Venezuela Leader in Haitian Aid

Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Chavez Helps Haiti

Photo by John Carroll
Southern Haiti, 2010

Posted on Mon, Jul. 05, 2010
Venezuela major donor of assistance to Haiti
BY JIM WYSS

Venezuela's first flag was stitched together on the shores of Haiti in 1806 before being carried across the Caribbean by revolutionary hero Francisco de Miranda. Ten years later, Latin America's founding father, Simón Bolívar, would set sail from Haiti loaded with guns and Haitian soldiers on his way to liberate much of South America from the Spanish. 

It's a historical debt that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez says his country will never be able to repay. But in the wake of Haiti's devastating earthquake, the South American nation seems bent on doing just that. 

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African American Mississippi Man Starts Record Sixth Murder Trial

African American Mississippi Man Starts Record Sixth Murder Trial

An African American man, Curtis Flowers, made history this week when he became the first person in U.S. history to ever go on trial for murder six times for the same crime. Mr. Flowers has been in jail in Mississippi since 1996, accused of the murder of four people at a furniture store. Jury selection started this week in tiny Winona, Mississippi, population 5,482.

High Fashion in Africa Reaches Out to African Americans and the World

April 26 and 27, 2010, marked the first Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, in which delegates from more than 50 countries of the Muslim world gathered in Washington to share ideas and make connections. Sidi-Ahmed Seidnaly, one of the African delegates, wants to promote African fashion not only across Africa but also worldwide via his company, Alphadi. Here is a look into his vibrant and unique collection.

The Bad Black Man Image

If you listened to the previous post, the KRS-One lecture.  You might find the following  article
adds some more depth (not that K isn't deep) to his lecture.

the modern athlete, hip-hop

and

POPULAR PERCEPTIONS

of BLACK MASCULINITY

by

Thabiti Lewis

(excerpt)

Everyone knows about rapping, but what is known about hip-hop’s ideology of perpetual creativity, innovation, inspired art that is nurtured via being lived and performed daily, or the attitude of doing what feels natural? How much attention is paid to core concepts and aesthetics like layering, ruptures in lyrical, musical, visual art and dance that is predicated upon circularity and rhythmic motion, space and social dislocation? (cf. Tricia Rose in Black Noise). Thanks to the gangsta bad niggzas motif, hip-hop has emerged as the top choice among teen music consumers. It is estimated that rap music generated roughly $3 billion in sales. But at whose or what expense has it raised to such heights of popularity? While it is quite clear who controls the music and image making, it’s impossible to avoid critiquing the complicity among artists and athletes that allow these images to breathe.




The hard guise associated with bad men and expressed in hip-hop culture is appropriated by popular culture, what is often lost is that hip-hop is an expression of young peoples’ despair and resistance. The hyper-masculine representations in hip-hop narratives and athletes’ playing performances and personas are also a direct response to a repressive culture; a response to, or attempted compensation for a perceived loss of power, potency, or manhood in the wake of the real perceived power that controls their worlds. But this is rarely articulated.

Read complete article

KRS-One Lecture - Black Media Archive

I just listened to a great lecture given by Hip Hop Ambassador  KRS-One
at Temple University in April 2004. I reccommend it to all you youngsters and OGs.
It's titled "Hip-Hop Beyond Entertainment"

Part 1
Part 2
Click the above links to view this informative lecture.

 The lecture is just a small part of a collection of African and African-American history, including speeches, archival video, movies, music, and more, to be found on the Black Media Archive Podcast.

It's come to my attention that as of lately the Black Media Archive content may be found on iTunes. I'm so glad it's still available. I recommend you go and listen and download what interests you because there is a lot of very interesting vintage material as far as the African American Community is concerned.




KRS-One Pictures