more on nypd shooting

Blackprof offers an interesting perspective on this case (much more rational and well-thought out than my own emotive response to another case of undue force used against black men by police officers).

shot while black

I read about the fatal shooting of unarmed groom-to-be Sean Bell in Sunday's Times. I wonder how many times the "shoot-to-kill" method will be used against black men before some effective changes are made or at least until the recurrent cries of outrage are heard. These murders (yes murders) keep happening, Al Sharpton and his posse march and shout afterwards, but the underlying issues that motivate police officers to shoot first and ask questions later (when it comes to black men) remain unresolved.

Here's what other bloggers are writing about the incident. As usual some writers who think racism is a figment of our imagination resent the fact that Sharpton is making the shooting a "racial issue." But when is the last time you've read about an unarmed white man being gunned down by the police like a rabid animal???

monday morning reading

I found this article by Debra Dickerson at Salon quite on point so I thought I'd share it. Raised in church, I know about black Christian piety all too well and am constantly perplexed at how a historically oppressed group can internalize their oppressor's tools and wield them with such dexterity.

though you may not drive ...

...a great big Cadillac
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antenna in the back
You may not have a car at all
But remember brothas and sistas
You can still stand tall

Just be thankful for what you've got ...

Yeh, it's Thanksgiving and I'm feeling sappy in spite of myself. It must be because I had yesterday off and watched Oprah. Oy vey. Holidays are always a catch 22 for me. Though I'm close with my mother, most of my relatives are exhausting and I don't like very many of them. You know what they say, "you can't choose ..."

But sometimes I get sucked into the sentimentality of it all and long for that closeness that I see in other families (most tv families really): the big elaborately dressed dinner table, everyone saying what they're thankful for, yatta yatta yatta. I am quite thankful that I've never spent a holiday alone (not that there's anything wrong with that), most often I've spent them with people I really like (nonrelatives), and I've never gone without food. I could go on and on.

And then I get angry about Thanksgiving, that quintessential American holiday that dresses up our history of conquest like an unsuspecting turkey and then flouts our obsession with overconsumption in the most embodied of ways--stuffing ourselves with comfort food.

Ever caught in this quandary between pathos and politics ... I could either leave the country for American holidays (which can be quite refreshing), be a grinch, or suck in up (and in) and feast. For today anyway, bon appetit.

KKKramer

What is this the year of public racist tirades? The obligatory apology follows these outbursts but hateful sentiments like Gibson's and now Richards' don't just come out of nowhere. I saw a clip from Richards' stand-up routine and he didn't look drunk or possessed or out of sorts in any way. He knew what he was saying and he meant it.

Blackademic has it posted on her website and so does Blackprof. Even more troubling than Richards' tirade is the audience's laughter. One commentor at black prof's site may have a plausible plan to squash this fiasco:

Posted by: elb1999 | November 21, 2006 11:14 AM

Michael Richards and OJ Simpson have announced their intention to make a nationwide 'Heal the Pain' tour, aimed at blacks who were offended.

Richards will call OJ a nigger, and OJ will kill him.

Then all will be right with the world.

yeh, george clooney is sexy as hell but ...

GIRL BLUE MAGAZINE

Sexiest Man

Gary Dourdan has my vote! Not necessarily for the "sexiest man alive" (because I really don't believe there's such a thing) but certainly (one of) the sexiest in television and film. I've just recently started watching reruns of CSI just to get a glimpse of him. (Is it antifeminist for me to be ranking men?)

"The real" Dr. McDreamy comes in a close second:


Then again, it's a bit of a toss-up between Gary Dourdan and Isaiah Washington ...

(clearly the downtime since my defense has me a bit muddle headed).

it's been one week since ...

I joined the esteemed ranks of "sista doctas" (a phrase coined by one of the fiercest sista doctas around) and I haven't posted about it on this blog because really I didn't know what to write except perhaps YAY FOR ME!

I'm overjoyed to have the defense behind me. I'm relieved and am in this weird liminal space. I'm honored to follow in the footsteps of Sadie Alexander (among other sista doctas who comprise the talented two percent). The academy can be a difficult struggle for most everyone, but for black women, for first generation college grads, for children of single mothers, for those of us from a working class background, it can be an insane mind fuck because "we aren't supposed to be here" or at least that's what the stats say, that's what the piercing eyes of those who assume we got here by quota say, that's what the good old boys who refuse to die or retire say (when we're not in the room or sometimes even when we are).

But in 1921, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander looked all the doubters (and haters) in the face and defied even greater odds than the ones we face today, I suppose. It's all relative isn't it? So 85 years later, I exhale a lengthy sigh, cry a river of joyful tears and proudly say "I did it."

when it all ... it all falls down

I have little faith in politics but it's past time for something to change. Our public education sucks. Iraq is completely out of control. And let's not forget New Orleans!

Oh yeh, and Rummy b-bye ...

Chappelle Show Racial Draft

Can we add Ward Connerly to those we'd like to trade? That mutha$&@c# clearly forgot all the bloodshed and waterhosed black bodies that suffered so he could be where he is. GRRR