Carry on Tradition...?

Nas' song has been burning through my head as of late. Could be the late nights, early morning, the travelling, the writing, but whatever it is, it's in my head. The events of the past week with Don Imus really made me think about the traditions that we carry on or let go. After a week Imus has been dropped from TV and Radio syndication, largely as the result of two folks who will inevitablely be chastised, berated and hated. The names Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are (in)famous. In talking to people, even the ones who have no clear "politics", they can always muster an opinion on Jesse and Al and "the old civil rights guard." What's yours? I'm going to give you some of mine below.

I guess part of this is written in defense of Jesse and Al, especially when I see more and more people calling for their 'removal from office' or any other downgrading metaphor. We all know neither of them are elected officials, but even without election, they "play their position." When many folks see Jesse and Al they look at them as glorified camera and victim chasers, but honestly have you ever thought that it's the cameras that chase them now? Now granted to get the attention they now garner, they had to chase some cameras over the years, but as a dear friend once pointed out to me, when Jesse and Al show, the media shows. Even whenJesse and Al threaten to bring the cameras out change gets facilitated. Now I don't think these are the brothas and sistahs who are in the trenches locally every day, that would be ridiculous to suggest, but sometimes they get the shine to those who need it in the trenches. The combination of their visibility and hard grassroots work can lead to some really impressive outcomes.

Sure Foxnews will wield Tawana Brawley and Hymietown references as their alpha & omega, but for all their "failures" haven't they brought some justice forth?As we step out to combat injustice the targets on our back become large, sometimes it blows up in our faces, but nonetheless, shouldn't we remain committed? Who has the committment and conviction to speak out on these things?

So when we talk about removing the old guard and redefining our goals as a people, who will carry on tradition? For that matter, should tradition even be carried on? Surely Al and Jesse aren't the only tradition we have. If you go to any locale you will find small time heroes who lead big lives, but never get/got the respect they deserve. Over in Benton Harbor a warrior is imprisoned. In Detroit a warrior slashes weekly with her pen. A month ago we saw a legend give his last public words down the street from where much of it all began. The struggles we engage in daily are local, but are at same time global.

A couple years back I really anticipated Todd Boyd's book the New HNIC: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop anxiously. But when I finally read it, I was disappointed. Mainly because questions of renewal and redefinition of the movement were largely glazed over or missed. As the young vanguard, do we believe in leaders? What does new leadership look like if so? What will be the moments that define our lives and our children's lives, because always remember a few short moments can change the course of history.

Back in Effect mode...

... and I still have a crush on Dawn from En Vogue!

So thanks for bearing with a brotha's absence. I knew I had been pretty awol when people I know started telling me, "Everytime I go back to your page it says "Welcome to March." Even though I'm slow to update, thanks for checking me out. Aight, to the meat and potatoes.

First, let me say that Blacksmythe has been posting like everything I wanted to post lately, so let me just give a big ol' link right here to his site. If you don't know him, get to know him. I haven't met him before, but I've been hearing about him since I stepped foot in A2 and his reputation continues to grow nationally.


The one thing he missed that is key to my life... the new Black Disney princess! If you know me, I am a Disney addict. This is a result of my Dad and loving cartoons. I know that Disney has a lot of issues (many of which I refuse to acknowledge, don't even try it) but this princess is FINALLY a step in the right direction. This of course does not negate the fact that as Disney travelled the globe when they got to Africa they decided to draw animals... coincidence, I think not. Nor does it speak to the copious absence of my Latino folks, but it is a beginning. I mean come on guys they only had 84 years to gear up and after Song of the South I think they needed to take a little time.

In other news, this week I had a chance to co-host theAddicted to Race podcast with Carmen over at Racialicious. We talked about the CBCI and FoxNews partnering and the David Mills post on the redeeming uses of the word nigger. For more info on how I feel, check that out.

Lastly, U of M released the report of the Diversity Blueprints Task Force. You can find the report here, it's surprisingly short. I will probably dedicate a post to this in the near future.

Pardon my absence

Hey, sorry haven't be in the blogging spirit as of late. Not like writer's block, kinda just tired's block. Ya know. I'll be back soon with some freshness, hopefully.

Welcome to March

So last month was Black history month and now that the television, radio, and fast food are done "honoring our legacy" I'd thought I'd help you along. You see, every year I feel a little loss of something special with the passing of BHM. So today I present to you the introduction to the opposites sketch (what you know about that? Definitely one of my favorite Canadian productions, wanna know another one of my favorites now? Keep reading).

If you've ever been to a predominantly Black event like a BBQ, wedding, a club outing in Detroit, you know that Black folks love to do some line dancing. Whether it's the Hustle, the Cha Cha Slide or the Electric Slide we're on the floor tearing it up. I've always felt a particular disdain for these dances. I mean come on, doesn't it seem like some sick form of epic memory of when they brought our ancestors on deck "to dance" for exercise (yeah, I know I'm wrong)? With that being said, I have further reason to never Electric Slide or "Electric" again. His name is Ric Silver and he claims to be the original choreographer of the dance (like I care!). He's wants to preserve it, take a look (I refuse to put a link to this clown's sight). Now that you've watched, doesn't that just make the dance 100 times wacker? So now that I've shown that a White man "created" the Electric Slide. I'd like to take you on another loop.

As the great African-American philosopher Lonnie Rasheed Lynn, that's Common to ya'll, said, "I stand out like a nigga on a hockey team, I got goals and I can like a pop machine." When we think of ice hockey, we seldom think of Black folks on the ice getting it. Well, if the White man can "create" the Electric Slide, then Black folks can pioneer the forms of hockey we see played today in the NHL and internationally. Wanna know more, click here to get your weight up.

Alright, now if you're like me, you're sufficiently tripped out. I'm just trying to transition you back into normal society. And while you're transitioning, remember Black History Month is all over, so no more talking about Black people's struggles for equality in public, it seems to make folks nervous ;)

I was wondering....

1) Why do I know in a couple days it will be impossible to find all these good documentaries on Black folks on TV anymore?

2) When will BET get real and put The launch of BET on their list of events that Mishaped Black America?

3) When will people realize saying "I'm mad at you" or "We need to talk" are inversely related to my pursuit of them for a conversation?

4) Are you offended by the Geico caveman commericials?

5) Now that I'm bumping Liberation, when will Eardrum finally come out?

6) Now that I'm bumping Tru3 Magic, when will we get a Blackstar reunion album?

7) Now that You So Crazy is over 10 years old, can we officially call it the Delirious of my generation?

8) How come when I was growing up no one ever told me that Patty Hearst and Charles Manson had some racial ish at the core?

9) Shouldn't no one get the prize money on the White Rapper Show?

10) Black Snake Moan.... wtf????

Always on the Run

This Black History Month is flying by me, but I'm trying to make some Black History of my own, so forgive my absence. A couple things have come across my desk that I gotta mention. First, the Nation has an EXCELLENT piece on White History. Originally I had planned to do a whole series on White History during the month of February for the haters of BHM. As always, time kept slipping and I didn't get around to it, but you should read this piece. One of my favorite excerpts,

. That's because so much of Black History Month takes place in the passive voice. Leaders "get assassinated," patrons "are refused" service, women "are ejected" from public transport. So the objects of racism are many but the subjects few. In removing the instigators, the historians remove the agency and, in the final reckoning, the historical responsibility.

On the Native front,two important things went down recently. The budget for the Urban Indian health program has been cut AGAIN! This has real consequences, check it out and contact your local elected official about this cut.

On the more symbolic front (kinda), Chief Illinwek is dead. Finally.

The Welfare Queen Redux

As I returned to my state of Michigan a few weeks ago, I was greeted with the image of a dark skinned man sporting a fedora tipped to the side with a magenta shirt, and a white striped suit strolling out of the courthouse. In a matter of moments, for better or for worse, I knew I was home. As I visited my favorite Internet sites, I saw the image of Nathaniel Abraham splattered around. Abraham's flamboyance in dress attracted heavy media attention, but just 8 years ago his use of shotgun grabbed national attention. As I turned on the news, video of him strolling in the parking lot in his suit was accompanied by voice overs discussing how residents were up in arms that Abraham was going free and would live in an apartment and attend college on the state's dime. It was almost as if I could her the music entering as the news described the scary welfare queen in redux, this time only in the form of the cold blooded Black male killer. Let me make this clear up front, this piece is not about supporting Nathaniel Abraham's killing, nor his dress, nor anything of that sort. This piece is about understanding what Nathaniel Abraham means to us and what he should represent to us, not what we've come to represent him as.



The heresy with which Michigan residents were disgusted by the prospect of Abraham being eligible for programs designed for abandoned youth, is the same disgust they should have felt when he was tried as an adult. It is the same disgust that we should hold when young men and women of color are released back into a society with few social supports. To me, it's not a mystery that when a person, is isolated from social opportunities from childhood, and then you force them to "participate" fully there will be issues. As the old adage goes, "you gotta crawl before you ball." Spending nearly half your life in prison cannot prepare you to succeed outside of prison. As the cameras snapped images of a man in outlandish attire, I could only see a manchild.

Recently when I was spending time with my little brother who is 11 and we began talking about independence and what his mother let's him do. A typical conversation among pre-teens. As we talked, eventually we ended up telling him the story of Nathaniel Abraham, he looked on in shock and disbelief. My little brother is smart, top of his class, has his "head on straight" and I quickly realized the idea of leaving society and returning in 9 years was unimaginable. He, probably like most 11 year olds, found the prospect hard to swallow. As we talked more he repeatedly asked me questions like, "What happened to Nathaniel?" "Why'd he do (the murder) what he did?" These were difficult questions to answer. I still cannot fully answer them, but even my inability to answer speaks volumes.

I wonder about Nathaniel, not simply because he's a human, but because I wonder what kind of world produces a manchild like him. I remember reading Fox Butterfield's account of Willie Bosket and thinking that he told part of the story. Though I may not be able to retrace Nathaniel's life, I'm sure there are more than enough elements that would trouble us. While the national cameras usually fixate on Detroit as a city in decline or post decline, seldom do people think of Pontiac. Pontiac, which sits not far from Detroit, is just as ripe with social ills and dangers: high amounts of crime, drugs, unemployment, and single headed households. While we all love the stories of "beating the odds" and want to highlight the exceptions to the rules of poverty, these stories are in many ways disingenuous. I think Nathaniel represents the rule, the rule that we need to grapple with, simply put: Your chances for success (however you define it) are severely limited (if not eliminated) if you grow up poor, Black, and male in America.

As the media spins images of Nathaniel "pimping the system" and people grow concerned that a "monster" lives on state support, we still have to ask, what/who created this "monster"? In reality, we all did. When we neglect and ignore the conditions of the youth, particularly poor and Black youth, we are assured that Nathaniel will not be the last Nathaniel. When there is bipartisan support for cutting social programs, we assure the development of the manchild. When we assume that things "aren't that bad" because we can see downtown Detroit open a few shops, we ink poor children's fates. Unfortunately, there will be more Nathaniels, people locked away with little ability to transition back into "society." So the next time you hear of them getting "social support" before you ask "How could this happen?" you should ask "How did this happen?" In my estimation, his apartment and some tuition are a pittance compared to the life that we allowed Nathaniel to live before. Lastly, ask yourself, if you were Nathaniel, could you live up to the request of Judge Eugene Moore, "Show us all that you have become a caring, productive member of society", without assistance.

Happy Black History Month

So the coming of February marks the arrival of Black History Month. Inevitably each year I hear outcries of "where's White history month" or people reducing our month to a series of quiz bowl like facts. I will address these issues later, but for right now I wanted to highlight some contemporary Black history. It come from Nas. Hip Hop is arguably one the greatest cultural forms in the last 30 years, with that said, we have a rich, yet forgotten history. As Nas said,
Rap is like a ghost town.
Like these folks never existed, they the reason rap became addictive.
Nas dropped some gems on us with his series of "Where are they now" tracks inspired by his song on Hip Hop is Dead. For me listening to these is like strolling down memory lane, hope you enjoy them the same!

80s Remix
90s remix
West Coast Remix

Recognize those flows????

Oops, I forgot... TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY ARE IMPORTANT

In the rush of posting my update the other day I forgot a couple of things that I thought were important. First, check out this NY Times piece on colleges' responses to banning of Aff Axn in higher ed (note I didn't say race preferences).

Second, on Tuesday U of M's local conservakids Young Americans for Freedom are hosting "Three Ex-Terrorists". As you may recall, YAF is the same org that brought us "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" and a host of other ridiculously intolerant demonstrations. In response, students are organizing a peaceful walk out. They are asking folks to show up wearing yellow (just a shirt, not a whole outfit, no one wants you to look like a banana) at about 6pm and when the event starts around 7, join in the demonstration to walk out. A simple yet powerful display. This reminds me of years go when David Horowitz came to U of M and the BSU filled the audience and when he entered we, in unison, crossed our arms instead of clapping. *As a side note, BAMN soured that great demonstration as they have soured a number of demos. I digress, you should find yourself in Rackham Ampitheatre walking it out.

I usually ignore "post me" emails since they're stupid stuff, but not the one I just got from Elizabeth de la Vega. This Wednesday at Shaman Drum on State St. at 7pm Elizabeth de la Vega (U of M alum) is giving a book talk on U.S. v. Bush. The book essentially puts Bush et al on trial for their fraud regarding the Iraq debacle. You can read an excerpt here. I was listening to Howard Zinn last night on CSPAN (yeah that is what I do on Saturday nights, don't hate!) and he was mentioning how impeachment is not really as radical as most Americans conceive, as he put it "after all its in the constitution." So for the masses who are much more comfortable being middle of the road, maybe that will seel them on bringing of G.W. up on charges ;)

So make sure to make it out the house Tuesday and Wednesday night at 7, you don't good at jeopardy anyway!

Let me update ya!

Aight, well I did revise the Black woman anthem for the title post. Sorry I've been absent. I've been working on 2 posts that take a little bit of thinking but they're not ready yet, so be on the look out for "The Welfare Queen in Redux" and "Kill Your (Reality) TV". On another note, Ann has been kind enough to pass along a story on banning the N word that I would have posted if I wasn't running crazy. Interesting policy of 500 dollar fine proposed. And I'm still wondering, did all this really come about as the result of Richards rant?

On the update side, I've been grinding. I went back east, spent time at home, in the city and in the barbershop all of which were tremendously productive. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I even accepted a job, so come the fall, Black at Michigan will be Black at ... wouldn't you like to know ;) I'll be back soon. Thanks for stopping by.

D'Souza v. Colbert

I'm supposed to be working but I had to post this video from the Colbert Report. Stephen's guest is Dinesh D'Souza. Enjoy!

Remembering Martin

Today is MLK day. For the first time in six years, I find myself away from the U of M campus. Each year U of M organizes many seminars and activities around the life of the Reverend. Inevitably, each year I look at the schedule and wonder what some of the speakers have to do with Martin, but I’m soon reminded Martin means different things to different people. And most importantly, to many he means nothing or in their estimation an unnecessarily vaunted social figure. I won’t even humor these people with a response. From my perspective it is important to remember Martin as a revolutionary.

I recently sat at dinner with a couple of colleagues and a conversation ensued about Martin v. Malcolm (interestingly enough years ago U of M used to celebrate Martin and Malcolm on the same day, but at some point this joined celebration decayed or was removed). While we were able to avoid pitting them against each other like a Balinese cock-fight, it reminded me that we are taught to know Martin as someone he did not seek to be.

I won’t use this space to expound on why Martin was revolutionary or even what revolution is. Instead I’ll invite you to spend a little time today and in the next few days learning about a brother with a legacy that is truncated for convenience and commercialism. If you feel like moving beyond your computer screen, check out Michael Eric Dyson’s book on Dr. King or read some Dr. Kings own words.



In a time where the nation is at war, the poor of our nation are forgotten, and the marginal are still treated unfairly, his wisdom continues to resonate.

Questions, it's the questions ya'll

1. Is a bird in the hand really worth two in the bush if you're really good with a slingshot?

2. John Brown, what the f**k is a ghetto revival?

3. Can I have the 1.5 hours back I spent watching I Love New York?

4. Why isn't there a backspace key for life?

5. What if I let them lead my life?

Hard out here for a Black American

While everyone is reviewing 2006, I'm concerned about the entry of 2007 for Black folks, particularly Black Americans. Let's hang our flag at half-mast, because it's going to be a long year!!!

As 2006 ended, Prop 2 implementation was delayed and I was more concerned about the godfather of Soul's transition than Gerald Ford's. I should have known shit was gonna start to hit the fan. Then on the 30th, Black Sociologist Orlando Patterson smoothly ushered in a bad wind with his Times pieces that blamed segregration's persistence on Black residential preference. You know we're in trouble when Black folks start taking heavy shots at Black folks. Then the Black Messiah... er I mean Oprah, dissed Black American kids' craving for ipods and kicks.

Then this morning I learned/realized that the stay on implimentation of prop 2 was denied by the Appeals Court. Which really means, that we're already operating in a Prop 2 environment in admissions.

Damn, damn, damn James... it's gonna be a long year.

Away from Michigan

Ah yes, to the East my brother to the East. For all my X Clan fans. I'm back East for a while. I celebrated a happy bday and had a good anniversary with my parents. My first couple of days were relativel low key, I've found myself watching all sorts of TV.
Hair Trauma
Ultimate Fighting
Bush's Address
Maury Povich - the holiday special "is this hottie a male or female"
Jerry Springer
Colbert Report
Basketball

You know the usual brain food! I've also signed up for a virtual writing challenge over at BlackAcademic.com. Just follow the links to the discussion forum and "Publish or Flourish." Also, that reminds me to shout out Blac(k)ademic who has retired from blogging. She was a great voice in the blogosphere. I'll be skirting around the tri-state for a little bit, so maybe I'll see you virtually or in real life, if not, then catch me in 2007. Oh, I should be doing a best of, we'll see.

Conflict... Blood... Peace Diamonds? Russell you are still not Hip-Hop!

A couple years back Rosa Clemente penned a heavy letter about Russell Simmons called Russell Simmons You Are Not Hip Hop. Back in 2001 it caught me, it helped me remember why I got sick of people sweating Russell. It got me to realize why I did a little "mouth vomit" when I heard someone refer to him as the Godfather of Hip-Hop (didn't Herc already have that title?). Recently Russell opened his mouth again, this time to defend the diamond industry.

This past weekend I shelled over my hard earned bills to see Blood Diamond at the theaters. Going in, I had my expectations set at the level that I set them when I'm going to listen to a Method Man album (that's pretty darn low). But I was rather impressed with the film. Of course there were your standard issues of gender and race (e.g. Black Africans find White woman in the bush and she charms them with her camera -- don't even get me started) but the message about conflict diamonds was very clear to me. Conflict diamonds help support war and distinguishing between a conflict diamond and free diamond is damn near impossible. Neither of which were new concepts to me, but I thought they were both well illustrated in the film.

When the film was rolling out, I was interested to see that Nelson Mandela came out with a statement about diamonds and their positive impact on African economies. I was immediately a little bit concerned, as were others. Eventually, I had to wrestle with Mandela potentially selling out or if there was a degree of pragmatism attached to support of the diamond trade for the wealth or rather reduction of gross debt for African nations. I think my history with Nelson Mandela allowed me to take his statements within a larger context, when Russell Simmons opened his mouth however, I heard cash registers ringing.

Who the hell died and made Russell chief of Diasporic Affairs? And can I really take him seriously if Jim Jones is on his side with a diamond crusted bracelet? Okay, that's just my bias! For years, I saw Russell Simmons as I saw Bob Johnson, a damn good Black capitalist (not endorsing this just calling em like I see em). Now with his explicit support and retort to Blood Diamond, I see he's graduated to a damn good (Black) capitalist pawn... I wonder is there a difference between the two?

Reclaiming Racist!!!

"I'm not a racist." Another variation on it is often, "I'm not a racist but..." or better yet, "Are you trying to say I'm a racist?" All three of these things are beginning to make me literally sick to my stomach. A few weeks back Michael Richards' outburst set the blogosphere on fire, which in turn set the media a fire, which in turn drove Richards to say, "The funny thing is, I'm not a racist." Well to Mr. Richards and all others who utter these words, I have one simple comment, "Yes, (fill in name here), you are a racist." Many folks get jarred by this statement, so read it again in the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" tone. Does that help you stomach it?

I tend to let my mind ferment during the evening by watching reality TV or playing my Nintendo DS (oh it's so great!). Tonight, I opted for Reality TV. I decided to watch the Real World Denver (no I don't think I have a real reason to watch this trash, but I did). Tonight's episode was yet another "big race episode" (this reminds me of when they would say things like, "Next week, a very special Webster" remember that? I digress). The characters end up in a tussle and the N word is barked by a drunken White male, Davis, within earshot of at least one Black roommate. I'll summarize so you don't have to watch the episode, they (producers) take the White roommate away for the night to a hotel and he returns the next day so the cast can talk it out. The result, the Black roommates forgive him and he says... you guessed it, "I'm not racist." One Black roommate Tyrie asked him (and I paraphrase) "So I just want to know, when you used that word. Where did it come from? Is that something you've been thinking or did it come out of anger or...?" Davis quickly responded, "Out of anger." This was particularly important to me because I knew once Tyrie gave him an "out" - mentioning anger, he would immediately jump at that reason. The episode closes with the Black roommates forgiving him and Davis staying so he can show them he can "watch what he says" and "he's not a racist." Dammit, you are a racist!

Now if any of you reading have had the pleasure (or pain) of sitting in on one of my guest lectures on race and ethnicity you know about this. Towards the beginning of the lecture I have all the people in attendance point to their neighbor and say, "You're a racist" and then have them point to their other neighbor and say, "You're a racist." After people follow in a Pavlovian style they usually look back at me, half of them with some form of pissed expression. I then allay their fears by saying, "Now that everyone has been called a racist and called at least one person a racist, we can stop being scared of being labeled a racist." The label racist is avoided like Jehovah's Witness' on a Saturday morning.

Now being the good sociologist that I am, I know that is because most people associate racism with individual deliberate actions towards someone of a subordinate group that are meant to harm and are based on prejudice. Which really means that nobody wants to be considered a Klan member (well except of course Klan members who are out of the closet). That's the big problem, when I'm in a room of over 150 people and I ask, "Who is a racist?" and maybe one or two people raise their hands, we have a problem!!! The problem is not anger, the problem is not drunkeness, the problem is not hecklers and losing our cool, it's racism! I know you want a nice out or absolution, I know you want to prove you're not that bad word, but dammit you gotta claim it to change it.

Imagine this, you go the doctor, you ask him about a piercing headache you keep on having. The headache is usually bearable but on occasion it causes you to yelp in pain for others to hear. The doctor takes does a full exam, xrays, scans, etc. and sees you have a tumor on your brain. When the doctor comes back to talk to you and you ask the doc, "Am I alright?" The doc responds, "You have a cold." A cold, hell nawh you have cancer!!! Racism is a disease, one that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately everyday we ask the world not to label ourselves or others as racist, which drives us further away from curing the sickness of racism. A doctor who prescribed Ludens to you (you know those cough drops you always wanted because they tasted like candy but your momma wouldn't let you have them) instead of chemo would be in serious malpractice and in violation of the their oath. But everyday, people ask me, "Why do we have to say someone is racist?" "Can't we call it something else? or "I get what you're saying, but calling someone a racist is ugly." Racism is ugly!!! I could go into my definition of racism but here is a link to a basic definition of racism that should get you started. If you're already with me, read on.

For me, dropping the term racist from our lexicon weakens our ability to call everyone to the task of being accountable for inequality. Admittedly not all inequality is racial, but many of the social ills that we see have a strong racial component. To borrow from Beverly Tatum racism is like pollution, you may not have started it, but you must live with it and everyday your actions contribute to it. The true question is what are you going to do to reduce it? By ignoring racism and the people and institutions that perpetuate it, we retard social progress. Because we have dropped racist from our lexicon, racial discrimination (disproportionate impact) does not legally exist until animus is demonstrated. Because we stopped calling out people as being racist, the very people who support systems of oppression now label us racists. Because racist became perverted, some are now distorted enough to think the oppressed are the oppressors.

I know this getting way too long, but let me conclude by saying, we live in a world without racists, but in a world full of racism. While I am forgiving, reasonable, and solution oriented, it disturbs me to see us sidestep the root of the hatred that we see in the disparate worlds we live in and in the malice ridden words we speak. I'd rather have chemo than candy. Wouldn't you?

While WE were sleeping

So I've been busy, but I did want to post briefly on something that is tremendously important and waiting in the balance of the Supreme Courts. While we were all sleeping, two cases rose to the level of a Supreme Court hearing and stand to place the final nail(s) in the coffin of Brown V. Board of Education. Realize that Brown v. Board of Education has been dismantled steadily through legislation and contestation. For a great discussion of the process check out Dismantling Desegregation by Gary Orfield.

The Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments for Parents Involved v. Seattle School District No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education. The first case (Seattle) is about high school assignment and the latter is about elementary school assignment. There is some really impressive social scientific research that went into an amicus brief provided by the Harvard Civil Rights Project here. Essentially both cases boil down to the question that is IN PART analogous to the Michigan cases: "Can be race a factor when determining school entry or placement."

I'll let my legal colleagues dissect the finer nitty-gritty details for you, so I'll let them lead that way. But I do want folks to realize this is once again an attempt to reduce racial disparity by race neutrality.... yeah I know it sounds ridiculous. I recently watched a panel on CSPAN that features Ted Shaw (NAACP LDF), Roger Clegg (Center for Equal Opportunity) and others. The most interesting part was hearing Roger Clegg actually say (and I paraphrase) "considering race is racial discrimination." For me, that sums up my issue with "race-neutrality" in fact it let's just call it "utopian-neutrality" because there darn sure isn't any consideration of race.

Aight, I gotta go write and do the 50 other things I have, but wanted you all to be paying attention. By the way, remember when I posed my simple question of who has beeen doing the work on the k-12 education? Well, clearly the conservatives have been working on dismantling equal oppurtunity there too.

Media Appearance and Eductional Debt

First, I want to thank Fatima Ashraf of Radio Tahrir for interviewing me this past week for Pacifica Radio's Informed Dissent series. We did a brief interview on Proposal 2 and how it's been swept under the rug in light of the "Democratic Sweep." You can find it on the Nov 18th in part one about half way through.

Last night I was reading and talking to one of my boys and I told him I was reading about the achievement gap. To which he responded, "You love to read about that ish." Which I do, it's the motivation for my research. While we talked I lamented over not really learning anything "new" from most publications on it. He responded, "Well if you're going to publish on it, why don't you just write the book that someone's going to write in 25 years. Just say it (the achievement gap) ain't going no where." While on the face this remark is fatalistic, I think he's actually right on. I was further confirmed of this when I woke up and finally read through Gloria Ladson-Billings' 2006 American Educational Research Association's Presidential Address. The talk was entitled "From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools." The talk is really amazing and I encourage you read it, it's a little longer than most things that I link to, but well worth it. Or you can watch it here.

She uses economics to discuss educational inequality but not in predictable ways. She uses economics to talk about people.

I am arguing that our focus on the achievement gap is akin to a
focus on the budget deficit, but what is actually happening to
African American and Latina/o students is really more like the
national debt. We do not have an achievement gap; we have an
education debt.

The talk is based on the idea that we do not know what really causes the narrowing of the gap.

However, when we begin looking at the construction and compilation
of what I have termed the education debt, we can better
understand why an achievement gap is a logical outcome. I am
arguing that the historical, economic, sociopolitical, and moral
decisions and policies that characterize our society have created an
education debt.

She powerfully weaves a narrative of black, brown, yellow and red children's cumulative educational disadvantage. She makes powerful policy metaphors from Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Ed, the Voting Rights Acts all the way to the responses to Hurricane Katrina. She leaves us with fertile ground to start our work toward improving children's lives and opportunities. I can't encourage you enough to read it, it gives a richer context to discussions of the pursuit of educational and social inequality.

New Media... Same Old Story?

So a number of things have come past my desk recently that display the pernicious nature of racism and violence in America. Below you'll find two now, unfortunately, popular videos. If you haven't literally watched them, I encourage you to. They are much more sobering than that coffee you just drank.

The first is the video for the University of California-Los Angeles and features Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a student, being tasered repeatedly for not showing his id in the library.

Since then, students have been mobilizing to bring light to this issue and get some justice. The catch unfortunately is that "thanksgiving" break is approaching and continuing momentum across breaks has always been an issue. Additionally, a subtle dynamic is that the taser weilding officer was a Black man. One of my good friends out there told me that he thinks that has in part affected the cross-lines organizing. We'll see how this unfolds, please keep spreading the word about this.

The second thing that has gotten some attention was the posting of hatred on John Andrews' facebook wall. While the article is not new, I think it's always amazing to read people's comments. I know John, I know before this broke he was talking about it, and I'm reminded by these comments that people are more than willing to turn an ignorant eye, ear, or whatever!

The third thing that should get you ready to go for the day is the video of "Kramer" going off at the Laugh Factory on Friday night. I know that you may have read the comments, but you should really watch the clip.

So something that is really interesting to me is the way that people begin laughing when he begins with his comments about lynching. Ha, ha, ha.. what the F**K is wrong with people? I was also amazed at how slowly people left. Of course the next day Richards performed at the Laugh Factory and now he's barred from performing there.

Taken as collective, I'm just reminded that even with new media, we can see old hate.