Thursday, April 19, 2018
This is Not an Isolated Incident
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Calling the police on black people isn’t a Starbucks problem. It’s an America problem.
By Karen Attiah
It’s good that Starbucks, with its announcement this week that it will close thousands of stores for a day of “racial bias training” in May, is taking steps in the right direction after a video of two black men getting arrested in one of its coffee shops went viral. But white America’s habit of needlessly calling the police on black people is not just a Starbucks culture problem. It’s an American culture problem.
The tragic examples are all over the Internet. In McKinney, Tex., in 2015, after a neighbor called police about a pool party, a responding officer used brute force on 15-year-old Dajerria Becton, slamming the girl to the ground by her hair and jamming his knees into her back and neck. The video of the sobbing, 100-pound, swimsuit-clad girl went viral. The officer was fired.
That same year, South Carolina officer Ben Fields was fired over a viral video of him flipping a black high school girl over her desk and dragging her across the classroom. Her offense? Refusing to put away her cellphone.
And, of course, who can forget what happened in 2009 when a woman in Cambridge, Mass., called 911 to report a possible burglary in her neighborhood? The man she called the cops on was renowned black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. He was arrested and charged — for trying to get into his own house.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/calling-the-police-on-black-people-isnt-a-starbucks-problem-its-an-america-problem/2018/04/18/e871d504-4330-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?utm_term=.cf7377430434
Calling the police on black people isn’t a Starbucks problem. It’s an America problem.
By Karen Attiah
It’s good that Starbucks, with its announcement this week that it will close thousands of stores for a day of “racial bias training” in May, is taking steps in the right direction after a video of two black men getting arrested in one of its coffee shops went viral. But white America’s habit of needlessly calling the police on black people is not just a Starbucks culture problem. It’s an American culture problem.
The tragic examples are all over the Internet. In McKinney, Tex., in 2015, after a neighbor called police about a pool party, a responding officer used brute force on 15-year-old Dajerria Becton, slamming the girl to the ground by her hair and jamming his knees into her back and neck. The video of the sobbing, 100-pound, swimsuit-clad girl went viral. The officer was fired.
That same year, South Carolina officer Ben Fields was fired over a viral video of him flipping a black high school girl over her desk and dragging her across the classroom. Her offense? Refusing to put away her cellphone.
And, of course, who can forget what happened in 2009 when a woman in Cambridge, Mass., called 911 to report a possible burglary in her neighborhood? The man she called the cops on was renowned black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. He was arrested and charged — for trying to get into his own house.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/calling-the-police-on-black-people-isnt-a-starbucks-problem-its-an-america-problem/2018/04/18/e871d504-4330-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?utm_term=.cf7377430434
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Kendrick Lamar Wins a Pulitzer
An excerpt from CNN -
Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer is a thumb in the eye of Trump
By Clay Cane
Kendrick Lamar has created the perfect fusion of politics and hip hop, and on Monday he got a Pulitzer Prize -- and of course he did. In a time when hip hop is supersaturated with vapid pop hits and petty feuds, Lamar is socially resonant and musically gifted. He is the voice of this generation, and the first hip hop artist to win the music Pulitzer, for his 14-track "Damn."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/16/opinions/kendrick-lamar-pulitzer-cane/index.html
Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer is a thumb in the eye of Trump
By Clay Cane
Kendrick Lamar has created the perfect fusion of politics and hip hop, and on Monday he got a Pulitzer Prize -- and of course he did. In a time when hip hop is supersaturated with vapid pop hits and petty feuds, Lamar is socially resonant and musically gifted. He is the voice of this generation, and the first hip hop artist to win the music Pulitzer, for his 14-track "Damn."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/16/opinions/kendrick-lamar-pulitzer-cane/index.html
Monday, April 16, 2018
Don't Disrespect
An excerpt from VerySmartBrothas -
Don’t Disrespect Our Anthems: 6 Black Songs Off Limits to Taylor Swift and Other White Musicians
By Michael Harriot
I recently did a radio show on which I ran down the top five cookout songs of all time. The host, a white woman who swears she’s embedded in black culture, went on and on about how she loved this song, but during her diatribe, the black people in the room kept giving each other the secret black side eye; none of us believed her because she kept telling us how she was such a huge fan ...
... of “Frankie Beverly and the Maze.”
Look, I’m not one of those black supremacists who pepper their conversations with references to “the white devil,” but if Nickelback tries to remake “Before I Let Go,” black people are going to need some reparations. The brave men and woman of Maze didn’t sacrifice their lives for Frankie Beverly’s right to wear a white painter’s cap only to have his legacy marred by rockabilly bands who want to remix our music for a rodeo after-party. Frankie Beverly didn’t die for this.
You’re probably saying to yourself: “But Frankie Beverly isn’t dead,” and you’re right. But I can’t be certain that hearing Vince Staples sing this tune wouldn’t kill Frankie. While that might sound like hyperbole, how can you be so sure?
I don’t think we should take any chances.
https://www.theroot.com/dont-disrespect-our-anthems-6-black-songs-off-limits-t-1825285036?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-16
Don’t Disrespect Our Anthems: 6 Black Songs Off Limits to Taylor Swift and Other White Musicians
By Michael Harriot
I recently did a radio show on which I ran down the top five cookout songs of all time. The host, a white woman who swears she’s embedded in black culture, went on and on about how she loved this song, but during her diatribe, the black people in the room kept giving each other the secret black side eye; none of us believed her because she kept telling us how she was such a huge fan ...
... of “Frankie Beverly and the Maze.”
Look, I’m not one of those black supremacists who pepper their conversations with references to “the white devil,” but if Nickelback tries to remake “Before I Let Go,” black people are going to need some reparations. The brave men and woman of Maze didn’t sacrifice their lives for Frankie Beverly’s right to wear a white painter’s cap only to have his legacy marred by rockabilly bands who want to remix our music for a rodeo after-party. Frankie Beverly didn’t die for this.
You’re probably saying to yourself: “But Frankie Beverly isn’t dead,” and you’re right. But I can’t be certain that hearing Vince Staples sing this tune wouldn’t kill Frankie. While that might sound like hyperbole, how can you be so sure?
I don’t think we should take any chances.
https://www.theroot.com/dont-disrespect-our-anthems-6-black-songs-off-limits-t-1825285036?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-16
Beychella
From the Washington Post -
Beyoncé’s Coachella performance wasn’t just pure entertainment. It was a historic cultural moment.
By Elahe Izadi
Beyoncé’s Coachella performance wasn’t just pure entertainment. It was a historic cultural moment.
By Elahe Izadi
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/04/15/beyonces-coachella-performance-wasnt-just-pure-musical-entertainment-it-was-a-historic-cultural-moment/?utm_term=.99f6290c8dbf&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
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