When I wrote the 2016 Year In Review the story from last that most stuck out to me was how hopeful I was at the beginning of last year when I wrote on Friday Jan 8th, 2016 “Why I’m still hopeful and optimistic about race relations in America. “ In that opening commentary I wrote:
If to your eyes and ears, America seems more racially divided, maybe it’s because we’re all more aware of our racial shortcomings. Many white Americans have a shocked response to claims of white privileged, unfairness and discrimination. Maybe they have this reaction because it’s outside their daily experience. If you ask many white people, “Do you think traffic stops are done unfairly?” the majority of whites probably would say “NO” because it’s not something they experience. It’s not because of racism; it’s just that it’s not something that they see. Unfortunately personal experiences often are the most powerful foundations of belief systems.
I would be a liar if I didn’t say the results of November 8th 2016 didn’t give me pause and make me question my conviction. But it is also true that I’m less stunned than many of my fellow travelers on the left, because I’ve always been a mix of both optimism and realism. As I’ve often written over the years, every major American advance of racial progress has been met with a stiff resistance and then a backlash. I never been a believer in the idea of a “post racial” America. Ideas of race do and are changing over time, just as they always have and always will, but the social concept of race and everything that idea entails is still with us. Denying that hard fact doesn’t make it disappear. As I’ve written America’s racial history is a series of advancements and then set backs.
Initially blacks and poor white Scot-Irish worked together to develop the “New World” only to see slave codes that prevented further side-by-side progress. The American Revolution saw both black and white Americans fighting together under the belief that all men were created equal only to see that all me legally were not treated equal. After the Civil War for a time black and whites equally participated in rebuilding America, as Mississippi elected two black Senators, and Louisiana elected a black governor who started to enact land reform. But the backlash to Reconstruction lead to Jim Crow. The optimism of post WWI “rag-time” America, was followed by record numbers of lynchings during the Great Depression. The Civil Rights era was followed by the “Southern Backlash”. On and on this pattern repeats itself. So now we find the Obama era followed by the election of Donald Trump.
Progress. Two Steps Forward. Backlash. One Step Back.
The wheel of time of racial progress continues to turn and follow this pattern throughout time. But being a student of history I often take and borrow hope from those kept hope during dark times.
Think how Martin Luther King Jr must have felt both hopeless and hopeful at the same time sitting in that prison in Birmingham. I think of that often when I contemplate what we face during the age of Trump. We feel trapped and imprisoned by forces beyond our control, yet beyond our current prison we still can imagine hope beyond our gates. That is our current predicament, we feel trapped while in the world just beyond our influence the forces of racial demagoguery seem to have the upper hand. Our only power is that of the pen, to write letters to the American people to try and show them the way forward, to convince them to follow a better path forward.
Letters to the editor seem a weak thing when the power of the state is in the hands of those who detest you for simply who you are or whom you love. Put the power of the pen has toppled forces much greater than that of Trump and his band of fascist. The power of the pen can inspire woman and men of good heart to undertaken the noblest of actions even when facing the gravest of circumstances.
The pen can inspire, but then men of woman of courage must be willing to march and take action. The words can inspire, but in the end words are just wind. Writing alone can never replace mobilizing and action. Words tell us where we should go, but only mobilizing will take us were we were meant to go. Only mobilizing will allow us to become the change we wish to see.
Pen. Words to Inspire. Action. Mobilizing for change.
But taking to the streets alone will not change things on their own. We also need to understand and utilize the political process. We can’t mistake mobilizing alone for change. The political and legal process alone enact change. But politics requires patience, coalition building, and yes even compromise. Knowing when and whom to build a coalition with, and when and whom to compromise with is often the most difficult part of the journey. Knowing when and whom to fight with to the end often seems the easiest part often is the most misleading.
Sometimes those who are against you are just as trapped by the system of injustice as you are. Who would think the very forces that oppress you would one day shake your hand and then hand you the reigns of power? Sometimes this is possible. Other times the forces of evil and hatred have become nigh irredeemable, their hold has become too strong and they can only be confronted head on and defeated.
Pen. Words to Inspire. Action. Mobilizing for change. Politics. The process by which changes are made. This is the system we live by, this is the process we must follow, this is the way forward. This is how we go forward.
We are now the resistance. We must resist, we must fight for the future of our country, and we must win. But we also need to decide what we are fighting for, this going forward the direction of our part and movement is what we will spend many month argue about going forward. Sometimes we will agree sometimes we will have to agree to disagree, but we must forge a common goal. We must mobilize around that common goal, then we must push them through the political process at all levels, local, state, and federal, both through elections and courts. This how the resistance becomes future. We will win, even though at this moment the path forward seems bleak.
I’m hopeful when I see how much more unabashedly left younger voters are. I’m hopeful that it’s much harder for younger people and older people on the left to deny that the forces of racism, xenophobia, misogamy, and authoritarianism are still real threats that must be confronted (and haven’t been vanquished), realism is needed to overcome powerful foes. I’m hopeful when I see that the future voters of America largely reject the appeal of fascism, the future is still bright, even if it’s been delayed.
Pen. Words to Inspire. Action. Mobilizing for change. Politics. The process by which changes are made. We are now the resistance. Keep hope alive.
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News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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THERE is a haunting beauty to the Karoo, a vast swathe of semi-desert that seems empty save for the stars overhead and sheep grazing below. Economic opportunities here are few. Scrubby, sprawling farms support sheep, ostrich, springbok and little else. (To be fair, Karoo lamb is delicious.)
But the Karoo’s clear skies also draw some of the world’s best scientists. A radio telescope project called the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is under construction, with the latest cluster of 64 giant antennae due to be completed late next year. South Africa won the right to host half of the $2bn international project in 2012. When finished it will be the biggest radio telescope in the world and should allow scientists to peer into the origins of the universe.
Still, some sheep farmers are grumbling. Because of the sensitivity of the telescope, the surrounding area must be kept free from radio interference caused by everything from mobile phones to microwave ovens and some car engines. The SKA is buying up more farms than originally expected to ensure radio silence over an area of some 130,000 hectares. There will be no mobile phone signals allowed, except in the few towns in the area. Residents will instead be given an alternative radio communication system. Save the Karoo, an advocacy group, isn’t swayed by the prospect of groundbreaking astronomical discoveries. Its members fear the restrictions will make the Karoo “a cut-off and backward region”, and warn that abattoirs and windmill repairmen serving farms near the SKA site could face financial ruin. “I couldn’t give a damn about a black hole sitting somewhere out in space,” says Eric Torr, an organiser with the group. “It does not put food on the table.”
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I’m fully aware that subcultures typically crossover into the mainstream, a process now expedited with the advent of social media, that doesn’t make Gibson and Safi’s new late-night show less insulting. The Root: Throwing Shade at Throwing Shade: How TV Land’s New Show Leeches Off Black Gay Culture
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I imagine that Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi are lovely white people, but that doesn’t make the formal rollout of their new TV Land late-night show Throwing Shade any less grating. And before anyone else mentions it for the umpteenth time: Yes, plenty of us are well aware that these two have been using that title for some time.
The show initially launched as a podcast in 2011 before moving to Funny or Die, which then produced 80 episodes after acquiring it in 2013. The duo recently completed a 17-city tour last summer. For them, this run—including the pilot order to series order—likely feels like hard work paying off.
So?
No one should deny them their journey, but that doesn’t make this news any less of a reminder that black cultures and subcultures can yield much more success when delivered from the mouths of white people. Nor does it preclude them from the fact that their work ethic notwithstanding, white folks continue to collect cash and cheers from our creativity.
“This amazing, weird brainchild of Erin and Bryan translates perfectly into a weekly late-night show,” TV Land Executive Vice President of Development and Original Programming Keith Cox explained to the Hollywood Reporter. “We can’t wait to see them take on the most recent and ridiculous news of 2017.”
That turn of phrase—“weird brainchild”—makes one want to fall down before a picture of Black Jesus and cry out, “WHY?!”
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The new movie “Hidden Figures” tells the uplifting true story of a trio of women who defied expectations as they helped the U.S. space program.
Now the tale is also beating the odds at the box office.
The Oscar hopeful surpassed industry projections in its wide-release debut this weekend, collecting $21.8 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates. If Sunday estimates hold, “Hidden Figures” will nab a very close second-place finish behind “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” at the domestic box office this weekend, beating fellow newcomer “Underworld: Blood Wars.”
The strong debut for “Hidden Figures,” which follows a team of black, female mathematicians and engineers who provide key data for NASA missions during the space race, topped pre-release studio projections of about $17 million, despite snowstorms in much of the country. Produced by Chernin Entertainment and 20th Century Fox, “Hidden Figures” was made on a modest budget of $25 million.
“Hidden Figures” had already built up goodwill with audiences during its limited release, pulling in nearly $3 million from just 25 theaters. The film stars Octavia Spencer (“The Help”), Taraji P. Henson (“Empire”) and Janelle Monae (“Moonlight”). It also features turns by Kevin Costner and Kirsten Dunst, plus songs by Pharrell Williams.
The movie seems to be resonating with moviegoers, having earned a rare A-plus rating from exit-polling firm CinemaScore — another positive omen for the film’s commercial prospects.
“There’s an intense want-to-see for this film,” said Chris Aronson, head of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox. “This is an all-audience, multi-generational movie that has enthralled audiences and will for some time to come. It truly is a movie for everyone.”
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Recent attacks on homosexuality from Black church leaders leaves this writer searching for answers and self-salvation. Ebony: The Mis-Education of the Black Church
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As a young boy growing up in rural North Carolina, I was never taught that homosexuality was an abomination. My family is a colorful bunch of artists, musicians, hairdressers and blue collar folk—and we have our share of gay uncles, cousins and church brethren.
It was not until I left home at 17 to attend university and joined the gospel choir that I heard, from a bunch of giggling sopranos, that being gay was wrong.
I was hit with a barrage of Bible verses, you know the scriptures everyone has memorized, and I began to think I was the last to know this information. You see, I grew up playing with my sister’s Barbie, rollerskating, jumping double dutch and even the occasional romp in my mother’s closet. From that very moment, as I stood in the choir room after rehearsal, my love-hate relationship with the church began.
Fast forward 21 years to 2016. Last Friday night Pastor and Gospel-Jazz vocalist Kim Burrell decided to go on a hate laden tirade regarding the state of gays and their disgusting “sin.” In her sermon, which went viral thanks to a churchgoer, Burrell said, “ I came to tell you about sin, that sin nature, that perverted homosexual spirit and the spirit of delusion and confusion. It has deceived many men and women. You as a man you open your mouth and take a man’s penis in your face, you are perverted. You are a woman and will shake your face in another woman’s breast. You are perverted!”
She later concluded with this: “Everybody in this room who is filled with the homosexual spirit, beg God to free you. You play with it. What does that mean? You’ll die from it; you play with it in God’s house in 2017 you’ll die from it.”
Well that’s not Christ-like at all.
Oh Kim…Kimberly…Ki Ki…
All this time you had everyone fooled and thinking you were a good foot stomping, tambourine playing, riffing-and-running alto singing about love, hope and encouragement. But now I see you completely for you who really are. Am I surprised? No. Remember Satan was the choir director in Heaven and we see how that turned out. Remember how she, along with Donnie McClurkin, mocked an effeminate contestant on BET’s Sunday’s Best singing competition? Judgmental much?
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Voices and Soul
by
Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
“For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
--1 Corinthians 12:13
Tra La Luna E Tempo
(Between the Moon and Time)
by
Justice Putnam
I came upon a man
Kneeling in the desert.
He was crying.
I put my hand
On the man's shoulder
And I felt a warmth
Move up my arm
And into my
Heart.
The man
Looked up at me.
I saw that
He was Jesus.
I knew he was Jesus
From all the paintings
I had seen.
He was holding
A dead lamb against
His chest.
The lamb appeared
To have been shot.
The man stood
And faced me.
Blood trickled
Onto his
Bare stomach.
"I feel it all!"
He said,
"All of it!
Nothing passes
That does not pass
Through me!"
The man continued
To cry for
A very
Long time.
I felt water rise up
To my ankles
And over
My knees.
When the water
Had gotten to
Our waists
The man looked
About himself
And let out a
Painful groan,
"I must go now!"
He said,
"I must go!
I cannot stay
In one place
For very long
Or my tears
Will drown
The Earth!
Bless you,"
He said,
As he turned
And walked
Away.
© 2005 by Justice Putnam
and Mechanisches-Strophe Verlagswesen
Conjecture on the Stained Glass Image of White Christ at Ebenezer Baptist Church
If in his image made am I, then make me a miracle.
Make my shrine a copper faucet leaking everlasting Evian to the masses.
Make this empty water glass a goblet of long-legged French wine.
Make mine a Prince-purple body bag designed by Crown Royal
for tax collectors to spill over & tithe into just before I rise.
If in his image made am I, then make my vessel a pearl Coupe de Ville.
Make mine the body of a 28-year-old black woman
in a blue patterned maxi dress cruising through Hell on Earth, TX
again alive. If in his image made are we, then why
the endless string of effigies?
Why so many mortal blasphemes?
Why crucify me in HD across a scrolling news ticker, tied
to a clothesline of broken necks long as Time?
Is this thing on? Jesus on the ground. Jesus in the margins.
Of hurricane & sea. Jesus of busted levees in chocolate cities.
Jesus of the Middle East (Africa) & crows flying backwards.
Of blood, on the leaves, inside diamond mines, in under-
developed mineral-rich countries. If in your image made are we,
the proliferation of your tie-dyed hippie doppelgänger
makes you easier to daily see. & in this image didn’t we make
the godhead, slightly stony, high enough to surf a cloud?
& didn’t we leave you there, where, surely, paradise or
justice must be meted out? Couldn’t we see where water takes
the form of whatever most holds it upright? If then this
is what it’s come down to. My faith, in rifle shells.
In Glock 22 magazine sleeves. Isn’t it also then how, why,
in a bucket shot full of holes, I’ve been made to believe?
-- Marcus Wicker
"Conjecture on the Stained Glass Image of White Christ at Ebenezer Baptist Church"
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WELCOME TO TUESDAY’S CHILE, THE PORCH IS NOW OPEN