All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it. And even then, on the rare occasions when something opens within, and the music enters, what we mainly hear, or hear corroborated are personal, private, vanishing evocations. But the man who creates the music is hearing something else, is dealing with [...]
Archive for February, 2009
25 Feb
“We Are Not Quitters”
“…And I think about Ty’Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina – a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom. She has been told that her school [...]
19 Feb
Eric Holder’s Call to Action
Don’t be satisfied with the soundbites and media frenzy over U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent speech at the Department of Justice. Instead, take just five minutes to read his prepared remarks in full.
It is a thoughtful and stirring call, and it makes me consider Black History Month with a new sense of purpose. What [...]
18 Feb
Happy Birthday, Toni Morrison!
Toni Morrison’s influence on our lives – as African Americans, as women, as lovers of literature – can be felt throughout this blog, from its odd title and the pseudonymous names Frieda and I have chosen for ourselves, to the way we see the word around us. Our eternal thanks and gratitude, Ms. Morrison. Happy [...]
13 Feb
“The Hamdog”
The tumblr blog, This is Why You’re Fat, is changing my life. Seriously. Its craptacular stomach-turning absurdity has kept me from reaching for another french fry all week.
What’s especially clever is the way the site focuses on the food we eat, devoid of the usual sumptuous marketing presentation, rather than directly condemning those who create [...]
10 Feb
On Being Paid to Take May 10 Off
State Senator Robert Ford of Charleston, SC began the first week of Black History Month with an effort to pass a legislative mandate that would officially make Confederate Memorial Day one of the state’s paid holidays. According to the Associated Press:
Years ago, Ford said, he pushed a bill to make both that day and Martin [...]
6 Feb
Lost & Found: Be Giving
A few links, images, and other online ephemera from our favorite sites this past week:
Have you seen Kadir Nelson’s remarkable illustrations for Coke’s Black History Month promotion? The image above highlights the theme, “Be Giving,” and I love the expression on the woman’s face, the detail in her cupped hands, and the nod to Aaron [...]
