Michael Eric Dyson's Radio Broadcast Critique of President Obama

This is an interesting video I came across and wanted to share it. I think Dyson has some real valid points. The video is quite powerful. No matter what your perspective on Dyson or Obama, I think it's always imperative to keep our critical thinking hats on.

ROD

I Loved Michael, But, I Don't Think he Did

I Loved Michael, But, I Don't Think he Did
by John-Martin Green

(A Guest Nubian Knight's Perspective)

We've lost Michael. Michael, the seventies singing prodigy who grew into the most visionary musical performer of our generation. Michael, who scaled untold heights of popular culture, rewriting the record books. Michael, who sang and danced his way into the hearts and souls of men women and children the world over.

I am torn about his departure. It strikes me that he left us a long time ago, actually. His retreat may have begun as long ago as the time of the infamous Pepsi commercial twenty-five years ago at which point he was said to have commenced his addiction to pain killers. Having been alcohol and drug addicted myself, I can attest to the fact that, when one is so afflicted, one is not really present. Perhaps it began a few years before that, with his first plastic surgery.

He was clearly a genius - a tortured genius. It frustrates me when I think about the extent to which, brilliant as he was, he seems not to have wanted to be who he was. It vexes and perplexes me that, with unfathomable resources and access to information - including African and African American History, all manner of progressive spiritual restoration models, and the best psychological support services the world has to offer - this uber-gifted man seems never to have opted to heal himself - to deliver himself of the self-hatred by which so many of us are stunted. For even a little of the incalculable psychological support of which he might have availed himself, he may not have had to remain psychologically trapped in boyhood.

While it is likely that the adults with whom he surrounded himself may not have been wont to challenge him to seek out help for fear of being dismissed, I can't imagine people like Quincy or Stephen or Diana being so cowered. Was there nobody pulling his coat? Nobody at all? If so, that's a tragedy.

Writers have conjectured about Michael's changing his appearance so radically so as to remove any traces of his father from his appearance. While he may have harbored some antipathy for his father, I think it's safe to say he learned his relationship to manhood and to Blackness from his father. His desire to escape the bonds of manhood and Black manhood were so intense that he went to extraordinary lengths to transform his physical self into something else. On a Larry King show one night this week, film director, John Landis told how, in approaching
him to direct the Thriller video, Michael told him, 'I want to become a monster.' Before his final departure, he would seem to have come very close to achieving that goal.


Well, in the end, we have his brilliant musical legacy to treasure.

____________________

John-Martin Green is Co-founder and Executive Director of The Black Men’s Xchange-New York (BMX-NY), an empowerment organization of same gender loving (SGL) and bisexual African descended men which works to bridge gaps and build dialogue and community with the larger Black community. BMX-NY is a pro-Black organization built on a philosophy that embraces same gender loving experience as an intrinsic facet of everyday Black life. Integral to BMX-NY’s approach is the understanding that, in order to decrease internal and external homo-reactionary thinking, and demystify differences around diverse ways of living, loving and being, homosexual, bisexual and transgendered Black people must engage in supportive dialogue with each other and the community.

John-Martin is also Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Blackberry Productions, Inc. Theatre Company (BP). Through BP John-Martin creates original theatre that reflects untold stories and history of African Americans, and uses the arts in schools and community-based-organizations to nurture the cultural health of our communities. An important facet of the cultural work John-Martin and his cohorts have undertaken lo the past twenty-five years lies in excavating the history and culture of Africans in the Diaspora, towards reconnecting us with ourselves. As we remember who we are, we are empowered to act as agents in our own struggle, our own progress.

As an educator, Mr. Green was a Co-founder and Co-Director over a decade, of Changing Scenes, an OBIE Award winning arts-based crisis intervention program for juvenile offenders. There he created a theatre workshop wherein participants explored their relationship to issues of human needs, power , control, self-concept, personal responsibility and societal expectations. At the Young Adult Learning Academy with BP, Mr. Green helped create interdisciplinary arts-based curricula that sparked creativity and receptivity to learning. Mr. Green has taught theatre at New School University, Brooklyn College, and SUNY campuses at Old Westbury and Nassau Community College.

He holds a BFA in Drama from Bard College and an MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College.

The 19th AnnualHOUSE OF LATEX BALL: VEGASSATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2009ROSELAND BALLROOM | NEW YORK CITY

GMHC presents

The 19th Annual

HOUSE OF LATEX BALL: VEGAS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2009
ROSELAND BALLROOM | NEW YORK CITY

239 WEST 52nd STREET

(BETWEEN BROADWAY & 8TH AVENUE)

DOORS OPEN AT 7:00PM
ADVANCED TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT GMHC

119 WEST 24TH STREET 8TH FLOOR

WEDNESDAY- FRIDAY 12PM- 8PM

$10 ADVANCED TICKETS/ $20 AT THE DOOR

CALL 212 367 1284 FOR MORE INFORMATION

(PLEASE NOTE:

THERE WILL BE MORE CASH CATEGORIES SO STAY TUNED)

Like Ballroom, Las Vegas is a true original; there is nothing else like it in the world. Once you experience the thrill of SinCity, you want to come back again and again, sort of like winning your first trophy. This years Latex Ball categories are design around the activities, shows, and the people that make up Las Vegas. We intend that with the creativity that ballroom participants contain and the innovative categories of the night this year Latex Ball will go down as one of the most talked about balls in ballroom history. The House of Latex Project dedicates The Las Vegas Ball to the Iconic Legendary Octavia St. Laurent- we all will miss ballroom’s Heavenly Angel.

Talk Show Host Maurice Runea Harassed by NYPD

Maurice Runea's Spoken Testimony:

On Saturday June 27th, 2009 @ around 2pm, I entered BEST BUY on 23rd St and 6th Ave. to get my cell phone repaired and was in the process of speaking with the sales rep when this Afro -American older gentlemen approached me from behind and said put your hands behind your back, I not knowing who he was replied excuse me and he said in a threatening tone put your hands behind your back as he reached for my arm, I started to react but the clerk, who has assisted me many times before mouth to me "Don't fight, he's a cop", So I trusted her advice and he handcuffed me and NEVER NOT ONCE DID HE EVER IDENTIFY HIS SELF.




Now anyone who knows Best Buy on 23rd & 6th knows it is always a very busy store and to be handcuffed, humiliated, degraded and accused was down right wrong and humiliating.

The man preceded to walk me from the front of the store to the back in handcuffs as the customers all stopped and watched as he hauled me off from the front of BEST BUY to the back (and to add to the humiliation he walked me through the store, mind you he still didn't identify his self... I am saddened at how this unfolded, he could of approached me identified his self and asked to see my ID and that would of been fine, but he felt the need to try and humiliate me.

So we get in the back of the store and then he said he was Officer Robert's and pulled out this wanted poster and said you going to tell me this ain't you? I said you have got to be f%$king kidding me, that doesn't look like me the least bit, he took the cuff off and I'm fuming at this point... he asked for my ID, I handed it to him, he looked at it had too BEST BUY employees guard me while he stepped out and was gone for about roughly 4mins. He returned handed me my ID and said Miss. Harrison, here's your ID (Maurice Runea is my 1st and middle name, Harrison is my legal last name)... I took my ID and said this is just the beginning... He replied, what you going to sue? Go ahead the City got alot of money Miss. Harrison, I relied your going to stop calling me Miss and requested his full name, the precinct he works for and his badge# and I also got a copy of the wanted poster... Now this is the killer, when he found out that I am the host of a talk show, write for a magazine and extremely well known, he offered to give me two days of body guard service... ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? He couldn't protect my rights or my dignity, I sure as hell don't trust him with my body!!!

To make matters worse, I'm am a frequent shopper at that BEST BUY, I work on the next block at The Gay Men's Health Crisis and I'm always in the neighborhood shopping, dining and just being a law bidding citizen... I am upset beyond belief with this whole unnecessary situation and the migraine I have proves it... Yeah I was cleared but my reputation is tarnished due to the fact that the customers who saw me being hauled off like a common criminal had long gone about there business by the time I was released and I'm humiliated. I have witnesses who witnessed the entire ordeal and thank God I was still thinking logically enough to get the the name and contact info .

To make matters worse I was scheduled to be at two functions, one a celerity mixer (which I was a 1 and a half late for due to my detainment and then I had to cover the red carpet for The 40th Anniversary commemorative concert and benefit @ the Nokia Theater... I did all this while trying to hold it together because work is work but to make matters worse I had on all white, so just imagine what my pants looked like. That night when I was trying to wind down I simply couldn't.. I would dose and jump up and the migraine got worse... Then Sunday I was scheduled to be at NYC Pride, which I attended still not feeling 100% but was even more uncomfortable seeing the police after my ordeal

I always thought the NYPD was suppose to Serve and Protect, but as of lately I'm feeling like they abuse there power and authority... They speak to you like you don't matter, they use excessive force and are just down right messy with there everyday antics and the city in my opinion the city allows this nonsense to take place on a daily basis. I'm also a little disturbed that this is the type of behavior allowed to take place in BEST BUY.

I am now in the process of handling this situation... I will keep you posted!

Contact the 75th Precinct and let them know we will not tolerate Officer Wilson Robert's handling of this situation:

75th Precinct
1000 Sutter Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11208
(718) 827-3511
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_075.shtml

VERVE! Pride Slam 2009

Hey Y'all, I didn't do too much photography shooting, but I have a hand full of pics from VERVE! Pride Slam 2009. The event was really spectacular and held at it's regular and beautiful space called Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture located at 53 Prospect Park West in BK (Brooklyn)!! BK, y'all! U betta recognize! LOL! The VERVE! series (this was number 5!!) that started late last year, is an event series that is filling a niche that is missing within the Black same gender loving community; a sophisticated, almost cabaret style of musicianship created by us and for us!

Trust me, if you're tired of the same ol' club and bar scene and wanna head out for a night of entertainment by yourself, with a date or maybe a crew of friends with a powerful session of grassroot artists along with a pre and post-receptions (yeah, there's food, too! LOL!) with a social networkings and "man musings" (LOL!) component then VERVE! is da spot. It really is original and it's produced by The Well Entertainment Group which is spearheaded by Mr. Joseph Tolton and Germono Toussaint. A serious shout out to these two bruthaz and the rest of the staff for really putting on a spectacular show. Das wassup!

Here's the pics! Enjoy...

All Photography © 2009 ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

VERVE! Pride Slam Host Cornelius Jones, Jr. (FLAG BOY)

Brutha Ty, Resident Videographer

Sean360x
Brutha Man Always Has An Outfit For Us! LOL! :-)

Sean360x & Urban spiRitual

Eddie, A Qool Brutha

Music Artist Dy'Ari
Doin' His Thing and Promoting His New Album.

And YES, Dy'Ari Signed My Copy of the Album!
Check Out Dy'Ari's Website

Dy'Ari is Definitely Sexy

The Jena 6 Are Free -- How We Made It Possible

Dear Rod,

Yesterday (Friday, June 26th, 2009), nearly two years after more than 320,000 of you stood up to protect them from Jim Crow justice, the Jena 6--Jesse Ray Beard, Carwin Jones, Robert Bailey, Theo Shaw, Bryant Purvis and Mychal Bell--are all now free to move ahead with their lives. We should all be proud.

The five remaining Jena 6 cases were brought to conclusion on Friday¹ when Jesse Ray, Carwin, Robert, Theo, and Bryant pleaded "no contest" to misdemeanor simple battery charges.² They will spend no time in jail, serve seven days of probation, and pay relatively minor fines and court fees.

It's an incredible outcome given that the young men were originally charged with attempted murder in small-town Louisiana and had neither the funds nor the connections to get high-quality representation or attention for their cases.

Luckily for the Jena 6, hundreds of thousands of you got involved, and the power of your participation changed the game. An amazing team of lawyers worked tirelessly to achieve Friday's outcome. Our staff helped recruit them, and your financial contributions--over $275,000--provided the bulk of the funds for their work. Jim Boren, the coordinating attorney, said this about ColorOfChange members' contribution: "None of this would have happened without you."

But it wasn't just lawyers and money. Over 300,000 of you wrote to Governor Blanco and District Attorney Reed Walters. On September 20th, 2007, more than 10,000 of you went to Jena. Members who couldn't make it to Jena held more than 150 rallies and vigils across the country, and made more than 6,000 phone calls to elected officials in Louisiana. And a few weeks later, ColorOfChange members sent almost 4,000 complaints demanding an inquiry into the DA's actions.

Your actions offline and online helped put Jena on the map and resulted in critical coverage in every mainstream news outlet. You started a movement that made it impossible for Louisiana officials to support the status quo.

Today we offer congratulations to these young men and their families, and we say thank you to the entire ColorOfChange.org community. We're also so thankful to the attorneys who took these cases but chose to stay out of the limelight. They and several others³ are the unsung heroes of this story.

As the young men of the Jena 6 close this chapter of their lives, we wanted to give you an opportunity to wish them well. Click the link below to leave a personal statement for the young men of the Jena 6, or to listen to the voicemail from Jim Boren thanking the ColorOfChange community for our work:

http://www.colorofchange.org/jenaresolution/?id=2316-147103

While this is a great moment, it's important to remember that if it were not for the extreme nature of this case, most of us wouldn't have known about it or gotten involved. The reality is that there are countless Jena 6's: young people--often Black and male--who are overcharged or unduly criminalized, and whose plight is unknown to most of the outside world.

It's the reason our work cannot just be about identifying and fighting for individuals railroaded by the system, but about creating systemic change in criminal justice in America. We are truly grateful to have the chance to do this work with you, and we're hoping for your continued engagement and support.

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
June 27, 2009

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU -- your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/?id=2316-147103

References:

1. "Plea Bargain Wraps Up 'Jena 6' Case," 9-26-09
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/26/national/main5116800.shtml

2. The sixth teenager charged, Mychal Bell, pleaded guilty to battery in juvenile court on December 3rd, 2007.

3. Thanks are due to Alan Bean, Tory Pegram, and King Downing, who dedicated months to working with the families and getting the story out, and to our friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center who played a central role in putting together and supporting the legal teams. Without any one of them, our work would have been hampered, or in some cases not possible at all.

ROD's POST REFLECTIONS:Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network TOPIC: Same-Sex Marriage & Pre- Marital SexPart II

Ooookaaaaay...! Where do I begin.. and end...!

This is an update and post-reflection to the original posting I made

First, let me say that I was really expecting to have large turnout with a rational and conducive discussion around the planned "Same-Sex Marriage" topic at National Action Network (NAN). I mean, after all, this was a discussion primed around ourselves as a Black community which was the appealing point of interest for me; the larger Black community and the Black same gender loving community coming together under the same roof and exploring the complex dimensionalities of this topic; unlike the Proposition 8 firestorm in California which in my mind was a largely white gay agenda from the get-go. And further, this is Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network: House of Justice headquarters, and so I expected, as I alluded to before, a meaningful and conducive discussion among Black folks.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth because quite frankly, the discussion was (excuse my language) a FUCKING MESS to say the least. There was a TOTALLY UNBALANCED PANEL with 2 moderators (NAN Executive Director, Tamika Mallory along with the National Director of Membership, Dominique Sharpton, who is Sharpton's daughter) and 4 religious zealot homophobes armed with their christianity and spewing hate far and wide but in a midleading sweet smelling and benevolent apple pie style). Psssf!! Trust me, they would have easily qualified and fit right in for a role in Bill Mahr's Religulous (2008) documentary film; how clergies of the church use religion to justify their ironclad hatemonger views. However, the laughable subtitle in this case would have been, "Religulous: How to Further Divide the Black Community With Out-dated & Non-sense Archaic Religious Views While Hating On Black Homosexuals While Drinking Your Juice In Da Hood"

Unfortunately there was absolutely nothing funny about the "soliloquy" (I'm quoting my friend and human rights activist, Joe Pressley) the panelists ran on about successively (one after the other) for at least 45 minute and more before audience members were able to say anything at all. The overall genesis of these monologues, because it wasn't a discussion, from the panelists were at best disgusting and at worst a homosexual bashing to the absolute max.

One knew something was wrong from the very beginning when the topic started one hour late!! Apparently Reverend Sharpton was making a press statement or some announcement about the passing of Michael Jackson at another location. Michael is my boy and I love his music, but delaying a topic that Reverned Sharpton wasn't even scheduled to participate in left some shaking their heads.



Second, the headquarters had 15 people in attendance which included the videographer recording the religious zealots monologues.



Third, after all four panelists introduced themselves (two of them were Reverends Keyshawn Whie and Darren Ferguson) the tone of the conversation was set when one of them mentioned marriage as a "holy matrimony". That set-up the male/female relationship dynamic as the default and ONLY proper way of people living and conducting their lives... things went down hill from there.

Sister Tamika, put a disclaimer out to the audience and panelists that the topic came together literally two days ago! This tracks correctly because I got the email from NAN on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 and had to e-blast it out immediately because the event was happening, Thursday, June 25th! Ouch! A two day pre-notice is far from cute NAN people! And no doubt the reason there were only 15 people in the whole building for this meeting!!



The religious zealots went on with their "between a man & woman 'holy matrimony' " rhetoric and tieing in a reaching and dubious notion (in their minds) of homosexuality no longer being categorized as a mental illness; it was considered an illness until scientifically overturned as mental and emotional disorders by the American Psychiatric Association (ASA) in 1975. They think the ASA was wrong in that assessment, by the way. And they went on about the church being in danger and under attack with being forced into granting marriage ceremonies to same-sex couples because of legislation being put forth in the state of New York.

The panelists suggested a devious spiritual connection between depressed people, suicidal people, homosexuals as examples. The devious connection was if any of these people with these attributed "symptoms" are within proximity of others or touching others, then you'll miraculously become depressed, suicidal or homosexual, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. etc... yeaaaaaah, okay!!



When the floor was finally opened up to the audience and some rebuttals incurred due to note taking by Joe Pressley and his partner Steve Williams, the ol' Black person struggles vs. homosexual struggles came up and the notion of a Black person's plight and skin color cannot be compared to the "behavioral" (choice) of someone who is homosexual. Again, the ridiculous arguments of comparison and competition and who or what is more hierarchical than the other. Well... some of us are Black and homosexual and that is inseparable.



The panel and Sister Tamika got belligerent by cutting off Joe Pressley as he was constructing his thoughts into a very rationale conversation (being objective as I can here). Joe did not receive the same courtesy when he had the microphone to express his points. Though he got some of his points out it was met with constant rebuttal interruptions from the pastors.



However, we didn't back down and caught Sister Tamika contradicting herself and she was challenged. The contradiction was that she stated half-way into this quagmire that the discussion was put together 2 weeks ago. Then she stated that the topic was to ascertain the panel's views on same-sex marriage. First, as I stated at the top of this blog entry, the email went out 2 days ago, and Sister Tamika stated at the top of her opening salutation that the topic was put together in a hurry 2 days or so ago. Clearly, with the piss-poor attendance it clear in my mind this was hastily thrown together. And when we called her out on the contradiction of the time-line she immediately got defensive and restated she meant to say "2 weeks ago". And yet still, the executive director of the NAN only got an e-blast out 2 days before the event??!!!



As far as the direction of the topic hinging on the panelists' views on same-sex marriage, that clearly was not articulated on the flyer and we lit her up for that. What could she say? Her answer was that she apologized for that not being indicated on the flyer properly. And when we called Sister Tamika out on the unbalanced nature of the panel, she stated that she called and asked some "LGBT" pastor representatives to come and that they either declined or no were available because of scheduling conflicts. Well, how could anyone commit to something when you ask them at the very last minute??? When Joe Pressley asked "Who did you call?" , Sister Tamika rebutted with a flat "that's not important" answer. All this begs a critical thinking conclusion that this was NOT put together two weeks ago as stated.

Steve Williams got so disillusioned by the disrespect, irrational and non-listening stance of the panel that he abruptly got up and walked out while shaming the organizers for this very skewed and biased discussion. Shortly thereafter it was a very contentious dynamic in the room and Joe was leaving and I packed up my camera equipment to leave. I personally was way too through with the dynamics in the room, but I was hanging around so I could hear my friends' remarks and get some pics for this post entry. Steve and Joe's friend Julius, a same gender loving brutha who is studying to be a priest remained in order to hopefully get his point across in a rational and non-combative pro same-sex couple stance.

There's no doubt that this panel was challenged by their own oratory views, and I suspect they weren't used to be challenged (especially in their respective church congregations and people just go along to get along sometimes). As Joe and I walked out I was getting these stares from other people in the room and I suspect they didn't know what to make of me and probably the way the dialog went.

More to come... maybe.