By Supernerd
Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 6:19 am
I read the New York Times article titled “Food Stamps Usage Soars, Stigma Fades.” The article is about the lessening of stigma regarding the use of food stamps. What comes to mind when you think of the U.S. welfare system, specifically food stamps or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?
For me, I remember seeing black single mothers with multiple children (read: more than 3) in the grocery store handing multi-colored slips of paper across the counter to the cashier. Others, like President Ronald Reagan, associate with this program certain women, like Linda Taylor, Barbara Williams, Arlens Otis, and Dorothy Woods. As defrauders of government sponsored welfare programs, these women’s public “transgressions” aided Ronald Reagan to stir the public imagination and create the “welfare queen. ” In his most famous of quotes regarding the welfare queen, He said:
“She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veteran’s benefits on four non-existing deceased husband. She’s got Medicaid, getting food-stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names.”
By Summer M.
Monday, December 14, 2009 at 9:18 am
I had a bit of a family emergency last week that resulted in me spending several hours in New York Presbyterian Hospital instead of checking out that tree in Rockefeller Center, seeing Shrek before it leaves Broadway next month, and visiting my favorite sneaker boutiques. (To the folks who commented on last week’s blog, my apologies. Life happens and I didn’t have much time to engage.) As a result, I kind of have no idea what’s going on in the world. I do know, however, that Victor and Nikki got back together (AGAIN!) after his heart transplant. Thanks, Grandma Charlotte.
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By Summer M.
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 9:00 am
www.koffii.com/ImageDescription.aspx?photoId=38873
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I swear I saw commercials for the movie The Blind Side more times than I caught the ads of those cats singing the free credit report jingle. (F-R-E-E that spells free/credit report dot com, baby…) Environmentalists could learn a lot from Hollywood; that place recycles scenarios more often than a tree hugger sneers at Hummer drivers.
The trailers for the movie indicate that The Blind Side is yet another addition to that long list of white savior movies. I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to (In grad school, we call this not being bound by the text.), but it seems that Sandra “I’m doing this movie to make up for playing a racist in Crash” Bullock saves a big black kid from the perils of blackness. (Crabs in a barrel. You know the deal.) I guess the Based on a true story tagline wants to goad me into not being critical of the movie, the genre. Whatever. The movie has provided an occasion to address the white savior film. Since I’ve seen every episode of Webster and Diff’rent Strokes and Dangerous Minds (twice), I’m going to provide a primer for Negro saving for any and all white folks with plenty of money and love in their hearts to adopt a hapless black kid. And for you black youth out there, pay attention. You might find something useful here to make yourself more marketable. Read more »
By Jonathan
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 2:37 am
I am starting a three-week series based on the lies that I was told in grade school. It recently occurred to me that a lot of the history that I was taught was not only wrong, but the truth was skewed for very specific purposes. I can remember learning about the Black Panthers in elementary school and how I was given a negative and demonizing view of Fred Hampton, or how I was made to think the Civil War was a black and white issue about abolishing slavery. I realized that these lies changed my outlook on important figures in history and seemed to always paint America as the hero/peace maker, when many times the leaders of this country were the main perpetrators.
Since I can remember, Thanksgiving has marked the start of the holiday season for me. A time of year that was usually pretty happy in my childhood mind. The idea of being grateful for where I was in life and the things God has given me always made sense. My family never really had much, but we always knew it could have been worse.
In this age of technology, globalization, and the continuous sharing of information, how do we continue to get history wrong? Is deception more comfortable?
Thousands of years before Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed the ‘official’ Thanksgiving Day in 1637, North American Indigenous people across the continent had celebrated seasons of Thanksgiving. ’Thanksgiving’ is a very ancient concept to American Indian nations. The big problem with the American Thanksgiving holiday is its false association with Native Americans, the infamous ‘Indians and pilgrims’ myth.
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By Summer M.
Monday, November 16, 2009 at 9:13 am
Credit: ROBYN BECK, AFP/Getty Images / November 5, 2009
We’ve seen the Sammy Sosa picture(s) by now. The Michael Jackson jokes are stale and unimaginative. So I won’t make any here. Yet as a black blogger, I guess I have to say something. So I will mention just a couple of things. This is a mere sketch. Would love it if you all would fill-in and/or correct me. Read more »
By Supernerd
Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 9:59 am
House of Legacy Eternal
walkin the category of Ultimate Boy realness
Personally, I find sagging pants, du-rags, grills and accessories distasteful; however, I stand by people’s right to be self-expressive, particularly when it comes to ‘cross-dressing.’ In talking about Morehouse College dress code, I have to give props to Frank Leon Roberts for his post on the Root. In Morehouse’s efforts to preserve its legacy, it created a dress code which hinders student self-expression.
The “Appropriate Attire Policy” is the product of Robert Franklin, President of Morehouse; it is his attempt to create the modern “Renaissance Man.” In his words, “[he]…hopes to have the next generation of Morehouse graduates live up to the school’s legacy-
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By Summer M.
Monday, November 9, 2009 at 9:38 am
Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry said Precious was awesome and that everyone should go see it. Since I am the most obedient of Negroes, I saw it last Friday. If Flavor Flav is the world’s greatest hype man, this duo is officially the world’s greatest hype machine. I found Precious slightly underwhelming, uninspiring, and lacking much of what makes the novel, Push by Sapphire, so powerful. Sorry, Ms. Winfrey. I had no “A-ha!” moment. Read more »
Sex makes me nervous! I get nervous both before and after sex. I am nervous because in my head I picture this spinning chart of numbers and statistics that makes me realize that sex is the ultimate Russian roulette. You pull the trigger you get a risk-free nut; you pull the trigger again and you get a parting gift. 