Dedicated to the Black Experience
Listen in to another session of our Fall 2011 podcast season! Join KC and the family as they discuss the labels “African-American” and “Black” and which term best suits our community. Podcast guests include John Wood, Mr. CEO, Je Lewis, Dino Black, and Darius Gray.
As always, we’ve given you more than just 15 minutes. Enjoy!
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Comic book characters are always being created and re-created with not so much as a peep on the media radar. Well not today. This particular comic book news has stirred the pot and turned up the heat across the nation. Marvel Comics recently announced that the new face behind the Spider-Man mask will be a mixed, Black and Latino young man. STOP THE PRESS and scratch the proverbial record with the needle causing everyone to pause and whip their necks around.
Spider-Man has been Peter Parker, and Spider Man has been white since 1962. Italian artist Sara Pichelli, who was integral in designing the new Spider-Man’s look, says, “Maybe sooner or later a black or gay — or both — hero will be considered something absolutely normal. When the news was announced Tuesday, Marvel said following the death of Peter Parker in its Ultimate Fallout series, the mantle of Spider-Man would be passed to a young kid named Miles Morales. Naturally, the news incited chatter across the Internet. Most reaction, however, has been pinned to a singular detail: Morales is a half-black and half-Latino character, not white like Peter Parker. Cue the media onslaught, and subsequent commenter bigotry. For example, Glenn Beck managed to connect news of the new Spider-Man to a quote from Michelle Obama where she said, “We’re gonna have to change our traditions.” And some people appeared to be holding an impromptu Klan meeting in the comments section of major news paper outlets. Most of the individuals started by saying, “I’m not racist but… *insert racist remarks here*” On a funnier (yet still offensive) note, TV host John Stewart said, “My God! It’s Lou Dobbs’ worst nightmare: A Latino that can climb walls!”
Personally, I just may buy this collection of comic books for my son. Or Marvel will come out with that Martin Luther King Jr. Super Hero series. (I’ll wait…)
Listen in to a roundtable discussion as KC and the family discuss interracial dating. Podcast guests include Chris Lehman, Tash Moseley, Toria Williams, Mike Eagle, Kwabena Haffar, Leisha Mack, and Dr. Wayne Byrd.
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The black web 2.0, came up with two list, 100 most Powerful Black Women & 100 most Powerful Black Men, on Twitter. I got all excited, thinking how this will connect me with more influential African American men and women that I may not have known, had a twitter account. The lists, somewhat suprised me, to say the least. And made me ask the question: How do we define “Power” in this day and age.
Here are both list for your viewing pleasure: Women & Men.
You be the judge!
And follow us on twitter: @BlackisOnline
Thanks for joining us for our first podcast session, The Black Is 10-Minute Break! Listen in as KC Lehman discusses the effects of labeling one’s business as “Black”. Guest commentators for this show are BI contributors, Je Lewis and Shaina Michelle. Special guests are John Byrd III, Editor-in-chief of Sickly Cat Magazine, and Tash Moseley, talent manager and film producer.
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To say, definitively, what black is or is not is HUGE but first, why.
Why are we asking ourselves this right now?
Why is blackness or the black experience so necessary to define,
redefine, and polish?
Who will this definition affect? Why is it so important that black people position themselves prominently when a discussion of who and what we are is being tackled?
What mediums or tools are necessary when building and constructing viable definitions of what black is or even a fresh forum with which to discuss it now?
But even while we scratch this intellectual surface—a myriad of questions still exists. If we understand anything, we understand that what is more significant is our discussion. Much needed love-based discussion appropriately fraught with critical thought, healthy tension, beauty, pride, and the power and assembly of emotionally-charged voices. Voices concerned that one of the most the haunted and gifted people on the planet is handled righteously and with care.
Black Is Online charges forward in our pursuit of how blackness—consciousness and creativity is handled in complexity. Though inextricably-linked, Black in the 1950’s is not Black in 2010. Our subject matter is crucial, multi-faceted, and ever-changing to say the least. My black excitement, commitment, and work will be devoted to the packing, unpacking, and repacking of how black is defined. Black inquiry and participation must drive and ultimately shape the content of what black is because we need to maintain this enduring body of work–this evolving work-in-progress as evidence of our existence, contribution, and living. The birthing of a 21st century black narrative has surely begun.