Uptown Notes

Over the weekend I reluctantly listened to the news as they discussed Somali Pirates and the container ship Maersk Alabama. Yesterday’s decision by the US Navy seals to kills three Pirates further saddened me. While I’ve heard people quickly jump behind the American crew and ship, most of this has occurredwithout context. This isn’t to suggest that if you read these links, watch these videos, etc. that you will or should support the Pirates, but I am pretty sure it will help you better generally understand some of the dynamics that the Somali people live under.

Today, Pintando Postales opens at the Brooklyn College library and it is a rare opportunity to hear and see the world through children’s eyes in New York City and Santiago de Cuba! The work is a multi-year project executed by Katie Yamasaki, but more importantly it lifts the voices and worlds of school-aged children between New York City and Santiago de Cuba in correspondence.

Slavery did not end, it’s just been updated in the form of human trafficking! Beneath you will find a video that I was recently emailed that features a song by Peter Buffet andAkon. The song is entitled, “Blood into Gold (Remix)” and was commissioned to heighten awareness of modern day slavery in the form of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a major problem throughout the globe, but flourishes in many places throughout the African Diaspora. Please spread the word and also visit www.istheresomethingicando.com to find out how to move from awareness to action!

First, let me say that I pay little attention to the Pope or his statements. I spent eight years of my life in catholic school ignoring Pope John Paul II and now Pope Benedict XVI has joined that club. In a recent visit to Africa, Pope Benedict exclaimed, “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters aboard the plane heading to Yaoundé. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.” Now let me explain why this is wrong!!!!

The Root has an interesting piece on the reclaimation or redefinition of Arab by Saaret Yoseph. What do you think […]

Today CCNY will feature a lecture by Kwame Appiah on “Race and Genomics” as well as host a stop on the “Live from Death Row” tour. Great chance to think about race theoretically and practically.

This week, my dear friend Yusef Ramelize, took on the issue of homelessness. No, he didn’t decide to volunteer at a soup kitchen. No he didn’t decide to give out change to someone he saw as he was exiting the platform. No he didn’t email his friends and tell them they should join a “homelessness sucks” cause on facebook. He decided to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness by getting a first person experience. Yusef is going homeless for one week.

As the clock struck midnight and November 20th rolled in I thought about how 1.20.09 was emblazoned in my memory. I recall seeing bumper stickers years ago that had the date and “Bush’s Last Day” proudly marked. I waited for the date and was glad to see it arrive. I was in DC for inauguration weekend, so like many others, I was out partying. I knew that I had to get up at the crack of dawn, so I left my celebration and attempted to hail a cab to my residence. The weather in DC was a bitter, bitter cold, but I didn’t worry because as I approached a major thoroughfare I saw an ample number of cabs. I saw people hopping in and out of cabs and raised my hand to hail one. As I stood with my hand out, buzzing from the revelry of the weekend, taxis buzzed past me.I am overjoyed that the Obamas challenge stereotypes and have seeped through the pores of seemingly non-porous barriers, but that doesn’t often mean much for how we get along each day. Seeing race is not the issue, the system of racism is.

When it comes to discussing collective work and responsibility, I usually end up on the other side of most conversations which seem to start with, “The reason Black folks can’t get ahead is…” or “We’re just like crabs in a barrel…” While these conversations have their place, I think we have been conditioned to overlook the collective work that we take part in daily. While there are many issues that face our community, many of use continue to struggle and fight but don’t receive the acknowledgment that is deserved.

Being Pan-African is a weird thing. To many folks it means wearing dashikis, avoiding swine, and shouting ase at every opportunity. I, however, realize that you aren’t going to do that. For most Black folks, the holiday of Kwanzaa is one tied to Pan-Africanism and thus gets mentioned more in their living rooms on TV commercials than at family gatherings. I’ve decided we’ve been frontin’ on Kwanzaa for no real good reason. I think now, more than ever, we run the risk of being allured by an Obama presidency into thinking we have arrived at the promised land. Look around your family, your neighborhood, your nation, and tell me if we can afford to continue to not be self-reflective and work towards a better community? If you cannot take seven days to redefine you relationship to the people who live with you, love you, and look like you, what kind of change are you really invested in?