Reflections on Malcolm X

It’s Malcolm X’s birthday today. In honor of the activist, Biko Baker published this piece on Wiretap:

“Yet, because the historiography of the Civil Rights Movement is overwhelmingly marked by stories of strong primary leaders, we often forget that it is the collective activity of everyday Americans that the bad guys fear. I often use this example when working with young people, but just imagine if King would have given his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of an empty National Mall. Would the administration have been so quick (some would say that it was still not quick enough) to push the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress? Of course not! Powerful individuals fear the collective voice of the masses…

It’s about time that we begin dreaming big. We must believe in our own leadership and the leadership of our peers enough to see that we already have the power to change our communities. And we can’t just believe that change can happen, we actually have to work toward a collective vision of change.”

Read the entire article here.

Posted by:

The Editor

Completely Not Fake Hollywood Stories: Aaron McGruder (The Creator of the Boondocks)

I’m no baller, but over the course of the last several years I have had many interactions with the rich and the famous. Of course, most times nothing really spectacular happens. Famous people after all, are just regular people like you and me. (Well, some of them are regular, others are either extremely short or pretentious buttheads…but I digress.)

But there has been one or two times when I have been kicking it with a baller and something really cool happens. Like the time I almost got beat up at Death Row’s corporate office or the time ?uestlove told me that he’d “rather spin records than do coke.” (I think he was trying to say he likes to DJ because it keeps his mind busy, but ?uestlove is a bigger nerd than me so it was sort of hard to interpret what he was saying.)

So in the spirit of Charlie Murphy and Rick James, every now and then I plan to drop a blog about one of my Completely Not Fake Hollywood Stories. Heck, if Eddie’s little brother can get famous retelling his big bro’s experiences why can’t I get some blog traffic telling mine.

After the jump is a Completely Not Fake Hollywood Story about the legendary cartoonist Aaron McGruder.
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Posted by:

Biko Baker

20 Years Ago: Tiananmen Square – A Testament To Youth Activism

There are a number of images that permeate our collective psyche. Some are tragic, others hopeful. Every now and then, there is an image that embodies a state of mind so well that it can’t be described or explained. You just have to see it.

On June 4th, 1989, a young, unidentified man stood directly in front of a line of tanks in Beijing, China to express a sense of dissatisfaction, attempting to stop the Chinese government’s attacks on young activists.

Despite the defiance of Tank Man, the struggle continues.
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Posted by:

Steve Romain