Honestly...

I think I have trouble with criticism. It seems if someone doesn't think something I do is really good, I get moody.
I'm going to work on this... really.

Israeli Pull-out of Gaza

Okay, I just had to speak about the situation in Gaza.
First, I admit that, even though I am for Israel getting out of Gaza, it is really hard to watch people being dragged from their homes. However, the land belongs to the Palestinians, and the only way that area can move towards some sort of peace is for Israel to stay in Israel and stay out of Palestine unless invited.

Second, I am tired of people who say that what is happening in Gaza should be compared to what happened in Nazi Germany. THAT'S BULL!!! The holocaust was brutal, inhumane etc. This is Israeli soldiers doing what the majority of Israelis agree is the only way to start on the road to peace. Damn Benjamin Netanyahu!

Third, Palestinian statehood needs to happen quickly or the pulling out of Gaza will be irrelevant to the peace process.

Playas, Pimps, and Posers

Playas’, Pimps, and Posers
By Jason Grant

What up pimp?
What up playa?
See, in this game of life…
You have your playas’…
Your pimps…
And your posers…
But really, they’re all the same
Dig it, brothas and sistas…
Pimps pimp to make money off of others
Playas play to make enamored fools out of the unsuspecting
But they all pose like they have power…
When all they have is temporary…
Temporary money
Temporary booty
Temporary influence
They pose strength…
But without their victims, their weak
To eliminate their weakness they reproduce others…
Others to follow in their poser-footsteps
You can see them all over
Don’t fall for the typical image of fur coats…
Shiny snakeskin shoes…
And “pimp hats”
Playas and pimps pose in “wifebeaters”…
Blue jeans…
Air Jordans’…
And doo-rags
Grabbin’ their nuts to hold up their lack manhood
Celebrating themselves on street corners and boardrooms…
Red carpets and project hallways…
Laughing all the way to the poser hall of fame

Reading and Listening

I'm currently reading "The Prosaic Soul of Nikki Giovanni." It's a collection of her essays. It's really interesting to read essays by Nikki Giovanni because she's very honest with herself and with what is going on around her. Stuff she wrote in the sixties are the most powerful because the essays are so raw and brutal to "the establishment." I don't think I have read a book that had the word "cracker" appear so many times.
-----

So I'm trying to listen to radio a little more the last couple of weeks, for the purpose of staying slightly relevant.
Okay, I still don't like this Mike Jones brother.... I'm not a fan of Young Jeezy, though the song he does with Jay-Z is pretty tight.
Will someone stop all these people who have the word "Lil'" as part of their names: Lil' Scrappy, Li'l Wayne, Lil' Jon - It gets on my damn nerves. Basically, if you have "Lil'" attached to your name, you're likely to suck. I think that 's the real reason Bow Wow cut that from his name.

Speaking of Bow Wow - okay, I have to admit I kind of like that song with Ciara, "Like You." It's a cute song, and I like the way they do the hook, even though it sounds like they mumble it all the way through.

I'm feeling that Teiarra Marie joint.... The two songs I've heard from Bobby Valentino sound the same, but I can't say I don't turn up the radio when I hear either of them.... I shamefully on occassion have enjoyed the song "Naked" by Marques Houston; I don't know why, it just happens.... I also like the Damian Marley "Welcome to Jamrock" - "out in the streets they call it murdaaaaaa!"

People not getting played enough on radio right now: Teedra Moses, Common, and Goapele.

People getting played too damn much: Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl"; Pretty Ricky, "Grind wit me"; anything by the Ying Yang Twins, Mike Jones, Tony Yayo (what kinda' stupid name is that), and Young Jeezy.

Still Jobless and other going-ons...

Sooooooo... Still ain't got a job. Can't even seem to get an interview. But it has only been two weeks. Still, Juris doctorate and still jobless... makes me listen to Kanye West's "College Dropout" CD with a whole new energy.
Y'all, if I end up at the Cheesecake Factory as "a mutha-f%@*in' waiter there," than I have truly slipped.
-----------
So, last week had to be the most rollercoaster-like week I have ever had.
A friend, who I thought I was losing, was actually happy to hear from me when I called last Wednesday. It was great. We had a good little conversation. She told me she had been meaning to call me and I told her I missed her ("Awww, you're so sweet.").

But then I received a call that same day that made the whole week go to garbage. Another friend of mine called me late that night crying. She asked if she could stay with me for the night. Now this seemed very strange since she had an apartment and she also had a fiance who she could stay with. So, of course all types of things are running into your head - was she hurt? did someone break into her apartment? did her fiance hit her? By the time I asked her what had happened she decided that she should not stay with me for fear that she would get in my way. I begged her to stay with me (note: I have never begged a woman to stay in my home ever before; even better note: I have never had a woman call me asking to stay the night with me), but she said no, she didn't want to inconvenience me. Then she hung up on me. I haven't heard from her since.
I have never felt so useless and helpless in my life. Here is my friend, in need of help, and I can't help her. That is not a good feeling. I'm really worried about her. I hope I hear from her soon.

What a bad week....

Finding a J-O-B

You know what, it never amazes me that finding a job can be very difficult when you need it the most. How do people find work these days?!

Clearly, that "it's who you know" idea is really true.

I've gotten so desperate that I have applied for a job with BET... BET... goddamn BET!!!

Michael Jackson Racism?

Michael Jackson racism rears its head in Georgia

Date: Monday, August 01, 2005By: EURweb.com

"Is Michael Jackson not guilty because he is a nigger or [because he has] money?"

This statement appears on a sign that greets patrons outside a bar in Paulding County, GA. The owner, Patrick Lanzo, says the First Amendment protects his right to have the sign up. The NAACP quickly pounced on Lanzo, launching a petition to urge District Attorney Drew Lane to enact legislation that would force the sign’s removal.
“The sign is racist, hateful, and disrespectful, not only to the African American community, but to all of us who cherish equity and unity in our one human race,” reads a statement accompanying the online petition. “In addition to that, the sign is also a direct slander of Mr. Michael Jackson. No American should have to feel offended, or threatened as they travel through, or within, your county.”

Lanzo, who has a number of racist images in his Georgia Peach Museum bar (including cartoons of Klan members lounging on lynched black men and items disparaging Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), has been putting up signs for the past 10 years that pose questions about celebrities in the headlines. When asked why he chose to use the N-word on the sign, he said: “Because it’s my choice of word.”
====================================

Clearly, this is crazy. And people wonder why I always say that Michael Jackson cannot stop being Black just because he's pale. It's because of stuff like this. I would love to roll up into this bar with about 60 angry Black people and see how brave Mr. Lanzo would be then.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not in Georgia... I might be tempted to burn some stuff down.

What's up with music these days?

Why is music so bad? If you listen to the radio these days, all that is on is stupidity. From Mike Jones to Lil Jon, it's all bad.
A friend of mine from the south asked me if I was one of those people from the north who didn't like southern rappers because they "are making all the money."

First of all, I could care less if southern rappers are making money. Of course they're making money, people will invest in crappy music because it apparently sells. I mean think about it, music that promotes ignorance (particularly in hip hop) seems to be on the top of the charts. But is that because people like crap, or is it because crap is easier to listen to, because you don't have to think about it too hard. I mean, when you listen to Talib Kweli or Dead Prez or The Roots or Common, you actually have to think. When you listen to the Ying Yang Twins, there is not much cerebral activity necessary.

Secondly, even if bad music was being made in the north (which there is too - 50 Cent, for example), I wouldn't support it either. If the music is stupid, I'm gonna say its stupid, can you dig it?

There needs to be better music for people to listen to. Some of this stuff is almost like poison to the mind.

Now That the Bar Exam is Done...

... it's time to get back to the stuff that has been on my mind the last couple of months.

1) There has been a lot of talk about relieving Africa's debt. The G8 conference apparently came up with a plan to relieve much of the debt owed by the African continent. Unfortunately, the agreement is laced with incentives for "Western" countries, not Africa. But, I guess that is to be expected.

2) I never really liked Sandra Day O'Connor (first female on U.S. Supreme Court), but dangit, I kind of regret that she is leaving, given the replacement that "country-bumkin Bush" picked as her replacement.

3) On a lighter note, I heard about The Fugees performing on the BET Awards. The world would a better place if The Fugees got back together... Well, at least Lauryn Hill and Wyclef. Pras is just "collateral."

4) Did you here about the department store in France that didn't let Oprah Winfrey in the store? Oprah said that she had a "Crash" experience. "Crash" is a movie that came out a couple of months ago about race relations in Los Angeles (my man Don Cheadle starred in it.). Anyway, it's funny how you can be the richest woman in the world and still be reminded that your just a nappy-headed little Black girl from the south. I do think there are much worse things happening to Black people in this world that makes Oprah's incident of not being let into a store that was a few minutes from closing look... well... unimportant. I know, I know, hell would freeze over the day something that happened to Oprah would be unimportant....

5) Oh, I have to openly admit to all of you... I, too was happy that Michael Jackson was freed. And yes, I have no shame. Another thing to anger Oprah ;-)

6) What the hell is up with Mike Tyson? It seems his career is over, but he still has to fight because he's millions of dollars in debt. Pitiful.

7) I'm sure the people in London are not too excited about using the subway nowadays. It is crazy that something like that could happen twice within two weeks. And now they're doing "random" checks of people's bags in New York. This is a scary new world we're living in.

8) Condoleezza Rice has created an interesting dilemna for me. It has been rumored that she might run for president in one of the next two elections. Now, I never thought that I would be thinking about voting AGAINST a Black woman presidential candidate, but anyone who is that loyal to Bush and his kin, is not ideal for me. I do think if she were to win, the Republican Party would get a surprise - Condoleezza gettin' "street" on Karl Rove. ;-)

9) Why is McDonalds working so hard to be "hip"? They are spending millions of dollars to have new commercials geared towards the hip hop community, as well as having urban fashion designers design the new McDonalds uniforms. Is this just another attempt to make young Black and Latino people fat, diabetic, and hypertensive?

10) On a sad note, two people who I went to school with were murdered within a month of each other - Elton (Howard University School of Law) on June 3rd, and Jamal (Syracuse University) on July 2nd. The similarities are that they were both killed in Black neighborhoods for NO DAMN REASON! I'm tired, and not tired in the Bill Cosby way. I'm tired because we just don't seem to learn.
Bill Cosby (and others) walk and talk about how Black people need to do this and that; and Black parents need to do this and that. Don't you think that Elton and Jamal's parents tried to do everything for them to make sure they walked a straight path? Do you think that they raised their children to go to college, and in Elton's case go to law school, to get shot and killed? -No. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of bad parenting going on, but it's more than the parents, it's us. It's what we're doing and not doing in this world that allows our community to go to waste.
I've used this quote before, but it is even more relevant now -
"I laugh when I hear people say that it is the parents who are to blame. It’s not the parents, it’s the society, stupid (emphasis added). The society with its venal, backward, and predatory values. This is what must be changed.” - Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)

Just some stuff I had on my mind...

"I'm Back!"

Three more days till the bar exam...

And I couldn't be more excited...

And this is why we need to stop letting culture be up for sale.

I blame BET.

How I feel right now!

15 Days till the Bar Exam

The countdown till showtime is starting to begin and I'm partly excited and partly nervous. I don't know what awaits, but it seems like I am in that Bar exam brain cramp mode, which might be a good thing because now I feel like a person who is about to take one of the most important test in my life. It will be interesting, because so much is riding on this. I need to stay focused and patient, but I am also eager for this to get over with so I can resume a normal existence.
Anyway, I hope I'll survive the craziness over the next couple of weeks - "the time for trying to be cute has ended!"

So, they done freed Michael Jackson

So, this whole Michael Jackson thing has finally ended. All I really want is for MJ to leave the kids alone as far as the sleepovers. It just doesn't look right.

Secondly, I can't say that I wasn't a little happy about Mike being free. I think this case had too many holes in it to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt - the mother lied under oath before, the boy lied under oath before, and the prosecution just could not get anything that related to this case to work for them. Additionally, anytime a famous Black person is on trial there is always some interesting drama surrounding it. I think that folks are never as outraged by white people being acquitted, but Black folks not going to jail gets people up in arms.
This whole case was really freaky. I hope Michael just disappears for a couple of years and stays out of trouble. And then, hopefully, he can make good music again.

Who's Revolutionary?

"...I think we need to openly name the dangers of condoning the tendency on the part of a person, or people who relegate themselves the authority and exclusive right not to just define the revolution and its practice, but to determine who is a revolutionary and who isn't..."
- Micere Githae Mugo

Mexico's President and his remarks about Blacks

Mexico's Fox Defends Comment on Blacks
Source: Associated Press by TRACI CARL 05/16/2005

MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox refused to apologize Monday for saying Mexicans in the United States do the work that blacks won't - a comment widely viewed as acceptable in a country where blackface comedy is still considered funny and nicknames often reflect skin color.State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City had raised the issue with the Mexican government. "That's a very insensitive and inappropriate way to phrase this and we would hope that (the Mexicans) would clarify the remarks if they have a chance," Boucher said.Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said the remark has been misinterpreted as a racial slur. He said the president was speaking in defense of Mexican migrants as they come under attack by the new U.S. immigration measures that include a wall along the U.S.-California border.

Stung by the U.S. crackdown
on illegal immigrants, many Mexicans - including Mexico City's archbishop - said Fox was just stating a fact."The president was just telling the truth," said Celedonio Gonzalez, a 35-year-old carpenter who worked illegally in Dallas for six months in 2001. "Mexicans go to the United States because they have to. Blacks want to earn better wages, and the Mexican - because he is illegal - takes what they pay him."But the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, two black U.S. civil rights activists, said Fox should apologize. "His statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive," Jackson said.Lisa Catanzarite, a sociologist at Washington State University, disputed Fox's assertion. She said there is intense competition for lucrative working class jobs like construction and that employers usually prefer to hire immigrants who don't know their rights."What Vicente Fox called a willingness to work ... translates into extreme exploitability," she said.

Fox made the comment Friday during a public appearance in Puerto Vallarta, saying: "There's no doubt that Mexican men and women - full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work - are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."Responding to the criticism Monday, Aguilar read a statement expressing Fox's "enormous respect for minorities, whatever their racial, ethnic or religious origin.""The purpose (of the comment) was none other than to show the importance Mexican workers have today in the development and progress of U.S. society," Aguilar said, repeating a statement released Saturday.He refused to comment further, saying only that Fox would "intensify his diplomatic efforts to protect the integrity of the Mexicans living in that country."The dispute reflects Fox's growing frustration with U.S. immigration policy and deteriorating relations between the two nations.The Mexican government was expected to send a diplomatic letter to the United States on Monday protesting recent measures that include requiring states to verify that people who apply for a driver's license are in the country legally, making it harder for migrants to gain amnesty, and overriding environmental laws to build a barrier along the California border with Mexico.The measures have been widely criticized in Mexico, where residents increasingly see the United States as adopting anti-migrant policies.Even Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the archbishop of Mexico City, criticized the U.S. policy as ridiculous and defended Fox's comments, saying: "The declaration had nothing to do with racism. It is a reality in the United States that anyone can prove."Gilberto Rincon, president of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, said the statement was "unfortunate." But, speaking after releasing a report on racism in Mexico, he said it reflected outdated language more than a racist attitude.Fox has championed the rights of minorities and the disabled and has led a successful campaign to amend the constitution to make discrimination a crime. George Grayson, a Mexican expert with the College of William & Mary in Virginia, said the dispute will hurt Fox's campaign to liberalize immigration laws, adding that it shows "once again how tone deaf Mexico's president is with respect to the United States."

While Mexico has a few, isolated black communities, the population is dominated by descendants of the country's Spanish colonizers and its native Indians. Comments that would generally be considered openly racist in the United States generate little attention here. One afternoon television program regularly features a comedian in blackface chasing actresses in skimpy outfits, while an advertisement for a small, chocolate pastry called the "negrito" - the little black man - shows a white boy sprouting an afro as he eats the sweet. Many people hand out nicknames based on skin color. Victor Hugo Flores, a 30-year-old bond salesman, cringed when asked what he thought of Fox's comment, but said it isn't too different from popular sayings celebrating what Mexicans see as a strong work ethic among blacks. "It was bad, but it really isn't racist," he said. "Maybe the president shouldn't have said it. But here we say things like, 'He works like a black person,' and it's normal."

___ On the Net: http://envivo.presidencia.gob.mx/?NLangen ___
National Writer Erin Texeira contributed to this story.
==============================

Now, it is always interesting to me when I hear opinions on Black Americans from people from different countries. It always seems to contain some negative ideas that imply Blacks some how being on the bottom of the "racial" and ethnic ladder. The seeds of division that permeate through relations between African and Indigenous people worldwide are amazing to witness. The dissension sprouts so well, that it does not need the "fertilizer" of the Western European world to assist in its growth.

It is unfortunate that Vicente Fox said this, but it is not surprising. Images put out into the rest of the world of Black people are negative, and in many ways have been reinforced by Black people themselves. The fact that Fox thinks that Blacks are so low on the totem pole that only they would even come close to taking the jobs that illegal immigrants are many time forced to take, just shows how Black Americans are regarded in this world. It's terrible, but it is real. Let's get free and let's control and own our image!

a note on friendship

You know, friendship is a weird thing. It can be very delicate or very strong. I think for some people friendship is about calling each other on the phone everyday, going out with each other every weekend, and stuff like that. But really, isn't friendship more about being counted on when needed. Whether it's the big things or the little things, friends are there when you need them. There was a girl in college who told me that "You're always on time." I guess that's what being a friend is, it's like that damn Ja Rule song, "I'm not always there when you call, but I'm always on time."

Unfortunately, I think I have failed to be "on time" enough for one of my friends... Though she hasn't told me anything, I can feel her slowly drawing away. The funny thing is that when I really needed her I never called on her. Not because I didn't think she would help me, but because she was always my ace in the whole, and I never wanted to bother her with anything trivial because I knew if I needed anyone for a big favor, she would be the first person I knew would come through for me. It is actually kind of weird when you think about it. I probably value her friendship the most of any person I have met the last three years or so, yet I may lose her friendship so quickly.

I guess that is just another lesson in life...

"I Am Africa"

For every poem, or anything else I write, there is always a story behind it. This poem, "I Am Africa," comes from the different experiences and conversations I have had with people. Now, a lot of times when a person like myself is very self-affirming, as far as culturally and consciously, there is a tendency to romanticize the African continent. I would hope that this poem does not do that, but does justice to our cultural roots.

I Am Africa (I Am The Motherland)
I am...I am the mother...I am the mother of existence...Of Civilization.My children are kissed by the sun...Caressed by beauty.Yet many of my children fail to acknowledge me.

I am Africa

I am the motherland.I was the mother even when I was... Named something else... Before someone decided to call me Africa. My children are spread all over the world.And they crossed oceans before anyone else ever crossed them. Explored valleys before anyone else ever explored them.Created what no one else could ever create. But my children were never rewarded.Many of my children were ripped away from me. Locked, chained, sold, tortured, raped, and executed...For profit. Robbed, massacred, exploited, exiled, imprisoned, and disenfranchised... For the sake of "manifest destiny."Some of my children even helped in the terror.And they don`t remember...They can`t. My children have been conditioned to forget...Taught to vilify me. Many of those who have been reminded, don`t want to remember.But I am still The Mother.The Olmecs (Ulmecs), the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Incas, Teotihuacan, Yoruba, Ibo (Igbo), Bantu, Berber, Nilotes, "the Aborigines."(My children)Haiti to Mali, and Nigeria to New York, and Grenada to Ghana.From South Carolina to South Africa.From Cuba to the Congo.Mexico to Mozambique. California to Cameroon.Massachusetts to Madagascar. Libya to Louisiana.Brazil to Botswana. Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.Jamaica to Kenya. From D.C. to Guinea. Tunisia to Tennessee. Belize to Benin.Ecuador to Egypt... Yes, Egypt, too. I am the Mother, the Father, the Children. I am the roots of humanity.

I AM AFRICA!

2003 J.A.G. & Eastside Productions (c) Black/Latino/Aboriginal Thoughts Unlimited (c)

My Last Will and Testament for HUSL 2005

I leave my hope for the future of the law school to Angela A. (Class of 2007) – thank you Angie for reminding me of why I came to the HUSL – you are special! Always keep me in touch. I bequeath “my office” (the Rhatt) to Keitha J, Princess W (both Class of 2006) and Rosalyn R; please cherish it in all your days here.

To Yaida (What up, Yai?!), I leave a big pot of Jerk Chicken (smile) – You have been a true blessing this last year; you are an embodiment of grace. To my favorite Scorpio home girl, Shayla S, I bequeath those weird chairs in Classroom 3 that had us attached like Siamese twins during Sales – thanks for everything you’ve done for me – I’m sure we were twins in a previous life.
To Lisa, Tiffany, Monika, Jeremy, and Liz, I leave a gold plated replica of our table in the Rhatt during our first year… those were the days… I have a lot of love for y’all.
To Raina J (Class of 2006), I leave the gifts and virtues of PATIENCE and POSITIVITY, and I promise to cook dinner for you on your next birthday if you promise to add more food to your diet – you were a great adopted mentee; I luv ya, “Rains.”

To my closest buddies, Kayonia and Alexei, thanks for the great times filled with music, love and food – we were an interesting trio (the cynical Russian, the Afro-centric radical, and the choir director); love you both. Kayonia, you are the dearest person I have ever met; thanks for always looking out for me.

To Joel B, thanks for the laughs and insight, brother; take care of your beautiful daughter.

To Professor Dark, I leave you your very own video projector to do PowerPoint presentations so your lesson plans are never spoiled again; thanks for everything in helping me become a better student.

To Onjil, thanks for allowing me to be your confidant in all things – don’t turn the page without me being in the next chapter – you know what I mean.

To Section 3, much Love!
To the men and women of Class of 2006, 2007, and 2008, I leave LOVE – Love each other, love with each other, love for each other – we will not progress as a community if we are at each other’s throats.

- Jason Grant

Graduating from law school

So, I just graduated from law school and it's crazy that I am actually a juris doctorate. It feels kind of weird; it hasn't even really set in yet. I'm still getting used to not doing anything for a couple of days. My graduation was really lovely, and I'm glad that I will have such great memories from it all.
Now the key for me is the bar exam and finding what will be my passion for my career. It's crazy, I've been in school for the last 20 years of my life, and now I almost don't know what to do with myself. But "whatever it is, it's got to be funky."