Another week down. I had some technical issues that caused me to skip songs for two of the days, but the sound card is functional, new speakers have been added, and I probably just need to replace the motherboard fan and maybe get a webcam now.
Enough about me.
February 8th
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney (1971)
This gets back to my love of Lerone Bennett's work too. I often read very dry, academic works because the information is important. When someone tells you something important and in a way that various levels of readers with different amounts of background information can process, that is an amazing accomplishment, sometimes quite rare. This book was a revelation, and I have found others who have felt the same way. It may be somewhat outdated now, but it will always be important.
Paired with "I Might Have Been Queen" by Tina Turner.
February 9th
Mirror to America by John Hope Franklin (2005)
In some ways the quintessential professor of African American history, reading Franklin's history, and its issues with race. It is told with grace and love, and sometimes tragedy. It is lengthy, but also a delight.
Paired with "Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding.
February 10th
"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes (1936)
Powerful, and I can imagine people nodding along, with a completely different idea of what America being America would mean, but for me it means equality for all, white supremacy eradicated, because as long as we cling to some bigotry it leaves room for more to grow. None of us are free until all of us are free.
No song today. This has its own rhythm, and my sound is out.
February 11th
Underground (2016)
This was a good show overall, and the "Minty" episode was amazing, but the strongest lasting impression comes from a moment at the end of the first season. Rosalee's brother was supposed to run with the rest of the group, and did not. As she is finally at a place of safety, she learns of her brother's death. She tells Noah that none of us are free unless all of us are free. She goes on to work with Harriet Tubman, and to try and rescue her other brother and their mother.
When I go on about "dominator culture" (and I know that I do), it is not just because that need to be able to control others causes harm directly, but even our good intentions are impeded by it. If I want racial equality or gender equality, but I won't give up my homophobia or transphobia or ableism, I am strengthening the racists and the misogynists, regardless of my intent.
I want all of us to be free. It's going to require emphasis on the "all".
Still no song.
February 12th
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (2010)
I was recently reading a different book on how we got to racism without racists. That "colorblindness" means that you can have a law enforcement and and prison system that is racist in practice without having to officially declare it. Alexander does a great job of tracing the path and showing the details.
Paired with "Fuck tha Police" by N.W.A
February 13th
What's Going On by Marvin Gaye (1971)
This is a profound album, with an emotional response to the times. As I listen again I am impressed with the questioning of his place in the whole. It is cosmic, but remains grounded.
Paired with the title track.
February 14th
Just Mercy (movie 2019 and book by Bryan Stevenson 2014)
I have been touched by Stevenson's work going back to a Smithsonian article back in 2012, but you learn more from the movie and the book. A lasting lesson from the book is how the racism of the legal system may be somewhat arbitrary, but that acts as intimidation for everyone else. In addition, yes, you can free a falsely accused man from prison after many years, but you can't restore his family life or the toll on his health or the time lost.
Paired with "Mercy Mercy Me" by Marvin Gaye
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