Get our most popular stories once a week!
Boarding schools are schools where the..."
Posted by bevanstraut in Where is Dr. King's Dream Today?
blessy posted in Tools for Activists: Turning Privilege Disparities into Just and Sustainable Action
Gayathri posted in Tools for Activists: Turning Privilege Disparities into Just and Sustainable Action
morganwardztas posted in Tools for Activists: Turning Privilege Disparities into Just and Sustainable Action
|
The Little Engine That McCouldn't
I know how wrong this sounds wrong --especially coming from a twenty-two year old --but John McCain’s age is a serious problem.
It isn’t that he is old. It’s the particular type of “old guy” McCain is wilting into. He isn’t wizened, insightful, or sincere like many elderly. The past month has revealed the senator to be delusional, mean, inappropriate, insensitive, and merrily out of touch with the rest of the world. Top those joyful characteristics off with an excessive sense of entitlement and McCain comes off less “Maverick" more like an angrier Grampa Simpson.
While Barack Obama was out touring -- and impressing --the world, a cranky McCain was left at home without the comfort of his adoring “base." In an effort to steer some much needed attention his way McCain made a number of appearances with the hopes of showcasing his superior foreign policy knowledge. Instead, what transpired was an avalanche of blunders and misinformation.
In a span of three weeks he confused the history of the surge, discussed pressuring the Somali government to end the Darfur conflict (Darfur is actually in Sudan), and talked about the tension along an Iraq/Pakistan border that isn’t there.
It sounds nitpicky, but these were just the tip of the inaccuracy iceberg.
Read the rest of the post »
Can We Talk?
I've been thinking a lot about the magnitude of these elections, and I have decided that the one person worthy of leading this great country is…Condoleezza Rice. Sure she's an enabler for warmongering megalomaniacs and the architect of one of the most embarrassing, destructive regimes in United States history. We are probably opposites on every important issue at stake. But, I don't really care about silly things like ideologies. I'd throw every belief out the window to get Condi in the White House. Looks are what count, specifically, how much a person looks like me. Unlike the guy stumping in for the Democrats, Ms. Rice is not only Black, she's a woman too! It's a win-win situation, right?
Just kidding. Like most people, basic intelligence and a sense of responsibility inform my decisions, not demographics. If you missed my sarcasm, I won't hold it against you. The opinions of Black women have routinely gone unnoticed in the media's election coverage.
Which brings me to a question that has been bothering me: In an otherwise boisterous election, why have African American women been so silent?
Read the rest of the post »
Wanted: Superhero
A well coiffed offering from comedy king Will Ferrell couldn’t deliver, nor could a steamy bodice-ripper from It Girls Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. The Wachowski brothers (the duo behind The Matrix) bombed spectacularly with their $160 million revision of Speed Racer. The standard formulas for Hollywood hits -- marquee actor, pricey special effects, sexy starlets – just aren’t working like they used to.
A look at the year’s most talked about films and recent box office numbers shows the public wants more than big names. From well-known icons like Iron Man, Batman, and the Incredible Hulk to fringe characters Hellboy and The Spirit, the public is on a full-on superhero binge.
Read the rest of the post »
Vogue Resurrects Old Stereotypes
I should have known it wouldn't last. The year began with such promise. America was starting to look beyond rehashed stereotypes. Progress and possibility were everywhere. Barack Obama was on the verge of breaking into the ultimate Good Ol' Boys network. Sports writers were waxing poetic on Tiger Woods' status as the greatest of all time and quest for golf's Grand Slam seemed inevitable.
Then Vogue announced LeBron James would grace its April "Shape" issue alongside uber-model Gisele Bundchen, and ... my excitement crumbled.
I know it's just some athlete posing for a picture, but the news of James' coverboy status on the venerable fashion mag had me almost as excited as the other milestones. Vogue is notoriously picky (or prejudiced depending on how you look at it) when it comes to who is allowed on its cover. In its 118 years in publication, there have only been two men and three African Americans to appear on the front cover. (To be fair, Vogue is an equal opportunity discriminator. The designers of Rodarte were recently told to go on a diet and get a personal trainer if they wanted to be in this month's release.)
So, to hear that a Black man was chosen for such a popular issue ... surely, this was a good sign.
If only. What I had thought would be a stylish symbol of cultural growth, was nothing more than a lesson in Black Stereotyping 101. The suave, graceful superstar we see on and off the basketball court was replaced by a snarling, Scary Black Man. Whatever hope or pride I had felt in anticipation of the April cover was replaced by shame and dissappointment. I am pretty thick skinned, but this stupid little picture hurt.
The photo, which bares a striking resemblance to classic King Kong posters, plays on deep rooted beliefs of the past. The image of Black men as animalistic, predatory thugs is apparently still going strong.
Of course, not everyone sees a tinge of racism in James' cover, which is exactly why I find it so disturbing. Obvious injustices -- like nooses swinging from a tree in Jena -- are easy to spot, easy to confront. It is the small, subtle slights that go unnoticed and end up holding us back.
Anika Brown, 22, studies fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco and spends her spare time designing t-shirts. Her interests include pop culture, politics, music, art, and, of course, fashion.