talking-openly-about-obama-and-race.html">Talking Openly About Obama and Race</a> - <i>New Yorker</i><br />
Jelani Cobb<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/11/thanks_to_urbanization_tomorrow_s_megalopolises_will_be_in_africa_and_asia">Thanks to Urbanization, Tomorrow's Megalopolises Will Be in Africa and Asia</a> - <i>Foreign Policy</i><br />
Reid Standish<br />
<br />
<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/11604/black_chicago_divided">Black Chicago Divided</a> - <i>In These Times</i><br />
Salim Muwakkil<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gawker.com/blood-in-the-streets-a-conversation-about-gun-violence-1603580748">Blood in the Streets: A Conversation About Gun Violence in Chicago</a> - <i>Gawker</i><br />
Jason Parham<br />
<br />
<a href="http://adanewmedia.org/2014/07/issue5-moorecasper/">Love in the Time of Racism</a> - <i>Ada New Media</i><br />
Darnell Moore and Monica J. Casper<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/life/arts-leisure/always-on-the-side-of-the-egg-1.270371">Always on the Side of the Egg</a> - <i>Haaretz</i><br />
Haruki Murakami<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/07/08/op-ed-why-one-biggest-lgbt-orgs-has-stopped-supporting-enda">Why One of the Biggest LGBT Orgs Has Stopped Supporting ENDA</a> - <i>Advocate</i><br />
Rea Carey<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/17/five-young-palestinians-on-what-it-s-like-to-live-and-die-in-gaza.html">Five Young Palestinians on What It's Like to Live and Die in Gaza</a> - <i>The Daily Beast</i><br />
Dean Obeidallah<br />
<br />
<a href="http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-hip-hop-fellow-outtakes-young-guru.html">The Hip-Hop Fellow Outtakes: Young Guru on the Rise of Kanye West</a> - <i>NewBlackMan (in Exile)</i><br />
Mark Anthony Neal<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/affirmative-action-appeals-court-university-of-texas-fisher-108943.html">Appeals Court upholds affirmative action in Fisher v. Texas</a> -<i> Politico</i><br />
Allie Grasgreen<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-kraus/pirates-the-printing-pres_b_5575113.html">Pirates, the Printing Press, and Global Democracy</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Don Kraus and Logan Cotton<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice-human-rights/un-confront-united-states-persistent-racial-discrimination">UN to Confront United States on Persistent Racial Discrimination</a> - <i>ACLU</i><br />
Chandra Bhatnagar<br />
<br />
<a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/09/twitterball/">Twitterball</a> - <i>Tech Crunch</i><br />
Matthew Panzarino<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/visualizing-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-new-york-city-cab/">Visualizing a Day in the Life of a New York City Cab</a> - <i>FiveThirtyEight</i><br />
Chadwick Matlin<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_-u-Lb1I5m1nfsAUE1-f23RGVNLuaIi1u_bLcCGIO99VPHqBXYBmBKiWeyOmu93XVT5pR3JT3PHiFlbjxDj2ELXZLJ_y4qickLFYbv0bZMSo9I1BA-Q6bICh8dM7DuxbgmTNA3SD6JgP/s1600/@mx_285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_-u-Lb1I5m1nfsAUE1-f23RGVNLuaIi1u_bLcCGIO99VPHqBXYBmBKiWeyOmu93XVT5pR3JT3PHiFlbjxDj2ELXZLJ_y4qickLFYbv0bZMSo9I1BA-Q6bICh8dM7DuxbgmTNA3SD6JgP/s1600/@mx_285.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Also, this World Cup video is here to give you all the nostalgia.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JLphIufs8_4" width="560"></iframe></div>
Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-26374989393147323532014-07-14T18:47:00.001-04:002014-07-14T18:55:35.962-04:00Dear Black Gays: Don't Get Comfortable <div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> To
Ms. Sierra Mannie, who’s<a href="http://thedmonline.com/dear-white-gays/"> ***flawless piece implicating gay white men</a> in
<a href="http://www.gradientlair.com/post/63390094699/moya-bailey-coined-the-word-misogynoir">misogynoir</a>: I stand with your rhetoric,
your diction, and your argument. You have, in the canon of Black women, carved
out a space demanding your visibility and affirmation in the face of erasure.
In the space you have carved out, some queer Black men have had questions. I
have had questions and I hope to offer my interaction to your work. The
conversation you created is needed and urgent and my desire is to stand with
you in the ways that I can. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://polari.polariarts.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Tongues-Untied1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://polari.polariarts.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Tongues-Untied1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
have previously written on <a href="http://inthecac.com/2013/02/25/a-queer-commentary-on-consent/">the violences against women that only queer men canproduce</a>. The assumed access to women’s bodies, the slut shaming, and the
patriarchal dichotomy of “top” and “bottoms.” Queer, and specifically Gay, men
have our own set of privileges that allow us systemic, cultural and
interpersonal powers. For the women we interact with, our relationships are
different and nuanced but we are still accountable as men to offer solidarity.
As I’ve said before, and will reiterate here: homophobia is misogyny in a
feathered boa. Women’s resistance and survival are central to ours. With this
understanding, we cannot speak about identity in isolations; even intersections
can fall short. The erasure of cultural appropriation can manifest itself in
racist and sexist tropes, yet as queer Black men we have seen similar
violences. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From
Scissor Sisters’ “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGCD4xb-Tr8&feature=kp">Let’s Have a Kiki</a>,” to the “original” appropriator Madonna’s
“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI">Vogue</a>,”<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78TAbjx43rk"> culturally gay experiences that code as Black/Latino</a> have been stripped
and reproduced through mainstream queer productions. These safer spaced
colloquialisms are losing their resistance and power through Top 40 hits and
pretty white girls. We have seen many aspects of Black Queer Male culture
stolen from us. The violence is different. Many gay Black men are still trying
to reconcile their sexual performances outside of white sexuality standards.
And with that we have some of the access that white gay men have, especially if
we perform as masculine. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
is a difference, however, when Black men perform Black femininity. When not
using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madea">garish mammie drag personas</a>, many gay Black men have found a comfort and
strength in modeling the Black femininity of which they have access. To cite
Ms. Mannie’s argument, we have tasted the sour of racism and can find strength
in the sweetness of Black womanhood. That is not to say we are not implicated
in appropriations. When performing Black femininity at the request of white or
non-Black spaces, we are continuing the violence. Without reconciling the
privilege of masculinity, we are continuing the violence. Letting our white gay counterparts parade Black femininity only reproduces the problems of the original article. Giving them a pass, sets yourself in the line of fire of racist statements and interactions. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> In
the ways queer men of all races should be invested in women’s equity, Black men
(queer and otherwise), need to be invested in Black women’s. Not simply because
they are our sisters, and friends, and aunties, and mommas but because our
survivals are inextricably linked. I personally owe a wealth of my well-being
and self-awareness the words, conversation, and gifts from Black women and we
as Black men need to be ready to stand with them and complicate our violence
against them. While Ms. Mannie may have not been speaking to Black Gays
directly, we have our own implications in appropriation and need to do some
work. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559833607249296285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-72153189317933791202014-06-24T22:20:00.000-04:002014-06-25T21:48:56.838-04:00What We're Reading Today (6-24-14)Apologies, again, for the lack of content coming through on Snakes. I'm working in DC this summer and I have been writing on two other blogs as well. One with my internship at GlobalSolutions.org and the other is a project out of TFA Houston called, "<a href="http://textualhealinghou.blogspot.com/">Textual Healing</a>." It was already tough to keep Snakes updated and my writing has been pulled in multiple directions. The positive, though, means I have been reading plenty.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijoLELMmg5987A-AyVd98XjcYXDoCnKY8pbTsB9V7HiLJm97fAY5lDnVq0lbyU1uyMjS6LX1XhQjwTxw9WTyI2kNbrvqXoYzyR1yHl1SSgI4RMI1R8aczDX53opksIv66TAvTJJGseK6_/s1600/worldcupcards-05.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijoLELMmg5987A-AyVd98XjcYXDoCnKY8pbTsB9V7HiLJm97fAY5lDnVq0lbyU1uyMjS6LX1XhQjwTxw9WTyI2kNbrvqXoYzyR1yHl1SSgI4RMI1R8aczDX53opksIv66TAvTJJGseK6_/s1600/worldcupcards-05.png" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm reading Isabel Wilkerson's <i>The Warmth of Other Suns</i> currently. I finished <i>The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao</i> before leaving Houston for Chicago. I'm hopeful that I will be traveling more this summer -- perhaps to Boston, Philadelphia, and/or New York. That will give me some more time to dig into Wilkerson's text and perhaps start a new one.<br />
<br />
That said, here is what I have been reading the past few days.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/magazine/who-gets-to-graduate.html?_r=0">Who Gets to Graduate?</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Paul Tough<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/05/20/paulo_ito_world_cup_a_brazilian_street_artist_has_created_the_world_cup.html">A Brazilian Street Artists has Created the First Viral Image from the World Cup</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Jeremy Stahl<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/13/big-houses-art-museums-and-in-laws-how-the-most-ideologically-polarized-americans-live-different-lives/">How the most ideologically polarized Americans live their lives</a> - <i>Pew</i><br />
Drew Desilver<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/17/which-party-is-more-to-blame-for-political-polarization-it-depends-on-the-measure/">Which party is more to blame for political polarization?</a> - <i>Pew</i><br />
Carroll Doherty<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/magazine/kendrick-lamar-hip-hops-newest-old-school-star.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0">Kendrick Lamar, Hip-Hop's Newest Old-School Star</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Lizzy Goodman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118001/ta-nehisi-coates-interview-case-reparations">Q&A: Ta-Nehisi Coates on Reparations, Ignorant Journalism, and Whether He Talks to President Obama</a> - <i>The New Republic</i><br />
Isaac Chotiner<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latinorebels.com/2014/06/24/when-latinos-dont-look-at-themselves-in-the-mirror-enabling-racialized-language-on-spanish-language-us-tv/">When Latinos Don't Look at Themselves: Enabling Racialized Language on Spanish-Language US TV</a> - <i>Latino Rebels</i><br />
Julio Varela<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/13/chart-of-the-week-the-world-cup-of-almost-everything/">Chart of the Week: The World Cup of (almost) Anything</a> - <i>Pew</i><br />
Drew Desilver<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/371360/the-story-of-clyde-ross-and-the-contract-buyers-league/">Inside the Battle for Fair Housing in 1960s Chicago</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Kasia Cieplak-Meyer von Baldegg; Sam Price-Waldman; Paul Rosenfeld<br />
<br />
<a href="http://quinnae.com/2014/01/03/words-words-words-on-toxicity-and-abuse-in-online-activism/">Words, Words, Words: On Toxicity and Abuse in Online Activism</a> - <i>Nuclear Unicorn</i><br />
Katherine Cross<br />
<br />
<a href="https://medium.com/matter/the-racism-beat-6ff47f76cbb6">The Racism Beat</a> - <i>Medium</i><br />
Cord Jefferson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21603420-worlds-largest-nations-will-play-almost-no-part-world-cup-there-are-signs">A game of two halves</a> - <i>Economist</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/the-lost-history-of-doritos-tacos-locos/373300/">The Lost Innovation History of the Doritos Tacos Locos</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Alexis C. Madrigal<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations-a-narrative-bibliography/372000/">The Case for Reparations: A Narrative Bibliography</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/the-radical-practicality-of-reparations/372114/">The Radical Practicality of Reparations</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-american-history/371723/">The Case for American History</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/the-case-for-reparations-an-intellectual-autopsy/371125/">The Case for Reparations: An Intellectual Autopsy</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/most-expensive-world-cup-brazil-charts">13 Astounding Numbers About This Year's World Cup</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
AJ Vicens and Ian Gordon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/180302/jed-rakoff-and-lonely-fight-wall-street-justice">Jed Rakoff and the Lonely Fight for Wall Street Justice</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Sasha Abramsky<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/instagrammingafrica-narcissism-global-voluntourism-83838/#.U6XNBSVZZrg.facebook">The Narcissism of Global Voluntourism</a> - <i>Pacific Standard</i><br />
Lauren Kascak & Sayantani Dasgupta<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/06/24/new-aclu-report-takes-a-snapshot-of-police-militarization-in-the-united-states">New ACLU report takes a snapshot of police militarization in the United States</a> - <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Radley Balko<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/15/sports/worldcup/how-we-play.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=SP_HWP_20140615&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1388552400000&bicmet=1420088400000&_r=3">How We Play the Game</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/terry-richardson-dov-charney-american-apparel-pornography/">No Country for Old Pervs: The Fall of the Houses of Terry Richardson and Dov Charney</a> - <i>Grantland</i><br />
Molly LambertLoganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-43560003620675600982014-06-06T18:53:00.002-04:002014-06-06T18:53:43.613-04:00The Warmth of Other Suns - Florida and the Lynching of Claude Neal<div class="tr_bq">
This summer I'm reading <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warmth-Other-Suns-Americas-Migration/dp/0679763880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396801011&sr=1-1&keywords=the+warmth+of+other+suns">The Warmth of Other Suns</a></i> by Isabel Wilkerson. The book was cited heavily by Ta-Nehisi Coates in his discussion (read: trouncing) of Jonathan Chait and I am hopeful that I will expand my own cultural and historical awareness through reading it. </div>
<br />
For those who haven't read it, Wilkerson follows three different individuals as they discuss their own migrations from the South to the North. She uses them to illustrate the context in which sharecropping, Jim Crow, housing segregation, and the many other maladies of the hundred years of the Great Migration. At times, this has been slightly frustrating but the effect, as I continue to read, has only enhanced my enjoyment. I keep circling quotations in this book and I think that this summer, I will be copying many of them down here.<br />
<br />
To the extent that you would like, please read on. And, of course, I encourage you to purchase the book.<br />
<blockquote>
Now, with a new century approaching, blacks in the South, accustomed to the liberties established after the [Civil War], were hurled back in time, as if the preceding three decades, limited though they may have been, had never happened. One by one, each license or freedom accorded them was stripped away. The world got smaller, narrower, more confined with each new court ruling and ordinance.<br />Not unlike European Jews who watched the world close in on them slowly, perhaps barely perceptibly, at the start of Nazism, colored people in the South would first react in denial and disbelief to the rising hysteria, then, helpless to stop it, attempt a belated resistance, not knowing and not able to imagine how far the supremacists would go. The outcomes for both groups were widely divergent, one suffering unspeakable loss and genocide, the other enduring nearly a century of apartheid, pogroms, and mob executions. But the hatreds and fears that fed both assaults were not dissimilar and relied on arousing the passions of the indifferent to mount so complete an attack.<br />The South began acting in outright defiance to the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868, which granted the right to due process and equal protection to anyone born in the United States, and it ignored the Fifteenth Amendment of 1880, which guaranteed all men the right to vote.<br />Politicians began riding these anti-black sentiments all the way to governors' mansions throughout the South and to seats in the US Senate.<br />"If it is necessary, every Negro in the state will be lynched," James K. Vardaman, the white supremacy candidate in the 1903 Mississippi governor's race, declared. He saw no reason for blacks to go to school. "The only effect of Negro education," he said, "is to spoil a good field hand and make an insolent cook."<br />Mississippi voted Vardaman into the governor's office and later sent him to the US Senate."<br />- Pg. 38</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Lake County and the rest of central Florida were far from the lights of Miami and the palm-tree version of paradise that tourists came for. This was the Florida that had entered the Union as a slave state, where a Florida slaveholder could report without apology, in 1839, that he worked his slaves "in a hurrying time till 11 or 12 o'clock at night, and have them up by four in the morning." Florida went farther than some other slave states in the creativity of its repression: Slaves could not gather together to pray. They couldn't leave their plantations, even for a walk, without written permission from their owner. If they were accused of wrongdoing, "their hands were burned with a heated iron, their ears nailed to posts," or their backs stripped raw with seventy-five lashes from a buckskin whip. The few free blacks in the state had to register with the nearest probate court or could be automatically enslaved by any white person who stepped forward to claim possession.<br />As the country neared the point of collapse over the issue of a state's right to slavery, Florida in the early winter of 1861, became one of the first to secede from the Union in the months leading up to the Civil War. Florida broke away on January 10, 1861, three weeks after the first rebel state of South Carolina, and a day after Mississippi. Florida heartily joined a new country whose cornerstone, according to the Confederacy's vice president, Alexander Hamilton Stephens, was "the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery--subordination to the superior race--is his natural and normal condition." This new government, Stephens declared, "is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth."<br />- Pg. 59</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That October (1934), a twenty-three-year-old colored farmhand named Claude Neal was accused of the rape and murder of a twenty-year-old white woman named Lola Cannidy. Neal had grown up across the road from Lola Cannidy's family. He was arrested and signed a written confession that historians have since called into question. But at the time, passions ran so high that a band of more than three hundred men armed with guns, knives, torches, and dynamite went searching for Neal in every jail within a seventy-five-mile radius or Marianna.<br />The manhunt forced the authorities to move Neal across the panhandle, from Marianna to Panama City by car, to Camp Walton by boat, to the Escambia County sheriff, fearing that his jail in Pensacola was too dilapidated to withstand attack, decided to take Neal out of state altogether, to the tiny town of Brewton, Alabama, fifty-five miles north of Pensacola. Someone leaked Neal's whereabouts, and a lynching party of some one hundred men drove several hours on Highway 231 in a thirty-car caravan from Florida to Alabama. There the men managed to divert the local sheriff and overtake the deputy. They stormed the jail and took Neal, his limbs bound with a plow rope, back to Marianna.<br />It was the early morning hours of October 26, a Friday. Neal's chief abductors, a self-described "committee of six," an oddly officious term commonly used by the leaders of southern lynch mobs, set the lynching for 8 P.M., when most everyone would be off work. The advance notice allowed word to spread by radio, teletype, and afternoon papers to the western time zones.<br />Well before the appointed hour, several thousand people had gathered at the lynching site. The crowd grew so large and unruly--people having been given sufficient forewarning to come in from other states--that the committee of six, fearing a riot, tok Neal to the woods by the Chipola river to wait out the crowds and torture him before the execution.<br />There, his captors took knives and castrated him in the woods. Then they made him eat the severed body parts "and say he liked it," a witness said.<br />"One man threw up at the sight," wrote the historian James R. McGovern.<br />Around Neal's neck, they tied a rope and pulled it over a limb to the point of his choking before lowering him to take up the torture again.<br />"Every now an then somebody would cut off a finger or toe," the witness said. Then the men used hot irons to burn him all over his body in a ritual that went on for several hours.<br />"It is almost impossible to believe that a human being could stand such unspeakable torture for such a long period," wrote the white undercover investigator retained by the NAACP.<br />The crowd waiting in town never got to see Neal die. The committee of six decided finally to just kill him in the woods. His nude body was then tied to the back of a car and dragged to the Cannidy house, where men, women, and children stabbed the corpse with sticks and knives. The dead girl's father was angry that Neal was killed before he could get to him. "They done me wrong about the killing," the father said. "They promised me they would bring him up to my house before they killed him and let me have the first shot. That's what I wanted."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqN3nfsgYTtIKiHcpDslyoDwXHCac1ZNzAh7J5Ia-M3Ubw8lzwpGafsJf1XnB8Rxor8xsLUPDTdaWNyECvMP4xYOx_uvFJK-c_skCQRwQ1GNnYhicHghwgjZ76jMruyBYVE5-22878C7v/s1600/Claude-Neal-1934-Marianna-FL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqN3nfsgYTtIKiHcpDslyoDwXHCac1ZNzAh7J5Ia-M3Ubw8lzwpGafsJf1XnB8Rxor8xsLUPDTdaWNyECvMP4xYOx_uvFJK-c_skCQRwQ1GNnYhicHghwgjZ76jMruyBYVE5-22878C7v/s1600/Claude-Neal-1934-Marianna-FL.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div>
The committee hanged the body "from an oak tree on the courthouse lawn." People reportedly displayed Neal's fingers and toes as souvenirs. Postcards of his dismembered body went for fifty cents each. When the sheriff cut down the body the next morning, a mob of as many as two thousand people demanded that it be rehanged. When the sheriff refused to return it to the tree, the mob attacked the courthouse and rampaged through Marianna, attacking any colored person they ran into. Well-to-do whites hid their maids or sent cars to bring their workers to safety. "We needed these people," said a white man who sat on his porch protecting his interests with a loaded Winchester. Florida Governor David Sholtz had to call in the National Guard to quell the mob.<br />Across the country, thousands of outraged Americans wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt demanding a federal investigation. The NAACP compiled a sixteen-page report and more files on the Neal case than any other lynching in American history. But Neal had the additional misfortune of having been lynched just before the 1934 national midterm elections, which were being seen as a referendum on the New Deal itself. Roosevelt chose not to risk alienating the South with a Democratic majority in Congress at stake. He did not intervene in the case. No one was ever charged in Neal's death or spent a day in jail for it. The Jackson County grand jury, in the common language of such inquests, reported that the execution had occurred "at the hands of persons unknown to us."<br />Soon afterward, it was learned that Neal and the dead girl, who had known each other all their lives, had been lovers and that people in her family who discovered the liaison may have been involved in her death for the shame it had brought to the family. Indeed, the summer after Neal was lynched, the girl's father was convicted of assault with intent to kill his niece because he suspected that that side of the family had had a hand in his daughter's death.<br />In sentencing the father to five years in prison for attacking the relative, the judge said, "I hate to pass this sentence on an old man such as you, but I must do it. To be perfectly fair with you, I don't believe you have any too many brains."<br />The father replied, "Yes, judge. I am plumb crazy."<br />Thereafter, Florida continued to live up to its position as the southernmost state with among the most heinous acts of terrorism committed anywhere in the South. Violence had become such an accepted fact of life that, in 1950, the Florida governor's special investigator, Jefferson Elliot, observed that there had been so many mob executions in one county that it "never had a negro live long enough to go to trial."<br />- Pg. 60</blockquote>
Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-87265593728102156082014-03-22T10:43:00.000-04:002014-03-22T23:45:22.473-04:00On “Table-seats” and Validations: An Open Letter to Kanye West:<br />
<br />
Dear Yeezy,<br />
<br />
I have deeply appreciated your additions to the constantly evolving black sonic canon. Creating and re-imagining what rappers/Black Men/Sad Men/Queer Men can sound like. You reminded us of the screams and moans in the echoes of Black music in America. These accolades can be found in other parts of your discography however, believing <a href="https://play.spotify.com/album/7D2NdGvBHIavgLhmcwhluK">Yeezus</a> is their culmination . But we have problems: the grief-driven misogyny; the obsession with goods as signifiers of legitimacy, framing particular women as those goods; and for having a devastating fixation on some mythical seat at a glass table surrounded by gate-keepers of cultural social order. Your aspirations are real but what/who are you aspiring to be?<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.trendingcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/kanye-west-wrote-i-am-god-as-one-big-f-u-to-unnamed-designer-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEikKBmzuYUsgbsqUZzGQZKuWCZUacuMHa1RK2Ih6Lp-y863tPW8Mpaq1_my1VWZq0tNe17_oTjMSBN1m5HmBVNMgDtQwXTDkjW3bm9aWzPaksE-ojxQ26p4W_SVa4xdAg9HeZ0k_LeCXHuEn6HfDx5E5OvGww3ZsiM9TnNvgQY3qjh78tsKQAb5-cOVeH79H5jGzu9YZ1SMtVzwd9rOGRHXjFkpLcbW9rSEzxPLI59maXqFJsag2Ed-Q-dzcw=" width="320" /></a></div>
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In your time with Kim Kardashian, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E9lNF9bhYU">joining the larger mom-and-pop operation of the Kardashian family,</a> your cultivated flavor or taste or desire for a particular class validation is unsatisfied their socioeconomic status. As I believe you are noticing, even the Kardashians do not have a seat at the elusive glass table.”, and the validation you seek is impossible. Yet, you press on. You have attempted to foray into cinema, fashion, and design arts. While you have gained notoriety and acclaim in your attempts to seat at these tables, your biggest public frustrations seem to stem from not feeling like you are being taken seriously. You critique popular systems of validation, at award shows, in paparazzi lenses, but for your own personal gain not for large critiques of cultures of policing. To re-visit your recent work, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoKFycTmVU">New Slaves</a>” serves as a critique of the consumption of black bodies and the things they unconsciously consume. "How, then, can you position yourself as someone who is consumed and actively revels in that consumption?"<br />
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<a href="http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/56566-kim-kardashian-on-kanye-west-i-cant-imagine-being-with-anyone-else/1349385733_kim-kardashian-kanye-west-467.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiwd2kzpiW_WRfV3r-VUghI2q4xdXpxruyvJm8xWfrmXCjMvcwjyP09Jg4KLcEzwkMDvyHKJsYnXUsIkJkIbsmz2Np76b9meWDGZ437LgPjdhuFdd8OK8zDQzRC2kwY92BPbY8W1IU4rrDC3C7So4Wis2wT6q0puta0g5TFTdxMbL902UsaJqvLzWRsQmw1FtPU8KjvCB4uVHMnxz5qSUYowiM6UUf5Ur2DOjl0q8Au-lcffVz5_gzFDClDw-kcAOJF_ATfI76Ae1YjmEU3o4y2t3lDVmzFQWgBhvX0XsiFWuKQQfBKlGoz3BBvInJHBw=" width="239" /></a></div>
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As a large scale validation of class and art (unfortunately), Your Vogue cover is a statement. People have already stated that West along with girlfriend Kim Kardashian, have “finally received <a href="http://www.thegloss.com/2014/02/03/fashion/kim-kardashian-vogue-cover-2014/">Anna Wintour’s seal of approval</a>.” Rhetoric of wearing Wintour down and public tantrum throwing has clouded this potentially high praise. <a href="https://twitter.com/lovebscott/status/447067612196139008">Several culture vultures have already tried to dismiss “haters” or “critics” of the cover.</a> Praising the couple for taking their distinctly different controversial fames and gaining such a <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/08/kim-kardashian-fashion-world.html">variety of cultural capital.</a> Vogue covers the likes of white women, and Presidents’ Wives and “exceptional” women of color. And now your girlfriend has occupied a cultural space no woman like here ever has. In a great tweet from <a href="https://twitter.com/deidralorine">CinnaBae</a> she clearly states a concise and resounding critique: <a href="https://twitter.com/deidralorine/status/447053047416762368">I'm annoyed with the idea of Kim K because I know a black female celebrity can't follow the same trajectory because of misogynoir.”</a> There are particular intersections of Kim, that would on other bodies be condemnable. at the attempts to “other” Mrs. Soon-to-be-West have failed as this moment. We see her as the focal point of the cover in wedding day Desdemona white with her man the 21st Century Othello himself. These classes and gendered signifiers of inequality on her body seem to pass. <a href="https://twitter.com/femme_esq/status/447058686905966593">Brienne of Snarth </a>mentions the fact that Kim K is unwed, twice divorce, with a sex tape and a multiracial child yet can be read as pure and domestic in her cover. Not even Beyoncé can claim this, she has adopted many normative and consumable performances of womanhood and binary partnerships. Bey on the <a href="http://www.thefablife.com/files/2013/02/Beyonce_Vogue_Cover.jpg">cover of Vogue </a>signals types of acceptable forms of blackness. <br />
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What is particularly interesting about this, is that she can owe a majority of her success to you. Not to discredit the work of her mother in running their family like a Fortune 500. But much of Kim Kardashian’s critical acclaim comes from becoming linked to you. While I can easily imagine your relationship being healthier than people give you credit; because if you and and Kim share any understanding, it is being fetishized by celebrity. But you sort of position this terrifying narrative of the power of assimilation. For Kim, she can perform classed versions of whiteness, benefit on body standards / connotations of women of color, and traditional performances of femininity. She can get away with certain things because of her perceived, though notably exotic, whiteness. However, she is far enough from whiteness so her being with you is in many ways acceptable. Your desire to be considered a cultural gate-keeper/ genius/ innovator by learning from the feet of Euro-western theaters reveals aspirations for a seat at the table (that continually eludes you). In the <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/11-moments-of-pure-love-in-kimyes-vogue-photo-shoot">behind the scenes video</a> of the Vogue photo shoot, we see you all in utter domesticity and reproducing (in some ways) queer family dynamic: unmarried, interracial, inter-class backgrounds. Yet we see you in oppositional white and black outfits; and in what appears like wedding drag. I can only imagine what this means to you. <br />
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Kanye, if this is what you were waiting for, I hope that getting here gives you time to learn how much larger your imagination could be. You have the potential to completely re-imagine the spaces you want to enter. You already have ruptured so many spaces by sheer loudness and cacophonies of philosophy, humor, and pride. Is this really your end goal? Cinnabae again illustrates the tension in how you position yourself: <a href="https://twitter.com/deidralorine/status/447072713983950848">“I think Kanye's actions in recent years are a manifestation of what happens when black people in higher levels of society are caught in the</a><br />
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/+t<a href="https://twitter.com/deidralorine/status/447073520624095232">hroes of maintaining a degree of authenticity to your cultural group and wanting to somehow assimilate into the world of the gatekeepers.</a>” Kanye rapping with 2Chainz and signing underground artists and doing remixes of trap songs maintains the cannon you want to be remembered for, but you also have this desire to enter elite (white) artistic spaces not yet validating you. <br />
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<a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr03/21/12/anigif_enhanced-24533-1395420953-5.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiAofT4imBpz5Xpj_3zSYV5X2EU6Ri7kTKTbt1mJMpRPffG8II-br4ZJrveK3adedCNozBV93DNaqfTZlLabq7mEGC1DqTptqTtr0Vzw3RleVEavKbOIXvU-tzKjkxsb8PIjm6rGogjH3YUV-EOBNLRGHXTqi5Bc-kObgXxpDHU4n9JR5AbRWHaLf4pcAIs5EeVP-69FIrPqJc785x-pxbf5rUkzqc=" width="400" /></a></div>
I hope you seek to create counter-cultures and use your charming ability to rupture and truth tell to show people more than just your person talent. You and your aspirations for particularly white-nesses are the center of your work and you are relying on a canon of resistive sonic Blackness to only project yourself and your exceptionality. While your dreams are real, can you not imagine bigger? Is <a href="http://nyppagesix.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/vogue_kardashian.jpg">Vogue</a> your end game? Also interrogate how you are using your girl / how she using you. <br />
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What do you plan to be as one half of the #TheWorldsMostTalkedAboutCouple? <br />
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Love, <br />
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Jay, Fan since “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqsrVatoTgc">Drive Slow</a>”<br />
PS. “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfrenkSar8Y">Say You Wil</a>l,” “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJt7gNi3Nr4">No Church in the Wild</a>” and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGM6N0qXeu4">Spaceship</a>” saved my life.<br />
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Melissa Harris-Perry<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/is-stop-and-frisk-worth-it/358644/">Is Stop-and-Frisk Worth It?</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Daniel Bergner<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/04/what-the-hells-the-presidency-for/358630/">How LBJ Saved the Civil Rights Act</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Michael O'Donnell<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/what-applying-to-charter-schools-showed-me-about-inequality/284530/">What Applying to Charter Schools Showed Me About Inequality</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Conor Williams<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/americas-hip-hop-foreign-policy/284522/">America's Hip-Hop Foreign Policy</a> -<i> The Atlantic</i><br />
Hisham Aidi<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/reading-to-have-read/284391/">Reading to Have Read</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ian Bogost<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/dont-tell-ruth-ginsburg-to-retire/284479/">Don't Tell Ruth Ginsburg to Retire</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Garrett Epps<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/a-caretaker-and-a-killer-how-hunters-can-save-the-wilderness/284416/">A Caretaker and a Killer: How Hunters Can Save the Wilderness</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Tovar Cerulli<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/glenn-fords-first-days-of-freedom-after-30-years-on-death-row/284396/">Glenn Ford's First Days of Freedom After 30 Years on Death Row</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Andrew Cohen<br />
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<a href="http://www.guernicamag.com/poetry/you-cant-tell-the-truth/">You Can't Tell the Truth</a> - <i>Guernica Mag</i><br />
Rebecca Gayle Howell<br />
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<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/gop-health-plan-could-be-road-to-nowhere-104783.html?hp=t1">GOP health plan could be road to nowhere</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman<br />
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<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/178905/silent-scourge">As Jordanian Women Leave the Home, Sexual Harassment Reaches Unprecedented Levels</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Elizabeth Whitman<br />
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<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/big-business-takes-on-tea-party-over-common-core-104662.html">Big business takes on Tea Party over Common Core</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Stephanie Simon<br />
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<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/president-obama-library-location-103341.html">The fight for Obama's presidential library</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Jennifer Epstein<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/the-secret-lives-of-inner-city-black-males/284454/">The Secret Lives of Inner-City Black Males</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/03/winners-of-the-2014-sony-world-photography-awards-part-i/100700/">Winners of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, Part I </a>- <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/the-intellectual-snobbery-of-conspicuous-atheism/284406/">The Intellectual Snobbery of Conspicuous Atheism</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Emma Green<br />
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<a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/in-the-name-of-love/">In the Name of Love</a> - <i>Jacobin</i><br />
Miya Tokumitsu<br />
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<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/178909/de-blasio-wins-surrendering-legally">De Blasio Settles With 1,500 Minority FDNY Applicants in Discrimination Lawsuit</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Jarrett Murphy<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/the-science-of-cohabitation-a-step-toward-marriage-not-a-rebellion/284512/">The Science of Cohabitation: A Step Toward Marriage, Not a Rebellion</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Lauren Fox<br />
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<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-83300612817909176622014-03-20T15:10:00.001-04:002014-03-24T02:49:15.771-04:00The Injustice of Grit: Being Twice as Good and Teach for America<div class="MsoNormal">
Every region in Teach for America adopts its own motto that is meant to describe the region’s “Core Values”. For Houston, we have “Justice. Leadership. 100%.” While I have some issues with one of those values, I have greater issue with a value that seems to have covertly found unofficial membership with the rest: grit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grit, as I have understood it, is a certain mental toughness – an aversion to quitting. Grit means that when the going gets tough, you get tougher, so to speak. YES Prep has adopted grit as a central cornerstone of its charter model and I have seen it arrive in the Teach for America Office with greater and greater frequency since joining as a Corps Member. We have to teach our students to be “gritty” because that will help them overcome what they face. I want to foster a sense of “grit” in my students, Corps Members will say.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though seemingly innocuous, I object to the use of grit as we frame conversations about our students because grit stands in direct opposition to the core value of “justice” in several ways. In particular though, “grit” focuses on overcoming one’s current circumstance; it focuses upon what is and tells those in want of “grit” that they should rise up and overcome. Although you may not have all the advantages, grit would say, you should still push through.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a mindset for young kids to internalize, I can understand its utility. All students need to have a level of personal accountability and toughness because life is hard. That being said, I wonder if “grit” is something that we should be adopting as an organization, as adults within Teach for America, as folks who are supposed to keep “justice” a top priority as we serve. I wonder if grit aids us in achieving “transformational growth” or if grit binds us to the status quo.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ultimately, something has to give – either our assessment of “grit” as something that our students do not possess or our commitment to “justice”. Let me explain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ta-Nehisi Coates recently <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/kim-novaks-bid-to-be-twice-as-good/284194/">wrote a piece</a> about Kim Novak at the Oscars. In it, he references our common discourse on Jackie Robinson. He writes,<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’ve spent the past couple of years thinking about the ‘twice as good’ notion in the black community, and the bindings that we put on young black boys so that their country will not kill them. Of course ‘twice as good’ ultimately means half as many arrive, and those who do receive half as much. Let us dispense with self-congratulation and great men. The question is not, ‘What did Jackie Robinson achieve in spite of racism?’ It is, “How much more would he have achieved without it?’ “<o:p></o:p></div>
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Coates’s reframing of the conversation allows us to see America’s social landscape more honestly. While we celebrate heroes like Robinson for all that they were able to accomplish in the face of racism and poverty, we should also consider the countless other Jackie Robinsons who were not allowed to flourish because of racism and poverty; we should also consider how much more Robinson could have accomplished in a just world. Racism, poverty, marginalization, and all other oppressions are not the kinds of pressure that forge diamonds. Instead, they are fetters and handicaps that deny humans that opportunity to shine as they otherwise would.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Grit” is the commentary we currently have about Robinson, but “justice” requires the question that Coates explains.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We can see the same misaligned focus in discussions of other icons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Barack Obama, undoubtedly, should be celebrated for being America’s first African-American President. What he has achieved is laudable and his time as President should be honored – however, we have to also posit the question, “How much more could Barack Obama have accomplished without racism?” Or, better yet, “How many Barack Obamas has this country stifled through racism, through poverty?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hillary Clinton, who looks positioned to be the United States’ first female President, draws similar praise for all that she has accomplished as a woman (read: despite sexism). But in what ways could Hillary have thrived more, accomplished more, if she did not have to combat endemic sexism? What if she, like her male counterparts, could focus less on the cut of her pant-suit and could, instead, focus more on policy? What if showing political aggressiveness was touted as a virtue for her, as it is for men, instead of forcing her to combat chauvinistic depictions of her as a bitch?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, this applies to the discourse that surrounds our students, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I remember one Saturday, I stopped at McDonald’s on my way home from a practice test for my teacher certification. I parked my car next to a pick-up truck that was covered in splotches of paint and had its truck bed filled with jagged scraps of metal. This car appeared to me more like something from a demolition derby or Grand Theft Auto than anything that should have been on the road. Regardless, after parking I walked inside McDonald’s and noticed one of my students, Mauricio, was there with his mother.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I wasn’t entirely sure of the interaction Mauricio and I would have. In school, Mauricio had made his disdain for reading (and for me, by extension), painfully apparent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After asking him to pick his head up one day, he and I had this exchange:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Me: Mauricio, you need to pick your head up and follow along.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Mauricio: Man, you know what mister, can I ask you a question?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Me: Yes.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Mauricio: You know what I really hate, mister? This class!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Me: Great. So we’re going to fo—<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Mauricio: You know what I hate more than this class? You! Hahahaha<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Recently, though, Mauricio had had a breakthrough. His schedule was changed and, consequently, he switched from my reading class to another teacher’s. He began receiving some mentoring from his math teacher and was beginning to enjoy being at school – even going so far as to seek me out one day so I could see his new haircut – one that flaunted a <a href="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/KoWxyUWNhwYcsEyyWOxG6g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnflexperts/arianfostershead.jpg">Texans logo</a> etched into his hair<o:p></o:p></div>
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At McDonald’s, I said “Hi” to Mauricio and asked him what he was going to do on his Saturday. He said that he was going to help his mom at work. When I asked him what it was that he would do with his mom he explained that they were going to go, “pick-up metal and, like, find other metal and pick it up, you know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I thought about the car outside, realizing that it was Mauricio’s, and thought about the way other students were probably spending their Saturdays – specifically most of the students in my Vanguard (gifted and talented) classes. Although, for the most part, they were engaged in extracurricular activities and some type of recreational time, here was Mauricio spending his Saturday picking up scraps of metal and loading it into a pick-up truck.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think it is incredible that Mauricio is making growth as a reader. I think that all of his accomplishments despite the poverty in which he lives are only greater reason to celebrate them. I think it is wonderful that Mauricio, now, asks his mom to let him stay at school on days when he might be picked up early because he, “figures that there are some things he should learn [at school].”<o:p></o:p></div>
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One thing I cannot say is that Mauricio lacks grit. He isn’t in want of toughness. He possesses much more than I did at that age. And when I think about this abstract concept of “grit,” what does it really mean in Mauricio’s case?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is TFA actually helping students like Mauricio if our suggestions to him are simply that he toughen-up? And what, then, becomes our role as we enter Mauricio’s community? This conception of “grit” positions us as external saviors who are entering communities (largely poor and largely of-color) with this “virtue” that these communities lack. Grit, as we currently employ it, says that our students are internally deficient, that they are not rising-up as opposed to being held down. Grit, its implications, and the way it is employed indicate a project that is colonial, rather than compassionate, in nature.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mauricio is not deficient. He is disadvantaged because of the privileges that his peers enjoy. He was born into a trajectory that would position him to struggle so that wealthier, whiter, and more advantaged students would be positioned to thrive. The child is not lacking grit. He is lacking opportunities, and the resources necessary to fully seize those opportunities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So I would say, then, that any commitment to “justice” that Teach for America wants to maintain must consider more than simply <a href="http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/nov/14/demanding-no-excuses-schools-and-grit-poor-childre/">instilling asense of “grit”</a> in students who are already surviving conditions that most Corps Members never had to face. As an organization, “grit” cannot be something we prioritize if actual justice is to exist. Grit tells students like Mauricio that they must be twice as good; grit treats systemic oppression as a constant that must be overcome rather than changed; grit perpetuates racism and classism and does little to actually change outcomes for disadvantaged <i>communities</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Justice, conversely, calls upon Corps Members to be advocates for their students. And in being an “advocate,” this means that Corps Members within Teach for America, as well as the organization, must push to change the playing field. Advocacy means that Mauricio's teachers should not tell him simply to be tougher. Rather, advocacy means that we identify the injustice – that Mauricio is under-resourced, has to work on weekends, and is not being given ESL support at school – and leverage our privilege to change the outcomes for the community. As I have begun to say, our duty is to loosen the noose. We must loosen the noose of oppression.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As Coates points out, the notion of being “twice as good” has long existed in the black community. There are many lessons that black parents give their sons and daughters to indicate to them that American society has an added list of requirements for those within non-white bodies to be given access to various opportunities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QNXnValNlUt2FQA_uLOyr_QdkYsqKpBi-ICJjNQ2ZWNI2pOWij2CuE38i0BOBkz5nB43zP7fUxcQuogwZGY0NbKm-4p9EdJP0N7qdKJknNoVAvva9M74D3dRABTA_3SkbuiHvMgv2jZs/s1600/Picture-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QNXnValNlUt2FQA_uLOyr_QdkYsqKpBi-ICJjNQ2ZWNI2pOWij2CuE38i0BOBkz5nB43zP7fUxcQuogwZGY0NbKm-4p9EdJP0N7qdKJknNoVAvva9M74D3dRABTA_3SkbuiHvMgv2jZs/s1600/Picture-1.png" height="400" width="395" /></a></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Pray, do not mistake this as an argument <i>against</i> striving for excellence. Excellence, of course, is something that we should all seek to achieve. I simply posit that there is no justice in simply telling black and brown kids that they have to be twice as good as their white peers in order to reach the same markers of success.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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As an organization, TFA should eschew grit. Instead of directing energy toward fostering this nebulous trait within students who, frankly, are already remarkably stalwart in the face of hardship, the organization should promote justice for the students it serves. TFA should come off its laurels and use its brand, lobbying power, and Corps Members to advocate for policy and changes that will benefit its students. Teach for America should be defending Affirmative Action. Teach for America should push for <a href="http://www.houstonisd.org/domain/7908">immigration reform</a>. Teach for America and its Corps Members should be enfranchising voters – especially when our students’ communities are <a href="http://texascivilrightsproject.org/docs/hr/tcrp2013voting_rights.pdf">thosebeing left in the dark</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ultimately, “grit” is unsuitable as a value that underpins Teach for America’s mission to deliver “transformational change” for its students. It is unsuitable in any conversation in which justice is central. Grit views the communities that Teach for America serves as lacking. Grit ignores the structural barriers that deny students access to higher education. Grit, in its well-intentioned goal to teach students to “rise up and overcome,” offers our students’ detractors a convenient excuse for our students’ plight: “Alas, it is not privilege or advantage that ultimately pushes wealthier, predominantly white, students to success! It is the lack of character that exists in the poor communities of color.” Grit, then, is the newest design in oppression’s collection, an attempt to portray the most disadvantaged as being responsible, in some way, for their own marginalization.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Justice, conversely, cannot co-exist with grit because justice understands that structural inequalities position people for different levels of success well before they have the agency necessary to make choices, to exhibit or not-exhibit “grit” in any sense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grit tells students to make a five-star meal with little more than a stone and a pot of water. Our students deserve better than stone soup. Justice, not grit, argues for these children to have a well-stocked pantry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grit directs attention toward the exceptional, the “rose that grew from concrete.” But even in honoring this one rose, could we reasonably blame the other flowers for not pressing through the pavement above them?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A grit-inclined perspective would simply appreciate the one flower for having toiled through the pavement. Justice, on the other hand, sees the one rose and asks, “How much taller could this have grown without the stone above?” Justice would begin breaking apart the concrete so that the whole garden could blossom.</div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-68620924395550845782014-03-05T20:30:00.001-05:002014-03-05T20:30:26.225-05:00What We're Reading Today (3-5-14)<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/01/act-killing-joshua-oppenheimer-anonymous-indonesian-director-interview-genocide">Inside "The Act of Killing's" Guerrilla Distribution Campaign in Indonesia</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
Asawin Suebsaeng<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/178684/my-years-magical-thinking-thoughts-1980s-showtime-lakers#">My Years of Magical Thinking: Thoughts on the 1980s Showtimes Lakers</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Dave Zirin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2014/03/new-york-metros-economy-almost-large-australias/8543/">The New York Metro's Economy Is Almost as Large as Australia's</a> - <i>The Atlantic Cities</i><br />
Richard Florida<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/just-how-doomed-are-congressional-democrats-pretty-doomed/284241/">Just How Doomed Are Congressional Democrats? Pretty Doomed</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Charlie Cook<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/politics-and-the-african-american-human-language/284228/">Politics and the African-American Human Language</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/this-is-what-the-new-sat-will-be-like/284245/">This is What the New SAT Will Be Like</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Julia Ryan<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/what-does-obamas-budget-say-about-education/284229/">What Does Obama's Budget Say About Education?</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Clare McCann<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-dodd/keeping-my-brothers-keeper_b_4894451.html">Keeping Brothers Close and Dreams Closer: On Lupita's Validation and Obama's Initiative</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Jay Dodd<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-dodd/dividing-the-conquered_b_4853962.html">Dividing the Conquered: The False Dichotomy Between Black and Queer</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Jay Dodd<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/03/05/286209865/bill-clinton-party-builder-in-chief?ft=1&f=1014&utm_source=Politics&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_medium=twitter">Bill Clinton, Party-Builder In Chief</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Frank James<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/07/2013716we-are-not-all-trayvon-challenging-anti-black-racism-in-poc-communities/">We are NOT all Trayvon: Challenging Anti-Black Racism in POC Communities</a> - <i>Black Girl Dangerous</i><br />
Asam Ahmad<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/chicagos-big-bet-bus/8499/">Chicago's Big Bet on the Bus</a> - <i>The Atlantic Cities</i><br />
Matt Dellinger<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3027070/leadership-now/why-boundaries-are-the-best-thing-for-your-creativity">Why Boundaries are the Best Thing For Your Creativity</a> - <i>Fast Company</i><br />
Drake Baer<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/on-the-killing-of-jordan-davis-by-michael-dunn/283870/">On the Killing of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7s1hOB8xOk8pa_in1J3yY2cDuI3yfymahE1ybxg6HAyduebcwOp6b32l6t0Lgs1T6XQLHotQ5-ZttMg7AfYrlO6ZQiOpTKeMNrcOZQjTsOAMQFDV-cHxbDfyRj-kvrrPsXVLLRfMRMuQ/s1600/030912_cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7s1hOB8xOk8pa_in1J3yY2cDuI3yfymahE1ybxg6HAyduebcwOp6b32l6t0Lgs1T6XQLHotQ5-ZttMg7AfYrlO6ZQiOpTKeMNrcOZQjTsOAMQFDV-cHxbDfyRj-kvrrPsXVLLRfMRMuQ/s1600/030912_cartoon.jpg" height="337" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-72367501162299361382014-02-23T15:12:00.000-05:002014-02-23T15:12:46.958-05:00Why I Can't Stand Junot Díaz: Decolonial Love is About Hate, Not Love<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347;"><b>Why I Can't Stand Junot Díaz: Decolonial Love is About Hate, Not Love</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">By: Brandon Archambault</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLVjZh7K8owUpDe2emZn8VdmSsC4_o5PhxvyP4if_YOliBcjf6SJBEUuq-76N8ID131hVL58TRQVvU2YTuuxRQKaTFOFTt_ZKjwJF-Wzs2hOzTu5ayr27VueQrgyES1NNGGTTUSpLMRZK/s1600/decolonize-earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLVjZh7K8owUpDe2emZn8VdmSsC4_o5PhxvyP4if_YOliBcjf6SJBEUuq-76N8ID131hVL58TRQVvU2YTuuxRQKaTFOFTt_ZKjwJF-Wzs2hOzTu5ayr27VueQrgyES1NNGGTTUSpLMRZK/s1600/decolonize-earth.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">I haven't read any of Junot Díaz's fiction. I plan to get there
eventually, but when I critique Díaz, it's for his politics.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Decolonial theory is associated with names like Walter D. Mignolo;
if you want a solid critique from someone much more qualified than me of
Mignolo specifically and his decolonial bugbears, then the first thirteen pages
of </span><a href="http://materializmidialektik.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Zizek_Politics.pdf"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">this monograph</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"> do
exactly that.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Díaz, though, is specifically more well-known for talking about
“decolonial LOVE,” and that's why I single him out for being intolerable.
First, let's step through where Díaz and I are in full agreement on race and
love:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">First, racism exists in a violently unbalanced asymmetry, which
is why the U.S. social justice<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(SJ)
movement consistently refers to racism as “white supremacy” (often citing bell
hooks' support of this change of phrasing): the violence is overwhelming a
one-way street. Whatever episodes of violence by people of color (POC) exist,
they are dwarfed by the centuries of white violence, white police, white
military, white slave-trading, white lynchings, white anti-immigration acts.
Even when POC violence is explicitly committed as anti-white retribution, this
is not only dwarfed by white anti-POC violence, but is clearly and obviously
symptomatic of a universe in which racism is posited by white bodies who claim
for themselves the top tier of value, meaningfulness, and right-to-life. (An
analogy often used in the SJ movement is the distinction between Israeli and
Palestinian violence: an Israeli state that can bomb, kill, demolish, and
colonize with international impunity has a monopoly on violence that Palestinian
violence can only, at best, weakly retaliate against.)</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">White supremacy is the thesis, and all other races are the
antithesis it generates.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Secondly, </span><a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/12/watch_junot_diaz_keynote_speech_from_facing_race_2012_video.html"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">in a December 2012 talk</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">, Díaz said,
“we are never going to get anywhere as long as our economies of attraction
continue to resemble, more or less, the economy of attraction of white
supremacy.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">This is where we break, because while I would say the exact same
thing, Díaz and I are angrily opposed in what we mean.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Díaz's politics are what Nietzsche condemned in his Genealogy of
Morals as “priestly morality,” or “ressentiment;” mine are what Nietzsche
called “transvaluation” and Hegel, “sublation.” (Sublation is negation, but
negating something at a fundamental level, not merely asserting its opposite:
the sublation of white is not black, but colorless.) </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Nietzsche wrote a fable to explain what he saw as the historical
development of morality in Europe. Originally, the story goes, were the strong,
noble, warrior class—who considered themselves Good—who rules over the
slaves—by comparison, weak, inferior, therefore Bad—and were supported by the
priestly class. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But in Nietzche's story,
the priests come to resent the warriors' comparative advantage, </span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">and
teach the slaves to resent all the qualities of the warrior too—their strength,
their power, their dominion—as Evil; ergo, since the slaves are the opposite,
they must be Good. So began the slave rebellion, led by the priests, getting us
today's moral system where political conservatives constantly paint themselves
as the poor, abused victims in order to gain moral authority (instead of merely
touting the fact that they are rich and powerful and in control—we would resent
them for that, instead of meekly obeying).</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Applying this story of morality to race—“White being,
absolutely, a moral choice,” not some simple question of skin color, as James
Baldwin reminds us—whiteness is what calls itself Good; the racial others, the
racially “abjected,” the racially “subaltern,” the racial “neo/postcolonial”—to
use some of Díaz and the SJ's movements own jargon—are Bad.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">But with the priestly revolt, which is the SJ movement broadly
and Díaz specifically, we invert the terms: I know that I am Good because you
are all these things (racist, privileged, a settler, ignorant) and I am not
them; by the process of elimination, since I know you are Evil, I must be Good.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">In fact, I am ONLY Good because I am not YOU. And this is what
separates Good and Bad from Good and Evil: Bad is the antithesis generated by
the thesis Good, but Good and Evil reverses the sequence,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>re-evaluates—redeem, in a literal sense,
“deem again, value newly”—the antithesis OVER the thesis, calling Bad Good and
Good Evil.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Because this is Diaz's project, his only possible move is to
invert the terms (and this is what Mignolo does more explicitly): where we were
Eurocentric, we now must IGNORE questions deemed “European,” since they “do not
matter” for the subaltern of the third world (Gayatri Spivak, who coined the
term subaltern, makes exactly this claim in one of her critiques of Jacques
Derrida). Where we were once white supremacists, we must value and celebrate
the history of the indigenous, the black African, the Maori—well-known things
like the slogan “black is beautiful” or poetry and novels written in various
creoles or patois. (Remember again that this is an argument relevant almost
exclusively to the U.S., not even the English-speaking worlds—neither Díaz nor
the SJ movement seem to have the first clue about Maori or Australians who
would never identify with the U.S.-centric “AAPI” grouping, since they are
referred to, <i>in English</i>, as “blacks” in Australia and New Zealand)</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">As Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks unforgivingly put it, “Race, if it is
working at all, is about the sense of one's exclusiveness, exceptionality and
uniqueness. Put very simply, it is an identity that, if it is working at all,
can only be about pride, being better, being the best.” Díaz and the rest of
the decolonial critics' politics is to do exactly that: assert that they are
better, be proud, be the best. Specifically: denigrate all the settler-colonial
culture of America called “good” as evil, and assert that what it said was
“bad” is actually good! Even those who do not go so far as to engage in things
like black supremacy—and Díaz certainly does not—we wind up only with the more
common, Democrat-party fantasy where we are ALL able to be the best, we are
EQUALLY unique and special and valuable, where the thesis makes its amends to
the antithesis, and the two are somehow brought to a future harmony of racial
balance and equality.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">In a word: I hate you because you are Evil, and that makes me
Good. My love for the other Good is a consequence of my hate for<i> you</i>.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">(Note: Intra-POC violence—like black-on-Asian violence after
Rodney King—fits the pattern Seshadri-Crooks predicts, as documented by Anne
Anlin Cheng: black supremacy is a movement of ressentiment which, in the
specific case of the King beating, turned into an assault on Korean locals in a
display of race supremacy, attempting only to re-order the relative privileges
of race.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">This hate of Evil also demands a certain performance of the
subjects who are Good: the black body who is insufficiently “authentic” is
policed for their false consciousness, as is the lower-class white body who is,
somehow, accused of “appropriating” a culture they are much closer to than the
sneering academics who found them wanting on their “intersectionality”
spreadsheet. The values are inverted, but the freedom of bodies to desire and
perform however they choose remains as restricted. Boxes and boundaries are
shuffled, but not destroyed.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Sublation (Hegel) or transvaluation (Nietzsche)—whichever you
want to call it—does no such thing. Nietzsche's road out of Good and Evil was
never to return to the values of the “warriors.” (That interpretation, in fact,
is exactly what the Nazis believed and why they popularized his works). We had
to revalue ALL things: consider irrelevant what we once desired, prize what was
considered, not bad or disgusting or ugly, but totally worthless, unnoticed,
unconsidered. This is the mistake Díaz makes: he still makes his decisions
about love based on the white economy; he only wants to call pennies dollars
and dollars pennies, hate what the white economy loves and love what it hates
(thus his love is a function of hate). “Transvaluation,” on the contrary, burns
the money up, introduces a new currency, or a barter economy, or a communist
utopia, but it treats dollars and pennies both as simply nothing—it is as
indifferent to them as you or I are to the monetary value of a snailshell or a
hat full of snow. (That is what makes this sublation—from white to
colorless—instead of ressentiment negation—from white to black or back again.)</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Therefore, what separates Hegel's and Nietzche's critique of
love within the white economy form Díaz's is that, paradoxically, Díaz's love
is conservative: the thesis (whiteness) and the antithesis (POC) are preserved.
Ressentiment attempts to reverse the thesis and antithesis, to negate the
thesis with the antithesis, to invert hate and love, which keeps both, but
rebrands their values (Good becomes Evil, Bad becomes Good). What Nietzsche
called transvaluation and what Hegel called sublation is not about a
“synthesis” in which thesis or antithesis are reconciled in unious harmony;
sublation eliminates the thesis and the antithesis along with it: to lose white
supremacy is to lose all sense of a shared black identity, of being
Asian-American, of indigenous history; all of these were retroactively posited
by white supremacy to explain its own existence (“We came to the land of noble
savages with human chattel and are now fighting against the unwanted racial
others trying to share in our prosperity”—all ideological hallucinations with
real, material consequences: the genocide of Natives, the enslavement of black
Africans, the Chinese Exclusion Act and the present hysteria about Latin@, esp.
Mexican, immigrants).This opens the space for a NEW thesis; and that is
something decolonial love can only hate: it loses its own identity, its own
conviction that it is Good.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">More than that: Good is in a struggle with Evil to remake
society in its own image; that is when victory is achieved. But transvaluation
demands giving up on the illusion of a future, of a future that is “better”: we
must live rightly NOW, damn the rotten corpses we'll be and whatever future
society rises. It is not about building a new society. It is not about
replacing the present culture. It is about YOUR life, NOW.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">As Žižek puts it later in that same essay linked above, when it
comes to class oppression, “the goal of the revolutionary activity is [not that
everyone becomes like workers but], on the contrary, to change the entire
social situation so that workers themselves will no longer be 'workers.'”
Racially, this is what revolutionary achievement aims for as well: Not that we
all become more white (the neoliberal goal) or that we all convert to the side
of the oppressed (what the frequently-cited Paolo Freire openly advocates in
his “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” another favorite of the SJ clique), but that
THE VERY DIFFERENCE IS DESTROYED. We are made free because these coordinates
cease to control us—ANY of us.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">"None of us are free until all of us are free," as the
now-unpopular slogan goes, since that involves grace for the devil, who must
also be released from hell, even though he is the king of it. And we don't want
that. We want retribution.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">And this, finally, is why the politicians of ressentiment cry
“foul” and accuse the Hegelian/Nietzschean radical of being a political
conservative: they cannot tell the difference between the two positions, the
neoliberal “post-racial” fantasy (which is a simple regression to the point
where white supremacy is hidden and invisible again) and the actual elimination
of white supremacy <i>and all it generates</i> as a result: racial profiling,
the concept of white trash, xenophobic immigration acts—the end of white
supremacy means the end of a universe in which these ideas <i>can</i> <i>even
make sense</i>.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">In the first case of post-racism-as-regression, </span><a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/07/02/the_search_for_decolonial_love/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">as Díaz himself knows</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">, white
supremacy masquerades as non-existent, as the unmarked position, as
common-sense knowledge, not some biased “ideology.” Furthermore, we are all
implicated in this, we are all affected by white supremacy. But for Díaz, that
means that POC have been duped, are being deceived in to betraying those they
should be in solidarity with for the benefit of those who think they are white,
sometimes in exchange for minuscule privileges. But however much they have
learned to depend on those scraps of privilege to stay alive, they must learn
to give them up.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Nonsense. For sublation/transvaluation, the fact that we are all
implicated means we are all enabled to fight and destroy white supremacy, no
exceptions. None of this imbecility about how “clearly revolution must come the
working class women of color as they are best positioned to see white supremacy
'as it really is.'” The ressentiment politician has learned that white
supremacy's invisibility is a lie, but is convinced that the impossible is,
well, impossible: not only is there no future in which a non-raced subject can
exist, they sure as shit can't exist NOW...</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">And that is where Díaz ultimately reveals himself to be on the
side of ressentiment. While we both want to go full Bane in the Gotham Stock
Exchange when it comes to “the economy of attraction of white
supremacy”—catastrophically destroy it—Díaz wants the colonized to engage in
some kind of “return” to a proud past, to achieve a love AGAINST the
neocolonial subjectivity they've been raised into.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">So it's no surprise that many people like Díaz prefer to cite
the passages of White Skin, Black Masks that Fanon immediately disavows at the
end of that chapter (like the passages praising black beauty). As you'll see </span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 16px;">Žižek</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"> himself cite Fanon, “I am a man, and what I have to recapture is the
whole past of the world. I am not responsible solely for the slave revolt in
Santo Domingo. Every time a man has contributed to the victory of the dignity
of the spirit, every time a man has said no to an attempt to subjugate his
fellows, I have felt solidarity with his act. In no way does my basic vocation
have to be drawn from the past of peoples of color. In no way do I have to
dedicate myself to reviving a black civilization unjustly ignored. I will not
make myself the man of any past.” This runs loudly counter to the
“historically-aware, systemic collective action” of most SJ thinkers. The usual
objection is that all of this is just an individualistic fantasy (always the
consequence of my or someone's else's “unchecked privilege”), insufficiently
“structural” and unable to come to terms with “collective action.” What does
Fanon's privilege in being able to make the above claim, they would say, do for
the 14 year old black boy on the Boston T who's felt worthless his entire life,
and then, as Cherrie Moraga knew, gets shot in the head by a cop (see the
preface to “This Bridge Called My Back”)?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">The very question shows a gross misunderstanding of the problem.
<i>It is not Fanon's privilege to ask this question; it is the sign of his
liberation</i>. Living in a violently racist, decolonizing world—which is still
OUR world!—he asserted his humanity, his freedom from the past that
ressentiment politicians and white supremacists alike hoped to bind him too (if
for different purposes), his ability to rejoice in all successes and grieve
with all defeats. The boy who gave Moraga an existential crisis was robbed of
his ability to live that life by a bullet. But until we too are dead, we must
employ a practical, pragmatic ability to live <i>in this miserable reality we
call home. </i>Decolonial love denies that love in the time of misery is
possible; Hegel asserts that the <i>only time is now</i>.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Such a response is also why I detest privilege: as bell hooks
naively, even cluelessly, put it in her “post-modern blackness,” “it's easy to
give up identity, when you got one.” That is not a thing anyone who has ever
tried to give up privilege can respond to except with abrasive, mocking
laughter. hooks was specifically trying to defend identity politics as
valuable; but what hooks cannot theorize is that privilege is not simply
concrete, material goods like access to food, employment, housing, safety, etc.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Privilege is a bribe, and when you have privilege, you have been
BOUGHT. To fight against it will go for you about as well as anyone who's ever
seen a cop movie knows—the corrupt system will either ignore you (because it
can), discipline you (beat you, humiliate you, alienate you, rescind your
privileges), or when you cease to be an acceptable level of threat, destroy
you.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">White racial identity is one such privilege. James Baldwin—who,
impossibly, is a favorite of decolonial love fans—knew this, as he wrote in his
beautiful “</span><a href="http://www.cwsworkshop.org/pdfs/CARC/Family_Herstories/2_On_Being_White.PDF"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">On Being White... And Other Lies</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">.” It is
worth quoting at length:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“No one was white before
he/she came to America. It took generations, and a vast amount of coercion,
before this became a white country.... America became white—the people who, as
they claim, 'settled' the country became white—because of the necessity of
denying the Black presence, and justifying the Black subjugation. No community
can be based on such a principle—or, in other words, no community can be
established on so genocidal a lie. White men—from Norway, for example, where
they are <i>Norwegians—</i>became 'white' by slaughtering the cattle, poisoning
the wells, torching the houses, massacring Native Americans, raping black
women... This moral erosion has made it quite impossible for those who think of
themselves as white in this country to have any moral authority—privately, or
publicly...</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But this cowardice, this
necessity of justifying a totally false identity and of justifying what must be
called a genocidal history, has placed everyone now living into the hands of
the most ignorant and powerful people the world has ever seen: And how did they
get that way?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">By deciding that they were
white. By opting for safety instead of life. By persuading themselves that a
Black child's life meant nothing compared with a white child's life. By
abandoning their children to the things white men could buy. By informing their
children that Black women, Black men, and Black children had no integrity that
those who call themselves white were bound to respect. And in this debasement
and definition of Black people, the debased and defined themselves.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">And have brought humanity to the edge of oblivion: because they
think they are white, they cannot allow themselves to be tormented by the
suspicion that all men are brothers. Because they think they are white, they
are looking for or bombing into existence, stable populations, cheerful natives
and cheap labor. Because they think they are white, they believe, as even no
child believes, in the dream of safety.”</span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12pt;">Love will risk its life for the object of love; but the person
who thinks they are white will do anything to believe they are safe. This is
the opposite of love; this is fear. The person who thinks they are white, in a
word, is incapable of love.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">But for the SJ thinker and the decolonial critic, this is good!
This is privilege! This is what it means to “survive in America”! </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">BULLSHIT. “[Those who believe they are white] have divested
themselves of the power to define and control themselves”—they have given up
their freedom! They believe in the delusion that they must do this to survive!
They have lost control! They cannot love! And this is GOOD?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">BULLSHIT! “White being, absolutely, a moral choice,” it is a
choice for evil, a choice against the belief that all men are brothers.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">The SJ movement cannot be tormented by the thought that all men
are brothers, either; it tastes to them of a conservative lie, a smile standing
in front of a knife, a road of broken promises. It is understandable; but it is
not acceptable. It is hatred, which is no more love than fear.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">As Baldwin observed elsewhere, “S</span><span style="color: #343434; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialMT;">o long as you think you
are white, there is no hope for you.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialMT;">Here, however, we find the final, and perhaps most compelling
objection decolonial love can ask: Yes, but so what? That is white people's
problem. Are we expected to have sympathy for our oppressed oppressor? Or are
we supposed to go even further and claim the same for the antitheses—“so long
as you think you are black, that you are a woman, that you are AAPI, that you
are American...” you cannot love?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That would be a very stupid thing to assert. The history of
European racism makes this obvious: no matter how many times people identified
with the antithesis give up their identities, whiteness will find them new
ones. Foucault observed in his History of Sexuality that at the end of 19th
century sexual perversions were being classified more quickly than they could
actually be diagnosed: the well-known homosexual and heterosexual but also
“auto-monosexualists, mixoscopophiles, gynecomasts, presbyophiles, sexoesthetic
inverts, and dyspareunist women” among others. It is a shame that he did not
observe this same process in race, where it had gone on for much longer with
names just as bizarre: Celestials, mongoloids, sub-human Slavs, Caucasian,
white, Celt, half-caste, mestizo, barbarian, half-orang, Ethiop, Abbyssinian,
Aryan, Dravidian, noble savage, redskin, morisco, crypto-Jew. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the antithesis to redefine itself means nothing for the
thesis. That is the concrete reality of the “radical asymmetry” mentioned at
the beginning: destroying the antithesis is as good as cutting off the head of
a hydra. For those antithesis-identities, the answer is the same as those with
a thesis-identity: Burn it all to hell. The freedom of both “oppressor” and
“oppressed” depend upon the destruction of white supremacy; neither is capable
of love until they cease to love within the white economy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Díaz and the SJ movement repeat the mistake when talking
about what they mis-call love, and we<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"> wind up with all sorts of imbecilic separatism: only
black women can stand for black women; there is no shared gender oppression;
black lesbians announcing that transwomen are men; the conviction that in “safe
spaces” that the privileged parties should learn to shut up and be silent
because this fight is not their fight (they're winning, after all—who wants to
actually question the goodness of what patriarchy and white supremacy and
heterosexism promise its elite, have taught them to desire?) and on and on.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">To learn to desire outside the white economy is NEVER, EVER to
want what it tells you NOT to want—to simply shout “black is beautiful” or
de-exotify Asian and Latina bodies. It is to give exactly zero fucks about it. That
is an insanely painful process. To learn to love outside the white economy—to
learn how to love a black body or a white body or a body raced any other way—is
nothing short of miraculous.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Such a love cannot be bought or ruined by the white economy. It
would die for its love, because such a love knows that it has nothing to lose
in a loss, and nothing to gain in a victory. As I said in </span><a href="http://progressiveparadox.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/why-cant-anyone-have-sexual-relations-on-valentines-day-and-why-is-that-good-news/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">my previous piece</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">, “</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;">Now—in
this shattered, violent, horrible world, with its racist standards of beauty,
its heteronormative aims—we affirm our sexual freedom [our freedom to love].
There is no future we can do it in instead.</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">” This is the present; no
delusions that we won't die or that we will be vindicated by some future
society (we will know even less about them then than we do now, since we'll be
dead). We cannot lose ourselves in the fantasy of being good-by-proximity
through collective action, cannot tell ourselves that we are responsible for
anything but what we do with our own lives. To be perfectly cliché: We must
love our neighbor as ourselves.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">For many, this a bone lodged in their throat. Freud, famously,
understood what a disgusting thought that was, because he recognized that the
neighbor, for us, is a monster, a proving-ground for our own superiority, a
hostile threat to our own-self worth. Diaz, along with the SJ movement more
generally, share this sentiment. (Indeed, the SJ movement is hostile to THINKING—you
will often find people crying that “Much theory does not good practice make,”
but nearly no one realizes that tripping over themselves like beheaded fowl,
just so every other headless cock can see they're doing SOMETHING, is worse.
All this talk of Hegel and Nietzsche is so much academic jargon, unlike their
own jargon of “privilege” and “white supremacy” and the rest of the
inaccessible, clique-centric terms. If not for this anti-intellectual streak,
how else do we end up with a decolonial love which is exactly the same as
hatred, except that people nurse their hate, name it love, and call it a
revolutionary practice?)</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Díaz can't seem to imagine me with friends of color, lovers of
color, colleagues of color, enemies of color, indifferent strangers of color,
and the need to relate to them. Fanon can—“I find myself in the world and I
recognize that I have one right alone: That of demanding human behavior from
the other”—but Díaz can't. As Audrey Thompson put it in her popular but again,
to my eyes, ultimately useless and misguided essay “Tiffany, friend of people
of color,” they have no patience for the kind of love I am preaching here: It
“is a different question from whether a white person can be the friend of a
person of color. Here, I am focusing specifically on the universal 'friend,' as
in 'good guy' or 'ally.' Even intimate friendship, though, is not safe from
racism. As Lerone Bennett, Jr., suggests, such a relationship may 'transcend'
racism without destroying it.” That is an incredibly stupid statement: how can
a friendship <i>transcend </i>racism (Hegel, remember, is talking about
practical, embodied love for <i>this world</i>)? And even if it could, how can
any relationship transcend racism without being a threat to it? And if it can
transcend in an unthreatening why, why the fuck are we calling that
"transcendence"? All this is is a repetition of the standard SJ dismissal:
you are an individualist, but I see things as they really are, on the level of
systems and the universal; I think about the “universal 'friend'” (whatever
that means!), while you only think about your specific, meaningless individual
friends; your petty personal problems are never going to amount to any <i>real </i>change.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Against the sneering superiority of an SJ warrior who has no
time for the individual, we should remember</span><a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Mishnah/Seder_Nezikin/Tractate_Sanhedrin/Chapter_4/5"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"> the fighting words of the Mishnah</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">—Seder
Nezikin, Tractate Sanhedrin, Chapter 4, Mishnah 5: “A single person is created
to teach that if any causes a single life to be lost, it is on him as if he has
lost a whole world, and if anyone saves a single life, it is on him as if he
saved a whole world.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Dostoevsky knew that all such attempts to love people
“generally” are self-defeating: “</span><span style="color: #424347; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">The more I love mankind in general, the less I love people in
particular, that is, individually, as separate persons... On the other hand, it
has always happened that the more I hate people individually, the more ardent
becomes my love for humanity as a whole.” That is decolonial love in a
nutshell.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">But the decolonial critic, again, cannot tell the difference
between invisible white supremacy and white supremacy destroyed. To do some
quick word-substitution on the one of Zen's most famous sayings, on how
mountains and rivers are perceived during the steps of enlightenment:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">First, I
saw people as people. Then, I saw that people (including myself) were all
raced. Then, when I had actually achieved enlightenment, I saw people as
people."</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">The third stage is that of the bodhisattva, the practitioner
enabled to cut through delusions and assist others on their quest to their own
(unique, singular) enlightenment.</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">So that is the problem: Decolonial love says we must first
decolonize our minds, our societies, our groups, our countries; that love, real
love, is not possible now, today, that we must strive all our lives—more
likely, must work for some future society in which it is possible, even if it
will not be possible for us. But Hegelian love tells us that we are already,
EXACTLY as we are, in a position to love: in this misery, in this brokenness,
in this awfulness, we must love the broken, miserable people we are and who are
around us. Decolonial love despises that, because decolonial love is rebranded
hatred; Hegelian love is indifferent to the white economy of attraction, and
loves without using its reference points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #3d4452; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And let us not be confused that they have the same end goals in
mind, but irreconcilable plans to go about it, like the eternal war between the
anarchists and the Communists: Hegel promises us no future, while decolonial
love depends on one. As Žižek writes elsewhere:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">In
short, the ultimate deception lies in the failure to see that one already has
what one is looking for... the final reversal of the dialectical process, as we
have seen, far from involving the magical intervention of a deus ex machina, is
a purely formal turnaround, a shift in perspective: the only thing that changes
in the final reconciliation is the subject's standpoint—the subject endorses
the loss, re-inscribes it as its triumph. Reconciliation is thus simultaneously
both less and more than the standard idea of overcoming an antagonism: less,
because nothing 'really changes'; more, because the subject of the process is
deprived of its very (particular) substance.” That is, the subject of the
racializing process—Diaz's “necolonial” subject—already ceases to exist,
because it is revealed as a fiction. Not only is the lie revealed, we now live
*as if we really believe in the truth* (as opposed to only paying lip service
to it, saying "Yes, I know that is the case, but just the same..."</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Again, this is not some detached “transcendence” after which the
enlightened can no longer relate to those who do not think like them—indeed,
that is a criticism I would level against SJ warriors generally. The point is
that such people can no longer be bought. Such a person is enabled, <i>even at
the cost of themselves</i>, of their privileges and their friendships <i>and
their lives</i>, to wage a war against that which had possessed them and those
they love. Such a person is able to love; such a person is no longer an
acceptable threat.</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Such a person is rare; but such a person loves.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">But for Díaz and his type, the third stage of Buddhist enlightenment,
or the Hegelian sublation, is exactly the same as stage one, because “nothing
changed”; they cannot understand the difference between invisible white
supremacy and the end of the white supremacy, the subject who loves outside the
white economy <i>in fact </i>instead of deludedly believing there was no white
economy they were loving within in the first place; because Díaz and his type
“know” that nothing changes between the two positions. They are cynics, and as
Lacan warned us about cynics, they're all dupes. “I know how things really are;
so I persist in my racial fantasies and fictions of solidarity based on
similarity, on calling (as Diaz does) my fellow people of color brothers and
sisters because that is what white supremacy believes, not that all are
siblings, but we, the oppressed...”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">---</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">So. That's why I can't stand Díaz. He is irrelevant to me; his
decolonial love has no way of redeeming the devil. As Propagandhi sings in “</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXFkYyhoHiI"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Refusing to Be a Man</span></a><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">”:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="tab-stops: 241.6pt;">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">i won't try to tell you that i'm different from all the
rest; i've been subject to the same de-structure of desire and i've felt the
same effects; i'm a hetero-sexist tragedy[...] i had different desires prior to
my role-remodelling. and at six years of age you don't challenge their claims.
you become the same. (or withdraw from the game and hang your head in
shame)[...]sex has been distorted and vilified. i'm scared of my attraction to
body types. if everything desired is objectified then eroticism needs to be
redefined. and i refuse to be a 'man'. dead men don't rape. a gender war in
your fucking face. a battle hymn to celebrate the fact that we don't have to
become or remain what we've come to hate.”</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">That's god-damn anti-patriarchal hymn, and has nothing to do
with the ressentiment fantasies of the separatists who think only women can be
feminists, the Good Social Justice Men who “know” that women need to lead the
movement, the intersectional feminists who know we have to account for all identities...</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">Propagandhi takes responsible for the demonization (lit. “being
made into a demon”) that was not his fault and the consequences he will get for
throwing it down. There is no idiotic talk about being a “good ally”;
Propagandhi is not some altruistic angel fighting “for” women, not someone just
trying to mask his attraction to certain body types. Unlike the likes of
Macklemore, who will tried to claim that oppressed loves are the “same” as his,
Propagandhi knows that white supremacist patriarchy has done unspeakable things
to him and his desires, so he is set on setting them all on fire. The same goes
for anti-racist work—it is my job to stop believing I am white, not bow and
scrape and let POC “lead” the movement as if I, in fact, was not destroyed and
demonized by white supremacy.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">THAT'S “checking your privilege.” But it's a conception I have
never, not once, found articulated by any self-identified member of the “social
justice” movement; and it sure as hell has nothing to do with Díaz and his ilk's
decolonial fantasies.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #424347; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">So I don't bother with them so much. Down with decolonial love.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-54258910322868142762014-02-22T11:16:00.000-05:002014-02-22T11:16:18.374-05:00What We're Reading Today (2-22-14)<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/02/a-dictators-guide-to-urban-design/283953/">A Dictator's Guide to Urban Design</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Matt Ford<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/02/kiev-truce-shattered-dozens-killed/100685/">Kiev Truce Shattered, Dozens Killed</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/the-dark-power-of-fraternities/357580/">The Dark Power of Fraternities</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Caitlin Flanagan<br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/white-washing-malcolm-x-em-the-atlantic-em-s-view-in-1965/284006/">White-Washing Malcolm X: <i>The Atlantic's</i> View in 1965</a> - The Atlantic<br />
David A. Graham<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/the-zombie-numbers-that-rule-the-us-economy/283949/">The Zombie Numbers That Rule the US Economy</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Zachary Karabell<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140752/bernard-avishai-jalal-al-e-ahmad/among-the-believers?cid=soc-twitter-in-essays-among_the_believers-022214">Among the Believers: What Jalal Al-e Ahmad Thought Iranian Islamism Could Learn From Zionism</a> - <i>Foreign Affairs</i><br />
Bernard Avishai; Jalal Al-e Ahmad<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2014/02/17/cfc-talks-love-with-author-kiese-laymon/">CFC Talks Love with Author Kiese Laymon</a> - <i>Crunk Feminist Collective</i><br />
Crunktastic<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-from/musevenis-oil-bet?cid=soc-twitter-in-snapshots-musevenis_oil_bet-022014">Musevini's Oil Bet</a> - <i>Foreign Affairs</i><br />
Vivian Salama<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/02/19/278769529/the-cultish-appeal-of-michelle-obama?sc=tw&cc=share">The Cultish Appeal of Michelle Obama</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Linton Weeks<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/it-or-not-most-urban-freeways-are-here-stay/8428/">Like It or Not, Most Urban Freeways Are Here to Stay</a> - <i>The Atlantic Cities</i><br />
Earl Swift<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/commuting-penality-being-poor-and-black-chicago/8457/">The Commuting Penalty of Being Poor and Black in Chicago</a> - <i>The Atlantic Cities</i><br />
Emily Badger<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ebony.com/news-views/adrian-broadway-and-black-teens-under-fire-304#ixzz2tnUsAnln">Adrian Broadway and Black Teens Under Fire</a> - <i>Ebony</i><br />
Jamilah Lemieux<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/02/20/aaron_huey_photographs_the_pine_ridge_reservation_in_south_dakota_in_his.html">A Photographer's Moving Tribute to the Pine Ridge Reservation</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Jordan G. Teicher<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/the-dark-power-of-fraternities/357580/">As 2 Go Free, Brooklyn Conviction Challenges Keep Pouring In</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Vivian Yee<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/on-the-killing-of-jordan-davis-by-michael-dunn/283870/">On the Killing of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="https://medium.com/p/b84d4011d17e">The Problem With Little White Girls (and Boys)</a> - <i>Medium</i><br />
Pippa Biddle<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/the-incoherent-backlashes-to-black-actors-playing-white-superheroes/283979/">The Incoherent Backlashes to Black Actors Playing 'White' Superheroes</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Noah Berlatsky<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.xojane.com/sex/duke-university-freshman-porn-star">I'm the Duke University Freshman Porn Star and for the First Time, I'm Telling the Story in My Words</a> - <i>XO Jane</i><br />
Lauren A.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/02/17/we_must_give_the_land_back_americas_brutality_toward_native_americans_continues_today/">We must give the land back: America's brutality toward Native Americans continues today</a> - <i>Salon</i><br />
Steven Salaita<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gawker.com/richard-sherman-and-the-problem-of-being-the-right-kind-1513723823?fb_action_ids=10151858586015780&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B217216381802607%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D">Richard Sherman and the Problem of Being the Right Kind of Brown Man</a> - <i>Gawker</i><br />
Gyasi Ross<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/the-champion-barack-obama/283458/">The Champion Barack Obama</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/personal-identity-is-mostly-performance/283043/">Personal Identity Is (Mostly) Performance</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Jennifer Ouellette<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/01/melissa_harris_perry_public_intellectual_how_did_the_professor_become_a.html">MSNBC's Scholar-in-Residence</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Hanna Rosin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/01/28/randy_taylor_a_photographer_tries_to_save_his_40_year_archive_of_photographs.html?bcsi-ac-6c2eca9a7b487eec=21CADC0800000005EhwaoWIY0YB1k65ljBR1IXUociVEAAAABQAAAMJ1PwDAqAAAAQAAAOtHCQA=">40 Years of Photography Destroyed by Hurricane Sandy</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Alyssa Coppelman<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/13/40-more-maps-that-explain-the-world/">40 more maps that explain the world</a> - <i>Washington Post</i><br />
Max Fisher<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kDpZMPMFtT85oavuhDES8gP4INteTKPrikLO3k2VuH7JWRQ8wVq9YJQ_Qa0vfPgPDCj70wuUIs6Uopi8eVojZFBujYcb2JCg1Nq6QbtBh2xoSkBxdxvTDFKK-kJbiNXGX7lakb1HP5xH/s1600/s_k01_70616745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kDpZMPMFtT85oavuhDES8gP4INteTKPrikLO3k2VuH7JWRQ8wVq9YJQ_Qa0vfPgPDCj70wuUIs6Uopi8eVojZFBujYcb2JCg1Nq6QbtBh2xoSkBxdxvTDFKK-kJbiNXGX7lakb1HP5xH/s1600/s_k01_70616745.jpg" height="227" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via Getty Images</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-33384408800235443822014-01-28T19:27:00.002-05:002014-01-28T19:27:13.940-05:00What We're Reading Today (1-28-14)<a href="http://www.complex.com/music/2014/01/macklemore-white-privilege-grammy-best-rap-album?fb_action_ids=10152152318008011&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1441621922735762%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D">Macklemore, White Privilege, and the Grammy For Best Rap Album</a> - <i>Complex</i><br />
Insanul Ahmed<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-dodd/while-i-will-never-want-macklemore_b_4674792.html">Why I Will Never Want the "Same Love"</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Jay Dodd<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/15/macklemore-grammys-hip-hop-rap-stigma">Macklemore is being used to paint the rest of hip-hop as 'uncivil'</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
The Guardian<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fromthesquare.org/?p=5005#.UuXjP2tJv14.facebook">"Same Love," same old shit?</a> - <i>From the Square</i><br />
Karen Tongson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ankhesen-mie.net/2013/03/the-myth-of-black-homophobia-why-im-not.html#comment-form">The Myth of Black Homophobia: Why I'm Not Feeling Macklemore and Why White Saviors Are Anything But</a> - <i>At the Bar</i><br />
Dennis Upkins<br />
<br />
<a href="http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2014/01/making-jay-z-eat-cake-by-mark-anthony.html">Making Jay Z 'Eat the Cake'</a> - <i>NewBlackMan (in Exile)</i><br />
Mark Anthony Deal<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.guerrillafem.com/2014/01/bow-down-macklemore/">BOW DOWN, MACKLEMORE: Why 'Same Love' is NOT My Queer Anthem</a> - <i>Guerilla Feminism</i><br />
Kelly Fox<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140674/jonathan-holloway/obama-is-not-a-post-racial-president">Obama Is Not a Post-Racial President</a> - <i>Foreign Affairs</i><br />
Jonathan Holloway<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/28/us/28-stateofstates.html?hp">State of the States</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/nyregion/for-new-york-citys-first-lady-a-chief-of-staff-but-still-no-defined-role.html?src=rechp">For New York City's First Lady, a Chief of Staff but Still No Defined Role</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Michael M. Grynbaum<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/ezra-klein-nate-silver-wonk-super-bowl-102739.html?hp=t1_3">Ezra Klein vs. Nate Silver: The Wonk Super Bowl</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Dylan Byers<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/obama-running-on-empty-joe-scarborough-state-of-the-union-2014-102746.html?hp=l3">Looking for Insight Among the World's Irks and Quirks</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Michiko Kakutani<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/google-autocomplete-wants-to-know-why-post-communist-europe-is-so-poor/283393/">Google Autocomplete Wants to Know Why Post-Communist Europe Is So Poor</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Matthew O'Brien<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/01/the-product-of-its-time-defense-no-excuse-for-sexism-and-racism/283352/">The 'Product of Its Time' Defense: No Excuse for Sexism and Racism</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Noah Berlatsky<br />
<br />
<a href="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/stanford-man-richard-sherman-and-the-thug-athlete-narrative/">Stanford Man: Richard Sherman and the Thug Athlete Narrative</a> - <i>Grantland</i><br />
Rembert Browne<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/eat_the_cake_anna-mae.html">Eat the Cake, Anna-Mae</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Akiba Solomon<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/01/mitt-romney-netflix-documentary-47-percent-greg-whiteley-interview">Here's Why You Don't See Romney Reacting to the 47 Percent Video in "Mitt"</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
Asawin Suebsaeng<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/state-of-the-union-obama-preview">State of the Union: No More Mr. Nice President</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
David Corn<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/01/ncaa-football-players-union-northwestern">College Football Players Are Trying to Unionize, and the NCAA Is Not Happy About It</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
Matt Connolly<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/unemployment-benefits-food-stamps-economic-impact">Charts: Unemployment Benefits' Big Bang for the Buck</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
Jaeah Lee, Tasneem Raja, and Brett Brownell<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWg7WB0r3HvRkntVc6ufCerkwf6w27q6PwNENsxHGnQT_Hqf0y0rI7Euqj0Iod54RuV1Eq1F2z9dmuhqAGFe_HhmKGkB9OQUZZ-0BNowpASNlnDthoIkaa3cEcAYmeQ9fQ76-xFDpWqlJK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-28+at+6.23.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWg7WB0r3HvRkntVc6ufCerkwf6w27q6PwNENsxHGnQT_Hqf0y0rI7Euqj0Iod54RuV1Eq1F2z9dmuhqAGFe_HhmKGkB9OQUZZ-0BNowpASNlnDthoIkaa3cEcAYmeQ9fQ76-xFDpWqlJK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-28+at+6.23.26+PM.png" height="125" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-13372775253596657862014-01-25T10:30:00.000-05:002014-01-25T10:30:00.144-05:00What We're Reading Today (1-25-14)<a href="http://www.forharriet.com/2014/01/your-degrees-will-not-protect-you.html">Your Degrees Will Not Protect You: A Lesson from Richard Sherman</a> - <i>For Harriet</i><br />
Kimberly Foster<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.forharriet.com/2013/07/don-lemon-and-middle-class-embrace-of.html">Don Lemon and the Middle Class Embrace of Pathological Blackness</a> - <i>For Harriet</i><br />
Kimberly Foster<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jdrabinski.com/?p=237">Michael Crabtree as racial remainder</a> - <i>J. Drabinksi</i><br />
John E. Drabinski<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-worlds-85-richest-people-are-as-wealthy-as-the-poorest-3-billion/283206/">The World's 85 Richest People Are as Wealthy as the Poorest 3 Billion</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Derek Thompson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/can-anyone-stop-hillary-absolutely/283224/">Can Anyone Stop Hillary? Absolutely</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
James A. Barnes<br />
<br />
<a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/1/martin-luther-kingsocialismantiimperialism.html">The radical gospel of Martin Luther King</a> - <i>Al Jazeera</i><br />
Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/dopamine-and-teenage-logic/282895/">Dopamine and Teenage Logic</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Daniel Siegel<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/does-the-republican-party-have-to-change/283312/">Does the Republican Party Have to Change</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Molly Ball<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/01/richard-sherman-the-new-true-all-american/283303/">Richard Sherman: The New, True All-American</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Eric Liu<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-geography-of-the-american-dream/283308/">The Geography of the American Dream</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Derek Thompson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/178059/richard-shermans-latest-and-his-refusal-be-brand">Richard Sherman's Latest and his Refusal to Be a Brand</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Dave Zirin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/177992/richard-sherman-racial-coding-and-bombastic-brainiacs">Richard Sherman, Racial Coding, and Bombastic Brainiacs </a>- <i>The Nation</i><br />
Dave Zirin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/study_in_black_men_internalized_racism_speeds_up_aging_process.html">Study: In Black Men, Internalized Racism Speeds Up Aging</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Julianne Hing<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/watch_this_comedic_short_about_an_arab_actress_whos_fed_up_with_hollywoods_racism.html">Iranian-American Actress Gets Fed Up With Hollywood's Racism</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Jamilah King<br />
<br />
<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/richard_sherman_thug_is_the_accepted_way_of_saying_the_n-word.html">Richard Sherman: 'Thug' Is the Accepted Way of Saying the N-Word</a> - <i>Color Lines</i><br />
Jamilah King<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/01/24/atheist_for_a_year_pastor_ryan_bell_explores_life_outside_seventh_day_adventist.html">This Former Pastor is Going to Spend a Year Doubting God. Great Idea!</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Miriam Krule<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gabfest/2014/01/the_gabfest_on_david_remnick_s_new_yorker_interview_with_obama_the_netflix.html">The "Would You Like a Ride in My Ferrari?" Gabfest</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Slate's Political Gabfest<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/01/24/david_galjaard_photographs_albanian_bunkers_in_his_photo_book_concresco.html">The Legacy of Albania's 700,000 Bunkers</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Jordan G. Teicher<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2014/01/23/malcolm-x-police-brutality-a-letter-to-the-nypd/">Malcolm X & Police Brutality: A Letter to the NYPD</a> - <i>Prison Culture</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2014/01/13/poem-of-the-day-cuz-hes-black/">Poem of the Day: "Cuz He's Black"</a> - <i>Prison Culture</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/unemployment-stories-one-month-later">"If I Didn't Sell Drugs, I'd Be Dead": What It's Like to Lose Unemployment Benefits</a> - <i>Mother Jones</i><br />
Dana Liebelson<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/states-of-our-union-are-not-all-strong-102547.html?hp=l1#.UuLYHmTnYy4">The states of our union ... are not all strong</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
Margaret Slattery<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/farm-bill-conference-frank-lucas-collin-peterson-debbie-stabenow-thad-cochran-102580.html?hp=l5">House aims to finalize farm conference</a> - <i>Politico</i><br />
David Rogers<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-dodd/what-i-am-looking-for_b_4653125.html">What I Am "Looking" For</a> - <i>Huffington Post</i><br />
Jay Dodd<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvGWejuoqeUtqbMpjM1b2x9zu64nxzrCGoyFG5zKi8m33J1X_zuMI8x7JbdyirqlzKEl7DiWJIuYrRVqB7qbyML8DGxCV9a4cIJRWrNt1QVzglomBwEU8BDCGg-_8TQT-VIs4RqvZv3NQ/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvGWejuoqeUtqbMpjM1b2x9zu64nxzrCGoyFG5zKi8m33J1X_zuMI8x7JbdyirqlzKEl7DiWJIuYrRVqB7qbyML8DGxCV9a4cIJRWrNt1QVzglomBwEU8BDCGg-_8TQT-VIs4RqvZv3NQ/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-38189746743714072262014-01-19T17:05:00.002-05:002014-01-19T17:05:58.709-05:00What We're Reading Today (1-19-14)<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryuAW_gnjYQ&feature=youtu.be&t=10m">James Baldwin and Dick Gregory: "Baldwin's Nigger" (1969)</a> - <i>YouTube</i><br />
James Baldwin and Dick Gregory<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/louder-than-a-bomb-on-the-sounds-of-black-power">Rickey Vincent on <i>Listen, Whitey!: The Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975</i></a> - <i>LA Review of Books</i><br />
Rickey Vincent<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/empire-states-of-mind-johnny-patti-and-jay">Empire States of Mind: Johnny, Patti, and Jay</a> - </i>LA Review of Books<br />
Jack Hamilton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/free-black-and-blue-ivy-405#axzz2q342x4fu">Free, Black and Blue Ivy</a> - <i>Ebony</i><br />
Jamilah Lemieux<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/08/hatred-of-congress.html">Hatred of Congress</a> - <i>Five Thirty Eight</i><br />
Tom Schaller<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/you-have-to-know-history-to-actually-teach-it/282957/">'You Have to Know History to Actually Teach It'</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
David Cutler<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/12/13/248190652/spoken-and-unspoken">Spoken and Unspoken</a> - <i>NPR</i><br />
Various<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/177822/what-bill-de-blasio-can-learn-new-york-citys-last-radical-mayor?bcsi-ac-37566433291d528d=21CAD7CD00000005qwtOJEfhDMPeGUvnlSSttPo+fMsrAAAABQAAAD65JwDAqAAAAgAAAFPxBAA=">What Bill de Blasio Can Learn From New York City's Last Radical Mayor</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
D.D. Guttenplan<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/177871/will-black-deaths-matter-de-blasios-new-york">Will Black Deaths Matter in de Blasio's New York?</a> - <i>The Nation</i><br />
Mychal Denzel Smith<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3018084/work-smart/why-were-more-creative-when-were-tired-and-9-other-surprising-facts-about-how-our">Why We're More Creative When We're Tired and 9 Other Surprising Things About How Brains Work</a> - <i>Fast Company</i><br />
Belle Beth Cooper<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3023510/the-most-read-leadership-stories-of-2013">The Most-Read Leadership Stories of 2013</a> - <i>Fast Company</i><br />
Kathleen Davis<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/how-kids-dealt-with-the-stress-of-desegregation/283146/">How Kids Dealt With the Stress of Desegregation</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Jennie Rothenberg Gritz<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/the-danger-of-telling-poor-kids-that-college-is-the-key-to-social-mobility/283120/">The Danger of Telling Poor Kids That College Is the Key to Social Mobility</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Andrew Simmons<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/it-is-expensive-to-be-poor/282979/">It Is Expensive to Be Poor </a>- <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Barbara Ehrenreich<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/01/neal-brennan-white-americas-greatest-klingon-writer/283172/">Neal Brennan -- White America's Greatest Klingon Writer</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/hitler-on-the-mississippi-banks/283127/">Hitler on the Mississippi Banks</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/what-it-means-to-be-a-public-intellectual/282907/">What It Means to Be a Public Intellectual</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/the-smartest-nerd-in-the-room/282836/">The Smartest Nerd in the Room</a> - <i>The Atlantic</i><br />
Ta-Nehisi Coates<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2014/01/peyton_manning_2014_playoffs_why_the_nfl_needs_the_broncos_quarterback.html">The Great Brain: Why the NFL needs Peyton Manning even more than the Broncos do</a> - <i>Slate</i><br />
Jack Hamilton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/travel/james-baldwins-paris.html?_r=1">James Baldwin's Paris</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Ellery Washington<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/28_02/28_02_karp.shtml?utm_source=Winter+2013-2014+V28-2&utm_campaign=Winter+2013-14+V28-2&utm_medium=email">The Problems with the Common Core</a> - <i>Rethinking Schools</i><br />
Stan Karp<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kieselaymon.com/?p=2576">The Amiri Baraka I Knew</a> - <i>Cold Drank</i><br />
Darnell Moore<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/behind-the-scenes-of-joaquin-castros-first-year-in-congress?fullpage=1">Mr. Castro Goes to Washington</a> - <i>Texas Monthly</i><br />
Joaquin Castro<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/17/us/nsa-changes-graphic.html">Obama's Changes to Government Surveillance</a> - <i>New York Times</i><br />
Josh Keller, Alicia Parlapiano, David E. Sanger, and Charlie Savage<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea93mlZJzKGJSFOsKVw2pQobPpzsTdxuskTcT61RchwEEgQXMTbiD_Z1iDdM-sOJyHFFxgB1NDvrSvBbIsVgx60ZraW-PhRVZqE72rogzhMyFAuyd8enSHp4Nrz0y3pTOXQXhP2eMoIhg/s1600/austin_castle_hill_graffiti_obey-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea93mlZJzKGJSFOsKVw2pQobPpzsTdxuskTcT61RchwEEgQXMTbiD_Z1iDdM-sOJyHFFxgB1NDvrSvBbIsVgx60ZraW-PhRVZqE72rogzhMyFAuyd8enSHp4Nrz0y3pTOXQXhP2eMoIhg/s1600/austin_castle_hill_graffiti_obey-8.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Loganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985600423104209994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-82833152486212193632014-01-05T00:43:00.000-05:002014-01-05T02:08:24.512-05:00The Apologetic Body | Bodies of Critique, Respectability, and Resistance <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the
words of acclaimed writer <a href="http://dreamhampton.com/">Dream Hampton</a>, the anatomy of an apology is as
follows: 1)I’m sorry, 2) Here’s my understanding of how I hurt you. 3) I will
never do that again. Various PR blogs expand upon this idea by stating<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it is important to note tone/intent,
delivery, and actions to follow. Apologies are a mainstay in our culture and we
often hold popular and powerful figures to the same acts of penance that we
expect from our close friends and family. I understand this phenomenon.
Celebrities and pundits and politicians alike are responsible as cultural
influences. They carry with them platforms to create, defend and critique
seemingly personal opinions and beliefs. When you feel they have offended, I
understand the desire to make them apologize. To apologize requires a person to
take the blame and shame of committing a wrong or an offense; offering in the
end some sort of retribution. But I think we have used apologies to further
victimize particular bodies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last week
MSNBC political pundit and Tulane University Professor, Melissa Harris Perry
hosted an end of the year rap up where a host of comedians were to provide
captions to some of the years most iconic photographs. <a href="https://twitter.com/MittRomney/status/415569809267384321">Upon a Romney familyportrait featuring Kieran Romney, the adopted Black grandson to the Former Republican Presidential Candidate, the panel burst into laughter. </a>Actor and
performer <a href="https://twitter.com/PiaGlenn">Pia Glenn</a> alluded to the Sesame Street maxim, “one of these things is
not like the other…” and <a href="https://twitter.com/Deanofcomedy">Dean Obeidallah</a> noted it was a analogy for finding a
Black person in a Republican National convention. Perry supported and validated
these statements citing her personal history with the Mormon faith. Despite her
valid interest into the critique the media spiraled into frenzy shaming her and
her panel. She immediately apologized via <a href="https://twitter.com/MHarrisPerry/status/418008066651455488">Twitter</a>, then public statement on her
show. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bet.com/news/national/2012/01/06/melissa-harris-perry-to-host-political-talk-show-on-msnbc/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/010612-national-melissa-harris-perry-gets-new-show-msnbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://www.bet.com/news/national/2012/01/06/melissa-harris-perry-to-host-political-talk-show-on-msnbc/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/010612-national-melissa-harris-perry-gets-new-show-msnbc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In a particularly cutting attack,<a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-don-lemon-tears-into-smug-mean-msnbc-over-romney-grandson-segment/">CNN’s personal Uncle Don Lemon attempts to shame Perry for crossing a line.</a> After pitting his two-person panel
against each other, he dives into a commentary about the nature of MSNBC’s
critiques of him. In his opening point he mentions he doesn’t respond to them
and quotes “the dog is suppose to howl at the moon, the moon isn’t suppose to
howl back.” How are we to understand that? How are we to understand his
positioning as somehow unavailable to critique? Yet he stands here demanding
that of one of his colleagues? Don, for whatever reason, features Marc Lamont
Hill who vehemently calls Lemon on his attempted color-blind respectability
bullshit. Talk of double standards and context ensue and critiques of comedy
and intent remain. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The central aspect of the critique
is that we cannot make fun of people’s families, especially their children.
This concept of saving our children, or protecting our children (though there
seems to be a preference for white or transnational) is a complex and divisive
one in America. I, in no way, believe mocking or shaming adoption however it
may occur is fair. However, there is a deeper problem here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I’ve written before as defense, Perry and
her panel were not mocking<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the child but
calling to light the exploitative nature of transracial adoption. While there
must be a myriad of narratives from transracial(and transnational) adoptive
families, I have seen and heard particular traumas that these children have
faced. The erasure of history and difference, the denial of cultural awareness.
But the central issue here is the way Melissa Harris Perry was personally
attacked and vilified. The way her “colleagues,” specifically a fellow correspondent
of color could dare erase her lived experience and fair critique under some
guise of respectable humor or commentary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
While I have the utmost respect for
Perry’s apology, its slays me the outcry her comments produced. It slays me
that fellow news correspondents demand her resignation. She and her panel
simply highlighted whiteness at its core. They highlighted how the diversity
discourses place bodies of color at the crux of their narrative. What slays me
is how Don Lemon works in this way for whiteness. He works in terms of
respectability and aspiration. He works in the notion of colorblind equality.
He’s only resistance is that to act of resistance. It is viscerally
uncomfortable for him to face the truth of racial difference. But why? How does
his token, respectability jargon do? He is a living apology. He apologizes for
“under performing Blacks,” for “saggy pants wearing Blacks,” for the echoes of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Family:_The_Case_For_National_Action">Moynihan</a> Blacks. His apology, though, completely undermines the ways Black bodies
and other bodies of color act out their resistance. Melissa Harris Perry
resists in the ways she sees fit in the face of her class and education
privilege. She calls out her location and still holds herself and panel to the
fire on countless episodes. She can critique and praise news media and her work
is informative and accessible. (I am not going to question or critique her
radicalness because there to understand resistance we must see all forms of
it). And here we find her apologizing. It is sincere and heartfelt but in my
mind horribly unfair. I would share the video below but I don’t want to
reproduce a Black Woman’s shame especially for something so scathingly unfair. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://theurbanoutlook.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/don-lemon-cnn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://theurbanoutlook.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/don-lemon-cnn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Despite his problems, Lemon’s
remarks that we can all learn something about apologies from Perry are unfortunately
too accurate. She did not excuse her actions but clearly stated how she
understood her defense and reestablished the barrier she intends to not cross.
We find in her speech the anatomy of an apology. We find the heart of how to
make right a wrong. However, we have too many women of color having to
apologize, for being assaulted, for being killed, for protecting their bodies,
for protecting their families. We have too many men and men of color demanding
such apologies from women. It is ironic then that we on the body of Dream
Hampton we find an anatomy of an apology, we find it ironic that the most
heartfelt apology of the year so far is that of a Black woman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We assume certain repentance from these bodies
and ridicule them until the apologize for being, for speaking, for demanding,
for resisting. . While we should know how to repent for trespasses ; we must be
wary who is truly trespassing against us. If there was any doubt #IStandWithMHP
and Pia Glenn. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559833607249296285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-47112364582246011692013-12-31T17:36:00.003-05:002013-12-31T17:36:19.531-05:002K14: A Critical Fuck U2 Homelessness<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> By Tabias Wilson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"A chair is still a chair<br />
Even when there's no one sittin' there<br />
But a chair is not a house<br />
And a house is not a home<br />
When there's no one there to hold you tight<br />
And no one there you can kiss goodnight"</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>-Luther Vandross/Dionne Warwick</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> A House is Not A Home </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's necessary to begin this manifesto with the recognition that I have spent little time sleeping on the physical streets of America. I'm not well-versed in the act of survival without a physical covering, nor would I feel comfortable identifying as homeless in the public policy notion of the word. This is no means an attempt to belittle the struggle(s) of the physically homeless in America or worldwide, neither is it an attempt to use their experience as a transaction necessary for expression. However I tend to identity with the old Luther Vandross/Dionne Warwick tune <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2-PW2l4b2A" target="_blank">"A House Is Not A Home."</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork">"Lying, thinking<br />Last night<br />How to find my soul a home<br />Where water is not thirsty<br />And bread loaf is not stone<br />I came up with one thing<br />And I don't believe I'm wrong<br />That nobody,<br />But nobody<br />Can make it out here alone."</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork">-Maya Angelou</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i><a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/alone-6/" target="_blank"><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork">Alone </span></a></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When thinking through the notion of home, and it's role in my <i>living</i>, I have found two definitions to be of good use. The first (noun) <span>"the place where one lives permanently, esp. as a member of a family or household" and the second (adjective) "</span><span>of or relating to the place where one lives." Home seems to be commonly conceptualized as a place where living takes place. The first definition speaks of a permanent space where one lives as a member of group that is bound by love, blood or common connection to the space. The second definition, that of the adjective, is squarely centered on the space where one lives. Taken together both definitions present home as a place central to living and being alive and full of life, if not thriving.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Audre Lorde </span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork"> </span> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Growing up black, queer and radical here, I've almost always had a<i> </i>roof over my head; my grandmothers, mother, aunts and cousins (all women) have always made sure of that. This roof was sustained by the strength, scars and endurance of their backs. However, I cannot say that I've ever had a home. This did not quite occur to me until a recent conversation with a close friend about going "home" for the holidays. I've never been one to long for "home" over the breaks of college. Not because I didn't love my family or my relatives, but because I wasn't quite sure what home meant. From his tone, and that of others, home seemed to be a place where one found strength, companionship and unity with those who you were most bonded with in kinship or common purpose or his-story. I hadn't quite experienced that and in that moment of our conversation, I realized that this "home" is what I'd always been looking for. Of course, I'd always found love from my family, friends and relatives but that love was targeted, marketed and intended for certain sections of being while syphoning life from other layers of my self. My family and poc community showered their love on the things about me they made me most like them: my blackness,laugh, lips, wit, blunt nature and determination while unintentionally marking my queerness and critical consciousness as unwarranted excess. My (LGBT/straight/non-queer) friends and acquaintances loved and strengthened my commitment to critical inquiry, the process of loving, activism and honesty but generally through a heterosexist lens. My (non-poc) queer community nurtured my queer ethic and ability to thrive in same-sex relationships, but often at the expense of my blackness. Blaqueer communities healed the rupture between my queerness and blackness creating a particular fierceness still untheorized, but often at the expense of my masculine performances and anti-sexist ethics. I was a man with many houses to visit but no home to dwell in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>"i believe in living<br />
i believe in birth.<br />
i believe in the sweat of love<br />
and in the fire of truth"</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>-Assata Shakur</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i><a href="http://www.assatashakur.org/poem2.htm" target="_blank">I believe in Living </a></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I say all this to bring light to the state of solidarity and love in queer communities and communities of color. At a time where intersectionality has become the buzzword of choice, what does it say that our intersections have become traffic jams locked in a parilysis of identity centric affections? While such targeted demonstrations of love, healing and support are necessary important--if not done with the totality of the person in mind--we risk creating and sustaining a new type of isolation based upon the number of intersections or (identity) layers that a sister/brother may have. In our zeal to heal the wounds made raw by systems of violence, we risk circumcising and dividing the very self we wish to empower and make whole. By ignoring, displacing or antagonising the divergent and diverse features of those minoritized within our communities we risk discarding the foundation of a home for the creation of a temporary shelter. If love is to be noted and performed as a commitment to the creation of mutual growth--spiritual, emotional, economic and intellectual-we must be sure that this growth is experienced in all journeys of living.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In 2K14 I'm committing myself to the creation of loving, healing spaces that exclude only subordinating powers and privileges. For these spaces-and a movement of radical love and restorative justice-I must first commit myself to the loving of individuals and communities that I've long feared and never met. I must confront the other within and the fear of being furthered othered by association and disassociation with particular narratives of being and unbecoming. For my blaqueerness to exist unencumbered I must first commit myself to resistance to colonial systems of power based on violent circumcision of self and other. To do that, I must first love me while also endeavoring to love you and that which you are not. That perhaps is the strongest fuck you to homelessness I can attempt.</span></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Boston, MA, USA42.3584308 -71.059773242.170560800000004 -71.38249669999999 42.5463008 -70.7370497tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4028605469664529114.post-10421320836382926082013-12-25T15:21:00.002-05:002013-12-25T15:21:47.094-05:00Reflection on 2013: Being a Walking Contradiction<div class="MsoNormal">
For most of us 2013 was the year we graduated college and entered
the “real world”. For me, this pales in comparison to the larger change in my
life this year: becoming a walking contradiction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At our core we are all partial hypocrites. It is a flaw that
most people do not acknowledge and can go about their daily lives without
problem. We tell ourselves that it is okay to lie, but criticize our neighbor
for the same action. We blame our own mistakes on situational problems, but see
others’ as flaws of their character. If I am late to a meeting I know it was
because of traffic, but if someone else gave the same excuse I would roll my
eyes. It is so easy to give ourselves benefit of the doubt and then place blame
on others in the exact situation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the same vein, I found myself able to forgive my actions
and decisions based on “the right reasons” and not for selfish gain or living
up to societal norms. I joined Teach For
America (TFA) and now watch neighborhood schools close and the unemployment
rate of Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers rise. I see students outwardly disrespect
TFA teachers because they know we will leave. I have also now experienced first
hand how poorly we are trained before being thrown in a classroom. On top of
that, I commute through the one of the most segregated cities in the country
where the north side is being gentrified and the south side has gang issue
spreading and crime rates increasing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the other hand, I have so many moments of joy in my new
life. I spend evenings laughing with my friends and get to explore a city that
I love and most of the time the contrary nature of my life could be over
looked. I could not complete this
summary of my life without at least mentioning my students: I love them. I
cannot imagine not teaching them and constantly feel lucky to be part of their
lives. I am not naïve enough to believe that I am the best teacher out there
for them, especially with the unemployment rate of CPS teachers. However, the
teacher turnover rate at charter schools is exceptionally high (about 2 years
in Chicago) and I am of the strong belief that my leaving now would not benefit
my students. Indeed one of the best teachers at my school is a former TFA
member and someone I whole heartedly look up to.</div>
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It is these two sides conflicting sides that I have to
balance both in my head and in my heart. The moments of regret come at the
macro level with the knowledge that I am advancing problematic institutions and
the moments of elation are more consistently at the micro level with students
and friends. I do not know if/how I am
going to break out of this hypocrisy that I have built around myself. It is
first step in acknowledging it, but does not actually fix any of the problems
that I have created. This is my contradiction that I will be living with.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If I had to relive 2013, I do not know if I would make the
same decisions. I can only move forward
and focus on my morals matching my actions. I guess there is no true catharsis
in this reflection, but that is real life. Everything does not come to a close
when the year does, but it does give us a chance to reflect and make changes
before the calendar moves us forward. <o:p></o:p></div>
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