395 Search results for "mainstream"

Is Image Everything to the NAACP?
As I watched the controversy that developed over the NAACP’s nomination of some artists who’s images might not what you would consider to be…ummm….positive, I thought about the difficulties of being a conscious artist and getting recognition. I understand that the NAACP Image Awards want A list celebrities so they can generate ratings and to often artists that make music that’s intelligent don’t make it into the “mainstream”. I asked on Facebook and Twitter why the NAACP Image Awards doesn’t have a category for inspirational artists, if they did here are just a few I would nominate.
In White Folks News: Charlie Sheen
Not since Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan has a junkie been so popular. Months ago when I wrote a blog about stupid white folks and how it was popular (and profitable) to be a stupid white person, I forgot to mention that it was also good to be a crazy, drug-addled white person. If you […]
The latest black example: Kelley Williams-Bolar
I grew up in Chicago with a mom that was overzealous about education. By the time I was twelve, I’d gone to seven different schools. I went to one school for Kindergarten, two schools for first grade, I was home-schooled halfway through second grade and then started at a new school where I stayed for […]
Porn, Poverty, Public Health and the Pursuit of Happiness
For many, it is hard to have open conversations about vaginas, penises, and anuses, especially when ‘beavers,’ ‘one-eyed snakes’ and ‘poop-chutes’ play bump in the [supposed] night. Even when we talk about “them” bumping in the night, many of us create euphemisms to get around the discomfort of talking about sex. So you can imagine […]
Parenting by Gays More Common in the South, Census Shows
Parenting by Gays More Common in the South, Census Shows Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times | January 18, 2011 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Being gay in this Southern city was once a lonely existence. Most people kept their sexuality to themselves, and they were reminded of the dangers of being openly gay when a gay church […]
Freedom of speech is a white privilege
This is the map Sarah Palin published on her site in 2010. Less than a week ago, someone reached one of those targets. Is Sarah to blame? She certainly doesn’t think so and she isn’t alone. What’s interesting about this situation though, is while a number of media outlets are speculating that Palin’s poor use […]
Don't Call It A Comeback: Obama Leads America To Another Victory
This past Sunday the world witnessed one of the greatest comebacks ever in the history of professional football. I know I have the tendency to hyperbolize athletic events, but this was one for the ages. In just under 8 minutes Michael Vick sliced and diced the New York Giants defense to lead the Philadelphia Eagles […]
Georgia Prison Strike & Why We Need Our Own Media

Did you know one of the largest prison protests in US history took place last week? If you said no that’s not surprising considering it was not covered by corporate funded mainstream media. The word got out through conscious bloggers like Davey D, effective uses of social media like Twitter and Facebook and by the hard work and efforts of some a the few independent and unafraid media outlets we have left.

According to the Final Call Newspaper (the last standing black owned weekly international newspaper),

“Fed up with bad food, unjust treatment, poor education and inadequate health care, thousands of inmates in Georgia’s prison system staged “Lockdown for Liberty,” a peaceful protest on Dec. 9, according to activists”
THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010
The following are my picks for the best albums of 2010. These records represent what I believe were the most essential statements popular music made during this bizarre and confusing year. Feel free to post your own list, tell me how brilliant these choices are, or talk as much shit as you’d like in the comments section below…
Michael Vick & The Constitutionality of Obamacare
Just 3 years ago, life seemed to be over for Michael Vick. The first round draft pick who dazzled crowds with his blazing speed and cannon arm seemingly reached the nadir of his life. When defensive ends blitzed Vick, his agility and uncanny vision usually helped him evade tackles and pick up huge chunks of […]
Real People vs. Real Gangstas
This weekend I was blessed to do a workshop at the Community Justice Network for Youth National Conference in Washington DC. My co-presenter was a dope young organizer named Armando, from an organization in Tuscan AZ called Skrappys. As the conversation about Hip-Hop inevitably turned to the misrepresentation of our community by mainstream rappers I […]
Puck the anti-black Folice
You know. We always talk about education saying it as the answer to everything, yet we never talk about actual lessons. Talking about learning something, everyone knows about our culture: chicken induced diabetes, large rolling stone penises, the list goes on. The feeling “I’m f@cked up” extends to us as a whole when we too […]