Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is a Chicago-based dance company that celebrates the African-American aesthetic through movement and music. The critically acclaimed 'Jagged Ledges' is a work inspired by the plight of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Kevin Iega Jeff, a co-founder of the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, previously served as an artistic director of the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wildest Dreams Check-in, Week 12
Today is Day 81 of the Power 90/P90X program.
Gold Star
I can't believe that I've made it this far (with AWOL days, and other difficulties, of course). I will be greatly relieved to take a short break (probably 2 weeks) from all of this when I finish the 90th day. I plan to do another 90 day training period completely made of up P90X workouts. The plan is to keep going until I get myself totally "tight and right." I'm much closer to where I want to be than when I started, but there's still work to do. Like I said last week, I'm in this for the long haul.
I press on!
The Awful Truth
I blew off two days of training this week. One day out of sheer laziness. And last night, after having dinner with a friend. I very rarely drink, and I really enjoyed knocking back some Margaritas during dinner. So I ended up feeling full, drowsy, and tipsy when I got back home. I called it a night and went to bed.
What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?
Gold Star
I can't believe that I've made it this far (with AWOL days, and other difficulties, of course). I will be greatly relieved to take a short break (probably 2 weeks) from all of this when I finish the 90th day. I plan to do another 90 day training period completely made of up P90X workouts. The plan is to keep going until I get myself totally "tight and right." I'm much closer to where I want to be than when I started, but there's still work to do. Like I said last week, I'm in this for the long haul.
I press on!
The Awful Truth
I blew off two days of training this week. One day out of sheer laziness. And last night, after having dinner with a friend. I very rarely drink, and I really enjoyed knocking back some Margaritas during dinner. So I ended up feeling full, drowsy, and tipsy when I got back home. I called it a night and went to bed.
What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
"Streams Are the Gathering of Drops:" How Are You Using Your Minutes and Hours?
Time is one of the greatest blessings that God has given to human beings. This is a blessing that most of us waste. I have been guilty of this as well.
In the Quran, God reprimands unbelievers for wasting their lives in a state of disbelief, despite the blessing of longevity that He bestowed upon them:
"And for those who disbelieve, for them is Fire of hell; it is not finished with them so that they should die, nor is chastisement thereof lightened to them. Thus We deal retribution on every ungrateful one.
And therein they cry for succour: Our Lord, take us out! we will do good deeds other than those which we used to do! Did We not give you a life long enough, for him to be mindful who would mind? And there came to you the warner. So taste; because for the iniquitous there is no helper."
Quran: 35:36-37.
What strikes me about this verse isn't so much the chastisement of disbelievers. It's God's disapproval of the wasting of time: "Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
How many people meet death with regrets. "If only I could do it over again . . . If I had just a little bit longer . . ."
How many of us already have regrets over how we've spent large portions of our lives? Which is another form of loss because it poisons the blessings of the present moment that we've been granted.
In another chapter of the Quran, God vows by Time, and warns us that we will be in a state of loss if we don't use it properly:
"By the time!----
Surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and exhort one another to patience."
Quran: 103:1-3.
From the book, The Value of Time, by Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah:
"There is nothing more true or beautiful than what Imam Bahauddin ibn an-Nahhas al-Halabi (Muhammad ibn Ibrahim), who died in 698 AH, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote, indicating that by doing a little regularly it adds up to an immense and amazingly great amount, as in the case of Abu'l-Wafa ibn Aquil. He wrote in the biography of al-Suyuti in Bughyat al-Wu'at:
'To do a thing today, and the same tomorrow
Gathering is the essence of knowledge
Thus one may achieve wisdom
For streams are but the gathering of drops'"
The Value of Time, pg. 31.
Streams are but the gathering of drops. The minutes and hours that you spend every day doing things that are not moving you toward your wildest dreams will gather into a stream called "years." A polluted stream. One filled with regrets. If you're not careful with how you spend your time, it will result in a lifetime of regrets.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
Truth be told, most African-American women are keeping themselves busy with activities that are NOT moving them closer to achieving their wildest dreams. Most of these activities revolve around doing things for non-reciprocating others.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
God gave us "lives long enough" to move closer to our goals. It's up to us to use these everyday minutes and hours wisely.
It's not enough to divest from people who are not making positive, reciprocal contributions to our lives. This, by itself, won't make our wildest dreams come true. This, by itself, won't be enough to save our own lives.
We must also be wise with how we spend the blessing of time. We must divest from activities that are not moving us toward the abundant lives that are our birthright.
Among other things, I've divested from bringing work home, unless it's an absolute emergency (and I do everything I can to make such emergencies rare).
What are you going to divest from?
In the Quran, God reprimands unbelievers for wasting their lives in a state of disbelief, despite the blessing of longevity that He bestowed upon them:
"And for those who disbelieve, for them is Fire of hell; it is not finished with them so that they should die, nor is chastisement thereof lightened to them. Thus We deal retribution on every ungrateful one.
And therein they cry for succour: Our Lord, take us out! we will do good deeds other than those which we used to do! Did We not give you a life long enough, for him to be mindful who would mind? And there came to you the warner. So taste; because for the iniquitous there is no helper."
Quran: 35:36-37.
What strikes me about this verse isn't so much the chastisement of disbelievers. It's God's disapproval of the wasting of time: "Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
How many people meet death with regrets. "If only I could do it over again . . . If I had just a little bit longer . . ."
How many of us already have regrets over how we've spent large portions of our lives? Which is another form of loss because it poisons the blessings of the present moment that we've been granted.
In another chapter of the Quran, God vows by Time, and warns us that we will be in a state of loss if we don't use it properly:
"By the time!----
Surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and exhort one another to patience."
Quran: 103:1-3.
From the book, The Value of Time, by Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah:
"There is nothing more true or beautiful than what Imam Bahauddin ibn an-Nahhas al-Halabi (Muhammad ibn Ibrahim), who died in 698 AH, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote, indicating that by doing a little regularly it adds up to an immense and amazingly great amount, as in the case of Abu'l-Wafa ibn Aquil. He wrote in the biography of al-Suyuti in Bughyat al-Wu'at:
'To do a thing today, and the same tomorrow
Gathering is the essence of knowledge
Thus one may achieve wisdom
For streams are but the gathering of drops'"
The Value of Time, pg. 31.
Streams are but the gathering of drops. The minutes and hours that you spend every day doing things that are not moving you toward your wildest dreams will gather into a stream called "years." A polluted stream. One filled with regrets. If you're not careful with how you spend your time, it will result in a lifetime of regrets.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
Truth be told, most African-American women are keeping themselves busy with activities that are NOT moving them closer to achieving their wildest dreams. Most of these activities revolve around doing things for non-reciprocating others.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
God gave us "lives long enough" to move closer to our goals. It's up to us to use these everyday minutes and hours wisely.
It's not enough to divest from people who are not making positive, reciprocal contributions to our lives. This, by itself, won't make our wildest dreams come true. This, by itself, won't be enough to save our own lives.
We must also be wise with how we spend the blessing of time. We must divest from activities that are not moving us toward the abundant lives that are our birthright.
Among other things, I've divested from bringing work home, unless it's an absolute emergency (and I do everything I can to make such emergencies rare).
What are you going to divest from?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Geostrategy Nerd: Recognize The Survival Value of Dissensus
It concerns me that so many Black people assume that consensus is always good, and that dissensus (difference of opinion) is always bad. Real life is much more nuanced than that. Mapping out collective real-life survival strategies is much more nuanced than that.
It doesn't occur to most of us that consensus is often a form of people collectively putting all of their eggs in one basket.
I bet consensus doesn't sound quite the same when it's put that way! This is something to keep in mind when mapping out mass strategies for fluid, rapidly changing circumstances. When there are a large number of unknowns, it might not be a good thing to try to herd people into a single, grand strategy. Even a good strategy usually has an expiration date, and is best used under certain circumstances.
Just think of the various obsolete strategies that African-Americans continue to have a consensus about:
1. Pursuing symbolic inclusion instead of seeking dominance over an essential economic niche.
2. Continuing to use protest techniques from the Civil Rights movement.
3. Trying to cajole our former slave masters, their children, and their Ellis Island cousins to solve our economic problems with forced inclusion into their businesses. This is done by using demonstrations and protests to shakedown White corporations for jobs.
Many Black women's empowerment blogs have acknowledged the end of the African-American community as a functional collective; and are mapping out adaptive responses to this situation. I submit to you that in many ways, African-American women find themselves in an unprecedented situation:
I'm not aware of any surviving human society that had the vast majority of its children out of wedlock.
I'm not aware of any surviving human society that expected its women to raise children alone.
I'm not aware of any surviving human society that expected its women to socialize its boys into manhood.
I suspect that the reason why I don't know of any such human society is because these social practices DON'T work; and lead to the destruction of any group that engages in them.
Most African-Americans currently have a consensus that we can engage in these behaviors and still somehow survive. I disagree.
If we are going to map out several survival strategies (and thereby have more than one viable "basket" for our eggs), we must leave room for people to follow their own vision of what it takes to survive and thrive. We must leave room for constructive disagreement.
*Suggested Reading* In the context of peak oil preparedness, John Michael Greer has written a couple of excellent essays about the potential life-saving value of dissensus. http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu89l08VJe38BHv9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzlzY3FoBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NTMDFfMTE1/SIG=11sjonph5/EXP=1237787877/**http%3a//www.energybulletin.net/node/47508 and http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu92008VJVGQAseZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEza25tZTJ0BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NTMDFfMTE1/SIG=11suqkkg8/EXP=1237787956/**http%3a//www.energybulletin.net/node/47436
It doesn't occur to most of us that consensus is often a form of people collectively putting all of their eggs in one basket.
I bet consensus doesn't sound quite the same when it's put that way! This is something to keep in mind when mapping out mass strategies for fluid, rapidly changing circumstances. When there are a large number of unknowns, it might not be a good thing to try to herd people into a single, grand strategy. Even a good strategy usually has an expiration date, and is best used under certain circumstances.
Just think of the various obsolete strategies that African-Americans continue to have a consensus about:
1. Pursuing symbolic inclusion instead of seeking dominance over an essential economic niche.
2. Continuing to use protest techniques from the Civil Rights movement.
3. Trying to cajole our former slave masters, their children, and their Ellis Island cousins to solve our economic problems with forced inclusion into their businesses. This is done by using demonstrations and protests to shakedown White corporations for jobs.
Many Black women's empowerment blogs have acknowledged the end of the African-American community as a functional collective; and are mapping out adaptive responses to this situation. I submit to you that in many ways, African-American women find themselves in an unprecedented situation:
I'm not aware of any surviving human society that had the vast majority of its children out of wedlock.
I'm not aware of any surviving human society that expected its women to raise children alone.
I'm not aware of any surviving human society that expected its women to socialize its boys into manhood.
I suspect that the reason why I don't know of any such human society is because these social practices DON'T work; and lead to the destruction of any group that engages in them.
Most African-Americans currently have a consensus that we can engage in these behaviors and still somehow survive. I disagree.
If we are going to map out several survival strategies (and thereby have more than one viable "basket" for our eggs), we must leave room for people to follow their own vision of what it takes to survive and thrive. We must leave room for constructive disagreement.
*Suggested Reading* In the context of peak oil preparedness, John Michael Greer has written a couple of excellent essays about the potential life-saving value of dissensus. http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu89l08VJe38BHv9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzlzY3FoBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NTMDFfMTE1/SIG=11sjonph5/EXP=1237787877/**http%3a//www.energybulletin.net/node/47508 and http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu92008VJVGQAseZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEza25tZTJ0BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NTMDFfMTE1/SIG=11suqkkg8/EXP=1237787956/**http%3a//www.energybulletin.net/node/47436
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Wildest Dreams Check-In, Week 11
Today is Day 75 of the Power 90/P90X program.
Gold Star
With frequent use of the pause button, I was able to make it through the Plyometrics workout!
Including the jump knee tuck: "Keep upper body relatively calm while jumping up and pulling your knees in towards your chest repeatedly. Use your hands as targets for your knees. Modify by lowering your hands, which decreases jump height. To intensify, raise hands to increase jump height and pick up speed."
I'm happy that there's really no "Awful Truth" to report this week.
I've sort of settled into a hopefully long-term, sustainable pattern of eating mostly raw food before dinner. Since I'm no longer following the regimented diet plan, it's somewhat slowing down my short-term weight-loss progress. However, I feel that what I'm doing represents great progress for the long term. I feel content (not agitated, angry, or resigned---*Smile*) about continuing to train and eat much better (than I was before) after I've finished the first 90-days. [After taking a small break, I'm going to continue the P90x training after Day 90.]
I no longer perceive this as a "quick fix" situation. I'm in this for the long haul.
What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?
Gold Star
With frequent use of the pause button, I was able to make it through the Plyometrics workout!
Including the jump knee tuck: "Keep upper body relatively calm while jumping up and pulling your knees in towards your chest repeatedly. Use your hands as targets for your knees. Modify by lowering your hands, which decreases jump height. To intensify, raise hands to increase jump height and pick up speed."
I'm happy that there's really no "Awful Truth" to report this week.
I've sort of settled into a hopefully long-term, sustainable pattern of eating mostly raw food before dinner. Since I'm no longer following the regimented diet plan, it's somewhat slowing down my short-term weight-loss progress. However, I feel that what I'm doing represents great progress for the long term. I feel content (not agitated, angry, or resigned---*Smile*) about continuing to train and eat much better (than I was before) after I've finished the first 90-days. [After taking a small break, I'm going to continue the P90x training after Day 90.]
I no longer perceive this as a "quick fix" situation. I'm in this for the long haul.
What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Table Talk for Activists, Part 6: Backbiting & Other Destructive Forms of Disagreement
This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
____________________________________________
Backbiting Is Usually The Result of Mishandling a Disagreement
Upon reflection, I realized that backbiting is usually the result of the backbiter mishandling disagreement. It begins when the backbiter discovers that she's unable to get the other person to agree with her. The backbiter then starts going to various other venues to disparage the person who disagreed with them. I've watched this happen repeatedly with commenters on various blogs.
Here's the typical scenario for this:
The commenter is unable to get the blogger to agree with her. The commenter then tries to "flip the script," and claim that the blogger that they are backbiting is intolerant of dissent. From the scenarios that I silently observed before I even started my own blog, that's not these backbiters' true issue at all. Their REAL issue is that they were unable to get the blogger to change their position. And instead of gracefully agreeing to disagree, they skulk off to other forums to whine about how the blogger would not change their position to agree with them.
This is dysfunctional AND destructive behavior. Let's talk about the constructive management of disagreements.
Recognize That Most Disagreements Will Be Managed, and NOT Resolved
The first step is to recognize that most disagreements will be managed, and not resolved. As Frank Hecker stated in his essay Handling Disagreements in Open Collaborative Projects, he strongly believes that "in the context of open collaborative projects it is not possible to definitively resolve all disagreements to the satisfaction of those disagreeing; I believe instead that in the real world the best we can hope for is to manage disagreements well enough to get some work done."
I agree with Mr. Hecker. In the context of Black women's empowerment blogs, the point (as I see it) is to work together to pursue our broader, shared goals. NOT to convert other discussion participants to every, single tenet of our personal beliefs.
Recognize the Difference Between Critical and Non-Critical Points of Disagreement
In order to work together to pursue broader, shared goals we actually have to have shared goals. Trying to work with people who do not share one's goals automatically leads to infighting. Even if a group of people have shared goals, they also need to have shared core values in order to be able to cooperate enough to get work done. Trying to work with people who do not share one's core values automatically leads to infighting.
For example, I believe in economic empowerment for Black women. However, I would not be able to cooperate with persons who feel that it is appropriate for Black women to seek this empowerment through the sex trade.
The problem with how many of us handle disagreement is that we inflate every point of disagreement into a false core value. Through our emotions, we turn every point of disagreement into a "dealbreaker." Whether or not the disagreement is over an actual core value, we need to learn to gracefully walk away from disagreements.
Gracefully Walk Away From The Disagreement
People create a lot of unnecessary friction and strife when they refuse to gracefully walk away from a disagreement. Instead of "agreeing to disagree" and moving on, they do destructive things. Sometimes they run to other venues to backbite the person who disagreed with them. Backbiting is when the target of the verbal attack isn't present to respond.
In addition to backbiting, there's another destructive behavior that I call "the running battle." This is where the combatants openly rehash and re-fight their battles with each other over and over at a never-ending series of venues. As a result, the strife that was originally contained within one setting is spread to multiple settings.
Another destructive behavior that people sometimes engage in is to stay and fight with the person who disagreed with them.
There are two main "stay and fight" techniques that I see a lot of. The first "stay and fight" technique is to needlessly rehash the original point of disagreement. It's one thing to state one's full position on an issue when it naturally comes up in discussion (including a point of disagreement). It's something else to continuously drag the point of disagreement into unrelated conversations.
The other "stay and fight" technique is to insist upon having the last word in a disagreement. I see this a lot with commenters on blogs, which always amazes me. It would never occur to me to expect to have the last word about a topic in somebody else's "house." Especially if the person I'm disagreeing with is the blog host!
On this blog, I will at times allow dissenting readers to have the last word in a disagreement. I try to be a gracious host. However, I won't do that if I feel that the point of disagreement is of critical importance. Also, people need to understand that they are not entitled to have the last word in somebody else's house. That's a courtesy that might be extended, not a requirement.
Gracefully walking away should be the general practice whether the disagreement is about a "dealbreaker" issue or not. If it's about a "dealbreaker," engaging in destructive behavior (such as backbiting and staying to fight) will likely create an extra, unnecessary enemy. If the disagreement is about a non-essential matter, engaging in destructive behavior will make it difficult (if not impossible) to cooperate with that person in pursuit of broader, shared goals.
Over the last century, many Muslim reformers such as Hassan al-Banna (the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) have recognized the activists' organizing principle that we should cooperate on the issues we agree upon, and excuse one another on the issues we differ on. I believe that this is good advice.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
____________________________________________
Backbiting Is Usually The Result of Mishandling a Disagreement
Upon reflection, I realized that backbiting is usually the result of the backbiter mishandling disagreement. It begins when the backbiter discovers that she's unable to get the other person to agree with her. The backbiter then starts going to various other venues to disparage the person who disagreed with them. I've watched this happen repeatedly with commenters on various blogs.
Here's the typical scenario for this:
The commenter is unable to get the blogger to agree with her. The commenter then tries to "flip the script," and claim that the blogger that they are backbiting is intolerant of dissent. From the scenarios that I silently observed before I even started my own blog, that's not these backbiters' true issue at all. Their REAL issue is that they were unable to get the blogger to change their position. And instead of gracefully agreeing to disagree, they skulk off to other forums to whine about how the blogger would not change their position to agree with them.
This is dysfunctional AND destructive behavior. Let's talk about the constructive management of disagreements.
Recognize That Most Disagreements Will Be Managed, and NOT Resolved
The first step is to recognize that most disagreements will be managed, and not resolved. As Frank Hecker stated in his essay Handling Disagreements in Open Collaborative Projects, he strongly believes that "in the context of open collaborative projects it is not possible to definitively resolve all disagreements to the satisfaction of those disagreeing; I believe instead that in the real world the best we can hope for is to manage disagreements well enough to get some work done."
I agree with Mr. Hecker. In the context of Black women's empowerment blogs, the point (as I see it) is to work together to pursue our broader, shared goals. NOT to convert other discussion participants to every, single tenet of our personal beliefs.
Recognize the Difference Between Critical and Non-Critical Points of Disagreement
In order to work together to pursue broader, shared goals we actually have to have shared goals. Trying to work with people who do not share one's goals automatically leads to infighting. Even if a group of people have shared goals, they also need to have shared core values in order to be able to cooperate enough to get work done. Trying to work with people who do not share one's core values automatically leads to infighting.
For example, I believe in economic empowerment for Black women. However, I would not be able to cooperate with persons who feel that it is appropriate for Black women to seek this empowerment through the sex trade.
The problem with how many of us handle disagreement is that we inflate every point of disagreement into a false core value. Through our emotions, we turn every point of disagreement into a "dealbreaker." Whether or not the disagreement is over an actual core value, we need to learn to gracefully walk away from disagreements.
Gracefully Walk Away From The Disagreement
People create a lot of unnecessary friction and strife when they refuse to gracefully walk away from a disagreement. Instead of "agreeing to disagree" and moving on, they do destructive things. Sometimes they run to other venues to backbite the person who disagreed with them. Backbiting is when the target of the verbal attack isn't present to respond.
In addition to backbiting, there's another destructive behavior that I call "the running battle." This is where the combatants openly rehash and re-fight their battles with each other over and over at a never-ending series of venues. As a result, the strife that was originally contained within one setting is spread to multiple settings.
Another destructive behavior that people sometimes engage in is to stay and fight with the person who disagreed with them.
There are two main "stay and fight" techniques that I see a lot of. The first "stay and fight" technique is to needlessly rehash the original point of disagreement. It's one thing to state one's full position on an issue when it naturally comes up in discussion (including a point of disagreement). It's something else to continuously drag the point of disagreement into unrelated conversations.
The other "stay and fight" technique is to insist upon having the last word in a disagreement. I see this a lot with commenters on blogs, which always amazes me. It would never occur to me to expect to have the last word about a topic in somebody else's "house." Especially if the person I'm disagreeing with is the blog host!
On this blog, I will at times allow dissenting readers to have the last word in a disagreement. I try to be a gracious host. However, I won't do that if I feel that the point of disagreement is of critical importance. Also, people need to understand that they are not entitled to have the last word in somebody else's house. That's a courtesy that might be extended, not a requirement.
Gracefully walking away should be the general practice whether the disagreement is about a "dealbreaker" issue or not. If it's about a "dealbreaker," engaging in destructive behavior (such as backbiting and staying to fight) will likely create an extra, unnecessary enemy. If the disagreement is about a non-essential matter, engaging in destructive behavior will make it difficult (if not impossible) to cooperate with that person in pursuit of broader, shared goals.
Over the last century, many Muslim reformers such as Hassan al-Banna (the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) have recognized the activists' organizing principle that we should cooperate on the issues we agree upon, and excuse one another on the issues we differ on. I believe that this is good advice.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Two Never-Known or Mostly-Forgotten News Stories That Explain Why Introspection And Activism Matter
While we're digesting the recent Table Talk for Activists discussions, I feel that it would be good to keep all of this in what I believe is its proper context.
In addition to the Dunbar Village Atrocity, there were two (mostly never-known or mostly forgotten by those who knew) news stories that propelled me out of my earlier sense of semi-complacency about the condition of the African-American collective. In its own way, each incident speaks to the near-total reign of barbarism in the former Black community. Each incident speaks to the Rwanda/Congo-type conditions that are right around the corner. Each incident speaks to what is at stake with our online work. In places like Dunbar Village, Rwanda has already arrived.
Darius Miller
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/01/28/apollo-holmes%E2%80%99-suicide-a-dead-end-in-case-of-comatose-trainer/
Our (mis)leaders, who are so concerned about accused Black male criminals, don't seem to know or care about Darius Miller. I find it interesting to note that the Black women in Atlanta who responded so enthusiastically to the violence-prone buffoons of the Jena 6, haven't said a peep about a Black man who was beaten into a coma for defending Black women from DBRBM.
I haven't forgotten about Mr. Miller.
Shontae Blanche
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/07/local/me-runover7
While the Internet Ike Turners and Ikettes are angrily denying the need for Black women to expand their marriage horizons, there are Black women literally dying over a perceived shortage of potential mates. These women believe that there is a "man shortage" because the only men they are considering are Black men. There are plenty of loving and lovable men other than the dwindling number of eligible Black men.
The idea of a crowd of grown, African-American women fighting to the death over the affections of a Negro criminal is horrible enough. The background details of the victim's life were also disturbing (from the Los Angeles Times story above):
The mourners said it was unlike the 22-year-old to be involved in a violent dispute.
"If she would've had any idea what she was getting into, she wouldn't have come," said Brenda Rowry, Blanche's aunt.
At her childhood home in a neighborhood about three miles northwest of the fatal confrontation, Blanche's grandmother and cousin remembered her as a popular girl and bank worker who was determined to avoid trouble.
"She would tell me, 'I'm not going to be like my mom,' " said Helen Hayes, 60, who raised her granddaughter. According to Hayes, both of Blanche's parents had been in and out of prison since Blanche was a young child.
Blanche, who was five months' pregnant and married to a man in prison, was looking forward to a future as a mother and to graduating from Cal State Northridge.
She hoped to become a parole officer and was 13 classes away from that goal, said a cousin, Argentine Hayes, 21.
Generations of dysfunction that has become normalized. And it's spreading. Next stop, Rwanda.
In addition to the Dunbar Village Atrocity, there were two (mostly never-known or mostly forgotten by those who knew) news stories that propelled me out of my earlier sense of semi-complacency about the condition of the African-American collective. In its own way, each incident speaks to the near-total reign of barbarism in the former Black community. Each incident speaks to the Rwanda/Congo-type conditions that are right around the corner. Each incident speaks to what is at stake with our online work. In places like Dunbar Village, Rwanda has already arrived.
Darius Miller
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/01/28/apollo-holmes%E2%80%99-suicide-a-dead-end-in-case-of-comatose-trainer/
Our (mis)leaders, who are so concerned about accused Black male criminals, don't seem to know or care about Darius Miller. I find it interesting to note that the Black women in Atlanta who responded so enthusiastically to the violence-prone buffoons of the Jena 6, haven't said a peep about a Black man who was beaten into a coma for defending Black women from DBRBM.
I haven't forgotten about Mr. Miller.
Shontae Blanche
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/07/local/me-runover7
While the Internet Ike Turners and Ikettes are angrily denying the need for Black women to expand their marriage horizons, there are Black women literally dying over a perceived shortage of potential mates. These women believe that there is a "man shortage" because the only men they are considering are Black men. There are plenty of loving and lovable men other than the dwindling number of eligible Black men.
The idea of a crowd of grown, African-American women fighting to the death over the affections of a Negro criminal is horrible enough. The background details of the victim's life were also disturbing (from the Los Angeles Times story above):
The mourners said it was unlike the 22-year-old to be involved in a violent dispute.
"If she would've had any idea what she was getting into, she wouldn't have come," said Brenda Rowry, Blanche's aunt.
At her childhood home in a neighborhood about three miles northwest of the fatal confrontation, Blanche's grandmother and cousin remembered her as a popular girl and bank worker who was determined to avoid trouble.
"She would tell me, 'I'm not going to be like my mom,' " said Helen Hayes, 60, who raised her granddaughter. According to Hayes, both of Blanche's parents had been in and out of prison since Blanche was a young child.
Blanche, who was five months' pregnant and married to a man in prison, was looking forward to a future as a mother and to graduating from Cal State Northridge.
She hoped to become a parole officer and was 13 classes away from that goal, said a cousin, Argentine Hayes, 21.
Generations of dysfunction that has become normalized. And it's spreading. Next stop, Rwanda.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Table Talk for Activists, Part 5: Handling Ikettes
This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wildest Dreams Check-In, Week 10
Today is Day 67 of the Power 90/P90X program.
Gold Star
Last week I figured that it would be a good idea to not wait until the last minute to order the P90X program. So I placed my order, and it arrived earlier this week. The original plan was to finish the introductory Power 90 program, and then start the more advanced P90X program.
What I forgot was that I often turn into a "blind ambition" sort of of person. I forgot that there was no way that I would have the P90X dvds, and not at least experiment with doing the workouts.
After the last two days of experimentation, I've decided to switch over and start doing the more advanced P90X workouts. P90X is serious. Both in terms of the exercises themselves, and the time commitment. Most of these workouts are about an HOUR long.
Today, I made it through the Legs and Back workout, which is 58 minutes of alternating squats, lunges, and pull-ups. [In my case, pull-up variations using resistance bands; maybe I'll invest in a chin-up bar. Time will tell.] It was hard and I struggled, but I made it through.
The Awful Truth
I hated the relatively brief yoga portion of the Power 90 program. The Yoga X workout in the P90X program lasts for 92 minutes. NO. There's no way that I'm going to do 1.5 hours of yoga. I abruptly walked away from the Yoga X workout yesterday after about 20 minutes. I've decided that I'll do the Cardio X program instead on the Yoga X days.
What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?
Gold Star
Last week I figured that it would be a good idea to not wait until the last minute to order the P90X program. So I placed my order, and it arrived earlier this week. The original plan was to finish the introductory Power 90 program, and then start the more advanced P90X program.
What I forgot was that I often turn into a "blind ambition" sort of of person. I forgot that there was no way that I would have the P90X dvds, and not at least experiment with doing the workouts.
After the last two days of experimentation, I've decided to switch over and start doing the more advanced P90X workouts. P90X is serious. Both in terms of the exercises themselves, and the time commitment. Most of these workouts are about an HOUR long.
Today, I made it through the Legs and Back workout, which is 58 minutes of alternating squats, lunges, and pull-ups. [In my case, pull-up variations using resistance bands; maybe I'll invest in a chin-up bar. Time will tell.] It was hard and I struggled, but I made it through.
The Awful Truth
I hated the relatively brief yoga portion of the Power 90 program. The Yoga X workout in the P90X program lasts for 92 minutes. NO. There's no way that I'm going to do 1.5 hours of yoga. I abruptly walked away from the Yoga X workout yesterday after about 20 minutes. I've decided that I'll do the Cardio X program instead on the Yoga X days.
What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
