I grew up in Bakersfield, California, where my father was a rabbi and my mother was a teacher. I went to Harvard in 1960, in part because it was about as far as I could get from Bakersfield, which was the terminus of the dust bowl migration that John Steinbeck made famous in The Grapes of Wrath.

I got my real education, however, when I left Harvard to work in the civil rights movement in Mississippi. I went to Mississippi because, among other things, my father had served as an Army chaplain in Germany right after World War II. His work was with Holocaust survivors, and as a child the Holocaust became a reality in our home. The Holocaust was interpreted to me as a consequence of racism, that racism is an evil, that racism kills. I made a choice to go to Mississippi.

I also was raised on years of Passover Seders. There’s a part in the Passover Seder when they point to the kids and say, “You were a slave in Egypt.” I finally realized the point was to recognize that we were all slaves in Egypt and in our time that same struggle from slavery to freedom is always going on, that you have to choose where you stand in that. The civil rights movement was clearly about that struggle. It was in Mississippi that I learned to be an organizer and about movement-building.

I went to Mississippi because it was a movement of young people, and there’s something very particular about young people, not just that they have time. Walter Brueggemann writes in The Pro­phetic Imagination about the two elements of prophetic vision. One is criticality, recognition of the world’s pain. Second is hope, recognition of the world’s possibilities. Young people come of age with a critical eye and a hopeful heart. It’s that combination of critical eye and hopeful heart that brings change. That’s one reason why so many young people were and are involved in movements for social change.

THE INITIAL CHALLENGE for an organizer-or anybody who’s going to provide leadership for change-is to figure out how to break through the inertia of habit to get people to pay attention. Often that breakthrough happens by urgency of need. Sometimes it happens because of anger-and by anger I don’t mean rage, I mean outrage. It’s the contradiction between the world as it is and the world as it ought to be. Our experience of that tension can break through the inertia and apathy of things as they always are.

Read the rest after the jump. jacked via Read the full story

“My ni88a Big predicted this s*** exactly, Mo Money, Mo Problems, gotta move carefully….”

Above, an excerpt from Jay Z’s “Heart of the City” record off the Blueprint 1 that expresses the hardships of achieving the highest peaks of financial stability. Currently, with enough money to speed up the efforts in Haiti, Jay Z remains human and is feeling every effect of the fragile economy.It was just 3 years ago, that the mogul announced plans to bring J Hotels into fruition but they were abruptly suspended due to the infamous money crisis everyone’s talking about.

Jay-Z claims that Highland Capital Management “duplicitously stalled” efforts to hand over the deed on the hotel building site in lieu of foreclosure in order to collect tens of thousands of dollars a day in interest and fees. Now, he’s suing the investment firm and the bank on the project for $3.7 million, claiming they’re “bleeding” him on loans on the abandoned project. HC Management says it will vigorously defend itself and pursue obligations owed to the investors.

Happy 100 Jay!!! Party @ the 40/40. At least you still got those, right?

Lil homie ain’t playing.

Read below, an article about the history of violence that take place because of the famous recording, “My Way” written by Paul Anka, preformed by Frank Sinatra. These murders are so common that they’re categorized as “My Way Killings.” Dont believe me? See for yourself.

I got 99 problems but this definitely aint one.

GENERAL SANTOS, the Philippines — After a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly stilled the room with the Platters’ “My Prayer.”

Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way.”

“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,” he said. “You can get killed.”

Check the rest of this story after the jump. Read the full story

Check out this powerful poem by Bobby Drake. B.Drake is a League Alum and Milwaukee based spoken word artist and producer. Police brutality is real, and it’s a relic of 20th century thinking. We can’t let the bad apples continue to spoil the bunch. Go here to learn your rights!!
Bobby Drake — “I Am Somebody” by 99problemsdotorg

Hypebeast TV: adidas x Star Wars NYC Imperial Invasion from Kellen Dengler on Vimeo.

More from the homie Snoop.

Check out Gillian Caldwell from 1Sky chopping it up with Obama about clean coal. This is an awesome exchange.

HBD!!!

“Tell the children the truth.”

Weezy talking his truth!!

Yesterday, the homie Snoop hit up Times Square with a legion of Storm Troopers + Anakin Skywalker (his momma named him Anakin, so I’mma call him Anakin.) Snoop showed up to help Lucafilm LTD push its new Star Wars collection with Adidas. Snoop rocked the Vader themed track suit.

Had me thinking, if Snoop’s Vader, who is hip-hop’s Yoda?

?uest Love find this ?uestionable….myself as well, even if it is a great lineup of food and drink!!

A 19-year-old man who was fatally shot over the weekend in Milwaukee was set up for a robbery by a man he knew, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Jordan G. Larson, a Milwaukee resident, was shot in the back and head about 11:15 a.m. Saturday in an alley in the 4600 block of W. Scranton Place, according to court documents. He died Tuesday night at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.

According to an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant:

Larson was conscious when police arrived at the shooting scene. An officer asked Larson who shot him, and Larson said a man named Keith Bohannon was responsible for the shooting but had not fired the shots.

Larson also told his brother at the scene that “Keith” had set him up and that “Keith’s guy” had shot him.

Larson lost consciousness while riding to the hospital in an ambulance.

Police arrested Bohannon, 18, who eventually admitted he had arranged for Larson to buy a car from Antonio L. Tatum, 26, who would rob Larson.

Bohannon and Tatum are in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail.

Charges have not yet been filed in connection with the homicide.

Jordan’s older brother Adam, says this: “my little brother noah larson and granny will b on chanel 4 news @ 6oclock 2 give u some of our feelings about the loss of my little brother jordan…any1 who kno him knows, dat wasn’t 4 him…not @ all!!..they envied his swag and he died cuz his flava..they can neva b him…I love you”

Last year, the Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards went head to head against the Grammys at the Pittsburgh Hilton.

This year, the fourth annual event, presented by 360 Entertainment and again at the Hilton, will be a party on the eve of the Super Bowl with performances and awards in 35 categories.

The highlight will be a reunion of the X-Clan, marking the 20th anniversary of the Brooklyn crew, which features Pittsburgh-based artist/activist/producer Paradise Gray, aka Paradise the Arkitech. There will also be performances by Boaz, Jasiri X, Common Wealth Family and Da Sinate, among others.

This year, marketing company Block Starz Music will present the PHHA winner of “Mixtape of the Year” with a promotional package worth more than $2,000.

The red carpet is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the show at 8. Tickets are $20 advance. Go to www. pittsburghhiphopawards.com.

check out more after the link. Read the full story

Ammunition leaving innocent bodies in ambulances

Im holding up candles for the kids that didn’t really have a chance

to live life to the fullest

The cops dont stop the fights that ignite the bullets

So im naked

Because the colors i wear, i dont want the gang members to take it

the wrong way

So some days i smoke this cannabis and this locust

So i can lose focus

on whats going on with my folks

Cuz i aint supposed to see this scenery

So i stick to this greenery and think thoughts of revenge on people thats mean to me

As my grandmother sings to me

Songs from Mahalia

See, Thats the reason i aint focused on America

Because The Reality Is….

The area im living in is surrounded by killing

And in my vision i see kids getting the life sentence in prison

Yall chasing the wrong Osama

Imma tell you about the forgotten Bin laden

The cops that left ya son shot in the streets

And didnt do nuthin to prevent it

But we holding up flags representin America

Like we sharin a bond or something

Yall PROBLEMS aint nuthin compared to mine.

So as long as condoms bustin

And people rushing to hospitals for abortions

And  a portion of Milwaukee missing

Because people missin their targets

and hitting Malcolms and Martins

I aint gon take part in the starting of another war!

Facebook, formerly known as, “thefacebook.com,” was originally intended to be a network only for Harvard students, but was later expanded to other universities and finally to everyone. Unless you were friends of Chester French, 6 years ago you wouldn’t even be invited to this free a** party so dont forget to thank Mark Zuckerberg for the invite!!!

J Cole Live at ACES Lounge from Mike Abb on Vimeo.

jacked via nahright.com

Check out the tailor from Bogota who specializes in making bulletproof fashion garments. He said at one point he wants to expand into the “hip-hop” market. It’s a damn shame that there is a demand for this. This was spotted at CNN.com (funny that CNN is getting hipped to Vice).

Apparently, the kids at PS22 in Staten Island are famous for being amazing singers. Just look at them feel the music. We definitely need more of this in our public schools. Found via Frank Dix’s Facebook page.