A New Era

I didn't cry at the rally, but I did today.

Image and "count up" of Obama's presidency available at Is Obama President

A Dream Deferred

I originally saw this on Lateboots.com and couldn't think of a more fitting way to begin celebrating two historic men.

Who Needs D.C.?

While an estimated 2 million Americans will be making their way to Washington D.C. for the inauguration next week Tuesday, citizens of Chicago have some party plans of their own. Inauguration celebrations ranging from galas to informal gatherings at local bars are popping up all over the city. To see where one is near you, visit MoveOn.org's inaugural party finder or check out a few of my picks (courtesy of a post originally found on TimeOut Chicago):

African Harambee (7537 N. Clark) will be offering pan-African food, music, and dancing between 8pm-1am.

Considered the best place to go for Ethiopian in Chicago, Ethiopian Diamond's (6120 N. Broadway) large restaurant will be transformed into a dance hall between 11pm-2:30am.

The first and last time I was at Town Hall Pub (3340 N. Halsted), I was surrounded by hipsters, militant bikers and I was trying to keep a friend from calling an unfaithful ex. This time around, the crowd is sure to stay the same, but with a life-sized cutout of Obama, free Jell-O shots, and drink specials, I might not mind the stink of post-irony irony.

I watched the Vice-Presidential Debates at the Whirlaway Lounge (3224 W. Fullerton) in Logan Square. The bar's affable bartender and owner, flat screen TV, and feel good environment would make for a great place to celebrate the Obama administration's official start.

Michelle O

(photo credit: WWD, Christian Lacroix sketch for Michelle Obama)

The fashion world has been abuzz thanks to the promise of a fashion-forward First Lady in the White House. Michelle Obama has already been compared to Our Lady Jackie O and top designers are clamoring for a chance to dress her. The Fashion Bomb just posted an entry on WWD's (Women's Wear Daily) collection of designers' sketches for Michelle's Inaugural gown. The slideshow contains a who's who of designers like Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, and Diane von Furstenburg. Whatever she decides, I'm sure she'll look gorgeous.

Double Team

The Obamas will grace the covers of the January 2009 edition of Essence Magazine.

Precious

I need something to wipe the bitter taste of sour grapes Nader (saying Obama could either be an Uncle Sam or Uncle Tom for this country), possible arson involved in a black church burning down in Springfield, MA hours after the historic election, and a press release announcing Westboro Baptist Church's plans to picket President-Elect Obama's grandmother's funeral. And if you didn't know any of this before reading that previous sentence, you probably will to.

My offering:



This article in the New York Times.

'I will tell my children of this day, and they will pass it on from generation to generation and know about the first black president,' [10-year-old Torin Wlson] wrote in his essay. 'And I know that he will certainly not be the last.”

In the Mood for Love..At the Obama Rally

While it was impossible to find my boyfriend and close friends among the throngs of people at Grant Park last night, some people were able to find their next potential mate for a few fleeting moments before the crowd swallowed them up. That's where Missed Connections comes in. Missed Connections is a forum on Craigslist where people can post descriptions of people they had brief, yet chemistry filled encounters with in the hopes that person will stumble upon it and contact them.

My friend and facial hair enthusiast posted a pretty good one this morning and it got me the thinking: how many people put up Missed Connections from the Obama Rally? The results are hilarious. My favorites?


Petite Woman with Huge Chest at Obama Rally - m4w - 32
Asked for a cigarette when Obama won - m4m - 35
MC at Obama Rally - "There's another state I'm not going to" - w4m - 28
to the trio of girls at Grant Park who took me to a bar, then left - m4w - 23
Rally Photographer, all in black, dapper hat and brass cuff buttons - w4m

Obama brings so many people together!

Pictures from the Rally

I'm so glad I got to be a part of the rally. The magnitude of Obama's election didn't fully hit me until I saw Jesse Jackson cry, saw people dancing in Kenya, spoke to my father about how family in Nigeria called and congratulated him as if he had won, and did a quick review of civil rights history unmarred by talking heads' analysis. Being of my generation where a lot of the groundwork has already been done to become whatever I want to be, it's easy to forget or gloss over how far African-Americans and women have come. I had a "post-race" view of the election; of course Obama would win—he was the best man for the job despite the racially driven anxiety and attacks right wing voters.

But man... he has broken a tremendous glass ceiling for African-Americans. He had the weight of an ugly history on his shoulders, and is toting it along with acknowledgment of its presence but a confidence that it can be shaken off, allowing for a united America.

Enough with my ramblings. Click here for a slideshow sampling of the pictures I took:

OMFG For Real

THE RUMORS ARE TRUE!!!!!



After days of horrible news after horrible news (I couldn't even bring myself to write about the tragedy that befell Jennifer Hudson and her sister), an email from the Obama Campaign brightened my day.

Obama will be having an election night event in Grant Park, which you can register for online tickets here. Gates open at 8:30, but can you imagine the crowd that will be there, just to experience this moment of history, to hear whatever this man has to say to us as he begins his path towards ushering America into a new dawn (or, heaven forbid, console us as America stands in front of a social/political/international firing squad)?!

I...can't...WAIT!

"Bottom of the Ninth....Nine Runs Down...and [McCain is] the Cubs..."

(photo credit: Damen Winter for the New York Times)

Last night, my boyfriend and I watched the final Presidential Debate at the Chicago History Museum (1601 N. Clark), a part of their In the K/Now series. The evening began with a moderator and speakers, including 848 and WBEZ political reporter Ben Calhoun (you're amazing on 848!), and two other gentleman whose names I couldn't hear, sadly. The gem above is from one of them, continuing the use of sports analogies throughout the discussion.

The crowd and panel were decidedly for Obama and we all laughed heartily at every dig at McCain's sinking ship. I had hoped there would be an equal mix of conservative and liberal speakers, just to make things interesting, but I guess its hard to find McCain supporters in this blue state and in Obama's home turf of Chicago. In effect, the panel was preaching to an enthusiastic choir, with only three undecideds in the room.

After the panel discussion, we watched the debate. I thought it was the best debate between the two, with moderator Bob Schieffer getting more specifics out of the candidates than before. Joe the Plumber made the audience gag, McCain's erratic facial ticks scared us all, and Obama's calm under McCain's lies and misrepresentations made me think all the more that this man needs to be in the White House.

Although there wasn't a follow up by the panel after the debate, overall I enjoyed my first experience at the Chicago History Museum and look forward to attending any other of their special events that pique my interest.

Barack Obama on David Letterman

Click here to see Jezebel's write up and clip of Barack Obama's winsome appearance on David Letterman.

Move On and Smart Up

I'm laying in bed, enjoying the fresh "It's-just-rained" smell wafting in on the breeze and reading the New York Times. Obama and Clinton made a stop in Unity, New Hampshire to showcase the newfound unity within the Democratic Party. The name of the town is solid gold for the sound bite driven mainstream media and was chosen "for the perfect split of votes cast in the New Hampshire primary — 107 for each candidate."


One part of the article really annoyed me, however. People were at this rally still wearing Hillary campaign t-shirts and openly objecting to his presence and nomination:

“Carmella Lewis of Denver chanted 'Hillary' while Mr. Obama spoke, smirked throughout his remarks and then stuffed her ears with scrunched-up tissue.

'I can’t listen to him,' Ms. Lewis said. 'No way are we voting for Obama. We're all voting for McCain.'

This is a pretty accurate depiction of the people who continue to cry "foul" over Hillary Clinton's inability to "clinch" the Democratic nomination. Won't face the facts or listen to reason.

Color of Change

Dear Friends,

Right now, Fox News is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign, un-American, suspicious, and scary. They're trying to send Americans the message that our country's first viable Black candidate for President is not "one of us."

I've joined on to ColorOfChange.org's campaign to push back on Fox, publicly demanding they stop their race-baiting and fear mongering. If that doesn't work, then we'll go to their advertisers and the FCC. I wanted to invite you to sign on as well. It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=2156-595616

Here's what happened recently:

After Senator Obama won the nomination, he and his wife gave each other a "pound" in front of the cameras. Fox anchor E.D. Hill called the act of celebration a "terrorist fist jab." Then last week, a Fox News on-screen graphic referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama"--slang used to describe the unmarried mother of a man's child. It was a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative cultural stereotypes about Black people, an insult not only to Michelle Obama but to women and Black people everywhere.

After each of the incidents mentioned, Fox issued some form of weak apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face, apologize the next day, then slap them again on the third? It means the apology is meaningless.

These aren't one-time incidents--they're part of a pattern that continues no matter how often Fox is forced to apologize. Fox has a clear record of attacking and undermining Black institutions, Black leaders, and Black people in general.

If we don't push back now, we will see more of the same from now until November. Please join me in helping to bring an end to Fox's behavior.

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=2156-595616

Thanks.

Ralph Nader: Sour Grapes or Calling It Like It Is?

(photo credit: Judy DeHaas. taken from Rocky Mountain News)

Full disclosure: This is my first foray into political, op-ed writing so bear with me.

Admittedly, I know very little about Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. To me, he's a joke cracked on the Daily Show, a Ross Perot character of sorts in his repeated runs for president. So today when I first read about his criticisms of Obama (claiming Obama is "talking white" and appealing to "white guilt"), I could feel my temperature rising. As a black person, I've heard the same criticisms lobbed my way for speaking proper English. To blacks, I'm either "trying to be white" or called "articulate"—that damning word for any educated black person—by whites.

But as I continued reading the Rocky Mountain News article, Nader made some points I had to stop and think about:

“I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson?"

and...

“Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.

The fact that Barack Obama's campaign had originally shied away from The Race Issue is something that is well documented. I was really surprised in the beginning (which seems like a lifetime ago) when his blackness wasn't immediately spun into a problem with his candidacy, as it is now. In fact, it's my opinion that race hadn't become an issue in the Democratic race until the Clintons made the first of many racially charged comments.

Now that Obama has become the BLACK candidate, is his campaign strategy shifting to avoid rousing the fears of the ignorant? Is that why he hasn't spoken publicly to large groups of Muslim-American supporters or in a mosque? Is that why he started wearing the American flag pin? Is that why most of his rallies featured in the media have an overwhelmingly large white audience? Though I think the core part of his message is that there is no black/white/brown specific issues, but American issues, its been painted in the media as BLACK vs. WHITE.

Because every act of "blackness"—which is a highly debatable concept best saved for another day—is dissected to his disadvantage. His wife bumping fists with him after winning the Democratic nomination? Why, that's a "terrorist fist jab" according to the fine folks at FOX News. Hanging out with rappers, playing basketball, attending a black church (with a preacher who is voicing, albeit very bluntly, the thoughts of many blacks in the country)... it's all a negative for the Obama presidency. So maybe Nader has a point. Maybe he isn't trying to rock the white power structure....yet.

Don't get me wrong. I don't question my support of Obama, or his decency and sincerity. However, it does make me question politics. Obama's genuine message of change has had to be manipulated to avoid ignorance and media spin. Conversation has been hijacked of all meaning and replaced with baseless and seemingly never ending rants on his blackness, his elitism, and his "angry" wife. And so, to quell suspicions that once in the office he will lead a "Kill Whitey" movement, he has to play the game.

A game I hope he wins in November, before dropping it to bring about real change to this nation.

FINALLY!

Change I can definitely believe in. Barack Obama has officially become the Democratic National Party's nominee for president. Let's see the Hillary Clinton groveling for Vice President begin. Unity ticket, my ass.

My God

I really have a hard time respecting anyone who supports Hillary Clinton. Especially after this latest gaffe. What a horrible human being. What a despicable, condescending, ignorant, power-hungry person.



...and then to try to back out of it by saying she was distracted by the BRAIN TUMOR Senator Ted Kennedy suffered this past week. Jesus Christ.

Step Away and No One Gets Hurt

Today pundits and commentators from all over the nation and interwebs weighed in on the state of the Democratic candidates chances post-Indiana and North Carolina's primaries. Two of my favorites:


(Obama as Harry S. Truman. Image courtesy of Young Manhattanite)



(Matt Drudge, who runs the news website drudgereport.com, compiled a photo montage of Hillary Clinton's various expressions [all grotesque] titled "No Way." Animal New York Andy Warholized the montage.)

Mr. Esquire

Chicago has brought me a lot of good friends, many of whom are unbelievably talented. Below is a profile of one of them, Sola Akintunde, better known as Shala Esquire.



























A Google search of Shala Esquire produces over 1,800 hits – very impressive, especially considering most of these links are actually about him, profiling his talent and work in the music and art worlds. Esquire embodies the can-do spirit indie culture and the Internet has instilled in the newest generation of creative souls.

Born Olusola Akintunde to Nigerian immigrant parents on Chicago’s North Side, Esquire benefited from the diversity surrounding his Winthrop Towers home. His parents provided the young Esquire with an unique view that placed him in two opposing worlds—as a black Chicagoan and as a Nigerian. His foot firmly planted in both, Esquire learned how to see life’s bigger picture at a young age. Growing up in a lower income family, he used his imagination to entertain himself, making toys, games and getting lost in a world of his own creation.

He would later learn the value of blurring the boundaries between these two worlds and using his imagination to make music. In high school, Esquire met the three friends who would later turn their love of beating on tables and rapping in the lunchroom into the dynamic rap group Qualo. Qualo put out their first CD, “Movementality,” in 2000 on the streets and online. Out of Qualo came The Movement Worldwide, Inc, a management and multimedia production company Esquire built to “create a vehicle that could consistently showcase artists and Chicago talent.” The collective includes a wide array of talented DJs and hip-hop acts including Million Dolla Mano, Hollywood Holt, Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids and Low B. of DJ duo Hollertonix, selling more than 200,000 mixtapes, compilations, and albums in less than two years. In 2006, Esquire could add another feather to his cap: Qualo inked a joint venture deal with Universal Music Group.

In his eight years of work, Esquire has proven he is truly a renaissance man of the new order: a multimedia producer, rapper, songwriter, and artist (creator of the edgy and observant Seven Spoon comics which has developed a fan base of over 20,000 readers). Poised to rub elbows with the Diddys and the Russell Simmons of the world, Esquire represents the new generation of lifestyle and cultural moguls, showing the wide reach of the Internet as he continues to bring his genre bending music and whip-smart art to people across the world.

Listen or download his song Audacity of Hope by clicking this link.

Please Don't Mess This One Up, Diddy

Oh, Diddy. He's the black male version of Madonna, "reinventing" himself to keep the masses interested/unaware of how untalented he is as a performer. Constant sampling of better artists from eras past became "inventing the remix." He's made the leap from A&R scout to record company founder and owner (Bad Boy), wearer of shiny metallic track suits to a Council of Fashion Design of America award winning designer, Broadway actor (taking on the role Sidney Poitier made famous in the movie version of "A Raisin In The Sun"), and a reality television personality with his takes on the Making the Band series. Don't even get me started on the name changes.

So when one of my best friends from home told me about a new performer signed to Bad Boy, I was a little weary; his two new boy and girl groups leave much to be desired. But signing Janelle Monae—a Kansas City, KS native making waves in Atlanta with her blend of funk, soul, R&B, and futuristic imaginings of the world—is a step in the right direction for the multimedia mogul. Based on the power of her single on her MySpace page, Janelle Monae has many anxious for her star to rise; numerous publications, Andre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast and even Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama have all sang her praises:



Janelle Monae's sound and style makes her stand out in a sea of record company manufactured and derivative pop princesses, and she's bringing the concept album to R&B (which, correct me if I'm wrong, is very unusual). Her android alter ego, Cindi Mayweather, has fallen in love with a human despite her computer programming and has to run away for fear of being disassembled.

Amazing.

Her debut album is slated for release in September, with an EP out in June. Listen to her single "Violet Star Happy Hunting" and its remix (sans Diddy) on her Myspace page.

"What Should I Blog About?"

"The Obama speech. Because everyone is blogging about it."


New York Times Transcript of Barack Obama's Speech on Race

YouTube Video