What was my biggest takeaway from “American Promise?” You can hate the player but you can’t hate the game. The movie follows two Black boys, Idris and Seun, for 13 years as they navigate a social experiment, which placed them in Dalton, a prestigious, predominantly white school. It was shown to a packed Hollywood Theater …
Going into “NorthBound,” I was looking for two things: voice and moments. Admittedly, I’m relatively new to Glenn Waco, only first hearing him tear up features on Mic Capes’ “Rise and Grind.” Between those features, the slew of tracks he released over the summer, and following him on social media, my impression was a young …
You know what’s ironic about Vice’s “Portland Has a Hip-Hop Problem?” Many local artists complain about getting no love in their hometown and how Portland is a bandwagon city. Yet, almost all of the local publications have covered everything in the Vice article better and not received close to the attention or generated as much …
I had an epiphany today. I need to yell at white people more. That’s where I went wrong in the past. At one point, I was getting speaking engagements and media interviews. The brief frenzy came from an editorial where I called out Lake Oswego for its culture of racism. People loved it and wanted …
If I were publisher, After school programs would fight job training For front page spreads. I’d treat youth mentors like pro athletes. Give every elder a politician’s prestige. Teach history every day Not just as a footnote to holidays. Profiles would pinpoint lessons, Not intoxicate you with charm. More old money education. Less …
Sometimes I think we have a racism reflex? Right becomes left, up becomes down and the sky becomes green just because ignorant bigots are watching. For example, there is no shortage of Black people willing to start defending things like NSA spying and drone strikes anytime someone calls Obama a Muslim, socialist, anti-Christ. Now it’s …
When the Idea of Being Prepared for Court is Controversial Read More »
Watching “Long Distance Revolutionary” was humbling. On one hand, it was inspiring and on the other, it was a reminder that if you weren’t a teenage writing prodigy, don’t have a freedom fighting resume, haven’t been shot, wrongly imprisoned and locked up on death row for decades while continuing a prolific journalistic output, then you’re …
Journalism: Short Form Historians and the Art of Documenting Paint Dry Read More »
Last week I took the opportunity to attend the PAALF (Portland African American Leadership Forum) intergenerational forum. Whenever Black people get together to talk, skeptics ask questions like, “Why? What’s the point? What are you actually going to get accomplished?” People have no shortage of excuses for passing up these events. They will focus …
The biggest irony of the Rick Ross “date rape” controversy was that everyone saw a rise in their profile except female MCs. Everyone from Rosa Clemente to Crunk Feminist to Talib Kweli to Jasiri X made their presence felt in the conversation. I even read an article today interviewing children. With everyone talking about what …
Female MCs Get No Shine and I’m Part of the Problem Read More »
I may have helped commit a crime yesterday. As soon as the news that the FBI had identified suspects in the Boston bombing came out, I was given the word to throw the CNN Wire story up immediately. After we got it up and beat out some other local publications, we cheered; not because we …
Am I the Only One That Missed the Actual Evidence? Read More »