Longform Links – 2009-04-15
We talked about The Game on Monday – here’s some more information:
Here’s the forum thread. (via Black Enterprise)
Geist Magazine has an interesting piece on wealth stratification and social status at the border (via Utne):
This Berlin Wall for the twenty-first century reflects the ironic era of its construction. Built to protect a territory defined in terms of culture rather than ideology, it is breached thousands of times a day by cleaning ladies and manual labourers who turn its meaning on its head. Indeed, the United States government encourages certain categories of people to ignore the border. In this, as in other areas, the economics of globalization heightens social stratification. Mexicans who live close to the border can receive a visa that authorizes them to work in U.S. border towns but forbids them from penetrating deeper into the U.S. or residing there. Many Mexicans take advantage of this system to travel at dawn every day to San Diego, where they clean houses or work in gardens. Unlike millions of other poor Mexicans—those who risk their lives trying to cross The Wall—these workers earn cash dollars and pay taxes to neither the U.S. nor Mexico. Professionals like Dr. Portillo, who do pay taxes, can apply for a sentri (Secure Electronic Network for Travellers’ Rapid Inspection) pass for their car windshields. This allows them to take the express lane at the border, sweeping past the two-hour lineup of cars waiting to reach U.S. Immigration, with no questions asked.
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is at The Kitchen Table sharing her Reflections from South Africa, Installment # 2:
These moments have pushed me to think more carefully about what black Americans are exporting to the rest of the African world and African Diaspora.
Political struggles of black Americans have been inspirational for anti-colonial and anti-Apartheid movements here on the continent, and our ability to voice discontent against continuing racial inequality is an important model of political agency. But, it is stunning to hear that this discontent may create the impression that the United States is a harsher racial environment than post-Apartheid South Africa.
It is powerful and wonderful to hear the music of my young adulthood pumping in the middle of the night in a South African club. (Girl, Mos Def was even on my flight here from JFK airport) I can remember when many believed that hip hop would not survive a decade; now it is the global cultural expression of urban youth. But my enjoyment of hip hop’s cosmopolitan reach is tempered by the anxiety I have about hearing so many young, black South Africans grooving to the N-word.
Alternet posts a collection of questions (originally compiled by New American Media) for the President from various community based news sources:
What specifically will be done in this first year of your administration to address the disparities in education for black students, such as higher dropout rates and lower college enrollment rates? Also, what will be done to ensure these students in particular are fluent in the technology needed to succeed in a modern, global economy?
-Annie Gldzhyan, TheLoop21.com
What is tribal sovereignty? It is the basis for all Indian tribes and their relationship with the U.S government, so we want to know how President Obama’s views sovereignty.
-Duane A. Beyal, The Navajo Times
One of America’s dirtiest secrets is its hunger problem. There are millions of Americans who suffer from hunger and they are not just the homeless. Other than increasing money for food stamps, how do you plan to tackle hunger in this country?
-James Wright,Washington Afro
Marisol is busy being awesome:
I’m on a panel entitled “Queer Intimacies in Hip Hop and Reggaeton” with Elliott Hunter Powell and Laurence Ralph, and Gayatri Gopinath who will be responding and moderating.
Peep the panel abstract:
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