A young woman is found with a “broken nose, black eye and loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, presumably to eliminate DNA evidence of rape, a trail of blood leading away from her tent and a bullet hole in her head”. Cause of death–suicide. That is, if you believe the Army’s account of the death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson, Johnson was the first female from Missouri to die in Iraq or Afghanistan. All too often, African American women are disregarded. Apparently, not even the greatest acts of sacrifice (serving one’s country) will render Black women visible. The media bombarded us with reports on the death of Pat Tilman and the subsequent cover-up while Johnson’s story remains relatively unknown.
A Google search for “Lavena Johnson” returns approximately 47,000 hits. The same search for “Pat Tillman” draws 700,000 hits. Yes, we were all impressed with Tillman’s decision to serve his country since doing so meant leaving behind a lucrative sports career in the NFL. But what of Johnson’s sacrifice? Joining the armed services just after graduating from Hazelwood Central High School, Johnson’s future held much potential. Even in a large class, LaVena stood out due to academic excellence and involvement. So much so that many were surprised that she was putting off college to join the Army. Read more »
How do I feel about hip-hop? What is there to be said about a materialistic, misogynistic, misdirected movement? The materialistic aspects are evident in the videos (the yachts, designer clothes, jewelry), the misogyny expressed through lyrics and scantily clad “video girls”. The misdirection? That’s where hip-hop culture went horribly wrong. Hip-hop began as an expression, the resistance to a mainstream culture that sought to repress and oppress the views of poor Blacks in America. Unfortunately, hip- hop is content to rest upon accusations against mainstream while refraining from legitimate internal critique. There was much excitement generated when rapper Kanye West proclaimed that, “George Bush hates Black people”. On its surface, Kanye’s comment incites anger and frustration for individuals who have felt wronged by the Bush administration. But even if one is inclined to agree with Kanye, there is another form of hatred that affects the Black community far more than any hatred Bush might have towards our community– hip hop hates women.
Under the auspice of racial solidarity, sexism within hip-hop culture has grown to unbearable proportions. Rap lyrics condone rape and prostitution while simultaneously reinforcing the idea that a Black woman’s value can only be found beneath her panties. Even in the earlier days of hip hop, the message was the same. It was just said a little more nicely. The question is not how long will hip hop subjugate us, the question is–will we continue to put up with being subjugated? Supporting my people does not require that I sit idly by while my sisters are disrespected on media outlets that do more to support the rights of animals. Being “down for the cause” does not necessitate my dancing to the music of a man with a history of having sex with underage girls (for goodness sake– the man married a 15 year old!) We don’t have to prove our Blackness at the expense of womanhood.
Bill Cosby drew much criticism for a speech delivered on the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (May 2004). Cosby was accused of “airing the dirty laundry” of Black America. A short time after the speech (July 2004), Cosby responded to critics with the following:
Hey, man, let me tell you something. Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day. It’s cursing and calling each other niggers as they walk up and down the street. They think they’re hip. They can’t read; they can’t write [...] And their book bags are very, very thin because there’s no books in them. Read more »
Season 1 | Erica | 
June 29, 2008 5:07 pm | 
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