Santa Rosa Mall Security Jam Up Family of Andy Lopez for Wearing RIP T-Shirts

RIP Andy LopezNot sure how far along this dance that many are doing with evil is gonna go. Over the weekend family friends along with parents of Andy Lopez, the 13-year-old child who was gunned down by a Sonoma County sheriff deputy named Erick Gelhaus last November were in Santa Rosa Plaza Mall shopping and eating lunch.

The parents and one of the relatives had on pink shirts that said RIP Andy Lopez. They had just left an event for their slain son and came to the mall. They were immediately approached by mall security who told them they would have to remove their t-shirts because the ‘owners don’t like the message…’

Folks need to sit down for a minute and reflect on that before responding on what you think you may know about the law… The parents of Andy Lopez just lost their son 3-4 months ago. The District Attorney Jill Ravitch has been stalling and basically refusing to press charges. many suspect it’s because the sheriff department supports her re-election bid and she has supported the sheriffs campaign. The town is in an uproar as Andy represented the 57th murder by Sonoma County sheriffs in 10 years..

Guards approached the family told them they would have to remove the RIP t-shirts or leave the mall.. A white man was in the mall earlier that day wearing a Justice for Andy shirt and was not approached. In fact guards showed him where the rest room was. That white man happened to be a lawyer, named Jonathan Melrod who got a phone call from the Lopez family when guards were surrounding them telling them they had to remove the shirts..

Melrod returned back to the mall and let the family know what their rights were. A Supreme Court case allows one to wear whatever shirts they please whether its public or private.. The Guards didn’t take kindly to the info and went HAM bringing a total of 10 guards to confront the family. This led to the 300-400 folks in the food court reacting and standing their ground after Melrod hopped up on a table and addressed the crowd. They were in full support of the family..

The owner was called and when all was said and done it was made clear that he had no right to tell someone what kind of shirt they can and can’t wear.. An apology was issued to the family, but that was an act of damage control as far as many are concerned..Only in America folks.. Only in America…

NJ Police Threaten to Kill Black Man-Say He Assaulted them..He’s Saved by New Footage

Police brutality NJThis is an incredible yet disturbing and sad story. For many who are about to watch the video posted below, you may wanna sit down as it is certain to trigger a lot of emotions. Its upsetting to the least.

What you are about to see  is the potential for murder and in this case a young Black man named Marcus Jeter from Bloomfield, New Jersey was on his way to jail for 5 years because of the deliberate and over the top nihilistic behavior of 3 police officers who then lied and piled up a bunch of charges.

As you watch the video and hear officers yelling ‘He’s got a gun, He’s got a gun”,  one can’t but help wonder how many innocent people are languishing in jail or have been killed by police behaving in this manner. Jeter had no gun. Jeter didn’t assault an officer. One can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if Jeter didn’t have the temperament and presence of mind to take a beating vs panicking and running away or resisting as a way to protect himself..

When the second cruiser pulls up to the scene and deliberately crashes into the car and officers yell stop going for my gun, I couldn’t help but think of how police in Westchester County in NY murdered Pace University student DJ Henry in 2010 when he was asked to drive his car away from a fight he happened to drive upon. Police came over to his car and instructed him to drive away as he did so, an officer jumped on the hood of his car and started shooting,  claiming Henry tried to run them over. Two years later police admitted they lied, but nothing ever happen to them and sadly their admission doesn’t bring Henry back from the dead.

In this latest case involving Marcus Jeter, whats even more disturbing is one of the officers who tampered with evidence and hid it from defense lawyers wasn’t even indicted, he was allowed to simply retire. Now we’ll see if these indictments of the other two lead to convictions. This all underscores the fact that we need to have special incorruptible cameras on police at all times and we as citizens when pulled over or stopped need to have some irrefutable protections for ourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABOm1NON_yM

Racism: The Most Violent Weapon in Human History

Trayvon Martin wore a hoodie in the rain..In the world of Don lemon and Geraldo, maybe He should've had an umbrella instead

Trayvon Martin

Stop denying that race doesn’t matter.

To claim that killings of Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Darius Simmons, Garrick Hopkins, Carl Hopkins, and countless others have nothing to do with race erases generations of white-on-black violence.

And before you trot out some example from history of an African American who killed a white person, or cite some FBI statistics (deflection is a form of denial), hear us:

The history of violence directed at African Americans is grounded in a history of systemic racism; efforts to protect slavery, irrational fear, segregation, Jim Crow, stereotypes and white privilege are all part of this history.  It is what binds together Emmett Till and Jordan Davis, what links together the countless incidents of lynching throughout America’s history with killings of Trayvon Martin and Renisha McBride who were seen as “not belonging.”

white mobsThe history of the United States is one where whites have killed with impunity; the murder of African Americans has been carried under a culture that continues to sanction this violence. Our society has refused to hold white killers accountable within the criminal justice system. On the flip side, African Americans have historically and continually experience the opposite: the unequal brunt force of the criminal justice system.  Unlike their white counterparts, who have been let off the hook over and over again, blacks have been policed, locked up, lynched, and executed for s**t they didn’t do.  Just as those involved with countless lynchings and Emmett Till’s killers never faced consequences for killing black people, Michael Dunn and George Zimmerman have been left off the hook.

Race matters because of continued circulation of racial stereotypes. From Dunn’s views about “thug music” or Zimmerman’s profiling of Martin, or the belief from Theodore Wafer that Renisha McBride’s an intruder has everything to do with race.  How many different jokes about blacks and crime do you hear each day, either from popular culture or from friends?  How often do you confront media reports, video games, films, TV, or conversations that depict African Americans as dangerous, as “thugs,” as threatening criminals?

Michael Dunn

Michael Dunn

One cannot understand Michael Dunn, or George Zimmerman or countless others within a colorblind fantasy.  We must talk about racism, stereotypes and the history of criminalizing black bodies.  Research proves that whites, from college students to police officers, are more likely to misidentify a gun when in a black hand.  According to B. Keith Payne, “Race stereotypes can lead people to claim to see a weapon where there is none. Split-second decisions magnify the bias by limiting people’s ability to control responses.”  Racism thwarts many in white America from seeing how racism kills.

According Project Implicit,  “An analysis of more than 900,000 completed Implicit Association Tests (IAT) at the Project Implicit website suggested that more than 70% of test takers associated White people with good and Black people with bad…”   It is easy to dismiss race and racism but the daily consequences of American racism are real; the trauma and pain, the ongoing history of racial violence, and a culture that is more likely to see black criminality than black innocence.  Racism kills and so does denial.

Geraldo Rivera Blames TrayvonRace matters even in death.  How else can we explain the lack of concern society shows for the anguish of black parents who have lost a child?  The mantra of not speaking ill of the dead is rarely applied to black youth.  For all too many, that means routinely seeing the victims as criminals, as unworthy of sympathy and assumptions of innocence. Instead of being seen as victims, as someone’s son or daughter, someone’s friend that lost their life, they are turned into criminals deserving of death.  Writing about Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin, Eric Mann highlights the longstanding history of blaming black youth for their own murders:  [D]eep in the white American psyche” rests the controlling belief and script that sees “the impossibility of Black innocence.” Efforts to convict black youth for their own murders is engrained in the American fabric, enshrined in the history books, and centuries old in the script of white supremacy.  Racism continues to turn the victims of racism into criminals who either deserved to die or did something that resulted in their own death.

Whether citing school suspensions, problems with the law, drug use, clothing choices, being drunk, loud music, whistling, not listening to authority or simply their attitude, the presumption of black guilt, black criminality, and black pathology is reason for black death.  Don’t look at the killers or a history of white supremacy since the “victim” is in fact responsible for his/her death.  The message is clear: Don’t mourn for them; don’t seek justice for them since it is they (and their parents, their “culture”, and their community) that is responsible, not the killers, not the laws, not the gun culture, not the racism, and not America.

Affluenza DefenseWhite youth, on the other hand, even those who go on shooting rampages at in public places, even those who drive drink and kill people, who shoot first and ask question later, are regularly imagined as innocent, good, and all-American. Sometimes this takes place within the court of public opinion and other times within the courts.  We see this regularly in the aftermath of “mass shootings” at least those involving white perpetrators, in white communities, and with white victims. From James Holmes, who perpetrated a mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado in 2012, to Adam Lanza, who shot and killed over 20 children at a Connecticut Elementary School, society works to understand the backgrounds of these assailants and questions “why” and “how” these wholesome kids became evil.   Maybe it’s video games; or maybe its affluenza, or it could be mental health issues.  It’s never whiteness, it’s never racism; it’s never white pathology and ultimately that means little accountability

The effort to exonerate white shooters, from Lanza to Zimmerman, from Holmes to Dunn, embodies the power of race.  The failure to mourn Black Death, to protect black life, or the failure to understand the fear and anger reflects entrenched white privilege.  The yearning to cite Black on Black crime demonstrates the historic disregard for black life.

Khali Gibran Muhammad

Khali Gibran Muhammad

“It’s true that black-on-black violence is an exceptionally grave problem. But this does not explain the allure of the violence card, which perpetuates the reassuring notion that violence against black people is not society’s concern but rather a problem for black people to fix on their own,” writes Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. “The implication is that the violence that afflicts black America reflects a failure of lower-class black culture, a breakdown of personal responsibility, a pathological trait of a criminally inclined subgroup — not a problem with social and institutional roots that needs to be addressed through collective effort well beyond the boundaries of black communities.” Is it astonishing the black life is only valued when it can be used to deny white terror, to obscure solutions, and to otherwise blame EBW (everyone but whites). If black life was truly valued, we would all join those demanding justice for Jordan and Trayvon, those working to repeal stand your ground laws, those working to combat the insidious racial stereotypes that sustains anti-black racism.

If Black Death is such a concern for white America there are plenty of ways to get involved; to be a solution. There are plenty of organizations and individuals that are demanding justice for Mark Carson, Islan Nettles, Adrian Broadway, or Ricardo Sanes.  What are we doing for these victims, for countless others?    These are people, not talking points.

We do wonder where are the white leaders, whether Democratic or Republican, the organizations so concerned about gun violence, the media pundits, and those who like to obfuscate with “black on black crime” in addressing these killings? Where are the calls against Stand Your Ground, given its clear racial consequences?  Where is the support for those organizations and individuals that are challenging America’s pathological and destructive gun culture, or those working in communities like Chicago to combat injustice?  Where is the action and outrage about the violence that ravages Chicago or Detroit?  Where is the demand for something other than more police and lectures about sagging pants and fathers? Or do the concerns begin and end when trying to derail discussions about the continued history of racist violence that continues to plague this nation that continues to lead to deaths of Black Youth.

Stop racist violenceWe ask, what are we going to do about “white on white crime,” “black on black crime,” and the culture of violence that is ravaging communities? What are we all doing in the name of justice, in the name of every lost live?  What are we doing about permissive gun and mental health no matter the neighborhood?  We need to commit ourselves to having honest discussions about racism, inequality, and violence.  We must fight for justice for Trayvon Martin and Renisha McBride, for Adrian Broadway and Mark Carson, for Jordan Davis and Darius Simmons.  Justice will remain an illusion as we refuse to recognize the ways that they and so many others are seen as criminals when alive, remaining as “violent thugs,” in worthy of blame and reproach in death.

If we want to stop the violence, maybe we should look in the mirror, and look at racism, the most violent weapon in human history.  To deny race is to deny this history. To ignore racism and refuse to deal is to allow for the most dangerous weapon to continue to kill and kill without any consequence and intervention.  To wipe clean this history is to erase the pain and trauma of racial terror.  And worse, to keep repeating it, over and over.

Stand up for what’s right

written by  JLove and David Leonard

See, Judge, ACT:

What white folks can do:

Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. Become a member and get involved directly: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/

Don’t have time to organize?  At the very least:

-Sign up for ColorofChange.org and sign petitions demanding justice for all

-Donate to ColorofChange, SURJ and/or a multiracial group organizing around racial justice issues

-Post up on social media and circulate KNOWLEDGE so that your community is more informed; build an intentional community committed to justice, change, and accountability!

About the Authors

David Leonard is a professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race at Washington State University. http://drdavidjleonard.com/

JLove Calderon is a conscious media maker, social entrepreneur, and author of five books, including her latest: Occupying Privilege; Conversations on Love, Race, and Liberation. www.jlovecalderon.com

Hard Knock Radio: White Vigilantism, Stand Your Ground & Jordan Davis – Meet The Lumpen (02-18-14)

Kali Akuno

Kali Akuno

Hard Knock Radio (02-18-14) We speak w/ Kali Akuno, Special Projects and External Funding Director for Mayor Chokwe Lumumba in Jackson, Mississippi and member of Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. Our conversation starts off with reaction to the Michael Dunn/ Jordan Davis trial verdict and its larger implications.

We spoke with Kali about connecting the dots and looking at the larger issues connected with what seems to be an uptick in vigilante style killings of Black people at the hands of ‘scared’ white folks who than try to hide behind Stand Your Ground laws that now exists in 26 states.

Kali had unique perspective to this incident because he did organizing work in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina where there were a number vigilante killings involving mobs of white folks literally hunting Black people.

Ground zero was the Algiers section of New Orleans, but there were also disturbing incidents on the Gretna and Dezanger Bridge where Black people seeking dry ground were shot and killed. In the last couple of years we’ve seen high profile cases with the murders of Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride and Jordan Davis.. A lot of this was highlighted in the documentary Katrina’s Hidden Race War and the explosive article by AC Thompson for the Nation Magazine.

Katrina vigilantismIn our conversation Akuno noted that many of these incidents seem to borrow from the same play book with vigilantes claiming they were frightened and felt threatened by unarmed Black people who they thought were armed.  The same excuse is used by police who have been gunned down unarmed and innocent Black people.

Kali pointed out this history of fear is rooted white supremacy and the notion that the Black people who have been killed were somehow not in the ‘right place’. Their presence is deemed out of the ordinary which leads to folks becoming ‘suspicious’ and acting with malice..

We talked about ways in which people are organizing to combat this and what organizing will look like ideally as more people step up and push back.

We also asked Kali to put on his other hat as Special Projects and External Funding Director and give us some insight as to how people in his city of Jackson are organizing and protecting themselves given the sordid history of Mississippi and that it too is a Stand Your Ground state.

Kali noted that is organization has gotten a number of calls to investigate troubling incidents that have gone down in the state, primarily in rural areas. With respect to whats going on in Jackson, the Lumumba administration has been carefully laying down groundwork to enact bold, progressive initiatives that has gotten many people excited and simultaneously gotten many in power upset.

Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi

He noted that the state legislature is one of the most reactionary in the country and have put forth a bill similar to Michigan where the governor can arbitrarily appoint an Emergency Manager. Dubbed the ‘Takeover Jackson Bill‘, this would allow one individual appointed by the governor to come in and usurp the power of the Mayor, City council and other local elected officials. The Emergency Manager would have the power to set budgets, oversee the police, hire and fire administrators as they saw fit etc.

Kali noted that such moves were to be expected and that their response as an administration is not be shocked and surprised but instead apply their skill sets and years of fighting in the trenches to organize and employ strategies and counter measures of their own.

Kali noted one of the first steps is to raise awareness and make sure folks are in the loop as to whats happening. The second step is to organize folks on the ground and get them prepared for the latest attack and attempts to oppress folks..

Hopefully news outlets like Democracy Now Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC Roland S. Martin of TV One to name a few take up this matter and shine a glaring spotlight on this…

As Shamako Noble of Hip Hop Congress recently noted whats taking place is that many of these new laws are being put in place with Black People being used as training ground.. Once the proverbial kinks are out they are then applied to everyone else who is deemed a threat or ‘the other’.

Far too often everyone ignores these laws when its hitting the Black community and literally sweep it under the rug until it’s too late.. That’s one hard lesson folks should’ve learned with the fight around mass surveillance. It was ignored when it was being used in the Black community for a couple of decades under the banner War on Drugs..

The Emergency Manager tactic was ignored and even justified by some who should know better when it was impacting cities like Detroit and Flint. Some rationalized that such places were run down and needed a change..Now they are directing it at Jackson, Ms toward a progressive Mayor who hasn’t even been in office 6 months.. Who will be next and how are we prepared to fight?

The Lumpen

The Lumpen

Later on in the show, we hear excerpts from an hear a panel discussion featuring author/scholar Rickey Vincent and members of the Black Panthers Funk band The LumpenWilliam Calhoun, Clark Bailey and James Mott speak about their experiences as revolutionary rank and file members of the panthers and what led to them forming a band. They note that its important to keep in mind they were Panthers first before ‘rock stars’..

right click the link below to download or  stream the HKR Intv

right click the link below to download or
stream the HKR Intv

hkrfullshow_02-18-2014 Kali Akuno- Meet the Lumpen

Hard Knock Radio: M1 of dead prez Speaks / Obamacare Intvs from Wash DC (02-20-14)

M1-dead prez side viewHard Knock Radio (Feb 20 2014) We sit down w/ M1 of the legendary group dead prez who has just returned from overseas. We talk to him about artist responsibility and commitment to social justice movements. He talked about the group’s evolution and what its like for the group as they approach the 14th anniversary of their debut album ‘Lets Get Free‘.

We also talk to him about the legacy of mass surveillance and how its always been present in Black and Brown communities and was ignored and dismissed by the mainstream. M1 notes now that mass surveillance is everywhere what was once a ‘they’ problem is now a ‘we’ problem..

We round up our show with more interviews from the floor of the Families USA convention in Washington DC regarding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

right click the link below to download or  stream the HKR Intv

right click the link below to download or
stream the HKR Intv

hardknockradio_02-20-2014 M1 and Healthcare

Forget President’s Day-Today We Celebrate Huey P Newton on His Bday

George Washington Today February 17th 2014. For many people it’s the conclusion of a 3 day weekend in which we are encouraged to celebrate Presidents Day where we honor Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Celebrating Lincoln is understandable considering he helped put an end to the horrific institution of slavery by putting forth the Emancipation Proclamation, even though he had to be pressured by abolitionist like Frederick Douglass and others.

Celebrating Washington and Jefferson who were founding fathers of this country and slave owners is not the biz no matter what angle folks take. There was no excuse for their participation in the horrors that were unleashed on enslaved Africans who were not considered human, which on top of being forced to work from sun up to sun down, were subjected to harsh whippings, rapes and their children being sold off.

Some like to point out that Washington freed his slaves. In fact it was written in his will. Yes we heard that story. They were freed after he died. All  316 of them were freed by his wife Martha Washington who waited  a good twelve months to honor her husband’s wishes.

Some like to point out that Washington often expressed support for the gradual abolition of slavery. Maybe that’s true, but this is the same Washington who signed the Fugitive Slave Law which allowed slave owners to recapture enslaved Africans even if they managed to escape to states that had abolished slavery. Washington put this law into effect in 1790, which was a good 14 years after he signed the Declaration of Independence that asserted All Men Are Created Equal. We now know that assertion didn’t include Black folks.

We should also remember that Washington came to the aid of the French who had gotten their butts beat by enslaved Haitians who rebelled and overthrew their slave masters. Instead of recognizing their independence Washington dispatched emergency aid. He wanted the newly freed Africans to put back into bondage.

Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson is honored in many parts of this country on President’s Day and is depicted as a beloved figure. He should be remembered as a man who like Washington also owned hundreds of slaves and unlike Washington who instructed his slaves to be freed in his will, Jefferson feared slave revolts and opposed any law that would allow owners to free them.

Many like to talk and romanticize about the love affair Jefferson had with Sally Hemings, an enslaved girl of mixed race who was 14 when Jefferson first got at her. She had 6 children by the President. In describing the relationship, many like to refer to Hemings as Jefferson’s mistress which implies she was a woman who was free and willing participant in a sordid love triangle. Hemings was enslaved and had no agency in this relationship. That makes her a victim of rape. People should reflect on that for a minute.

Lastly folks should note, that like Washington, Jefferson opposed Haitian getting their independence and went HAM on them by putting in place an embargoes designed to economically cripple them. He too feared slave rebellions.

Huey P NewtonInstead of honoring slave holding Presidents, one should note that February 17th is the birthday of Huey P Newton co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense..Since its Black History month we figured it would be good to give folks some insight as to who Huey was and what the Panthers were about.. Here’s a brief bio on Huey…

Huey Newton, the youngest of seven children, was born in Monroe, on 17th February, 1942. His father, who named his son after the radical politician, Huey P. Long, was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).

At Merritt College in Oakland, California, Newton met Bobby Seale and in 1966 they formed the Black Panther Party. Initially established to protect local communities from police brutality and racism, it eventually developed into a Marxist revolutionary group. The Black Panthers also ran medical clinics and provided free food to school children.

The activities of the Black Panthers came to the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Hoover described the Panthers as “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country” and in November 1968 ordered the FBI to employ “hard-hitting counter-intelligence measures to cripple the Black Panthers”.

The Black Panthers had chapters in several major cities and had a membership of over 2,000. Harassed by the police, members became involved in several shoot-outs. This included an exchange of fire between Panthers and the police at Oakland on 28th October, 1967. Newton was wounded and while in hospital was charged with killing a police officer. The following year he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

After being released from prison Newton renounced political violence. Over a six-year period 24 Black Panthers had been killed in gun fights with the police. Another member, George Jackson, was killed while in San Quentin prison in August, 1971.

Huey P Newton chair Newton now concentrated on socialist community programs including free breakfasts for children, free medical clinics and helping the homeless. The Panthers also became involved in conventional politics and in 1973 Bobby Seale ran for mayor of Oakland and came second out of nine candidates with 43,710 votes (40 per cent of votes cast).

Newton published his book, Revolutionary Suicide in 1973. The following year he was arrested and charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Released on bail, Newton fled to Cuba but in 1977 he returned to the United States and was freed after two hung juries.

Newton returned to his studies at the University of California and in 1980 he received a Ph.D. in social philosophy. His dissertation was entitled:War Against the Panthers: A Study in Repression in America. Huey Newton was shot dead on 22nd August, 1989, while walking along a street in Oakland.

courtesy of http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnewtonH.htm

Over the years Huey Newton and the Black Panthers inspired many within Hip Hop. From Public Enemy to 2Pac to Digital Underground who started off as the Spice Regime a Black Panther styled group to Paris to the Fugitives which was a Bay Area group composed of Panther children.

In recent years we’ve seen revolutionary artists like Eseibio the Automatic who hails from Oakland pick up the mantle and keep the Panther legacy alive. His album Revolutionary Minded is a testament to that commitment.  He furthers that commitment by organizing programs for the youth and sparking off weekly letter writing campaigns for political prisoners, many who are former Panthers who fearlessly laid it down for the liberation of the people.

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

Below are some clips to get you up to speed as to who Huey Newton was and what he was about..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhTD1CY1COs&playnext=1&list=PL0B8A60B9092950FA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuU7bEqKcLk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ypqCYPduI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po8eetZxqB0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oIWjbhZI-A&feature=related

Remembering X-Clan’s ‘Day of Outrage’ in the Wake of the Michael Dunn Verdict

X-ClanWhen things don’t seem right and injustice is all around, sometimes you need a loud, booming song to re-center you and remind you that our people are resilient and that resistance to the evil all around us will be the order of the day.

A day after the incredulous verdict around Michael Dunn where jurors could not convict him of murdering unarmed Jordan Davis while simultaneously convicting him of attempted murder of the men who survived the shooting, has had me listening to the song ‘Day of Outrage‘ by X-Clan.  The searing lyrics has me wanting to hear more songs like this as I recall the climate that led up to the landmark song…

For those unfamiliar, back in August 1989, folks were feeling overwhelmed after the killing of 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins at the hands of an angry white mob who thought he was dating a local white girl named Gina Feliciano…About 30 men laid in wait near the house of the girl who was believed to be dating a Black men. They all had bats.

Yusef and his friends came out of candy store and coincidently walked by the building when the men with bats confronted them. No words were exchanged, No bats were swung, Yusef was shot twice in the chest and left dead holding onto his candy bar. The man who shot him was convicted of second degree murder the other main defendant was acquitted but found guilty on a lesser charges.. Yusuf wasn’t dating anyone, he and his friends were simply responding to an ad for a used car.

Yusef Hawkins Protest

Yusef Hawkins Protest

At the time New York City was in an uproar and the rap group X-Clan responded . They were  part of an organization called Blackwatch which was led by group leader Professor X who was the son of long time activist Sonny Carson who was one of the group’s mentors and advisors. .. On the Day of Outrage they led help lead 50 thousand people across the Brooklyn Bridge… The song they did ‘Day of Outrage’ was among the many songs artists were doing at the time to offer the community a soundtrack for the racial struggles they were battling.. Here’s an article on the day of outrage http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/01/nyregion/day-of-outrage-march-ends-in-violence.html

Fast forward to today in the aftermath of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride and  Jordan Davis to name a few of the many, one can’t help but wonder what it would be like if popular artists like Nicki Minaj had taken all their anger and frustration expressed in songs  like ‘Looking Azz N*ggas‘ and applied that same energy and venom to the racist folks in Florida who time and time again show disdain and disgust for our people.

Nicki MinajIn the video, instead of shooting guns at Looking Azz N*ggas what if she pointed those guns at Looking Azz Racists in Florida who set George Zimmerman free? Or what if she pointed the guns at ‘Looking Azz’ Jury members who got hung up and handed down a mistrial verdict to an un-remorseful murderer like Michael Dunn? Even better what if those guns were directed at the state prosecutor Angela Corey who lost two cases of unarmed Black teenagers being killed via Stand Your Ground, leaving many to believe she threw the case?

Maybe a venomous song could be done directed at George Zimmerman himself, who is seeking to capitalize off murdering Trayvon Martin and reinvent himself as a ‘celebrity boxer’…

Perhaps a stinging song could be directed at ALEC members or Stand Your Ground advocates who created this climate of fear, suspicion which is leading to the murder of innocent unarmed Black folks.

Where are our most popular and most visible artists with their lyrical take downs of this injustice system and the people who run it. ? How about a song directed at Looking Azz Government officials in Florida’??

Lookingazzracist-400Instead of distorting the image and legacy of Malcolm X, Emmett Till, Harriet Tubman, Harry Belafonte and other folks who symbolize our freedom struggle, some of these artists should go all out and lambast folks who actively and routinely work against us. For example, where’s the songs to bash Congressional leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor over their policies like cutting 40 billion dollars in food stamps and not extending unemployment benefits?

Where’s the songs taking down Bill O’Reilly? Sean Hannity? Rush Limbaugh who make a living off of demonizing and stereotyping Black folks day in and day out?  Where’s the take down songs directed at Megyn Kelly the Fox news pundit who blew up the spot late last year by announcing Jesus and Santa are white? Where are the songs that go HAM about them?  We need more songs that speak to our collective outrage about a system that is broke beyond repair and aggressively counter attack those who seeking to demoralize us.

And yes for the record I’m fully aware there are lots of artists who do speak truth to power, from Rebel Diaz to Immortal Technique to Yassin Bey to dead prez to Cihuatl Ce to Sa-Roc to Talib Kweli to Ras Ceylon to Killer Mike to David Banner to Boots Riley Alia Sharrief to Jasiri X to Toki Wright to Eseibio the Automatic to DLabrie to name a few. Their efforts should be supported and never discounted. Sadly they are not presented via mainstream outlets and in terms of pushing to get issues addressed we should all be thinking, advocating and noting what’s lacking in many of our circles during times like these.

Angela Corey

Angela Corey

If one wants to take this a step further, how about a few songs that challenge those in office and push for a changing of the guard? Many are upset with Florida’s State Attorney Angela Corey and her office who they feel did not give it their all both in this trial as well as the George Zimmerman/ Trayvon Martin trial which they lost.

Many feel they were skittish in talking about race and that they went light on the defendants. In this particular case, Corey’s office never countered all the testimony claiming Dunn was a nice sensitive guy by showing the racist letters he wrote from prison in describing Jordan and his friends. Corey needs to be removed from office.

Back in the days, when Miami residents were dissatisfied with their local district attorney, Uncle Luke (Luther Campbell) of the 2 Live Crew, had one of his artists named Anquette do a song that help catapult someone into office who they felt would do a better job. That individual eventually went on to become the US Attorney General.. Her name was Janet Reno. An interesting side note, Reno’s opponent, Jack Thompson was so enraged about the song, that he led a campaign to get 2 Live Crew brought up on obscenity charges because of their racy music. That case made its way to the US Supreme Court where 2 Live Crew was vindicated. Luke in later years said he had no regrets putting out the Janet Reno song. He felt it was necessary.

Day of Outrage.26.03 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROZllkxVshM

Today I’m listening to that classic X-Clan joint ‘Day of Outrage‘ and remembering some pointed words put forth by the late Amiri Baraka when describing the purpose of Black Art  “Poetry is not, as art form, separate from the violent struggles of the people; it is and must be a weapon in that struggle..

X-Clan Day of Outrage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ejFR1asJvc

 

 

3 Dope Songs from Desdamona Reppin the Twin Cities

DesdamondaDesdamona is a hip-hop and spoken word artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota She has won five Minnesota Music Awards for ‘Best Spoken Word Artist’ in the years 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 and is considered to be the best female spoken word and hip-hop artist in the Midwest.

Her emcee name, comes from Desdemona, the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare‘s tragedy Othello. She was born and went to school in Iowa. A childhood inspiration for her music, she said, was her father who would dress up as Count Dracula and tell bedtime stories to her.

In college, Desdamona and her friends formed a band in which Desdamona was the rapper, inspired by the R&B group TLC. The group performed around Waterloo, Iowa and had a few shows in Iowa City. When she moved to Minneapolis, she found an audience for her work. She began to go to open mic nights to perform her poetry. In this way, she became known as a spoken word artist, which was not her original intention, but which, she says, “made me a better writer.”

Desdamona was noticed for her guest vocals in Brother Ali‘s We Will Always B in 2000. Her lines criticized male dominance of hip-hop and chauvinism in general. This led to her first CD, The Ledge, which came out in June 2005.

Desdamona frequently collaborates with Twin Cities beatboxer Carnage the Executioner, also known as Carnage. On Desdamona’s second disc, The Source, which came out 26 June 2007, the duo do the first track, Infinity, together.The two have formed a group called Ill Chemistry, which was noted as a rising hip-hop group at the 2007 Minnesota Music Awards. Desdamona has noted that they’re working on a collaboration on her blog.

Desdamona co-founded an female based music festival, called B-Girl Be, which incorporates all the aspects of hip-hop and spoken word; emceeing, break dance, D.J.-ing and graffiti. She also works with schools, teaching students, as well as in the Stillwater Prison program, In the Belly.

In 2010, Desdamona was invited by Ursus Minor to sing on their third album “I will not take but for an answer” and also did the 21010 Ursus Minor October and August French Tours along with Boots Riley.

Desdamona “The Comeback”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TuCdehkcjY

Desdamona “The Source”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iC-K9eDAJ4

Desdamona ‘I Don’t Stop’

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

Desdamona “Get By”

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

500 Female Emcees: Meet Audry Funk from Mexico

Audry FunkAudry Funk is from Puebla, Mexico and considered one of the most representative emcees in the country. She’s put in more than 8 years on the independent music scene. She first started out doing reggae and after a while started dabbling in HIP HOP.  Her first album GREEN SOUL SYSTEM came out in the year 2006. Iin

In 2010 she was invited to join the collective WOMEN WORKING Together with other female emcees who were holding down the  national scene. Since 2011 she’s been working with HIP HOP tHE BOROUGH. This year he takes out his first solo material ….

 

Audry Funk Kemalo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX7QrfEGAmo

Audry Funk Matices

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j9qgixo-Hg

Audry Funk Destreza Hip Hop Tatuado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0NfInls8ZM

Audry Funk ft. Achepe La Simplicidad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzq3aJ6KvME

 

500 Females Emcees: Meet Azealia Banks

Azealia BanksAzealia Amanda Banks was born on May 31, 1991 Her mother raised her and two older sisters in Harlem, after their father died of pancreatic cancer when she was two years old.Following her father’s death, Banks says that her mother “became really abusive – physically and verbally. Like she would hit me and my sisters with baseball bats, bang our heads up against walls, and she would always tell me I was ugly. I remember once she threw out all the food in the fridge, just so we wouldn’t have anything to eat.” Due to escalating violence, Banks moved out of her mother’s home at age 14 to live with her older sister.

At a young age Banks became interested in musical theater, acting and singing. Aged ten, she began performing in off-Broadway musicals with the Tada! Youth Theater in Lower Manhattan. She had lead roles in three productions (Rabbit Sense, Sleepover, and Heroes) in addition to performing as a soloist. Banks was trained in the performing arts at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. At the age of sixteen, Banks starred in a production of the comedy-noir musical City of Angels, where she was found by an agent and sent on auditions for TBS, Nickelodeon, and Law & Order, all without success. It was at this point that Banks decided to end her pursuit of an acting career, citing the large amount of competition and overall sense of unfulfillment as reasons for her retirement. Because of this, Banks began writing rap and R&B songs as a creative outlet. She never finished high school, instead choosing to follow her dream of becoming a recording artist.

source wikipedia

Azealia Banks No problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tkEp91mWYo

Azealia Banks Liquorice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWRhnYgWcc

 Azealia Banks Yung Rapunxel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCGptVzqVU