Update

So much to say so little time and ability to do so. Let’s see, I am almost done with school, sadly. I really like learning about the system and how it works to keep the underprivileged people down, but I can use that knowledge to my advantage, right? However, I don’t like getting up at 7:15 in the morning and I’m usually 15 minutes late to class. Yeah, how professional is that? Anywhooze, I’m trying to do a student internship at the People’s Law Office here in Chicago. Never heard of them? Well, you should know.

The People’s Law Office started as a collective in Chicago of 1968 as part of the civil rights/black power/anti-war movement to help free wrongly convicted political prisoners. They describe themselves:

“The idea was to have an office that would be part of the movement in some real way, with a workload determined by political events and involvements, and thus free of normal constraints of law firmism. Primarily, that meant we would be a collective, whatever that meant: not a firm in any event. Right on!”

They represented groups such as the Weathermen Underground and claim that their Weathermen clients not only required legal defense, but also challenged them as legal people, questioned their sexism, personal relationships, and struggled with them to reject their privileged status as white lawyers and to further change with their lives. You were either “part of the solution or part of the problem.”

They also represented the Black Panther Chapter of Chicago in the 1973 Carbondale Panther case in which the the “Carbondale 3” were acquitted on all 41 counts thanks to the hard work done by Steve White, G. Flint Taylor and Jeff Haas. G. Flint Taylor and Jeff Haas also worked on the Fred Hampton case and in 1979, ten years after Fred Hampton’s death, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion authored by Judge Luther Swygert and the Court reversed Judge Perry’s entry of directed verdicts, found there to be substantial evidence of a conspiracy between the FBI, Hanrahan, and the police to murder Fred and destroy the Panthers, found that the FBI had obstructed justice by suppressing 200 volumes of documents, and reversed the contempt citations against Flint and Jeff.

Nowadays, they still continue to meet their goal of providing legal representation to people and movements fighting for progressive social change, discovering police corruption and abuse through litigation and then exposing it publicly, working with political and social movements to fight that abuse, gaining compensation for victims of police and governmental abuse, defending against criminal charges, and working for the rights of prisoners. Right now they are working on an ongoing class action suit against the Chicago Police for detaining over 800 anti-war protesters on March 20, 2003, against police torture and sexual abuse, and they have worked against the death penalty stating that the death penalty is in no case justified in this country and that it is used as a general instrument of oppression, as a political stratagem by politicians, and that it targets primarily African Americans, people of color and those without resources.

That’s all for now folks.

Holler.

Colorism

I have decided to repost my personal narrative, which explores the nature of colorism within the intersection of race and gender, because I have been told it is an insightful analysis.

Walking into Treasure Island grocery store, as a woman of color, in Chicago’s predominantly white Lincoln Park neighborhood, I immediately made eye contact with the only other person of color there, the black female cashier and gave her a smile that she returned with a brief look of disdain and continued to look past me. As she briefly took in my appearance with her eyes, I knew that she had come to the conclusion that she and I came from separate worlds. At first, I ignored her look of disdain, I got used to receiving those looks from white people in Madison, WI, but now, after moving to Chicago, I receive them on a regular basis from black women, which has caused me to question: why is it so hard for me, as a self identified black and bi-racial woman, to connect and relate to the majority of black women?
Okay, so maybe I get those looks because of the fact that my hair is locked, my skin is lighter, due to my bi-racial background, I ride a bike all year round, and I dress differently than my black women counterparts; be rocking the converse all stars and skinny jeans, 24/7.
Thinking about it more and more I became curious to see if other light skin/mixed women of color had the same problem of connecting to other black women and I began to look into the history of interrelations between black women in the United States and I came across the term colorism. Defined, colorism is the practice of placing value on skin tones, where lighter skin tones are valued more so than darker ones. This practice is very prevalent in the United States and is practiced heavily by black women young and old. For example, it is practiced when we refer to straight, long hair as “good”, and kinky hair as “nappy”. One can also view BET music videos to see colourism at its finest, where the women depicted are lighter toned and have straight or loosely coiled hair. Colorism stems from our own internalized racism, which comes from our socialized conditioning to value western-European characteristics over African ones because representation of our own people in the media hardly exists and when there is representation, it favors people of color that posses those western-European characteristics.
Fundamentally, we have internalized the historical, racist ‘black people are inferior’ ideology that white people have projected onto us through the means of racial projects. According to Margaret Hunter’s Race, Gender, and the Politics of Skin Tone, racial projects are campaigns that set out to establish the meaning and construction of race in any given time period though the use of images, representations and explanations about racial categories. For example, during colonial times the racial project of racialization, through color, was established in order to justify the enslavement of African people. Consequently, the concept of blackness came to represent primitiveness, ignorance, and ugliness in the form of dark skin, while whiteness came to represent civility, intelligence, and beauty in the form of white skin.
However, throughout the history of slavery, a new skin tone of ‘light brown’ began to emerge among Americans, due to white slave masters sexually terrorizing and raping black slave women as means for maintaining social control and a number of enslaveable people. Yet, as a result of being the offspring of white slave owners, these light brown children were often given special privileges, such as access to education, opportunities for skilled labor, and essentially freedom and once economically secure, began to serve as leaders of local businesses, churches, and civic organizations. Accordingly, these violent sexual unions created a color hierarchy through systematic privileging of light skin mixed African Americans over dark skinned African Americans and led many whites to confirm that white blood and lineage was superior to that of black blood and lineage. We, as black people, have internalized and therefore come to believe this racist ideology as truth and have begun to perceive black light skinned people as better and more intelligent than black dark skinned people.
As a result of this internalization, the contempt that dark skin women hold for light skin women of color exists because society systematically privileges women who more closely resemble the aesthetic of ‘whiteness’. Studies from the National survey of Black Americans show that having light skin garners privileges in terms of educational attainment, income, mental health and spousal status. For example, using a five scale color palette, ranging from very dark, dark, medium, light, and very light, annual income increased $673 for every increment on the color scale. Essentially, a woman described as very light brown earns over $2,600 more per year than a woman of similar background who is described as very dark brown. Consequently, in this white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, light skin is seen as a form of social capital for women and therefore viewed as a valuable asset.
More so, this systematic privileging based on physical features not only reinforces racism, but sexism as well. Evaluating women by their physical attractiveness objectifies and commodifies women, by presenting women’s bodies solely for the male gaze. Even worse, this physical attractiveness or beauty is typically defined in the United States by whiteness or western European features. As stated above racial projects established dark skin as representative of primitiveness, ignorance, and ugliness and white skin as representative of civility, intelligence, and beauty. Therefore, some facial features are associated with the terms barbaric and ugly, while others are associated with modern and beautiful. Essentially, racism involves an aesthetic appraisal of physical appearances and features and that aesthetic is typically defined in the United States by whiteness and western European features, which is why light skin is deeply rooted in an aesthetic of whiteness. Therefore, beauty is a racist and sexist construct and many women of color are not viewed as beautiful by mainstream society, unless they possess light skin, straight, long hair, a sharp, pointy nose, etc.
Yet, beauty is an integral resource for women because society teaches us that beauty matters more than anything else and the pursuit of beauty becomes a capital investment for us. That is why much of the interaction among women of color over skin color and beauty is centered upon the perceived competition for the male gaze and male partners. This leads to a lack of trust or intimacy in some African American women’s relationships because of the perceived scarcity of African American men. As a result, some darker skinned women distrust and resent light skin women because light skinned women are considered by men to be more attractive than dark skinned women. However, that competition among women over skin color is a diversion from larger oppressive systems, such as racism and sexism and perpetuates them simultaneously.
The woman who gave me that look of disproval and the many other women here in Chicago who have ignored me when I have tried to smile or say hello have all been the victims of colourism. Yet, it is not her fault or any woman’s fault when she finds herself being distrustful and cautious towards other women of color, especially towards those who are lighter than she is. I have come to conclude that colorism is the reason why it is hard for me to relate to darker skinned women. In a sense, I have a double consciousness when I interact with people from my own race, meaning that I have an awareness of myself as well as an awareness of how others, such as black women, perceive me as a light skinned woman. For example, when I am around darker skinned women, I find myself on the defense for fear of rejection because I am aware of the feelings and thoughts that darker skinned women have towards lighter skinned women. But as light skinned women, we must not victimize ourselves, but rather take action by acknowledging that we are privileged in this white heterosexist patriarchy and that we have a responsibility to challenge and dismantle the discrimination of these systemic forces faced by all of our peoples.
Unfortunately, many people do not realize how these systemic forces condition them. And that is exactly what the master has always planned: to withhold that knowledge from the slave so as to maintain their systemic control over them. However, it is imperative that we understand these systemic forces as well as deconstruct ourselves from these conditionings by addressing these as pertinent issues in the black community because we are currently divided because of them. I once read a quote: “If everyone put as much time into making a difference as they did their hair and make-up, the world would be a better place.” I think that quote is quite applicable and I could not agree with it more. We must not use the media and its definition of beauty to define who we are. We must find new ways of understanding who we are as a people and the only way to do so is by beginning to think critically and talk amongst ourselves about our identity and the way we view ourselves within this white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.

So that I don’t sound like I am trying to dictate how we should view ourselves, how do you think women, women of color, and men alike how can deconstruct our minds from this patriarchal thinking? Or better yet, do you even think colorism is a problem within communities of color?

Holler Back Chicago

Hey you, yeah you, have you heard about the coolest trend on the streets for men? Well if you haven’t, you better get in the know. For all those in the dark, it’s called street harassment (SH). Yep you got it-street harassment, targeted at women. For this post I am going explore the very nature of street harassment and just how cool it can be for everyone. Why don’t I first begin by explaining my first encounter with street harassment. I came into contact with SH around the age of 15 or so. I was living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the time and was quickly walking on my way to the 15 bus stop, when this older man maybe 45 or 50 years old stopped (more like hassled) me kindly and asked “Hey beautiful, why the frown? why don’t you smile, otherwise you’re going to get wrinkles on your face when you get older?” So I smiled back and thought what the heck, why not? I didn’t want to compromise my looks for those awesome old men. My so called beauty had been validated and my self-esteem had risen. Everyone lucked out on those street encounters. Back then street harassment didn’t seem so bad. The usual “Hey baby, what’s your name, can I get your number didn’t seem so harmful. But now as I grow older and have moved to Chicago, I go out in public more and I tend to hear more explicit remarks. For example when I ride by bike, I hear comments such as “Hey baby, can I get a ride with you?” or better yet “Damn baby, I wish I was that bike seat.” As of now, I can’t even ride my bike down my block without hearing a whistle or a smooching noise.

If you have not guessed by now, street harassment is not cool. In fact, it is against the law. It is a violation of personal space, essentially, one’s privacy. Street harassment has many defining behaviors gestures and comments but I believe that Cynthia Grant Bowman’s article “Street Harassment and the Informal Ghettoization of Women” defines it best by stating that it has defining characteristics:

(1) the targets of street harassment are females;

(2) the harassers are male;

(3) the harassers are unacquainted with their targets;

(4) the encounter is face to face;

(5) the forum is a public one such as sidewalk, bus, taxi;

(6) the content of the speech, if any, is not intended as public discourse.

She also notes of this working definition, offered by anthropologist Micaela di Leonardo:

“Street harassment occurs when one or more strange men accost one or more women… in a public place which is not the woman’s/women’s worksite. Through looks, words, or gesture the man asserts his right to intrude on the woman’s attention, defining her as a sexual object, and forcing her to interact with him”

As stated above, it is against the law as defined by Pennsylvania’s statute and comparable in ten other states, a person commits a summary offense when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person:

(1) he strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects him to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same; or

(2) he follows a person in or about a public place or places; or

(3) he engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which alarm or seriously annoy such other person and which serve no legitimate purpose

however, Bowman notes that many judiciaries (male) do not prosecute accused defendants on these charges simply because such incidents are too frequent for a justice system to handle them efficiently.

This is the result of society’s general acceptance of street harassment. Many people view or rather argue that when a man approaches a woman and and says sexually suggestive things or talks to her about her attractiveness she should take it as a compliment. But in actuality, it is not about complimenting one on their beauty. It is about power and control. Street Harassment detracts from women’s freedom. According to Bowman, when women are constantly harassed in public they hear the implicit (and sometimes explicit) message that women do not belong in public, where they draw more attention by their mere appearance, but rather in the private sphere, at home. She goes on to further argue that analysts have concluded that the intent of street harassers is to remind women of their gender identity in order to keep them in their private spaces and reinforce gender hierarchy. She concludes that street harassment has serious consequences for women and society. It psychologically disempowers women, which creates distrust between men and women, while reinforcing rigid gender roles, hierarchy, and the confinement of women to the private sphere.

I have become so fed up with my harassers and their intentions to keep me in my ‘place’ that I have begun to spit in their direction if I see one oogling or catcalling at me from a distance. To a certain extent this indirect action empowers me when men turn their heads away. I have also decided to take more direct action by writing up business cards that explain in great detail why it is harmful for them to stare and make sexually suggestive comments towards women and then hand them out when I catch one in the act. Hopefully this will encourage constructive dialogue between me and my harassers and between them and the harasser’s friends.

Until society’s general view of women as sexual objects for men’s pleasure is changed women, will always be seen as the lesser sex, always getting the short end of the stick in society. In order for that view to change though, a serious shift in the legal system will have to take place and that will only happen if more people are aware of street harassment and it’s psychological consequences and when more women become apart of the judicial system. Start talking and campaigning people.

Also, check out Hollaback Chicago, a website dedicated to the victims of street harassment, their stories, and pictures of ‘caught in the act’ harassers

And while your at it, check out this 5 minute trailer of Maggie Hadleigh West’s documentary on street harassment in the United States entitled War Zone to see how she speaks up to her street harassers and their responses to her standing up for themselves.

politics: a functional definition

Lately, I have been engaging in a lot of conversations that have revolved around the 2008 Presidential elections. A couple of days ago, I had one of those conversations and it went something like this:

T: so J, who are you voting for this upcoming election?

J: well, ummm. I don’t know. (so I give the ‘politically’ correct answer) Obama. (Duh.)

T: yeah?

J: yeah, but I don’t know. I do not think that the national elections will affect the masses. You know, the people have to organize themselves around issues that are directly affecting them at this instant, such as gentrification, police brutality, lack of educational funding,etc. People need to petition their local elected officials and hold them accountable, otherwise they need to develop a political consequence when their desires are not met-By any means necessary. But first, the people have to believe in themselves-

T: But wait, isn’t that what Obama is doing? He’s trying to tell the people to organize for change?

J: sure, but he has not stated what they need to organize for. It takes more than encouragement in this day and age. People have been brainwashed into apathy, believing that they cannot make a difference in society and that politics is not made for them. People need to be aware of their enemy. It’s going to take more than an election and a few words of encouragement. People are going to need to be enlightened ……

The conversation goes back and forth like this until we agree to disagree, but I always feel like something is missing from my argument. I not satisfied with disagreeing. I want to strengthen my argument so that when I do go out into the masses, my point that we need to organize for the betterment of ourselves, will be understood.

So a couple of days after that conversation, I picked up the Huey P. Newton Reader, a collection of his writings, and began the road to enlightenment. Many of his essays have retained their relevance to today’s issues in this society, but two essays in particular stand out to me, “In Defense of Self-Defense II: July 3. 1967” and “a functional definition of politics: January 17, 1969”, which both address the state of politics in the black community. In the first essay, he defines the true nature of politics: ‘Politics is merely the desire of individuals and groups to satisfy their basic needs first: food, shelter and clothing, and security for themselves and their loved ones.’ while arguing that the power structure has brainwashed black people into thinking that politics is simply ‘holding a political office or being able to move into a $40,000 home.’ Which is why black people and people of color argue that politics is not for them because they lack representation in political office. But this then begs the question: if people of color did have political representation in office, would their basic political needs be satisfied in this society?

In the second essay he attempts to solve this question. He states that there are essentially three representational forms of political power in the political arena: economic, land(feudal), and military. He then uses that statement to argue that ‘black people are not free because they lack political power’, due to the fact that after reconstruction blacks did not receive 40 acres and 2 mules, which would have provided them with the political power to be able to choose a representative to represent their issues, nor did they have economic power because they did not own the means of production. All that is left in the political arena then is military power. Unfortunately, the power structure has made it so that we cannot organize military power, so that then leaves us with the task of figuring out how to build a political base. I do believe that once we have gained an equal amount of political representation in office our needs will be met, but we will have to be able to choose our representatives and make sure that when our needs our not met, the power structure receives a political consequence by making it economically non-profitable for those in power to go on with their oppressive ways

so sure, I’ll vote for Obama, but I will continue to make these valid points until someone really hears me and takes me seriously by helping me to incorporate theory with practice.

Critical Consciousness

Currently, I am digesting bell hooks’s work Rock My Soul: Black People And Self-Esteem and am taking in the nutrients contained in each chapter and using them to feed my desire for information on how to integrate theory with practice in order to liberate the people from the external controls of the small ruling class. In this post, I will attempt to show how I am going about this in my life.

(On a side note, I know that the masses of the blogging world do not care or do not even wish to read writings of my kind- for it forces them to challenge themselves on their own classism, racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, etc. and that is the scariest thing to do- to acknowledge that you yourself have actually contributed to the oppression of certain social groups, based on the premise of social constructs. But I wish to write anyways because technology will be the tool used to transform current social conditions because all things are in a state of transformation due to external contradictions. more on that later)

hooks’ basic premise is that building healthy self-esteem is essential to creating community and movement within the disenfranchised, working class black community.

‘Self-esteem, fully realized, is the experience that we are appropriate

to life and to the requirements of life… Self-esteem is confidence in

our ability to think; confidence in our ability to cope with the basic

challenges of life; confidence in our right to be successful and happy;

the feeling of being worthy, deserving, entitled to assert our needs

and wants, achieve our values, and enjoy the fruits of our efforts.

Without self-esteem people begin to lose their sense of agency.

….When the seventies ended, it was popularly accepted that material

goods and the acquisition of power within the existing power structure

of our society was more attainable than freedom from it. And if one

could not attain power and privilege, one eased the pain with addictions:

drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping…..Rather than worry our minds and

hearts about social justice, antiracist struggle, women’s lib, the plight

of the poor, etc, black people were urged to see consumption as the

way to define success and well-being. ‘
From observing my fellow black co-workers, while working as a delivery biker, and taking in their political, economic, and social conditions into account, I have come to the conclusion that a majority of working class and non working class black americans have a damaged sense of self-esteem due to the long lasting traumas of slavery that have yet to be psychologically dealt with. For example, my co-workers constantly create drama amongst themselves by spreading gossip as means to distract themselves from their social, economic and political plights as well as set out on a quest for material goods. I witnessed this in the form of Nike’s, 27’’ rims, play stations, etc. These material goods are used as means to trick ourselves into believing that we posses power, when in reality we possess very little power within the existing power structure of this society. If we cannot attain those material goods, we turn to alternative means of sustainability: jobs or addictions such as drug dealing, alcohol, sex, shopping, or food.

hooks also states that ‘no black person in the US can have any measure of self-esteem if they have not cultivated the capacity to be a critical thinker, to live consciously.’

In order to integrate theory with practice, I began to foster critical thinking amongst my co-workers by having dialogue with them about the current conditions of poor people of color. However, they took on an apathetic standpoint, stating that ‘yes, racism exists, but there is nothing we can do about. so fuck it.’ this is exactly what bell hooks is trying to point out that people, especially black people, with low-self esteem feel powerless and have lost their sense of agency for creating change. if we do not consciously acknowledge that poor people in the US and around the world share a common enemy, the United States Empire, then we cannot begin the path towards liberation and we cannot begin to live consciously without critically thinking. therefore, black people, Latino, Indigenous people have to begin to build healthy self-esteem by acknowledging our painful histories- that we have been traumatized over and over again by the same enemy.

I have also come to conclude that I need to meet people who are critically thinking in the present. I am alone in my quest for liberation where I work and there is power in numbers. I wish for anyone to contact me with information or to continue this dialogue.

Back to the Drawing Board

It has been months since I have been to this website, inspired to write to the people. I suppose I shall give an update as to what I’ve been up to lately. I’ll start where I left off.

1. Looptopia, Chicago. I never entered the art festival sponsored by Around the Coyote . My work was not selected to be shown. From what I gathered volunteering at Around the Coyote (Atc), we have different ideologies about art. My art serves the purpose to create change and challenge the existing power structure. It is for the People Whereas AtC prefers artists who have already made it within the existing power structure. I now no longer volunteer at Around the Coyote and my art is currently on display in my apartment where friends and visitors can challenge themselves when they come to visit.

2. Education. In mid February I applied for the paralegal program at Roosevelt University and got accepted for the fall semester. It is a 5 month program and I will be finished by February 2009. Afterwards, I have the goal of working for a civil rights law firm as a legal assistant where I can hopefully make a difference within the existing power structure. I also hope to meet people who are willing to work outside of the system to create change. ie, build a movement.

3. Relationships. I don’t mean to put my personal business out in public, but I think that it is important for the people to know that a black heterosexual couple’s relationship is thriving in a society that constantly sees black men as pimps and players and black women as objects and whores for the black men and whose relationships are generally dominating and authoritarian as a result from the traumas of slavery. My psrtner an I both strive to live outside the box of ‘blackness’, which is used to describe poor black folks. (remember this is a class war not a race war) and I have found that communication is key to any relationship friend or romantic. It has been 10 months and my partner moved into my apartment in june and things are going beautifully well thanks to our practice of open communication and truthfulness with our selves.

4. Now. I am currently working as a bike delivery driver for a sandwich shop while waiting for summer to pass and school to start. I make enough to sustain myself minimally by working 15-20 hours per week and I spend my free time educating myself about my people’s political history by reading books about the black power movement, the labor struggle, and the women’s liberation movement. I can truly say that I am enjoying my current position in life, but I wish I could be doing more for the people- I want to ‘integrate theory with practice’ as Huey Percy Newton states. I am only 23 and Bobby Seale was 30 when he helped found the BPP, so I guess I have some time yet.

As for blogging, I wish to use this site to post my ideas and critiques that I have a about society. I welcome all posts criticisms and debates.

power to the people!

Artist Statement

If used correctly, art can become a political tool used to stimulate thought provoking ideas and create meaningful dialogue about societal issues. Therefore, I focus on creating conceptually based, socio-political art, which tends to address the issues of classim, racism, and sexism. Currently, I am creating work that revolves around the concept of identity and the crucial role it plays in People of Color’s lives. For example, I am exploring the issue of colorism, where Black/Latino/Asian people place value on lighter skin tones, and how it operates within the intersection of race and gender in those communities. I am mostly working in the medium of collage, using magazine advertisements that depict celebrities because we are a celebrity culture and using familiar images can help connect the audience to the artist’s work. Essentially, I wish to use my artistic voice as means to challenge people to think about themselves as an individual in a collective society and question the role they might play in maintaining a white heterosexist patriarchy.

This is where I stand with art. All of that other abstract art, while it may be very well done, is nonsensical and is created in order to masturbate one’s ego. On another note, I am entering an art festival with Chicago’s Around the Coyote art gallery and I am using this as my artist statement. I will upload my jpeg images later.

Self Love Is Freedom

While visiting Chicago, during the spring of 2007, I happened to come across the quote, ‘self love is freedom’ written in graffiti, outside of a church in Pilsen and it hit me so hard that as people, we have a hard time loving ourselves. This is most likely the result of having grown up in a society that places value more so on our looks rather than on our personalities and what we value or SHOULD value as people. Instead, we find ourselves valuing what is on the outside rather than what is on the inside, even if our insides are not healthy. So, this quote inspired me to write this poem entitled, Self Love Is Freedom.

If you love yourself, than you are free

to be whatever you please.

So please just take a second out to listen to me

and then maybe you’d see

that in order to take control of your destiny

there needs to be a sense of we,

as in community.

Because that is where Identity and a sense of self come to be.

But first, that community

must be aware of their history,

in order to know where they come from,

forming a cultural identity,

around which that communal family

builds upon, giving one a sense of unity

and acceptance within that family.

Ask yourself,

Do you know your history?

What I am trying to say

is find yourself through a community

that knows its rich history.

And once you have come to learn that beautiful history

about your family,

you will realize your worth as a person

in relation to that community,

truly recognizing your potential

to challenge and change

what you know deep down inside

is wrong in this oppressive society.

And once you set yourself free

and have begun to love yourself,

others will love you for who you are.

And maybe they will see

what you saw in your community

and hopefully

a sense of self will come to be.

Because no one is truly free

until we are ALL free.