Uptown Notes » centric

Count ‘em all … at home!!!

dumi — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:54:35 +0000

Unless you have been in hiding, you have noticed the Census 2010 is in full swing now. From rapping commercials to inflatable census forms, there are a large amount of resources going into getting people to fill out the 10 Census questions. Despite all this hoopla, the biggest controversy has been the use of the word Negro on the Census. The word Negro is not new on the census and it’s there now because more than 56,000 Black folks wrote in “Negro” last Census. While many are in a tizzy about Negro, the count of prisoners should be getting us more riled up and more attention.

The Hope Against Hate

dumi — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:21:56 +0000

On Monday night, Tavis Smiley’s convening “We Count! The Black Agenda is the American Agenda” aired on CSpan. What? You missed it? Well about 50 percent of folks I know didn’t tune in because they think Tavis is The Game of politics and does anything possible to start beef and get attention. Another 48 percent tuned in with their snark meter set to 10. I’m worried that we’ve fashioned Tavis such a “hater” in the Black community we’re missing some important discussions that were happening around the table and outside of that room.

Welcome to the Minstrel Show.

dumi — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:30:19 +0000

Some of you may know I recently went to see the Scottsboro Boys (musical) at the Vineyard Theatre here in NYC. I took a few minutes to compile my thoughts for Centric’s Culture List Blog.

My blackberry buzzed and I looked at the message, “Do you want to see a play about the Scottsboro boys?” I replied, “yeah.” Then the second message came in: “It’s a musical.” At that moment I wondered, who and why would someone make a musical out of tragedy of the railroading of nine Black men for the alleged rape of two White women in Alabama … after watching it I had more questions and even more anger.

I’m Boycotting Black Award Shows

dumi — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:46:36 +0000

I’ve been running around so much for the past week I forgot to post my reaction to the NAACP Image Awards that I wrote for Centric’s Culture List Blog. Well, after watching the show, @sedat30 and I decided we need a moratorium on these shows until we can do better. Just kidding … not really. Join the Do Better Movement (shout out to on.us.tees who stay on the vanguard of the DBM).

I’ve had it! I can’t take it any more. I cannot bear to have one more Black Awards show go on like this. That’s right, this is a cease and desist notice to: The NAACP Image Awards, The BET Awards, The Soul Train Awards, The Vh1 Hip-Hop Honors, The Source Awards, The You’re a Person of Color Awards, (okay you caught me—I made the last one up). However the point remains, the more Black Award shows we seem to have, the lower quality they seem to get!

Pants on the Ground was Political

dumi — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:57:33 +0000

I’ve recently penned a piece for Centric’s new Culture List blog on the Pants on the Ground video. While the song is still getting downloaded en masse on itunes and used as a rolling joke, we’re missing an important political message and issue within the Black community.

“Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!” This refrain was made famous by General Larry Platt on the opening of another season of American Idol. While I’ve long stopped watching the show and “stunts” to get on the opening shows are known, this performance was important because it captured the political complexities of contemporary Black struggle and the significance of generational divides to the Black community. WHAT!?! Okay, before you think I’ve jumped off the deep end, hear me out. If you look and listen closely to Platt, you would notice he used his exposure to draw attention to Troy Davis on death row, the National Action Network, and lastly told young men to pull their pants up. While many took the performance as all about laughs, we should have taken it as all about politics.

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