Archive for April, 2008
The Global African-American influence
Prior to living in America, I had already visited the country a number of times. But that’s not how I am able to sing RnB songs, or how I’m able to rap full verses from artists like Common, Jay Z, Biggie and Tupac or even much older hip hop groups. It’s not how I understand [...]
Do You Want To Be A Nigga?
Since I’ve been living in America, one thing that has shocked me is the amount of racial terminology and general derogatory language that people use. ‘Nigga’, ‘bitch’, ‘cracker’, ‘muthaf***a’ - I hear them all… and often.
Until I came here, I thought that the N word was used mainly in music, until I realized that it really [...]
Do You Wanna Be A Nigger?!
Nas has sparked controversy with his new track “Be A Nigger too” . Personally I don’t really understand what he’s trying to say or why he feels the need to use the word - other than for publicity’s sake.
I don’t think he’s made any insightful, enlightening or political points in the song, or said anything particularly meaningful [...]
The Sean Bell Tragedy - A response by Kevin Powell
The Sean Bell Tragedy
By Kevin Powell
April 25, 2008
I am sick to my stomach and I really do not know what to say right this second. My cell and office phones have been blowing up all day, and people have been emailing me nonstop, to let me know that Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc [...]
The Global African-American influence
I had already visited America a number of times prior to coming here to live. But that’s not how I am able to sing RnB songs, or how I’m able to rap full verses from artists like Common, Jay Z, Biggie and Tupac or even much older hip hop groups. It’s not how I understand [...]
WTF???!!! Sean Bell Injustice
News is in this morning that the 3 detectives in the Sean Bell case have all been acquitted on all charges pertaining to Sean Bell’s murder.
I’m shocked although sadly it’s not even that surprising.I had hoped though that justice might have been served. This is a travesty, a huge injustice and disrespectful of human life. What kind of a [...]
A new conversation about race begins…
So “Meeting David Wilson” aired on MSNBC on Friday. It was great… and the ensuing conversation was extremely interesting.
First of all, from the perspective of a Black Briton it was fascinating to see black and white people sitting on a stage, on national American television, talking about race in such a frank way. Tim Wise, [...]
Iraq: The Republicans May Be Right…
In 2001, I was one of the many hundreds of thousands who took to the streets in London to protest against the invasion of Iraq. I couldn’t see the sense in it now and I can’t see the sense in it today. I long for the whole sorry mess to be over, but I don’t [...]
Martin Luther King’s Dream 40 Years On
On April 4 1968, 40 years ago today, Martin Luther King was assassinated at the age of 39.
As the world looks back on his life and his vision, here is a collection of some of the tributes to Martin Luther King that I have enjoyed today:
“Chasing The Dream”, a look at modern day examples of MLK’s [...]
Black & White Meet: Race & Reconciliation
On Friday April 11th at 21:00 (ET), MSNBC will host the premiere of a powerful docu-movie called Meeting David Wilson. I highly recommend that you watch this incredible film, which looks at race and the legacy of slavery in an original and moving way. This really is a story of hope and reconciliation.
About the film:
David [...]