A Justice Site
Mirror Sites:
CSUDH - Habermas - UWP - Archives
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: November 8, 2004
Latest Update: November 8, 2004
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Hip Hop and Hip Hop CriticismHip Hop and Hip Hop Criticism" Where is the color? Ever since the 1999 anti-WTO protests in Seattle, anti-globalization activists have been lamenting the rather transparent whiteness of this new movement." We need to have more people of color join us," goes the typical cry. The desire to create a movement that is truly representative of the world is, of course, quite admirable and it should be encouraged. But such an attitude tends to ignore the significant contributions that people of color have made to this movement, and to the impetus for its formation. More importantly, it smacks of the same colonialist and imperialist attitude we claim we are fighting against. Despite good motives, the underlying assumption in such a cry is that "we" (whites/peoples of the north) have finally done the right thing, except that "we" need to get "them" (people of color/of the south) to come and join us under "our" big banner. That this has not taken place is not an indication of lack of outreach, but rather the failings of our assumption."Congratulations, you are now all niggers," said an African-American activist to some of us after Seattle. The message was loud and clear. The treatment that we received in the streets was nothing new, for communities of color. What was new was the fact that it was delivered to more privileged sectors of society as well as its usual targets. And it got front-page publicity. "Will this make it more likely that you will join us next time?" came the follow-up question. But the answers to that are so obvious, the question need not have been asked. While those of us who hold various degrees of privilege can retreat to the protection that this privilege allows, poor communities and communities of color cannot. One of the most positive aspects of the last year and a half is that such retreat has not taken place. The increasing surveillance, repression and COINTELPRO-style tactics that have been deployed by the State against this new movement is ample evidence that we are moving forward. Yet, the question of when "they" will join "us" begs the real question: When are "we" going to join "them"?
While this anti-globalization movement may be new, this struggle against globalization is not. People of color, and more importantly communities of color, have engaged in active resistance to colonialism, imperialism and globalization long before Seattle and will continue to do so for as long as is necessary. Those communities who are at its front line have been organizing and fighting, not for months and years but for decades and centuries. It is the height of arrogance to expect them to join "us", to mimic "our" tactics and "our" rhetoric. So, when are we going to join them?
From Hip Hop congress.
Cognitive Connections to Women and Poverty:
This goes to the issue of privilege, and particularly "white privilege" in our dominant discourse on the social issues agenda. When communities of color have been battling issues of domination, exclusion, and exploitation, and white folks start to notice that in their newmoves on the social issue agenda there are no people of color involved, it could just be because they started their own movement without looking around to see what was already going on. It's hard to connect. We are passionate about some of these agendas, and highly focused; but we need to recognize where our struggles unite and there is no "us" or "them," just a united community against oppression and exploitation. Here is an excellent example of where we need naked space to say "Where were you when . . . " and then to listen in good faith when we discover that the Other was there when and plans to tell us so.
SeeingBlack.com
