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.

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.