thoughts from home

It's been a while since I've written on my blog... My summer has been hella busy so far - it started out with a conference in Brazil - Salvador da Bahia - it was amazing... And now I'm at home in Nassau doing research and interviews for my dissertation - been here for most of June. It's been really productive for my work and also for my creative writing. I've done a few poetry readings, and been interviewed about my work for local TV station and radio station. It's been really exciting - some great opportunities to share my work at home...

peace & conscious wibes...
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Race and Racism - by Dr. Faye Harrison

February 26, 2007 - “A Series of Unfortunate Events? A Look at Race”

Faye V. HarrisonProfessor of African American Studies & Anthropology
University of Floridafayeharr@ufl.edu

Questions posed by organizers:
What is the state of our national conversation on race? Are we moving forward or moving backward in race relations? Do we need to correct our current course? How?

In my view, there is a great deal of denial about race and racism in this country. The denial is not just occurring at the level of ignorant individuals who lack knowledge, sensitivity, and live lives sustained by class and/or racial privilege. The denial is also evident in the language, practices, and policies—both domestic and foreign—of our democratically-elected government. That government and the increasingly neoconservative interests that drive its current administration, promotes colorblindness and a post-Civil Rights notion of diversity management that in many respects denies the severity of present-day racial inequalities and the extent to which they are still being perpetuated by institutional and structural means. Both the legacy and cumulative burdens of past discrimination and the insidious, often subtle, forms of racism that are being reconfigured, restructured and deeply implanted in today’s late modern world operate to the patterned and systemic disadvantage of people of color, from those experiencing racial scapegoating since 9/11 to those who have long been relegated to the bottom of the nation’s social and economic hierarchy. The language of our public conversation on race and our political discourse in general has taken a rightward shift away from many issues that truly need to be engaged from angles that consider explanatory frames and justice-seeking possibilities that go well beyond the established boundaries of Republican Party politics and even beyond those of the Democratic Party’s Liberalism as it’s come to be constituted today. We must remember that Liberals have been among those who’ve advocated the dismantling of welfare as we once knew it and affirmative action, ideologically reduced to quotas, playing the race card, and “reverse racism.” Both of these domains of ideological, legal, and legislative struggle have been racialized in ways detrimental to the interests and well-being of their overlapping and, unfortunately, disunited constituencies—poor folks, the racially subordinated, and women and those who depend upon their contracting resources and hard work, both waged or unwaged.

Black people have long represented the most radical form of difference here in the U.S. Although we know that race relations is more complicated than the bipolarities of black and white, we also know, or should, that the inequalities and racial assaults, both symbolic and physical, that black people experience are often severe. Some of the indicators of the “savage inequalities” and injustices that adversely affect black communities include: the drastically lower net worth (or wealth) of black families compared to white families, the labor force experience of black workers who are among the last hired and first fired in recessions and who suffer the highest rates of unemployment, the inequalities in health and life expectancy, and in the arena of criminal justice the mass incarceration of black males and the soaring rates among black women, whose convictions have dire consequences for families and communities “on the outside” and deprive the convicted of the rights of citizenship for which the black freedom movement has long fought. These regressive changes are occurring right under our noses, yet they remain largely unspoken and silenced as salient matters for serious political debate.

The U.S. has also played a role in attempting to discredit and inhibit the conversations about race and racism that have been gaining momentum in international and transnational arenas, such as those facilitated the pre- and post-conference activities associated with the UN’s World Conference against Racism (2001) as well as other world conferences on related issues. In the language and legalities of international human rights—a regime that is not without its contradictions and flaws—structural racism in its various faces and modalities is a violation of human rights, a violation warranting redress, compensation, and reconciliation. While the U.S. is signatory to the anti-racist treaty, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which took effect way back in 1969, it has presented a major obstacle to the work of monitoring and promoting compliance to this treaty.

Despite the many obstacles, including national and transnational or imperial political agendas, international conversations have led more activists to understand that racism is more than a problem in the U.S. and South Africa. It is a problem of increasingly global scope that is being heightened in contexts reshaped by the contemporary mobilities of both immigrants and capital along with the often problematic impacts of (U.S.) foreign policy. Contrary to the “norm against noticing race” that prevails in international relations, foreign policy is no more color blind than domestic policy is. We need to face the power racism exerts at home and abroad before we can figure out how to dismantle it.

rants on race & gender

so it's been a while - spring blues haven't gotten the best of me - I'm still here in the struggle. The past few months have re-confirmed how much conversations about race, racism, gender, sexism, sex, sexuality, and class (among others) are needed in public discourse. Since the aftermath of Katrina, along with other incidents like the Kramer racial tirade, the Duke lacrosse case (which still has yet to be discussed and dealt with in a decent way & the larger issues of race and class are largely ignored), and the Imus madness - race has emerged in many a public debate and news headlines, but rarely engaged in complex ways. What has been made evident rather is the fear of talking about race, the denial of racism, and the belief in colorblindness as the dominant view of race in this country. This not only helps white people to feel justified in doing whatever they want and casting blame on people of color for our problems, and it also intensifies self-hate and internalized racism for people of color - and/or we just don't want to talk about it either - easier to deny and pretend that everything is equal... We are living in dangerous times - an' still no reparations (and when I say reparations - let's be clear - I don't mean cash, I mean supporting Affirmative Action and structural adjustments that will create social and economic equality for those who have been systematically and institutionally denied equal access).

I have been fortunate to attend a few excellent forums on race recently [Feb 26th - Panel Discussion - "A Series of Unfortunate Events? A Look at Race" & April 3rd - Lecture - "A Nation of Minorities: Race, Ethnicity, and Reactionary Colorblindness" - both at the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations at UF's Law School]. These events have helped me to develop my thoughts, theories, and teaching about race and racism (especially Dr. Faye Harrison's statement on A Look at Race - which I will post in its entirety; and Dr. Ian Haney Lopez's lecture which I talk about below). And they have sparked many debates about race and gender with my friends. These have all created the following rants. I am including them here to keep track of my thoughts and in hopes of sparking more conversations and debates:

colorblind madness & Fox Attacks on Black America
So someone put a montage of Fox News clips that show Fox attacking "Black America" - meaning black issues, Barack Obama, affirmative action, and so on. What struck me was that they had a number of black folks agreeing with accusations of black people and communities being racist. One news reporter asked a conservative black politician if he thought Barack Obama's church was racist because they had in their mission statement a focus on the black community and black people and he said yes. This drove home to me how distorted discussions about race and racism are - especially in the public arena and media - and that we need explain what racism is and what affirmative action is and why it is still needed over and over again. Professor Ian Haney Lopez from UC Berkeley, who writes about race relations and law, does this in his work and talked about this in his lecture - and he gave an exceptional talk on reactionary colorblindness and why/how affirmative action is being attacked through a history of colorblindness and ethnicity in law and public discourse. He drove the point home that - We are now in this colorblind moment (that supports white dominance) where anyone can be racist - because the public sphere does not talk about structural racism - and discussions about race and racism are absent unless it is about an individual or it is based on culture and ethnicity - which are used instead of race. Professor Lopez said we have to de-legitimize colorblindness, support affirmative action, explain what it is - and describe it as "social repair" not preference or privilege - and talk about racial hierarchy and explain racism as a structural issue. If you don't know his work, you should check it out - I think his talk was one of the best discussions of race and law I have ever heard.

racialized gendered language and why imus' apology don't matter
While I am surprised and happy that Imus got fired, I am disturbed at how the media continues to spin this scandal - the discussions about race and gender are seriously problematic, rarely engaging in the history of this language or structural & internalized racism (NPR did have some better coverage) and these women have had to prove that they are "good, professional women," meanwhile discussions about Imus revolved around his "goodness." We live in a moment where people are so focused on the individual character and debates about whether or not Imus is racist and if he is a good person (same shit that happened with Kramer) - as opposed to talking about the fact that WHAT he said is racist and the language he used is racialized and gendered - the fact that an apology from him will never deal with why he was so comfortable saying what he said in the first place - his race and class privilege - on the flippin radio/internet/public sphere/public airwaves. And that he can bust out the tired excuse that - well "they say it to each other" routine - is taking us back to all the debates over the n-word - and reveals the extent to which we can't talk about race and racism in a serious way that addresses structural racism or even racialized & gendered language that's very different than "making fun of people." And the fact that these women feel like they have to (or more than likely advised to) defend themselves against this language and explain that they are not what he said shows us how powerful and loaded these racialized/gendered stereotypes are - because in the media/film/music/popular culture/etc. black women are seen as hos (thinking about the legacy of slavery and the perception that black women can't be raped and automatically thought of as prostitutes - ex. duke lacrose case). These women have been paraded around on shows, press conferences, and so on, to prove they are respectable black women - in other words, not like the "real hos" out there. And I am tired of these accusations that "the black community" has to deal with the language of hip hop and rap - as if various black communities haven't been doing this work for DECADES... as if the largest consumers of hip hop aren't white... as if the producers of the music and the videos aren't mostly white... as if we're the only ones who sustain this language... as if it doesn't come out of the history of slavery and segregation... as if we aren't talking about these issues... BUT I do agree we need to deal with our own issues - we have to talk about this ideal of black respectability and deal with the difficulty of talking about sex and sexuality - especially black female sexuality. Perhaps having these conversations will help us to deal with the aftermath of the duke case - like asking the question, what happened because something happened to this woman - who has now been rendered liar, invisible, and unimportant. So das why I think Imus' apology don't matter - cause it does nothing to deal with these deep-seeded issues of race, gender, sexuality, and class - it just helps to brush them back under the carpet - making this scandal an individual thing that doesn't reflect larger issues.

we are livin in a scary moment - It is regressive, conservative, reactionary, individualistic, capitalist, white-dominated patriarchy, fundamentalist christian... and in it - we are dealin with new kinds of racism and sexism that exist through denial and claims of equality...

stayin in the struggle,
Angelique

spring blues

Being in graduate school is challenging to say the least.... and it's all the time... but for some reason, spring semester always rushes by, screaming, and yuckin all yuh time, energy... every spring I go through what I'm now callin da spring blues... if it ain't one ting, it a next one right behind it... Never mind you dat it seem at University of Florida, we (meaning marginalized groups - especially black people) have to march and protest and fight and fight about somet'ing each semester... Never mind you dat it just feel like dis university don't want us here - us as in black, brown, queer, liberal, humanities-loving, inter-disciplinary-minded, and so on, and any mixture thereof... Never mind dat those of us organizing, going to meetings, writing letters, sending emails, and erryting else, may be gettin sick and tired... But sometimes yuh have to make sacrifices, and yes, somethings are more important than school work, more important than sleep, and even more important than the individual... sometimes we have to make those decisions - and they are hard - and it's even harder when at the end of the day - the work you haven't done is still waiting for you - and everyone is still expecting you to succeed on all fronts - and to excel - always striving for excellence, being the best, while thinking of not only yourself, but your family, your friends, your colleagues, your community, and on and on... And the minute things seem quiet, crazy shit happens on campus, on the street corner, in the food store, on the news, in a meeting, in the classroom, and we are reminded again and again that racism /sexism/homophobia (from the subtle & covert forms to in your face shit) are everywhere - and that these forms of oppression and ALL forms of oppression keep us from being human and free.

So even as I carry on in dis rant... feeling overwhelmed like Ive been swimming against the tide on a rough day for hours and hours with no land in site... even so, I know we have to keep fighting, keep the struggle going... but even then, sometimes I have a hard time keepin hope alive... and need time to re-energize and catch some conscious wibes... I gern home today... the West Indian Lit Conference, community, family/friends, an' some conch salad & sky juice should get muh right back on track :) maybe some cerasee too (yes, I do believe it & da ocean is cure erryting - dere are only a few tings I really believe in - bush medicine, ocean/moon/earth spirit, obeah, and guardian angels/spirits)...

das all fa now... tryin to get dese spring blues sung...
tryin to make revolution happen, one ting at a time...
Angelique

thoughts about consciousness

I've missed writing on my blog, and somehow the semester managed to escape me in the midst of craziness at UF - I've had the strangest semester - way too hectic and somehow not as productive as I would have liked... spent way too much time organizing, but it had to be done... and now it's over and the holidays are here... and with it some great news:

Five of my poems have just appeared in ProudFlesh: New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics, and Consciousness - in their issue on "Consciousness." So check out ProudFlesh for thoughts about consciousness - the editorial gives you a map of the issue. I'm still checkin it out myself - it just came out last night! and I wanted to share it right away...

sendin out positive wibes for da holidays... you are all in my thoughts... I'm headin home today, but I'll be checkin my blog and email - so if anyone feels so inclined - feel free to spark some discussion and share your thoughts on "consciousness."
peace & soul,
Angelique

what is the caribbean?

so it's been a long time... i've missed sharing on this space - conscious vibration - and i've been just so busy that time continuously escapes me as I rush to and fro deadlines, meetings, teaching, and simply being. I have so much to say that I will need hours to get it all out, so meanwhile as I re-group and gather my thoughts, I share this poem. I started writing it in Trinidad when I was there for Carnival - and it's been sitting in my journal waiting patiently for nourishment. I finally let it free for a Caribbean Multicultural Showcase a couple weeks ago. The first poem I've finished in a long time - so I hope it will give me the spark I need to continue my writing journey... and on this all hallows eve, I remember my ancestors through this poem and through my life... cause I'm still here...

What is the Caribbean?

Trinidad feels like home
a distant memory of this place I should remember
or maybe I do

somewhere in my blood,
someplace in these genes of memory.

Maybe I remember here – this place,
This space of my ancestors

I wonder what your life must have been like
Willabie Black, my great grandmother

What did you experience in these streets,
In these hills of Port of Spain?

All I have is this biography of you:
“born in Port of Spain, married, then migrated to The Bahamas - Mathew Town, Inagua to be exact, where my grandmother Mabel Sistella Charles was born, and when Mabel was 16, the family moved to Bain Town, New Providence for better opportunities.”

So what of these lines of descent
These migrations across the Caribbean…

What made you move?
What made you stay?

All I have is this picture of you in my head
a photograph my mother carried of you,
tall, poised, proud, eyes full of wisdom,
stature full of strength,
mouth curved and hardened
from the experiences of your life
that I will never know
but I can wonder and imagine you
and wield you into an existence,
if only in my mind, if only on this page.

And then these words come to me, through this memory of you:
The stories, the words.
these gifts of our many languages
our spirits, our souls
of being, of living in these Caribbean spaces of here and there.
and what are we to make of these spaces?
how can we describe the similarities
of our islands, our cultures, our nation languages?

how can we make sense of our differences, our uniqueness,
And still be unified in our struggles for liberation?
As we re-map and re-define these, our Caribbean spaces,
how can we focus on the local, and at the same time,
open up to include these movements and migrations
within and outside
this region - is it our center? is it ours at all?

Where is here? Who draws our maps?
What is the Caribbean?

It is beyond geographic location
It is spatially expanding as Caribbean communities
maintain and re-produce our cultures at home and abroad.

It is historically connective tissue that has spread
and weaved its way around all these spaces
with similar histories and herstories – slavery, the middle passage, colonization.

It is a region of nations/places that share cultures, and people
with creolisation at the heart – the mixing and mingling of races and languages
that show strength, survival, and possibility for people of African, Asian, and Indian descent – stolen lives, stolen stories, still surviving, still living here and there…

It is complex and ever-changing.
It is an interplay of being – the past being ever present –
In these colonized and neo-colonized spaces of here and there,
Searching for a future that is ours and free.

remembering hurricane katrina

It's been a year since the devastation in the Gulf Coast region, and the area is still suffering greatly. Many parts of New Orleans (especially the poorest neighborhoods that were predominantly black) are still empty and residents are still waiting for cleanup - one year later... some living in tents, in those shoddy FEMA trailers, and many others living across the U.S. trying to re-build their lives. Insurance companies are not paying. FEMA money has run out. People have been spread out across the United States with no way of getting back home. The city keeps promising to bring people back and rebuild - but very little progress has been made. And gentrification is underway in New Orleans. Spike Lee's documentary on HBO "When the Levees Broke" is bringing attention to these issues, but there is more to be done. What I really liked about the film is how he gives space for people to tell their own stories and express their frustrations. It is utterly sad. If you saw the documentary, what did you think? What kind of impact do you think Lee's documentary had on the public? The reviews I read of the film were for the most part positive, but some blasted Spike Lee for the length and the demonizing of the government. (As if the Bush Admin doesn't deserve it?) Also, I've been checking out the 'anniversary' stories on the BBC, MSNBC, and on alternative news sites which are bringing some of the problems back into the public eye. I've noticed overall that people are outraged at what happened and that people are still suffering - but I wonder how long will these stories will stay in the news? And the news stories about race (or that touch on race) turn into sadness about the loss of culture for New Orleans rather than any real discussion of the socio-economic inequities that existed pre-Katrina for many years. I don't watch T.V. so I'm not sure of how the networks and major news channels have covered the anniversary, so please share your thoughts on any interesting coverage. I was checking out this excellent site for current information about recovery efforts http://www.katrinaaction.org/, and they have a list of action items which I wanted to share:

1) Visit www.katrinaaction.org to connect with information, find local organizations and learn about Actions which impact housing, health, jobs, and many other issues. Some actions will only take 30 seconds of your time.

2) Put pressure on your state and federal officials to act now. You can email to comments@whitehouse.gov and call Congress at (202) 224-3121. You can also send emails to your Representatives including FEMA by visiting KatrinaAction.org

3) Make sure that news media tell the real story of Katrina and its aftermath and continue to do fair stories and reports. Call your local news, radio talk shows, and write letters to the editor. Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)has an online kit with contact information for media outlets and sample letters at http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=119

4) Got five minutes a week? Become KIN by joining the Katrina Information Network. KIN folk commit to five minutes a week to send emails to their network and to policymakers to keep these issues on the public agenda.

Join the fight at www.katrinaaction.org
Real relief. A just recovery. And nothing less.

some of these take only a few minutes to do... If you know if any other actions thangs, feel free to share and we can spread da word... thoughts, reactions, ideas???

catchin da wibe,
Angelique

what happened to july?

so I got back from my trip home, and somehow the entire month of july escaped me in the midst of work, work, and more work... I had some crazy deadlines, but the good news is - I met them :) I finished the written materials for my qualifying exams - dissertation prospectus, introduction, a chapter, and bibliography - and my oral exam is on the 21st of August... just days away... suffice to say, life has been hectic... and I also taught for the past six weeks - dreaded college writing 2 but that's over now and it was actually fine. Being back in da'ville has been challenging - I'm missin' home fa real. But I returned with a renewed sense of urgency - to get shit done - an' dat is kinda what I did... July brought me stress and success - perhaps the universe does work in three's - cause I met my major deadline, found out that I won a fellowship I applied for, and five of my poems got accepted for publication - so all in all, summer madness has brought to bear worthwhile and fulfilling fruit...

And even though I got all this stuff done, I still look back on July and wondered what happened to it? where did it go? an' august threatens to slip away just as fast. As soon as I cover its pages of seconds, minutes, hours, and days, the weeks rush through my fingertips as my calendar becomes dated, my notes no longer make sense, and all my promises are broken... perhaps these are not so much promises, but rather they are all these unspoken notes written in memory during showers, dreams, and car rides, notes that promise I will do this and that, call so an' so who I haven't talked to in ages, mediate, exercise, spend time wit' me, listen to that album I've been dying to hear, file old notes and bills, and oh yes, while I'm doin all this, somehow get my work done to... cause isn't that why I 'm here - to get dat paper... an' in the midst of writing, thinking, and sorting out all the shit in my head to make it sound like what I want to write about for the next two years, nothing makes sense anymore, but it comes together - ready to be seen and heard... I finished something and it felt so good... I wanted to scream from the ocean's edges, tell my spirit guides, my ancestors, that I think I can actually do this. I was beginning to doubt myself and the stress started to get to me... which is why I had to check out, so all I did for weeks was write, think, reflect, write some more, take mental health days, and take care of me... an' while home had so many blessings, it also came with difficult and painful memories - most I try to escape but they catch me unguarded and ill prepared to feel all that again... I hope for days when it won't be so hard, when they will only tug at me ever so slightly and I can smile through them...

so what in the hell does this have to do with july? this is where it went - lost between my work as a phd student and my life as I search for well being and reconnecting to my spiritual truth; july 2006 - trapped forever between my 30th birthday and my tenuous august 1st deadline - with my mother's birthday among the ashes and my journey to discover her again and again.

an' now we in august, i look forward, wishing for more positive three's an' wibes.
I have no insightful reports and riveting debates to start right now - all I have is this and these words that probably only make sense to me and my lost july...

Angelique

stories from home

I'm having a fabulous time at home in Nassau... I've been here for over a week - catchin up wit' all my peeps. I had a great weekend to bring in my birthday :) chile please, I turn 30! It's kinda trippy but also cool... I feel ready for growth, change, and movement. My b-day weekend was off da chain - went to Junkanoo in June on Sat'day afternoon, and den me, Jheaneale, and all ma gals went out on Sat night an' we had a blast - I haven't had that much fun in years :) in fact, we had too much fun... then on Sun (feelin a little hung'ish) my stepmum Lyn and her boyfriend Norman took me out to dinner at Nobu in Atlantis - it was quite fancy :) and finally on my actually b-day, Vanessa and I went for stew fish, and Tania took me out on her boat - me, Jheaneale, Candace, Marc, and crew - it was kinda stormy but still beautiful... so I got to do all my favourite t'ings for my b-day... I'm still recovering from all dat fun :) an' tryin to get some work done, but still enjoying myself and enjoying my friends - who are my family... It continues to amaze me how we create families in our lives, and I am so grateful for all of the people in my life who support me and love me. I feel very blessed...

will write more of my journeys soon...
Angelique

summer healing

Summer has always been a rejuvenating time for me - not only because I go home but also because of the energy of summer. This summer will be a little crazy for me since I'm doing my exams in August and trying to get lots of work done, but I am still feeling that energy and renewal. I've been working on being positive about my broken bone, I've taken a more active role in my heaing, and I think it's actually working... Also, I am about to go home on June 14th, and I can't wait to see and feel the ocean - she has always been good for me. And as we say in the Bahamas, da sea is cure e'rryt'ing plus some bush medicine an' I'll be heal. I'm also going to hit up the Bahamas Archives while I'm home and even do some interviews for my dissertation. And of course chill with my peeps and spend quality time with my friends/fam :)

So in the spirit of sharing this healing vibration, I am really happy to announce that three of poems have just been published in an online journal called Julie Mango!

Here is a link directly to the page with my poems: Julie Mango

I am a little anxious about these pieces because two are about my mother, and these three poems are my first pieces out in the world - even though I have others accepted for publication in collections and journals which should be out soon - these are da first ones :)

let me know what you think and share some of your own healing vibration...
Angelique

thoughts on may day and immigration

So this semester has been kinda hectic - not anymore than usual I suppose (except for the broken foot) but somehow I am always crazy busy :) I'm working on that :)

But seriously, I have much to be thankful for - my first journal article has been published in SAIL: Studies in American Indian Literatures (Spring 2006). I also have several poems being published in different places, and you'all will be da first to know when dey come out. I have been quite fortunate in traveling and presenting my work at conferences. And finally, I am done with coursework and working on my exams and dissertation. I feel blessed and ready for the challenges ahead.

Meanwhile, this world seems crazier and crazier... This immigration debate in the U.S. is bloody scary, but the protests on May Day "A Day without Immigrants" brought some hope and fortitude in the struggle against the current anti-immigration sentiment in this country (if you haven't seen the film A Day without Mexicans, check it out). And I actually thought it might create some change and bring awareness to the ignorance around us, but then I realised the control in this country is simply deep. I was listening to NPR to what I thought was a decent editorial on the protests - this syndicated collumnist spoke about the racism in the U.S. and the need for awareness, but then he proceded to berate the protestors saying that instead of doing such "theatrics" that they should go to their representatives and participate in the electoral process to create change. He basically implied that protests and marching would do nothing but rather "they" should vote. I couldn't believe my ears - I wondered if this guy really understood what the hell he was sayin - not only is he missing the point, but he is also dissing organizing and non-violent civil disobedience as a weapon of change (does he know about the struggles against colonial rule across the world or the struggle for civil rights in the United States?). What I found most disturbing about this commentary is the ease in which he could dismiss this major movement, and I saw this kind of reaction throughout the media coverage.

What does this mean for organizing, marching, protests, and civil disobedience? Do we think that "A Day without Immigrants" will have an impact on the bill that is being written right now in the U.S. Senate - which is supposed to have a plan for undocumented workers in the U.S. and a guest worker program? How much will this fuel the growing anti-immigration attitude that is promoting hatred and violence? And finally, for those of us who are immigrants, on visas, and resident aliens, what kind of power do we really have in this country - we can't vote and we have no one "representing" us - so what do we do?

On a related topic, the janitors and groundskeepers at University of Miami who have been on strike since February have reached a settlement agreement with UNICCO. This certainly shows us some hope for union work and the power of organizing... but meanwhile, it still seems that protests, marches, and such "theatrics" are not taken seriously and if/when covered by national media these movements are made a mockery and spectacle.

so there is my rant... thoughts, ideas, reflections???

peace & soul,
Angelique

first thoughts

my first blog...
my first stab at doing something with my writing that is public, that is so instant...
it feels kinda strange, but will be good for my writing and my activism... these two are intertwinned for me - and in the words of Audre Lorde - my favourite poet - "Poetry is Not a Luxury" and "It is better to speak knowing that we were never meant to survive."

Thus, this blog means a space for consciousness, speaking, writing, liberation, radical feminism, activism, education, praxis, and learning... I hope to share this space with my friends and partners in this conscious vibration...

peace & soul,
Angelique