This blog is a visual articulation of MY views of the world around me. I will present various sides of arguments, and always sum them up with my own personal take.
My more entertaining/diverse/ridiculous/lovable blog can be found at http://mrjdjude.tumblr.com/ and I'll do all of my following from that blog as well!
Thanks and enjoy!
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
People on the Internet Can Be Hella Racist
Sharing this link for a couple of reasons:
- “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” is an amazing series and if you don’t know about it, you need to
- Big-ups to her for winning an award and giving all people, especially people of color, someone they can relate to and see themselves reflected
- I’m saddened but not surprised at the racist comments that ruined her joyous moment.
Please, support the artist you believe in, as this link will show you, everyone doesn’t want to see them do well.
bell hooks
Cultural Criticism & Transformation
on Rap Music (Pt. 8)“Renowned intellectual bell hooks examines popular culture in the context of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism.”
SELF: This was recorded and commentated on nearly ten years ago. Sadly, not much has changed and many of the arguments made here still apply….
Just another reason why I love this woman…
Reblogging because:
- bell hooks keeps it real
- It is another viewpoint on the cultural appropriation posts from last week
- I want to see what K.O.S. Determination has to say about this. I’m sure she’ll enjoy this video!
The Science of How We See Obama's Skin Color
(via newsweek)
I don’t think this article really gets at the core issue. It’s not really about why conservatives see Obama as darker, we get that, black is bad. The issue at hand is why do liberals have to see him as lighter? Why can’t they like him as his normal skin complexion? So good Black people are only good when they are viewed as white (read that as “act”, behave, perceived as white)? That is troubling. I guess my dark-skinned, “Black acting” ass will never be liked by liberals or conservatives, or do they view me as lighter and whiter? Hmmm…that’s something to think about.
Police Violence
Shout out to dharrison and abf for posting about two incidents involving police violence. While the stories of these victims aren’t new, seeing them in their most recent form, inspired this post.
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with police. I’ve had my share of run-ins with the cops, some more pleasant than others. My 2009 play, Ballard vs. State talks about the injustices faced by Black people at the hands of the legal system. Sharisse has a song that talks about police killings that happen in Black communities. I am very aware of the hurt and abuse that police have caused. Although I’ve seen multiple cases of police doing more harm than others, I’ve always ascribed to this school of thought: cops do more good than they do bad.
I know it’s hard to say that with the above videos, but I still think it is unfair to judge a group based on the actions of a few. I mean everyone gets upset when an ethnic/racial/sexual orientation/cultural group gets judged based on the actions of a few, and I think cops deserve the same type of respect.
With that being said, we must continue to push for reform in the police departments. We have to continue to sue and fight against police cover-ups and the “good ol’ boy” networks that have kept bad cops employed. We need to do a better job on the training of future police officers. The world around law enforcement continues to change and evolve, but with the types of violations the cops have been committing, it seems like their training doesn’t reflect these changes.
I don’t know what ultimately happened to the cops involved in these two stories. I hope they were all fired and some type of reform was instituted in their offices to ensure that injustices like that never happen again. Additionally, I hope the police departments went back into those communities and apologize directly to the victims and their families. Lofty goals I know, but that is the only way that police departments are going to be able to shake current feelings towards them.
Cops are supposed to be sworn to serve and protect. Based on the history, and current state, of mistreatment and abuse, society has a hard time trusting police officers to do the right thing. While the pressure and danger of the position is intense, there should be proper training in place that will prepare them for those types of situations. Widespread change needs to happen if police officers are to regain the trust of the citizens they are meant to serve. It will not happen overnight, but it must happen, and it must happen sooner than later. I can only pray that my dashboard isn’t filled up with more instances of police brutality by then.
-Jamil Jude
