Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 595

TateShots: Painter + Photographer Barkley L. Hendricks Talks 'Family Jules: NNN (No Naked Niggahs)'

'Barkley L. Hendricks is an American painter and photographer best known for his realist and post-modern portraits of people living in urban areas, beginning in the 1960s and 70s and continuing to the present. Family Jules: NNN (No Naked Niggahs) (1974) – currently on display in Tate Modern – is one of four paintings that Hendricks made featuring a former student of his at Yale University, George Jules Taylor. By positioning a naked black male figure in the place of the traditional female ‘odalisque', Hendricks adopted an extremely radical stance. As his challenging subtitle underlines, the painting confronts white fears and sexual stereotypes surrounding the black male. Furthermore, in Family Jules, Hendricks not only confronted tendencies to Africanise or idealise the black body, but also tackled the reluctance of black artists to represent naked subjects long associated with exploitative images.' -- +Tate 

BK Live: 25th Anniversary of the Crown Heights Riots

'Twenty-five years ago next month, Crown Heights became a national story -- the site of clashes between Blacks and Jews touched off by the death of a young boy and resulting in the death of a young man. Now, Crown Heights is the scene for new tension between longtime residents and property owners over the gentrification of the area. Joining BK Live to talk about the riots, their aftermath and today's reality in Crown Heights are Richard Greene, Founder and CEO of the Crown Heights Youth Collective, Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone from the Chabad-Lubavitch organization, and Maura Ewing, a freelance journalist.' -- +BRIC TV  

Jasmine Richard: Why I Fight For Black Lives

'The first black woman convicted of what was formerly called "felony lynching," Jasmine Richards, speaks about personal loss and how that's inspired her to fight for black lives.' -- +AJ+  
 

Michael Eric Dyson + Eddie Glaude on Race + Hillary Clinton + Legacy of Obama's Presidency

'As President Obama seeks to pass the torch to his secretary of state,  Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson debate the candidacy of Hillary Clinton and the legacy of President Obama. Glaude’s most recent book is Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul; Dyson is the author of The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America.' -- +Democracy Now!  

One Day Chickens May Come Home to Roost: Freddie Gray and Black Anger by Law Ware

One Day Chickens May Come Home to Roost: Freddie Gray and Black Angerby Lawrence Ware | @Law_Ware | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
In April of 2015, Freddie Gray went to be with the ancestors after he mysteriously suffered a neck injury while in police custody. Of the six officers charged in his death, three had already been acquitted. Recently, Baltimore prosecutors announced that they were dropping charges against the remaining officers facing trial. This announcement prompted the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police President Gene Ryan to say, “justice has been done. "
Seeing black men and women die over and over again inspires anger. Seeing how those few who are actually charged with a crime are either acquitted or have charges dropped inspires nihilism.
Building upon the existential notion of nihilism, Cornel West, argues that African Americans struggle with black nihilism — that is, the sense of worthlessness many Black folks experience living under the weight of white supremacy. He says this nihilism is not to be considered only an intellectual concept, but “the lived experience of coping with a life of horrifying meaningless, hopelessness, and (most important) lovelessness.”
In fact, West says, “the major enemy of Black survival in America has been and is neither oppression nor exploitation but rather the nihilistic threat -- that is, loss of hope and absence of meaning. For as long as hope remains and meaning is preserved, the possibility of overcoming oppression stays alive. The self-fulfilling prophecy of the nihilistic threat is that without hope there can be no future, that without meaning there can be no struggle.”
George Zimmerman was found not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Darren Wilson was not charged in the killing of Michael Brown. Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback were not indicted in the death of Tamir Rice. Dante Severin was cleared of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of Rekia Boyd. Over and over again police officers that kill black men and women are either not being charged or  found not guilty of charges connected to their actions, and nihilism is beginning to take root. This development is dangerous for all involved.
In his “The Other America” speech given at Stanford University, MLK turned his attention to the potential for violence in the black community as an expression of the kind of nihilism that Cornel West articulated. King said,
…I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity.
In light of the fact that we consistently see black men and women killed at the hands of the police without justice being achieved for the families of the victim, it is not surprising that some are taking up weapons and trying to find justice with a gun or by engaging in other problematic behaviors.
I am by no means condoning violence as a response to these acquittals, but I think it is important to understand that the fact that black communities are policed differently than white communities and that the standards for charging and convicting police officers for killing civilians are impossibly high is creating an atmosphere in this country where violence will almost certainly continue.
Malcolm X warned that when violence is meted out, chickens would come home to roost. James Baldwin prophetically said that “people who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.” When killing black life gets you paid administrative leave, a support group to raise money to fund your expenses, sympathy on Fox News, and acquittals, hopelessness because of nihilism in the black community will almost certainly lead to unrest and, in extreme cases, violence.
No, Gene Ryan, “justice has not been done.” But then again, history teaches us that killing black people and walking free is the American way.
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Lawrence Ware is an Oklahoma State University Division of Institutional Diversity fellow. He teaches in OSU’s philosophy department and is the diversity coordinator for its Ethics Center. A frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissent magazine, he is also a contributing editor of NewBlackMan (in Exile) and the Democratic Left. He has been a commentator on race and politics for HuffPost Live, NPR’s Talk of the Nation and PRI’s Flashpoint. Follow him on Twitter.

Who Is Delrawn Small? Why Some Police Shootings Get Little Media Attention

'Some police shooting victims like Alton Sterling and Philando Castile become national symbols. Their faces are splashed across the media, and their names become hashtags. So why are others forgotten?'
 

Glen Ford on Black Politicians + White Opinion + Other Roadblocks on the March to Racial Justice

'Black Agenda Report's Glen Ford examines new challenges to the Black Lives Matter movement -- from the gun control misdirection of the Black political class, to the corporate media's calls for the movement to stand down in the days after the killing of five police officers in Dallas -- and explains why the movement must ignore outside forces and march towards the next step for racial justice -- Black community control of the police occupying their neighborhoods. Ford posted the article "Rulers Shocked by Dallas Attack: Black Folks Keep on Stepping" at Black Agenda Report.' -- This is Hell! Radio

 

Black Panther Comic Re-Imagines White Supremacy + Gender + the Role of the Public Intellectual

Black Panther Comic Re-Imagines White Supremacy + Gender + the Role of the Public Intellectualby Lawrence Ware | @Law_Ware | NewBlackMan (in Exile)White
I was a black nerd when being a black nerd wasn’t cool. Off the heels of Captain America: Civil War and folks like Son of Baldwin making comic books cool, everyone wants to call themselves a blerd.
Nah.
I have a deep and abiding resentment toward those who’ve watched a few Marvel Cinematic Universe films and think they know something about comic books.  If you don’t know what feels like to go into a bookstore and deal with the smug look of the cashier because you purchased a graphic novel or if you don’t have a deep and abiding appreciation for Green Lantern because of John Stewart, then I ain’t trying to hear you call yourself a blerd just because you’re excited about the new Black Panther movie.
Yet, whether you are a long time blerd or an activist involved in the Movement for Black Lives—there is a comic you need to have on your bookshelf.
In April of 2016, Marvel Comics began publishing a comic written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between The World and Me and correspondent for The Atlantic. They asked him to pen a new series of Black Panther comics, bringing to bear upon them his unique vision of race. What Coates is doing with this narrative is utterly brilliant, and you need to stop what you’re doing and catch up on this series for two for two reasons.
A Country Without White Supremacy
T’Challa is the king of Wakanda, a country in Africa. Wakanda is a land that is largely untouched by white supremacy, because it has a seemingly endless resources of vibranium—a metal that is both highly coveted and virtually indestructible. It is the metal out of which Captain America’s shield is made, and it provides the armor for Black Panther’s suit. Because of this resource, Wakanda is the most technologically advanced country in the world and always has the upper hand when entering trade agreements with other countries.
This allows for Coates to imagine a country that is largely untouched by white supremacy and colonialism. Wakanda is a country that is unapologetically African in custom; yet, this is presented matter-of-factly instead of with nostalgia or exoticism. This country is unbossed and unbought, and it gives Coates an opportunity to imagine a people who are untouched by the white gaze and unexploited by the violence of imperialism. Afro-centrism is more than just fighting against white supremacy (for that fight still centers the exploitation even as it fights). It is envisioning a life for black a person that does not even consider a white conceptual lens. This is one of the most Afrocentric pieces of fiction I’ve read precisely because whiteness does not factor into the narrative at all.
Redefining Gender Roles
While the world is largely without white supremacy, there are still undercurrents of gendered tensions. There is still the understanding of a man’s role versus a woman’s role; however, the women in Wakanda are not marginalized and, honestly, are among the most complex, fully realized characters in the comic. Instead of the strongest soldiers being men, as is usually the case in these kinds of stories, it is women who are the country’s strongest fighters. The Dora Milaje are the Black Panther’s personal bodyguards and the country’s most dedicated warriors.
A central tension in the narrative involves two women and lovers, formerly of the Dora Milaje, called the Midnight Angels. They have deep and legitimate political misgivings about the way the country is run, and their decision to push back against T’Challa’s decisions as monarch is both noble and troubling. There is also the mysterious Zenzi, the primary antagonist, who somehow has the ability to unleash latent emotion in whomever she chooses.
Pitting T’Challa against women in the narrative upends the traditional way these stories are told. Usually, if a woman is a protagonist, she will somehow end up romantically involved with the hero. Coates has made it clear that that will most likely not happen in here. The gender dynamics of the narrative are fascinating, and worth more than the price of the comic.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is redefining what it means to be a public intellectual. Last summer he published a memoir that placed him a category alongside the likes of James Baldwin and Richard Wright in the minds of many. This summer he deviated away from what most intellectuals would do and decided to engage a niche community by bringing his unique perspective on race and gender to the world of comics.
The new Black Panther series is the comic you’ve always wanted but never knew you needed.
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Lawrence Ware is an Oklahoma State University Division of Institutional Diversity fellow. He teaches in OSU’s philosophy department and is the diversity coordinator for its Ethics Center. A frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissent magazine, he is also a contributing editor of NewBlackMan (in Exile) and the Democratic Left. He has been a commentator on race and politics for HuffPost Live, NPR’s Talk of the Nation and PRI’s Flashpoint. Follow him on Twitter.

Educators Inspired by #BlackLivesMatters to Address Racial Disparities in School Suspension Rates

Educators Inspired by #BlackLivesMatters to Address Racial Disparities in School Suspension Ratesby Bianca Anderson + Rahel Tekola + Priscilla Collins-Parhms | The Op-Ed Project |  special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
In what has been one of the most formidably tense moments in our history of American policing and the tragedies that have followed, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade took the 2016 ESPYS stage recently to echo a call to action. “It’s time to look in the mirror and ask ourselves what are we doing to make change and renounce all violence?” James said.
Unequivocally, in times like this we look to people of such stature to pioneer change in our communities, to use their resources to plainly – put their money where their mouth is and alleviate the systemic issues communities face.  James has already done so by investing $41.8 million to send 1,100 kids to a four-year university. But the real the question is, what can the rest us do to help educate our students of color and deconstruct school-prison models that often treat children like criminals? How can we help for students avoid to specter of police brutality?  
Racial disparities are not only experienced in the criminal justice system where African-Americans comprise 13 percent of the population but 40 percent of the prison population. Recent studies show disheartening differences in school discipline policies as well. African American preschoolers are 3.6 times more likely to be suspended than their white counterparts. This disproportionate trend in suspension rates continues all throughout a child's educational journey. Schools that have high populations of African-American and Latino students are more likely to have higher teacher turnover rand police on campus.
A report published by the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Civil Rights Remedies finding that black and disabled students are disproportionately more likely to be suspended than their white and non-disabled charter-school peers wasn’t new to educators who cross the schoolhouse doors daily. In fact, Dallas charter school principals recognized this issue within our network of public charters and have been working with teachers, parents and students on other alternatives to suspensions.  
Much of this data is discouraging, but there is a valuable lesson that we can learn from those who are using their power and platform to advocate for social change. According to the Journal of Child Development, the technique of racial socialization, or “teaching kids about their culture and involving them in activities that promote racial pride and connection- helps to offset the discrimination and racial prejudices children face by the outside world.”
Many school leaders have rightfully been concerned about the numbers of all types of students being suspended or expelled for their behavior, and specifically the over-representation of some minority groups. As school leaders, it is up to us to examine school’s discipline policies to make them both more effective and less reliant on traditional exclusionary consequences that we have used in past. Changes to our policy may also help schools to better serve students with emotional/behavioral disorders.  
To start, Reece L. Peterson, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln education professor, gives school administrators two very specific questions to ask about their discipline policy “What do we use in place of exclusionary consequences in our discipline policies?” and “What are some disciplinary consequences which might be more effective?” along with some alternatives to suspension.
Changing discipline policies for an entire school, let alone an entire school systems, is not an easy feat even though it is doable and know it is necessary since we serve a majority of black and brown students. It is requiring us to make alternative options work as disciplinary consequences as we struggle with human and capital resources. I know from previous research and 19 years of school administration experience that principals have to develop school climates that are supportive of positive behavior.
It will take the daily efforts of all staff to build positive interactions with students and families, especially those students who have developed mistrust of school authorities due to interactions from previous behavior issues and those families who have not traditionally felt welcomed on our campuses. Appropriate and engaging instruction, communicating high expectations, and ongoing close supervision may prevent behavior problems from growing to crisis proportions and requiring disciplinary consequences.
What should be done with serious offenders or the chronic offenders who seem to violate school norms and expectations almost daily? In fact, there will continue to be serious and chronic offenders to school norms and expectations. For more serious violations of conduct codes, Teach Safe Schools recommends schools institute learning-based consequences. In general, these take the form of in-school suspension programs or alternative site suspension programs. Some advantages include: The student remains in a supervised setting thus eliminating the possibility for community misbehavior or personal injury; academic involvement is maintained; counseling for skills development can occur; and the focus is on students’ behavior not the consequence.
Like LeBron James and the other pro athletes who have spoken out against gun violence, we, too, can choose to participate in courageous conversations that promote progress and powerful community-level solutions.
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Committed educators Bianca Anderson, Rahel Tekola and Priscilla Collins-Parhms, are collaborating members of Dallas Public Voices.

Panel: Race Relations + Moral Leadership + the Black Lives Matter Movement

'Rev. Raphael Warnock, Oulèye Ndoye Warnock, Bill Moyers and Amb. Andrew Young discuss race relations and Black Lives Matter in current American society, just days after the news of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, and the Dallas Police shootings.' -- +Chautauqua Institution