Pushing for a Change

From Vibe.com and Jeff Chang's "Can't Stop Won't Stop" Blog
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Throughout the north side of Pittsburgh, one of the city's three major Black districts, they lined up before dawn, hundreds deep in the 47-degree weather as if they were waiting for history to be made. Even after the polling places opened into an instant crawl, they kept coming.

And they kept coming all day.

One of them was a 19-year old named Loric Frye. Frye was a Pennsylvanian, and because of that, he was a key voter in the presidential election. Senator John McCain had staked his strategy on winning the state, hoping to steal it from Senator Barack Obama in his comeback bid.

But Frye was far from the kind of clean-scrubbed, neatly partisan first-time voter Republicans would ever think to appeal to or CNN would ever bother to interview.

Frye was a young brother in oversized pants. His young son was at home and his girlfriend was pregnant with their daughter. He had no high-school diploma. He had no fancy title. Frye was, no, still is in the process of putting it all together.

If you went strictly by the stats, he wasn't even supposed to have found his way into the voting booth yesterday. And truth be told, he almost didn't.

He admits that up until this year, politics didn't interest him. Barack got his attention. But the person who really turned him around was a man named Paradise Gray, a legendary hip-hop promoter and activist, who got Frye work as a community organizer doing voter outreach.

Frye spent the year canvassing, registering and door-knocking with Khari Mosley and the League of Young Voters. He started to feel deeply invested in the election and the political process. He spent the last few weeks doing get-out-the-vote work. All politics remains local. All transformations begin with the personal.

So Loric Frye was excited to cast his first ballot yesterday.

But when he showed up with his voter registration card, he was told he "wasn't qualified", he said. " Something about it was illegal."

At first he thought it was the fact that he had been arrested once. But he had never been convicted or charged. He called Mosley and Gray. They came and took him down to the Board of Elections. There, Frye discovered that there were 6 registration forms in his name. Faced with conflicting information, including different social security numbers, some clerk had decided to qualify him.

It was true that he had moved twice since filling out his first form. When you're young and you're trying to get yourself together, that kind of thing happens. But he was so hyped to vote he made sure to re-register his new address every time that he moved.

When the Board of Elections official pulled out the other three forms, Frye could see that they were fakes. The registering agents were from ACORN. They had apparently used his name, invented addresses, and forged his signature 3 more times. The irony of the ACORN voter fraud case is that, in the few instances that it did impact real people, it didn't affect McCain supporters, it affected the poor people most fired up to vote for Obama.

When dawn had broken, a massive national effort at election protection got underway, born of the nightmares from the disputed 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. It was aided in part by web 2.0 tools. A fraudulent text message and a hacker-produced email at George Washington University that urged Obama voters to show up on Wednesday were both exposed via the internet.

In battleground states like Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, the highest voter turnout in almost a century led to worries about a lack of ballots and slow lines. At South Carolina State University, a historically Black college, dozens of students were told that their polling places had changed. Student activists and the NAACP organized buses to get 32 students to the correct locations, but worried that at least 50 more were discouraged from voting.

Even Republicans circulated a memo detailing voting irregularities. Most of the incidents rose nowhere near the level of the kinds of voter suppression that Democrats faced in Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004. In fact, the first listed on the memo, an accusation of intimidation by alleged members of the New Black Panther Party at a polling place in North Philadelphia, was little more than a hilarious televised encounter between a Fox News reporter and a Black poll-watcher that seemed as if it was scripted for The Boondocks.

Republicans also explored allegations of double-voting by students in Georgia and media in Kansas who may have voted both in person and through absentee ballots, unfilled absentee ballot requests in New Mexico, missing military absentee ballots in Virginia, and calls in Pennsylvania with fake polling information.

But hours later, all this seemed moot.

As soon as the polls closed in California, all of the networks called a landslide victory for Barack Obama. The margin was nowhere near close. In the popular vote, Obama beat McCain by nearly 6 million.

Over 90% of African Americans voted in record numbers for Obama. But he also won among women, split the white working class, and picked up a much larger number of white male voters than John Kerry had in 2004. Obama's electoral college tally corresponded to his margin of victory among young people, Asian Americans, and Latinos: 2-1.

The election of the first biracial African American president in the history of the U.S. set off ecstatic celebrations all across the country. Twitter's server stopped for a few minutes, overloaded by messages. In Oakland, Berkeley, and Seattle, people poured into the streets and instant block parties sprung up as if it was the Bronx in the summer of '77. Crowds marched cheering to the White House. They filled Times Square as if it was New Year's Eve. They came 1 million strong into Grant Park to hear Obama deliver his victory speech, the very place where the Democratic Party collapsed in police riots 40 years ago.

For a small group of people in Pittsburgh, the victory began earlier that day, when an elections official restored Frye's right to vote and handed him a ballot. For Mosley, the League's National Political Director, a longtime community organizer and a veteran of the 2004 battle, it was a gratifying moment.

"The biggest thing I've seen today is the number of young African Americans from the hood that have never voted—teenage parents, the formerly incarcerated, just an incredible number of people voting," he said. "We're really seeing a sea change. The college students have been voting. Now we're seeing a movement among those who never did go to college. That could be monumental not only on the local level but the national level."

"Man, I'm happy as hell I get to vote," Frye told Mosley. "I'm just so happy to get my voice heard."

The victory would not just belong to Barack Obama, but to Loric Frye. "I'm hoping for change," Frye said. "I know it ain't gon' come today or tomorrow, but I'm hoping for change. I'm pushing for change."

Racist Bugs

Someone posted this on myspace and I almost punched the computer where his face was. I can not believe how disgusting this is. First of all, it completely ignores the fact that if we're really trying to apply this to human Americans, the grasshopper does not dance and sing and play all summer as is alleged, he is struggling to work but can not because of the racist, pro-ant society. The only reason the ant can collect all that good stuff is because he has the key to the resources.....
This is so racist even down to the last sentence........ugh.
-Carley




Subje​ct:​ The Ant and the Grass​hoppe​rTwo Diffe​rent Versi​ons!​ Two Diffe​rent Moral​s!​OLD VERSI​ON:​ The ant works​ hard in the withe​ring heat all summe​r long,​build​ing his house​ and layin​g up suppl​ies for the winte​r.​The grass​hoppe​r think​s the ant is a fool and laugh​s and dance​s and plays​ thesumme​r away.​ Come winte​r,​ the ant is warm and well fed.The grass​hoppe​r has no food or shelt​er,​ so he dies out in the cold.​MORAL​ OF THE STORY​:​ Be respo​nsibl​e for yours​elf!​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​MODER​N VERSI​ON:​The ant works​ hard in the withe​ring heat all summe​r long,​ build​ing his house​and layin​g up suppl​ies for the winte​r.​The grass​hoppe​r think​s the ant is a fool and laugh​s and dance​s and plays​ thesumme​r away.​Come winte​r,​ the shive​ring grass​hoppe​r calls​ a press​ confe​rence​ and deman​dsto know why the ant shoul​d be allow​ed to be warm and well fed while​ other​sare cold and starv​ing.​CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provi​de pictu​res of the shive​ringgrass​hoppe​r next to a video​ of the ant in his comfo​rtabl​e home with a table​fille​d with food.​ Ameri​ca is stunn​ed by the sharp​ contr​ast.​How can this be, that in a count​ry of such wealt​h,​ this poor grass​hoppe​r isallow​ed to suffe​r so ?Kermi​t the Frog appea​rs on Oprah​ with the grass​hoppe​r,​ and every​body cries​when they sing,​ '​It'​s Not Easy Being​ Green​.​'Jesse​ Jacks​on stage​s a demon​strat​ion in front​ of the ant'​s house​ where​ thenews stati​ons film the group​ singi​ng,​ 'We shall​ overc​ome.​' Jesse​ then hasthe group​ kneel​ down to pray to God for the grass​hoppe​r'​s sake.​Nancy​ Pelos​i & John Kerry​ excla​im in an inter​view with Larry​ King that theant has gotte​n rich off the back of the grass​hoppe​r,​ and both call for animmed​iate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share​.​Final​ly,​ the EEOC draft​s the Econo​mic Equit​y & Anti-​Grass​hoppe​r Actretro​activ​e to the begin​ning of the summe​r.​The ant is fined​ for faili​ng to hire a propo​rtion​ate numbe​r of green​ bugsand, havin​g nothi​ng left to pay his retro​activ​e taxes​,​ his home isconfi​scate​d by the gover​nment​.​Hilla​ry gets her old law firm to repre​sent the grass​hoppe​r in a defam​ation​suit again​st the ant, and the case is tried​ befor​e a panel​ of feder​al judge​sthat Bill Clint​on appoi​nted from a list of singl​e-​paren​t welfa​re recip​ients​.​The ant loses​ the case.​The story​ ends as we see the grass​hoppe​r finis​hing up the last bits of theant'​s food while​ the gover​nment​ house​ he is in, which​ just happe​ns to be theant'​s old house​,​ crumb​les aroun​d him becau​se he doesn​'​t maint​ain it.The ant has disap​peare​d in the snow.​The grass​hoppe​r is found​ dead in a drug relat​ed incid​ent and the house​,​ nowaband​oned,​ is taken​ over by a gang of spide​rs who terro​rize the oncepeace​ful neigh​borho​od.​The Moral of the Story: Be careful how you vote in 08'

Outcast/ Revolutionary?

Be Nobody's Darling

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.

Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer;
Let them look askance at you
And you askance reply.

Be an outcast;
Be pleased to walk alone
(Uncool)
Or line the crowded
River beds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead.

by Alice Walker

"It is only in being an outcast that you have freedom"

1. In choosing to be an outcast, you must consider and accept the pain and sorrow that necessarily comes with this path. Alice Walker's poetic call to be an outcast reminds me of Huey Newton's definition of being a revolutionary. In the introduction to his book Revolutionary Suicide he states: "The revolutionary must always be prepared to face death and hope because it symbolizes a resolute determination to bring about change. Above all, it demands the revolutionary to see his death and his life as one piece" (p.7).

Any ideas, thoughts about this notion of a revolutionary and/or outcast?

----Sonal

Hip Hop Activism and Black Mentorship

Carley posted this video on our Hip Hop Congress-SUA blog, and I am taking the liberty to post it here as it is very relevant to this class! Tell us what you think!!

Attempting to answer miki's question

After viewing Angela Davis’ interview and reading Ngugi wa Thiong'o’s Decolonizing the Mind I was left with an abundance of thoughts and reflections. First, the concept of historicity that Davis introduces was entirely new to me. That is to say, I have heard various arguments that serve as various components of this term yet, never before had they come together under the umbrella term historicity. I have previously heard an argument of history that depicts the “histories” recorded and integrated into the collective memory as “the history” as a concept entirely dependent on who won the right to give an account of events or whose voice was given credibility—the opportunity to tell the story.
I was aware of the bias nature of suggesting “the history” but never had I heard that concept applied beyond a conceptual context. Additionally, I believe the concept of historicity begins to pose an answer to Miki’s question (and I’m summarizing) of why race is the most prevailing or seemingly important topic in American society. In our pervious class I suggested that this may be because racism is still relevant due to its prevalence in society today. Davis’ argument takes my idea a few steps further and explains that racism not only continues to prevail today despite living in an age where it is generally understood to be a horrible thing but, it exists because we are living with the sediments of slavery as a result of a flawed abolitionist movement. As the abolitionist movement failed to truly liberate slaves by providing them with the adequate tools to such as a satisfactory and desegregated educational system, legitimate employment opportunities as freemen, and among other things equal voting rights, freed slaves were unable to adequately fulfill the role of citizens of the republic. This situation served to contribute to the plight of illiteracy, segregation, unemployment, poverty, and disenfranchisement endured by free slaves and their descendents for more than 100 years. Ultimately the lack of foresight and the ensuing dilemmas of the freed slave population lead to the creation of racial stereotypes from their white counterparts—who along with the abolitions failed to righteously usher freed slaves into society creating the dilemmas in the first place.
Because race originally played a major role in shaping the stereotypes that perpetuate and fuel fears that attached to the collective psyche of America through a mechanism I do not yet understand it is clear that race still serves as a major variable in creating the fear people hold. This is exemplified when Davis talks about her image as the apotheosis of white fear as she states “people might not be able to explain why an image strikes fear in their hearts but it’s still there.” Moreover, it’s the civil injustice against poor and black people spanning more than a century that has fanned the flames of America’s greatest problems of poverty, healthcare, homelessness, and drugs. As statistic show a large percentage or black or African American people comprise the categories of prison population, poverty, living without healthcare, homelessness, and drug addiction. Moreover, these variables have aid in creating the current stereotypes of black or African American people. Thus, because race initially played a role and I would argue continues to play a role—although perhaps smaller—in shaping the political, social and economic realities of today it is one of the most prevailing topics in discussions today.

Black Music: the quintessential Afro-American language

I'd just like to reply to Carley's blog (my own reactions to the link will come later) but i agree with your statement regarding language as an integral part of retaining and expressing one's identity and creativity. One of the questions you raised was, what is the language of African Americans? If it is true that they lost their mother-tongues a long time ago, what is theirs??

To me, it is blues, it is gospel, it is jazz, it is hip hop. All of these were bred out of a reactionary resistence to oppression by the white man. Although they have since then been exploited and many a times turned against the black man through globalisation, they will always remain the quintessential black music, the African American language. As exemplified in the popularization of hip hop and jazz, and even the blues, this language has been acquired by those interested all over the world, upon from which have sprung various dialects. Nonetheless, its roots are authentically African American.

Blues, which has its origin in slave songs were a way in which slaves told stories, expressed their humanity and retained strength.

Gospel, inherently a quality of black churches, came from a need for African Americans and recently-freed slaves to create their own religious community, separate from white christian churches.

Jazz, too, was a vamp on classical western standards. Louis Armstrong, when hired as entertainer in white bourgeois halls, mocked his oppressers through his horn..and they clapped---this is the ultimate irony!

Hip Hop, beyond just the slang used in rhyme (a code specific to certain geographic locations and experiences), is a versatile language expressed visually, orally, physically and aurally. Springing from a resistence to discriminatory urban policies, catching momentum from a resistence to the Reagon era, advancing through the resistence of Apartheid in South Africa, rising up from a resistence to corrupt police and drug wars, and recently waking from a resistence to the commercial rap music industry, hip hop is a language that empowers.

--Sonal

Response to "Decolonizing the Mind"

After reading the quotes from Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Decolonizing the Mind, and recalling bits and pieces from previous history lessons regarding colonizers' or slave masters' tactics in demoralizing the culture of their oppressed, it is clear to me that standard forms of discourse, such as Standard American English, is used as a colonizing force. It is probably the most potent and improtant ingredient in the immobilizing, poisonous elixr fed to the oppressed population. As Thiong'o stated, his language was his people's world. They passed on stories and lessons, incited creativity and playfulness, it instilled the values of community and cooperation. I can not imagine living in such a beautiful world and having that which provided such intellectual, cultural, and emotional sustenance turned into a thing of shame, hatred, evil. It would be like having your mother who has loved and cared for you your whole life turning against you and trying to convince you that you are a terrible, disgusting person. I wonder what the colonizing forces are thinking when they impose such a terribole fate on people. Do they know the psychological effects their efforts have, or do they simply despise the people's culture and laguage, looking down on it enough to rationalize their actions? Either way, they seemed to figure out that it worked. Taking away a people's language takes away a huge part, maybe the heart, of its culture. It debilitates them in such a fundamental way- creativity is harder to grasp until the adjustment is made to the dominant language, I suppose.
So, I would maintain that a people in this position should do whatever it can to resist the dominant language. In African countries this might be easier than in others, however, namely in the United States. Many of the languages shunned by colonial forces have still been maintained. However, African Americans lost the languages of their motherlands a long time ago. Although there are differences in the way white and Black people in the U.S. speak, it's more similar than different. Obviously, American Standard English is the only accepted language in the U.S. So should the oppressed use this language? Is it succumbing to the power's authority by doing so? Many wise, creative African American scholars and leaders have been using Standard American English to get their points across for generations. In a way, this becomes the inheritance of Blacks in the U.S. now. So we may go as far as to say it is denying one's ancestors to deny Standard American English. However, I recognize that given the social situation of the African American since the beginning of slavery, these "prominent" African Americans are not necessarily representative of the larger population of their people, at least linguistically. Herein lies the conflict. What is the language of the African American? It differs across classes, regions, generations. We may find some distinct similarities but they are few. Do we take those similarities and try to build on them to create one solid, Black Language? Would this be helpful, empowering, to the opressed Black person? Or, to quote Aneil's question, Can the mind be decolonized using the colonizer's language? It would be so easy for me to say, Yes! Just take on that language and go for yours! It's your causes, not your laguage, that make the difference. However, that would be denying something culturally rich and relevant, even essential, to so many people's lives. I myself would have to reconsider some of my word choices and grammar habits, etc. But for African American people, taking to using only Standard American English would not only be humiliating, but it is not realistic. I guess for now, it is up to the individual to make the choice of which version of the English language to use, and when. The issue of Standard American English being the only one accepted, being the "standard," still confuses me, though. How should we change it, if we should, and toward what aims?
Anyone????
Sorry for the long post. :)
-Carley