The 37th Best Place to Live in America

by with 3 Comments CultureFeaturedhighlight

In the late ’90s, my parents brought me home to a suburban town in northern Connecticut near the Massachusetts line. The town was quaint, with old houses touting 18th century New England, and a community that seemed to protect and serve one another. This was the town I always wanted to be a part of, and in many aspects today would like to have felt nostalgic for. However, when we celebrate the past, we always seem to glorify the beautiful parts, the memories that make us feel good rather than the brutal truth – and the truth is if I had grown up in 18th century New England, I would have been a slave – one of 5 in the town at the time.

But instead, I grew up in a town that was 92% white. The seemingly perfect town filled with church members, soccer moms, lovers of their community, has a glaringly dark past with racism. All that to say – that the town where I grew up is a place where black people make up only 2% of the total population and no one seemed to care.

We don’t talk about what it means to be such a small minority in a place that is reportable “safe” and a great place to live. I don’t disagree that it is “safe”, but these statistics are made by and for white people. My memories of the town are distorted but I know of the trials and tribulations that my family went through and other Black people, even if they try to hide behind high-end cars and responsibility politics. The truth is that towns like mine are “perfect” in theory because they intentionally exclude others who threaten their collective identity. They run away from the issues at hand and instead put on a shiny smile like parents attending their kid’s fundraising event, to deflect that they are in fact not perfect and sustained oppressive systems. If you are “perfect” then issues such as mental health, poverty, sexism, racism, and more don’t exist.

I went to school from kindergarten to high school here. I only had one black teacher in middle school who wanted to make me feel like I belonged. I didn’t. I knew it. And he did too. But he tried because he knew what I would be facing throughout my life. But the other teachers and neighbors were stronger, using their polite demeanors to constantly surveil and harass me into knowing my place. The racism tied with sexism, wealth discrimination, and prejudice because of my family’s status as black immigrants was psychological warfare served with a smile.

Fast forward to today while black men and women are killed constantly and our ideals of democracy for all are crumbling. I’m bombarded with fake activism on my social media feed and then puppies or someone’s trip to Long Island. It’s a weird type of dystopia. Justice still has not been served – not to Breonna Taylor, not to Trayvon Martin, not to George Floyd, and not to the 2% of Black alumni who attended these primarily white institutions alone. They all deserve better. We deserve better and I am empowered by the lives of other Black alumni and people of color across the nation; whose parents worked to put them into systems that would benefit them, only to realize those systems were not created for them. We are resilient, and we won’t be held to the standards of the systems that oppressed us. Now is the time to act. We are the 2%. Support black alumni in Connecticut and across the nation by signing the petition now.

Petition: Improve Racial Inclusivity in Tolland Public Schools

An Imposter at the Homegoing

by with 4 Comments CultureFeaturedPolitics

Perseverance in the face of tragedy is a staple of the Black community. Surviving devastation has become so engrained in the Black psyche, it’s hard to separate the two. Events that appear insurmountable for many are often anticipated, a literal rite of passage. “How old were you the first time you experienced . . . (insert horrific event)?”

The Black “Homegoing” is a microcosm of that same Black experience in America. Early in the African Slave Trade, slaves were much more closely tied to their ancestral roots. Traditions were carried with human cargo during the Middle Passage. The newly-enslaved Africans believed death signified a return of the soul to the Homeland with the ancestors. Considering the horror they now faced, death was easily a much better existence. It mandated a celebration.

True to its DNA, the Black community persevered through centuries of the worst treatment of human beings in documented history. Relegated to the status of permanent livestock, hope for a life free from bondage sustained generations. That freedom could be in the physical form on Earth, living life as a “freedman” or it could mean a symbolic freedom with the soul released to a better place.

Forced cultural assimilation could never extinguish the will of the Black community to hold on to its humanity. The Black community now practiced a corrupted and modified version of Christianity. This form of population control sought to subjugate Blacks to permanent subordinate status by coupling their physical bondage with a far more insidious form of domination, mental servility.

Despite the clear objective of mental castration, the Black community still held traditions as sacred. Full forms of music, methods of cooking, story-telling, and manner of style/dress survived centuries of extensive efforts to sever any tie to the Black ancestral home(s). The Black community took this corrupted form of Christianity imposed upon them to further white supremacy and turned it on its head. The same Bible that was only presented to them in an abridged form (though never allowed in their exclusive possession) still provided hope to Blacks living a literal hell on Earth.

It is upon this backdrop that the Black Homegoing must be analyzed. One cannot overstate just how sacred the tradition is. After generations, Blacks in America replaced the African ancestral homeland with the heaven they heard preached in the Bible. They became synonymous and after generations, the Black community knew more of slavery than their actual bloodline. Sadly, slavery became the entire existence of the overwhelming majority of Black people in America.

Hope for something greater was all many had. Survival required them to hold on to the hope of reaching the “Promised Land,” lest they only exist to be subjected to daily torture. Whether that land be physical or spiritual, it was a blessing many sang of and sought daily. It sustained them. So one can only imagine the literal joy many felt to see another subjected to the same nightmarish existence, finally free. The celebration that “sent” that human being “home” was a recognition of them finally at peace. It was simultaneously providing hope for others. One day they too would no longer have to toil in the abyss of bondage.

The means of the Black Homegoing has evolved over generations, but the end is always the same. It is mandatory to celebrate that person’s life and the reality that the Black oppression in America can no longer harm them. While it is true that slavery in its original form has ended, it is still very much practiced in every state of the Union. Oppression and denial of the Equal Protection of the Law is likewise denied the remainder of the Black community that is not currently incarcerated.

The Black Homegoing is a celebration of those realities no longer controlling the life of the person currently celebrated. This is true of any Black American, be it the homeless man that remains nameless or a Civil Rights ICON. So with this context in mind, the passing of the arguably the greatest remaining vestige of the Civil Rights Movement necessitated the greatest Black Homegoing imaginable in the world of COVID-19.

John Lewis fought his entire life for the Black community. Literally penning a letter of instructions to the people from his deathbed, Lewis always sought to advance the Black community from the tortuous reality he endured for 80 years. The path was slow and arduous and unfortunately too long for Lewis to see it to fruition. With this reality in mind, Lewis’s Homegoing was planned. It involved multiple locations and services on multiple days, one last crossing over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and his being honored by a who’s who of both the Black community and the world of social justice. Lewis was to be eulogized by the last President this country has seen, the first Black President of the United States, Barack Obama. It must be noted that the Obama Presidency likely never occurs without John Lewis and all he fought for, a reality that was never lost on neither Obama, nor the Black community.

However, before that sacred event could be concluded, America had to have one “last laugh.” In total, three former Presidents spoke at Lewis’s final service of his Homegoing. Ironically, the Republican former President knew full well what was and was not appropriate. George W. Bush’s words were eloquent and gracious, a far cry from his Presidency. His dialogue actually made many ponder on how far he had come, almost wishing the current occupant of the Oval Office could be more like him.

But true to form, White America had to make its indelible mark of despotism on the life of John Lewis one final time. Bill Clinton, a man that once joked he was the first Black President, is perpetually too comfortable in exclusively Black spaces. Indicative of his nature, Clinton would not waver during the sacred Black Homegoing for a sacred icon of the Black community. His words, reminiscent of the Willie Lynchism tactics imposed during slavery, sought to illuminate a perceived division in the struggle for Black liberation.

It was an underhanded and veiled slight, spoken quickly in a manner that would lead the passive listener to believe that John Lewis openly disagreed and clashed with another icon in the struggle for Black equity. While praising Lewis, Clinton referenced a division HE remembers in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). SNCC was an organization of student protestors and freedom fighters who sought nonviolent means to protest and resist segregationist practices in the South. SNCC was founded by 126 student delegates from various institutions. Among them were John Lewis and Stokely Carmichael. Their goal was uniform, direct-action challenges to civic segregation and the political exclusion of the Black community. SNCC sought to eradicate both with all deliberate speed.

Lewis and Carmichael may have personally favored different means of achieving their goal at times, but not to the point of pitting one against the other as an adversary. Put simply, they were fighting the same beast at the same time, seeking the same outcome. But, leave it to Clinton to impose revisionist history during the Homegoing for John Lewis. “Thankfully, Lewis prevailed…” were the words of Clinton, hinting that there was some struggle to “liberate” SNCC from the oppression of Carmichael. It was shameful and uncalled for.

Stokely Carmichael was a freedom fighter and not an oppressor. His contributions to the Civil Rights Movement cannot be quantified any more than those of John Lewis. Carmichael coined the phrase Black Power. A phrase many take for granted today, was unheard of when he first said it. One of the most revered alumni of Howard University, Carmichael set the world on fire with his powerful rhetoric. One cannot speak of the struggle for Black liberation without mentioning the name Stokely Carmichael (or Kwame Ture the name Carmichael took in later years). 

Much like John Lewis, Carmichael is a sacred icon. To speak negatively of Carmichael invites passionate debate or worse. It is an insult to the Black community to degrade its icons. Clinton did exactly that while on invite to an exclusively Black space, a sacred Black Homegoing for a sacred Civil Rights icon. He pitted one icon against the other without either of them alive to refute his subversive tactic. It was horrific.

However, the Black community will always survive. It will always endure. True to its character, the Black community brushed off this nasty tactic, which could have easily placed a stain on such a sacred moment. After all, those in attendance (either physically or virtually) were waiting for someone greater. While he is an imperfect human (a trait he wears on his sleeve openly), Barack Hussein Obama is a master of understanding the moment. Obama delivered one of his best speeches of recent memory, eulogizing the great John Lewis appropriately. By the conclusion of his speech, Clinton was a distant memory, as he should have been. John Lewis was appropriately sent “home.” He was finally at peace, no longer burdened by the cancerous disease that plagued his life. Racism could no longer harm him. He was finally free and no form of oppression, be it overt or the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” from Arkansas, could ever touch him again.

Long live John Robert Lewis, an icon and personification of the Black experience in America.

Similar Read: Until the Revolution of 1776 is Complete

40 Acres & A Mule (Why Reparations Can No Longer Wait)

by with 2 Comments FeaturedGen Z

Reparations are defined as “the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.” Throughout history, numerous wrongs have been committed towards African-Americans, including (but not limited to) unequal education access, medical racism, housing discrimination, mass incarceration, etc., and yet no attempt to make amends has been made.

In 2009, The Senate issued an apology for slavery plus the years of oppression that followed, and expressed commitment to “rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future.” However, the apology remains empty since the rectification is nowhere to be found. The United States of America refuses to sufficiently acknowledge its’ long history of oppressing, dehumanizing and exploiting Black folks, and restitution is long overdue. The Compensated Emancipation Act was passed in 1862 to repay slave owners for the income they would lose once their slaves were freed. If reparations could be given to repay slave owners for lost wages, then why is giving reparations to the descendants of slavery for centuries’ worth of lost wages viewed as unthinkable?

Reparations continues to be a pressing issue due “to a series of changes that have occurred in recent years — namely, the increased academic understanding of and public attention to the ways a history of slavery and discrimination has fueled disparities like the racial wealth gap, which shows that the median white household is 10 times wealthier than the median black one.” (The 2020 Democratic Primary Debate Over Reparations, Explained) People are aware of the glaring racial wealth gap, and that slavery, plus the centuries of disenfranchisement that came after, have fueled it. 

Enslaved Black people were denied the opportunity to build wealth. Meanwhile, America gained wealth from their work. The early American economy was built and dependent on slavery. The income from the forced labor of slaves was so lucrative that defenders of slavery went so far as to argue that emancipation would lead to the collapse of the American economy as a whole. “By 1860, there were more millionaires (slaveholders all) living in the lower Mississippi Valley than anywhere else in the United States. In the same year, the nearly 4 million American slaves were worth some $3.5 billion, making them the largest single financial asset in the entire U.S. economy, worth more than all manufacturing and railroads combined.” In addition to plantation slavery, slave labor was used for the development of The White House, The Capitol, Wall Street, JP Morgan Chase, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Washington & Lee University, and The University of Virginia. These institutions profited from slavery in the past and continue to make a profit in the present day. America benefitted greatly from slave labor, while those who were enslaved never received any benefits.

Furthermore, America has never acknowledged that slavery can’t be an issue of the past when it still impacts the present. The harms of slavery didn’t just go away with emancipation. When slavery was abolished, it evolved into other forms of oppression. Black people were denied educational opportunities, adequate housing, good jobs with decent wages, discriminated against by businesses, and their labor was once again exploited through the prison system. Harassment from police and White residents was common, and the subjugation of Black people continued, taking a toll on the entire community. This toll still exists in the present day.

It is not logical to enslave a group of people for over two hundred years, repeatedly railroad them into less than adequate schools and neighborhoods, incarcerate them at unnecessarily high rates as well as repeatedly brutalize them by those who are sworn to “serve and protect”, only to tell them that they are “undeserving” of proper repayment in any form. The United States has done nothing to help Black Americans recover from centuries worth of marginalization, which needs to change. Reparations have proven to be an important issue among Black constituents for the 2020 election, and a hearing was held last month to discuss a bill (H.R.40) that would establish a commission to study and develop reparations proposals. It is obvious that the demand for reparations is not going away anytime soon, nor should it. The impact of slavery is still something that negatively impacts the Black community on the social, political, and economic levels, proving that reparations are long overdue.

What is Blackface Really?

by with No Comment Gen Z

Lately, there have been a number of incidents where well-known public figures, celebrities, and even name brands have been accused of blackface.

The well-known brand Gucci was recently criticised for creating a black sweater that featured a turtleneck with a cut-out for the lip-area, which was surrounded by a bright red color.

Gucci isn’t the first designer brand to be accused of supporting blackface. In December 2018, the Italian designer brand Prada, popular for its handbags and shoes, removed statues with brown-skin, big bright red lips, and a monkey-like appearance in a New York store window that was accused of resembling blackface. There was also an entire line of products resembling the same figures titled “Pradamalia”, all of which are no longer being sold. According to a CNN article titled, Prada pulls products after accusations of blackface imagery, Prada stated the images are “imaginary creatures not intended to have any reference to the real world and certainly not blackface.”

Pop star Katy Perry also received backlash for creating shoes designed with blue eyes and bright red lips, which happen to come in black.

Several other celebrities have been called out in the past. In 2016, actor and dancer Julianne Hough dressed as Crazy Eyes from the popular Netflix show “Orange is the New Black,” a black character which Hough wore darker toned makeup to look like her. She has since apologized on her Twitter account.

Unfortunately, even politicians have been apart of this controversy. In early February, Virginia governor Ralph Northam was discovered to have a photo of 2 men, one dressed as a Klu Klux Klan member and another in blackface on his personal page in his medical school yearbook. “I believe then and now, that I am not either of the people in that photo,” Northam stated in a press conference.

He did, however, admit to wearing blackface before. ”I darkened my face in part of a Michael Jackson costume,” he stated. Northam has apologized and stated that he is focusing more on racial issues and educating himself. “His advisers have assigned the governor homework: He’s begun to read Alex Haley’s ‘Roots,’ and ‘The Case for Reparations,’ the seminal essay in The Atlantic by Ta-Nehisi Coates,” according to the Buzzfeed article “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Plans To Survive By Changing His Agenda To Focus On Race.”

Incidents such as these highlights the importance of being informed. It is imperative that people of all races and nationalities understand the history behind the word, and why it is so offensive.

What is the meaning of blackface? Blackface originates from the early 1800’s, a time where slavery was still legal. White Americans would place shoe polish on their skin to resemble African-Americans and perform plays meant to be comical called minstrels that help spread many of the negative stereotypes still associated with Black Americans today. African-American actors often times were forced to participate in these awful events and behave in the same ways that blackface actors portrayed them as.

Participating in blackface equates to continuing a time in American history where African-Americans faced social and political oppression. It is denying Blacks the respect that was fought so vigorously for through riots, protests, and bloodshed, which is why many are quick to call anything out that so much as resembles the horrible images created by this.

Similar Read: Press Play & Focus on the Future

Dirty Computer, The Black LGBT+ Representation I’ve Been Waiting For

by with 4 Comments Diversity & InclusionGen Z

On April 27th, 2018, Janelle Monáe released her third studio album, Dirty Computer. In addition, she released a 47-minute dystopian, sci-fi short film of the same name that celebrates women, blackness, and queerness. Needless to say, I loved it.

Seeing the Black LGBTQ+ community accurately represented in the media is an ongoing struggle. While films like Moonlight and television shows like Pose have made strides for Black LGBTQ+ representation, there is still more progress to be made. However, Dirty Computer has definitely contributed to that progress. Even from the very first single, “Make Me Feel”, I felt represented while watching the music video where Janelle runs back and forth in between male and female love interests, and I was delighted by the heavy usage of what is referred to as “Bisexual Lighting”, lighting that features pink, purple, and blue—the colors of the Bisexual flag.

In the Dirty Computer Emotion Picture, the protagonist Jane 57821 is in the process of having her memories erased in a facility after being labeled as a “dirty computer” that must be cleaned. Each memory comes in the form of a music video, and these videos give the audience a glimpse into Jane’s life before she was taken. One aspect of her life was her involvement in a polyamorous relationship with characters Zen and Che (played by Tessa Thompson and Jayson Aaron). Each music video is a celebration of femininity, sexuality, and individuality despite society’s attempts to suppress them. 

One of the songs that resonated with me was “I Like That”, the albums’ fourth single which went to #1 on the Adult R&B Songs Chart. Janelle described the song as being about boys “who make the lives of little brown girls so damn hard”, something I instantly related to. Listening to the song always gives me encouragement to embrace nonconformity and all of the things that I like, despite criticism. One line in the song “Sometimes a mystery, sometimes I’m free / Depending on my mood or my attitude / Sometimes I wanna roll or stay at home / Walking contradiction, guess I’m factual and fiction” were incredibly understandable, reminding me that a multidimensional personality should be held on to despite any attempts to be put in a box. This song is very uplifting, as well as “Django Jane”, Dirty Computer’s second single. 

“Django Jane”, is an anthem that celebrates and recognizes Black womanhood. It is a visual and lyrical love letter to our identities, our magic and our strength. Janelle is surrounded by Black women throughout the video, rapping powerful lyrics such as “Black girl magic, y’all can’t stand it”, “We gave you life, we gave you birth, we gave you God, we gave you earth”, and “Move back, take a seat, you were not involved / And hit the mute button / Let the vagina have a monologue”. I feel confident and untouchable very time I hear it.

“PYNK”, the album’s third single left me in awe when I saw the songs’ visual. There were so many details that I enjoyed, such as Janelle Monáe wearing pants resembling a vagina that Tessa Thompson emerges from. The video included women of various body types and skin tones, some wearing underwear featuring the slogans “Sex Cells” and “I Grab Back”. In one frame, the words “Pussy Power” are seen in neon lights, and towards the end, Janelle and Tessa embrace while watching the sunset. “PYNK” is the ultimate celebration of women’s bodies, sexuality, self-love, and of course, the color pink. 

Watching/listening to Dirty Computer was like breathing fresh air, and I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing a positive light being shined on the communities that society rejects and tosses aside. In her Rolling Stone interview, Janelle Monáe stated: “Being a queer black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker.” Dealing with the intersection of oppression that comes along with being a Black, LGBTQ woman means constantly being reminded that personal freedom is a right that the world will routinely attempt to strip away. Janelle Monae’s art, honesty, ingenuity, and confidence in the face of adversity serves as a reminder of just how free I am to be myself, too. Hopefully, throughout 2019, more art like Dirty Computer will be released, giving the Black LGBTQ+ community more representation that we deserve. 

Can Someone Be Pro-Black and Date Someone Who Is Not Black?

by with One Comment Uncategorized

In the midst of the wild events that are unfolding domestically and abroad, I’ve seen the same debate being had on various platforms: Can someone be pro-black and date someone who is not black?

The origin of human beings has long been debated between science and faith groups. Faith-based schools of thought believe that human beings were created by a higher being thousands of years ago. Science-based schools of thought believe that we have evolved over millions of years. I believe that both faith and science would agree that we are human beings, the only surviving species of the genus Homo.

Since human beings began mass populating the planet to the point where we could recognize distinction, we have divided ourselves by tribe, by nation, by wealth, by religion, by culture, by pigmentation, etc. The evolution of this division led to groups believing that they were superior to other groups (even within their own grouping!). This social system took a nefarious turn when humans began the wholesale selling, trafficking, and enslavement of other human beings. It’s evil to enslave your own people but it’s a greater form of evil to purchase and enslave someone else’s people without war. So in order to execute these human transactions, human beings convinced themselves that the group that was being sold was less than human. Most even believed that they were not even the same species altogether. These slaves were not homo sapiens (i.e. human), they were homo naledi (i.e. gorillas).

Fast forward to the 21st century where most human beings still haven’t cognitively evolved their thinking to fully embrace the complexity and nuance of our species while overlaying the impacts of our history and culture as it is applied to our existence. If we did, human beings across the planet would understand that we are more alike than we are different. If we did, we would understand that man-made concepts of “whiteness” and “blackness” are distinctions created to empower one group over another. If we did, we would better understand how the human brain, the nervous system, emotions, and personality all intertwine. If we did, we would better understand that culture impacts who we are but does not change the composition of who we are as a species. If we did, we would ultimately understand that debates around groups of human beings procreating with other human beings based on pigmentation are cognitively beneath us as a species.

Like any other species on this planet, life is all about survival. The empirical evidence shows us that in order to continue the species, we need to eat, sleep, and procreate. The mating process is critical to the preservation of the species. Over time we have increased the complexity of this process by including man-made social constructs into the procreating consideration set. Cynically, I believe that these social systems were developed to divide, control, and oppress us. Therefore, to whittle down my experience as a human being to just being black is a futile attempt to rob me of my ability to think, to create, to build, to feel, to love, to emote, to stand erect and walk, to use my thumbs, and to act in a manner that is not in line with the evolution of our species. When we continue to breathe life into these social divisions we give life to the same ideologies that empowered one group to enslave another.

Man-made social constructs like “blackness” or “whiteness” or “dating” are still relatively new to concepts for our brains to grasp. As a member of this culture, I participate in understanding these classifications but my primal being wrestles to reject them. Specifically, around ideas that I should not “date” and/or mate with another human being that is not also a member of my ethnic grouping. I would be foolish to dismiss the psychological impacts of the systematic oppression of darker pigmented human beings at the hands of lighter pigmented human beings. While I do not dismiss this altogether as it relates to love, mating and procreating; I do not leverage that man-made ideology into the consideration set of whom I choose to be with. So to answer the much-debated question, yes one can be pro black AND date someone who is not black. However, I believe the more evolved question that we should be asking one another is can one be against the oppression of a group of human beings and be with someone who is in favor of the oppression of a group of human beings?