black presidents (part one)

It is amazing to me how powerful the very concept of a "Black President" is in terms of the varied ways it has been a frequent catalyst for the popular comedic, dramatical and political imagination.

At first, I was just looking around on YouTube and came across Richard Pryor doing a "Black President" sketch for his short-lived television series but very quickly many other examples sprang to mind.

Dave Chappelle: Black President Bush
Dave Chappelle: If Deep Impact kept it real (Dave as Morgan Freeman as the President)
Dave Chappelle: Wyclef's If I was President
Wyclef's Video: If I was President

In 1964, Irving Wallace published a novel called "The Man" about the first Black president of the United States. The book was later on made into a film with James Earl Jones as the lead. The screenplay was written by Rod Serling who is most famous as the creator of the Twilight Zone. (I'll try not to read too much into that). Of course the main character isn't actually elected as President. Instead he was elected to the Senate (and becomes President Pro Tempore) but after the first couple of people in the Presidential order of succession either die or become incapacitated he becomes the next person in line.

More recently we have also have Dennis Haysbert's portrayal of Black President, David Palmer on the popular series 24.

The last two examples are the most realistic and emphasize the complex set of challenges and obstacles which would face a Black man who fills "the most powerful office on the planet". The earlier examples are more imaginative than realistic and (with the exception of Black Bush) I would argue that the Black President idea is used as a vehicle to express a certain utopian vision.

An example which is both absolutely realistic and totally hilarious is the Onion piece: Zambia Elects Black President

Although strictly speaking, not on Black Presidents, there are also some poignant examples of criticizing the current president in terms of his policies towards the Black community among others:
Pink - Dear Mr. President
George Bush Don't Like Black People (Remix)

More later. In part two I'll want to bring in discussions of some of the real live candidates for the position of Black president: Barack Hussein Obama, Shirley Chisolm, Eldridge Cleaver, Lenora Fulani, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et alia.

in the cards?

I got this from Sister Scorpion's post: You are the Female Mullah (not!) The questions didn't seem all that deep, but here is how I came out:

You are The Hierophant

Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.

The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.

spilling the beans

Over at the Third Resurrection blog I just added two entries on recent books/papers which offer candid looks at the current situation in Israel/Palestine. jimmy carter and the a-word brings together a couple of links related to Jimmy Carter's new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. While the israel lobby and u.s. foreign policy points to a controversial working paper which came out several months ago with the thesis that the Pro-Israel lobby has way too much influence on how the U.S. government chooses to act in the Middle East.

"to the shores of tripoli..."

Since Sondjata wanted something "meatier" on Dennis Prager's ignorant comments about Keith Ellison's decision to take his oath of office on a Quran instead of a Bible:

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

Article 11, the Treaty of Tripoli (the Treaty of Peace and Friendship) signed 1796.

The above passage is of particular significance because as part of a treaty it was ratified by the U.S. Senate (unanimously) and signed by the President so it had a certain amount of legal force (until the treaty was broken). The passage is also especially relevant in the present case because it explicitly refers to Islam (although in somewhat dated terms). On the other hand, the famous phrase "wall of separation between church and state" was never legally binding in the same way and instead comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson giving his interpretation of the establishment clause (i.e. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...").

In any case, the treaty is clear. "... the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion". And Prager's tirade is cut off at the knees.

But as silly as Prager is, he does make me think about certain deeper issues. For example, when it comes to politics in the Muslim world (e.g. Algeria, Turkey, Iraq after the dust settles), I feel like I definitely need to think through some of the details, but I generally feel like the best kind of government would somehow combine democratic reforms and large helpings of Islamic law. It only makes sense. If you are in a part of the world where most of the population consists of religious Muslims and you set up a government there which is responsive to the values, beliefs, hopes, aspirations and interests of the people, then you should expect the government to be "Islamic" to some degree.

So when I look back to Prager's piece, I'm not really objecting to the idea of a religious state per se but I'm mainly making the legal/historical objection that U.S. was neither set up nor intended as a "Christian nation". Religious states certainly have their own special sets of dangers and temptations but at this point I wouldn't categorically throw out the baby with the bathwater.

"i'm not sure about the universe"

A saying, often attributed to Albert Einstein goes: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity... and I'm not sure about the universe."

Here is an example from Dennis Prager: America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on

Basically, recently elected Muslim Congressman (takbir!) Keith Ellison announced that he would take his oath of office on a Quran instead of a Bible. And Dennis Prager, who apparently is advocating for America as a homogeneous Bible-based culture, seems to have a problem with it. In every other sentence of his tirade Prager alternates between displaying deep misunderstanding of Islam, the US Constitution, freedom of religion, American history and the nature of extremism.

For some non-stupid reponses to Prager's rant check out:
Taylor Marsh: That Uppity Democratic Muslim!
The Carpetbagger Report: It’s not a change of Biblical proportions
Professor Bainbridge's Journal: Dennis Prager goes off the Rails re Keith Ellison

richards' racist rant (part 2)

In the wake of Michael Richards' meltdown on stage, several new developments have come up. For now I just wanted to talk about how a number of black leaders have met with media heads to discuss use of "the n-word".

AP: Black leaders seek end to use of slur

For me the most surprising piece of this is that after watching Richards' rant, even Paul Mooney has said that he will no longer use "the n-word". "He's my Dr. Phil," Mooney said. "He's cured me."

Paul Mooney definitely expressed a noble sentiment and if he can stick to his pledge, more power to him. But to be honest, I really don't believe he will. I mean, Mooney is the brother who made the claim "I say nigga 100 times every morning... it makes my teeth white". He was a close friend and collaborator to Richard Pryor, but even after Pryor's trip to Africa when he decided to quit using the word, Mooney kept right on going. Mooney even has an upcoming film 'Jesus is Black and so was Cleopatra' which is about to be released and which is definitely liberally 'seasoned' with the n-word. (Also, thinking about the film makes me wonder if the title is at all a reference to the title of Sarah Silverman's film 'Jesus is Magic'. Both Silverman and Mooney are stand-up comedians who deal with race in ways which are intense, edgy and skillfull.) Ultimately, I suspect that Mooney will probably tone down his live performances, especially if the Laugh Factory is serious about fining comedians who use the slur on stage, but I doubt that he will quit cold turkey.

Myspace: Jesus is Black and so was Cleopatra

Grenada's past:
"it makes my teeth white" - paul mooney
richard pryor (1940-2005)
word association
deep cover
rebirth of a word, a film, a slur
najee ali v. the boondocks

richards' racist rant

By now a lot of bloggers and punidits have already put in their two cents on the whole Michael "Kramer" Richards racist rant situation so I'll assume you know the basic facts of what happened. (If you don't, I've included several links below).

My own contribution to that conversation as follows:

From a free speech perspective, Michael Richards has the right to say pretty much whatever he wants to on stage and I'm glad that I live in a country where it is legal for anyone with a microphone (or a blogger account) to say all sorts of offensive things without facing legal sanction. In that light, I have definite resistance to the idea that the courts should make Richards pay monetary damages for his actions. At the same time, I am also glad I live in a country where I have the right to call someone like Michael Richards out as a racist prick. And given that he had such a fundamental disrespect for the Black paying members of his audience it would only be appropriate for his career to be adversely affected.

Also, to add a certain amount of historical perspective to the situation, this isn't even the first (or second) time that the cast of Seinfeld has been involved in racial controversy.

The first case which comes to mind is the Puerto Rican Day episode (which included a number of stereotypical Puerto Rican characters along with a scene where Michael Richards accidentally sets a Puerto Rican flag on fire and then stomps on the flag in full view of some Puerto Rican parade-goers.) NBC actually had to apologize for airing the episode and took it out of circulation for years even after Seinfeld went into syndication.

The second racial controversy involving the Seinfeld show which I'm aware of has to do with the time that Danny Hoch was asked to play a stereotypical Hispanic character (Ramon, the crazy pool cleaner) and ended up refusing the role. (He reminds me of the Hollywood Shuffle line: "There is always work at the post office")

So I would argue that Richard's rant is really not surprising given his time on a show with such a track record.

The best analysis of the situation I've seen so far comes from Dan Charnas over at Dantrification:

I harbor no illusions: The construct for “Seinfeld,” like so many other comic teleplays and films, is a monochromatic world where White People are central, and people of color — if they appear at all — are simply used as accessories, as added “color” for a scene.

When you think about “Seinfeld,” and you realize the only recurring Black characters were either there because they made our white heroes uncomfortable simply by being Black (like George’s nemesis Mr. Morgan at the Yankees); or to parody a Black celebrity (like Kramer’s erstwhile lawyer Jackie Chiles doing his best Johnnie Cochran), you get a peek inside the archaic white psyche. It’s a headspace where white people simply do not know how to deal with a world that is slowly become not their own. So they literally ignore it. “Seinfeld” is Ralph Ellison’s argument made visual.

Many of my friends live in this space. Many of your friends do too. They’re the white friends who giggle when hip-hop comes on, rather than bob their heads to it. It’s not that we can’t be friends with them. It’s just that we choose to live multiculturally and they don’t... either because they don’t know how, don’t want to, don’t have to, or they are afraid to.

When white folks are brought out of this space, they can have a number of reactions. Some take kindly to reality. Others snap.

I’m sure that Michael Richards doesn’t believe he is a racist. I’m sure, on an intellectual level, believes in equal rights for all. But we never find the truth until we get cornered. When Black folks are pushing his buttons, Richards’ response, apparently, is to tell Black people they have no right to push his buttons because they’re Black. That is the very definition of deep-seated, latent racism. Sorry.

That should be enough for now. More later.

You Tube: Michael Richards' Rant
You Tube: Michael Richards' "Apology"
You Tube: Seinfeld: The Puerto Rican Day episode
Script for The Puerto Rican Day

hiphopmusic.com: The Definitive "Racist Kramer" Post (Updated)

Revolutionary Worker: Danny Hoch's People
You Tube: Danny Hoch exposes Seinfeld

The Manrilla Blog: Racism, Kramer and Why His Apology Meant Nothing To Me
Digg: Comedian Paul Mooney rips Michael Richards on FOX News
Racialicious: Kramer drops the n-bomb repeatedly in racist tirade
African American (Black) Opinion: African American Opinion Reader says: Michael Richards a.k.a Kramer is only the tip of the iceberg.
Alternet: Richards' N-Word Diatribe

theories/practices of blogging

Recently the online publication Reconstruction came out with their latest issue and the unifying theme is Theories/Practices of Blogging. And in addition to a number of meatier articles on the socio-cultural implications of blogging, the issue features many different bloggers (including yours truly) talking more briefly about why they blog. Check it out.

the ghost of thanksgiving past

I think I'm going to do the "Bob Cratchet" thing this Thanksgiving but I'll "celebrate" by linking back to some old topical posts:

we didn't land on plymouth rock
a time to build an alternative
national day of mourning
american muslim heritage day
in this time of war against osama...
the truth about thanksgiving
thanksgiving: a native american view
buy nothing day

islam and natural healing (part two)

I was trying to find more information about healing in Islam and came across the following over at Muslimheritage.com:

Arabic Medicine in the Mediteranean
Bone Fractures in Ibn Sina's Medicine
along with some other articles on medicine from Muslimheritage.com

After thinking a bit more about the subject of medicine I started to have two contrasting trains of thought.

First I started to think back to other posts I've written about how Islam is reminiscent of a nature-based religion. The religious calendar follows the cycles of the moon. The prayer times don't follow "clock-time" but instead depend on the position of the sun, the lengths of shadows and the appearance of the sky. Animal sacrifices vividly remind Muslims of how life depends on life. And in many other ways Islam is a "natural" path. This is fleshed out (pun intended) a little bit more in the Grenada post called where's the beef? on islam and vegetarianism which also links to yet another post on the vegan Hardline movement. An argument can definitely be made that Islam encourages a drug-free natural wholistic organic approach to health/nutrition and other areas of life.

On the other hand, the above approach can't be absolute. The human body is a complex collection of distinct interrelated systems which can get sick in a variety of ways. It would be a bit naive to totally dismiss conventional medicine and exclusively rely on "natural" methods.

Something else which occurs to me is that almost by its very nature, the practice of medicine is going to tend to be ecclectic. Not all disorders can be treated in the same way. So instead of trying to find a "pure" Islamic system of medicine it actually makes sense to combine conventional medicine with prophetic techniques and alternative approaches. For example, I've read before that Chinese Muslims have developed "Islamic" versions of Qi Gong. (If I find out much more about this I'll probably blog about it.) And I imagine that Muslims in other parts of the world have also developed their own syncretic healing methods (which will still manifest some family resemblance due to common Islamic elements).

an old but timely boondocks strip from 2003

Caesar and Huey are hanging out by a tree and Huey says out loud:

Moderate, Reasonable Leftists argue that even though we may not support the war, what's happened has happened and there's no point in dwelling in the past. [pause] All of those people, mind you, are still mad at OJ

say hello to khalil al-puerto rikani

I've been meaning to update and reorganize my blogroll for a while now, but until then I'll use this entry to give a shout out to a Latino (Puerto Rican) Muslim blogger: Khalil Al-Puerto Rikani

farrakhan steps back

In These Times: Farrakhan Steps Back by Salim Muwakkil is an incredibly thoughtful piece about the implications of Farrakhan's declining role within the Nation of Islam. Although in the wider media Farrakhan is often dismissed as a fanatic, Muwakkil argues (persuasively I think) that in the context of the Nation, Farrakhan's political skill has been a moderating, unifying factor.

say hello to kameelah

Blogger is acting up so some glitches have turned up when I tried to add Kameelah as a contributor for Third Resurrection. But in the meantime, you can check out her blog, Kameelahwrites. She is currently writing from Johannesburg and in her profile she writes:

born and raised in east palo alto, CA, i am a dash of eclectic smarts, a pinch of unapologetic sarcasm and a sprinkle of grace all wrapped up quite nicely in a 5 foot 1 hijabi package. raised on gil-scott heron and nasheeds. i am a beautiful shade of brown, certified black person (ask me how to get your certificate!), green-tea drinker, rad. vegan, political organizer, community researcher, artist, teacher, writer, renewed marxist and professional smarty pants.

in death, unconquered

In the spirit of my hypothetical muslim art of war project I'm going to direct y'all to a recent post over at Rasa'il Khalil al-Wafa' (Letters of a loyal friend) called Morior Invictus on the subject of The Concept of Taqwa in Ali Ibn Abi Talib's Sermons on Jihad

the aztec al-qaeda

La Voz De Aztlan: The story Mayor Villaraigosa falsely tied to Al-Qaeda is only tangentially related to Muslims. It is really more about a nativist PR attack against Villaraigosa and Academia Semillas del Pueblo, a Chicano charter school in Los Angeles. But it is interesting (and frightening) to see how the xenophobia seems to be coming from the same place and taking similar shape.

see also:
palestinian che

new muslims in spain

A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, In Spain, dismay at Muslim converts holding sway discusses the growing prominence of Spanish converts to Islam as voices of moderation. The piece also gets into some of the criticism faced by these new Muslims both from inside and outside the Muslim community.

islam and natural healing

I've been thinking about health recently (both my own and that of people close to me) and so I went to my bookshelf and dusted off my copy of "Natural Healing with the Medicine of the Prophet" (a translation of an older work by Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya 1292-1350 CE).

The whole concept of "Islamic medicine" is intriguing for the most part, but also has its limitations.

If we stick strictly to the Quran and hadith there are a number of texts which give some sort of medical advice but it is not clear that this constitutes a totally comprehensive and detailed medical theory. For example:

And your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build: Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who reflect. (16:68-69)

or the famous hadith from Bukhari:

Abu Huraira, God be pleased with him, narrated in the correct prophet traditions that God's messenger (saaws) said: "Use this black seed regularly, because it has a cure for every disease except death"

Imam Al-Jawziyya's work also includes many other hadith (of varying degrees of authenticity) with assorted bits of advices on matters health and illness (texts on food, drink, sleep, cupping, spiritual aspects of healing and related subjects).

From a modern perspective, some of this material is challenging. As Muslims do we have to accept all of it (for example blood-letting) as sound medical advice, or can we sift through some of it and say it is not really "prophetic" but merely reflects the ordinary fallible medical knowledge which was in circulation at the time of the prophet (saaws)?

Moreover, when "Islamic medicine" was developed, doctors took the prophetic elements and inserted them into a matrix of Greek medical knowledge (e.g. Galen and Hippocrates) and so Al-Jawziyya's text also assumes the four humour theory which was current in Europe during the Middle Ages. (The resulting mix of Graeco-Arab ideas is sometimes called Unani medicine and is similar to Aryuvedic medicine. Both are still practiced today in some communities).

It makes me wonder to what extent is it possible to take the truly "prophetic" aspects of Islamic medicine and come up with a truly Islamic wholistic system? Or are we left with a few isolated remedies which are culled from the Quran and hadith and are then tossed into the context of another system (whether modern, metaphysical or alternative)? Is the answer different if we are talking about mental health as opposed to physical health?

I found the following links on the above subject but I'm not a doctor. I'm including these pages because they are interesting and topical but if you are sick and need help you should go see a qualified expert (however you define that) for advice.

The Medicine of the Prophet: A Message Par Excellence by Dr. M. Iqtedar Husain Farooqi
CrescentLife: Health & Healing: Islamic Perspective
Dr.Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal: Islamic Medicine Online
Wikipedia: unani
www.unani.com
Medicine of the Prophet
The Sufi Enneagram Website

islamo-futurism?

From time to time here at (Planet) Grenada I bring in links/entries on Afro-futurism. Well, recently over at Hawgblawg, Ted Swedenburg has written a couple of entries on "Islamo-futurism". In Fun^Da^Mental's "786 All Is War": "Sufi surfing on boards of steel" Ted goes over the surreal and futuristic lyrics of Aki Nawaz. And in More on Islamic sci-fi/futurism he gives a heads up on Yusuf Nuruddin's recent article in Socialism and Democracy called "Ancient Black Astronauts and Extraterrestrial Jihads: Islamic Science Fiction as Urban Mythology". (Hopefully the article or a discussion of its contents will eventually be available online).

taina asili

Recently, I also had the chance to see an amazing performance by Puerto Rican spoken-word artist Tania Asili. Definitely check out her site and explore the links. Definitely think about giving her some $ support (either buy her CD or, if you are in a position to, book her for an event).

In a lot of ways, she reminded me of one of my cousins who has also done a lot of spoken word. Actually, in my generation there are about three of us who to varying degrees have done spoken word/poetry. At one point I thought to myself that maybe there is some kind of "poetry" gene in my family which made us get on stage. But more likely some of us are "odd birds" who have a lot to get off our chests and it almost can't help but come out as poetry.

see also:
teresa vazquez
black orpheus