1. Classy or nah?: AVN Awards Vs. Met Gala
2. Chicago IS 1st city to give reparations for police violence
Today, Chicago's City Council approved a reparations package that will pay $5.5 million and provide other benefits to torture victims of notorious former police commander Jon Burge. This makes Chicago the first city to give reparations as a result of police violence.
According to the Tribune, this approval "ends a decades-long push for restitution to some of the more than 100 victims — mostly African American men — who have alleged horrific abuse by police officers under Burge's command." It's no wonder why Ferguson hired this Chicago attorney to negotiate reforms demanded by the Justice Department. 3. Chicago Zine Fest is this weekend!
As a small publication, we may be biased; but, the coolest festival on the planet, Chicago Zine Fest, takes place this weekend (May 8th - 9th). According to their website, "Our goal is to make DIY zine-making accessible, highlight the talents of self-published artists, and give independent artists a chance to interact, and swap skills through tabling, community events, and workshops." So go! You might catch the Boss Ladies there.
To learn more, click here or visit their Facebook page. 4. "May the 4th Be With You": Millenium Falcon Time Lapse
Keeping up with the quirkiness, I give you a time lapse of a Millenium Falcon model made entirely of Legos. To celebrate May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day, Melbourne hired two LEGO Master Builders to create the iconic spacecraft. With the help of local families, the builders were able to put it together in two days, just in time for the celebration.
Check it out above. 5. Mother's Day is Also This WEekend
If you haven't done so already, go get your Momma something, be good to her, or just leave her alone. Either way, it's her day so let her enjoy it! There are tons of things for y'all to do and make, so there are no excuses! Special shout out to the women that gave birth Siren & Allie.
We love you!
0 Comments
Let me start with a confession. I have a hard time watching Set It Off without my stomach dropping like a stone at the end. After almost 20 years after initially seeing it, I finally started to break down the deeper layers of the movie. The saddest thing about Set It Off is that you know in the beginning exactly what’s going to happen in the end—that the main characters weren’t going to get away with it—akin to real life. Set It Off is a hood classic that never fails to break your heart every time you watch it. For those who haven’t see it, a quick synopsis: Stoney, Frankie, Cleo and T.T., four Black women in LA whose lives have equated to violence, poverty, and loss collectively decide to rob a bank. After their first heist, they rejoice together, but as time continues, the stakes are raised, and their friendship is tested. They plan to rob a bank one last time, but it backfires, leading to a high-speed chase with the LAPD, and ending with the death of Frankie, Cleo, and T.T., except for Stoney. The film is to be celebrated for portraying Black women seeking to reclaim their personal agency amidst a system that is hell bent on perpetuating misogynoir and economic deprivation. Set It Off is not simply about gun-toting recklessness. At its very core, it is a film about wealth redistribution. However unorthodox the efforts of the four women are, the story indirectly reflects the need for reparations for a community whose work and livelihood continue to be exploited. Set It Off’s ending is symbolic in that it tells us is that liberation for Black women by way of taking what’s ours back from the system is only not physically impossible, but a mere fantasy that can’t be achieved. The message is this: white corporate men, politicians, and those of America’s elite are the only ones who can dabble in criminal activity and live to reap the rewards. It says that women of color capers who dare to rebel against the status quo in America cannot win. Although it might be tempting to find a silver living by saying that the characters, in particularly Cleo, went out like Gs, what does going out like a G mean? Does it mean standing your ground and attempting the impossible to the end? Or does it mean being able to enjoy your money like more privileged members of our society are able to do without consequences? Every part of me wishes that when I watched Set It Off, the characters would beat the system, making it a win for all of us—if only wishful thinking became a reality. Thug Scholar is a Black queer feminist living in Chicago. Connect with her @Thug_Scholar on Twitter. When the mainstream media began covering the Baltimore Uprising, protesters were deemed “thugs”: irresponsible trouble-makers who were a disturbance to peace and order in the streets. A look back on this word shows that its usage has been co-opted by those Black folks who are unconscious and the conservative right in order to demean people who are a threat to the very fabric of systematic American racism. The word thug derives from the word “thuggee” in 19th century India. Thugs were men who would rob caravans of the British during colonialism, taking cash transactions from rich merchants across the countryside. They saw themselves as disciples of the goddess Kali. In the 1830s, General Sleeman vowed to eliminate “thuggees” from India, while portraying them as born criminals which were to be feared. In essence, the word thug is rooted in spirituality and anti-colonial action against the British Empire. Years later in the early 90s, a young Tupac Shakur coined a phrase that would define a generation bereft of socio-economic justice—Thug Life. Thug Life was a political decree; Pac’s personal definition of a thug wasn’t steeped in society’s negative definition of the lexicon; it was a philosophy that championed the underdog, lifting up those who were constantly put upon by a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. “When I say ‘thug’, I mean not a criminal, someone who beats you over the head, I mean the underdog. You could have two people—one person has everything he needs to succeed and one person has nothing. If the person who has nothing succeeds, he’s a thug. ‘Cuz he overcame all obstacles.” Pac also drew parallels from Thug Life to political uprisings in American history. “I don’t understand how America doesn’t understand Thug Life. America is Thug Life,” he once said. “What makes me saying I don’t give a fuck any different than Patrick Henry saying, ‘Give me liberty or give me death?’ ” Pac is correct. America is thug life. The Boston Tea Party and colonial uprising against the British exemplified it. Slavery revolts in the Southeastern corner of the United States epitomized it. Any individual who exercises resistance against the status quo, demanding their voice to be heard, fall in line with the edict of Thug Life. Protesters in the Baltimore Uprising also are followers of the Thug Life tradition, rising up as a community to voice dissent and overcome repressive obstacles created by the state. The word thug is being appropriated to demean young Black people who are rising up. It is being used to dismiss justified resistance among those most disenfranchised and perpetuates dangerous respectability politics. Being labeled a thug for me is never pejorative for me. If you choose to call people who are knee deep in the war of fighting for our lives thugs, then a thug I proudly will be, with one middle finger on the right and one fist in the air on the left. Thug Scholar is a Black queer feminist living in Chicago. Connect with her @Thug _Scholar on Twitter. |
Details
ATS MagAgainst the Stream Magazine is an urban platform. We edify our readers by finding noble, pure, and true talent and giving it a stage to flourish. While we love bragging about the folks around us, we also tackle urban issues by giving real world solutions. Archives
October 2015
|