Aug

30

Random Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina

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1. At first I was upset about the looting, but what are the people supposed to do.? They have no access to money, food, etc.? They are just trying to survive; how scary.? I don’t know what I would do if my home was destroyed and my children and I were out in the street.

2. Flood waters are still rising in New Orleans–how scary.

3. What the hell is wrong with these hurricane reporters.? They stand in the middle of the hurricane looking for death and destruction, talking about how crazy people are not to leave.? I know they need to get the story, but how hypocritical.

4. How long is it going to take to get this mess cleaned up?? I can’t even imagine.

5. I wonder what percentage of people who stayed did so out of 1) curiousity 2) lack of transportation 3)physical disability 4) frustration with the transportation 5) lack of money??????

Aug

30

How Many African Children Have to Burn….

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, International Racism, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

before the French confront the horrible living conditions of African immigrants.?
Yesterday 7? http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/special4/article.adp?id=20050830071009990001” target=”_blank”>died? Last week 17 mostly children died; in April 24 also mostly children? http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=25&story_id=23151” target=”_blank”>died .? France prides itself on its socialism, but clearly Black immigrants are not benefitting from it.

Aug

30

“Whites Find Things; Blacks Loot”

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Hurricane Katrina, Media Praises and Critiques, Race and Racism, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Please write Yahoo News about this. This is a perfect example of how racism colors judgement. Thanks to the Making Light Blog Here are the direct links to the two photos Photos of Whites, Photo of Black woman

Aug

29

“Helicopter Parents”

Filed Under Education and Academia, Family Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

As the school year begins, we have every professor’s nightmare “helicopter parents”. Rather than teaching their young adult offspring to handle themselves they wonder around campus hoping to help their “kids” avert trouble. Anyway, I thought it was very appropriate for this time of year since school is starting again for us.

Aug

29

Good Reads From Other Blogs

Filed Under Bunch-O-Links, Hip Hop, Pop Culture, Race and Racism, Racism Round-Up, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

1. “Kill Whitey Parties” mock African Americans at hiphopmusic.com

2. NYC Attempts to Shut Down Graffiti Party where artists paint fake subways cars. Follow the whole story at Joe Twists Soul Imperialist

Aug

29

Book Review–Why White Kids Love Hip Hop by Bakari Kitwana

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Hip Hop, Pop Culture, Race and Racism, Reviews-Books Movies TV Albums, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Established hip hop journalist Bakari Kitwana argues that Whites attraction to Hip Hop must be examined thorough the new reality of race. Kitwana argues that the post-civil rights generation of Whites are rejecting the old racial politics and embracing Hip Hop. He believes that this transformation could be the catalyst necessary to jump-start an international human rights movement in this generation. Kitwana identifies several variables he thinks have lead the reformulation of racial politics1) the rise of the global economy 2) resulting sense of alienation among young Whites in the 1980 and 1990s 3) ruptures in the pop music scene 4) shifts in the economy at the new millennium that lead to a decline in the sense of White privilege 5) the institutionalization of elements of the Civil Rights movement 6) the expanding influence of Black popular culture. The author is quick to note Whites overwhelming influence on Hip Hop, especially on the business and marketing side; thus, the resulting product is bound to appeal to Whites. The strongest arguments in the book are found in Chapters 3-5, which discuss the portrayals of Whiteness and Blackness in Hip Hop. Kitwana provides evidence that challenges the notion that White suburban males are the primary consumers of Hip Hop, noting the relative absence and inaccuracy of the available data. Then, using several films and an analysis of the Sources conflict with Eminem Kitwana takes on the racial identity politics of Whiteness, tackling the fine line between appropriation and appreciation (I dont want to reveal too much here, so people will still get the book.)

While I encourage everyone to take a look at the book, I do have several key criticisms of the book. My first concern is with the very premise of the book. I think the extent to which White kids love Hip Hop is debatable. In my own research on this topic (See “It’s Got a Nice Beat But What About the Message”) , I found that White adolescents liked Hip Hop almost as much as their Black counterparts, but the commitment to the music/culture and their tendency to see it as life affirming were much lower. The second criticism flows from the first. If Whites like Hip Hop do they even come close to liking it as much as their Black peers? We really need some radom sample data to measure this–data that goes beyond who buys Hip Hop and who attends Hip Hop concerts. I think the biggest weakness in my view, is that Kitwana fails to clearly define and differentiate between the old and new racism. Any of Charles Gallaghers work (“Color Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America”) or Eduardo Bonilla-Silvas work would be very useful here, especially the critiques of colorblindness. Also Bonilla Silvas analysis of the rhetorical strategies could help Kitwana uncover the hidden politics of Whiteness in Hip Hop. I wish that Hip Hop could build multiracial coalitions, but many young Whites still live in relative isolation from Blacks and Hip Hop only allows us to experience Blackness vicariously; moreover, it is not representative of the multiplicities of African American experiencespoints I think Kitwana would agree with, but does not tackle. Nevertheless, I would recommend the book. Kitwana is truly an optimist and he allows us to envision the transformative power of Hip Hop and the potential for Hip Hop coalitions across race. I just wish a more detailed analysis of the current racial climate was included because it might change some of Kitwanas arguments.

Aug

25

Rolling Blackouts Again!!

Filed Under Environment and Conservation, Politics, Sociology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

With the price of gas reaching record highs and rolling black outs in California. I can’t help wondering when are we going to wake up. The story says that there is sufficient power supply but that the power grid cannot handle this demand, but seriously when do we ever hear about energy conservation in this country. Shouldn’t these two things be a sign? I guess on a more upbeat note some are promoting tax incentives (why does it alwasy have to be something about taxes) for hybrid cars. But are people in this country really ready for the three Rs–reuse, reduce recycle? I suppose it doesn’t help that we have an oil rich President who keeps trying to sell us on the “you can have everything you want without paying a price” mentality. Wait until a few years when gas hits $5-7 a gallon and–mark my word.

Aug

24

Literacy and the Digital Divide

Filed Under Class Classism and Economic Inequality, Education and Academia, Original Essays and Analysis, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago our family marked a milestonemy 5 year old stepson got his first library card. I know many people dont think of this as a milestone, but I do. Even though he cant read yet, I know this is his stepping stone to literacy. All that the library required was that he be able to write his own name. After a little trouble (The librarian gave him a pen, not appropriate for his age.), he got the card and signed his first name on the back. He was so excited that I decided to memorialize it with a picture (Posted below). I remember when I was his age, and I got my library card. Thanks to tax payers and philanthropists the local, Carnegie founded library was able to finance the bookmobile, which was a bright orange bus that drive out to the rural schools of southern Ohio, so children like me could get books. I climbed on the bookmobile and told the man behind the counter I wanted my library card. He asked if I could write my nameI did it, and I was on my way. Thanks to my substitute teacher mother and my library card, I developed a love of reading. Although I lived in rural Appalachia, I could travel the world through books. The possibilities seemed endless. When I got my library card, it was just before computers were readily accessible to the public and well before the internet and email were part of the American landscape, but Brandens literacy adventure will be very different from my own because of these new technologies. Literacy today means reading books and magazines, but it also means digital literacy. Initially, I was worried that Branden was more concerned with video games than books. He loves his video game so much that he took a digital picture (posted below) of his video game. While I still dont embrace the video games, I realize that mastering the computer technology used in his XBOX will be just as important for him as learning how to read the card catalog was for me. The more I thought about it the more I realized that in this postmodern era mastery of both books and digital technologies are necessary for literacy. However, we dont all have access to the tools for full literacy. I was stunned to see how many children, mostly Black and Brown, were crowded around the public librarys four computers when Branden got his card. It made me wonder how many young people still dont have access to computers or the internet. Branden really wanted to play on those computers; but I decided not to let him. While this was partly fueled by my desire to avoid a long wait, I was reminded that we are a two computer family with wireless laptops and a daddy who operates his own internet based company. We have the advantages of computer literacy and the middle class income that allows us to keep up with the technology, and Branden will benefit from it. The digital divide is being propagated along race, class, and gender lines. Make no mistake about it young people of color and poor people of all races want to be digitally literate. The children lining up to get on those computers in the public library were all Black and Latino boys. (Gender is clearly an issue here, but Id like to focus on race and class to keep it short.) They were hungry for knowledge, and contrary to stereotypes about young Black and Latino males, they were eager to learn. More evidence of this could be found in the recent stampede in Virginia where a largely African American crowd scrambled to pay $50 for used laptops. More must be done to help bridge the literacy gap, which is why I was happy to see that the library Branden got his card from was going to name their theater and surrounding green after the late Ossie Davis, who was a long time supporter. Like Ossie Davis , I see our public libraries as an important part of the war on poverty and racism. Perhaps we need to revive the bookmobile model in poor communities like the one I was raised in. However, the new “techmobile” would need several computers, so that students can explore the world through books and digital technology. Computers and books are the window to the world, and many of our young people are missing out.

Aug

24

Texas and California are the new Majority Minority states, so now What?

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Demography, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

In case you missed it the US Census Bureau just released its latest report indicating that the US now has 4 states where minorities now make up more than half of the population. Not surprisingly Hawaii l has the largest minority population at 77%, followed by New Mexico 57%, California 56%, and Texas at just over 50%. If you count Washington, DC as a state, which I think is completely ludicrous since DC is a city that is essentially disenfranchised, then there are 5 states with majority minority populations. So what does this mean for the future of the US? Here are a few thoughts/observations

1. None of the four majority minority states have large Black populations. California is the highest at 7%. Of course, DC is majority Black, but I would not consider that a state.

2. With the exception of Hawaii, Whites still make up the largest group even though they are less than half. The way the Census lays out the data ignores the fact that coalitions between American Indians and Latinos in New Mexico or Blacks and Latinos California are tenuous. Minority status does not mean these groups are allied.

3. This is fairly consistent with the pattern of southeastern and southwestern states being the most racially diverse. The next five most diverse states–Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, New York and Arizona (some of which do have larger Black populations)–are primarily in the southern tier of the country. Frankly, if it wasnt for the NYC metro area New York wouldnt be on the list. Just one more thing to ponderAre Hispanics the new Whites? This data really makes me wonder. Id love to hear your comments..

Aug

24

More People Live Alone!

Filed Under Demography, Family Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

People living alone are now the most common household type in the US!! According to analysis of the 2000 Census, 25.8% of all households in the US are households with a person living alone. This is followed by 22.44% with spouses and children, 22.1% spouses without children, 8.4% a single parent with their child, 2.55% unmarried partners. For more info on the study click here.

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