Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 186

London-Based Sons of Kemet Uses Poetry to Go 'Black to the Future'

'British quartet Sons of Kemet blends jazz, Afrofuturism, electronic music, hip hop and Caribbean rhythms in their music and is composed of sax/clarinet player and composer Shabaka Hutchings, tuba player Theon Cross, and two drummers - Tom Skinner and Eddie Hick. Their latest album Black to the Future features rappers and spoken word artists who contribute poetry that doubles as urgent social commentary, and Sons of Kemet artfully brings the fiery hot dance-jazz party to bear. The band offers these remote performances from London.' -- Soundcheck

The Attack on the Capitol and the Shameful Right-Wing Republican Response by Ben Jealous

The Attack on the Capitol and the Shameful Right-Wing Republican Response

by Ben Jealous | @BenJealous | NewBlackMan (in Exile)

 

The Jan. 6 attack on Congress and the U.S. Capitol was an assault on our democracy. So is the effort by congressional Republicans and their right-wing media allies to keep Americans from learning the truth about the insurrection. They are desperate to protect the people responsible for that deadly attack. We can’t let them.

 

The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol held its first hearing on July 27. It was hard to watch, but important for Americans to witness.

 

Four officers testified, two from the Capitol Police and two from the Washington, D.C. police department. They described the physical attacks they endured and the moments in which they feared for their lives. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn described being surrounded by an angry mob taunting him with the n-word, something he said he had never been called while protecting the Capitol.

 

The power of the first hearing, and the impact of the officers’ stories, testified to the importance of the select committee created by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after Republican congressional leaders refused to join in creating a bipartisan commission to investigate the insurrection. The leader of the House Republicans, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, even tried to tank the select committee by appointing people who were intent on disrupting its work.

 

Thank goodness Speaker Pelosi wasn’t going to let that happen. When she refused to play McCarthy’s game, he tried to stop any Republicans from joining the panel.

 

To their credit, two conservative Republicans, Reps. Lynn Cheney of Wisconsin, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, decided to put country over party. They have refused to be bullied by former President Donald Trump into promoting his lies about the election. They have refused to be intimidated by threats from McCarthy and other Republicans who are downplaying the fact that a violent mob incited by Trump tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

 

I was disgusted to see right-wing activists and media figures like Charlie Kirk and Laura Ingraham mocking and belittling the police officers who were traumatized by the attack. And I am even more disgusted by the Members of Congress who have betrayed and abandoned the officers who put their lives on the line to protect them. Some Republican members of Congress dismissed the mob that hung a noose and hunted members of Congress as “tourists.” Some Republican members of Congress are calling insurrectionists “political prisoners.”

 

Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonnell testified that such distortions are deeply demoralizing. I believe it is possible that kind of betrayal may have contributed to the suicides of four officers who were defending the Capitol that day.

 

All the lies that Trump and his team can spew could not stand up to the actual experience of those officers. And that was just the beginning. There are a lot of dark corners that need some light thrown on them.

 

We need to learn more about what Trump was doing on Jan. 6. We need to know which members of Congress he talked to and what he said. We need to know which members of Congress or congressional staff might have helped insurrectionists plan and carry out the attack.

 

We need a fuller understanding of how all the different groups promoting Trump’s stolen election lies fueled the rage of his supporters and built the momentum behind the violent mob that swarmed the Capitol.

 

We also need to get a better handle on some bigger picture questions, like problems of racism and authoritarianism in law enforcement. At least 17 law enforcement officers that we know about took part in the attack on the Capitol. The military needs to get a handle on the existence of white supremacy and other extremist ideologies in the ranks.

 

We cannot forget just how deadly and dangerous the insurrection was—and is. Former President Trump continues to rile his supporters with the big lie that he won the election and had it stolen from him. Right-wing politicians, media personalities, and pastors spread those lies. Some still say Biden will be removed and Trump returned to power. Some talk openly of civil war.

 

This is all discouraging. But remember this. As loud, and mean, and violent as Trump’s supporters can be, they are still a minority. They may have the power to intimidate cowardly Republican officials. But they cannot prevent us from learning the truth about Jan. 6.

 

***

 

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive. In 2008, he was chosen as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and he has taught at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.

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Icon: Music Through the Lens | Negotiating with Snoop Dogg

'In this clip from the series Icon: Music Through the Lens, a photographer must negotiate with Snoop Dogg to save the shoot.'

Brief But Spectacular: June Grant

'Born and raised in Jamaica, June Grant knew that architecture was her calling from the young age of five. Today, she is the founder and design principal at blink!LAB, an environmentally conscious and social justice-oriented design studio in Oakland. She gives her Brief But Spectacular take on being an architect.'

One Hundred: The Ed Gordon Podcast with Melissa Haizlip, Filmmaker

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Loretta J. Ross: Don't Call People Out — Call Them In

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Why I Rented a Haunted Apartment in New York City

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“When you stop to admire what you’ve accomplished, you stop doing it. And that’s what these guys never did.” -- Joe Torre

Femi And Made Kuti Present A Father-Son Double Album, 'Legacy +'

'If a big part of having a family is the ability to pass on the knowledge and tradition you've learned over your life, then our guests, Femi and Made Kuti, are making the most of life. They represent the second and third generations of Afrobeat, started by Femi's father — and Made's Grandfather — Fela Kuti. For years, Femi played in his father's legendary band, Egypt 80, before taking the reins after his dad died in 1997 at the age of 58. Now, Femi offers the spotlight to his son, Made, who also played with his dad before stepping into his solo career. Both Femi and Made have new records – presented together as the double album, Legacy +. World Cafe Words and Music from WXPNsat down with father and son to speak about the pride and joy of sharing releases and their appreciation of each other's craft.'

Just the Right Book with Roxanne Coady : Bishop Michael B. Curry on Hopeful Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement

'In this episode of Just the Right Book with Roxanne Coady, Bishop Michael B. Curry joins Roxanne to discuss his new book, Love Is the Way: Holding On to Hope in Troubled Times.'