Adele performing the classic "Someone Like You" live at the 2011 VMA awards last night. The chance to see these stunning, live performances is what makes suffering through music award shows worthwhile. Last unforgettable performance was P!nk's "Glitter in the Air" at the 2010 Grammys
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Review: "The Help" doesn't help white people
If you've missed the outpouring of negative reviews, tweets, and general outrage over the release of the movie version of The Help from voices in the African American community, you've had your head in the sand. To bring yourself up to speed, read these reviews before continuing with this post:
An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help, by the Association of Black Women Historians
Black-and-White Struggle with a Rosey Glow, by Nelson George
And for balance, here is an interesting interview with Octavia Spencer about her role as Minnie Jackson, one the of maids, and the movie overall.
Another great source for ongoing discussion of the movie is to search the hashtag #TheHelpMovie on Twitter. All kinds of people have lots to say.
I finally saw the movie tonight and came loaded for anger after reading all of that outrage. I was shocked to find myself liking it more than I thought I would. I could see and understand that the movie was a sugarcoated, whitewashed version of what really happened during Jim Crow, but it didn't send me into a fury. It didn't go far enough, but it wasn't that bad, through my lens. I was disappointed I didn't hate it.
That got me thinking about how differently black and white people are experiencing the movie and wondering why. Is there a white perspective on the movie, and if so, what is it?
Another great source for ongoing discussion of the movie is to search the hashtag #TheHelpMovie on Twitter. All kinds of people have lots to say.
I finally saw the movie tonight and came loaded for anger after reading all of that outrage. I was shocked to find myself liking it more than I thought I would. I could see and understand that the movie was a sugarcoated, whitewashed version of what really happened during Jim Crow, but it didn't send me into a fury. It didn't go far enough, but it wasn't that bad, through my lens. I was disappointed I didn't hate it.
That got me thinking about how differently black and white people are experiencing the movie and wondering why. Is there a white perspective on the movie, and if so, what is it?
Let's start with comedian Louis CK, who sums up things pretty well here:
Sadly what makes this spot so hilarious is that most white people are pretty clueless about our privilege.
We are also pretty clueless about the varied experiences of African American people of all education and economic backgrounds, from slavery to today.
I came of age in the sixties and early seventies, during the time in which The Help is set, and when the civil rights movement was in full force, changing our country forever. But I barely knew it was happening.
The environment I grew up in was virtually all-white, middle class suburbia. Anything I knew about Black people, slavery, Jim Crow, or the civil rights movement came from the history I was taught in school, what I saw on TV, or from the very brief, infrequent conversations we had about those topics at home. Which means I knew Jack, and what I did know was mostly distorted, watered down, or an outright lie. This is true for most white people.
I didn't begin to get another point of view until college, when I had my first opportunities to meet Black people, say stupid stuff in front of them, be called a racist, and thanks to the beginnings of African American Studies and Women's Studies programs, take classes that deconstructed the hell out of my naive reality.
More than 35 years and thousands of experiences later, I am no longer clueless. Yet I am clued-in just enough to understand that what I know about being African American is only by proxy, despite the fact that my most intimate and important relationships are with people who are Black, including my children, my grandchildren, and my spouse.
But I'm fortunate. Most white people stay in segregated enclaves and never get the chance to grow or to understand anything outside of our distorted realities.
So the stakes are very, very high for African American people whenever a movie comes out about The Black Experience, especially if it is a white person trying to tell the tale. (There is also the Tyler Perry debate, but that's a whole other post.)
No wonder people are seething at how The Help falls short, glossing over the exploitation and brutality of the time, and appropriating the real story of Black maids in the Jim Crow south by making the central character a white person who saves the day.
Which is exactly why movies like The Help are not helpful for white people. Most of us have not had enough experiences or education outside of our white worlds to have any critical context and perspective about what we are watching. We falsely think it is The Truth. Liberal white people in particular have a hard time wrapping our heads and hearts around the ugly truth of our nation's racial history without becoming paralyzed with guilt. Many liberal white people want desperately to believe that things are almost all better now, especially since we elected a Black man president.
The great racial divide is alive and well. Same country, two different worlds. And it's all playing out in reactions to this movie.
Read the screen grabs below from actor Wendell Pierce's Twitterstream. He recounts watching the movie with his mother, who was The Help at one point in her life, as was his grandmother. He sums up the great divide perfectly, 140 characters at a time. Especially this: "Watching the film in Uptown New Orleans to the sniffles of elderly white people while my 80 year old mother was seething, made clear [the] distinction."
Read from the bottom to the top:
Pierce: "The story was a sentimental primer of a palatable segregation that is Jim Crow light."
Yes. The The Help lets white people off the hook. It creates a partial truth that allows us to feel less guilty about Jim Crow and all the bad things our ancestors did during slavery because the feel-good outweighs the feel-bad, to keep our heads collectively in the sand about how we still benefit from all our privilege, and to be in denial about the incredible racist backlash caused by President Obama's election and how bad things still are for most Black people today.
There is an opportunity in all of this. White people, if you were moved by the movie (thanks in part to the amazing actors who play the maids) and are curious about the vocal controversy surrounding it, seek out knowledge about what it really meant to be The Help. We share this history. We need to understand it.
I recommend these books as a place to start:
Sadly what makes this spot so hilarious is that most white people are pretty clueless about our privilege.
We are also pretty clueless about the varied experiences of African American people of all education and economic backgrounds, from slavery to today.
I came of age in the sixties and early seventies, during the time in which The Help is set, and when the civil rights movement was in full force, changing our country forever. But I barely knew it was happening.
The environment I grew up in was virtually all-white, middle class suburbia. Anything I knew about Black people, slavery, Jim Crow, or the civil rights movement came from the history I was taught in school, what I saw on TV, or from the very brief, infrequent conversations we had about those topics at home. Which means I knew Jack, and what I did know was mostly distorted, watered down, or an outright lie. This is true for most white people.
I didn't begin to get another point of view until college, when I had my first opportunities to meet Black people, say stupid stuff in front of them, be called a racist, and thanks to the beginnings of African American Studies and Women's Studies programs, take classes that deconstructed the hell out of my naive reality.
More than 35 years and thousands of experiences later, I am no longer clueless. Yet I am clued-in just enough to understand that what I know about being African American is only by proxy, despite the fact that my most intimate and important relationships are with people who are Black, including my children, my grandchildren, and my spouse.
But I'm fortunate. Most white people stay in segregated enclaves and never get the chance to grow or to understand anything outside of our distorted realities.
So the stakes are very, very high for African American people whenever a movie comes out about The Black Experience, especially if it is a white person trying to tell the tale. (There is also the Tyler Perry debate, but that's a whole other post.)
No wonder people are seething at how The Help falls short, glossing over the exploitation and brutality of the time, and appropriating the real story of Black maids in the Jim Crow south by making the central character a white person who saves the day.
Which is exactly why movies like The Help are not helpful for white people. Most of us have not had enough experiences or education outside of our white worlds to have any critical context and perspective about what we are watching. We falsely think it is The Truth. Liberal white people in particular have a hard time wrapping our heads and hearts around the ugly truth of our nation's racial history without becoming paralyzed with guilt. Many liberal white people want desperately to believe that things are almost all better now, especially since we elected a Black man president.
The great racial divide is alive and well. Same country, two different worlds. And it's all playing out in reactions to this movie.
Read the screen grabs below from actor Wendell Pierce's Twitterstream. He recounts watching the movie with his mother, who was The Help at one point in her life, as was his grandmother. He sums up the great divide perfectly, 140 characters at a time. Especially this: "Watching the film in Uptown New Orleans to the sniffles of elderly white people while my 80 year old mother was seething, made clear [the] distinction."
Read from the bottom to the top:
Pierce: "The story was a sentimental primer of a palatable segregation that is Jim Crow light."
Yes. The The Help lets white people off the hook. It creates a partial truth that allows us to feel less guilty about Jim Crow and all the bad things our ancestors did during slavery because the feel-good outweighs the feel-bad, to keep our heads collectively in the sand about how we still benefit from all our privilege, and to be in denial about the incredible racist backlash caused by President Obama's election and how bad things still are for most Black people today.
There is an opportunity in all of this. White people, if you were moved by the movie (thanks in part to the amazing actors who play the maids) and are curious about the vocal controversy surrounding it, seek out knowledge about what it really meant to be The Help. We share this history. We need to understand it.
I recommend these books as a place to start:
Coming of Age in Mississippi, by Anne Moody
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Kindred, by Octavia Butler
And here is a list of books offered up by Melissa Harris-Perry (@MHarrisPerry) after she did some scathing live tweeting while watching The Help. A great recounting of her tweets and an interview with her about the movie can be found here.
(Again, read from the bottom up.)
Note to readers: In all the searching I've done for reviews and responses, I've not found one critical piece by someone who is white. If you know of any, please leave them in the comments sections. Thank you.
Sept 18 Update: Read this great post by 74 year old Janet Cheatham Bell, an accomplished author who once worked as a maid.
And here is a list of books offered up by Melissa Harris-Perry (@MHarrisPerry) after she did some scathing live tweeting while watching The Help. A great recounting of her tweets and an interview with her about the movie can be found here.
(Again, read from the bottom up.)
Note to readers: In all the searching I've done for reviews and responses, I've not found one critical piece by someone who is white. If you know of any, please leave them in the comments sections. Thank you.
Sept 18 Update: Read this great post by 74 year old Janet Cheatham Bell, an accomplished author who once worked as a maid.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Jill Scott's "Shame:" An anthem for strong women everywhere
Dear Jill Scott,
I have loved you and your music since we first met through "Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1" in 2000. I've been jamming to your magnificence ever since. And you just keep getting better. Your new album, The Light of The Sun, is divine. And "Shame," the song and especially the video, is a new anthem for strong women everywhere. Thank you for what you bring to the world.
With love and respect,
Your loyal fan
P.S. If you don't have this CD yet, buy it, don't bootleg it. Support talented artists!
I have loved you and your music since we first met through "Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1" in 2000. I've been jamming to your magnificence ever since. And you just keep getting better. Your new album, The Light of The Sun, is divine. And "Shame," the song and especially the video, is a new anthem for strong women everywhere. Thank you for what you bring to the world.
With love and respect,
Your loyal fan
I can 'fend on my own, I'm magnificent
I'm a Queen on my throne, I'm magnificent
I'm the magnificent (SAY WHAT! SAY WHAT!)
I'm the magnificent (SAY WHAT! SAY WHAT!)
I'm a Queen on my throne, I'm magnificent
I'm the magnificent (SAY WHAT! SAY WHAT!)
I'm the magnificent (SAY WHAT! SAY WHAT!)
P.S. If you don't have this CD yet, buy it, don't bootleg it. Support talented artists!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Famine in Somalia and the Horn of Africa - What to do, how to help
photo via Nimo Farah
29,000 children under the age of five died from the famine in Somalia in the last 90 days. Over 800,000 more children are at risk to starve to death. Please read that again, slowly, and let it sink it. Imagine your children, your family. Make this personal. It is.
Something is very wrong with our collective humanity that there is not more global outrage and heartbreak over what is happening in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa. Where is the constant media coverage, the relief concerts, the major challenge grants for donations? In my social media streams I see mostly Somali and other East Africans focused on this. Why is not everyone doing everything they can?
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in North America. Our neighbors, literally. The people of Somalia are our global neighbors, literally and figuratively. Make it personal. It is.
Help be the change.
Here are three things you can do now to educate yourself, send money, and increase awareness of this crisis:
An amazing coalition of young Somali American professionals from across the country came together on the Aug. 7 edition of the Somali Community Link radio program on KFAI radio to discuss this crisis and what can be done. An archive of the one-hour broadcast can be found here.
More information about the discussion:
Many Somali communities in Unites States have been mobilizing to raise awareness and funds for the severe drought ravaging half of Somalia’s population and millions of more people in the Horn of Africa. The energy behind many of these efforts has been from young professionals who are volunteering their time, skills and tapping into their networks for help.
A group of these dynamic young leaders from around the United States came together in an on-air radio discussion about what they’ve been doing in their communities and how the general public can help. Representatives from communities in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, California, Texas were part of the discussion:
Nimo Farah, Minnesota (facilitator)
Ifrah Esse, Minnesota
Amal Hussein, Massachusetts
Hibak Kaflan, Virginia
Mohamed Ali, Ohio
Awil Egal, California
Sh. Mohamed Shakib Abqari, Texas
A group of these dynamic young leaders from around the United States came together in an on-air radio discussion about what they’ve been doing in their communities and how the general public can help. Representatives from communities in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, California, Texas were part of the discussion:
Nimo Farah, Minnesota (facilitator)
Ifrah Esse, Minnesota
Amal Hussein, Massachusetts
Hibak Kaflan, Virginia
Mohamed Ali, Ohio
Awil Egal, California
Sh. Mohamed Shakib Abqari, Texas
2. Send money
Send what money you can to help the relief efforts and encourage others to do the same. Nimo Farah of Minneapolis recommends this: Donate to Somali led organizations that use funds $1 for $1 and have volunteers on the ground with quick turn around time - The African Future and Welcome Amoud Foundation. If you prefer more mainstream organizations, a list of organizations can be found here.
3. Further educate yourself and become an advocate.
To learn more about the current famine, read the comprehensive July 7 testimony by US AID Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A brief excerpt:
...The drought currently plaguing the region is considered to be the worst in the Horn of Africa since the 1950s. This is a region long plagued by cyclical drought, but what used to be a ten-year cycle is now occurring every other year. In Somalia, the combined 2 effects of consecutive seasons of failed or poor rainfall coupled with conflict, have resulted in rising inflation, crop failure, livestock mortality, population displacement, food insecurity, and significant acute malnutrition rates in Somalia.
In January 2011, FSNAU [Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit] estimated that 2.4 million people in Somalia were in crisis. Their latest data indicate there are at least 2.85 million people in Somalia in need of life-saving assistance, a 19 percent increase in six months. That means that, of the estimated 9.9 million people living in Somalia, one in four is now in need of international aid to survive...Background on the historical and political issues contributing to the crisis can be found in this recent CBS News article. Be sure to click on the links. Continuing coverage of the crisis can also be found on Al Jazeera English.
Once you have educated yourself, then spread the word about the severity of the crisis and the need for awareness and a global relief effort through your social media networks. Insist that the world take notice and do more!
One last thing, listen to this beautiful, haunting poem, somalia:nevermind, by Amir Sulaiman, which captures both the beauty and pain that is Somalia and the heartbreak of the global back-turning on its starvation.
Sept. Update: Read this amazing commentary by K'Naan: A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia
One last thing, listen to this beautiful, haunting poem, somalia:nevermind, by Amir Sulaiman, which captures both the beauty and pain that is Somalia and the heartbreak of the global back-turning on its starvation.
Sept. Update: Read this amazing commentary by K'Naan: A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia
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