UrbanRhetoric

UrbanRhetoric

7.14.2013

Black, White + Latino? ....by pemora

Recently, this meme quietly made the rounds on my FB feed:



For those who need help with the translation, the title reads “The Indiscreet Latino Racism,” followed by endearing comments for the whitest baby. The two friends who posted it did the online equivalent of nodding their heads, to which other Latino friends just ‘liked’ the post.


Last night, seated next to my husband and holding our 5 year-old son on my lap, I watched the reading of the George Zimmerman verdict. We put our son to bed, and then I cried. My husband, ever the cool-headed one in our relationship, tried to help me understand what may have happened, what the jury might have been thinking. I turned off the TV and went to bed.


This morning, while reading FB and Twitter, I saw posts from people feeling outrage and dismay, some expressing ‘I told you so’s’. A couple of quotes from some of my heroes. A few links to really great articles.


But what is missing in all of this? A real conversation. One in which we, the Latino community, really take time to reflect on our own prejudices. Our own biases. The context of circumstances that led to George Zimmerman, a non-black Latino, murdering Trayvon Martin, a black teenager.


As someone who teaches Latin American History, I understand the complex political, social and historical background of this issue. The fact that colonialism directly shaped the ways in which we view race is something that we have still not untangled. Latinos of every region, national identity, and socioeconomic class have examples of how race has played out in our interactions with one another. Why do we use words like ‘negrita’ or ‘guerita’? How do we treat our Afro-Latino cousins? How do we treat our blonde hair, blue-eyed ones? Why do we not acknowledge skin privilege?


Trayvon’s death is a tragedy. But I hope that Latinos can use this as the opportunity to truly engage in a conversation on race.


Rest in peace, Trayvon Benjamin Martin. 










**edited by @thewayoftheid

7.12.2013

Born Sinner [review]....by Charlie Mango

Honestly, I didn’t listen to J. Cole’s debut album, Cole World. Oh, I’m a fan of his, many would argue, classic mixtapes (as classic as a mixtape could be): The Come Up, The Warm Up, and Friday Night Lights. But none of the singles from his album moved, touched, or inspired me like so many of his previous tracks. In fact, his songs were too structured and felt soulless; so, I decided to skip the album all together. I didn’t even download it; I didn’t want to hear him flop after falling off.

7.10.2013

MCHG [review]....by Charlie Mango

Once again, Jay-Z sets a new bar (not lyrically, but maybe sonically or financially: platinum before the album dropped, never done before) with his latest offering Magna Carta Holy Grail.  Don’t believe me, pay attention to the black bar through his name and on the artistically statuesque cover, no coincidence. Additionally, the title of the album proclaims a new set of rules will be established, a la Magna Carta, while people search for their Holy grail (cue Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code).

7.05.2013

World War Z [review]....by IMTHATDUDE


Fast zombies and swarming zombie walls aside, this was about as dry a zombie flick can get.   To paraphrase Katt Williams - this movie was so THIRSTY it came with a straw. 

WWZ is not a Zombie apocalypse flick.  It’s a thriller.  But it’s parched.  Here are some zombie flicks that were NOT boring (granted 2 of them are comedies) 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Resident Evil (1), Night of the Living Dead, and Night of the Comet. (yes, Night of the Comet – classic 80s flick with all of its cornball cheesiness).  Each one more likely of being watched again before I see WWZ again. Sorry, Brad.  I’m sure my UR review will have him very upset at the poultry $60M opening and crying himself to sleep in Angelina’s bed.  But Brad, The Walking Dead shows more graphic violence than WWZ (they cut away from Brad smashing in a zombie dome with a crowbar) – that’s amazing that such a watered down flick could be so thirsty.

7.04.2013

Man of Steel [review].....by IMTHATDUDE

It’s not that Superman 3 (minus a couple classic Richard Pryor lines) and 4 and Superman Returns all sucked hairy… rocks, it’s just that they were really not good; the latter not as much as the others, but Superman Returns was silly.  How Superman pickup a whole island of kryptonite?  KRYPTONITE!  And Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor sounded like brilliance, but turned out as well as Russell Crowe singing show tunes (Les Miserable performance, from what I heard).  I was a legit fan.  There’s a reason some people have referred to me as Black Seinfeld.  I even named my old crib the Fortress of Solitude – for so many reasons - too many to go into now.  (Now, I just call my place my “Lair.”)

7.01.2013

Uncle Charlie....by pemora

If you follow me on twitter, you know that I LOVE these awards shows. Correction: I never particularly like awards shows but celebs do and wear such silly things, that I like making comments. I have a small, but loyal, circle of twitter friends who are hilarious during these shows, so it makes the experience even better.

Last night's BET Awards was no exception. Lots of ridiculous antics (dare I use the most overused word from the last 6 months....ratchet?!) and some questionable outfits (Meagan Good's revealing dress while she talked about the Gospel category). And then, something magical happened. Justin 'Sessy Pants' Timberlake came out to pay tribute to Charlie Last Name Wilson and what happened next was just plain awesome.

This clip does not show india.arie (and her sequin camel toe-inducing jumpsuit...see? Questionable), Jamie Foxx (who does not have a deep range) and Stevie Wonder. But it DOES include Snoop Dogg Lion, Pharrell 'Black Benjamin Button' Williams, JT and Uncle Charlie.

Enjoy, y'all. Enjoy.