This, is our president, my people. Beautiful.
Love ya like I love my first family,
Cheekie
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
UPDATE on Oscar Grant: Ya'll Have Spoken
Just droppin' by to let you know about this:
BART cop transported to Bay Area jail, charged with murder
My sister (Chyna) tipped me off just now and I had to run over and post the news. Obviously the outrage expressed (in many forms: internet, protesting, etc) had a hand in this or this would have been dealt with in a more prompt matter. Just wanted to say thanks to those who did use their voices for justice and to keep on the lookout for how this is resolved.
Love ya like Blago loves himself,
Cheekie
BART cop transported to Bay Area jail, charged with murder
My sister (Chyna) tipped me off just now and I had to run over and post the news. Obviously the outrage expressed (in many forms: internet, protesting, etc) had a hand in this or this would have been dealt with in a more prompt matter. Just wanted to say thanks to those who did use their voices for justice and to keep on the lookout for how this is resolved.
Love ya like Blago loves himself,
Cheekie
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Racism Resurrected...
...except it never died.
You may or may not have heard about Mr. Oscar Grant. He was shot exceution style by a transit police officer on New Year's Eve. His physical position while heartlessly gunned down? Lying down. That's right he was at his most non-threatening when he was killed. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, has not been arrested or charged with any crime at the time of this posting. So, before you pull a Dubya and declare victory way before its time, please believe that racism is very much alive and thriving. And it's a helluva beast to tame. But tame it we must. Together.
Warning: The following video is disturbing. Please view it at your discretion.
After you're done watching, please head over to ColorofChange.org and add your name to the petition demanding California Attorney General, Jerry Brown to take over this case from the Alameda District Attorney (who hasn't bothered to question Mehserle) and arrest Mehserle promptly. In addition to lending your voice to this particular case, your name on this petition will also voice and appeal to the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the ridiculous pattern of BART police and the Alameda District Attorney refusing to hold officers accountable for their killings.
Sign Petition Here: Oscar Grant Petition
And when you've signed, make sure to pass it on to your friends and fam. Spread the word!
Love ya like Obama loves change,
Cheekie
You may or may not have heard about Mr. Oscar Grant. He was shot exceution style by a transit police officer on New Year's Eve. His physical position while heartlessly gunned down? Lying down. That's right he was at his most non-threatening when he was killed. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, has not been arrested or charged with any crime at the time of this posting. So, before you pull a Dubya and declare victory way before its time, please believe that racism is very much alive and thriving. And it's a helluva beast to tame. But tame it we must. Together.
Warning: The following video is disturbing. Please view it at your discretion.
After you're done watching, please head over to ColorofChange.org and add your name to the petition demanding California Attorney General, Jerry Brown to take over this case from the Alameda District Attorney (who hasn't bothered to question Mehserle) and arrest Mehserle promptly. In addition to lending your voice to this particular case, your name on this petition will also voice and appeal to the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the ridiculous pattern of BART police and the Alameda District Attorney refusing to hold officers accountable for their killings.
Sign Petition Here: Oscar Grant Petition
And when you've signed, make sure to pass it on to your friends and fam. Spread the word!
Love ya like Obama loves change,
Cheekie
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Thoughts for Thursday
***ADMIN NOTE***: We haven't been posting as often as we'd like, but we should be getting to regular posting soon. Of course, life got in the way, and unfortunately, this blog was not a part of said life. We need to make it so. Holla. In addition to that, instead of a regular post we will have a special feature on Thursdays uncreatively beautifully entitled "Thoughts for Thursday". It might just be a question, simple statement, or observation. All of which encourages discussion among you fine people.
Today's Thought: Why is sex (meant to create life) censored at a higher level than violence (meant to destroy life)?
Speak on it!
Love ya like Hollywood loves censoring man parts,
Cheekie
Today's Thought: Why is sex (meant to create life) censored at a higher level than violence (meant to destroy life)?
Speak on it!
Love ya like Hollywood loves censoring man parts,
Cheekie
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Cookie Syndrome
I think it’s safe to assume that every African-American person in this country understands the term “Oreo” as it is used to describe a certain “kind of Black person”. In a nutshell, it’s a black person who is perceived by another black person or other black people as one who attempts to “be white”. But, what does that really mean…to me?
Well, I think it certainly goes beyond how one dresses, wears his/her hair, where a person lives, or whether a person’s speech is inundated with strings of wanton slang. What the hell did he say???? And, I’m black. I’m good and in my thirties so I have had considerable time to mull over my perception of things; situations, people, and the one thing I’ve concluded for myself is that using correct grammar is not “talking white”, however, changing your entire accent, or voice inflections, pitch, etc, so that you sound like your white counterparts is “talking white”. Blacks who pay attention can usually tell when you’re trying too hard.
If I’m on the phone with a black woman, I don’t care if she has a law degree from Yale, a medical degree from Harvard, and an MBA from Vassar, for the most part, I can still tell that I’m speaking to a black person…..or maybe I believe that I should be able to tell she’s black. Thing is, I don’t automatically equate the use of grammatically correct English by a black person as their trying to “talk white”. I mean when black people accuse other blacks of that, do they realize that in contrast or what they’re saying, by default, is that “dumb speech” is automatically equated to being black? And I say that because what’s really being thrown at a person is “you’re trying to sound smart”
I think trying to be white calls for a more stellar psychological performance than is necessary simply for the black boy who actually shops at Abercrombie & Fitch. I recall how Ice Cube’s pronouncement about “Black police showing out for the white cop” resonated with me in the 80’s. I had no negative experience with law enforcement on any personal level yet I understood fully his accusation.
I think acting white is more about the things Blacks do to other Blacks that scream their undying commitment to showing whites how much like white they really are than it is about whether they surf, or play hockey, or go to the Opera. It is a black person who not only mimics white culture, but attempts to denigrate and retreat from their own. Thing is, whether you like it or not, we’re not all just a mass of CBS Afterschool Specials. We don’t all have these stories about our mothers and/or fathers being crack heads, or living in the inner city projects. We didn’t all have to share two coats between eight siblings or sleep eleven to a room. Sometimes we have parents who were actually professionals; they may have spent summers on Martha’s Vineyard, dined at fine restaurants, and wore clothes whose prices didn’t end in .99. So hey, maybe they picked up playing golf and skateboarding with the white kids in their neighborhoods; or….. Communities if you will. I guess if some of their friends wore tie dyed shirt and khakis, well, they would follow suit. I mean isn’t that what we all do? The point is, none of this means he doesn’t want to be black.
Personally, I believe it’s more about a black person who may or may not have experienced the latter lifestyle, but has an overwhelming desire to mentally remove himself from their very real reality in this country. A Black person who may have much, or not, has actually convinced himself that by acting as his white counterparts act, and doing what they do, he will receive some special pass from being black in America because he did the smart thing in disassociating with “those black people”. He now feels equal in their circles and believes that he has their backs so they’ll have his. Then one day, inevitably, the thing that was once a reality in his mind becomes fallacy. Because eventually, at some point in their lifetimes; perhaps more than once, something or someone will happen to Mr. or Ms Sellout, that will remind them that they’re still ….well you know……. Damn! ….you know, like OJ.
Holla at me!
Chyna
Well, I think it certainly goes beyond how one dresses, wears his/her hair, where a person lives, or whether a person’s speech is inundated with strings of wanton slang. What the hell did he say???? And, I’m black. I’m good and in my thirties so I have had considerable time to mull over my perception of things; situations, people, and the one thing I’ve concluded for myself is that using correct grammar is not “talking white”, however, changing your entire accent, or voice inflections, pitch, etc, so that you sound like your white counterparts is “talking white”. Blacks who pay attention can usually tell when you’re trying too hard.
If I’m on the phone with a black woman, I don’t care if she has a law degree from Yale, a medical degree from Harvard, and an MBA from Vassar, for the most part, I can still tell that I’m speaking to a black person…..or maybe I believe that I should be able to tell she’s black. Thing is, I don’t automatically equate the use of grammatically correct English by a black person as their trying to “talk white”. I mean when black people accuse other blacks of that, do they realize that in contrast or what they’re saying, by default, is that “dumb speech” is automatically equated to being black? And I say that because what’s really being thrown at a person is “you’re trying to sound smart”
I think trying to be white calls for a more stellar psychological performance than is necessary simply for the black boy who actually shops at Abercrombie & Fitch. I recall how Ice Cube’s pronouncement about “Black police showing out for the white cop” resonated with me in the 80’s. I had no negative experience with law enforcement on any personal level yet I understood fully his accusation.
I think acting white is more about the things Blacks do to other Blacks that scream their undying commitment to showing whites how much like white they really are than it is about whether they surf, or play hockey, or go to the Opera. It is a black person who not only mimics white culture, but attempts to denigrate and retreat from their own. Thing is, whether you like it or not, we’re not all just a mass of CBS Afterschool Specials. We don’t all have these stories about our mothers and/or fathers being crack heads, or living in the inner city projects. We didn’t all have to share two coats between eight siblings or sleep eleven to a room. Sometimes we have parents who were actually professionals; they may have spent summers on Martha’s Vineyard, dined at fine restaurants, and wore clothes whose prices didn’t end in .99. So hey, maybe they picked up playing golf and skateboarding with the white kids in their neighborhoods; or….. Communities if you will. I guess if some of their friends wore tie dyed shirt and khakis, well, they would follow suit. I mean isn’t that what we all do? The point is, none of this means he doesn’t want to be black.
Personally, I believe it’s more about a black person who may or may not have experienced the latter lifestyle, but has an overwhelming desire to mentally remove himself from their very real reality in this country. A Black person who may have much, or not, has actually convinced himself that by acting as his white counterparts act, and doing what they do, he will receive some special pass from being black in America because he did the smart thing in disassociating with “those black people”. He now feels equal in their circles and believes that he has their backs so they’ll have his. Then one day, inevitably, the thing that was once a reality in his mind becomes fallacy. Because eventually, at some point in their lifetimes; perhaps more than once, something or someone will happen to Mr. or Ms Sellout, that will remind them that they’re still ….well you know……. Damn! ….you know, like OJ.
Holla at me!
Chyna
Monday, December 8, 2008
O.J.: It's Not Just Orange Juice
It was the year 1995. After school, I'd drop my bookbag on the floor, hoping to catch an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But, there was no Big-Eared West Philadelphian on my TV screen. Nope, it was this guy:
Who knew a glove could become more famous than me?
Yep, that's right, OJ Simpson dominated TV screens everywhere. You had to have been living under a rock that was under a cave that was under an elephant's rump to have not known him. Eight media-obsessed months later and he was acquitted. Millions of Black jaws dropped in reaction. Johnnie Cochran became THE defense attorney to end all defense attorneys.
Then comes 2008. Right on the coattails of Black folks collectively orgasming across the country electing the First Black President, OJ gets himself into some hot mess. Long story short, he is sentenced to up to 33 years in prison for trying to get his stuff back (aka armed robbery).
So, I summarize the past several years of the OJ to say this. This post isn't to defend him or his actions. Honestly, if I were him and had The Man's tracking device permanently attached to me, I wouldn't have penned a book entitled If I Did It. I'd also probably would've retrieved my things a tad bit more politely. You know, tried my bestest (yes...-est) to abide by the law. But, I digress.
And as far as the murder trial itself, it doesn't matter if I believe he did it or not (Honestly, I have no idea). The point is, as always, race was a gray issue in regards to OJ. What bothered me the most was not whether he was innocent or not, but the racial implications surrounding the case. The media had a field day with the "Black guy kills White woman" story. And when he was acquitted, the equivalence of the Republican Rally when Obama won was plastered over America. Except much angrier.
Against my better judgement, I have been watching the Nancy Grace coverage of the OJ sentencing.
She probably doesn't like Orange Juice.
Yes, apparently, "Black Man Gets His Comeuppance" takes precedence over her muchly favored "Where's Caylee" case. Let's just say that the comments allowed on her program are tinged with such passive-aggressive racism, my racism radar (called race-dar) was pinging. And her silly and ignorant teasing of OJ's tears and insults thrown his way, which are all masked as "being real" reminded me why I don't watch her show.
So, OJ coverage over the years has left me wondering.
Am I supposed to ignore the blatant stereotyping within the OJ saga just because he may have possibly "did it"? Am I supposed to ignore the fact that people are doing everything short of actually stating "Ok, so this trial IS the payback for his unjustified acquittal" just because he may have possibly "did it"? Am I supposed to ignore the "coincidental" (yeah, it's in quotes for a helluva reason) timing of this sentencing just because he may have possibly "did it"? Am I supposed to ignore the obvious racial/social issues surrounding this case just because he may have possibly "did it"?
Maybe I don't have to wonder after all.
And with that, I'm thirsty...
Love ya like Angelina Jolie loves kids,
Cheekie
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Many Shades of Civil Rights
***ASIDE: I just want to note how delightfully gleeful I am (still!) that I get to say “President Obama” about a million times within the next four years (at least!).***
Amongst all of the cheers erupted and tears shed for our first Black president, there lurked a shadow of our country’s intolerance. That shadow’s name it Proposition 8. It even has a nickname: Prop 8. Now there have been countless articles, blog entries, and YouTube videos addressing the opinions of both sides of the fence. Though, today, I’m not going to get into a detailed analysis on why I’m for or against Prop 8. I’ll just state – for the record – that I’m fully against it. And that I’ll never understand how one group who knows what it’s like for their rights to be stripped from them can then turn around and take away someone else’s.
With that said, I want to address this simple idea uttered by many: “ We have a Black President! Progression! Yet, Gay Marriage was banned in California! Retrogression! That means that racial issues are dead yet sexuality issues are still alive and thriving!”
…
NOPE! You can’t even fathom how much I wish it were that easy. For a single event – even an astronomically huge one such as Mr. Obama being named President-elect – to erase five hundred years of racism. While Obama’s victory is a major step, it is a step. One. Of many.
Now, the passing of Prop 8 did reek of “one step forward, two steps back” in terms of discrimination and civil rights in general. And while, I do agree that, in general, it does negate the “let’s all hold hands around the earth” vibe that Obama inspired, it bothers me when these two facets of civil rights are compared inaccurately and unfairly.
Let’s take the following scenario. A Black straight man (Man A) and a White gay man (Man B), both from California. Both have their share of prejudices against them as well as their privileges in society. For one, both are men. Not much needs to be said on their obvious “shark” ranking in the “food chain” of our society. Now, let’s take what’s stacked “against” them. Man A has to withstand acts of discrimination from the jump. He doesn’t have the “privilege” of hiding his “minority” status as Man B does. To the naked eye, Man B is still just another White man, in all of his “majority” glory. Now, all hell breaks loose when his secret is discovered. Now he has to withstand hate crimes and other acts of discrimination. Thing is, Man A is still withstanding it and has been withstanding it from the moment he was born (sometimes not as overt as Man B’s discrimination, but discrimination is discrimination). Okay, so let’s say both of these men fall in love. Man A can definitely marry the person he loves legally, while Man B can’t. So, while Man B can cohabitate with the person he loves, he can’t share the same benefits with his partner as Man A. And to top it all off, there are homophobic and racist themed tensions between Man A and Man B themselves! Hmm, the phrase “divide and conquer” comes to mind.
So, above I’ve pointed out an example of what one oppressed group has to suffer and the other group doesn’t. I did that because; frankly, this game of “which is worse” between Black folks and gay folks is ridiculous. It’s incredibly insulting to the respective histories of each group to compare the two beyond the fact that they are both discriminated against and that both seek civil rights. To use the overused idiom, this issue is not “black or white”. The many elements of oppression within each group cannot be defined using a blanket generalization. The ways in which the oppression was born as well as the way it is implemented is very distinct for each group. This post would be even longer than it already is if I were to get into all of it. And even if I did (which, I’m not… my fingers are cramping), the song would remain the same: When it comes to Black and gay civil rights, there are many shades of gray.
And with that, I’d like to pose this question: How about spending less time on fighting over which one is worse off or more progressive than the other and spending more time fighting together to obtain civil rights for all?
Love ya like Bush loves oil,
Cheekie
Amongst all of the cheers erupted and tears shed for our first Black president, there lurked a shadow of our country’s intolerance. That shadow’s name it Proposition 8. It even has a nickname: Prop 8. Now there have been countless articles, blog entries, and YouTube videos addressing the opinions of both sides of the fence. Though, today, I’m not going to get into a detailed analysis on why I’m for or against Prop 8. I’ll just state – for the record – that I’m fully against it. And that I’ll never understand how one group who knows what it’s like for their rights to be stripped from them can then turn around and take away someone else’s.
With that said, I want to address this simple idea uttered by many: “ We have a Black President! Progression! Yet, Gay Marriage was banned in California! Retrogression! That means that racial issues are dead yet sexuality issues are still alive and thriving!”
…
NOPE! You can’t even fathom how much I wish it were that easy. For a single event – even an astronomically huge one such as Mr. Obama being named President-elect – to erase five hundred years of racism. While Obama’s victory is a major step, it is a step. One. Of many.
Now, the passing of Prop 8 did reek of “one step forward, two steps back” in terms of discrimination and civil rights in general. And while, I do agree that, in general, it does negate the “let’s all hold hands around the earth” vibe that Obama inspired, it bothers me when these two facets of civil rights are compared inaccurately and unfairly.
Let’s take the following scenario. A Black straight man (Man A) and a White gay man (Man B), both from California. Both have their share of prejudices against them as well as their privileges in society. For one, both are men. Not much needs to be said on their obvious “shark” ranking in the “food chain” of our society. Now, let’s take what’s stacked “against” them. Man A has to withstand acts of discrimination from the jump. He doesn’t have the “privilege” of hiding his “minority” status as Man B does. To the naked eye, Man B is still just another White man, in all of his “majority” glory. Now, all hell breaks loose when his secret is discovered. Now he has to withstand hate crimes and other acts of discrimination. Thing is, Man A is still withstanding it and has been withstanding it from the moment he was born (sometimes not as overt as Man B’s discrimination, but discrimination is discrimination). Okay, so let’s say both of these men fall in love. Man A can definitely marry the person he loves legally, while Man B can’t. So, while Man B can cohabitate with the person he loves, he can’t share the same benefits with his partner as Man A. And to top it all off, there are homophobic and racist themed tensions between Man A and Man B themselves! Hmm, the phrase “divide and conquer” comes to mind.
So, above I’ve pointed out an example of what one oppressed group has to suffer and the other group doesn’t. I did that because; frankly, this game of “which is worse” between Black folks and gay folks is ridiculous. It’s incredibly insulting to the respective histories of each group to compare the two beyond the fact that they are both discriminated against and that both seek civil rights. To use the overused idiom, this issue is not “black or white”. The many elements of oppression within each group cannot be defined using a blanket generalization. The ways in which the oppression was born as well as the way it is implemented is very distinct for each group. This post would be even longer than it already is if I were to get into all of it. And even if I did (which, I’m not… my fingers are cramping), the song would remain the same: When it comes to Black and gay civil rights, there are many shades of gray.
And with that, I’d like to pose this question: How about spending less time on fighting over which one is worse off or more progressive than the other and spending more time fighting together to obtain civil rights for all?
Love ya like Bush loves oil,
Cheekie
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