United States | Hip-Hop and Politics

Rise Up Hip Hop Nation: 2012: A Year of Reckoning, Awakening, or Both?

August 20, 2012 By mrDaveyd

One of my favorite people to build with is Professor Tina Bell Wright of Hip Hop Congress.. Her insights and political predictions are often eerily accurate and she always leaves one with lots to think about. Her mantra; ‘They don’t care about you’ is one that she says far and wide as a reminder for folks to how this system and those in power truly feel and how we must respond.. She hasn’t penned an essay in a while, but this latest one, which is actually a series of notes she plans to use for an upcoming panel discussion on Race and the 2012 Election is a keeper. It’s not a short read, but very, very necessary.. Please take some time to read it..It’s a sobering breakdown of many of social and political forces at play leading up to November and how and why the 2012 contest matters, but not in the traditional ways we’ve come to expect Will we keep counting on an ‘uncaring’ system to save us? Its one of the realest articles I’ve read in a while.. Major props

-Davey D-

“2012: A Year of Reckoning, Awakening, or Both? — Examining White Supremacy, Corporate Fascism and the Generational Shift Defining the Political Landscape.”

by Professor Tina Bell Wright

As you can probably tell from the title of my paper, I have a number of topics I hope to tie together. The plan is to pull together many ideas into one big theme (which is): this election matters, but not in the way it is usually framed. I don’t think this election matters politically at all, because politics as this system is now set up tells us nothing really. At best, it reflects the will of the highest bidder, or the frame of corporate media, or the effectiveness of the latest legislative tactics to manage or suppress voting (via voter ID laws or redistricting for example). Those that actually do vote do so with great skepticism, and a large percentage don’t even participate in the process at all. While the outcome of this election will not offer very different results (in terms of governance), it will illuminate two very different trajectories for this country (culturally)…and that matters greatly. That is what I want to focus on in this paper.

The Racialization of a Nation

Self inflicted wounds may be the most difficult to heal, psychologically at least. Since its inception, the United States has lived with a self inflicted wound that has defined every aspect of this society, most importantly, the distribution and control of all economic and political resources. The racialization of this nation (or the color line as W.E.B. DuBois called it) continues to plague this country (and the globe more broadly) and the election of the first biracial president did nothing to change that reality.

But what elections won’t address, time eventually will in one way or another. As students of history, we are able to examine the effects of time and see that while it may be hard to see and feel change in the here and now, change does happen nevertheless. Historical factors are changing right before our eyes – namely the decline of the US Empire and shifting demographics. The results will define this country’s trajectory for the foreseeable future and could foster a progressive movement of the likes we have not seen in a generation. But backlash has thwarted progressive movements before, and it will this time again if the power of narrative building and cultural strategies are not properly understood

Culture Matters

After the 2010 election when the Tea Party swept into power, Colorlines.com published an interview w/ hip hop scholar Jeff Chang. The title of the article was “It’s Bigger than Politics, the Real Shift is Cultural”.

See: http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/11/jeff_chang_interview.html

Jeff Chang

In this interview, Chang argued that the culture wars were back, and basically a backlash to the election of Obama.

He also stated that culture always moves before politics. He said:”culture impacts and often precedes political change….Or put in another way, political change is the final manifestation of cultural shifts that have already occurred.”

Chang argues that the right understands the importance of culture and narrative building much better than progressives in either electoral or movement politics.

He states: “Sadly most progressives—whether they work in electoral politics or movement politics—have not yet figured culture into their theory of change. Unlike the right, they have no cultural strategy…..One thing progressives need to do is to understand the importance of expressing our hopes and dreams in narratives. Progressives misunderstand culture. The right is clear about it—Beck, Brietbart, and O’Reilly were long in the creation; they are the products of a four-decade long conservative movement building initiative. We need to build up an infrastructure that includes cultural strategy. We focus on facts and figures, but stories are what move the country. Culture is where ideas are introduced, values are inculcated, and emotions are attached to concrete change. It is where the national imagination gets moved. So we need cultural strategy.”

My work on hip hop and mobilization has brought me to the same conclusion.

I teach a course titled Sociology of Media and Popular Culture: Examining Hip Hop. In it, we discuss the theoretical foundation of media studies and the importance of examining media on three levels: production “the who” (who owns/produces media), content “the what” (what we get/see in media) and context “the how” (refers to the audience interpretation of media/ how audience understands media messages). That third level of analysis explains how one message can be understood very differently depending on the audience’s interpretation of it…which is a function of the (cultural – all encompassing) lens through which they view messages.

Applying the same multi-level analysis to this panel’s topic of Race and the 2012 Election, we realize that much of modern political analysis focuses on content – the “what”: elections, policies, etc.

For those that think critically, including sociologists, moving beyond the “what” level to examine “who” is in control is critical to understanding how the status quo power structure remains so entrenched. Much of our sociological analyses focus on the producers of our social woes – the corporate elite (1%), imperialists, corporate media, fascist governments, white supremacists, racists, democrats, republicans, Obama, Romney and so on.

Social structure we call it. It can change, but not easily, and definitely not overnight. What we have not developed as well is our third level of analysis…our third eye if you will. And as they say, context is everything. Power brokers (producers) and their power (content) may not change overnight, but how they are perceived and received can change everything. This is where a cultural strategy must come in.

The Emperor Has No Clothes

2012 is tagged the year of great transformation…apocalyptic even. For many, the world we know ends, and if we are lucky a new and improved one begins. If we are not so lucky, it just ends or nothing changes. Interestingly enough, the fall of the US empire was not an apocalyptic event, but instead the result of a self inflicted wound that has been years in the making. Globalization and corporate fascism have weakened the nation state and the United States has itself to thank (or blame) depending on your perspective. Multinational corporations now trump the power of many nation-states …market supremacy has replaced white supremacy as the #1 global organizing principle. Everyone is in a race to the bottom which is now within reach for even middle class Americans. The concentration of wealth is in the hands of a smaller and smaller percentage every day.

The Dawn of OccupyHegemony Ends, Fascism Begins

While fewer and fewer control the world’s resources, the world has become more open in other ways, specifically due to technology. Disney was right: It’s a small world after all. 🙂 Technology has forever changed the power to control information. Propaganda is still a viable tool via media framing, but with technology, information comes quickly and much more freely via a number of sources. The status quo power structure will have to take more drastic means to maintain its control; hence more infractions on civil liberties, police state tactics, etc.

Power via acceptance of dominant narratives is slowly eroding…people are waking up and losing faith in so-called leadership, especially politicians.

The more people challenge the system, the more police state tactics are employed. People now know better and must be physically controlled where mental control was all that was needed before. People are being beaten more because they are fighting back more.

Instead of building our own back door in compliance of a system never for us, police are forced to guard the front door with heavy artillery (see Carter G. Woodson’s Miseducation of the Negro). While it may not feel like it, this is progress. Military power is still power – a force to reckoned with to be sure…but with military power comes constant warfare – that type of power is always in danger of a coup…or a revolution…or friendly fire..a self inflicted wound that can fester and undermine its own prowess. Hegemonic power, on the other hand, remains emboldened as long as all believe in the system as such. Hegemonic power is not challenged if it is accepted as legitimate and right.

Shifting Demographics – Fear of a Black/Brown/Yellow/Red Planet

Census data shows us that fewer white babies are born today than babies of color. Whether the spike in hate groups and the recent mass shootings linked to white supremacists are manifestations of “white angst” over this reality or not can be debated, but much of the cultural strategy on the right seems to be a direct reaction to the shifting demographics. Nativist movements like the tea party exploit white fear to maintain a system of white supremacy in a country getting browner everyday.

So where does all this lead us with the 2012 election around the corner? Before we look ahead, let’s first look back and see how we got here.

2008 and the Election of Obama

When studies of the 2008 election were conducted, many focused on the demographic make up of the electorate…i.e. the youth vote, the black vote, the Latino vote, etc. Three factors definitely contributed to Obama’s election in 2008. I think only the third will be a factor in 2012.

Factor #1: George W. Bush

According to some polls, many view GW Bush as one of the worst presidents in history; his two unfounded and unfunded wars and the heist of the US treasury left the mass majority ready for a DRASTIC change. Or to use the best anecdotal evidence I can cite, when asked by a pollster who he would vote for, one man from WVA or Kentucky said “I’m voting for the nigger.”

Factor #2: History

This probably was the most important factor. Most, including me placed a vote for history. This factor brought many people to the polls that would not normally go…and to be certain, many, especially young people of color will not come out again in 2012 in the same numbers.

Factor #3: The New Cultural Majority – Demographic make up of the electorate

The youth vote, the Latino vote and the black vote definitely helped Obama win the presidency. I was listening to talk radio the other day and I heard this white man admit that he even has grown tired of rich white men running everything. The New Cultural Majority represents a generational and demographic shift of this nation. In broad terms, it is less religious, more tolerant, less homophobic, and more open to diversity. The New Cultural Majority is not necessarily political, but leans more left than right, especially on social issues. George W. Bush and History will not be factors in this election. The question remains: will the New Cultural Majority show up in 2012?

Race and the 2012 Election: Cultural Strategies

Since Obama’s election in 2008, the right has relaunched their cultural strategy. With social media, the left is able to react quicker to many of the short term battles the right has waged. As well, demographic shifts and technology make it more difficult for one narrative to take hold and be the only story people get. This bolds well for short term battles, mostly the social issues. As well, with the new cultural majority, the demographic arc bends toward justice, but with ongoing economic uncertainty (with no end in sight), people’s fears can and will be exploited. Those that build the most compelling narrative will seize the nation’s imagination.

THE RIGHT: PRIVATIZE, PRIVATIZE, PRIVATIZE

The right’s cultural strategy involves both short term and long term objectives. The short term strategy consists of taking advantage of the 2010 gains at the local and state levels as well as tapping into white angst via nativist movements like the tea party. From it we have gotten a number of battles:1. Anti-immigration legislation, SB 1070 including even crazy talk about repealing the 14th amendment, 2. Ethnic study bans, revisionist history textbooks etc.2. Anti-gay legislation against same sex marriage etc…or even long lines at Chick Fil A to show support for “family values”3. All sorts of anti-abortion and anti-contraception legislation…probably the most targeted war on women since the women’s movement4. Anti-Muslim hysteria – Mosque protests in NY and TN, look up OC Hate video on YouTube, bans on Sharia law passed here and other nonsense5. Voter ID laws to suppress votes of students (youth vote), people of color (particularly black vote) and elderly (Medicare vote)

But given the generational shift, especially on social issues, the right has also embraced a LONG term cultural strategy…and that is best described by Ron’s Paul’s Revolution…Libertarianism…buzz words of anti-government, individual freedom, rugged individualism, free market capitalism, and privatization of all things.

This is a long tem strategy that keeps resources in the hands of few but promotes universal ideals that can transcend race, gender, sexual orientation, and age (generations).

In this LONG TERM strategy, the privatization of all publically controlled and resourced entities is promoted. Folks may not be ready to talk about privatizing Medicare, but Education is definitely the next major battlefield. Coming from California I have a first hand view of the war (see footnote; I have more to say on this but will leave to discussion and hopefully will have time). Again, privatization offers the right a way to control resources (and bodies) despite demographic changes.

Because the New Cultural Majority is younger and more progressive (socially at least), the window of opportunity to implement this long term strategy is closing quickly and they realize it. If there seems to be some fervor on the right to roll back civil rights or push through unpopular legislation, it is for a reason. Time is of the essence. But it is equally of the essence for progressives of the LEFT as well if we want to make sure our narrative is the one that takes hold.

THE LEFT: ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE

Succinctly stated, the left cannot depend on the weakening of the nation-state and shifting demographics alone to foster progressive social change. Demographic shift or not, white supremacy can and will manifest itself for generations to come via resource distribution and control. The LONG TERM war, the end of racialization of resources and the real healing of the wound that continues to plague this country will only be healed through changing attitudes, context, narrative building and cultural work.

The SHORT TERM strategy must include a focus on local community building and promotion of sustainable cultures. Our focus should be on localization – satisfying our basic needs within the bounds of our local environment. But we must develop a coherent LONG TERM cultural strategy as well. If we do not, and the right is able to successfully privatize education, and subsequently Medicare and social security, game over. Or as I recommend to my students, have an exit strategy in place. You will find me in Ocho Rios 🙂

So in my view, this country heads in one of two directions on November 7, 2012.

TWO TRAJECTORIES:

Occupy v. Ron Paul’s Revolution

Democratic Socialism v. Rugged Individualism (Libertarianism)

brother’s keeper v. survival of the fittest

Saul Alinsky v. Ayn Rand

While the future is not clear, a few things are: The next generation will be more diverse; social issues will become less relevant with this next generation and hegemonic ideals that shape today’s political landscape will continue to be challenged…in other words, the younger generation is beginning to be a cultural force in politics. Does that mean the end of racialization of all aspects of this society? the end of white supremacy and corporate fascism? Not anytime soon but given the mass rejection of the political system by both sides of the spectrum, there is room for movement politics to take hold and a clear cultural strategy is required to move the movement in a progressive direction.

While demographics seem favorable for progressive change, backlash is always a powerful counterforce. The most important question = Which narrative will dominate the national imagination? If progressives do not clearly embrace a cultural strategy, I promise you the right will swoop in and push to privatize education, and instead of hailing Saul Alinsky as the example to follow to build strong people based power, and in it a more perfect union, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all, we will be looking at Ayn Rand as the founding mother of the United States, 2.0 version…forget the union, you’re on your own, man, woman, senior, and child.

Added Footnotes.

1. Public Education: Ground Zero in Cultural War

The Privatization of Education: About Control, not Profit

In countries considered “poor”, i.e. most countries in the world, education is a luxury. In actuality, only about 7% of the global population receives a college education (college degree) and the majority of those people are in what are labeled the “developed” world (read richer nations). Well, while education was never really treated as a right in the United States, the electorate is now being molded to accept education as a luxury that only the most affluent of the society will be able to afford (like the rest of the world). While the push toward privatization has taken on many phases (faces) over the last few years (from charter schools to anti-union measures), the next phase (face) is probably the most deceptive: student success initiatives. Budget pressures and student success task force reports provide the cover for the most dramatic changes to the public education system we will see pass through the state legislators to date. Students who are not already excellent academically or who are not economically able to afford increasing costs will be pushed out…and expeditiously. While public schools are still public, affected constituent groups (students, parents, and educators) must educate themselves on the changing laws and organize vehemently to hold THEIR public institutions accountable to the communities they serve. Education is one of the only paths of upward mobility in class based structures that define our society. The more access to education a society’s members have, the less rigid its class system…the less access to education, the more rigid the class system. The privatization of education in a globalized system is meant to control who has access to education…the elite, and only the elite.

Plan B: The Privatization of Prisons: About Control…and Profit

So what does a once educated country do when it stops educating a large majority of its population? Very few countries can boast a “middle class” of the sorts that once defined the United States. But with access to education disappearing, that middle class disappears also. Now what? Plan B. The prison industry has proven to be most lucrative. It should be obvious to all that middle class Americans would never be able to accept competing for slave wages in a global economy, and seeing that steep of a decline in standard of living, a forced alternative was hatched. Legal slave wages under the guise of the prison industry complex. Call it indoctrination into the global economy. Private entities can own prisons and corporations can utilize prison labor – from manufacturing products to telemarketing. Cheap labor once outsourced finds its way back to US shores. Those we are now locking out of education, can now be locked up into private prisons as bodies to fill new buildings and cheap laborers to make products.

2. Building a Sustainable Culture

In preparation for this panel, an alternet.org article was sent out via ABSdiscourse listserv titled: “The 2012 Elections Have Little to Do With Obama’s Record … Which Is Why We Are Voting For Him” …As always, it sparked some serious commentary, particularly about our tendency to fall into the trap of “voting for the lesser of two evils”. Most of the comments I read that expressed that sentiment, but I believe this comment offered not only good insight, but a viable path to progressive change.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/2012-elections-have-little-do-obamas-record-which-why-we-are-voting-him?paging=off

Collapse

I suggest that you are optimistic about working within the political arena. I just can’t imagine any of the key players not complying with the wishes of those who finance their elections. Those that have stormed the WH (Chris Hedges, Bill McKibben) got some press and jail time but not sure there will be any movement in domestic or international policies as a result.

What is my answer? Good question. For me, there are really only a few ways out and voting in meaningless elections isn’t one of them.

One is revolution. It’s a nasty and brutish with an outcome that is very difficult to predict. Revolutions can be hijacked just as easily as the electoral process (e.g., Libya). It would be my last choice.

Another is global economic collapse, somewhat likely given that all empires, like this one, have a tendency to overreach and eventually do themselves in. That will also be nasty with a big price to pay by all of us who have been drawn into the industrial culture where we depend on money and jobs for the basics of life (food, water and shelter). Most of us in the developed world are very vulnerable to collapse. One benefit of a near-term collapse, however, is the planet might not be totally ransacked leaving something to work with. Again, there are no guarantees that whoever rebuilds will have learned the lessons of the past. This would be my second choice.

Lastly, we can spend what time we have left creating a sustainable culture that, in the end, will undermine the mindless, heartless neoliberalism propelling us towards the brink. There will not be any single solution. Like nature, the solution needs to fit the ecological circumstances of the niches we live in. Among movements today, this is referred to as localization — satisfying our basic needs within the bounds of our local environment. It’s the antithesis of our globalized economy. It is the way our natural world works and we have clearly demonstrated we can’t improve on that. It is time to reestablish enduring relationships with our fellow humans and with the natural world. The risks of hijack are minimal and this would be my first choice.

http://riseuphiphopnation.blogspot.com/2010/08/white-supremacy-from-bacon-to-obama-are.html

http://riseuphiphopnation.blogspot.com/2009/08/miseducation-of-nation-unveiling.html

written by Professor Tina Bell Wright

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Barack obama, Hip Hop, Jeff Chang, November 2012 election, Obama, Popular culture, Race and politics, Tea Party, Tina wright, United States

President Obama Comes to Town.. What Will He Say to a City w/ a Lot of Questions & Concerns?

July 23, 2012 By mrDaveyd

Obama comes to Oakland today

So President Obama is in town-Oakland, California. He came in last night and will be at the Fox Theater later this evening for what will be one of 3 fundraisers…I find it ironic that Obama would come to Oakland to raise money from our good citizens while his US Attorney appointee Melinda Haag has run roughshod over Northern Cali, directing federal agents to shut down state and city sanctioned medical marijuana facilities. Her actions run in stark opposition to what Obama and his Attorney General Eric Holder had said they would not do when they came trouncing around Oakland looking for money and votes back in 08.. So while Obama gets money from us..the city is now struggling to make sure the second largest contributors to its tax coffers are not permanently closed..

When Obama comes to speak tonight there will be a rally and protest starting at 12 noon.. you can get the info here..

http://www.facebook.com/events/342631035818988/

http://stopthedrugwar.org/trenches/2012/jul/20/rally_monday_obama_fundraiser_oa

#SaveHarborside

When Obama comes to the Fox Theater tonight, it’ll be interesting to see he addressing the rampant police killings of unarmed civilians taken place up and down the state. From Oakland to SF to Vallejo to Stockton and now Anaheim. Over the weekend, we saw the outrage in Anaheim around the killing of Manuel Diaz and out of control police setting dogs on mothers and kids.. What took place in Anaheim was the second unarmed man killed by police in a week..Thus far this year, the city which is home to Disneyland the Happiest Place on Earth, has seen 7 civilians killed by APD.. The Happiest place on Earth.. More like the most Trigger Happy place on Earth.

We’ll see if Obama addresses these shootings or the recent ones in Oakland including ones involving Alan Bluford, Oscar Grant, Raheim Brown, Derrick Jones, especially since several of these cases have requested investigations from his Attorney General..With one African American being killed by police every 36 hours, folks in oakland are very aware of the problems with police.. I wonder if he’ll address the grief folks are feeling or if he’ll shower praise on a troubled OPD which has had to pay out close to 60 million dollars in brutality settlements over the past 10 years, and try to appeal to their union I’m asking this in the context that OPD has been training Mexican Federales on how to deal w/ drug cartels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRDJS5PTzmc

In an area with large immigrant population, How will Obama address the record number of raids that have impacted both Latino and Asian communities here. In spite of us being a Sanctuary City, it has not stopped ICE from showing up here and breaking up families. Yes, we know, Obama made his recent gesture toward immigrant families by saying he isn’t going after young people, but what will he do to restore those families that have already been broken up? When he came in 08, he got everyone hyped by talking about how he was gonna push for comprehensive Immigration reform..

There will be a big rally today at 3Pm to Protest Obama sending the Feds in to Raid Oakland’s state sanctioned Medical Cannabis Clubs

In an area that filled with over 10 colleges and universities, wonder if Obama will address huge student debt and pending budget cuts directed at students.. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of inspiring message he gives the youth in Cali who have provided him a solid Blue state.. These young voters got out and gave him a bunch of key congresspeople, 2 US Senators and a Governor he should be able to work with.. Those who voted for him in Cali did their part what will he do for them?Will he aggressively push for the Millionaire’s Tax? Will he direct new legislation or issue some sort of executive order to help stem rising tuition costs?

Lastly we have the issue of foreclosures.. Cali especially the bay Area has seen them massively impact folks, especially in Brown and Black communities. Yes, we know Cali AG Kamala Harris reached a deal with the banks that was ion fact better than most, but we should not forget that she had intense pressure from the White House to settle, in the meantime we still have folks out on the streets.. What does Obama say to them tonight? What does he say to Oakland, knowing the type of stranglehold his buddies at Goldman Sachs have had over the city which is directly and indirectly forced us to close schools and give up other resources.. Some of the main opponents currently fighting Goldman Sachs are Black churches, which are a key voting block for Obama in Oakland..You can read about that HERE

Should be an interesting evening in Oakland w/ Obama in town..

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Barack obama, Eric Holder, Melinda Haag, Obama, President Obama 2012, United States

An Open Letter from Singer Sinead O’Connor About Trayvon Martin, Racism Pop Culture & Music

March 25, 2012 By mrDaveyd

Singer/ activist Sinead O’Connor just penned a powerful piece about Trayvon Martin, Racism, Loving ourselves and Hip Hop Music… It comes from her blog which is located at: http://sineadoconnor.com/

Here’s what she wrote the other day:

I would like to extend my very deepest sympathies to the family and other loved ones of murdered teenager, Treyvon Martin. I am very sad today (and am certain the whole of Ireland is) to learn of poor Treyvon’s terrifying ordeal and horrified by the fact his known and named and admitted killer has not been arrested, despite the crime having taken place a month ago. This is a disgrace to the entire human race.

For those out there who believe black people to be less than pure royalty, let me inform you of a little known, but scientifically proven, many times over, FACT. Which after reading, you will hopefully feel both very stupid and very sorry. For you dishonor your own mothers and grandmothers.

EVERY human being on earth, no matter what their culture, creed, skin colour, or nationality, shares one gene traceable back to one African woman. Scientists have named it ‘The Eve Gene’. This means ALL of us, even ridiculously stupid, ignorant, perverted, blaspheming racists are the descendants of one African woman.

One African woman is the mother of all of us. Africa was the first world. You come from there! Your skin may be ‘white’.. because you didn’t need it to be black any more where you lived. But as Curtis Mayfield said.. “You’re just the surface of our dark, deep well”. So you’re being morons. And God is having the last laugh at your ignorant expense.

If you hate black people, its yourself you hate. And the mother who bore you. If you kill or wish ill on black people, its yourself you kill and wish ill on. As well as the mother who bore you.

When you dishonor the the utter glory and majesty of black people, you lie. Your heart lies to you and you let it. Despite seeing every day, all your life, how you and your country would be less than wonderfully functioning and inspiring to the world, without the manifold and glorious contributions made by the descendants of African slaves, who did not by the way actually ask to go to America and leave their future families there to be disrespected for eternity.

What are you doing hating yourself by hating your brothers and sisters who daily show you nothing but inspiration and love, despite having NOTHING, in their own country? Despite having barely a chance of anything, because of racism. Despite being granted no ‘permission’ for proper self-esteem.

These beautiful people continue to believe in and even manifest Jesus Christ better than you do. That alone could stand as the greatest reason your racism is blasphemy, were it not for all the other reasons.

These people you hate and fear ARE the body of Christ, just as we all are. Every child, woman or man. And they know it. Maybe thats why you cant bear to look at them. Because you see Jesus Christ and you cant stand the light.

Stop this ridiculous and uneducated attitude. You would be dead without black people. Think of all the greatest music ever composed. The greatest songs. The greatest inspirational heroes.. Muhammad Ali, Mandela, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Soujourner Truth, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield. So many absolute angels, sent from God.

Without the inspiration of these people many millions of so-called ‘white’ people, including myself would not have had the strength to pay the price of life.

And black youth in America. I’m talking to you here too. I love you. So I don’t mean to sound cross, I’m just being a mother.. Why are you killing each other? Why are you hating yourselves? You are the most important people God ever sent to this earth, every man, woman and child among you! Don’t let uneducated people win and take your self-esteem or your esteem for each other, and make you kill each other. over guns, drugs, bling, or any other nonsense.

You are now entering YOUR version of a sort of civil rights movement and you’re gonna see history being made in what has certainly the profoundest potential to become THE most wonderful country on earth. Because soon ALL ‘isms’ and ‘sits” will end. including racism, as the people of the earth begin to understand, we are all one.

We came from one mother. We are all brothers and sisters. And we CAN get beyond this ILLUSION of separateness. With prayer and love. It CAN change. It WILL change. And YOU guys (young people of all kinds) are the ones who are gonna GENTLY change it. And you know where it starts? With MUSIC.

Don’t be guided by rap. Gangsta or otherwise. Sure.. enjoy it.. adore it.as I do.. but realize this.. rap ain’t about your civil or spiritual rights, baby boys and girls. It.. along with most music nowadays.. is about falsenesses and vanities. Bling, drugs, sex, guns and people- dissing. Its giving you the message you ain’t ‘good enough’ if you don’t have bling and ting.. and money. Or if you’re not what it deems ‘sexy’.

(This is true of all popular music not rap alone. I know. Its tragically true of all popular youth culture the world over).

Poor Curtis Mayfield must be crying all day and night ALL day and night in heaven, every day and night.. To see what has been so successfully achieved by those who sent guns, drugs, and bling to squash the civil rights movement. Now you all don’t have to be murdered by racists any more.. you’re murdering each other FOR them! And your parents and grandparents are left crying.

Go back to strong black musical guides who left you information in the 60s and 70s. when they were living through the civil rights struggle. Curtis Mayfield. The Impressions. Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson. Sing back the Holy Spirit ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, as those artists did.

Forget bling. Forget “Get Rich Or Die Trying”. That is an evil message. Evil my dears is only life backwards. Turn it the right way up. With music. The messages American black youth are being given through music are not about the spiritual and therefore strong and conquering but PEACEFUL making of YOUR country into the wonderful place it secretly is and can be.. BECAUSE OF YOU, and BY YOU!!

You know not how you are adored, appreciated, valued, loved, cried for,smiled for, prayed for, all over the world. You know not how much inspiration and uplift-ment of heart you give to millions just by your presence on earth.

These musical guides will give you self-esteem. When you have self-esteem you can achieve anything. You can stand in the street as many did yesterday and change your country peacefully and with song. Chant down Babylon as the Rastas say. Rastafari will also give you self esteem. Investigate it.

You will notice, my beautiful sons and daughters, when you study, as you must, footage of all civil rights gatherings, how singing and music and sound and voice and the Holy Spirit were all employed and were so much part of the energy which moved things along.. just as running was in the South African gatherings I saw on tv in my own childhood, which inspired me to survive my own horrors.

What you listen to musically and whether or not you employ the Holy Spirit’s highest will for your life is whats gonna make you transcend all you’re having to suffer (the worst of which is low self-esteem.. or esteem based upon material ‘success’ or ‘sexiness’)) as a result of being the descendants of people who didn’t ask to be stolen and leave you where you are. Delete bling. Get conscious with your music. Demand conscious music from your artists. Go back to the artists who left you proper guidance.

This is some serious stuff and we (all manner of musical artists) are too silent on matters of enormous spiritual importance. Lemme ask you.. Jayzee and Eminem et al. Why was it always the black people only worked in the post rooms of record companies, which was always in the basement? Why was it that as each floor went up the skins got paler till it was fuckin ghosts at the top? And all us artists.. even me.. said nothing? Those buildings (record companies) always struck me as being a microcosm or painting of America, racially speaking. Christ almighty.. if its like that in the music business how is anything ever going to change?

We, musical artists are too silent on important stuff. And it is our job to be the gate-keepers of truth. ALL the people of this earth must come together eventually and see that we are one. ALL artists must stand up. Black, white, yellow, green, pink, fucking polka dot.. and be a light in these times.

The world is going to shift massively this year.. spiritually speaking. Musical artists are to be a massive part of that shift. Get up, lets all of us. And light Jah fire.. and BE lights.

Where’s the fire gone from music? Where is the love? the oneness? The knowing that music CAN and WILL move things in the right spiritual direction without hatred or violence? We must box clever. Sing the devil to sleep at your feet. Thats what Curtis teaches. He is the master of ALL musical masters. forget, forget, forget and forget again bling and guns and drugs and the worship of fame and money. Its time to wake up. We KNOW the power of music. Why aren’t we using it to change anything important?

Musicians all over the world should now gently demand this child’s killer be arrested immediately and the family of Treyvon Martin be immediately apologized to upon bended knee. Frankly. I myself would like an apology! America is a country I love and adore. what this man has done is un-American in the most horrific extreme.

Him not being arrested is extremely embarrassing and does absolutely NOT paint the true picture of of a country and a people who for the 90% majority are the kindest, most loving, intelligent, and wonderful people you could know.

Please.. ALL Americans should deplore this crime. As should ALL people of ALL nations. And deplore the fact this man has not been arrested. All Irish people should do the same. And I ask that we here in Ireland should express through our American embassy that we would like to see this man arrested this very minute. Because racism is not acceptable. Nor is vigilantism. And this was very clearly in no way at all a case of self-defense.

I leave you with some lyrics of Curtis Mayfield’s which I feel are appropriate for this situation. I am certain Curtis would have wanted to contribute to discussion on the issue of Treyvon’s murder and the condition of young black people in America today.. so here goes.. the song is called This Is My Country.. from the album of the same name.

Some people think we don’t have the right
to say its my country
before they give in
they’d rather fuss and fight
than say its my country
I’ve paid three hundred years or more
of slave-driving sweat and welts on my back
This is my country

Too many have died in protecting my pride
for me to go second class
We’ve survived a hard blow and I want you to know
that you must face us at last
And I know you will give consideration
shall we perish unjust or live equal as a nation?
This is my country.

written by

-Sinead O’Connor-

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Curtis Mayfield, Harriet Tubman, Hip hop music, Racism, Sinead O'connor, Trayvon Martin, Treyvon Martin, United States

Why We Are We Still Marchin’ ? by TRUTH Minista Paul Scott

October 11, 2011 By mrDaveyd

I have marched until my feet have bled and I have rioted until they called the Feds.
What’s left my conscious said?
“Revolution” Arrested Development

When folks gather in DC for the Jobs and Justice March and the Martin Luther King Memorial dedication this weekend, I betcha a million bucks that somebody is gonna pose the same question that people have been asking for the last 40 years. “What would Martin Luther King Jr say if he was here, today ?” If MLK was at the march, he would probably mean mug the crowd and yell “after all these years, why are y’all still marchin’ ?”

While people have accused the Hip Hop generation of being politically, apathetic (many times for good reason) the hardcore truth is that many young folks are just tired of traveling down the same road that has led us to nowhere-ville. They just need for someone to tell them the best way to bring about change.

Unfortunately, most old school cats are still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, themselves. They can’t answer the basic question, “after all these years of marching and protesting, why are the conditions of poor people, relatively, the same as they were back in 1963?”

The reason is simple. It’s called controlled chaos: when things appear to be out of order but they are really being controlled by a master shot caller. There are forces at work making sure that we stay lost in the wilderness and never make it to the Promised Land.

The government’s repression of political dissent goes back decades. One can trace it as far back as the early 20th century with the Bureau of Investigation’s attack on Marcus Garvey or the House UnAmerican Affairs Committee’s attacks on Paul Robeson and others.

While it is known that the FBI’s COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) played a major role in destroying political movements during the late 60’s and early 70’s, what must be examined in the 21st century is “how” they did it.

According to Ward Churchill and Jim Wall in their book, “Agents of Repression,” the FBI used several techniques to disrupt movements, including infiltrating organizations with agents, falsely tagging activists as “snitches” and assassinations. Another strategy was setting up phony, militant organizations or “pseudo gangs” “designed to confuse, divide and undermine, as well as do outright battles with authentic dissident groups.” This may even account for the street gangs of today who will kill on sight members of rival gangs but would never consider bangin’ on the system.

Also, although politicians praise the strategy of nonviolence, history teaches us that it is only after riots, when people start tearin’ stuff up, that the government suddenly is able to “find” money for all sorts of social programs that they couldn’t find before the rebellions. This is a technique that President Richard Nixon used as he transformed Black Power into Green Power.

One of the least talked about strategies to stop radical movements did not come from the Feds but from philanthropic foundations. According to Robert W Allen in his book “Black Awakening in Capitalist America,” these foundations used their money to co-opt the Black Power movement. The main organization responsible was the Ford Foundation, headed by former US national security advisor, McGeorge Bundy, who’s brother just happened to be William Bundy, former director of the CIA. Allen called the Ford Foundation “the most important, though, least publicized” organization manipulating the militant black movement.”

Not only did the foundations influence the direction of street organizations but they also manipulated Black studies programs at colleges to make sure they produced “Clarence Thomas’s” instead of “Malcolm X’s.” Noliwe Rooks discusses the efforts of the foundations to take the “black” out of Black studies in her book, “White Money, Black Power.”

Later, during the Hip Hop era, we see the role that entertainment corporations played in diverting the rebellious energy of poor and oppressed ghetto kids.

During the golden age of conscious Hip Hop (1988-92) we witnessed a period that best represented how rap music could be used as a tool to organize the masses. This was a time when Hip Hop artists, not only made songs about fighting the power, but also participated in acts of civil disobedience such as when members of the X-Clan were involved in the “Day of Outrage” following the murder of Yusef Hawkins in 1989.

However, after ’92, conscious Hip Hop was replaced by a materialistic music that made people want to be part of the system instead of fighting against it. They have made grown men walking around with their drawers showin’ the ultimate act of rebellion.

Perhaps the most telling example of the political manipulation of Hip Hop was the 2004 election when, instead of using their influence and resources to politically educate their constituents in the ‘hood, Hip Hop moguls created a politically ambivalent marketing strategy called “Vote or Die” that did little more than sell overpriced T-Shirts.

The most interesting political movement in recent history is Occupy Wall Street, as activists have successfully broken out of the box of the Republican/Democratic dynamic and have taken the fight straight to the seat of power. If this movement continues focusing on the source of the multiple problems facing the ‘hood ( the multi-national corporations) this could be a major tipping point, effecting the economic balance of this country.

However, we have already seen filthy rich celebrities co-sign what is supposed to be a poor people’s movement. And it is just a matter of time before some slick politician tries to turn radical, revolutionists into mild mannered voter registration political reformists good only for putting “Vote for Me” posters on people’s front yards.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Today we find ourselves at the crossroads; one way leads to Freedom and the other road leads to perpetual oppression.

We all have a choice to make.

Do we we leave the next generation a movement for real socio-economic change or just sore feet and worn out Air Jordans?

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott represents the Militant Mind Militia. He can be reached at militantmindmilitia@gmail.com Website http://www.militantmindmilitia.com

source: http://militantmindmilitia.blogspot.com/2011/10/controlled-chaos-why-are-we-still.html

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: Black, Black Power, Ford Foundation, Hip Hop, Martin Luther King, McGeorge Bundy, Paul scott, Richard Nixon, United States

US Bombs Libya: Where’s Obama the Peacemaker?

March 20, 2011 By mrDaveyd

As we enter into our third war, one has to wonder what’s the ultimate motivation? Many will try to fool themselves and say its needed to save lives.. The question is who’s lives exactly? In Libya is this a popular uprising or a civil war?

Are we on the side of those fighting oppression or are we giving lip service and using that as a good excuse while we aim for other things..In this case oil?

Is Ghadafy a detestable figure who is ruthless with his people? If so where’s our consistency around him? One minute we hating him ala Ronald Reagan.. the next minute we trying to do business with him under George W Bush.. Have we forgotten the US-Libya Business Association who have since took down their site but not before everyone from Haliburton to Chevron broke bread with a man we are now bombing..

Meanwhile all over the planet we have human rights violations being levied on all sorts of countries we consider friends with no talk of Regime Change.. We friendly with China in spite of their of their dastardly deeds.. We’re cool with Saudi Arabia inspite of their shoddy human rights track record. . We ain’t invading Yemen and it was there where we had a ship blown up USS Cole. We could go on and on.. Hell lets talk about the drama with Israel and how they smash on their Palestinian neighbors..

What’s sad is the role President Obama has been playing. He came out the box saying he opposed the wars but as you can see over the years he’s ‘re-calibrated’ himself and seems as hawkish as any right wing war monger. How does a son of Africa bomb Africa?

I guess its when that Son of Africa sees himself as a politicians more interested in positioning himself and playing the game vs doing what is right. With all our collective brain trust there was no diplomatic solution? We have a military that has no qualms applying pys-ops techniques on Senators to keep us at war.. But seemingly none to help nations be at peace..

What seems to be at play is those pys-op techniques being used to keep our anti-war movement silent.. Look most people would agree that folks fighting for liberation against oppressive regimes should be supported. But we can’t be selective and hwe have to stand on principal about being about peace.. We’re over in Libya demanding Ghadafiy bounce but we’ve yet to bring our own violators of human rights to justice. Can you say George W Bush? Dick Cheney? Or the soldier shown in the video below..

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

Peep the videos below outlining President Obama’s stance on the wars over the years. As you watch ask yourself will there be consequences to our actions. Ghadafy has threatened to take down commercial airlines. he may not have the weaponry but he does have the money .. The US is fighting 3 Muslim countries is not good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhpKmQCCwB8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAwQRsaD6KI

Below is the link to Obama speaking on us bombing Libya …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unD7NJYuEDE

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: Barack obama, George W bush, Libya, Ronald Reagan, Saudi Arabia, United States, US Bombs Libya

What Next, Wisconsin? Some Ideas for the Movement by Josh Healy

March 1, 2011 By mrDaveyd

My man Josh Healy drops another gem of an article for all those watching the drama as it unfolds in Madison, Wisconsin. His first article Class Warfare gave us some good background information and solid food for thought. This one lays out some great strategies..

-Davey D-

I’ve never been so proud to rep Wisconsin.

More than the Packers bringing the Lombardi trophy back to its birthplace, more than the moment I introduced my boys back in DC to the glories of a cheese curd, themassive uprising to defend workers’ rights that has erupted over these past two weeks in Madison has cemented my Badger pride forever.

I’m 2000 miles away from the action inside the Capitol Rotunda, but through text messages, Facebook reports, and (sweet Jesus!) decent coverage from the national media, I feel like I’m just down the block on State Street.

While my analysis is secondary to the activists and agitators in the trenches (snow trenches, to be exact), I want to offer some notes on what has made all this so amazing:

The Movement is Growing By the Day — And Shows No Signs of Stopping.
Since people first learned of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed death-to-unions legislation two weeks ago, the protests at the Capitol haven’t stopped. The numbers of labor demonstrators has grown from 1,000 the first day, to 5,000 a couple days later, to over 100,000 people this past Saturday. Thousands of whom have been occupying the Capitol 24/7, sleeping over in the building despite Walker’s attempts to kick them out. People simply won’t go home — and that’s the most powerful part.

The indefinite, growing action is what has created the legislative crisis and national spectacle. As opposed to most political actions (an anti-war rally or even a fair trade “week of action”), the people’s uprising in Madison has no definitive end date that the Governor and his friends can use to just wait them out. And that’s why they’re scared.

The Democrats Have Showed Some Backbone.
No, not the national Democratic Party, but “The Wisconsin 14“– the Democratic state senators who fled the state to block Gov. Walker’s attack on workers. The state senate needs a quorum of 20 legislators to act on the bill, but the Republicans only have 19 senators. So the Democrats used what power they had, and voted with their feet.

Far too often, Democratic politicians across the country give in (or worse, lead the attack) on workers’ rights and social justice. Let’s support them on the rare occasion they do the right thing — and remember that those 14 senators could only make their stand because 100,000 people in the streets gave them the political space to do so.

The Right-Wing Puppet Masters have been Exposed.
Scott Walker is a stooge, a puppet of national corporate interests. Thanks to a liberal blogger’s prank phone call, we all know who’s pulling Walker’s strings: the billionaire Koch Brothers. Charles and David Koch are viciously right-wing industrialists best known for being the primary funders (some would say creators) of the Tea Party. In the prank call where Walker thought he was talking to David Koch, Walker showed his true allegiance — and it wasn’t to the people of Wisconsin.

The Cops are with the Good Guys?
This is something you don’t usually see: rather than following the standard police playbook of “Taser first, ask questions later,” the police announced their solidarity with the people occupying the Capitol. Wow. The police understand that even though Walker exempted their union (and the firefighters) from the bill, they could be next. Now, many of them are joining with their union brothers and sisters. This is big — just look at Egypt and (hopefully) Libya. When the police join the movement, that’s when the revolution happens.

America has Hope Again.
Van Jones said it best earlier this week: “In the past 24 months, those of us who longed for positive change have gone from hope to heartbreak. But hope is returning to America — at last — thanks largely to the courageous stand of the heroes and heroines of Wisconsin.” Wisconsin is awakening a strong, grassroots Left-labor movement that has been asleep in America for far too long. This past Saturday saw solidarity protests in all 50 states, and there’s even talks that a general strike is on the table in Madison if the bill passes.

This is about more than unions. This is about whose state, whose country this is. To paraphrase George W. Bush, “You’re either with us, or you’re with the billionaire oil tycoon Koch-heads.”

With that said, here’s some things for my Badgers in the streets to keep in mind:

1) Keep the Crisis Going as Long as Possible.
The longer we occupy the Capitol, the longer the Democrats stay in Rockford or wherever the hell they are, the better for our side. It gives us time to frame the debate, show the real issues, build our power and organization, and make the Republicans come to us on our terms.

Gov. Walker might not budge, but 3 Republican Senators very well could. That’s all we need for the vote to fail. Many of those Republicans districts have a lot of union members, and are vulnerable come election time. Many folks are already calling for recall elections. That said, don’t get caught up in electoral politics. Our power is at the grassroots. And remember that Walker did NOT run on a campaign to bust unions. His election was not a mandate for this bill.

2) Make this Bigger Than Just the Unions — Because It Is.
This bill (and soon Walker’s full budget) doesn’t just attack organized labor: he is privatizing UW-Madison, decimating state health care, and attacking unemployed people and all sorts of workers not in unions. If the broad-based movement of the past two weeks doesn’t continue after whatever happens with this one bill, then we’ve lost either way.

Build new relationships — and organization! Wisconsin (and the whole country) needs a real, ongoing coalition of workers, students, civil rights groups, faith leaders, women’s and LGBT groups: the full rainbow spectrum. Some of this is already happening with Wisconsin Wave, Defend Wisconsin, and others. The fights will keep coming — let’s keep fighting united.

3) This Can’t Just Be a White Fight.
This is going off the last point. Let’s be honest — most the teachers, social workers, and other public workers who have been the majority of faces in the protests are white. Wisconsin is about as white a state as they come. But when it comes to serious oppression in the Badger State – massively disproportionate incarceration, unemployment, and immigration raids – the people most impacted are usually black and brown. Several Republican legislators have already called for an anti-immigrant law as harsh as Arizona’s. If this movement’s call is to “defend Wisconsin,” who are we defending it for?

The conservative game plan is always to divide and conquer, in this case to pit ‘lazy’ public-sector workers against ‘hard-working’ private-sector workers. Sound familiar? In our appeal to class solidarity, let’s recognize that there are deep racial divisions in Wisconsin — in our schools, our housing, and yes, our unions. Let’s be up front about it, and make this the time to start doing it different. Racial justice groups like my old friends at Freedom Inc. have already joined the fight.

4. Target the People and Structures Behind Walker.
I’m not just talking about the Koch brothers, I’m talking about Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, who protesters smartly picketed last week for being the main sponsor of the current bill. I’m talking about the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, giving corporations free rein to buy politicians through campaign donations. I’m talking about unregulated capitalism, and the idea that human beings are mere commodities to be bought and sold to the highest bidding billionaire. The people in the Capitol are starting to think BIG. Let’s keep it up.

5) Expect to WIN!
This is the most important one. The momentum is on our side: the people, the Packers, even the police are on our side. The nation is with you. Don’t give in on pensions and health care before negotiating. Don’t give in on cuts to Badger Care or turning UW-Madison into “a country club with a nice library.”

I remember walking to a protest on Library Mall once and thinking, “This isn’t going to change anything.” And you know what it? It didn’t. Too often, we think we’re going to lose, and so we don’t even play hard in the game. This time, Madison, you’ve taken your gloves off. I can see it in your eyes. You know you can win. So go do it.

I’ll be there with you, proud as hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5TmSNPpzkWc

original article: http://joshhealey.org/2011/02/28/what-next-wisconsin/

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: David Koch, Democratic, George W bush, Scott Walker, United States, Van Jones, Wisconsin

Which Side Are You On? Why Do So Many Rappers & Politicians Support Dictators

March 1, 2011 By mrDaveyd

Global politics are always complicated. Our relationship with countries and their leaders are layered and weighed against our so-called national interests, political pragmatism and a bunch of other factors we rarely think about.

Here in the US how most of us view global politics is challenging because the mainstream media is where most of us get our news. These outlets have their own agenda and thus they tend to present stories from abroad in neat little news cycles and only after something has literally blown up to the point its hard to ignore.

In observing these newscasts we get a glimpse into a particular region where stories are framed as a made for TV movie story. On one hand we have the bad guys, the villains of sorts like Mubarak the ruler of Egypt, Ben Ali Ruler of Tunisia and as of late Colonel Mumar Gadhafi-Despot of Libya.

On the other hand, we have the good guys like the Pro-Democracy protesters camped in Tahir square or the young students forcing down Ben Ali. Now we the somewhat faceless anti-Gadhafi forces who are being cheered each day and getting military pledges of support from the US as they are capture city after city from their embattle ruler.

These uprisings have been presented to us with around the clock, blow by blow coverage, leaving many of us on the edge of our seats as we watched landmark events like the Pro-Mubarak supporters rushing the crowd with camels and beating protesters or Gadhafi’s ‘evil’ henchmen roaming the streets looking to slaughter those who stand up against them.

All this coverage is complete with theme music, fancy graphics, smooth talking pundits waxing poetic as they preen for their next high priced speaking gig and of course our on the ground guides (news reporters) who sometimes become the news themselves.. ie CNN’s Anderson Cooper when he got his ass kicked from those Pro-Mubarak thugs.

Unlike the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where reporters were embedded with our combat troops, here we see folks out in the streets ducking bullets and trying not to get their equipment snatched. The whole thing is fascinating. But like most made for TV movies the action in Egypt, Tunisia and maybe Libya has been framed to have a happy ending. Mubarak left office. Ali was bounced out, Gadhafi is on his last leg. We all toast one another, give high fives and cheer. We wave the Egyptian or Tunisian flag, became instant water cooler experts on the region and move on to the next uprising as if this was a soccer tournament

What’s lost while we immerse ourselves in these digestible ‘good vs evil’ news narratives are the complex realities that exists in the aftermath of these uprisings. For example, while our attention is focused on the battles in Libya very few of us have given a second thought about what’s going on Egypt. For many, that’s yesterday’s news. It’s a done deal. Nobody stops to think or find out if things have gotten better or worse. Nobody seems to care or even know that protests are still going on Egypt as folks are still out in the streets demanding sweeping reforms. Their end goal is to ensure they never have another dictator like Mubarak in place again. Sad part is while were watching Libya the military in Egypt which everyone cheered has been cracking down.

Protests in Bahrain

Many of us immediately after Mubarak was forced out of power started cheering for uprising in Bahrain, but that’s been all bit forgotten. Does anyone know or care who the Crown Prince of that country is or how long he’s been in power? ? Do we know what the opposition is fighting for? Do we really care? Bahrain in our collective consciousness has come and gone even as folks still pushing for change, boldly challenging Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

For a brief moment we heard about protests in Yemen which has long been a stronghold for Al Qaeda, but sadly that country has been out of the news cycles for weeks even though protest against the government are continuing daily.

This is not to put anyone down for not understanding all the particulars or staying up to speed with everything going on in the middle east. That’s a monumental task for most, but all of us need to be striving to expand our understanding of global happenings as the world around us get smaller. More importantly all of us need to be looking at the roles we played in passively and sometimes very actively supporting the regimes and dictators who are being challenged.

For example, very few of us are reflecting on the fact that two months ago if asked who ruled Egypt we did know the name Hosni Mubarak. Very few of us cared that there was brutal repression even though many have gone over there to see the ancient wonders of the Pyramids and Sphinx. Many of us are not bothered by the fact that for 30 years we as a country supported a ruthless dictator.

Over the years there have been all sorts of pilgrimages to Egypt aka Kemet but have we spoken about Mubarak and his oppression? Was that an oversight? Why didn’t we know what was going on and what role did we play along with our government in the oppression the millions who eventually spilled out on the streets? We need to sit back and think about that for a minute as we cheer these uprisings.

As things unfold in Libya many are asking the long hard questions about the support many have shown over the years for Gadhafi. When the bloodshed started I saw all sorts of tweets and facebooks status asking about the support Minister Farrakhan has shown Gaddafi over the years, the visit Reverend Jeriamiah Wright made in 1984 or the recent visit made by former Congresswoman and Green party candidate Cynthia McKinney. What was that about people are asking? Why are these folks who are about the business of social justice in bed with a guy like Gadhafi?

Others were quick to point out that singer Lionel Richie did a concert in front of Gadhafi’s bombed out home in Tripoli in 2006. Still others are asking about the private concerts given for Gaddafi’s son and the family overs the years that have featured luminaries like Beyonce, Jay-Z, 50 cent, Russell Simmons, Mariah Carey, Usher and numerous others. How can all these people pal around with a ruthless tyrant everyone seems to be asking?

Minister Farrakhan has had along friendship with Gadhafi

There are no easy neatly packaged answers. Minister Farrakhan came out during his saviors day address and talked about his long friendship with Gaddafi. He’s been down with Gadhafi for almost 3 decades. But he’s not alone. In a recent article in the Root called Romancing Dictators they outline list of notables Black leaders from Jesse Jackson to former US senator Carol Mosely Bruan who have hung out with dictators. Are such folks in support of oppression? Hungry for power? Or caught up in the fanfare of being in the presence of folks who are the heads of state of their respective countries?

It could be plain old selfishness and shortsightedness on their part or there could something more. Each of those folks have to wrestle with why they hung or been friendly with leaders who we deem unsavory but so do many of us on smaller scales. For example, some of us reading this remain supportive and friendly with wife beaters, drug dealers, the neighborhood thug etc.. Some of us have adorned or supported artists who have named themselves after ruthless despots like Khadafy, Scarface, Noreaga, Gotti etc.. Would we name ourselves or support an artist who’s named himself after a Klan leader or Hitler?

This is not to dismiss any one’s transgressions or say two wrongs make a right, but to raise questions that ALL of us must answer. Who are we rolling with and why? What principles and values do we hold and are we being true to them? Can we afford the luxury of aligning ourself with the state and being against the people?

There are some that are insisting that those artists who performed for the Gadhafi clan have blood money and they should give what they earned to charity. Folks are outraged that such prominent artists would perform for the leader of that country. That’s something to consider.

Dick Cheney's old company Haliburton has done business with Libya. Do they have blood on their hands?

I wonder if folks are just as upset with the US-Libya Business Association which include American companies like Dow Chemical, Chevron, Exxon, Halliburton, Shell, Raytheon and Occidental Petroleum to name a few. There are more companies including some prominent lobbying groups like the Livingston group, White & Case and Blank Rome who have all broken bread with Libya. Do these companies have blood on their hands and should they like the aformentioned artists be giving the money they earned to charity as well? Do we give any of these artists and companies a pass because they all got down with Gadhafi after sanctions were lifted under George Bush?

In any case if these artists and businesses don’t give back their earnings are you willing to boycott them to avoid having blood on your hands? It’s interesting to note that the website to the US-Libya Business Association has suddenly went dark once all the drama started. It seems like an attempt to erase their digital footprints.

As I said earlier global politics are always complicated and the reason is because we as a country have a hard time breaking our habit of propping up and supporting dictators. Over the years we’ve made all sorts of excuses. Back in the days we were afraid of communism spreading so we put our money behind all sorts of crazy despots who seemingly took glee in smashing on their people. No one wants to talk about how years later we do robust business with China, a communist country with a shoddy human rights and free speech record, while decrying the our disdain for that form of government at Tea Party rallies. Are we trying to have it both ways?

As a country we stood steadfast behind this dictator Saddam Hussein for Years

Later we said we had to protect our ‘national interests’ in the Middle East (translation Israel), so it didn’t matter who we got behind as long as they promised not to attack Israel. So we supported the Shah of Iran, We supported Saddamn Hussein, We turn a blinds eye to the abuses in Saudi Arabia. We supported Muburak. What’s crazy is that earlier on, there were News pundits that were ok with keeping Mubarak in power for fear of the Muslim Brotherhood boogey man taking over Egypt.

We can go on and on listing our glaring contradictions. The list is long, especially as we started bending the rules and tossing aside our principles in the wake of 9-11 as we been engaged in the ‘War on Terror‘. It’s from us propping up Osama Bin Laden to our support of the Contras to our full embrace of South Africa’s Aparthied regime.

We as a country have long layed down in some strange political beds. What’s even sadder is that many of us try to act like the rest of the world doesn’t notice. Trust me, they do. When such contradictions are pointed out, there are apologist who are quick use the labels Unpatriotic and Anti-American.

Even now with President Obama, while he made history in being the first African-American president, him aligning himself with Wall Street and carrying out wars and alliances with some of these same ruthless despots is just as troubling as when Bush was doing it..

As a country we’re quick to point out the human rights abuses of everyone but the dictatorships we support along with our own. As Minister Farrakhan pointed out the other day in his remarks about Gadhafi, if he’s persecuted for crimes against humanity, the same should apply to former President George W. Bush for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s a real talk.

With that being said, all of us need to look beyond the neatly packaged revolutions we’re seeing on TV and take some unattractive things into account. First, we need to ask ourselves why are we aligning ourselves with dictators and tyrants in our quest to smash on oppressive forces here? Are we doing so because they can open up purse strings? Is it because we find ourselves powerless here and gravitate toward anyone who exudes it themselves? Is it because we don’t trust our media and concluded that anything they report needs to be viewed with lots of skepticism?

Is it because we hate US imperialism so much that we blindly get behind anyone else who shares the same sentiment and is willing to pressure or stand up to the leadership without fully examining their position on other key issues? If so how are we any different from the people and policies we say we detest? For example, I know there are white supremacist who dislike the police. Do I stand alongside them if I’m in agreement?

Why have so many supported Ghadafi over the years?

At the same time those who are in the mist of liberating themselves need to be honest in assessing whether or not they want freedom for themselves or for all people? For example, in Egypt we saw the coming together of a large poor voiceless class of people and a middle class population. In victory will the poor be forgotten as the Middle class rushes to fill the seats of power? Will things change for those who are down and out? Such lines aren’t always rich and poor, a lot of times they center along Tribal, religious and ethnic lines.

In Libya we hearing reports about Black Africans being beaten in the streets accused of being foreign mercenaries when in fact many are fellow Libyans? In places where there are Black-Arab tensions and conflict how will that be resolved or will we have a situation where freedom comes in these uprisings, everyone dances in the streets and when the dust settles we have new group of oppressors in power?

None of this is easy, but true freedom comes about when everyone is liberated and we act upon principles not selective alliances that allow us to get caught up in to where we are indistiguishable from the despots being challenged.

Bottom line Which Side are you On? Its a question we better ask ourselves over and over again as we fight the power.

-written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dr05tXktSo

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: Al Qaeda, anderson cooper, Bahrain, CNN, Egypt, Gadhafi, Hosni Mubarak, Libya, Revolution, United States

American Workers vs Multi-Billionaires..Hip Hop Claps Back Hard

February 23, 2011 By mrDaveyd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwpSh66aEUw

Our latest video “American Workers Vs Multi-Billionaires” was filmed on location in Madison, Wisconsin, where thousands of hard working Americans came together in unity to fight back against a Governor bought and paid for by Billionaires to break up Unions and deny workers collective bargaining and a living wage. “American Workers Vs Multi-Billionaires” was produced by Cynik Lethal and directed by Paradise Gray of X-Clan

Also you can catch our interview w/ Jasiri X on Hard Knock Radio by clicking the link below

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/67759

Also related to this is a classic song from Rebel Diaz called ‘A Trillion‘

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QQbRXaGsjM

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: American Workers vs Multi-Billionaires..Hip Hop Claps Back Hard, Collective bargaining, Jasiri X, Labor, Living wage, Madison Wisconsin, Rebel Diaz, Scott Walker, United States

Editorial: Two Words: On Wisconsin!

February 20, 2011 By Guest writer

Two Words…

Self Determination.

Corporate Fascism.

Your Choice.

TWO WORDS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkFOBx6j0l8

From the debate raging online and via Twitter, I see miseducation is alive and well. Workers from teachers to firefighters once called public servants are now being called freeloaders. It reminds me of something RZA said in the documentary, Rhyme, and Reason [paraphrasing]:why am I beefing with this brother and he has nothing and I have nothing while these other folks over there have everything and nobody is beefing with them. That doesn’t add up..I deal with mathematics.

Well, here are some numbers to consider:

1. The Walmart Corporation is richer than over 150 countries.

sources: http://www.globaltrends.com/features/shapers-and-influencers/66-corporate-clout-the-influence-of-the-worlds-largest-100-economic-entities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/full_list/

2. And a good amount of that wealth goes to 4 people: The Walton family members who take 4 of the top 10 spots on the Richest Americans list, with net worth totaling 80+ billion dollars.

http://www.forbes.com/wealth/forbes-400

3. While the pay gap between a company’s CEO and its employees has a ratio of 11 to 1 in Japan and 12 to 1 in Germany, the United States ratio is an exorbitant 319 to 1.

source: http://csis.org/blog/us-tolerance-income-inequality

4. And for the most staggering numbers: the 500 richest individuals in the world have the same income as 416 million people on the poor end of the pay scale….416 million.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/13/opinion/13kristof.html

TWO WORDS: CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS

Probably the two most dreaded words in American politics = class warfare. But they are still embraced quicker than these two hated four-letter words: Karl Marx. The reason Karl Marx is so feared is because he rightfully exposed the fallacy of wage labor.

Capitalism is a way to make money off of other people’s labor. But Walmart could not make any money without the cheap labor it gets from the workers that make the manufactured goods it sells [usually Chinese workers making slave wages], or the employees that provide the labor and customer service at its’ stores [making near slave wages with few benefits], or the customers who buy the goods it’s WORKERS produce [and those customers are spending money that they earn working for (sometimes near slave) wages ].

Marx predicted that this alienation (outlined above) would eventually lead to class consciousness…and the truth is, we may finally be seeing forms of class consciousness playing out all across the globe as we speak..from Egypt to Wisconsin…Bahrain to Iran. And the bigger truth is, we have corporate fascists and overreaching leaders to thank. As I’ve said many times, power will take as much as it can get away with, and no less…people must fight for what we rightfully deserve. No one will give it to you.

The choices in this country could not be clearer. On one side is the language of “cuts” and “deficits” and “sacrifices”, but in this language, only one side of the coin is being shown. As I tell my classes all the time, one’s advantage is directly linked to another one’s disadvantage. They are inevitably linked. The big lie that hegemony in society perpetuates is that folks gain at no one’s expense. But on a finite planet, the pie of resources is limited. And how it is dished out at the dinner table matters. If one person takes 99 slices, that leaves 1 slice for 99 people to fight over. The other option is a more equitable distribution of resources. Only people that get more and are okay with others having less prefer the former.

What free trade did to the private sector, political corporatists are now trying to do to the public sector…weaken collective bargaining and workers’ rights. Instead of all seeing the reality of a new gilded age where the rich are getting richer, the middle class is being asked to accept the new “reality” and join the ranks of the working poor while big banks get bailed out with our tax dollars so they can horde that cash or use it to open markets overseas.

The truth the U.S. middle class has not been told is that it is expected to join the global race to the bottom, where we will be expected to compete in a global market where workers make less than a dollar a day. They are setting up Americans to “sacrifice” …to get used to a lower standard of living and accept this new world order where a small elite of corporate fascists get 95% of the pie while 95% of the world must fight for the 5% crumbs…including you now America.

Unfortunately, it never is the 1% that does its own bidding…it always is the manipulated who have bought into the narrative that the elite has sold them. People that believe that giving tax breaks to corporations and busting unions will bring jobs to America have no geopolitical sense of reality.

example = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/video/video_4000.html?1298147211

Instead of bashing me and my fellow union members for collective bargaining and securing better wages and benefits, why not demand the same for yourself?! Stop doing the bidding for corporate fascists and start putting your interest first!

TWO WORDS: STAND FIRM!

http://vimeo.com/20089255

Despite the resistance to change by some, resolve and growing class consciousness may be too strong to stop this time. But know this, even where peaceful protest can not overcome police state barbarity, universal law will. The house of cards will fall…it always does.

Two Words:

Stay Strong

Keep Pushing

People Power

In Unity

….On Wisconsin!

For more on this topic. please see my previous note: The Fire this Time: A Few Thoughts on Egypt

Link: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150134175456131

written by Tina Bell Wright

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: Governor Walker, Karl Marx, Madison, Marxism, RZA, United States, Wage, Wall Street, Wisconsin, Work

The Horrific Legacy of Papa & Baby Doc-haitian Dictators

January 19, 2011 By mrDaveyd

By now many of us heard about the sudden return of Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Baby Doc Duvalier. The man who was known for having dissenters snatched off the streets and killed was exiled in 1986 after a popular uprising.

His return from France where he’s been holed up sent shock waves and fear throughout the embattled Island Nation. Why was he back? Would he have support of the US again? will he be arrested for human rights abuses? Is there a larger agenda at play? These are some of the questions raised around Baby Doc..

We wanted to dig deep and give some insight into the horrific legacy of the Duvaliers. Its one that folks should not forget, especially in terms of how Papa and Baby Doc presented themselves to the rest of the world. They talked a good game about being revolutionary and for the people, but they did everything they could to crush the people.

We at Hard Knock Radio sat down and spoke with Pierre Labossierre, co-founder of the Haiti Action Committee about Baby Doc and his father Papa Doc. He lived under the rule of Papa Doc and it was anything but nice. Whats even more disturbing is the role the United States played in maintaining their harsh dictatorship

We talk about Baby Doc being detained and his decision to stay in Haiti.

Click the links below to peep the interview

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/66901

http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/92732/

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: baby Doc, haiti, Haiti Action Committee, Human Rights, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Papa Doc, Pierre Labossierre, Port-au-Prince, United States

Categories