“‘Post-Racial’ Socialization”: Putting the Cart Well Before the Horse
[ November 13, 2015]
“All lives matter but all lives aren’t being taken.” — Dr. Nakia Hamlett (2015, personal communication)
When an attempt was made to co-opt the #BlackLivesMatter movement by the #AllLivesMatter defectors, there was great pushback by the BLMers. While “society” has attempted to aver the belief that “we” are post-racial, those who acknowledge and experience racial stress are left to scratch our heads, often questioning whether we are making too big a deal out of our experiences.
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And then what?
[November 9, 2015]
If you’re a Jeezy fan like me, you read that title and naturally went “boom, boom, clap”.
Despite Jeezy coming to Philadelphia to perform next week (blatantly just for me), this post is not about him.
Today marked a fairly historic moment for college activism. As someone who participated in her fair share of marches and protests at the University of Michigan (cue embarrassing nostalgic photo here),
I can say without a doubt that I am BEYOND thrilled for the University of Missouri students, faculty, and staff for getting their needs met. Ousting a sitting college President is a pretty big deal. Getting a grad student to go on a hunger strike is beyond my understanding (food is pretty important in my life…something like God, food, Jeezy — and in that order). And getting the football team to join you? Man — we failed multiple times to pull in our Michigan athletes, but again, a huge congrats to Mizzou for doing such! So the prez is gone, Jonathan Butler can eat a chalupa (or whatever the kids are eating these days), and the football players can compete against BYU this weekend.
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Black Life Matters
[October 1, 2015]
In 1787, at a place likely not too far in Philadelphia from where I’m typing these words, lawmakers came together to propose that slaves in the US would be considered 3/5 of a person. Black people would not be considered “whole” until 1865.
In 2015, in the US and abroad, we are using language to assert that Black Lives Matter.
The 150 year struggle from “wholeness” to “existence” is troubling. Indeed, that there is a cry for existential properties for any person or group of people is fascinating, particularly when juxtaposed with an outcry for the same type of rights for — you guessed it — Cecil the lion.
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