Ahh... Slavery, Good Times!

Slavery Museum, a photo by timbrauhn on Flickr.

The madness that is the new conservatism rages on. Here for your reading pleasure is the brand-spankin' new version of the peculiar institution that a Tennessee faction of the Tea Party is trying to sell us. Tea Party Groups In Tennessee Demand Textbooks Overlook U.S. Founder's Slave-Owning History

Farewell Etta James

Etta James, the legendary blues singer, has died. The belter of such hits as the rocker "Dance with Me Henry" the sassy "W-O-M-A-N" and the now-classic ballad "At Last" succumbed to leukemia at age 73 in a hospital in Riverside, CA. Ms. James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles, CA and beginning at around age 14, embarked on what would become an illustrious career. During this career, she won 6 Grammies, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is survived by her husband Artis Mills and her two sons Donto and Sametto, and despite whatever personal tribulations she may have experienced in her life, the most important thing to recognize is that she has left the world a more soulful place to live. Thanks, Etta.

Of White Supremacy and Swimming Pools

Last year, Jamie Hein, a 31-year old white landlord at a Cincinnati, Ohio duplex was found guilty of violating Civil Rights law by posting a whites-only sign on her swimming pool after one of her tenants brought his biracial daughter to swim, using the justification that blacks and biracials use hair products that would cloud the water. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission found her guilty of violating civil rights law and last Thursday she lost on appeal. So happy for small victories in the face of those who would try to hold us back.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, my dear readers! Thanks to all of you for keeping up with this blog thus far. I look forward to bringing you more news and happenings, and I wish all of you much success and happiness in the coming year!

Elizabeth and Hazel: Hope Delayed

I have just finished reading a book entitled "Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock, the moving story behind the later-in-life meeting of the two primary subjects in an infamous post-segregation photo. In September 1957, Elizabeth Eckford was among nine black teenagers designated to desegregate Central Little Rock High School following the Brown vs. Board of Education decision to integrate. She was supposed to walk alongside her fellow prospective students for their first day of classes, guided by adults, but, on the morning of the arranged walk, one of these adults forgot about Elizabeth and she was forced to walk alone amidst a terrifying gauntlet of hostile whites, one of whom was a girl her age named Hazel Bryan, whose venomous facial expression was frozen on film for all time as she stood in the crowd behind Elizabeth, who was captured leaving the building after being turned away. This experience, along with the torment visited upon Elizabeth and the rest of the Little Rock Nine in the halls of Central, left behind deep emotional and psychological scars that so traumatized Ms. Eckford that even when she and Hazel Bryan Massery formed a friendship in their older years, she was mistrustful of Hazel’s motives for reconciliation , Hazel felt there was nothing more she could do to convince her of her sincerity, and their fragile short-lived accord fell apart. Upon reading of this unfortunate development that could’ve held promise, I was struck by the realization that I could see both sides of the issue, the black and white of it, so to speak. The brutal oppression of Southern slavery and the overt and institutional racism in both the North and South have left many in the black community feeling just as mistrustful of white peoples’ motives as Elizabeth. Conversely, there are many in the white community who are working to undo the ugly legacy left by some of their ancestors. Understanding both sides of this painful and long-standing issue feels like the essence of what it means o be and identify as biracial. Knowing that this barrier must be breached is what it means to be a good citizen and a moral human being.

Elizabeth and Hazel: Hope Delayed

I have just finished reading a book entitled "Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock, the moving story behind the later-in-life meeting of the two primary subjects in an infamous post-segregation photo. In September 1957, Elizabeth Eckford was among nine black teenagers designated to desegregate Central Little Rock High School following the Brown vs. Board of Education decision to integrate. She was supposed to walk alongside her fellow prospective students for their first day of classes, guided by adults, but, on the morning of the arranged walk, one of these adults forgot about Elizabeth and she was forced to walk alone amidst a terrifying gauntlet of hostile whites, one of whom was a girl her age named Hazel Bryan, whose venomous facial expression was frozen on film for all time as she stood in the crowd behind Elizabeth, who was captured leaving the building after being turned away. This experience, along with the torment visited upon Elizabeth and the rest of the Little Rock Nine in the halls of Central, left behind deep emotional and psychological scars that so traumatized Ms. Eckford that even when she and Hazel Bryan Massery formed a friendship in their older years, she was mistrustful of Hazel’s motives for reconciliation , Hazel felt there was nothing more she could do to convince her of her sincerity, and their fragile short-lived accord fell apart. Upon reading of this unfortunate development that could’ve held promise, I was struck by the realization that I could see both sides of the issue, the black and white of it, so to speak. The brutal oppression of Southern slavery and the overt and institutional racism in both the North and South have left many in the black community feeling just as mistrustful of white peoples’ motives as Elizabeth , conversely, there are many in the white community who are working to undo the ugly legacy left by some of their ancestors. Understanding both sides of this painful and long-standing issue feels like the essence of what it means o be and identify as biracial. Knowing that this barrier must be breached is what it means to be a good citizen and a moral human being.

Passing for Biracial: Part 2

A recent New York Times article profiled some college-age youth whose views are converse of those who are steadfast in strictly defining racial categories based on our society's history. It highlights those who refuse to fit into one box or another. Kudos to them, and may more biracials, young and old, be encouraged to speak out their truth.

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/us/30mixed.html?_r=1&hp[/url]