http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4OI-SGiNmw
We caught up w/ Chuck D of Public Enemy, the day we got the tragic news about music icon Don Corneilus killing himself.. Chuck gave a history and rundown about Don and his show Soul Train.. We also talked about the irony of this happening on the first day of Black History month
OLMNews covers Stanford University’s global hip-hop Symposium where renowned author Jeff Chang, Stanford professor Samy Alim & Hip-Hop icon & activist Chuck D of Public Enemy who speak on the globalization of hip-hop and it’s effect on social & economic issues worldwide.
OLMNews reporter Davey D speaks with Omar Offendum, Syrian American rapper, who along with other notable artists from around the globe, created a song that sparked a movement of solidarity with the people of Egypt and the middle east.
Omar Offendum
Oakland based Flipsyde bring serious heat with this song and video called ‘Act Like a Cop’.. Lots of messages laced throughout the video.. This is what we need more of… Props to Piper, dave and the Crew for giving us the type of cultural nourishment we all need in this time of mass distraction..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoCYc4ndSMU
Chuck D of Public Enemy brought down the house last night at Stanford University when he delivered a new video for the song ‘Tear Down That Wall‘.
He explained that he does music and videos to add to the struggle not take away from it.. he explained many mistakenly believed the landmark song ‘By the Time I get to Arizona’ was dedicated to the current struggle around immigration and the racist law SB 1070..It wasn’t…
Chuck explained it was a song that made to address Arizona’s refusal to honor Martin Luther King’s birthday. He says he recognizes that the same reactionary forces that smashed on King are also behind SB1070, but in PE’s new song’, it specifically addresses the oppression being levied on indigenous communities.
He said he wanted to show the hypocrisy of America where they she demanded that the Berlin Wall be torn down during the Cold War, while simultaneously spending billions to build up walls of our own.
Chuck also noted how we have vastly different policies with the ‘border walls’ between canada and the US vs mexico and the US.
[Note: Chuck D wrote this essay as a letter to Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur (AllHipHop.com) and Davey D (DaveyD.com). With permission, the message by the Public Enemy leader, has been edited slightly into a scathing editorial about the media, Hip-Hop and the how the culture has been pimped by a mere few.]
Chuck D:
I really don’t know what constitutes for “relevant” coverage in HIP-HOP news in America these days, but I really want to give you all a heads up. As you know I’ve been through three passports, 76 countries on the regular in the name of Hip-Hop since 1987 and in 2010, although I’ve never stopped traveling the earth this year, I’ve seen, heard and felt some new things.
As far as RAP and HIP-HOP, it’s like USA Olympic basketball, the world has parity now and have surpassed the USA in ALL of the basic fundamentals of HIP-HOP – TURNTABLISM, BREAKING, GRAFFITI, and now EMCEEING with succinct mission , meaning and skill. Skill-wise rappers spitting three languages, have created super rappers to move the crowd with intensity and passion. The “arrogant” American comes in blackface, but if there was a HIP-HOP or Rap Olympics, I really don’t think the United States
would get Gold, Silver or Brass or even ass for that sake.
Personally, Public Enemy has been setting records in a record book that doesn’t really exist. The 20th year anniversary of FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET has become into a year and a half celebration of eights legs and five continents. All the while, looking at a HIP-HOP Planet across 25 countries while still somewhat supportive of American rap, the rest of the world has surpassed the U.S. in skill, in fundamentals and commitment to their communities. Public Enemy’s mission is to set the path, pave the road for cats to do their thing for a long time as long as they do it right.
Because of the lack of support from local radio, television and community in the United States, the ability for “local” acts to thrive in their own radius has killed the ability to connect and grow into a proper development as a performer, entertainer and artist. Rappers trying to get put on to a national contract hustle from a NEW YORK or LOS ANGELES corporation has caused the art-form to atrophy from the bottom, while never getting signed to a top echelon that really doesn’t exist, but to a very few.
HIP-HOP NEWS spreads like any other mainstream NEWS in America. The garbage that’s unfit to print has now floated on websites and blogs like sh*t. For example a rapper working in the community gets obscured while if that same rapper robbed a gas station he’d get top coverage and be label a “rapper” while getting his upcoming or current music somewhat put on blast, regardless of its quality which of course is subjective like any other art. RAP sites and blogs are mimicking the New York POST.
This is not mere complaint , this is truth and its coming down on Americans like rain without a raincoat with cats screaming how they ain’t wet. This is real. The other night upon finishing groundbreaking concert performances in Johannesburg we followed a special free concert in Soweto. To make a point that our agenda was to “show? and encourage the Hip-Hop community to be comfortable in its mind and skin without chasing valueless Amerikkkan values.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
It does the people of the planet little good to hear that an an artist is famous and rich, will wear expensive jewelry straight from the mines, show it off, stay it the hotel, ride in limos, do the VIP with chilled champagne in the clubs, ape and monkey the chicks (meaning not even talking) and keep the dudes away with slave paid bodyguards when real people come close. The mimic of the VIACOM-sanctioned video has run tired, because it shows off, does NOT inspire and it says NOTHING.
Here in South Africa PUBLIC ENEMY has done crucial groundbreaking performances. Its the same level of smashing the house that we’ve done this year in Moscow, New York, Paris, London , Chicago and other places this year. This is not news We are not trying to prove any point other than to show that a classic work is timeless and doesn’t have a demographic per se. The Rolling Stones and U2 are NOT measured by mere tracks’ they are measured by the all-around event they present. The art of the performance has left Hip-Hop whereas somebody has led artists to do more performing off the stage than on it. The agenda here is to create artist exchange
This serves as a call to the infrastructure-less Hip-Hop game in Amerikkka. We know what your hustle is, but what is your work and job here? Faking it until making it runs its course in a recession, which is a depression for Black folks who increasingly are becoming more skill-less as they become jobless.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
Since the music has so much power, and image has become everything to the point that it can dictate the direction of a person in their life, it is my mission now to really become a “freedom fighter” and stop this radiation. With Jay-Z and others who, for years would faint their worth, the statement of “with great power comes great responsibility,” is more true. Words are powerful and they can both start wars and bring peace. This cannot be taken lightly. Its important for the words to be body with the community. If not one dime of $250 million doesn’t benefit the people who contribute to it then why does that warrant coverage above the will and effort of many in the music who have done great things.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
I turned 50 this year. Everyday I get the question whats up with Hip-Hop today. If nothing was wrong the question wouldn’t be the dominating question I get. I do massive interviews worldwide. I’m covered from varied aspects Hip-Hop, Public Enemy, social issues, musicology in general. So, my interactive world dialogue is deeper and more present than 140 characters.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
I am tired of the silence of people that know better. There is nothing worse than a person that knows better and does worse. Or says nothing.
And makes excuses for bulls**t.
You know damn well HIP-HOP in the USA has fell way the f**k off as the American dollar and much of America itself. Held up and dictated by White business lawyers, accountants in New York, and Los Angeles offices.
To dictate to a community and not even live or be with the people is offensive. VIACOMs reach into Africa to turn HIP-HOP in to Amerfrica, which is as exploitative as those slave-makers who carried us across on boats. The decisions made in a boardroom in New York City while these cats scurry to their high rises, and suburban mansions from cultural profiteering must stop. And I’m going to do something about it.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
My agenda of Hip-Hop around the world is in line with its creators, who followed Black Music. The music had the people’s back. It has never been my personal agenda. Americans arrogantly have no back. Hip-Hop has followed this. I am disturbed by the fact that I tell artists that doing work in their community will get them little or no buzz for their effort, but in the same sense if they robbed or shot someone or did a bid they would get national and sometimes international attention.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
So many of your favorite people suck up to the NBA and NFL, because it has order and when you make the game look bad David Stern or Robert Goddell is kicking their asses out . They are the indisputable HWIC, and negroes are in line and silenced. But here in Hip-Hop the dysfunctionality reward makes the money that puts food on many tables.
Its time, because I hear too many excuses. I wont allow what’s in the USA f**k up what I and others worked hard to instill. I drive a ’94 Montero, a ’97 Acura, and have no expensive jewelry. There is nothing on this planet materially that is better than myself. This is what I instill in many doing Hip-Hop that nothing is greater than what is given. These games of people doing anything to get things has seeped into my way so therefore witness some radical virtual things coming from me in protecting the art-form of Hip-Hop.
Never have so many been pimped by so few.
So, I’m going after the few.
I’m tired of it.
Chuck D from CaPEtown, South Africa.
Public Enemy’s 71st Tour
6th Leg of a Fear Of A Black Plan Tour
Chuck D is an emcee, author, producer and civic leader, among other things. He also happens to front a legendary, revolutionary rap group called Public Enemy. Public Enemy is renown for their politically charged lyrics, frenetic production style and penchant for shaking up the power structure.
The Anthology Of Rap
We are living in a period of growth for hip-hop culture, led this time not simply by artists but by students and scholars. The word-revolution in rhyme has been reflected in a slew of necessary critical perspectives that shed light on hip-hop’s history and development. Books and multimedia on hip-hop culture and rap music have entered a boom period—or should I say BOOM BAP period: a time in which the recorded history and the breakdown of interpretations may be more entertaining than a lot of the new music being made today.
The Anthology of Rap is a landmark text. What makes it so important is that the voices included within it are from the artists themselves, but they are presented in a way that gives the words context and meaning as part of a tradition. Anyone could put together a bunch of lyrics, but an anthology does something more: it provides the tools to make meaning of those lyrics in relation to one another, to think about rap both in terms of particular rhymes, but also in terms of an art form, a people, and a movement. Every great literature deserves a great anthology. Rap finally has its own.
I first heard about The Anthology of Rap after meeting Dr. Adam Bradley at a symposium sponsored by the HipHop Archive at Harvard University. A few weeks later, I interviewed him on my Air America Network radio show, ON THE REAL, about his first book, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop. I was fascinated by what I would call the emergent “artcademic” perspective he was describing. Here was someone who grew up with the music and had gone on to study it in a social context as well as “gettin down to it” on the level of language. He was spitting out a well-considered, highly analytical point of view to a mass audience that too often defines rap merely by what they hear on radio and see on television. Along with Dr. Andrew DuBois, Dr. Bradley has now brought us a book that just might break the commercial trance that’s had rap in a chokehold for the last several years. Rap now has a book that tells its lyrical history in its own words.
My own history in hip hop goes back decades. I started out in back in 1979 as a mobile DJ/MC under a crew called Spectrum City in Long Island, New York. Most of the shows we did were in less than ideal acoustic situations. Luckily my partner Hank Shocklee, who is now regarded as a sonic genius in the realm of recording, was just as astute about getting the best sound available out of the least amount of equipment. The challenge for many MCs was figuring out how to achieve vocal projection and clarity on inferior sound systems. I’ve always had a big voice, so my criteria was different because my vocal quality and power were audible. The content of my rhymes was heady because of what I knew. I’d been influenced by big voices like Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I studied the rhymes and rhythms that worked and tried to incorporate my voice and subject matter in a similar manner. I had to be distinct in my own identity. That was a very important aspect to propel me beyond the pack.
Most MCs don’t listen to enough other MCs. As artists we need to open our ears to as many styles as possible, even—and maybe especially—those that are not commercially successful. In sports you must study the competition. You’ve got to game-plan. You’ve got to school yourself not just about the defending champions, but about every team in the league. In these times, the individualization of the MC has often meant isolation—artists focus on a single model, a single sound. Some focus is a good thing, of course, but too much leads to a lot of rappers sounding the same, saying the same things, finding themselves adrift in a sea of similarity.
Rakim's Flow on 'I Know U Got Soul' and Biz Markie's 'Nobody Beats the Biz' inspired Chuck D's flow on Rebel w/o a Pause
Having a range of lyrical influences and interests doesn’t compromise an MC’s art. It helps that art to thrive and come into its own. For instance, my lyrics on “Rebel Without a Pause” are uniquely mine, but even the first “Yes” I utter to begin the song was inspired by another record—in this case, Biz Markie’s “Nobody Beats the Biz,” a favorite of mine at the time. The overall rhyme style I deployed on “Rebel” was a deliberate mixture of how KRS-One was breaking his rhymes into phrases and of Rakim’s flow on “I Know You Got Soul.” Although the craft is difficult, the options are many and the limits are few. There are many styles to attend to and numerous ways to integrate them into your own art, transforming yourself and those styles along the way.
That’s where The Anthology of Rap comes in. It reminds us just how much variety truly exists in this thing we call rap. KRS-One raging against police brutality is far removed from Will Smith beefing about parents that just don’t understand or UGK explaining the intricacies of the street pharmaceutical trade, but all of them are united through rhyming to a beat. We learn more as rap artists and as a rap audience by coming to terms with all those things that rap has made.
Paris
Back in 2006 I did a collaboration with the great conscious rapper Paris. Paris singlehandedly created a Public Enemy album called Rebirth Of A Nation. At the time, people asked why an MC like me would relinquish the responsibility of writing my own lyrics. My reason was simple: I thoroughly respect the songwriter and happen to think there is a valuable difference between the vocalist and the writer. Rarely are people gifted in both or well trained and skilled enough to handle both at once. The unwavering belief that MCs should always and only spit their own rhymes is a handicap for rap. In my opinion, most writers shouldn’t spit and most vocalists shouldn’t write unless there is a unique combination of skill, knowledge, ability, and distinction. To have Paris write my lyrics as well as produce the music added a breath of freshness to my voice. I put my ego aside—a hard thing for a lot of rappers to do—and was rewarded with a new weapon in my lyrical arsenal, unavailable had I simply gone it alone.
In order for a lyric to last, it takes time and thought. Although top-of-the-head freestyles might be entertaining for the moment, they quickly expire. Even someone like Jay-Z, who claims never to write before rhyming, does his own form of composition. He has the older cat’s knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of the many facets of multi-dimensional life zones and the ability to exercise his quickness of wit and tongue. Few MCs have his particular combination of gifts. Lyricism is a study of a terrain before it’s sprayed upon like paint on a canvas. Most MCs would do better to think and have a conversation regarding what to rhyme about before they spit. While the spontaneity of the words to a beat might bring up-to-the-minute feelings to share, one cannot sleep on the power of the word—or in this case the arrangement and delivery of many words in rhythm.
When it comes down to the words themselves, lyricism is vital to rap, and because rap fuels hip-hop, this means that lyricism is vital to hip-hop culture as a whole. A rapper that really wants to be heard must realize that a good vocabulary is necessary like a good ball-handler sports his dribble on a basketball court. Something should separate a professional rapper from a 6th grader. Lyricism does that. Even when a middle school kid learns a word and its meaning, social comprehension and context take time to master. Even when a term or a line is mastered, the challenge should be on how many more peaks a rapper can scale to become a good lyricist. We all should know that the power of a word has both incited and prevented war itself.
Good lyrics, of course, have been around far longer than rap. They’re the life-blood of song. They direct the music and the music defines the culture. This is true for rap even though some mistake the music as being all about the beat. People sometimes overate the beat, separating it from the song itself. I ask folks would they rather just listen to instrumentals? The general response is no. Listeners want to have vocals driving the beat, but—importantly–not stopping it or slowing it down. It takes a master to ride any wild beat or groove and to tame it. Rakim, KRS-One, André 3000, MC Lyte, Black Thought and Nas are just a few such masters featured in this anthology. They will make the music submit to their flows while filling those flows with words to move the crowd’s minds, bodies, and souls. So reading lyrics on the page gives us a chance to understand exactly what makes these lyrics work. What’s their meaning? What’s their substance? How do they do what they do?
written by Chuck D
May 15 2010
original article: http://www.publicenemy.com/index.php?page=page3
Mistah Fab hits us across the dome with one of the better videos that speak to our conditions in 2010
This is one of my favorite videos for 2010.. Props to Oakland rapper Mistah FAB for spitting truth to power and putting this out. We need more videos and songs that speak to the conditions of the masses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0dtbWndkLs
I love this video from Bay Area rapper Paris featuring T-Kash. I don’t think it got the shine it truly deserves and yet it really captures and energy that was and still is here in the Bay. Don’t Stop the Movement is energetic and sadly fortlls the riots that broke out in the streets of Oakland around the killing of Oscar Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmJqzEVKwoU
Invincible has been on fire with her videos and her songs.. Here she teams up with Waajeed to capture grittiness of Detroit. This cut Detroit Summer is on point. I like how she captures footage from the recent US Social Forum that was held there. Give this sista deserves our support and props.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ6qMU7JbBY
This is a classic throwback that I almost forgot about.. Chuck D and Public Enemy cover a lot of ground in this video.. It ranges from Clarence Thomas confirmation to the Supreme Court to Mike Tyson being sentenced to prison to the riots at Virginia Beach during Spring Break and the riots and in South Central LA after the Rodney King verdict
Almost 20 years ago, sometime in 1991, I found myself on local CBS station KPIX in a heated debate about the rap group Public Enemy. They had come under-fire for doing a video to the song ‘By The Time I get to Arizona‘. The song was a protest against Arizona lawmakers who at that time steadfastly refused to go along with honoring the Martin Luther King holiday. This was 7 years after it was signed into law by President Ronald Regan who had also refused to honor him but was forced to sign the legislation into law because he was Congress had handed him a veto-proof bill.
The video was controversial because it depicted re-enactments of the harsh treatment and attacks that took place during peaceful Civil Rights demonstrations in the 60s. The video showed marchers being assaulted with high pressured fire hoses and hauled away from lunch counters during sit ins after being humiliated by white store owners who refused to serve them . These scenes were interspersed with the group’s S1Ws soldiers arming themselves and preparing to go to war. The video ends with a re-enactment of King’s assassination juxtaposed with lead rapper Chuck D delivering poisoned chocolate to the Senator of New Hampshire (who also opposed the holiday) and blowing up the car belonging to the Governor of Arizona. Needless to say the video sent shock-waves around the country as folks suggested the group went too far and besmirched King’s non-violent philosophy by depicting acts of violence .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFOb_f7ubw
Former Arizona Governor the late Evan Mecham first act in office in 1987 was to rescind the MLK Holiday
There was a lot of back and forth about this video, but as I had noted on the TV show that night, the video reflected a lot of the anger and frustration that had built up over the years amongst people who felt like hey weren’t being heard and King was being disrespected. Much of this anger stemmed from the callous attitude of former Arizona Governor Evan Mecham who’s first act when he took office in 1987 was to cancel the King Holiday. He later told Civil Rights leaders King didn’t deserve a holiday and they needed to get jobs.. If that wasn’t enough, in another infamous incident, Mecham took it way back to slave times by referring to Black kids as pickaninnies. He later defended his use of the word and added that he had Black friends who he had hired for ‘cotton-picking‘ jobs. This was the sitting Governor of Arizona in 1987.
Mecham’s remarks and action’s led to a nationwide boycott of Arizona which singer Stevie Wonder helped lead. The boycott resulted in more than 40 conventions pulling out including the NBA (National Basketball Association). Mecham’s arrogance added more fuel to the fire when he publicly suggested the NBA rethink their position ‘because white people go to their games’. Many took that to mean Mecham was calling for a white backlash to the boycotts. Fortunately that never happened except amongst some of Arizona’s lawmakers who steadily stayed on the grind trying to find new ways to keep the oppression going. As for Governor Mecham between the boycotts and other controversies and scandals he caused, he was impeached and removed from office a little over a year into his term. Ironically he was removed from office on the anniversary of King’s assassination April 4th 1988. But for many the absence of a King holiday in Arizona was a still a sore point.
In 1990 a couple of proposals were put before Arizona voters. One was to cancel Columbus Day and make room for the King Holiday. Needless to say this caused a rift between Black and Italian communities. The other was to create a new paid holiday specifically for King.. The vote was split between the two competing measures with neither one getting a majority. The word went out around the country that Arizona had once again rejected Dr King which led not only to PE doing their incendiary song but also the NFL moving the Superbowl XXVII from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe to the Pasadena’s Rosebowl. That was a major blow and embarrassment as Arizona continued to see its tourism industry slip. Finally In 1992 the state got in step with the rest of the nation and started celebrating the King Holiday.
It’s important to keep some of this history in mind as we look at the recent controversy surrounding Arizona’s harsh new immigration law which goes into effect in less than 90 days. It’s important to note that that Arizona has been notorious for resisting change especially when it comes to issues concerning people of color. The resistance shown by law makers over accepting the King holiday hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface. It’s a long and sordid history that goes way back. It’s also important to note that it wasn’t until Arizona started to get hit economically that things began to change.
Arizona’s Intolerance Goes Way Beyond Immigration
Arizona Lawmaker and White Supremacist supporter Russell Pearce sponsored the immigration bill
The reputation of Arizona lawmakers should be an indication that unless their intolerant beliefs along with mindset held by many within the state’s older population significantly changes, it’s gonna be a bit of a dogfight to turn things around, not just with respect to immigration but with other key issues impacting communities of color. It’s important to note that many of those intolerant, racist forces that resisted the King holiday were hard at work concocting the current anti-immigration Bill SB 1070. Lawmakers like Russell Pearce, the Neo-Nazi supporter with ties to the White Supremacist group, National Alliance who sponsored and co-authored this bill is a key example.
In 2008, the year Barack Obama was making history, Pearce attached an amendment to bill SB 1108 that would prohibit students on Arizona University and College campuses from forming groups based in whole or in part on race. Hence, well-known organizations like the; Black Student Unions, La Raza, Black Business Students Association (BBSA), MeCHA, Asian Student Union etc were all smashed on by this guy.
In recent days Arizona lawmakers passed house bill 2281 which essentially bans ethnic studies being taught in the classrooms. Pearce and his colleagues feel that ethnic studies undermine ‘American values‘ and that there is only one version to this country’s history and perspectives on key historic events. Current Governor Jan Brewer is expected to sign this sometime next week (May 11 2010).
And if all this isn’t enough, the Arizona Department of Education is now calling for the removal of teachers with accents from teaching English and ESL courses. The rationale is that a heavily accented teacher will be a detriment to students. The back story to this is that many feel this measure is a way for officials to selectively go after Chicano teachers who school districts may find objectionable because they are advocates for their communities.
To better understand this folks have to keep a couple of things in mind. First, everyone has an accent of some kind. There are regional accents like the ones we hear in New York, the midwest, in New England and of course throughout the south and in the southwest in places like Arizona. There are also ethnic accents. We hear them among Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Haitians, Jamaicans, Cubans, Filipinos and Chicanos. This doesn’t mean that people aren’t easily understood and up until now this has never really been an issue. What’s being applied here is some sort of accent litmus test to make sure one has properly ‘assimilated’. The anti-immigrant fear held by many is that Mexicans are trying to take over the country and forcing everyone to speak Spanish and this accent test is just one way of taking away an important cultural identifier.
Another factor fueling this removal of accent holding teachers is the fact that there is are increasingly large numbers of Brown students entering Arizona public schools who are taking ESL classes. Their first contacts in the public schools are with Brown teachers who often times serve as more than just English instructors but play critical roles in helping build social and cultural bridges to the larger society. We’ve long known that for many students of color having teachers with similar backgrounds can be effective. That’s why there’s long been a push to get more teachers of color in the classroom. Now the state of Arizona wants to have the excuse to remove them, audit them and make life just in general uncomfortable as they apply this subjective accent test. Like I mentioned earlier, since everyone has an accent of sorts, how does one determine if accent is getting in the way of students learning English? Make no mistake it’s not accents they’re checking for, the end game is to break some of the important bridge building that often takes place in the classroom.
Fear of a Brown Vote
When you look at the history of Arizona and all the recent legislation that its passed, you can clearly understand that what’s taking place is not really just about protecting the borders. This is about maintaining political power and fear of an increasing Blacker and Browner country. Investigative reporter Greg Palast sums this up pretty well in a recent article where he writes:
Phoenix – Don’t be fooled. The way the media plays the story, it was a wave of racist, anti-immigrant hysteria that moved Arizona Republicans to pass a sick little law, signed last week, requiring every person in the state to carry papers proving they are US citizens.
I don’t buy it. Anti-Hispanic hysteria has always been as much a part of Arizona as the saguaro cactus and excessive air-conditioning.
What’s new here is not the politicians’ fear of a xenophobic “Teabag” uprising.
What moved GOP Governor Jan Brewer to sign the Soviet-style show-me-your-papers law is the exploding number of legal Hispanics, US citizens all, who are daring to vote – and daring to vote Democratic by more than two-to-one. Unless this demographic locomotive is halted, Arizona Republicans know their party will soon be electoral toast. Or, if you like, tortillas.
Sadly this country has a long history especially throughout the south and southwest of inventing new rules to suppress Black and Brown votes and thus severely handicap communities of color from obtaining political power. A quick look back during the Jim Crow era , you’ll note that there were voter ID laws in place forcing Black folks to meet a high burden of proof to determine their residence before then could vote. It was one of the key obstacles that was knocked down when Dr King was around. No wonder Arizona was so miffed at granting him a holiday.
Fear Mongering and the Rush to Divide and Conquer
17 year old Jamiel Shaw was gunned down by a gang member here in this country illegally
If the fear of losing political power is what’s driving Arizona’s and other anti-immigrant laws sprouting up around the country, than we can better understand all the insidious tactics being used foster divisions between Black and Brown communities Divide and Conquer. In recent days I’ve been hit up with some ‘interesting’ emails and comments coming from a lot of self identified conservative whites suggesting that Black folks need to be worried about the ‘Mexican invasion‘. The pitch is usually along the lines of them first blaming high Black unemployment on Mexicans who they claim are taking over. Then they go in and start waving the flag for victims of Black/ Brown conflicts.
Here’s a recent example of this. A white woman blogger who calls herself the Madjewess hit me up after reviewing a post on my site featuring a mix of songs and commentary about oppression, political power and issues around immigration featuring artists like Immortal Technique, Rebel Diaz, Chuck D, Toki Wright, Invincible, Ice Cube and Anita Tijoux to name a few. This is what she wrote;
Then you MUST be taking up for your own people who are getting the SHAFT BECAUSE of these creeps!!!!! (Mexicans)
Where were you all when your people have been marching in LA?
What about one of the MANY victims of these ILLEGALS that are your people??
What about Jamiel??
Now on the surface one might’ve been able to take her concerns somewhat seriously until I checked her website and true to form she had all sorts postings in which she was referring to Black people like Attorney General Eric Holder as Militant Niggers and Mexicans as Wetbacks. She also talks about the need for ‘White Rage‘ but then wants to light up my page encouraging me to go smash on Brown folks. As mentioned before this is not usual This goes on all the time both on small and large scales with folks trying to pit us against one another. With respect to this poster bringing up the name Jamiel, she was referring to Jamiel Shaw who’s situation has been heralded by anti-immigration proponents
For those unfamiliar, Shaw was a young brother, who lived in LA and was a star athlete on his way to Stanford University. In March of ’08 he was approached by a Latino gang member named Pedro Espinoza who wanted to know what set he belonged to? When Jamiel didn’t respond quick enough he was shot and killed. It was later discovered that Pedro was in the country ‘illegally’ and had been released from prison just a day earlier. He was allowed back on the streets and never deported because of ‘sanctuary city‘ laws which didn’t allow local police to check his immigration status. Adding to this tragedy was the fact that Jamiel’s mother was away fighting in the war in Iraq. She learned of her son’s murder while on the battlefield.
Needless to say Jamiel’s killing sent shock-waves through LA and increased Black Brown tensions as people began comparing his slaying to the ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaigns orchestrated by Latino prison gangs and carried out by their street counterparts toward Blacks. Shaw was depicted as an innocent victim of this campaign and quite naturally it left people enraged, especially when it was noted that similar killings of innocent Blacks had taken place in Highland Park by the Avenues Gang, in Hawaiian Gardens by the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang which actually aligned themselves with the Aryan Nation and in Harbor Gateway near Torrance.
Lots of organizations are on the ground everyday doing peace work like Homeboy Industries
As mentioned earlier, anti-immigrant and Minute Men types have been riding hard with the Shaw killing and using it in some sort of macabre way to appeal to us as African-Americans urging us to stand alongside them and fight against Mexican illegals. This has been bothersome and odd on a number of levels. First, many of these individuals have made any attempt to join the ongoing neighborhood conversations or peace efforts around this and other gang related tragedies. These proponents have shown little interests in working with already existing on-the-ground organizations like the Gathering , GAP, Homeboy Industries, Amer I Can, Unity 1 or Homies Unidos to name a few who have been tirelessly working not only to bridge any Black-Brown divides but to bring an end to all violence plaguing the community and address the immigration problem. Former gang member Alex Sanchez founder of Homies Unidos spoke to this issue during a discussion on Black Brown unity. He brings forth how our communities both Black and Brown need to approach immigration as a human rights issue. He explains the complications behind simply deporting people. He explains this is not about harboring and protecting gang members.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC3WrTZNqdc
What Sanchez speaks about goes against the narrative that many anti-immigrant foes want to push nationally. They have conveniently ignored the social and political realities faced by many communities including the fact that as tragic as Shaw’s killing was, it could’ve and oftentimes has just easily occurred in all Black neighborhoods with the killer claiming allegiance to a Crip or Blood set. The sad back story to his killing was he lived in a Blood neighborhood which had a long-standing beef with the 18th Street in the neighboring hood. It’s been reported that Jamiel because he lived in the neighborhood was familiar and cordial with folks who were members of that Blood set. Sadly in a place like LA, neighborhood affiliation is all it takes to be a victim.
This in no way absolves Espinoza who was eventually sentenced to death. But his horrific actions should not be held up as a terrible attribute of immigrant communities. Nothing could be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority are hard-working individuals who far too often find themselves prey to criminal elements both Black and Brown who have been known to extort, beat and rob undocumented folks knowing they are unlikely to call the police for fear of drawing attention to themselves and being deported.
The irony to having anti-immigrant right-wing Minute men types suddenly expressing interest in inner city problems is that many of these same individuals are the ones standing in the way of the community to solve them. These are the same people who will lambast the entire community and accuse us of being welfare cheats, affirmative action babies and lazy ‘no good drains’ on the system. These are the same folks who would stand firmly and aggressively to push back when we insist on putting an end: to racial profiling, the war on drugs, mandatory minimums and police brutality.
We know that cops and prison guards will pit two groups against one another. We seen it happen in political arenas when candidates try to split a vote . We see and hear it all the time with right-wing talk show hosts. I recall a few years back in LA on Clear Channel’s KFI their afternoon hosts Ken and John who are on Clear Channel’s KFI garnered national attention started airing a one hour segment called ‘The Kill Tookie Hour‘ They were referring to former gang leader turned peace maker Stanley Tookie Williams who was on death row scheduled to be executed. It angered many in the Black community who were fighting to keep Tookie alive and allow him to continue his peace efforts behind bars which included penning children’s books. It got so bad there were calls to picket the station. I recall going to a meeting about this is Lemiert park. These two guys went at for almost three months allowing racist call after racist calling for his death. They even threatened to lead a recall against the governor if he issued a stay. The pair showed up the night of execution to do a live broadcast outside San Quentin and cheered when he was killed.
Anti-Immigrant, Pro-War Homeless Advocate Ted Hayes was the Blackface of the Minute Men and granted lots of air-time to espouse his reactionary views
Several months later in spring of 06 when the call for immigration reform led to large marches around the country, these guys started airing a segment where folks could call in and fire their undocumented workers on the air.. It was complete with white folks doing fake Mexican accents and lots of callers calling in talking about ‘This is America’ and how Mexicans should go back to Mexico and learn to speak English. On one segment they even brought on a Black landscaper from Miami and had a conversation about how there were no more Black landscapers because of Mexicans and the only one they could find was in Florida.
It wasn’t too long after that they along with other station hosts would find conservative Blacks including former homeless advocate turned Black Minute Man Ted Hayes to come on the air and talk about ‘how Mexican immigration was the worse thing for Black people since slavery’. These guys along with Clear Channel gave platform to these types of divisive voices, amplified them and made them seem like they were representative of the larger community thus fueling tensions between Black and brown communities while simultaneously shutting out the many others who spoke in opposition to this.
In this clip Alex Sanchez addresses some of the underlying issues I mentioned but also talks about the on the ground work him and others have been involved in. He represents the voices and perspectives of community members doing the hard work of building bridges that aren’t being acknowledged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Hlgl9LGFU
Mexican Illegals Are Terrorists
Along with Divide and Conquer tactics pitting Black against Brown, anti-immigrant foes are resorting to another tried and true method. They are creating a Willie Horton-type figure designed to scare all Americans into seeing not just so called illegals, but the entire Brown community as one that needs to be contained and suppressed by law enforcement.
Domestically, Brown communities are being associated with ‘super-gangs’ like MS13, Sureno and Norteno much the same way the Mafia is attached to Italian communities. Nightly TV shows like Gangland shown on the History Channel reinforce these stereotypes by routinely showing small-time gang members and blowing them up to be biggest menace in the history of their respective cities. If we had not experienced such gross exaggerations in our own city of Oakland, where one gang show asserted we had 10 thousand Latino gang members, we along like the rest of the country would be buying into the misrepresentations. It left many in both Black and Brown communities scratching their heads in disbelief. What was shown on that TV show did not reflect our realities-not in the least.
A few days after the show aired Oakland was hit with a series of ICE Raids. No doubt they were in search of these fictional 10 thousand gang members. Later it was discovered that a lot of the information put out for the world to see was being fed to producers by local law enforcement angling for extra funding for their departments. It was then that many of us came to fully understand how much of a political leveraging tool and money generator this Brown gang scare was not to mention it was a ratings boom for the outlets showing these programs.
Compounding this negative image that the gang shows have cemented in people’s minds are the drug cartels warring with each other in Mexico. Things have gotten so bad our government warning citizens not to go South of the Border. All this combined has this combined has resulted in a ‘New War on Drugs’ with Brown communities as ground zero. Unlike the War on Drugs targeting African-American communities a decade earlier this new war has a new element-Mexican Illegals being deemed as terrorists with people holding high office like Arizona Governor Jan Brewer underscoring the assertion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8EKhl4-bCA
This type rhetoric of the Mexican terrorist invasion versus hard working individuals seeking economic relief from extreme poverty being espoused by a sitting governor has been in the making for a minute. It’s been pushed in all come from all sorts of sectors ranging from former CNN host Lou Dobbs on down to Alex Jones (Obama Deception filmmaker) of Prison Planet/ InfoWars on down to the casual racist attending an immigration rally. Both Dobbs and Jones over the years have issued hysterical warnings about undocumented Mexicans being an ‘invading army’ who are part of the impending Reconquista Movement that wishes to return the to South and Southwestern part of the country back to Aztlan.
It’s troubling but I guess not surprising to hear a guy like Jones who will routinely smash on all sorts of fascist elements of this country. He’ll talk about how the government is out to spy on us, set up a police state, swindle us via Wall Street and build modern-day gulags and internment camps to imprison us. However, when it comes to dealing with the fascist type steps being taken against Brown folks he seems to have a difficult time containing himself. As far as Jones is concerned, the day labor we see standing on a corner looking for work is somehow connected to campus organizations like MeCHA or La Raza which Jones, calls the New KKK because they speak out against white supremacy, and they are part of the New World Order.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGjidGSNVMc
As you listen to this rhetoric keep in mind how similar sentiments have not only been applied to organizations in the past within the Black community, but were aggressively acted upon by our government via Cointel-Pro and with the end goal to disrupt and destabilize everyone from the Marcus Garvey on down to the Black Panthers, Black Muslims, SNCC, and various organizations around Dr King and the Civil Rights Movement. There was always a Fear of a Black Planet and now that fear has turned to ‘Fear of a Brown Planet with Mexicans and Arabs overseas being the primary targets. Its also become big business for those who have an ultra-patriot ‘Country First’ ideology to sell along with weaponry, border walls, fences etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNGSpeC_k8k
Adding to this invading army theory and Mexican taking over is this notion of Brown folks ‘out-breeding‘ the rest of the population. Last year while on my way to Texas, I sat next to a woman who asked me if I was from California. Told her I was and she said she felt sorry for us because we were being overrun by ‘anchor babies‘. I had never heard the term asked her what she meant and she explained that California was being overpopulated by ‘illegals’ who were coming over having babies and making them citizens. She said it wouldn’t be long before they were the majority in the state. She than started reciting Dobbs and Jones talking points about how their end game was to reclaim California and make it part of Mexico. She said she was working with some folks in Congress to get a law passed that would not grant you automatic citizenship if you are born in the US.
Last week we heard Congressman Duncan Hunter out of San Diego say he would support a house bill that would eliminate automatic birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants. He’s quoted as saying; “And we’re not being mean. We’re just saying it takes more than walking across the border to become an American citizen…It’s what’s in our souls.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-tdN82qmoo
Conclusion
As we move forward its important that all of us stop seeing the world and this country from a ‘me’, and ‘mine’ perspective but instead start looking at things from a ‘we’ and ‘us’ point of view. Like it or not the world is changing and with that change comes heightened responsibility and a richer consciousness. Part of that means taking into account how our foreign and corporate policies and politics impact the world around us.
We can’t on one hand cry foul about people working for cheap wages which are undercutting the American workers and then we go out and purchase product made with that cheap labor. If we gonna be about it, then be about it. Ante Up. Pay full price and don’t cut corners by paying below market wages if you wanna be patriotic and close the borders. This doesn’t just apply to what is taking place with undocumented workers crossing over from Mexico, but it also applies to those corporations who take America jobs overseas and pay 2 dollars a day for labor. We can’t enjoy the fruits of exploitation and not expect that to one day come back and impact us.
We can’t sit up here and freely export tons of images of a decadent over the top materialistic culture via our media and entertainment outlets, leaving folks with the impression that our streets are literally paved with gold and then not expect that to attract people living in extreme poverty. It’s naive to think folks are gonna stay away when they can clearly see that we have a lot to do with their impoverished conditions.We have imbalanced trade agreements, we support and even install corrupt leaders who rob and hoard much-needed resources from the people and we go to other places and take what we think we need or destroy natural resources for our own short-term gain.
This behavior is not limited to some untouchable government entity or some mammoth impenetrable corporation. A lot of this burden falls on us because of our own attitudes and behavior. We drive a lot of this economy from being the number one purchaser of drugs thus fueling a devastating drug war in Mexico to us exploiting cheap labor forces.The fact that we refuse to see beyond the confines of our own borders unlike the rest of the world that do.. we miss ample opportunity to not only engage our neighbors but work with them to help build up their regions.
In closing we have a responsibility to not forget history. These new anti-immigration laws are being driven by something deeper than us trying to protect our borders. It’s a deep-rooted fear that knows you can’t do wrong and expect it to last forever. This country was built on stolen land with stolen labor and has sustained itself by destabilizing and swindling the world around us-that can only go so far and for so long.
Lets us not fall on the wrong side of history when it comes to this issue..Say No to intolerance. Say No to Arizona
by Chuck D of Public Enemy & Dr Gaye Theresa Johnson
The Arizona immigration bill — which Governor Jan Brewer has decided to sign into law — is racist, deceitful, and reflects some of the most mean-spirited politics against immigrants that the country has ever seen. The power that this law gives to police to detain people that they suspect to be undocumented brings racial profiling to a new low. Brewer’s actions and those of Joe Arpaio, Russell Pearce, the Arizona State Senate are despicable, inexcusable, and endorse the all-out hate campaign that Joe Arpaio, Russell Pearce, and others have perpetrated upon immigrants for years. The people of Arizona who voted for this bill, as well as those who crafted it, demonstrate no regard for the humanity or contributions of Latino people. And for all of those who have chosen not to speak up, shame on you for silently endorsing this legislated hate.
In 1991 Public Enemy wrote a song criticizing Arizona officials (including John McCain and Fife Symington) for rejecting the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The same politics written about in “By the Time I Get to Arizona” are alive and well in Arizona today, but this time the target is Brown people.
These actions must stop. We are issuing a call to action, urging fellow musicians, artists, athletes, performers, academics and production companies to refuse to work in Arizona until officials not only overturn this bill, but recognize the human rights of immigrants. This should include the NBA playoffs, revisiting the actions of the NFL in 1993, when they moved the Superbowl to Pasadena in protest against Arizona’s refusal to recognize Dr. King. We all need to speak up in defense of our brothers and sisters being victimized in Arizona, because things are only getting worse. What they’re doing to immigrants is appalling, but it will be even more damning if we remain silent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijeXGv9QLRc
original article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chuck-d/by-the-time-i-get-to-ariz_b_552460.html
Earlier this evening I reached out to Chuck suggesting that its time to re-do their signature song ‘By The Time I get To Arizona’.. His producer Johnny Juice hit me back and said they just complerted a song called ‘Tear Down the Walls’ which addresses the issue. You can download the song..here:http://www.slamjamz.com/music/viewdlsingle/471
You can listen to the song here: http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/36976/
Here’s what he wrote about the song
1989 US President Ronald Reagan chastised the then Iron curtain of communist countries about the separatist existence of the Berlin Wall. There presently is a multi billion dollar wall funded by the United States with similar isolationist separatist policies …the wall between the US and Mexico. Chuck D addresses the growing tangible and intangible wall existing between the black and brown people in North America.
In Mexico, new figures have been released showing more than 5,000 Mexican migrants have died trying to reach the United States since 1994. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission says an average three migrants lost their lives every two days in the US-Mexico border region in 2007 and 2008. Track produced by Divided Souls from Baton Rouge LA.upon a tip from the great MC …Scarface.
And now by default its attached to being a themed commentary to the recent passed one sided racist immigration LAW in the State of Arizona… This statement from Chuck D and his wife Dr Gaye Theresa Johnson
‘Jan Brewer’s decision to sign the Arizona immigration bill into law is racist, deceitful, and reflects some of the most mean-spirited politics against immigrants that the country has ever seen. The power that this law gives to police, to detain people that they suspect to be undocumented, brings racial profiling to a new low. Brewer’s actions and those of Joe Arpaio, Russell Pearce, the Arizona State Senate are despicable, inexcusable, and endorse the all-out hate campaign that Joe Arpaio, Russell Pearce, and others have perpetrated upon immigrants for years. The people of Arizona who voted for this bill, as well as those who crafted it, demonstrate no regard for the humanity or contributions of Latino people. And for all of those who have chosen not to speak up, shame on you for silently endorsing this legislated hate.
In 1991 I wrote a song criticizing Arizona officials (including John McCain and Fife Symington) for rejecting the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The same politics I wrote about in “By the Time I Get to Arizona” are alive and well in Arizona today, but this time the target is Brown people.
These actions must stop. I am issuing a call to action, urging my fellow musicians, artists, athletes, performers, and production companies to refuse to work in Arizona until officials not only overturn this bill, but recognize the human rights of immigrants. This should include the NBA playoffs, revisiting the actions of the NFL in 1993, when they moved the Superbowl to Pasadena in protest against Arizona’s refusal to recognize Dr. King. We all need to speak up in defense of our brothers and sisters being victimized in Arizona, because things are only getting worse. What they’re doing to immigrants is appalling, but it will be even more damning if we remain silent.’
TEAR DOWN THAT WALL
Click HERE to Hear Song
Song writers : Ridenhour,B.Dixon,J.Moss Producers: Brent Dixon & Chris”Spanky” Moss for Divided Souls Ent.,LLC
Vocals Produced by Johnny Juice Rosado
Publishers: Brenda’s Game Manifested Publishing, LLC(BMI); Bring The Noize inc(BMI), administered by Reach Global, Inc/ MPCinema(BMI),JACKSON WONDERFUL PUBLISHING(ASCAP)
Musicians: Brent Dixon & Chris Moss
Scratching: DJ Pain1
Mixed by DJ Johnny JUICE Rosado @ The Terrordome – Strong Island, NY
Recorded & PRE Mixed by: Brent Dixon & Chris Moss @ Divided Souls Studios(Baton Rouge,La./Douglasville,Ga.Mixed at Divided Souls Studios(Baton Rouge,La); Divided Souls Studios Southeast(Douglasville,Ga.);
Vocals Recorded @ The Terrordome – Strong Island, NY
SOMEBODY’S SOULS BEEN EXPOSED IN THIS HOUSE OF BLUES THE REAL EMPEROR WITHOUT CLOTHES HAS MUCH TO LOSE ROAD WEARY TROUBADOUR / MAYBE I’M AN AMBASSADOR NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH SOME SPOOK OR BASTARD BY THE DOOR
BEFORE I GOT PAID BY THE WORD NOW ITS DEFERRED NEW DUST BOWL POET YOU AIN’T HEARD IT NOW YOU HEARD
SHOWED YALL I AIN’T TIRED DAMN SURE AIN’T QUIET PLENTY OF THINGS TO TEACH ABOUT I’M REACHING TO THE CHOIR
DAMN MY MAN ONE AT A TIME THIS BEATS FIRE FACE TOLD ME BRENT YOU BE BOMBIN THE PLACE THE BOB TO THE BOB THE BOB IS BACK WEAVIN BOBBIN AND SPILLIN LIKE WOMACK, MARLEY AND DYLAN
DEEP SONGS FRONT PAGE OF YOUR LIFE THIS IS YOU INVASION OF YOUR MENTAL VACATION AND YOUR CREW
THIS AIN’T BRAND NEW JUST BECAUSE YALL AIN’T NEVER KNEW I SPIT POLITICS ON THAT WALL WHERE THE PEOPLE GET SCREWED
=================================================================
HIP HOP SUPPORTIN NON STOP SWEATSHOPS SO YOU CAN RETAIL YOUR ASS OFF WITHOUT FAIL
THEN SOME OF YOU GET SETBACK BLAME THIS IMMIGRATION EXPLOITATION WITH YOUR THE LACK OF INFORMATION BY YELLING WETBACKS
SOMEBODY ACTIN FOREVER 21 CANT HIDE CANT CRY CANT RUN CANT BLAME IT ON THE CRACK
OR FIGHT BACK WITHOUT A PASSPORT MILLENNIUM GESTAPO BORDER CONTROL THE NEW CONTACT SPORT
YALL CALL EM IMMIGRANT AND TAKE EM TO COURT BUT LOOK AT YOUR HOOD AND YOUR LACK OF SUPPORT
SOME OF THESE DJS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE PLAYIN SOME OF THESE RHYMERS DON’T REALIZE WHAT THE HELL THEY’RE SAYIN SO I LET EM CHASE THE CASH HONEY WITHOUT A PLAN FORGET JOHNNY WAS THE MAN IN BLACK BUT I’M THE BLACK IN MAN
THIS IS MODERN DAY SLAVERY AND PART OF THE PLAN
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT SIR ,TEAR DOWN THAT WALL MAN!
===================================================================
UNDERSTAND THESE PRESSURES IN THIS SO CALLED RECESSION
FOR THE BLACK BROWN WOMAN AND MAN
ITS DEPRESSION
ROSTER OF THE STRICKEN BERNIE MADE OFF WITH THE MONEY NOW THE HIDDEN HAND IS BITTEN SO NOW IT AIN’T FUNNY
I BEG YA PARDON WHO’S SAVIN YA YOU CALLIN THEM LABORERS WALK ON BY AND NEVER SAY HI OR CONSIDER THEM NEIGHBORS
SOME GOT THE NERVE TO LIVE IN TEXAS ARIZONA, CALI AND NOT KNOW EVEN MISSIN THE CLUE IN,.. NEW MEXICO
DISS THE BROWN BROTHERS AND SISTERS ON WHAT THEY WHAT THEY DONE DID THIS SIDE OF THE EARTH
THEY BUILT PYRAMIDS
MY PASSION COMES AND WHAT I KNOW AND WHO I AM I REFUSE TO LOSE OR TO BE
CONFUSED BY THIS NEW SCAM SCARRED BY SARCASM UNCLE SAMS RACIST ORGASM WAS JUST A SPASM SCARED OF ENTHUSIASM
OF THE BLACK AND BROWN PLANET THE JEALOUS SAY DAMN IT
STUPID ASS WALL CANT STOP US ALL
WITH DUE RESPECT HEED THE CALL
//
Harry Reid, Michael Steele, Negro Dialect & Political Grandstanding
by Davey D
By now everyone has heard about the racial firestorm that has brewed because of some remarks attributed to Senate majority leader Harry Reid in a new book called Game Change. They were made in a private conversation during the 2008 campaign where Reid noted that then Senator Obama might be successful because he was light-skin and didn’t speak with a ‘Negro Dialect’. Obama in typical fashion avoided the mess that can come when discussing race by quickly accepting Reid’s apology, downplaying the remarks and announcing ‘the book is closed’ on the subject.
Of course Obama’s Republican counterparts seeing that Reid is in a tight re-election race have been trying their best to blow this issue up. The party of Ronald Reagan who supported South African Apartheid, the party of John McCain who said ‘No to a Martin Luther King holiday are suddenly getting all Jesse Jackson-like and riding hard for all those who have been on the receiving end of racial insults and oppression.. Thank you Republican Party-I guess…Not! LOL
Reid’s remarks have been the lead story on every news channel with news directors feverishly pouring through their rolodexes, seeking to get a Black pundit, seemingly any Black pundit to come to a studio where they would normally never see the light of day except during Black history month. Here they’re asked to wax poetic about Reid’s remarks. Some of these outlets have gone so far as to have two or three Black folks on at the same time thus violating the unwritten ‘one-Black-on-set-at-a-time’ rule.
It was good to Black scholars like Marc Lamont Hill weighin in on Harry Reid's remarks, but it would be good to see him and others weighin in on Sunday morning talk shows
To me I was more offended seeing a Professor Tricia Rose, Professor Marc Lamont Hill, BET’s Jeff Johnson and the dozen of other Black faces invited to discuss an old white man using the word ‘Negro’ versus seeing them invited on a regular basis to discuss a variety of other topics that have arguably more impact. I would’ve like to have seen some of those Black voices on the Sunday morning talk shows earlier this year dragging Harry Reid’s ass through the coals around the Healthcare debate when single payer and later public option got snatched off the table. To me the insult was seeing Black intelligence limited to just this topic whereas I might see a dimwit like Ann Coulter invited to weigh in on everything from the War in Afghanistan to what Chris Brown did to Rihanna.
I suppose I shouldn’t blame Harry Reid for that lack of Black visibility on these news outlets, but I will. As the Senate majority leader, I want him pushing for legislation that de-consolidates media and makes it more accessible to the wide array of voices and perspectives in the community. I want him to be leading the charge to undue the damage he helped create when he voted Yes for the infamous 1996 Telecommunications Bill.
Reframe the Debate and Hold Reid Accountable
In any case, while this Harry Reid saga runs its course, I think its important that folks push the envelop a bit and reframe the debate away from the narratives seemingly designed to fit the agendas of media outlets, disingenuous politicians or media darlings trying to blow up their names. I wish people who went on these shows were more aggressive in dismissing the Harry Reid vs Trent Lott angle which has resulted in wasteful discussions about who was more offensive and whether or not double standards are at play. That discussion is a trap.
Comparing Harry Reid to Trent Lott is a trap. It only serves the purpose of media outlets looking for conflict and GOP folks trying to stay in the news cycle
The thing we needed to be focused on was the rationale behind Harry Reid‘s remarks and his political relationship to an African-American community that votes to the tune of 96% for the Democrat political party that he leads in the Senate. Our discussion needed to be centered on us evaluating whether or not one of the most powerful lawmakers in the country was setting policy that met the needs and wants of our community.
What caught most people’s attention about Reid’s remarks was him using the phrase Negro Dialect. It was used in a private conversation and it raised eyebrows because as far as most of us know Senator Reid has never publicly called Obama a ‘Negro’ Senator or President. We haven’t heard him call his African American colleagues in Congress, Negroes.. So where did this phrase ‘Negro dialect’ come from? Why did he use such an out of date word? Was his use of the word just a bad habit or was it reflective of old-time thinking filled with whatever baggage and stereotypes that many whites had stuck in their heads back in the 50s and 60s when the use of that word was pervasive?
Sadly too many pundits were falling over themselves making ding dong excuses for Reid. Some were saying he’s elderly and thats how old folks talk. Others were jumping through hoops talking how we have the United Negro College Fund, the NAACP-National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and how the word is used in the 2010 Census therefore it was ok for Reid to go there.
All thats fine and dandy, but last I checked Senator Reid is not a historic 66 year old or 100 year Civil Rights old institution. Last time I interviewed NCAAP head Julian Bond, he didn’t call me Negro and neither had Ben Jealous. I’ve hosted events sponsored by UNCF and no one walked up to me and handed me a script that would would’ve had me addressing our people as ‘Negro’. If these folks stay up to date so can Senate majority leader Harry Reid.
When I first heard of Reid’s remarks the first thing that came to mind was ‘How often does he interact with Black folks on the Capitol Hill’? Cause I’m sure by now someone would’ve checked him. He would’ve had to run into a Maxine Waters, Keith Ellison or someone else who was outspoken who would’ve said; ‘Look Senator, I know your 71 years old, but its 2010 and if my 90 year grandmother from the backwoods of Mississsippi ain’t using the word ‘Negro’ therefore you too Senator Reid can stop using it ‘.
Now unless someone is covering for him, we haven’t heard that such conversation took place. Hence that makes me think, that Senator Reid knows all about speaking multiple dialects? I guess during the day when he’s in in the Senate chambers, he has a distinguished ‘US Senator-dialect’ by night when he’s kicking it in private he loosens up a bit and becomes more Archie Bunkerish with his language?
So again, just to make sure…since Senator Reid used Archie Bunker type language then our primary concern should be examining his voting record to make sure the Senator’s not pushing Archie Bunker type policies. His slip up gave us an extra excuse to hold him politically accountable.
We need to see if Harry Reid's outdated words are reflected in outdated policies
For example, earlier this year Senator Reid voted to prohibit funding for ACORN, an organization that played a key role in helping get President Obama elected. Was Reid’s vote a calculated political decision or did he come across one too many folks from that organization who he felt spoke with a ‘Negro dialect’ thus getting him to draw some far gone conclusions that ‘Negroes can’t be trusted to do things right’ so hence no funding?
2 or 3 years ago Reid voted to make English the official language for the country. What was going on in his head? Was there no room for Negro dialects? Did he want people to speak only ‘good ole American English’ thus inspiring to cast a vote to make sure?
Just like his political enemies we need to be looking at his voting record and making sure his private conversations of insensitive language was used is not matched by his votes and the agenda he sets for the Senate. You can peep his voting record here: http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53320&category=13
Dealing with Republican Hypocrisy
Moving beyond Reid, one needs to look closely at the how the Republicans are handling this. I found it funny to see RNC chair Michael Steele express his supposed outrage for Reid’s remarks when he himself was chin checked by disgruntled members of his own party who felt like he was tarnishing the Republican brand by going on televison talk shows trying to be hip by using Hip Hop jargon which isn’t too far removed from what some might call Negro/Black dialect.
RNC Chair Michael Steele is gonna have a Jesse Jackson moment, he needs to tell Rush Limbaugh to stop playing the Barack the Magic Negro song
Steele said he was trying to make the party more attractive and more Hip Hop like. That whole thing got shut down with the quickness. If you recall, Steele got a verbal ass whupping from radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh who was annoyed and later outraged by Steele’s behavior. It all reached a boiling point when Steele went on the now defunct DL Hugley show which aired on CNN. Sitting between Hughley and Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, Steele got jammed up about why he would hang with a political party that had leaders like Rush Limbaugh who at the time was underfire for saying he ‘wanted President Obama to fail’. Those remarks were coming at the heels of Limbaugh enraging African Americans by repeatdly playing a song during Obama’s campaign called Barack the Magic Negro.
Steele tried to laugh it off, talk a little hip hop slang and assure critics that Limbaugh was ‘just an entertainer’. When Limbaugh heard Steele tried to play him, he went off and smashed on Steele in the tirade of tirades. Limbaugh took to the airwaves and publicly reminded Steele he had 20-30 million listeners and that if he doesn’t start showing some loyalty to the party he might discover that conservative will not wanna talk to him when he came calling. Limbaugh told Steele that he needed to stop going on TV and start raising money for the RNC. It was a brutal tongue lashing, that resulted in Steele apologizing to Limbaugh and being a lap dog ever since..
We won’t even mention that Steele didn’t have the guts to tell Rush to retire when he was playing the Barack the Magic Negro song. He didn’t even tell him to stop. In fact not too many of the outspoken GOP members stepped up and expressed outrage for racial insensitivity expressed by someone who claimed to be advocating for them.
Just to show you how meeley mouth Steele and his people are let’s see the lack of reaction in April 2009, one month after he got the verbal beatdown by Rush Limbaugh. In the great state of Texas, during a televised session on voter protection fellow GOP party member state rep Betty Brown said Asian-Americans need to come up with more accessible names.
She said;“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”
Brown went further when she told Chinese-American community organizer Ramey Ko, “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”
Here’s the video of that incident…
Perhaps Senator John Coryn should clean up his own backyard and ask Texas State Rep Betty Brown to resign before stepping to Harry Reid
Like I said Steele was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t on TV calling for Brown’s retirement. And not to make this a partisan issue but facts are facts, the Democrats in the Texas House asked only for an apology. They did not ask for her to resign. To this day you don’t hear too many Republicans talk about this infamous incident. They try to downplay it. But I guess we’ll have to bring this up now that Texas senator John Cornyn went and opened his big mouth by demanding that Harry Reid resign.
This is the same Senator Coryn who resides in a state that is 30% Latino voted ‘No’ to confirm President Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Sonia Satamayor. Coryn was all up in arms, being pompous and showing outrage at remarks Justice Sonia Satamayor made that he considered racially insensitive. I guess I can understand that if he was consistent. He said ‘No’ to Sotomayor, but not once did he ask representaive Betty Brown to step down… Coryn has no creditibility thus nothing more needs to be said. I guess Steele, Coryn and that whole cabal are only willing to do the Jesse Jackson thing to a point.
On a somewhat lighter note one has to wonder if Senator Reid expressed concern about the use of ‘Negro Dialect’ when Senator Hillary Clinton broke it out during her campaign. In the same vein did Michael Steele, Senator Coryn or any of their ilk ask Hillary to step down and resign for her ‘Negro speaking moments’? This of course raises the question to which the answer should be more than obvious, ‘Is what we seen expressed over this past week, righteous indignation, a genuine response to racial insensitivity or political opportunity’? As they say in the hood It’s all politics-It’s all politricks.
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Michael Jackson’s Memorial: End of an Era-Close of a Chapter
Where Do We Go from Here?
by Davey D
Yesterday’s memorial for Michael Jackson was surreal, emotional, healing, inspiring and a heartfelt sobering wake up call. I’m glad I fought my initial urge to stay home and made the 5 hour drive from the Bay Area down to the Staples Center in LA. The long drive done in the middle of the night gave me time to reflect on all that had taken place over the past couple of weeks.
The days leading up to the memorial were filled with lots of articles, commentary and musical tributes. For many of us Michael Jackson and his various incarnations throughout the years were rediscovered. From his early hits like ‘ABC‘, ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘Going Back to Indiana’ to his latter songs off the Thriller’, ‘Invincible’ and ‘History’ albums, all took on new meaning. The brilliance behind them were better appreciated. When re-listening to his older material we came to understand that he and his brothers were years ahead of their time.
Over the past couple of weeks we discovered just how much of a global phenomenon he was. We learned how he kicked down doors and broke color barriers within the music industry. We learned how he gave over 40% of his income to charities. These aspects and so many more surrounding his life were often overlooked while we focused on his eccentric behavior and controversies.
Michael Jackson over the past two weeks was a bigger than life figure and in our rediscovering him, many of us rediscovered some long forgotten aspects of ourselves. For many of us Michael was still alive. He was still alive in spite of the incessant news stories about his death and the speculation as to what caused it. With each music or video tribute, television special or retrospective walk down memory lane, MJ was still here. His energy was around. His spirit felt. As I listened to his older material I found myself yearning for him to bust out with new material and resurrect a long-lost soulful sound from a bygone era. But alas he was gone.
Chuck D dropped lots in insight about Michael Jackson both on his Air America radio show and the History of Funk special
Two days prior to me leaving for the Memorial I had done an in-depth radio show with Chuck D from Public Enemy and funk expert Professor Rickey Vincent– author of the book ‘History of Funk’. It was a two-hour show chock full of never before inside facts about MJ and how he and his brothers were rooted in a much larger soul, blues and funk musical traditions within the Black community. We talked in-depth about where MJ and his brothers stood in relationship with their contemporaries at that time, George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, James Brown and so many others. We played many of his soulful and adventurous cuts from the mid 70s that were out of print and all but hidden from a mainstream press that seemingly only wanted to focus on ‘Thriller’ and ‘Off the Wall’. This two hour History of Funk broadcast was the sound track to my 400 mile trek down to the memorial. And as the hours drew closer, the more alive and vibrant his music became-so much so that I literally forgot the reality at hand. I anticipated an upbeat celebration and a chance to reconnect to old friends. We were coming together to celebrate Michael – not mourn him.
Here’s our conversation on All Day Play FM w/ Chuck D
Conversation All Day Play FM w/ Rickey Vincent
As I arrived at the Staples Center and got my tickets I was there amongst thousands. The mood was upbeat and somewhat festive. There were smiles and light-hearted jokes. The mood was one of excitement as we all knew we were going to a historic event. The fact that we were among thousands of people who loved and appreciated this man sans the outright disrespect the media punditry playerhaterism who are increasingly out of step with their viewers and listeners added to the jovial mood.
It wasn’t until I got inside a darkened Staples Center and saw the stage adorned with flowers and the memorializing picture montage that it started to sink in what was really going on. As the place filled up we all could spot various celebrities who generally would cause a stir, the mood had drastically changed. It was more somber and definitely quiet except for the folks in the VIP section that seemed to be more animated and engaged as they smiled, exchanged pounds and hugged each other like this was just another industry event. I recall making note and tweeting about that.
When Michael’s gold casket adorned with roses was carried in…Then it really hit. The mood changed even more as it sunk in for all of us. This was not some sort of celebratory concert even with Stevie Wonder, Usher and Mariah Carey all singing. This was all about us saying goodbye…Not just to Michael but to an era and to part of ourselves. There was a lesson or lessons that needed to be gleaned and I found myself deep in thought and reflecting.
The Memorial itself could be best described as beautifully sad. We all saw the highlights, the first being Mariah Carey singing as she tried her best to hold back tears and keep her voice from cracking. We understood how difficult it was to sing with the casket in front of her. People in the audience had teared up when it was first brought in. If she didn’t care nor had no love, then this would’ve been just another gig. But singing in front of MJ’s casket knowing that he was forever gone was something else. Everyone at the Memorial felt her and appreciated the singing -cracked voice and all.
Magic Johnson sharing his KFC chicken story was nice. It humanized MJ for us. Him talking about being asked to be in the ‘Remember the Time’ video was appreciated as we recalled MJ using an all Black cast for this video depicting Ancient Egypt. We as Black folks appreciated it, but back in 1992, when this video first premiered on prime time TV, it angered a lot of white media pundits who questioned why Jackson would show Egyptians as their real color – Black. Folks need to ponder the deeper meaning behind that for a minute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiFF0gvqcc
Stevie Wonder gave a heartfelt performance that brought us to tears
Stevie Wonder and Usher moved us immensely as they sung their respective songs. Because I had done the History of Funk Show with Chuck D and Rickey Vincent, I had greater appreciation and understanding of what Stevie Wonder meant to MJ and the Jacksons when he took the stage. I understood that Stevie was Motown’s first childhood star who at age 11 signed to Motown and was known as Lil’ Stevie – the Boy Genius. He was the one you saw rocking the harmonica as Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and others within Motown held it down.
I appreciated that as Stevie got older and made way for the new child star – Michael Jackson. Over the years, Stevie would write a number of songs that Michael covered. From ‘My Cheri Amour’ to ‘I Don’t Know Why I Love You’ Wonder was an ever-present figure who over the years played a crucial role in helping shape and inspire the genius we appreciate about Michael.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aejQHbet5YY
I also understood that Stevie was arguably at the prime of his career winning Grammy after Grammy and dropping landmark albums like ‘Talking Book’, ‘Innervisions’ and ‘Songs in the Keys of Life’ as the Jacksons were emerging as pop sensations. With all this in mind, Stevie’s opening remarks about wishing he didn’t have to live to see the day we buried Michael along with his stellar performance of ‘Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer’ which was also covered by Michael took, on deeper meaning now that I had a historical and social context to put it in.
Usher’s heartfelt performance of Michael’s song ‘Gone Too Soon’ which had inspired dozens of video tributes found all upon Youtube including an incredible tribute done for the ill-fated BET Awards but was sadly never shown, was moving.
Brooke did her best to hold back tears while she talked about the great friendship she and Michael had.
Brooke Shields’ speech was touching as was John Mayer’s performance. Many did not realize how close and long a friendship Shields and Michael had. It was touching and insightful. One had to respect Mayer for opting not to sing but to just play the riffs to the song ‘Human Nature’. He later noted that he could not do Michael justice.
Brother Jermaine Jackson singing Michael’s favorite song ‘Smile’ was sobering. We had heard early on that Jermaine was going to sing and it was met with excitement. Again when it finally sunk in that he was paying tribute to his fallen brother after Brooke Shields had referenced the song in her remarks, we were all moved.
Reverend Al Sharpton gave the speech of a lifetime as he encompassed many of the feelings many were feeling but simply could not articulate. He addressed the naysayers and MJ haters in splendid fashion when he reminded us how Michael through his music and videos brought people of all races together and helped erase many divisions especially when he kicked down the doors to segregated entities like MTV. He reminded the audience that it was Michael who pushed and played trailblazing roles in charitable events like Live AID and We Are the World.
Sharpton noted that MJ’s bringing together of folks paved the way for the eventual election of President Obama. This drew loud applause. Sharpton spoke directly to Michael’s kids when he said; “There was nothing strange about your Daddy, it was strange what your daddy had to deal with.” This drew a thunderous standing ovation.
I knew right then, in spite 20 thousand people inside Staples beaming and rousing in agreement with Sharpton, that pundits would immediately be put in front of the TV cameras to discredit – and they were. The main talking points were; Michael Jackson was not an African-American icon, but an American icon and that Sharpton’s remarks were racist and would not be approved by Jackson. What’s funny about this was Jackson in later years came under attack for 3 or 4 things that drew the racial ire of some of Sharpton’s critics who say he plays the race card too much.
The first as I mentioned earlier was the ‘Remember the Time’ video where Michael caught flak for having African-Americans be cast as ancient Egyptians.
The second was Michael buying the Beatles catalogue. Him besting everyone including former friend Paul McCartney at the music industry’s publishing game, which over the years has left scores of Black artists destitute, may have been the spark that led to the onslaught of attacks MJ had to endured.
The third was him marrying Elvis Presley’s daughter, Priscilla Presley. That was too much for a whole lot of prejudice folks to bear. I recall the anger it caused to have the King of Pop who in spite of his so-called white appearance was still seen as a Black man marrying the daughter of the King of Rock-N-Roll. We all heard stories about Elvis’s daughter being called a “nigger lover”.
Prior to that, Michael caught racial heat for his very public friendship and relationship with Brooke Shields. Yes, the interracial dating thing even for the King of Pop was troubling for quite a few folks who want to insist that Michael be an “American icon” as long as he doesn’t marry their daughters. (The irony here is that Michael and Brooke never really dated they were just good friends, but even that was too much)
The fourth thing was Jackson going up to Harlem in June 2002 to Al Sharpton’s headquarters and speaking out about the blatant racism in the music industry. It was Jackson not Sharpton who referred to then lauded industry executive Tommy Mottola as racist and devilish. Sharpton tried to back pedal a bit on Jackson’s remarks and make it seem like a mistake in words, but it was just days later Michael went to England and underscored everything he said about Mottola and then some.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBv3GzD97FY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F3t2Gc0Qpo
The bottom line is Sharpton captured the moment during the memorial. Sharpton’s words were a breath of fresh air when you look at the racial overtones that had been placed on Jackson ranging from idiotic Congressmen like Peter King out of New York, to the so-called liberal icon Keith Oberman.
As each speaker took the stage and paid tribute, it hit home that the King of Pop was not only gone for good, but along with him an enduring, inspiring spirit calling on us to live up to life’s challenges and be our best at all times. It would be up to us to hold on to that spirit and do something with it. This realization was underscored when Martin Luther King III and his sister Bernice King spoke directly to the family and shared with them lessons they learned from their famous Civil Rights leader father. They recalled his famous Drum Major Instinct speech where he told us to be the best at what we do no matter how insignificant it may seem. They also shared with us MJ reaching out to their mother, Coretta Scott King 3 weeks before she passed which reminded us just how big a heart this man had.
Brother Marlon Jackson and Michael’s daughter Paris reminded us that Michael was not just an icon but a beloved family member who will be missed
It all hit home when Marlon Jackson spoke about his love for his brother which was followed by daughter Paris whose voice and cries about her love for her father were heard all around the world. There wasn’t a dry eye in the building when she spoke.
After the Jackson family said their last goodbyes, the casket was removed the finality of Michael Jackson being forever gone hit. I found myself thinking how Michael meant different things to different people. Some saw him as only an entertainer while others saw him as part of a larger culture rooted in age-old traditions. Some saw Michael as transcending race while other saw him as part of a race. Some saw Mike as a meal ticket to sell t-shirts, records, tickets etc while others recoiled at him being commoditized.
I myself saw a man who left behind a rich legacy and I was wondering if it would be a legacy we exploit and squander or if it would be something we cherish and build upon? Were my frequent walks down memory lane over the past two weeks a reminder for me to learn about myself and my people, build upon that, spread the knowledge and use that understanding to dwell deeper and bring forth the important aspects of the heroes and sheroes who do for us everyday? In other words, start loving and appreciating while people are still around and not when their dead?
It was then that it hit me that Michael’s music was no longer alive. Not in the way it was when I was coming down to LA. It was no longer alive because it was time for us to move forward and add richness to the legacy and not keep using it. In other words stop, looking for comfort within Michael and his music and start using our talents and resources to comfort and be a blessing to others.
Michael Joseph Jackson was a constant companion-a sound track of sorts to my life. He was a constant who was there at every momentous occasion I experienced. And now he was no more. He’s the end of an era, a chapter closed and the start of new beginning if I so choose.
Michael Jackson was an iconic bigger than life figure prior to the Memorial. After brother Marlon and daughter Paris spoke, it hit hard that he was a brother, father, son and beloved friend who will surely be missed.
There will never ever be another Michael Jackson and for that I’m sad. But his memorial said to me, “The ball is in your court. Michael’s work is done. It’s on you, it’s on us –each and everyone of us who sought comfort in his talents and persona, to carry on and impact this world and the communities around us by helping move them to new and better heights. Will the world stop and pay attention when we die?
RIP Michael Jackson..May we build upon the foundation you laid for us.
The Jackson clan wore white gloves in honor of Michael
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