Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 890

Blank on Blank: Maurice Sendak on Being a Kid

Blank on Blank

"I still think the same way I thought as a child. I still worry. I'm still frightened... Nothing changes." -- Maurice Sendak
Interview by Andrew Romano and Ramin Seetodeh2009. Sendak's home in ConnecticutRead the Newsweek articlehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek...
Executive Producer: David GerlachAnimator: Patrick Smith

As Judge Weighs Legality of NYPD's Stop and Frisk, Justice Dept. Calls for Court-Appointed Monitor

Democracy Now
The Obama administration is backing calls for a court-appointed monitor to oversee New York City's controversial Stop & Frisk policing program. In a brief filed Wednesday night, the Justice Department endorsed the appointment of a monitor in the event "Stop & Frisk" is deemed to be unlawful. A New York judge is set to decide on a lawsuit that says "Stop and Frisk" is unconstitutional and unfairly targets people of color. Nearly 90 percent of people stopped by police in 2011 were black and Latino, and nine out of 10 were neither arrested nor ticketed. We speak with Sunita Patel, staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel on the Stop & Frisk federal class action lawsuit.

They Play the Game Right: The San Antonio Spurs & the Myth of International Exceptionalism by David J. Leonard

Kawahi Leonard, Gary Neal, Stephen Jackson & Danny Green They Play the Game Right: The San Antonio Spurs & the Myth of International Exceptionalism by David J. Leonard | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
The NBA media is in full press mode regarding the greatness of its “international imports” (minus: Yi Ji Lian; Rodrigue Beaubois; Nikoloz Tskitishvili; Fran Vazquez; Darko Milicic) with the success of the San Antonio Spurs.  This narrative of course erases the contributions of Danny Green, Gary Neal, and Kawahi Leonard, who in many ways have been the catalyst for the Spurs resurgence.  The “old 3” have, especially Duncan and Ginoboli, are riding the coattails of Leonard and Green.
Additionally, the simplistic celebration of all things is dehistoricized, decontextualized, and just disrespectful.   Ignoring athleticism, background, and the institutions that produced the NBA’s international stars, the narrative continues to focus on culture and values.
The crème to crème of “international exceptionalism” is this recent piece on ESPN.com.  Seth Wickersham, in “Made not in America,” writes:
Most of the foreign players not only have more experience playing basketball but more experience playing an unselfish style, with lots of passing and motion and screens, as messy as it is pure. As Spurs director of basketball operations Sean Marks, a New Zealander who played for San Antonio for two seasons, puts it, "The ball doesn't stick."
Of course, Pop's coaching style, as prescient as it is curmudgeonly, isn't for everyone…The traits he scouts for – players with "character," who've "gotten over themselves, who understand team play, who can cheer for a teammate," who "don't make excuses" – hold true regardless of nationality. The NBA draft, more than the draft in any other sport, is based on potential. With only two rounds, GMs can't miss, and when Pop looks at American talent he sees many players who "have been coddled since eighth, ninth, 10th grade by various factions or groups of people. But the foreign kids don't live with that. So they don't feel entitled," he says…
And so it's no surprise that Pop would rather teach un-entitled foreign players to be selfless than try to teach entitled domestic players to suppress their egos. The international kids, he says, "have less. They appreciate things more. And they're very coachable."
First off, it is amazing how the experiences of Serge Ibaka, who was born in Congo, Pau Gasol, the son of a doctor and nurse administrator from Barcelona, and Patty Mills, an Australian Aborigine, are all defined by the same culture and values.  It is bad enough that the American born player (African American??) is homogenized into a single and flattened stereotype (trash talking, selfish and un-coachable) but the rest of the world’s ballers is similarly reduced to a set of shared traits.  Sure Wickersham notes, “just as every AAU player isn't selfish, every foreign player isn't egoless;” fair enough but the argument seem to be in the idea of exceptions and a generalized experience of the selfless hardworking international baller. 
Secondly, the piece and the overall discourse imagines the international players as growing up in a bubble as if they weren’t influenced by Jordan’s tongue waging, the Fab-5’s swagger, Allan Iverson’s brash game, or Kobe’s flair for the dramatic.  All one has to do is learn the histories of Omri Caspi, Jeremey Lin’s father, or countless other players to realize that this isolationist story is historically bankrupt. “Not made in America” makes little sense given the transnational realities of the NBA.
Thirdly, the piece seemingly erases the very context that produces players from various locations.  Whether looking at the available resources (coaches, for example), or the number of basketball hoops in a given community and how that might impact players ability to practice shooting or simply play, context matters.  To talk about style of players or the cultural, aesthetics, of practices found on the court necessities understanding of unique local histories. 
Finally and most importantly, while the article mentions that international players arrive in the NBA with more experience, it erases the specifics and the context for this reality. Lets review some of NBA’s great international imports, which are facts that are often erased as the media focuses on the hardwork, fundamentals, and bootstraps stories of the NBA’s international players:
Dirk Nowitski is the son of a professional basketball playing mother and an accomplished handball player father.  He joined DJK Würzburg, a renowned basketball club in Germany, at the age of 15.  Dedicating himself to basketball, Dirk was a quasi professional until he joined the NBA ranks in 1998.
The son of two professional basketball players, Serge Ibaka has been playing semit-professionally or professionally most of his life.  By the age of 16 he was already playing for Avenir du Rail.  By 18, he was onto his next professional team in Spain.
Ricky Rubio was the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League; at the ripe age of 14 he was already a professional.
Tony Parker, the child of a former a professional basketball player, also started early.  He played in France’s amateur leagues at the age of 15, turning professional at the age of 17
Omri Caspi started playing for the junior team of Maccabi Tel Aviv youth at 13.  By 17, he was already playing for the professional squad
Both of Yao Ming’s parents were former professional basketball players.  Yao joined the Shanghai Sharks junior team within the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) at the age of 13.  As a member of this squad, he practiced an average of 10 hours per day.
For those who want to celebrate the international baller, who rhetorically drool about “their way,” who heap praise on the fundamentals and shooting ability, I simply ask: are you ready to eliminate the NBA age limit?  If you like the European way or the international way, let players turn pro at 18, or 16 or 14?  Are you ready for that?  It seems that the very same people and institutions celebrating the right way of the Spurs are the same people who praised David Stern for the age debate.   As I wrote in After Artest Likewise, the ways of mediating and controlling these dangerous bodies find similar logic within both the world of sports and the criminal justice system.  The age restriction is the NBA’s version of various juvenile crime initiatives, working to constrain and control those who have secured a piece of the American Dream through basketball; more importantly, it utilizes the same racist logic that identifies black bodies as threats to white hegemony and pleasure, conceiving of rules, state power, and surveillance as proper and necessary methods to save both the game and community.  To protect the streets, thus, necessitates more police and prisons, while protecting the NBA mandates increased rules and regulations of bodies, whether by minimizing trash talking; establishing regulations regarding shoe and sock color, headwear, and lengths of shorts; airbrushing away player tattoos; or, in the end, restricting who can and cannot enter the league
Just as the logics of global capitalism seem okay with youth in India and China confined to sweatshops, producing our iPods and soccer balls, the NBA sports machine seems joyful over 14 years playing pro basketball or 12 years old fighting for a spot in MLB outside the US borders.  Inside, the future NBA star needs “discipline” and school.  Age is just a number, a number that means something different depending on your body and the visible dollars signs. 
***

David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. He has written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing in both popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy of popular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, and popular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextual analysis.  Leonard’s latest books include After Artest: Race and the Assault on Blackness  (SUNY Press) and African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings (Praeger Press) co-edited with Lisa Guerrero.

NFL Players Hamza and Husain Abdullah Talk Islam, Fame & Football

The Stream | Al Jazeera English
We speak with Muslim NFL players, the Abdullah brothers, and ask them how their faith has impacted their professional careers.

Medgar Evers' Murder, 50 Years Later: Widow Myrlie Evers-Williams Remembers "A Man for All Time"

Democracy Now
Fifty years ago today — June 12th, 1963 — 37-year-old civil rights organizer Medgar Evers was assassinated in the driveway outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi. In the early 1960s Evers served as the first NAACP Field Secretary for Mississippi, where he worked to end segregation, fought for voter rights, struggled to increase black voter registration, led business boycotts, and brought attention to murders and lynchings. We hear from Edgers' widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, on how she wants her husband to be remembered "a man for all time, one who was totally dedicated to freedom for everyone — and was willing to pay a price."

TimesTalks: The Salman Rushdie Interview

TimesTalks
Salman Rushdie, internationally acclaimed author, talks with New York Times reporter and author Patricia Cohen -- www.timestalks.com. Hear Salman Rushdie discuss his views on issues of moral courage, democracy and freedom of expression. Salman Rushdie also shares his experiences and thoughts and the responses of writers throughout the world to questions posed at the Invisible Symposium project of the PEN World Voices Festival.

From Asia To Africa, The King of Pop Emerges As A Global Platform For Philanthropy and Social Change

From Asia To Africa, The King of Pop Emerges As A Global Platform For Philanthropy and Social Change by Dr. S. J. Martin | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Amid the developments of the ongoing Jackson vs. AEG trial, claims about Michael Jackson's posthumous earning power have been in the news lately. Recently, Cirque du Soleil premiered "Michael Jackson One" in Las Vegas, a co-creation with Jackson's estate. Meanwhile, Cirque's record-breaking touring show "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour" has earned an estimated $300 million since it opened in 2011. As the fourth anniversary of his death nears, Jackson undoubtedly remains a money-making machine.
Yet the King of Pop gave the world more than entertainment and escapism: he also offered it charity and civic engagement.
The "King of Hearts" is how a twenty-something Chinese fan from Guangzhou province described the King of Pop to me.
A noted humanitarian, Jackson was hailed in the Guinness World Records for the most charitable contributions for a pop star (thirty-nine). He recorded charity singles such as "We are the World" and donated proceeds from multiple world tours to charities.
The deceased Jackson has in fact emerged as a global platform for philanthropy.
Spurred by Jackson's premature death at age fifty, fans from Asia to Africa make donations in his name and partner up with non-profits and charities to help complete Jackson's goals to raise awareness about the environment and provide charity for the impoverished and sick.
I witnessed firsthand Jackson's ability to inspire when I attended a Jackson fan tribute in Guangzhou, China, in 2011. During the unveiling of a sculpture of the King of Pop, fans took up a collection for UNICEF. Surprisingly, I heard from numerous Chinese fans that they preferred to watch footage of Jackson's philanthropy – visiting hospitals and distributing gifts to burn victims and cancer-ridden patients while on his world tours – even more than his performances.
Fans in Beijing took Jackson's messages about the environment to the streets. On the first anniversary of Jackson's death, they organized a "green bike march" in the highly polluted city to raise awareness about toxins and encourage the reduction of car emissions. Wearing Jackson T-shirts and sequined gloves, fans biked around the city blasting Jackson's music from boomboxes and carried signs such as the one that proclaimed in Chinese and English, "Protecting the environment starts with yourself – I Heart MJ".
Chinese fans continue to follow Jackson's example, raising money for children with diseases. Some fans note that as a result of their exposure to Jackson's messages about the environment and charity in his lyrics and music videos, they are more aware of energy conservation, recycling, and wildlife preservation.
Then there's the American organization A Million Trees for Michael, a non-profit that partners with American Forests. AMTFM plants trees around the world in honor of Jackson. Their website states, "We're committed to carrying on with Michael's message...Our hope is to have 'Michael Jackson Memorial Forests' in as many countries as possible, on every continent, as Michael was so beloved all over the world."
Founder Trisha Franklin claims she was moved by Jackson's lyrics and visuals to save the environment in his posthumous concert film "This Is It", and wanted to put his plea into action. As of June 2013, AMTFM has planted 26,922 trees in Michael Jackson's name with contributions from the international fan community.
Another project to which Jackson fans contribute is the construction of an orphanage in Liberia, Africa, called "Everland". Initiated in 2011, this project helps children from Liberia and the Ivory Coast who are displaced and orphaned from civil war and the effects of disease. Everland is organized by Michael Jackson's Legacy, an Anglo-American charitable organization. MJL was founded by Dee, who was orphaned as a child and who, according to the site, "credits Michael for getting her through a traumatic childhood and later, for instilling in her a commitment and dedication to helping those less fortunate."   As of June 2013, fans from thirty-one countries have donated $49,471 to Everland.
Apparently, the realm of entertainment provides an alternate route to civic engagement, as USC's Henry Jenkins has pointed out. Professor Jenkins studies the Harry Potter Alliance, a non-profit organization that uses themes from the Potter franchise to engage youth and encourage real-world social justice. The HPA's site claims to "empower our members to act like the heroes that they love by acting for a better world." The HPA mobilizes fans to raise money for disaster relief in Haiti, donate books for literacy projects, and raise funds for civilians in Darfur.
To be sure, philanthropy cannot fully address structural issues of development and inequality. Yet as concerned citizens we want young people to become involved in caring for the planet and its peoples. My students are interested in the HPA's work and intrigued by the possibilities of fan philanthropy. Fan philanthropy, in that case, can be a powerful tool for civic engagement and social change.
***

Dr. S.J. Martin is an anthropologist and Fulbright Scholar who publishes on media, culture and globalization in Hong Kong, China, and Hollywood. Martin teaches anthropology at Pomona College.

Digital Blackwater: How the NSA Gives Private Contractors Control of the Surveillance State

Democracy Now
As the Justice Department prepares to file charges against Booz Allen Hamilton employee Edward Snowden for leaking classified documents about the National Security Agency, the role of private intelligence firms has entered the national spotlight. Despite being on the job as a contract worker inside the NSA's Hawaii office for less than three months, Snowden claimed he had power to spy on almost anyone in the country. "I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge, to even the president, if I had a personal email," Snowden told the Guardian newspaper. Over the past decade, the U.S. intelligence community has relied increasingly on the technical expertise of private firms such as Booz Allen, SAIC, the Boeing subsidiary Narus and Northrop Grumman. About 70 percent of the national intelligence budget is now spent on the private sector. Former NSA director Michael V. Hayden has described these firms as a quote "Digital Blackwater." We speak to Tim Shorrock, author of the book "Spies For Hire: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence."

Michelle Alexander @ The University of Chicago: "Are All Americans Criminals Because of the Way We Treat Black Men in America?"

The George E. Kent Lecture--University of Chicago


Michelle Alexander, highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, Associate Professor of Law at Ohio State University, and author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, delivers the 30th Annual George E. Kent Lecture, in honor of the late George E. Kent, who was one of the earliest tenured African American professors at the University of Chicago.
The Annual George E. Kent Lecture is organized and sponsored by the Organization of Black Students, the Black Student Law Association, and the Students for a Free Society.
* h/t The Black Star Project

Why the 'Moral Monday' Protest Got Started: MHP interview with Rev. William Barber

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