Colorlines Magazine articles from September 2003

Colorlines Magazine archives from September 2003

Bending it, like Beckham.
September 22, 2003... But what we fought for is a crucial part of the overall story; the terrain was often cultural, centering on identity, dignity, and fun. --Robin D. G. Kelley, Race Rebels This issue of ColorLines is about creativity, comedy, drama--the...

"I am a poet too": in Sarah Jones's latest play, first-generation immigrants at a poetry reading take on racism and xenophobia in the era of homeland security.(protest & art)
September 22, 2003... Despite his middle-class status and Republican values, the experiences of Mohammed Ali, a Pakistani accountant, are particularly salient in post-9/11 America. Having lived here since 1976, Mohammed retains hope in the best this country has to...

Cultural chameleons: the irreverent sketch comedy of Culture Clash has developed into sophisticated docu-comedies that revolve around a geographic hub and the disparate perspectives of its local inhabitants.(protest & art)
September 22, 2003... If the last 19 years writing and performing conscious comedy with Culture Clash have taught Herbert Siguenza anything, it's focus. "At one point you have to decide whether you're an activist or an artist. Our battle was getting on stage,...

Digging in America's backyard: southern artist Omar Thompson questions notions of patriotism.(protest & art)
September 22, 2003... By the end of the day on September 11, 2001, America had changed in ways never imagined just 24 hours earlier. The American flag, imagined flapping briskly in the wind, became the most common symbol characterizing this new American self-image....

The politics of making people laugh: comedienne Shazia Mirza talks about race, Muslim jokes, and the painful truths of being funny.(protest & art)
September 22, 2003... Stand-up comedy is one of the most challenging and complex of the performing arts. After doing stand-up for nearly 10 years, I've seen talent that runs the gamut of ambition. Some comics are after the cheap laugh. Others are enthralled by the...

Homegrown revolution: Magdaleno Rose-Avila offers a historical perspective on the social action theater of Teatro Campesino.(protest & art)
September 22, 2003... When I was growing up in a farm-worker family in southeastern Colorado, I never thought one day I'd end up being el patron (the boss). But in 1994, I came full circle when I found myself bellowing at a group of underpaid day laborers to "hurry...

Decades of discrimination: national crisis has often ushered in massive suspensions of civil rights.
September 22, 2003... There is a pattern here, immigrants have been unjustifiably and illegally targeted by the U.S. government in response to national crises across the decades. Exploring the similarities between three events--the Palmer Raids, Japanese internment,...

Every move you make ... Activists who have lost civil liberties protections in the wake of 9/11 are now watching their backs.(action)
September 22, 2003... Richie Perez, former "information captain" of the Puerto Rican liberation group, the Young Lords Party, blames cops for the organization's implosion in New York City in the early 1970s. Infiltrators destroyed the group, not with legitimate...

Motion to repeal: New York activists, joined by hip-hop politico Russell Simmons, are trying to overturn the notorious Rockefeller drug laws. Nicole Davis looks into what the tenuous coalition has been able to accomplish.(action)
September 22, 2003... With very few exceptions, most music artists (irrespective of genre), athletes, actors, and industry insiders shun opportunities to use their clout, name recognition, and, equally important, money to make concrete political changes in the lives...

Tough on crime and families: New York's Rockefeller drug laws have jailed thousands with harsh mandatory sentences.(action)
September 22, 2003... Thirteen-year-old Janizabeth Estevez doesn't understand why her father is still in jail. He didn't commit murder, rape, or arson. And yet he has been incarcerated for 11 years. Frankie Estevez was sentenced to 18 years to life for...

Born Puerto Rican, born (again) Taino? A resurgence of indigenous identity among Puerto Ricans has sparked debates over the island's tri-racial history.(report)
September 22, 2003... In 2000, a popular hip-hop DJ from New York named Tony Touch released The Piece Maker, a mix CD that presented his signature melding of rap lyrics and break-beats, spiked with a smattering of Latino-Caribbean sounds that effectively bind...

Dangerous exile: more than 400,000 noncitizens have been deported since 1996 because of expanded criminal sentencing. A photojournalist follows the return of Central American and Caribbean deportees.(report)
September 22, 2003... In the aftermath of the Rodney King beatings and the resulting riots in Los Angeles, the Immigration and Naturalization Service formed a special gang task force. The Violent Gang Task Force began targeting immigrant youth with gang affiliations...

Politicking the border: the deaths of 17 migrants in an overheated semi trailer brought on a bout of political hand-wringing. But what will escalating atrocities at the border mean for long-term change to enforcement policies?(report)
September 22, 2003... The second time I tried crossing, we got lucky. We left that night at 6 p.m. It took 45 minutes of straight running to get across. I wore tennis shoes. Since it was flat, it was easier. There were three coyotes running with us. They tell you to...

Remembering Scottsboro: during the 1930s, two unknown artists created a series of linoleum cuts telling the story of slavery and racism in the American South. Seldom was protest art so linked to political action as it was in the campaign to free the "Scottsboro Boys.".(culture)
September 22, 2003... It began on a slow-moving freight train near Paint Rock, Alabama. Nine young black men--Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Andy and Roy Wright, and Eugene Williams were pulled off...

This person doesn't sound white: evidence of discrimination and laws to prevent it have failed to eradicate "talking while black" and other forms of linguistic racism.(culture)
September 22, 2003... Kofi? Mani? Sule? Bijan? Choosing a name for my future son has turned out to be much more complicated than I thought when I started searching online for possibilities. Reza? Omar? Darius? Malcolm? While I entertained the sound and...

Marginal medicine: as healthcare becomes increasingly difficult to access, what does it mean to re-connect with traditional therapies.(culture)
September 22, 2003... My first memory of alternative medicine was that it wasn't an alternative--it was just part of growing up. Getting sick usually meant I'd have to lie on my stomach while my mother tubbed Eagle Brand medicated oil over my back and scraped a...

Who benefits from alternative therapy?(culture)
September 22, 2003... Harvey Ford was 40 years old when he received the news that he had rectal cancer, back in 1989. An African American factory worker in Chicago, Ford had family experience with the disease. His father had been diagnosed with the same cancer at...

Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... By Marjane Satrapi "War always takes you by surprise," writes Iranian born, Paris-based artist Marjane Satrapi in her latest book. This memoir, written in a series of comic strips, recounts Satrapi's childhood in Iran between the ages of 4...

Window on Freedom: Race, Civil Rights and Foreign Affairs, 1945-1988.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... Edited by Brenda Gayle Plummer We find ourselves in a time when America's actions as a superpower are called into question all over the world. Historian Brenda Gayle Plummer believes that race has played a long neglected role in foreign...

Nobody Pacific Drift.(race records)(Sound Recording Review)
September 22, 2003... (Ubiquity) Instrumental hip-hop producer and Los Angeles native Elvin Estela's second album is a lovely, hour-long love letter to the sublime beauties of his home state. Its gentle, swaying grooves and evocative, psychedelic textures are...

DJ Milo The Wild Bunch Story.(race records)(Sound Recording Review)
September 22, 2003... (Strut) Those curious about the British beat diaspora should check for this remarkable mix of disco, electro, and hip-hop from the pioneering Bristol DJ who had an inadvertent hand in some of the most interesting electronic acts of the...

Uncle Tupelo Reissues.(race records)(Sound Recording Review)
September 22, 2003... (Sony Legacy) Capitalizing on the success of Wilco's slippery, anti-establishment triumph Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, three early-1990s moments from lead singer Jeff Tweedy's first band have been reissued with full liners and bonus tracks. As...

Gang Starr The Ownerz.(race records)(Sound Recording Review)
September 22, 2003... (Virgin) Growing old has never been a good look among hip-hoppers, so it's heartening to consider the case of Gang Starr: after nearly 15 years in the game, Guru and DJ Premier still have what it takes to both educate and move the crowd....

Panjabi MC Beware.(race records)(Sound Recording Review)
September 22, 2003... (Sequence Records) Though he's been running European clubs for quite some time, Panjabi MC only recently cracked America when Jay-Z rapped on a remix of his "Mundian to Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys)." Despite some rather cheesy moments,...

Ishle Yi Park Work is Love.(race records)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... (www.ishle.com) This debut album from Korean American spoken word artist Ishle Yi Park is a collection of poetry and songs that combines her verse with acoustic guitar, Korean traditional drums, and hip hop beats. Simple black-and-white...

Education resources, left and right.(activist web)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Rethinking Schools Online www.rethinkingschools.com This quarterly real-time education journal recently retooled their online presence into a readable site with bite. Full access to the publication's content is a major plus to any...

Tyree Scott 1940-2003.(in memory)(Obituary)
September 22, 2003... Tyree Scott, an organizer who dedicated his life to the struggle for justice for workers around the world, co-founder of the Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office (LELO), died of prostate cancer on June 19 at age 63. Born in Wharton...