Race Relations, Politics, Relationships, Health, Pop Culture, Natural Hair and Lifestyle From The Perspective of a Black Woman Living Nappily Ever After...Or Trying To.
Weird Black Girl in the City! Nerdist, Afroist, Intellectualist, Fuckeryist
You know what? Why do it? It took the idiots 50 years to come to the conclusion that naming any part of their campus after a piece of shit Klansman was a bad idea. Hell, it's damned near tyrannical. What a way to invest into the mental well-being and positive of your minority, gay, or Catholic students...
I propose that the University of Texas give a big middle finger to the world and aim "higher" on the totem pole of fuckery. I suggest they do the following:
1) Rename the dorms after prominent members of the Third Reich: Hitler, Mengele, Himmler, Eichmann, Goering... There are just so many totally "rad" dudes to choose from!
2) Rename the Child Development Center to Jack The Ripper's Funtime Corner. There, the kids will learn valuable skills in knife wielding and killing prostitutes... AWESOME!
3) Lyndon B. Johnson Library could become Kim Jong Il Library (but it would ONLY have books about how Kim Jong Il was born on some mountain heralded by swallows and some other acid trippy shit and how he only defecates roses).
4) Make the school motto "The University of Texas: Don't let the sun set on you here, darkies."
5) Put all the "colored" students in one dorm, with substandard conditions and name it Jiggaboo Junction and voila! They would also be forced to celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday by dressing up as slaves and picking cotton. GREAT success!
Just keeping doing you UT. F*ck these haters! *hairflip* They are totally just making this racial and pulling the "race card."
Anymore ways the University of Texas could aim higher at being pathetic? Hit up the comments!
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You know it's getting old. It's getting real old. I've got a Tumblr (check out the link above) and I occasionally come across these pictures of white hipsters or hipster wanna-be's wearing these usually beautiful war bonnets that they've procured from somewhere...usually online.
They put on the the war bonnet and take these foolish little pictures where they look coked up, and disenchanted with God knows what... I dunno, their American Apparel duds maybe? The war bonnet doesn't even BELONG in the picture. It doesn't even make sense. It's just there for some reason. Probably because they are so above giving respect to the sanctity of this piece they're wearing.
"Fuck yeah! War bonnet!"
I think about our pollera (shown below) and how mad I would be if a bunch of moronic waifs who are too caught up and intoxicated in their own privilege decided to don ANY PIECE (even the little poof on the dress) to model their emaciated skulls on Tumblr or Lookbook.nu with.
I understand wanting to wear certain things. I get that. But certain things are off limits, and are simply not ever to be made into fashion statements just because. The war bonnets are beautiful, but you know what? It's not for me to play House of Style in. Period.
Furthermore, it's a huge insult to these people because nobody with enough respect for someone else's culture would do something like this. Cultural appropriation is not always flattery, as it usually has nothing to do with the history, and it only seems to take on the appropriated culture and incorporate it, usually, into the majority's. But then the people whose culture I just appropriated remain faceless, nameless and without a story. I just take what I like, and neglect to care about them. That's the crime here.
For more on this (and probably much more eloquently said), check out:
I was over at Crunk and Disorderly and noticed that it was a teaser/trailer for some abomination called 12 Strands featuring Chris Brown. At first, I wasn't going to click on it. Then again, I decided that Chris Brown seems to invite fuckery. So I clicked and was assaulted by this:
Now, my first question is, why would someone in his position--having been convicted of domestic violence and still generally seen as a pariah despite his coalition of the naive and gullible--be engaged in various acts of physical violence in a trailer?
I realize that Chris Brown stans will see nothing wrong with this, but then again, what afflicts them is out of my psychology textbook, so we might as well leave their opinions to science. For those of us who are not bamboozled easily, this video comes as no surprise. It, for those of us who weren't fooled by some tears, whining, a Messiah complex and a silly bow tie, gives credence to our warnings and our understanding of this grown ass man who has yet to show the masses some semblance of growth.
In this trailer, Chris Brown can be seen engaging in his usual "I am so troubled and persecuted" dramatics, but he goes on to do some serious fight scenes, complete with hooks to the freaking dome! Rihanna game proper, eh, Chris? Then, he engages in a lusty kiss with some model, while another model watches. He sure does respect the ladies!
A little misogyny, a whole lot of violence and some inner turmoil. Sounds like he grew up. We should TOTALLY give him a chance, because he's young and he's changed, right?
This would be like a convicted drug dealer or addict putting out their own bootleg version of Scarface. Is this something that someone who is on a quest for self-improvement after a brutal crime would do? The fact that Mr. Brown sees fit to engage in this foolish and vain trailer at this juncture in his "career" shows that he does not have the ingredients or the brain power necessary to succeed.
At the end of the day, I thought the kid was a mediocre singer at best, and he was unattractive to me. I was never wowed by the kid, so I've no special reason to see his career ruined. I never supported it in the first place. And as for me personally forgiving him, that would mean that I would have to give a damn about the guy on a personal level. However, from the consumer aspect, Chris Brown has just shown us with this little video that he is incapable and unworthy of being a celebrity that is celebrated and showered with accolades. To hell with anyone else, I am talking about Chris.
Either he is plain stupid, his PR is out to sabotage him or he just doesn't give a damn. Of course his stans will enable him long enough for him to have a little money to live comfortably, but he can kiss world domination and a global empire goodbye. While that cat was sleeping, Justin Bieber came up, and took all his work. And honestly, he could've stood some semblance of a chance, but engaging in behavior that would be conducive to putting out tripe on video, is exactly why Chris Brown won't ever be what he once was.
We all know the name of the game in the industry. Don Imus and Dog the Bounty Hunter are good examples of this. And those are just the white guys. There have been plenty of embattled black artists who did some public penitence, T.I. comes to mind with his MTV specials, who've gone on to keep the money flowing and keep it moving. Hell, Kanye will still make money after assaulting white people's favorite white girl, Taylor Swift, verbally last year. That, to white folks, was worse than anything Chris could've done to Rihanna. You know, Taylor was a sugary, sweet blonde haired, blue eyed country singer. They would've lynched 'Ye if they could've... Fuck a Rihanna. Penitence and some time away does a career good in this industry. It's not like the American masses are that much smarter than Chris Brown's most rabid fans.
I want him to join Mel Gibson (and a couple of other knuckleheads that are too many to name) on a barge to some tiny, uninhabited island in the South Pacific and stay there bashing each other into the sand...
Mel: "Chris, if you get raped by a pack of n****rs, it will be your fault!"
Chris: *punch* *kick* *slap*
I see a match made in heaven. Roman Polanski can film the entire thing, and it will be all good.
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The NAACP has passed a resolution condemning racism in the Tea Party movement.
The resolution was approved in a vote by more than 2,000 delegates at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Kansas City.
Versions of the resolution condemned "explicitly racist behavior" in the Tea Party movement and called on people to "repudiate" what it described as racist elements of the Tea Party. The final text of the resolution has not yet been made available, however, and that language may have changed.
As the Associated Press notes, NAACP President Ben Jealous has said the Tea Party movement needs to "be responsible members of this democracy and make sure they don't tolerate bigots or bigotry among their members." Source
I bet W.E.B DuBois just died AGAIN. Yes, I know he's dead, and he's probably rolled in his casket dozens upon dozens of times with the antics of the NAACP. Then again, what can you expect from them? Even their beginnings seem dubious.
Either way, I really appreciate the media-whoring, err, I mean, the concern by the NAACP. Thank you for caring guys. Now, if only they would give a damn about all of the other things that are, you know, important...
1) How about they jump in and help stop the new age Ku Klux Klan-nery going down in Utah?
2) How about they give a damn about black women for once? We've been in the news recently, especially as it relates to infant and maternal mortality. Do something about that.
3) Maybe they could launch a counterprotest to the one going down for Johannes Mehserle's murdering ass....
4) Maybe they could step their game up in communities? Just a thought. I mean, they won't clean themselves up alone. Maybe they could get off Mount Olympus and do a little something for the underserved communities of minorities. I do believe foreclosures are still high for minorities.
By the way, the thugs on the streets are doing way more damage to "colored people" than the maniacs and fuckwits who are part of the tea party.
5) Aiyana Jones anyone? Or have we forgotten?
Nobody really cares what a bunch of hoodwinked morons have to blather and froth at the mouth about. They will implode under the weight of their own idiocy. I guarantee you that. The NAACP "speaking out" against them just highlights the fact that they have long since given up on helping "colored people" a very long, long time ago.
I'm not going to sit here and talk about the legalities, California statutes or penal codes, how the jury came up with involuntary manslaughter. I guess to do that, that would be saying that I believed that Oscar Grant would have been viewed as a human being, not a beast that needed to be shot out of its misery.
Taser or not, any act of aggression against a man that is subdued, and face down, is questionable. I felt angered because once again, the lives of certain people in society don't have the same value because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
It's hard for me to see that video as someone who has shot weapons, and knows the responsibility that comes with carrying one, and not see a moron of the highest caliber and a wicked human being.
At the end of the day, Oscar Grant didn't really stand a chance because studies indicate that minorities, particularly black people, are still seen as other than human; animals:
Study five, conducted at Penn State University, took a different approach. A group of white male students were primed with words associated with either apes or big cats. They then watched a tape of a policeman beating a man, a la Rodney King. Half were told the man (whose image was unclear on the film) was white; the other half were told he was black.
The students who were primed with cat words considered the beating unjustified. So did those who were primed with ape words but were told the victim was white. But those who were primed with the ape words and told the victim was black were far more ambivalent in their reaction. “The association between black and ape left our white respondents more open to the possibility that police violence might in fact be justified,” Goff said.
I'm sorry for Oscar's family and while I don't advocate looting, I believe that demonstrations en masse and activism were necessary. This is the only way we will get change. More minorities need to join law enforcement to help temper the vile attitudes Johannes Mehserle obviously espoused.
He may not have been convicted, but Mehserle is still a rotten murderer and he always will be.
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I will be writing about Oscar Grant tomorrow when I can let the anger subside a bit. Right now, I cannot form a cohesive thought on this man's cold-blooded killer getting off with involuntary manslaughter.
The more things change, the more things stay the same...
Make no mistake though. Johannes Mehserle is a pig and a murderous bastard and karma doesn't need a jury to collect its dues... Inhuman scum.
I say Kelis is only a bit of an inspiration because I usually don't look up to celebrities often, but Kelis is on my list of people I "fux" with.
It's been unfortunate to see her not get the recognition she deserves. It seems like music and musical lemmings forget her because she's black, but let Gaga get on the scene and it's "refreshing." I can't even understand that. I think there's room for them all, and they all have their own lanes, albeit with similarities.
I've been listening to Kelis' new album, Flesh Tone, today and I've been pleased. It is not the best I've heard in the way of dance/electronica/trance, but it's solid. I'm actually very proud of her for going over and trying an album that is totally new for her, not just flirting with something new.
"4th of July (Fireworks)" is my favorite, although "Acapella" is very nice. The others are pretty good, but not great, and that's okay, because this is the same reaction--actually I was less impressed to be honest--I got with Gaga's album (or her redux of it).
While I miss her sick afro, I'm liking this Kelis, far better than the one who sold out in 2006 with "Bossy." I liked that song, but I knew it wasn't Kelis. I think this is what has made it difficult for her. That detour in 2006 wasn't helpful for her now.
Can I just say how AWESOME her 'fro was in "Young, Fresh N New"? DAMN!!!
(Her hair starting at 1:33 gives me life!)
Check out Flesh Tone if you want something different and a little more organic than the pop bullshit out there. It's not superb, but it works, and it's way better than anything Lady Gaga has put out (with the exception of "Telephone". I like that one lol).
Well Lindsay Lohan finally got some jail time for her fuckery. It's about damned time I guess. Unfortunately, she may get out with just 23 days under her belt. I hope not because the last thing Lindsay needs is any more rope with which to hang herself.
I'm glad she's going to jail, but not in the schadenfreude sense. I'm happy because maybe, JUST MAYBE, she might be able to turn her life around. I think privilege (financial, racial, gender) and fame have helped her run away from her demons, only to find herself surrounded by them any damned way.
Personally, I think her mother and father should be in the cells next to her, because it is clear that this chick never stood a chance. And I'm pretty sure that we're screwed because her little sister is growing up with the same drama.
I believe in redemption and I think that if she really wants to, she can make a positive change and be a good actress. For that to happen she needs to pay the piper. She's overdue....
Attention Chris Brown stans: I'm waiting for you, you hear me? I see you on all the blogs, especially after Mr. Brown's performance at the BET Awards, going off on anyone that does not and did not fall in awe at the feet of your messiah. The attacks are always the same fare:
"Get a life!"
"He still makes more money than you!"
"He still has adoring fans."
"Your blog sucks!"
Oh, I am so ready for your rabid, yet ineffective vitriol. Bring. IT. ON. I'm letting you know right now that while Mr. Brown might have more in his bank account than I do, and has a cult of zombies who would eat their own mothers' brains if he so much as hinted at it, and all that jazz, at least I don't have a criminal record thanks to giving a beat down to a defenseless person who was smaller and frailer than me. No misdemeanors and no felonies on my end. No, sir...
On a serious note, I'm hoping to prevent a lot of the drama that unfolds in the comments sections
whenever anyone has the "nerve" to mention anything about Chris, even if it's not unkind. It can never be kind enough, if you ask his fans. Even women who have been previously abused themselves, came to his defense, and in effect showing that they are still mentally abused, even if they've escaped the physical abuse.
I'm not here to question whether or not Chris was sincere or not. I almost think it's inappropriate to do so. I don't care enough to rip someone's brain apart in that way. I hope he was sincere and I hope that his "breakdown" is a sign of better things to come for him. However, it doesn't mean that I or anyone else should automatically give him a pass or forgive him for his actions. If anything, I think he was a day late and a dollar short. Had we seen this type of emotion on his part after his attack and abuse came to light, he might have stood a chance. Instead he retreated into the enabling of people whose collective self-esteem is suspect to me.
It's almost hard to do so, because I feel like I am joining a group of people that have always been on his side, even when it was clear that he hit a woman. I just don't want to join that chorus because it appears to me that their forgiveness was never earned, it was always there, waiting and eager. They often speak about forgiving Chris, and go on to remind us that we all sin--as if we didn't know this already--so therefore we should forgive easily and quickly.
Then you have the fans who are quick to play the race card. "Man, y'all are harder on a brotha than white folks. We should forgive him because it's hard for a brotha out here." This is disingenuous because no one has been more accommodating and more forgiving, even after the pictures of Rihanna's battered face came out, than his primarily black audience--which is tragic in and of itself. Are we supposed to support every black man or woman who has done something wicked just because they are black? Sphere: Related Content
Everyone is talking about Chris Brown's spectacle at the BET Awards, but that didn't stop a few people on one black celebrity blog from commenting on Janelle Monae's natural coif.
One person commenting said that Janelle's hair resembled a "brillo pad."
REALLY? I've read some pretty ignorant things, and that's got to be one of them. It is 2010 not 1910 or 1810 for that matter. Why would black women refer to another black woman's hair as a brillo pad? As if relaxed or pressed hair is always smooth and always healthy. If anything, I've seen more fried, dyed and laid to the side hair that's chemically treated (including my own when it was relaxed on several occasions) than I have seen with natural hair.
I don't care if her hair is the 4B-est of all 4B hairtypes. I don't care if it makes combs shiver in fear... It's her natural hair, not a brillo pad and I think it's disgusting that it's seen as such.
I guess no matter how much we step forward in the right direction, there will always be some people who are deadset on not embracing the hair God gave us. Case in point, the buffoon in the post on putting microbraids on kids as young as three years old.
I'm a writer of all trades. I write about every and anything that bothers or amazes my mind. You can catch my writing at Singersroom.com, Seaspot.com, Urbevents.com, HappyNappyHead.blogspot.com and MahoganyButterfly.com.
