Uptown Notes

So this is a post that is resurrecting the Blackatmichigan.com page. I have moved it off of my U of M space because NO ONE could help me figure out why it wouldn’t publish!!!!!! So months off, many a dissertation idea smashed, classes taught, and a few days from election day. That’s right, November 2nd, the time when the populus waits on more pins and needles than Boston fans this past week. If the sox can break their curse, then I think we can break this curse of Bush. A couple of logistics, the page is all white right now, yeah, uh, I’ll work on that later. It’s the Black words that really matter right? There is also plans to create a site that is similar to blackatmichigan.com but under a different name at U of M. I’ve been consulting on this project and will keep you posted!! So now to some stuff that you should have seen by now and if you haven’t, let’s get on it!

1) Everybody and their momma is at it producing songs to inspire the young hip-hop generation to vote. There are two songs that are …. mediocre at best: the first is Dear Mr. President by KRS-ONE and company and Wake Up Everybody which is a We are the world type of song (which really means way too many people are on this song at once). You can give them a listen, but they really don’t compare to my favorite two new songs that both happen to be featured on the new Green Lantern mixtape. The first one is by Immortal Technique and Mos Def and it’s called Bin Ladin. The song is so cold and on point, the only issue is I can’t find a location where it stays up on the web. So google it and give it a listen- it’s worth the search!!!!!

The second song that is “rallying the masses” is Eminem’s Mosh. The video is getting major play, even on TRL!!! Ugh, yeah, who knows!

2) November 2nd is darn near upon us and the polls are close, we know that, but there is something more important than watching exit polls on the 2nd. Become a election site monitor. It’s easy and could mean a WORLD of difference!!!! Also if you can’t make it to the D for training the good folks at M Go Vote are doing training sessions on Sunday morning at 11am in the MSA chambers (Third floor of the Michigan Union). Oh and the Onion has a really funny story on voting, I wouldn’t put this past the republicans ;)

3) I have been writing for a site in the local Ann Arbor area for the past couple of months. The site is called Arbor Update. Confession is I’m an infrequent post-er, but when I do contribute, I like to say something that gets people pissed and commenting. Check it out when you have a chance.

4) This Sunday is not only Halloween, but is a very important day. At 6pm in the Michigan League Ballroom, there will be a memorial for Magali Padilla. Magali Padilla was an active, and I mean active, member of the U of M community. Gali was into environmental justice, equity and social justice at large. She is/was 100% bad ass and this memorial will be a time to formally acknowledge her legacy to U of M community. Magali passed this past summer in a car accident while visiting family in Mexico, please come if you can. I know she’s watching now and will be in the house on Sunday.

Aight, it’s late. This is a new post. Not sure who will see this, but I figured I’d get the ball rolling again. Break bread!

so this post never published and has hidden in cyber space for months….. ooooohhhh

So I’ve not survived an appartment move and got my internet hooked up and ready to go. So here goes what I’ve missed (or my best attempt at recollecting relevant info).

Dean of Students Ed Willis has decided to leave U of M. I am not sure 100% if his resignation will be a big blow to students, but he has been known sometimes to really support students of color. However, it should be noted that Willis’ resignation comes behind Rackham’s Dean Earl Lewis’ exit. Both Lewis and Willis are African-American men and U of M’s recent loss of deans (Education, Public Health, etc.) have occured among mainly women and faculty of color. The U will have some serious scrutiny if those positions are filled like President Coleman’s VP cabinet (chock full of White males). Food for thought.

The Emmett Till case is being re-opened. If you don’t know Emmett Till’s name beyond the Kanye West Song- Through the Wire, “scared as hell that her guy look like Emmett Till,” you should read this article which discusses some of the allegations against Till and the trial where two White men were found not guilty. The re-opening of the Till case will likely do more for the moral conscious of race relations in the US than actually administer justice. Till’s mother, before her passing, was an strong advocate for civil rights and against the death penalty. So is justice delayed justice at all?

Okay, it’s 2004 and allegedly TN Rep. Frank Buck didn’t know wetback was a racial epithat, come on! Sadly, other folks in TN also think that Buck made an accurate assessment of things.

We are now literally right around the 50 year annniversary of the Brown v. Board of Ed decision. Here are a number of resources on understanding the case and it’s ramification. Brown is credited with the legal end to “separate but equal” doctorine solidified by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). The first is a book list published by Africana. The second resource is a conversation between Cornel West and Henry Louis Gates from the NY Times (you’ll need to log into the Times to see it). The third is an interview with Derrick Bell on the anniversary of the Brown Decision. The fourth is a newsweek article that lays out the lineage of the case and the contemporary reality of things.

In closing, we lost a tremendous author in Gloria Anzaldua at the age of 61. I remember her for her book of collected poetry which featured “The Bridge Poem” by Donna Kate Rushin. I encountered Anzaldua’s writing in high school and learned what a pen could really be used for. RIP.

The Marcus Dixon ruling of aggravated child molestation, which he was convicted for after having consensual sex with another white female high school student, was overturned this morning. The Dixon case has captured national attention, rightfully so, and displays the nature of institutional racism in the US court system. The overturning of the decision is a good beginning.

It’s been a long time…. since I’ve last left you: there have been no new wars (that’s actually a surprise), a failed Black Scholar House, my dissertation idea blasted out of water, packing for a move and the graduating of a tremendous group of seniors. So I’ll tell you about the stuff that you probably care about, you know the Black stuff happening at Michigan ;)

The Black Scholar House was conceived by Dhani Jones, a U of M Alum and current Philadelphia Eagle. While at U of M (1996-2000) Dhani was a member of the Alphas and one of the co-founders of HEADS. Upon my arrival, immediately after Dhani’s departure, I was told about the “Scholar House.” The Scholar House was to be a place of residence and academic excellence. A place where Black students, as it was told to me- Black males, who were serious about erudition would be located, an unprecedented occurrence at U of M. We all know the Trotter House is certainly less than what it needs to be- to say the least. I remember this was one of the things that I looked forward to as a new member of HEADS and a new member of the Black Community. Over the years, the discussion of the house faded from conversation, but I always waited to hear anything about it. Having never met Dhani, I gathered info second and third hand. During the month of March, word came down that Dhani was looking to close on a house near campus for this Black Scholar House. I immediately went over to take a look at it, didn’t get to go in, but it was really nice from the outside. The day that was talked about for all details to be finalized was May 1. Well somewhere between the end of March and May 1, a lot of issues arose.

To be as objective as possible, the interests of a number of folks came into play: campus organizations, teams, personal interests, and Dhani’s interests as a landlord. The end result is best summarized in the letter below that Dhani recently sent to be distributed to the Black Community at U of M. One day Dhani, we will carpe diem…

Dear Students:

I appreciate you all attending the mass meeting last Monday April 19,

2004 about the Black Scholar House. Taking time to understand the

dynamic of the campus, the students, the community and after pondering

over the discussions and some of the issues that were brought to light

at this meeting I have decided to postpone my purchase of the property of the

Black Scholar House, and put my efforts and energy into laying a solid

foundation for my vision for the house. Your suggestions have

prompted me to put together a student, faculty and staff advisory panel that

will help to shape and sustain my vision for the house. Also, I am researching

the house’s relationship to the University with respect to resources and

facility management issues. In addition, I will be pursuing outside financial

resources in order to have an endowment set up for the house so that

it will be able to be maintained throughout the years.

Carpe Diem…

Besides the Scholar House, the Black Community also held the annual Black Celeb. For all who do not know, this is not the Black graduation, this is a celebration of U of M’s Black graduates. Graduation happens earlier in the day, simple idea…okay, let’s move on. While graduates were having their names called, Philip Morgan did something that has never been done, he proposed marriage to his girlfriend on stage. Congratulations.

I’m on hiatus. I’ll be back. Dumi

Last week, Connerly and croanies were dealt two big blows in their anti-affirmative action movement: one in Colorado and one in Michigan. Congratulations to all who worked hard on these victories. I posted on this before but apparently messed up so it didn’t show up to the public.

Ward was trying to pull the wool over folks eyes, and the Ingham County judge agreed and threw out (really stalled) the petition drive aimed at ending affirmative action.

And I maybe a day late and a dollar short, but Citizens for a United Michigan finally has a webpage up.

Yesterday, the National Urban League released theState of Black America 2004 report which features an “equality” index. The full report is not available yet, and I hope they make it available online, but for now you have to buy the book to get details. The press release states that the status of Blacks is 73% of Whites. Check it out.

Today Tavis Smiley did an interview with Alford Young Jr., an Associate professor of Sociology and African and Afroamerican Studies her at U of M… also my advisor. The converstation they had was on Al’s new book The Minds of Marginalized Black Men. The book is expensive, but definitely dope. Lilsten to the interview and then buy the book!

The Free Press runs a q&a with Ward Connerly today.

One of my favorite excerpts

This is somewhat of a personal question. You are obviously a sincere person and have a lot of integrity. A lot of the people that are following you in this are sincere and well-intentioned, too. But there are probably a lot of them that really cannot be regarded as friends of black folks. They have sort of taken the banner of civil rights and equal rights, but certainly are not people who would have been marching in the ’60s for anybody else. And a few of them probably are straight-up racists. How you do feel about making alliances with people like that?

And on the other side, there are people who oppose what we are doing, who wrap themselves in the swaddling clothes of equality, that are not good people. They are mean-spirited. They pursue their course by any means necessary. These are not good people, some of them. So, each side has its burdens to bear with respect to those that align themselves with our respective viewpoints

Hey Ward… the saying is even a broken clock is RIGHT two times a day.

Another excerpt:

I guess the question we should have asked at the beginning of this is, is there any construct in which you where race matters? Does race exist? Is it real in your mind?

A friend of mine once said, “Ward, there is your opinion, there is mine, there is perception and there is reality.” And I think the perception is that race is real. We sort of think that there are these five races and we can go around this table and we could put you in that one, we could put you in this one. I don’t think it is real. I think we come in different textures, different colors, from different parts of the globe. But we are one, extended human family that we have arbitrarily divided into these basic food groups and that was the original sin almost in this country with regard to race.

My response- the Thomas dictum, “If people define situations as real they are real in their consequences” The Q&A is long, but well worth the read. Hear it from the horse’s mouth!

Here’s an article from the Daily that outlines the ballot clash. Here is a piece from Ann Arbor on the move to block the petition legally. And a piece in the Detroit News that I must have missed on BAMN and their tactics. For alternative perspectives on BAMN and DAAP, it’s U of M political wing, check out this site.