Black and Brown Unity: Our Historical Connection & Building New Bridges

Black Brown UnityOLM News Below is the video from an incredible and historic panel discussion held at St. Ignatius High School in SF on Black & Brown Unity.. Over 500 people showed up for an engaging conversation that touched upon a number of subjects ranging from our historical connections and how our communities have helped each other resist oppression to ways in which Black Brown communities are forging political alliances to immigration and mass incarceration to how beefs and tensions on the streets are being resolved..

We also focused on what is taking place internationally between African and South American nations..We talked about the political forces at work that want to keep us divided, in particular those who run the California prison systems… We talked about the important role culture, Hip Hop and the arts in general have helped break down walls and form strong bonds.. A lot of gems were dropped..We hope you enjoy the discussion which recently aired on Free Speech TV

The panel included former Black Panther and Africa Today host Walter Turner, Educator, historian and author Ron Wilkins, Professor Gaye Theresa Johnson who is the author of new book focusing on Black Brown unity in LA called Spaces of Conflict, Sounds of Solidarity, Javier Gonzalez who heads up organizations like Sound Strike and Culture Strike and long time Bay Area activist Tara Espinoza

http://vimeo.com/77186655

http://vimeo.com/78305431

Free Speech TV…Davey D Intv w/ Legend Amiri Baraka (OLM News)

Amiri BarakaThis is our Free Speech TV show OLM News w/ Davey D where we sat down w/ educator, activists, Black Arts Movement founder Amiri Baraka.. There’s so much to talk w/ this legend about and we covered a lot of ground..including art and activism, the connection between Hip Hop and the Black Arts Movement that proceeded it.. the political state of our country..

It’s important to build with elders like Amiri to get a sense of history which allows us to make important connections between movements they started and current happenings.. This is eye-opening and compelling. It was shot at Eastside Arts Alliance in Oakland.. enjoy

You can catch our weekly Free Speech TV show on Sunday nights w/ repeats 3 times during the week.. Check local listings..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fbQVIErafU

Free Speech TV… Davey D Interview w/ Blackalicious (OLM News)

Chief XL of BlackaliciousThis is a our recent Free Speech TV show  OLM News w/ Davey D where we sat down and chopped it up with Oakland based rappers Blackalicious. It’s always a pleasure to build with Gift of Gab who is by far one of Hip Hop’s most underrated emcees and Chief XL who is a producer’s producer..

During our convo we covered a variety of topics like them working with the late Gil Scott Heron, the current state of Hip Hop and them rocking mics internationally… They note one of their favorite places to get down is in various countries throughout Africa. We also focused on their longevity in the game which now spans over 20 years..

You can catch our weekly TV show on Free Speech television on Sunday nights..and the repeats which air 3 times each week.. Check local listings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFD-NooIo9M

OLM News: our Convo w/ Author Nelson George..Brooklyn Boheme & the State of Black Music

We recently sat down with longtime music critic and author Nelson George to talk about his new movie Brooklyn Boheme.This is a film that focuses on what many deemed a major Black Artist renaissance in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn during the late 80s and throughout the 90s and on into the early part of the millennium.

During our interview, not only did we talk about the movie, but we had an engaging exchange on the state of Hip Hop and Black music in general… To this day one of the dopest books I’ve ever read is Death of Rhythm and Blues and so we definitely built on some of the points he raised there…  Enjoy the convo which recently aired on Free Speech TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQcbQiqrFCA

OLM News w/ Davey D… Intv w/ Sgt Ron Stallworth on Infiltrating the KKK

One of the most intriguing and insightful individuals we ever sat down with is former Gang Intelligence Coordinator for the Utah police department, Sgt Ron Stallworth. Currently teaching, he is considered in law enforcement circles to be the foremost expert on what many have dubbed gangsta rap.

Yes, we know over the years there’s been a lot of attention given to ‘Hip Hop cops’ like Derrick Parker and the huge dossiers he and others had amassed on rappers, but Stallworth is the original. He’s penned several books on the gangsta rap, which up until recently were only available for law enforcement. Each one of the 4 books I have easily surpass the information and scholarship that we would see with current Hip Hop books on the market.

Stallworth explained that as a peace officer, writing and paying attention to detail is an important part of the job. Overlooking details and cutting corners could be the difference between life and death in the field, hence, his writings and books were and do reflect that..

Stallworth in his writings  attacked the subject of gangsta rap and Hip Hop  with a couple of thoughts in mind. First, he felt it was crucial to connect the historical dots. He was well aware that Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap did not occur in a political or social vacuum. He’s quite clear in noting that Black music expression is connected to struggle and key movements. he details these movements in his writings and explains how and why they are connected  Hip Hop.

Sgt Ron Stalworth

Stallworth covers everything from the Black Panthers to the Black Liberation Army, to the Nation of Islam to the Five Percenters to the Black Arts Movement and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These details aren’t so much a rap sheet where he starts identifying particular folks. Instead he details such facets like the way the oral traditions are similar and contrasted with key orators in the Panthers vs popular gangsta rappers of the early 90s.  He in great detail, explains how the agendas and ideology of past  political and social movements manifest themselves in so-called gangsta rap.

Stallworth wanted to make sure those reading his work would have a better understanding who were was saying what and how it really matched up in real life. Stallworth would spend hours listening to artists, transcribing their lyrics and cross referencing their words with real life.  He noted that surprisingly lots of artists would literally brag about their exploits, gang affiliations etc.. he noted that many more were telling tall tales or being mouth pieces for neighborhood shot callers. Over the years Stallworth got good at knowing who was real and who was fake. He also got good at breaking down the lingo, double speak and street codes which unearth lots of information and insight.

Sgt Ron Stallworth holding KKK Membership card

In our round table interview we cover a lot of this.. But that’s only the beginning of Stallworth’s claim to fame. prior to getting into studying gangsta rap, Stallworth had infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.It wasn’t just any KKK chapter. It was one that was stationed in the military bases in Colorado where they were actively recruiting. Stallworth as a brown skin Black man managed to not only infiltrate the chapter, but was offered an opportunity to be chapter leader. Yes, you read that right, its something out of a Dave Chappelle skit, 20 years before Chappelle showed up on the scene..  Stallworth carries a signed membership card from Klan leader David Duke who had no idea that he had been infiltrated..

We start off our round table discussion by talking about Stallworth investigation of the KKK and talk about the current rise of hate groups. During our discussion, he explained that he was going back to Colorado to speak to officers and fill in some key gaps of what he calls the ‘Lost Chapters‘. Stallworth explains that his boss at the time wanted the files on that case to be destroyed. Stallworth kept them and has no regrets considering the significance.

Enjoy this interview w/ Ron that recently aired on Free Speech Tv.. He gives us a lot of game to soak up..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGvcl7nTscE

OLM News w/ Davey D Convo w/ Mark Gonzalez & H Samy Alim

The other day we sat down with two scholar activists, Mark Gonzales and Professor Samy Alim to talk about the lecture/performance series they are doing at Standford University called Occupy the Art..

The discussion we had covered a wide range of issues including the Trayvon Martin situation, the prison industrial complex and the recent 2pac Hologram revealed at the Coachella Music Festival..Both gentlemen offered up keen insights and gave us lots to grow on…Enjoy the roundtable

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ekuCm7Eitk