Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Mr. Paul Mooney - Race (1993)
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Nigger Vampire
3. Makes My Teeth White
4. White Sensitivity
5 . Monsters And UFOs
6. Paul Revere/Betsy Ross
7. 1-900-Blame-A-Nigger
8. White Hollywood
9. Lassie
10. Niggerstein
11. Beauty And The Beast
12. Blacks On TV
13. Hammer
14. End Of The World!
15. Nigger Raisins
16. You Got A Quarter?
17. White Labels
18. When The Smoke Clears
19. Michael Jackson
20. White People’s Talents
21. Nosy White People
22. African Animals
23. Can’t Get A Cab
24. Caucasians Vs. The Ozone
25. White Fright
26. Slavery’s Back In Effect
27. The Boogeyman
28. Clarence Thomas
29. Woody Allen
30. Nigger History Lesson
31. Blame It On White Folks
32. Mexicans
33. Dahmer
Revolution '67
Watch Revolution 67 in Activism & Non-Profit | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Revolution '67 is a 2007 documentary film about the black rebellions of the 1960s. With the philosophy of nonviolence giving way to the Black Power Movement, race riots were breaking out in Jersey City, Harlem, and Watts, Los Angeles. ~ Wikipedia
Zeitgeist [Religion] The Greatest Story Ever Sold (1of 3)
i'd recommend watching all parts and ultimately the entire film...
"even my conditioning has been conditioned" (re-post)
source
CNN: Updated version of the famous 1947 Doll Study
CNN: Home influence on kids and race
CNN: Race in America
CNN: Doll Study Reactions
Scene from the 1989 independent film, "Chameleon Street" (I'm going to have to see if this is on Netflix or something)
CNN: Home influence on kids and race
CNN: Race in America
CNN: Doll Study Reactions
Scene from the 1989 independent film, "Chameleon Street" (I'm going to have to see if this is on Netflix or something)
Good Hair and Bad History: Chris Rock’s “Documentary” Fails to Address the Greatest Lye
Chris Rock’s Good Hair is seen, by some, to be a wonderful insight into the lesser-known aspects of Black women and hair. For others, however, the film was more about making fun of Black women and the oppression on display in the billions spent each year to accommodate white fantasies of beauty. This edition of Jazz and Justice tackled the issue with Ms. Goldie Deane, Dr. Baruti Kopano and DC’s finest listening audience! As a post-script we take the suggestion passed along to us that 400 Years Without a Comb be a documentary added to the mix. It appears to offer far more substance to the history and politics of Black hair.Thursday, December 23, 2010
stuff white people do...(re-post)
impose their beauty standards on others
Try this thought experiment sometime. Say the following to an American:
What this experiment demonstrates is that the category of "All-American," the category of American "ordinary," is occupied by white people in the minds of almost all Americans, be they white or not.
The occupancy of whiteness on America's cultural center stage has widespread effects throughout nearly every element of American culture, as well as within nearly every American mind. One sad effect is the favoring of white beauty standards, even among non-white people.
A lot of Asian women, for instance, have eye operations to widen their eyes. They do so for various reasons, but a common one, sometimes conscious and sometimes subconscious, is to make their eyes less "narrow." Narrow compared to what? one might ask. How did other, wider, non-Asian eyes come to be a standard for beauty that made Asian eyes seem not normal, but narrow in comparison?
Similarly, black women straighten their hair and use skin lighteners. They do so for various reasons, but an often subconscious reason is to make their appearance more like that of white women.
Women of color can now win local, national, and international beauty contests that are not in some way specific to particular races and ethnicities. But they can only do so if their appearances match a set of criteria initially established by previous white winners, and by a broader social and cultural emphasis on the beauty of white women. This set of criteria also holds true, in most cases, for the talent portions of such contests, and any demonstrations of markedly non-white talent only win if they are toned down, smoothed out, made palatable, or "decent"--and thus in effect, "whitened" as well.
A brilliant high school student named Kiri Davis recently made a poignant, informative, seven-minute analysis of this problem, demonstrating some of the insidious effects of the imposition of white standards on non-white people:
UPDATE: Not that the imposition of beauty standards is just a black-and-white thing:
Slip of the Tongue,
directed by Karen Lum
I'm going to say a phrase, but before I do so, you have to close your eyes, and clear your mind.In my experience, the vast majority of respondents say things like "cheerleader," or "she has long hair." Then, usually, "blond" and "blue eyes." If the respondents are non-white, they tend to quickly use the word "white" to describe the girl who popped into their minds. If they're white, it usually takes them longer to say the word "white," but it almost always comes for them too.
Then I'm going to ask you what picture popped into your head in response to the phrase.
Okay, got your eyes closed? Good.
Got your mind as empty as you can get it? Good.
Now here's the phrase: "All-American girl."
Okay. Now describe the girl who came to mind for you--what does she look like?
What this experiment demonstrates is that the category of "All-American," the category of American "ordinary," is occupied by white people in the minds of almost all Americans, be they white or not.
The occupancy of whiteness on America's cultural center stage has widespread effects throughout nearly every element of American culture, as well as within nearly every American mind. One sad effect is the favoring of white beauty standards, even among non-white people.
A lot of Asian women, for instance, have eye operations to widen their eyes. They do so for various reasons, but a common one, sometimes conscious and sometimes subconscious, is to make their eyes less "narrow." Narrow compared to what? one might ask. How did other, wider, non-Asian eyes come to be a standard for beauty that made Asian eyes seem not normal, but narrow in comparison?
Similarly, black women straighten their hair and use skin lighteners. They do so for various reasons, but an often subconscious reason is to make their appearance more like that of white women.
Women of color can now win local, national, and international beauty contests that are not in some way specific to particular races and ethnicities. But they can only do so if their appearances match a set of criteria initially established by previous white winners, and by a broader social and cultural emphasis on the beauty of white women. This set of criteria also holds true, in most cases, for the talent portions of such contests, and any demonstrations of markedly non-white talent only win if they are toned down, smoothed out, made palatable, or "decent"--and thus in effect, "whitened" as well.
A brilliant high school student named Kiri Davis recently made a poignant, informative, seven-minute analysis of this problem, demonstrating some of the insidious effects of the imposition of white standards on non-white people:
UPDATE: Not that the imposition of beauty standards is just a black-and-white thing:
directed by Karen Lum
Monday, December 20, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Life & Debt & Fresh-Ass Kicks? "conscious" hip hop promotes sweatshops?
let's make one thing perfectly clear, i am well into blue scholars and feel their music to the fullest! my issue is strictly about their (and many other so-called revolutionary hip hop artists) unwavering support of a long-standing relationship between hip hop and nike (consumer-culture in general). now for the rundown:
- the middle bit is the original post in question
- my exchange w/geo of blue scholars on their website
- song (video) dedication
Life & Debt & Fresh-Ass Kicks
Thanks to the good people at IHeartBlueScholars (we see you!), we just got hip to these customized quilted Nike Blazers inspired by our cut “Life & Debt.” Mister Danny P, the mastermind behind these here kicks, explains:
“Life and Debt” is one of my favorite tracks from Blue Scholars. I listened to this song EVERYDAY for two years when I was away at college. Although it was a love song, the melody put my soul at peace during my rough two years at college, so I wanted a pair that incorporated the words “Life” and “Debt.”
Check out more work by FalseQuest, whose designs across the board are clean and subtly subversive.
And a shoutout to the documentary Life & Debt (Stephanie Black, 2001), which examines Jamaica’s neocolonial economic quandary at the mercy of international lending. Watch it if you haven’t yet, and go fight globalization by supporting local artisans and getting your kicks customized using our song titles.
(Yes, we know Nike is a globalization-benefitting multinational corporation. And so is the supplier of the computer you’re reading this blog post on.)
my exchange w/geo of blue scholars, which can be found on their website and maybe on facebook:
me:
isn’t it ironic that the documentary “life & debt” focuses on epz’s (export processing zones)/sweatshops and these particular kicks are nikes (an infamous and most obvious proponent of sweatshop labor)?
(i’m accessing this site from the public library’s computer, which i did not contribute any of my funds to whatsoever (+i’m a war-tax resistor) so the supporting of multi-national corporations rhetoric is empty.)
true social justice doesn’t come in the form of self-proclaimed revolutionaries literally standing in one of the most infamous capitalist/exploitative product
geo:
Said public library wasn’t built with underpaid construction labor was it? And if it wasn’t, then surely it wasn’t built on stolen Native land, right?
Right?
me:
that’s not really the point, the point is that one’s usage of a corporate-owned computer somehow justifies perpetuating nike’s exploitative practices. these are two completely different realities. sadly we live in a capitalist and corrupt system, but it doesn’t somehow mean that we should promote the largest of these corporations. nike is the issue and their is no denying nike’s egregious practices.
that’s not really the point, the point is that one’s usage of a corporate-owned computer somehow justifies perpetuating nike’s exploitative practices. these are two completely different realities. sadly we live in a capitalist and corrupt system, but it doesn’t somehow mean that we should promote the largest of these corporations. nike is the issue and their is no denying nike’s egregious practices.
this song suddenly comes to mind (listen to what dres has to say about companies):
and while i'm at it, here's "life + debt" (documentary)
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
china blue (documentary)
Like no other film before, China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made.
Good info on this film at:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/
torrent
Monday, December 6, 2010
Mike Tyson A Totally Committed Vegan, Won't "Cheat" For Favorite Foods
Mike Tyson Credits Vegan Diet With Massive 130 Pound Weight Loss
Filed under: food & drink — Michael Parrish DuDell @ 3:26 pm
Earlier this year, Ecorazzi reported that (much to our surprise) Mike Tyson had changed his life in some pretty big ways, including going vegan. Well, the famous boxer continues to preach about his new lifestyle, and recently sat down with ESPN to share the secret to his 130 pound weight loss.
“I became a vegan,” says Tyson. “Vegan is where no animal products. No livestock products. Nothing. I just did a lot of training and try to become more faithful in life. I wanted a different life. I felt like I was dying. I had an incident in life where I lost my 4 year old daughter in a tragic accident at home. I don’t know. I didn’t want to live anymore. So I said, that in order to go there, I had to change my life. I am going to change everything I dislike about myself. I changed everything that I was as a human being. I started that journey in October or November. … I don’t smoke anymore. I wanted to give up everything. I had to change my life. I didn’t have a problem with drugs or nothing. I had a problem with thinking. My thinking was broken. That was the solution of my broken thinking using drugs and living crazy. It was just the way I was thinking.”
Tyson has been vegan for almost a year, and, of course, we’re excited that’s he’s loving the lean, green diet. Do you have an amazing vegan weight loss story? Comment below and share it with us!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Feminist Intersection: On Hipsters/Hippies & the Theft of Native Culture
Lately I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with the hipsters and hippies, as well as the hippie/hipster “culture” at large, and have become increasingly annoyed at their depiction/co-option of my ethnicity as a First Nations person.
by Jen Musari, on the Native Appropriations website
Kelsey pointed me to this post on Sociological Images last week which rounds up some of the latest and greatest of this ever continuing trend.
I know my parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles have had to deal with this in their time and it’s certainly not a new thing –but it’s 2010 and not only does it still continue strongly to this day – it’s taken some interesting turns down the erasure of true origins road. This isn’t a hate letter, or reverse racism (as if there were such a thing!). It’s also not an attempt to discourage you from finding out more about Native people – and in fact I strongly ENCOURAGE you to do some actual research and knowledge seeking so you might get our culture right and think twice about things like permission and respect before you act on your appropriation.
So to the hipsters/hippies who appropriate Native culture but aren’t First Nations/Aboriginal/Indigenous, I’m asking you nicely now, to PLEASE stop annoying (the fuck out of) me with the following:
The clothing. Whether it’s headbands, feathers, bone necklaces, mukluks, or moccasins – at least put some damn thought into WHAT you are wearing and WHERE it’s from. I know our people sell these things en masse in gift shops and trading posts, and it seems like it’s an open invitation to buy it and flaunt it, but you could at least check the label to see A. If it’s made by actual Indigenous people/communities B. What does this really mean if YOU wear it?
Organic living and environmentalism as “new” concepts. One of my friends jokes that all Native people should get green energy for free because that’s how we’ve been living for centuries and also taught the colonizers how to live (which may or may not have screwed us in the end). I really do love the resurgence of the green movement and how things are becoming more environmentally friendly – but I don’t need certain members of the movement pretending like they started this or ignoring extreme realities we’re facing like environmental racism and justice. I also think we need actual Native people being in charge of and leading the responses to environmental degradation that are happening in our own territories. It’s not to say we don’t need allyship and support – but it’s also rather irritating when I read an event posting for a cause of some sort for a First Nation where there’s like two Native people in the whole place (who either barely say anything or are supposed to go along with the way the hippies organize without complaint because they’re “doing something for us”).
The appropriation of and silence about our medicines and teachings. I see direct examples of this in some of the alternative feminine and menstrual cycle products that are on the market now. I’m not hating on the DIVA cup or suggesting that the “divine goddess” isn’t a great story to hear, but I am wondering where your assertion of Indigenous midwifery knowledge is – and that in fact the absence of acknowledgment of where periods not being a bad thing or the blood from our menstrual cycles being sacred originates, is a direct erasure of Indigenous truth. It’s not enough to romanticize our medicines and teachings about women’s bodies and power and say, “Look at how thousands of years ago they used to do that!” and then capitalize your product or book off of some ancient-seeming fluff you are trying to present as en vogue. No! We are STILL doing this, we STILL believe in this, and damn it, you need to HONOR where this comes from!
We’re all one race. I’m not here to burst your bubble of unity and friendship, those things are great – but I am here to remind you that while some of you want to be our friends and ignore so-called “cultural differences” – you can’t ignore the history and current day presence of colonialism and racism. I don’t need to list off the statistics of health disparities and poverty in Native communities today to prove this fact to you – just consult the facts. I don’t want to be the angry Indian you won’t be friends with, so do me a favor and when you talk about “earth-based” things and your “right” to participate in whatever culture you want because we’re all human, know that there is such a thing as cultural protocol and that many of us are in crisis now of how to protect Indigenous knowledge.
Your grandfather’s, sister’s, cousin’s great-grandma was a Cherokee princess.This is an old one that we’ve been hearing for decades now – but it’s especially bothersome when I’m on the plane and you want me to educate you about blood quantum systems and status for the next 2 hours of the flight. I won’t do this, and I’m tired of you getting upset at me if I don’t initially present myself as Native (because no, we don’t all have braids and brown skin) but then you look at my laptop stickers and are like, “Mohawk. Hey my third cousin’s sister’s best friend is Native!” and then I just turn the volume on my IPod louder because I don’t always have the answers to your incessant questions – which are really just one question to me – why are we so invisible to you?
- Jessica Yee, Bitch Magazine
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez (2006) (documentary)
unfortunately i cannot locate a torrent link for this documentary, but i just checked out a copy from the local library so you might try yours...
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