Black Creativity: Celebration in Film

The Museum of Science and Industry presents Black Creativity 2008: The Magic and Science of Cinema and Television.

The exhibit opened for private review on Tuesday and was packed with local arts supporters. It runs through March 31.

The exhibit includes info on current film notables, many with Chicago roots, including myself (which was quite a surprise to see, really). It's a kid friendly exhibit, allowing children to experiment with their on camera talents. Moreover, it includes memorabilia, classic movie posters, and the dining room set from Soul Food. The museum's admission is free through Jan. 31.

However, the coolest part about the exhibit is that it's not just a retrospective, but rather a reminder that film and television is a living, breathing entity with real people behind the scenes.

While I may be one of these people, for many its a radical shift to think about the creators instead of the creation. To know that the shows and films that fill our lives began with an idea someone found relevant. Somebody, somewhere had an idea they wrestled with for weeks, months even, and spent the better part of a season hammering away on a laptop. Or some talented technician working 18 hours a day for a month capturing crystal clear audio that reaches the ears of an audience unscathed. The collective audience doesn't think about these people. But these in the trenches workers are as much a part of the American fabric as Superman and The Lone Ranger.

So a toast to all those who work behind the scenes. Your work is appreciated.

Camel Polo: Sport of the Summer

Dubai is all the rage right now. While flipping channels, trying to find something intellectually stimulating to watch, I ran across a show on polo in Dubai.

I know nothing about polo, unless you count the outfits and uber rich cache. I probably know more about Dubai, by way of Hollywood film festival reviews and financial news, than I do about polo. So it was cool to see a show combining two things I knew next to nothing about, somehow merged in one.

According to the show, polo is hot in Dubai. Apparently, a Middle East polo competition is in development. Polo is one of those networking sports. And the participants say it's a lot more interactive than horse racing, even if you own a horse.

But because polo is mostly a sport for the wealthy, polo enthusiast and eager money makers are exploring ways to introduce the sport to the masses. One of those ways is an emerging hybrid sport: camel polo.

As we speak, there are people training camels to respond in the way horses do. It will be a cool tourist attraction, say developers. The camels they showcased looked a bit unruly, with muscle toned polo lovers trying to wrestle them into form. They needed some practice.

Nevertheless, the trainers were pretty excited and they figured it would be a fun game for friends on an adventure filled trip to Dubai.

To be honest, it looked a little dangerous. But it was nice to know that someone thought the prospect of camel polo was worth investing good time and money into. I found it comforting that these carefree sports lovers had a mildly kooky dream they were dead set on bringing into fruition. While I'm sure the developers had friends who they ran this idea by; people who no doubt said, "Camel polo? You gotta be kiddin me!" these tried and true dreamers continued on.

How refreshing.

Everyone Go Get Your Doctorate

I have attended two race based seminars at a highly esteemed University that will remain nameless and each time I've been woefully disappointed.

The presentations, given by visiting professors who are well adept at academic jargon and phraseology, couldn't seem to get past their words and jumbled concepts to make a clear, concise point.

In fact, they missed the point.

I have had the tedious pleasure of listening to an academician discuss his analysis of identifying bias in white Americans. When asked what factors may have contributed to those who were not biased, he responded that he didn't know. In fact, he hadn't thought about it. But a fellow academician in the audience had a theory. Maybe, she said, they had some sort of brain dis function where they couldn't discriminate, like, when they saw an Asian person, they didn't recognize them as Asian and therefore, they couldn't attach any racist stereotypes to them. The class thought it was a workable theory.

(Drop you jaw here)

Then I listened to another professor, who wanted to ascertain the essence of blackness. He wondered if cultural arts like jazz or the stylistics of African American preachers, were really just outgrowths of racism. If there had been no racism, he wondered, would these talents exist?

What?

Granted, trying to assess the identifiers for bias or trying to identify "blackness" in any kind of scientific module is difficult at best. While jazz, or gospel music, or even the plethora of black preachers might not have been created without slavery, the artistic talents of music making or colorful speaking predated racism's existence. But he didn't get that. He was too stuck on what is blackness.

So my advice to anyone with any sense, anyone who can make an argument, write, think, or break down concepts, please, please, please go get your doctorate. We can't have this disjointed logic spreading across the halls of America's Ivy League.

Orator- The New Four Letter Word

When did making a good speech or two become a bad thing?

I didn't plan on dealing an inordinate amount of blogspace to what are now daily Obama talking points spawn by the Clinton camp. I find myself following the presidential primaries like a never ending football game and I feel a bit manipulated.
However, in the wake of the "fantasy" comments hurled by former president Bill Clinton, in reference to Obama's campaign, as well as the mildly twisted commentary about Lyndon B. Johnson's role vs. that of Martin Luther King's in the civil rights movement, the use of words is under more scrutiny than ever. Campaigns, media pundits and the like just love what I call code words. And in a race that both camps want to say is not about race or gender, the race is in fact so exciting because of race and gender, and the campaign is chock full of words with double meaning to remind you so.

Orator is one of those words.

Political spinners are playing into the embedded popular history consciousness by playing on words that are entrenched in history. While there's been quite a bit of media analysis on the fantasy and King statements, few are looking at the Hilary camps use of the word orator.

Obama's been accused of being an orator: a charming guy who gives really nice speeches. A man who can master words to touch hearts and move masses.

While this is positioned by the Hilary camp as a very limiting thing, a trait that somehow belies action, we'd be foolish to ignore that words have power.

American history and lore, our glorious past are rife with noteworthy orators. "Give me liberty or give me death" "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" "Four score and seven years ago. . . etc, etc." Let's face it, our national icons were some pretty doggone good orators. Where their oratory skills failed them, we can at least say they wrote some amazing speeches.

Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, Sojouner Truth, Barbera Jordan ,Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass and others are heralded for their speeches. Now granted, they took some dramatic actions as well. But their words, their speeches shaped a time, a movement that left an indelible print on America.

There were many intelligent strategists who surrounded King, many of whom designed the Montgomery Bus Boycott, organized The March on Washington, etc. While these strategist were arguably more knowledgeable of politics and had more experience in organizing, these loyal intellects didn't have the ability to move people. King, through his words and presence, was able to galvanize people of all ethnic groups, classes and sex, to raise individuals to new heights and take actions they didn't think were possible. That's a talent and a rare gift.

The African American tradition is rooted in oral tradition and people who chose to speak for justice in the face of hostility. Churches and other religious institutions, civic organizations, civil rights groups and others in African American history are entrenched in traditions of fine orators.
In fact, one could argue that to even snag leadership in the midst of social change, it is a requirement to have oratory talents. Aspiring leaders had to be able to rouse crowds with words of inspiration. But that's just the point. Orators stimulate action, typically through their own action. So it's no surprise, that most of the so called great civic leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries were also great speech makers.

Let's be clear, an orator is not some rote term for men and women who can use fancy words. Orators move people. They're change agents. For a country that's always prided itself as a beacon for democracy, with the First Amendement protecting, above other things, freedom of speech, there is no doubt that orators and speech making is as American as stove fresh apple pie.

Ummm, yum.

Cry for Me New Hampshire

When did crying become a political strategy?

Granted, after Iowa's blow out, Sen. Hillary Clinton had every reason to want to be dismayed. While she may have been saddened by Obama's win, her decision to tear up in a New Hampshire coffee house, in my opinion was a calculated choice. Hopefully, I'm wrong. Hopefully, it wasn't a visual image sent around the world to answer critics who say she's too stoic. Hopefully, the first serious contender to be the first woman president of the U.S would not resort to crying to feminize herself. Hopefully, one of the most powerful women in the world did not resort to the same tactics that Southern Belles and Damsels in Distress play into hoping for pity. Please prove me wrong.

She found her own voice, she said in her New Hampshire victory in a grey floral jacket, a contrast from her sharp business suits. And she said it with a softened voice, a departure from her authoritative posturing. Maybe it's the real Hillary. Or maybe she runs by any means necessary.

Time will only tell.

Obama Haters: Wrong Side of History

Obama Haters: Wrong Side of History

I find it incredibly weird that a number of African American notables have come out to publicly bash Obama, as if their pockets are personally hit if he wins.

While clearly, people can vote for whoever they want to vote for, these African American Hillary zealots make some very strange arguments for why she and not Obama should win. If they argued that Hillary has a better platform, she represents African American interests, or that she has a stronger record, then I could understand. We could all be engaged in a philosophical discussion about who has the better agenda and move forward.

Even if these supporters said that they are indebted to Bill Clinton and that voting for Hillary is their way of paying him back, I'd understand. It's no secret that many African American heavyweights were solid Clinton supporters. But they're not making these arguments.

Noteworthy individuals with big names and media savvy, people who have never so much as publicly announced who they vote for, are now calling up radio stations, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Michael Baisden Show, leveraging their name to get quoted in the media, and sounding like raging lunatics looking like nothing short of haters as they attempt to burst Obama's political balloon. The "he's not black enough" argument isn't working. The "he's inexperienced" argument has been crushed. So what, precisely are they afraid of?

My Little Cousin Bought Me A Playboy T Shirt

Typically, I wouldn't wear Playboy paraphernalia. Not that I have anything against them. I find Hugh Hefner to be interesting, fascinating even. As for his plethora of bunnies, who they are never had much impact on who I chose to be.

When you look at all the commendable work the Playboy Foundation has done from breaking black comedians into the white club circuit to avid fundraising to kicking off The Playboy Jazz Festival (they even sponsor one of the film festivals that launched my film career), you have to think twice about blanketly labeling everything as anti-anything. But in the aftermath of the Lil Kim, Pam Anderson craze with "girl power" doubling as feminism, preteens sporting thongs and grown women dawning french maid outfits in the name of female liberation, I tried to avoid some of the obvious off shoots of patriarchal duality, like me, a self proclaimed writer indie type with a serious social consciousness wearing a Hustler and Playboy T shirt.

Not that I haven't done it before. I did wear a shirt with a minuscule bunny once while driving through Pennsylvania. It was my driving T shirt. And the hicks who ran the highway snack shop gawked, thinking their bunny girl fantasy had just sauntered in the door. Not quite. And during the leather pants is hot craze, I had some skin tight leather-like pants with a tiny, nearly microscopic bunny on the back pocket. But never have I worn a flaming red T with a gigantic bunny, and there's a reason for that.

The Playboy symbol is so weighted. For some its the porn empire, the glitterized version of male domination at its sleekest. For others its cutesy, female fun or unabashed pride and confidence at its lusty peak. There's just one problem. My little cousin gave it to me for Christmas. He loves me. And I don't think sexism or female pride was on his mind when he saw it. He probably thought it was kind of cool and that I was gutsy enough to pull it off without either of those beleaguered interpretations distracting from my shine. So I put it on. And guess what? I didn't morph into a purring dominated sex kitten, nor did I suddenly get a rush of faked female pride. I felt very much like me with a T shirt That said I (bunny symbol) you.

There's power in redefinition. Let's remember that.

If I Were an Iowan - Close Enough I'm From Illinois

If Barack Obama winning Iowa isn't a sign of change, I don't know what is. The Illinois senator spoke to the idealist in the American patheos and inspired 39% the Democratic caucus, out distancing John Edwards by some 8% and leaving front runner Hillary Clinton trailing at third. All conventional wisdom said that Obama was a novel contender, but would never crack the racial barriers that paralyze the nation. A liberal black man winning the majority of the vote in a red state that's 97% white speaks volumes. He proved to the establishment, both black, white and otherwise, that well, they aren't as established as they think. He proved to the pessimistic, demoralized and the naysayers that hope is a word that must be backed by action. Many Americans still believe in what our Constitution aims to protect, they want to believe their leaders are defending their freedoms, and want to restore our nation as the beacon of hope our history classes tell us we're supposed to be. Iowans were willing to look past race, ethnic heritage, divisive politics and focus on the issues. Kudos to Iowa for challenging other states to follow suit.

2007 Hit List: 10 Worst Civil Liberties Violations

Forget the New Year’s “in and out” lists. In the ACLU’s list, the Constitution is always in, says the ACLU.

For the New Year, The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office looked back on 2007 with its top-10 list released today, “2007: The Year We Didn’t Get Our Freedom Back.” It documents the top 10 worst threats to our civil liberties in 2007 as well as the top 10 reasons not to lose complete faith in our government.

Topping the “worst” list was allowing illegal NSA spying to continue and allowing Guantanamo Bay to remain open. Topping the “best” list were the recent strides to reduce the disparities in sentencing for crack offenses and cocaine offenses. This year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission changed its guidelines to make sentencing for crack offenses fairer and applied them retroactively, and the Supreme Court decided just weeks ago in Kimbrough v. U.S. that judges could depart from the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s guidelines to give shorter sentences.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“For the past six years, our rights have been on the chopping block. If 2007 was the year we didn’t get our freedom back, 2008 will be the year we demand it. Our holiday wish list is simple: We want our Constitution back. It doesn’t even need a ribbon. This New Year, we resolve to hold our leaders accountable. We hope they will resolve to follow the law.”

2007: The Year We Didn’t Get Our Freedom Back
Top 10 ways our government failed us:
1. Not putting an end to warrantless NSA spying. Congress instead has continued to let the NSA spy without warrants and is considering letting the telephone companies off the hook for spying on Americans illegally. The Senate debated FISA last month before the holiday recess, and in a gift to the American people, legislation that would have forgiven telecom companies for spying on their customers and given the NSA more freedom to spy on Americans was not voted on. Congress is expected to take up the legislation when members return later in January.

2. Not repealing the Military Commissions Act or restoring habeas corpus. Despite a valiant effort and near success, an amendment to restore habeas corpus received 56 votes when it needed 60 votes. The support in the Senate indicates that legislation to fix the Military Commissions Act could pass. The Supreme Court will also issue a decision in 2008 regarding habeas corpus.

3. Not closing the Guantanamo Bay Prison. January 11 marks the sixth anniversary of the arrival of prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners have been held without habeas corpus rights for six years. The ACLU is organizing people across America to wear orange that day in recognition of the shame the prison has caused for all of us.
The number of inmates shrank this year to 355, having started at over 700; officials expect the prison to close one way or another in 2008. But Guantanamo’s closing will not necessarily mean the end of holding prisoners without due process, especially if the Military Commissions Act is still in place.

4. Not giving due process to immigrants and denying life-saving health care in immigration detention facilities. Although the comprehensive immigration reform bill ultimately failed, even that legislation would not have given immigrants badly needed basic due process rights. Congress failed to pass legislation this year securing those basic human rights for immigrants.

5. Allowing the CIA to destroy interrogation tapes. The executive branch claims it can investigate its own wrongdoings, but the ACLU demands an independent investigation that the law calls for and that the scandal warrants. The attorney general’s announcement that the Department of Justice will investigate the tapes’ destruction is a good start, but it does not go far enough. We want real independence, coming from outside the executive branch.

6. Not repealing the Real ID Act. Several states rejected Real ID this year, but the federal government still believes its invasive, costly, doomed program can be a success.

7. Not fixing the terrorist watch list, which is filled with errors. Hearings have been held, reports have been written and the public has spoken: The list – approaching one million – is too large to ever be effective as a security tool.

8. Letting Judge Michael Mukasey off the hook after he would not admit that waterboarding is illegal under six different laws. It’s simple: Waterboarding is torture, and torture is not acceptable. Mukasey’s denial did not mark a restoration of dignity to the Justice Department.

9. Foot-dragging by the White House in getting to the bottom of a disgraced Gonzales Justice Department. Alberto Gonzales ran a politically motivated Justice Department that did more to stunt justice than promote it.

10. Stripping the hate crimes amendment from the Department of Defense appropriations bill. The House, in a stand-alone bill, and the Senate, in an amendment to the DOD bill, voted for the first time to allow certain crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to be designated as hate crimes without compromising free speech. But the amendment was stripped from the DOD bill in a conference committee.

Top 10 reasons not to lose complete faith in our government:
1. Real changes were made to start fixing the unfair sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine that disproportionately affect minorities. The U.S. Sentencing Commission changed its recommendations to be more just in sentencing for crack offenses, and it applied those changes retroactively.

Perhaps the biggest victory was the case Kimbrough v. U.S., in which the Supreme Court said judges were free to issue shorter prison sentences for crack cocaine offenses, bringing them closer to the sentences for powder cocaine. The ACLU wrote an amicus brief supporting departure from the guidelines.

2. Senators stood up to the Bush Administration’s push for permanent warrantless wiretapping authority and immunity for the telecoms. It was a historic moment. A group of senators stood up to warrantless wiretapping and immunity for telecommunications companies, shutting down the Senate Intelligence Committee’s power grab of a FISA reauthorization bill – for now.

3. A federal judge struck down the national security letter provision of the Patriot Act that allowed the FBI to collect personal data secretly without a judge’s authorization.

4/5. Senators voted against a $300 million Real ID funding bill. Although $50 million was eventually appropriated to Real ID in December, an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill this summer that would have given millions more to the program failed.

6. The House passed a bill to offer more protections for reporters and their sources. The bill wasn’t perfect, but it was a victory for the First Amendment. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted the Senate’s version of a reporters’ shield bill out of committee.

7. Legislation was enacted to reauthorize and reinvigorate FOIA. The House and Senate passed a bill to enforce the Freedom of Information Act and ensure that government agencies are accountable to it – and President Bush just signed it.

8. Religious discrimination wasn’t written into the Head Start program. Members of Congress voted not to remove civil rights protections prohibiting the hiring of teachers, staff and volunteers based on religion in Head Start programs.

9. A majority of senators fought valiantly to save habeas corpus. A bill passed the House and won a majority of votes in the Senate – 56 - 43 – but it needed 60 votes. However, the vote shows Members of Congress are making a strong attempt to restore basic rights.

10. The American people wanted a change in Congress, and they went out to the polls and voted. We have faith in the American people to fight to restore their rights. We hope the next president and members of Congress elected will take civil liberties as seriously as we do.