Sunday, April 5, 2009
I've had it ^ to here!!!
Okay, so I went to a party yesterday. Not the wisest decision because it was WACK...lol.. But I wanted to go out with some friends and just relax. At this party I saw the most horrible display of women I have seen thus far in Bloomington Normal. These young women were dressed as if they were going to perform at the local strip club. Black women and other women of color are always portrayed as wild and are usually oversexed. With that being said, they should be really cautious of how they portray themselves. I am not avid about a woman wanting to be and feel "sexy" and sometimes show a little bit of skin, but people need to understand where the line needs to be drawn. This reminds me of the article we read "I Met a Latin Girl named Maria", she talked about how she would always be portray a certain way regardless of how she dressed or acted. Because she was Latina she was always seen as sexy or provocative. We see examples of this everyday when we turn on our televisions and catch the latest rumpshaking videos. The women of color in the videos are to referred to as Video Vixen s or video Hoes, but when White women are in the video are called Video Models. If they are in the same videos doing the same degrading actions then why are two different terms used for women of color and White women. It is obvious that one term is more respectful and "sounds" better, so why not use Video Model for both?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I am... A Dangerous Negro
So I was talking with Aaron the beginning of Spring Break, and he put me on to this website that promotes the positive images of Black Americans and basically getting in touch with our home continent of "Africa". The website is dangerousnegro.com, I love it! Finally apparel that you can be proud to wear as a Black individual, no more hood-ish spray painted shirts with cartoon characters or the infamous "Stop Snitchin" merchandise. Here you have quotes displaying Black pride. I have fell in love with two of them The first shirt is the definition of a "Dangerous Negro", http://www.dangerousnegro.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DEFBT. The second is called a message from Mother Africa, check that out as well.
http://www.dangerousnegro.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MMABT
But here is the real deal breaker and something I had to struggle with before I finalized my order. Is the term Dangerous Negro identical to calling myself a Nigger or Nigga (same thing). Wasn't the word Negro used offensively just like Nigger? So I did further research on the company, looked at its blog, facebook page, etc. and I was pleased with what I saw. I may not agree with everything that I saw, but the message and empowerment of Blacks that was displayed sold me on the idea.
http://www.dangerousnegro.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MMABT
But here is the real deal breaker and something I had to struggle with before I finalized my order. Is the term Dangerous Negro identical to calling myself a Nigger or Nigga (same thing). Wasn't the word Negro used offensively just like Nigger? So I did further research on the company, looked at its blog, facebook page, etc. and I was pleased with what I saw. I may not agree with everything that I saw, but the message and empowerment of Blacks that was displayed sold me on the idea.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Is this offensive...?
http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2009/02/12/racist-black-history-month-ad/
A friend of mines sent me this link the other day, it is a grocery store ad during the month of February. The grocery items on sale are quite stereotypical when you think about food that Black people may eat. Amongst the list are ham hocks, greens, chicken, and catfish. Then you have the typical "poor man meal" ingredients of Bologna and Peanut Butter. Me and my bestfriend were discussing whether or not it was offensive. I didn't see it as offensive, I simply thought that it was ignorant to think stereotypical Black foods were a salute to Black History Month. She on the other had was extremely offended, she agreed that it was offensive and ignorant but she also felt that it was poking fun at Black people's lack of healthy eating and the continually practicing the consumption of the worst parts of the animals. To clarify her point, slaves were giving the scraps of the animals that were deemed "unfit" for the slave master. So the slaves made due and ate those parts, i.e. hamhocks, pig ears, frog legs, etc. What do you think?
A friend of mines sent me this link the other day, it is a grocery store ad during the month of February. The grocery items on sale are quite stereotypical when you think about food that Black people may eat. Amongst the list are ham hocks, greens, chicken, and catfish. Then you have the typical "poor man meal" ingredients of Bologna and Peanut Butter. Me and my bestfriend were discussing whether or not it was offensive. I didn't see it as offensive, I simply thought that it was ignorant to think stereotypical Black foods were a salute to Black History Month. She on the other had was extremely offended, she agreed that it was offensive and ignorant but she also felt that it was poking fun at Black people's lack of healthy eating and the continually practicing the consumption of the worst parts of the animals. To clarify her point, slaves were giving the scraps of the animals that were deemed "unfit" for the slave master. So the slaves made due and ate those parts, i.e. hamhocks, pig ears, frog legs, etc. What do you think?
Dick Gregory...
Now that Soul Food Dinner is finally over, I can breathe and reflect on everything that has been said and everything that has occurred. First thing I want to say is that it was a success this year! About 200 people were in attendance, ready and willing to hear Dick Gregory give his take on the happenings of what is going on in the world. Overall I have gotten very positive reviews on the dinner and the speaker, many of the people in attendance enjoyed Dick Gregory's keynote because either his views were the opposite of theirs or they finally connected with someone who shared similar views. On the other hand a few students did not really enjoy the presentation, saying that he was too vulgar and his use of the n-word was "too much" for IWU. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though!
One thing that really stuck out to me that Dick Gregory said was targeted towards the black students at IWU, he stated something to the effect of "How dare you stay at this racist institution and not speak to another black person walking past you on campus?" That struck me, I am completely guilty of this, I chose not to speak to certain individuals because of spats that has happened in the past. In my mind I realized that although I may not like them, it is nothing to speak and say hi to someone, it's called common courtesy.
One thing that really stuck out to me that Dick Gregory said was targeted towards the black students at IWU, he stated something to the effect of "How dare you stay at this racist institution and not speak to another black person walking past you on campus?" That struck me, I am completely guilty of this, I chose not to speak to certain individuals because of spats that has happened in the past. In my mind I realized that although I may not like them, it is nothing to speak and say hi to someone, it's called common courtesy.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
*double gasp* The N-Word revisited
So my previous post was a poem that I had wrote a few months ago about the use of the word nigger/nigga... However you choose to spell it... It is interesting enough that a few days after I posted it I found out that the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs was having a presentation on the history of the N-word. The event was called the Co-oputation of the word 'Nigger'. Of course I was ecstatic and already cleared my schedule to attend.
I for one am happy that I attended the presentation, I learned about the history of the N-word. It intrigues me how it originally was used as descriptive word for people with black skin. Pre-Antebellum period the word would be synonymous to our present day black or African American. It also amazes me how this descriptive word slowly transformed into a derogatory term. Never before did I understand or know the history of the N-word, and because of this presentation it has deepened my disdain for its usage. After hearing the presentation, all I could think about was the film we watched last week, Ethnic Notions. Although as a class we did not see the film in its entirety the film ended with a display of current forms of the mammy, sambo, coon, pickaninny, etc. They showed magazine covers, film cases, and CDs. I did the same thing when I went home. I went through my iTunes and skimmed my Top 25 songs, and never did I think that I listened to so many songs that contained the use of the n-word so much!
I admit that the majority of the music that I listen to is rap so it is pretty much inevitable to hear the use of the word, especially listening to mainstream music. But becoming aware of the historical context and then hearing the word in every other sentence become a bit disturbing. So where do I go from here?
I for one am happy that I attended the presentation, I learned about the history of the N-word. It intrigues me how it originally was used as descriptive word for people with black skin. Pre-Antebellum period the word would be synonymous to our present day black or African American. It also amazes me how this descriptive word slowly transformed into a derogatory term. Never before did I understand or know the history of the N-word, and because of this presentation it has deepened my disdain for its usage. After hearing the presentation, all I could think about was the film we watched last week, Ethnic Notions. Although as a class we did not see the film in its entirety the film ended with a display of current forms of the mammy, sambo, coon, pickaninny, etc. They showed magazine covers, film cases, and CDs. I did the same thing when I went home. I went through my iTunes and skimmed my Top 25 songs, and never did I think that I listened to so many songs that contained the use of the n-word so much!
I admit that the majority of the music that I listen to is rap so it is pretty much inevitable to hear the use of the word, especially listening to mainstream music. But becoming aware of the historical context and then hearing the word in every other sentence become a bit disturbing. So where do I go from here?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
*gasp* The N-Word!
N.I.G.G.A.S.
Non-Intellectual Guys and Gals Amounting to Shit
I’m not the one to use the word unless deemed “necessary”.
When I look at you as it slips slowly from my mouth
History flashes before my eyes, PAIN, BLOOD, TEARS
But we say it anyway, knowing what it means
Knowing how it feels to be judged by this
By skin, by color, be scent, by ancestry
There is no difference between an ending of –er or an –a
It all means the same DAMN thing
It still represents a chain of oppression, hurt, and inequality
Next time I blast my Wayne or quote my Common
I think about what it means when they say niggas
And I figured it out…
Non-Intellectual Guys and Gals Amounting to Shit
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
OBAMA-RAMA Continues.. We finally reached the HIP HOP WORLD!!!
My president is black, my Lambo's blue
And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My momma ain't at home, and daddy's still in jail
Tryna make a plate, anybody seen the scale?
My president is black, my Lambo's blue
And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My money's light green and my Jordans light grey
And they love to see white, now how much you tryna pay?
This was the first time in a while, where I have actually watched AND enjoyed a rap video... I do admit that the only thing related to Obama in the chorus is the line "My president is black"...lol.. However, my favorite version of this song is a remix that was done by Jay-Z, his verse was HOTT, he has not officially recorded it, but he has performed his verse with Nas and Young Jeezy on several occasions. Here's the vid..
Jay-Z My President is black Remix LIVE 1-18-09 from pleasedontstare on Vimeo.
Now if you couldn't understand whathe said exactly, here are the lyrics verbatim for your reading pleasures... Now it is a bit explicit at times, I think it's a bit unnecessary, but that's male-dominated hip hop for ya... That'll be another post
"My president is black/in fact he’s half white/So even in a racist mind he’s half right/So if you got a racist mind its alright/ My president is black but his house is all white/Rosa Park sat so Martin Luther can walk/Martin Luther walked so Barrack Obama can run/Barrack Obama ran so all the children can fly/so imma spread my wings YOU CAN MEET IN THE SKY/I already got my own clothes/I already got my own shoes/ I was hot before Barrack/Imagine what im gon do/Hello Mrs.America/ Hey pretty lady/red white and blue flag/Wave for me baby/Never thought i say this shit baby im good/you can keep your puss/I dont want no more bush/No more war/No more Raq/no more white lies/My president is black!!!
:-)
And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My momma ain't at home, and daddy's still in jail
Tryna make a plate, anybody seen the scale?
My president is black, my Lambo's blue
And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My money's light green and my Jordans light grey
And they love to see white, now how much you tryna pay?
This was the first time in a while, where I have actually watched AND enjoyed a rap video... I do admit that the only thing related to Obama in the chorus is the line "My president is black"...lol.. However, my favorite version of this song is a remix that was done by Jay-Z, his verse was HOTT, he has not officially recorded it, but he has performed his verse with Nas and Young Jeezy on several occasions. Here's the vid..
Jay-Z My President is black Remix LIVE 1-18-09 from pleasedontstare on Vimeo.
Now if you couldn't understand whathe said exactly, here are the lyrics verbatim for your reading pleasures... Now it is a bit explicit at times, I think it's a bit unnecessary, but that's male-dominated hip hop for ya... That'll be another post
"My president is black/in fact he’s half white/So even in a racist mind he’s half right/So if you got a racist mind its alright/ My president is black but his house is all white/Rosa Park sat so Martin Luther can walk/Martin Luther walked so Barrack Obama can run/Barrack Obama ran so all the children can fly/so imma spread my wings YOU CAN MEET IN THE SKY/I already got my own clothes/I already got my own shoes/ I was hot before Barrack/Imagine what im gon do/Hello Mrs.America/ Hey pretty lady/red white and blue flag/Wave for me baby/Never thought i say this shit baby im good/you can keep your puss/I dont want no more bush/No more war/No more Raq/no more white lies/My president is black!!!
:-)
Happy Belated Inauguration Day
Let's be completely honest! Everyone was more concerned with the dealings and happenings of the inauguration more than anything else. If this is not the case, then I am speaking for myself. Whenever I was NOT in class, I was watching the inauguration ceremony repeatedly, or the parade.
I loved Obama's speech, and how he eloquently put that we as Americans need to stop with the excuses, get up and do something. But one thing that I enjoyed the most, was the benediction that was delivered by Reverend Joseph Lowery. Not only was it concise and thought provoking, but it broke down America in its true light. Below is a link of the text that he delivered.
http://news.aol.com/article/text-of-rev-lowerys-inauguration/312463?icid=sphere_newsaol_inpage
The part that most people focused on, and considered to be a bit controversial was...
"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."
I watched the inauguration with my Race and Ethnic Relations class and other students who were in the dug out, and when he spoke those words, I saw smiles, frowns, and everything in between. Now in my opinion, these are exactly the kind of words that America needs. It is a way to let people know that we are still living and being governed by a system of racial inequality and injustice. However, speaking with a classmate of mines, she felt as if his comments were unnecessary and biased. She stated that not all white people are racists and for him to accuse whites of always being right was unfair and inaccurate. I can understand her frustration, she felt as if her race was being attacked. I gave her my opinion, I simply stated that the reverend was not attacking white people, he was just setting aside racial stigmas. The fact that whites are always right (a phrase which she had never heard before), and how blacks were always at the bottom trying to find ways to better themselves in a system that constantly put them down. After talking everything over, she began to understand what I was saying and left the conversation not as upset as she was when she initially entered it.
The sheer fact that we as Americans can get two totally different interpretations from the reverend's speech means, that we as Americans need to do a better job in understanding one another versus judging....
I loved Obama's speech, and how he eloquently put that we as Americans need to stop with the excuses, get up and do something. But one thing that I enjoyed the most, was the benediction that was delivered by Reverend Joseph Lowery. Not only was it concise and thought provoking, but it broke down America in its true light. Below is a link of the text that he delivered.
http://news.aol.com/article/text-of-rev-lowerys-inauguration/312463?icid=sphere_newsaol_inpage
The part that most people focused on, and considered to be a bit controversial was...
"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."
I watched the inauguration with my Race and Ethnic Relations class and other students who were in the dug out, and when he spoke those words, I saw smiles, frowns, and everything in between. Now in my opinion, these are exactly the kind of words that America needs. It is a way to let people know that we are still living and being governed by a system of racial inequality and injustice. However, speaking with a classmate of mines, she felt as if his comments were unnecessary and biased. She stated that not all white people are racists and for him to accuse whites of always being right was unfair and inaccurate. I can understand her frustration, she felt as if her race was being attacked. I gave her my opinion, I simply stated that the reverend was not attacking white people, he was just setting aside racial stigmas. The fact that whites are always right (a phrase which she had never heard before), and how blacks were always at the bottom trying to find ways to better themselves in a system that constantly put them down. After talking everything over, she began to understand what I was saying and left the conversation not as upset as she was when she initially entered it.
The sheer fact that we as Americans can get two totally different interpretations from the reverend's speech means, that we as Americans need to do a better job in understanding one another versus judging....
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Something that I struggle with...
Below is a link of a comedy sketch... The product is called Niggerette... Now Niggerette is supposed to stop a reasonable black individual from being a 'nigger'... Below is the link... Watch the vid...
Now initially I laughed, but soon after I thought about the idea of what I was laughing at. Is this the kind of 'humor' that perpetuates the social racism that I myself as a black woman has to face? I think sometimes it's hard when you find things comical, but then realize that the material could possibly be taken another way from people outside of your race.
Now initially I laughed, but soon after I thought about the idea of what I was laughing at. Is this the kind of 'humor' that perpetuates the social racism that I myself as a black woman has to face? I think sometimes it's hard when you find things comical, but then realize that the material could possibly be taken another way from people outside of your race.
Why I write...
So I asked myself when starting this blog over, why am I writing? Now it is of course a class requirement, but then I feel that this will sorta help me express the things that I feel plague the community I most identify with... The Black Community... This blog will be a mix of posted links, videos, reactions, etc. I think I'm going to really enjoy this...
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