Category Archives: Activism

What I’m Reading. What I’m Thinking.

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It was not natural. And she was the first…
A poet can read. A poet can write.
A poet is African in Africa, or Irish in Ireland, or French on the left bank of Paris, or white in Wisconsin. A poet writes in her own language. A poet writers of her own people, her own history, her own vision, her own room, her own house where she sits at her own table quietly placing one word after another word until she builds a line and a movement and an image and a meaning that somersaults all of these into the singing, the absolutely individual voice of the poet: at liberty. A poet is somebody free. A poet is someone at home.
How should there be Black poets in America?

-June Jordan, The Difficult Miracle of Black Poetry in America

This the epigraph to Adrienne Rich’s essay, ‘History Stops for No One’ in her collection, What Is Found There.  I picked this book up again 3 weeks ago to reread days before she died. I can’t stop reading it. You should read it too.

More later.

#BLACKOUT.

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I’ve read several opinions on SOPA/PIPA for weeks. I may be off in my read of it, but below is my letter to Senator Schumer urging his withdrawal of support of this bill. I’m sharing it here. Read the bill. Section 103 is SCARY. I’m not kidding.

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Dear Senator Schumer:

It has come to my attention that you support SOPA/PIPA that is currently under consideration in Congress. Your support of this bill is distressing and as a long time supporter of your service, and I’m now faced with a difficult decision if you choose to continue your support of this bill.

This bill is poorly written. It is unclear where piracy/copyright protection for the entertainment industry and preservation of free speech begins and ends.

The definition alone of a ‘internet site dedicated to the theft of US Property’ is so wildly unwieldy that EVERY INTERNET SITE CREATED IN THE US would be subject to scrutiny of the Attorney General depending on the claim by any entity that said site has committed ‘theft’ of content, which in this case equals ‘loss revenue’ for said entity. Should a site post a review or comment about a product that is unflattering to said product, the entity has the right to request the AG order Google to remove references index references to the site in a simple search, and the host provider would be mandated to block access to the site to any viewers who seek the domain. The offending entity has little to no resources to object this claim and the US government can assume ownership of the domain? This is my close read of Section 103 of the bill as it is currently written.

While many may believe that this is tied only to piracy (blocking sites that allow for streaming of motion pictures or major record label music), I don’t see how this bill protects the very foundation of our democracy, the ability for the press to communicate with readers, trusted and respected bloggers to communicate with their readers. I read US papers and international papers online. The bill would allow the US government to unilaterally block any foreign website. Should the BBC report on American events, the AG has the discretion to block my access to it? Really? It also seems to imply that a simple email communication between an individual and me could get flagged as copyright infringement and could mean that my email becomes property of US government and all my communication would be blocked. Am I mistaken in this interpretation?

I have a blog and occasionally write for other sites. If I’m reading Section 103 correctly, it also implies that any reference I may make could be in violation of copyright protection. I’m also a volunteer editor of an online literary journal. The content we publish is original work from writers and visual artists. We understand the sensitivity of this issue of piracy. However, should our original content reflect views that are deemed unsavory to an entity, corporation or the federal/state/local governments could simply block access to that content. We are a small entity; we rely solely on our connection to an online community of readers. There are many sites that are similar to ours in creating content. The bill could shut us down and hundreds down like us with the broad and undefined powers given to the attorney general under the guise to simply ‘protect US Property’.

The definitions are so nebulous, it allows for gross abuses in enforcement that leave me to conclude that in its implementation it would reach further than just shutting down sites of pirated entertainment media. It would be censorship of information and silencing between communities sharing communication, information for social and political action. It leads me to conclude that this is a direct assault on our first amendment rights.

Any reasonable person who reads this bill as it is currently written understands that this bill provides a trapdoor to ending free speech. I urge you to withdraw support from SOPA/PIPA. I’m sure that you and many members of congress could spend a little more time to precisely define terms to protect content creators and uphold copyright laws without making every citizen of the United States a criminal. You vote for this bill, you will lose my vote in the next election cycle.

Sincerely,

Syreeta McFadden
Brooklyn, NY

semantics. mcshemantics.

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As I read accounts on the standoff between public union supporters and the governor of my home state, I kinda winced at a word: prosperity. In a write-up about the billionaire Koch Brothers, the NYT cites a letter sent by Charles Koch, appealing to conservative business leaders to engage in future political activism:

“If not us, who? If not now, when?” said the letter, which invited other conservatives to a retreat in January in Rancho Mirage, Calif. “It is up to us to combat what is now the greatest assault on American freedom and prosperity in our lifetimes.”

Prosperity. Defined as ‘a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition, especially in financial respects; good fortune.’ Here, culturally, we now have divergent views of what that even means in its total application. A billionaire writes to other million mcbillionaires beseeching them to engage in political activism against the greatest assault on American freedom and prosperity. What is that exactly? The passage of the health care reform act and subsequent extension of the Bush era tax breaks were key indicators of the end of American freedom and prosperity. The Dow is trading above 12,000 is an indicator, no? Walker has made certain tax concessions for business interests to operate within Wisconsin, concessions that have contributed to the budget shortfall the Dairy State now faces.

At this point in the conflict, we know that Scott Walker’s stance to shore up the state budget deficit does not require ceding the right for public unions to collectively bargain. It’s simply a political power move in a weak economy.

I’ve been thinking about work and quality of life for some time. Beyond my own struggles, but collectively, beyond the concept of the narrative of the American Dream. Balloon Juice’s E.D. Kain hits some major notes for me here:

“Do we want a ‘right to work’ for whatever big business dictates, or a ‘right to work with dignity’? Because that’s what’s being stripped from the American worker more than anything else. With every new round of layoffs and outsourcing, the dignity of the American worker is diminished.”

We’ve read stories about how American wages have stalled over the years, benefits reduced, and total number of hours the average American works (‘in 2005 annual hours worked in the US were 15% higher than the European Union (EU15) average’). We know that we’ve overleveraged our own resources to keep pace with tokens of American dream of prosperity (see: the housing market, credit card debt per household, etc). to maintain that myth of prosperity for the middle class/working class. We take our work seriously. Even when there’s high unemployment. We believe that it’ll lead us to the good life, the prosperous life. Can unionization guarantee that?

And I have complicated feelings about unions. I’ve been a member of a public union and I’ve worked for a corporation. Some unions (see: construction) have been known to be selective in bringing in new members (see: black men). Still, I don’t believe that public unions should be stripped of their right to collectively bargain. If business leaders can create organizations to advocate for their interests (see: Citizens United v. Federal Electoral Commission), why on earth would we not permit workers (public and private) to do the same? I’m seriously searching for an answer on some false equivalency tip (see: liberals, Jon Stewart). I’m loathed to find one. Continue reading →

on, wisconsin!

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America’s new Bellwether State, remains in a detente:

Senate Democrats remained in hiding in Illinois, preventing the chamber from taking up a budget bill that includes provisions they view as an attack on public sector unions. And Assembly Democrats began a marathon session of debate on the bill, promising to offer more than 100 amendments in an apparent stalling tactic.

This fight is spreading to other states with Republican governors. Indiana State Democrats walked out of session yesterday because of a similar bill up for consideration in that state. If you haven’t seen this segment from the Rachel Maddow Show on history of the labor movement in Wisconsin, and its effect on what we come to commonly expect as rights for workers, you should do so now.

The next [labor] movement is now underway.

 

now you are free…

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One Tuesday afternoon in 1981, while Taslin and I played with what I remember were Barbies, cutting old socks making them into sweater dresses, we heard a wail from the top floor of our apartment building on Teutonia Avenue. I never heard anyone cry like that before. Taslin’s mother ran down the stairs to our apartment and into the arms of my mother, weeping. Anwar Sadat had been killed. I was seven years old. Taslin was five. The rest of the afternoon and evening, I recall, involved me watching Taslin’s mother balled tight on our sofa watching the news, video montages of Sadat’s life. Sadat shaking hands with Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter ran on a continuous loop. What Taslin’s mother told me of Sadat was that she had hoped with the changes he was making, she’d be able to go home someday. She wanted Taslin, who was born in America, to someday return to the country of her forebearers, and if she chose to, live as a free and modern woman there as she would here.

Watching these developments in Egypt today, I’m surprised to find how invested I had been in their story all along. The live feed from Al Jazeera’s YouTube channel ran video of Liberation (Tahrir) Square’s jubilant masses, and I couldn’t stop my tears.  Tomorrow, the real work of rebuilding a nation begins. And from this distance, many questions remain in terms of how this process will actually work. The Egyptian military who has acted as an arbiter between the protesters and the now fallen regime throughout these eighteen days (even protecting protesters from the Basij-like throngs/mobs of men last week) assumes control over the nation. No one is certain of what this may mean for the Egyptian people just yet and hopefully, this transitional period will maintain its peaceful nature.

Again, Obama’s June 2009 Cairo speech runs like a tape in my head since the developments in Tunisia last month, and now today in Egypt:

Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere… So no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who would hold power: You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

It was prescient then. Delivered just a week before the Iranian elections, and subsequent revolution, it was a signal to me that a new era was forthcoming. It’s worth a re-read today.

Tomorrow, we’ll be watching Algeria.

‘it wasn’t just a man, it was a movement…’

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For some reason, this poem demanded a reread for me while reading and listening to various takes/tributes for MLK Day this year:

The End and the Beginning

After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won’t
straighten themselves up, after all.

Someone has to push the rubble
to the sides of the road,
so the corpse-laden wagons
can pass.

Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.

Someone must drag in a girder
to prop up a wall.
Someone must glaze a window,
rehang a door.

Photogenic it’s not,
and takes years.
All the cameras have left
for another war.

Again we’ll need bridges
and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
from rolling them up.

Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls how it was.
Someone listens
and nods with unsevered head.
Yet others milling about
already find it dull.

From behind the bush
sometimes someone still unearths
rust-eaten arguments
and carries them to the garbage pile.

Those who knew
what was going on here
must give way to
those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.

In the grass which has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out,
blade of grass in his mouth,
gazing at the clouds.

—Wislawa Szymborska
(translated from the Polish by Joanna Trzeciak)

scattered thoughts on moderation and restoring sanity.

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I had every intention of going to DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity. The spectacle and clarion call, the gathering of moderates was seductive. However, in typical moderate fashion, I didn’t figure out a plan to get there. By the time I realized I should have booked a bus ticket on MegaBus or Bolt, they were already sold out.

So instead, I spent my Saturday restoring sanity on the home front. I cleaned my bedroom. I cleaned the bathroom. I vacuumed. I groomed my cat. I folded laundry. I organized the stack of ungraded papers for my review. I took a walk around the neighborhood. I bought a latte. I did most of this in relative silence. I refrained from checking my twitterfeed for updates of value and snark regarding the day’s events. I peaked once. Kid Rock performed? (Dude, like seriously?)

There were shows I’m missing. A happy hour I would’ve liked to have gone to. At the very least, I would’ve loved to rub elbows with the young progressives and shared in their sideways glance, witty banter and commentary about a comedian who’s righteous indignation against the tide of batshit crazy in our political discourse has manifested itself in a not so cleverly disguised get out the vote rally on the Washington Mall. Instead, I’m here in Brooklyn. Unable to check into foursquare to unlock uber swarm badges to acknowledge that I exist among the crowd of young(ish) moderate voices in American politics. I’m fine with this. Continue reading →

Kevin Coval: A Post-Olympic Plan for a City Under Siege

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via huffingtonpost.com

There’s a special place in my heart for the Second City. Born and raised just 90 minutes north of Chicago, my family and I would find ourselves on somewhere on the South Side, crammed around a kitchen table at my favorite aunt’s house. We came to visit often; for school trips, church conferences and family gatherings. Chicago, in my earliest memories, is shorthand for ‘family’.

So it’s no surprise that when Chicago is dealt a blow, I feel it too. And it hurts. It breaks my heart. I see echoes of my beginnings too in broken neighborhoods, broken homes, broken bodies. I remember violence that took some of my classmates before they could reach their 16th birthday. I remember violence that still makes me afraid to wear red and black in neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

Yet in the wake of tragedy, I still have hope. I’ve got friends in Chicago who are doing good work. I’ve got friends who are writers, teachers, artists working with Chicago kids citywide, teaching them to craft words and manifest change in their lives. I’ve got friends who write grants to fund programs that have been victim of too many budget cuts supporting after school programming for high school aged youth. The above video clip is from a documentary about the people and work of Louder Than a Bomb.

I encourage you to read Kevin Coval’s full post. Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) is approaching its ten-year anniversary. Through writing, poetry and performance, young people have found safe space to explore the struggles they face as teens growing up in tough neighborhoods, as well as the paradox of being between adult and childhood. They are doing all of this by kicking rhymes and writing poems.

Poems. Yeah, I said it. Poems. I know that writing saved my life when I was coming up. Hear me. Writing saved my life. There’s more I can say about that, but that’s for another time, when we’re better acquainted. But you should know this: there are words that can destroy, but there are words that can create. Create possibility, create ideas, create art, create change. Words that remind us to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Affirm Life.

Do More…

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Beyonce was inspired.

You could feel it. The President and First Lady felt it. So much so, that they had to end their little, sexy two-step slow dance groove to acknowledge it. She found her voice.

And then some:

“He makes me want to be smarter, to get involved…”

President Obama has certainly inspired millions. But she’s fortunate just to look at her own husband, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. His most inspired act as mogul and musician was a couple of years ago where he teamed up with the UN bought pumps to help supply potable water to an Angolan slum in sub-Saharan Africa, and then shot a documentary with MTV called Water for Life in 2006.

From that experience, Jay-Z has said “I come from Marcy Projects in Brooklyn which is a tough place to grow up, but this has shown me how good we have it…take it from me, you’re not from the hood. You haven’t seen people with no access to water. It really puts things into perspective.”

Seriously, B? Obama isn’t the only model for change to look toward.