Teaser video from SFA Jamaica fam Jah 9 “New Day”

Jay Smooth helps America adjust to the news that for the first time in history, a majority of American babies born in the last year were minorities. nytimes.com/2012/05/17/us/whites-account-for-under-half-of-births-in-us.html

NEW weekly programs & workshops

Greetings, the staff at Young & Potential Fathers (YPF) would like to share some information about our NEW weekly programs & workshops starting May 14th 2012 atUjima House 1901 Weston Rd unit 18

Lunch & Learn every Tuesday from 1-3pm

Every Tuesday afternoon if you are a young man or a father looking for an opportunity to get connected to fathering tips, resources and other services join us we talk about how to become a better dad, man and explore themes around self identity, empowering self and other topics related to supporting one another in their parenting role.

Money Talks every Tuesday from 6-7:30pm

Money Talks is a financial advancement program for fathers & young men.  Young fathers and men are encouraged to “learn how to get their money right” through FREE Financial Planning Workshops. Workshop topics include Managing on a Low Income, How to Make a Spending Plan, Living On Your Own, Saving & Interest, Saving to Build Wealth, Dealing with Debt, All About Credit, Payday Loans, Buying a Car, Budgeting for a  Baby. Upon completion participants will receive a certificate of completion.

Nobody’s Perfect every Wednesday from 5:30-8pm

Nobody’s Perfect is a FREE parenting program for fathers with children 6 years and under.  At our weekly workshops fathers will learn about children’s growth and learning, children’s behaviour, children’s health and safety, parenting stress and more. Upon completion participants will receive a certificate of completion.

Father Hood Talk every Friday from 5:30-8pm

Father Hood Talk is a support group designed to bring young and potential fathers together with mentors and elders from the community. Each session will take place in the Barber’s Corner of Ujima House and focus on engaging and empowering dialogue where the meaning of fathering and best practices can be shared. Professionals such as Lawyers and Health workers from the community will participate in these sessions to provide knowledge, support, resources and essential information to assist young men with the various realities and challenges that one might experience (on a daily basis).

Interview with Director-X via Rudy-Blair

“On May 26 some of Canadian music’s most important music and entertainment professionals will take part in the 2012 Toronto International Music Summit. One of the keynote speakers will be Toronto native Director X, know as the best music director in the business. 680News music reporter Rudy Blair speaks with Director X about the summit, his career and working on Justin Bieber’s new music video “Boyfriend.”  SOURCE

That might well be true, since who doesn’t suffer from internalized racism?  I mean, even white people internalize racism. The difference is that white people’s internalized racism is against people of color, and it’s backed up by those who control societal institutions and capital.

But some folk have more on their minds.  They say that focusing on black and white reinforces a false racial binary that marginalizes the experiences of non-black people of color. No argument here. But I also think that trying to mix things up by putting non-black people of color in the middle is a problem because there’s no “middle.”

So there’s most of my answer. I’m sure I do suffer from internalized racism, but I don’t think that racism is defined only in terms of black and white. I also don’t think white supremacy is a simple vertical hierarchy with whites on top, black people on the bottom, and the rest of us in the middle.

So why do I expend so much effort on lifting up the oppression of black people? Because anti-black racism is the fulcrum of white supremacy.

A fulcrum is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the support about which a lever turns” or, alternatively, “one that supplies capability for action.” In other words, if you want to move something, you need a pry bar and some leverage, and what gives you leverage is the fulcrum – that thing you use so the pry bar works like a see-saw.

The racial arrangement in the U.S. is ever changing.  There is no “bottom.” Different groups have more ability to affect others at different times because our roles are not fixed.  But, while there’s no bottom, there is something like a binary in that white people exist on one side of these dynamics – the side with force and intention. The way they mostly assert that force and intention is through the fulcrum of anti-black racism.

Hang in there with me for a minute and consider this. Race slavery is the historical basis of our economy. Yes, there was/is a campaign of “Indian removal” in order to capture natural resources and that certainly is part of the story. But the structure of the economy is rooted in slavery.

Our Constitution was written by slave owners. They managed to muster some pretty nice language about equality, justice, and freedom for “men” because they considered Africans less than human. Our federal system is based on a compromise intended to accommodate slavery. Our concept of ownership rights, the structure of our federal elections system, the segregated state of our society,the glut of money in politics, our conservative political culture, our criminal codes and federal penitentiaries all evolved around or were/are facilitated by anti-black racism.

And this is not just about history.  Fear of black people drives our national politics, from the fight over Jim Crow in the 50s and 60s, to Willie Horton and the Chicago Welfare Queen in the 80s, and the War on Drugs, starting in 1982 right up to the present. Since 2001, the U.S. has spent about 1.3 trillion dollars on war. Since 1982 we’ve spent over 1 trillion dollars on the drug war.

About 82% of drug busts are for possession, while about 18% are for trafficking. Sound like an irrational way to wage a war on drugs? Not if it’s a war on black people.

According to Human Rights Watch, black males are incarcerated at a rate more than six times that of white males resulting in one in 10 black males aged 25-29 being held in prison or jail in 2009. The same report states:

And why a war on people?  The war on drugs is the cornerstone of the “tough on crime” messaging campaign that is key to the Republican Southern Strategy. It suggests that extending civil rights to African-Americans resulted in the crime wave of the 1970s, (and not the baby boom as is suggested by sociologists) in order to drive white Southerners into the Republican Party.

And that “tough on crime” thing, that’s not just against black people.  It’s a propaganda war that is weakening civil rights and civil liberties for all of us.

There’s no hierarchy of oppressions where race is concerned, but anti-black racism is the fulcrum of white supremacy.

Toronto, ON -Black Womyn Griots is a film that explores the black literary genre of spoken word. Toronto-based female poets share how they use storytelling as an act of resistance and language as a site of power. This film depicts spoken word as a powerful means to build communities, organize resistance and tell our stories as an act of healing.

“The Future is in the Ghetto >> Exhibit A Homeboiis ”
photo show and Fundraiser!

This is an invite to the first solo photo exhibit from Jon Blak

This is a first of mega series “The future is in the Ghetto” documenting innovation in focusing on but not limited to the urban peripheries (inner-cities) yes i said inner cities lol

HOMEBOIIS is a celebration of black masculine camaraderie
Images were taken in Nairobi, Port Antonio and Toronto from 2008-2011

Prints and Drinks will be sold
Light refreshments should be provided (i’ll really try!)

Proceeds go to support my return trip to Nairobi Kenya to reconnect with young leaders and document youth programs that I connected with on my 2008 with Emerge!

Please come out and support, buy a piece if you are moved to do so

Location: 823A Bloor St West
Dates: May 9-12th

Wednesday May 9th,2012 Times: 8:00pm -10:00pm*opening*
Thursday 12:00pm :7:00pm
Friday 12:00pm-7:00pm
Saturday 12:00pm-6:00pm
Sunday 1:00pm-5:00pm

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

SFA exclusive footage! Wednesday May 9 2012- West Coast First Nations ‘Yinka Dene Alliance Freedom Riders’ and community supporters gathered in front of the Enbridge’s annual general meeting of shareholders at the King Edward Hotel here in downtown Toronto,to send a clear message of disapproval for Enbridge’s plan to build pipelines and oil sands through out Sacred First Nations territory. Led by 11 year old activist/ singer from vancouver Ta’Kaiya Blaney. Check out our photo gallery! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352833811443585.82135.1285944838675…

The Yinka Dene Alliance is one of the leading groups of First Nations in opposing the Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline and super-tanker project. We are six Dakelh (Carrier) and Tse Kay Nay (Sekani) Nations in the interior of what is known as British Columbia, and we are where the unbroken wall of opposition to Enbridge’s dangerous tar sands pipeline begins.
 

Background:

We are taking an historic journey — the Freedom Train — from our territories to Toronto. We will make stops for rallies and ceremony in Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg along the way, and will gain strength as we travel across Turtle Island. Remembering the Constitution Train of 1980, we will be travelling from our lands to the Canadian centre of financial power – Bay Street – to send the pipeline companies, oil companies, banks, financial media and the government an unforgettable message: tar sands pipelines and supertankers will not be permitted in our lands and waters. For more info about the Freedom Riders Train and the Yinka Dene Alliance see: http://freedomtrain2012.com/ For more info on the Indigenous and allied movement Against Enbridge’s Tar Sands Pipelines and Tankers, and the Tar Sands themselves, see: http://yinkadene.ca/ http://pipeupagainstenbridge.ca/ http://www.ienearth.org/tarsands.html

first official video from SFA Jamaica fam Kabaka Pyramid for the track “Free From Chains” off his “Rebel Music” EP directed by Pierce Mclean and Andrew Jackson of Road Block Films. Kabaka is also featured on the new Stolen From Africa compilation Vol2 “Lest We Forget” to be released June 2nd -Free online!!

Facebook.com/kabakapyramid
twitter.com/kabakapyramid
kabakapyramid.bandcamp.com
sonicbids.com/kabakapyramid