A place for Huey

So a couple of things driving this post: *I have been listening to Kendrick Lamar's album good kid maad city non-stop this past week and in it, he makes a lot of references to the female derriere. For this reason, I have been thinking non-stop about hip-hop's fascination with "the ass"; even "conscious" rappers can't excape this fate. *I am also reading Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks and I have been thinking about how her work applies to some of the subjects/issues I think about.  *Yesterday, I watched the episode of Behind the Music on Nelly in which he addresses the controversial card ass swipe in his Tip Drill video. Personally, one male friend of mine insists on calling me Venus Hottentot as a compliment. Around the Bronx and generally in the city, I have been called Black Nikki, Serena Williams, among other things. So I have decided to use this post to kind of work through some of the ways I think about the physical "asset...

I wonder what you are thinking as your hands brush mine as we hold the rail As you nod your head in slumber Your eyes tainted crimson Where will you be in 10 years Where would life have taken you... As you hurriedly yet imperturbably eat your lunch Unlock your phone to the cover picture of you kissing your girlfriend Holding frozen yogurt you hope won't melt before you get to her place As you furiously finish your homework Playing your clarinet and asking for change Your shades defiantly covering your eyes in tunnels we ride Pushing a two seat stroller with three other kids vying for your attention While you try to talk to your man Reading Things Fall Apart or Sex, Drugs, and Economics   I wonder what your compromises and contradictions have been so far in life As I reflect on mine.

Who is afraid of post blackness? Dark faces absorbing light Reflecting entity and forever Who is afraid of post blackness? Post race? Post sex?` Post equity? Which is not the same as Who is afraid of post racism? Post colonialism? Post sexism? Post inequality? Who is afraid?

The poor man can do everything On Robinson Crusoe's* island But let me inherit the riches of experience, history, and the chiseled arm of strength in this world And the wealth to forge within me a new nation  *I first read about Robinson Crusoe's Island in my introduction to economics course when we were studying trade. I always marveled at what it would be like to be Robinson Crusoe - to survive on an island alone, without the need for specialization and trade and complete self sufficiency. So this poem was essentially in his honor. After writing the poem today, however, I decided to research the Robinson Crusoe reference out of curiousity. What I learned about Robinson Crusoe's character in the name sake novel written by Daniel Defoe appalled me. I had to tweak the poem. #The things not in the text book; the things you need to learn outside of the classroom.

I came across this question and answer with one of the foremost thinkers on African political theory today, Professor Kevin Dunn. This man's work is critical, honest, and insightful. My favorite book on African political theory thus far is a compilation he co-edited called Africa's Challenge to International Relations Theory. Here is what he had to say (source: https://matisak.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/ugandas-nightmare-joseph-kony-and-lords-resistance-army/): Uganda’s nightmare: Joseph Kony and Lord’s Resistance Army Posted on   31/03/2010   by matisak LRA forces are responsible for thousands of causalities, terrorism, torture, mutilation, rape, sexual enslavement, training of child soldiers… According to Human Rights Watch   Lord’s Resistance Army   killed at least 321 civilians and abducted 250 others, including at least 80 children, during a previously unreported four-day rampage in the Makombo area of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in De...

Lusting to travel Between minds, within times Underneath the two crescent moons rising over the expanse of your skyline Lost in the blinding ecstasy of a parting seas Unfolding your lips I get lost Lusting to travel To the depth of your essence, the crown within you

I need to a place to compile a series/challenge I am doing called Poems for 72 days. The challenge is to write/share a poem a day until the end of the year. It is yet another exercise of developing and being comfortable with my voice. I hope you enjoy it. You are such a poet You are always somewhere else Stay here with me   Day 1 In the king's palace, there is one celibate concubine One virgin concubine One sex-proclive concubine In the king's palace, there is either a confused man or a god for a king Day 2

Last Tuesday, Jason Russell of Invisible Children released another video, MOVE, as part of the KONY 2012 series. When I first came across the video, I said exactly these words: Can't Stop, Won't Stop huh?! Not to my surprise, no one I knew mentioned the video - no posts on Facebook and no tweets - a huge contrast to the reception the organization's March film received. And perhaps for good reason. Invisible Children and any similarly modeled Africa-related campaign will probably never garner the magnitude or sudden jerk of attention the original KONY 2012 film did. Perhaps people are thinking more critically or are just more skeptical and/or cynical. Back in March, I was deeply moved and compelled by the work that Russell and his friends at IC do. This is what I wrote about the IC KONY 2012 campaign for a paper on African sovereignty and the search for international validation five months ago: "...the Kony 2012 campaign by the organization, Invisible Children, laun...

Last night, I went to the movies with a good friend to see Middle of Nowhere, an independent film written, directed, and produced by Ava Duvernay. It is probably one of the better movies I have seen in a long time - subtle yet powerful imagery, good acting, relevant music, and a moving, raw, honest story. The letter from Ruby to her incarcerated husband at the end of the film especially moved me, almost to tears in reflection of her story. Some time during the film, I remember asking my friend, where do broken hearts go? He said to search for their other half. I told him his answer was corny and laughed. But maybe he is right. I personally experienced my first romantic heartbreak, in this case unrequited like/lust, around this time last year. Until then, I had been holding my own, for the most part. I laugh when I think about it because the situation and my emotions after the relationship do not make sense, a bit beyond rationalization. I was only talking to the guy for two or three ...

F*ck Your Ethnicity Fire burning inside my eyes This the music that saved my life Y’all be calling it hip-hop I be calling it hypnotize Yeah, hypnotize Trapped my body but freed my mind What the fuck is you fighting for? Ain’t nobody gonna win that war My details be retail Man, I got so much in store Racism is still alive Yellow tape and colored lines Fuck that, nigga look at that line It’s sold out first day Getting off work And they wanna see Kendrick Everybody can’t drive Benz’s, and I been there So it make it my business Stay giving my full attention, 10-hut! Man, I gotta get my wind up Man, gotta get down with God Cause I got my sins up Matter of fact, don’t mistake me For no fucking rapper They sit backstage and hide Behind the fucking cameras I mosh pit Had a microphone and I tossed it Had a brain, then I lost it I’m out of my mind, so don’t You mind how much the cost is Penny for my thoughts Everybody, please hold up your wallets Yeah ...

For me, the start of the fall naturally lends itself to a lot of Drake-esque music, reading, reflection, and planning. With post-grad life and in light of my state of mind this past summer , this year's planning has taken the form of introspective questioning: what am I doing next and how I am going to get to where I need/want to be? One of the most salient words of wisdom I have been thinking about for some time which also relates to the questions I have been reflecting on is the idea of living on purpose. The idea of living on purpose came to me by way of Oprah. I have been watching a lot of Oprah's Life Classes and Next Chapter Shows, reading about other people's spiritual journey, listening to people's stories through their music, and reflecting on what older folks have said about life through collections on blogs. In one form or another, what ties together the narratives of all these very different people is the importance they place on being fearlessly true to o...

Let me get straight to the point: I agree more with hip hop artists Lupe, Kendrick, and J.Cole about their disenchantment with this campaign season and electoral process than with Samuel L. Jackson's sentiment that America needs to wake the f%ck up to the Obama's achievements over the last 4 years.  I really do. And it is not a stance I came to recently either.  It have felt quite apathetic towards this election season for sometime. I understand that given the long struggle for civil rights for Blacks and other minorities in America, some people believe that it as insensitive (and naive) for a Black person to decide that they will not vote. In fact, in light of voter suppression laws spreading like wide fire across the country, I do not take my right to vote as a Black African woman in America lightly. But first, I think that the right to vote in itself guarantees that the enfranchised person has a right to abstain. And that is important to assert. I also think that ...