My People, My People

It pains me that, after praising "my people" for their impromptu tributes in the wake of Michael Jackson's passing, a planned "tribute to Michael Jackson," via the BET Awards Show, would not only pale in comparison but actually showcase what a complete travesty "Black Entertainment" has become.

It seems that the tears I shed for Michael Jackson should not just be for the end of his life, or the end of my childhood era, but also for the end of an era of black musical genius of the 20th century - which arguably began with Louis Armstrong, King of Jazz, and now closes with our very own King of Pop.

Considering that I've been pretty emotional since Thursday, I must offer a disclaimer in the way that I respond to last night's BET Awards Show, for I feel as if I'm going through the stages of grief. I already experienced Stage 1 - DENIAL - as soon as Michael Jackson's death was announced; then, Stage 2 - ANGER - came pretty quickly the next day, after suffering through a media onslaught of speculations of MJ's private life, his legal and financial troubles, and his rumored medical condition (keep in mind, we still don't know what killed him yet). Friday night, I was screaming at my TV: LEAVE MICHAEL ALONE! HE'S DEAD! YOU DISGUSTING VULTURES!! HE'S NOT EVEN BURIED YET! WILL YOU NOT STOP TILL YOU PICK HIS BONES DRY??!!

But over the weekend, my anger calmed down, and I thought I was pretty much ready for Stage 3 - BARGAINING - in which I thought Michael, if he were in deep emotional and psychological pain, was finally at peace and his reputation, upon witnessing the global outpouring of well wishes, MJ Saturday night parties and flash mob mass moonwalks from as far away as Paris, Vienna, Sydney, and Beijing, redeemed his legacy.

Then, the BET Awards Show happened and set me right back to Stage 2. And I should have known better. BET is nothing but "Black Embarrassment Television," "Black Exploitation Television," "Buffoonery Entertainment Television." But, when tuning in to CNN, I learned that the BET Awards Show had revamped the event so that they could turn the whole show into a "Tribute to Michael Jackson." Naturally, I thought I should see what "our people" would do for the man's legacy.

Have Mercy!

What the hell did I just watch last night? Was that supposed to be a "tribute"? Bad jokes, ghettoized speak, and Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence reprising their most offensive drag-queen, woman-hating performances with their fake movie trailer called Skank Robbers (starring their demeaning altar egos Wanda the Ugly Woman and Sheneneh)?! Beyonce singing "Ave Maria" in lingerie (the sacrilege!) before singing "In the Arms of an Angel" in a ballerina-bride get-up that made her look a fool? And, if that were some "In Memoriam" anthem, why not sing her lovely hit song, "Halo"? I mean, come on!

Ne-Yo did a decent job on "The Lady of My Life," but Ciara sounded weak on "Heal the World," and where oh where was there even a dance tribute to our Lord of the Dance? No Michael Jackson montage, no medley of his greatest hits, nothing! Worse, we get some "hot ghetto mess" of a spoof on John Singleton's Baby Boy that most people, who probably didn't watch that dumb movie, wouldn't understand. Pathetic!

The most egregious offense had to be that new-school crap someone has the audacity to call "hip hop" performed by some youngins', including Drake, Lil' Wayne, and TI or T-Pain or whatever the hell they call themselves. One of them wore a "big ass chain" with the words "Big Ass Chain." I kid you not! And if that weren't bad enough, every other word was bleeped out, and then they brought onto the stage some 12 year old girls dressed up like the "skank robbers" Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence already spoofed. Before I could pick my jaw up off the floor, Jamie Foxx then ushered Janet Jackson onto the stage.

Make no mistake about it. Janet looked pissed. I would be too. Her words were gracious, but I wouldn't be surprised if she were thinking: YOU TRIFLING NEGROES! HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE MY BROTHER'S MEMORY LIKE THIS?!

If it had not been for Janet, this "tribute" show would have gone down in flames. But she managed to bring the telecast some grace and, surprisingly, some relief and some sanity. I think we really needed to hear from someone in the family, and who better than Janet, the other well known Jackson, to come out and say, "We're in pain, and we appreciate that you are giving us the love and support." People in the audience, and myself, started crying again, and suddenly the insanity stopped in time for Jamie and Ne-Yo to sing "I'll Be There."

And while the show ended on a positive note, it certainly wasn't enough to remove the stench of buffoonery that we witnessed in the previous three hours. I am appalled that this telecast dared to call itself a "tribute to Michael Jackson." Because, whatever flaws the man suffered off stage, ON STAGE, he was the consummate professional. And he never uttered profanity, he never demeaned women with disgusting lyrics, and he offered us magic. There is no excuse for the "hot ghetto mess" that BET showcased last night. Michael Jackson also came from a ghetto, but through Motown and later on in his adult life, he showed all of us how you can climb from humble beginnings to become a legend.

Not one artist who "graced" last night's stage is worthy enough to step into the King's shoes, and it pains me to think that Michael Jackson died without one potential artist to pass the torch to.

A travesty.

Let's hope other upcoming tributes planned are worthy of his greatness.

Sometimes I Just Love My People

Because, when it comes to our legends, no matter how much we have bickered about his guilt or innocence, or whether or not he was ashamed of his blackness or if he really suffered from a pigmentation disease, no matter what the controversy, we always take it back to the beginning.

And we remember where he came from, and where he first performed, and in death, we reclaim him and welcome him back into the fold, and celebrate him on to his next home.

Despite everything, despite knowing that Michael Jackson is truly a world phenomenon who belongs to the world, he was ours first, and we will remember him always.

This is a shout out to my lovely people who spontaneously gathered in Harlem upon the news of Michael Jackson's death and celebrated a life and the soundtrack to all of our lives:

Michael Jackson Has Passed Away!

I said it would take something major to get me back to posting again, and this one shocked me to the core.

My childhood icon, my first ever superstar, Michael Jackson, died after a cardiac arrest at the age of 50. I'm still crying as I type this. I'm really upset about this! :(

I'm opening up the comments again, if you want to share your thoughts.  

Rest in peace, Michael! 

Update (cause how can I have a Michael Jackson post without Michael Jackson's music?)

Wrap Up: My 500th Post

Just some quick headlines:

• Chris Brown avoids jail time with a 5-month probation, including light work and domestic violence counseling, after entering a guilty plea for assaulting girlfriend and pop R&B singer Rihanna.  Just to place this in a larger context, consider this: back in 2005, rapper Lil' Kim was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, plus three years probation and a $50,000 fine for committing perjury.  Whatever you think of this case, just compare what Lil' Kim received to Chris Brown, after he beat Rihanna to a bloody pulp, threatened to kill her, and abandoned her in the street - all while a bystander called the police after witnessing this violent display.  And we wonder why no one takes domestic violence seriously!
• Neda Soltani has now become the face of Iranian protest, once she was killed last Saturday in the midst of the people's protests against what is believed to be voter fraud in Iran.  Her death was captured on a cell phone, and the image has made its way in the global circuit across the Internet.  On the one hand, her death, now treated as martyrdom, has raised the specter of women's protest in the wake of this unrest.  In case you hadn't noticed, there are numerous women out on the streets.  Interesting, then, that it took Neda's death for the news pundits to start discussing women's rights in Iran, noting that women in Iran have a much higher rate of college graduation than we do here in the U.S.  Neda was a 27-year-old philosophy student.  On the other hand, news pundits are also talking about how digital technology - cell phones, twitter, and You Tube - is fueling this "revolution" and subverting the state, which has sought to cut off all information concerning this uprising.  

Naturally, once news networks like CNN start talking about telecommunications and revolution in the same breath, I start distrusting the whole system.  As Gil Scott Heron once rapped, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised/ The Revolution Will Be Live."  And as I once blogged, The Revolution Will Not Be Digitized.  Oh, these latest tools of technology may give us the illusion that they hold this power for social change, but really, what are they but tools of consumption? And, like any tool of consumption, it's what you do with them that matters.  Some use these digital communication technologies for porn and verbal violence, others use them to document uprisings and protest.  Whatever these tools are used for, let us always remember: "The master's tools [insert corporate media or Big Brother or Google] will never dismantle the master's house."

I started this blog in 2007, seeking a new space and a new tool to channel my thoughts and hone my writing skills.  In the process, I've been exposed to different new media and new conversations.  Over time, I've even built and participated in a close-knit community that was equally concerned with the ideas and actions that made me "anxious" or curious or angry or excited.  Now that I've reached my 500th post, I have come to a decision that it's time for me to take a pause and move forward.  

I'm getting the research bug, and I'm increasingly growing nostalgic for pen and paper and writing in book form.  Which means the ideas that I've presented here since 2007 I would now like to transfer to the printed page and leave off blogging as an "anxious black woman" for a while.  As much as I've been energized by a community of bloggers, commenters, readers, lurkers, and followers, I'm also now craving to keep thoughts to myself, rather than let the world in on it.  This new mood of mine also comes from an acknowledgment that the Internet is not the same character it was when I started back in 2007.  It is increasingly becoming more and more corporate - which isn't to say it hasn't always been, but seriously, when blogs start looking more and more indistinguishable from corporate websites, replete with advertisements, it's time for me to reassess this new environment.

The revolution will not be digitized

                                        will not be digitized

will not be digitized

The revolution will be live...

The more Big Media proclaims the "death" of the printed form (newspapers, books, magazines, etc.) and the inevitable reign of digital culture (even our TV sets have become digitized), the more I feel our print culture needs saving.  I'm the first to embrace digital culture, I'm the first to teach new media to my students, but there's keeping up with new technology and then letting it take over our lives and our cultures.  

So, with this 500th post, I just want to announce that I won't be blogging as Anxious Black Woman anymore, or at least not for some time.  Who knows if some big dramatic event or issue emerges a month from now or a year, which compels me to come back here and revive this site?  But, I didn't want to just stop posting and have others wonder what happened to me.  I've seen those sudden disruptions - bloggers like Professor Black Woman shutting down her blog, or Shecodes over at Black Women Vote! not updating since Election Day last year.  And who knows whatever became of Riverbend at Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog in Iraq?  

The truth is, I want to debrief and rethink my blogging experience, which requires that I take a break.  This doesn't mean that I won't be lurking or even participating in the blogosphere elsewhere.  But, I'm just quietly closing this digital diary for now.  I won't be shutting down this blog.  I believe in history (you all know that) and in keeping a record of things.  I'll keep comments on moderation and allow my 500 posts to be accessed (and I respectfully request that any citing you do from my writings is provided with a link or that you use my citation guidelines, included in my side bar).  When you think about it, 500 posts is the equivalent of a hardcover book, maybe even two volumes.  This is very much a publication, and I leave my work here for your perusal.  

Thank you all for reading, for following, and for dialoging! :)

Peace and blessings,

ABW

"Where is My Vote" poster by Harrystaab.

From Chamber Maid to Princess: The Story is Always More Complicated

I've been meaning for quite some time to offer a response to Monique Fields' article, Enough With Princesses!, in which she rightly criticizes the heteronormative gender hierarchy that encourages little girls to fantasize about becoming "princesses" - courtesy of Disney mega-corporate dreaming. Specifically, Fields argues, the issue is this hegemonic gender role and not that Disney is targeting African American consumers in a new marketing ploy to sell the latest toys, video games, and fashions that tie in to their upcoming animated movie, The Princess and the Frog, featuring the first African American princess. I wish it were only about gender and that we could just excoriate these animation features (see, for example, this criticism of Pixar's gender limitations) in their failure to envision something different for women and girls. But, if you've been reading my blog, you know that gender cannot be separated from the intersections of race, class, sexuality, nationality, etc.

The problem is not just about "princesses." The problem is also cultural - what does it mean this story pertaining to African Americans is based on a British fairy tale vs., say, an Angolan folk tale that also features a frog (here, the frog gets the princess without having to turn into a handsome prince; hence the moral of the story is not for a woman to overlook appearances but to accept the one who will labor the hardest for her love)? Beyond the "source" fairy tale used to create this story is the historical fiction developed to ground this fantasy in "reality." Thus, we don't get a setting in a "land far far away" - could be Timbuktu or some make-believe country on the make-believe continent of Atlantis for all we care - but instead, we get a setting in a very familiar land called the United States of America, in 1920s New Orleans to be specific. Really? Our first African American princess and she's supposed to be living in the deepest of the Deep South, at the height of Jim Crow segregation, severe poverty, and lynchings? I mean, Post-Katrina New Orleans ain't got nothing on 1920s New Orleans! Oh, but of course! This is the musical setting for the birth of jazz. Black music must drive the story, mustn't it? Okay, I can get with that.

No wonder, then, that this "fantasy" is based in "reality" (for all Disney princess stories are intended to have this fantasy in place, considering that, as an American culture based in democracy, we're not trying to feel any aristocratic elitism in nations where monarchs rule and where princes even have their worth for intended princesses: if he's heir to the throne, she too might rule as queen one day and thus "share" in this absolute power. That's the reality vs. the "fantasy" of just wanting to dress up and be treated as if one were a "princess," correct?). However, this first African American princess is first realized as a chambermaid by the name of Maddie. While I understand the criticism of this premise, which led to a rewrite in which our protagonist is then changed into a waitress by the name of Tiana who aspires to own her own restaurant (again, "reality" intrudes on the story for me to say, in 1920s New Orleans? Really?), I also think there is room for subversion in imagining a chambermaid who becomes a princess. Think Cinderella. So, the problem is not just about "princesses." The problem is about socioeconomic status.

Then, there is 1920s New Orleans, which must seem to the filmmakers to be as mystical as any faraway kingdom in some faraway land because the music puts us in that mindset, but how does one realistically address the racial issues here? Apparently, we won't get those issues addressed because most of the drama will take place with Tiana, our first African American princess, as a frog. That's right! As my mom exclaimed, while lapsing into her West Indian dialect, when I first broke the story to her: "You mean to tell me we get our first black princess, and they turn her into a crapeau?!" (That's patois for "frog," for those of you needing a translation.) Which, of course, means the problem is not just "princesses." It is and always will be a racial one.

Here's the premise, from what I've gathered. Tiana, growing up in New Orleans in a family of servants, has ambitions to have her own restaurant. In this enchanting city, Prince Naveen of some indistinct foreign country travels to New Orleans for the jazz. For whatever his transgressions, he is turned into a frog by an evil voodoo priest (oh yes, because New Orleans voodoo must be associated with sinister "black magic," mustn't it?). Realizing that he needs to be kissed by a princess to be turned back into human form, he mistakes Tiana for one, who is dressed up as a princess for Mardi Gras, and convinces her to kiss him so that he could become Prince Charming. They do, and Tiana is the one who transforms by becoming a frog. (So, is Tiana being punished here for daring to pretend she is of a higher status than she really is? i.e. - there goes that "uppity negro.") The two then spend much of the movie in the Louisiana bayou, where they encounter those typical cuddly animals, like a firefly with missing teeth (didn't know fireflies had teeth) and an ambitious alligator by the name of Louie who plays a mean trumpet. Sounds familiar?

Think "King Louie" from The Jungle Book:


Uh-huh, and yes, I absolutely love that scene from The Jungle Book ("I'm gooooone, Man, solid gone!") since that song is definitely one of my favorite Disney tunes ever, despite the racialization of monkeys (let's not pretend we don't see the association), so I can imagine how much fun this new movie could be if they've got a really tight soundtrack, but I can't help but feel the animalization of the story is about both racial avoidance AND racial familiarity. I'm sure there will be cute and cool moments like this one too.

Yet, not all of Disney's racializations are amusing: think the wild Indians in Peter Pan, which are hand-drawn in the most mean-spirited depictions, or the inclusion of that Topsy "pickaninny" servant in the now banned scene from Fantasia. Not only were these uglified stereotypes created as stock characters in Disney movies, but their opposites - the beautifully drawn white characters - were deliberately presented as a contrast of superiority. Perhaps this is why the movie has already received criticism when it appeared that Prince Naveen was not black like Tiana. And, once again, it appears the filmmakers tried to appease the critics by darkening his skin tone; however, there is no denying his Europeanized features or, for that matter (whether he is "black" or not) the history of colorism that has plagued African Americans - especially in New Orleans - in which black men and women have learned to value lighter skin in a potential partner. Nor does it help matters that Prince Naveen, as handsome Prince Charming, is lighter than the evil villain, Facilier, our black voodoo priest.

For me, however, I don't have a problem with Prince Naveen not being black. In light of our racial history, where interracial unions were prohibited by law (but exploited in the night), this again would have served as a moment of racial subversion had the filmmakers imagined that a white Prince could have married a black chambermaid/waitress. Had they the courage to pursue such a story, then the villain could not be some black voodoo priest but some no good white segregationist powerful member of the Ku Klux Klan with their own secret magic powers to turn said prince into a frog. But, we can't have such a story, can we? It would mean having to deal with racial injustice, which would necessarily have to be challenged in order to imagine our Prince and Princess together. Instead, we turn them into frogs and have them spend time in the bayou before some good magical black woman makes them human again.

There are, however, moments of positive gender roles, it seems. First, there is Tiana with her own goals and ambitions. And, as a frog, Tiana is the one who apparently comes to the rescue of our frog prince since she's a scrappy young thing not unused to hard life and struggles. But then again, aren't black women always conceptualized as tough fighters who come to the rescue of their men? We certainly don't get to be dainty damsels in distress. Beyond that, as I already mentioned, there is a good, wise, and powerful voodoo woman, Mama Odie (Pictured here: could she be more stereotypical? And, did they have to make her unrecognizably human?) to counter the evil Facilier. Still, from what we know of the story, they could either make it work into something fun and enchanting and not too offensive, or they could ruin it by being completely over-the-top in their offensiveness.

I don't want to be one of those critics making pointed observations that force filmmakers to make changes just to avoid being offensive or, worse, to try to be as "politically correct" as possible. I much prefer those who are "politically astute" in these things. To me, you either stand by what you've created, or you don't bother at all. At the same time, however, despite the gender, race, class, and cultural problems of these "princess" stories, there is something to be said about Disney's history, which began with Snow White and now heralds a new era of Princess Tiana. It's great that we can now imagine a Disney animation feature starring a black princess. But now that this story is in existence, what about giving us - whether it's Disney or Pixar or Dreamworks -a powerful black woman, who doesn't have to be turned into a frog before she finds her prince? What about giving us a Queen Njinga from Angola, who fought off the Portuguese as they tried to enslave her people? Better yet, give us an African American story rooted here, starring an animated Harriet Tubman who knows how to fly (like in so many of the children's stories about her), kick butt, and lead a people to freedom?

The problem with that last scenario is Disney would force Harriet Tubman to have an army of talking and singing forest animals, maybe even a cuddly North Star to talk to in the night. Maybe that story needs to be an epic action drama instead.

Do we have enough women and people of color in Hollywood who can conceptualize these stories? Because the ones already working in the industry definitely need our guidance.

On the 20th Anniversary of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing

Got this retrospective article from Mark Anthony Neal (published in The Root):

Why Mookie Did the Wrong Thing
by Natalie Hopkinson

When Do the Right Thing was released 20 years ago, a generation of black writers and intellectuals became instantly radicalized by Spike Lee and Public Enemy’s vision of black America. Their fist-pumping black nationalist slingshots, along with The Autobiography of Malcolm X, were the perfect antidote for the isolation and alienation many black youth felt growing up in white suburbs in the post-civil rights era.

Together Do the Right Thing and Chuck D’s single “Fight the Power” made a pitch-perfect argument for a United States of Black America, composed of a constellation of urban outposts like Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, that were free of white patriarchy. USBA was a place where black people owned the restaurants, businesses and schools, and inhabited their own black worlds free of oppression. The film’s fiery conclusion, with the Italian-American Sal’s Famous Pizzeria going up in flames after the police murder of Radio Raheem, was the perfect denouement, a catharsis for every sleight at the hands of white people.

Read in Full.

Happy Father's Day!

To all the dads out there, wishing you a fabulous holiday today! See also my tribute from last year.

Getting Men Involved with Domestic Violence: Breakthrough Campaign in Time for Father's Day

Knock Knock. Who's There? (Violence Against Women) from Breakthrough on Vimeo.

Open Letter from Simon Cowell

At the end of it all, American Idol judge Simon Cowell proves that, just because he freely gives criticism doesn't mean he can take it. At least that's my interpretation of this little response concerning the criticism his other show, Britain's Got Talent, received:

After eight years of being a judge on talent shows on both sides of the Atlantic, few things surprise me any more. Least of all, the flak that has been directed my way. 

If, like me, you make a living from criticising people on television, then you can't complain when people turn the tables and criticise you. And I don't.

But this year has been exceptional in many ways. Not least because there has never been a spectacle quite like the latest series of Britain's Got Talent.

This year's final attracted a live UK audience of 20.1million people, but also caught the attention of the whole world via new outlets such as YouTube. It truly became a global phenomenon.

However, as you might have noticed, the show has not been without controversies.  Chief among them, of course, were the difficulties experienced by runner-up Susan Boyle, and the children who broke down in tears in front of millions on the live show. That has provided a field day for the armchair pundits.

The show has been accused of being a cruel circus that sets out to exploit the vulnerable in a cynical bid to boost ratings. And I, of course, am inevitably portrayed as the evil ringmaster.

So love the shows or hate them, the time has finally come for me to set a few things straight. And I'm the first to hold my hands up and admit I've made mistakes.I didn't get into showbusiness to make little children cry or upset a nice lady like Susan Boyle.

Read in Full.

Happy Juneteenth!

I was reminded that Juneteenth celebrations officially begin today! :)

For those not familiar with the history of this holiday, Juneteenth marks the day when African American slaves in Galveston, Texas found out in 1865 that they were free. Although these slaves had officially been freed since the beginning of that year, their slave owners "forgot" to deliver the news of their emancipation.

To commemorate this holiday of African American freedom, there are a number of world wide celebrations marking this anniversary. Check out this site.

The Latest from Michael Moore

This teaser looks promising!

"Where is My Vote?"

Some provocative photos around the world on Flick-r - including Iran, Germany, Australia, and France - in solidarity of the people's protest in Iran.

"Someone's Got to Tell It Like It Is": James Baldwin in San Francisco

A friend of mine tipped me off to a recently restored documentary featuring black gay writer and activist James Baldwin, who uncovers the harsh realities in 1963 of African Americans living in the so-called liberal and tolerant city of San Francisco. Until recently, this history has been repressed. Thanks to Kenyon Farrow for linking to this important documentary video, Take This Hammer.  

Watch Video Online!

After Nine Years of Silence, Sade Set to Make a Comeback

I read this news with glee!  Sade plans a new album at the end of the year, nine years after her last one, Lovers Rock.  Looking forward to how much she's grown or changed.

Here's one of my favorite Sade songs!

Another Obama-Ape Joke: Why is It That Some People Have a Hard Time Accepting Black People as Human Beings?

We already had the controversy, way back, when the New York Post featured a cartoon connecting that murderous chimpanzee with President Obama. Now, a report from the Michelle Obama Watch indicates that yet another gorilla joke was made in reference to our First Lady:

Gorilla escaped from Riverbank Zoo is Michelle Obama's ancestor.  According to FITSNews, former State Senate candidate Rusty DePass made a comment on Friday on the Internet site, Facebook, describing the escaped gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo as an "ancestor" to First Lady Michelle Obama.

The comment was made after Trey Walker, an advisor to SC Attorney General Henry McMaster, posted a Facebook update about the escaped animal at the zoo.  DePass posted a comment stating, "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."

Read Further.

A Differently Abled Dance

"Women Are Evel"

So, as I already alluded, earlier this week my department was attacked as various office doors and bulletin boards were defaced with woman-hating and homophobic slurs. Fortunately, investigators are starting to focus in on a suspect. What's a clear giveaway for them: the number of gross misspellings in the graffiti.

Having spoken with different instructors, who may have had any disgruntled students last semester (of course, most of us can identify a few), one revealed that she had a student who may fit the profile. Curiously enough, this instructor - without being on campus or witnessing any of the slurs - simply asked, "This might sound silly, but were any of the slurs grossly misspelled?"

Part of my reflection on this incident concerns a couple of things: 1.) what does it mean to possibly have a student become so enraged that s/he would then go on a rampage and vandalize a place and 2.)what does it mean that public universities have gotten to the point where they are admitting students who cannot do college-level work?

Without knowing all the details, a profile is starting to emerge, and I remember thinking when I saw some of the slurs: either the guilty culprit deliberately misspelled words to throw us off, or the person is clearly not a college student, for surely, we would think someone enrolled at a university would know how to spell the word "evil." Can we be so sure that's the case?

And, if we do have students enrolled at a university who cannot spell simple four-letter words, what's going on here? I don't want to downplay the incident. It is still very much a hate crime in which faculty where targeted with misogynistic and homophobic, lesbian-baiting slurs. But if a student lashes out for failing a class (apparently due to plagiarism), and if said student resorted to cheating precisely to try and cover up their shortcomings, only to have that cover blown when a faculty fails them for plagiarism, then how do we address the various sources of that rage?

I know it sounds silly, but as an educator who is outraged by such a woman-hating attack, I am equally appalled that this attacker cannot spell simple words, and if that attacker is a student of ours, this incident certainly raises a number of issues that higher education must address.

Art by SpringLeap.Com.

The Black Public Intellectual

Received an alert from Mark Anthony Neal on this latest from The Root:

The Clashing of Black Public Intellectuals, Nothing New There
by Felicia Pride

Debates have been circling lately regarding black leadership and public intellectualism. Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell recently wrote a piece for CNN that slams Tavis Smiley's inadequate critiques of Obama's treatment of race. She also gets at Smiley's "soul patrol"-which includes Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, and Dick Gregory-for their roles in his documentary "Stand." She feels Smiley and friends appropriate Martin Luther King's legacy and "implicitly claim that they, not Obama, are the authentic representatives of the political interests of African-Americans."

Spelman professor William Jelani Cobb, chimed in on what he called the "Obama Wars" among intellectuals. He wrote on his blog, "Conflict produces progress. Or, more specifically, the competitive market of ideas forces everyone to step up their thought game."

All this talk aligns with a growing interest in Hubert Harrison, a figure not typically studied in school or talked about in contemporary discourse. A new biography, "Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918" (the first of two volumes) by Jeffrey B. Perry, a self-described "working class scholar," intends to rekindle the work, life, and politics of a forgotten thinker.

Read in Full.

How to Tell People They Sound Racist

Check out this You Tube video:

More Hate Crimes

While I'm still reeling from a hate crime on my campus, which targeted Women's Studies with anti-woman and homophobic slurs, I just read that a gunman opened fire today at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Read about it here.

11th Annual Allied Media Conference

Is Being a "Princess" the Real Problem with Disney's First Black Princess?

Here's a reflection by Monique Fields of The Root on the upcoming The Princess and the Frog, featuring our first African American "princess." Expect my rejoinder later this week.

Enough with the Princesses!
by Monique Fields

There was Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.

Tiana arrives this fall in the first Disney film featuring a black American princess.

Set in 1920s New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog tells the story of a young waitress and gifted chef who dreams of following her father’s lead and owning a restaurant. The trailer can be viewed online or on the big screen in the previews of Disney Pixar’s Up, which opened May 29.

Tiana’s creation has been lauded as a milestone. She is a first in a long succession of Disney princesses, which began more than 70 years ago. The toys she inspires will acknowledge the beauty of young black women as children of all colors identify with Tiana.

Still, as the mother of two young girls, I fear I will be doing damage control for years after the credits roll.

In a recent New York Times article, critics railed on whether or not Tiana conquers racial stereotypes. Forget about all that. The problem is with the princess mentality.

The princess mentality is pervasive in our society. Everything from baby bibs to bicycles is scrawled with the P-word. A mother has to shop long and hard to find clothing that isn’t glittery or pierced with rhinestones. Just when you think you’ve defeated the princess marketing monster, someone else shows up on your doorstep with the cutest thing ever.

I’m not the wicked stepmother when it comes to princesses. I just want a dash of reality thrown into my daughter’s entertainment from time to time.

Unlike princesses, my daughters, 4 and 2, will be disappointed. They will want something my husband and I can’t afford, or they will miss the mark for some achievement. There will be no magic wand to go poof and make their dreams come true.

While I’d like for them to run away with a prince and live happily ever after, they had better get college degrees first. All princesses need to have their own money.

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Google is Watching You (Forget About Big Brother)

So, who was it who said on my blog that we need to look out for Google, which not only has satellite dominance with Google Earth and Google Sky but who recently launched Google Ocean (say, why are they not assisting with the search for the lost Air France flight?) and is busy tracking every and any move we make on and off line?

Google is Top Tracker of Surfers in Study
by Miguel Helft

When asked about online privacy, most people say they want more information about how they are being tracked and more control over how their personal information is used. Those consumer expectations are rarely in line with the data collection practices of Internet companies, which often collect information about their users not only on their own sites, but also when those users visit other sites across the Web.

Those are some of the central findings of a new privacy study conducted by a group of graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, which was released late Monday. The students at the School of Information — Joshua Gomez, Travis Pinnick and Ashkan Soltani — studied consumer expectations by looking at sources like complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission and data collected by the state of California and a privacy group. They analyzed company practices using Ghostery, a browser plug-in that detects cookies, Web beacons and other types of trackers that allow third parties to gather information about Web site visitors, often without their knowledge.

Google showed up as the most conspicuous tracker on third-party sites. Google Analytics, a free product that allows online publishers to gather statistics about visitors to their sites, was used on 81 of the top 100 sites. Cookies from the advertising company DoubleClick, which is owned by Google, were present on 70 of those sites. When combining trackers from those two services, Google had a presence on 92 of the top 100 sites. Others weren’t far behind. Cookies from Atlas, Microsoft’s DoubleClick rival, appeared on 60 sites, and trackers from two other analytics companies, Quantcast and Omniture, showed up on 54 sites.

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