Black and in School

There a couple of things recently that have peeked my interest as it relates to race and education. As you know, the state of Michigan remains embroiled in a battle over Affirmative Action, which may come to a head in November. I'm slacking on the updates around the legality of the MCRI signatures, but I'm figuring that stuff will wash itself out. If you want me to continue posting on that stuff, drop me an email or comment. Okay, but I digress.

The Supreme Court has recently decided to hear cases on the race and school assignment. If you had a chance to read any of the Harvard Civil Right's Projects reports over the last five years, you know that our children are going to more segregated schools than they did nearly 50 years ago. Of course this is not without debate, the Thernstroms have argued that segregation has decreased in school in their book No Excuses. Regardless of which side you believe (and I fall in line with HCRP because of their methodology, not ideology) the classrooms that children attend as well as the students they sit next to affect their educational performance.

In this NY Times piece the CEO for the Center for Equal Opportunity classifies research that provides evidence that racially mixed schools yield educational benefits as "touchy-feely social science." *Ouch* I guess considering the relationships between children as important to their educational accomplishments is soft. Well then, call me a powder puff.

I think at the root of this issue is not simply desegregation, but integration. While a court can mandate that groups co-exist and occupy the same space, a court can never guarantee that these groups will integrate into each others lives. As someone who finds myself aligning more with Black nationalism (in some form) than liberal intergrationism, I know their are many issues in this. Many nationalists as well as conservatives will take this opportunity to suggest that consideration of race or desegregation is not needed, but not so fast. I would argue without desegregation, the odds for integration dramatically reduce. I guess one could consider desegregation the lynch-pin to integration. In that sense, without desegregation, you shouldn't expect to see the "benefits" of integration. Which leads me to Booker T. Washington.

The larger question of integration is one that has always intrigued and plagued me. Booker T. Washington posed an interesting position at his Atlanta Compromise address when he said,

"In all things purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress."

In my own research, I've come to see the issue with this idea is the fact that social worlds between Black and Whites are largely separate. So the ability to reap the economic, and in this case educational, gains of others is less likely.

Simple example, trips to the local library to read about Peru pale in comparison to trips to Peru. When we talk about children's experiences and opportunities we have to realize that exposure is paramount for healthy social and academic development. By assuming that we can segment our experiences, when they are still unequal, will leave us behind still, right? Aight this is way too complex for me to be posting on right now. In fact this post was started weeks ago and I need to be writing a dissertation!!!

Organizing for peace in Ypsi

In the past two weeks I've received an email from current U of M student Krisilyn Frazier about the death of Clifton Lee Jr at the hands of the Washtenaw County Sheriffs. Issues of police violence can brew uprisings, distrust, and organizing for progressive change.

Krisilyn has stepped up and wants any help she can get in organizing a Peace March later this summer. She says it best, so I'll quote her here,

As I stated before, the purpose of the Peace March is to promote peace and unity within the community. It will give the community an opportunity to speak out against black on black violence, police brutality, and racism. This is not an attack on ALL blacks or ALL police, just against those who commit the crimes and those who demonstrate insensitivity toward minorities as individuals who deserve equal respect and protection under the law.

You can contact her at frazierk@umich.edu for more information.
*As a note the information on Accountable Community Policing that I linked to can be found in Covenant IV of the The Covenant. Gotta use what we know.

Blackness in Ann Arbor

The post title probably makes you think I'm gonna write some deep introspective stuff... sorry not tonight. But there are a couple of things going on in Ann Arbor that I thought you may like to know are going down.

This Saturday the Ann Arbor Branch of the NAACP is hosting its annual Juneteenth gathering! It will be happening from noon to 5pm at Wheeler Park. It's a nice family friendly event which features food, performances, and even some Bid Whist (how's that for Midwestern)!

Next Thursday, June 22nd from 10am to 6pm The Black Factory is stopping into Ann Arbor. The Black Factory will be at Liberty Plaza, it's that little concrete park thingy at the corner of Liberty and S. Division. Definitely follow the link above to see the brochure about the Black Factory. I'll have to try to stop by to see what is going on, it seems really interesting.

And while I'm on my Ann Arbor kick, have you been to Another Ann Arbor? It's a great website which is one of the original resources on things Black in Michigan.

Why can't we have nothing??????!!!!!

Remember this? Well take a look at this. (shakes head in disgust)

The Covenant Book Review

The book, in my estimation, is a continuation of the lineage that Du Bois sought to establish with the Atlanta Conferences. While many have attempted systematic analyses of the conditions of African-Americans across a broad spectrum, few have successfully conducted these analyses and provided prescription for change that could be understood at the individual, family, community, and policy levels. The Covenant does this. Now of course the book is not perfect, one could desired deeper analysis from some of the contributors, but I ask you to suspend your “academic hat” of deconstruction and “critique for the sake of critique” and take the time to see how each essay fits into the whole.
Read my full review here.

The Covenant Tour is going to conclude in Detroit this Friday, June 16th at 7pm at
Greater Grace Temple
City of David
23500 W. Seven Mile Road
Detroit, MI 48219
It's free and open to the public!!!

NEW HOT TOPIC: BLACK MEN

Study for Intervention: Invisible Man #1 by Charles H. Nelson

So it's apparently here, the (print) media blitz over Black men. The Washington Post is now running a series on Black men, I plan to post my thoughts on their series and like most other things, whatever else I darn well please!

The opening piece in the series is based on a poll that the Post conducted. As the title suggests, the results are a really mixed bag. For the past 8 years or so, I've found myself consistently uttering the statement, "Being a Black male is all about contradictions." I often say this statement with a tongue-in-cheek candor to my friends and family, but I, in many ways, do believe this. From my perspective, Black masculinity is a fabulously contradictory constellation. I won't dive into that, better minds have already done this (1,2,3).
But the survey, at the least, confirms that we see ourselves in complex and in some cases in contradictory ways. As a young Black man I can think of times when I complain about the ways in which women (often White) have changed their posture upon seeing me or outright have run from me because they saw me approaching on a street. But at the same time I recently told my girlfriend that while those types of responses are not ideal, that she should do what she thought made her feel safe (within reason) when she asked about a similar situation. Contradictions. It's kind of the the same way we don't flinch when Pac can make "Keep your head up" and "Wonder why they call u b-tch." To many, this would be a fatal flaw among Black men, but if it is a fatal flaw then we should really struggle to understand where it comes from. In part, it's got to be attributable to our social position - privileged as men but disadvantaged as Black men in a predominantly White world. But as always, there is more to that story...

Despite our diversity of perspective on our own social conditions and why we are where we are, some things remain pretty central to us.

Despite their clear achievements and general optimism about their prospects, black men worry more than virtually everyone, the survey found.

For a while social science research has been finding evidence that more middle-class African-Americans experience more discrimination, but this still seems to shock many. It really challenges the dominant economic narrative of racial discrimination really being discrimination based on skills or other "unobservables".

If anything, the survey suggests that better-educated black men experience more direct racism than those with fewer resources. For example, 63 percent of educated, upper-middle-class black men said they have been unfairly stopped by police, compared with 47 percent of less-advantaged black men.

It's also pretty interesting to see how White men view us... more details are in the survey pdf if you want to check it out, but here is a snippet from the article.

Regarding the obstacles black men face and their prospects for the future, whites were the most optimistic. Black women tended to be the most pessimistic, even more than black men, with only 44 percent of black women saying that now is a good time to be a black man in America . Black women were also just as likely as their male counterparts to see the economic system as biased against black men.

In sum, I am very interested by the poll and will hopefully this weekend plow through the supporting materials in their entirety. Two glaring issues are incarceration and that fact that it was conducted over the phone. With 8 percent of the Black male population imprisoned, there is a considerable perspective that may be missing. And a phone survey likely means that they undersample lower-income people or people with more transient lives. But that's just the sociologist getting a little nerdy.

Rachel over at Rachel's Tavern also beat me to posting on this, so I'd suggest you drop by her spot and see what she has to say.

Oh, and should I be ashamed that I cringe each time I see Chuck Brown picture...

Our Native Brothers and Sisters

To many Black folks (including Black Latinos) the claim "I have Indian in my family" or some variation there-in is common. Rather than demand DNA tests, I'd encourage folks to read things by Tiya Miles or just read some of the recent stories that display some important happening and commonalities that matter for all of us... other than your long flowing hair ;)

Native Health and Education...
If you've been keeping your ears to the streets (or just have a good informant like I do) you've heard about the Bush Administration's attempt to completely cut the Urban Indian Health Program as well as some educational funding. Thankfully, due to great advocacy and organizing, that is not going to happen and the new budget is looking better, though there is still a ways to go.

By a 293-128 vote, the House passed Interior's fiscal year 2007 budget bill on Thursday. The measure funds Indian programs at a total of $5.9 billion, $204 million above current levels and $62 million above the amount the White House requested in February.

For a more detailed picture of what's been going on, check out this story at indianz.com.

Them bones...
Margaret Kimberly provides a nice commentary at Blackcommentator.com on the Bushs' lineage and George's ancestor's pillaging of Geronimo's bones. It's actually pretty funny (and dare I say refreshing) to hear a genetic argument about the deviance of the Bush family!

Mascot Madness...
And as you probably know already, but if you didn't here is a link, the NCAA declined three schools' appeals to use Native Mascots at the end of April. Of course this is not the last that we will hear of this, particularly from the North Dakota, where letters of support and disagreement were issued by native communities. The article has a decent summary on past happenings, so I'll let you read it.

Lastly, shout out to Heather "Unbreakable" Brink for keeping me updated and staying on me to post. Now only if she would stop playing sports and sending the national healthcare situation into crisis ;P

Just coming up for air...

So easily this is the busiest I've been in all of my graduate years, but it's a good busy. But as Sherri-Ann taught me years ago, "Big tings a g'waan." With that said here a couple of things are recently on my desk and of interest.

New polling numbers show continued loss of support for the MCRI which will be on the November ballot. Of course the (biggest) change is in the "undecided" voters, so there is still much to be decided. Story here.

The students in Baltimore are making big moves to demand their education from the State Board of Education. Biggup to the Algebra Project and their work out there. I'm loving the use of the constitution.

And for those who don't know, it looks like my hard drive may have fried on my desktop, so that's been an influence on my absence too.

what the hell are we gonna do with these kids?

hey all! it's quite the pleasure to be a guest on blackatmichigan, a blog that has offered dumi and fellow scholars the opportunity to voice their much needed opinion regarding pertinent issues. i am no writer, but i do talk up a storm, so if this reads more like my diary than a professional piece, it's probably because it is.

my thoughts...
this title was meant to address the urban youth of today, specifically drawn from the panel of students that i (along with fellow peers) hosted last week. i pondered this very question when i saw that, of the hour long panel [comprised of seven students: 3 athletes, one frat member, one law school student, one politically active student, and one "general" student] approximately 57 1/2 minutes were dedicated to the athletes. my blood boiled at the thought that this group of 7th and 8th graders from detroit would be so concerned NOT with what law firm the 3L law student is looking into, but with what league the football players played for in middle school. understandably, the media has a tremendous monopoly on our babies, with such focus being on entertainment, specifically, music and sports. we all know the drawn out story of the inner-city dreams of quick cash and immediate gratification - hell - with our generation being called "generation me", there's no question that we could care less about the welfare of all people, as long as "i get mine". but i can't be told that there's no stop to this cycle. there HAS to be a way to end the drug-selling, basketball-shooting, rhyme-spitting imagery that encapsulates the thoughts of the children from my hood.

see? that right there. my hood. i'm not saying that i came from the most shoot-em-up run-for-your-God-forsaken-lives type of place, but the fact remains that i am the only one from my neighborhood that left out of the neighborhood for college, that doesn't have kids, that has never had, dealt, or been shot over drugs, and will be leaving. yes, i'm abandoning my neighborhood, of which i am fully aware of the problematic middle-class exodus - no need to remind me. don't judge me too quickly though: i am not only headed to another inner-city to 'do my part' there (atlanta), but i'll be back someday/somehow/someway to work with detroit. back to the point, the old adage states, "if i can do it, so can you." what was the main factor that separated me from my peers? well, this little exam that i took in the second grade allowed me to be placed on a track that veered right of my neighbors. this gifted and talented program that i was accepted into put me on the path of academic success. this alone, however, would not be adequate enough to get me through. had my mother not specifically given me the encouragement by normalizing the pathway to higher education, my dreams may have ended in high school. fortunately, college was not a question in my home, so making sure that grades, extracurriculars, and personal pursuits were in-line with this ideology was not hard at all.

so, what am i suggesting? that we take an entire group of parents, force-feed them with statistics and pamphlets that suggest it is all their faults that their children are suffering? that we level the "playing field" for k-12 schools so that everyone has the opportunity to succeed? that we, as college students, do a better job in mentoring and show students alternate routes and definitions to what success truly is and how to acquire such paths? you're darned skippy.

we, as a society, do have a right and responsibility to make sure that our community is making it. too often we hear "it's not my problem" or "maybe later", but the time is now and the urgency is extreme. a statistic reports that only 11% of the population of detroit has a bachelors degree. 11%. it blows my mind that i just received mine on saturday, yet the vast majority of my fellow residents cannot say the same. how can the children know which way to turn if their maps are only limited to their parents experiences? we must provide outlets and information that better equip our children for their potential. affirmative action is no longer cutting it. vouchers is not going to cut it. and testing our children for the "no child left behind" bull will not give them the know-how for the remedy to this systemic problem. neighbors must demand more and better use of funding for schools from the state, and we must encourage our children to explore various routes to economic stability, not acquisition. rightfully so, i am an optimist, and i do believe in the power of mentorship, communication, and community upliftment. do i have specific plans? not now - i don't think God has given me the blueprint yet. but i do know that the middle class and those with the education can no longer sit around and wait for those without the resources to help their children. we must take a stand and get our hands dirty, because if we don't, who the hell will?

...///tomorrow///what the hell are we gonna do with these kids part 2: invisible children and international woes

Guest Contributor: Riana Anderson

Since you all have been clicking on her profile to figure out who she is and/or when she'll be posting... I now introduce to you Riana E. Anderson. Riana is recent (like a few days ago) alum of U of M. Riana is a renowned U of M figure, having been president of the school's chapter of the NAACP and spear heading a number of campus dialogues and political actions. But I can't do her justice with these few words. I'll let her speak for herself. Be on the look out for her post coming soon!!!

Sorry for my absence!!!!

I know I've been absent. Much to comment on, but not much time. Making like the hands in the picture. I'll be back, maybe my guest posters will pick up some slack for a brotha.

White like me!

"Can you make me white?" -Alleged question asked by Dr. Dre to Suge Knight

A couple of years ago, I heard Suge Knight explain in an interview that he told Dr. Dre he could get him anything he wanted. In response, Dr. Dre responded, "could you make me white?" At the time, I definitely took it as a Suge story that he had concocted alone in prison (which it likely still is), but now thanks to the rise of "recreational genomics" it may be possible for Dr. Dre to become White! Kinda... The NY Times' story "Seeking Ancestry in DNA Ties" weaves a frightening story about the ways many people are pursuing their geneology.

Driving the pursuit of genetic bounty are start-up testing companies with names like DNA Tribes and Ethnoancestry. For $99 to $250, they promise to satisfy the human hunger to learn about one's origins — and sometimes much more. On its Web site, a leader in this cottage industry, DNA Print Genomics, once urged people to use it "whether your goal is to validate your eligibility for race-based college admissions or government entitlements.

A couple of years back, my interest was peaked in racial admixture tests, but they were largely inaccessible to the general public. I had read about them in scientific journals. Hell, I even joked that I was going to test a friend of mine whose "pigment and facial features" made me leary he was purely European. But I didn't think these ancestry test would so quickly evolve into mechanisms of privilege.

For Americans, or rich people at large, if you can fork over the money, you too can find a genetic footprint that may take you back to find some "minority blood." I think it's interesting how the Times piece, for the most part, concentrates on Whites finding ancestors of color, while Gates' African-American Lives uncovered the prevalence of European ancestory among African-Americans.

Ultimately, the attempt to reduce race and ethnicity to scientific categories is going to be flawed. Though one may be able to trace their lineage to a given people, identification of a point of origin does not inherently make one a member of that group. Basic social identity research has demonstrated that repeatedly. By attempting to cash in on the "science" of race, we're sidestepping what race and ethnicity mean historically and contemporarily. Lester Monts, U of M Senior Vice Provost comments, "If someone appears to be white and then finds out they are not, they haven't experienced the kinds of things that affirmative action is supposed to remedy." I've seen one website already say this diverges from the argument used in the Supreme Court decisions. *News Flash* legal arguments by a University and individual comments of University employees may vary. Using "science" to determine race is imprecise and does nothing to address the issue of lived experience. Some argue lived experience is the catalyst for the rationale of diversity. Until they can test if you've lived as a Black, Brown, etc. person I don't see (bad) science coming into the admission process in a substantial way (besides the defrauding that folks are using right now to get into school).

Now a high cost alternative to recreation genomics (doesn't that term just remind you too much of eugenics?) Black. White. The show is now over, I've pretty much reserved comment. Well here is my take, I LOVED IT!!!! Okay, so the show concept was decent, the make-up sucked (except in the case of Rose), and the people were poorly matched, but I think it was great. For me, it marked one of the best public examples of how not to have discussions about race. Steps to developing an under-developed dialogue on race:
1)paint people the opposite color
2)pick people who are assured their beliefs about race are correct
3)follow them with a large camera crew
4)have them reveal their "true" identities half way through the experiment
5)let them battle out their race issues without guided conversation (with the exception of two appearances by a therapist type person)
6) Stir and you end up with a terrible show

If I learned one thing from Black. White. it's that I now have a perfect example for lectures of general perceptions of racism. Bruno is it. Unless someone walked up to Bruno, called him a nigger, told him they called him a nigger because he had Black skin, and they didn't like him because of his black skin alone (remember can't be anything else like dress, walk, social class) then there isn't racism. Sheez. Well the show if nothing else reminds me of what my old computer programming buddies used to tell me "shit in, you get shit out."

Black and Blue

I needed a title and a semi-coherent link for these short blurbs!

Up first- Blue Devils and the DNA results. Gracias to Anon for posting a comment that informed me of the DNA evidence. I've been working some long hours and haven't been able to keep up moment by moment. My quick opinion is that a lack of DNA evidence does not necessarily mean a sexual assault or rape did not occur. I'm not the first to suggest this, so I'll let you all take a look around the net and on CNN, etc. for a more detailed explanation of this. To my knowledge the case is still eligible to be filed. Some have said the DNA evidence exonerates the Duke Lacrosse Team, but I think this may be a result of a little too much CSI on our parts. It will be interesting to see what the next couple of days bring. Regardless of the case, I think it remains really address that:
Race still matters! Obviously this incident has heightened Duke's sensibilities to the importance of race. The issues of "town and gown" are real. I am however disappointed that not enough people are talking about the relationship between HBCU's (NCCU) and PWI's (Duke). This still seems like a pink elephant in the room.

On the Go Blue front, I neglected to post that next year's president of the Michigan Student Assembly is Nicole Stallings, a Black woman. Congratulations Nicole. But my decision not to post on it was related partially to laziness and partially to her invitation to Michigamua, one of U of M's senior "secret" honor societies. Michigamua has a long sorted history with relations to Native folks. In light of all this controversy, they publicly announced the members of their last two "prides" (though some pride members' names are missing or recently dropped... wonder why?). They will announce a name change in the near future (in the meantime Goodspeedupdate is hosting a naming contest, go contribute). There will be a documentary run on them tomorrow also.

I'm not convinced that a name change will do away with their history. Nor am I convinced that they have likely flushed out their racial issues. I know a number of people have questioned why some people or communities can't just "get over" the organizations use of race and move forward. I believe in transparency, when that is delivered, I'll believe they are being straight forward. History has a way of repeating itself.

Onto the Black... Studies side of things. Today and Friday the Center for African and Afroamerican Studies at U of M is presenting a conference to honor the 35th anniversary of the center in honor of Harold Cruse. I'll be checking out some of the events, good food for thought.

Aight, off to sleep, much work to be done... trying to get that degree, ya heard?

500 Words is Not Enough

The people who genuinely need to read this post may never see it. I contributed to a piece for The Michigan Daily about self segregation. In it I try to explain a little about what is now being referred to as "the Black Hole"--you know, the mass of Black people in a public space that seems to constantly attract more Black people. I agree with everything I said in the piece, otherwise I wouldn't have wrote it, but I'm not exactly sure this phrase came out correctly:

"I also relish the opportunity to be around other intelligent black people. Since this is the University of Michigan, a vast majority of us aspire to heighten our consciousness.

Sadly, that may not be the case for other parts of the world. The fatalist in me fears that I'll never be around such a concentration of scholastically inclined black people ever again."

My time at the University has been my first experience dealing with so many intellectual Black people. And I do fear that outside of the context of the University I will never find Black people this accepting and supportive of my own intellectual pursuits.

That being said, I don't know how I feel about contributing to the notion that there are masses of dumb Black people roaming the non-Ivory Tower-lined streets--a notion which can be implied by my aforementioned fears. I only had 500 words so I didn't have space to adequately qualify my sentiments.

I don't want to be an elitist. I know there are non-academics who are extremely intelligent. My Grandfather was a bus driver in Detroit and he happened to be a genius, I'm sure he wasn't the only one. Of course, my Grandfather probably would have been an academic had he not had to deal with being a Black youth in the Great Depression and all of the stuff that entailed, but I digress.

Also of note in the piece is that all of the students are minorities of some sort. I didn't know who was going to be contributing but I was hoping for at least one white person. Instead there are three Black males (including myself), one international student who appears to be from the Indian sub-continent of Asia, and one half white/half Latino person who for the last several years has been embracing his Latino side. This fantastic representation makes it seem as though only non-whites are doing the self-segregating. As though white people in no way contribute to the clumping based on ethnic lines in the world. That's ridiculous. But I can't criticize the Daily because I work for them so I'd better stop now. I think I have authorization to post on the Daily's blogs so maybe I'll try to put a version of this up there. Until next time, Peace and God Bless.


edit: I have successfully posted to the Michigan Daily blogs. The message is slightly different. If you want to comment just go here

-David Betts

Fun with Numbers....

Aight there are a bunch of things that I wanted to get out there. So let's count along together.


1 - One is for the date on Saturday, which is April 1st. The 1st traditionally marks the coming of April Fool's Day. This year, I don't want you to be the fool... so go to this rally and find out the things you been too embarassed, nervous or lazy to ask.

Take Action! Rally for Affirmative Action
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Congressman John Dingell, One United Michigan and the Washtenaw County Democratic Party Black Caucus would like you to join them. The "Don't Be Fooled" rally is to shed light on and kick off the campaign here in Washtenaw County against the so called Michigan Civil Rights Initiative which is neither civil nor right.

Brown Chapel
1043 W. Michigan Ave.
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

2 - Two for the number of missing boys from Milwaukee. The media coverage, of course, has been pretty low. More info and discussion here.

3 - Three is for the number of times I wanted to throw up when I heard about the Duke Lacrosse and their "alleged" rape of two women. Rachel has provided a lot of links and information on her page.

4- Four is for the darn near 40 percent increase in the percentage of Black folks who use the internet! The digital divide is seeming to look different. Though we're certainly not where we need to be yet.

aight, I'm tired of counting for now.

The New Tangle of Negro Pathology?!?

So in the past week (well 10 days), the NYTimes has run two pieces that have gotten a considerable amount of attention. The first "Plight Deepens for Black Men Study Warns" reports findings and some theories by the researchers behind the new book Black Males Left Behind. First, like most of the people commenting on this story, I have not read the book. My pockets are thinner than Nicole Richie in a fun house mirror (I know, that's not right), so when I get a copy I can weigh in more soundly. The findings of the report did not shock me per se, but they did remind me that its clear Black men are becoming further marginalized from the center of American society*.

I however was intrigued by Orlando Patterson's Op/Ed that ran on Sunday entitled "A Poverty of the Mind". Patterson essentially argues that we have not been able to combat poverty and the condition of Black men in America because we have been afraid to tackle the issue of culture. Unfortunately he quickly creates a strawman of poverty research on black men. I could agree with him that researchers have been scared to tackle culture 10 years ago, but recently researchers have really grappled with the role of culture and behavior for Black and poor men (see Young, Lamont, there are more but I doubt you want a literature review). But for Orlando it is much more convient to say there is a fear of approaching the topic of culture and that until we take on culture, marginalization will remain.

While Patterson does prove, unlike many, that he has read up on the phenonmenon of "acting white". He does quickly find other cultural dimensions to stress. This time, the masked culprit is hip hop culture.

I call this the Dionysian trap for young black men. The important thing to note about the subculture that ensnares them is that it is not disconnected from the mainstream culture. To the contrary, it has powerful support from some of America's largest corporations. Hip-hop, professional basketball and homeboy fashions are as American as cherry pie. Young white Americans are very much into these things, but selectively; they know when it is time to turn off Fifty Cent and get out the SAT prep book.

For young black men, however, that culture is all there is — or so they think.

A couple of years ago Ron Ferguson argued that a possible reason test score gaps had widened between Blacks and Whites from 1998 forward was rap music and hip hop culture. I remember when I first heard this theory, I scouffed and thought it would pass with the night, but it stayed around. In fact, many still support this theory, which I find much akin to theories of acting white (e.g. present in places but likely overstated), despite the fact that test score gaps have begun to close again between Blacks and Whites... and rap is still widely popular. In Patterson's view, Black men (not sure about women) lack the ability to code-switch, while Whites men are able to traverse dual realities. I must say that I do not entirely disagree with Patterson, but he misses how this occurs. Code-switching for Black folks has been a historical necessity. Even when our ancestors were enslaved, they had to act differently on the job or when under surveillence, than when not surveilled. So I would ask Patterson, which would be more likely to degrade a people's ability to switch, music or marginalization? My obvious answer is marginalization. His response is cool pose. I do believe structural constraints beget cultural variations, but simply concentrating on culture is as short-sighted as simply concentrating on the structure.

It appears that Patterson could make a great argument for both the roles of structure and culture, but instead he claims that culture has been absent from our discussions of poverty. For those who don't know, the title of this post is a throwback/homage to a highly influential chapter of the Moynihan Report. I find Patterson's piece to largely be an update to this view, instead of matriarchy as a cultural determinent, he inserts hip hop culture (his perception of it at least) as the mechanism that keeps Black men ensnared in our social position.

I would love to know what Patterson thinks needs to be done to correct these cultural malfunctions? I guess the welfare to work approach didn't work since he said Clinton's Administration failed. Cultural training? What does he want to see happen? To close, I rework Patterson's own words, what do you think?
Collecting transcripts of their views and rationalizations Leveeing critiques of research from an ivory tower towards the ivory tower is a useful first step, but won't help nearly as much as the recent rash of scholars with tape-recorders NY times editorialists and readers seem to think.



*Unlike Orlando Patterson, I don't think pursuing money and listening to music constitute incorporation into America's mainstream

The night Hip Hop died... and resurrected!

"It's spring again, and I'm feelin' fine. Pass me a nice cold glass of wine."

So on Saturday night at about 11:30 I texted my boy with the message, " U know hip hop has died when I'm at a party in ann arbor headlined by red alert and there are 30 people :( " At that moment I felt as if I was ready to finally attend the funeral of hip hop. Once as a child I felt this emotion. I grew up craving hearing hip hop on the radio. I remember when my favorite radio station, one of the only ones in New Haven that played hip hop, made the decision to stop playing rap. They started blasting an advertisement that said, WNHC with no rap. Each time I heard the advertisment it was like I felt a stab in my side. As a young child, I had no recourse, but later in my life I did find refugee in NY radio and Kool DJ Red Alert.

I spent the better part of my high school years positioning antennas perfectly to catch Red Alert work the tables and faithfully listening to his trademark high voice and flawless party mixes. So when I heard that the Fokus Cru was bringing him to A2 for a show, I nearly flipped. If you grew up with me in the tri-state, you probably had the dream that Red Alert would descend on your prom, dance, basement party (cause you weren't in the clubs were he was spinning)and spin the night away. Though I rarely make trips to bars and clubs anymore I felt like it was my responsibility as a head to attend.

I first arrived at the venue around 10:30 with my boy. We walked in and the venue was empty, okay, three patrons were there, but you know what I mean. I felt a small stab in my side, again. We turned around and left, to handle some business and decided to return a little later. When we made it back around 11 there were about 15 people in the venue but this time Popmaster Fable and Red Alert had arrived to the venue. Instead of a stab, this time I felt extreme embaressment. I thought, "Is Red Alert really standing here listening to some fool spin the same song over and over again with an empty venue that he's supposed to rock?" That's not Hip Hop!!! Admittedly, if I was the house DJ and Red Alert was in the room I'd be crapping my pants too. But soon the unthinkable happened... DEAD SILENCE. That's right, there was dead air, the man on the table(s) had let the track run out and there was silence. At that moment me and my boy were chatting with Red and he excused himself to run up to the sound booth. I watched a cardinal sin of Hip Hop be committed in front of a legend. All I could think was, what a way to show Red and Fable what A2 has to offer. Not long after the silence and Red's return they got the sound situation straight and Fable spun some songs, mainly breaks, that were well mixed and selected.

Unfortunately by this time I was pretty leary that this night would turn up well despite Buff1 and Invincible rocking. The crowd was so thin that they had to personally invite people by name to the dance floor so that they got a proper audience. By the time Red was set to come on, I would estimate the crowd was barely above 30 folks. I texted my boy, to announce the death of hip hop.

Now, don't get it twisted, I am sure that Hip Hop in some forms is alive and well, but darn it I was aware that MY Hip Hop had died. I made the decision as Red got on the wheels to give all I had to celebrate what Hip Hop meant and means to me. Yeah, I'm dramatic, but you may not understand how much I've loved Hip Hop in my life.

On that evening Red Alert grabbed the tables and played a classic set. A few heads laced the floor from the start as he opened the set with classics from the 1990s. It was sonic heaven.

There were three things that stood out in my mind about his set:

1) I don't recall him playing a single song recorded after 1998
2) He rocked radio edits for some of the songs
3) During the set he played break beats

Why I think number 1 is important. If you've been to a party in the last X years, you know that his playlist was rare. The playlist took us from the early days of art to the "golden era" and beyond, but didn't litter me with "I'm in love with a Stripper." It was a college crowd, so I estimate many of the songs predated the audience's Hip Hop catalog, with some notable exceptions. But he continued to play the tracks and let the music draw people out.

Why I think number 2 is important. I grew up listening to Red on the radio as most of us did, so if you ever made a pause mixtape or couldn't always sneak those "Parental Advisory" stickers past your parents Red was your gateway to raw/real hip hip without the cussing. Though I didn't hear many references to my sisters as body parts and animals or my brothers as bucks or brutes, I still liked the set, and so did everyone else who filled the dance floor.

Why I think number 3 is important. The break beat is a lost art in DJing. Now I'm not naive enough to think that many DJs are searching music for breaks any longer and testing them out at parties, but when there is a DJ who does throw on a break during a set, it often means - go refill your drink. Well for the first time in a long time, I saw people dancing hard to breaks as well as songs with lyrics... and that my friends is when I felt Hip Hop had resurrected.

The art of moving the crowd is something that few understand and even fewer master. I am grateful that I got to be in the presence of a master of this art on Saturday. Did the dance floor ever get so packed I couldn't move? No. Do I think most people know what kind of contribution Red made to Hip Hop and the radio? No. But that's the beauty of the music and the culture. I'm told before there were Sugarhill Gangs, Clear Channels, and Dreams, there were pure parties and pure Hip Hop. Thank you Red Alert for taking me to a place in the house of Hip Hop that I'd never seen before.

*photo shamelessly stolen from Sen Blake

They're coming for Affirmative Action...

Now if you read this blog, you know I seldom hesitate to mention my preference for Affirmative Action policies and the current struggles with them in US Higher Education. I often skip on posting about some of the things that happen with Aff Axn so that readers don't suffer from overkill. Well two news articles recently came across my desk that I thought were worthy of mention and/or discussion. The first is an AP story on polling data released on last Thursday about support for the MCRI. The big news is

Forty-seven percent of 600 likely voters surveyed Sunday through Wednesday opposed the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which will be on the ballot in the November election. Forty-four percent favored it, while 9 percent were undecided.

The article goes on to acknowledge that essentially the measure is deadlock (never forget the margin of error on polls... especially phone polling). This may mean that MCRI is "losing" steam in Michigan, but the next coming months will be very interesting to see. One United Michigan has continued to step up their efforts on the campaign trail, so I'll be watchin with baited breath.

Ah and for a little artist contribution coming from the MSU's Q*News:

There once was a racist from Cali
Who thought equality should be decided by a tally
To Michigan he came
To spread hate and shame
And against him we surely must rally

The second item is one of NY Times most frequently emailed story entitled, "Colleges Open Minority Aid to All Comers." The article reveals what many of us know has been happening already.

Facing threats of litigation and pressure from Washington, colleges and universities nationwide are opening to white students hundreds of thousands of dollars in fellowships, scholarships and other programs previously created for minorities.

Since the Supreme Court victories of 2003 there has been consistent pressure from random employees of the Department of Justice as well as the actual Department of Justice to pressure schools and programs to desist from the use of race conscious funding. Southern Illinois University was one such case that was recently "resolved". As the public in Michigan becomes skeptical about supporting a false Civil Rights amendment, the nation's office of Justice toils to deconstruct some of the gains that emerged from the Civil Rights Act and Affirmative Action policies. I'm beginning to feel like we're in a game of three card monte.
***And I know the image is SUPERCHEESE but I had to put it up***

Black to the future?

"So much on my mind, I just can't recline..." -Mos Def

This post has been delayed for a minute, but here it is. Ever feel like we're going backwards and forwards at the same time?

So the other night I spent my time flipping between the Oscars and Flavor of Love, which to many would eliminate my right to comment on the coming apocalypse ushered in by Three 6 Mafia winning an Oscar. But I don't care, I gotta say it anyway. Three 6's victory is ridiculous, the song was even lame. Now when Eminem won for 'Lose Yourself' I conceded the song was good and it was an important moment for Hip Hop history. But 'Hard out here for a Pimp' is garbage. The song didn't even get real rotation in the Black community, the most I heard it was folks parodying it after the movie came out. It's a laughable song. So I had the sinking suspicion that they would win an Oscar for the song and it would be a vast part of "the Man's" plan to pedestalize our worst. My prediction for 2007, next year D4L wins for their rendition of "Flapjacks and Crack" from the soundtrack of "Doin' Dirt in the Dirty." My prediction for 2008, we'll be back to pickin' cotton.

Speaking of picking cotton, so I heard about George Clooney's acceptance speech so I went to check it out for myself. So Clooney is proud that academy has been out of touch with rest of the world because it talked about Aids and gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar? Are you serious? George, how out of touch where they when they made Hattie and her body guard sit in the back of the Ambassador Coconut theater? How out of touch were they when she had to deliver the speech in a separate room? If I had my copy of Toms, Coons,Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks I would really get into it, but I can't find it. You're lucky George and the Academy, very lucky. (Why does this moment remind me of when dude in Bamboozled said, "You're lucky I ain't read Wretched of the Earth yet!"?)

And since I last posted we lost one of the great Hip Hop producers, Jay Dee aka J Dilla. Check out his work here.

Last night we lost a Black Arts giant in Gordon Parks.


One of my favorite quotes from him is

My good friend, I'?ve got a 35-millimeter camera in my pocket. You'?ve got a 45.automatic in yours, but I feel my weapon is probably more powerful than yours.

Parks definitely shot with a camera (both still and video) the vast dimensions of Blackness, humaness, and life as a precious entity. He lived all the way to 93, which is certainly a full life RIP Mr. Parks.

And the third ancestor I want to recognize on this post is Fred Hampton Sr. of the Black Panter Party. I was recently put on to a story about the controversy that is happening in Chicago about naming a section W. Monroe Street (the very street on which he was killed) after him. Now of course, I don't expect the people who killed Fred Hampton to want to name a street after him... but I think it's amazing (at least in this story) how people's biases are laid right on the table. Even if Fred Hampton Sr doesn't get his street the struggle continues cause as Dead Prez said,

" Fred Hampton Jr. looks just like him, walks just like him, talks just like him. And it might be frighten' to the Feds and the snitches to see him organizing the gang brothas and sistas."

So now let me get to some more local issues. Today in the Daily I learned something that I have been avoiding for years. If you've been around Ann Arbor, you know the absolute cheapest place to buy Michigan gear is Steve and Barry's. For years now I've been suspect of their bargain basement prices. I figured the only way these prices could be so low were sweat shops... unfortunately today I got partial confirmation. This letter to the editor exposed my silent consent, but I think since they formed a labor union, I can keep buying from them right? ;)

A couple of days ago Mara Gay published a nice piece on the Daily and its issues. She does a really good job of making distinctions between the people who are working to change the campus climate and the complainers. All too often folks conflate the two groups. My favorite part of the editorial is

Sorry to disappoint, but the Daily features no smoke-filled rooms where The Man puffs a cigar behind ornate mahogany doors and plots to destroy the black community.

Duh, we all know that! Of course not the doors are made out of masonite, everyone knows that. But on the real, she does attempt to take a deeper cut at the issues of the Daily, though her reasoning for the issues is a rehashing of the contact hypothesis of prejudice and her solution appears to go back to the increase the minority representation at the Daily. Is that really the only solution? Are we running low on creativity?

Last but not least, the Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs office has been putting up some good virtual resources such as an events calendar and the Pan-African Network. Be on the look out for more good stuff.

Alright, it's about time I brought his post to a close. I would like to thank the contributions of Alma, Dance, Tone, y tu mama tambien. I wouldn't have made this post happen without all of you.... oh yeah and Jesus. :P

State of the Black Union '06

What does one do while spending the Spring Break of their Senior year of college back at home with the parents? Why, watch TV of course. While flicking channels at about two in the morning the other day I stumbled across a replay of C-Span's coverage of the State of the Black Union conference hosted by Tavis Smiley. I caught somewhere over 1/2 of the day's festivities and came away slightly intrigued. I saw portions of two panel discussions. One discussion featuring people who I'll call the 'new leaders' of the Black community, and another featuring the more recognizable leaders. There was way too much stuff to give a real summary of the events, so I'll just mention what struck me.

The 'new leaders' panel featured Walter Mosely (how he's a new leader is beyond me, he was there talking about his newest book), Dr. Ian Smith formerly of Celebrity Fit Club , and several people I've never heard of. The most impressive thing about the 'new leaders' panel was how San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris (who, I feel compelled to mention, is kinda great looking) briefly outlined how it could be more fiscally responsible to have certain inmates enter societal re-entry programs (for lack of a better expression on my part) that can reduce recidivism rates instead of just go right back into the prison system multiple times. Of course, the conspiracy theorist in me believes that her plan is little more than a pipe dream with publicly traded prison management companies like Corrections Corporation of America (New York Stock Exchange symbol: CXW ) floating around. I'll let you figure out how they might have a vested interest in people going to, and staying in jail.

The main event of the program was the panel that preceeded the new cats. There was an appearance by Al Sharpton who proved once again that, if nothing else, he is a fantastic rhetorician (in a good way, look up the definition ). There were a couple members of the Congressional Black Caucus, a preacher or two, and a bunch of comments about how the book that was the central element of the conference, The Covenant , was a good start towards creating functional public policy. Someone also said that if Black people don't vote they're essentially traitors to the race.

But the real juicy part of the discussion, the real reason for this post, has to do with how the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stole the show. When called upon to comment Farrakhan proceeded to humbly talk about how much he loved Tavis Smiley and everyone else on the panel, emphatically ho the lives (which means harshly criticize for those unfamiliar with Ann Arbor area colloquial expressions) of everyone on the panel using a partial quote of a discussion between Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Belafonte, venemously call most of Black America impotent, reconfirm his love for everyone on the panel, and quietly leave the stage to give a speech in Chicago. To use the words of Lloyd Carr, it was tremendous.

Farrakhan mentioned how Dr. King once told Belafonte something to the effect of America is a burning house. Farrakhan then quoted multiple scriptures from the Bible and the Qur'an, said The Covenant was misguided, and concluded us Black people should take care of ourselves and let America finish burning.

Farrakhan's comments were great except for the fact that Harry Belafonte was on the panel--which meant that Farrakhan's partial quote was exposed. After Farrakhan left the stage Belafonte informed the world that the conversation between himself and King concluded with King saying that Civil Rights leaders should try to act as firemen, not let America burn as the Honorable Minister wished. Cornel West then added that even if America is a burning house we must do what we can to make sure the children forced to grow up in inferno-America have the best shot they can to succeed. West also stated that even when Black people only had the power to sing songs in the face of oppression we were never impotent.

Belafonte's and West's responses to Farrakhan resonated with me. I'll be damned if I just sit around and watch America burn. Farrakhan was harping about how there needs to be something new to take the place of our current system of government, but he never uttered one suggestion of what that something new could be. Despite all of the flaws of our society I'm under the impression that we currently live under one of the more successful representative democracies in the history of civilization. I'm not going to give that up for just any new thing that comes along. There better damn well be an extremely well articulated alternative taking the place of our government, otherwise I'm not down for something new. I'd much rather be a fireman and try to put out the flames engulfing American society. Most of the panelists expressed how much they respect Farrakhan despite his criticisms of them. I share their sentiments. Farrakhan is pretty accurate in many of his assesments of how screwed up America is. However, I just disagree with him as to what to do about all the problems.

Someday I'll actually read The Covenant, probably this summer after I get this undergrad thing out of the way. Also I have to read up on Harry Belafonte, I never knew anything about him other than he was a singer. But his insight and intellect left me amazed so there has to be something more than just an entertainment career. Peace and God Bless.