Stunning Collaboration: Yo-Yo Ma & Lil Buck

weekly links (april 10th edition)

Stop Waiting For a Savior (NY Times)

On Teachers Calling Kids "Future Criminals" and the School-to-Prison Pipeline (Racialicious)

The Price of Choosing Jails Over Schools (The Root)

How the Racial Wealth Gap Hurts Children of Color (The Root)

The Link Between War and Big Finance (truthout)

Bolivia Enshrines Natural World's Rights with Equal Status for Mother Earth (UK Guardian)

Tony Porter: A Call to Men (TED Video)

On Diddy, Blockbuster and A Thing Called Karma (The Smoking Section)

"Don't Stop" and The State of the Supergroup (Passion of the Weiss)

Madlib's Trash is Another Man's Treasure (LA Weekly)

Janelle Monáe on Music and Being The Other (Racialicious)

Pedro Noguera (on the importance of education)

"Despite all the ways recent educational reforms have taken the soul out of education--overemphasizing testing, underemphasizing learning, treating teachers like technicians rather than creative professionals, humiliating schools rather than providing them with support--the fact remains that through education, we have the power to inspire the innate ability in all human beings to dream and create."

On Rebellion and Revolution

The Egyptian people are back in the streets, chanting "Tantawi is Mubarak and Mubarak is Tantawi", and resuming their struggle for democracy and just society. Egypt continues to be a shining example of the people making government and civil society work for them. The intentional movement-building during their uprising - between students, labor, religious institutions, even. elements of the police and military. They inspired people all over the world by coming together and forcing Hosni Mubarak out. Much love and respect to the people of Tunisia too.

Mow Egyptian protestors face a military dictatorship that promises open elections but flexes their muscles to repress and silence. The Egyptian military forcefully removed protestors from Tahrir Square a couple days ago, killing at least one and injuring 70 more. Heads high in the face of state violence, the people are still there. Regime change is a gigantic first step. but the path is long and regime change is no revolution - revolution takes time and intention. economic, political, civil and social structures need to be reimagined and rebuilt. But although installing a new model for society will be a learning process, the Egyptian people appear to be ready to get their hands dirty in the rebuilding of their nation.

The people in Egypt are conscious that their struggle is not limited to them. But that they are connected to liberation struggles throughout history and all over the world. below, an Egyptian protestor gives a nod of solidarity to Wisconsin workers.

Similarly, chancellor of education Cathie Black resigned/was fired thursday, after embarrassingly low approval ratings in her 3rd month on the job. Despite her blatant lack of qualifications, this was not about Cathie Black. After 9 years of mayoral control over public education, New Yorkers are fed up. Public schools in low-income communities of color are chronically underfunded and over-policed - standardized tests, teachers restricted by curriculum, overcrowded classrooms, outdated and too few books, and metal detectors haven't left with Ms Black.

Many tough questions remain for us who are committed to education reform: what lessons did the higher ups at the department of education learn? How can we most effectively position ourselves? What kind of education do we hope for our children and what systems do we need to put in place to realize those hopes? And how much are we willing to struggle to build these new systems?

If community control was restored to public education, we would be have space to create the curricula and programs we need. If students, teachers and schools were free from standardized tests, we would be well on the way to inspiring and nurturing teaching and learning. If funding was equitable, we would be equipped to address the causes of low attendance and high drop-out rates. We need to realize that education reform isn't happening on by school, school district or even by borough basis. We need to organize across neighborhoods and across issues to challenge power at its source. And we need to have a shared vision for our schools and our education system.

I close by saying this:

Fight The Power 2011

Chuck D, ?uestlove and Black Thought with the "sound of the funky drummer." This shit right here gives me goosebumps.

weekly links (april 3rd edition)

The Straight Dope: Bill Moyers Interviews David Simon (Guernica Mag)

The US-Euro War on Libya: Official Lies and Misconceptions of Critics (Dissident Voice)

Phllly's Got Love for Students, Too (RaceWire)

Monopoly Was Created to Teach Capitalism (Capitalism Is Over If You Want It)

The Collapse of Globalization (TruthDig)

Cesar Chavez and Migrant Farmworker Rights (Sociological Images)

Garden As If Your Life Depended On It, Because It Will (Dissident Voice)

More Black Men Imprisoned Right Now Than Enslaved in 1850 (The Root)

Where The Wu-Tang Clan Meets Jazz (A Blog Supreme/NPR Jazz)

On Japan, Disaster and Humanity

.. by working on my/your/ourself.

I've spent a lot of time in the past month folks' reactions to the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan. The on the ground footage of the 9.0 earthquake and the tsunami washing away entire towns and cities was terrifying. and while some of the responses have been infuriating, most have been uplifting and inspiring.

I was especially wary after how people treated each other after Hurricane Katrina stirred so much bitterness. But stories of people in Japan opening up their homes to the homeless, sharing what little food they have with the hungry, and holding their heads high with dignity have moved me. and led me to some conclusions.

At the core of any sort of progress, there has to be the intention to stretch our ability to see the humanity in each other. In order for us all to sustainably co-exist on/with this planet, we need to shift from self to common-interest. and more important than measurable social gain is sense of community.

In the following video, Grace Lee Boggs speaks on the fact that "we need a very different philosophy on what it means to be a human being. and we have a tremendous opportunity to advance our evolution to a higher stage."

Iersonally, i'm still wrapping my head around what (r)evolutionary politics look like. and at this point, i'm not fucking with ideology. I'm just trying to build on basic values i believe in: compassion, community, self-determination, dignity, equality, kindness, spirituality, and creative expression. and living those values, rather than spouting them out.

* more info on how to support Japanese relief efforts.