The
Fahari-Libertad Fa–ha–ri: (noun)
Dignity, respect, a good reputation, derived from the language of KiSwahili.
Spring 2010
THE FAMILY President Saki Rizwana
Li–ber–tad: (noun) Spanish for FREEDOM! The Fahari–Libertad is committed to printing the political, social, and economic views and concerns regarding people of color here at SUNY New Paltz. It is published in the spirit of cultural unity as well as bringing about the spiritual unification of all people. The main goal of the Fahari-Libertad is to enrich and educate all with knowledge and enlightenment. We accept anyone who is truly committed to these goals to work with us.
Editor-in-Chief Shatera Gurganious Vice-President Faisal Awadallah Layout Editor Saki Rizwana Cover Design Terrell Coakley
Mission: To seek knowledge, truth and unity with pride.
Staff Writers Shari Daniel Jamiles Lartey Novlette Lee Roger Whitson Euclyn Williams
The Fahari-Libertad is currently seeking staff writers, copy editors, layout editors, and photo editors. A major/minor in Journalism/English is NOT a requirement. Please inquire via email at faharilibertad@gmail.com
The Fahari–Libertad SUNY New Paltz Student Union Building, Rm. 323 New Paltz, NY 12561 (845)257–3038 Email: faharilibertad@gmail.com faharilibertad.blogspot.com Copies of The Fahari-Libertad can be found in the SUB, the MLK Center, the Black Studies Department, the Lecture Center and in The Fahari Office — SUB 323, along with various residence halls. The Fahari-Libertad is sponsored by The Student Association of SUNY New Paltz. All authors and artists are responsible for their own submissions.
Guest Writers / Contributors Dr. Karanja Keita Carroll Jon Duarte Justified Insanity Brian Kimbiz Krystal Miller Violet Ulaw Alumni Contributors Regina “Reggie” Rivers
Special Thanks to: The Department of Black Studies,and all our brothers & sisters who submitted articles, toons, and poetry for showing the support needed to publish this magazine.
Inside this issue: FAHARI-LIBERTAD
Women of Color & the Media
... p. 06
A Letter to Scott Mills
... p. 08
Evolved Propaganda
... p. 10
The 4th Branch
... p. 12
“D-Ridin’ Obama:”
... p. 14
and, much, much more!
From the President’s Desk The media is traditionally thought to be “objective.” They’re supposed to be neutral and present fair and balanced information. This whole idea of objectivity assumes that a person can take themselves out of the situation and not have their experiences, their feelings and all those things that make them who they are affect their interpretation or their telling of information. Does this sound doable to anyone? Is it actually possible to be completely objective? I posit that this is an impossible task and certainly not the standpoint that the media comes from. All media is biased. They all have a specific perspective from which they interpret information. Let’s take Fox News for example. Fox News portrays itself to be both fair and balanced (If you don’t believe me, go to their site - www.foxnews.com; right next to their logo, it says “Fair & Balanced”). However, Fox News is notorious for presenting a conservative critique of events. The only time they bring anyone with an opposing view point, they’re shut down immediately. There are many people who watch Fox News and take their information as being “fair and balanced” without being critical of it. This skewed understanding of news influences how these people think, how they act, what they vote on and so much more. The media has an enormous influence on directing our lives. So, in short, the advice to take away from this is to be critical of what you take in and where you get your information from. Be critical of the media before you let it influence your decisions and sway your mind. Don’t take everything at face value because there is always an agenda involved. So be mindful of it! Khoda Hafez (Bengali) – Goodbye. Phir Milenge (Hindi) – We will meet again. Ma’as Salaam (Arabic) – I leave you in peace. Adiós (Spanish) – Bye. Ciao (Italian) – Bye. Kwa Herini (Kiswahili) – Goodbye. Goodbye (English) – Goodbye.
Saki Rizwana President, Fahari Libertad
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From the Editor-in-Chief’s Desk When seeking information, where do you go? Whether it is the nightly news on television, reading a newspaper or searching online, can you be 100% sure that the information you’re receiving is accurate? Sadly, many false images that continually perpetuate stereotypes often promoted by the media. It’s no mistake that there is a vast misrepresentation of people of color. In a society under the control of the dominant white culture, at times it’s hard to receive positive images of people of color. Even when there are positive images, they are few in number. With these limited choices we have in seeing images that are supposed to portray us, it’s difficult for me to trust the imagery I see on a day to day basis. Unfortunately, the media plays such a huge role on our lives and sometimes it’s hard to realize just how embedded these images and ideas are in our thought processes and everyday lives. So my questions to you are — does the media have a hold on us? Are we being controlled without even noticing it? Are our thoughts and actions truly our own or are they garnered by what we see and hear? We’re constantly being told how to think and interact with others. Is there a hidden agenda behind what the media chooses to show to the masses? Peace and Blessings,
Shatera Gurganious Editor-in-Chief, Fahari Libertad
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From the Vice-President’s Desk Media is used as mind control. Everything we watch and listen to has a message that we internalize, whether it’ intentional or not. These commercials and advertisements are tools to dismantle our minds, so we aren’t capable of thinking for ourselves. Almost all of the media we consume is fed to us by megacorporations whose sole purpose is to rape our minds and steal our money. I personally do not watch television except for True Blood and Heroes because I have an affinity for vampires and the supernatural. There will come a time when most people will get all of their information from the internet and television and radio will be hardly relevant. This is a good thing. I read something the other day about the FCC trying to censor the internet or something and it made me laugh. Imagine if everyone had their own TV station that they could play whatever they wanted on? Well, that’s the internet if you want it to be. There has been so much talk about whether the internet is “good” or “bad,” but of course everything has its positives and negatives. The internet is the best source of media there is. You can find anything on it and if it’s not there, then it will be there shortly. I saw some numbers the other day and I learned the average teenager spends 12 hours a day looking at some electronic screen (i.e.: watching tv, playing video games, internet, or cellphone). I don’t know if this has to be a bad thing. I just wonder how they will turn out when they are adults. Enjoy reading this issue!
Faisal Awadallah Vice-President, Fahari Libertad
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Byte Me[dia]
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women of color By Saki Rizwana, President
& the media
media plays in maintaining the status quo as it relates to people of color; that is to say, how the media is used in influencing public opinion about people of color which then maintains the systems which promote and propagate the racial hierarchy.
Women of color as portrayed in the media. Photo Courtesy of AfricaPresse
The media has become such a large part of what shapes our opinion and influences our lives that we hardly stop and question it anymore. It’s such a large part of society that some refer to it as the “fourth branch” of the government. The media is highly influential in shaping public opinion and guiding what is considered “common knowledge.” What is particularly interesting is the role the Fahari 6
An example of this would be the portrayal of women of color that is espoused by the media. Women of color in the media are portrayed in several ways — they are either sex kittens or angry bitches. As a woman of color, it’s becoming more and more difficult to find women who I can relate to and who can be considered role models. Women in general are over-sexualized in the media. Whether it’s the naked women on the paintings in museums or the scantily clad women who grace magazine covers, women are always over-sexualized. This is even more true of women of color. The most common portrayal of Black or Latina women you’ll see on screen will come in the form of half-naked video vixens. This life of selling our bodies becomes the easiest way to get out of the financial shit that we’re in and hardly anyone ever pays attention to the mental shit that this puts us into. It then becomes easy to continue doing what you do because, essentially, you’ve made it! You can pay your rent, buy a new ride and eat the best food, all the while looking like Louis Vuitton threw up all over you. While financial stability is good for the short run, is it worth giving up our souls? Is it worth selling out our sisters and teaching our daughters that the way to make it in life is to bare our breasts and shake our asses? Is this what women of color truly are? Are we not intelligent, living, breathing human beings? A la Lauren Hill, is it worth gaining the world at the price of our souls? The media has denigrated women of color to this position where the majority of us are selling our
bodies for the right price. And the worst part of it all is that some of these women think that doing this is empowering!!! It’s as though sexual control (which I don’t really think these women have to begin with) is the only form of power a woman can have. How about we educate ourselves, whether it’s in a college or
These images in the media are unbelievably detrimental to our society. All the videos that keep throwing booty in our faces and all the video vixens that like to talk about how they’ve made something of themselves because of the financial stability provided by the sale of their bodies need to be stopped. We need to show that women can get places without having to bare our tits and let men feel up our thighs and have credit cards slid down our ass cracks!!!!! (For those that don’t know, the video “Tip Drill” by Nelly has the infamous scene toward the end where the rapper takes a credit card and slides it down the ass crack of a young Black female and she rewards him by shaking her ass). Aren’t we better than this? Women should be revered for their abilities to give life. Our bodies are vessels which produce the next generation. What does it say about the society we live in that these images of women are promoted and our bodies are used as a tool against us to keep us in the mental chains of oppression? Really, aren’t we better than this?
Lil’ Kim endorsing designer Louis Vuitton Photo Courtesy of BlogHer
university environment or not, and we start becoming more independent? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have more businesses owned by women of color or see Congress full of women of color? How about instead of supporting a system which condones the sexualized image as the only image of women and become role models for the young girls in our communities? Isn’t it time that we became the deciders of our own futures? Gabrielle Union Photo Courtesy of Maxim 7 Libertad
A Letter to Scott Mills By Jamiles Lartey, Staff Writer
“It’s not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself.” - James Baldwin
the Black female body. I see young females of color, salacious and full of lust, their scantily clad gyrations seemingly offering perpetual consent and therefore making them impossible to rape, as southern slave owners once postured. I see happy niggers, proud of their ignorance and unconcerned with the issues that devastate the hoods they claim so deeply. I see a modern minstrel show used to distribute both pacification to White culture and poison to Black culture. In short, when I turn on BET, I see the cancerous images of the past staring back at me, uglier than ever.
Mr. Scott Mills, As the thirtieth anniversary of the Black Entertainment Channel fast approaches, I believe it is increasingly necessary to reflect on the channel’s role in and responsibility for many of the social pathologies that plague the Black community. Currently, the BET Network finds itself in a unique and unenviable position as the de facto authority on authentic Black culture. Indeed, no other network comes to mind that is given so much authority in the eyes of the general public over such a vast and varied culture. It is under this great weight and responsibility that I believe your network has crumbled and failed. Throughout the last millennia, would be colonizers and enslavers have used many different tactics to keep people of color oppressed. One of the most devastatingly powerful of these devices has been that of stereotypes and controlling imagery. One need not look far in the litany of writings regarding Black and African people to find depictions of violent, libidinous and hypersexual men and correspondingly salacious, seductive and sexually insatiable women. History is full of examples of the criminalization and commodification of the black body. Paternalists would have you believe that the Black people are ignorant, lazy and inferior but content all the same. For these reasons I must say it pains me to turn on the BET network and see these historical tropes reworked and reappropriated as they are. Virtually every music video seems to force feed us the same stale imagery. I see young men of color concerning themselves with gunplay and physical aggression, treating throngs of young women of color as sexual objects. I see young men of color throwing dollars at young females, in a re-commodification of Fahari 8
I am not suggesting that we censor our artists, or that we as a community offer some form of laundered propaganda. I am asking, on behalf of the countless number of us who feel this concern, for balance. Why show only one kind of Hip-Hop video when there is not only one kind of Hip-Hop? There are gangsters and there are thugs in Hip-Hop without question, but it is equally true that there are intellectuals, activists, rhetoricians, story-tellers, poets, politicians, and cultural critics. I understand that ultimately this network, much like the rest of America, is a business. It is unfair that BET be asked to alter their winning formula in the interest of the community while other networks continue to show whatever they so choose. White privilege affords these other networks what we are in turn denied. There is only one BET and a thousand virtual WET’s; thus always the existence of balancing images. As the unrivaled media authority on Black culture, BET has the opportunity to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem. By offering more varied images of authentic blackness, BET would be helping to overcome a self-fulfilling cycle of pathology that these images have helped to foster in the Black community. I implore you Mr. Mills, to offer programming to help to open and not close the minds of young Black and Brown men. I vehemently believe that without the help of the Black Entertainment Television Network, the Black community will forever be stuck in place, unable to break these social chains of bondage. Sincerely, Jamiles Lartey
Scott Mills’ BET Guide to Picking Up Chicks By Urban Exposé Referred By Saki Rizwana, President Hi! I’m Scott Mills. I know there are a lot of guys out there that are lonely, but there is no need to be. That’s why I have written this guide to courting chicks. These 9 tips will help you never be lonely again. 1. Pick Up Lines Photo Courtesy of Media Daily News
If you think Colt 45 works every time, you haven’t seen me in action yet. When you approach a chick in the wild, or what I like to call “free-range” chicks, you have to be careful. In the wild, you cannot control all the variables so you only have a few seconds to subdue them. I find that exaggeration (see #9) works wonders here. I walk right up to a woman in a club, arch my back and exclaim loudly, ‘’Hi! I’m Scott Mills. I Own BET.com.’’ Works like a charm. 2. Office Space If you have a job like me, there is no need to be lonely. Who needs a black book when you have a personnel file? When I see a filing cabinet, I don’t see payroll, I see possibility! Trust me; look no further than your company’s phone directory for a date. You can also find good dates on the local intranet. Remember: Charging dates with employees to the company credit card can save you precious cash to build a Movie Room (see #3). Now that MTVi has acquired BET.com, I have access to even more chicks. Cowabunga! 3. Den Of Iniquity
It’s all about the pad, man! You need a nice house, man, because you can’t always do it in the office. I have this awesome Movie Room, which I constantly brag about as though it was an extension of my penis. My personal advice: Take strippers to the office and employees to the house. Strippers are impressed by offices because they work in dirty clubs and they don’t want to get forced into a bad situation at someone’s house, while employees on the other hand are impressed by the house that they can’t afford and don’t want to shit where they eat. 4. Engaged? Being engaged to be married shouldn’t be a barrier to enjoying an active sex life. Men a lot wiser than me say that variety is the spice of life. Who am I to argue? That’s why they have strip clubs! If your spouse to be finds out you have relations with a stripper, she may cry and leave you (see #5). Oye! It’s only cheating if they catch you in the action (see #9). 5. Show Of Force Chicks are attracted to power. That’s why you have to take every chance to show that you are virile. It’s even more important if you are exhibiting Type 7 Norwood pattern baldness. That’s why when I am in meetings I like to yell at my executive staff and make them cry in front of employees. It makes the chick-employees hot for you when you display your wrath. If you don’t happen to be the boss of a lot of chicks like me, try buying a motorcycle (see #7) . 6. Patience is a virtue. So is persistence. Sometimes chicks don’t know they really want you. I find that calling your poContinued on page 10 9 Libertad
tential beau at 1 AM in the morning at home and asking to come over works well, especially if they currently work for you. Chicks that work for you are more receptive to your advances at that time in the morning. Don’t have her home number? You can easily find that and her address in your company’s personnel file (See #2). 7. Motorcycles I love riding motorcycles. It’s a lot like having sex, wouldn’t you say? I always tell my female employees about it. It makes dating them easier. I mean most men equate a vibrating piece of machinery between your legs with good sex don’t they? I know I do. 8. Exaggeration The truth is overrated. I wouldn’t be able to sell ads for BET.com if I didn’t do some creative math sometimes. If you didn’t go to a top-notch business school, there is no harm in letting people think you graduated from Wharton. Women are adverse to veracity; so don’t be afraid to tell some little lies. Women don’t want a guy that no other woman wants, so make sure you spice up your stories to your female employees with tales of strippers washing your motorcycles (See #7) and erotic massages in your gigantic movie room (see #3). 9. Strip Clubs When all else fails, which it often does, there is a place where you can always count on there being chicks who do as you say. It’s a place made just for men. It’s called a strip club. They kind of look like the girls that wouldn’t date me in high school. I go there often and I make sure all of my female employees know it (See #8). Well that’s my guide. People always ask me, ‘’Hey Scott! What’s better? Dating a stripper or a employee?’’ I always scratch my head a little bit and say, “An employee of course! Because if they don’t do as you say you can fire them.” Follow these few tips and you’ll get all the chicks you want and get off like me, Scott free! See you at Camelot! Fahari 10
evolved propaganda By Jon Duarte, Guest Writer I have found the weapon of mass destruction: the television set in your home. Yeah, that innocent looking box at home broadcasting information every minute of the day. You watch it, I watch it, your little cousins watch it, your parents watch it, your teachers watch it. The world didn’t expect the television to be such a successful invention, nor did those in power anticipate its remarkable potential as a tool for the execution of their agenda. TVs are what news corporations wanted for Christmas, and they got it. What has resulted is the unwritten era of indoctrination through the media. Now, what do I mean by “those in power” and “their agenda”? Those in power = the elites; the richest people in the world. Their agenda = world domination. This may sound like something out of this world, but laws today still use the word “alien” to refer to immigrants, so I suppose I’m not so out there. It hasn’t been until recently that people have been throwing around the word “elite” to refer to the group of people hiding behind the politicians who are truly running the show. Sadly, I believe that this group is controlling every bit of information that we receive through the TV, magazines and the radio in order to brainwash us. They own the mainstream news corporations that feed the news to us every day, morning and night, the same news that we depend on to know what is going on in the world. Unfortunately, this image of the world has been distorted and manipulated for a very long time. So who has a TV in the United States? According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 99% of homes have at least one TV and, according to the Television Audience Report of 2009, the average American home has 2.86 TV sets, up 18% from 2000. How often do we watch television? According to a Kansas City newspaper from April 30th, 2010, “...the average household now consumes 58 hours 29 minutes of television per week. That is more than eight hours per day per household.” What is more interesting is that African-Americans watch 78 hours and 44 minutes a week, 20 hours more than the
average. The bigger question is this: Why are we watching TV? What attracts us to watch an onslaught of information through a screen? Because television programs effortlessly, simultaneously and successfully stimulate two primary senses: sight and hearing. Television programs also have this knack of being able to distort reality to perfection and we as humans seem to be subconsciously addicted to seeing this perfected reality in our daily efforts to achieve it. It all begins when we are born. The time from birth to five years of age is the prime time for influencing the psyche of a child. Coincidentally, the day that newborns are brought home for the first time marks the beginning of the indoctrination process. What better time to start? During these first five years, vital skills are developed — speech, color perception, mobility, and problem solving. Television programs distribute information that stimulate all these skills in more ways than one. This is convenient; however, this poses serious issues. A child’s brain is like a sponge, and television programs are the liquids of information seeping through. The average child attempts to imitate everything they see. Unless a parent is enforcing what a child sees and when the child watches TV, the child is left vulnerable to whatever is shown. The TV isn’t the only outlet in which information is being distributed to the people. Magazines and newspapers stimulate our sight, while the radio stations take care of our hearing. Nowadays, magazines are thriving by showing off eye-candy models with a caption saying such things as “LEARN HOW TO LOSE 20 POUNDS IN A WEEK!” Teenagers see this and wonder if they could look like the 5’8, 110 pound, soft haired, straight white toothed, physically toned, white—skinned model and be “beautiful”. When they don’t succeed, their selfesteem is shattered; they feel weak and hopeless that they can never be this distorted image of beauty and perfection. These are conscious efforts by the media, which religiously attaches meaning to objects through the television and magazines, a simple concept yet done in complex ways. Children learn what is beautiful and what is not, what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, etc. The media erroneously
assumes the role of the parent by teaching children ethics and morals. However, these morals end up falling in line with the agenda of the elites. This is where the elites have us in the palm of their hands. They can show us whatever they think will make us feel weak, scared and angry. They expose all the differences in us and we end up fighting ourselves, a perfect distraction. And their plan of mind control is working flawlessly. What is amazing to realize is how similar American adults are to children. Between birth and five years of age, children are still trying to grasp the basic concept of reality and have trouble distinguishing it from fantasy. Feeding their brains with distorted realities or fantasy through a TV screen can seriously impede their developmental process. The result is then a society where the psyche of the average person is bouncing back and forth between reality and fantasy. Americans need to wake up. The elite are executing propaganda right before us and we don’t even realize it. In fact, we doubt it because our history classes teach us that the evil Nazi regime used propaganda to convince Germans to hate the Jews. We fail to see, however, that our government is using propaganda to stigmatize propaganda; how conveniently brilliant. The media in America is modernized propaganda. This media is blinding us. This media is hypnotizing us. This media is controlling us. And until we open our eyes to what is really going on, we will continue to walk around ignorant and eventually become brainwashed pigs.
sources: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/more-than-half-thehomes-in-us-have-three-or-more-tvs/ http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/ 30/1913529/americans-are-watchingmore-tv.html http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Factsheets/factvchip.html
Photo Courtesy of InsideSoCal 11 Libertad
The 4 Branch th
By Jon Duarte, Guest Writer
Immortal Technique Photo Courtesy of Gold Mic
Immortal Technique Photo Courtesy of Military Photos
Immortal Technique Photo Courtesy of Journalicious
[Verse 1]
guilt of betraying Christ You murdered and stole his religion, and painting him white Translated in psychologically tainted philosophy Conservative political right wing, ideology Glued together sloppily, the blasphemy of a nation Got my back to the wall, cause I’m facin’ assassination Guantanamo Bay, federal incarceration How could this be, the land of the free, home of the brave? Indigenous holocaust, and the home of the slaves Corporate America, dancin’ off beat to the rhythm You really think this country, never sponsored terrorism? Human rights violations, we continue the saga
El Savador and the contras in Nicaragua And on top of that, you still wanna take me to prison Just cause I won’t trade humanity for patriotism
The voice of racism preaching the gospel is devilish A fake church called the prophet Muhammad a terrorist Forgetting God is not a religion, but a spiritual bond And Jesus is the most quoted prophet in the Qu’ran They bombed innocent people, tryin’ to murder Saddam When you gave him those chemical weapons to go to war with Iran This is the information that they hold back from Peter Jennings Cause Condoleeza Rice is just a new age Sally Hemmings I break it down with critical language and spiritual anguish The Judas I hang with, the Fahari 12
[Hook] It’s like MK-ULTRA, controlling your brain Suggestive thinking, causing your perspective to change They wanna rearrange the whole point of view of the ghetto The fourth branch of the government, want us to settle A bandana full of glittering, generality Fighting for freedom and fighting terror, but what’s reality? Read about the history of the
place that we live in And stop letting corporate news tell lies to your children [Verse 2] Flow like the blood of Abraham through the Jews and the Arabs Broken apart like a woman’s heart, abused in a marriage The brink of holy war, bottled up, like a miscarriage Embedded correspondents don’t tell the source of the tension And they refuse to even mention, European intervention Or the massacres in Jenin, the innocent screams U.S. manufactured missiles, and M-16’s Weapon contracts and corrupted American dreams Media censorship, blocking out the video screens A continent of oil kingdoms, bought for a bargain Democracy is just a word, when the people are starvin’ The average citizen, made to be, blind to the reason A desert full of genocide, where the bodies are freezin’ And the world doesn’t believe that you fightin’ for freedom Cause you fucked the Middle East, and gave birth to a demon It’s open season with the CIA, bugging my crib Trapped in a ghetto region like a Palestinian kid Where nobody gives a fuck whether you die or you live I’m tryin’ to give the truth, and I know the price is my life But when I’m gone they’ll sing a song about Immortal Technique
Who beheaded the President, and the princes and sheiks You don’t give a fuck about us, I can see through your facade Like a fallen angel standing in the presence of God Bitch niggaz scared of the truth, when it looks at you hard [Hook] (talking) The fourth branch of the government AKA the media Seems to now have a retirement plan for ex-military officials As if their opinion was at all unbiased A machine shouldn’t speak for men So shut the fuck up you mindless drone! And you know it’s serious When these same media outfits are spending millions of dollars on a PR campaign To try to convince you they’re fair and balanced When they’re some of the most ignorant, and racist people Giving that type of mentality a safe haven We act like we share in the spoils of war that they do We die in wars, we don’t get the contracts to make money off ‘em afterwards! We don’t get weapons contracts, n----! We don’t get cheap labor for our companies, n----! We are cheap labor, n----! Turn off the news and read, n---! Read... read... read... Immortal Technique is an underground political rapper who performed last year in 2009 at Rock Against Racism
here at SUNY New Paltz. This Peruvian musician grew up in Harlem, New York and has released three studio albums. In the 4th Branch, from his Revolutionary Vol. 2 album, Technique portrays the media as being the 4th branch of the government. The 4th branch is typically a neutral definition for any group that influences the other three branches of government. However, Technique stigmatizes the media as a brainwashing machine of the American people.
Immortal Technique Photo Courtesy of Rap Talk 13 Libertad
“D-Ridin’ Obama:”
Boondocks Creator Aaron McGruder Throws a Bomb
By Bruce A. Dixon, Managing Editor of Black Agenda Report Referred By Saki Rizwana, President
In his time and place, West Africa of the 1970s and 80s, Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a dangerous man. Nobody was better or more effective at irreverent, merciless mockery of greedy and unjust authorities. Fela eviscerated religious authorities with "Suffering and Smiling," he embarrassed dozens of African military regimes with "Zombie." He went after the transnational corporations like ITT who lurked behind them with "International Thief-Thief." Unflinching ridicule is a powerful weapon, especially when you can get a hundred million people at a time dancing to it. Fela paid a heavy price for it. He was repeatedly imprisoned, though not for very long, he was financially ruined, his home was raided and his mother murdered by the authorities. The man definitely had other issues too, big ones, but that was Fela's biggest contribution to history. He showed us the power of art and ridicule in making people face up to important questions. Boondocks creator Aarom McGruder is no Fela, not yet anyway, but his past work and pre-season released clips of real and fictional rappers Will I Am and Thugnificent singing "D* Riding Obama" seem to point him firmly in that direction. In Boondocks' season 2, back in 2008 McGruder showed a willingness to denounce and viciously skewer BET with two episodes that Cartoon Network refused to air. The banned episides were leaked and thanks to the web, went instantly viral. They're easy to find, and the intro to one of them is at the bottom of this page. D* riding, for those who may not know, is metaphorical and current urban slang for old fashioned sycophancy, something that was already old when the pharaohs were young, the lavishing of undue and excessive praise and flattery upon someone perceived to be in a position of power at the moment. To keep this article G-rated, I won't explain the metaphor itself, Fahari 14
somebody else can do that. But McGruder, who is very much in control of which parts of his work are released pre-season, is asking Black America an important question. Is Black America getting any use out of this First Black President thing? Or are we being pimped? In some quarters, anything short of loud praise of the president is worse than unpopular. Tavis Smiley was literally hounded off the air for raising the most mild questions about the president's --- at that time the presidential candidate's --- allegiance to the African American community. And many commentators, pundits and quite ordinary people hasten to point to the racist Tea Partyers as reasons to stifle any and all criticism of the Obama presidency, lest we give his racist opponents heart. In effect, they play the mainstream media's game of pretending that all criticism of the president is from the right, and equating all critics of the president from the left to tea partyers. We know this is nonsense, and we are glad to see that McGruder is keeping it authentic. Black America still exists, and so does the black internal conversation, despite the stranglehold of corporate media which generally limits that conversation to its own marketing needs. McGruder has been able, for the time being, to break through that barrier and tell some truths to a wide audience for a little while. Word is that Boondocks Season 3 will be its last. We have to wonder whether any of this year's episodes will be banned, as were the BET pieces in 2008. For that, and to find out whether Aaron McGruder ever does manage to be as dangerous to the powers that be as Fela in his own time and place, we'll just have to wait and see. To see the video, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=08S4poMGvwA
Americans Kill Muslims Like Roaches By Glen Ford, Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report Referred By Saki Rizwana, President
In 2007, Blackwater mercenaries opened fire on commuters trapped in a traffic jam in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, killing 17 and wounding at least 20 – apparently because they were bored. But, why not? U.S. troops had been committing mass murder in villages like Haditha for years. Early in the war, they leveled Fallujah, a city larger than Birmingham, Alabama, after first bombing the hospital. Casual killing is a prerogative of imperial occupiers when the natives are considered sub-human. “They would never behave in such a manner in European.” Photo Courtesy of Black Agenda Report
“Highways of death inevitably appear whenever U.S. troops are deployed among populations that Americans think of as less than human.” The latest American atrocity in Afghanistan – the wanton slaughter of civilians on an inter-city bus near Kandahar – is yet more bloody proof that the United States military offensive in the Muslim world has all the characteristics of a race war. The men, women and children in the packed, full-size bus found themselves suddenly boxed in between two American convoys on a highway of death – a place where the natives are instantly liquidated if they are unfortunate enough to find themselves in proximity to U.S. soldiers. Such highways of death inevitably appear whenever U.S. troops are deployed among populations that Americans think of as less than human. In Iraq, the road between central Baghdad and the airport was also known among the natives as the “highway of death.” American convoys routinely fired on commuters on their way to work if they felt the Iraqi vehicles got too close. Civilian employees of the United States share in the imperial privilege of killing Muslims at will. In 2005, British mercenaries took a leisurely drive along Baghdad’s “highway of death” playing Elvis Presley records while shooting Iraqi motorists for sport. So confident of impunity were the soldiers of fortune, they videotaped their ghoulish joyride, to entertain friends and relatives back home. And they were right; neither the mercenary killers nor their corporate employers were punished.
In the newly-released WikiLeaks video of a 2007 aerial human turkey-shoot over a suburban Baghdad neighborhood, the voices of the American helicopter pilots and gunners are testimony to the endemic, pathological racism of the U.S. occupying force. The Americans beg their commanders for permission to kill Iraqis milling about on the street below, presenting no threat to anyone. They are thrilled when their cannon fire rips into over a dozen men, including two journalists. “Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards,” says one G.I. When they fire on a car that stopped to aid one of the victims, severely wounding two children, the Americans crack that it served the Iraqis right for bringing children into a battle. But there was no battle, just Americans bringing casual death into an Iraqi neighborhood. Americans seem unable to resist raining death from the skies on wedding parties in Afghanistan. Apparently, any gathering of Afghans, anywhere, for any reason, is sufficient cause for Americans to unleash high-tech weapons of destruction. They would never behave in such a manner in European countries because, well, people live there. But in Muslim nations, the U.S. treats the inhabitants like roaches, stomping human beings underfoot and cursing them when they scurry to get out of the way. This is race war, pure and simple. The fact that it’s commander-in-chief is a Black man does not alter the character of the crime, on iota. For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport. com. Contact Glen Ford at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com
15 Libertad
Petition Against New Paltz Noise Ordinance As Written By Brian Kimbiz, Village Board Member
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 To the Mayor and the Village Board of Trustees, This petition has been established to unify residents of the community of New Paltz that feel the currently proposed noise ordinance is unfair because it caters to the wants of a few members of the community while alienating a larger segment of it. The members of this group do not disagree with the idea of a mutual quiet time, but we feel the currently proposed amendment is not such. If a local law is passed, we demand one that is fair and equitable for all members of the community, not just a few vocal ones. The following is a list of some, but not all, of our concerns regarding this proposed amendment. We ask that you please take steps to rectify them before taking this amendment any further. –The law is very vague as to the definition of excessive or unusually loud, as are the factors used to determine whether a noise is unreasonable or not (pages 2-3). –The law allows some noise during the certain hours such as construction, demolition, excavation, law mowers, snow blowers, chain saws, and other machinery; however, it forbids musical instruments and other sound reproduction at all times (2-3 D, 2-4 G, H, I, 2-5 J, I 2-7 O, P). –This law limits freedom of speech and freedom to protest by requiring a permit from the Village Board to attract public attention using noise (2-5 F, 2-9 A, B). –It makes it unlawful to host or attend a party, social or fundraising event at your home or a friend’s home (2-7 A, C, D). –For some reason, it mentions, “where keg beer is served” which has nothing to do with noise (2-8 D). –It allows enforcement by police at any given time, whether a complaint has been issued or not, based on the officers’ opinion and allows any person “in violation” to be arrested without warrant (2-10 A, B, 2-11 E). –The fines are astronomical (2-1 A). Until now we have been quiet about this issue because until recently we were unaware that this was a topic of discussion. Please be aware that we represent a large segment of your constituency and that we will be paying close attention to the upcoming discussions of this matter and the resulting decisions on such.
Fahari 16
Facebook and Public Participation By Brian Kimbiz, Guest Writer
Photo Courtesy of Facebook
There were well over one hundred people in attendance for our 4.14.2010 Village Board Meeting because the noise ordinance was up for discussion. The room was the most packed I have ever seen during my term of office (approaching 1 year). In the week leading up to the meeting, just about every newspaper in the area featured an article on the topic, including the Times Herald Record, which is read across the county. I was interviewed by WAMC/Northeast Public Radio. Many students wrote articles for classes, opinion leaders drew their lines in the sand. Why all this attention? Because I made a facebook group. Really? Well, kind of. Village Board meetings happen twice a month and usually have poor attendance. They are broadcast on the public access channel 23 live, and as re-runs throughout the week. This gives the public an opportunity to participate without attending the meeting; however the quality of audio is often not great and the reception of the live feed is very unreliable. Aside from all of this, the meetings are not always the most thrilling thing to watch as in many cases government meetings tend to be. Because of all these factors, most people stray from attending or watching the actual meetings and just use various media such as newspapers, local radio and speaking with “opinion drivers” to stay informed on local topics of discussion. But if no one is watching the actual meetings, the media has the ability to shape what the public is talking about. If they pick up a story, it gets attention; if they don’t, it will likely fall through the cracks. The good thing about facebook is that it can get a message out to a very large group of people in a very fast period of time, for free. If the message is the right one, people will pick it up and spread it across a vast
group of networks through commenting and linking. It is this that gives the public the ability to switch roles and shape the media’s agenda. When I was contacted by the first reporter regarding the noise ordinance, his first question was about the facebook page. How long ago did you make it? How many members? Within 3 days the group had 1,000 members and a day after I got a phone call from the first newspaper. The newspapers became interested when they saw the public was interested. Not too long ago there was a big “Save Minnewaska” rally on Main Street here in New Paltz because the Governor had proposed closing state parks, including Minnewaska, due to budget cutbacks. A local guy, Tim Hunter, started up a “Save Minnewaska” page. 1,000 members later, he gets some calls from some local newspapers. 10,000 members and two weeks later, I’m standing next to Tim at a “Save Minnewaska” rally, listening to Congressmen Maurice Hinchey, and Assemblymen Kevin Cahill speak about how we need to save the state parks. Apparently it works on politicians during election season as well. The point being, in the time before Facebook, people would have to congregate, write angry letters, and probably take some action to get any media attention. Today, all we need is a well timed congregation of clicks to create a topic of discussion for the media. I would not say it is reliable by any means; however, it is interesting to see how technology is facilitating the media to have a better focus on what is on the public’s mind or at least to create an environment where it is harder for them to ignore it. 17 Libertad
“This is what the media has done to us!� Submitted by Krystal Miller Photo Courtesy of curlynikki.com Fahari 18
19 Libertad
CALL TO ALL RAPPERS: You Don’t Have to Brag to be Phenomenal...
Eric Linson is your average simple Southern man who loves video games, family, friends and music. He doesn’t use profanity. He doesn’t smoke nor does he drink. He has a sense of humor that few can try and imitate but none can ever duplicate. He’s light hearted and someone everyone would want to chill with. He has a growing collection of graphic tees that even the conservative would be jealous of. He lives in Alabama where he also goes to school in Montgomery at Huntingdon College majoring in Accounting. You would never think that you were in the presence of a musical genius. At the age of thirteen he came across a rapper in his neighborhood. Eric was inspired to start writing and he began recording at sixteen. He was given the name Pheno and decided to keep it as his rapper name. He grew as an artist and feels the need to reintroduce lyricism out of the South back in to the mainstream as a counter to what he calls the “snap rap” or “bubble gum rap” movement that mainstream is familiar with. He respects certain rappers that challenge the norm of what people expect from a Southern rappers but he himself is a lyricist in his own right. He makes more music than the average sign artist humbly admitting to a hard steady work ethic. “I have to write something everyday… I have to. Even if it is just two bars that don’t match with anything, I still have to write it. If I don’t write for the day, it’s a day wasted…” he says while laughing. “Some people think it’s too much. So kill me, I have to keep my creative juices going… To me it’s not enough.” I asked him to count all the songs he recorded and he scratched his head in amazement because I doubt he could count them all. I also asked him if he put songs out every year and he looked surprised at himself as he listed his mixtapes; “Monsta Mixtape — Summer 08; Mass Effect Volume 1 — Spring 09; Hello World — Summer 09; Mass Effect Vol 2 — Fall 2009; Preparation — Winter 09… I do more than one mixtape a year, maybe four? Wow!” His most popular songs include “Kingdom Hearts”, “Rap Life”, “This Is it” and “She” to name just a few. Some of his favorite rappers are Wale, Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z and Nas. When I asked him what keeps him going he stated, “I do this because it’s what I love to do. Hip Hop is my life. I don’t pretend to be what I’m not. I’m no Gangster and I Fahari 20
By Novlette Lee, Staff Writer
don’t want to be. If I can become well known enough to have a salary that I can live comfortably off of then I will be happy with that… If not, I’ll stick with Accounting.” He laughed at himself as he stated, “I guarantee that I know more bars for rap songs than I do my school work.” He explained to me that he doesn’t have the lifestyle of a traditional rapper. “My father’s in the military and we move around a lot. I spent some of my childhood in Germany. What I rap about is mostly on sight experiences and my take on them. It’s what I know.” He is currently grouped with B.Y.E (Back Yard Entertainment) that so far has one other rapper by the name of Willo who is like a brother to Eric. “We started it because we want to pull together whatever rapper out here that otherwise wouldn’t be known, cause if you’re in NYC then it’s easy. Everybody wants to be a rapper. Where I’m from everybody wants to be a football player.” He went on to explain that he loves snap rap and “...it’s catchy. It’s something people can dance to but I don’t want people to think that’s all the South’s good for because that doesn’t get you any respect.” He is currently working on Preparation Vol II for this summer. “I can see myself rapping forever just because I love it.” He says calmly, “If I only had one fan I would still do it for them. I do it for good music. People think hip hop is dead but I would like to say that I am a challenge to the bad rap.” To follow up on Pheno you can visit these sites: http://www.reverbnation.com/pheno334 http://www.datpiff.com/mixtapes-search.php?criteria=pheno &x=0&y=0 http://www.youtube.com/BACKYARDENTTV
Photo Courtesy of Pheno (Eric Linson)
What the #@$%?! insert four letter expletive of your choice
21 Libertad
Opinion: Bullied to Death — A National Fix Needed By Michael Arceneaux, AOL News Contributor Referred By Euclyn Williams, Public Relations
(April 19) -- No child should think the solution to a conflict with his peers lies in tying an extension cord around his neck. Sadly, on April 6, 2009, that's what 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover saw as the answer to his ongoing battle with bullies. After constantly
Like Walker-Hoover, Prince -- an Irish immigrant who had only recently come to America -- was subjected to incessant bullying from classmates devoid of any common decency and seemingly decent parenting. Prince was threatened, insulted and ostracized by her bullies both in class and after school via text messages and Facebook. Like Walker-Hoover, Prince endured this day after day. Like Walker-Hoover, Prince opted for certain death versus continuing to lead a life that felt like perpetual punishment. Following Prince's death, one of her bullies wrote "accomplished" on her Facebook page. Earlier this year, 9-year-old Montana Lance hung himself inside a school bathroom. His parents have recently stepped forward to discuss how bullying lead to their son's suicide.
11 Year-Old Carl Walker-Hoover Photo Courtesy of MsQueer
being referred to as a "faggot" and receiving death threats from his classmates, WalkerHoover decided to cut off the air and whatever fight he had left in him. A year later, a similar fate met 15-year-old Phoebe Prince. Fahari 22
Some parents are doing more than just talking. William and Janis Mohat of Mentor, Ohio, made headlines after filing a suit in federal court over the suicide of their 17-year-old son, Eric Mohat. In the suit, the Mohats say that their son was called "gay," "fag," "queer" and "homo" -- often in front of his teachers. The verbal attacks became so vile that at one point a student publicly asked Eric in class, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself,
no one will miss you?" Ultimately, he did, and now parents are accusing one teacher -- an athletic coach -- of failing to protect their son. This is not the first time school officials have been accused of ignoring the cries of bullying victims. In 2006, five female students sued their Kentucky high school alleging that school officials ignored their reports of mental, physical and verbal abuse. More recently, parents in Delaware expressed anger at school officials about their daughter being cyber-bullied by peers from her middle school. There's a growing cruelty in the hearts and minds of students across the country. As evidenced by recent headlines, that venom, anger and disrespect are now costing an increasing number of young lives.
supporters are encouraged by some states finally pushing forward with bills after years of lagging, a federal bill is the best way to effectively make sure school environments remain safe havens for children. As Sirdeaner L. Walker explained to AOL Black Voices: "It's about giving schools the tools they need: training staff, having lessons about respecting each other and peer motivation techniques." She notes the legislation is "about being proactive, not always reactive." We've seen how bullying can cause victims enough sadness to the point where they hurt themselves. The Columbine High School massacre will forever serve as a reminder of how far victims may go to retaliate against their offenders. Legislation may not completely curtail bullying, but it just may save someone's life.
At this very moment, there are children out there feeling lost in their battle with bullies. What are we doing to help them? The mother of Carl Walker-Hoover has joined the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network to launch a petition drive calling on Congress to act on the Safe Schools Improvement Act. Currently, select state legislators in Massachusetts, New York and Michigan are pushing anti-bullying legislation. Already such laws have recently passed in Georgia. Though anti-bullying-law
15 Year-Old Phoebe Prince Photo Courtesy of MassLive.com 23 Libertad
Fahari 24
The Human Hair Additive in Your Food By Sonja Sharp, Editorial Fellow, Mother Jones Journal
For his recent Mother Jones story on the origins of the “remy” hair used in high-end wigs and extensions worthy of Lady Gaga, Scott Carney sacrificed his own locks to a Hindu temple, but explained that clippings from short hair like his are used mainly as fertilizer or source material for a ubiquitous food additive called L-cysteine (L-cys for short). This amino acid, which gives hair its strength, also gives Noah’s bagels their bounce, puts the softness in Tastykakes, and imparts mommade freshness to Lunchables. It’s a meat flavor enhancer and an expectorant, too—and has even turned up on a list of cigarette additives. Human hair isn’t the only source of L-cys. You can extract it from poultry feathers or even synthesize it in a lab—although the end product is no different than what you’ll get by dumping tons of barbershop waste into vats of hydrochloric acid and separating the coveted compound from the resulting chemical stew. George Cherian, chairman of Indian hair exporter Raj Impex Hair, however, has long been the cheapest source of L-cys. You’d be hard pressed to find a richer source: Human hair contains up to 20 percent cysteine by weight, while duck feathers may yield only about half as much. But you’d be equally hard pressed to find food manufacturers willing
to admit that they use the hairderived version. Vegans don’t take kindly to it, nor do Muslim religious authorities, who have deemed human hair derivatives haram— forbidden. (Jewish authorities have approved L-cysteine for use in kosher products, regardless of source.) Food manufacturers
Referred By Saki Rizwana, President
food maker Zatarain’s said it uses the synthetic product to create a “vegetarian chicken flavor” in its Blackened Chicken With Yellow Rice, I couldn’t get any sort of answer out of General Mills, Goya Foods, baker Orowheat, or Alacer Corp., which uses cysteine in its popular Emergen-C products.
Photo Courtesy of Mother Jones
may also be sensitive to the ick factor (is it cannibalism?). Of the numerous companies I contacted, only supplement maker Twinlab—which markets L-cys for its powerful antioxidant properties—verified that it came from human hair. Indeed, although the stuff is everywhere, trying to pinpoint the source of L-cys in any specific consumer product can be a nearly Kafkaesque exercise. While Cajun
A rep for the Tasty Baking Company says the cysteine in Tastykake products is derived from “sugar or syrup.” Rather than answer my question, Kraft simply noted that the cysteine in its Oscar Mayer-brand Lunchables prepackaged lunches is FDA approved (all types are), and that it comes from “leading suppliers.” Cereal maker Kellogg’s told me it
Continued on page 26 25 Libertad
no longer uses L-cys in Pop-Tarts, and that its formula specifics are proprietary in any case. Safeway proved more forthright: “It’s duck feathers,” the grocery chain’s rep for in-house bakery goods said in an email. Rabbi Zushe Blech, a leading kosher food expert, counseled me to take all of it with a grain of cysteine hydrochloride. “No one makes the distinction—no one cares,” he said. Blech should know. His book, Kosher Food Production, devotes an entire chapter to L-cys, and because Jewish dietary law is so exacting, certifying agencies such as the Orthodox Union (with whom Blech is affiliated) likely know more about what’s in your food than the Food and Drug Administration does. To wit: An FDA spokesman could find me just one internal reference to cysteine’s hairy origins in the agency’s archives—from a 1982 memo. While most suppliers differentiate between animal and nonanimal sources, the rabbi told me, few distinguish between duck and human. Processors favor human hair “because it’s twice as potent,” he explained. Blech added that many industrial food makers buy their cysteine prepackaged with yeast and other additives as bulk “dough conditioners,” without regard to the origin of the components. One researcher at Watson Inc., a company that specializes in dough conditioners, told me he insists on duck-feather cysteine, but added that he knows plenty of companies that don’t. There’s no real difference in the product, he conceded. “We just thought duck feathers were better.” Fahari 26
Help Haiti
Courtesy of MSNBC
Whenever donating, please specifiy where you would like your donation to go to ensure it is given to the particular cause you wish to help. By Phone: Action Against Hunger 877777-1420 Agape Flights 941-584-8078 Airline Ambassadors International 866-264-3586 American Red Cross 800-7332767 American Refugee Committee 800-875-7060 American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 212-6876200 American Jewish World Service 212-792-2900 AmeriCares 800-486-4357 Beyond Borders 866-424-8403 B'nai B'rith International 202857-6600 CARE 800-521-2273 Catholic Relief Services 800736-3467 Childcare Worldwide 800-5532328 Church World Services 800297-1516 Clinton Foundation 501-7480471 Concern Worldwide 212-5578000
Convoy of Hope 417-823-8998 Cross International 800-3918545 CRUDEM Foundation 413-6420450 CRWRC 800-55-CRWRC Direct Relief International 805964-4767 Doctors Without Borders 888392-0392 Episcopal Relief and Development 800-334-7626 Feed My Starving Children 763-504-2919 Food for the Poor 800-4279104 Friends of WFP 866-929-1694 Friends of the Orphans 312386-7499 Habitat for Humanity 1-800422-4828 Haiti Children 877-424-8454 Haiti Marycare 203-675-4770 Haitian Health Foundation 860886-4357 Healing Hands for Haiti 651769-5846 Hope for Haiti 239-434-7183 International Child Care 800722-4453 International Medical Corps 800-481-4462 International Rescue Committee 877-733-8433 International Relief Teams 619-
284-7979 Islamic Relief USA 888-4794968 Lions Club International Foundation 630-203-3836 Lutheran World Relief 800597-5972 Medical Benevolence Foundation 800-547-7627 Medical Teams International 800-959-4325 Meds and Food for Kids 314420-1634 Mennonite Central Committee 888-563-4676 Mercy Corps 888-256-1900 Mission of Hope Haiti 816-2467774 Nazarene Compassionate Ministries 800-306-9950
New Life for Haiti 815-4367633 Operation Blessing 800-7302537 Operation USA 800-678-7255 Oxfam 800-776-9326 Partners in Health 617-4325298 RHEMA International 248-6529894 Rural Haiti Project 347-4055552 The Salvation Army 800-7252769 Samaritan's Purse 828-2621980 Save the Children 800-7283843 UNICEF 800-367-5437 United Methodist Committee
on Relief 800-554-8583 World Concern 800-755-5022 World Hope International 888466-4673 World Relief 800-535-5433 World Vision 888-511-6548 Yele Haiti 212-352-0552 On the Web: CarmaFoundation Clinton Bush Haiti Fund Haiti Foundation Against Poverty ShelterBox UN Central Emergency Response Fund The Fahari-Libertad Magazine is not responsible for any complications that may arise with your donation to any of these agencies.
Photo Courtesy of the American Red Cross 27 Libertad
Arizona legislature bans ethnic-studies programs By Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News Referred By Dr. Karanja Keita Carroll Assistant Professor, Department of Black Studies
Just a week after signing the country’s toughest immigration bill into law, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer now must decide whether to endorse another bill passed by her state legislature — one that outlaws ethnic-studies programs in public schools. The bill forbids Arizona schools from using any curriculum that promotes “the overthrow of the United States government” or “resentment toward a race or class of people.” It also disallows any curriculum that’s “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or that seeks to “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” Arizona’s superintendent for public instruction, Tom Horne, has said he’s backing the measure because ethnic-studies programs encourage “ethnic chauvinism”; he’s also suggested that such programs could breed secessionist sentiment among Hispanic students. Republican state Sen. Jack Harper also voted for the bill, saying that certain Hispanic-themed ethnicstudies programs are “trying to say that somebody who came to this country illegally is somehow oppressed. That’s crazy stuff.” But the legislation’s opponents say that, if the bill is signed into law, the state, not the targeted programs, would be promoting a politicized curriculum. Democratic state Sen. Linda Lopez says the bill would target a Mexican-American studies program used in her home district of Tucson. She offered an amendment — which the legislature approved — mandating that Arizona schools adopt curricula that include discussions of incidents of genocide such as the Holocaust, so that such material would not be considered as promoting “ethnic resentment.” In another controversial shift in state education policy, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Fahari 28
the Arizona Department of Education has begun telling principals to remove teachers who speak English with an accent from classes with students who are still learning English. Some school officials are complaining that the move will remove experienced teachers from classrooms that need them. Margaret Dugan, the state’s deputy superintendent of schools, told the Journal the request is “politicizing the educational environment.” “Teachers should speak good grammar because kids pick up what they hear,” Johanna Haver, an adviser to Arizona educators, told the Journal. “Where you draw the line is debatable.” The Education Department permits teachers who don’t meet fluency standards to take classes to improve.
Past issues of Fahari and FAHARI-LIBERTAD are available by contacting us faharilibertad@gmail.com
The Poetry Spot
29 Libertad
Recognized by Real By Faisal Awadallah, Vice–President
We’ve been socialized to kill kill kill, while our children slippin on our peel peel peels. Invade for oil and just drill drill drill, if they don’t comply we steal steal steal. Kids in poverty lookin for that last meal meal meal, our youth has become so ill ill ill. Please believe this cuz its real real real. We don’t know how to feel feel feel, our minds are trapped in steel steel steel. Prozac poppin’ pills pills pills so are souls don’t spill spill spill. Our hearts are looking for something to fill fill fill, coldblooded people tellin us to chill chill chill, all i’m tryna do is heal heal heal.
Fahari 30
Stage Fright
By Justified Insanity, Guest Writer
•I have so much I want to say but it won’t come out. Why? •Is it fear? Horror? Backlash of insults? Terror of success? •Blockades blinding the one thing giving me sanity won’t slip out with ease like •I want it to. In my mind, my ideas run freely, interacting with the outside forces •Of music that keeps them dancing like a Thriller rehearsal session. •Yet when I speak, my throat is held captive by muted mutiny stirred up by opposing feelings with the self [stop it] I scream. But they keep running around untamed, armed with self doubt and unknown repercussions from unfamiliar faces. •Stepping into the mic squinting from the lights I feel they can see the shyness in •my smile. Hoping that I won’t get booed off like I’m at the Apollo, •these words finally come out, okay let’s go. •No time to be nervous, think second thoughts or go back, •slowly with ease. •The lyrical depiction contrasting the friction of anxiety clinging onto me •Like a vampire bloodsucking tick was swiftly brushed off my shoulder. •I start to grow bolder with comfort on the stage, •Successfully conquering the fright night plague. •Interacting with the lyrically inclined, we feed off of each other’s •Positivity, creativity, teaching each other the basics of poetics 101, •How to turn sadness into happiness, anger, bittersweet symphonies of •Tomorrow’s forecast, less clouded of nuisance with a chance of •Poetic free speech. Beyond the positive ocean waves lie the few sharks waiting to •Devour my art with their sour criticism. •My words have no meaning. The way I write is terrible. I have no talent for writing. •This fuels my artistic flame like gasoline for a drag race, •Reminds me that there is one hater for every large group of fascinators. •For every “I can’t, I don’t, I’m not and I won’t,” I have, will do, I can and I am. •Just like the government hates competition in stealing, •No oppressor will poison me with their insecure feelings.
Photo Courtesy of the C. David Higgins 31 Libertad
Defensive Driving
and other roadside haikus By Justified Insanity, Guest Writer
I pay you no mind For in the next 10 seconds Memory will fade.
Put down the 40. Pay attention to the road. Nothing looks blurry.
Defensive driver With no warning turns into A wreck-less driver
Roadside courtesy Burning tires, sonic boom Sharp cut off in lane.
Common sense would say Not under the influence. Hello, Officer.
The battle royale Road rage, propogandic fits Totaled car & dead.
Photo Courtesy of Comedy Driving Fahari 32
Mirror’s Image By Regina “Reggie” Rivers, Alumni Contributor
Plus size measurements surround an endomorphic shell. Cocoa enriched skin tone once misunderstood. What was once drenched in lye and Korean pressed weave Is now nappy, natural and chemical free. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Yet I was told of my lack thereof. If one had the face, I had the waist. Now, I wish to take back the hands of time And the years I spent looking down on the dirt roads and muddy waters Ignoring my maturing beauty. When complimented, I criticized. When ignored, I felt validated Confirming the hate within, created by exterior ulterior motives. The beauty I grew up with was stressed in weight. Maximum jigglitations resides in the chest, backside, hips, thighs, and calves. More noticeable and repulsed was found in stomach. More recognized and ignored was sensed about the head. What is healthy to me is foreign to them. What is beautiful to me is ugly to them. How is my dark skin ugly when they see artificial melanin, suddenly “That’s Hot?” If thin is in, why mark your body like a map for your personal silicon valley and Feast on botox? Breasts, nothing short of extraordinary. How often do you see him lactating for the nourishment of his weak, feeble offspring, Making little ones strong with that magic homemade potion? Heavy is the head that wears the crown and the perm that goes with it. Afros to twists to locks to braids, spirals, beads and creative mazes I wouldn’t ask for any other. People may lie but mirrors don’t. I know what I look like, and I love it so.
“Girl Before A Mirror”, Picasso 1932 Photo Courtesy of The Times 33 Libertad
Where Has Our Sight Gone? By Shari Daniel, Staff Writer
Are our eyes wide open? Can we really see what is in front of us and what our world has come to be?
Ephemeral By Shatera Gurganious, Editor-in-Chief
The media is a circus forever someone to please forgotten are our morals and values everyone taking care of their own needs The welfare of our people banned from creative expression anyone caught doing wrong borders our obsession
Am I a fool for allowing you to occupy my space? Am I blind to the fact that you can never give me Immorality pumped through the airwaves always too much to bear What I want? What I need? sad to say but not everyone cares I allowed you to use me…and I knew what it was when dust collecting lies are everywhere it went down So what do I gain from this? Temporary, fleeting…only-for-a-few-hours type of pleasure Nothing real It doesn’t last Only a few moments in time So why do I do it? I can only go so long without a hug, a kiss, an embrace Reassurance that I’m alive and capable of feeling Without this reminder, where am I? Alone again Without someone to hold me So either way I lose Photo Courtesy of neslockheart (Deviant Art) I’m alone with you…alone without you Fahari 34
Balance By Violet Ulaw, Guest Writer Fear and terror make compliance Minds are made before they awake We’re tested and measured and punished for defiance And rewarded like puppies when we learn to take All information with no questions asked Sovereignty of shattered media minds now mold All thought processes that we set to task Be aware of the opinion you choose to hold
Photo Courtesy of The Futility Monster
Sestina By Roger Whitson, Staff Writer
The wonder under boughs of spring birds praise and build nests in forests of loveliness when curtain of night lifts on day and exit signs fade to shade of grayness beneath miracle in sparkle of stars like shower in late hour of flowers. It is choral beryl scent of flowers like unto the nectar of Hector’s praise or the first host of hexagonal stars bequeathing breath of death with loveliness like a mirage that is lodged in grayness of a wishing well on a rainy day. Suddenly yesterday becomes today a bracelet of for-get-me-not flowers bedecking woodland paths of gone grayness which prophets of profit are fain to praise invoking the lost lakes of loveliness like magician’s cloak of embroidered stars. A tempest in the interest of stars a firefly in a jar of bygone day or fruited suited lute of loveliness which is the wind playing suite in flowers not to falter on the altar of praise when acolytes burn incense of grayness. The birds settle down in twilight’s grayness on limbs of superfluous hymns to stars where wrath of path is lost in host of praise and tomorrow is yon mystical day a garden in a garland of flowers untroubled by pebbles of loveliness. It is the park of larks of loveliness hailed and impaled with blue hues of grayness or bevies of breeze for fickle flower a wheel of spring stuck in the muck of stars or storm in the form of a peaceful day in the seed of the need of silent praise. Loveliness of flowers on sill of stars or grayness of thorn born on horn of day are both incarnate in warbles of praise. 35 Libertad
Sestina for Festival By Roger Whitson, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of By Jove...
i At party the Romans pay alms to Jove & receive bereaved gifts with up raised hands with heads bowed in reverence & with face toward marble temple inlaid with gold where man with a scythe cuts elephant grass & then seeks shelter from swelter of sun. ii The gold in the temple shines like the sun which is pleasing to beneficent Jove as is peasant who is cutting the grass with strong supple back & a callused hand who is paid in produce in lieu of gold whose visage is fierce in weather worn face. iii His responsibilities he must face every morning with the rising sun which dips whole creation in liquid gold like a metallic discuss hove by Jove at festival where there are many hand maidens with bare breasts & in skirts of grass.
Fahari 36
iv Maidens go to homes of glass green as grass to bathe & primp & to admire their face then sit with fans of Japan in their hands fans with caricature of rising sun in large boudoir with a statue of Jove & ample temple chalices of gold. v The man with scythe cuts oats like burnished gold as the cattle of landlord chomps the grass by silver stream meandering to Jove as laborer with hanky wipes his face the sky is very clear in blazing sun but man with the scythe is a steady hand. vi And the Roman woman does not live hand to mouth for their purses are filled with gold coins that shine like the summer solstice sun which is the genesis of harsh marsh grass so man with the scythe goes to bathe his face in pond in midst of mango grove of Jove. vii The temple faces east built by slave hands. Sun rises on Asian prizes for Jove. Eunuchs fill bongs with gold Lebanese grass.