Journal Readings in African American Studies
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Who’s Afraid of James Baldwin? (No Name In The Street)
James Baldwin
In No Name In The Streets Baldwin attempts to bear witness to the tumultuous and decadent era of the Civil Rights Movement. Baldwin discusses his whereabouts during the murders of 3 of the movement’s most influential titanic figures – Malcolm, Medgar, and Martin; he discusses his involvement; philosophizes the meaning of the movement -and its key players, what impact it had on all Americans - and ultimately how it changed his (already cynical, detached and disenchanted) attitude on the possibility of America ever achieving racial harmony.
Baldwin anchors his story (a historical glance at an era of systemic deep racism, hatred, and oppression) in the dubious innocence of an old Harlem buddy who has fled to Germany to escape a murder rap (which is essentially and interestingly a gay-hate crime that Baldwin leaves unchecked and unexplored). Eventually, the suspect is apprehended, extradited back to New York, and is convicted for the crime of which Baldwin is never really certain of his innocence. Or, for Baldwin, it doesn’t really matter as much as does the symbolism of the (possible) acquittal. Baldwin is much more concerned with the American judicial system (and its evil and wicked relation to the McCarthy phenomenon) and, more specifically, the infamously corrupt New York court system, under which his buddy is to be tried.
For Baldwin, who has come to know firsthand just how crooked the white American cop can be - when no one is looking – he seems more interested in getting his buddy off the hook just for the purpose of sticking it to the (il)legal system – one that has victimized, murdered and destroyed more black men than anything else – whether his buddy is innocent or not. So, for Baldwin, his buddy’s innocence is predicated on the thought that, guilty or not, he deserves to be set free because he will never get a fair trail in a system which is designed to disbelieve thus imprison him by virtue of his skin color. For Baldwin, his buddy becomes a symbol of protest and rebellion against the American legal system for its unending history of injustice to the black sojourn in America….click here to continue…
Redefining Blackness in the Age of Obama
The Allied Media Conference, Cass Cafe (Wayne State University)
I flagged a waitress, ordered a Miller Genuine Draft and took off up the long wooden stairs that headed to the second level loft where the dreadlocked, nappy-headed, neo-soul sistas, and the serious-minded brothas occupied two oblong tables near the backend, next to the Chicano table, right by the banner overlooking the downstairs dining area. I approached the table slowly with a dubious grin, trying hard not to stare at the thin sista with the short nappy afro, dark-rimmed glasses with two, big, gold hoops dangling from her earlobes. I was immediately taken by her natural look, and I was equally impressed with her dynamic personality and infectious energy. (Her name-tag read “Bea Sullivan”.) ….(click here for complete story)
!!!Exclusive Interview with Revolutionary Writer Freedom Speaks Diaspora!!!
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Freedom Speaks Diaspora was born and raised in Long Island, New York, Freedom Speaks Diaspora is an author, mentor, and poet. She has opened for Def Poetry Jam on Broadway at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, appeared on Robert Townsend’s “Spoken” on The Black Family Channel, performed at “Girls in the Night” during Atlanta’s Black Pride, lectured and performed at dozens of colleges and universities and taught creative writing and publishing courses at College of Coastal Georgia. Diaspora has worked as a freelance writer for The Florida Times-Union’s River City News and River Bend Review, her work has been published in The African Journal of New Poetry, and other fiction has been published under other names. Her debut novel, Manjani, blends Black Studies with Urban Fiction, for a unique style of edu-tainment. Diaspora is alumni of Mercy College in New York, and her academic background is in English and Behavioral Science with a Specialization in Community Health….
I had always been great at creative writing, impressing my English teachers throughout my entire school career. I won awards for it, published in school publications, and wrote dynamic essays. Years later, I would become a full-time poet based on attending readings and enjoying other poets, and wanting to express myself and impact people the way they did. My co-worker and friend, Malikah Hameen, whom I met working at Bank of America’s EquiCredit (sub-prime mortgage division) invited me out to a poetry reading and I got hooked. I fell in love with the work and style of Taalam Acey, Queen Sheba, L.I.F.E., Lizz Straight, Will Da Real One, Heru, Khafra, and so many more. So I wrote some fire poems, recorded them, sold some CDs, wrote two poetry books, and performed everywhere—working my way up to “a couple of thousand dollars” college gigs. …(click here for FULL INTERVIEW!)
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.
bell hooks, Kerouac and Denicio Barbier: A Brief Discussion with Black Atlantic Cultural Aestheticist, Jana Sante
JS: So, what’s your new book about? And I gather you regard bell’s voice as credible because unlike some of these other screaming feminist scribes, Ms. hooks has much more of an Oracle feel about her? I wonder. Who ranks supreme in your upper-echelon list of male scribes?
Jana Sante
PNR: Denicio Barbier – the new book – is loosely based on a woman I met in Arizona. I’d gone out there to write my first book, get away from the existential meaninglessness of Detroit, find myself, and eat good Mexican food. For shelter, I took lodge on a Native American reservation for free rent in exchange for a promise of early morning rising to make community coffee, tend to the elders, and herd the sheep until late afternoon. Afterwards, I’d write and explore the vastness of land. Once every two weeks I’d drive into town – a three hour drive – to get supplies, water, and mail letters to the outside world. Also, I would sometimes drive to Ahwataukee for a beer, chicken wings, and the Carvin Jones blues band. That’s where I met Denicio, an attractive sista with a Brooklyn accent, who told me she was from the Hamptons. I didn’t believe her because she didn’t seem polished like that, and she didn’t have educated or sophisticated diction. She was very urban, chic, and more believably situated in the lower class bracket of Brooklyn or Harlem rather than upper-crust Hamptons. I really didn’t care because she had a great figure, nice ass, pretty mouth and a sexy accent. So, over the course of the summer I’d make it a habit of meeting her at that bar, and eventually at her apartment. In short, she was the most dynamic, exotic, and mysterious woman I’ve ever met. So, she is the basis of my story. Later I met more Denicio’s, and I begin to think of women, in terms of the things that connect them. As for my favorite male writers, I’d say James Baldwin, Edgar Poe, Cornel West, Chinua Achebe, Woody Allen, and Capote….(click here to continue)
Push Nevahda Review
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