African American Podcaster

For those who have heard the Girl 600 podcast from time to time be advised that she has moved to -African American Podcaster
I don't listen to her podcast that often because I find she tends to ramble. On the other hand I like a lot of the the material that I find on her web site. She is always original and IMO she keeps it real and there is always something new. This keeps me going back cause her stuff is like a box of choclates---------.

Response to AFRICAN AMERICAN BLOGSPHERE; GAINING STATURE IN THE WORLD OF NEWS.

Response to - AFRICAN AMERICAN BLOGSPHERE; GAINING STATURE IN THE WORLD OF NEWS.
on The World Of Ensayn Reality Blog

"How to drive more of the Black collective to the internet and the Black blogsphere?"

My feeling is with you, I never stop thinking about ways to reach the Black masses. One important way to get answers is to broaden the question. So we can add ----How to deliver the contents of the internet and the Black Blogosphere to the Black coillective?---- to the original question.

I think we shouldn't forget that while we have been many moons in America, we are still more of a verbal culture than a written one. Griots have always been an important factor in African communication, history and genealogy many generations of information was passed on unbroken by this means. Up until the point where many of us, in the diaspora, were hijacked and thus pulled completely out of the loop, this means of communication was working for us.

Even then, after several centuries our young folks are coming full circle with Rap.
A rapper may be compared to a griot telling stories of the things that folks in the village want to know about. It is another spoken word means of communication which has proved to be very effective. So much, that millions have been spent in America to divert and circumvent the original form, in an attempt to subvert the output and once again minstralize our image while at the same time raking in tons of money.

Rap reaches so many people around the world, that it truly is a force to be reconed with. People of all cultures find it appealing but especially those of the African Diaspora . Outside the US I have seen quite a few progressive presentations and productions being utilized by young people to express their impression of how they perceive and are determined to respond to their sociopolitical environment.

African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal

We have to work together to inform our people that Black folks around the world are ready,
even sometimes a personal risk to speak out for the cause of liberty and justice.
While we may appear to be separated, we are not alone.

Cuban hip hop group protests racism and injustice

Brazil Official Estilo Hip Hop Trailer

Closer to home People like DaveyD, Professor Jared BAll, Rosa Clemente, Sista Souljah and other Media Activists are working to bring us together. Black bloggers have to get on board and back these brothers and sisters up.

Media Activist Davey D on media consolidation ncmr 2005

http://www.voxunion.com/
VoxUnion.com is a fantastic site that IMO all Black bloggers would benefit plugging into.
My favorite feature on this site is the Freemix Radio concept, that suggests we all create mixtapes
of music, news, current events and such and listen then pass them on and if we have the resources create more add to it and pass that along too. I could see this model working for e-mail newsletters as well.

There are others also out there working and we all have to somehow communicate with one another in order to
consolidate and or coordinate at least some of our efforts in order to take advantage of the fact that right now we have potential access to millions of people. In the last ten years I have seen a number of excellent productions come and fall by the wayside because of lack of support and the people producing them just couldn't maintain their level of output while working alone.

Blogging, youtube, podcasting, skype and more resources are available, in various combinations for those of us who will challenge our imaginations. Never before and (when this window closes) possibly never again, will we have such a fantastic opportunity. We have to talk about it, we have to learn real fast how to combine efforts for maximum use of input.

And yes, I think we have to do everything we can to drag the collective, (even if kicking and screaming) right along with us.

I'll close with this message from
Davey D at the NCMR 2007

More on the BART slaying of Oscar Grant

 I'm always looking for online media that's oriented toward

the Black community and the need to create communication

necessary to keep us informed about the events that are currently,

as well as historically, affecting our lives as a people.

 The recent flurry of activity online has reminded me that 

the people of the "Bay Area" have a long history of speaking out

against institutional injustice. Now I have found a sister who is

poddcasting, blogging, interviewing, researching and don't I

believe I'm even coming close to fully expressing the energy I detect

from her direction. 

 Wanda Sabir is a powerhouse with her site wandaspicks.com

which describes itself as a   "Black arts event source"

this is definitely an understatement.  This site includes so much

information that I am not about to try to list the variety of material

that you will find there. Do check out her blog and those of you who

use itunes will be interested  in clicking here. 

 In a recent program on  blogtalkradio taped Thursday, January 8,

she features the poet Jahi, who responds to the police shooting 

and murder of Oscar Grant III January 1, 2009 at the 

Frutivale BART Station in Oakland. He is joined by Tiyesha Meroe 

who was at the rally 1/7 and at the BART Hearing 1/8 and shares 

her perspective on each.

 Enjoy Wanda's Picks I know I will.

Harlem Heritage Highlighted

I was sifting through iTunes recently and dug up in iTunes U.

a very interesting course called ; 

Harlem's Heritage -Harlem Digital Archive.

Instructor - Manning Marable

It includes a dozen podcasts in the form of lectures, that will prove very interesting to anyone interested in Black American history.

These podcasts can be downloaded freely and would make a rich source of material for anyone wishing to share this part of our history with children, discussion groups or however your imagination permits.

A dozen podcasts presented by Columbia University's Center for new media, teaching and learning. (CNMTL)

Taken from classes and events at Columbia University on and related to Harlem, these podcasts are part of the Harlem Digital Archive. A repository
for teaching and learning materials that can be taught in the University, libraries and Museums.

Professor Leith Mullings

Professor J. Yolande Daniels

Professor Samuel Roberts

Sandhya Shukla

Professor Kimberly Johnson

Professor Manning Marable

Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin

Professor David J. Maurrasse

Malcolm X's Political Thought and Legacy

Malcolm X, Women and Gender

Whose Book is This?

The Assassination of Malcolm X and it's Aftermath

This material is taken from the rich and extensive archive at Columbia University about 

Black Americana and Harlem in particular. 

The material found at Columbia on iTunes U is just the tip of the iceberg visit:

The Harlem Digital Archive:

A Television, Education, and Library Project
A collaborative project of
The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning
Intelligent Television
Digital Knowledge Ventures and
Columbia University Libraries

Jared Ball presents - Amiri Baraka, Tom Porter, Rosa Clemente Debate Electoral Politics

 Jared Ball on his program Midday Jazzn'nJustice presents a firey, stimulating discussion which we should all be listening to. The speakers bring a miriad of ideas to the table, they have different approaches, they are discussing issues and strategies which we all can benefit by hearing. The discussion gets hot and heavy now and again  but as "warm-blooded people" we can handle it. :)

 The more we involve ourselves in discussions such as this, the more we will be able to formulate a strategy to empower ourselves. Yes it takes more than talking but we do need to communicate enough to get on the same page. 

 Props to prof Ball.

Manning Marable an Interview

I came across quite a few mp3 files featuring Prof. Maning Marable and found them all very

informative and interesting.  One that I found to be very good listening was -

WBAI senior producer Dred-Scott Keyes, interviews Dr. Manning Marable of Columbia University's Institute of Black Studies. 

In the interview  Dr. Marable discusses his book 

"The Great Wells of Democracy"

In the interview he covers diverse topics ie.

• The nature of modern racism
• The affect of Globalization on Black Nationalism
• The Prison Industrial Complex
  
• Disefranchisment as a result of imprisonment
• The econonic consequences of mass incarceration

Click to listen to Part 1.

Click to listen to Part 2.

DaveyD Positive Hip Hop and Soul music.

DaveyD has posted some great examples of positive Hip Hop on

Breakdown FM-23 Joints to Get U Through The Day #1

Breakdown FM can be downloaded as a podcast via iTunes 

if you are interested in what's the mindset of the active hip hop

culture then this program is a good place to check it out.

There are lots of interviews and reports on up to date topics

and personalities concerning the Black community.

Walter Turner of Africa Today Hosts Black Historian Runoko Rashidi

  Walter Turner of "Africa Today", a program about current events and prominent Africans from throughout  the continent and the diaspora,  features Dr. Runoko Rashidi an African American scholar, explorer, historian, lecturer, author, tour guide and more who has informed and inspired many of us to examen Africa's contribution to the world much more closely. The interview is well worth the time it takes to listen because you will discover many new avenues toward your knowledge about things African.

 "Africa Today" airs on KPFA Pacifica each Monday and is available for download as a podcast via iTunes or via KPFA.

The National Hip Hop Political Convention

The National Hip Hop Political Convention gathered from August 1-3, 2008

the hip hop political agenda

The NHHPC-Electoral Politics Panel
was recorded by DaveyD and is well worth the listen.
Sitting on this panel were the following people;

Rev lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus
Professor Lamont Hillof Fox news and Temple University
Tony Cani- Young Democrats
Honorable George Martinez of H2Ed and former elected Official & emcee
Rosa Clemente-Vice presidential candidate of the Green Party

It's time to create our own changes. 

"#*c& the Democrats and the Republicans and their bull$hit."

                                                                      Rosa Clemente

The Importance of Podcasts to the Black Community

 Well, it's  been a while since I've been in "summer mode" and taking advantage of the mild weather to get away from the computer. I'm still always looking for podcasts +  that are interesting to me and geared toward the upliftment, entertainment or information of our people. 

I usually download and burn these podcasts as mp3 files on a CD and listen to them on a portable CD player when I''m walking the dog or waiting in any "waiting room".

I listen to them on the car CD player if I'm stuck in traffic or on a long trip. Doing this, has cut my non-productive time drastically. I now find that an 8-hour trip is quite short, rush hour traffic is simply more time to listen to interesting and informative material created by Black folks for Black folks.

On the minus side, I have a tendency to be isolated in the world between my earphones and even get a little annoyed sometimes when a situation arises that calls for me to stop listening to my program. Of course, this is not serious because I know that I can always resume where I left off. The isolation however is of more concern to me so I am trying to reach out to others via this blog in the hopes that I can share what I discover and reciprocally learn about some things that I might not otherwise find. Comments, ideas and other input, even criticisms will be welcomed. We have such a great opportunity to develope our own media, on many levels and everything we need to get it started is at our fingertips.

 The different  subjects  and fields of interest are many and steadily growing. Whether it's music, a college course or lecture, politics, subjects of interest to Black women, erotica, interviews with prominent people in the community, local or national radio talkshow hosts,  international concerns, health issues, crime and much much more, it's being covered in many cases excellently and expertly by people in the Black community. 

 Even the amateur presentations offer an insight into places that "mass media" doesn't venture into, while at the same time giving us the opportunity to discover new talent and keep up with the attitudes and impressions of  youth and those on the fringes of our society.

 In closing , this blogger feels that we should use every resource at our disposal to expand the use of  the podcast, to introduce the podcast to the uninitiated and create a wide network of Black produced material with the idea of  keeping all of us in touch with the pulse and nerve endings  of the Black Community.