Smart Quote of the Day
Posted 17 May, 2008 at 3:19 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Politics, Womanism/Feminism | Leave a Comment
Cara, at Feministe, writing about Sen. Obama’s “sweetie” remark:
I’d like to prevent this from going where I think it’s going to go: someone calls Obama a sexist pig and says that this is proof of why Clinton should be the nominee, someone else then calls Clinton a racist and says that her racist campaigning is proof of why Obama should be our nominee, and then we all end up yelling, getting our feelings hurt, hating each other and looking like assholes. I’m not posting this so that we can do that — I’m posting it because I think that we can and should criticize candidates who we otherwise support, and that this criticism is what forces them to be better.
And seriously, dudes, don’t go around calling women that you don’t know “sweetie” or “honey” or whatever. It’s really not cool. Good on Sen. Obama for apologizing, though.
Sphere: Related ContentTags: Barack Obama, uspresidentialelection2008
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Activism Links
Posted 17 May, 2008 at 1:59 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Activism | Leave a Comment
Support Radical Women of Color Media Makers
Help women of color get to the Allied Media Conference
Links to a lot of good causes worthy of your support.
Sphere: Related ContentTags: Activism, media makers, radical women, women of color
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Going Nowhere Fast
Posted 16 May, 2008 at 1:24 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Politics, U.S. Studies | Leave a Comment
Elle has a great post up attempting to get at the heart of the political division that this Presidential Primary has brought. Like Elle, I am completely dumbfounded and disheartened by the viscousness and hate I’ve seen lately. And like Elle, I have to say that as a Black person, the thought of voting for a Republican (a group that I know does not have my interests at heart) or not voting at all (my folks struggled too damn hard to be able to vote; I will never disrespect their legacy by not voting) is nowhere in my mind. I agree with this:
My impression of the Republican Party and what it’s all about is shaped by those things. That’s part of the reason why I don’t believe the world will end if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee. And I don’t believe the world will end if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee.
I don’t think an Obama candidacy equals the end of racism in this country. Neither do I think it will usher in the Most. Sexist. Administration. Ever. Similarly, I don’t think a H. Clinton candidacy means the days of entrenched misogyny are over. Neither do I think it will mean “gender has trumped race.”
But I think Brownfemipower in comments really gets at what has been bothering me so much lately (emphasis mine):
but the thing is–just try to say “I don’t like clinton because of nafta” these days. Or, god forbid, “I don’t like clinton because I find her support of nafta and increased militarization at the border to be anti-feminist” Or try to say either of these things within the context of “now, mr. obama, I want YOU to tell me how you’re support of increased militarization of the border is any less misogynistic than Ms. Clintons”.
You can’t talk about issues anymore because everybody’s so sure that a nose scratch clearly means that he’s flicking her off and a hair flip means that she’s pulling poor little white lady syndrome.
Brownfemipower wins.
As I said over there, I’m particularly disturbed by the lack of questions. It’s all assumptions and demands, threats and visciousness. The whole “support my candidate or else we will destroy you” meme is sickening to me (and let me be clear, I’ve seen it on both sides of this political fight). I’ve seen so many “liberal/progressive” Clinton and Obama supporters proclaim that they’ll vote for McCain if their candidate doesn’t win that I’m not sure anymore that I’m not in the Twilight Zone. Now granted, neither candidate makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (too centrist for my tastes), but I’d really like to get an idea of what these two might do to address entrenched sexism and racism once in office, especially in relation to militarization, the economy, poverty, etc. So far, I don’t know. I just see the Oppression Olympics being played out at the national level, and that, folks, will get us nowhere.
Sphere: Related ContentTags: barackobama, hillaryclinton, uspresidentialelection2008
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Link Love for 2008-05-16
Posted 16 May, 2008 at 12:46 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Bloggers/Blogging | Leave a Comment
What you should be reading:
elle, phd: OK, I Have to Start Thinking about It
Then there’s the wider dismissal of black voters in general or, in a similar vein, as Pam Spaulding says, the casting of the black vote as “a “problem” because it skews to Obama.”
(tags: sexism racism hillaryclinton barackobama uspresidentialelection2008 ellephd)
Louisiana Weekly - Your Community. Your Newspaper.
The leader of this movement is not on CNN or holding press conferences on the evening news. This revolution will not be televised - but you may find it in your e-mail.
(tags: afrospear blogging civil_rights africanamerican antiracism activism)
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UC Berkeley Hamstrung By Budget Cuts
Posted 14 May, 2008 at 11:42 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Education | 2 Comments
I just got this from a grad student friend at UC Berkley. I was, unfortunately, unaware of this situation until now. I’ll be keeping up on it and posting as I learn more.
For Immediate Release: May 14, 2008
Contact: Snehal Shingavi
sshingav@berkeley.edu
UC Berkeley Hamstrung By Budget Cuts: Ability to Provide Required Courses to Undergraduates Severely Affected
(Berkeley, CA) — Statewide cuts to the budget of the University of California will have an immediate impact upon UC Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students. After a decade of incremental budget cuts, the university has very little ‘fat’ left to trim. As a result, vital areas of the university will now be affected, depleting the ability of core departments to provide basic instruction.
The impact of the cuts will be felt as early as this coming spring, when the English department alone may be forced to deny entry into required Reading & Composition classes, known as R&Cs, to as many as 300 undergraduates. R&C classes are already difficult to get into.
“The classes fill up lightning-fast because almost every student needs to complete the R&C requirement,” Ahmed Owainati, a Computer Science undergraduate, commented. “The only solution is to dedicate your Phase One
enrollment to getting that coveted slot, despite the many other lower division requirements one might have, and even then nothing is guaranteed. I completed my first class in Fall ‘06, and did not get into the second until three semesters later in Spring ‘08, despite spending each Phase One in between trying to get into some R1B class.”
Although no clear information is available yet as to the total reduction in the number of R&C classes across the university, it is likely that some Class of 2009 seniors will be unable to graduate from the university as a result.
Christine Chang, a third year double major in Molecular & Cell Biology and Public Health, recounted her difficulties in completing the R&C requirement:
“Trying to enroll in a Reading & Composition course was a struggle,” she said. “After failing to receive a spot in an R1A class in the first semester I attempted to sign up, I was able to secure one in my second round, at the cost of a class I needed for my major. This semester I finally took my R1B. In the first few weeks, 40 students were crowded into a small classroom in hopes of getting a spot; many had to sit on the floor. Approving the proposed budget cuts would mean that the UC will be requiring a class and simultaneously further hindering students from taking it.”
The impact of these cuts upon UC Berkeley’s English department is severe. The university has been forced to deny teaching appointments to graduate students and lecturers, which it relies upon to teach lower level English and foreign language classes. Now tied as the top graduate program in the country with Harvard and Yale, according to US News and World Report, the department may be forced to reduce support to its graduate students. Students who rely upon teaching appointments for fee remission, health insurance, child-care, and access to research facilities will lose these
basic services. Students who have already passed their qualifying exams may be forced to withdraw from the program.
Hillary Gravendyk, the recent recipient of the UC Berkeley Teaching Effectiveness Award and an English Department Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award, said, “While I’m honored to have the University acknowledge me for my commitment to teaching, I’m frustrated and saddened that the proposed budget cuts would remove the opportunity for me to continue teaching at Berkeley for even one more semester. I rely on teaching for fee remissions and financial support; without that support my ability to even complete the PhD could be compromised. It is ironic to be congratulated for teaching excellence by the same administration that is making it impossible for me to continue teaching.”
The University of California, responding to Governor Schwarzenegger’s statewide budget cuts, has mandated a 10% reduction to the Temporary Academic Salaries budget, used to pay for Graduate Student instruction and
assistant lecturer positions. Across UC Berkeley’s campus, the same fiscal crisis will result in the widespread dismissal of lecturers. Departments that are particularly hard-hit include the prestigious English department,
East Asian Languages and Cultures, French, German, and others.
Ian Duncan, Chair of the English Department at UC Berkeley, summed up the implications of the situation. “The projected cuts to the TAS budget pose a serious threat to our ability to sustain our PhD program in the long
run. Most of our graduate students enter the program with the expectation that they will be able to support themselves with at least four years of teaching, since we are not able to provide the five-year fellowship packages offered by our peer-institution competitors (all of them wealthy private universities, such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford). At risk, in short, is nothing less than the core mission of the top-ranked English Department at the top-ranked public university in the country.”
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Link Love for 2008-05-14
Posted 14 May, 2008 at 12:34 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Bloggers/Blogging | Leave a Comment
What you should be reading:
Jack and Jill Politics: Clinton’s Race-Baiting Continues
Hard-working Americans = white Americans. Right. The rest of us sit on our porches eating watermelon and plucking banjos.
(tags: racism race politics)
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In Memory of Mildred Loving, Landmark of Civil Rights
Posted 5 May, 2008 at 4:07 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Memorial, Racism, U.S. Studies | 2 Comments
Mildred Loving, who challenged Virginia’s anti-interracial marriage laws, resulting in the Supreme Court striking down laws against interracial marriages, passed away on Friday, 2 May.
Sphere: Related ContentRICHMOND, Va. - Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, has died, her daughter said Monday.
Peggy Fortune said Loving, 68, died Friday at her home in rural Milford. She did not disclose the cause of death.
“I want (people) to remember her as being strong and brave yet humble — and believed in love,” Fortune told The Associated Press.
Loving and her white husband, Richard, changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to marry. The ruling struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states.
“There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause,” the court ruled in a unanimous decision.
Her husband died in 1975. Shy and soft-spoken, Loving shunned publicity and in a rare interview with The Associated Press last June, insisted she never wanted to be a hero — just a bride.
“It wasn’t my doing,” Loving said. “It was God’s work.”
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Posted 5 May, 2008 at 3:41 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Celebrate! | 1 Comment
Hows about we get this party started with a little 2Mex!
Things like this make me miss Denver. These kids are too cute.
Sphere: Related ContentTags: 2Mex, Cinco de Mayo
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On This Day
Posted 2 May, 2008 at 12:57 pm by Kevin
Filed Under No Category | 18 Comments
On this day, many moons ago, at this exact time, I was unleashed upon the world. My moms tells me that I had one eye open and one eye closed. I was also a week late. Heh, some things never change.
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I Miss You, My Friend.
Posted 2 May, 2008 at 3:01 am by Kevin
Filed Under No Category | 5 Comments
Tomorrow will be the third anniversary of Gibby’s passing. I post in her honor.
I miss You so much, my dear Gibby.
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Kevin, aka The Thin Black Duke.
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