“Oh No, Not Again!” Coping with Perpetual Outrage Syndrome

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I feel tired. But not for the usual reasons, like trying to balance motherhood, significant other, full-time job, and all the activities and responsibilities that come with the “Superwoman Myth.” I’m tired because there’s only so much outrage I can muster on a constant basis.

It seems like I once had an inexhaustible supply. But after being whipsawed back and forth with rage-inducing episodes like this and this – and ongoing affronts like this – my storehouse of outrage is depleting.… [Read more]

A Rant against Hoodies – Part III, the Follow-Up

Hoodies

 The last time I wrote about hoodies was in April 2012 when we (most of us) were protesting Trayvon Martin’s senseless murder.

I too was incensed, not only with the murder but with the protests as well. It was very obvious (at least to me) that wearing hoodies does not fix the underlying problem. It was a meaningless display to appease African-American constituents, trying to fool them into believing that something constructive is being done.… [Read more]

Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? Me, Kinda.

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I’m teaching a Black Politics course this summer, and I’m using Toure’s “Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now“ as the primary textbook. Initially, I planned to take the traditional route – lecturing from works by the usual suspects: Manning Marable, Michael Dawson, Cornel West. But I decided in the end that I wanted to discuss race in a contemporary way, and Toure’s work allows me that freedom.… [Read more]

Marissa Alexander: Punished For Being a Victim

Marissa Alexander

I’d like to ask these cops in Florida who arrested Marissa Alexander, the prosecutor who charged abuse victim Marissa Alexander, the judge who denied Marissa Alexander the right to use “Stand Your Ground” as a defense, the jury of three men and three women who convicted Marissa Alexander of aggravated assault after 12 minutes of deliberation, the judge who sentenced Marissa Alexander to 20 years in prison for assaulting a wall, and the judge who recently denied abuse victim Marissa Alexander a new trial, if they know what it’s like to dodge and duck and flee from an abusive male partner, … [Read more]

Untruth and Its Consequences

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In a recent TED talk, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke eloquently on “The danger of a single story.”   In her talk she spoke of how “the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.  They make one story become the only story”:

.… [Read more]

Are We That Bad?

American Flag on Wood Plank by nixxphotography

One minute, I’m proud as hell of this country, the good old U.S. of A. The next minute, I wish Jerry Garcia was still alive and we could all just float upon a cloud of patchouli while group-hugging all the way to drug-induced enlightenment. Sometimes, I get inspired thinking about how far we’ve come in such a short time (sans the drugs) in some respects; but as soon as I am again steeped in the issues of the current day, I want to grab this country by Florida and drag it out to the woodshed for a proper switching.… [Read more]

A Rant Against Hoodies

Hoodies

The deadline for my blog article is fast approaching and I am at a complete loss as to what to write.

It is not as if I am out of subjects; there are plenty. I had decided to begin a series that takes a look at the gun control debate in USA. The plan was to start with George Zimmerman, go backwards in history, understand historical precedence and accidents, and gain an understanding of both sides of the debate.… [Read more]

It’s a Wrap – Week in Review, April 1, 2012

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It’s April Fool’s Day in the United States!

How very appropriate given the amount of sheer foolishness we’ve been subjected to this past week. Let’s start the recap with Justice Scalia; he ought to be ashamed of himself. His statement comparing medical insurance coverage to people being forced to eat broccoli was a lousy analogy at best and exceptionally disingenuous at worst — but not surprising at all.… [Read more]

Congressman Bobby Rush

Doodle_239_Looks_Like_Bobby_Rush_Still_Has_Some_Panther_in_Him

Congressman Bobby Rush, without a hoodie — and not being escorted off the House of Representatives floor…… [Read more]

Hoodies and the Grammar of Repression

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On Wednesday, March 28, Rep. Bobby Rush (D) of Illinois was escorted off the floor of the House of Representatives for a breach of the congressional dress code which is far more nuanced and gets far more attention than anyone could imagine. While making a speech about the murder of Trayvon Martin and subsequent controversy, Rep.… [Read more]

Miles to Go

Road with Milestone by digitalart

On vacation with my family, I decided to also take a  vacation from news for a few days. When I stumbled back into the cycle, the Trayvon Martin story was everywhere. The more I read, the more baffled I became. No one knows, of course, exactly what happened in the moments before the gun went off,  but we do know a kid with Skittles and Ice Tea in his hands is dead and the shooter has not been arrested.… [Read more]

Assumption-sumption, What’s Your Dysfunction?

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I don’t remember when I saw this particular episode of “The Odd Couple.” I must have been in elementary school, watching reruns on a low-power station. Felix Unger addressed a courtroom, chalkboard before him, when he declared, “Ah, you assumed. My dear, you should never assume. You see, when you assume (wrote the word on the board) you make an ass out of you and me!”

I can see in my mind the flourishes Felix used whilst brandishing that piece of chalk, circling the parts of “assume.” Oh, how loaded that word is!… [Read more]

Race Still Matters

Race Still Matters

I can’t help being fascinated by the Trayvon Martin case – by the way the events are unfolding and the ways in which narratives are being constructed and white supremacy is being exposed. It’s interesting to hear the many “takes” on the situation, including the following gems of cognition:

  • George Zimmerman isn’t white; he can’t be racist.
  • [Read more]

Where is the Reset Button?

Reset button

The Trayvon Martin killing has sparked conversations all across the country and one conversation I have had with myself is the question “What kind of America do I want to live in?” Do I want to live in a country where a 28-year-old, 250 lb man, armed with a semi-automatic hand gun, can track down and murder a 140 lb seventeen year old, armed with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea, and whose only crime was “Walking While Black”?… [Read more]

The Night I Died

Gun

In the summer of 1969 I was 18 and a mere week or two away from going off to college. On the night of August 8, 1969 I was shot and killed because I was running and I was black. I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was 11:30 PM on a beautiful star-studded Saturday night in Park Slope.… [Read more]

It’s A Wrap – Week In Review, March 25, 2012

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This week marked another week of progress…and regress.  A very young man, Trayvon Martin, died a month ago and the man who shot him is still walking around quite free. Regression.

Many of us are watching to see what happens, especially since it is quite clear that law enforcement didn’t do its job; will there be justice or… just us?… [Read more]

Trayvon Martin…Just a Good Kid

Trayvon_Martin-Just_a_Good_Kid

[Read more]

A Word About Trayvon Martin

Shooting Target

Allow me to present the facts:

Unarmed 17-year-old male walks home from a 7-Eleven in the rain in Sanford, Florida. He carries a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea. He’s wearing jeans and a hoodie.

A volunteer neighborhood watch captain calls the police, telling the operator that he spied a “real suspicious guy” who “looks like he’s up to no good, on drugs or something.… [Read more]

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