Uptown Notes

It is a good thing to be here for another August, another Black August. Each year, I and many others, use August as a recalibration of our work and recommitment to the struggle for the liberation of African peoples locally and globally. It’s been a few years since many of us have been able to participate in MXGM’s Black August celebrations such as the long standing hip-hop benefit show, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done. As is tradition, I’ll be fasting in August from a few things and doing some things to help sharpen myself. Below are a few things I’m doing this year:

1) Fasting from alcohol
2) Fasting from additional sugar and sweets
3) Reading Joy James’ “Imprisoned Intellectuals”
4) Leading and participating in a weekly study group for male identified friends on “uprooting patriarchy”
5) Connecting with and building with justice oriented sociologists

There are a million ways to become better and to take inventory of what you’ve done over the past year. In a year where we’ve seen 551 people killed by police, there is much work to be done. In a time when the Black child poverty rate has remained steady while all other groups have declined, there is much work to be done. I’m proud to have such amazing comrades who join me in this month and work daily for liberation. One such person is Marc Lamont Hill. If you haven’t done so already, pick up his new book Nobody: Causalities of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond. It’s a powerful read about where we are, how we got here, and what it’s going to take to move us forward!