2014 Daily News | Hip-Hop and Politics

How Some Black Members of Congress Are Selling Out to Telecom Companies

July 2, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Big phone and cable companies are attacking the free and open Internet – and some Black members of Congress are helping them do it.

Ten members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) recently signed a letter to the FCC attacking net neutrality, the principle that prevents Internet service providers from discriminating online. All of these members have taken thousands in campaign contributions from the telecom industry.

We’ve seen this before – but this summer is a crucial time when the FCC will choose to either protect Internet freedom, or allow phone and cable companies to take unprecedented control over what we see, do, and say online.

We need to hold these representatives accountable, and make sure the FCC and other members of Congress know they don’t speak for Black people on this issue.

Join us in calling out the Black members of Congress doing big telecom’s dirty work.

What’s at stake

Net neutrality has made the Internet a level playing field for all voices, allowing Black bloggers, activists, and entrepreneurs to flourish online despite being blocked out of ownership and participation in traditional media. Now, these CBC members are using deceptive arguments to help giant corporations attack net neutrality, and claiming that they speak for Black America.

The FCC is now considering reclassifying Internet service as a public utility, which would give it strong authority to enforce net neutrality for the public good.¹ Thankfully, some Black members of Congress are fighting to protect net neutrality — Rep. Keith Ellison co-authored a letter to the FCC supporting reclassification, and it was signed by Reps. Barbara Lee, John Lewis, John Conyers, Donna Edwards, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Charlie Rangel, Bobby Scott, and Andre Carson.²

But the phone and cable companies are fighting this tooth and nail, calling in favors from organizations and members of Congress they’ve supported financially for years. Sadly, some civil rights organizations and Black members of Congress are attacking net neutrality with dishonest and deceptive arguments handed to them by the telecom lobby. Ten members of the CBC recently signed Rep. Gene Green’s letter to the FCC attacking reclassification (Reps. Bobby Rush, G.K. Butterfield, Sanford Bishop, Corrine Brown, Lacy Clay, Alcee Hastings, Gregory Meeks, David Scott, Bennie Thompson, and Marc Veasey).³ The letter claims to support Internet freedom while doing everything it can to undermine it.

Dishonest and deceptive arguments against net neutrality

The telecom lobby, echoed by some Black members of Congress and civil rights organizations, has argued that net neutrality rules could limit minority access to the Internet and widen the digital divide. They say that unless we allow Internet service providers to make bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers online, they won’t expand Internet access in under-served communities. In other words, if Comcast — whose broadband Internet business was recently earning 80 percent profit margins⁴ — can increase its profits under a system without net neutrality, then it will all of a sudden invest in expanding Internet access in our communities.

 This argument has been debunked^{5, 6} — it doesn’t make any sense from a business or economic perspective, and it doesn’t reflect history. Expanding access to high speed Internet is an extremely important goal, and we are fully in support of it. But allowing the phone and cable companies to make more money by acting as toll-takers on the Internet has nothing to do with reaching that goal. Businesses invest where they can maximize their profits, period. Internet service providers are already making huge profits,⁷ and if they believed that investing in low-income communities made good business sense, they would already be doing it. The idea that making even more money is suddenly going to make them care about our communities is ridiculous.

The truth is that reclassifying Internet service as a public utility would actually help the FCC close the digital divide by allowing it to subsidize Internet access for low-income Americans.⁸

Buying the support of Black members of Congress

All of the CBC members attacking net neutrality have taken large amounts of campaign money from the telecom industry, with some taking tens of thousands of dollars in just the last two elections.

And it’s not just campaign money — since just 2008 the telecom lobby has spent millions on donations to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI), nonprofit organizations associated with the CBC.^9,10 These organizations claim that their purpose is to provide scholarships, educate the public, and develop new leaders. But the corporate money also funds lavish galas to honor members of the CBC,¹¹ and top lobbyists from the telecom industry sit on the boards and committees of the CBCF and CBCI.¹²

This year, the CBCF “honored” Comcast with its “Distinguished Corporation Award”;¹³ last year, it was Time Warner.¹⁴ Comcast touted its award to Congress earlier this year while seeking approval for its merger with Time Warner.¹⁵

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen CBC members carry water for big telecom corporations. Many of the CBC members who signed Rep. Green’s recent letter to the FCC have signed similar letters before, and cast votes against net neutrality. And many of these members have been loyal allies to the industry on other issues as well.

In October 2009, Congressman Gregory Meeks collected 70 signatures from his colleagues on an industry-backed letter designed to weaken support for Internet freedom.¹⁶

In 2011, Congressman G.K. Butterfield worked with Congressman Gene Green to organize Democratic support for AT&T’s merger with T-Mobile.¹⁷

Congressman Bobby Rush has attacked net neutrality many times, since at least 2006.¹⁸ And in addition to campaign contributions, Rush has taken more than $1.7 million from the telecom lobby through his charitable organizations.¹⁹ $1 million of that money came from AT&T and was supposed to support a technology center in Rush’s district. Rush has recently come under scrutiny because that money is now gone, with no tech center to show for it, and Rush unable to explain where the money went.²⁰

These are just a few of many examples.

We’ve called out these members for their attacks on Internet freedom. In 2010 we ran a similar campaign demanding that CBC members stop attacking net neutrality. And we’ve made progress — fewer Black representatives are now carrying water for the telecoms.

In 2011, thousands of ColorOfChange.org members signed petitions and made phone calls asking House Democratic leadership to prevent Congressman Rush from securing a key committee position that would have allowed him to do even more damage to net neutrality.²¹ Because of our actions, Rush didn’t get the position.²²

Nevertheless, Rush and other Black representatives have continued to use their status as members of the Congressional Black Caucus — which is supposed to advocate for the interests of Black America — to attack net neutrality. It’s unacceptable and dangerous: not only does this kind of influence peddling threaten the Internet as a medium where Black voices and ventures have an equal shot; it also undermines the credibility and power of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has historically been a critically important voice for Black America.

Now is the time to raise our voices again and make it clear that these representatives don’t speak for us on this issue. If enough of us speak out, we can make sure that all Black representatives know there will be a price to pay for betraying Internet freedom — and that if they fight for net neutrality, they’ll have our support. And by speaking out now, we can make sure the FCC knows how important net neutrality is to Black America.

Join us in calling out the CBC members attacking Internet freedom.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Aimée, Dallas and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 1st, 2014

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

References

1. “Net Neutrality and Reclassification: A Fact Sheet,” Voices for Internet Freedom, 2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3594?t=7&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

2. “Ellison, Grijalva Lead Letter to FCC Chairman Demanding Net Neutrality,” Press Release from Office of Rep. Keith Ellison, 5-14-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3595?t=9&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

3. “Green letter warns against destructive consequences of a Title II reclassification,” The Citizen, 5-14-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3596?t=11&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

4. “When Is the Cable ‘Buy’ Set to Come?” Wall Street Journal, 4-3-2008
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3631?t=13&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

5. “Why Consumers Demand Internet Freedom,” Free Press, 5-2006
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/181?akid=1422.539090.Ickxtj&t=33&t=15&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

6. “Finding the Bottom Line: The Truth About Network Neutrality & Investment,” Free Press, 10-2009
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/182?akid=1422.539090.Ickxtj&t=35&t=17&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

7. “AT&T’s Earnings Rise 26%, Driven by Wireless,” New York Times, 1-29-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/183?akid=1422.539090.Ickxtj&t=37&t=19&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

8. “The Truth About the Third Way: Separating Fact from Fiction in the FCC Reclassification Debate,”
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3597?t=21&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

9. “Telecom Giants Paid Millions To ‘Honor’ Minority Lawmakers Before The Merger,” Huffington Post, 2-22-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3598?t=23&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

10. “AT&T enriches lawmakers’ pet charities,” Politico, 6-1-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3599?t=25&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

11. “In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse,” New York Times, 2-13-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3600?t=27&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

12. See reference 10.

13. “CBCF Honors Rep. Eva Clayton, Comcast NBCUniversal and LBJ Library,” Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, 2-26-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3601?t=29&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

14. “Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Honors Time Warner,” Time Warner, 3-1-2013
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3602?t=31&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

15. Comcast and Time Warner Joint Statement to the Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, 5-8-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3603?t=33&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

16. Rep. Gregory Meeks’ 2009 Letter to FCC, 8-15-2009
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3604?t=35&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

17. “Did AT&T Lie to Your Representative?,” Free Press, 8-23-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/950?t=37&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

18. “Buying Bobby Rush,” Republic of T, 9-21-2006
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3605?t=39&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

19. “The Utility Man,” Better Government Association, 12-12-2013
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3606?t=41&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

20. “The Million Dollar Question,” Better Government Association, 12-12-2013
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3607?t=43&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

21. “Net Neutrality Group Slaps Back at AT&T-Funded Lawmaker,” Wired, 11-22-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3608?t=45&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

22. “Accountability: Who Else Will Go the Way of Congressman Bobby Rush?” ColorOfChange.org Founder James Rucker in Huffington Post, 1-26-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3609?t=47&akid=3446.1597183.Ls3jqW

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: Congress, Congressional Black Caucus, Net Neutrality, telecoms

Phil Agnew and the Dream Defenders are No Joke

June 25, 2014 By mrDaveyd

We recently sat down with Phil Agnew of the Dream Defenders which is an incredible organization based in Florida. They were the first on the scene kicking up dust and doing all that they could do to bring attention to the grave injustice that befell 17-year-old Trayon Martin who racial profiled and then shot by self-proclaimed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.

During our interview, Phil walked us through all the direct action the Dream Defenders executed leading up to the Trayvon Martin saga getting national attention. These activities included blocking the doors to the Standford police station and walking 40 miles over a 3 day period from Stanford Florida to Tallahassee. During the trial and the months leading up to it, very little shine was given to the DD. Instead we saw the faces of traditional Civil Rights leaders and media pundits. Throughout that time, the Dream Defenders kept their nose to the grind, doing the heavy lifting of organizing throughout the state. Their focus was young people in many of the colleges and disenfranchised folks from the community.

After the tumultuous trial, which resulted in George Zimmerman being acquitted, while many pundits and Trayvon Martin experts left Sanford to return home, the Dream Defenders headed to the state capital and staged a 30 day sit in at the governor’s office. As Phil explained, the purpose was not to protest the verdict which they obviously didn’t agree with, but to bring attention to the unfair laws that led to Martin being shot in the first place.

The issues at hand were racial profiling and Stand Your Ground. The group wanted a meeting with the governor and demanded to have a hearing with the legislature to repeal the law. It was an arduous fight and while they didn’t get all they wanted, the Dream defenders made Stand Your Ground a front and center issue. They also made it known they would be a serious political force to be reckoned with.

Phil explained how the Dream Defenders linked up with the Dreamers who are undocumented youth who had been receiving national attention for the direct action tactics in pushing hard for Immigrant Rights. The groups saw common ground and the importance of forming vibrant Black-Brown coalitions that are savvy enough insidious attempts to divide and conquer.

During our interview Phil talked at length about the Dream Defender’s strategy to take their fight around Stand Your Ground laws to the United Nations. He talks about members going to Geneva and the affirming responses they got..

This summer Dream defenders will be participating in the upcoming celebrations of the Freedom Summer of 64 with a promise of the group growing stronger and using their leverage to overcome restrictive voting laws saddling their state.

Its interesting to note that when looking at the political landscape and seeing the array of problems that confront society, many in their frustration often ask, “Where are all the young people?” Many like to hark back at a time when seemingly everyone was politically involved and committed to changing the world. Some like to assert today’s youth are lacking.. The Dream Defenders and folks like Phil Agnew through their actions dispel such notions.

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, Hard Knock Radio Intv Tagged With: Civil rights, Dream Defenders, Phil Agnew, Trayvon Martin

Mike Hutchinson: How Oakland’s School Board Plans to Further Gentrification

June 23, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Mike Hutchinson

Oakland, California like most city’s around the country and for that matter around the world has two big buzz word that spark intense, heated passions among its residents GENTRIFICATION and PRIVATIZATION… Here in ‘tha town‘ public school privatization has been a key ingredient in the attempts by developers and big power brokers seeking to bring about an economic and demographic change. Translation, there are many in power who want Oakland to be whiter and more affluent.

This is playing out in very ugly ways within the Oakland Unified School District which over the past few years has seen an explosion in corporate back charter schools, a campaign to demonize teachers unions and now a new scheme which involves selling off a mostly Black and Brown Dewey high school to developers to make way for high-rise luxury apartments..

Today on Hard Knock Radio, we sat down with long time community activist and education expert Mike Hutchinson who laid out what is taking place within Oakland’s educational landscape. He talked about the recent court decision that makes teachers receiving tenure unconstitutional. He talked to us about the proliferation of charter schools and who has been spending big time money to bring them into Oakland. he talked about the key players and organizations who are in the back pockets of Wal-Mart and the Koch Brothers who are funding charter schools..

During our interview Hutchinson talked at length about an aggressive and egregious plan by Oakland school board president David Kakishiba who is also the executive director of EBAYC (East Bay Asian Youth Center) to sell off prime restate owned by Oakland Public schools, including Dewey High school near Lake Merritt so developers can build 3 luxury 25 story high rises..When you hear what he has to say, it’ll make your head spin..

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: David Kakishiba, Gentrification, hard Knock radio, Mike Hutchinson, Oakland school Board

Courts Rule Teaching Tenure is Unconstitutional-Here’s the Real Deal Behind that Fight

June 12, 2014 By mrDaveyd

On Tuesday a Superior Court here in the state of California issued a landmark ruling declaring teachers who receive tenure is unconstitutional. Immediately afterwards a number of folks jumped on social media and took to the airwaves declaring the ending of teaching tenure as a grand victory and now our children will be saved. A closer look at some of those prominent voices including the Black and Brown ones, showed that they were a small fraction of folks who had aligned themselves with big corporations and neo-liberal factions that want nothing more but to privatize public education.

This wasn’t about saving kids. This was about making money along with pushing a culture of conformity. Here’s a few undisputable facts about teacher tenure and the court’s ruling along with an insightful interview from one of the nation’s leading educators Dr Jeff Duncan-Andrade from SF State University.

First, let’s deal with understanding what Cali’s teaching tenure policy was about. Tenure with teachers does not mean they can’t be fired. It means they can’t be fired at will..One of the main rights workers had eroded thanks to billions spent in corporate lobbying nationally and domestically was to remove worker protections and make it such that an employer can walk up and fire you at will.

Many have bemoaned this fact and have talked about having to go to work and be on eggshells because an unreasonable, tyrannical, over demanding boss can at any moment upend your world by bouncing you. Perhaps from a corporate POV being able to walk up and fire folks is a good thing. It means that when an employee starts to gain seniority which would allow certain types of benefits and pensions to kick in, the employer can simply fire them and replace them with someone younger and cheaper.

The tenure aspect of a teacher was something all of us should have which is ‘due process‘ when it comes to your employment. This means if you as a teacher speak out and politically align yourself with parents and students vs the administration which may have a politically agenda, you can’t be bounced out.

If we have forward thinking teachers who find that its best to teach students about Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez , the I Hotel Strikes or engage them in discussions about current events and relate that to the curriculum, should they be bounced because some out of touch or biased administrator feels lessons on Malcolm or Chicano Culture are irrelevant? This is what went down in Tuscon, Arizona around its Chicano Studies program. Reactionary forces came in let teachers go, passed a law to shut down ethnic studies because some saw it threatening to the American way of life and banned a ton of books including Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere from being in the classroom..Is this what we are advocating?? Is this our solution?

The way this current fight around teacher tenure has been depicted in the news courtesy of those pushing for public education to be privatized, is to say there are old, white, insensitive, under performing teachers who been around for years, who got tenure and were dumped into inner city schools where they are culturally ill-equipped, uncaring and the main reason why we have in 50-60% drop out rates. Popular movies like ‘Waiting for Superman‘ further fueled that narrative as its school privatizers made the face of teacher’s unions become that above described ineffective teacher.

According to the lawsuit where they had ‘expert witnesses’ and bevy of studies to reference, under performing teachers make less than 3% of the total Cali teacher workforce.. In actual numbers, there are close to 300k active California public school teachers, out of that we are talking about 2k-8k at most who aren’t making the grade..This is for the entire state and when you add up the numbers there’s no way this handful of teachers has upended the largest public school system in the country. You can look at what the court was taking into consideration–> HERE

What we need to be asking is what administrator decided to come along and place under performing teachers in inner city schools? This is akin to sending bad, brutalizing cops to inner city neighborhoods and then playing dumb when folks complain about rampant abuse.

Oakland Parents fighting to keep local schools from being privatized

Oakland Parents fighting to keep local schools from being closed and eventually privatized

We need to be asking how many of these teachers did they assign and what was the rationale? What administrator looked at school in deep East Oakland and said; “Golly gee this school is having challenges, why don’t I look at my list of teachers and send them all the bad ones“.. .If the percentage of bad teachers statewide is 1-3% then we need to ask who made the decision to fill a school up with under performing teachers that far exceed that 1-3%?? Was it the principal? School chancellor? School board?? Who?

Whats been implied over the years is that the teacher’s union insisted that under performing teachers go to inner city schools and miseducate our kids? During our interview with Dr Andrade, he astutely noted, many teachers walk into schools that are purposely and severely under funded, over crowded and disproportionately impacted by a number of outside systemic problems that hinder learning. Teachers who speak out about that often find themselves under fire with some being labeled as under performing.

Dr Jeff Duncan Andrade

Andrade went on to talk about the high turn over rates in some of these schools where frustrated teachers simply leave resulting in many schools being unstable. He also raised the question as to where school districts will be getting all these ‘good teachers’ in particular teachers of color who are set and ready to flood these inner city schools and take them to the next level? He talked about current recruitment practice which he described as lacking and in many cases non existent.

Whats likely to happen is many of our schools will be flooded with teachers coming from outfits like Teach For America which has come under fire for sending college recruits, giving them 5 weeks of training and sending them to the most needy schools? Many have been accused of not being committed to these kids but instead using TFA as a stepping stone to jump start a career and to pay off student loans. Is that the solution for our kids? If you don’t know about TFA read about them HERE and ask is this the solution folks are supporting?

The other question we should asking is who is David Welch, the billionaire venture capitalist with no background in education who funded the court fight to end teaching tenure? Who is aligned with? Last I checked he squarely in lock step with school privatizers. What’s his track record for work in our communities? With all his money how has he been investing? Is his involvement similar to the Koch Brothers donating money to the United Negro College Fund? Read about Welch HERE and ask is this who folks are supporting?

Yesterday on Hard Knock Radio – 94.1 at 4pm we discussed at length the ruling that took place.. We have as our guest long time Oakland based educator Jeff Duncan-Andrade whose been in the front line trenches for over 21 years who is also nationally recognized for his work in education.. Check him out HERE and read about him HERE–

check out our interview below..

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, Hard Knock Radio Intv Tagged With: California, David Welch, jeff Duncan Andrade, public education, School privatization, Schools, Teach for America, Tenure

Some Thoughts on Tracy Morgan & Over worked Wal-Mart Truck Drivers

June 10, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Soon as I heard there was a Wal-Mart Truck involved in that horrific crash that critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan and killed his friend, writer/ comedian James McNair, the first thing I thought of was driver fatigue… Now we know that the man behind the wheel Kevin Roper was awake for 24 hours… Wal-Mart has vowed to take full responsibility and as noted on local news Fox 5 in NY, Wal-Mart says they believe the driver was operating within federal/ company guidelines.

Folks need to sit back and think about that for a minute.. First, lets note that driver fatigue is major cause of accidents with big trucks. Drivers are under pressure to deliver goods on time at all costs or risk losing their jobs and payment..Thats real. There have been number of ‘special reports’ about this over the years and thus far very little has been done to reign things in..And before folks start blaming the driver, let’s think about that for a minute.. Who the hell wants to stay up 24 hours driving anything? I know the times I been on the road and ready to pass out I would pull over and rest unless I was under pressure to be at work the next day and couldn’t afford to be late.. Key word AFFORD… So what sort of pressure was this driver under?

Yes, there are federal guidelines that truckers are supposed to follow, when folks are dealing with economic pressures and tyrannical bosses, rules get tossed out the window.. Either you deliver the goods or they will find someone who is desperate enough to do what you can’t..

Kevin Roper

With Wal-Mart vowing to take full responsibility, what does that mean? Are they able to bring back a lost life? Will they make sure the family of James McNair is taken care of for the rest of their lives?? Will they provide legal counsel for the driver Kevin Roper who has been charged with killing by automobile and assault? Will Wal-Mart seriously change policy or will drivers still be expected to bend the rules and drive 24 hours or else?? Thus far we know that Wal-Mart has stepped forth to deny that Kevin Roper owned a twitter account where he had in his bio ‘Trying to win more than lose! Driving trucks for a living, It’s my road, move or get hit‘. More importantly do any of us care?

The pressure folks are put under are not unique to truck drivers. We are finding more and more people are being forced to take work home and get the job down over the weekend without any compensation.. Many are not taking vacation for fear of losing a job.. Many are under pressure to go extra miles for big companies where they do not share in the benefits.. Folks are made to feel, that if they don’t do it someone else will.. It was just a few years ago that companies were expecting prospective employees to work for free for about 6 months under the guise of an ‘internship’ and to see if you would be a good fit. This was on top of those same employees demanding you give them the pass word to your social media accounts so they can thoroughly check you out.. Sadly many went along with it and made the lame excuse about not having anything to hide…

Bottom line.. don’t see this Tracy Morgan situation in isolation.. We are talking about it because he’s famous, but there are scores of other folks who have perished thanks to over work drivers and one can only wonder if the companies they worked for took full responsibility…

We won’t even talk about overworked airline pilots and train conductors.. that’s an a whole other post..And we won’t talk about the fact that as we speak the Senate made moves to weaken rules around trucker fatigue.. Our corporate friendly congress is expected to follow suit.. Read about that HERE.

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: James McNair, Kevin Roper, Tracy Morgan, Wal-Mart, Walmart

Our Intv w/ Danyel Smith & Elliott Wilson about the State of Hip Hop Journalism & HRD CVR

June 6, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Danyel Smith and Elliot Wilson are two individuals whose names have to be mentioned when you talk about Hip Hop journalism. The husband and wife team have been at it for a minute and have covered a lot of ground.

Danyel, a former classmate at UC Berkeley and a long time fixture in her native Oakland here in the Bay Area, cut her teeth as a writer for the SF Bay Guardian and the Eastbay Express. She later went on to make noise as a music editor for SF Weekly. There she kept her finger on the pulse as she played a key role in shining important lights on local artists.

She would later to go on to knock down doors as she became editors at Vibe Magazine on two separate occasions and at Time Magazine. She also relocated from the Bay Area to Brooklyn. the past few months Danyel has been making the rounds back here in the Bay thanks to her being named a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford.

Her husband Elliot Wilson is powerhouse in his own right.. Most people know him as the former editor of XXL Magazine where he penned popular and often controversial and bodacious columns under the name Yellow N–. Currently heads up the website Rap Radar and does the widely listened to CRWN interview series.

Prior to that Wilson cut his teeth as music editor for Beat Down magazine. later he made noise as being part of the famed Ego Trip squad, where they had a magazine bearing their name . As a member of that crew he co authored two books Book of Rap Lists and Big Book of Racism‘

We caught up with both Danyel and Elliot the other day and spoke to them about their humble beginnings and the current state of Hip Hop journalism and where it intersects with journalism in general. We spoke at length about and how much things have evolved and in some cases devolved over the years and how to turn things around and move this profession to the next level.

Danyel noted that there’s a lot we in Hip Hop can learn from traditional journalism but at the same time there has been a lot that has been picked up from Hip Hop and reflected in the mainstream.

We talked to them about the adjustments magazines and newspapers had to make in the digital age and what its been like for them to be married and at times run competing publications. Elliot noted that when Danyel was editor at Vibe and he was editor at XXL, they had to establish ground rules in the home to make sure work didn’t spill over into their marriage. Both seemed to have a good sense of humor about it..We also talked about their personal journeys, triumphs and challenges over the years in this often times hectic industry.

Lastly we talked to the pair about their new venture HRD CVR.. Believe it or not in the almost 10 years they have been married, the two have never worked with each other on a project until now. This new project is a hard covered magazine that will come out 3 to 4 times year that’s designed to be aesthetically pleasing, high-end in its design, cutting edge in its content and change the soul of journalism.

The pair sees a need to tap into market that is being underserved in terms of its diversity..Far too often readers/ listeners are pigeon-holed into simplistic categories that do very little to reflect our collective complexities. As was noted in their press release, In their press release they note

We believe one can adore DJ Snake and Cloud Nothings and Gerardo Ortiz and NIcki Minaj and still want to get deep into how things are moving at the protests in Venezuela, want to know who the humans are behind the net neutrality battles, want to prep for the 2016 elections.

Below is our insightful Hard Knock Radio conversation with Danyel and Elliot. You can get more info on HRD CVR by clicking HERE

https://soundcloud.com/mrdaveyd/hkr-danyel-smith-and-elliot-wilson-state-of-hip-hop-journalism-hrd-cvr

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, Hard Knock Radio Intv Tagged With: Danyel Smith, Elliot Wilson, hard Knock radio, HRD CVR, Journalism

Our Tribute to Yuri Kochiyama-Human Rights Activist & Freedom Fighter Who Never Wavered

June 3, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Over the weekend we lost another Freedom Fighter, Yuri Kochiyama… I hope folks take time out to know she was more than ‘just the small Asian Woman‘ who cradled Malcolm X when he was assassinated that dreadful day in February 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom. For starters we should know about her political work in Harlem on school integration and the Freedom school she and her husband Bill helped established with the Harlem Parents Committee. We should know how she and Malcolm X came to be close friends and she joined his Organization for Afro-American Unity ..She wasn’t just some lady who happened to be there in the audience. She was someone who was down for the cause.

We should know about Yuri’s political work before and after Malcolm’s death ranging from her fighting to get reparations for Japanese Americans, fighting for Puerto Rican Independence, fighting to end nuclear weapons and of course the fight to free and get rights for political prisoners. The plight of Political Prisoners was near and dear to Yuri because she, along with her family and thousands of other Japanese-Americans were political prisoners after they were rounded up and sent to internment camps. Her father was one of the first to be sent away and died as a result. The camp she was sent to was Camp Jerome in Arkansas.

For many Yuri Kochiyama was a major figure who radicalized people’s thinking and political outlook. She was an inspirational woman who touched many in particular, many progressive minded Hip Hop generation Asian activists who saw as a mother figure. She was someone who we would see at all the key rallies and demonstrations who was accessible and mentored many. If you ever met and spoke with her, you could see she spit more wisdom about civil rights and social justice than most have stood on podiums demanding hefty fees. Yuri was uncompromising and unwavering in her fight to end oppression.. Honor her by learning about her work and building off the foundation she laid down.. She will be missed RIP Yuri Kochiyama

Below is our Hard Knock Radio Show Tribute that features community elder, former Black Panther and fellow Human Rights activist Sister Kiilu Nysha. Here Sister Kiilu talks about her close friendship with Yuri and what lessons all of us should learn from her. We also replay an important 2008 interview Kiilu did with Yuri about her friendship and work she did with Malcolm X..

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, Hard Knock Radio Intv Tagged With: hard Knock radio, Human Rights, Malcolm X, political Prisoners, Sister Kiilu Nysha, Yuri Kochiyama

We Must Move Beyond the ‘Patriot’ vs ‘Traitor’ Debate Around Edward Snowden

May 29, 2014 By mrDaveyd

One thing I got from this Edward Snowden interview that was shown on NBC last night, is that we best refocus our energy on engaging one another above and beyond our fancy electronic devices. While these are helpful tools and can allow us to reach large numbers of people all at once, its important not to isolate ourselves behind keyboards. It’s important not to put our self-worth and sense of well-being in algorithms we don’t understand or control. In short we should all take time out to check in with folks, make sure we’re on the same page with our neighbors and keep our communication skills sharp. A lot of things are lost in text messaging and Facebook posts.

It’s interesting to see how some have foolishly engaged in a debate about why Snowden has not ‘come home to face the music‘. What does that mean? he should come home and go to jail? Are we romanticizing and putting nobility on being locked up? Really?

About a month ago, we spoke with former political prisoner Dhoruba Bin-Wahad on Hard Knock Radio about this assertion, the legacy of domestic spying and opposing the government for oppressing its citizens. For those who are unaware, Dhoruba spent almost 20 years behind bars and was a member of the New York Panther 21 which included Afeni Shakur, the mother of 2Pac. During our interview Dhoruba meticulously laid out all the ways in which the government stacked the deck against him and others Panthers members fighting injustice in the 60s and 70s. He noted that many Panthers and for that matter freedom fighters from all over the world, from South Africa to Chile went into exile. Do we want folks like Asaata Shakur to come home and ‘face the music’? Are we satisfied that those who did face the music have been tortured and have been in jail for 30 and 40 years, much of it in solitary confinement? Are we satisfied with the treatment of folks like the late Geronimo Jigga Pratt, Herman Wallace and Marilyn Buck or those recently released like Lynn Stewart? Are we satisfied with the treatment of those who are currently locked up who ‘faced the music’ from Chelsea Manning (Bradley) to Mumia to Leonard Peltier to Mutulu Shakur?

Former Political prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahad

As Dhoruba noted, today in 2014 with the passage of the Patriot Act and other laws designed to ‘fight terror’, one who ‘faces the music‘ might not have access to a lawyer, could be held indefinitely and may have damn near all their evidence excluded from the proceedings under the guise its ‘classified’. As we saw last night, Snowden laid out similar points. Hence one should kill the noise about ‘facing the music’ from a system that has not been about fairness and justice for most people for a very long time.

We should not get caught up in meaningless debates about whether or not Snowden is a traitor or patriot. First, there is no definitive definition for either word. They are very subjective where at the end of the day there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Our discussion should be about whether or not what he revealed was true and are we comfortable with that? Are we comfortable with giving up our privacy, having severe restrictions placed upon us in courts of law or law enforcement gathering up all our data and not providing us with any sort of blueprint as to how its being used? Are we comfortable with what Snowden revealed about what is being done with our cell phones and how they are virtual microphones and cameras that can be turned on to record and evesdrop without us knowing? That should be our discussion.

We should be asking ourselves who in the public sector and who in the private sector is a part of this data collecting and domestic spying? Are we comfortable with powerful corporations and officials having so much access? As Snowden noted, even if you are ‘not doing anything illegal‘, the way the data is gathered and interpreted can set off alarm bells and have you under scrutiny.

What should be raising eyebrows is how these encroachments may play out if you politically oppose those in power. Our history via Cointel-Pro under the FBI’s J Edgar Hoover in which the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, the Student Movements, Chicano Movements, Puerto Rican Independent Movements and Anti-War Movements were undermined, compromised and dismantled by those who opposed the political direction organizers and people involved were taking, should be harsh reminders. Back in the hey day of these movements, what was done was under the guise of protecting America from ‘Communism’. Suppressing groups was done in the name of fighting the ‘Cold War’. Today its under the guise of protecting us from terrorism which has not fully been defined above one or two named villans, Al-Qaeda being one of them.

We should note what Snowden was talking about with respect to Whistle-blowers. and how under President Obama, more have been prosecuted and punished than all president in the past combined. Last year there was a conference of Black whistle-blowers in Washington DC who talked about the extreme challenges they face and how many have had to stay silent or risk freedom. We’ve had Senators like Feinstein who wanted to go extra hard on media and strip away shield protections as a way to curtail whistle-blowers .

With respect to Secretary of State John Kerry and his claims about Snowden being a coward and how he should man up and do the right thing. cowardness and one doing the right thing; let us not forget that when Kerry did as a Senator. During his tenure, he made no ‘un-cowardly’ moves to impeach President Bush or any one in his cabinet after it was revealed they misled us into war and in doing so violated all sorts of international law. What was his excuse for not manning up there?

We should not forget that Kerry, who is calling for folks to ‘do the right thing’ sat silently in 2000 when members of the Congressional Black Caucus appeared on the Senate floor, damn near begging Senators to step forth and use their power to get a recount for Florida in the Presidential elections. Where was Kerry on that issue and at that moment? We should never forget.

With all that being said, understanding the nature of corporate media, one should ask hard questions and raise an eyebrow or two about how and why such revealing information being put forth by Snowden was allowed on prime time TV, when so much other information is often ignored. Is there something else going on or is this an attempt to redirect the conversation and eventually marginalize what Snowden is speaking about. The Patriot vs Traitor debate may be one way to take us down this road. In the mean time, pay attention to how you use your phones and computers and where you put them. Go outside, get some sun and fresh air, talk with your neighbors and stay woke.

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: Cointel-pro, domestic spying, Edward Snowden, John Kerry

Big Media Should Help Us Heal vs Exploiting Emotions Around the UC Santa Barbara Shooting

May 27, 2014 By mrDaveyd

In watching all the coverage around this tragic UC Santa Barbara shooting this past weekend, what appears to be showing up is not an attempt to heal and find ways to forever stop this from happening. Instead, we’re seeing the coverage as a way to profit, with people’s intense pain and heart-wrenching emotions being the primary currency..

Folks should note that media when it gets on the corporate level does not operate on emotion..It operates on the manipulation of emotion… This means, that based on focus groups, in-depth media analysis and other studies designed to understand listeners and viewers, programmers are well aware of what would needs to be said and what angles need to be taken to help folks better cope.

The constant showing of the video of the shooter saying how he’s gonna get revenge is akin to media outlets that endlessly showed the planes crashing into the twin towers.. Its designed to keep one emotionally upended with anger, sadness and fear and while such emotions are understandable and naturally expressed, what’s really needed is the showing of how folks are coming together, uplifting, comforting one another.. What’s needed is the media showing how what took place is part of a larger dysfunctional culture of violence, callousness and entitlement that all of us can take steps to push back on. But before folks could get their bearings we are shown the shooter who is now dead taunting us…

Heck they don’t even have news segments explaining ways for people to heal or resources available for folks who are haunted by the shooters menacing image or the father (Mr Martinez) who unbearable pain about losing his only son has been played over and over.. We gotta heal from these emotionally jarring incidents in spite of corporate media’s profit-making agenda..

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: mass shooting, UC santa Barbara Shooting

Omar Akbar aka Labtekwon: Swinging Swords & Fighting Off the Gentrification of Hip Hop

May 20, 2014 By mrDaveyd

One thing about Hip Hop, if you limit yourself to what is presented via commercial outlets you will undoubtedly short-change yourself and miss out on a lot of stellar artists doing some great and innovative work. Please note the emphasis is on the word ‘art’. Its one of facet that Omar Akbar, aka Labtekwon, long time emcee, scholar and cultural analyst from Baltimore has always pointed out. The jewels of a cultural are not limited to one or two media outlets or individuals that may narrowly define or totally mis-define a culture and its people.

We sat down with Omar for an insightful interview focusing on both his long tenure in Hip Hop and how he has evolved himself and his craft over the years. For those who don’t know he’s 40 albums deep and celebrating his 20th anniversary producing and recording music. Yes you read that right he’s 40 albums deep in the game and has for most part has kept it independent. He noted its important to keep growing and not be caught in a time matrix of the Golden Era which he claims far too many are stuck in.

So will Labtekwon show up on the Billboard charts or at the next BET Awards show? Probably not, but step into the City of Baltimore and they know his name well. He’s a fixture in the city and his music and overall vibe that reflects its long and rich music history and traditions.

During the first portion of our Hard Knock Radio interview, Labtekwon kicks down a lot of important info on the make up ‘Charm City’. He talks at length about the popular HBO TV series The Wire and dispels many of the myths surrounding the show. He details how the series was both a blessing and a curse in terms of how people perceive the city. He cautions there’s a lot about Baltimore that folks need to absolutely get straight or risk finding one seriously getting played.

We talk about Baltimore being one of the first deejay/ club cities in the country, predating Hip Hop. Omar runs down the economic and cultural forces that were in play that led to Baltimore being a deejay oriented city that highlighted dance while neighboring DC became a place that highlighted bands and gave birth to Go-Go.

If a city could have a set of personalities attached to them, in our interview Omar compares and contrasts the mindset of many who reside in B-More and DC. Serious history lessons were given on this topic.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

We talked about the recent trilogy of albums Omar released including; NEXT: Baltimore Basquiat and the Future Shock (State of the Art-Part 1)which pays tribute to the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Omar details the importance of Basquiat and his contributions to art which are often overlooked. He talks about how Basquiat was a major influence on his life and work. He talks about the strong influence Basqiat had on Hip Hop.

We talked about the second album in the trilogy called; Hardcore: Labtekwon and the Righteous Indignation-Rootzilla vs Masta Akbar. Omar describes it as an album that pays tribute, refines and is the Apex to what many call ‘Knowledge Rap’..Here Omar talks about how he was greatly influenced by KRS-One and the Last Poets and that each song could be an academic thesis. He deals with complex topics like the monetary system, the construction of race, population control and the origins of Christianity to name a few.

It was an exhaustive undertaking he noted that took more than 4 months to gather up the material. Next he had to lay out the information, put it in rhyme form and make sure what was said was on point. The songs may remind people of Ras Kass‘ epic piece ‘Nature of the Threat‘.

The album was accompanied by a book that lays out in details his primary sources so that folks listening can check out what he was saying. The goal was not for people to simply regurgitate what he was saying, but to learn and then hopefully build upon what he laid out.

His latest album Evolutionary: The Omar Akbar Album/State of the Art rounds off the trilogy. Its more reflective and lays out some of the possible, new creative directions for Hip Hop to ascend.

https://soundcloud.com/mrdaveyd/hkr-an-epic-intv-w-labtekwon-the-swordsman-cometh-pt1

In part 2 of our interview with Omar Akbar aka Labtekwon, we cover a lot of ground. We specifically focus on the power of culture and how there are constant attempts to undermine, co-opt, rename and exploit it.

He speaks about the failure of elders to safeguard culture and how that can be corrected. Omar noted that its extremely important that we invest in our community and uplift our culture.He described what is currently going on cultural gentrification with Hip Hop being a tool to uphold capitalism. He details how that is happening and what responsibility those of who who claim Hip Hop need to embrace in order to stop it..

Labtekwon spoke at length about Hip Hop in the Academy and how we are seeing the unfolding of an Academic Industrial Complex which is doing a disservice to the culture because many are not doing the work to employ specific types of rigorous methodology that would ensure Hip Hop has the solid grounding in the academy that it deserves. Lab noted that needs to be challenged and he’s one to do it. He describes himself as a swordsman who has mastered his skills and is ready to do battle kn the academy and on the stage to protect the soul of Hip Hop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F56hRk25wH8