S/o to Kali Akuno for the assist
(Oakland, CA) – Three groups who have actively been working toward justice for Oscar Grant – ONYX, The New Years Movement and the General Assembly for Justice for Oscar Grant – are denouncing an announcement today by the defense team for former BART officer Johannes Mehserle that they are seeking a retrial in the shooting death of unarmed Oscar Grant, III. … Continue Reading
I get a personal joy from registering young people to vote for the first time. I am always excited when I come across 17 year-old young people and I get to let them know that they can vote as soon as they turn 18. Since President Barack Obama has been elected, it seems as if the consensus among young people has changed from apathy to excitement. This leads me to believe that the political and social change we envision is happening with the young people. Yesterday, I realized that half the people that I spoke with and registered were under the age of 20. In several years, these young people will be the policy-makers, legislators, and law enforcers. On the other hand, those who choose not to engage will be the victims of the process. My job is to remind them that even being a victim is a choice.
I realized then that the political process can start with voter registration and dialogue about the political process. From the conversations that I have had with various young people, I have realized that they are not regularly in practice of speaking about the political process or what is encompassed in the realm of politics. Based upon my conversations with young people during the voter registration campaign, I realized that young people are not being engaged on their level by policy makers or adults who understand the process. They are, however, being engaged by music videos and popular culture. I am curious about how to blend the two because the ones who resist engagement are the ones who embrace the false reality created by pop culture and mainstream media. My question is this: how do we as community organizers engage the young people who are in opposition to the very process that determines the projected quality of life for us all?
On a typical day for me, a 20-year old who is a longtime hip-hop fan, I’ll flick through the TV channels searching for something related to hip-hop music. I flick through the channels and land on BET’s 106th and Park video countdown hoping to be updated on the new hot hip-hop songs.
While watching, I notice a startling trend in the videos. I see that nearly all of the songs have either violent or sexual content in their lyrics and in their videos. What is alarming about this realization is that a great deal of 106’s and Park’s viewers are young teens.
Now don’t get me wrong I enjoy seeing videos with beautiful women, flashy cars, and not to mention a catchy song. However, when only these types of videos and songs become the majority of what’s played on the radio and TV, that can be a problem.
Within the last 25 years there has been a great deal of discussion of the content of hip-hop music. We’ve all heard the negative words which people commonly associate with hip-hop music and its culture. The words “violent” and “misogynistic” seem to be two of the most commonly used terms when describing the content of the music.
There have been numerous efforts to address and condemn the negative themes in hip-hop throughout its history. One of the most memorable efforts was that of former Vice-President Dan Quayle who spoke against artists such as Ice-T and Tupac Shakur, whose lyrics he perceived to promote violence against police.
Ironically, even people who once considered themselves freedom fighters for African-Americans through the civil rights movement have been vocal in speaking against hip-hop, which is considered one of the treasures of African-American culture. Figures like C. Delores Tucker, Rev. Calvin Butts, and Rev. Jesse Jackson have all at one time or another have publicly criticized hip-hop music for its content
Even some hip-hop artists and fans themselves criticize the music which they perceive to have grown more commercialized, being less about the art and more about the money. Many of these types of hip fans believe that artists should show more complex lyricism, speak on social issues and try to uplift their communities with more positive messages.
It’s hard to believe that the school year is over already. The group of students I work with in Columbus, the Urban Warriors, have been the favorite part of my day since mid October when we started going back into the schools. I have been able to watch as this group of young men come together as a team and also become stronger individuals. At the same time, they have watched and encouraged me through some of the most trying but also rewarding times of my life. The experiences we have shared are priceless and I am not gonna know what to do with myself this summer while they are on break. This truly was a special year!
I would like to send a special shout out to Indianola Middle School for the level of commitment that they show throughout the school year. Of the three schools we work closely with (East High and Champion and Indianola Middle Schools) Indianola has had by far the most consistent turnout. With more than 40 young men who show up to the Friday in school meetings, Indianola makes up the majority of the Urban Warriors as a whole. I am always impressed with the level of maturity that is displayed by them and I feel that it is a direct reflection of the positive guidance that they receive at home, at school and from their Urban Warrior family. I have met plenty of genuinely concerned adults over the past two years I have been helping with the Warriors but the one person who I see that has consistently gone beyond the call of duty is the Dean of Student Life, Susan McGean. She has been a strong force on the inside who has gone out of her way to assist Brother Devin Shaw as well as myself in doing all that we can to provide the boys with a stellar extra curricular opportunity that most Columbus Public School students will likely never experience.
This is one of those things that’s just like. . .”Oh, god . . .really? No. Stop that. You can’t mean that”.
One of the opponents is quoted as saying “‘If the Japanese decided to open a cultural centre across from Pearl Harbour, that would be insensitive. If the Germans opened a Bach choral society across from Auschwitz, even after all these years, that would be an insensitive setting.”
Considering that Bach died in 1750, I have a feeling that few Polish Jews are holding him personally responsible for World War II. But even that’s not the point.
Obviously, building a mosque near ground zero, as stated by the leader of the project, “sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11″. It shows that American Muslims are working as hard as they can to disprove the crazy stereotypes about Islam that have become rampant since 9/11. This protest is a depressing sign that they have a pretty big mountain to climb if that’s going to happen.
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