The Obama Harley and Other Scenes from 2009 IBE

"Obama Harley." PPR_Scribe

Last year’s Indiana Black Expo was all about (then) Candidate Obama. The Obama Harley, courtesy of One Off Incorporated, proves that our love affair with BHO is still going strong a year later.

"Obama Harley Close-up 1." PPR_Scribe

"Obama Harley Close-up 2." PPR_Scribe

What a way to make a statement rolling down Fall Creek Parkway!

This year’s Expo, however, belonged to the dearly departed King of Pop.

"King of 2009 Expo." PPR_Scribe

MJ was everywhere. A DVD of one of his concerts graced all of the screens outside of the Best Buy exhibit. The roller skating crews and the youth dance groups and even the gospel performers skated, danced and sang to Michael Jackson. Every third person had an MJ t-shirt on. And in case you forgot your MJ gear, just about every vendor had MJ-related gear for sale.

Michael Jackson has not been this big since…well, since he was last this big—many, many moons ago.

"Police-Community Relations 101." PPR_Scribe

"And little children and a crime dog shall lead them." PPR_Scribe

All manner of law enforcement always have booths, giving away plastic state trooper or police force hats and stick-on badges and pop corn and safety coloring books with crayons.

Peace officers roam the exhibition halls—making sure no trouble breaks out, but also serving as ambassadors to the Black community.

The children loved the troopers, police officers, fire fighters, and EMTs. One female police officer was especially the object of young girls’ fascination and respect.

What happens between police and Black youth in the space of 5 years old and 15? Between Hall B of the Convention Center and the intersection of 10th St. and MLK Drive?

"Al B still makin 'em swoon." PPR_Scribe

Of course, Expo wouldn’t be Expo without celebrities. If you are touring, or trying to make a comeback, or just released a book/album/movie, you must make a pilgrimage to the Hoosier state’s biggest summer celebration. Al B. Sure! promised to bring real music with real lyrics back to Black radio. Some radio personalities promised to bring President Obama to next year’s Expo.

I cannot decide which is the biggest longshot.

The Curious Case of Prince…

…who, though he turns 51 years old today, looks as if he’s aging backwards! To celebrate, check out this program this evening from Afronerd Radio:

Stop by for a very special broadcast as we celebrate the music and career of the artist currently known as Prince. The extraordinary musician, producer, arranger and Academy award winner celebrates his 51st birthday today, June 7th. In attendance-Michael Dean of Freedom Train Online, filmmaker Raymond Gayle (Electric Purgatory) and Team Afronerd-Mr. Starks & Dburt.

More Momma

Couldn’t get enough Mothers’ Day goodness? No need to stop celebrating just because the second Sunday in May has passed:

*This Sunday at 4pm EST The Best of What Tami Said features Deesha Philyaw discussing Black motherhood:

Deesha writes eloquently about parenting and other issues at one of my favorite blogs, Mamalicious. She is a columnist at Anti-Racist Parent and, with her ex-husband, runs the blog, Co-Parenting 101, which tackles how former couples can thrive as parents when marriages and romantic relationships end.

*In case you missed it, The Defenders Online featured the reflections of several Black writers on their relationship with their mothers.

*I came across this interesting discussion in the new (to me) blogging venture, Double x, having to do with the phenomenon of some women using images of their children as their avatar of themselves in their Facebook profiles. I am relatively new to FB and still haven’t decided if I will continue with it—The novelty of finding people I hadn’t thought about in years has pretty much worn off now, I have no desire to “friend” people I do not already know at least to some extent in my other lives, and I have on more than one occasion been the recipient of TMI that I wish I had not received. But I have noticed—and wondered about—how some people use images of people/things other than themselves as their main profile pic. I had not noticed that this was a gendered phenomenon, but if it is, that is not surprising.

*I have been greatly enjoying the posts at the blog Mrs. O.—all about the fashion choices of our new first lady and mom-in-chief. I am not a big fashionista myself: if I had my choice, I’d wear a uniform of some sort every day. But I must admit that Michelle Obama makes fashion seem a lot more accessible and relevant to someone like me.

*And finally, in the Tooting My Own Horn corner is a recent brief BlogHer post of mine about the prospect of one of my favorite TV moms appearing in Playboy wearing the only fashion she came into this world in—75 years ago. Say what you will (and many people have been doing just that), if Shirley Jones does this photo shoot I will be buying that issue of Playboy.

DVR Alert: Trouble the Water

The day before Hurricane Katrina hit, 24-year-old Kimberly Rivers Roberts, a resident of New Orleans’ 9th Ward, turned her new video camera on herself, declaring, “It’s going to be a day to remember.” With hardly any supplies and no way of leaving her hometown, Roberts taped her harrowing ordeal as Katrina raged and the levees failed. Directed and produced by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, TROUBLE THE WATER opens with this unforgettable home video footage, then follows Kimberly and her husband Scott on a two-year odyssey – from the devastation of the storm to their escape from the city, to resettlement in Memphis, to an eventual return to a decimated New Orleans – telling a story of transformation, heroism and love. A 2008 Academy Award® nominee for Best Documentary Feature. (Source)

Begins airing tonight on HBO. Check your listings.

PSA: Should I Blog About Some Racist Ish?

Well, it sometimes happens that I am just about to close down the Macbook for the day, thinking my blogging is done, when I open up one last news page, one last blog, and read…something that nearly makes my head explode. Now, anti-racist work can be exhausting. Many bloggers more able than I have burnt themselves out by tackling too much for too long with too few supports to help them. So what should I learn from this? When should I post about, say, some person calling Michelle Obama a bitch or trash, and when should I leave it alone?

Well, I follow a certain decision-tree. Up until now the process has been only in my head. But I figure, as a public service to the anti-racist blogosphere, that I should simplify my decision-making process and post it for all to see.

Soooooo…without further ado–here it is: the “Should You Post on Your Blog in Response to Some Racist Crap in the News?” flowchart, by PPR_Scribe.

Hope this has been helpful!

(P.S., Please excuse the misspelling of “migraine”–and any other typos that may be contained here. I had somewhat of a headache myself when creating this flowchart and the itty bitty letters were too hard for me to see clearly…)

moar funny pictures

DVR Alert: “The Black List Vol. 2″

If you only do one thing to observe Black History Month, make that thing be to watch this documentary:

THE BLACK LIST: VOL. 2 profiles some of today’s most fascinating African- Americans. From the childhood inspirations that shaped their ambitions, to the evolving American landscape they helped define, to the importance of preserving a unique cultural identity for future generations, these prominent individuals offer a unique look into the zeitgeist of black America, redefining the traditional pejorative notion of a blacklist.

The list of people featured in THE BLACK LIST: VOL. 2 includes activist and artist Majora Carter; activist and academic Angela Davis; producer Suzanne de Passe; actor Laurence Fishburne; Anglican Bishop Barbara Harris; Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick; pastor T.D. Jakes; physician and academic Valerie Montgomery-Rice, M.D.; filmmaker Tyler Perry; singer Charley Pride; fashion designer Patrick Robinson; actress Maya Rudolph; musician RZA; filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles; and artist Kara Walker.

Check your local HBO listings. The program begins airing tonight (Thurs. 2/26). Information on The Black List Vol. 1 here.

Quitting Is Not an Option

For our sake, and our children’s…

"Obama even gets kids working together." baratunde, http://www.flickr.com/photos/baratunde/2426603107

…And I think about Ty’Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina – a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom.  She has been told that her school is hopeless, but the other day after class she went to the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this room.  She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp.  The letter asks us for help, and says, “We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina but also the world.  We are not quitters.”

~Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
Address to Joint Session of Congress
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

DVR Alert: “The Order of Myths”

Mobile, Alabama threw its first Mardi Gras more than 300 years ago; since then the party has been trying to stay true to tradition. But tradition gets tricky when it comes to race and class.

Separate but unequal royal courts preside—one queen, from a family of outlaw slave traders, the other, a descendent of runaway slaves. Beneath the surface of pageantry lies a complex story about race relations and the ever-present racial divide that persists in America today.

Independent Lens film site

Check your local PBS listings for air dates and times.