Wednesday 23 February 2011

Discussions in Black History Month: Some Cool Links

Via Postbourgie, interesting articles I thought were apropos of my chronic month-long pretensions:

A LGBT Black history quiz - I did terribly.

Saturday 19 February 2011

Just Because


A great anime series that kept me sane in those lonely days before grad school.

Discussions in Black History Month: On Black Conservatives

During the six months or so of my fruitless job hunting in the US, my friends and I used to joke about getting a job as a Black Conservative. It seems to be a growing industry in the age of Obama. I would ride the monster of American history to financial stability. All I'd need do is stand looking at myself in the mirror after an evening of slagging off black people for fun and profit.

Sunday 13 February 2011

Discussions in Black History Month: Those Who Don't Want To Know

While living in the United States I came to think that much of the energies of the national psyche are directed towards pretending the existence of African Americans and related structural inequalities does not signify evidence of some of the greatest crimes in their country's history.

It is, in my opinion, precisely this failure to wrestle the monster of history that leads to things like the Mississippi Sons of Confederate Veterans' efforts to have the state issue specialty license plates honoring an early leader of the Klu Klux Klan - Mississippi is the state with the highest proportion of African American residents.

I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would want to honour a man who ran a "Negro Mart", and conspired to enslave millions of human beings. Those are his accomplisments. If, as his defenders argue, his last minute expression of regret is supposed to wipe the slate clean, what is there left to celebrate?

Thursday 10 February 2011

Clearly A Mossad Plot

... I found the clip below about two separate recordings of a UFO above the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem mildly interesting. 


Probably not Elohim, folks. If it were, I'd definitely be left wondering why it doesn't have better things to do than faff around over a temple. 

I give it three days before my brother-in-law comes in with a grin that says: explain this one away, insipiens!

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Discussions in Black History Month: The Browning of America

I've started my Black History Month posts much earlier than last year, though I fear that the quality will be much diminished. After catching this NYT article I've been thinking about the growing number of young USians describing themselves as multiracial, and the optimism about the future of US race relations - much the same as that attached to the Obama presidential campaign.