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An Open Letter to Hip Hop from Afrika Bambaataa

January 13, 2013 By

afrika-bambaataa-pointPEACE AND BLESSING TO All of Our Family of Warriors, Thinkers and Leaders:

Hope your are in the best of Health and your families. I was sent your e-mail by the Zulu-staff . I have been living in Europe for the past couple of months and been waking as many up to what we’re, doing in the states cause in some places they have the same problems with radio,especially the ones that copy The United States formats or programming of music. Then there are those specials stations that do have a balance of Ma’at on the airwaves and you hear it all.

One thing that did bother me is that these so called Rap /Hip Hop radio stations here in some parts of Germany, France, Estonia, Croatia, Spain and even good old Great Britain underground play alot of the rap records with cursing. Their excuse is the people do not know the language anyway and my answer to them is, that is bull and you DJ’s know there are many that do know some type of English and many of your are playing the curse version cause your think that makes your hardcore and down with the tuff side of what your think the United States Hip Hop/Rap is all about. That your all are helping with the conspiracy to mess up minds all over the world. After I got finish with some of these so called Hip Hop/ Music show host ,you know they could not wait to get me out of their radio stations. Especially some of the jive ones who think they know it all about Hip Hop/Funk/Soul/Rock/Latin/Soca/Jazz/House/Techno in England and other places to many to name.

You can feel the phony in all of them and their are a very few I can say who really do not know what their doing but there are the rest of them that exactly know what they are doing to the airwaves. Guess what! their are many and I mean many over here in Europe who are also tired of their radio stations that play the same music over and over again,as well as their media of television. Also Family The NWO is getting in full swing here and Mr. Tony Blair of the United Kingdom (England) is talking strong now about their Smart cards that are coming and if he is speaking strong now about it, you know their children of the UK= USA will be following to.

Family there is so much work to be done that it is disgrace-full to see with all this chaos all over the world going on,all the problems in MaMa Afrika, In India, The States and South America with crazy things happening in Europe to and those of us that do have the serious knowledge, we know what is really going on and have to prepare now if we are to survive the onslaught that is coming. All the things I have been talking for years is on the move right before us and if you hear what brother Phil Valentine, Bobby Hemit,and many of the Meta physical community of higher learning have been dropping, it is about to get super serious. The people’s mind set all over this Great Planet is jacked up and the programming of these radio and T.V shows is playing a super big role to destroy Human mentality to think and to reason. If we can not get a movement of Humans to try and change the programming of these radio and T.V. stations which is just one step of many ,then we have some serious reactions of hell that will be all over this Earth.

I would like for your if you can and whomever else to put a list of solutions that we can put together with others on a cross the board scale that all states even other countries can follow in letting people know what can they do to help change the situations of programming of Radio and Television. We want to put as many things out with flyers to give out to all that will come out in November for The Meeting of The Mind, The Balance Of Ma’at. We are going for two days to address this situation and with these papers of solutions we are calling on everyone to be accountable to what is going on in their respected Cities, Towns, States, Countries to move into action cause if they do nothing ,Then They Deserve What They Get. Also we need to reach out to many Leaders, Thinkers, Activist, Religious Heads, Movers, Actionist to represent and come out with solutions to this event for Hip Hop History Month and to all that are doing something to make change, we must push, salute and help back to the fullest our support. Stop the Killing of the Mind.

I will be back soon. If Allah willing, but you can start speaking to Brother Yoda, Dr. Shaka (zulustaff@earthlink.net) and to whomever else for we can make a movement more successful. We all have been speaking, fighting, teaching,s truggling, winning some for a moment, losing some but keep on pushing to keep what we know is right to do.

As I said many times before The Lucerferians are on the move and the Armies of Almighty RA/Allah/Jah/Yaweh/Elohim/Anu/Theos/Shango/Zeus/Oden and whatever else people want to call the Supreme Force must Rise or The Empire will Strike Back to bring Hell all over This planet so called Earth.

May The Supreme Force Bless Us All and keep Us All Always Protected against All our Enemies.

Peace ,Unity, Love, Freedom or Death, Justice
The Spirit Of Professor X Lives On

Afrika Bambaataa
The Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture
Each One Teach One,Feed One,Help One,Live as One,Leave all Egos in the Garbage
Save Planet Earth

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Breakdown FM: Welcome to Sota Rico Meet Maria Isa Minneapolis’ Next Star

August 8, 2008 By


Maria Isa is a fixture in the Minneapolis Hip Hop scene.The daughter of two Puerto Rican revolutionaries who used to get down with Young Lords and the freedom movements of the 60s and 70s, Maria brings a well-heeled politic and an infectious vibe when it comes to her music.

We talked to her about Minneapolis’s Hip Hop scene and the important role that groups like the Rhymesayers played in bring attention to a city that for years was only associated with R&B acts like Prince and Morris Day & the Time.

She talked about how steeped Minneapolis is in Hip Hop culture and how all four elements are prominently represented. She talked about Minneapolis being not only home to dope rhymers but also skilled b-boys and b-girls, graf writers and turntable masters. She described it as one big family and that at any given moment something good is jumping off in Minneapolis.

We talked about the important role that annual festivals like B-Girl B played in providing crucial platforms for the female Hip Hop community.She talked about some of Minneapolis’s other female stalwarts like film maker and fellow Puerto Rican Rachel Raimist.We talked about Rhymesayer/poet Desdemona and photographer B-Fresh.The list goes on.

We then turned our conversation to how Puerto Ricans fit in. We were curious as to whether or not PRs in the midwest played a major role in Hip Hop evolution the way they did in New York.We also found out why Maria calls her part of town Sota Rico.. Don’t get it twisted folks, Puerto Ricans have a strong presence in the midwest and they definitely get down.

We took our convo deeper as Maria explained the difference between Latin Hip Hop and Reggeaton. She noted that oftentimes people like to lump them all together, but in fact there are some unique things that one should take time to explore.

Maria broke down the important political situations facing Puerto Rico and how she tries to incorporate much of that knowledge in her music. She talked about the angst many feel because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth which is fancy word for colony. its sad that Puerto Ricans are considered US citizens yet cannot vote for the President except in primaries.

We also talked about the Latin/Brown diaspora and how the importance of bringing about Brown unity especially with issues like immigration. As a Puerto Rican Maria notes that she has the responsibility of giving voice to those who are here ‘illegally’ and can’t speak for themselves.

Maria’s album ‘Split Personality‘ is incredible and packed with cultural and political references and that pay homage to Hip Hop and her Puerto Rican heritage.

Listen to Breakdown FM Interview w/ Maria Isa


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Born in Aztlan-Meet Hip Hop Zulu King Apakalips (Respect His Lyrical Prowess)

May 1, 2008 By

We sat down and talk with San Jose rapper, activist, teacher & Zulu King Apakalips. He’s one of the Bay Area’s best kept secrets. Listen to the Breakdown FM Interview w/ Apakalips HERE:

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When we talk about Bay Area Hip Hop we often focus on what is happening in Oakland which is considered Ground Zero. It is in ‘Tha Town’, that we find the likes of Too Short, Digital Underground, Keak da Sneak,Hiero, Blackalicious, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Saafir, Zion I, Mistah FAB and so many more.After Oakland, the spotlight usually turns to neighboring San Francisco which is home to Bay Area legends like San Quinn,Rappin’ 4tay, Paris, Michael Franti,DJ Q-Bert, DJ Apollo and in recent days artists like Big Rich.

Sadly many overlook San Jose which is actually the largest city in the Bay Area and the epic center to high tech Silicon Valley.Perhaps its because San Jose is 45 minutes away from Frisco and Oakland which are just minutes apart or perhaps its because companies like Apple, Google, Oracle and other high tech giants dominate the news and overshadow SJ hip Hop. Whatever the case, make no mistake San Jose and the South Bay region has had major impact.

San Jose and the South Bay is or has been home to some notable folks who we all know and love.DJ King Tech of the Wake Up Show, producer Fredwreck, producer Kutmasta Kurt, DJ Peanut Butter Wolf and his Stones Throw record label started out of San Jose.DJ Kevvy Kev who is headed to his 25th year on the air, pioneering graph writer Scape One, female dance pioneer Aiko, Grand Diva Kim Collete, prolific writer AdisaBanjoko, Hip Hop Congress president Shamako Noble are some other names that also come to mind when we talk about folks who put the SJ and the South Bay on the map.Anyone from this part of town recalls the legendary b-boy battles that were routinely held at the Hank Lopez Center with the full support and cooperation of the city which was step up from San Francisco and Oakland.

This is the conversation we had with Apakalips a long time fixture in the San Jose rap scene who just released his masterpiece of a solo album called ‘The Otherside‘ Originally from Southern Cali, this community activist/ school teacher started out around 2002 with a group called Tributairies .They were best known for blowing up the Iguanas Cafe in downtown San Jose where they sparked off Lyrical Discipline.This was a weekly Friday night gathering which attracted emcees from all over the South Bay who would come through and test their skills.It was done in the same vein as the Lyricist Lounge in NY, the Good Life in LA or the now legendary underground parties and freestyles sessions at 4001 Jackson street in Oakland put together by Mystik Journeymen and the Living Legends crew.

Apakalips later went on to join the Universal Zulu Nation and eventually became the president of the Gateway chapter and quickly made it one of the more active chapters in the country. Apakalips would routinely hold unity meetings as he’d gather the heads of key Hip Hop and community organizations and tastemakers in the San Jose community to find common ground and to collectively work on projects impacting us all. He was tapping into the fact that San Jose had some of the pro-active heads who have some well heeled Hip Hop organizations around that have done incredible work. Shout outs to Hip Hop Congress, D-Bug, MACLA, Funk lab and Miese to name a few.

During our interview we talked about the release of his new album ‘The Other Side‘. It has been critically acclaimed and for many its a throwback to a date and time where people allowed their creativity to roam completely free without fear of violating some sort of record company politics or copyright laws. The Otherside has unexpected samples that give this an album your traditional boom bap sound on one track and a Latin tinged sound on another. Still on other songs you will hear the influences of drum and bass. No two songsare alike, yet the album has a consistent theme in terms of being gritty and lyrically sound.

The ‘Otherside‘ covers many topics including, California’s unique contributions to Hip Hop and its b-boy, b-girl tradition and its cultural influences. During our interview we talked about how Hip Hop is a form of communication and within it cultural expressions and activities like dance and rap go way beyond Hip Hop, and in fact are deeply rooted in traditional Mayan, Aztec and African traditions. Apakalips felt that it was important that we view Hip Hop with a larger historical and cultural lens.

We talked about the social and political movements that proceeded Hip Hop and how they impacted Hip Hop culture in the past and today.We particularly built upon the legacy of the Black Panthers and Brown Berets.Aakpalips reminded us that during the hey days of those organizations in the late 60s and early 70s we had Hip Hop expressions in the west coast with pioneering groups like the often overlooked Black Resurgents dance crew who were strutting and roboting long before Michael Jackson, dancers on Soul Train or the word Hip Hop was coined.

We talked at length about the important role Latinos played in Hip Hop, specifically the role Chicanos here on the West Coast. Apakalips lays out the long history and reminds us that just like their Puerto Rican counterparts on the East coast, Chicanos were down with Hip Hop from the very beginning especially in the areas of graf. He noted that here in the west Chicano writers, taggers and muralist had a big impact on Hip Hop.We talked aboutthe early emcees and deejays and the influence that icons like Julio G and Tony G who were part of the legendary KDAY Mixmasters in LA had on West Coast Hip Hop culture.

We also talked at length about the long social and cultural connection that NY had with LA. Long before there was some media driven East-West coast war, early Hip Hoppers were routinely going back and forth and building with one another. It was all love throughout the 80s. Apakalips talked about how pioneering Hip Hop and Latino figures like Hen G, and Prince Whipper Whip and Zulu King Afrika Islam hooked up with Ice T and helped set a tone for things to come.They set off famous Hip Hop club nights like Radiotron Water the Bush and Club United Nations and formed groups like Rhyme Syndicate and the Zulu Kings.

We ended by talking about some of the challenges facing San Jose’s Hip Hop community.One thing that is being addressed is the homeless problem. Apakalips and many others feel like the city hasn’t been doing enough. They are also addressing issues facing San Jose’s growing migrant worker population. In recent days they have also been dealing with an oppressive promoters law which requires anyone promoting an entertainment event to pay a 500 dollar fee and get a license which will allow one to put their name on flyers and pass them out.

written by  Davey D

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The Dream Reborn.. Rev Yearwood Meets Dr King

April 13, 2008 By
This is the incredible keynote speech that Rev Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus delivered the other week in Memphis, Tennessee at the Dream Reborn conference.In this speech Rev talks about the important role the Hip Hop generation plays in the freedom movement. He reminds everyone that we have made a lot of great strides but we have along way to go. He also reminds us to not allow ourselves to become side bars to the struggle. he insist that we be front and center and take destiny into our own hands. The speech is very moving… We remixed and added a few surprises to give it some extra flava.Please enjoy

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The Los Angeles Times royally screwed up a big story about Tupac’s 1994 robbery and shooting. What else did it get wrong?

April 10, 2008 By

The Los Angeles Times royally screwed up a big story about Tupac’s 1994 robbery and shooting. What else did it get wrong?

By Eric K. Arnold

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/PrintFriendly?oid=678909
April 9, 2008

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The unsolved murders of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur were the subject of the documentary Biggie & Tupac.

It may have been the biggest f-up in the history of mainstream media hip-hop coverage.

In case you haven’t heard, the Los Angeles Times was caught red-faced when website TheSmokingGun.com out-reported – and more importantly, out-fact-checked – the daily newspaper a couple weeks ago on what seemed to be an important story detailing new evidence in the 1994 shooting and robbery of the late Tupac Shakur. Times reporter Chuck Philips, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, revealed that an incarcerated and unnamed informant had confirmed the involvement of Sean “Diddy” Combs, Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, hip-hop manager Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond, and Mafia wanna-be James Sabatino in the incident. Philips did not name the shooter(s) but presented alleged FBI case files and court transcripts. One of the robbers, Philips wrote, still had Shakur’s purloined medallion, fourteen long years after the fact.

The Times article drew more than one million viewers to the paper’s web site, making it the newspaper’s most heavily trafficked article this year.

Blogs followed suit. “Sometimes a reporter comes to a story, and sometimes the story comes to him,” wrote blogger/author Jeff Chang in a post. Other outlets, however, were skeptical. As MTV News noted, Philips has sparked controversy before with his reporting methods. “His allegations are at times hard to believe, and he has drawn criticism for largely citing unnamed sources,” wrote reporter Jayson Rodriguez. “And many question why an older white man is the one pursuing the case of two murdered black hip-hip icons.”

Philips initially defended his reportage. “I’m not gonna write it just because someone says it,” he told MTV News. People have tried to set him up in the past, he added, “But in this case, I [didn’t] write anything until I feel it’s confident, it’s true.”

The only problem was the story was apparently completely fabricated by Sabatino, a chubby, boyish-faced scam artist with a long rap sheet who has boasted of his alleged ties to both La Cosa Nostra and the hip-hop elite. After the Smoking Gun meticulously dissected Philips’ account, pointing out several glaring inconsistencies – among them evidence that the FBI documents were typed on a typewriter, not a computer (the bureau hasn’t used typewriters for approximately thirty years) and, most tellingly, that Sabatino wasn’t in New York when Shakur was shot – the Times admitted its error. “I got duped,” Philips told the Associated Press, which is basically the journo-speak equivalent of “Oh shit. My Bad.”

There’s also the matter of potential litigation both from Diddy and Rosemond. In a statement, Rosemond’s attorney said the Times and Philips should “Print an apology and take out their checkbooks or brace themselves for an epic lawsuit.” Since the Times issued a formal apology within 21 days as required by law, any potential lawsuit would face an uphill batle, considering the strength of California’s media protections.

Perhaps most interesting is speculation on how this doozy of a boo-boo will impact the future of entertainment reporting and, specifically, coverage of rap and hip-hop. “Mainstream publications have been letting a lot of people who aren’t connected to hip-hop do major stories,” says author Adisa Banjoko. “Stories on Tupac, B.I.G., or any other dead rapper [are] seen as easy filler and hype for a boost in sales.”

From a mainstream media perspective, rap music is often associated with crime just like famine is associated with Ethiopia. High-profile incidents of violence involving rappers have long been fodder for newspapers, Internet sites, and TV news; sensationalistic, tabloid-style reporting has become par for the course. After with this latest blunder, the Times look like opportunists willing to print anything, as long as it draws traffic.

Meanwhile, Philips is starting to seem like a G-Funk version of the morally twisted paparazzo Danny DeVito played in L.A. Confidential. His past stories on the B.I.G. and Tupac killings were questioned by African-American journalists and hip-hop-identified outlets, yet his methodology largely remained sacrosanct despite these complaints. His 1999 Pulitzer for exposing corruption in the entertainment industry gave Philips a lot of credibility, but that now seems as dubious as the purported FBI case files Sabatino apparently wrote from behind bars.

This latest incident only renews suspicions about the veracity of Philips’ past work. In particular, Philips has been accused of deliberately misreporting key evidence in the 2005 wrongful death suit against the city of Los Angeles by B.I.G.’s mother, Violetta Wallace. He also claimed that B.I.G. paid a member of the Crips $1 million to kill Shakur in 1996 – which was denied by both Tupac and Biggie’s camps – and has drawn suspicion away from Suge Knight by discrediting ex-LAPD detective Russell Poole, whose investigation of B.I.G.’s 1997 murder led to a tangled web of corrupt cops, music industry gangstas, and city officials.

In 2005, Front Page magazine speculated that Philips was an apologist for Knight and Death Row Records: “By fingering two dead men … as Tupac’s killers, Philips’ story took the focus off Suge Knight, whom many believe had Tupac killed because Tupac planned to leave Death Row. Philips’ story also claimed that Biggie was later killed by the Crips for stiffing them – again taking the heat off prime suspect Suge Knight.”

Webmaster/journalist Davey D says he dismissed Chuck Philips a long time ago. “Now it’s beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s wrong and he was wrong in the past,” he says.

Perhaps, but to many hip-hop insiders, digging up Tupac’s 1994 shooting seemed like a red herring in the first place. At the end of the day, Davey D says, Philips’ stories “don’t really connect the dots in any kind of meaningful way.”

Still, he adds, “A lot of this stuff has run its course. … If you look at the top news that’s going on in hip-hop, it’s all arrests. … People are talking about Remy Ma crying in court. That’s what I’m hearing.”

The bottom line in the assassinations of Tupac and Biggie remains that both murders are still unsolved. If and when the truth is ever uncovered, it’s probably safe to say it won’t be the Times or Chuck Philips who’re responsible.

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I Say Let them (Gangsta Rappers) Get There Own Museum

March 23, 2008 By

This article is in response to the recent controversy that emerged around the new Hip Hop Museum in New York. The city council which funded part of the museum is insisting that gangsta rap not be aprt of the exhibit. Here’s the article..
p076.ezboard.com/fpolitic…D=16.topic

I say Let them Get There Own Museum.
by Furious Styles

I applaud the people working with the development of the new Bronx museum. I really think its important in telling the story of Hip Hop, that we leave something for future generations to be proud of and to strive for. I believe wanting to be an emcee and to rock a party or have a good time, or to talk about yourself and how fly you are, or cleverly showing your battle ability without degrading people because of your lack of vocabulary, or talking about women and relationships in a nurturing and healthy way, or various societal issues is great. If you are a history of music, these songs with these topics and mood from the 60s and 70s are considered classics, and stand the test of time no matter what new microwave pop corn new act that pops up. Examples- Chage Gonna Come- Sam Cooke, Whats Going On- Marvin Gaye, Sweet Thing Chaka Khan.

But when you begin talking about or glorifying death, murder, mayhem, pimping, misogyny, incest, guns, cocaine, women as objects to just dance, or portray black people, or the Hip Hop generation as a group of people who live in the club, @#%$, fight, drink, steal, or do anything counterproductive to life, I feel firmly that you have no place in a museum, or in the history of Hip Hop, except in showing what was wrong with our culture, and how we should never have future generations go down that road but learn the lessons of history.

I understand the age old worn out statement that Gansta Hip Hop is a product of the environment, its bigger than the thugs, pimps and playas, we dont own the planes that bring drugs into our communities, the-had- a- bad up bringing, no daddy in the house, being shot, the streets, etc. etc. etc.. etc.. But the fact of the matter is that these artists are pushing stripper music into the ears of our children, they are talking about crack selling, distribution, and murder, and wonder why we have so much violence in the lives of our youth. Oh, by the way, what you listen to does make a difference on your psyche, mental health, self impression, everything. . Check out the movie where the dude at McDonalds for a month. If music is food, and you are what you eatThink about it.

If gangstas, pimps, playas, hustlas, tricks, ballers, killers, rapist, murderers, foul mouth imdividuals want a museum to display their works, let them build there own. But for me, I want my kids to take their kids to a museum where they can learn the importance of all the men and women on stage and behind the scenes that made Hip Hop music that had something to say, something to evoke and stimulate thought about life, family, the world, having fun, etc. And I hope my childrens children dont have to go somewhere where they have a Shrine for Nelly but none for Kool Herc, where theres the new track with Trina dissing Khia, but no ladies first by Queen Latifah, where there will be walls of shots of 50 cent, but no remembrance or understanding of Tupac. And yeah, Tupac would be in my museum and 50 wouldnt.

Again, for those of you who may have missed it, read the last 3 lines of the first paragraph. At least with Tupac he was well rounded, and had different dimensions to himself, and was able to challenge himself to talk about more than the bullshit. Most of these new dudes have no reference to Hip Hop history, and have nothing else to talk about. And great artists who have wonderful things to add in the world of music are labeled underground, cant get radio of video play, and are forced to watch people be destroyed for the lack of good musical food. Yeah I said it.

_Furious Styles

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X-Clan Urges People to Boycott World Trade Movie

March 23, 2008 By

BOYCOTT THIS MOVIE!!! EMAIL THIS TO YOUR ENTIRE LIST:

9-11areialview

It’s so natural for Hollywood to assume that every Hero is a White man.

by DJ Paradise Gray

Hollywood has always changed facts and edited history. From Charlton Heston
as Moses and Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. They are only continuing their
tradition of White-washing our history. If they were able to portray Imhotep
(The Mummy and The Mummy Returns who was one of the greatest black Heroes of
all times and Jesus Christ as white without a single peep from our
community, why should this even matter to them in the least?

Situations like this will continue and we as Black people (or whatever you
want to consider yourself) will deserve what we get, unless we are willing
to stand up against tyranny and white supremacy.

Demand that this movie be taken out of theatures. Boycott this movie like
they attempted to boycott “Barbershop” show some community outrage like they
did for the poster of 50’s Get Rich Or Die trying. Cause the national media
to pick up this story.

Do something for a change. (Yes I’m talking to you!).

Paradise Gray
http://www.myspace.com/paradisegray
(Please forward to everyone on your email list, as the national press has
not or will not pick up this story)

Full story in The New Pittsburgh Courier
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/35730/1/World-Trade-Center-omits-Black-soldier/WTC-movies-unsung-hero.html

‘World Trade Center‘ omits Black Soldier

Following disasters of historically epic proportions like the attack on the
World Trade Center, there are bound to be countless tales of self-sacrifice,
heroism and triumph. Some stories, like those told in the movies Flight 93
and Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, premiering Aug. 9, are made into
blockbusters for the world to see. Others are either whispered quietly among
family and friends or confined to the memories and souls of those who refuse
to speak of them.

Such is the tale of United States Marine Corps Sgt. Jason L. Thomas–in
spite of the fact that his story and the one told in World Trade Center are
one in the same.

THE STORY

The morning of Sept. 11, 2001 began like any other for Jason L. Thomas. A
student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of City University of
New York, he heard about the attack after taking his daughter to his
mother’s house in Queens so he could attend classes.

At the time I was saying to myself, That’s an attack. My mother looked at it
as if it was an accident, but one of the first things that came to my mind
was, They got us, he said.

Immediately after that, I just got in high gear. I had my uniform in my car,
my C-Bag. We just moved into a house, so I had a lot of my personal
equipment in my vehicle. I ran out to my car, got my uniform, got dressed
and shot to the city.

After a delay in Queens, which Thomas credits for keeping him away from the
collapse of the South Tower, he attached himself to a police convoy and made
it to the site within moments of the fall of the North Tower.

Approaching one of the towers, all I see is one at the time, I see the
building come crashing down. It just comes straight down. I park my vehicle
and I remember this cloud of smoke and ash just enveloped where I was. I
stuck my head down in my shirt and scooted behind my car and got on my
knees, but it engulfed the area. So I got up and I just ran in the direction
towards Ground Zero.

At Ground Zero, Thomas immediately began to help by fighting fires,
establishing triage sites to help the injured and assisting with the overall
evacuation. While his primary focus was devoted to the emergency, he
couldn’t help being affected by what had become of his city.

I know this beautiful city, and now here it is, it’s just rubble, he said.
There are fire engines on fire, and you don’t see that everyday–you don’t
see cars and ambulances on fire. I was just trying to take it in.

After hours of firefighting, assisting survivors and in some cases, praying
over the dead, Thomas ran into another marine, Staff Sgt. Dave Karnes.
Thomas presented a plan for a search and rescue mission of the area and he
and Karnes tried to enlist other soldiers on site to help. When they were
told the mission was too dangerous, they decided to go by themselves.

I found a couple guys, but it wasn’t enough, to them, to start a search and
rescue, he said. I remember myself and staff Sgt. Karnes saying, We’re going
to start the search and rescue with or without you, because someone needs
us.

THE MOVIE

The World Trade Center movie tells the story of the rescues of New York Port
Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno from Ground Zero,
as well as that of the men who rescued them. In real life, the officers were
rescued by sergeants Karnes and Thomas. In the film, however, they were
rescued by Karnes and PFC Dave Thomas; a composite character, played by
William Mapother, a white actor, who is meant to represent Thomas.

World Trade Center producer Michael Shamberg said that they knew about Sgt.
Thomas’s role in the rescue, but were unable to find him when creating the
film. He said producers didn’t discover Thomas was a Black man until after
they had started the movie. He also said that in spite of the fact that the
film was co-written by McLoughlin and Jimeno was consulted for authenticity,
no one ever asked them for a physical description of the man who helped save
their lives.

Frankly, we goofed–we learned when we were filming that he was an
African-American, said Shamberg. We would change it if we could. I actually
called him and apologized, and he said he didn’t mind. He was very gracious
about it.

Shamberg also apologized for another African-American officer, Bruce
Reynolds, who was also portrayed as white in the movie.

Thomas, meanwhile, didn’t learn the film was about his story until he saw
the unmistakable image of two marines peering into a whole at Ground Zero
during a commercial for the movie. He said that while he wasn’t angry about
how the film turned out, he does wish it could have been more realistic.

Full story in The New Pittsburgh Courier
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/35730/1/World-Trade-Center-omits-Black-soldier/WTC-movies-unsung-hero.html

———————————————————————————————–
Paradise Gray
Honorary Chairman, Pittsburgh LOC
National Political Hip-hop Convention
Grand Arkitech Of The BlackWatch Movement
Minister Of Arts And Sciences Millions More Movement
Director Of Almost Home Youth Ministries
One Hood
Http://www.myspace.com/paradisegray

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2008 Daily news, archive articles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Take Back America- Davey D Confrontation with Fox News

March 21, 2008 By

Take Back America- Davey D Confrontation with Fox News

By Paradise Gray

This years “Take Back America Conference” in Washington D.C was much more exciting and energetic than the one I attended just a year ago. There were more young people of color present and everyone seemed to have extra pep in their step. I began the weekend with The League of Young Voters, taking their empowering “Tunnel Building” leadership training program at the offices of The People For The American Way. The training sessions were good, and included veteren and aspiring organizers from all across America, some as young as 17 years old.

The new National Director of the League Rob “Biko” Baker and National Political Director Khari Mosley handled many of the training workshops personally. It was a pleasure to work with these brothers and I learned some great new ideas and concepts to use for organizing effective actions and successful campaigns. I was happy to contribute by helping to teach a workshop on using new media and the internet (Myspace and Facebook) as organizing tools.

On Monday March 17th we headed over to the The Omni Shoreham Hotel where Van Jones the President and founder of “Green For All” brought the heat to the Take Back America Conference at this morning. Speaking to an overflowing room full of progressive Democrats Mr. Jones passionately explained the benefits of an emerging Green Economy. His inspiring speech informed the diverse crowd about policies and initiatives that could create jobs, efficient energy, reduce carbon emissions and improve local economies.
Mr. Jones received thunderous applause when he noted that by retrofitting American cities with renewable energy sources such as wind, solar panels and other alternate sustainable energy sources it would ensure that we would never have to wage war for oil again!

In the crowd I noticed the Reverend Jessie Jackson, Davey D as well as members of The League Of Young Voters, One HOOD, the National Political Hip-hop Convention, Reverend Yearwood and The Hip-hop Caucus and members of The Gathering.

Keep your eyes on Van Jones and the concept of a Green Economy and Green-Collar Jobs. Van Jones is a dynamic speaker with a great plan, his final words “I am not here to “Take America Back, I’m here to take it forward” connected and resonated well with this large progressive crowd.

Things got kind of heated on Tuesday morning March 18 when the Rev.Jessie Jackson was scheduled speak on a panel “Progressive Movement In A Democratic Era: The Lessons Of King And The Civil Rights Movement“.

The energy was already elevated as everyone was anxiously awaiting 10:30 when Barack Obama was scheduled to give his historic speech on race relations in America. As I approached the Regency Ballroom I noticed the Rev.Jessie Jackson being interviewed by Griff Jenkins from Fox News. Griff Jenkins was being very aggressive as he demanded that Rev. Jackson answer the question: “Do you or do you not condemn Barack Obama’s former Pastor Rev. Wright?”

Rev. Jackson refused to answer in the way that Jenkins was asking, Rev. Jackson accused Mr. Jenkins of using divisive tactics instead of covering the issues that are important in this election, Mr. Jenkins would rudely push his microphone towards Rev. Jackson’s face and reiterate “Do you or do you not condemn Rev.Wright?”

I did not appreciate the way Mr. Jenkins was treating Rev. Jackson and loudly voiced my opinion as Rev. Jackson, annoyed by Mr. Jenkins unprofessionalism, walked away. Mr. Jenkins then interviewed me and and when posed with the same question of whether or not I condemned Rev.Wright, I responded that when your face down in a mud puddle with someone’s foot on the back of your neck, you should not be judged by the words that come out of your mouth at that moment, anger is the appropriate natural human response to oppression!

I argued that Rev. Wright’s sermons were based on real feelings within the black community and had foundations in fire and brimstone preaching directly from the bible. Mr. Jenkins attempted to cut me off in the middle of sentences but I continued that I could quote him hundreds of statements from the bible that he would not agree with and he would not even recognize that I was quoting the bible unless I told him in advance.

I questioned Mr. Jenkins about why he was interogatting Rev. Jackson so hard when Barack Obama would be addressing the situation himself in less than 2 hours, I suggested that Mr. Jenkins that we should all wait until we have given Senator Obama the opportunity to address it personally before we form our opinions.

I guess that wasn’t enough for Griff Jenkins because as soon as the panel was over, his FOX News TV crew pushed past other journalists on the stage who were asking Rev. Jackson questions about the 5th Anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Davey D happened to be one of the journalists who was patently waiting for his turn to ask Rev. Jackson some questions, when Griff Jenkins barged in and started dominating the conversation, repeatedly demanding Rev. Jackson to answer, and diverting from the questions that others were asking about the war.

Davey had seen and heard enough, he began asking Griff Jenkins why are you here? Aggressively pushing his mic in Griff Jenkins face as he had done Rev.Jackson, and stepping in front of a retreating Griff Jenkins asking, ‘why are you here?’

Davey encouraged others to flip the script on aggressive TV reporters that come in and try to set a tone that is contrary to the way that you are coming from, “you have a right to stop them from dominating the conversation and regain control. Fox News has declared war on people of color and puts them in a defensive position, not given them a fair chance to answer back to salacious charges and assertions. They have one-sided conversations by asking you questions and cutting you off before you have a chance to answer them. Fox News creates an agenda and then places people of color within that framework to underscore what they are trying to say”.

Davey D said that what they tried to do to Rev. Jessie Jackson was a perfect example of “ambushing someone with the cameras” they kept asking Rev. Jackson over and over “why don’t you denounce Rev. Wright?… And as Rev. Jackson tried to answer they would interrupt him with “why don’t you denounce Rev. Wright?”

Davey D thought that it was disrespectful, not as much towards Rev. Jackson (who Davey says can handle himself) as much as it is towards millions of people who can discern what is outrageous or offensive on their own without aid from someone who doesn’t go to the church so they don’t know how to put things in the proper context. Here is online video of the incident: (from FOX News)

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x4rznd

written by paradise Gray
Foxguy
by luvnews

 

Filed Under: 2008 Daily news, archive articles Tagged With: , , , , , , ,