...::Just One More Sign That This Is A "Post-Racial" World

As plain as the nose on her face: Shania Twain

An academic study, reported here, tries to describe female beauty, but it only looks at white women.

...::One Word, One Chant, One Great Musical-- "Fela!"

Outside the Eugene O'Neil Theater in NYC



Inside the theater, one wall caught the mood of Fela's shrine in Nigeria [photos by y.toure]


The taxi ride from New York's JFK airport to Brooklyn cost a huge $51.50. That was an awful re-introduction to the Big Apple after many years since my last visit, but hey, I was there from Atlanta to see the musical "Fela!", and no thieving taxi system was gonna ruin that.

The 11.Nov.2009 performance on Broadway got deep into the music and the meaning of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the creator of Afrobeat music.

I came to the performance with doubts that a musical on Broadway in New York would do Fela justice. His music and his politics and his personal life were radical by Western standards, and I was cautious. But--

I was blown away. The show was an uninhibited, unapologetic, unashamed celebration of all of Fela, and I highly recommend it.

Fela was born in Nigeria, raised on the streets of struggle in his country and forged by the Black Power movement in the USA.

I have seen Fela and his band of musicians and dancers perform live, back in the day in Los Angeles. His shows were always a driving, sweating, loud, non-stop, hypnotic high, and it was fueled by drums, horns, bass, sex, politics, the gods, his mother's love and lots of ganja.

And it all came across in this show, directed and choreographed by Tony award winner, brother Bill T. Jones.

The Eugene O'Neil Theater was made over to simulate The Shrine, Fela's club, community center and refuge in Lagos, Nigeria. Images similar to those in The Shrine hung not only from the stage, but also from the balconies and walls of the theater.

This was not just a musical, with some music-and-dance pieces strung together with some talk in between. This was a bold exposition of Fela. We see his mother's radical politics... the influence of the USA Black Power movement on his thinking... images of Malcolm and Garvey... when is the last time you were in a musical where the dancers held books about Black radicals?

Production values were very high. In addition to the walls of the theater decorated like Fela's own Shrine, the show was a multi-media extravaganza, with live video, historical footage from Nigeria, supertitles, and an image of Fela's mother that moved every time he spoke to her.

You were not just surrounded. You were engulfed.

The stage was extended into the audience, troupe members danced through the audience, performers danced on two levels of the stage, and some audience members-- me included-- talked back to the performers.

"Fela!" exposed his ganja smoking, his polygamy, his attacks on Nigerian corruption and dictators, his help of the poor. The influence of one of his wives, a Black woman born in the US, herself a political radical, was well done.

There was little or nothing about Fela's father, about any other members of his family, or about how he died [of Aids-related causes].

This production was funny, passionate, revealing. The murder of Sean Bell and the corruption of the firm AIG were highlighted briefly and well, showing that Fela, though he transitioned in 1997, is still current and relevant.

These lessons from the stage still resonate with me-- "We must take our destiny into our own hands... The future is now!... Music is our weapon... We are going to be here forever!"

Do what you can to bring "Fela!" to your city.

Fela Lives!

...::Shall The "Old South" Rise Again?

Ole Miss seeks to silence 'Rising South' chant

Posted using ShareThis

...It Was In The Eve When It Finally Dawned on Him

We deal with serious issues here at In The Mix, but don't let anyone tell you we don't have a sense of humor... This is related to our work because the product's label is a part of media culture... But put aside the analysis-- this is funny!!

...::Crowns

...::One Hell Of A Shot, Serena

Serena Williams has posed nude on the cover of ESPN, the sports magazine.



Your thoughts?

...::God Says: "Not In My Back Yard"

The USA is getting ready to intentionally bomb the Moon! A satellite crash at 5,600 mph will equal 1.5 tons of explosives, kicking up 772,000 pounds of Moon surface into a dirt cloud. I hope God will get so p!ssed off that God will say "Not In My Back Yard" and stop these people!!

...::From Obama to Beyonce

Times have changed... Dancing Baby video a year ago...



... and a Dancing Baby video today...

...::Wrap It Up, South Africa Style

A great commercial from South Africa about condoms...

...::See Acorns, Ignore Oak Trees

I bet you were really outraged, weren't you, when you learned from the media recently about the group ACORN, which helps poor people find affordable housing, etc. Well, it's not just about media outrage at ACORN, it's also about perspective--


[Thanks to Brenda O'Bryant of Atlanta]

...::Serena Williams, Kanye West, Joe Wilson Kick Off National Outburst Week

What do a tennis star, a music star and a Congress member from South Carolina all have in common? Read here, see videos below

...::Obama's Books At The Beach

What are you taking with you to the beach to read?> Here is President Obama's beach reads.

Posted using ShareThis

...::James Brown Schools 'Em

Quoting writer Ernie Suggs: "When your kids are talking about Usher, Lil Wayne and Justin Timberlake, sit them down, have a long talk with them, and Please, Please, Please, show them this." I hooped and hollered when I saw this after so many years; neighbors think I'm crazy, no doubt--

...::Call For Films: The Black Man And His Art And Style

An annual film festival is seeking films on Black men and their creativity.

The International Black Man Film Festival is in its eighth year. Films will be screened in November 2009, in Atlanta, USA, in 2009, and in Atlanta and Lagos, Nigeria in 2010.

Festival Director Yemi Toure says: "Our theme for 2009 is 'Creative Fire! The Black Man and His Art and Style'. So we are seeking films about Black men as creators, survivors, style setters, poets, visionaries, builders and ground-breakers, as well as graphic artists, painters, dancers or sculptors".

Features, documentaries, student works, short films, older works and works in progress are all welcome.

Because the Festival is international, films about Black men from anywhere in the world are eligible. Women and people of all races are equally welcome to submit works.

Films in any language are welcome. Submit works in DVD format. There is no submission fee.

Send to: Yemi Toure, IBMFF, 2165 Rugby Ave - 613, College Park GA 30337, USA. Two copies of your work must be submitted to that address. Phone 1-404-432-2194.

For 2010 in Nigeria, reach Tenisio Seanima, Festival Assistant Director-Nigeria, at 0703-477-8543. All films from anywhere in the world must be submitted to the USA address.

Deadline for 2009 was Sat.12.Sep.2009, but later submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Festival will be held in Atlanta on Sat.07.Nov.2009. Festival web site is blackmanfilmfest.net.

...::Mr. President, Watch Your Back-- Part 4

A new book says Barack Obama faces 30 death threats a day. For more, click this word: assassination. Meanwhile, scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. is also facing death threats.

...::In Your Face, In Your Facebook

I have long contended that technology, including the Internet, will not bring an end to racism, but can expand and accelerate it. Some very old ideas will get a boost in new technology.

Example: Need to stop spam? There is an email application that will send your unwanted email to a "Black Mail" folder. That same program will send your "safe" email to a "White Mail" folder.

Now comes word of some bad things in Facebook's ad program. If you search for a friend on Facebook and the name you want is close to the word "Race," watch out. Facebook may place an ad on the right side of your search, an ad for "Ni**er Jokes." And I am not joking.

...::Chris Rock Keeps It In Perspective

Chris Rock was kicking back on a couch at the 2009 Sundance film fest in Utah in January when an interviewer asked him how hard he works--

"I work hard, but... it pales in comparison to real work... You do an interview, I do an interview, but somebody's gotta clean up this room tonight. That guy's really working."

[Thanks to Delia Carter]

...::CNN: Where Is "White In America"?

CNN is so proud of itself, now that it has aired two big reports called "Black in America," one last year and one this year. Well, I won't get into the details of the shows here. But ever since the powerful network last year aired Black problems in public with Part 1, I have been asking: CNN, where is "White in America"? I bet you CNN will never commit the same amount of its budget, publicity and prestige to a parallel report laying out the problems of whites.

[Soledad O'Brien, host of the CNN show]

White drug use, white collar crime, white aggression against nations of color around the world, domestic abuse and child abuse among whites, stealing of Black land by white courts and land developers across the South, school shootings by white youth, cocaine laws that favor whites-- and especially the growth of NRA gun club membership and gun sales since Obama became President. And don't forget the recent refusal of a club to let Black youth swim in its pool, and don't forget Black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. getting arrested in his own home, and don't forget the-- let me stop.

The absence of a show called "White in America" for the past year illustrates this media law-- play down, ignore or excuse negative actions of whites, actions that would make headlines-- and CNN specials-- if done by Blacks.

In the meantime, see this video response by Jeremiah Camara--

...::This Kinte Cloth Of A Play

[photo by Yemi Toure; nice picture, eh?]

You must go see the play "A Cool Drink A Water." Humor and hip-hop, drama and danger, hell and healing, the Spirit World, and not a little sex and love are all woven together in this Kinte cloth of a play. The audience was laughing, in tears, in shock, amazed and applauding throughout. No joke: I was on the edge of my seat. A worthy successor to "A Raisin In The Sun." How's that for a compliment? Don't sleep!!

...::BET, Why Do You Hate Us?

Good question. The online magazine for girls, Clutch, wants to know.

...::MJ: Fade To Black

[Thanks to Colorlines]

...::MJ: R.I.P.

...::Ebony, Jet Under Siege; Headquarters Under Lien

Shocking news on the media front: Ebony and Jet magazines are in financial trouble. In the midst of the nation's financial crisis, advertising and circulation have fallen mightily. It is the worst downturn for their owner, Johnson Publishing Co., in its 67-year history.

Contractors have slapped liens on the Black-owned JPC, which has mortgaged its headquarters building in Chicago to the white company that does its printing, R.R.Donnelley. The nation's largest Black-owned media company is said to owe Donnelley $12.7 million.

There is so much to like and dislike about these two publications, but let's hope they can survive, change and thrive. JPC chief Linda Johnson Rice will have to call on much financial and community expertise-- and on the spirit of her father, John H. Johnson, who founded the company and also weathered many, many storms. He transitioned on 08.Aug.2005.

Ms. Rice, your father has not left-- he just went to sit over there with the other ancestors. He can help you through!

[thanks to, and see more at Richard Prince's "Journal-isms"]

...::Mr. President, Watch Your Back-- Part 3

New York Times, Thu.25.Jun.2009-- Pastor [pictured above] Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church

Excerpt--
"When Mr. Obama was elected in November, federal instant background checks, the best indicator of gun sales, jumped 42 percent over the previous November. Every month since then, the number of checks has been higher than the year before...

The National Rifle Association says its membership is up 30 percent since November."

For related items, click this word-- assassination

...::This Man, A Leading Minister, Has Called For The Death of Obama

The threats to Obama continue to pile up. But watch how the media plays down the threat from this prominent, white preacher.

The assassination angle-- Individuals like this minister may not pick up the gun or plant the bomb, but they are poisoning the atmosphere for others who may, or will, do so.

The media angle-- Compare the coverage that this man, Rev. Wiley Drake, gets to the coverage that Rev. Jeremiah Wright gets.

[thanks to Kenyatta Bush]

...::Into The Dungeons

Though pretty on the outside, this Danish slave dungeon in West Afrika, built in 1784, hid deep and horrific secrets of white inhumanity. I have visited it, and I have heard the chains clank and the walls moan. In this 3-minute clip, a small group of Blacks from the U.S. also visits. The little girl at the end will touch you.



[thanks to Egbe Obinrin]

...::Jive-Talking Colored Robots In New "Transformers" Film

And you thought Jar Jar Binks was dead

...::Black Man In The Black Land

President Obama in Afrika at the Great Pyramid on Thu.04.Jun.2009. The structure was built around 2500 BC in what is now Egypt. At 481 feet high, it is about as tall as a 50-story building. It was the world's tallest human-made structure for more than 3,800 years. It reveals the most advanced use of construction, mathematics, geometry and astronomy in the world. More than 3,000 years later, a British scientific group wrote: "Now all of these measures, angles and levels are accurate, not as an ordinary surveyor or builder could make them, but to such a degree as requires the best modern instruments and all the refinements of geodetical science to discover any error at all."

...::Saving The Continent-- Through Stories...

A funny, frightening, profound short talk by a Nigerian brother about how language and literature can help sustain our humanity...



and see below--

...::And Through Science

A profile of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which seeks to train African men-- and women!-- in scientific fields in Africa--

...::Mr. President, Watch Your Back; Even Fox News Is Scared For You

A right-wing Fox News anchor is getting so much hate mail threatening harm to Barack Obama, that he goes on-air to warn about it--



And conservative writer Camille Paglia warns: "... when the tone darkens toward a rhetoric of purgation and annihilation, there is reason for alarm... Talk radio has been seething with such intensity since Barack Obama's first week in office... There is something dangerous afoot -- an alienation that can easily morph into extremism."

Want to get close to the President? Look how easy it is to buy law enforcement uniforms and badges.

Mr. President, watch your back.

...::From A Father To All Sons

"Son" by Alfred Crawford. A father warns all sons about the dangers of the streets. Very powerful spoken word piece. From the Apollo stage.

...::Where Do We Fit In? Are We Ready For The Revolution?

Technology is changing everything faster than you think. The future is not coming. It is already here. Are our leaders taking these ideas into consideration? Are you taking these ideas into consideration?

...::And You Thought Hip-Hop Was Our Only Global Music

Hip-hop is a world phenomenon. Now it's gospel's turn. Just watch this Korean choir, singing in the Korean language, in their capital, Seoul. These folks have been sitting at the feet of Kirk Franklin. If you know his gospel hit "My Desire," you will see it-- and feel it-- here.



[Thanks to the Media Assassin]

...::Johnathan McCoy, Age 10, Fights The N-word

...::When I Saw This, I Lost Count Of My Tears

This brief spoken word piece is called "Lost Count." It is part of the youth slam festival known as Brave New Voices. It is a love story, by young men, about how we are losing our young men. You will be moved...



Catch other videos of Brave New Voices here and on YouTube.

...::Just Suppose... Juxtapose... Just A Pose...

This image is presented by Youth Rights Media. The group empowers youth to--
-- know, protect and advance their rights
-- build "youth power and leadership"
-- use "video media production and community organizing"
-- learn "tools, skills, and strategies for affecting change"

...::In The Midst Of War, Congo Women Find Joy In Hairstyles

...::God's Gonna--

The storm gathered.

New Orleans resident Kimberly Rivers Roberts had just bought a video camera on the street for $10. With no filmmaking experience but feeling something in her bones, she let the camera roll.

The result is the 2008 documentary "Trouble the Water." It has been out for months, but it still haunts me.

The storm speaks through Roberts' camera. You can feel its power-- and its devastation. When you hear that wind howling down the street, if you don't believe in God, I feel sorry for you in the Next Life.

This film is rough. Raw. Unscripted.

Not the sweetly crafted words of a news anchor a thousand miles away, with the facial expression of concern, also sweetly crafted. No.

This is not even the story from the point of view of the rescue helicopters hovering over desperate people on roofs.

This is the story from the point of view of the people on the roofs. And under the roofs who did not make it.

It is also the story of everyday people with that most critical resource: the skill to survive, and to even care about others, in the face of one of the most horrible-- if not the most horrible-- catastrophe of their lives.

In the storm's wake, we see death, destroyed lives, scattered families. And Kimberly Rivers Roberts keeps shooting.

The film was nominated for an Oscar, and won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival.

There is no easy solution here. No happy ending. But when the lights go up, you will have experienced filmmaking as powerful as the storm.

...::Strap-On

...::TV Reporter Turns Ghetto In About ... 3 Seconds

...::Blame It On The Humor

We pointed out the seriousness of alcoholism three items below at the item titled "Blame It On The Alcohol." But who says we don't have a sense of humor?

...::Dear Brother Malcolm, You Live

[Malcolm X's birthday is on the 19th of May]

Dear Brother Malcolm,

Though your body was taken away from us years ago, we want you to know that your spirit lives among us still.

Through our dignity and our pride in our history and our culture, you live.

Through our marches and demonstrations and sacrifices for our people's struggles anywhere and everywhere in the world,
you live.

Through our dedication to our children, and our commitment to give them the best, you live.

Through those among us who refuse to be beaten down, and who are willing to pay the ultimate price for our manhood and womanhood and peoplehood, you live.

Through our schools and our centers and our holidays and our children named after you, you live.

Through our desire to live life guided by the highest principles, as you did, you live.

And through our commitment to have our freedom and dignity, fully and completely by paying any price, you live

We declare, brother, to our friends and to our foes, that every shut eye ain't sleep, every good-bye ain't gone.

Brother, you live among us still.

(c) 1985

...::Comedian Skews Obama, Bush

Wanda Sykes is funny, and no funnier than here. She was at the top of her game on Sat.09.May.2009 at the White House Correspondents Dinner, where U.S. presidents attend, knowing they will get ragged...

...::Blame It On The Alcohol

[According to government studies, alcohol causes more deaths, car accidents, health problems, family breakups and arrests than all illegal drugs combined.]

...::Hand Jive

The media played up the so-called "inappropriateness" of Michelle Obama having the nerve to touch Elizabeth II--



Elizabeth must not have minded too much; she touched back--



But here is the touch we like--

...::Another View of the Somalia Story

You don't hear about Somalia's "pirates" in the same breath with nuclear waste, do you? What do they have to do with each other? Well, look away from the mainstream media and listen for a minute to K'Naan, a musician from Somalia.



According to a British journalist, Somalia was a nuclear dumping ground before the "piracy" started--

As soon as the Somali government collapsed in 1991, "... mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies... hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness... This is the context in which the 'pirates' have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers..."

...::There's No Way To Put a Pretty Face On This

A Turkish TV anchor smeared on blackface to talk about Obama--



Blackface is a heavy makeup used to darken white faces so actors could play stereotyped and demeaning Black roles. So why is this still going on in 2009?

...::The Reach of Art

The headline in the NYTimes article was: "Mission From Africa." The story was about a Nigerian missionary in the U.S. But before I could read the article, I was struck by the story's photo--



I haven't even finished reading the article, yet this photo stood out for me--
-- The preacher is in a pose like you would find in a video game
-- Did you notice the "heavenly" light on the right and the extra shadow on the back wall? They give the picture a mystical quality
-- The woman is so deep in prayer; I wonder if she knows she has come out of her heels
-- Attendance sure isn't overflowing; but the preacher is passionate nonetheless

Let me know what you notice-- yemitoure@gmail.com. In the meantime, back to the article. Interestingly, it is about the explosive growth in Africa of conservative Christianity, with African missionaries coming to the U.S. to save souls. How's that for a reversal ...

...::Never-Before-Seen Pictures: The Day Martin Luther King Died

Life magazine on 02.Apr.2009 published, for the first time, pictures of the day Dr. King died in Memphis. The black-and-white images evoke the sadness of that day, 04.Apr.1968. Warning: some of the images are very disturbing.


Go here to see larger pictures and the captions.

King had gone to Memphis to support Black sanitation workers, on strike for better pay and better treatment as human beings. The night before he was killed, King gave his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address. It was a sign--



And the next day he was dead.

I thought I knew a lot about the day of King's transition, until I watched this wrenching video by my friend Ryon Horne. The weight of that day will come crashing around your shoulders.

...::In Praise of Black Women

Offering a set of items I came across recently about Black women...

1/Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit". It is a song about lynching. I have heard many recordings of her singing versions of this song, but I like this one best.



[For lyrics and more info on the song, go here and here]

2/A slide show of Black women.

Includes nice songs, including one with Wyclef Jean.



[Blues singer John Lee Hooker would call *some* of these images "drug store" images-- the natural beauty of these women is covered up by makeup and hair you could get in a drug store. But they are beautiful nonetheless.]

3/A must read--
"Black Feminist Thought" by Patricia Hill Collins. Get it from your local Black bookstore or from their online site.



4/First All-Black Female Airline Crew
Taking Flight



5/Did yall see this?

In Canada there is a Black woman who is Governor General of the nation. Her name is Michaelle Jean, and here she is, welcoming Barack Obama on his recent visit to Canada.







["Governor General" in Canada is a national office, though largely ceremonial. Jean is appointed, and deals with diplomats and protocol and such.]

6/And an important film about Black girls in the U.S. and the obstacles they face growing up.



"The Souls of Black Girls"

I saw this recently here in Atlanta. After the showing, girls in the audience came up and spontaneously told of their personal struggles over skin color-- some were called names by family and friends! Many cried. We have work to do...

7/A great short video of Black women pushing for rights during segregation. It's called Sojourners for Truth and Justice.

...::The Roots and Public Enemy together onstage

... and yes, Flava Flav was there too ...

...::Obama: Hope Through Our Tears

By YEMI TOURE

The photograph was plain, but powerful.

It showed the face of Vertie Hodge, 74, a Black woman who gathered with friends at a community center in Houston to watch Barack Obama's inauguration.

In the photo, her dark skin was clear, weathered. She was unsmiling, very still, focused. She stared at the TV.

Though she looked calm, a lot seemed to be going on inside of her, because from her right eye, a single tear streamed down her face.

When I came upon that photo, I suddenly stopped. I stared at her as she stared. I too was very still and focused. For a moment, I could not breathe.

Growing up in the country, she had little. "We ate a few peanuts one day," she said.

I imagined that she must have endured years of hard work with little reward. Had few places where her voice was respected. Suffered racism of unimaginable length and breadth.

And now comes this moment.

In Mrs. Hodge, I saw so much of what faith, hope and endurance are all about. And tears streamed down my face.

Back in the day, photos of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy had prominent places in the homes of Black folks across the country, especially in the South. Why? Those two leaders, above all others, embodied the hope that we felt.

We seemed to be saying, "I may not have a voice ... I dont have much money ... I may not run anything ... but I can hope, and you, Dr. King, and President Kennedy, are the embodiment of that hope in me."

So, the "audacity of hope" did not start with Obama. It started with Mrs. Hodge and multitudes like her. They dared to dream, to believe. In this country, yes, but even more so, they believed in the human spirit, in justice, in The Creator. They believed that in this deeply flawed nation, in this deeply flawed world, wrong can be made right, that justice will triumph one day.

That sense of hope is no doubt one of the reasons Mrs. Hodge has lived as long as she has in this racist, sexist, classist country. That sense of hope helped carry her through to this day.

I have little illusion about what Barack Obama can accomplish for women like her. For Black people like her. For poor people like her. He has promised much, and Mrs. Hodge hopes he can deliver.

We have hope through our tears. Obama will not realize all our dreams, but he embodies that hope.