SDM Magazine Issue 21 Winter Edition by Swagga Digital Magazine

LOOK GREAT ❇ DRESS SHARP ❇ LIVE WELL

SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE

OUR HACKABLE POLITICAL FUTURE

WINTER 2018

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WINTER ISSUE

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Introduction

Malachi Isaiah

THE #ME TWO MOVEMENT

on the cover

❋FASHION

FACTS THAT SHOW US

JANUARY - MARCH 2018

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Culture

LIFESTYLES

Music&Art USD:$16.00

ISSUE NO. 21/VOL 6 DISPLAY UNTIL MARCH 2018

A HISTORY OF PROTEST 28 DAYS 28 FILMS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH 4 STAPLE WARDROBE PIECES EVERY GUY NEEDS BEHIND THE LENS A GUILTY PLEASURE

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BEHIND THE PAGES

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EDITOR’S NOTE

This publication is dedicated to my mom whose courage, strength, tenacity and love has been a rock for me in the production of this magazine. There are so many people who are instrumental in the production of this publication, and I could not possibly name them all in this writing but I just want to thank all of you and you know who you are for assisting me with this issue. Many thanks to all of the wonderful and talented models, photographers, MUA’s, and Hair Stylists. Reproduction of any material within this publication in whole or in part is, prohibted without expressed consent of publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility to any party of the information, claims or ads herein to include errors, inaccuracies or omissions. By advertising the advertisers agree to indemnify the Publisher against all claims relating to or resulting from said advertisements and or promotional material. Ron Fulcher Editor-In-Chief

M D COPYRIGHT ©2009-2018 SDM PUBLISHING ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of SDM The Magazine is prohibited. SDM The Magazine does not accept and cannot be held responsible for any kind of unsolicted materials. Published Quarterly, Four (4) Times a year. Available in Print, Mobile, and available for download to Apple, Android, Ipad and Tablets. Visit our website at www.swaggadigitalmagazine.com Need to send a email to the EDITOR: sdm_magazine@yahoo.com. For subscription information email us at: sdm_magazine@yahoo.com Printed in the USA, MAIL P.O. Box 3138 Oakland, California 94609 CALL 1.415.856.9891 CUSTOMER SERVICE: swaggamediagroup@gmail.com CONNECT WITH US EMAIL SDM_MAGAZINE@YAHOO.COM SOCIAL MEDIA: facebook/swaggadigitalmagazine, instagram/@swaggadigitalmag twitter/@blackberryron snapchat/@keepitrealfilms Visit Issuu.Com,Blur.com and Magcloud.com Digital Newstands to download our digital version to IPAD, TABLET, IPHONE or your Andriod Device

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VOLUME VI, NO. 21 | WINTER ISSUE

WWW.SWAGGADIGITALMAGAZINE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | RON FULCHER

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Branding & Strategy Director of Publicity Graphic Design & Creative Services Publishing Photo Editor & Art Director Centerfold Behind the Lens Advertising Manager

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Social Media FaceBook Instagram Snapchat Tumblr Pinterest Twitter

Archie Brumfield Remote Face Graphics SDM Media Group Ron Fulcher Shots By Sham Archie Brumfield Swaggadigitalmag @swaggadigitalmag @keepitrealfilms swaggadigitalmagazine swaggadigitalmagazine @blackberryron

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Creative Contributions Principal Photography Shot by Sham & Ron Fulcher Design Services Remote Face Graphics Production Assistance Shots by Sham Production Assistance SDM Media Group Production Assistance Jacqueline Vassar – Hair & Makeup Creative Director & Fashion Stylist – Pharoah Brand Fashion Stylist Anastasia Maxwell MUA @neek_on_fleek

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Special Thanks

Alonzo Easter Malachi Jones Ike Uzoma Tashell Mitchell Ta’Keisha Knockum Desiree Phlegar Anaiya Raiford Dominique Xaivier RCA Records Lionsgate Publicity H&M Clothiers FAB Studios, Oakland Ca. Rolex Watches Uber Ride Services Smart Model Management Wells Fargo Bank Ford Model Management Westcoast Leather Marvel Studios Victoria Secret

LIFESTYLE

ARTMUSIC CULTURE FASHION

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SDM It’s more than just a magazine

it’s a lifestyle

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INSIDE

ON THE COVER

66. Malachi

Isaiah Jones

TECH

76. Our Hacakble Political Future

CULTURE OUR ISSUES 82. A HISTORY OF PROTEST

83. 28 DAYS 28 FILMS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

71. #ME TOO Movement is buliding momentum

FASHION

84. 4 STAPLE WARDROBE PIECES EVERY GUY NEEDS

LIFESTYLE

35. BEHIND THE LENS: GUILTY PLEASURE 78. A Letter for the Editor-In-Chief

MUSIC

87. BLACK PANTHER THE ALBUM DEBUTS NO. 1 ON BILLBOARD 200

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PROMOTION

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SEE EYEWEAR

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style matters

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FACTS THAT SHOW US BLACK LIVES DO MATTER

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ost often, navigation takes place between the canonical Western philosophy stretching back to Ancient Greece and the more recent intellectual output and contributions of previously excluded groups, including women, L.G.B.T people and African-American thinkers. This last tradition — the history of black thought — is a profound one for me; it is the foundation for my project of making sense of my place in America. But black thought’s role in our struggles for emancipation and the redemption of the American dream make it the inheritance of all Americans.

Today, our nation is about as racially fraught as it ever has been. Our racially lopsided incarceration rates have led the scholar Michelle Alexander to dub our period the New Jim Crow. The persistence of police-perpetrated extrajudicial killings, such as the one that left Michael Brown’s dead body in the street for hours in Ferguson, Mo., has brought to mind for many observer’s horrific murders of black people in the past, such as the heartbreaking case of Emmett Till. Add to this a president who identifies white supremacists as “fine people,” and it becomes reasonable for us to wonder not only how black folks feel about these situations, but how they think about them. After all, it is our bodies that are on the line every day the sun rises on America. Black Americans’ continuous experiences with racial injustice prompt questions: What is racism, and why does it exist? How do we survive in America? And, since no one ought to live like this, what is to be done? That the black experience both motivates and unifies these questions is exactly the reason we can identify and study something called black thought. It is the intellectual tradition concerned with systematically and imaginatively studying and conveying the worst social, economic, and political treatment ever visited on a population, for nearly four centuries, and with no end in sight. One invigorating aspect of black thought — whether it is expressed in philosophy, literature, art, film, music or dance — is its clear and direct impact on society. Tied as it is to urgent questions of human dignity, freedom and justice, its manifestations and effects can ultimately be seen everywhere from the graffiti-graced brick walls of America’s inner cities to the halls of gilded centers of art and education. The most significant manifestation of this kind since the civil rights movement is Black Lives Matter. Widely credited to Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi and Alicia Garza in response to Trayvon Martin’s death on February 26, 2012, at the hands of George Zimmerman, and to Zimmerman’s subsequent acquittal. As America began to pay more attention to police shootings of unarmed blacks, the movement’s power grew. That power was derived from its simple, bold and irrefutably true proposition — that black lives do not exist for pleasurable disposal in a society still mired in its white supremacist history.

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Yet, despite the obvious truth of that statement, we may wonder: What are the moral and political arguments that underwrite the claim that black lives matter? While there is no way to articulate the full scope of those arguments in a single essay, it’s worth considering the philosophical contributions of some of the forerunners of the movement that is our most urgent manifestation of black thought today. The end of the Civil War and the subsequent ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865 legally abolished slavery, but blacks quickly became subject to a displaced form of violence at the hands of white supremacists across the nation who typically used false accusations of sexual assault to justify lynching black men. Police turned a blind eye to these murders, and sometimes actively facilitated them. Ida B. Wells, a leading black thinker and journalist in the late-19th and early 20th centuries, and a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, built a public career documenting lynching’s and calling America to account for them. Her arguments extended and amplified those made by Frederick Douglass before her. Douglass’s central claim in his seminal “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” was that Americans should feel shame for slavery, given their country’s foundational commitment to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We were failing our own ideals. Wells pointed to the rise of lynching after the fall of slavery as not merely a legal matter to be rectified with new laws. Having fled her hometown to escape threats of her own lynching, Wells used the press to make her moral arguments. She described a nation in the grip of a dark remorse for freeing black Americans from slavery, and condemned white Americans for cruelties that violated their own commitment to the democratic project. The horrors that Wells described were a factor in the Great Migration of blacks to the North, which fed the flourishing of black thought and cultural life that gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance. An indication that the Harlem Renaissance was always meant to be a period of radical black philosophy and social change was the name originally coined for the movement: The New Negro. Alain Locke, the Harvard-educated black intellectual who became known as the father of the Harlem Renaissance, envisioned a philosophical position that reinvigorated blacks’ relationship to their culture and that would in turn solidify their status as equal co-participants in our democracy. A strong theme among some of the luminaries of the time focused on the will of blacks to assert their humanity against racism and to insist on their status as persons owed respect. Among those stars, the poet Langston Hughes was one of the brightest. His “I Too” is a quiet yet insistent poem depicting a black man employed by a white one and his struggle with invisibility. The protagonist resolves to sit at the table with the white folks the next day and show people how beautiful he is and that he, too, is America. The writer Zora Neale Hurston had an equally persistent but at times more playful take on the matter. In her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” she wrote, “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company! It’s beyond me.” !

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ART CULTURE MUSIC FASHION LIFESTYLE MUSIC

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Sassy & Sexy

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Behind the Lens

Guilty Pleasures

Introducing Dominique Xavier MUA @neek_on_fleek Photographer @shotbysham Wardrobe:@victoriasecret

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SEE spectacles

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see eyewear

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On the Cover

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Introducing Malachi Isaiah Jones

Malachi Isiah, our cover model for for this issue is an 18-year old published model, well seasoned in taking pictures and projecting his prowness through the camera lens. Malachi says, he is originally from California, but also has moved all across the United States. His parents are of Mexican and African-American Hertiage. He proudly, says “I embrace both cultures.” “Family is always first, then my career.” “Modeling is an art, and my job is to display a beautiful perspective of myself and the human body.” “I enjoy chocolate chip pancakes, playing basketball, and 90’s R&B music.” “I am a goofy character that encourages peace, love and positivity.”

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T !

he #MeToo movement is accomplishing what sexual harassment law to date has not. This mass mobilization against sexual abuse, through an unprecedented wave of speaking out in conventional and social media, is eroding the two biggest barriers to ending sexual harassment in law and in life: the disbelief and trivializing dehumanization of its victims. Sexual harassment law — the first law to conceive sexual violation in inequality terms — created the preconditions for this moment. Yet denial by abusers and devaluing of accusers could still be reasonably counted on by perpetrators to shield their actions.

Many survivors realistically judged reporting pointless. Complaints were routinely passed off with some version of “she wasn’t credible” or “she wanted it.” I kept track of this in cases of campus sexual abuse over decades; it typically took three to four women testifying that they had been violated by the same man in the same way to even begin to make a dent in his denial. That made a woman, for credibility purposes, one-fourth of a person. Even when she was believed, nothing he did to her mattered as much as what would be done to him if his actions against her were taken seriously. His value outweighed her sexualized worthlessness. His career, reputation, mental and emotional serenity and assets counted. Hers didn’t. In some ways, it was even worse to be believed and not have what he did matter. It meant she didn’t matter. These dynamics of inequality have preserved the system in which the more power a man has, the more sexual access he can get away with compelling. It is widely thought that when something is legally prohibited, it more or less stops. This may be true for exceptional acts, but it is not true for pervasive practices like sexual harassment, including rape, that are built into structural social hierarchies. Equal pay has been the law for decades and still does not exist. Racial discrimination is nominally illegal in many forms but is still widely practiced against people of color. If the same cultural inequalities are permitted to operate in law as in the behavior the law prohibits, equalizing attempts — such as sexual harassment law — will be systemically resisted. This logjam, which has long paralyzed effective legal recourse for sexual harassment, is finally being broken. Structural misogyny, along with sexualized racism and class inequalities, is being publicly and pervasively challenged by women’s voices. The difference is, power is paying attention.

73 SDM MAGAZINE WINTER ISSUE ! Powerful individuals and entities are taking sexual abuse seriously for once and acting against it as never before. No longer liars, no longer worthless, today’s survivors are initiating consequences none of them could have gotten through any lawsuit — in part because the laws do not permit relief against individual perpetrators, but more because they are being believed and valued as the law seldom has. Women have been saying these things forever. It is the response to them that has changed. Revulsion against harassing behavior — in this case, men with power refusing to be associated with it — could change workplaces and schools. It could restrain repeat predators as well as the occasional and casual exploiters that the law so far has not. Shunning perpetrators as sex bigots who take advantage of the vulnerabilities of inequality could transform society. It could change rape culture. Sexual harassment law can grow with #MeToo. Taking #MeToo’s changing norms into the law could — and predictably will — transform the law as well. Some practical steps could help capture this moment. Institutional or statutory changes could include prohibitions or limits on various forms of secrecy and no transparency that hide the extent of sexual abuse and enforce survivor isolation, such as forced arbitration, silencing nondisclosure agreements even in cases of physical attacks and multiple perpetration, and confidential settlements. A realistic statute of limitations for all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment, is essential. Being able to sue individual perpetrators and their enablers, jointly with institutions, could shift perceived incentives for this behavior. The only legal change that matches the scale of this moment is an Equal Rights Amendment, expanding the congressional power to legislate against sexual abuse and judicial interpretations of existing law, guaranteeing equality under the Constitution for all. But it is #MeToo, this uprising of the formerly disregarded, that has made untenable the assumption that the one who reports sexual abuse is a lying slut, and that is changing everything already. Sexual harassment law prepared the ground, but it is today’s movement that is shifting gender hierarchy’s tectonic plates. !

#MeTOO MOVEMENT

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Black Panther: The Album' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart Black Panther: The Album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, launching with 154,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Feb. 15, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 52,000 are in traditional album sales. The set, which features music from and inspired by the blockbuster Marvel Studios film Black Panther, garners the biggest week for a soundtrack — in terms of total units earned — in a year-and-a-half. The last soundtrack to score a larger week was Suicide Squad: The Album, which bowed atop the Aug. 27, 2016-dated list with 182,000 units earned. Black Panther: The Album was released on Feb. 9 through Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Feb. 24-dated chart (where Black Panther: The Album starts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on Wednesday (Feb. 21) — one day later than usual, due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. on Feb. 19. The Black Panther album includes a number of songs by Kendrick Lamar, who curated and produced the hip-hop-heavy album with Top Dawg Entertainment’s founder/CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith. The set’s tunes also boast contributions from The Weeknd, SZA, Khalid and James Blake, among others. The album is the fifth No. 1 for Top Dawg, following a trio of leaders from Lamar (DAMN., untitled unmastered. and To Pimp a Butterfly) and ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron. Black Panther is the second soundtrack to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2018, following The Greatest Showman, which spent two weeks atop the list (dated Jan. 13 and 20). The 14-track Black Panther album’s debut is powered mostly by streams, as the set collected 93,000 streaming equivalent album units. (The remainder of its bow came from traditional album sales: 52,000; and track equivalent album units: 9,000.) It’s not unusual to see such a large streaming number for Black Panther: The Album, as hip-hop albums tend to perform well on streaming services. Black Panther: The Album’s 93,000 SEA unit launch equates to 138.9 million on-demand audio streams for the album’s songs in the week ending Feb. 15. That’s the largest streaming week ever for a soundtrack, surging past the 40.4 million on-demand audio streams The Greatest Showman collected in the week ending Jan. 25. Of Black Panther: The Album’s 14 songs, three are heard in the Black Panther film. According to Top Dawg and Walt Disney Studios (Marvel’s parent company), this is the first time in

Marvel Cinematic Universe history that Marvel Studios has integrated multiple original recordings specifically for a film. (The Marvel Cinematic Universe includes 18 films that have been released thus far, stretching back to Iron Man in 2008.) Black Panther: The Album isn’t the first chart-topping soundtrack set to consist mostly of music inspired by a film, with few tracks actually heard in its companion movie. It follows similar albums such as The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond (2012) and Men in Black: The Album (1997). At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods falls a spot in its second week on the list, with 74,000 units (down 75 percent). The Greatest Showman soundtrack holds steady at No. 3 with 72,000 units (down 10 percent), while Migos’ Culture II slips from No. 2 to No. 4 with 68,000 units (down 23 percent). The soundtrack to Fifty Shades Freed bows at No. 5 with 58,000 units (of which 36,000 are in traditional album sales). It’s the third soundtrack in the Fifty Shades film trilogy to reach the top five, following Fifty Shades Darker (No. 1 in 2017) and Fifty Shade of Grey (No. 2 in 2015). Fifty Shades Freed features songs by Liam Payne, Rita Ora, Julia Michaels, Jessie J and Sia. With Black Panther: The Album, The Greatest Showman and Fifty Shades Freed at Nos. 1, 3 and 5, the chart houses a trio of soundtracks in the top five for only the second time in the last 10 years. The only other time three soundtracks have populated the top five in the last 10 years was on the May 30, 2015-dated list, when Pitch Perfect 2 debuted at No. 1, Fifty Shades of Grey moved 6-3 and Furious 7 rose 7-5. Back on the new Billboard 200, Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) is pushed down 4-6, despite a gain, as it earns 42,000 units (up 5 percent). Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic falls 5-7 with 32,000 units (down 7 percent), Post Malone’s Stoney descends 6-8 with 31,000 units (down 4 percent) and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. dips 7-9 with just under 31,000 units (down 5 percent). Camila Cabello’s Camila closes out the top 10, moving 8-10 with 29,000 units (down 9 percent).

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OUR HACKABLE POLITICAL FUTURE

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magine it is the spring of 2019. A bottom-feeding website, perhaps tied to Russia, “surfaces” video of a sex scene starring an 18-year-old Kirsten Gillibrand. It is soon debunked as a fake, the product of a user-friendly video application that employs generative adversarial network technology to convincingly swap out one face for another. It is the summer of 2019, and the story, predictably, has stuck around — part talk-show joke, part right-wing talking point. “It’s news,” political journalists say in their own defense. “People are talking about it. How can we not?”

Then it is fall. The junior senator from New York State announces her campaign for the presidency. At a diner in New Hampshire, one “low information” voter asks another: “Kirsten What’s-her-name? She’s running for president? Didn’t she have something to do with pornography?” Welcome to the shape of things to come. In 2016 Gareth Edwards, the director of the Star Wars film “Rogue One,” was able to create a scene featuring a young Princess Leia by manipulating images of Carrie Fisher as she looked in 1977. Mr. Edwards had the best hardware and software a $200 million Hollywood budget could buy. Less than two years later, images of similar quality can be created with software available for free download on Reddit. That was how a faked video supposedly of the actress Emma Watson in a shower with another woman ended up on the website Celeb Jihad. Programs like these have many legitimate applications. They can help computersecurity experts probe for weaknesses in their defenses and help self-driving cars learn how to navigate unusual weather conditions. But as the novelist William Gibson once said, “The street finds its own uses for things.” So, do rogue political actors. The implications for democracy are eye-opening. Democracy only works with a well-informed, open minded public. Americans are certainly far from informed as millions of our dimwitted... The conservative political activist James O’Keefe has created a cottage industry manipulating political perceptions by editing footage in misleading ways. In 2018, low-tech editing like Mr. O’Keefe’s is already an anachronism: Imagine what even less scrupulous activists could do with the power to create “video” framing real people for things they’ve never actually done. One harrowing potential eventuality: Fake video and audio may become so convincing that it can’t be distinguished from real recordings, rendering audio and video evidence inadmissible in court.

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From the Editor-In-Chief !

Ronald Fulcher

he President of the United States used to mean something to me, I was in awe of the office of the President, I kind of considered myself an unofficial historian about the Presidency. As of late I have become very disgusted with the current President, namely Donald J. Trump. It seems he thinks he is still on the Apprentice show which is where he gained his notoriety of sorts. When he was campaigning, he made it a point to bash Obama, and Hillary Clinton. It was sad enough that the white politicians made it very difficult or at least they provided log jams to Mr. Obama’s final years in office. Mr. Trump has done nothing since taking office to try and discredit Mr. Obama’s accomplishments while he was in office. Obama’s presidency itself can never be erased, because of the hope and achievements as an African-American who was elected to be the President of the United States, which I didn’t think I would ever see in my lifetime, and which probably will never happen again. As well, as a minority period.

Mr. Trump, seems to get energized on making borderline racist remarks. He believes he can just bully people through his twitter account. The latest example of his child like ways, is attacking the NFL. This all started when Colin Kapernick chose to exercise his constitutional rights and sit for the signing of the National Anthem, as a way to bring to light the current injustices being experience by people of color throughout the country. At the time, I was on the fence about his sitting for the National Anthem because I served in the military and I am very proud of my military service. However, as time as gone on Colin Kapernick has paid a heavy price for exercising his rights. He is currently being blackballed by the NFL, and is unsigned at this point. Which if you look at some of the quarterbacks that are currently playing Colin Kapernick clearly could at least do better possibly if given the opportunity.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not happy with the NFL either, because there is a lot of disappointment with their practices when it comes to players on both sides to go around. But the main issue here is a President feels, he can just say disrespectful things about anybody he doesn’t like. A professional athlete works hard and has sacrificed a lot to get to the level of their profession and deserve the utmost respect. What is sad, is when a President of the United States, gives a speech in the south specifically Alabama, which has its own disparities of race relations going back for years and calls the players “Sons of Bitches” on national television. Who does that! Then you want people to respect you, and believe in your policies.

Have we sunk that low, where all people regardless of their race, religion or background doesn’t matter anymore. We have a crisis brewing in this country and it seems to be getting worse every day. I am not surprise because it seems our President is the catalyst for hatred, bigotry, nepotism, racism, and disrespect for people in this country. We have a potential military conflict brewing in the Asia, politicians trying to dismantle the health care system without a replacement in place to service people who really need it. Housing shortages, roads that need fixing, non-parity in salaries in the workforce, and our President is tweeting about football players not kneeling for the National Anthem and making disparaging comments about of beloved athletes. Is this live or Memorex and I have to pinch myself and truly ask that question. What’s next for this President. It’s like he is on medication or something. !

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LOOK BOOK ON THE CATWALK FOTS 2017

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A HISTORY OF PROTEST

REPEATS ITSELF ‘TAKE A KNEE’ BECOMES NEW RALLYING CRY FOR PEACEFUL RESISTANCE Excerpt from Ebony Magazine December 2017/January 2018 Written by The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

ne thing that makes America great is that we have the right to fight for the right. On September 1, 2016, the latest round in the long fight for justice and equality began with a quiet protest that now echoes loudly across the country from the billion-dollar stadiums of the NFL to high school football fields awash in Friday night lights to the Oval Office of the White House. On that day, Colin Kapernick, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, first “took a knee” during the playing of the national anthem.

The lanky QB, who had led his team to the Super Bowl in 2013, took this action to nonviolently protest the police killings of unarmed Black men and boys and the racist social and economic conditions that allow such violence to often go unpunished. But Kapernick was not disrespecting the flag as his detractors from President Donald Trump on down charge in their clumsy attempt to divert attention and deny reality. On the contrary, Kapernick was honoring the flag and that “for which it stands” by following in the footsteps of generations of proud, patriotic Americans. In this country, protesting injustice is as old as the Boston Tea Party. By kneeling, Kaepernick will be forever linked to the likes of Muhammad Ali, Curt Flood, Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Jackie Robinson, all gifted athletes who risked everything, status, reputation, money and career for justice on and off the sports stage. It has been almost four centuries since the first frightened enslaved Africans landed in Jamestown, Va. In 1619. Slavery was the law of the land for the next 246 years until the 13th Amendment legally ended it, after more than 600,000 deaths during the course of a four-year civil war, 1865. A 12-year period of Reconstruction followed but ended with an 1877 compromise that removed federal troops from the South and left the former slaves vulnerable to White resistance and violent Ku Klux Klan. In 1896, the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson ruling established legal apartheid (segregation) that lasted an additional 58 years until the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.

The social, legal, economic and political legacy of slavery, segregation and discrimination has never been fixed. Racial disparities and discrimination are still prevalent. America’s original sin still stalks the people of the United States. That’s the unresolved issue that Kaepernick was raising and hoping that America would address. It’s the issue Trump was determined to avoid with his diversion.

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28 Days, 28 Films for Black History Month Our chief film critics have chosen essential movies from the 20th century that convey the larger history of black Americans in cinema. By MANOHLA DARGIS and A.O. SCOTT FEB. 1, 2018 it has been almost a year since Barry Jenkins’s “Moonlight” won the Oscar for best picture. This awards season, Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” and Dee Rees’s “Mudbound” have received multiple nominations and accolades, optimistic signs that black filmmakers are receiving more opportunities in the movie industry. Soon these titles will be joined by two of the most anticipated releases of the year: Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” the first Marvel superhero movie from a black director, and Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” the first movie with a $100 million budget directed by a black woman. The critical and box-office success of “Get Out” and the very existence of big-studio productions like “Black Panther” are good reasons to revisit the remarkable, complex story of black filmmaking in America. For Black History Month, we have selected 28 essential films from the 20th century pertaining to African-American experiences. These aren’t the 28-essential black-themed films, but a calendar of suggested viewing. We imposed a chronological cutoff in an effort to look back at where we were and how we got to here. We begin in the 1920s with Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951), a novelist and bold, prolific independent filmmaker. Micheaux along with black directors like Spencer Williams made “race movies,” low-budget films with all-black casts for black audiences (some from white producers). During the Jim Crow era, the color line ran through movies, including into segregated theaters, and most Hollywood films depicting black life were produced by whites, including musicals, like “Cabin in the Sky,” with all-black casts of well-known singers, dancers and musicians. From the early 1930s to the late ’50s, the mainstream industry’s Production Code specifically banned representations of sexual relations between black and white people. When African-Americans in Hollywood were not singing or dancing, they were often cast as maids, butlers, porters or other servile, peripheral figures. There are exceptions, including “Imitation of Life,” a 1930s melodrama with a storyline about a black character who “passes” for white, as well as “Intruder in the Dust,” a 1940s parable of white conscience. Both are worth viewing because of the power and integrity of their featured black actors — Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington and Juano Hernandez — who with the humanity of their performances challenge and movingly subvert the mainstream industry’s racism. Race movies disappeared shortly after World War II, and soon the mainstream industry turned toward social issues. Yet even as the civil rights movement gathered force, black characters and their experiences were seen through a white lens, often myopically. Consider this sobering fact: Between 1948 (when Micheaux’s last film appeared) and 1969 (when Gordon Parks’s “The Learning Tree” arrived on the big screen), almost no movies directed by African-Americans were released commercially in the United States. Our selections for subsequent decades are exclusively the work of black directors. For the later 20th century, we have chosen titles that represent waves and countercurrents: Blaxploitation, the independent film scenes in Los Angeles and New York in the ’70s and ’80s, the flowering of commercial and independent movies in the ’90s. There are comedies and crime stories, historical epics and slices of ordinary life, socially conscious dramas and sublimely silly comedies. Taken together, they do not offer a unified theory of African-Americans in cinema, but a great multiplicity.

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4 Staple Wardrobe Pieces Every Guy Needs There are a few staple wardrobe pieces that every guy needs, and that can make any outfit you wear. Whether you are going out for dinner with the other half, or maybe you want to look good for an important meeting at work, or an evening with the boys, these versatile wardrobe pieces will be perfect for all of these occasions. These pieces are classics for a reason, because they never go out of style, and so they are very much an investment that will be worth it for you. These classics can be used with any outfit, on any occasion, and can be used time and time again. Looking good can give you that confidence boost to impress when you need to, or even give you a good start to the day, so it will get even better. Here are a few things you should definitely think about investing in, as they are essential for every guy’s wardrobe, no matter what your style.

Perfect Whites It is essential to have some perfect whites in your wardrobe, as they can be great for all occasions. It can be difficult to keep them white, and do need to be replaced, but buying quality items mean that they will last and keep white for much longer. It is always a great idea to have some crisp white shirts for special occasions so you can look fresh and smart for when it matters. Having a crisp white shirt to go with your suite makes all the difference to your outfit, and makes you look effortlessly stylish when it really matters. Having a perfect white t-shirt is also a must-have. This is the perfects white alternative to the white shirt, the casual version. Even if you are dressing casual, going out for lunch, or meeting up with friends, it is still great to look good in a simple outfit. Not to mention this would look great with loads of different kinds of men’s jackets, from leather jackets to sports brands, to denim. A perfect white t-shirt is a great staple for any wardrobe and can be worn on any informal occasion, but still makes you look sharp. Great Underwear

A Classic Watch A stylish watch can be the finishing touch to any outfit, to make you look successful and like you know your stuff. It sends a great message to meeting people for the first the time, to co-workers, and especially for job interviews or important meetings. Style is the perfect way to send a great message to someone and can create that essential positive first impression, no matter who you want to impress. A watch says you have your life together, you are punctual, and you have style too. The perfect thing to wear out to dinner, or at work, it is a must for any guy’s wardrobe.

Style is not just about what you wear on the outside, it is what you wear underneath that really counts. Wearing comfortable and flattering underwear, can be just the thing to boost confidence, and create a really comfortable and durable outfit for you to wear anywhere. There are loads of styles to suit your different needs and likes, so go out and find a great pair for you. Whether someone else will appreciate your underwear style or not, you know you will be looking stylish, and you will always be ready to impress. Think about getting underwear that is stylish, and comfortable, is the best way to complete your outfit.

A Well Made Pair of Sneakers

Here are just a few classic things to include in your wardrobe, that will never let you down. They are very versatile items, that can be worn for any occasion, from informal ones with mates to brunch with the in-laws. Classic items like perfect white shirts, or a stylish watch, are perfect because they never go out of style. If you want to have a classically stylish look, then consider adding them to your wardrobe.

Great shoes are often the highlight of any outfit, and many men invest in their shoes. Having a great pair of shoes on your feet is often what you need to complete your outfit. Whatever your style, there are so many brands and styles out there to suit your needs whether you need something to go well with your favorite jeans or chinos. You can either go for simple, big brands or even find some more colorful out their kinds of sneakers, to suit your style and taste.

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4 Steps To Getting Serious About Fitness in 2018 FITNESS At this time of year, we all have them. Fitness goals we want to achieve and put a renewed focus on for the coming year. For some of us, they remain just that – pipe dreams that we never get around to. For others, 2018 will be the year the finally transform their bodies and become what they’ve always dreamed of being. What separates the two? Determination and a few clear tips that will propel them towards a new level of fitness. Here’s how to get serious about your health: Have a Clear Plan The first step is the one that people often miss. Don’t just throw yourself into a new regime. There’s every risk that if you don’t have clear and specific goals, you’ll go hard at first and then tail off without ever having made serious gains. You need to identify exactly what you’re hoping to achieve before you can work out the best route there. Do you want to lean up? Build muscle? Improve your endurance? That’s a start. Then get specific about numbers, progress and events you want to train for. The trick is to aim high enough for it to be a challenge, but in the range where you will see improvement to keep you going. A personal trainer can be useful to help you set the right goals and give you a route to go about them, or there is plenty of advice, sample training plans and routines online to be found. I recommend the free BodySpace app from Bodybuilding.com. I have been using it for about 4 years. It comes with hundreds of free workout plans that can by synced with your calendar. The best part of it being the ability to track your workouts over months and years. If you are someone who loses focus easy, this is perfect for you. It takes the guess work out of developing a plan. Commit to Meal Prep Whatever fitness goal you’ve decided on, you won’t get far without also sorting your nutrition. Good food, enough sleep and hydration are the keystones of any successful workout regime. Not only will you see the gains much faster, but you’ll be powering your body in the right way to get a better performance with your workout. So, commit to the right diet for your goals. Meal prep comes into its own here. Set aside time at the weekend to prepare and freeze your daily meals in advance. At first, this can seem boring, but it quickly becomes a habit and just part of your weekend routine. Invest in proper containers to store the food and research

nutritionally-balanced recipes that are easy to batch-cook. The temptation to go off course is much less when you have the right food on hand, ready to go. Find a Dedicated Space Not all gyms are equal, and depending on the specific fitness goals you’ve identified, some will ‘fit’ better than others. So, take the time to find a gym that will help you achieve what you need to. Do you need a gym focused on muscle building or one with great outdoor facilities? What style and expertise do the trainers have? It doesn’t have to be about a gym either. If you don’t live near one or don’t want the hassle, consider setting up a home gym. Convert a space such a garage or outbuilding, or construct a home gym with a steel-frame such as the ones from Armstrong buildings. Having a dedicated space for your workout will encourage you to stick to your routine without letting outside distractions in. Select the Right Equipment Committing to success with your fitness doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune to begin with, but if you’re serious about achieving your goals, you may need to invest in the right tools at some point further into your journey. This could be a bench and set of weights or some other equipment to work a specific body part. Consider your sports garments too – ill-fitting ones can restrict your range of motion, and hinder your workout. You may also need gloves for doing body-weight movements on a bar or lifting weights, and think about joint support with knee or elbow pads. The idea is to minimize discomfort and the risk of injury. This means you can keep going for longer, push yourself harder and recover quicker after a tough session. Achieving peak performance is all about minor tweaks that add up to enhance your abilities. Challenge yourself, but don’t Overtrain Although pushing yourself is the only way you’ll really achieve your goals, it’s also important to know your own limits and listen to what your body is telling you. Overtraining is dangerous, and if you cause an injury, it can throw everything off, disrupt your program and mean that you won’t achieve your goals. So, learning when to stop is as key as knowing when you can push a little more. Make sure you’re scheduling in enough recovery time and rest days alongside your training sessions.

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LOOK GREAT ❇ DRESS SHARP ❇ LIVE WELL

SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE

SDM Magazine Issue 21 Winter Edition

Articles inside

On the Cover: Malachi Isaiah

Facts Show Us Black Lives Do Matter