AERO MEXICO TROLLS WHITE AMERICAN RACISTS

If their safety record is on point,

I'm going to make it my business

to fly AeroMexico

BWAAAAAA HA HA HA


BLACKCHICKROCKED.BLOGSPOT.COM

CHIMAMANDA ON STORY, IDENTITY, FEMINISM, AND BECOMING BLACK IN AMERICA

"Like many of us at INBOUND, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a storyteller.  

She has used her gift at weaving stories to ignite a global conversation about the importance of feminism to everyone, and to warn of the dangers of hearing only a single story about another person or place."

Adichie speaks in detail on learning a single story of Black Americans from White American television and White American news -- and then having to unlearn it.

This was important to me, as I've met more than one African who did not take the time to unlearn the self-protective, white story of Black America.  I swear, there's not much more hurtful than a black face saying words that could come out of Trump's mouth.

It's wonderful to hear her speak, talk about Black American History as a black outsider. Hearing her talk on this before with Zadie Smith made me feel proud of how far  we, Black Americans, have come and how fast we've covered ground -- especially since our progress doesn't feel large and significant to us most days.

Seeing victorious ourselves through the educated eyes of black outsiders can hearten us, strengthen us, give us enough hope and fuel for the fight ahead. And with an overt white supremacist in the White House, there's definitely a fight afoot. 

45 minutes
Listen to in the background as you go about your day

BLACKCHICKROCKED.BLOGSPOT.COM

REST IN POWER ARETHA FRANKLIN, QUEEN OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Feeling Rebloggy

Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday at the age of 76 in her home in Detroit, was known for her unbelievable musical talent and majestic career, but the Queen of Soul was also a longtime warrior in the fight for social justice.

A close friend of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who visited her in her final days, Franklin was a vocal supporter of civil rights movements, often performing at benefits and encouraging voter registration. But her private and church-based work—including stepping in to financially support Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement, the families of incarcerated people, and black activist ministers—was largely under the radar, Jackson told the Detroit Free Press recently. That’s part of why she was a fitting choice to sing at the inauguration of America’s first black president, Barack Obama, where she regaled the crowd with an emotion-filled rendition of “My Country Tis of Thee”....

~QUARTZ

Read More/ Hear More: https://qz.com/quartzy/1356841/when-aretha-franklin-offered-to-post-bail-for-angela-davis/

BLACKCHICKROCKED.BLOGSPOT.COM

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIGOTRY AND PREFERENCE FOR DUMMIES

Preference: I like men with curly hair.

Bigotry: You should only date men with curly hair like ours (unstated: because the straight hair people are just FOUL)

Bigotry: Everybody should prefer to date men with curly hair (unstated: because the straight hair people are just FOUL)

Bigotry: I think everybody should just date their own same type hairs or there will be trouble. (unstated: the group of hairs I'm -- which happens to be curly-- is the only good group and everybody knows the straight hair people are just FOUL)

IDEA FOR GIANT BABY PEERING OVER WALL INTO U.S. CAME TO ARTIST IN A DREAM

JUST IN TIME FOR THE DACA BATTLE

Feeling Rebloggy

In Tecate, Mexico, a little boy with dark hair and curious eyes peers carefully over the barrier wall that borders San Diego County. Rising up almost 70 feet, his hands seemingly grip the barrier tightly, as if he were holding onto his mother’s body.

The French artist JR pasted that plaintive image on Wednesday, his first installation in Mexico. The piece, based on his photo of a 1-year-old who lives with his mother and grandparents in Tecate, is fully viewable only from the American side of the divide.

The idea came to JR in a dream. “Some people dream about fantasy worlds, I dream about walls,” he said in a phone interview. And though his artwork was not intended as a direct response to the Trump administration, it has extra resonance this week as the White House moved to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

~NY TIMES

READ MORE:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/arts/design/jr-artist-mexico-border-wall.html?

INDECLINE'S HANGING KLANSMEN INSTALLATION STUNS VIRGINIA COMMUNITY

DOWN THE ROAD A PIECE FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE...

Feeling Rebloggy

A Richmond, VA.-based activist group called Indecline has recently installed a street art resistance installation of several hung clown figures dressed like the KKK from a tree in Richmond’s Bryan Park.

same group behind the naked Donald Trump statues that popped up in cities across the country, and street art pieces calling attention to the Flint water crisis and #BlackLivesMatter...

~AFROPUNK.COM

READ MORE
http://afropunk.com/2017/09/hanging-klansmen-art-installation-stuns-richmond-community-makes-powerful-point/

CLARA AMFO QUITS L'OREAL CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF ANTI-RACISM FREE SPEECH

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Clara Amfo has quit the L’Oreal True Match campaign after transgender model Munroe Bergdorf was dropped for social media posts about systemic racism.

The Radio 1 DJ and model is the latest to speak out in support of Bergdorf, after the trans model posted in the wake of Charlottesville last month.

In an Instagram photo posted over the weekend, Amfo wrote: ‘Not even a week ago I was proud to announce that I was to be in the same campaign as Munroe. ‘A trans woman of colour who @lorealmakeup hired to sell make up because of who she is.

‘Who she is, a woman who wrote a nuanced post on institutional racism and white supremacy in relation to Charlottesville and how the foundations of those heinous ideals trickle into every facet of our society.

‘A newspaper took her post out of context and span it as “a rant” with the most basic of dog whistle politics to rally people against her.

‘She has now been dropped from the campaign because L’Oreal feel that she is “at odds with our values”… If she’s not “worth it” anymore, I guess I’m not either.’

~metro.co.uk

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/06/clara-amfo-quits-loreal-campaign-in-support-of-munroe-bergdorf-6907785/#ixzz4sLGIKC8X

A LOVE LETTER TO WHITE PEOPLE

Feeling Rebloggy

Joseph Osmundson wrote,

White people, I love you. I really do. Not because I am a white person myself. This is not a story of self-love, although those can be important. This proclamation is not an attempt to subvert power structures that disavow love of white bodies. No, love of white bodies and selves, that is the norm, so hidden in plain sight that it is rarely given a racial identity at all.

We are so afraid of talking about race. We almost always believe racism is a thing that other people do. Talking about race and our own racism is ugly, and it implicates us in terrible things. But love without honesty is infatuation. If we want to love ourselves and each other we have to admit to the worst amongst us and claim the worst within us. I want to do this work.

White America, America full stop, I am trying to love you in a different way, an honest way, a way that provokes a dialog, a way that requires progressive change. I love you, and we need to do better. James Baldwin said, “Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.” White people, it’s time we grow up.

Who am I and what am I doing here?  

I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X embarrassingly late in life, at 28....X, it turns out, was also reading me.

“I sure don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings,” he wrote,“but in fact I’ll even go so far as to say that I never really trust the kind of white people who are always so anxious to hang around Negroes, or to hang around Negro communities.”

I looked around me. In the heart of hipster Williamsburg, the pool was filled with people of color. I turned back to Malcolm. 

“I tell sincere white people, ‘Work in conjunction with us – each of us working among our own kind.’ Let sincere white individuals find all other white people they can who feel as they do – and let them form their own all-white groups, to work trying to convert other white people who are thinking and acting so racist.  Let sincere white people go and teach non-violence to white people!” (emphasis added)

While I believe that white people do have a role to play in the fight for racial justice, simply unpacking our invisible backpacks of privilege is necessary but not sufficient...

Read More
http://www.thefeministwire.com/2013/09/love-letter-to-white-people/

ROBERT E LEE IV FORCED TO LEAVE CHURCH AFTER TAKING A PUBLIC STAND ON BLACK LIVES MATTER

ON THE MTV AWARDS

"My name is Robert Lee IV; I am a descendant of Robert E. Lee, the Civil War general whose statue was at the center of violence in Charlottesville. We have made my ancestor an idol of white supremacy, racism and hate. As a pastor it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America's original sin. Today, I call on all of us with privilege and power to answer God's call to confront racism and white supremacy head-on. We can find inspiration in the Black Lives Matter movement, the women who marched in the Women's March in January and especially Heather Heyer who died fighting for her beliefs in Charlottesville."

* * * *

When his church wanted to vote on his tenure after his MTV appearance, he resigned instead.

* * * * * *

It was my deep honor to introduce and stand side-by-side Susan Bro whose daughter Heather died tragically in Charlottesville.  

My presence at the church as a descendent of Robert E. Lee and an outspoken opponent of White Supremacy had already attracted attention, but with my appearance on MTV the media’s focus on my church reached an all time high. A faction of church members were concerned about my speech and that I lifted up Black Lives Matter movement, the Women’ s March, and Heather Heyer as examples of racial justice work.

I want to stress that there were many in the congregation who supported my right to free speech, yet were uncomfortable with the attention the church was receiving... 

The church’s reaction was deeply hurtful to me.

[emphasis mine]

I want it to be clear that I feel a deep love for this congregation, and gratitude that they were willing to hire me as my first church out of seminary. I believe with all my heart that God did good work in my life there. That being said, when the church wanted to vote on my tenure, I tendered my resignation in which I told the congregation:

“I regret that speaking out has caused concern and pain to my church. For this is I offer my heartfelt apology. I understand that my views could be considered to be controversial. I never sought this sort of attention. But, I do believe in God’s role in calling out for positive social change for the good of all.

We are all called by God to speak out against hate and evil in all its many forms. There are so many good things going on with this congregation and I do not want my fight to detract from the mission. If the recent media attention causes concern with my church, I reluctantly offer my resignation.”

~AUBURNSEMINARY.ORG

https://auburnseminary.org/rev-robert-wright-lee-iv-statement-leaving-church-speaking-white-supremacy-mtv-video-music-awards/

" Asked about his next step, Lee said he's open to the spirit leading him to "something beautiful." In the meantime, he'll continue to disseminate his thoughts via his blog and social media accounts.

"I stand by how I handled this," he said. "

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/us/robert-lee-iv-resigns-church-pastor-mtv-vma-confederate/index.html

And I stand by how he handled this too. This, and more. is what it's going to take for white people to start dismantling white supremacy in their homes, churches, neighborhoods and workplaces. Christians SHOULD be out front. We should expect no less

We are getting a lot less.
It's the easiest thing in the world to turn your head the other way, as a friend reminded me the other day. But Lee made turning away almost impossible which is likely why some of his congregation, or somewhere near 81% of them, wanted to vote on revoking his tenure.
The White Church's response to Black Lives Matter issues across this country is hurtful to a lot of people.

DACA BY ANOTHER NAME MIGHT SMELL NEARLY AS SWEET

"The Trump administration Tuesday formally announced it will end the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals program — also called DACA — putting an expiration date on the legal protections granted to roughly 800,000 people known as "DREAMers," who entered the country illegally as children... 

Duke said no current beneficiaries will be affected before March 5 of next year. But she said, "No new initial requests or associated applications filed after today will be acted on."....

The program did not provide lawful immigration status. Instead, through what the Obama administration characterized as the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, it granted a deferral from possibly being removed from the U.S. to those who qualified; it also granted work permits. The deferrals and permits were granted for two-year periods and could be renewed for additional two-year periods.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its enforcement priorities have not changed. It has no plans to target DACA holders as their permits expire. They will be eligible for deportation but a low priority." "

http://www.npr.org/2017/09/05/546423550/trump-signals-end-to-daca-calls-on-congress-to-act

We should all know by now that this white supremacist son of a b**** president wants black and browns out of the country. White Supremacist Nationalist Steve Bannon being forced out after Charlottesville didn't change that a bit. But I'm hoping he'll be satisfied with Congress creating the same program under a different name. 

I'm fairly certain that disassociating the black president's name from this program and replacing it with the same thing will make Trump look like a hero with only slight changes. But this will only come to pass if industries affected ( those with companies as big as  Apple, Amazon,Facebook) puts enough pressure on congress that DACA must be replaced. 

What replacing DACA probably requires on the front side is white people, on the left and the right, finally figuring out that money and white supremacy are Trump's only two motivators

...same as his base.

Nobody has to figure out what Trump followers are in favor of. It doesn't matter if Trump passes a single thing through Congress. What matters to Trump's white  base is that Trump is against the same things they are against. And they will applaud and cheer him if he makes moves to crush those non-white.

That's why they are dumb enough to cheer whenever he sends tough-guy messages out to North Korea  -- which is probably speeding up North Korea's nuclear program like nothing else.  

And you should never forget that people who are not-white are the ones most in danger if we wind up bombing North Korea -- because Trump his followers never forget this little detail because people who are not-white are less human to them.

Trump and his followers are for the macho toxic masculinity stomping of anybody not-white for so long as white lives are not at stake. 

As for DACA, the only thing that's going to save Mexican, Asian, Middle-eastern young adults that have been here since childhood is for industry to raise enough hell that they drown out the applause coming from Trump's white supremacist base. That's when the courts will act if they can act.

MUSLIM BAN skidded to a halt without white folks really coming together to understand how deep the white supremacy is in Trump's court. And maybe industry can put pressure on the courts to do the same thing to MEXICAN BAN PHASE 3* as they did to MUSLIM BAN without understanding the depth of white supremacy

But the slowness caused by white run news organizations to understand this is slowing our response time to everything Trump does. And that slowness in response time to Trump's actions, as well as the failure to understand his motivations, is a major part of why he is president today. The white press normalized him because the white majority wants to turn away from what is ugly about white culture since this country's inception. This turning away, led by the press (until it was too late?), is part of the reason this incompetent racist hasn't been forced from office.

But the thing at hand is DACA.

Let the games in court begin. Federal judges stopped the worst part of MUSLIM BAN. Federal judges also limited Trump's attacks on sanctuary cities. May they find enough legal standing to do the same thing to Trump's attack on DACA. But it seems less likely. If President Obama put DACA in place with an executive order it seems likely Trump can erase it with one.

That might mean Congress is our only hope.

Industry putting pressure on congress to replace it with something much the same might be the easiest way forward to protect people that have been here since childhood and probably feel like they are American as you and me.

Video: 1 minute

(What is DACA?)

My feelings about protecting DREAMERS are strong but there are conflicting issues for me as a black person. 

People who are here illegally --the mostly poor non-college going section-- tend to cut wages for the poor because being illegal makes them desperate. 

People who are here illegally and desperate which makes them live and work in conditions that Americans, including black Americans, won't. 

And this means some industries have workers at near-slave wages.

Industry being able to offer near-slave wages means black people, who have a much higher poverty rate, are less able to work their way out of poverty.

Furthermore, when paler-skinned immigrants get to immigrate here legally, they get to pass most of the way or all the way into whiteness like Steve Jobs.  And this has allowed and will allow a large chunk of immigrants to surpass blacks.

So letting immigrants into the country is not all good news for me and mine, not by a long shot. 

But President Obama took care of immigrant children because it was the right thing to do anyway. And I support DACA for the same reason.

If a legal path for citizenship is provided for poor immigrants while we cut off access for the relatively wealthy ones with one degree, two degrees or three, then the poor people in this country will be needed by industry. 

That is, without importing our brains from elsewhere, we'll have to educate the American people that already live here in order to have enough computer programmers and doctors and lawyers. And if we have to pull American people up into these positions that means there will be room at the bottom for poor immigrants. After the poor immigrants do the menial jobs for a generation, their children get to move up too.

That's how I was taught this country worked for white people in the 18th and 19th centuries. That's why "give us your tired, your poor, and your hungry" was written.

Doing the right thing by immigrants --especially those that need help-- is the same thing as doing right by ourselves. And if this president and his followers were anywhere near to being honorable Christians, he'd know that.  

Video: 5 minutes 

(What will happen to people like me, if DACA is cancelled)

I truly believe this world has been created in a such a way that we will hang together or hang separately.  

The other thing I believe is that Racism is treason, especially when it comes from the top.

So whenever I'm not praying for Trump to leave Washington D.C. for good, I wonder if maybe Trump needs to stay in office, crushing us one group at a time--including white people, until we all see this.

Until we see this we will not see that we need to sustain a BACK-TO-BACK ANTI-RACISM (and/or anti-ethnoracism) in order for the country to survive. We need to create a BACK-TO-BACK Feminism as well. Achieving these stances is going to take a radical self-examination from white people and a radical forgiveness from black and brown people in order to create and sustain both. 

We will hang together or we will hang separately.

FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE TO WASHINGTON TO DEMAND THE WHITE SUPREMACIST PRESIDENT RESIGN

Feeling Rebloggy
* * * * *
"Singing spirituals and protest songs from the civil rights era, a group of clergy and activists from across the country began a 118-mile march to Washington on Monday to protest white supremacy and demand that President Trump be removed from office..."

Headline

Read More:http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-charlottesville-march-20170828-story.html

SOMETIMES WE FORGET Anti-Racism Is Taught Too

Childhood Story From A Friend
During The Trayvon Martin Case

"I was in a store with my mama when a man that was dark walked in! It scared me to death! I was 10 yrs old. I grabbed my mama's leg and was beginning to cry due to complete fear!!!

The tall dark man with very white hair with his somewhat curly white beard tipped his hat. He looked down upon me smiling a beautiful smile with the most beautiful pearly sparkly white teeth! And he so sweetly said to me "well hello there little girl!"

Suddenly everything seemed okay. I looked up at my mama to be reassured. And I saw my mama and the dark man smile real big at one another! They shared a chuckle!

Being a country woman and limited education my mama speaks country! Now don't get me wrong here LOL I love hearing some country when it's my mama talking! And I talk country with her! [So] she says to the man "how you?" as she nodded.

And again he tips his hat and says, "fine mam, that sho is a cute little girl you got there."

Mama smiled as she nodded and we parted ways.

I remember I just had to look back at that man again. I wanted to see his smile one more time. It seemed to have made everything okay.

On the way home we had a talk. This is when I learned there were/are differences.

Suddenly my mama sang, (and I sang along) Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Red and yellow black and white ALL are precious in his sight.

Afterwards we smiled and giggle and then I asked, 'Mama is it hard to love everybody?"

She replied, "Honey there are going to be a lot of hard things in life. But you're gonna be okay. Just do the right things!" Then once again we began to sing laugh and giggle! That was a special day!

She was right! Along my journey there have been many difficulties loving everyone! If it's not one person it's another. Judgements are passed along about you. Opinions and struggles you deal with. People seems to know more about you than you do yourself! LOL

But I'll always do what my mama taught me! I will always love everybody. It simply comes down to right and wrong. And like she said everything will be okay just do what is right!"

~ Delores M

*******************************

I wrote my white pastor a few years ago, about a book heavy with stereotyping  that had come out. And I actually threatened to storm the stage in my Aunt Jemima outfit if the author came to speak again. But the main thing I wanted to tell him was that babies are born thinking that skin color isn't that much more interesting than a brightly colored shirt they've never seen before. 

Fear of difference (including things other than race) is learned in my opinion. Maybe? Fear of difference, naturally occurring or not, is something that is either embraced or rejected by a parent and communicated to child.

In the bible, "do not fear" is communicated 365 times, in some form or fashion, or so it is rumored. Whether the number is 322 or 369, the fact that it is repeated over and over again makes it an important life lesson - much more important than things being fought over in the name of God today... some of which aren't mentioned very much or at all.

Out of fear we don't do things we should do.

Out of fear we do things we shouldn't, then later try to justify them.

Out of fear, we protect ourselves instead of others.

And all of these beliefs* have had an effect on us AND everyone involved in the Trayvon Martin Case whether they were aware of it or not. (beliefs = thoughts not currently in your conscious mind)


Look at the photo below (boy playing dead with Skittles and Tea) This is what happens when a parent doesn't remove fear of difference and teach respect for difference at a young age. That young white boy in the photograph below could be a George Zimmerman in the making.

We can only hope that someone takes him aside and explains why this picture is horrible. Even had been done as a sort of protest, it is STILL so very disrespectful. (I'm grasping for straws here. I know) Either way, I hope parents see this photo and make it a teachable moment.

 How does that old 1960s saying go? If we don't hang together, we're going to hang separately. So I hope the other photo at the top is a teachable moment as well, for all of us.

RACISM 101 please meet ANTI-RACISM 101

A friend of a friend found this headline


"This Is What Happened When Maine Forced Welfare Recipients To Work For Their Benefits" along with the required image of black and brown people standing on line, obviously poor.  But this time it was a picture of black and brown men...in MAINE.

File this post under
*AN IMAGE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS*


Problem 1:
The image the U.S. Herald used to symbolize *lazy welfare recipients* in Maine is actually a photo from NY City. Source: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-wait-on-line-to-receive-donated-coats-at-the-kickoff-news-photo/56304568


Problem 2:
According to the census bureau black and brown population of Maine is less than 5%  http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23000.html


Problem 3:
And here is a little Welfare Fraud Story from Maine. I can't remember if every single picture was of white people but most of them were. http://www.wptz.com/news/dozens-arrested-in-yearlong-welfare-fraud-investigation/31174798


Problem 4?
I haven't bothered to find out what percentage of welfare recipients in freaking Maine are black or brown because I already know the image was chosen to create a certain impression. And anybody with a high school diploma worth the paper it was written on should know most welfare recipients are women and children -- not men as pictured.

Something you may not have bothered to think about? The white population's average poverty rate is 9% (in good years) And the black population's poverty rate is 28% (in good years) HOWEVER, black people are only 13% of the population while the white population is 77%*  according 2013 info on Census  This would tend to mean it's likely that are 2x as many white people as black nationwide. Now think about what 94% white Maine's welfare rolls look like. 


ANTI-RACISM TIP 1: Did you know that you can right click most images, save it, then go to go WWW.GOOGLE.COM or WWW.BING.COM to the search "IMAGES" section to search an actual image? All you have to do is find the word "image" on either search engine, then click on the camera icon and upload the picture you want to search for. You'll get results like the photo here. Dozens. Sometimes, if the photo is not TOO over-used all over the net,  you can find out where a photo was purchased. 

IMAGE USED TO DEPICT LAZY WELFARE RECIPIENTS IN MAINE
- AFTER SUBMITTED TO GOOGLE SEARCH

ANTI-RACISM TIP 2:  I used 95% of the above to place a comment on the article itself...which they'll have to approve in order for it to show up. But I also sent 95% of this message to two advertisers I saw within the online article --Goedeckers and Consumer Reports.

My final comments in the e-mails I sent were as follows:

The article you are advertising within should be called RACISM CREATION 101.  It's a teachable moment for sure.

I hope you choose your advertising spaces more carefully in the future

I hope you find these anti-racism tips useful, but not too often.

* I've heard much lower numbers for white population, but this is likely could be due to census corrections, white paranoia or purity desires. We'll use the 77% link to the census)