Guerilla Blogging

So I have repeatedly been attracted to the blogosphere and repeatedly been repelled. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Michele Montas an award winning journalist and widow of Jean Dominique (Agronomist 2003) (thank you SCOR for a kick ass conference). In discussing the role of media and the potential for an authentic critical voice, she suggested that one area of prospect and hope were blogs. Now I usually look at blogs for people's takes on news, after all they are not verifiable, and there is no quality control, but I had often put blogs off as a lot of bang for a little buck. To hear her mention them as a tool of critique, I really had to rethink this blogging thing. It's commonly acknowledged that a finite number of people control the stories we read and hear on the news. When I was younger, that frightened me, now it just pisses me off!

One of the first issues with blogging as revolutionary would be the digital divide. Even though in the last ten years access to the internet has increased greatly in public spaces (i.e. libraries, coffee shops, even McDonald's and KFC) there are still a number of folks who are without access to the internet. There are of course a number of barriers. If you aren't computer literate, blogs are about as much an option as me walking onto the Pistons. With that said, I have found a lot of blogs out there that deal with issues of race, class and gender that make me hopeful that not just rich white men are in the blogosphere. Not that I have anything against rich White men, but controlling all the media is just not playing fair ;) Even as blogging becomes more common and people have more options on blogging software there is the inevitable issues of voice and silence come up. There are plenty of company blogs, wikis, and other variations that exist to help people their ideas out to the masses. Some of my good friends blog for comedic relief, political jousting, and even as a reflection of their work experiences. Which lead me to thinking about the lines between formal and informal blogging. Granted, blogging is rather informal by definition but ther are a number of ways blogs can be used. Is it constructed to be an alternative to the news? Is it a personal reflection? Or is it something you can use to cover your ass if you mess up on an official publication? I guess it can be all of those, but I personally want them to be radical and critical... enter my bias.

So how do people get to your blog? How do people connect to your ideas? How can you know you're going to find the information you want from the sources you trust? It's hard to come by. People get to blogs through so many different ways, but still there is no formal way of categorizing them. I have taken notice of Technorati's work, but trust me, I'm sure 9 out of 9, I mean 10 people don't know about Technorati and are still using google to enter the blogosphere. Unfortunately the more we categorize, sanitize, and organize the less power the blog may have. But on the other hand, the 1 bajillion blogs that exist can't possibly be what we need.

In closing, while talking with Ms. Montas one of my friends asked her for her favorite blogs. I sat there waiting, waiting to hear from a woman who knew the power of media and had been doing it for so many years...Unfortunately she never revealed her sources. So I'm still looking for something revolutionary, if it will come in the form of a blog is yet to be seen.

p.s. If you'd like to hear Haunani-Kay Trask's keynote from the SCOR conference click here.
p.p.s. It's really annoying that blogger's spell check always comes up with "blog" as a word spelled incorrectly.

The Case

So I figured once enough people asked about it, then I'd post. Here are the top five questions about the recently filed complaint by Black graduate engineering students:

1) Dumi, what do you know about this?
As most of our readers are now aware U of M was named in a complaint to the US Department of Education. The complaint is spearheaded by Simeon Anderson a Black PhD student in Engineering. Prior to his filing of the complaint I did hear that he was working on "something" and he was compiling experiences of Black students at U of M. So when the new story broke I was not surprised, but I was intrigued.

2) Dumi, do you know this guy or are you one of the people who is filing?
Despite my obsession with Blackness and graduate education, I am not one of the filers. I do not know Simeon, but we share a few mutual associates. In the near future I may have an opportunity to learn a bit more about where his head and the heads of other Coalition for Action Against Racism and Discrimination members are at. Right now, I'm still learning.

3)Dumi, have you seen the complaint?
I have seen a version of the complaint, I do not know if it was the complaint that was filed to the US Department of Education, but I have read it a couple of times.

4)Dumi, how you gonna say you saw the complaint but not tell use about it?
Well, because I don't know Simeon (yet) and I know that sometimes discussing non-public things (or items that haven't been FOIA'ed yet) can be counter-productive to the needs of those who filed them. I've contact Simeon, if he'd like me to post the complaint, I will. Remember, I'm not a journalist, I just play one in cyberspace.

5) So what do you think will happen?
This is the most tricky of all the questions that people have asked me. First, I don't have access to all the materials of the complaint nor the statement of all members of the Coalition, so predicting with little data can be dangerous. Man those X years of stats really paid off, huh?

But on the real, I'll be watching the situation closely. It is occurring in a very interesting political climate. I've seen a number of conservative responses to the complaint which essentially boil down to unqualified or underqualified applicant theses. These are always interesting to me because people know nothing about him except his race and that he filed a complaint of discrimination. Somehow the next response is to jump to one of these "theories." It seems to me, before one should advocate these theories, one should have access to his (and others') academic records, maybe that's too much to ask... or as my mom would say "too much like right."

Obviously in the face of MCRI, this stands to create a tense relationship between the U and people of color... particularly in the public eye. So I'm sure that the conservakids will try to use this to spread their messages of anti-race preferences as they campaign to 'give us free' of discrimination.

Lastly, the bar of demonstrating discrimination in the contemporary United States is extremely high. Even if everything Simeon and coalition said is true, the pending investigation will likely not find discrimination- or rather racial discrimination. Oops, well there it is, a prediction. My prediction is honestly based more on the political climate than the facts of the case, so I would not mind being proved wrong.

Aight, those are my five responses to the top five questions. Thoughts?

Hello World

Before I begin my contributions to the digital marketplace of ideas I figure I'll tell the world a little about myself. First of all I'm a Senior English major here at the University of Michigan . I'm a Resident Advisor at Mosher Jordan Hall, I'm an Opinion Columnist for the Michigan Daily , and I sporadically attend meetings for several black campus organizations.

In addition to that riveting bio I figure I'll give you a few more tidbits about my personality that can't be inferred from the skeletal info above. In what I believe to be the style of Scoop Jackson's original introduction to ESPN.com (I can't, for the life of me, find the actual article--it's not listed in his personal archive) I'm going to give you a few of my beliefs.

I believe that the triple is the most exiting play in baseball.

I believe that the concepts of Black Pride and Black Power are not as anti-white people as the standard, Fox News watching, right-winger thinks. It's more about black people having self love.

I believe I will probably have a harder time convincing people of that last belief than any other thing in the world.

I believe that Chauncey Billups' command over the game of basketball right now is the stuff of legend.

I believe that Spring and Summer in Ann Arbor are fantastic.

I believe that I may be the first black person to give utterance to that sentiment.

I believe that purchasing a slice of pepperoni pizza and eating it while walking around aimlessly is one of life's greatest joys.

I believe the most important function of black organizations on campus is to reach out to black youth across the region.

I believe I've pretty much failed to reach out and need to hurry up and try to mentor somebody or something before I graduate.

I believe that Affirmative Action is necessary for, at least, a few more years.

Finally, I believe I should stop telling you all of these beliefs and prepare to post something real.

Guest Contributor: David Betts

Besides this being the beginning of Black History Month, BlackatMichigan.com is making it's own history. Our first guest contributor is David Betts. Over the next couple of months you'll hear a couple of different voices on this blog. Here's to some new blood! Enjoy.

The Death of Civil Rights ???

"I'd name Coretta Scott King mayor of the cities and converts feens to Willies..." -Nas- If I ruled the world
Today Coretta Scott King passed away in her sleep. She was of course the wife of MLK Jr, but she also left quite a legacy in her own right.

Unfortunately today also marked the confirmation of Samuel Alito. What a sickening irony. Well, the Supreme Court is full again... here's to some bleak years ahead.

The Daily also recently reported on STOP BAMN, By Any Legal Means. The article suggests that there may be some affirmative action supporters in this group... yeah, just like the folks who support the "MCRI" support "affirmative action" but not "preferences." Rhetorical tricks are so interesting. Surely anyone who supports affirmative action and dislikes Bamn will soon find themselves running in the opposite direction of this group. A quick facebook search demonstrates that the group is certainly pro-MCRI with quotes like

The ONLY thing that can stop us from being on the ballot now is a direct order from the Supreme Court, which will never happen.

and links to the "Michigan Civil Rights" site, Zarko's blog, and an new anonymous anti-bamn blog, you can see the ideological direction. It's an interesting strategy, they even cite the U-M NAACP's denouncement of BAMN on their site. Hope too many folks don't fall for this group's foolishness.

Ballot Proposal Language Accepted

The proposed language for the ballot proposal that affects affirmative action was approved by the Board of Canvassers.

Who is making the dream?

So annually the nation decides to celebrate the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Junior (well everywhere except Utah where it's also Human Rights Day) but you get the idea. I was unfortunately under the weather for this year's MLK celebration at U of M so I didn't see much besides a doctor... who wasn't Dr. King. Despite my sickness, I thought about 2005 when I did a poem for an open mic that SMES-G (Society for Minority Engineering Students- Graduate Component)held to honor Dr. King's legacy. The poem is really long and is linked here. I may even podcast it, if I decide to explore that technology. I rarely do spoken word stuff anymore, so it was a nice release for some of my creative side (as if writing a dissertation isn't creative ;)

On Sunday night, the Boondocks had a fresh episode called Return of the King. The plot essentially has Dr. King returning to the current day after being awoken from a coma. In my opinion it was masterfully done for 4 reasons.

1) I think McGruder and company really captured the tensions between the commodification of MLK and his dream and the contemporary political environment. He would quickly be lambasted as un-American and touted onto ever political talk show to get insulted perpetually. The catch line of "I really should have had approval over this ..." is hilarious for two reasons to me. The image of Dr. King has two extremes, one which is completely over used and misused without consideration and the virtual death grip that a few individuals/organizations hold on texts and audio rights to Martin's speeches. Either way, I'm sure he would be completely disappointed by the current state of his archival legacy.

2) Uncle Rukus' contempt for MLK and civil rights. It's easy to forget that not all Black folks believed in the CRM. Besides reading, I also asked my grandfather about this a couple of years ago (he was in Selma at the time of the modern CRM) and he verified fear of change and the fear of loss were powerful polarizers in the community.

3)The potential role of the media in social movement formation. Cuba Gooding Jr. as MLK, Spike Lee pissed he didn't get tapped to direct the bio pic... accurate. The "urban" promotions firm that was hired, was right on point. That's all I got to say about that.

4) King's speech at the end of the episode. So this obviously the most controversial part to many. But I think it all hatches back to McGruder's Diabolical Plot. The N-word is likely here to stay. It's hard to reckon with, but McGruder did a great job of King using it to grab attention, to define, and collapse it in the same moment. A number of folks have commented that they didn't think Black folks would react that way to the speech. My response: Hell, this episode was based on a dream. Can we continue suspension of disbelief till the end of the darn episode?

My only beef ... why did Martin Luther King look so much like Ward Connerly?

Overall, I thought the episode should have elicited a range of emotions, which I believe it did. I really am glad to see that the Boondocks has "come around." I'm still trying to remember if Boondocks was originally slated for a 10 episode season or a 15 episode season. I would be overjoyed it were designed for 10 episodes, that way we would have closed season one on this high note, well a boy can dream, can't he?

Here at U of M, Michael Eric Dyson was the speaker at the Ross School of Business. 1) I didn't really care to see him speak, seen him before, not thinking I'm going to be amazed. 2) He spoke at the B school... are you serious? 3) I know he got PAID for speaking there on MLK day - take em' to the cleaners! Here is a webcast of it if you wanted to check it.

And only because I think they should be mentioned, here are two pieces that should get you thinking about the current state of Michigan and King's Legacy. First, an article from the Metrotimes (yeah I know, that's the paper you look at for concerts, not social commentary) and then a piece by Brian Dickerson which is a blueprint... for failure.

Oh, and guest contributors are on the way... be on the look out.

Back from the East.

My little hiatus on the East was nice to have, but now it's back to the grind. Well kinda, I guess if I'm posting to my blog life is not too hectic! Regardless (not irregardless- which I really hate to hear), there have been a couple things of note that should be talked about mainly Coca-Cola, environmental justice, the ballot initiative, and the MLK symposium. Now that you've read my customary intro, vamonos!

Over the winter break, U of M announced that it has suspended its contract with Coca-Cola effective 1/1/06. This is pretty great news on the social justice front. Good work by the Coke Coalition that has been working on this for a long time. We'll see who C-C responds when its all said and done.

The Healthy Environment, Vibrant Communities- Campaign for State Action on Environmental Justice has been hard at work developing a statewide executive order on environmental justice. Now you can help them gather steam. Just click here and send an e-postcard to Gov. Granholm demonstrating your support. Wow, research, policy, and activism from the comfort of your keypad ;)

So the "Michigan Civil Rights initiative" also known as the "California Initiative" has been on the radar of a lot of people over break. The state board of canvassers has repeatedly not placed the ballot initiative on the Nov 2006 ballot. Though it is unclear what, if anything, will appear on the ballot, there is new proposed language. Since issues of language, by in large, what the actual wording is very important. Cases from California to Colorado have demonstrated that words matter. The proposed language includes both the terms affirmative action and preferences. My gut reaction is that the language provides a lot more clarity than the previous versions which were "tailored" to cling to CRA language. Yes, I am critical of the CRAs wording and the ways in which discrimination and anti-discrimination have been constructed (just give Critical Race Theory for further explanation- happy reading!). I'll keep ya'll posted.

Soon MLK day will be upon us and the inevitable attempt of conservatives to co-opt Dr. King's voice and messages will occur. The schools 19th annual MLK symposium is here. I haven't figured out where I'll be yet, but I'll be around ;)

Delays, the Daily, Tookie, and Holidays

So I have been meaning to post, but there has been too much on my plate as of late. Though my posting hasn’t been happening, the world has continued moving. Well kinda, the TWU helped put NY on hault for a minute. But due to public pressure we all gotta make like Tribe Called Quest and keep it moving. So let’s get to it.

Last time I checked in we were all watching the Daily to see what their response would be to the controversy surrounding Michelle Bien’s cartoon. Word is that Bien has left the Daily staff, but I haven’t found verification of this on their site and her cartoon ran as recently as last week. The editor published his view on the situation. Nothing I didn’t expect. He strategically attempts to rely on the first ammendment. No one attempted to curtail free speech, but people did ask the Daily to be cognizant of the effects that their materials could and do have. There is no need to "force" the Daily staff to all support affirmative action, but their writers, artists, and editors should be able to justify their decisions and deal with their repurcussions.

Speaking of changing times, Pesnick makes sure to refer everyone to his Multicultural Commission.

In February, I formed a commission of editors and writers on the Daily’s staff to examine the work environment at the paper and the perceptions members of multicultural communities have of the Daily.

Their findings are here. Once again, I’m underwhelmed. I don’t think they’re off-base, I just don’t think we learn anything really new. I do have some questions about the Daily Commission though:
1) Is a commission of staff reporters the best assessment of the Daily?
2) Why was the commission’s identity not easily available to the public?
3) What type of influence or power does this commission have on the Daily?
As a policy wonk these are the kind of questions that continue to swirl in my head.

After the commission’s report, there was another cartoon run that raised some issues. The “Legacy Bitches” cartoon was, I am told, supposed to be a pro-affirmative action cartoon that attacked the concept of legacy. Instead of commenting on the cartoon, I’d rather comment on the political landscape. Isn’t it odd that right on the heels of a controversy that the Daily editorials staff chose to publish such an … ambiguous cartoon? Maybe it’s just me…

Aight, well that is enough of the Daily for this post. Be on the look out for my in-depth commentary on the Daily boycott of a couple of years ago and other folks thoughts on the Daily situation.

The Governator did not grant Stan Tookie Williams clemency. In the wake of his execution I learned a lot of folks that I knew were behind him. Maybe too many of us were silent. Maybe it’s naïve to believe that the “corrections” system believes in correcting behaviors, attitudes, or ideologies of Black men.

And as I close this post, someone sent me a link to this video… hilarious! Clearly finals drove people insane here. Over the next couple of days I’ll be trying to get some rest and relaxation back East, so whatever happens in Michigan … can stay in Michigan. If I get bored I’ll post my annual Best of BAM. Catch you on the flip.

Help Wanted

Today in a fit of procrastination and contemplation I realized that I need help with this website. For the past year www.blackatmichigan.com has been reduced to the BlackBlog. It's time for a change

I am looking for someone who is a "design wizard" or at least a "design apprentice", lol, I'm funny. I have some site ideas but have neither the time nor dedication to carry them through. If you're out there and interested in contributing to this virtual endeavor contact me at blackatmichigan@hotmail.com. When we talk, we can discuss your "handsome reward."

Also, I've been kicking around for some time the idea of adding another blogger/columnist, I'm not 100 percent sure on this one, but still interested in finding out if there are folks interested in contributing. Once again, drop me an email.

Daily Boycott? Jury of your peers? Nope!

ANOTHER DAILY BOYCOTT??? Not likely. But that's not what the Daily's article title would lead you to believe, "NAACP considers boycotting." The article then goes on to state,

"Fair [2nd Vice President] would not comment on whether the group is considering a boycott or what other actions NAACP will take against the Daily."

Now that's funny, so I may not have my PhD yet, but I can read decently well. The reason this is so interesting to me is that if Fair gave the reporter no indication of action then the title could have been "NAACP considers joining Daily staff in response to cartoon" or how about "NAACP has concerns about Daily's treatment of minorities" or "NAACP plans to host carnival on diag." Anyone of these titles is possible but instead boycott is used.

Why does this matter, you ask? And you should. Because the past Daily Boycott left a bitter taste in a lot of people's mouths. The boycott was poorly planned and executed, but I think it did have some positive results (if you want more commentary on what the boycotts did in my eyes, I'll post it later). Since its planning and execution failed a couple of years ago, people are apprehensive to endorse another boycott. So how do you address concerns of a group critiquing you while delegitmizing their claim? Give them a headline with a strong amount of stigma attached. So throughout the day, numerous students will glance the cover of the Daily as they usually do and think, "Oh no, another boycott, I'm against that" and continue on with their day. Consider me a conspiracy theorist or a political strategist, but do send congrats to the Daily, even Sun-tzu would be proud.

I've also recently been visiting the Daily editor's Blog. Jason has been posting about the Daily's plan of redress, another smart move. But he recently decided to change the dates on which his response to the controversy would come. I hope he doesn't already have his response ready, that would mean he wasn't considering everyone's voices. On his blog he also mentions the Multicultural Commission, I ask him a bunch of questions about it in the comments section of his post and get some answers . We will see if the commission has any leverage to create change at the Daily (more on that later).

I'm saying all this so that readers realize that strategy is important in any disagreement. Diplomacy wins many battles. Even Michelle Bien the author of the original comic has joined the "can't we all just get along" parade. But change is a slow process. As NAACP and other bodies respond to the concerns of the Daily, I wonder how it will be portrayed. Most people get there image of a thing through second and third hand information, not primary participation. This information forms opinions and determines next moves.

And while we were all sleeping, the Michigan Supreme court recently issued an important decision on jury pools. The MSC suggests that jury selection should not consider race, sex, religion or nationality. The idea, again, is one of colorblindness, though the problem is that many groups are under-represented when a "jury of peers" is composed. What do you think of the ruling?

Cartoons, HBCU Activism, and Tookie

So of course I'm a huge fan of the Michigan Daily. Of course they publish really accurate and insightful pieces. Of course I'm lying. The cartoon to the right was published on Wednesday. Nice job Michelle Bean!



There is a nice letter to the editor by Lisa Bakale-Wise that breaks down why the cartoon is ridiculous and inaccurate.


There is a cartoon to the editor response from Meisha Jihan Williams in Thursday's paper. It's pretty funny, I hope you all can see the image cause the Daily digital image was too pixelated to post.







Hey, where is that multicultural comission when you need them? Oh, here's the answer... kinda.

Hampton University is really in the spotlight these days among progressive communities. I definitely do not think the students should be expelled, but I would not be suprised if they were. Its hard for many people, particularly those who did not attend HBCUs,to understand and deal with that fact most HBCUs have conservative administrations while their student bodies are generally progressive. And I do not mean conservative administrations in the sense that we usually talk about at U of M, trust me, ya'll don't know conservativism. I've always understood HBCUs conservativism as closely tied to their financial donations. Since HBCUs are so financially strapped they have little choice but to present themselves as traditional and attempt to keep their institutions running. It will be interesting to see how Hampton responds to pressure from progressive communities in the long run. Part of the advantage of the internet is quick communication, so many more people found out about this incident than other similar incidents that I heard about in the past. I'll keep you posted.

Update: The seven students were not expelled, but 5 of them will do some form of community service.

Save Tookie! In a couple of days the Governator will hear the appeal for clemency in Stan "Tookie" Williams' case. Tookie co-founded the Crips and is serving a life sentence with a death penalty. His prior appeals have failed, the most recent attempt at appeal based evidence issues was denied by the California Supreme Court. This appeal however is based on his work as anti-gang, anti-violence advocate. I think the case is important because it speaks to the idea of reform within prison and whether America is interested in seeing people reformed, I'm not too hopeful for the outcome.

Nehemiah: The Pet Negro

Okay, you must forgive me for posting twice in a row on TV. I had no intention to post on the Real World Austin, honestly it's a pretty bad show. I watched early episodes and then found more valuable things to do with my time. However, this week I found myself "tuned into the 10 spot." This week's episode was divided between two people's woes: Nehemiah and Wes. This week's episode starts with Wes receiving a call that Nehemiah is in the county jail. Turns out that Nehemiah got in a fight outside of a local bar. He was placed in jail with a 3000 dollar bond. It's not abnormal for the Austin Real Worlders to get into fights or get thrown in jail, but apparently Nehemiah's fight and jailing get the episode's attention.(Note that Nehemiah gets a lot of attention because episode 22 is named Nehemiah's actin' up... bad Negro, bad!). When confronted with the issue of getting Nehemiah out of jail Johanna lamentably repeats that it's a shame that Nehemiah's in jail because he's so poor and he, nor his family has any money! Eventually, Danny negotiates with the Production company to take the bail money out of Nehemiah's pay check (you did know that they got paid to be on this show, right?).

While Nehemiah sits in jail, Rachel reminds the group that they have a deadline on their documentary and Nehemiah is not there to do the documentary. This entire f***ing season they have been begging/demanding that Nehemiah take the lead (which really means do all the work) on a documentary on a local music festival. So what is the cast to do? Their pet Negro is jailed and they only have a few days before their deadline. The helpless cast sits and attempts to work on the documentary, but they can't possibly pick all that cotton themselves...oops I mean they can't possibly complete the editing without him. As they sit in a state of paralysis, Wes notes (paraphrasing) "Well he just spent the night in jail, so he'll probably want to take a nap and then work on the documentary." Are you kidding me!?! Danny returns from the jail having bailed Nehemiah out but he doesn't have his Negro in tow. As the cast watches Danny walk in alone they ask, "Where is Negr.... Nehemiah?" Alas, he won't be released for another couple of hours.

As Nehemiah returns to the house Wes, clearly part of the moral majority, in a paternal manner asks Nehemiah about what he did and advises him not to hide anything (thanks Dad). Wes then tells Nehemiah how much jail time he could be facing and that he needs to be careful about his actions. Nehemiah is a big boy and goes and apologizes to the White bar owner that he "assaulted" with a big non-threatening sheepish grin on. Lesson learned. If that wasn't enough, throughout the episode there are interjections of cast members in the confessional explaining how Nehemiah needs to watch himself when he's drunk and this should be a lesson. After all none of them have been drunk and in altercations, put in jail, or belligerent... not so fast! As Nehemiah returns to his quarters he settles in to work all night, the rest of the house goes out drinking.

Wes comes back drunk and does some "drunken" walking and smashing of the house. He knocks down a closet door, throws a canister of coffee at his housemates, and ends up slapping Rachel a fellow housemate. But of course, he's "too drunk" to remember any of it. See, Rachel flicked off Nehemiah, and Wes ran to the aid of his Negro. The result is an off camera smack that Rachel forgives Wes for because she's too tired to deal with it. Alas, the episode draws to a close with Nehemiah having learned his lesson, worked overtime on the documentary, and Wes having slapped a castmate. Thank God their pet Negro learned to behave.

My goodness, that episode was disgusting. If you happen to see it on, watch it! It's amazing. And I guess it would be good for me to relate this to Michigan, ready.... apparently a future home of the Real World may be Royal Oak. Well maybe while they are in the treelined suburbs they can avoid all those misbehaved Detroiters.

Aaron McGruder's Diabolical Plot

I have a ritual nearly every morning. Every morning I wake up and open my browser to the Boondocks comic. I love this comic. I even buy the books that he puts out on this comic. I have waited for years, literally, to experience the Boondocks Cartoon. Now that I've watched the cartoon twice, I have really mixed feelings. One possible reason is that I am a Boondocksphile (made that one up). I read the comic day in and day out, read interviews by McGruder, and all but have tattooed Huey on my arm (aight, I'm really not THAT into the comic but you know what I mean). So when I finally heard Cartoon Network picked up the show, I patiently waited. Maybe I'm too close to it to appreciate artistic variation. I think the cartoon is funny, not as funny as it could be, but definitely enjoyable. Most of the laughs come in a "comic strip" form (short jokes or running gags)which is true to the comic. The one thing that has concerned me and many who watched and are discussing the show is the use of "the n-word."

McGruder decided to use it because its part of Black culture and he himself sometimes uses it. I was kind of dismayed the first week, but now I feel like I understand. No, I don't think that "the n-word" (gotta put in quotes because now apparently it is a phrase)is appropriate or that he's doing it from an empowering standpoint. I think he's doing it to really piss people off. Who you ask? Everyone!

It seems McGruder has taken a different route with the show than he did with the comic strip. I think that the n-word is so over used in the show that most people who watch it, those who are pro and anti-n-word, would feel unsettled by it and question its role. I figure Aaron is SO smart, that he is taking a uniquely critical approach. He's challenging progressives to grapple with its presence in our speech, while also challenging folks who do use it to question it's frequency and utility.

Here's another possible theory and possibly further evidence that Aaron McGruder is being critical in an avant-guard way. Ceasar is absent. Ceaser is normally the dude that balances Huey, he's not gonna show up for the whole year. Instead, McGruder has Uncle Ruckus in every episode (thus far). Unless you really stalk the Boondocks, you were like, who is that crazy looking dude, but he has appeared in the comic before. In the comic, he is just as loathing of Black folks and ridiculous, just less ever-present. Ruckus shows us a part of the Black community that is self-hating. Ruckus' off the wall antics are a heavy satire, but would get any viewer who knows a Ruckus or is a Ruckus to think twice about their commentary on Black folks and their commentaries on White folks.

Aight, this post was supposed to be really short, but I kinda feel like I may be "on to something" with the Boondocks cartoon. I guess time will be the test.

Fear of a Vagina of Color

Over the past couple of weeks, the announcement of an all women of color casting call for the Vagina Monologues production this year on campus has raised quite a controversy. This year's director Lauren Whitehead issued a call via email that has gotten several people's underwear in a knot. *I can't find the original email right now, but when I do, I'll post it.*

Yesterday, Emily Squires, former Vagina Monologues director, weighed in with a nice viewpoint on the issue.

Today, the Daily published a viewpoint by 6 men entitled: In Dissent: V is for Racism.

While I applaud these guys for doing a little bit of research, they should really read more carefully. If you go page 23 of the Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence,and Consequences of Violence Against Women report, you find this note of caution when comparing simply Whites and women of color in general.

These findings underscore the need for specificity
when comparing victimization rates among
women and men of different racial backgrounds.
As results from the survey show, combining data
on all types of minorities may diminish differences
that exist between whites and nonwhites
and at the same time obscure very large differences
in prevalence rates among women and
men of specific racial backgrounds.

If you read the reports' full findings, you did find differences in rates of domestic violence, particularly rape, depedent upon the comparision group. I understand that they are attempting to respond directly to Whitehead's assertion, but in their response, they should tell the whole story. Not to mention, there is the strong possibility that there are differences in rates of reporting that underestimate the rates of DV in communities of color.

I am in full support of a woman of color cast for the Vagina Monologues. While I'm not sure you're suprised, this is likely different than the position a number of my Black male collegues will likely take, but then again, that is why we need a production like this. I do think that domestic violence is a serious concern among all communities and particularly communities of color. While some may feel excluded by this production, the potential it has to draw in new communities of folks to become concerned with violence against women is even greater in my opinion. If nothing else, seeing your sister, mother, girlfriend, wife, or friend reflected in these women of color could have a profound impact on the future of DV in communities of color. While there are many complex issues in DV and resolving it, I do believe this production does open a "can of worms" that needs to be addressed. One Tamara Williams is enough.

The need to tinker

So recently I have been feeling the need to tinker with this blog. I want to redo it, but I haven't figured out what I should do. This page went through a major a revision a while back but I gave that up for laziness and because I felt like people were taking blogging "too seriously." (Insert your own interpretation) Some of you may remember my old page, which had more than the Blackblog. I just sat down to look at the old html and stuff I had set up and I realized something sad. All the pages I created and mock-ups were on my old laptop which fried and died. So I guess I'll be starting from "scratch" again. That is unless the rest of my life zooms ahead. I only sat down to do this because my next deadline for work related materials is December 1st, which seems really far away, but surely isn't. If you've got suggestions, drop me a line in the comments. Oh, and I changed over to Blogger's comment feature, which may or may not work. If that doesn't work hit me at blackatmichigan@hotmail.com.

BAMN.... need I say more.

So looks like BAMN has been "exposed" to the U of M community. Honestly this has been some time in the making, but glad to see it's happening in a semi-systematic manner. Below you will find the NAACP UM Chapter's statement at last night's MSA meeting regarding BAMN.

The University of Michigan Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People publicly denounces BAMN for their actions at the University of Michigan this past Thursday. The rally had no positive ramifications and only served to humiliate and embarrass black Michigan students and black people everywhere. The rally perpetuated myths and stereotypes about the black community that pervade this campus, nation and world. While the high school students were able to leave the campus and go home, and the white organizers of BAMN were able to go on living their privledged existences with no consequences. The black students at the University of Michigan were left to clean up the mess and reassemble their destroyed pride and dignity. Because of this under no circumstances will BAMN be allowed at any U of M Chapter NAACP meetings, which includes but is not limited to: emailing our membership, attending our events or making general announcements. If BAMN organizers would like to participate in NAACP meetings as individuals then they are more than welcome. But under no circumstances will BAMN be allowed to organize in or around the U of M Chapter NAACP in the future. On Monday, Novemeber 7, 2005 NAACP President Riana Anderson will be meeting with BAMN organizers to talk about how they can better improve their relations with the black community.

The MSA meeting was apparently quite an event. Alex Moffett outlined her version of the event in a much more detailed letter that I may post later. There are, again, a number of interesting pieces on Affirmative Action, but I was most intrigued by Mara Gay's "The gags have got to go." I was so intrigued by her piece that I penned a response. I'm not sure if I'm going to send it to the Daily.
My response to Mara Gay's piece:

I appreciate Mara Gay'?s discussion of the last Thursday'?s events, but I think she misses a few key factors. First, the day of silence was designed to highlight the silence that would ensue if Affirmative Action programming was eliminated among all communities of color, not just the Black community. It is all too often that our dialogue on Affirmative Action and programs that are historically tied to it (i.e. ethnic studies, multicultural centers, etc.) are limited by a Black and White racial dialogue. While it is true that Black students compose the largest minority group on campus, it should be equally telling that other groups are underrepresented and often less "heard"? among the debates on Affirmative Action. Second, while the BAMN rally has consistently been characterized as out of control, there were a number of formerly gagged students who attempted to intervene in the chaos but were unable to change the high school students'? actions. The gags for some did come off, but their message still wasn'?t received. Third, there is the old adage that the "squeaky wheel gets the oil"?, which I believe is one major reason BAMN has consistently gotten national attention. Many progressive communities have consistently organized to amplify the voice of organizations that provide an alternative to BAMN (i.e. Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Critical Moment, The Independent, etc.) but locally until recently most groups could make very little headway on getting their views represented. Now that there are more visible and acknowledged alternatives, I implore all to get involved or at least attend a meeting so that you can gain greater knowledge. It appears that now is the time for other voices to rise, but not necessarily be "loud?." If we take the business of organizing against the MCRI seriously, then we will continue to argue with strong logic and drawing appeal to the population that is on this campus and far beyond. The majority of this state does not look like U of M, whether you measure it by class, race, sexual orientation or political orientation. So the best question that I think can be asked is, "?What type of voice and what kind of message affect the masses of Michigan?" Now that the gags are off, the squeaky wheel has been exposed, and the MCRI is forging ahead we must seriously consider how this fight for equality will be engaged and won.

After a rather quiet spell, things are really not quiet anymore on campus. I know a number of folks who are alums check in and ask about campus, well no longer will I be able to say, nothing is going on. I truly think the public denouncement of BAMN and visible support for it is new.

N.B. A story from 2001 involving MSA and BAMN. Thanks for the reminder of the history and the link Rob.

Activism- Past, Presnt, and the Future?

Last week we lost the life of Rosa Parks, the legendary civil rights figure. People are writing a lot about Rosa and how her decision not to give up her seat. As we reflect on those who have led us to this point, me must also ask, where are we now, and where are we going?

Rosa Parks' body will be on display until Wednesday at the Charles H. Wright museum in Detroit.

In local campus news, last week's National Take Affirmative Action Day, certainly had action, though not all of it affirmative. While SSAA hosted a gag-in, BAMN staged a rally with Al Sharpton. The big problem apparently occured when there were some clashes intiated by the high and middle school students that BAMN imported.

Today's Daily has a number of stories on Affirmative Action relatd stuff. There is and editorial that compares the BAMN and SSAA event. *Ignore the fact that it states the SSAA rally piggy-backed on the BAMN rally. NTAAD is an initiave of USSA, a group that BAMN has no affiliation with, but SSAA has been affiliated with for years. Hey journalists don't always get it right.*

There is are a couple of responses to Alex Moffett's letter on why she was silent. Even Carl Cohen weighed in, ah gotta love him.

And finally what did the NAACP's five fingers say to BAMN's face? Answer= Click Here.

Looks like there is a rising tide of anti-BAMNism. This is not a new thing to folks who have been following BAMN or those involved in the Affirmative Action activism.

We will see where it all goes.

UPDATE: The Michigan Appeals court ordered the Board of Canvassers to certify the MCRI for the 2006 ballot. There is still the chance for legal challenges, but it really looks like this will be on the 2006 ballot.

Millions More Movement

View from the Mall
Originally uploaded by strawmanl.

I got on the bus and made my way to DC this weekend for the Millions More Movement. For those that missed it, this was the 10 year commemoration of the Million Man March. I attended the Million Man March when I was 16 and it was, arguably, one of the most powerful days of my life. My sister attended the Million Woman March, which I'm told was also powerful, despite the weather. Remarkably when I heard the prospect of the Millions More Movement, I was very hesitant to attend. I'll be honest, I didn't want to mess up the image that I held of MMM (1995). But at the 11th hour, I decided to get on the bus (a number of U of M Black orgs put their heads and funds together to sponsor a bus to DC- good job ya'll). After arriving to the mall at approximately 9am, I was a little skeptical that turn out was going to be strong. But as the day went on, the mall really filled out. I'm not saying it was as large as the MMM (1995) but there were certainly a large amount of people there! The speeches during the day were good, though not everyone did me proud (please see Jim Jones of the Diplomats). The crowd was in really good spirits and I ran into a bunch of old friends and associates who were on the mall listening. This MMM was designed to incorporate a range of voices from different backgrounds. Farrakhan and his co-conveners made an effort suggest the need for unity among folks of color in particular. I'm not sure that message got through to all the invited communities, judging from the overwhelmingly Black audience, but I think it's a beginning. Farrakhan delivered a pretty strong closing address, which for some reason, struck me as suprsingly nationalist (which I don't have beef with). I guess that's just because it appeared to me that as time wore on Farrakhan had been getting more middle of the road. All in all it was an amazingly positive experience and I'm glad I attended.

Travelling Man...

moving through places... just had to bring back the Mos Def real quick. So I've been on the road a little bit, so some of this will be Michigan related, and some of it will not be.

My friend recently sent me this picture, it's a shame that I have to share the same birthplace as that man!

Recently, I went on a nice roadtrip out to NY, but when I got to the mountains of Pennsylvania we were brought to a hault. Normally this happens when travelling back east in the winter due to snow, weather conditions,etc. but this time, there was a house in the road! There were apparently a few pre-fabricated houses that had big issues and slid off the road. Just thought this was weird, if you wanna see click here.

I didn't get a chance to mention how I liked David Betts' piece "Authentically American" in Wednesday's Daily, reminds me of the old Du Bois double consciousness. I have to admit at first I was scared, thought it was gonna end up being a "thank God I'm American and not there" stuff, but I think he did a good job of getting at the tensions of a global identity. If you haven't checked it, you should check the Souls of Black Folk, saying it's a classic is an understatement.

On the book tip, the baba of my rites of passage recently released his first fiction novel called They Tell Me of a Home. I'll start reading it soon, but you should check it. And if you're reading this, you may or may not know who my baba is, but he is a genius, which is not an overstatement.

Oh, last week looks like Black folks took to the polls, well at least go polled, in a major way. Looks like 2 percent of Black folks support old G.W. Bush. So maybe Kanye was right or it's the other way around ;)

I would comment on this opinion, but come on, is there really a need? We'll see how I feel later.

Suspect continued. Sharon/SCOR speaks. Katrina Relief? Miers who?

So last week when I posted David Betts' story on being, I missed a great letter by Riana Anderson, president of the NAACP- UM Chapter. She does a good job about raising the issue of reporting the event as student-centered, which it was not. Now of course, the question that then arises, what do you do about incidents between non-students and students? Do you crack down on non-students presence everywhere? I recently went to a local club (prior to the shooting) where they demanded my U of M id to enter, despite it being an open party.

On Tuesday, the Daily published a letter written by Sharon Lee, SCOR president,in conjunction with a number of APIA and graduate organizations on the U's reaction to the recent alleged hate crimes. It's a good read.

As the news of Katrina relief begins to slow from the media flourish, you'll soon be seeing/hearing the effects of Bush and company "loosening" the Affirmative Action policies on hiring.

So Bush also nominated Miers, which was out of the blue for me, but there are some theories going around.

Lastly, if you haven't checked it out, do check out Blackprof.com. They have good commentary and are featuring a set of guest commentators.

The new "Hotter Trotter"(tm)

trotter main floor
Originally uploaded by strawmanl.

This is a picture of the Trotter House main floor. If you click the picture you will be taken to images of the new renovated Trotter House. After you check out the pictures, check out the Trotter House. It even features wireless now!
Photos and "Hotter Trotter" courtesy of Riana Anderson.

Suspect!?!

So for some time now, well since I've been at U of M, the issue of race and crime reporting comes up. In today's Daily David Betts throws his hat in the ring about what's wrong and what should be done. As you know, I personally love how almost every Black man available within 40 miles is indicted by each crime alert. But Betts tries to go a little deeper in his editorial. I appreciate the effort, but his call to action, is nothing more than a restatement of what he said he wasn't interested in doing.
He opens up with...
"I was really psyched up to write my column for this week. I was going to blast the Department of Public Safety for the vague suspect descriptions and general emphasis on making sure black people don’t act up while white members of the campus community are allowed to run relatively free."

And draws the piece to a close with...
"what we need to be doing is going to DPS and the AAPD and asking them, “What goes into a suspect description?” We need to explain to them why “baggy, hip-hop clothes” is an ineffective, racist remark. We need to ask them, “Why there is so much emphasis on having a presence at every black function?” We need to dedicate a lot of the energy spent on complaining to making sure the gentleman that was accidentally shot is OK."

I agree with Betts that there are no easy answers. I think the answer is going to lie in a multi-fold approach institutionally: (communicating and pressuring DPS and AAPD to work on the descriptions they present), socially (fighting against stereotypes of Black men), and communally (being accountable for our actions). We can't sacrifice anyone in this fight.

Hate Crimes, Black Writers, etc...

So, unless you've been under a rock, last week on campus news of an alleged hate crime made it to the inboxes of many at U of M. The incident involves two Asian-Americans and a White student. So the details are not yet clear, but there is a blog that has been created tracking what's going on with the case and responses. Check it here. Though the verdict is still out, but if nothing else, we can see how quickly the APIA community at U of M mobilized to raise awareness and raise concerns. Thought for the day, if the urinating incident had happened to a Black woman, what would have been the campus reaction?

A little birdie told me that I didn't have to pay attention to the Michigan Daily this year, except for on Wednesday's. Wednesday features some columns by Black writers, I look forward to hearing something interesting, if not, I'm gonna have to diss that little birdie ;)

Yesterday, the Trotter House officially saw it's revival. I didn't make it to the re-opening, but I would be willing to post pics of the new place if folks have them. Drop me an email at blackatmichigan@hotmail.com.

And thanks to the Michigan Daily, I don't have to worry about John Roberts and Affirmative Action. Yeah, thanks guys. I also like how they omitted how we still don't know how he stands on things like affirmative action, how quickly files go missing from the public domain... maybe they were swallowed up by Katrina or Rita. I kinda feel like we're in for a long ride!

Food for Thought- DETROIT!!!!

So, got issues with the D? Got ideas for the future in the D? Wanna go to the D? Is your belly full but you're still hungry? Then get that good food for thought on Friday August 26th at Belle Isle in Detroit. More details... click here! Be there or be rectangular!

Passion and Plugs

Passion
"In no fashion have I lost my passion for the pen
It's just that lately life has been a lost less inspirin" -CeeLo
So this post will explain the absence of postings... well kinda. The real reason is... the Black media pretty much sucks right now, honestly, I feel like no one is writing really good critical stuff. I have been known to scour Blackelectorate, Black Commentator, Seeing Black, used to peruse Africana (plug the address in here to see the old site that I liked), but now they aren't even coming with it! And there are really few quality news sites. I have done the whole google news tracker and the NY times news tracker, but they give me a lot of not so interesting things, so I've been incognegro on the posts.

Plugs
The only stuff I've seen on the internet lately is stuff by my boy Marc Hill for Pop Matters (beginning of shameless plugs) or my boy B Sims for HipHopDx (sorry they have too many popups to put a link on my page). So where is all the good stuff? Well, I'm not sure what exactly defines good stuff, after all, this page is usually filled with negative forces impacting Black folks. Hmmmm, now that I'm in stream on consciousness, the next book I want to read is is by Sherman Jackson entitled, Islam and the Black Americans. I got a chance to meet him briefly today and I was intrigued. Oh, and I still have to get to reading Kinship by Philippe Wamba (RIP). So that's what is "on my bird". When there is something I find newsworthy or poppin, I'll post it. In the meantime, be sure to check out La Bloguerra.

Aight, much like your favorite local coffee shop, it's late and I'm outta plugs... so I'm out!

Today was a good day...

No barkin from the dog, no smog and .... well not quite, but numbers of minority enrollment, well deposits to attend at least, at U of M increased for Black and Latino students!!! So now I'm waiting for the spin doctors on the Right decide to use this a demonstration of the need for revised admissions policies. You know, "We may have lost, but we were right."

Back again...

So I'm dropping this post to just keep this blog alive. It's been a long time but I figured I would post on two things of relevance to me and probably you. Remember Benton Harbor, remember the uprising (note the traditional media would have called them riots), remember the community organizing in the aftermath (of course not, no one reports on organizing). Well Reverend Pinkney one of the major community leaders in BH is having charges brought against him. The people of BH are still backing him and I'll keep you updated on what I hear. It's amazing how some voting fraud cases actually end up being prosecuted, go figure. Thanks for the heads up Mark.

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation recently released its report on diversity and the PhD. The report basically outlines that there has been an increase in percentage of PhDs for the Black and Latino population but Black and Latino folks still represent a very small minority over all. You can read the report here.

PhDiversity 

The Black Church and U of M, Native Repatriation, Detroit's Decay, the Daily and MSA

I recently visited the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and one thing really shocked me, the way in which the radical Black church position was barely present. Detroit is the birthplace of the Nation of Islam and the Black Christian Nationalism Movement but we seldom hear or talk about these traditions in Detroit or at U of M. Recently the Free Press ran an article about archives at the Bentley that make we wonder what else about our history is hidden in there.

On a separate but related note, the Native community has been struggling to get U of M to return the remains of a First Nation's (Canadian native folk) ancestors back to the nation. I can't find a weblink for it, but I'll post more on it. Don't know what repatriation is, well here you go.

Detroit is a city in trouble, but possibly a city with something to look forward to also. Well, you can see the ruin side of the story by watching George Steinmetz's new film about Detroit entitled, "Detroit: Ruin of a City."

Brian Stephens pens a half-intelligent commentary on the U's relationship to Black students. I'm with Brian on the not having enough institutional supports for underprepared students. By underprepared I mean students with equal intellectual blooming potential but have suffered from barriers such as lack of quality schools, etc. But after that Brian loses me is when he talks about black culture,
Certainly, minority culture, especially black culture, doesn?t encourage the attainment of education. After all, when Kanye?s ?The College Dropout? or 50 Cent?s ?Get Rich or Die Tryin? ? happen to be nominated for album of the year, something is terribly amiss. I could reference the countless refutations of the "anti-intellectual", "acting white" research, but you could find those by doing a google scholar search! Instead, I'll say, all cultures exhibit anti-education aspects. I can spew 10 names of White movies where the setting is college but the end result is students goofing off or dropping out. Second, let's not forget the majority of rap music is purchased by Whites, wouldn't that mean we should see huge drops in white enrollment. Just my two cents.

Lastly, MSA elections are coming and as usual, they're drama. Just vote, be informed, go to the NAACP meeting tonight at 8:30 and get informed.

Don't be alarmed.... we're Negroes!!!! Crime Alert

Okay, so for years students of color, particularly Black folks, have been complaining about "crime alerts" and incidence reports that are non-descript and detrimental, for those who thought they stopped publish them, click here. Just in case those suckas wanna change the text, I'll copy the text as it appears at 8:35pm on Wednesday.
Suspect #1: Black male. early 20's, black hooded sweatshirt, blue bandana, black gloves, black pants.
Suspect #2: Black male, early 20's, black fleece jacket covering face, black gloves, black pants
Suspect #3: Black male, early 20's, black bandana with white pattern, black gloves, black pants

Since U of M is now alerted to look suspiciously at nearly every Black male on campus, one of my friends in law school has suggestions on how to make sure we (Black men) stay safe:
Some rules for us “students” (…like we are actually students here) about traveling at night to help avoid being interrogated:

1. Wear a button that says…”Bush for Blacks”
2. Avoid putting lotion on for three days so you are a walking snowstorm and look like some of these sorority girls
3. Get a timmy from that barbershop on State Street
4. Wear a tight t-shirt that says, “I don’t sit in a room alone white women”
5. Don’t wear black gloves…If you do, make sure that they fit. White folks will not fall for that trick twice. They will never forget OJ!
6. Wear sandals
7. Avoid wearing anything affiliated with Detroit, Ypsilanti, Detroit, Ypsilanti…Did I mention Detroit or Ypsilanti…actually, throw in Pontiac, Flint, Ecorse, Southfield, Inkster, Royal Oak Twp, Saginaw, Mt. Morris, and any other suburb or city that is more than 25% African-American
8. Cover up all tattoos….We all know all of you have gang affiliation or served time
9. Always walk with a white guy from Alpha Sigma Gamma Beta Omega UVWXYZ, Inc. after 9:00 for the next couple of weeks, kind of like a human apartheid pass. You won’t seem as suspicious.
10. Get one of those robes from that Howell auction.

Eyes on the Prize, Critical Race, and Not burning Klan robes and more

Just a couple of things that have come across my radar recently.

1) Eyes on the Prize the amazing documentary on the Civil Rights Movement has been unable to come to DVD and be aired due to copyright issues. The solution, massive bootlegging, I mean person2person sharing of the movie! Wanna share the gift of Eyes on the Prize, download it and organize a screening in solidarity on Feb 8th!

2) The U of M Law School's Journal of Race and Law is organizing a symposium on Critical Race Theory. The panelists and topics look like they are going to be off the hook. If you don't know about CRT, click here. The only catch is that you have to register and the registration deadline has already passed. But I figure there is not harm in publicizing and trying to get people in.

3) Looks like they decided it wouldn't be a good idea to burn the Klan robe in Howell.

4)Miss Jones & Company are out! Check the statement on the front of Hot 97 webpage. Now who says social activism no longer works?

Klan robes and Morning Shows

Okay, so Howell, Michigan is buying a Klan robe and plans to burn it. The robe was displayed in the window of an auction house, oh I'm sure that wasn't intimidating, and was going to be auctioned on MLK's bday. A Howell Diversity Council is collecting money to buy it and burn it. So my question is, what is worse, some old school racist paying big money to put in their closet or good minded folks paying big money to burn it? I'm not really sure, this story is just really weird.

Well, once again radio morning shows are in trouble, as if Star and Buc had not already been ignorant enough, Miss Jones of Hot 97 got into the act recently by airing the Tsunami Song. Hot 97 issued an apology for the song and made everyone who was involved give up a week's salary, but a number of groups are calling for Jones and company's removal. One of the most interesting things about this whole controversy was Ms. Jones' on air conversation with Ms. Info about the song and Ms. Info's refusal to participate and her voicing her opposition as an APA community member.

Gotta go do work.

Affrimative Action battle is officially back on

Today the Detroit Free Press reported that the Michigan Civil Rights Intiative (MCRI) submitted more than the necessary 317,000 signatures to make Affirmative Action a ballot issue in November 2006. The first drive for the ballot intiative was stopped by legal and financial troubles, both of these troubles seem to out of the way now.

Also, the Daily today covers the lawsuit that would force U of M to refund the application fee of all rejected non-underrepresented minority applicats between 1995 and 2003. The basic premise is that students rejected under the system ruled against in the LSA case were not discriminated against. Both sides claim they will be on the winning side of the case. To me it seems most logical that U of M will settle with CIR for some sum of money and be done with it.

Black at Michigan's Best of 2004

I figure I would do a random best of 2004 post. These are not the favorite stories I posted, just what was important or semi-important, ya dig (remember Cross Colours)?


Music- If you don't have it, you should.
1) Jean Grae- This Week.... "The hottest thing in your hood since crack..."
We've been waiting for a Greasy product for a minute and this one does not dissappoint. Check all inhibitions at the door and listen as she pours her heart out on this mic. Refreshing and smooth. Not to mention any M.C. who is hungry enough to review her own album on Amazon gets props from me.

2) Dead Prez- RBG... The official RBG album finally arrived. Getting dropped from labels, getting arrested, and a host of other things didn't keep Stick and M-1 from bringing it on this feature length EP. Classic dead prez material with a raw video for "Hell Yeah" and a remix featuring Jay-Z, "together on the same track, what they gonna call us now?"

3) John Legend- Get Lifted (the bootleg)... So the real album is out now, but who cares? Legend's album is so smooth you'll finish listening and realize, damn, cheating is really sexy. Just kidding. Kanye's Kid comes through with a solid project that can be listened to cover to cover. So go buy it, support black music ;)

Honorable Mention- Certainly not a album but the song is so sick it has that kind of impact. Bin Ladin by Immortal Technique. If you didn't check for it before, get Revolutionary Volume 2.


TV
1) The Player-UPN- Aight, this show did not make the water cooler talk around my way, but it was easily the sleeper hit of the year. If you could make it past the terrible slang use and cheesiest metaphors, you were golden. AC took all the other cats to school as he flexed skills that would make Don Magic "oh yeah, I'm a preacher now" Juan wonder if his playbook got stolen. If it comes out on DVD, I doubt it, check it out. Until then, "hate the player, don't hate the game."

2) Chapelle's Show- Season 2 Comedy Central- I loth putting this up, but this season was killer. Was I annoyed with by the constant yells of "Yeah" whenever I rocked a fitted, YES!!! But even with that, I can't knock the hustle. Dave has some of the most poignant social and racial commentary on TV!

3) Desperate Housewives- ABC- I don't know how I started watching this, but it is definitely addictive. If you haven't watched, stay away, you'll get caught up.


Film
1)City of God- I know it was released before, but it's soooo good. Also make sure to check out the extras on the DVD.

2) Mean Girls- To me a new(er) Clueless. I don't care what y'all say, this movie is fetch! For some unknown reason, I was drawn to this movie and saw it a couple times in theaters. I haven't gotten the DVD yet, but it's my most coveted xmas gift.

3) Supersize me- I know that it's not the best documentary that came out, but the take home message was beautifully illustrated. If it could get me to stop messing with fast food, well okay, reduce my fast food consumption, it had to be on point. I still get sick thinking about eating McDonald's! FYI: There is an effort to bring Super Size Me into classrooms for health education, they will modify the original version, but there is also a conservative "movement" to stop the film from getting to kids. True story, I'm signed up for conservative listservs so I now know some of their inner workings ;)

Sports
1) The Battle at Auburn Hills- So people never eva, eva, eva get it twisted, the battle took place in Auburn Hills with some West Bloomfield thugs. So the media used it as one more opportunity to villiafy Detroit, but everybody who knows, knows. Enough of that, the OG award goes to Stevie Jackson for running up in the stands and the runner up is definitely J. O'neal with that one hitter quitter. Some straight up playground action!

2) Finally the Red Sox Win- Even as a Mets fan, I gotta give respect where respect is due. Boston took the crown and now rocks out to tunes by the Drop Kick Murphy's. Congrats... though I still hate Bean Town.

3)Kobe- Nuff Said.

Local
1)The Ann Arbor flasher- terrible crime, dumb criminal. Larry Harrison,starting tackle for the U of M footbal team, was caught because he only flashed during home game weekends. Clearly brotha needs some help.

2) Arbor Update- This year, the colloborative weblog Arbor Update emerged as Ann Arbor news central. Not only has it been referenced multiple times as as source in the Ann Arbor News, but it one of the few locations where people of vastly different political and social orientations can be found "debating" each other. Am I biased because I contribute, yeah, so what, no one said I was "fair and balanced" like Fox News.

3) Critical Moment- Critical Moment, originally known as Moment, is a great progressive voice for the Ann Arbor metro area (sorry I thought I would make up a term). It has been expanding in readership and each issue has aesthically improved. Keep submitting stories and it will keep flourishing.

Honorable Mentions- Qdoba and Big Ten Burrito- Ah, finally affordable tasty burritos.

This concludes my best of 2004. Think I got it wrong? Tell me so! One

Multicultural Co-op Theme House

Gilberto Simpson has been working on organizing a multicultural cooperative them house . Rather than restate everything, the email I recieved is pasted below.

Are you serious about multiculturalism? Do you want to want to live in a
positive environment with other students interested in promoting
diversity?

A unique opportunity has arisen to create a multicultural cooperative
theme house in the north State area of Ann Arbor but we need members who
want to be a part of it. It could be whatever kind of place we define it
to be. An ongoing residential community, a revolutionary meeting hall, a
home away from home, a chance to learn about yourself, a place to be
nurtured both spiritually and culturally, a refuge where you can be
yourself, and above all a great place to live.

Physically the house has enough space for 23 people (both singles and
doubles available) high-speed DSL access in every room, cable tv,
washer/dryer and an industrial kitchen. Monthly charges would be
aproximately $450 per month (including regular meals, utilities and
supplies)

If you are interested in participating in this exciting possibility then
send an e-mail to themehouse@umich.edu or call 734-709-4921

Born Day

"I woke up early on my born day... it's a blessin" -Nas
This line has been running through my head all day. I don't know why I'm posting, more so to give thanks to those who have come before me, with me, and those who shall come after me. It's rare for Black men to make it this far along in their lives without experiences some real systematic struggles (incarceration, children, violence), for the most part, I've survived or have been missed by all of these. So on my born day, I want to just say, celebrate yourselves, everyday on top of this earth is an amazing one. We gotta struggle, but a change is gonna come. I'll be postin more now that I'm on winter break too.

Ward is out... and BAMN is stupid...

So the good news of the week for me is that Wardell aka Ward Connerly will not seek another appointment on U of C board of regents when his term expires in March 2005!!!! Cue cheers and adulation. The bad news from where I stand is that he will likely dedicate more time to states like Michigan, where he has a plan to dismantle what's left of Affirmative Action. The most hilarious part of the article has to be Ward Connerly calling BAMN a "stupid organization." Ah, eloquent as usual!

A2 achievement gap, Black Solidarity Conference, Felons and Voting

Ann Arbor is in the national spotlight, this week in Time, due to the achievement gap between Black and White students. Ann Arbor is one of the highest performing districts in the state of Michigan, but features one of the largest gaps between MEAP, SAT, and grades between Black and White students. Glad to see it's getting more coverage, sad there is no new info in it, but gives hope for the value of my dissertation which partially covers the Ann Arbor Black-White achievement gap.

The Black Student Union is organizing a Black Solidarity Conference the weekend of Feb 4th-6th. The conference is projecting an attendance of about 200 folks, so they are looking for students to host visitors. Contact bigshel@umich.edu for more information.

The question of felons being allowed to vote in NY is still not "settled." Want more info on felon voting disenfranchisement, click here or here. FYI: Felons who have served there time in the state of Michigan are allowed to vote.

See you in Canada? G-G-G-OP Unit? 50 the anti-christ?

So I was all set to go to Canada (Mexico, Venezuela, or any other place people could argue convincingly about) immediately following last Tuesday's results and I know I'm not alone! William Jelani Cobb has a great commentary about expatriation. So who is down to leave?

Hadji Williams comes with some ruckus about the hidden conservative youth vote in the 2004 presidential election. It's an interesting piece about culture (really how people dress and what they listen to)and their political leanings. My favorite quote is "many of those who did vote screamed revolution for a while but went
behind the curtain and changed clothes on us and rolled with the G-G-G-G…O-P Unit!"

Lastly, reason 452, 50 cent may be the anti-christ are reports that he didn't vote after endorsing the "Vote or Die" campaign. Some are speculating because he is a convicted felon he may not have been able to vote, unless he's currently on parole, he was good to go in New York, right? And I really don't care if Luda or Paris Hilton did or didn't vote. Ludacris was probably too busy thinking about Bill O'Reilly and Paris Hilton... no comment.

Still don't have my thoughts together on the election results.

Fun with Maps...

So there are a number of maps floating around the internet these days regarding November 2nd's election. Some hilarious. Some disturbing. These are the most thought provoking to me. What do you think?

This is frightening. 
red counties went for Bush, Blue for Kerry, Grey were undecided

Somethings never change... 
green states were free states and territories, yellow were open to slavery, and red were slaves states

Get it... ha, ha, ha. 

Say it ain't so....

Life imitating art...? 

So I've had a day to process the election and its results... well after a day, I'm convinced it still sucks! Bad news, except for medical marijuana in Ann Arbor and the Detroit school board. I'm still searching for the words to describe the past couple of days... more on that to come later...

Tinkering under the hood... Voter Guide

I've been tinkering under the hood of the site since its return, it may not look different yet, but I hope the improvements will make your blackatmichigan.com experience better. It's amazing how much stuff I forgot about blogging and the web, even more amazing how hard it is to figure out how to get stuff working again.

Too busy or lazy to figure out who to vote for besides the president? Solution= A voter guide (of course from good sources. Tomorrow in Election day, ya know, go Vote or Die but while you're at it, print out Goodspeed Updates' Voter Guide. That is of course if you're in the Ann Arbor area, not in A-deuce, check out the League of Pissed of Voters' Guides for you local area. Aight, off to try to break writers block!!!!!

Blackblogs and Chomsky Talk Online

So I have just realized there are a world of Black U of M bloggers that I had been completely unaware of, shame, shame, shame. Granted most of the blog are on xanga, it's good to know that folks are up and technologically talking. I'll post more on this later and work connecting with folks. On a side note, yesterday Chomsky's lecture at the Law School was packed, way past packed, folks jumping in windows and the whole nine (I hear). Did you miss it? If you did, here is the talk, U of M has so many resources that I didn't even know about. Oh, shout out to Gary Weisserman's page, where I stole this link from.

The Return of BlackatMichigan.com

So this is a post that is resurrecting the Blackatmichigan.com page. I have moved it off of my U of M space because NO ONE could help me figure out why it wouldn't publish!!!!!! So months off, many a dissertation idea smashed, classes taught, and a few days from election day. That's right, November 2nd, the time when the populus waits on more pins and needles than Boston fans this past week. If the sox can break their curse, then I think we can break this curse of Bush. A couple of logistics, the page is all white right now, yeah, uh, I'll work on that later. It's the Black words that really matter right? There is also plans to create a site that is similar to blackatmichigan.com but under a different name at U of M. I've been consulting on this project and will keep you posted!! So now to some stuff that you should have seen by now and if you haven't, let's get on it!

1) Everybody and their momma is at it producing songs to inspire the young hip-hop generation to vote. There are two songs that are .... mediocre at best: the first is Dear Mr. President by KRS-ONE and company and Wake Up Everybody which is a We are the world type of song (which really means way too many people are on this song at once). You can give them a listen, but they really don't compare to my favorite two new songs that both happen to be featured on the new Green Lantern mixtape. The first one is by Immortal Technique and Mos Def and it's called Bin Ladin. The song is so cold and on point, the only issue is I can't find a location where it stays up on the web. So google it and give it a listen- it's worth the search!!!!!
The second song that is "rallying the masses" is Eminem's Mosh. The video is getting major play, even on TRL!!! Ugh, yeah, who knows!

2) November 2nd is darn near upon us and the polls are close, we know that, but there is something more important than watching exit polls on the 2nd. Become a election site monitor. It's easy and could mean a WORLD of difference!!!! Also if you can't make it to the D for training the good folks at M Go Vote are doing training sessions on Sunday morning at 11am in the MSA chambers (Third floor of the Michigan Union). Oh and the Onion has a really funny story on voting, I wouldn't put this past the republicans ;)

3) I have been writing for a site in the local Ann Arbor area for the past couple of months. The site is called Arbor Update. Confession is I'm an infrequent post-er, but when I do contribute, I like to say something that gets people pissed and commenting. Check it out when you have a chance.

4) This Sunday is not only Halloween, but is a very important day. At 6pm in the Michigan League Ballroom, there will be a memorial for Magali Padilla. Magali Padilla was an active, and I mean active, member of the U of M community. Gali was into environmental justice, equity and social justice at large. She is/was 100% bad ass and this memorial will be a time to formally acknowledge her legacy to U of M community. Magali passed this past summer in a car accident while visiting family in Mexico, please come if you can. I know she's watching now and will be in the house on Sunday.

Aight, it's late. This is a new post. Not sure who will see this, but I figured I'd get the ball rolling again. Break bread!