In these days of pandemic, American democracy lies sick, burning not with fever but with fire. Every illness must come to one end or the other. Will she die, or will she get better? The[…]
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Category: Race
Long Division
I first encountered author Kiese Laymon when I read his essay “You are the Second Person,” an unapologetically bridge-burning reckoning of his encounter with a assimilationist editor who tried to deracinate his work. What stuck[…]
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Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man’s Chest
The second Pirates movie was an entertaining romp, with some great action sequences, featuring the always-compelling Johnny Depp. However, the film also featured a disturbing racial subtext. Most blatantly, the film trafficked in broad racial[…]
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We Invented the Remix, Part II
Last time, we looked at hip-hop sampling as a outgrowth of African polyphony, a way of creating something new by placing a different and contrasting line over the original. But there is more to it[…]
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Black Music As Philosophy: We Invented the Remix, Part I
Hip-hop music is unique. It has been multiracial from the start, and it has been embraced and naturalized all over the globe, and yet it still retains a basic, unbreakable connection with its natal black[…]
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Not Playing the Background
Out of all the great black American talents, the ones who have arguably fared the best are the singers and musicians. While it may only be a fraction of what they deserve, they have at[…]
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The Power-Morality Gap
One simple principle explains so many of the mysteries of modern life: the Power-Morality Gap. You may have heard it said that “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” (Lord Acton). In actuality, the[…]
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Zora Neale Hurston and the Problem of Audience
My first real understanding of the power of affinity on attention came in 9th grade. When my teacher assigned a project called “The African-European Connection,” I was enthralled by history for the first time, as[…]
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Kindred
Repost in honor of Butler’s birthday, and her selection for a Google Doodle: The late, great Octavia Butler was best-known as a rare black female superstar in a genre –science-fiction –largely dominated by white men.[…]
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Wokepedia: Justice Trilogy
Fourth in my “Wokepedia” series of case studies of consciousness-raising Wikipedia edits. The Justice Trilogy: This week’s entry, the “Justice Trilogy,” is a little more involved, because it included not only creating a brand-new page[…]
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