The substitute for gods

Crowds in Sharpeville South Africa, fleeing as police open fire on peaceful protestors, killing at least 69 and injuring 180 people. 1960. © Ian Berry/Magnum Photos

          To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.

                                                              -Voltaire

dnaltroP

I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.
                        --Harriet Tubman 

There are  a lot of  people that, if someone told them they were black, they'd probably jump out of a  plate glass window to their deaths. 


Welcome to Portland Oregon. 

Black Gold

Why is it some people put themselves in peril to help others?

Tonight I was watching the show Nightline and their coverage of the theater shooting in Colorado. They had a story of two black men who were heroes, helping women with their children escape from the theater to safety. Then, while still talking about the tragedy, Diane Sawyer talked about the  7 year-old autistic girl who, earlier this week, was out on top of an air conditioner who fell  into the waiting arms of a bus driver below, another black man, named Steven St Bernard.

Diane Sawyer spoke about a man named Phil Zimbardo, head of the Heroic Imagination Project. He did  a study that,  though unpublished, yielded  some preliminary findings that gave me a feeling of pride. For example, people in cities were more likely to be reported taking heroic action then those living in rural areas. But what made me feel good was hearing that Black people were 8 times more likely to have done heroic deeds than caucasians, and Hispanic men- not women , were 2 times more likely than caucasians.

How come?
That segment of the show ended right there, with no explanation. 

This requires further review, for a future blog entry.

Dear White People

-- Justin Simien doesn't mind the possible comparisons to Spike Lee. Since the recent release of the trailer for his film Dear White People, a satire about black students' experience at PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions), many have noted the similarities between its take on race relations and Lee's own joints. (The clip already has more than 600,000 views on YouTube and has raised more than $41,400 on Indiegogo, surpassing its $25,000 fundraising goal.)
But, Simien says, the film is not just about race. "The movie to me is really about what it means to your identity when you are a thing that everyone around you has a preconception about," he explained. "And how that can really limit you, your potential, and in some ways, honestly, help you find yourself."
Simien used his own college years as inspiration, with the first few drafts culled from experiences such as when his suitemate was disappointed that the filmmaker couldn't teach him how to Crip Walk, or how people were obsessed with his hair. He talked with The Root about how Dear White People came to life and how he hopes it will spark much-needed cross-cultural conversations.
The Root: Why do you think it's so important for a movie like yours to be released now?

Justin Simien: We are coming out of this fantasy that we are postracial, and I just think … we have to challenge ourselves a little bit. There are a lot of people in the world who are just comfortable not really considering things from other perspectives. This film, what it hopefully will accomplish … is to put some very new perspectives out there about race and identity. It's important for black film. It's important for film, and it's being talked about in pretty much every format except for film right now. You have it in music, with comedians. You have books coming out about it -- How to Be Black [by Baratunde Thurston], Who's Afraid of Post-Racial Blackness? by Touré.
TR: Race and identity are satirized heavily in the film. Did you take any inspiration from comedians?
JS: Dave Chappelle is one of the first people to break through and have this really major crossover appeal commenting about the black experience. Donald Glover, who I'm just a tremendous fan of, who's on Community, has a rap persona as well. His commentary about being a black nerd is something that was inspiring. Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks, too, was just a huge inspiration. It was funny, extreme satire and … it just went there unapologetically. You know, Martin Luther King waking up [from a coma] and being call a socialist was the most ridiculous, amazing piece of television [laughs].
 
TR: What was your character development process like?
JS: There was always [characters like] a Sam, a Coco, a Troy and a Lionel ever since I started writing the script in 2005. It's really hard for me as a writer to really talk about any major topics, such as identity, from one point of view. So, I love ensemble movies -- Do the Right Thing, Election, The Royal Tenenbaums and Insane. Those movies are such an inspiration to me because you see this one thing dissected from all these different points of [view]. Sam, her voice was definitely developed through the Twitter account @DearWhitePeople; that's where I really honed her in a little bit as a funny, Angela-Davis-Malcolm X-Huey-Lisa-Bonet-type of amalgamation [laughs]. The other characters were culled from people I knew and experiences that I had personally.
TR: How has the film changed since you wrote it in 2005?

JS: When I first started writing it, I was fresh out of film school. I don't think I was a strong enough writer to write a script like this. At the time, it was called Two Percent … and it was just a series of episodes. Myself and the other producers all met in writers' groups where I was working on some version of it. That's where we all became friends and decided to do this project together. It really wasn't until two years ago when I felt a sense of urgency about it all of a sudden. We then took it to a workshop and did it with actors -- that was such a profound moment because I think we all heard it for the first time and were like, "Wow, this is the movie, this is a real story and it works."
Jade O. Earle is an editorial intern at The Root. 


--courtesy, the Root

WTF moment

So,

I'm on the train this morning headed to work, and this older white-haired lady is staring at me either  like she had never seen ablack man before or she was afraid I might beat her up.  I don't know what kind of look I had on my face (though most people say I always look pissed off until I smile), but the young man who was sitting with her smiled at me and said :

"Sorry for the stares, sir. This is my grandmother's first time outside of Finland. She's only seen black people for the first time this morning when I picked her up at the airport."

Stupidity

 So,  about an hour ago I'm in the elevator at work heading down stairs, and a white guy and 2 white women get on at the 5th floor. The white guy looks at me like he knows me and smiles and says hi, and I say hi back. Then he says:

"Oh, I'm sorry, you look like Will."
In this building of maybe 1,000 people, there are about 7 black men. Before I could open my mouth, one of the women says :

"Will, you're in my Diversity meetings.We meet every tuesday afternoon on Diversity projects!"

My response:

"Will is about 6'3" and tall and lean,and light-complextioned and wears glasses. And in his 20s. I'm 5'8" and I'm not lean,I'm dark skinned and I don't wear glasses. And I'm in my 40s. We look as different as night and day. If you think we look alike, then I don't even know what to say."

They all gave me that blank look of awkwardness, like they couldn't wait to get to the first floor to get away from me since I embarrassed them. I'm sure the rest of the elevator ride was uncomfortable for them, but I didn't care.

The situation reminds me of an episode on Good Times where JJ was accused of robbery, as he fit the description of the criminal, but when the criminal was discovered, it was a young, very short,  fat black boy, and the cops told Florida and James "it was an honest error. Anyone would have made that mistake."

i miss these things.

• seeing more than 5 black people per week
• taking my nephew for drives every other weekend
• seeing my mother every other weekend as well
• listening to tom joyner in the morning on the radio while getting ready for work
• making love to the same woman multiple times per week
• her scent on my pillow
• hangin with my friend Jeff and catching a movie
• baking cakes for my department and the cakes being devoured within 30 minutes
• seeing more than 5 black people per week
• the African World Fests every summer in Milwaukee
• the Arab World Fests every summer in Milwaukee as well
• having my family to rely on when my friends are busy and it's the weekend
• turning on the radio and hearing Jill Scott, Luther Vandross, Anthony Hamilton and D' Angelo and others of that genre
• taking the train to work in  DC
• having too many friends to hang out with.
• not having to call 50 people to see what they have planned for the weekend and having only one person respond
• driving with my friend Henry to atlantic city every payday friday
• seeing more than 5 black people per week
• being in love
• being happy
• i think i even miss the snow, even though I remember hating it. but at least i was with family
• having social things in common with the people I meet
• happy hour with friends after work
• knowing every one in the gym and the ease with which I made new friends
• making love to the same woman multiple times per week
• seeing more than 5 black people per week
• my friends
• Wisconsin, period