Monday, November 30th, 2009

The Retreat Into Whiteness

houses

Here’s a preview of a new piece I pulled together for ColorLines that reviews Rich Benjamin’s flawed but important book Searching For Whitopia.

It also engages Hua Hsu’s already classic piece, “The End of White America?”, which will likely prove to be one of the most influential pieces of writing by the end of the coming decade. All of this stuff is ground that I’m trying to cover in Who We Be.

Anyway, here’s a big old dose of the article:
(more…)

posted by Jeff Chang @ 2:20 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Andrea Lewis, 1957-2009

Is it me or are we really taking it this year in the Bay?

I’m saddened to learn of Andrea Lewis’s sudden passing.

I’d known Andrea through community organizing and progressive media circles for a long time. For many years, she was the voice of morning radio here on KPFA. She brought humaneness and humor to every topic she touched.

Andrea was like a warm cup of tea, easing you into the day while getting your brain working and heart beating. She represented exactly what the best of this community is about.

We miss you, Andrea. You, Gina, Ron, and everyone up there—your laughter lingers. Our love always.

There will be services next Tuesday, November 24 at 6:00pm at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland.

posted by Jeff Chang @ 4:51 pm | 0 Comments

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Who We Be :: A Preview In The Believer!

believer001

Apologies for not being as up as I should be. Lots to write about in the coming days–including 2009’s landmark year for graffiti books and the new movement around cultural policy taking shape. But here’s what I’ve been up to lately…

I’ve been hard at work on the new book, Who We Be: The Colorization of America, and am proud to announce that the new issue of this month’s The Believer features a preview of what’s coming in the book. It’s a piece I’ve done about the great cartoonist Morrie Turner, whose 45 years of work are on exhibition through November 19 at the SF Public Library. Check that show out, and go find the mag.

In the meantime, BIG shouts to Ed Park, Andrew Leland and the amazing Ms. Gabrielle Zucker. Here’s a taster:

The night of Barack Obama’s victory, eighty-six-year-old cartoonist Bil Keane called his old friend Morrie Turner, himself a sprightly eighty-four. Turner was working on his strip Wee Pals in the office of his tiny bungalow in South Berkeley, leaning over his drafting desk, its surface worn to the curve of the wood grain, tracing and embellishing the pencil outlines in India ink on Bristol board. A Law & Order rerun played in the background. Inking a strip to the natter of a TV program: for Turner, these were familiar rhythms, warm comfort for forty-three years. At that moment, the last thing he wanted to hear was the news….

More bites here!

posted by Jeff Chang @ 3:03 pm | 1 Comment

Feed Me!

Revolutions

DJ Nu-Mark :: Take Me With You
DJ Nu-Mark remixes the diaspora…party ensues!
El General + Various Artists :: Mish B3eed : Khalas Mixtape V. 1
The crew at Enough Gaddafi bring the most important mixtape of 2011–the street songs that launched the Tunisian & Egyptian Revolutions…
J. Period + Black Thought + John Legend :: Wake Up! Radio mixtape
Remixing the classic LP w/towering contributions from Rakim, Q-Tip + Mayda Del Valle
Lyrics Born :: As U Were
Bright production + winning rhymes in LB’s most accessible set ever
Model Minority :: The Model Minority Report
The SoCal Asian American rap scene that produced FM keeps surprising…
Mogwai :: Hardcore Won't Die But You Will
Dare we call it majestic?
Taura Love Presents :: Picki People Volume One
From LA via Paris with T-Love, the global post-Dilla generation goes for theirs…

Word

Cormac McCarthy :: Blood Meridian
Read this now before Hollywood f*#ks it up.
Dave Tompkins :: How To Wreck A Nice Beach
Book of the decade, nuff said.
Joe Flood :: The Fires
The definitive account of why the Bronx burned
Mark Fischer :: Capitalist Realism
K-Punk’s philosophical manifesto reads like his blog, snappy and compelling. Just replace pop music with post-post-Marxism. Pair with Josh Clover’s 1989 for the full hundred.
Nell Irvin Painter :: The History of White People
Well worth a Glenn Beck rant…and everyone’s scholarly attention
Robin D.G. Kelley :: Thelonious Monk : The Life And Times Of An American Original
Monk as he was meant to be written
Tim Wise :: Colorblind
Wise’s call for a color-conscious agenda in an era of “post-racial” politics is timely
Victor Lavalle :: Big Machine
Victor Lavalle does it again!