"Let's Do The Time Warp Againnnn….."

Posted on July 10, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

Lemee get this straight……..

Black Southern teens get railroaded by an all-white jury after a fight with whites over a Jim Crowed tree(!)? Nooses hanging from that same tree later? A century in jail without parole?

I watched it, and only the fact that it was live and in color made me tackle my sense of denial and pin it to the ground, because I knew I had to be watching some leftover “Eyes On The Prize” footage…..

Meanwhile, the National NAACP takes significant time, ink and electrons having a funeral for the “N” word. *SIGH* 😦

Nope, I Can't/Couldn't Wait! LOL! (Before And After Seeing "Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix")

Posted on July 10, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

JUST GOT BACK FROM THE MOVIE, and WOW!!!………

OFF. THE. CHAIN.

Which is kind of funny, because it’s an epic film in which “nothing” happens. “Phoenix” is essentially a war flick, with a little bit of the psychological thriller genre (complete with a couple of very subtle torture scenes!) thrown in. It’s really the beginning of a NEW, tragic HP trilogy. The cute stuff is gone with Cedric and none of it is ever coming back; from now on, leave the kids at home or put them in “Ratatouille” or whatever. 🙂 It’s the Beginning Of The End now, and the End is going to be very scary and bloody.

FROM JULY 10: I really can’t believe how important the Harry Potter film series has become to me over the years. And the reviews, of course, are overwhelmingly positive.

Only two more left………..*SIGH* 😦 It’ll be a hard wait until November 2008.

I haven’t read any of the books yet, but now I’m thinking of getting the last one.

What an amazing contribution to world fantasy! I look forward to other groups of people coming from their own cultural centers and making equal or better text and picture contributions.

Good Show, Tavis!

Posted on June 29, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tavis kept his “product” consistent. Compared to C-SPAN, CNN, et. al., last night’s forum seemed like it occurred in an alternate Black (albeit “mainstream”) universe.

The questioners showed why journalism experience still matters. I learned a lot about the condition of Black and Brown people in America from those questions. And I loved Cornel West’s quip about the journos in today’s “Journal-isms.” 🙂

The format left a lot to be desired, but it worked for those who knew how to make it work.

I get annoyed with Tavis sometimes, but not today. Lead on, homie, and let’s see what happens at Morgan this fall.

JULY 1 UPDATE: Tavis did well on “Meet The Press” today. Being invited to be on that political roundtable is proof that the nation’s elite has now officially recognized you.

JULY 5 UPDATE: This criticism of the event is well-thought out and needs to be read and debated. It echoes many of my own problems with Tavis’ events. I think the difference is I’ve accepted what Tavis’ self-defined role as an agent of “Black hegemony.” Until Black leaders decide to put some real money behind the creation of a Black mass media structure, there we are, then. The folks I saw in the Howard crowd—a large number of them nationally known African-American notables, leaders, etc.—were happy with Tavis’ show. And I have learned the hard way not to be angrier than my people, particularly my “leaders.”

re: Tonight's Dems Presidential Candidate Forum: Enjoyed That Tavis Said On "Democracy Now!" This Morning…….

Posted on June 28, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

………………that there has been more diversity in the Presidential candidate pool than in the pool of panel journos. 🙂 Until tonight. The panel of journalists is comprised of two African-Americans and a Latino.

Let’s see how tonight’s forum goes.

On Internet Radio Protest Day, Sharing A Lantern That Has Lit My Way

Posted on June 26, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

I haveÂ keptÂ with me a yellowed Black newspaper clipping from September 11, 1989. I thought that today, the day Internet radio is conducting its “Day of Silence” protest, would be a goodÂ day to share extended excerpts of it.

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‘Guerrilla Radio’:

Underground radio station operator uses ‘sneak attacks’ to educate community

By James Muhammad

Assistant Editor, The Final Call

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.–WTRA, “guerilla radio,” broadcasts from behind the wall.

“They say they put up the wall to protect the residents from the speeding traffic,” said Dewayne Readus, the voice and operator of the low-watt AM station, “but you notice they didn’t put sidewalks in for our children.

“The wall helps them in their control of us. They don’t want anything positive to come out of the Black community because that will disprove the myth…. that we’re dumb,” he said.

WTRA’s message comes out from the John Jay Homes housing project carried by weak radio waves but charged with the crusading spirit of its mastermind operator. The project sits in the shadow of the domed capitol building, behind the wall that blocks the blighted project from the casual glance of the speeding motorists making their way downtown.

Operating out of one of the apartments, Readus, a 30-year-old legally blind resident, is determined to educate and politicize his community, although local police attempted to silence his “Voice of the people,” as WTRA is called.

Until recently, Readus regularly operated the station from an upstairs room in his sister’s apartment. The station covered a radius of one-and-a-half miles, just enough to reach the housing unit[s…….

“When we talked about] the Urban League and the NAACP, we were alright,” said the independent contractor, “but when we started talking about police brutality, that’s when they came to shut us down.”

Readus’ controversial music and talk format had already attracted the ire of the city’s Black leadership whom he consistently criticized. He caught the attention of the police when he aired a tape recording made at the hospital bedside of a 52-year-old boxing coach who was severely beaten by security guards at a local department store.

Will Gray, an inspector with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), visited Readus after he aired coverage of a hostage incident where the police cordoned off a Black neighborhood after a man took his girlfriend and her sister hostage.

[………H]e was fined $750, which Readus has vowed not to pay until he has his day in court.

“We are saying we have a right to access the airwaves,” Readus said. “The very fact that we can’t communicate with each other is a form of genocide.”

A frequent target of Readus’ commentary, Alderman Frank McNeil, said the station provided important information to the community and a viewpoint not offered by the “run-of-the-mill” media. “But he attacked every Black person in a leadership position who didn’t agree with his position. He never allowed opposing points of view to be aired,” McNeil opined.

Today Readus operates what he calls “guerilla radio,” a “sneak attack” approach to getting his message out at varying times during the week.

“They haven’t made their move because they don’t know how to go about doing what they want to do,” Readus said, defiantly. “Ultimately, they probably just want to get rid of me. That’s their history.”

Even McNeil agreed that the relationship between Black people and the police is “very tense.”

Police Chief Mike Walton said he contacted the FCC only after he received complaints about vulgarity used on the station. He also described Readus as a “man with a small following who causes more trouble than he helps.”

However large or small Readus’ following may be, he has had an impact on the city and his community.

“He let kids and parents know what was going on in the world,” said Emmanuel Morehead, 17, who said he often listened to the station.

“I would like to see his station bigger so he can reach the broader community,” said Bill Robinson, 42. “But he’s got to make his program where people will come to him with information. He’s got to open up more.”

Readus said he welcomes the threat of arrest so WTRA’s struggle can be an example to others. The station also served as a training ground for young boys and girls interested in radio, he said.

“Somebody tell the children how WTRA served as an advocate for the people when the police wouldn’t police themselves,” Readus proclaimed. “Somebody tell the young people how we fought police brutality by broadcasting the personal testimonies of African-American victims.”

Copyright 1989, 2007 by The Final Call Newspaper Co.

Did You Hear……….

Posted on June 20, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

…….Farai Chideya’s “News and Notes” interview with Chinua Achebe?

An Anniversary Worth Noting

Posted on June 20, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

It’s been 21 years since this song and this artist took over my mind, body and soul.

I remember telling people at the time that my goal was to bear HER child! LOL!

What made me think about her today? I was joking with a friend of mine about Spike Lee’s cameo in this video:

While watching it, I see today how well Spike blended social and cultural history, parody and even time travel.

Wow. The Power of Black Art. Food for thought.

Congrats To American Journalism Review!

Posted on June 15, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

I’m biased, but AJR—the winner of an Mirror Award for Overall Excellence from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications—can be a very good magazine when it wants to be. It’s a solid resource for its targeted audience—the small group of white men (and some white women) who guide American mainstream journalism. It’s important to point out, however, that the percentage of white females who write for it, and/or help manage it, has traditionally been VERY strong.

The Audiobiography of Askia Muhammad

Posted on May 21, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

Veteran multimedia journalist Askia Muhammad has done something extraordinary. Over the last few years, he’s somehow gotten Soundprint,Â the nation’s premierÂ public radio documentary series,Â to “publish” his autobiography, an audioÂ chapter at a time.

Together these programsÂ form aÂ well-toldÂ mosaic of a life, filled with sound and soul.

Congrats, Askia, on this great and significant accomplishment.

Independent Audio/Video You Should Check Out (Eleventh In A Long-Running Series)

Posted on May 19, 2007 by drumsintheglobalvillage

But first, a little text.

Hip-Hop and the Corporate Function of Colonization

Jared A. Ball, Ph.D.

Green Institute Communications Fellow

Having elsewhere looked at the function of mass media as primary mechanisms of the maintenance of colony, recent events have again emerged requiring further investigation into the function of corporate control over the cultural expression of colonized populations. Though not specific to hip-hop the example as explored through that most popular of cultural expressions may help to make more clear the imperative of organization and political struggle in 2007. Within the last few weeks alone we have seen recent decisions and trends evolve demonstrating the intent and need among those in power to further ensure that mass media will perform its primary (only?) function of manipulating popular consciousness for the purpose of manipulating behavior of the audience (victims). These developments can only be understood in the context of a continuing process of subjugation in which media play a primary role in suppressing dissent.

Click here for the entire article

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VOXUNION MEDIA
voxunion.com
FreeMix Radio
May 28, 2007

A special statement and call to action regarding the Copyright Royalty Board, copyright law and intellectual property rights as they relate to a lock down of our cultural expression and thought. The recent ruling of the Copyright Royalty Board threatens to further limit our ability to communicate freely. The decision has already caused VOXUNION MEDIA to cease our online archive of our Pacifica Network radio show here in Washington, DC, threatens to force into bankruptcy roughly 85% of all internet radio stations and continues to demonstrate the importance and necessity of FreeMix Radio: The Original Mixtape Radio Show. ClickÂ here to listen to our special report/announcement regarding this concern. Stream options and more available at voxunion.com.

VOXUNION MEDIA
voxunion.com
FreeMix Radio
May 10, 2007

We sat down with Dedrick Muhammad of the Institute for Policy Studies to talk about the Black/White Wealth Divide. Click here for this first of an on-going series where we look at the actual economic condition of African America and how this relates, is essential to, the political economy of the United States. Stream options and more available at voxunion.com.

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VOXUNION MEDIA
Jazz & Justice
WPFW 89.3 FM wpfw.org (live stream)

April 16, 2007

Today we discussed DC Emancipation Day and its international implications with our guests Rick and Michelle Tingling-Clemens. We also heard music from Gil Scott Heron, Jayne Cortez, DJ EuRok, NYOIL, Head-Roc, Eddie Kane, Freddie Hubbard and more. We also heard clips from Dr. James Turner of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University. Here’s the first part, and here’sÂ the second. Visit voxunion.comÂ for the stream/download options and much more.

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VOXUNION MEDIA
Jazz & Justice
WPFW 89.3 FM Washington, DC
wpfw.org
Mondays 1-3p EST

This week was part 2 of our tribute to Malcolm X and part 1 of ourÂ two-week pledge drive.Â We were joined in studio by Dr. ToddÂ Burroughs as we paid homage to Malcolm and Mumia Abu-Jamal all theÂ while spinning music from Wu-Tang Clan, Archie Shepp, Mos Def, VijayÂ Iyer, Nex Millen and more.Â We also aired rarely heard audio from theÂ documentary “Brother Minister” and speeches on Malcolm X and his imageÂ by Amiri Baraka and Dhoruba Bin-Wahad.Â Download the show by clickingÂ the links hereÂ and/or visit voxunion.com for stream options and muchÂ more.Â

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VOXUNION MEDIA
Jazz & Justice
WPFW 89.3 FM Mondays 1-3p EST
wpfw.org

This week we conclude our portion of the pledge drive. Thank you all for your support. But we did this in style. Head-Roc joined the show to donate his Negrophobia album as a thank you gift and we chopped it up with his music and that of Archie Shepp, Killer Mike, Charles Mingus, Asheru, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and much more. We talked about the Black Power movement and mass media, Black “leadership,” DC’s underrepresented views of war protest, the music industry and more. Click to download parts 1 and 2and visit voxunion.com for stream/download options, show archives and much more.

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VOXUNION MEDIA
FreeMix Radio
March 21, 2007

The Hip-Hop Caucus Launches its Make Hip-Hop Not War Tour

Reverend Lennox Yearwood and the Hip-Hop Caucus was in DC this weekÂ to launch their “Make Hip-Hop Not War” tour.Â Â FreeMix Radio was thereÂ and caught upÂ with some of the artists involved, including Head-Roc,Â Hasan Salaam, DJ Chela, A Alikes, ReadNex Poetry Squad and Akir.Â ForÂ more, visit hiphopcaucus.org.Â

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VOXUNION MEDIA
Jazz & Justice
WPFW 89.3 FM Mondays 1-3p (EST)
wpfw.org

This week we completed our winter pledge drive by having aÂ discussion of political organizing with Bill Fletcher.Â We alsoÂ played portions of an interview with Soffiyah Elijah and ClaudeÂ Marks of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights who are currently working to free the eightÂ former Black Panthers arrested in January on 35 year-old charges.Â Â We also heard music from Head-Roc, Charles Mingus, Pharaoh Sanders,Â Amina and Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def and more.Â ToÂ download the show, click here and hereÂ and visit voxunion.com for much more, including the latest from Roots Revolution.Â That showÂ paid tribute toÂ Burning Spear and honored Woman’s History Month by airing wordsÂ from Angela Davis.

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VOXUNION MEDIA
FreeMix Radio: The Original Mixtape Radio Show (FM9)

FM9 is here!Â The mixtape as emancipatory journalism is hitting the streets but we do make an online version available for download here and at www.voxunion.com, where you can get both the stream and download options.

Track List/Liner Notes
1. Cartman declares a race war
2. Kidnap the President’s Wife – Shout to DJ Jaheye and Hello… My Name is Capitalism (the mixtape).
3. Wack Media Takeover – a mix from the Borough to Borough mixtape by DJs Al Dente and Cut Chemist
4. NIGGERS! and X-Clan’s Black Boot Stompin’ followed by part one of our East of the River interviews on the Iraq war and war protest in DC
5. That’s Life – Killer Mike
6. Claude Marks and Soffiyah Elijah of Center for the Defense of Human Rights (cdhrsupport.org) talk about the San Francisco 8 and the re-arrest of Black Panthers to suppress political dissent and rebellion
7. Classic – KRS-One and Rakim
8. Part two of the East of the River interviews and specifically the treatment of young Black people by the police in DC
9. Public Service Announcement remix – Omekongo and D’Mite
This is a dope go-go influenced remix of Jay-Z’s classic but with a very different content
10. V is for Vendetta – Everyone should see this film a nd understand the context of this track
11. Black Power and Media – Head-Roc and The Funkinest Journalist explain the historical relationship between mass media and Black struggle. This is a clip from “Jazz and Justice,” which airs on WPFW 89.3 FM every Monday from 1-3p and is archived at voxunion.com
12. L.A. – Murs – Murs is just nice.
13. Media “Reform” – comments from the National Conference on Media Reform and why Black and Latino people need to be more involved in the production of media and in media criticism. Voices include Oriana Bolden and Rosa Clemente.
14. I’m Him – NEW! – Wise Intelligent
15. Black World Imagery – more from Jazz and Justice this time with Michelle Stephens and Suzette Gardner during our tribute to Bob Marley talk about the construction of Black image.
16. Jesse Jackson is not the emperor of Black people! – Napolean’s Dynamite – Mos Def
17. Class and Black Women – part of an old FreeMix interview with Elaine Brown former head of the Black Panther Party.
18. Payola – Paul Porter of IndustryEars.com talks about the latest in payola
19. Mind is Free – NEW! – Hasan Salaam. More great music from this unheralded emcee.
20. Martha’s Table Teen Program – an interview with Tim Jones and his work with DC youth.
21. Who Shot Rudy? – Screwball gets in trouble for making a song that talks about a dream that Rudy Giuliani gets shot. You can shoot Black people, smack women, pimp, sell dope and all that but don’t get it twisted into thinking we are free. It was all a dream…
22. Modern Day Slavery – Joell Ortiz and Immortal Technique – We’re Young Lords!
23. Outro and contact information
24. Whites Win!

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Amos Wilson

James Turner

VOXUNION MEDIA
Jazz and Justice
March 26, 2007
WPFW 89.3 FM Mondays 1-3p EST

This week we heard from Drs. Amos Wilson and James Turner andÂ
community thoughts on yet another “nigger!” incident.Â This plusÂ music from legendary DC poet Face, Naima Jamal, new KRS-One, GilÂ Scott-Heron, The Coup and more.Â Download the showÂ here and hereÂ or visitÂ voxunion.com for stream/download options and much more.

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Jazz and Justice
April 2, 2007
WPFW 89.3 FM Mondays 1-3p EST
wpfw.org

This week we were joined by Obi Egbuna of the Pan-African Liberation Organization and Head-Roc for a discussion of Zimbabwe and pan-Africanism. We also heard from Kwame Ture plus music from John Coltrane, Dead-Prez, Roy Ayers, Sonny Fortune, Bob Marley, The Coup and more. To download clickÂ here and hereÂ and visit voxunion.com for stream/download options and more.

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! Words, Beats and Life/Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture has launched its new website. Educators in need of a great hip-hop-based teaching tool and those looking to expand their own horizons will find this, the original hip-hop academic journal, to be a powerful resource.

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VOXUNION MEDIA
Jazz and Justice
WPFW 89.3 FM Washington, DC
Mondays 1-3p EST
Live Online wpfw.org

This week we celebrated the Spring Equinox (some call it “passover”Â or “easter”) and the birthday of Paul Robeson.Â We heard music fromÂ John Coltrane, The Els featuring Asheru, Julius Hemphill, OscarÂ Peterson, KRS-One, Charles Earland, Common and Alice Coltrane.Â TheÂ celebration included a look at the African origins of major WesternÂ religion by Charles Finch and Brother Tehuti.Â All this plus the world premier of “Heru Walks,” a remix of Kanye’s original, by Kasba.Â Â Download the show here and hereÂ and visit voxunion.com for the stream/download options and much more.