an open letter from latinos to african american sisters and brothers

This beautiful statement of unity and positivity has been circulating rather widely online but I decided to use the version of: An Open Letter to African American Sisters and Brothers by Elizabeth Martinez (and signed by a number of Latino activists and intellectuals) from off of the Al-Jazeera website.

interesting weekend...

So I went on a trip to a competition in Milwaukee this weekend. A very sweet friend of mine gave me a four-leaf clover for luck. I don't "believe in" four-leaf clovers but I thought it was a really nice gesture so I took it, put it in a plastic baggie which I kept in my wallet...

So on Friday, when we were on the expressway on the way to the competition we hit a pothole and one of the front tires comes loose from the car, bouncing 20 feet in the air, and then bouncing across several lanes of traffic. The driver was able to maintain control and we reached a median strip on the expressway. We called several towtruck companies who said they wouldn't pick the car up from the expressway but we eventually found one who could. Our group of four was too big to all go in the tow truck so we split up. Two people went with the car in the tow truck to a mechanic where we could try to get it repaired. And the other two of us played a live-action version of Frogger and dodged expressway traffic to get to the street level, and then wandered around the "inner city" of Chicago looking for a public bathroom. Then we got on the L to meet up with the rest of our group downtown. We stopped to eat. Then walked several blocks in search of Union Station and wandered around a good chunk of time before we learned that the train we had planned to take wasn't running any more that night (one teammate had a friend in Evanston and so we were trying to reach their house for the night). So then we had to backtrack to an L station to find an alternate route to the suburbs. To make a long story slightly shorter, we were eventually able to make it to Evanston and crashed there. The next day we had to buy Amtrak tickets for the rest of the distance (which we had planned to drive). So instead of arriving at our destination at 6pm Friday we ended up arriving 10am on Saturday (So we missed some of the preliminary events on Friday evening)

Now comes the competition itself. Our team actually did really well. We made it to the finals. Except that in the finals, when it was my turn to go on, I got an excessive time penalty called which made the difference between winning the competition (and $500) and coming in second place (and getting "nothing"). A number of people told me that something fishy had gone on with the time keeping and so we got more of a penalty than we should have and so we deserved to win. (In fact, they actually had announced our team as the winners of the competition and it was only later that a "correction" was issued) The fact that there were even people on other teams who agreed that we were robbed made me feel better but we still don't get the $500 (which the team could have used).

On a really bizarre note, the afterparty for the competition was held in a bar named Mecca! One of my teammates remarked that in other parts of the country (like DC) the "Muslims" (including Sunni, Shia, Nation or 5%-ers) would have been more active and protested the choice of name but in this city apparently that wasn't the case here in Milwaukee.

Anyway, after a full weekend, we hit the road again on Sunday, taking the train to get back to Chicago where the tire had fallen off. Took the L and a bus to get back to where the car had been fixed. And went the rest of the way by car to go back home.

And on a final note regarding the trip, somewhere along the way I lost my cell phone and I'm still in the midst of trying to get it back.

I'm generally not one to complain so I'm not going to say whether I've been lucky or unlucky this weekend. But it was certainly an adventure.

a moment of silence before i start this poem

After having a very poetry-filled weekend, I thought I would share the following piece by Emmanuel Ortiz called: A moment of silence before I start this poem

Ortiz's piece, along with Suheir Hammad's piece first writing since have got to be my favorite 9/11 poems.

Emmanuel Ortiz is a third-generation Chicano/Puerto Rican/Irish-American community organizer and spoken word poet residing in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of a chapbook of poems, The Word is a Machete, and his poetry has appeared in numerous publications.In addition to other activities, he is the coordinator of Guerrilla Wordfare, a Twin Cities-based grassroots project bringing together artists of color to address socio-political issues and raise funds for progressive organizing in communities of color through art as a tool of social change.

this just in: it is wrong to lynch people

So in its ever so timely manner of doing things, the senate finally passed a resolution to apologize for the complicity of past Senates in lynching black folks.

Basically, in between 1882 and 1968 nearly 5000 blacks had been lynched in these United States of America. Sometimes under cover of night by angry mobs but other times they happened in the middle of the afternoon where the men, accompanied with their wives and children would watch and bring along their picnic baskets. Several hundred bills were introduced in the House to try to put an end to the practice of lynching but they were all filibustered by southern senators and so they never became law.

So here is a Seattle Times Editorial to provide some historical perspective

And here is a piece in the Clarion Ledger which reminds us that we still have miles to go before we sleep. Basically, even today, there were apparently some (Republican) Senators who give the impression of not wanting to be on the record in public support of the resolution.

the blog is more powerful than the sword...

Here is a BBC News piece entitled Bloggers' 'victory' over Iraq war memos on the role that blogs have played in recent current events (specifically the whole Downing Street Memo issue).

the downing street memo

Many believe the infamous Downing Street Memo is the smoking gun which can be used to impeach Bush... the proof that he lied about the reasons for the Iraq War.

Here is www.downingstreetmemo.com for more information about the memo and what people out there are doing about it.

And Here is the Wikipedia page on the memo

but it would be a good idea

Reporter to M.K. Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
M.K. Gandhi to Reporter: I think it would be a good idea.

The above comment came up in the course of a late-night conversation on which civilization is the most "culturally advanced" (whatever that means).

It seems to me that it is rather difficult to come up with truly objective standards for the level of progress achieved by a certain group of people. My take on it is that people make what they value and value what they make. If they are Westerners who value speed and efficiency then they will invent microwave ovens and digital watches. And then they will proceed to pat themselves on the back for inventing microwave ovens and digital watches. If they are Middle Easterners or Indians and value spirituality then they will found major religious traditions and then pat themselves on the back for founding major religious traditions.

(It never ceases to trip me out that between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, not to mention those that follow nearby religions like the followers of Elijah Muhammad, Rastafarians, Hebrew Israelites, Mormons, Mandeans, Karites, Jehovah's Witnesses, Bahais, Druzes, Samaritans, Noachides etc. most Earthlings are in religions which are connected to Abraham somehow. And then between Buddhism, Hinduism, the Sikh faith and the Jain religion, most of the rest follow religious paths coming out of India.)

For some reason, those digital watches are looking less and less impressive.

I remember certain intellectuals trying to make a sharp distinction between civilization and technology. It's one thing to have neat gadgets but the real hallmark of civilization lies in how people are treated.

Other Gandhi Quotes

star wars: an islamic perspective

Irfan Rydhan put together a paper on the connection between Star Wars and Islam (which incorporated some info from Planet Grenada) but you might be interested in seeing the final product or checking out other links and projects on his website.

So the paper is Star Wars: An Islamic Perspective

And the homepage for Jam Productions (An International Video and Film Company) is here.

and also...

The Islamic Artists Society seems to have a good set of links as well.

for instance...

following up with the literary theme... you might want to check out Writeous Sister, Aaminah Hernandez
Moorish Girl (Who seems more interested in Middle Eastern/Arab literary topics than things specifically religious)
Brother Dasham at Muslimpoet.com
and the folks at Rendering Islam
(all either on my blogroll in my links area) to check out what Muslims are doing on the cultural front.

on the road again 2

This weekend I plan to be competing in a poetry slam so after Friday there probably won't be too many entries till Sunday or so.

Going back to an earlier discussion about the formation of an American Muslim culture: I think it would be great if more Muslims decided to create journals, readings, or other kinds of forums to promote our own creative endeavours. The slams have their positive aspects (open, free, democratic) but they also have their negative elements mixed in as well and I sometimes wish there were more alternatives. It would probably be easiest to start with a talent show or a small reading/writing group and move on from there. Bring Muslim poets and writers to perform at your events. etc. They are certainly out there and it would be good to support them.

the reyes brothers

The Godfather of Latin Rap, Mellow Man Ace (Ulpiano Sergio Reyes) and his brother Sen Dog of Cypress Hill (Senen Reyes) will soon be coming out with an album this summer called The Reyes Brothers. Its sort of sad from a certain point of view. They are easily the two biggest Afro-Cuban rappers out there. I used to listen to them when I was younger. But now, I really can't expect much enlightenment from them, spiritual, political or otherwise. Just some grooves and beats.

On the other hand, Sen has appeared on Mellow Man Ace's "Brother with Two Tongues" album and they also both appeared on the Silencio=Muerte: Red, Hot + Latin album (which was made to raise money towards AIDS/HIV research). And their projects together have actually turned out pretty well. (Without too much weed smoke).

ladybug mecca

Before the Fugees... there was Digable Planets... another 3-person crew with good beats, a loosely spiritual (specifically Five Percent Nation of Islam) lyrical landscape, two dudes, and a beautiful woman. They won a Grammy with their first album, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space). Their second album, Blowout Comb, made less of a splash. And the group essentially broke up to work on their own projects.

But recently, according to Latinrapper.com, in an interview with Ladybug Mecca (who is of Brazilian heritage) she is coming out with a solo album, and she has also been performing with the other members of Digable Planets at a few dates and will soon start to work on a third DP album.

immortal technique

Here is a website for politically-minded Afro-Peruvian rapper Immortal Technique. (includes pictures, interviews, soundclips and more)

cuba without castro

An interesting Associated Press article by Todd Lewan about what will happen to Cuba after Fidel is out of the picture. It suggests changes will happen but that they won't be as sweeping or as radical as some people might imagine.

Quoting Antonio Jorge, economics guru and professor of political economy at Florida International University:

"Cubans have never been pure, savage capitalists, the way Americans are," Jorge says, wistfully. "People forget that. Cuba will have to be rebuilt in the model of a Scandinavian country — say, Sweden." In other words, a socialist-leaning state?

shut down guantanamo!

Taipai Times: Guantanamo Bay prison should be shut down, Republican senator says
Alter-Net: After Guantanamo

Ok, it's one thing to hear Amnesty International or even Jimmy Carter suggesting that the prison at Guantanamo should be shut down. But recently the REPUBLICAN US Senator Mel Martinez is joining the chorus. Maybe someone should take a hint.

yo soy un hombre sincero...

my heart is full of muslims
trapped on a us base
growing out of cuban soil

benito juarez and quran desecration at guantanamo

From La Voz de Aztlan site:
Toilet flushing of Holy Qu'ran at Guantanamo manifests a deep problem of America

history of islamic spain

Here is a page of links on Spanish history (including Granada) also from the DNN site.

latin america watch

Here is the Latin America Watch section of the DNN (Dajjal Netwwork News) website. DNN is a little conspiracy-theory minded but that doesn't mean they don't have good information on their site. (And I just added the DNN homepage to my set of links)