by Kathleen Cross | Jul 11, 2011 | "race", discrimination, post-racial myth, unemployed, what the hell? |
You may remember the 2003 University of Chicago study by Devah Pager that sent young white and black “testers” with randomly assigned “felony convictions” to apply for low-wage jobs. The study found that whites with felonies were more likely to be called for interviews than black applicants without criminal records.
Eight years later, black male unemployment has hit the highest rate since the government began keeping track in 1972. It is estimated that only 56.9 percent of black men over age 20 are working, and the prospects for them to earn an honest living anytime soon in this crumbling economy are not good.
While Obama battles the GOP over raising the debt ceiling and preserving “sacred cow” tax cuts and entitlement programs, the unemployed poor are becoming increasingly desperate. Of particular concern is the reality that the once-supportive family members who used to serve as safety nets for struggling felons are now losing their jobs and homes in record numbers. The safety net exists no more.
According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by the Economic Policy Institute in 2004, the median net worth of white households was $134,280, compared with $13,450 for black households. By 2009, the median net worth for white households had fallen 24 percent to $97,860; the median black net worth had fallen 83 percent to $2,170. And, no, that is not a typo. Algernon Austin, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy describes the wealth gap like this, “In 2009, for every dollar of wealth the average white household had, black households only had two cents.”
Two cents. Really? If anyone has the audacity to suggest to me that having a black president means America is now “post racial,” I will have to hold myself back. And, speaking of remaining nonviolent in the face of violent oppression… If there has ever been a reason to march on Washington, it is right the hell now. –originally published at rollingout.com.
by Kathleen Cross | Jul 9, 2011 | celebrities, stereotypes |
Director John Singleton, who is at the American Black Film Festival in Miami celebrating the 20th anniversary of his film, Boyz n the Hood, sat down with The Root to chat about black film. Asked about his views on the negative comments that have gone back and forth between Spike Lee and Tyler Perry (Tyler Perry tells Spike Lee “Go Straight to Hell”), Singleton responded:
“I don’t like it. I’m friends with both of them, and I really applaud what both of them have done in their careers and everything. First and foremost, Spike set off a manifesto that fostered my career. He’s the one who fostered the black film aesthetic about making films for black people by black people. Tyler has done what he’s done off of the work [that] myself, Spike and other filmmakers have done. He’s industrialized it, which is great because he’s proven exactly what we have always said — that our audience is so huge and varied that you can make an industry of it.”
Kudos to John Singleton for setting an example of how African American film makers can be publicly supportive of one another’s careers.
Read the entire interview at TheRoot.com
by Kathleen Cross | Jul 9, 2011 | celebrities |
It has been almost 25 years since Oprah Winfrey didn’t get an Academy Award for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of Sophia in the Spielberg-directed film, The Color Purple, and right about now the folks at the Academy have to be hoping she’s not holding that against them.
Now that the undisputed queen of talk’s 25-year-reign at that other five-letter-O-word show has ended, she is rumored to top the short list of celebrities worthy of consideration to host the 2012 Oscar ceremony.
If Oprah is selected to do the honors, and she accepts, she’ll make another short list—that of African Americans who have served as sole host of the prestigious event. Although Richard Pryor, Diana Ross and Sammy Davis, Jr. were invited to stand at the podium with other co-hosts over the years, only Chris Rock (2004) and Whoopie Goldberg (1993, 1995, 1998 & 2001) have been awarded sole custody of the Oscar hosting mic.
Motion Picture Academy sources told The Chicago Sun-Times that if Winfrey accepted the invitation, the awards would be broadcast on ABC, and Oprah’s OWN network would be granted exclusive rights to a post-Oscars telecast. Sounds like a win-win for all involved, especially Oprah’s huge and diverse television fan base who have to be missing t and will be more than eager to tune in.
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 30, 2011 | celebrities, Exclusive Interviews |
STUNNING, is the word that instantly came to my mind when Malika Haqq walked into our recent interview casually dressed and wearing no makeup.
If you’ve caught any of the episodes of E! Network’s Khloe & Lamar (another new spin-off of the hit reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians), you already know how gorgeous she is, but believe me when I tell you that after the tv cameras stop rolling, and that on-set makeup artist is nowhere in sight, this Cali-born and bred looker is still a shining star.
For those of us who have enjoyed watching her act on the big screen with her sister Khadijah in films like Sky High, ATL and School for Scoundrels, it takes a little getting used to to see Malika on any screen without her equally stunning identical twin. But, as the years progress, and the sisters mature and begin fulfilling the individual versions of their destinies, watching Malika branch out on her own is one of the many changes fans can expect from her in her personal life and her career.
One example of those grown woman changes involves Malika’s recent decision to terminate her employment as her best friend Khloe Kardashian’s personal assistant. Though the decision was a difficult one to make (the two have been best friends since high school and love spending so much time together), participating in and cheering for Khloe’s career success has helped Malika realize that the pursuit of her own dreams deserves her full attention.
My impression of Malika Haqq after interviewing her is that she is even more beautiful on the inside than her lovely outer .2mm:
KC: After watching the first season of Khloe and Lamar, everyone wants to know what’s really up with you and Rob Kardashian. What’s the real deal?
MH: There is a unique chemistry we have and people sense the love we have for each other, so they assume we’re supposed to hook up. But our friendship is special.
KC: So you’re not secretly in love with him and waiting for him to realize he loves you too?
MH: (Laughs.) No. I’m not waiting for Rob to love me because he already does, but neither of us is in love with the other. Rob will be seated front and center at my wedding someday, happy for me and proud of me.
KC: Who do you hope he marries?
MH: I hope Rob ends up with someone he can admire. He has the example of Kris and his sisters, and he’s really proud of them. I think he’d do really well with a really driven, motivated woman.
KC: What is the best part of being on the show?
MH: Working together with Khloe in a more artistic way. Long hours with my best friend doing what we both love.
KC: There are a lot of not so positive opinions on the Internet about the interracial aspect of Khloe and Lamar’s relationship. What do you have to say about that?
MH: People love people. It doesn’t matter. I see two spirits that connect. Being around them makes it very clear to me that love really is possible. I look at them and say, that’s love and I’m going to have it one day.
KC: You’re stunning. How does it feel to walk through life looking like this?
MH: I don’t think that way about myself. I really don’t. I know the outer is the focus in this industry, so it’s important. But I really want to be known for who I am. My heart is what really matters the most.
KC: What are you looking forward to career-wise? Where are you headed?
MH: Right now I’m reading scripts and looking forward to more feature film projects. I’m looking for a really good commercial agent who can pursue product endorsements for me to take that aspect of my work to a new level.
KC: Is there anyone’s career you admire?
MH: I love the work Natalie Portman has done. I love the projects she’s picked and I love her reach.
KC: Who would you love to be in a movie with?
MH: I’d love to work with Denzel.
KC: What character from children’s literature would you like to play in a feature film?
MH: Beauty and the Beast’s Belle. I would die for that role. I loved the relationship she had with her father, and she is the princess I aspire to be. She brought out the best in everyone around her. Someone should write that script…and, call me (laughs).
KC: Did you have that kind of relationship with your father?
MH: I don’t see my father at all. When I was very little I did, but not since. Well, actually, I saw him at a family funeral once. It was awkward.
KC: What effect do you think that has on a woman when she doesn’t have that father figure in her life?
MH: Deep down she believes all men eventually leave. For me, it makes me distance myself as soon as I think a man is going to leave. I’m like let me leave you first.
KC: What is the hardest thing you’ve dealt with so far in your life?
MH: Losing my older sister when I was twelve. My mother had two sets of twins. One of my older twin sisters died at age eighteen and it profoundly affected me and Khadijah. We lived in fear that one of us was destined to die at eighteen.
KC: Is being a twin a blessing? Did you ever wonder what it would be like not to be one?
MH: I love being a twin. I never want to know what it’s like to not have my twin.
KC: There’s another acting duo that are identical twin sisters, Tia and Tamera Mowry–do you know each other?
MH: We absolutely love Tia and Tamera, and we actually worked with Tamera on Strong Medicine. We have a lot of respect for them and we really click with them.
KC: What do you admire most about your mother?
MH: Her strength. She’s emotional, but she’s 100% strong. I don’t think I could have gone through half the things she went through.
KC: What would people be surprised to learn about you.
MH: I love sky diving. I’ve always said that “the one,” if he loves me, he’ll jump with me.
KC: What three qualities do you want in your future husband?
MH: I want him to be my friend first and foremost. I’d love for him to be like my personal diary who I can share my innermost thoughts with. I want him to be a good listener, and a good lover.
KC: What three qualities are deal breakers?
MH: I will not be with an abuser. I will not be with an addict. I will not be with a liar.
KC: Are you single?
MH: I’m in a promising relationship. I hope he likes skydiving.
KC: If you wrote a memoir at this point in your life, what would its title be?
MH: I Loved That I Learned
Follow Malika on Twitter @ForeverMalika and Facebook at OfficialMalikaHaqq
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 25, 2011 | remembering you |
In memory of Michael Jackson on this, the 2nd Anniversary of his death, a little something that would make him smile:
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And, for your viewing pleasure — “They Don’t Care About Us”
filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and directed by Spike Lee
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by Kathleen Cross | Jun 22, 2011 | "race", discrimination, i rant, privilege, seriously?, stereotypes, what the hell? |
Photo by Jill Tarlow
How is it that a 20-year-old Black man with his pants sagging low enough to expose his boxer shorts made US Airways flight attendants feel the need to correct his fashion choice, yet this passenger flew with no problem on the same airline a week before–despite the fact that there were several complaints about his (lack of) attire. Disgruntled passengers were told the airline did not have a dress policy and they could not intervene.
*Clutching My Pearls*
Um. Oh, no they didn’t.
According to US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder,
“We don’t have a dress code policy. Obviously, if their private parts are exposed, that’s not appropriate… So if they’re not exposing their private parts, they’re allowed to fly.”
Deshon Marman, hold on just a few months, my brotha. You are about to be a very rich young man.
Read more about this at the San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=91446#ixzz1Q2GuzJI5
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 20, 2011 | i rant, seriously?, slavery |
Imagine you are looking to get your hair braided and you find a salon where the price is low and the quality of the braids is high. You sit for hours in a chair, while a young girl who could be the same age as your sister or daughter works her artistry on your hair. You pay at the register on your way out, and for the next few days as your family and friends compliment you on your braids, it never occurrs to you that the work you paid such a low price for was performed by a slave.
I always thought of running but I didn’t know nobody. I didn’t know where to go. -Zena
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When people think of modern day slavery, they usually associate it with the sex trade — and it seems far away from our everyday lives. The girls in this CNN story came to America from Ghana and Togo as young children, hoping for an education and a better life. Instead, they were forced to work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week for five years in neighborhood beauty shops in Newark, New Jersey. Their captors pocketed $4 million. The young women were never paid a dime.
If you suspect someone is being held against their will, or you want to learn more about how to fight modern slavery, visit the National Human Trafficking Resource Center
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 16, 2011 | "race", activists, authors, born this day, discrimination, heroes, human unity, i rave, identity, privilege, remembering you, transformation |
Today is my birthday. And Tupac’s Too.
Another June 16th human being I really love is John Howard Griffin.
6/16/20 – 9/9/80
I hope you already know all about this man, but if not, he was a White anti-racist who grew up in the South and wanted to do something to reach the hearts and minds of White Americans, most of whom were in denial about the conditions under which Black people lived.
Griffin conducted an experiment in 1959 (years before the Civil Rights movement) that included shaving his head, darkening his skin with lamps and pharmaceuticals and living as a Black man in the deep south.
Though he endured for several weeks, he ended up cutting the experiment short, as he found that being a Black man was too difficult for him to maintain for long. He wrote a book about his experiences that made him a celebrity and (to some) a villain.
“Nothing can describe the withering horror of this. You feel lost, sick at heart before such unmasked hatred, not so much because it threatens you as because it shows humans in such an inhuman light. You see a kind of insanity, something so obscene the very obscenity of it (rather than its threat) terrifies you. It was so new I could not take my eyes from the man’s face. I felt like saying: “What in God’s name are you doing to yourself?”
“Suddenly I had had enough. Suddenly I could stomach no more of this degradation- not of myself but of all men who were black like me.”
“When all the talk, all the propaganda has been cut away, the criterion is nothing but the color of skin. My experience proved that. They judged me by no quality. My skin was dark.”
Mr. Griffin knew when he conducted his experiment he would forever be putting himself at odds with those in America who didn’t want the ugliest realities of racism to be exposed and so vividly expressed by someone White. After his book “Black Like Me” was published in 1961 he and his family received continual death threats. They left their Texas home and eventually moved to Mexico.
“John Howard Griffin was one of the most remarkable people I have ever encountered…He was just one of those guys that comes along once or twice in a century and lifts the hearts of the rest of us.” -Studs Terkel
Here is an excellent article about Griffin’s life, his experiment and his writings: JimCrowMuseum <<–Highly suggested reading!
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 16, 2011 | born this day, celebrities, musical artist, remembering you |
Yes, I am aware of the news that broke yesterday about Dexter Isaac confessing to shooting ‘Pac back in 1994. But, I don’t feel like writing a story about that today.
Not today.
Instead,
Happy Birthday Tupac…
“And my AIM is to spread more smiles than tears
Utilize lessons learned from my childhood years
Maybe Mama had it all right
Rest your head
Straight conversation all night
Bless the dead
To the homies that I usta have
That no longer roll
Catch a brother at the crossroads
Plus nobody knows my soul
Watching time pass
Through the glass…”
-Tupac Shakur “Hold Ya Head”
…wish you were turning 40 today.
Visit www.16thofjune.com for information about the 40th Birthday Celebration tonight in Atlanta hosted by Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur. The show includes a star-studded list of guests including Mike Epps, who is co-hosting the event with Ms. Shakur…
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 12, 2011 | celebrities, seriously?, what the hell? |
If you’ve paid any attention at all to entertainment news channels over the last few days, you have heard that football player Bret Lockett is calling Kim Kardashian a cheater and a liar. He adamantly swears he has carried on a five-month telephone sex affair with the beautiful mogul — an affair that was allegedly the result of a “hookup” via actress Lauren London, whom Lockett’s younger brother claims he has been romantically involved with (also over the phone).
I am predicting Lockett will soon be issuing an apology and admitting that he and his brother were duped.
Both Kim and Lauren have released statements saying they have never met or spoken to either of these guys and I am quite sure these young ladies are telling the truth. Here’s why:
For the past several years, there has been an impostor who has been calling celebrities on the phone pretending to be actress/model Akira Torii, a close friend of Miss London.
Akira has been approached at events by famous men she has never met who behave as though they know her well. When she explains that she does not know them, the humiliated celeb tells her about the hours long *intimate* conversations he thought he’d had with her and the sexy text messages he thought they’d exchanged.
That’s pretty damn creepy.
“This person thinks what they are doing is harmless, but they are affecting my life and my family negatively. People think I’m a flake for not showing up at events the impostor sets up. The person phones people while they’re sloppy drunk and portrays me in a way that isn’t me at all. I don’t drink alcohol, and I am in a committed relationship. There are people walking around who really believe they’ve had drunk phone sex with me. It’s disgusting.” –Akira Torii
Not long ago, the impostor got really bold and called Akira’s cellphone bragging about how excellent they were at impersonations, and claiming that they would never be caught because they had connections at the phone company and their calls would never be traced to a real number. In the midst of this brag session, the call dropped and when the person called back, the voice was a man’s voice for about three seconds, and then it suddenly switched into the high-pitched feminine voice it was previously, leading Akira to believe the impostor might actually be a man who is using a telephonic device to sound feminine.
A person’s ethnicity, age, gender, weight and other traits are easy to disguise in cyberspace, so it is entirely possible that Brett Lockett was carrying on a virtual romance with an impostor — possibly even a man pretending to be Kim. In this new age of Internet dating and virtual relationships, you really cannot be sure the person you’re communicating with is who they claim to be unless you meet them face to face.
Be cautious, people.
Akira Torii does not have “celebrity status,” but just her proximity to someone famous has made her a target, so you can imagine how thirsty these impostors must be when it comes to more high profile celebs like Kim Kardashian.
If you read the recent exclusive interview with Lauren posted here at Skin Deep on May27th (days before the Kardashian story broke), you will recall that Miss London mentioned having an impostor who was using social media and the telephone to trick the unwitting into believing they have interacted with her:
Who are these people who have nothing better to do than spend hours and hours on the Internet pretending to be me? They send messages to fans pretending they are coming from me. That’s just sad. There are fake MySpace pages. Fake Facebooks. Fake Twitters. My verified Twitter is @MsLaurenLondon and my Facebook is brand new (Facebook.com/TheRealMsLaurenLondon). I don’t do Skype, and if I didn’t hand you my phone number face to face, you’re probably not talking to me on the phone either.
Up until now, these impostors have been operating in relative obscurity and they have been getting away with this trickery because the public has not been informed that they exist. Like cockroaches that scatter when the light comes on, the more media attention these stories get, the more likely it is the posers will have no uninformed victims left to trick, and they will disappear.
This is an exclusive story that includes quotes from exclusive interviews. All rights reserved. Excerpts of this article can be published with a link back to https://kathleencross.com
To use the article in its entirety, please contact the author at [email protected]
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 6, 2011 | "race", against the odds, authors, discrimination, forgivers, heroes, i rant, i rave, remembering you, transformation |
Geronimo Ji-Jaga died Thursday, June 2nd in Tanzania, Africa.
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Music in the video: “The Fire” by The Roots f. John Legend
I’m the definition
of tragedy turned triumph
It’s David and Goliath,
I made it to the eye of the storm,
feeling torn like they fed me to the lions…
Geronimo Pratt spent 27 years in maximum security prisons (eight of those years in solitary confinement) for a murder he did not commit. The FBI knew he was at a Black Panther meeting in Oakland on the evening a young white woman was killed on a tennis court in Santa Monica — because they had him under 24-hour surveillance.
Former TIME bureau chief, Jack Olsen wrote a stunning and unforgettable account of Geronimo’s journey from Elmer Pratt, U. S. war hero who “killed a lot of people” on behalf of this government, to Geronimo ji-Jaga, a man whose spiritual experiences in the “black holes” of Folsom and San Quentin stripped him of all bitterness. The Last Man Standing is a book I highly recommend. Reading it forever changed me as a human being.
Geronimo ji-Jaga’s trial, conviction and incarceration (and eventual freedom) should remind us of the countless innocents who remain jailed or exiled for crimes they did not commit. Their hope for justice lies in the hearts, thoughts and actions of those of us who are free to fight on their behalf.
Geronimo’s conviction was overturned in 1997 and he was released. He received a financial settlement from the government, but they admitted no wrong-doing in stealing 27 years of his life.
For more about exiled former Black Panther Paul Oniel (shown in the video above) and his work serving his community in Tanzania, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/HUITZILOPOCHTLI002
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 3, 2011 | "race", celebrities, colorism, seriously? |
So, several bloggers around the web have been commenting on this Dove VisibleCare body wash advertisement, saying it appears to them to be (unintentionally) racist.
*Blink*
Um.
I don’t think I’m gonna hop on that band wagon.
It seems pretty clear to me that the before and after panels are intended to represent two pics of the same person’s skin before and after they used the product. If I had to guess at the ethnicity of that person, I’d say they were white (or very light skinned). There’s no way that pinky-beigey “before” panel is meant to represent the beautiful brown sista pictured on the left.
I get the point that they positioned the white woman on the far right, and English-trained reading brains ingest visual cues from left to right, leading some to translate that as black to white. But, I can’t help but wonder if they would have positioned the white woman on the left, would we be talking about what hidden message there is in putting her first, (thereby ranking the two brown women second and third by default?) Or, in avoiding either of those issues, they could have just put the white woman in the middle…
Not. (Please. Remember how much flack Beyoncé got for always being the “center” of attention in Destiny’s Child?)
So, Dove, I’m thinking maybe you were just between a rock and a hard place on this one.
:/
Here are a few comments I found on the web regarding this nontroversy:
While I suspect there was no ill-intent, the subtle message that perfect (white) skin is the ultimate goal of using Dove offends me. This message is inconsistent with your stated goals regarding self esteem. I will not be using Dove until I know you have recalled this ad and will ask my friends to take the same action. –From CourtneyLuv.com
“Visibly more beautiful skin.” Bye-bye black skin, hello white skin! (Scrub hard!) Can this ad possibly be real? Some people think it is! We’ve emailed Dove’s representatives for confirmation, and we’ll update with their reply. If real, this could be the most (unintentionally) racist skin care product ad in… about ten months. –From Gawker.com
Dove body wash turns Black Women into Latino Women into White Women. At least, that’s what one could possibly infer by the left-to-right before and after progression in this ad for Dove VisibleCare. This is so stupid, I’m thinking it’s got to be a fake Photoshop ad. –From copyranter
Gawker.com did get a response from Dove:
“We believe that real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, colors and ages and are committed to featuring realistic and attainable images of beauty in all our advertising. We are also dedicated to educating and encouraging all women and girls to build a positive relationship with beauty, to help raise self-esteem and to enable them to realize their full potential.
The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week. All three women are intended to demonstrate the “after” product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”
If someone perceives this ad as racist and or hurtful, I definitely don’t intend to dismiss their gut response, but I can’t help but wonder if crying foul on something like this distracts from efforts to address real instances of racism and colorism in the media.
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 2, 2011 | "race", addiction, aids / hiv, celebrities, discrimination, i rant, i rave, musical artist, remembering you, seriously?, that's LOVE, what the hell? |
On Friday, May 27th, 2011, Gil Scott-Heron died, and it was up to the rest of us left here on Earth to decide whether that mattered much. Within hours, the Internet began buzzing about his life, his incredible talent, and the impression his words and music left on the minds and hearts of millions of us, of every ethnicity, around the globe.
I was one of the writers online that day, hurriedly putting together a post that might somehow reflect the impact this man had on me when I was first exposed to his music/heart/genius at a young age. Finding words to explain the emotional connection I feel to this poet/griot/brother I never even met is impossible, so I posted his words instead and mourned his passing privately.
Two days later, after spending the weekend with his music, I thought I’d try again at a more in-depth tribute to Mr. Scott-Heron. I began a fact-finding mission by visiting Google to find details related to his life and death. I typed “Gil Scott-Heron” “died,” and at the top of the results list was this headline from a Washington Post obituary by Christian Salazar, a writer for the Associated Press:
Gil Scott-Heron, Whose Music Reflected Black Anger, Dies at 62
WTH?
You’re a journalist for the AP. You are given the great honor of writing Gil Scott-Heron’s obituary. That’s your headline?
I can’t…
The matter-of-fact obituary was sprinkled with bland tidbits about Scott-Heron’s life, but was mostly a commentary on his “battle with crack cocaine,” “time in jail,” and “living with HIV.”
It is beyond me to figure out how anyone who has investigated this incredible artist’s body of work could write 546 words about him without the terms “legend” “genius,” “soul,” “passion” or “intensity” ever coming to mind.
“His songs often had incendiary titles — ‘Home Is Where the Hatred Is,’ or ‘Whitey on the Moon,’ and through spoken word and song, he tapped the frustration of the masses.” -Christian Salazar
There was no mention of Scott-Heron’s Pieces of a Man:
I saw my grandma sweeping
With her old straw broom
But she didn’t know what she was doing
She could hardly understand
That she was really sweeping up..
Pieces of a man
Save the Children:
“We got to do something yeah to save the children
Soon it will be their test to try and save the world
Right now they seem to play such a small part of
The things that they soon be right at the heart of
Rivers of My Fathers:
Looking for a way. Got to find a way out of this confusion
Looking for a sign point my way home
Let me lay down by a stream miles from everything
Rivers of my fathers. Rivers of my fathers
Carry me home. Please carry me home
or his rendition of Withers’ Grandma’s Hands:
Grandma’s hands clapped in church on Sunday mornings
Grandma’s hands played the tambourine so well
Grandma’s hands used to issue out a warning…
Grandma’s hands soothed the local unwed mothers
Grandma’s hands used to ache sometimes and swell
Grandma’s hands, well they really came in handy…
But I don’t have grandma anymore…
When I get to heaven I’ll look for grandma’s hands.
It feels sadly tragic to me that a person could focus so intently on the perceived deficits in Gil Scott-Heron’s life and character and miss the wealth of love, honesty and instruction with which he gifted us.
As with countless creative geniuses such as Jackson, Joplin, Gibran, Hemingway, etc. (who possessed an extraordinary ability to tap into the love, hopes, struggles, pain and anger of a people) Heron spent much of his life emotionally raw—it is an existence that often leads exceptional poets, authors, artists and musicians to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol.
It is interesting/frustrating/infuriating to peruse the Internet for obituaries of other infamous icons and find the legendary Johnny Cash, who fought drug and alcohol addiction and had several brushes with the law, but whose “angry music” is respectfully balanced against his entire body of work.
Yet, somehow the genius of Gil Scott Heron can so easily be reduced to “…black anger.”
Black anger.
*blink*
I’m wondering what you might say about that today, Mr. Scott-Heron ?
A Prayer for Everybody to be Free
by Gil Scott-Heron
This is a prayer for everybody
In the world
‘Cause I need you and you need me
We need each other
This is a prayer for everybody
in the world
A prayer for you
A prayer for me
A prayer for love and harmony
A prayer for light for all to see
A prayer that someday we’ll all be free
‘Cause…
There’s a lot that’s wrong
We must be strong
And not become bitter
If there’s a chance
That mankind will profit
Why should we scoff at something new
Or old – if it can make us better?
This is a prayer for everybody
In the world
‘Cause without you
And without me
Without love and harmony
Without courage and dignity
What would it mean
To be free?
Amen, Brother Gil.
Amen.
by Kathleen Cross | Jun 2, 2011 | celebrities, Exclusive Interviews |
After we got most of the serious topics out of the way last week in part one of this interview, the beautiful actress and model Lauren London responded candidly to my barrage of not-quite-so-deep questions:
You are stranded on an island for the weekend. Name three male and three female celebrities you hope are stranded there with you, and why.
Dr. Phil, so he can talk me off the ledge (laughs). Barack Obama, because you better believe Air Force One is coming to get him, and we won’t be stranded too long. And, Bobby Flay, because if we’re going to be stranded we might as well be enjoying some good food.
And the females?
Oprah, because… (pause) she’s Oprah. Barbara Streisand, because I’ve admired her since I was a little girl. And, Khloe (Kardashian) because she’s a real friend and she’s hilarious.
What would you name the street you’d like to build your home on?
Get Away Lane
Is that “Get Away” as in “this is my refuge” or “Get Away” as in “leave me alone?”
(Laughs) It could go either way, right?
You are rear ended at a traffic stoplight. What are you doing in the first ten seconds?
Cursing.
I’m a genie granting you one wish with the stipulation that you have to use it on yourself. What is your wish?
I wish you would give me the ability to get out of my own way.
Name a character in a book that forever changed you.
Dinah in The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. She lived through tough circumstance but she kept overcoming and getting stronger the more difficulties she faced. She knew more than she should have for her age, but it helped her survive and thrive.
If you could spend a day in any man’s skin, who would you want to be for 24 hours?
Will Smith. I think I could learn so much about this business being him.
What are three qualities you don’t want in a husband. Three deal breakers:
Someone who doesn’t believe in God. A liar. And, someone who’s been madly in love more than ten times.
You once told an interviewer that O-Dog from Menace to Society was your dream date. Who’s your dream date now?
Okay, that was my first interview ever and I was being sarcastic. Sarcasm doesn’t translate well in print, does it?
So, who’s your dream date now?
I haven’t met him. I’ll tell you what… He’s not a menace to me or society.
My last question is keeping in line with the theme of Skin Deep. How do you feel about being half Black and half Jewish. How has that impacted you?
Whatever your ethnicity is, in this life you are going to be on a journey to discover who you are and how you feel about yourself. I do remember being teased by my cousins on my mom’s side for not being black enough, and then I’d spend the summer with my dad and be sent to all white summer camps where I was “that black girl.” I struggled for about a minute with that, then I figured it out for myself. What it has done for me is I don’t care what people think about my identity. If someone thinks I’m not black enough that’s their issue. I’m okay with who I am and it is what is. I’m a Black woman like my mother, and I love who my father is, and I love both sides of me. Nobody makes a big deaI about it anymore because I won’t take that anymore.
This is an exclusive interview. All rights reserved. Excerpts of this article can be published with a link back to https://kathleencross.com. To use the article in its entirety, please contact the author: email (at) kathleencross (dot com)
by Kathleen Cross | May 30, 2011 | i rant, privilege |
Okay. So. It is pretty much universally recognized that Beyoncé is THE ISH when it comes to demonstrating how it is done (“it” being how to use your talent, looks, brains and work ethic to dominate your industry).
As far as the song “Run The World (Girls)” is concerned, I’m wondering if maybe we should think of it less as a “girl power anthem,” and more as “The Secret” -type positive thinking. (That is–if you think and speak about something enough, through your intention, you can help it eventually materialize).
That is my disclaimer. Proceed:
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Amber says:
“It’s a song. I get it. It’s just a song…This video is not about Beyonce. It’s not even really about this song. My point is NOT that she shouldn’t have made this song because of X, Y, and Z. My point IS: Oh, Look! X, Y, and Z exist and this song is a great tie-in to a discussion of feminism. If you’ve watched some of my other videos, you would be able to sense the sarcastic tone. Relax.”‘
Update: I don’t know about you, but I would pay big bucks to see Amber debate Mitt Binders-full-of-women” Romney.
Can we say pay-per-view!?
by Kathleen Cross | May 27, 2011 | celebrities, Exclusive Interviews |
From the moment she hit the big screen starring opposite T.I. in the film ATL, Lauren London forever silenced those critics who said her early roles in music videos were anything less than saavy career moves.
If you’ve seen the way Lauren’s dimpled smile and girl-next-door demeanor can light up a screen, you know why her co-starring role with Hayden Panettiere in I Love You, Beth Cooper had fans heading back to the theater to see that more than once, why she was the actress Tyler Perry paired with Bow Wow in his film Madea’s Happy Family, why 90210 and Entourage fans are begging to see her in more episodes, and why nearly a million people are following her on Twitter just to see what she’ll be tweeting next.
When it comes to that .2mm covering all of us human beings have our own unique version of, Lauren London’s version is pretty damn pleasant to look at. But what is really going on underneath all that beauty? We’ve all read what the magazines and gossip blogs have written about her personal life and her career choices, but I recently met with Lauren London to really get under her skin.
The desire to attain “celebrity status” has driven many young people to pursue the elusive dream of stardom. Is that what made you want to be an actress?
I wish that was the case, because I’d be able to handle the attention a little better. No. I was an only child who spent a lot of time alone. Movies kept me company from a very young age, and starting from about seven years old, I wrote little plays and acted out all the parts by myself in my bedroom. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be an actor. It’s crazy though, because I’m such a private person. I was never interested in becoming famous. I still struggle with that aspect of my work.
Doesn’t every celebrity say that after they become famous? “I love my craft, but I wish I could just have a normal life.”
(laughs) I’m not complaining and I’m not that famous. I do get recognized, but I’m not being hounded by paparazzi every day. I’m human, so of course I like getting special treatment at times. But deep down that girl from the neighborhood is still in here. She might shy away from having her picture taken, and would rather blend in with the scenery sometimes and just observe.
Have you ever walked away from an interaction with a fan that you wished you could do over?
Yes. Sometimes I say no to pictures because I feel like I’m looking crazy and I don’t always get a chance to really explain that I’m not feeling picture-worthy that day. Usually I’ll put on shades and do it anyway, but there have been a couple of times I’ve walked away and got to my car, then came back because I felt bad.
What about being famous has taken you by surprise? What did you not see coming?
The impostors. Really. Who are these people who have nothing better to do than spend hours and hours on the Internet pretending to be me? They send messages to fans pretending they are coming from me. That’s just sad. There are fake MySpace pages. Fake Facebooks. Fake Twitters. My verified Twitter is @MsLaurenLondon and my Facebook is brand new (Facebook.com/TheRealMsLaurenLondon). I don’t do Skype, and if I didn’t hand you my phone number face to face, you’re probably not talking to me on the phone either.
Do you think the public really believes these calls and messages are coming from you?
Definitely. Some really do. People have really been tricked.
What is the biggest misperception people have of you? What misperception bothers you most?
That my son is the result of some kind of one night stand or groupie encounter with his father. I struggle with deciding when to answer or ignore the constant speculation about my private life, because I feel like that doesn’t belong to anybody but me.
Do you want to go on to the next question, or clear up the speculation now?
I met Dwayne when I was 15 years old. I’ve known him a very long time, and we were in a relationship that didn’t make it. We tried more than once to revive it, and we were engaged briefly years ago, but we eventually parted ways. People see the “Lil’ Wayne” persona and think they know who he really is. My son’s father is an intelligent, loving and lovable person who will always be a dear friend. That is all.
If you don’t mind another personal question, there is a lot of talk about how well the mothers of his children get along. What’s the real deal?
We are all good-hearted women who love our children and we want them to know each other. Real friendships have grown from that foundation and the result has been more love, less drama and less trauma for our kids.
What is one thing your mother did with you that you want to be sure to do with your son?
To this day, my mother never lets a day go by without telling me she loves me.
KC: What is one quality about your mother that you really admire?
She’s so optimistic. Nothing can get her down. The whole world can come crashing down and she will still have the ability to laugh and have compassion for people.
What’s the best advice your father ever gave you?
He just recently said to me that people love you with what they have to give. Whatever they give to you is what they have to give to themselves, and the way they love you is the way they love themselves.
What three qualities do you hope your son will have at age 18 that will make you feel you’ve done a great job raising him?
I hope he has a strong relationship with God, that he respects himself and loves who he is, and that he has an idea of his purpose and wants to follow it.
Stay tuned for part two (the playful questions) of this interview…coming soon.
by Kathleen Cross | May 27, 2011 | i rave |
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by Kathleen Cross | May 23, 2011 | "race", colorism |
If you haven’t heard or read about Psychology Today blogger Satoshi Kanazawa’s recent proclamation that he could “scientifically” explain why Black women are the least attractive women on earth, consider yourself fortunate to not have that garbage in your head. (The article was quickly removed from the Psychology Today website, but if you really care what he had to say, you can find screenshots of that mess at BuzzFeed.)
Though Psychology Today hurriedly flushed this nasty PR problem, I’m keeping the conversation about the article alive because I believe Kanazawa has pulled the lid off an ugly little secret many people are hiding. He was ignorant enough to reveal his bias against Black women by trying to scientifically rationalize it, but there are millions of others (of every ethnicity) who don’t even know or admit they have the bias.
Ideas about beauty are not “objective,” they are learned. Western culture has systematically diminished the value and dignity of Black women for centuries, while consistently offering Euro-featured women as the “ideal” or “standard” for what it is to be beautiful or desirable. The best thing about the disgusting sentence I just wrote is that if something can be learned, it can be unlearned and/or re-taught.
That a so-called scientist would try to “prove” why one group of women is inferior to another speaks volumes about him, but offers no insight into an issue as socially and psychologically profound as white supremacy.
If you read my previous post “The Darker the Berry…The More Invisible?” you saw how the LA Times Magazine‘s article “The 50 Most Beautiful Women in Film” offered an excellent example of media bias against non-Euro-featured women. I received a lot of positive feedback about that post, but a few people wrote to let me know that LA Times Magazine doesn’t “owe” our brown-skinned daughters anything.
Right. Just like the Montgomery city bus system didn’t owe Rosa Parks a seat in the front of the bus.
The Media’s relationship with us is supposed to be reciprocal–we watch/listen to their broadcasts, buy their publications and support their advertisers. So, while I’m paying attention to the L.A. Times Magazine, why shouldn’t they be paying attention to whether my brown daughter sees herself in their public definition of beauty?
Every parent of a little brown girl knows how creative and diligent we must be if we are to successfully counter all that social brainwashing and instill a sense of beauty, value and dignity in our daughters. But, we should not be the only ones doing that for them. ALL PARENTS of ALL CHILDREN should be instilling in their sons and daughters an appreciation of beauty in all of its diverse human expressions.
Why?
Because it is right.
by Kathleen Cross | May 21, 2011 | i rant |
In Norse mythology Heimdall is described as “the whitest of the gods,” which adds interesting irony to the controversy surrounding the casting of Idris Elba as Heimdall in the blockbuster hit Thor.
Thousands of upset comic book fans have posted angry Internet comments ranging from complaints that it is an “insult to the Germanic peoples” to accusations that the film’s producers are “racists trying to push this Afrocentric agenda”. There is even an entire website devoted to boycotting the film.
“Purist comic-book fans are one thing; out-and-out racism is another…If you know anything about the Nords, they don’t look like me but there you go. I think that’s a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see multi-level casting. I think we will see that and I think that’s good.” -Idris Elba
Elba may be correct — it may indeed be a sign of the times that people of color are (finally) being hired to play white characters, though casting across color lines is certainly not a new phenomenon. White actors have been benefiting from “colorblind casting” since the birth of the film industry (and in the theater before that).
Just last year a controversy arose when makers of the film Avatar: The Last Airbender cast white actors in the roles of three of four principal characters who were originally Asian and Native American. Members of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans and the organization Racebending called for a boycott of the film.
The folks who are calling for the Thor boycott say their argument is no different, and that there is a double standard at play here that assumes casting a white actor in the role of a non-white character is evil, but not the other way around.
Movie Bob at The Escapist has created a 5-minute clip that breaks that “misunderstanding” down brilliantly. Be sure to stick around at least to 2:42 when Bob “cuts to the chase.”
I thought the Tyler Perry diss was uncalled for (y’all know how I feel about TP) but Bob’s point is still well made.
by Kathleen Cross | May 20, 2011 | "race", discrimination, i rant, privilege, seriously? |
Tuesday on the CBS Early Show host Erica Hill gave new meaning to the term “white wedding” when her segment on why “we” like wedding movies so much managed to focus exclusively on films about white folks.
In keeping with the show’s committment to feeding its viewers a breakfast of contemporary culture, it is completely appropriate that the main course was a discussion about the popularity of wedding-themed movies–especially since there were three of them making money at the box office last weekend (Bridesmaids $26+million, Jumping the Broom $7+million, Something Borrowed $6+million).
Hill began the segment with a two-and-a-half minute montage of popular wedding film clips that included Bridesmaids and Something Borrowed, as well as a few older hits like Father of the Bride, 27 Dresses, and My Best Friend’s Wedding. Jumping the Broom, a smart and funny “class clash” film (starring Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Paula Patton and Laz Alonzo) about a Black couple marrying on Martha’s Vineyard did not make the montage.
I don’t know how these things work at the network level — I mean, I don’t know if palms are greased or advertising dollars are required to get the show’s anchor to spend five minutes dishing with the director of a just-released movie (Bridesmaids) and the author of the book upon which another just-released film (Something Borrowed) is based. If some saavy media buyers spent time and/or money to get that done, I say more power to ’em, and if Hill would have focused her discussion on those two movies, I wouldn’t be writing about this today.
I am writing a post about it, however, because the Early Show producers chose to frame the discussion with a broader story about the wedding movie “trend” that has overtaken Hollywood. According to Hill’s monologue intro, the opening weekend success of Bridesmaids
“got us to thinking what is it about wedding movies that we love oh so much.”
I’m not sure who Hill’s “we” refers to, but once she went there, reaching back twenty years to dust off Father of the Bride, when Jumping the Broom is currently in theaters, constitutes a snub.
I”m not saying it was intentional. I can easily see how an intern or production assistant was given the task of researching popular wedding-themed movies and they went straight to Google with the terms “wedding” and “bride.” Poor kid can’t be blamed for not knowing that “jumping” and “broom” had something to do with getting hitched. If they had been more thorough, however, while they were including Katherine Heigl and Julia Roberts on the list of could-be brides “we” have enjoyed watching over the years, they might also have added Jennifer Lopez (Monster in-Law, The Wedding Planner) and Nia Long (The Best Man).
It should not rest on an intern or PA to be responsible for something as important as reflecting America’s beautiful, flavorful diversity over the broadcast waves. Since this show is dishing out American culture on a daily basis, someone on the Early Show’s staff should be there specifically because they have an eagle eye for diversity, and if there is no one on staff who does, someone should be hired right now.
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Erica Hill seems like a very nice lady and I’m sure she didn’t mean to…Wait just a minute. Listen very carefully at the 6:22 mark. Did she say that these wedding films are “attracting a whiter audience?” Oh. Well, okay then. That explains everything.
(Hahahahahaha. I crack myself up.) <It was a joke, people. No mean emails, please.
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