POST-Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Reflections: The RISBROOK Family ROD's Presentation For DDFR Sunday, Feb. 28th, 2010 (Bklyn, NY)

Hey Black Family,

I had a blast at the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) engagement earlier this afternoon at the Grand Army Plaza library which is the main library for Brooklyn.

I was a guest speaker and like many other hundreds of other African folk, I was given an opportunity to submit pictures of my family and what it was like growing up for me. Coupled with that, I spoke about my closeness with my cousin Marva "Marvalous" Risbrook. I am truly blessed to have her in my life as we are really close. I get to see first hand how she is a big part of the family and interacts as a mother of two great and beautiful kids (who are as close as I'll ever get to having my own kids, I think), a recent grandmother, a nurturer and just an overall beautiful spirit beyond words.

Like me, she is same gender loving (SGL), and that is the other component I got to speak about this afternoon and how that nexus have crystallized our relationship as cousins and good friends. That kinship played a catalyst in bringing up our particular segment of the African Diaspora and our sexual diverseness from INVISIBILITY to VISIBILITY and that we are all a part of the Black Family in many capacities in spite of us being minimized and our fear of judgment!!

Finally, I'm truly humbled at having the experience and have to GIVE MUCHO THANKS to three specials people: DDFR consulting producer Don Perry (thanks for being a fan of Nubian Knights Network, Don), multimedia producer Ann Bennett (it was so qool meetin' you for the first time at Third World Newsreel for those two workshops and glad we had another fun ride) and writer/producer/director Thomas Allen Harris. (Brutha man, this is a historic project, and it nice to know you have genuine heart in the digital migration of photographic stories of the African Diaspora. This project is beyond words... just sheer imagery).


ALSO, A SPECIAL, SPECIAL THANKS TO MY GOOD FRIEND DELMAR for handling the camera and shooting the footage of me dialoging with with Thomas (see below).

Thomas Allen Harris is the founder and President of Chimpanzee Productions: a company dedicated to producing unique visual experiences that illuminate the Human Condition and the search for identity, family, and spirituality. Chimpanzee's innovative and award-winning films have received critical acclaim at international festivals such Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, FESPACO, Turin, Tribeca, Rio, Outfest, Flaherty and Cape Town; and have been broadcast on PBS, the Sundance Channel, ARTE, as well as CBC, Swedish Broadcasting Network and New Zealand Television. In addition, Mr. Harris' video and installations have been featured at prestigious museums and galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Biennial, Corcoran Gallery, Reina Sophia and London Institute of the Arts. Mr. Harris is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including the United States Artist Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, as well as CPB/PBS, and Sundance Directors Fellowships. A graduate of Harvard College, Mr. Harris lectures widely on the use of media as a tool for social change.

Writer/Producer/Director Thomas Allen Harris

Ann Bennett (Multimedia Producer) and Thomas Allen Harris
-

All Photography © 2010 ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

Nubian Knights Network Founder ROD PATRICK RISBROOK
Discussing With Thomas Allen Harris About Growing Up
With His Family And The Importance Of The
Black Same Gender Loving Community Being Affirmed
By The Larger Black Community And Not Being JUDGED

About DDFR and the Video...

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) is a community engagement initiative that maps African Diasporic Photography across time, place, and genre. Using the power of new and emerging interactive platforms, the exciting stories of Black photography will be made accessible technologically, geographically, and culturally to current and future generations.

In this particular video segment, I (ROD PATRICK RISBROOK) talk with DDFR creator and moderator Thomas Allen Harris about the images I submitted to the project . We also touched on the Black Same-Gender-Loving or SGL experience within the African Diaspora and what that means for me.

The term Same Gender Loving (homosexual, bisexual & transgender) emerged in the early 90s to offer Black women who love Black women and Black men who love Black men (and other people of color) a way of identifying that resonated with the uniqueness of Black life and culture. Before this, many African descended people, knowing little about their history regarding homosexuality and bi-sexuality had taken on European symbols and identifications as a means of embracing their sexuality(ies): Greek lambdas, German pink triangles, the White-gay-originated rainbow flag, in addition to the terms gay and lesbian.

SGL has served as a wake up call for African descended people to acknowledge diverse ways of loving and sexualities and has provided an opportunity for Blacks and other people of color to claim, nurture and honor their significance within their families and communities.



MY FAMILY And Growing Up...

ME On My "Horsie" When I Was A Little Shorty
(Notice The Pictures On The Wall Taken By
My Brother Reggie. He Was Quite The Photographer)




ME And MOM Smiling For The Camera




My Mom Giving ME A LOVE KISS (Christmas Time)

My Mom And Me At Christmas Chillin' Together

ME With My Yellow Corvette Racing Car Which Had Pedals
MAN! I LOVED THIS CAR!!





ME Playing With My Toys!

My Dad And My Mom With ME





ME On My Red Fire Engine Toy
With My Two Older Brothers




MY Two Brothers (Erine and Reggie) With
Reggie Holding ME At Kaiser Park In Coney Island

ME (left) With My Boyhood Friend Marvin (right).
His Family Was Close With My Family.
We Were Goo Friends Up Until Our Teenage Years

My Mom And ME!




ME (Early 1970s) Posing With A Camera
(Nah, It Wasn't My Camera)

ME (ROD) And My Cousin Marva.
We're Real Close And Being "Same Gender Loving"
Make Us Closer As Cousins!

Tonja & Marva (My Cousin)
[Lovers/Partners]

Marva & Tonja's Hands

Tonja & Marva




My Cousin Marva (Center)
With Her Two Kids Jason (left) and Jessica (right).
Beautiful Kids And Probably As Close As
I'll Ever Come To Having my Own Kids

Daughter Jessica And Momma Marva

BEAUTIFUL!

I Loved The Picture Of Me As Little Kid So Much
That I Re-created It By Self-Portrait In April of 2007
And Put The Two Images Together Side By Side.
I Thought It Was Pretty Damn Qool! LOL!

Pictured From Left To Right:
Aunt Mame, Cousin Marva & Tonja (Partners),
Cousin Jessica, A Friend Of The Family
And Cousin Jason

Congress Reauthorizes Patriot Act, Sidesteps Privacy Concerns

Friday 26 February 2010
by: Kyle Berlin, t r u t h o u t | Report

Congress Reauthorizes Patriot Act, Sidesteps Privacy Concerns

Under pressure from the White House and Republicans, a bill to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act was passed by the House Thursday with little discussion or debate and sent to President Obama, who is expected to immediately sign it into law.

The bill passed with an overwhelming majority, 315-97, and will allow law enforcement and intelligence officials to continue to compel private businesses to turn over records; track non-government entities, such as terrorist organizations; and use so-called “roving wiretaps,” which can be set up regardless of whether the line being tapped is sometimes used for legitimate purposes. The provisions in the bill would be extended until February 28, 2011, and are set to expire this Sunday.

Both chambers passed the measure swiftly—the Senate voted for it on Wednesday—after Democrats agreed to drop greater restrictions and oversight on domestic spying programs.

“I would have preferred to add oversight and judicial review improvements to any extension of expiring provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) in a statement.

The Democrats, facing a looming deadline and a potential filibuster in the Senate, backed away from many key provisions concerning congressional oversight in what is seen by critics as a blow to both the party and civil liberties.

In the House, only a few Congressmen, including Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) came out in public opposition to the bill.

“As Members of Congress sworn to protect the rights and civil liberties afforded to us by the Constitution, we have a responsibility to exercise our oversight powers fully, and significantly reform the PATRIOT Act, ensuring that the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans are fully protected,” Kucinich said in a statement. “More than eight years after the passage of the PATRIOT Act, we have failed to do so.”

Republicans have been hammering Democrats on issues of national security for months, including the decision to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in federal court, as well as the moving of the remaining inmates in Guantanamo Bay Prison to a prison in the US.

Leahy introduced the legislation in November, and it follows further revelations of domestic wiretapping that took place during the Bush Administration, including a January report from the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General on the FBI’s use of “exigent letters” to obtain phone records without judicial oversight or a subpoena.

After high-level officials in the FBI and White House discovered the practice in 2006, they issued 11 National Security Letters - an administrative subpoena demanding that an organization turn over data about an individual - in an attempt to "try to 'cover' or validate the improperly obtained records," according to the report.

Attorney General Eric Holder, in a letter to Leahy expressing his “strong support” of the Patriot Act Extension, wrote that NSLs, “remain a critical tool of national security investigations.”

They were a topic of heated debate in both the House and the Senate.

“These letters, issued with no court oversight, have been used to obtain all sorts of material, and have been joined with gag orders on the recipients that were recently struck down by the courts,” Nadler said. “I hope that this vote today will not stop my colleagues from continuing to improve our intelligence gathering laws.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) attempted to add an amendment to the bill that would have reformed the way NSLs can be used. Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) and Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) were unsuccessful in adding an amendment to not reauthorize the so-called “lone wolf” power, which permits surveillance of targets with no ties to foreign powers.

Feingold was, however, able to add an amendment that would limit the records the government can keep while using NSLs. He was also the only Senator to vote against the original Patriot Act legislation passed in 2001.

Both the House and the Senate are working on bills that would extend and reform the Patriot Act, but remain at an impasse on which powers the government should be able to retain, and how to oversee how those powers are being exercised.

The House version of the bill would eliminate the “lone wolf” power, while the Senate would simply reauthorize existing authorities. The bills, both of which passed through committee and await floor action, contain significant oversight of these powers. Democratic lawmakers could now potentially push action on the bill until after the midterm elections in what has already proven to be a costly battle on national security.

Shahid Buttar, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, told Truthout he is troubled that lawmakers passed the bill without discussing any of the privacy concerns raised by civil libertarians.

Congress "doesn't seem to have any appreciation for its role as a body meant to check and balance the executive," Buttar said. "This is simply a straight reauthorization of a law that was in effect when [George W. Bush] was in office," Buttar said. "Since then, we had three Inspectors General reports documenting abuse. There's not even a hint or a scratch of civil liberties protections. Congress is simply issuing another blank check."

TAKE SURVEY: Social Justice Sexuality Initiative SAME GENDER LOVING FOLKS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE!

Hey Black SGL Family,

I wanted to plug this survey because from my perspective as a Black same gender loving (SGL) male brutha, I feel and have witnessed over the course of 12 years (WOW! It's been that long for me!!) now that the Black same gender loving community is largely INVISIBLE when it comes to our liberation and living a proud and healthy life that is NOT heterosexual one. Some of the reasons, in my mind, are due to apathy and having a non-political agenda among a myriad of other various reasons that we could dissect until nausea.

With that said, I took this survey and found it to be INCREDIBLY THOROUGH in its implementation, and specific questions asked to and geared to people of color (African descended folks, Latino folks, Asian/Pacific Islander folks, Native American folks, etc.) and what is important and relevant for us.

I think it's an opportunity to have a VOICE and share OUR (YOUR) personal feelings as well as feelings toward our communities which is how the survey is structured. The question/statement format is very simple and easy, so I encourage folks to fill it out.

Below is an explanation of the survey's purpose and who's administrating and collecting the data. YOUR NAME, MAILING ADDRESS, EMAIL ADDRESS and PHONE NUMBER is NEVER ASKED so your identity is TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS!

National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) members have been asked to participate in a survey that celebrates the experiences of LGBT people of color throughout the United States. The major goal is a better understanding of your experiences in four major areas: access to health and community-based services, civic engagement, family, and religious experiences.

This project aims to involve and impact the policy makers, organizers, academics and practitioners vital to lasting community change and empowerment, and ultimately to serve as a springboard for ideas and strategies that can improve the quality of life for LGBT people of color.

Take the Survey...

Learn More...

A Walk Through Fort Greene TRAILER By Writer / Director / Historian Nelson George A Film About A Neighborhood Of Black Artists In Brooklyn,NY

A Walk Through Fort Greene - TRAILER from Diane Paragas on Vimeo.

A feature length documentary of the black arts movement that exploded in Fort Greene from the mid 1980s through the 90s as intimately told by writer, historian and director, Nelson George. The film features Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Rosie Perez, Branford Marsalis, Vernon Reid, Carl Hancock Rux, Saul Williams, Lorna Simpson, Alva Rogers, Kevin Powell, Toure, Bill Stephany to name a few.

Directors: Nelson George & Diane Paragas
Writer: Nelson George
Editor: Diane Paragas
Cinematography: Diane Paragas, Francisco Aliwalis
Music: Dreaming in Fort Greene by Poogie Bell
Producer: Nicole Nelch

The film is currently in production.

ROD Gives A SPECIAL THANKS TO NEO~GRIOT

The History of Black Hockey Players: Past and Present, Plus Joe Gans (Boxer)

Click This Pic To Be Re-Directed To A
Slide Show Of Black Hockey Players Past & Present

Hockey Player P.K. Subban
(He's A Cutie! )

Reference Links:
Ice Hockey In Harlem (NYC)

Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Program

Fort Dupont Cannons 2005 JV Purple Puck Champions

Fort Dupont Cannons 2006 - 2007

ALSO...

THE OLD MASTER

Fort Dupont Cannons 2005 JV Purple Puck Champions
The Baltimore City Paper has a great article on Joe Gans, the first Black American boxing champion (no, it wasn't Jack Johnson) and one the country's first black sports heroes. Nicknamed 'Old Master,' over 7,000 people attended his funeral - but his legacy has been long forgotten, especially in his native Baltimore. The 100th anniversary of his death is approaching this year, and there are no street signs or historical markers in his honor.

But a Southwest Airlines employee and part-time actor has made it his personal mission to resurrect Gans' memory, by attempting to raise $25,000 to have a wax figure made of the boxing champion to be placed in the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore. So far, he's convinced actors, local athletes and Negro League baseball players to attend his upcoming fundraiser February 26th at the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards. Read the article HERE.

Photo: Wikipedia

Harlem's Restaurant & Retail Month February 15th - March 15th, 2010Harlem, NYC (USA)

As part of the first Harlem Restaurant & Retail month, N is offering $20.10 off all new arrivals. All N branded t-shirts, candles, lotions, and room diffusers will also be priced at $20.10. Harlem's Restaurant & Retail month began February 15th and ends March 15th, 2010. For a list of all participating businesses, log onto www.harlemrestaurantandretailweek.com. SHOP NOW AT STORE + ONLINE. PLACE PHONE ORDERS. FREE SAME DAY DELIVERY FOR ONLINE OR PHONE ORDERS IN MANHATTAN-

N | Harlem Store Hours:
Tues thru Fri 1PM to 8PM
Sat 12PM to 7PM
Sun 12PM to 4PM
Closed Mon
Ph: 212.961.9100

New Credit Card Law Restricts Bank Tactics, But Sent Interest Rates Up And Credit Lines Down

NEW YORK (AP) — Your next credit card statement is going to contain an ugly truth: how much that card really costs to use.

Now, thanks to a long-awaited law that goes into effect Monday, you'll know that if you pay the minimum on a $3,000 balance with a 14 percent interest rate, it could take you 10 years to pay off.

"Jaws will drop," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, a newsletter that tracks the industry. "I don't doubt for a nanosecond that it's going to give a lot of people a sinking feeling in their stomachs."

That's not all that will make them queasy.

During the past nine months, credit card companies jacked up interest rates, created new fees and cut credit lines. They also closed down millions of accounts. So a law hailed as the most sweeping piece of consumer legislation in decades has helped make it more difficult for millions of Americans to get credit, and made that credit more expensive.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The law that President Barack Obama signed last May shields card users from sudden interest rate hikes, excessive fees and other gimmicks that card companies have used to drive up profits. Consumers will save at least $10 billion a year from curbs on interest rate increases alone, according to the Pew Charitable Trust, which tracks credit card issues.

But there was a catch. Card companies had nine months to prepare while certain rules were clarified by the Federal Reserve. They used that time to take actions that ended up hurting the same customers who were supposed to be helped.

Consumer advocates say the law still offers important protections for the users of some 1.4 billion credit cards.

"We expected some rate increases; we expected some annual fees," said Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an advocacy organization that lobbied for the law.

To be sure, the law takes effect while credit card companies are still reeling from the recession.

In 2007, the top 12 card issuers earned a combined $19 billion from credit cards, according to The Nilson Report. A year later, amid the financial meltdown, profits for those companies fell more than 65 percent to $6.32 billion. The plunge was largely because defaults ballooned as unemployment soared.

Profit figures for 2009 aren't yet available. But banks wrote off about $35 billion in credit card debt last year, as the unemployment rate topped 10 percent. Analysts predict the default rate will remain at least twice as high as normal through this year, and longer if unemployment stays high.

At the same time, the law is expected to cut into future profits. FICO Inc., the company best known for its credit scores, projects the average card will generate less than $100 a month in revenue within three years, down from $200 a month before the law.

That helps explain why the industry reacted so aggressively to the legislation. Among the moves it made:

— Resurrected annual fees.

Annual fees, common until about 10 years ago, have made a comeback. During the final three months of last year, 43 percent of new offers for credit cards contained annual fees, versus 25 percent in the same period a year earlier, according to Mintel International, which tracks marketing data. Several banks also added these fees to existing accounts. One example: Many Citigroup customers will start paying a $60 annual fee on April 1.

— Created new fees and raised old ones.

These include a $1 processing fee for paper statements for cards issued by stores such as Victoria's Secret and Ann Taylor. Another example is a $19 inactivity fee Fifth Third Bank now charges customers who haven't used their card for twelve months.

Other banks increased existing fees. JPMorgan Chase, for instance raised the cost of balance transfers from one card to another to 5 percent of the transfer from 3 percent.

— Raised interest rates.

The average rate offered for a new card climbed to 13.6 percent last week, from 10.7 percent during the same week a year ago — meaning cardholders had to pay almost 30 percent more in interest, according to Bankrate.com.

For millions of other accounts, variable interest rates that can rise with the market replaced fixed rates. The Fed is expected to start raising its benchmark interest rates later this year, which would likely trigger an increase on those cards.

Besides making credit more expensive, banks also made it harder to get and keep credit cards. One big reason: Since the financial meltdown, many credit card issuers have been trying to reduce risk.

The number of Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards in circulation dropped 15 percent in 2009, for example. Rarely used cards were among the first cut off. Some cards linked to rewards programs for purchases like gasoline were likewise shut down.

Card companies also slashed credit limits for millions of accounts that remain open. About 40 percent of banks cut credit lines on existing accounts, according to the consultant TowerGroup, which estimated that such moves eliminated about $1 trillion in available credit. Much of that was unused.

Credit lines were frequently cut in regions most affected by the housing crisis and high unemployment, such as Florida and California, said Curt Beaudouin, a senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service. "They're not doing it willy nilly, they're doing it systematically," he said.

Companies are also making fewer solicitations. Mailed offers for new cards increased in the final three months of 2009 for the first time in two years, but there were only about 575 million. That's about a third of the average number of quarterly offers from 2000 through 2008, according to Mintel.

Because the law makes credit cards less profitable, some subprime borrowers may not be able to get cards at all, at least for the next few years. There's no fixed definition, but subprime borrowers generally have a FICO score below 660. For a good portion of this group, options may be limited to alternatives like PayPal and other electronic payment services, prepaid cards and payday lenders.

"Not everyone either deserves or should have an open-ended credit card," said Roger C. Hochschild, chief operating officer of Discover Financial Services.

Joining those who won't easily get cards: college students and others under age 21. The law strictly limits card marketing on campuses, ending giveaways like T-shirts and pizza Cards can only be granted to applicants who show they have the means to repay, or those who have a co-signer who can pay.

"Some of the more vulnerable parts of the population are a little bit more protected," said Georgetown University finance professor James Angel. But he predicts card companies will find ways around most of the new restrictions. And once the economy recovers, he expects the lending spigot to open again.

In the meantime, there is one group of consumers that banks will chase after — those who carry a balance from month to month for at least part of the year, and pay their bills on time. They're the most profitable and least risky group for banks.

Also a target customer: anyone willing to do more business with the bank that issues their card, say opening a checking or savings account or taking out a mortgage.

"What we want is a deeper relationship with our customers," said Andy Rowe, an executive vice president with Bank of America's card business. Customers willing to stick with a single bank may even be able to get annual fees waived or get a better interest rate, he said. "That's where the competition will be."

Lost & Heroes (TV Series) Hate Black People BlackNerdComedy.com

Somos Arte, LLC Presents MARVELOUS COLOR Exhibit Celebrates Black Comic Book Superheroes Event CLOSES Friday, February, 26th, 2010 (NYC)

Official Website: MarvelousColors.com

TIME SENSITIVE INFORMATION!!
THIS EVENT CLOSES THE END OF THIS WEEK
ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2010
(4 DAYS LEFT)
Due To The Incoming Winter Storm
The Gallery Is CLOSED TODAY,
February 26th, 2010!
I Didn't Get To See This Event!

Caribbean Cultural Center
African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)

408 West 58th Street
(between 9th and 10th Avenues)
New York, New York 10019

CCCADI Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday (10AM - 6PM)
Ph: (212) 307-7420

Suggested Donation: $5.00

MarvelousColors.com

Travel Directions:
Take the #1, A, B, C, or D train to 59th Street Columbus Circle

Comic books are as much mythology as they are fine art. Growing up, most children had to only walk into their neighborhood candy store and with a relatively small amount of money to find adventure in every beautiful illustration and dynamic storyline. Not all artwork nor literature has been as accessible. Just as magical as the accessibility of these wondrous pieces of art were how they made (and continue to make) their audiences feel. And with the creation of characters like The Black Panther, Storm, Luke Cage, The Falcon, Blade and War Machine many children and adults also found images that directly mirrored, represented and inspired them.

We need not have been working class and poor families growing up in New York City to relate to the escapades of Harlem's Luke Cage or The Falcon, but to those of us who were (and are) it is invaluable to see ourselves as heroes too. We aspired to rule kingdoms and soar through the skies like Black Panther and Storm because on paper we could. We even had a voracious beast slayer in Blade and a knight in shining armor in War Machine.

The artists who have helped to tell the stories of these characters have created truly amazing and often underrated art. Their technique, precision and dedication is astonishing. As you move throughout the exhibit, please note the diversity in the interpretation of each character from artist to artist and generation to generation. Each style is distinctive in nature, stroke and design.

It is our honor to bring this show to you so that you too may enjoy the diversity of these legendary characters via the amazing work of these talented artists. Our company name, Somos Arte, means "we are art", and we are not only a creative services studio that provides branding, campaigns, commercial photography and shows for our clients; but we also celebrate art in all its forms and invite you to celebrate with us. Welcome to our second show in this genre and it is our hope that you leave as enthused and awed as we have been in developing the show for you to enjoy.

MarvelousColors.com

• Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, Curator
• Shirley Miranda-Rodriguez, Executive Producer
• Reginald Hudlin, Associate Producer
• Riggs Morales, Associate Producer
• David Medina, Muralist
• Eric Battle, Key Artwork
• José A. Gutiérrez Rivera, Digital Painter
• Johanna Silfa, Intern

Reference Website Articles:

Exhibit Celebrates Black Comic Book Superheroes
New York 1 News Blurb (Running Time: 1 Minute)
With Feature Article