This past week on Facebook I have come across a couple articles and videos that undermined many of the social movements people are currently fighting with and completely missed the boat on the real message of these movements. One thing that frustrates people in a social movement is their allies. Allies in these cases are people who are not directly affected by the problem at hand, but still care dearly about equality and progress within the society. These allies are directed to act with the movement, (join rallies, walk in marches, yell in chants, etc.) but understand that they are not and possibly will never be affected by whatever it is being challenged. Often times, people are quick to come to this realization and continue fighting as allies, but a very large percent of the time these allies ask, “why are you excluding me?” when it is almost never the case.

Last night, I read an article in which Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. attacks Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé for their stance on Black Lives Matter. She says,

“Is Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar going to say Muslim Lives Matter? Or Syrian Lives Matter? Or this kid in Pakistan matters? That’s a more interesting question. And you cannot ask it on a song that’s on Apple, you cannot ask it on an American TV program, you cannot create that tag on Twitter, Michelle Obama is not going to hump you back.”

M.I.A., who routinely advocates for the safety of refugees in her music calls out the artists because they are not pioneering any movement. She continues,

“It’s interesting that in America the problem you’re allowed to talk about is Black Lives Matter. It’s not a new thing to me — it’s what Lauryn Hill was saying in the 1990s, or Public Enemy in the 1980s.

Yes, it is very true that artists were talking about the same things decades ago, but it shows the severity and longevity of this problem. Lauryn Hill was critically acclaimed for her only solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but it did little to impact the current state of the black community because white America did not want it to. While she speaks nothing but facts (I strongly urge you to listen to it, it’s simply amazing) society gave her a pat on the back and continued on with their lives. No one outside of our movement took the work as seriously as it was. Also, since when were we “allowed” to even talk about this? Every time we spoke up about injustices we were torn right back down. From the Civil Rights Movement to the MOVE bombings in Philadelphia, to Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy snub, to Beyoncé’s Formation backlash, we have never been “allowed” to talk about any of this.

M.I.A. is doing exactly what white America has done with All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, trends that were conceived in pure retaliation to the original movement. She is taking the trend as an exclusionary movement and taking offense. Instead of being an ally, which she has done many times before, she is undermining the progress trying to be made and is diverting attention away from the movement. No one has ever said that Syrian and Muslim lives don’t matter, but we are trying to focus one movement on one problem. When people speak about how bad Muslims are to the country, I guarantee that most of us are denouncing those individual’s comments! We stand as allies of the Muslim community and will speak up when need be, but when we are speaking under the Black Lives Matter organization, we are speaking about black lives.

The other thing that upset me was a video on feminism.

Her first argument is that if feminism was a movement for equality why don’t we see men’s issues being represented? Simple, because it’s a movement for women’s equality. It is meant to elevate women to the tier men are on, not drag down men to meet them halfway. She says men are raped more in U.S. prisons than women. Well 1. men are much more violent than women and are much more likely to carry out violent crime, including rape, than women are. 2. If men are already more likely to commit violent crime, and most of these men clearly have or else they wouldn’t be in jail, then they would do it again, right? 3. They’re separated by gender so if a violent criminal is looking to commit a violent crime again, it would HAVE to be with a male, right? Cool. Next.

Her second argument is that almost half of the domestic abuse victims in the U.S. and Canada are men. I believe that 100%! Yes, women are just as likely to hit their men as vice versa, but women are much less likely to cause significant harm. Let’s face it, women are generally weaker than men, so if a woman slaps her man, that very well could be it. Whereas if a man punches his wife, she could be down for the count. This is why there are safe houses for women, because they are much more often to be in legitimate danger than men are. Of course there are still cases of severe abuse against men, but it is not nearly as often. Next.

Men are 77% of homicide victims. Very true, but that brings be back to my previous point of men being more likely to commit violent crime. Believe it or not, there is still a sense of chivalry in the criminal community. Women are still protected by men and for this reason are less likely to be victims of violent crime at the hands of a man. Here’s a scenario, a man or woman can get robbed, but it takes much more effort to overpower a man and in this struggle it can lead to more crimes. They can get into an altercation, should the male victim refuse, and could eventually get killed. Yes, this may be an extreme case, but it nonetheless happens.

Before this post becomes a novel, I am going to end it with this: Being an ally is fighting with the people for the people their advocating, not bringing in the “other”. The Black Lives Matter movement is meant to uplift the black community, as the feminist movement is meant to uplift women. The other side of both movements clearly has it better than these minorities otherwise these movements would not exist. To be an ally is to recognize that you are the “other” in these movements and assist them in their progress. It is not up to you to dictate their rhetoric or their stance. It is up to you to represent the other and show that you stand in solidarity to these movements. In all actuality, these allies are often there to give the campaign legitimacy. If no other recognized the inequality in these minority groups, it would be easy to dismiss, but because there are people who have ripped off their blinders and recognize the disorganization in our society, we must come face to face with these movements and try to change our environment.

Okay so I’ve been thinking for the past hour about which way I wanted to take this week’s post. This is probably going to be a very personal post in that there’s not going to be much research, but will rather be my personal opinions, experiences, and thoughts. It might actually be a rant, but just bear with me y’all. After mulling over Ben Shapiro’s speech from last week I remembered him talking about safe spaces, which got me thinking about safe spaces for people who are constantly being taunted for their sexuality, personality, masculinity, and/or femininity. I thought, of course, about how the LGBTQ community is constantly being discriminated against, stereotyped, looked down upon, and pretty much outcast from society in many cases. Then I began to think about why this was. The LGBTQ community clearly challenges social norms and questions the way in which society has created such a strict binary system of gender, character, and sexuality. Anyone who deviates from social norms is automatically viewed as a troublemaker and that is exactly what happened to this community. Essentially any minority that tries to live a life that is not the same as the majority’s is subject to this treatment, whether it be racial, gendered, or sexual.

One of the things that I absolutely love about the LGBTQ community is that they most openly challenge gender roles. The men embrace their feminine sides, while the women flaunt their masculine sides. They do not conform to the roles based on their gender identity, but rather use both roles interchangeably to express every aspect of themselves. Now for some reason, society has such an issue with this and is so sensitive when it comes to this idea. Why aren’t men allowed to show emotion? Why aren’t women allowed to be dominant? Why are women viewed as a “bitch” when they voice their desires and opinions? Why are gay couples always asked, “So, who’s the man in the relationship?”  These are questions that the LGBTQ community is not afraid to address and defy. They let people be who they are and try to expand the binary system that is currently in place.

The picture above interests me because it places certain actions and reactions into society’s gender roles. I’m sure we all know of people who have traits in both categories. For me, I am not aggressive, semi-submissive, semi-passive, indecisive, gentle, kind, tactful, and nurturing. By society’s standards I am pretty feminine, but why do these adjectives mean I am less of a man? This is what the LGBTQ community is trying to change. They don’t want people to feel like any less of who they are because they don’t fit perfectly into the mold of their gender or sex.

Istanbul, Turkey

Now, Gay Pride parades are the personification of their movement. Dancing around in flamboyant colors, waving feather boas, dressing as the opposite gender, or, shoot, dressing up as the gender they identify with. Two years ago, I happened to be in Madrid during their Gay Pride parade and my friend dragged us all to it, so I was able to experience firsthand the excitement of pride. Okay, I will say I was not excited before or really during the gathering because I felt out of place, I was admittedly uncomfortable with their flamboyancy, there were sooooooo many people there, and to top it all off I was in a foreign country so who knew what could’ve gone down. Anyway, as we walked through the event people in underwear and bikinis danced all around us, (sidebar: What the heck is that about? Why are they always so naked and why is that the staple of their parade? Sincere questions here.) a couple people put boas around my neck and tried to dance with me, but I refused because I don’t like to dance in general, and everyone just smiled my way. Overall the parade is just a gay time, in the old-fashioned meaning of the word. Everyone there was so comfortable with who they were and were happy to flaunt their personalities with people who excepted them wholeheartedly. It is one of the few times they are able to publicly say they’re gay and receive cheers back instead of snarls.

It’s times like that when I realize the only cure for ignorance, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. is experience. Being a straight cisgender male at a freaking Gay Pride parade was eye-opening and was completely out of my comfort zone. I will admit, while I was there I had some intolerant thoughts, like “wow, that guy sure is feminine” you know, nothing major, but still unacceptable to me. But that’s the thing, as soon as I thought them, I recognized my own fault. I shouldn’t be questioning why he wasn’t conforming to society, but should be celebrating him for expressing himself. It is experience that refutes generalizations. Talking to a Muslim or Black person and understanding their life negates the idea that they’re all violent criminals. Having a close platonic bond with a woman refutes (or should refute) the idea that all women are a tier below men (unfortunately, we have seen this to be more difficult to accept). Finding out that your sister is gay automatically brings you face to face with the LGBTQ community and challenges ideas that they don’t deserve to be treated equally. Eating a ham sandwich freaking let’s you know that it doesn’t taste like apricots. It is all experiences! That is what opens up your mind and allows you to view the world from not just your perspective, but from every other minority that you’ve connected with and understood. We are all still works in progress, but stepping outside of our comfort zones and having a new experience is what creates a leader, a friend, an ally, an advocate, a mentor, and everything in between. I still have pretty close-minded thoughts, but I recognize them and open myself to challenges against them. It is a step by step process to acceptance and the experience like I had was one step forward. Until next time, friends!

So two nights ago, Wednesday, April 6, I decided to attend a lecture by a man named Ben Shapiro. I did not know who Ben Shapiro was, frankly I still don’t know, but he was being advertised all over campus, in my Sociology 119 class, and on the internet. As a part of Soc 119 we are required to attend out of class events and this was on the list so I said I might as well go and get some credit. Once inside there was a huge crowd at the door waiting to be let in, but to no avail. The event worker kept saying the venue was full and he was not letting anyone in, but often times when a white person went up to him said a few words and let them proceed past him. After a while we began to see the trend of who was being let in and I got the gist of the crazy rhetoric I was about to hear. After maybe thirty minutes of waiting outside the door, a large group of us went downstairs (next door to us now, actually) and watched the live stream on the computer.

When Ben Shapiro began his speech, he outlined his main talking points: white privilege does not exist, safe spaces are essentially pathetic, and microaggressions are not offensive at all. So from the jump, I was already annoyed, but I still opened my ears and took in everything he said. I obviously disagreed on almost everything he said, but the vast majority of it was just complete crap that I thought was distasteful, dangerous, and concerning. As I listened, I really did take in everything. You all may think from my posts that I am close-minded or stubborn, but I am actually the exact opposite. I am very open-minded and rather easily convinced when given the right facts, I have just made up my mind on these topics once I come to write about them they come out with a lot of passion.

Anyway, let’s get down to his message. First, he said white privilege doesn’t exist. Well, Mr. Shapiro, white privilege is literally being able to get up there and say that with a straight face. It’s being able to live in a world where you don’t see the effects that society has on every minority, whether it be of race, gender, or sexuality. It’s having been able to go through life and not experience any wrongdoing or unjust treatment. It’s being able to actually take advantage of the “innocent until proven guilty” mantra America loves to live off. We see it every day when we see how minorities are portrayed in the media. It’s prevalent in the workforce when a white candidate is 16% more likely to be called back for an interview than a black candidate. [1] It’s the fact that a black woman is the stereotypical “Welfare Queen,” yet whites and blacks receive welfare assistance at the same rates. [2] Shoot, it was literally being able to walk into that lecture room because Shapiro didn’t want to risk having someone in there who did not share his views.

I think that is the thing that upset me the most, however. He did not let anyone of color in, besides two or three Asian men, to share their views and challenge his ideas during the Q&A. Yeah, maybe it was security reasons, because the crowd outside was pretty rowdy, but who says that the white people they let in wouldn’t start trouble? Why do minorities have to be typecast as confrontational aggressors, but white people who are just as passionate as we are are able to enter more often if they simply look “nice.” Now let me be clear: I do not think Ben Shapiro is racist, at least not from his lecture Wednesday. Nothing in his speech was fueled by racism, but simply a lack of understanding and experience on the topics he talked about. For now I will leave you all at this because I don’t want this post to run so long. Thanks for reading once again! If you have any suggestions for what I can do in upcoming weeks would be wonderful and can be shared with me in the comments (please do because I’m running out haha). I will see you all next week!

We all would love to be famous, am I right? Maybe not too too much that you cannot breathe any time you step outside, but just have people knowing about us would be a wonderful thing. Almost every human has that innate desire to be known, have your name be reveled in, your likeness being recognized by many. We all would love to have our name be remembered once we pass on. Unfortunately this desire to be remembered has been twisted in the minds of many and has caused people to lose morals. For some, being remembered is all it is about, not whether or not it is positive remembrance, but remembrance period. This idea is what has compelled many of the mass shooters we have seen in the United States within the past decades to commit these heinous crimes.

With the current trend of our media, televised and written, our news is framed to produce the best story. People love drama, they love suspense, so what the media gives them is the most drawn out, twisting and turning story so they can capture the audience and reel them in. When telling the public of these extreme acts of violence that have begun to plague our public meeting places, the media does little to save the public the heartache from the events. These stories pull on the emotional strings by showing pictures of the destruction, the grieving families, the bloodied rooms, the children screaming and running, and the utter chaos that is resultant of these actions. This chaos and hysteria is what future killers search for. The way that these events are stamped into our minds, not to be erased for decades to come, is what future killers characterize as uplifting and immortalizing. The way the pictures of terrified citizens are forever etched into our memory is what future killers see as their path to fame.

I completely understand the strategy of the media, I 100% do. When I write I look for the craziest, longest, most emotional plots before I start writing. I look to engage the reader from the very beginning and keep them enthralled until the very last punctuation. Here is the problem I have with the media: they are captivating the audience. The audience! This audience is not you and me, sitting at home shaking our heads at yet another ridiculous and fucking horrifying mass shooting, but it is rather the racist, sexist, hateful, young men, sitting alone in their room waiting on any idea to get back at all of those who have wronged them. It is those who have been rejected and cast out by society for whatever reason. It is those who have been turned down by their dream prom date. It is those who have been called weird and were made to sit at lunch tables alone. It is those who think that the whole world is against them and cannot fathom that the only opinion that really matters is their own. These people internalize all the typical teenage bullying they experience and release it in massive fits of anger, revenge, and what they view as power.

The role the media plays is simple. They indirectly glorify these mass murderers. Don’t think so? How many of you have heard of Dylann Roof? Aaron Alexis. Adam Lanza. James Holmes. Seung-hui Cho. Eric Harris. Dylan Klebold. Every last one of these men have killed dozens of American citizens for no better reason that a simple desire. Now how many of you can name the victims? The media shines such a dramatic light on these killers that their successors come to the realization that if they commit these crimes, they too will achieve fame. They do not care what type of fame they get because to them any fame is good enough for them. Many of these killers pay obsessive attention to previous massacres. According to Ari N. Schulman of the Wall Street Journal, investigators have even found evidence of a “direct line of influence running through some of the most notorious shooters—from Columbine in 1999 to Virginia Tech in 2007 to Newtown in 2012—including their explicit references to previous massacres and calls to inspire future anti-heroes.”[1] These killers look up to one another for inspiration! The media only assists them in their quest for fame by giving them every last detail, from the gun used to the color of their socks, and allows them to glorify, study, mimic, and repeat every action taken by these individuals.

One of the most terrifying things, however, is that they are willing to kill themselves. They are not scared of anything! They will take away their own life just to take or torture hundreds of others’ lives. They look at these mass murders as their last statement. Their way to literally go out with a bang. These events allow their names to be engraved in American history, being the source of chills, buckles, and negative emotions to hundreds of thousands of human beings. The media does not assist in this. They repeat the criminal’s name fifteen times before they say the first victim’s. They show that he is the star of the story. He is the one that deserves all the talk. He is the one that is most important.

The article linked in the last paragraph gives a good explanation of what our media can do to fix this epidemic. Gun control is not going to be settled for a looooonnnnngggg time. If we can unify our competing news outlets under this new functionality, we can at least slow down the rate of these mass murders and show to these assailants that they will not be glorified for their disgusting actions and will be condemned left and right under their *unknown* and *forgotten* names until they are nothing but a distant memory trying to claw its way through the memory of all the wonderful souls that were lost on those infamous days.

Annnnnnddddddd… We’re back with our #OscarsSoWhite series! Sorry for putting it on hiatus how I did, but so many other things started going on that were pretty hot topics when I wrote about them so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Anyway, now we are returning and this time we are tackling how black men fare in the Oscars race. Hint: don’t be too optimistic.

So during weeks one and two of this series I talked about three movies that were not nominated for Oscars during their respecitve years, which really shocked me: Straight Outta Compton, Selma, and Fruitvale Station. I’m surprised because these three movies, as amazing as they all are, are perfect movies for the Oscars to praise, not for their acting or cinematography, but for their stereotypes. Straight Outta Compton and Fruitvale Station are movies that continue the image of the “black thug” that so many of my black brothers and sisters try so hard to defy, discontinue, and destroy every time they step off of their stairs. This image was created by white people to criminalize, demonize, and subdue black men into compliance.  Selma, on the other hand, is pretty blatantly Oscar-worthy.[1] It takes place in the very racist 1960s America and reminds people of the time when we were viewed as less than the gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe. Now as I said before, I am not condemning Ava DuVernay for her amazing work on this film, I am condemning the white America that looks to black stereotypes as the best and most deserving form of entertainment that we put out into the world.

Where did the image of the “black thug” even originate from? It’s a fairly easy road to trace it back down, actually. Throughout the Jim Crow era was when black men first began being viewed as criminals. Many white writers during the Jim Crow era believed that slavery was good because it kept blacks in line and prevented them from committing crimes. This idea was proven to whites when blacks were being detained for crimes they did not commit. Through a loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude) white landowners began accusing blacks of debts and crimes in order to force them to work off their punishment tending to the white man’s land. The image of the black criminal then experienced a resurgence in the 1970’s when black males evolved in the eyes of whites into an “ominous criminal predator.” This created the current image of the black criminal which was not one who simply committed crimes, but was now viewed as a threatening and fearsome character.  Now, as this stereotype bleeds into the current era and modern media and entertainment, movies like Training Day, Hustle & Flow, and Flight are being nominated for and winning awards at this show.

Selma was released in a very interesting point of the year and from a large media frenzy surrounding this movie. Everyone anticipated this movie. Young, black, female director, Ava DuVernay, was changing the game. In only her second feature film, she was tackling the incredible life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and doing it in such a fashion that captivated men and women, blacks, whites, and browns, old and young, and everything in between. Her film was critically acclaimed. So many people saw the movie, felt moved, and thoroughly enjoyed the composition and content of this film (it received a freaking 99% on Rotten Tomatoes for goodness sake!!!). But somehow it was only nominated for two awards, Best Picture (rightfully so, although it still did not win) and Best Original Song (for which it did win, thankfully). If this was something that was so quintessentially Oscar-worthy for black films, why was it not nominated? I cannot answer that, because it truly baffles me. I have my theories, but I can see that they can be a bit outrageous so I’ll exclude them from this piece. (Random train of thought: I can call this a thinkpiece, right? I’m thinking and I just called it a piece so… I just think it sounds more scholarly than just a blog, you know? Anywho.)

Also, Creed confused me as well. Not because the image it portrays is stereotypical and Oscar-worthy, but because freaking Sylvester Stallone was nominated??????????????????? I’m sorry, WHAT? Michael B. Jordan (who was also ignored during his role in Fruitvale Station) did so much more than this man and exhibited so many more skills than he did, yet he was not even nominated? All Stallone did was say “I’m not gonna train you,” then “Okay, I guess I will…” then “No, swing your arm like so,” then “Don’t stop running, I’m gonna keep driving,” then “Oh no, I’m sick, but I’m not telling you,” then “Yay, you did your best son. You’ll get ’em next time tiger.” Yes, I know I just reduced his entire role to stupid, trivial lines, but that is what his role was compared to Jordan’s. Jordan’s acting was extraordinary and Stallone’s was pretty good too, but in no way should he have been the one being recognized for this incredible film. But that is how #OscarsSoWhite goes y’all. Even if we deserve it, we may or may not get it.

As you can see, I’m very passionate about this topic, so I’m sorry if I came off a bit aggressive, but this just hurts me so much because I know I cannot change this alone and neither can my race. It is a collective effort that men and women of every race have to fight together in order to gain more recognition and diversity in the Hollywood elite. Anyway, I hope this series informed, entertained, and made you think openly about what obstacles minorities still have to overcome today. If you’re still uncertain or disagree with my argument, I invite you to do more research aside from these thinkpieces. If you need I can recommend a few books and many articles for you to take a look at. But aside from that, I hope you enjoyed this week’s post and I will see you next week!

So rape culture as defined by Wikipedia is “a setting in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality.” Common behaviors include victim blaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, and refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by some forms of sexual violence. Rape culture has clearly been a problem in the United States as many people either do not want to recognize the violence going on in society or are simply too uncomfortable to talk about the topic. This creates an atmosphere where people are not being educated on the topic, victims are not being taken seriously or are blamed, or victims are too afraid to speak about what happened to them. Throughout this post you will see me refer to people who were raped as victims pretty often because I want to stray away from the use of “women” because clearly men can get raped as well. Unfortunately the vast majority are women, but I do not want to marginalize or make them feel anymore uncomfortable than they may already feel. (However, basic human error may cause me to say women so… sorry ahead of time if I just type it.)

As you can see in the photo to the right, only 32% of rapes get reported to the police. This is clearly a problem because it shows that victims are too afraid to have legal action taken against their offenders. On top of that, of the ones who are reported only 22% are arrested, 12.5% are convicted, and 6.25% spend time in jail. The way they word that last statistic is deceiving though, because I know for a fact that jailed rapists do not spend a “single day” in prison, but many. That wording just confuses me a bit, but I’ve digressed.

Now onto the pop culture part of this social issue. Kesha Rose Sebert. As I would love to be impartial on this topic so I could simply present facts, it just does not make sense to be and I cannot even begin to do so. So for anyone who may disagree with this issue, I don’t know what to tell you… This poor girl has been forced to continually be contractually bounded to her accused rapist with no opportunity to work with other producers and release new music. It has not been proven that her producer, Lukasz Sebastian “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, has actually raped her, and ironically enough that is not even up for trial at this moment, but she has cited years of emotional, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse as the basis of her request to void her contract. In October 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke asking to void her contract with the producer. She asked to be allowed to work with other labels and receive damages. Sounds simple, right? Then, days later, Dr. Luke countersued Kesha for defamation and breach of contract. Kesha’s original lawsuit was transferred in June to the New York Supreme Court due to a contract stipulation that required any and all cases to be resolved in New York. Finally after a year of the lawsuit waiting to be heard, the court finally held hearings and came to a decision: the judge will not “decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated.” Adding that she was already free to make music with other producers and release music under Sony.

At the surface this sounds good, and understandable. Yeah, people have carefully negotiated this contract so why void it if she’s already getting what she’s really asking for. That’s not really it… Sony says that she is able to make music without Dr. Luke in the room, meaning that he still has a stake in what she makes and ultimately her future. Kesha has said over and over again that she does not feel safe having him hold power in her career. The judge, however, thinks it is okay for Kesha to work for someone who she is essentially terrified of as long as they don’t have to see each other again.

The heartbreaking image circulating around the internet of Kesha hearing the court’s decision to uphold her contract.

Uh… It just baffles me. He can still hold almost complete control over how her career is handled, but it’s okay if they don’t see each other. Does the judge understand this? Because it’s very clear to me. He can still manipulate Kesha and hurt her without ever having to see her face again. He can make decisions for her and make her do things for him and dangle her career in front of her face.

This country’s relationship with rape is so twisted. Either we have victims who are too afraid to speak up, people whose cries are not being heard, or people who take advantage of the hysteria that surrounds rape and falsely accuse someone for personal gain. It is so hard for this country to have an actual, truthful discussion about rape, make decisions based on fact and not on assumptions or preconceived notions, and not try to poke at the issue with a 15 foot pole. I feel for Kesha so hard, everyone. It is a shame that she cannot even ask for separation from a man who she says has not only raped her, but has made her feel incredibly scared and uncomfortable to be in his presence. I hope that she will keep fighting for her freedom and that someone in their right mind will recognize the trauma that this woman is going through and allow her to be free because it is morally correct and not keep her bound because of a “heavily negotiated” [bullsh*t] contract.

#FREEKESHA

Here are some articles I looked at and if you want to learn more, I encourage you to do the same:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/kesha-and-dr-luke-everything-you-need-to-know-to-understand-the-case-20160222

http://www.lennyletter.com/politics/a275/why-keshas-case-is-about-more-than-kesha/

HOLD THE PHONE

BEYONCÉ DROPS A NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO AND PERFORMS AT THE SUPER BOWL AND ANNOUNCES A TOUR AND SPARKS AN ENTIRE RACE DEBATE AND IT ALL HAPPENS IN A MATTER OF TWO DAYS??? AND I’M RUNNING A SOCIAL ISSUES BLOG AND SHE HAND DELIVERS THIS GEM FOR ME TO TALK ABOUT??? She must’ve known what I was doing and decided to do all of this. But in all seriousness, how perfect was the timing of this single for my blog? Absolutely amazing! So if you haven’t figured out by now, my Oscars lesson will be on hold for a week because this totally needs discussion and I have A LOT to discuss. Okay? Okayyyyyy. Okay classmates now let’s get information!

First, the song and video. The song lyrics themselves are an anthem for black women and men and the empowerment of our race. From “I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros” to “I like my negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils,” Beyoncé uses these lyrics to say “yes my hair is kinky, and my nose may be large, but I love it!” She uses these lyrics as a “so what” to tell everyone that they should be proud of their features and flaunt them. Also, for those of you who don’t understand the line “you mix that negro with that creole make a Texas bama,” a “bama” was a term created by white northerners during the Great Migration to describe a black southerner who moved north, but did not know how to behave themselves and saw them as troublemakers, uneducated and rude. Again, Beyoncé is using this word to 1. show her roots and 2. say she may be a “bama” but she is successful and empowering everyone.

The main controversy surrounding the video, however, is how it promotes the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Towards the end of the video we see a young boy dancing in front of a line of police officers, dressed in all black and a hoodie. We then see the officers raise their hands in the signature “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture while the phrase “stop shooting us” flashes across the screen. While comparatively subtle, this video is the most political piece of work she has ever released and at no greater of a time. Still at the height of our new era Civil Rights Movement, the beginning of the year, before she’s set to take the biggest stage in America, and ahead of her upcoming sixth album, Beyoncé timed this piece to not only get people talking about her album, but to get people talking about race and the inequalities many of us may face.

Now let’s get into this Super Bowl performance.

The controversy here is that her dancers are dressed in costumes that are reminiscent of the Black Panther Party. Here’s where the real problem begins: most people (including myself until I educated myself a few years back) think that the Black Panthers are a violent group of militant Black supremacists that terrorized our country for years. If I could say wrong in every language possible, I would. First off, the full name of the organization is the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The organization was created in 1966 to protect its members from police brutality during a time when racial inequality was still at its boiling point.

The Ten Point Program outlined by party leaders to illustrate the wants of the organization.

These members carried guns with them legally, by California state law, and were ready to defend themselves if the police decided to attack first. They never were the aggressors, they never provoked any situation, they were not the violent party. The white American media loves to portray this group as terrorists that killed white people and tried to start a revlution. They constantly compare this group to the KKK, which blatantly promoted white supremacy, purity, and power, when the fact is the Black Panthers promoted Black unity and empowerment. One thing that this media does not seem to understand is that pro-black does not mean anti-white. Anti-police brutality does not mean anti-police. Black unity does not mean white subjugation. We always say the media tricks Americans into believing the story they want to be told, and this is yet another example. Now, this is not all to say that not one Black Panther supported black supremacy, as I’m sure few did- there’s always radicals in every political group. But as a whole, the picture the white media paints is one that is completely skewed and twisted to create the narrative they want to live on forever.

I personally do not find any fault in neither Beyoncé’s video nor her performance, because I have taken the time to educate myself on the history. As a young Black man from Philadelphia, I understand not only the #BlackLivesMatter movement, but also the reason for it in the first place. This country is indeed becoming more and more unsafe for my brothers and sisters to live in. The only way we can end the danger is if we speak up. Beyoncé used her status as an A-list celebrity and her position on America’s biggest stage to get the country talking. All we have to do is listen. We need to listen to what the Black community is saying and research, observe, experience, and search for the inequalities Black people face and how to erase them. The Black community is learning to be unapologetically Black. This is the action needed to keep the conversation going and I 100% commend Beyoncé for her bravery, candidness, and drive to put this conversation in every household in the United States.

Let’s see what else might pop off between now and next week. Take it home, Bey!

I don’t know… Is this turning into a race blog? Maybe, but my experiences at college have definitely made me more aware of my race, culture, (dis)advantages, and power. We’re just going to see how the next few weeks go and I may have to turn it into a race blog depending on my vision for the blog and overall mood on race as a topic of discussion.

So during my post last week I talked about how I was surprised Straight Outta Compton, Selma, and Fruitvale Station were not nominated for Oscars during their respective award show seasons. I’m surprised because these three movies, as amazing as they all are, are perfect movies for the Oscars to praise, not for their acting or cinematography, but for their stereotypes. Straight Outta Compton and Fruitvale Station perpetuate the image of the black “thug” that white people have created to criminalize and demonize black males, while Selma is a movie that simply reminds America of the subjugation blacks used to endure and the little power they had in society. With that being said, in no way am I condemning Ava DuVernay and her work on a wonderful movie that was not only informational, but incredibly moving, but I am saying that white America swallows any movie that reminds black Americans that they used to be less. Take a look at the picture to the right. Half of these women won their awards for portraying characters that lived during an era of white supremacy and are shown to be second class citizens compared to their white colleagues. Two of them portray, to some extent, the black stereotype of the “Sapphire” in their movies. Three portray the infamous character, the “Mammy” in their movies. One won her Oscar over an extremely controversial and offensive role in which she perpetuates the “Jezebel” stereotype. Of the seven black women who have won Oscars in the acting categories, five were for roles that uplifted the idea of white supremacy and black subjugation (I do not really have anything to say about Whoopi Goldberg’s win, and Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls, which still took place in the very racist 1960s America).

These characters are all seen as Mammies, with three of five of these roles winning Oscars for their portrayals. Top left to bottom right: Hattie McDaniel as Mammy, Gone With the Wind; Martin Lawrence as Big Momma, Big Momma’s House 2; Tyler Perry as Madea, Madea movie franchise; Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe as Mary Lee Johnston and Precious Jones, Precious; Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson, The Help.

Okay, before I begin to explain these roles individually, I should explain the stereotypes to you all first, right? Right. Okay so first, the Mammy. This character was created during slavery times to give white masters an escape for raping their housemaids. The Mammy was a woman who was seen as undesirable, large, sassy, but in a way that was acceptable to their white masters, and worked as the household maid. When the master’s families would leave the house, many would go rape their housemaids. When called out on it, they would simply say something like “why would I have sex with her?” (notice I didn’t say rape) “I don’t want her! She’s fat, ugly, dirty, and a maid! Don’t come to me with silly accusations like that!” Yeah that’s something like what they would say. Point is, they would use the Mammy’s appearance to explain why they “could never” rape the woman because they were just so unattractive to the master. Second, we have the Sapphire. She is what American’s now love to call “the Angry Black Woman”. She is someone who is sharp-tongued, sassy, loud, and mean to everyone she encounters. She hardly ever has anything nice to say and cares mostly for herself. Third is the Jezebel. Jezebel was a woman who was supposedly strongly attracted to sexual activity. She was seen as promiscuous, sex-crazed, conniving, anything but innocent. Now the Jezebel was created for similar reasons as the Mammy. White men created this character to say that black women they raped wanted sex. In trials they would bring up the sexual history of black women in order to say “she has had sex one time before, she must be a Jezebel! She must have wanted these men to rape her!” These three images have clearly penetrated modern day media, and have ushered in a new era of racism, whether it be conscious or unconscious.

Halle Berry in her award winning role of Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball.

Now allow me to break these roles down a bit further. Hattie McDaniel won her Oscar for portraying a character named Mammy. So that one goes without being said. Mo’Nique won her’s for portraying both a Mammy and a Sapphire. She was a large sharp-tongued woman that often treated Precious in a nasty manner. Octavia Spencer portrayed a Mammy in The Help. The movie title alone is annoying because it automatically puts these women down to a sub-level, by saying they are nothing more than just maids. Spencer’s character was probably the angriest and sassiest out of all of the maids which alludes to the image of the Sapphire as well (#tbt to when she made a pie out of her stool and watched as her master “ate [her] shit”). Lupita Nyong’o won her award for portraying a slave. Need I say more? And lastly, Halle Berry, the only black woman to win Best Actress for her role in Monster’s Ball. This role was controversial in the black community for multiple reasons. First, this brought back to the current era the image of a black woman having sex with a white man which was reminiscent of eras in which white males raped black females. Second, the image this role was perpetuating was very blatant, so much so that Berry should have been aware of its effects, as Angela Bassett, a black actress, turned down this role before it was passed to Berry. She should have seen the effects of this role, but for some reason chose to lay on her back and take it anyway.

This post is too long. I wasn’t planning on it, but this just made its way into week three. I’ll see you guys next week!

So for this thread of passion blogs I will be focusing on social issues. Now, these issues are not going to be so much political, but more pop culture issues, or hot topics among the general population. Because communities are constantly attacking each other this blog is generally going to be on current topics or things that have extreme relevancy at the time they are written. With that being said, if any of you read my post and want to suggest a topic that has popped up recently, feel free to do so! I am open for your feedback to keep this blog up to date and relevant to the audience’s interests!

Let’s dive into our first topic: #OscarsSoWhite

As many of you may know, the Academy Awards have recently come under fire for their lack of diversity in their Oscar nominations. Each year the Academy nominates five actors for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, that’s 20 spots for people to be nominated. In the past two years ALL forty spots have been filled by white actors and actresses. People have called out the Academy for not only excluding people of color from the nominations,  but for lacking diversity in their own institution. As you can see the Academy, who nominates and votes for winners, are predominantly white males (and not even nominees oddly???). People think that due to the lack of diversity in the voting block, movies featuring actors of color are often overlooked and not recognized as they should be. This has lead to a lot of talk about who should be voting for these categories and if they accurately reflect a reasonable distribution of race and sex, which ideally would lead to more diverse nominations.

But what movies have actually been overlooked? Remember Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed Selma? No actor nominations. The follow up to the Rocky series with Michael B. Jordan (who was also snubbed two years prior for his role in Fruitvale Station), Creed: nothing except a nomination for Sylvester Stallone’s supporting gig (very questionable to me). The N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton, which shook the summer box office only received one nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Even a late entry to the game, Concussion, featuring veteran actor Will Smith was completely shutout from every category.

I am no movie aficionado, but I do like to think that I know a good movie or actor when I see one. The fact that these movies, especially Selma, Straight Outta Compton, and Fruitvale Station, were shutout makes absolutely no sense to me. These three movies in particular are surprising to me because the Academy eats up movies that subjugate black Americans or perpetuate black stereotypes (I’ll save this explanation for another day), but chose to ignore three movies that shook up the movie industry upon their releases.

Now I will give you some numbers:

This picture is interesting to me, but probably not for the reasons you think. Was I surprised at how many nominations blacks get compared to their percent of the population? No. Was I disappointed that we do not have a larger share of nominations? No, not from looking at this graph. This strikes me because while many people may look at this and say “Oh, black people get a good amount of nominations considering they’re only about 12% of the population,” I look at it and say again “Where is the diversity.” Now when many people read “diversity” they immediately looked to the dark blue share, but that is not what diversity is entirely. Even Latinos, Asians, and other races are being overlooked by the Academy. But why aren’t they speaking up? Why are blacks the majority of people voicing their discontent with the Academy? This graph interests me because it shows that we are not the only ones being overlooked, which is what many people tend to forget. When I speak about how homogeneous the Academy is, I speak about it on every demographic, not just their number of black members.

I will leave you with this for now: I think that the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite is so effective because it gets the general population talking. When the population starts talking, it shows people in charge that we care what is going on behind the scenes. The hashtag worked very quickly as we see the president of the Academy calling for an immediate restoration of the Academy’s makeup. While I do not believe the Academy chooses movies they deem “white enough”, I do believe that people have their preferences and these preferences are often ones that coincide with their own experiences, comfort, and demographic. Until there is an Academy that is more diverse racially, we will not see nominations that are distributed equally throughout the years.

Next week I’m going to unpack my subjugation and stereotyping statement because it is something that I have seen throughout my experience and research that I feel would be a good follow up to the debate going on in this post. If you have any suggestions for week #3 or #4 feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Have a great day!