You are here: Home / Archives for Southern Shift

Immortal Technique Returns From Haiti-Here’s His Thoughts & Observations

July 1, 2010 By

I recently arrived home from Haiti.

While I was there I worked in a few aspects of the relief effort including a solidarity mission to aid the Earthquake survivors. In addition to all of this Myself, Cormega and Styles P participated in a show to support Haitian Hip Hop and rebuild the community. I would like to thank Arms Around Haiti and Hip Hop for Haiti for inviting me to be a part of this movement. While I was there I saw both devastation and rebuilding efforts. I also broke bread with people who had lost their entire family. Literally, everyone but them was deceased. Then there were those whose grief centered around losing a mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter as a direct result of what happened. It should make everyone reading this feel blessed to have anyone in his or her life. Think about that… Now think about it some more.

I saw so many different things as I walked through the slums and rode around Port-Au-Prince (as well as the area surrounding it.) I met mayors, townspeople, and the Arms around Haiti (Sobs staff) introduced me to several visionary Haitians with good ideas to rebuild the country that I am seriously considering investing my time into.

But one of the most powerful experiences came to me when I was holding this little baby girl who couldn’t have been more than a year old. She was crying because she was hungry, thirsty and tired. I picked her up and she hugged onto me with the newfound control her young muscles had recently provided her. She was one of the many orphans that I met while I was there, and as I held her I wondered what the future would hold for this little precious life. Her father would never hold her again and rock her back and forth to sleep while whispering stories to her. She might find good hearted and righteous people to one day adopt her, but her father, the man who created her would never tell her that he loved her or that she was special, save for the length of a dream or a subconscious memory. So I told her in French that I loved her, that she was beautiful and that she was special to me. I gave her all my water and her young face was immediately full of focus and comfort. After a few minutes of holding her, she fell into slumber. I gave her back to her to a 11-year old girl who had also lost her parents and was acting like a surrogate mother to most of the younger children.

Then I looked at my hands, they seemed like such strong hands before I went to Haiti. Strong like my will that is made of iron, and my resolve, which I consider unbreakable. But the strength of this young adolescent Matriarch and her newfound responsibility served as God’s gentle reminder and it humbled greatly as I realized what she carried on her shoulders. I am a Revolutionary but rather than just going to places around the world to bring people freedom, I seem to find it among them.

I felt great sadness leaving this place but I also felt anger at the things I saw. So I began to detail a few observations about Haiti and Revolutionary action associated with it in general. I wrote these things as I saw them or felt them but I waited until I was home for a few days so as to not elicit an emotional response but rather one of logic and understanding concerning the various things I saw.

The Spirit of Toussaint is Alive:

Francois-Dominique Toussaint

– Although the people have suffered here immensely, I still see their spirit still very strong, unbroken and defiant. Even though the sun floods the day with sweltering heat, the vast majority of people are working in some capacity. Many have their own small business or hustle and they take great pride in what they do. They find no shame in their work, however menial because, as it was told to me they felt blessed to have anyone to provide for. In the camps when dusk settles in, children play soccer with pieces of garbage tied up or maybe an old volleyball. They are survivalists as their history has taught them to be. The tent cities are home to usually 2 or 3 families per tent. Perhaps it is their past dealings with dictators sponsored by this nation, or by years of civil strife and a long Revolutionary history but they have become so resilient, so much so that they now serve as a personal inspiration to me of what mankind/original man can overcome.

All about the Benjamin’s, Mon Cheri:

Foreign Aid. That is a deceptive phrase. Many times the countries who, pledge money to a disaster-ridden nation are not giving that country money at all. They are really pledging the money to their corporation to rebuild the country at an inflated price set by the global conglomerate. It changes the very nature of what that means. Imagine if your house burnt down and I told the news and every local media outlet I was going to “donate” $100,000 to rebuild it. This is the catch the job really costs $20,000 to do. Yes, from the Capitalist pro business point of view I am providing a service that I deserve to be compensated for. But the characterization of what I am doing is purposefully altered so as to disguise the real motivation for “aiding” you. I’m not condemning the idea of foreign aid on a whole although there are aspects of it that create dependency and de facto vassals. But the system by which some of this “aid” is raised and distributed sometimes has little to do with anything resembling a humanitarian effort.

Let’s recap. I give you money, which you’re essentially giving back to me plus interest for doing something at twice the cost. I don’t give you fish anymore. That was Imperialism. This is Neo Liberalism, we teach you to fish, and collect 75% of the profit…forever. This system is actually the one that seems rational to first world powers now and is still implemented today all over the planet. Corporate Non Government Organizations (NGO’s) raise billions of dollars just to spend a fraction of that on the people who are actually affected and suffering. Then as if overpaying themselves wasn’t enough they act like they really did something. This system gives a bad name to real non-profit NGO’s and people that are selflessly doing something out of the kindness of their hearts. The Foreign Aid field is infested with corporate socialites and poverty pimps who troll around the mud with us dark people so you have something to talk about at your bourgeois industry parties. And where is the money going?

Waiting in Vain:

Haitian Camp

There is about 12 Billion dollars of Aid, waiting to be distributed, (conveniently earning interest for someone by the way) and since world agencies (take your pick) do not trust the shell of government left in Haiti, the situation has spiraled into a game of tit for tat in some instances. Corruption is not relegated to the surviving members of a fractured government. The customs area has thousands of pieces of clothing and non-perishable food that is simply sitting in store-rooms because customs is sometimes demanding $8,000 (US) to allow it into the country. You read it right, $8,000 American dollars to let a few boxes of supplies collected by people like you into the country. There are organizations such as the one I was there with, and Wyclef’s ‘Yele’ that use their longstanding connections with local power players and government officials to navigate around these bureaucracies, but it made me wonder how many good hearted people’s donations were just sitting there in some hangar collecting mold and dust. The supplies I handed out, the stuff I brought myself to give to people, the houses we put people in seemed like a good first step but now I wish more than anything to return and really make an impact having studied the situation. (* I remember after the Earthquake happened the mainstream media did a few stories criticizing smaller Aid Organizations on the ground and encourage people to direct their donation to the Major ones. Now I wonder if it was to promote efficiency or was it to safeguard their corporate partners monopoly?)

Children’s Story:

In Haiti, child trafficking is still going on, because it’s a lucrative business. It hasn’t stopped just because the news has stopped covering it, this right here is still happening. (http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/27/haiti.earthquake.orphans/index.html   http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Haiti.htm ) I have even heard rumors about aid workers trading food for sex with little girls and boys. I’m not repeating these charges to try and substantiate them in any way. Because I hope they’re a lie, or at worst an exaggeration of an isolated incident. Far be it for me to try and pass innuendo off as fact but when you hear something like that from dozens of people from different walks of life, it makes you think. The reality after the Earthquake was that many of these children were (and still are) stolen and shipped out immediately or taken over to the Dominican Republic whose government is also very corrupt and sold to every corner of the world. Sad to think that the nation that showed the world that a successful slave revolution was possible has it’s sons and daughters sold into slavery in 2010.

The Almighty UN:

When I was young I thought the UN was a powerful entity, like the Super friends from Saturday morning cartoons. I was fed the idea that they provided a solution to arguing nations and would be helpful in taking the side of the underdog, the oppressed and colonized. But as I grew I realized it was just a way of making it look like America and Britain were not acting alone and it rewarded participants who conscripted their troops there. They are a Right Wing punching bag but really that’s duplicitous because they have been used to justify our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. As if it is full of equal partners who are committed to the mission. Truth is the UN peacekeepers are full of many soldiers who would otherwise be getting paid $100 a week to be a soldier in their own country. The UN security-council resolutions have no teeth without the US’s approval, and sometimes they go to a country (like Haiti) and get a paycheck for doing very little. As I keep having interactions with them, my opinion just keeps on worsening. I by no means had any of those young teenage illusions about them going into this trip, but this is my observation. There is no salvation for the 3rd world in this entity. Truthfully, the UN are a war (with a real country) away from being as much of a part of history as the Hanseatic League. As we speak. They act as the de-facto military rulers of Haiti, with the US leaning over them looking at possible candidates. I think in all honesty they want a Haitian Karzai of their very own so perhaps their weakness is deceptive on purpose and they are just the arm of a face that has not revealed itself yet. “Le temps est un grand maître, dit-on, le malheur est qu’il tue ses élèves.”

Jesus’s Power Broker:

– Haiti is flooded with Christian missionaries. There were 40 of them on the plane with me headed to Port-Au-Prince. In case you don’t know what a missionary is kids, it’s not just a sexual position. (Although plenty of people have been fucked over the years.) It means someone who goes to other countries and tells people that their religion or native custom is savage and full of useless ceremonies to God’s & spirits that don’t exist. And while I know some of these people mean well, their very existence and purpose is in complete contradiction to what their religion actually teaches. Some are working to build schools and help out with social programs, but always with the agenda to prosthletize and solidify their religious control over the area. So no matter what their intentions are, they look like their peddling Jesus on a fishing pole with foreign aid wrapped in Bible paper on a hook. In the past they were dispatched to countries to make them as Christian as possible in a direct effort to bring them into the colonial power’s sphere of influence. You see Imperial powers could not win by military force, and so conversion directly aided in our subjugation and apparently still aids in our placation. As long as we let other people define God for us we will not only be the physical but also the spiritual prisoner of our oppressors vision.

Mission Impossible:

– Spain, Portugal, England, France and Italy, etc… did this “missionary work” all over Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many of you people reading this who are of the aforementioned faith have them to thank, not divine intervention for what you believe. I am not in any way shape or form trying to detract from the individuals who really have the message of Jesus Christ in their hearts. I honestly believe if we lived our lives by the teachings of Christ this world would be a better place. But there are too many frauds making money off of Yeshua these days. The crazy thing is, that as many Muslim and Jewish charities that are working in Haiti, I haven’t witnessed any effort by them to convert people to Judaism or Islam. What is it about this faith that we hold so dear in America that makes us so insecure about what other people believe in? You’re going to have to stop using the excuse you want to “save people” and just admit that you don’t feel comfortable around someone until they believe in what you believe, spiritually. What gives us the moral authority to go around the world and tell the indigenous people of every continent that their religion is a farce and the only real truth was compiled in Constantinople in 325 AD? Isn’t the most “Christian” thing in the world to give charity to the poor and suffering without asking for anything in return? (Least of all, the culmination of all their beliefs.)

Blood Roots:

As I walked through the tent cities full of families waiting for water and cooking whatever they could find for their collective I happened upon a long road. It led me through the scorching slums of the outer area of Port-Au-Prince. While I was walking these two young brothers who ere dressed in red asked me if I was a Blood. I looked at them both and I responded that I wasn’t and one of them then raised his eyebrow, “you Crip then?” He asked with a heavy Creole accent. I said that I was neither and I was more like a Black Panther. After all OG Black Panthers and people from the Indigenous movements have taught me a libraries worth of knowledge. The younger one asked me what a Black panther was. I searched my surrounding for an analogy and there just happened to be a small tree near by. So I walked them over to it. The tree had two branches littered with a few leaves. Holding one branch I said, “this one is the blood” and pointing to the other one I said, “this one is the Crip” and then putting his hand on the trunk close to the roots, I said “this one is the Black Panther”. “Ne de la Revolution” which means Born out of Revolution in my humble French. The young kid smiled at me and asked me more about the Black Panthers. I stood there speaking to him for a little while and then we saluted one another and went our separate ways. Although Haiti is twice as hood as any place in the US, they are such a young country full of children who must become adults before their time. If they are to succeed, someone must educate them to the fact that what people call Black history is in fact world history. I would be honored to be a part of that someday. Don’t worry I won’t NGO them for hundreds of G’s either. I’d settle for a room and some coffee in the morning.

La Revolucion de Latino America:

For those of us who are studying Latin American Revolution, Haiti is the prequel, the seemingly invincible power of France being challenged and overcome. The Napoleonic wars gave America a chance to breathe away from the eyes of Europe long enough to affirm itself. France’s assault on Spain weakened the European states enough for us to take the moment that we cherish as our time for ‘Revolucion’. The story of our Revolution doesn’t begin in the 1950’s but in the Indigenous revolts of the conquest era and the early 1800’s when a small island of enslaved Africans showed the world that it was possible. Estudiantes Latinos, estudia esta Revolucion, sus lecciones son unas de las mas importantes para apprender. Tienen te todo, de raza, de classe, de corrupcion, y por supuesto del sacrificio necessario para obtener la libertad.

In parting:

I learned something very reassuring about myself in Haiti, something I am proud to acknowledge and leave my people on a good note with. When I meet someone who is a better activist, or Revolutionary, (I’ll be happy to make that distinction later) when I see someone whose actions achieve more than mine, or who has a more complete perspective I become inspired. I don’t get bitter or jealous and think about trying to “out-revolutionary” them. That’s so pointless and yet it is something that I see sometimes in the movement, people who think that because another doesn’t adhere to the same ideology or the same faith that we must bring them down. I am a Revolutionary and I need no one’s permission to be. We were successful at breaking ground in Haiti, but my mission there is by no means complete, I wish to plan further actions with my friends at Arms Around Haiti and the staff at SOBS. I would like to thank Jube, Mario, Cormega, StylesP, Herbie, Clef, Yele, Arms Around Haiti, Parrish, BC, and my Haitian Soldiers there for making this trip possible I look forward to returning soon.

“Le travail éloigne de nous trois grands maux: l’ennui, le vice et le besoin.”

Peace & Respect,

Immortal Technique

Immortal Technique has arrived back into the US after being in Haiti for a few days to assist hands on in the relief efforts and for a show to support Haitian Hip Hop. Below is a letter from Immortal Technique describing his experience and views on the current situation. I’ve attached 2 photos that you may use. Please contact me immediately if you need any further information. Thank you.

Http://www.myspace.com/immortaltechnique

twitter.com/Immortaltech

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Rise of Facism: More & More Journalists are Being Attacked by Police

June 29, 2010 By

Seems like with each passing day we are hearing and seeing more and more police getting drunk with power. Even though most are one of two paychecks away from being in deep financial trouble, many ignorantly like to go overboard and smash on people who they know are legitimately protesting policies that in the long run will hurt them too.

In recent months we see more and more cops acting brazenly even when they know cameras are trained up on them. many are crossing the line and going after journalist. many feel that the police unions they belong to have partnered up with corporate interest enough so that they are likely not to be convicted or even punished for crossing the line.

Below we see a disturbing videos of police attacking reporters. What’s the excuse for such behavior? Agitation? Them being provoked? Hardly.. Our men and women in blue along with their apologists have sadly gone down the wrong path. They are now holding it down for corporate based interests that will one day turn on them…

I’m willing to bet some of those corporate interests will be backing the police unions attempts to make it a felony to video tape officers which is what many departments are pushing for as we speak..Here’s a story that speaks to that issue: http://gizmodo.com/5553765/are-cameras-the-new-guns

Here’s a video of a reporter Jesse Freeston for Canada based Real News Network being attacked by cops in Toronto during the G20 Summit who were no where on the scene when ‘Black Block Anarchists‘ showed up, but were all up in people’s grill when people protested them beating on a man who is deaf..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7OA920pbv8

Here’s angry police officers ganging up on a ABC cameraman who was dispatched to a public hospital to cover the shooting of several officers. The camerman had been working the beat for 30 years. He was forced to retire because Oakland police made him feel unsafe when he would show up at events to cover them. He is now suing the department

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHI4YRm6OU&feature=player_embedded

Here’s an out of control cop going after two reporters who were covering an accident. Remember the police work for us and ideally the media is supposed to be extended eyes and ears for the public, I guess that’s not the case in El Paso, Tx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq8OTLt7quQ

Below is an angry Newark, NJ Police officer going after a CBS cameraman. Lucky for him there was a City Council woman nearby and he has the lawyers of CBS fighting for him.. Such may not be the fate of indy journalists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ixF_xHqYM

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , ,

Time for Artist to Posse Up and Work Around the Corporate Media Dominance

June 28, 2010 By

Detroit: One of the more telling aspects that stood out during last week’s Allied Media Conference held in Detroit, is the importance of artists forming collectives as a way to deal with the increasing impenetrable walls preventing access to corporate media outlets. In a world where media consolidation is the order of the day and money and resources are ‘king’ many indy artists are finding that its there’s strength in unity.

It’s become clear as day that when engaging corporate media more often than not, it’s not about preserving, nurturing or appreciating the art. Instead it’s about them finding the most efficient way to make money by obtaining high ratings using a flawed system that seemingly rewards a bland dumb down product that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Hence there’s little or no room for musical expression that doesn’t immediately appeal to the lowest common denominator of a targeted audience.

Looming in the backdrop is the realization that the proverbial public media watering hole where everyone has equal access to engage the masses is a brought and paid for luxury…In short nothing gets on the air for free. Its big business from head to toe and artists have to find new and innovative ways to reach their communities and bring attention to their product.

One such group making headway is Local 782 and the Media Justice Project out of San Antonio, Texas. Group members George Garza and Deanne Cuellar talk about living in San Antonio which is headquarters to the worlds largest radio conglomerate Clear Channel. In spite of being so close to this media behemoth, very few of its stations play local groups. That in turn impacts other aspects including bookings for shows, placement in record stores and coverage by other media.

Local 782 was formed as a way to help bring attention to a collective body of musicians who had similar plight. Working with the MJP, they started putting out compilation albums, doing showcases together and holding meetings with local media outlets to see how to improve coverage for the acts under their umbrella.

They also talked about how unifying help bring shed the long shadow of neighboring Austin which is deemed the ‘Live music capital of the world’. People would come to Austin and never give a second thought to San Antonio which is 40 minutes away and has its own thriving music scene which is finally starting to garner attention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlZ_Y9HDWb0

Malkia Cyrill of Center for Media Justice

Along the lines of dealing with corporate media we caught up with long time media justice activist Malkia Cyrill from the Center for Media Justice. She underscored what Deanna Cuellar and George Garza were saying about uniting and supporting one another. She spoke on how corporate media can in many ways it can be stifling. She also spoke about the importance  of artists bringing attention to social justice issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCaEsmhPHh4

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , , ,

An Open Letter, A Call to Action to Our Hip-Hop Community: Put us Women on that Line-Up & Stop the Disrespect!

June 28, 2010 By

Big shout out to DJ Kuttin Kandi for always speaking up and reminding all of us our responsibility. What makes this letter so important is that as much as we in Hip Hop like to smash on the troubling aspects of mainstream and corporate backed Hip Hop,our so called progressiveness and ‘us keeping it real’ stop at the front door when it comes to women. Something is seriously amiss, we can turn on the BET awards as much as we like to criticize, and see MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Nicki Minaj and others hosting and performing and not see a cadre of women artists on the line up for a popular ‘alternative’ outlet like Rock the Bells we all have to take a pause and ask ourselves some hard questions. Why and how is this happening?

And for the record, RTB is not the only one, its just the most visible, but we can take a look at dozens of so called underground spots all over the country and see a lack of women rocking the house.  The offerings get even more sparse when you listen to an underground mix show or club spot and ‘hardly hear any women in a nice 2 hour set. How are we allowing this to happen? We pride ourselves on crate digging and can’t find some women spitting nice flows?

People like to say women don’t draw. Well someone didn’t give that memo to artists like Invincible who put together an all woman showcase during SxSW this past spring. She had everyone from Psalm One to Tiye Phoenix. It was held a good mile away from the other showcases and yet people found their way to the venue and it was packed to the hilt..

Again shout out to Kuttin Kandi for this article…

-Davey D-

AN OPEN LETTER, A CALL-TO-ACTION TO OUR HIP-HOP COMMUNITY: PUT US, WOMEN ON THAT LINE-UP & STOP THE DISRESPECT!

A BIG THANK YOU TO MY SISTER IN THE MOVEMENT – ROSA CLEMENTE WHO IS MY INSPIRATION TO WRITE THIS PIECE… I LOVE YOU SISTER!

Dear Hip-Hop Community

I come to you openly as a long-time Hip-Hop DJ, Hip-Hop Poet, Hip-Hop lover, fan and etc… I come to you as someone who appreciates all of you whole-heartedly, for all that you do for Hip-Hop, for all that you do for keeping Hip-Hop going, living and breathing. I come to you for giving so much to Hip-Hop, for providing all of us with such dope Hip-Hop beats, rhythm’s and dance. I come to you for all that we have been through with Hip-Hop. I come to you because I know Hip-Hop is a space for me to be honest, a space for me to challenge others and myself.

But I also come to you as a woman in Hip-Hop, a community organizer, a Hip-Hop feminist and activist who is tired; tired of the industry that can be so cold in leaving women out of the picture all of the time. And sadly, when we are in the picture, we’re often pictured in misogynistic, sexist videos and pictures. I am tired of seeing these images over and over again. I am also tired of not having enough alternatives of these sexist music. And even when there are these so-called “alternative” spaces, it’s just as sexist too. That’s right, I’m not just talking about “mainstream” Hip-Hop, I’m also talking about that “alternative” what has often been labeled “underground Hip-Hop”, “real Hip-Hop” too. However, let me be clear that I also say “industry” because it is not Hip-Hop culture that treats women this way. Sadly, it is our own people in this industry that is doing this to our women, and each other.

So, if these alternative spaces are created to give us other kinds of outlets for other kinds of Hip-Hop we prefer which is supposingly more ethical, more “moral”, more conscious and more “Hip-Hop”; and if these supposed more ethical, more “conscious” Hip-Hop are also just as sexist and misogynistic, then where do we go from here?

During the USSF forum in Detroit, Invincible managed to bring an all-star line up of dope female artists who are in point including Miz Korona and Monica Blair

I am specifically tired of seeing this 1 year after year show, one that will remain nameless (ahem, few coming up this August), where there is an all-star-line-up and all of them are men with 1 solo female act. This show is widely considered the “real Hip-Hop” deal. I mean really, a huge line-up of about 20 something men and maybe 1 or 2 women on the bill!? And maybe a few other women who some of the artists bring along as a surprise guest but don’t even make it on the flier or even heard or seen unless you were there? Seriously? HIP-HOP, IS THIS WHERE WE’RE AT? I can name tons of female artists, and not just “developing artists”, but dope long-time women veterans who can spit dope game and cut it up on the tablez who need to be in that supposed “all-star-line-up.” They have paid their dues by paving the way, setting their own mark, making their own records, winning battles… do they not deserve to be on that bill?

For nearly 15 years, in the industry, I have witnessed women being treated unfairly and unjustly. Whether it be through watching the way music videos depicted women as only sex objects or whether it was behind the scenes with record labels giving horrible deals and men back stages overstepping boundaries, I’ve witnessed it all. If you know me well enough, you would know that this is not the first time I’ve spoken about this. And this is not the first time that I’m tired of it all. However, I decided to make a “I AM TIRED OF HOW WOMEN ARE BEING TREATED IN HIP-HOP LIST” that I hope all of you can help add and pass on:

So, here is just a few of what I am tired of: (this is a growing list – women and allies, pls feel free to add to this list)

• I am tired of going to a show where a sound engineer would not value my expertise because they didn’t deem me as “expert” enough to know what I am talking about.

• I am tired of being the only woman headline on a bill.

• I am tired of not seeing myself or other women headline on a bill.

• I am tired of feeling uncomfortable and intimidated because I’m the only woman backstage.

• I am tired of seeing music videos of women being objectified.

• I am tired of seeing men groping women backstage.

• I am tired of seeing men grope women on stage.

• I am tired of men calling women a “b*tch” or a “h*e” when they feel threatened by her ability to know what she is doing and doing it good.

• I am tired of women being pigeonholed into stereotyped categories within Hip-Hop.

• I am tired of seeing “female battles” within Hip-Hop when women can compete and win against men.

• I am tired of women being seen as a “rarity” in the field that they tokenize a “female” artist and put any woman on doesn’t matter if she has no skill as long as she looks “good”.

• I am tired of women getting offered only “collabos” on songs but not getting offered deals.

• I am tired of the deals women are offered and how it’s often less than what a male artist would receive.

• I am tired of the “token female DJ night”. Come on now, give a woman a regular night spinning with other men too!

• I am tired of being bumped to either first or last or at a really horrible time slot last minute because someone with more “credibility” (more than likely a male) needed to go on because he has a last minute conflict on his schedule.

• I am tired of how male artists are typically offered more money then women artists and then how others use an excuse like “because he is more known”, but ideally a woman would be “more known” had female artists were given the same equal treatments of publicity, marketing and deals. DUH!

• I’m tired of women getting pushed off a bill or a track when someone with more “credibility” (more than likely a male) comes along.

• I am tired of not feeling safe enough to talk about my own gender identity, my sexual orientation and being free to be who I truly am.

• I am tired of seeing how Asian women, Black Women, Latina Women, Queer Women, and women of color as a whole are treated and perceived in Hip-Hop because of their race, class and gender.

• I am tired that people think it’s just mainstream Hip-Hop, when “underground” Hip-Hop disrespect women and LGBTQ folks too.

• I am tired that this music industry is also a size/ist and lookism industry that as a woman I have to have a certain sex appeal and size to get offers, deals and etc..

• I am tired when none of our supposed male allies within Hip-Hop don’t check other men on their privileges.

• I am tired of men not recognizing that they are the only ones on the line-up and not sayin or doing anything about it.

• I am tired of not feeling safe enough to check anyone.

• I’m tired of the women who are buying into the patriarchal thinking and get competitive with other women and enjoy being the “only female”.

• I am tired of being one of those women who once bought into the patriarchal thinking and being competitive with other women for that 1 gig or spot in the bill.

• I am tired of people not knowing that there are dope women Hip-Hop artists and Hip-Hop activists all over the world.

• I am tired of being scared right now, as we speak, writing this open letter, knowing that at any show I could be and more than likely will be threatened and/or attacked if I call out anyone on this article.

Eternia just did a nice remake of 'Live at the Barbeque' featuring all women including Rah Digga, Jean Grae, Tiye Phoenix and Lady of Rage

I am tired of being the token female artist in a Hip-Hop male lineup. This music industry has led me to behave in such a way where I would buy into the “only female-in-the-click” syndrome. While I respect the crews I have been part of in my past, it is today, and now more than ever that I recognize how important it is that we make room for more women to be included. This music industry makes no room for more women to enter the doors, that it creates a dynamic for women to compete against each other, for that 1 gig, that 1 offer, that 1 deal, that 1 spotlight. Because it only comes so often, because the chance is only once in a lifetime, us women, jump for it… because it is our only opportunity. We’re all jumping for the scraps they are offering us… and I am tired of falling for it.

I am so tired of hearing other women complaining and still it is the same. This is the not the first letter or article that has been written. Other women have been writing this for years. This is nothing new. I’ve just been lucky that within these past 15 years, I’ve been able to create my own alternatives to help keep my own sanity amongst a music industry that can make anyone lose their mind. I’ve been able to join female crews and build my own network of friends who would support me and other women. I’ve been able to find folks who have helped me out over the years during the most challenging times by providing me outlets and spaces to speak my peace and express my art. These spaces were safe that gave me a place to be real with myself, to know that I can be whoever I am. I am thankful for these spaces within Hip-Hop. I am thankful for these Hip-Hop folks that help make these spaces happen. These Hip-Hop folks are women, male allies and other allies in our communities.

However, there comes a time, where we need to stand up to the spaces and the people that don’t make help create these spaces either. There comes a time to stand up to the people that create elitist spaces, not making room for others to speak, share and be part of it. Especially, when these spaces claim to be Hip-Hop and make no room for women to be part of it. There comes a time where we as women have a right to claim these spaces, because women have been part of Hip-Hop since day one.

It would be great to see the VH1 Hip Hop Honors pay tribute to the pioneering women of this culture, like the all female crew Mercedes Ladies who have long been overlooked...

But like I am in other times that I speak up against something I am not right with, I am in fear of the repercussions. I am in fear of being attacked. I am fear of the literal physical attack that can happen when speaking out. I am also in fear that people will think that I am trying to be about me. Because it’s not about me. This isn’t about me trying to get a gig. Sorry, that’s not on my agenda. I’m not someone bitter that I didn’t get an opportunity to get my shine on. This is about my sisters, this is about us having a voice, about us having talent too. This is about the shine for all of us. This is for all my sisters out there who are practicing everyday. This is for the movement that Barbara, Eve, Lady Pink, Mercedes Ladies, Lady B, Sweet Tee, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Sista Souljah, Wanda Dee, Jazzy Joyce, Roxanne Shante, Pebblee Poo, started long before me, so that we can be put on too. This for all of them who are still doing it today. And this is about women today, who are doing their thing. I have witnessed Queen Godis, Mystic, Medusa, Anomolies, Abeer, Maria Isa, Eternia, Jean Grae, Bahamadia, Miki Vale, Apani B Fly, Bless Roxwell, Sara Kana, DJ Killa Jewel, Tyra from Saigon, DJ Shortee, DJ Chela, Pam the Funktress to the La Femme Deadly Venoms… and this list goes on and on and on and on and on. Too many to name. And I’m sad that I can’t list them all. Because we are out there and we exist. And it is for this reason that I must speak. I have learned from Audre Lorde – “your silence will not save you.”

So, come on, male promoters – you know who you are. I highly suggest to all the men within Hip-Hop to read male privilege check-list and etc. I suggest if you don’t know, you google it and educate yourself. I also suggest our male allies in Hip-Hop to stand up with us. It is not enough that you acknowledge that this goes on within Hip-Hop. If you know it does, then let a promoter know they should even out the line-up. Refer other women artists. Invite female artists on your showset to get some shine. BUT don’t tokenize us either! Also, check your male friends backstage who mistreat women. Invite us to your practice sessions, but don’t make us feel uncomfortable by making us look like rare creatures or putting us up on some pedastal or treating us like trophies or prized possessions. Don’t intimidate us by your male chauvinisms, machoisms and egotisms. But don’t think we’re gentle and demure either. Don’t victimize us or romanticize some notion that you’re going to save us. Because at the end of the day, we been always fighting our own battles. With or Without you, we have done it, made it, claimed it and taken it. We’re strong, we got a mind of our own and we got skillz. We don’t fit into any label or category because we are all shapes and sizes. We are like Hip-Hop, fluid in what what say, think, do, feel, wear, and etc… We are anything and everything we imagine ourselves to be, so don’t package us into what you envision us to be. We have our own visions and dreams.

As far as for us, women, I don’t think I really need to tell you much. You already know what we are coming into because you feel it and you are experiencing it. However, I will just say for the sake of saying – We, women, we need to just continue to come together. I say continue, because we are a movement been happening. We have been coming together long before my crew Anomolies and long before Mercedes Ladies. We have been standing together, rising up together, teaching each other, learning from one another and we need to continue to do so because we are standing at a time where we are at the crossroads. The world is going chaotic and the earth is speaking to us to stay united. And if we women hold up half the sky, we’re going to have to continue keeping it balanced by staying at peace amongst each other, loving one another and being in unity with one another. We need to acknowledge our differences, value them, and talk about our intersections. We need to talk about the things that are complexed and come out with our own plan of actions. We need to support those who are speaking out for us, voicing themselves at the risk of losing everything. We need to help each other in our crafts to progress, we need to create spaces for more women, transgender and non-conforming genders to be included, we need to check each other in our perpetuation of patriarchal-thinkings and check the men that do it to us.

So, as I close this open letter…. I close it with saying in the words of my friend’s Dead Prez’s words “It’s Bigger than Hip-Hop…”, because we all know that this is all bigger than Hip-Hop. And I’m not just talking about the genre of music, for we all know that sexism exists everywhere. However, I am saying that this is bigger than Hip-Hop, because this is not just about women being in the picture. It’s about respect. And like Hip-Hop, being about gaining respect, we too, be it a woman Hip-Hop head or not, that’s all we want too. Respect.

with love, peace and respect
DJ Kuttin Kandi

p.s. also a big shout out to DJ MarkLuv for your allyship in writing this piece as well!

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Senator Robert Byrd Dies-How Should We Remember Him?

June 28, 2010 By

Just got word about Senator Robert Byrd dying and not too sure what to make of it. The first thoughts that came to mind are, he’s been serving my entire life and damn near my parents entire lives. Dude has sat in the Senate for almost 60 years. That’s a long time. I keep asking myself, why do we have so many Senators who get to sit up in office till they are that old? The late Strom Thurman, Jesse Helms and Ted Kennedy are a few long time fixtures that come to mind…If you serve in office for that long, the question that comes to mind is was Byrd and his long serving colleagues effective? Did they do what was needed for their states? If you’re a Democrat or left leaning was he and others strong advocates or obstacle?

All I knew about Byrd, was he was good at rocking all the rules that govern the Senate and hence could flip a debate and stop or move legislation based upon technicalities. The other thing I remember was he was he started out being a member of the Ku Klux Klan. People always like to point out that he changed, renounced his membership and was a Democrat, failing to realize that Democrats back in Byrd’s days were the most vile and most racist in the both the political arena and in real life especially if you lived in the South.

I grew up knowing that Byrd was a member of the KKK at a time when Black folks were getting lynched, killed and beat down as they tried to get rid of this country’s harsh Jim Crow laws. Sadly, Byrd was one of those law makers who was serving in both Congress and later the Senate where he called for the KKK to start chapters in every state  and kept ties to the Klan leaders. While Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King were pushing for Civil Rights legislation in 1964, Byrd was the one standing up as a Democrat and filibustering it. He also voted against Thurgood Marshall becoming a Supreme Court Justice and for Washington DC a majority Black city to become a state and having congressional and Senate reps.He did this as recently as last year.

I know that Byrd has apologized, and renounced his past actions, but do you ever really redeem yourself from that? People forget the KKK was a formidable terrorist organization that as far as Black folks in this country are concerned were far worse then Al Qaeda is today. Tens of thousands were lynched, tortured and ran out of towns by the Klan and quite a bit of this went down during his tenure as a Klan leader back in the 1940s and while many of us will look back at Robert Byrd and give him accolades for his longevity in the Senate, many of us will remember the stories of horror told by our grandparents while they grew up in the south and fell prey to his former group.

Forgive and forget? Perhaps, if I wasn’t constantly being reminded that we still have folks rotting in our prisons after 30 and 40 years who diligently fought against the Klan loving Robert Byrds of  their days as members of a variety of organizations including the Black Panthers and SNCC Many are in jail under highly suspect and questionable circumstances. Did Byrd when renouncing his KKK affiliation look out for those who got jailed under the harsh racially charged climate he helped ferment? When we still have 70 and 80 year old men  being hunted down by overzealous lawmakers trying to secure political points as was the case around the SF8,  how can one in good conscious move on from Byrd’s KKK past?

In the meantime it will be interesting to see how quickly folks rush to fill the political void Byrd leaves behind. In all likelihood a Democrat will be appointed by West Virginia’s governor to serve out his remaining term so the balance of power won’t switch.

-Davey D-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIBJt-c2o0

Robert Byrd DEAD: West Virginia Democrat Was Longest Serving Senator In History

by Ann taylor

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/robert-byrd-dead-west-vir_n_627392.html

WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a fiery orator versed in the classics and a hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to the state of his Depression-era upbringing, died Monday. He was 92.

A spokesman for the family, Jesse Jacobs, said Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. He had been in the hospital since late last week.

At first Byrd was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration, but other medical conditions developed. He had been in frail health for several years.

Byrd, a Democrat, was the longest-serving senator in history, holding his seat for more than 50 years. He was the Senate’s majority leader for six of those years and was third in the line of succession to the presidency, behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a fellow West Virginian in the Senate, said it was his “greatest privilege” to serve with Byrd.

“I looked up to him, I fought next to him, and I am deeply saddened that he is gone,” Rockefeller said.

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said Byrd “combined a devotion to the U.S. Constitution with a deep learning of history to defend the interests of his state and the traditions of the Senate.”

“We will remember him for his fighter’s spirit, his abiding faith, and for the many times he recalled the Senate to its purposes,” McConnell said.

Byrd’s death followed less than a year after the passing of venerable Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a nationally recognizable figure who had been a most vociferous spokesman for liberal causes for years.

In comportment and style, Byrd often seemed a Senate throwback to a courtlier 19th century. He could recite poetry, quote the Bible, discuss the Constitutional Convention and detail the Peloponnesian Wars – and frequently did in Senate debates.

Yet there was nothing particularly courtly about Byrd’s pursuit or exercise of power.

Byrd was a master of the Senate’s bewildering rules and longtime chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controls a third of the $3 trillion federal budget. He was willing to use both to reward friends and punish those he viewed as having slighted him.

“Bob is a living encyclopedia, and legislative graveyards are filled with the bones of those who underestimated him,” former House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas, once said in remarks Byrd later displayed in his office.

In 1971, Byrd ousted Kennedy, the Massachusetts senator, as the Democrats’ second in command. He was elected majority leader in 1976 and held the post until Democrats lost control of the Senate four years later. He remained his party’s leader through six years in the minority, then spent another two years as majority leader.

“I have tangled with him. He usually wins,” former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., once recalled.

DeConcini supported Byrd’s bid for majority leader. “He reciprocated by helping me get on the Appropriations Committee,” DeConcini said. Years later, DeConcini said, he displeased Byrd on another issue. “I didn’t get on the Intelligence Committee when I thought I was up to get on it.”

Byrd stepped aside as majority leader in 1989 when Democrats sought a more contemporary television spokesman. “I ran the Senate like a stern parent,” Byrd wrote in his memoir, “Child of the Appalachian Coalfields.” His consolation price was the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee, with control over almost limitless federal spending.

Within two years, he surpassed his announced five-year goal of making sure more than $1 billion in federal funds was sent back to West Virginia, money used to build highways, bridges, buildings and other facilities, some named after him.

In 2006 and with 64 percent of the vote, Byrd won an unprecedented ninth term in the Senate just months after surpassing South Carolinian Strom Thurmond’s record as its longest-serving member. His more than 18,500 roll call votes were another record.

But Byrd also seemed to slow after the death of Erma, his wife of almost 69 years, in 2006. Frail and at times wistful, he used two canes to walk haltingly and needed help from aides to make his way about the Senate. He often hesitated at unscripted moments. By 2009, aides were bringing him to and from the Senate floor in a wheelchair.

Though his hands trembled in later years, Byrd only recently lost his grip on power. Last November he surrendered his chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee.

Byrd’s lodestar was protecting the Constitution. He frequently pulled out a dog-eared copy of it from a pocket in one of his trademark three-piece suits. He also defended the Senate in its age-old rivalry with the executive branch, no matter which party held the White House.

Unlike other prominent Senate Democrats such as 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry of Massachusetts, who voted to authorize the war in Iraq, Byrd stood firm in opposition – and felt gratified when public opinion swung behind him.

“The people are becoming more and more aware that we were hoodwinked, that the leaders of this country misrepresented or exaggerated the necessity for invading Iraq,” Byrd said.

He cited Iraq when he endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in May 2008, calling Obama “a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure.”

Byrd’s accomplishments followed a childhood of poverty in West Virginia, and his success on the national stage came despite a complicated history on racial matters. As a young man, we was a member of the Ku Klux Klan for a brief period, and he joined Southern Democrats in an unsuccessful filibuster against the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.

He later apologized for both actions, saying intolerance has no place in America. While supporting later civil rights bills, he opposed busing to integrate schools.

Byrd briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 and later told associates he had once been approached by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican, about accepting an appointment to the Supreme Court.

But he was a creature – and defender – of Congress across a career that began in 1952 with his election to the House. He served three terms there before winning his Senate seat in 1958, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House.

He clashed with presidents in both parties and was implacably against proposed balanced budget amendments to the Constitution.

“He is a fierce defender of the Senate and its prerogatives in ways that I think the founding fathers really intended the Senate to be,” said one-time rival Kennedy.

In a measure of his tenacity, Byrd took a decade of night courses to earn a law degree in 1963, and completed his long-delayed bachelor’s degree at West Virginia’s Marshall University in 1994 with correspondence classes.

Byrd was a near-deity in economically struggling West Virginia, to which he delivered countless federally financed projects. Entire government bureaus opened there, including the FBI’s repository for computerized fingerprint records. Even the Coast Guard had a facility in the landlocked state. Critics portrayed him as the personification of Congress’ thirst for wasteful “pork” spending projects.

Robert Carlyle Byrd was born Nov. 20, 1917, in North Wilkesboro, N.C., as Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr., the youngest of five children.

Before he was 1, his mother died and his father sent him to live with an aunt and uncle, Vlurma and Titus Byrd, who renamed him and moved to the coal-mining town of Stotesbury, W.Va. He didn’t learn his original name until he was 16 and his real birthday until he was 54.

Byrd’s foster father was a miner who frequently changed jobs, and Byrd recalled that the family’s house was “without electricity, … no running water, no telephone, a little wooden outhouse.”

He graduated from high school but could not afford college. Married in 1936 to high school sweetheart Erma Ora James – with whom he had two daughters – he pumped gas, cut meat and during World War II was a shipyard welder.

Returning to meat cutting in West Virginia, he became popular for his fundamentalist Bible lectures. A grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan suggested he run for office.

He won his first race – for the state’s House of Delegates – in 1946, distinguishing himself from 12 rivals by singing and fiddling mountain tunes. His fiddle became a fixture; he later played it on the television show “Hee Haw” and recorded an album. He abandoned it only after a grandson’s traumatic death in 1982 and when his shaky hands left him unable to play.

At his 90th birthday party in 2007, however, Byrd joined bluegrass band Lonesome Highway in singing a few tunes and topped off the night with a rendition of “Old Joe Clark.”

After six years in the West Virginia legislature, Byrd was elected to the U.S. House in 1952 in a race in which his brief Klan membership became an issue. He said he joined because of its anti-communism.

Byrd entered Congress as one of its most conservative Democrats. He was an early supporter of the Vietnam War, and his 14-hour, 13-minute filibuster against the 1964 civil rights bill remains one of the longest ever. His views gradually moderated, particularly on economic issues, but he always sided with his state’s coal interests in confrontations with environmentalists.

His love of Senate traditions inspired him to write a four-volume history of the chamber. It also led him to oppose laptops on the Senate floor and to object when a blind aide tried bringing her seeing-eye dog into the chamber.

In 2004, Byrd got Congress to require schools and colleges to teach about the Constitution every Sept. 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787.

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , ,

USSF 2010: Why and How Do Corporations Get to Hire Cops to do their Bidding?

June 24, 2010 By

Here at the US Social Forum in Detroit we caught up with longtime Austin based activist Debbie Russell and spoke to her about the growing trend of corporations using cops as a private army or law enforcement wing. Our good friends at Alternet just published a Mother Jones article called Louisiana Off-Duty Cops Working for BP? Corporate Police State Watch

Here this article highlights this disturbing practice with BP Oil being a recent partaker. In the article they detail how BP Oil is using Lousiana cops to enforce BP rules on public property and p[reventing reporters from filming dead oil stained animals.

Last week, Drew Wheelan, the conservation coordinator for the American Birding Association, was filming himself across the street from the BP building/Deepwater Horizon response command in Houma, Louisiana. As he explained to me, he was standing in a field that did not belong to the oil company when a police officer approached him and asked him for ID and “strongly suggest[ed]” that he get lost since “BP doesn’t want people filming”:

Here’s the key exchange:

Wheelan: ”Am I violating any laws or anything like that?”

Officer: ”Um…not particularly. BP doesn’t want people filming.”

Wheelan: ”Well, I’m not on their property so BP doesn’t have anything to say about what I do right now.”

Officer: ”Let me explain: BP doesn’t want any filming. So all I can really do is strongly suggest that you not film anything right now. If that makes any sense.”

Not really! Shortly thereafter, Wheelan got in his car and drove away but was soon was pulled over.

It was the same cop, but this time he had company: Kenneth Thomas, whose badge, Wheelan told me, read “Chief BP Security.” The cop stood by as Thomas interrogated Wheelan for 20 minutes, asking him who he worked with, who he answered to, what he was doing, why he was down here in Louisiana. He phoned Wheelan’s information in to someone. Wheelan says Thomas confiscated his Audubon volunteer badge (he’d recently attended an official Audubon/BP bird-helper volunteer training) and then wouldn’t give it back, which sounds like something only a bully in a bad movie would do. Eventually, Thomas let Wheelan go.

This footage and story should be frightening to everyone who loves their freedom watching it…We should all be asking ourselves, ‘How did things dissolve to this point where corporations own the police who enforce rules put forth by the company?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=344em_5hwcQ&feature=player_embedded

Debbie Russell

Russell who rolls with the ACLU explained this is totally illegal and went into lots of detail explaining why. During our convo, it was pointed out that in recent times we saw police and corporations merge when the employees of the RIAA (Record Industry of America Association) were photographed wearing windbreakers similar to law enforment and physically joining them on raids to arrest deejays selling home made mixtapes.

Unfortunately the practice was ignored by many because it was music industry / Hip Hop thing..However, when word leaked out that Steve Jobs of Apple chaired a board that oversaw a special task force of local Bay Area police officers which  were seen kicking in the door at the wee hours of the morning confiscating the computer of a reporter who took pictures of Jobs ‘lost iphone.

I asked Debbie with companies yeileding this much power, how does the average person counter? Do we get to hire our own cops?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO06FJXVGyk&feature=channel

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Live From Detroit:The USSF-An Intv w/ Adrienne Maree Brown-Why Detroit?

June 22, 2010 By

Long time organizer Adrienne Maree Brown speaks about what to expect at this week’s USSF here in Detroit. She talks about why Detroit is a such a significant city in terms of movement building and being solution oriented. Much of Detroit’s resilience has come as a result of having to endure economic hardship for the past 30 years.

Adrienne also talks about the misperceptions many have when looking at Detroit, in particular those from the coastal cities who act and feel like Detroit’s problems can be solved by them and not from residents of the city. This is truly a bottom up led city in terms of movement building where consensus building is the name of the game and not charismatic personality.

For more info check out USSF.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qidy1a6qM0w

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Essential videos to peep, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , ,

5 Reasons Why I’m Rooting For Alvin Greene, and Why You Should Too

June 14, 2010 By

5 Reasons Why I’m Rooting For Alvin Greene, and Why You Should Too

by Bakari Kitwana

Since the news broke that Alvin Greene won the South Carolina Democratic Party Primary Election for US Senate, countless media and political elites, have filled several rounds of the news cycle looking down their noses at the unlikely winner. But more important than questioning where he got the $10,400 filing fee and feigning outrage in response to the obscenity charge, those who claim to love democracy should be asking this: “why are freedom-loving political insiders asking Greene to step aside?”

The same folks leading the charge against Greene, in part suggesting that he’s not smart enough to have really won, are the same public servants unable to protect us from banks smart enough to rip us off, but too dumb to fail, and oversized multinational corporations smart enough to drill, but clueless about how to stop the greatest oil spill in American history.

So until said elected officials have figured out a solution to these pressing issues, alongside the unemployment crisis, the budget crises, and recurring voting irregularities in national elections that nurture a climate for more of the same, I’m rooting for Alvin Greene.

Here are five reasons why:

First, if Alvin Greene is the legitimate winner, and I think politicians should find that out with a fair investigation before asking him to step aside (as Congressman James Clyburn and Democratic Party State leader Carol Fowler have done), his win reinforces the notion that grassroots everyday people can still win elections in America–that the country, imagine this, still actually belongs to the people. Political elites reveal how far removed they are from this idea when central to their criticism of Greene is the notion that Senate primary wins are impossible without big bucks and establishment support.

I’m also rooting for Alvin Greene because he’s an underdog, the quintessential outsider, so much so, his own party claims they never heard of him. That plus the fact that any non-millionaire deserves our support when he proves he can ruffle the feathers of the mainstream political establishment–those same politicians who get sent to Washington to represent the interest of the people back at home, but fail to support the majority will on pressing issues of the day.

Third, Green deserves our support because he is a candidate who went for broke and did the unthinkable: he put his money where his mouth is. If indeed his filing fee was his own money–which is as plausible to me as his win–then it’s a compelling story about the will of everyday people in search of democracy. This is the type of inspirational narrative all Americans should be embracing–not imaginary populous movements that run politically connected candidates (Rand Paul are u listening?) and pass them off as a revolution.

Alvin Greene

Greene wants to do something to save the country sans name-calling, racial slurs or spitting on politicians he disagrees with. Instead, the 32-year-old college grad truly believes in public service–if his military record is any indication.

Which leads me to my final two points: Greene’s a military veteran and a post baby-boomer, two groups underrepresented in the Senate. Sure, Washington insiders spend a lot of time giving lip service to the troops when it’s politically expedient. However, when a 13-year military veteran runs for office, these “support the troops” cheerleaders are focused on discrediting him.

According to the Department of Defense, over 75 percent of the armed forces is comprised of Americans under 30 years old. Likewise, young voters 18-29 years old in the last three national elections have been steadily increasing their engagement. It’s time their numbers are more significantly represented in Washington.

It may be revealed in the days ahead that Alvin Greene’s win was no win at all. If so, the culprit will likely be something far more plausible than a “Republican plant.” Although an electronic voting machine glitch, diabolical voting machine tampering, or massive crossover voting lead my list, I’m hoping that won’t be the case.

But whether Alvin Greene is manufactured, an accident or for real, those crying foul should see his entry on the political scene as an opportunity to re-evaluate their commitment to the nation’s ideals–rather than to continue to dismantle them.

Bakari Kitwana is senior media fellow at the Harvard Law based think tank The Jamestown Project and the author of the forthcoming Hip-Hop Activism in the Obama Era (Third World Press, 2010).

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , ,

Some Thoughts to Consider on Helen Thomas & the Penalty for Criticising Israel

June 10, 2010 By

Thoughts on Helen Thomas

The other week we saw Israeli commandos board a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza while still in International waters. The end result was hundreds arrested and detained. Many were brutality beaten and 11 were shot dead. The world screamed in outrage as Israel went into spin mode and started having everyone from its ambassador on down to its de-facto pundits within mainstream media craft stories that suggested the people who were on board the ship where folks were killed, were attached to some sort of terrorist organization.

Actually, lemme back up a sec, cause that’s the latest spin. The initial spin was when the Israeli commandos boarded the ship they were facing an ‘armed militia’ which caused them to shoot. The only problem was no weapons were found. This led to Israel changing up again. This time they said they switched the story and said the folks on the ship came at them with metal pipes, rushed them and made them fearful for their lives hence 11 people had to be killed including an American citizen..

Now, I’m not no military expert, but since my tax dollars pay for many of the weapons and high-end training used by our good friend in the Middle East (Israel), I would venture to say, that those commandos knew exactly what was going on. If they didn’t then our money is being wasted. I find it hard to believe that an army with ‘superior’ intel capabilities and precision training stormed a ship and were caught off guard by these ‘humanitarian activists turned terrorists’. I find it hard to believe this uber trained military outfit didn’t have undercover operatives amongst the flotillas to convey information that would allow for a smoother take down..

If we use our common sense we’d note that many of the folks aboard the flotillas included nobel laureates, professors and seasoned peace activists. It seems pretty far-fetched to think they would be consorting with terrorists, knowing that it would kill their credibility in the court of world opinion in addition to putting them in danger. These humanitarian workers have been well aware of Israel’s military might and would not try to go against them. The flotilla people have long been and continued to act in the long tradition of civil disobedience. Part of that tradition means acting non-violently to maintain a moral high ground. To suggest these folks were doing otherwise, even if its the Israeli ambassador spouting the story is in insult to our intelligence. The bottom line is Israel messed up and has been in spin mode ever since..Part of their defense is to use allies and friends in media and government to come down hard on anyone speaking against them. Folks are quickly labeled anti-semitic and black-balled from influential circles if possible. In short Israel can do no wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlElXOJV4CA&feature=player_embedded

Such was the case with longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas who was caught on tape responding to a question..’Do you have anything you would like to say to Israel’? Thomas responded ‘Yes-Get the Hell out of Palestine‘… She then noted that Palestine was occupied land. When pressed as to where they should go, Thomas retorted, They should go back home to Germany, Poland and the United States. The outcry against Thomas calling for her ouster was deafening with former Bush press secretary Ari Fleisher leading the charge and everyone from Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs to no-name schleprocks dragged up and placed on talk shows, joining the chorus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcQdWBqt14

The amount of anger that was directed at Thomas was overkill. First and foremost her remarks have a political context which could and is debated. When I heard her remarks I immediately thought of the new Israeli settlements that have caused lots of uproar and been heavily criticized. If Israel as was stated by Ambassador Michael Oren will have peace when we have a two states, than Thomas wasn’t off base when she said ‘get out of Palestine’. Sure her blutness ruffled feathers, but really when you consider what folks like Minister Pat Roberston and actor Mel Gibson, the late Reverend Jerry Falwall and numerous others have said about Israel, Thomas’ remarks are no where in the ballpark. What really angered her detractors was her stature. She gives a boost to a POV that has long been silenced here in the US while vigoriously debated elsehwere including in Israel.

Seems like the Zionist lobby wanted to send a strong signal by being relentless with their shut down of Thomas. Don’t speak ill of Israel. Don’t oppose Israel and don’t you dare give credibility to any POV or argument Zionist find problematic. This has long been a tactic used especially when Israeli policy was dead wrong.i.e Their support of Apartheid, South Africa or in recent days the tactic Zionist supporters of Israel used to intimidate including threats to blacklist UC Berkeley student Senators who voted to divest student funds from Israel.

Real News Network CEO Paul Jay wrote an insighful essay folks should peep that addresses this issue called ‘In defense of Helen Thomas on Apologizing top Apologist’. We also had a discussion on the topic which I am also including…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0UVJ35L2EU

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Where’s PETA and the Angry Tea Party Crowd on this Gulf Oil Disaster?

June 10, 2010 By

Here’s a few things to ponder …

Where’s PETA and the Tea Party?

Where the hell is PETA? Yeah i said it? Lemme repeat that incase I was misunderstood.. Where is PETA? You know them, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals… Where are those guys around this Gulf Oil Spill Issue?

For many of us this disaster didn’t hit home until we started seeing dead turtles and pelicans immersed in oil come washing up on our shores. I mean we lost 11 people and for the majority of us, it was in one ear and out the other.. People losing jobs?…Again-it was in one ear and out the other. But all those dead animals struck a chord. It was exasperated when we heard idiots like Alaskan Congressman Don Young try to explain this off as if it was natural and the animals killed weren’t no big deal. Sounds to me some serious animal rights violations took place, both by BP and those who support and explain away their actions.

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

When the oil spill started and was said to be headed toward the wild-life packed marsh lands of Louisiana, I half jokingly and half seriously tweeted ‘Where’s PETA?’ I was joking that if folks like a ‘dog killing’ Michael Vick and a fur coat wearing Jennifer Lopez could incur this organization’s wrath, wait till Tony Hayward CEO of BP crossed paths with PETA. I even included PETA  (@Peta) on the tweet and never heard back.

That was a good 50 days ago. Here we are on day 60 and as I perused their website I see there’s still no mention of the Gulf Oil Spill, which I find to be beyond strange. As you can see from the front page of their website which was taken today June 10th, they have updated information including the recent passing of Golden Girl Rue McClanahan. There’s also a recent story of porn star Jenna Jameson and her doing a shocking video about how chickens are treated, but no Gulf Oil Spill…

The website PETA.org has an action center page where people can join campaigns against KFC, Petsmart and others but no BP. I don’t wanna be petty and I realize some of these campaigns are probably worthwhile but to see how vehement PETA was over Michael Vick and the NFL where members could be found picketing outside games and stepping to fans who supported Vick, why so silent on BP and Hayward? Will members show up at his next outing and throw blood on him for all the oil soaked rare Brown Pelicans his company’s negligence harmed and killed? Will they be picketing BP stations the way they did NFL games? Thus far I haven’t seen them at the BP in my area..They were out and about during the NFL games when Vick returned..

Not to be unfair with PETA, I have to also ask this question about the Tea Party crowd? It was just a few months ago we saw a big Tea Party rally in New Orleans where folks skewered Obama for giving away government money. Some went so far as to have Obama’s face made to look like Hitler… Where’s the Tony Hayward posters that vilify him? Where’s the Tea Party  crowd whoo-riding the CEO’s press conference or townhalls like they did during the healthcare debates? Where’s the venom and outrage being directed toward BP executives who seem tell endless lies about the spill to people who live in regions that the Tea Party found major support?

One has to wonder if these organizations are all hype, scared or in the back pockets of a multi-national like BP and their friends. In any case, it was bugging me to see these outspoken groups  absent from the fight while others like the Hip Hop Caucus in Washington DC picketed Hayward’s New York office last week and attempted to secure a citizen’s arrest.  CNN did a story on a young girl who was 10 or 12 years old launching some sort of protest for the destroyed wild life..Rap star Talib Kweli stepped to the plate and dropped a searing song called Ballad of the Black Gold which deals with issues around oil. Everyone’s been stepping up..Just wondering why we haven’t seen and heard more from these two groups that garnered reputations for kicking up dust?

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »