Check out my speech for Ainsworth United Church of Christ’s Black History Celebration this past Sunday. Topics include the importance of using Black History as a roadmap for current political issues, the legacies of people like my cousin Septima Poinsette Clark, the counter story to Ronald Reagan worship, gentrification in Portland and more. Watch the …
An Angolan friend once laughed when my family brought up Kwanzaa. She said it’s a term for currency where she’s from. While Kwanzaa is not an African holiday, dismissing it as another makeshift black creation ignores the positives of the celebration. Kwanzaa is a week long celebration from December 26 to January 1 that puts …
A recurring theme in my talks with Occupy Portland participants has been the “media war”. Consider Jason Parker collateral damage. Parker was arrested a couple of weeks ago at the encampment for allegedly pulling a gun on protesters during an argument. According to the news reports, he pulled the gun after protesters challenged him for …
Racist costumes have become a hallmark of Halloween, especially on college campuses. Not long ago, I even remember running across an “Crips and Bloods Party” in my Facebook news feed. Students at Ohio University have chosen to start a campaign with posters saying, “This is not who I am and it is not okay.” However, …
Offensive Halloween Costume Ideas: Why Should White People Have All the Fun? Read More »
Author’s note: I originally wrote this following the killing of Osama bin Laden. Since, we’ve seen the assassinations of many others, including Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16 year old son and most recently Muammar Gaddafi. I find it interesting that so many in the US cheered on the images of Gaddafi’s bloody corpse not even a …
Protesters in the Occupy movement have chanted they are the “99%” but it’s hard to ignore the fact that the majority of protesters are white. Many wonder why more people of color aren’t showing up to the protests, considering the disproportionate effect the financial crisis has had on them. In the case of Portland, look …
I like to think I started putting limitations on my dreams when I quit playing basketball before my senior year of high school. Truth be told, I built a ceiling for myself months earlier when I got Ds in both Physics and Pre-Calculus. I wasn’t necessarily a superstar in math and science but I was …
One image that stuck with me from Occupy Portland was a man burning a dollar bill. There couldn’t be a more apt protest technique than destroying the tool which allows bankers to control the people. It says “In God We Trust” on the dollar (The phrase has been on coins since 1864 and paper money …
Dear President Obama, I am concerned that your disregard for civil liberties and due process is putting US citizens in danger. Yesterday you finally succeeded in the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen. You authorized his assassination without charges or concrete evidence. Although al-Awlaki made incendiary Youtube videos and had contact with people who …
Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed tomorrow at 7 pm. He was denied clemency today in what may go down as yet another case of police corruption. Davis was convicted for the killing of a police officer but he maintains his innocence. Despite several witnesses recanting their stories, Davis is still set to die. …
Snitch: Informants, Cooperators and the Corruption of Justice Read More »