Injustice is more dealy than....

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“Love your neighbor as yourself” means you picture yourself (or your child) being choked and surrounded by five men while you say, “I can’t breathe,” –Scott Slayton. 

 After the police in Staten Island choked Eric Garner (pictured above) to death on camera with a complete disregard for his safety, life, or the rule of law, I had some frank conversations with my friends about the police state and how people of color are affected in exponentially greater numbers. We know the police work hard. We know they are in a dangerous profession but they chose that profession. Unarmed black people being killed didn't chose that option. The fact that citizens commit crimes against other citizens isn't relevant to the oppression of systemically racist policing. We don't pay private citizens to keep us safe. We pay the police to keep us safe, not to shoot first and lie about it later.

 While having a conversation with a white friend I realized something. Our biggest obstacle to equality is passive racism. It’s the every day subtle thoughtlessness that people don't realize perpetuate racial stereotypes.  We were discussing a residential issue. A white neighbor with some racist tendencies kept calling the police on her black neighbor because she felt he had too many people “coming and going” into HIS HOUSE. This man was a legal landholder and has the right to have whoever he wants over whenever he wants. After several calls the police told her that her neighbor has the right to have guests as long as they aren’t violating noise restrictions, which he wasn’t. The white neighbor wasn’t impressed and continued to call the police about the “suspicious” characters who would visit her black neighbor. The man owned a music studio and had a lot of people use the sound proof studio in his basement to record music. My white friend suggested that the black neighbor should go over and try to make peace with the white neighbor. She said that he should “be the bigger person” and try to find some common ground with her. He should work to assuage her fears and help her see him as a homeowner equal to herself. My friend put the onus on the harassed black man to prove his right to exist in a legal manner.  Here’s the deal, if a woman was being harassed by a man and someone suggested SHE approach him to stop the harassment that would be considered a callous solution. However, black people are expected to not only passively accept harassment but also to then change the behavior of the harassers by submitting to their prejudice. Be the bigger person and kneel before the oppressor and beg for our humanity.

“We are tired of being the bigger person”, I said.

“We? What do you mean we? I didn’t realized black people operated on a fucking hive mentality,” she replied.

There it was. Clear as day. Black people are smart enough to think for themselves, there is no overarching queen and mindless drones working towards a collective survival. Black people (like all humans) have the capability of thinking for themselves and we do not work as one monolith. However, are white people able to see us as individuals when it's inconvenient to do so? 

 Society tends to see black people as a unit, they transmute characters between individuals, those characteristics are immutable until that unit desires collective bargaining or demands realization that collective/shared trauma is real and should be remedied. In that moment society demands that each black person become an individual.

The collective trauma black people suffer from was inflicted by a system designed to prioritize white people. White racist misogynists created our country and it’s hard to shake the legacy they set in place. It’s even harder to admit the traumatic effect of that legacy on black people. If that trauma is legitimate then white people must admit our trauma is the result of white privilege. If they admit to white privilege they have to question a system set up to benefit them and their children.

I would imagine that self-reflection of that magnitude is terrifying. Instead society continues to make black people the “other” that is dangerous and scary. There is a wealth of statistical information that says white people perceive black people as stronger, more violent, and a lot older than their actual ages. White people who know a few black people who may have unfavorable characteristics will then transfer those characteristics to ALL black people. For instance, these are actual things white people have said to me regarding racial inequity…

“ Well, cabs didn’t stop for you because we’ve had a few cab drivers who were robbed by black people”

“Look, the cops shot that unarmed black child because some OTHER black kids beat up a bus driver two weeks ago”

“He was choked to death because of his SIZE”

“My cousin was robbed at gun point by some young black kids so…”

“I see black women use EBT cards at the store while carrying designer bags and driving expensive cars which shows that black people don’t really value hard work and saving”

My friend isn’t a racist. She doesn’t believe white people are superior to black people. But she is reluctant to see just how many ways white privilege and institutional racism permeate our society. Our country is centuries old. It is only within the last 50 years that we have actually made a concerted countrywide effort to recognize ethnic equality. Compare centuries of bigotry, prejudice, and hatred running through the veins of our country sickening us like diabetes. In the last 50 years we’ve tried to inject insulin to remedy the illness but it obviously will take awhile to show positive effects.

One of the lingering effects is that there are no individual sins with regards to black people. The sins of one are the sins of many. However, the grievances of one are NOT the grievances of many.

It’s a convenient logic. To deny the reality of collective trauma is to support a philosophy that blames the oppressed and absolves the oppressor. It is the logic of the lazy ally. White people who lack a basic understanding of how institutional racism works and of how they benefit for from racism would like for black people to help them understand. They ask for patience and understanding however, black people are often required to couch our language so that white allies continue to engage. Black people have learned to tailor our language when speaking to white people about racism so that we don’t offend. We make sure they use accessible language and don’t sound too harsh because then the white person will get cagey and not want to talk about it anymore. Therein lies the crux of the issue. White people can choose not talk about racism.

Most black people can’t go their entire lives without discussing racism. The reason black people assume racism is involved in the murders of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, and a host of other unarmed black people is because we were raised in households with elders who remember the segregation.  The Civil Rights Movement was NOT THAT LONG AGO. To think that the government could legislate what has taken centuries to cultivate is one of the best fairy tales I've ever heard. White racists based entire social organizations and familial structures on their belief in racial superiority. All those people didn't just magically die out and take their entire racist blood line with them. Black people remember this. We can't forget it. We don't have the luxury. 

This country was settled by the west centuries ago. We still see it every day. We are slapped in the face with it. We don’t get the luxury of forgetting. White men with a criminal record are more likely to be hired than black men with college degrees. When faced with THAT reality how do you explain away the trauma of knowing you can follow all the rules and it still won’t matter? It's unacceptable to tell Jews to get over their genocide. When Irish and Polish immigrants discuss the hardships they faced after emigrating here we listen with reverence. When Japanese Americans discuss their encampment during the second World War we respect it. Only black people are told to "get over" slavery. That would be easier if the effects of slavery weren't still splattered all across the American landscape.

For my 30^th Birthday I went to Las Vegas with my sister and my cousin. I was sick (a lupus flare up) and a little under the weather. I rented a scooter to get around. I wasn’t moving fast enough for the group of white men who were walking behind us. They called us “nigger bitches” several times and threatened to rape and beat us. I am an attorney, barred in two states and I still get followed around while shopping in stores. People ask and say bigoted things to me at work and in public. Despite all this I’m asked to let it wash off my back like water off a duck’s feathers.  It is hard. I don’t think white people realize how hard that is. It’s like telling a woman who has been sexually assaulted to just “get over it”. You wouldn’t say that to someone who is the victim of abuse …so why is that acceptable to say to black people who are the victims of systemic and persistent abuse. 

So what next? What is the purpose of this discussion? The purpose is discussion. WE need to have open honest and forward dialogue between black people and white people. We need to have to this. When black people talk about white supremacists and racists we are not talking about ALL WHITE PEOPLE. White ally's can help by not taking discussions of institutional racism as accusations.  White people ally’s need to talk to other white people and start checking everyone’s privilege.  White people are reluctant to see their privilege when confronted by black people. When the message comes from other white people it is more palatable. Additionally, when white people can speak about institutional racism in a logical and coherent manner black people feel like they are being heard. Speaking with compassion and understanding (not shame) will help people of color feel respected and valued. Educate yourselves and stand up when you see injustice.

Why the Colors Were Hidden

I just watched a documentary on the Hidden History of people of color.

Of course, I had to ignore the kemetic crack pot but there were other highly qualified scholars. It was a whirlwind of information. Regarding the African influence around the world. How the Moors taught Europeans about hygiene (hey why don’t you guys built the animals their own houses and you guys don’t sleep in a cabin full of shit?) and music (instruments and writing) and math. How they brought science (alchemy) and chemistry (healing and medicine). The first university were started by Moors. They brought trade and education AND the running theme is that black people did all this WITHOUT WIPING OUT THE EUROPEAN PEOPLE.

What the Moors brought to Europe --> http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/10/07/when-black-men-ruled-the-world-moors/

Early depictions of the holy family showed them with Moorish features. Early depictions of great scholars and men of affluence showed Moorish features. Moors (a word meaning dark) helped influence the entire world.

He spoke about how Africans were involved in cross-Atlantic

trade long before Christopher Columbus and his clumsy misguided antics. I learned that he brought Moors with him to help him navigate and upon his arrival in the “new world” there were Moorish looking natives there to greet him. Picture of the Ohlone Indians show clear African features. Supporting the premise of intermingling and cultural exchange.

 The Moors managed to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and engaged in cultural trade WITHOUT killing all the natives. They intermarried, intermingled, traded goods and WENT THE FUCK BACK HOME. People of color are shown in the ancient art of people all over the globe. Traditional African features are seen from Asia to Ireland.

In America the black African family was systemically and purposely undermined. The black African family was a supreme threat to white slave owners. Before the advent of the civil war black slaves were revolting all throughout the south. Africans built the pyramids and taught Europeans how to build castles. They have a history of greatness that has been erased from the propaganda the west tries to spread as history in an effort to bolter the European genetic line. Europeans are the ethnic minority on this planet. European colonizers effectively changed the mindset of the people they colonized. They made black people hate their hair, their skin, their bodies, and denied them the patriotic pride that comes with a true accounting of history.

Then Tariq Naheed becomes a troll of epic proportions. He says that the break down of the civil rights movement (and black mental liberation) was due  (1) the women’s rights movement and (2) effeminate men. SIR. SIIIIIIR. He says that before civil rights women didn’t have any complaints. Well, he says black women were already equal to black men and when white women started the feminist movement black women joined them and created a rift within the black community. THEN the white man started making the black man effeminate.

OH?

 tell me more, Sir Troll. 

Or maybe I can tell you...FIRST the women’s rights movement was black women saying that they deserve to be respected within their own community as well as in the white community. Black women were saying NO to rape, domestic violence, misogyny, and oppression. The black man would go to work all day and have the white man shit on him often he would then come home and shit on his wife. When women started saying they didn’t want to take that type of abuse anymore black men saw it as an affront to the black family.  IF you were the type of man who respected and appreciated women THEN THEY WERE NOT TRYING TO CHANGE YOU. Additionally, the women’s rights movement said women have the right to be paid as much as men AND have access to birth control.  Unwanted children prevent women from contributing financially to their homes. Increased pay at work meant more money for the UNIT as a whole. WHY would you disagree with this? Black women, Black feminists, Womanists have ALWAYS supported the black man and tried to create a community that would nourish and uplift them. 

Tariq the Troll says that one day women up and decided they no longer needed men to have babies. BRUH. BIOLOGY would seem to suggest that it is impossible for black women to have babies without …a…man… Don’t blame women because your masculinity was challenged.

SECOND. Effeminate men are the white man’s way of creating genetic genocide. I’m still a little foggy on how this occurs but I’m assuming he is talking about gay men not going out there making babies with women. However, black people aren’t having any trouble having babies in spite of the allegedly high population of gay banditos that are running around shaking the very foundation of the black family community. SIR a black gay man organized the March on Washington. LOOK AT BAYARD!!!!!

He was also erased from the history books because of his sexuality. Now you seek to erase him from our movement because he doesn’t fit YOUR view of masculinity.

Why are black men SO threatened by a men who don’t their perception of what a man should be. He challenges the men who tried to wear heels on campus at Morehouse. These college men. These men who are going into business and medicine and education. He dismisses the possible positive effect they can have on the black community because they wear heels. However, I notice that he doesn’t have anything critical to say about black men spending hundreds of dollars on gym shoes they don’t need and cars they can’t afford. He doesn’t talk about how our obsession with material things we don’t need is slowly driving us away from a unified movement towards true racial equality. LET’S HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW MUCH BLACK MEN LOVE WHITE WOMEN! Let’s talk about how much they love the white aesthetic. They prefer light skin, light eyes, straight hair, thin bodies. Does Tariq talk about how the black man’s love of white women has contributed to the break down of the “black family”? NO. Of course not. Because that would take away from his message denigrating and marginalizing the black woman.

Tariq is wrong. His philosophy is colored by his obvious gender insecurity and his not so subtle homophobia. What is damaging the black community is our internalization of the white man’s oppression and xenophobia. Black people want to find someone lower than them on the totem pole and they believe that gays are sitting right on the bottom. Bigotry is what keeps us from prospering. Misogyny keeps us from advancing. Women have been the backbone of the American black community for  500 years and any man who would disrespect her is jealous and insecure and the reason we as a whole cannot find a way to finally beat white oppression. Only by working together can we achieve our goal. White people don’t need to be unified (In America) they are the majority and the oppressors. Black people can’t afford to have these arbitrary factions. Everyone comes in. Every contributes. Everyone does their part and we all rise. 

Woody or Kelly

In January 2014 Woody Allen was presented with the Golden Globe Lifetime Achievement Award. Woody Allen creates critically acclaimed films. He has won four Oscars and received several other prestigious awards throughout his lifetime. The film industry is full of critics that are predominantly not people of color. Additionally the people who find Woody Allen’s work to be brilliant and incomparable are predominantly not people of color.  This is important to note because recently Woody Allen’s receipt of the lifetime achievement award was followed by an open letter  to the New York Times written by his estranged daughter Dylan Farrow. Dylan detailed abuse allegations her father perpetrated against her over 20 years ago when she was 7 and her parents were separating.

(This is the link the Dylan's statement. 

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0)

The break up between Woody Allen and Mia Farrow has been meticulously detailed by the media and the legal system. 

(This is the link to the settlement agreement between Mia Farrow and Woody Allen.

http://www.leagle.com/decision/1994524197AD2d327_1461)

There have been several articles written about this topic over the years but this recent revelation by Dylan and the response by Woody have created a flurry of written responses from the journalistic community.
(Link to the state of public opinion regarding the Allen case. 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/02/woody_allen_v_dylan_farrow_the_court_of_public_opinion_is_now_in_session.html)

There have been multiple articles written either in support of Mr. Allen or in support of Dylan. There is ambiguity regarding the veracity of the allegations. 

(http://www.salon.com/2014/02/03/the_uneasy_ambiguity_of_the_woody_allen_case/)

 There is a multiplicity of perspectives regarding this issue but there is no shortage of differing perspectives.  Some people call on the public to divorce Woody from his work. They mention flawed great artists of the past and point to the fact that their work outlived scandal. Mozart wrote semi-incestuous letters to his mother.  Roman Polanski still created wonderful films despite allegations of rape. These artists were flawed but we still revere their work because of the independent benefits we particularly and intimately derive from them.

Juxtapose this to the media reaction to the release of R Kelly’s 12^th Studio Album “Black Panties”. 

(Review of R Kelly's most recent album
http://www.hotpress.com/R-Kelly/music/reviews/albums/R-Kelly--Black-Panties/10992723.html)

The media reaction from various media outlets were relatively similar. They were all bothered that R Kelly was  accomplishing any success with this album because of accusations in his personal life.  In 2008 R Kelly went on trial for allegedly having sex with a minor. He was acquitted of these charges but for years before and after he has been labeled a pedophile and a deviant. What I have noticed a distinct absence of are articles supporting R Kelly and asking if we can separate his art from the personal complaints against him. The amount of people who are supporting R Kelly in print are virtually non-existent.  Additionally, the majority of R Kelly fans are people of color. Their voices are  not held in the same critical esteem as people in the majority racial/ethnic group.

            These men are different in a variety of ways.  Woody Allen is a shy, introverted, seemingly benign and not explicitly sexual.

 His movies deal with complicated casts and human emotions but are not overtly erotic. He is soft spoken and polite. He has high profile and influence actors who are honored to work with him and give him glowing praise.

(Who is praising Woody Allen?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-woodyallen-idUSBREA1203A20140205)

R Kelly on the other hand is a big, black, and hyper-sexual. He writes about sex, he sings about, his music videos are carnal and sensual and he’s unapologetic for being a passionate Lothario. 

            The difference between these men is obvious and subtle at the same time. Some will point to particulars to distinguish them. Woody was never married to Mia Farrow, he never spent much time with the children, he was the subject of an intense investigation and was found innocent. R Kelly has settled with numerous young women and their families. 

(Read the allegation surrounding R Kelly

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2013/12/read_the_stomac.php)

He actually saw the inside of a courtroom and there are lots of affidavits detailing his wrong doing on file. Woody Allen engaged in questionable activity with the children of his former partner.  R Kelly is the scary black buck. He’s terrifying and worrisome and America assumes he’s King Kong coming for every white woman he can find. He’s a danger. He’s a scary Mandingo. He’s the monster under the bed. There are a lot of people who connect to R Kelly’s work because it is fun, catchy, accessible, and speaks to the experiences people of color tend to have. 

(What it means to support R Kelly

http://ucsdguardian.org/2014/01/what-it-means-to-support-r-kelly/)

Should his work be linked to his personal life because the people who appreciate it don’t make the rules for what is  “high art”? 

(Details of the allegations against R Kelly

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2014/01/r_kelly_sex_tape_underage_crimes.php)

Ultimately these men are living the exact same truth. Both were accused of committing heinous acts against children and neither man was actually convicted of any wrong doing.

 The overarching conclusion would suggest that these men be treated the same by the media.  The media advocate for both sides of EACH story or neither of any story. Either allow both men to have personal flaws that are independent of their work or inextricably connect the accusations to their art. 

You and I fade the world to Black

The ends of fingers
and the tips of tongues
butterfly wings running
up and down
as the breeze turns
curtains into capes
a lazy haste takes over
our bodies
and we will our mouths
and our palms with each other

Desperately boldly without shame
We too giddy to remember
time or age
can only think with hips
and moans
find the ease of smoothness
and the spring in softness
eat the nectar of passion
like Italian Ice on a warm day
We are renewed in love
and ranked by care
There is no forever in our eyes
There is only and always
now and here

For James

Black History Month swag

NIGGER

I AM the nigger.

Singer of songs,

Dancer. . .

Softer than fluff of cotton. . .

Harder than dark earth

Roads beaten in the sun

By the bare feet of slaves. . .

Foam of teeth. . . breaking crash of laughter. . .

Red love of the blood of woman,

White love of the tumbling pickaninnies. . .

Lazy love of the banjo thrum. . .

Sweated and driven for the harvest-wage,

Loud laughter with hands like hams,

Fists toughened on the handles,

Smiling the slumber dreams of old jungles,

Crazy as the sun and dew and dripping, heaving life

     of the jungle,

Brooding and muttering with memories of shackles:

               I am the nigger.

               Look at me.

               I am the nigger.

When you are a Nigger—James Baldwin 

Capture

The Tree Shaker
Can cast the breath
From the lungs
Of whomever she chooses
And from that void
She draws the power
To send the devil down
Way past the fire

into a sweet smelling nothing

She is full of whims
And owns not a thing but her teeth and her walk

She is the Root Killer
The Dirt Bender
The Sun Eater
And she mothers a band
That has lost all things
and who are thus
Completely free

The Branch Teaser drinks
Dreams as she swings
Through the trees
And fills her belly with hazy stares and half thought smiles

The leaf eater is hard to hold
Soft as feathers, too big to grasp, and too
Long for average fingers
She walks on fists
With a slight flutter
More menacing that a butterfly
And less abrasive that a plane
She works through vengeance
And heartbreak
Prefers the smell of widows
And keeps fit coursing through the calves
Of runaway brides


She is annoyed by the cries of a battered woman
for that sound
draws blood from her eyes
making it hard for the
Rain Kisser to move about
Independently



I speak of course
Of the First, the True, The Woman
Who gave birth to man
The unspoken myth
Unforgiven and unsoiled
Feared, downtrodden, and hated
She is the woman we are not supposed to be
And yet can not deny

And....She's still guilty

In November of 2008 Meredith Kercher was murdered. Amanda Knox was held to be partically responsible for that murder. Knox’s trial began January 16, 2009. The prosecution moved forward with what is arguably a lot of circumstantial evidence (meaning it’s not conclusive that she is guilty it also doesn’t conclusively suggest she is innocent). Amanda lied to the police several times. Amanda admitted to being in the house and hearing Meredith Kercher scream. Amanda’s alibi (her boyfriend) would not corroborate her story. Amanda’s DNA was found on a potential murder weapon. Amanda’s DNA was found on an article from Meredith’s clothing. Amanda purposely and falsely implicated Patrick Diya Lumumba knowing full well that he did not commit the crime (Lumumba sued her for defamation and won a 40 euros judgment. . which is good since he spent 2 weeks in jail away from his wife and child because of her lies). Add to this the fact that she had not one but two attorneys and I’m not convinced her trial was unfair. It is argued that the juries preconceived notions of Amanda Knox lead them to a vindictive and erroneous verdict. Americans are trying to say that Italian juries were prejudiced in this instance. . .right. . .because we have completely removed prejudice from our criminal justice system. Maybe we should write a manual and send copies to Italy. I'm sure they could benefit from our evolved wisdom. Post racial Age of Obama Ho!

Some people believe that Italy errs in not sequestering their juries. I would beg to differ. For nearly a year these people would have been away from work, church, loved ones, and extracurricular actives. That is slightly barbaric and an unreasonable compromise in the interest of justice in modernity. Additionally this kind of isolation would make them even less likely to show up everyday with a clear mind. Amanda Knox had a trial that was fair by Italian standards. Last time I checked Italy was still a first world country and a willing ally of the United States. We have no clothes on yet we mock the emperor for his nudity.

American judicial history highlights

> unarmed men are shot and killed by law enforcement (reference: Amadou Diallo, Ousmane Zongo, Sean Bell) and were those same law enforcement officials are rarely held legally accountable.

>There was actual real time video footage of the police brutality perpetrated against Rodney King and yet only two of the officers involved were convicted.

>We have made an art form of exonerating former death row inmates (sometimes posthumously) and usually after some third party organization has taken the initiative to actually review the DNA evidence. Please see these reports by the innocence project (http://www.innocenceproject.org/news/Newsletters.php). Were there petitions signed when they were convicted with weak eye-witness identifications? Did we raise the trumpets when the prosecution failed to test DNA evidence? Were we ready to ride into battle for these fathers, brothers, uncles and sons who were torn from their families and erroneous convicted by juries of their peers? No of course not. They don’t look like the wealthy girl next door For some more information check out the Northwestern Center on wrongful convictions ( http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cwc/ ), The Mid-Atlantic innocence project ( http://www.exonerate.org/facts/ ), Truth in Justice ( http://truthinjustice.org/ ) , for summaries of over 950 U.S. wrongful convictions check out this link ( http://www.victimsofthestate.org/ ).

>Regina Kelley v. John Paschall ( http://www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform/aclu-charges-racial-discrimination-second-texas-drug-bust-scandal ) is a lawsuit that describes the abuse of a Texas narcotics squad that conducted racially motivated drug sweeps for more than 15 years in Hearne Texas. The task force frequently arrested innocent people and forced them to take pleas or face jail time all so they could pad their conviction numbers and receive increased federal funding. Where was the moral indignation and the battle cry for fairness at this injustice happening within our own borders? Where were the posters? Where was CNN and Fox news? Why didn’t we hear from the victims’ mothers and grandmothers after their sentences were handed down. Give me a break. We didn’t hear about it because these people were poor and the poor get far less justice in the country than the rich.

 We have such fresh dancing skeletons in our closet. . . ghosts that will not even begin to think about to resting their heavy bones until every person who went to Emmett Till’s funeral is 2 generations dead. So yea. . .I don't have the strength or the audacity judge the Italian judicial process. Maybe I can offer some points of improvement but I offer them as suggestions not as condemnation. I’m too worried about where we will get enough justice laced penicillin to address the sickness in our own system.