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Black Lives Matter: Imagining And Realizing An Equitable Black Future, Ravi K. Perry
Black Lives Matter: Imagining And Realizing An Equitable Black Future, Ravi K. Perry
Ethnic Studies Review
The idea for this special Ethnic Studies Review edition, Black Lives Matter: Imagining and Realizing an Equitable Black Future, germinated prior to the election of the 45th president of the United States. However, what this series of articles and commentaries contribute to the movement for Black lives is even more critically important.
#Black Lives Matter, Bahar Davary
#Black Lives Matter, Bahar Davary
Ethnic Studies Review
This short story begins with a reference to the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his killer as part of a pattern of behavior that shouts loud and clear: “black lives don’t matter”. The story traces the injustices of slavery and life and work on the plantations. It takes us from Jim Crow laws in the U.S. to the stifling of the national movement of the Congolese, from assassination of Patrice Lumumba, to the killings of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. In short, the story is a reflection on the responsibility of educators in addressing the …
Challenging The System? The Potential For Radical Politics In The Age Of Ferguson, Danae Hart
Challenging The System? The Potential For Radical Politics In The Age Of Ferguson, Danae Hart
Ethnic Studies Review
As a social movement continues to grow challenging the justice system that fails to prosecute and convict police officers use of deadly force, it is crucial to note what hegemonic constructs maintain the institutional power structures that continue to harm people of color. When police officers are acquitted when they inflict deadly harm on unarmed citizens the justice system is working to maintain the power structures that devalues Black lives. When hegemonic power structures perpetuate injustice it appears necessary to challenge and deconstruct the system as a whole. Do the protest movements choose to challenge hegemony or rather seek to …
Black Lives Matter: Decrypting Encrypted Racism, Basil Ugorji
Black Lives Matter: Decrypting Encrypted Racism, Basil Ugorji
Ethnic Studies Review
The agitation of the Black Lives Matter movement has dominated the public discourse in the United States. Mobilized against the killing of unarmed black people, the movement and their sympathizers have made a series of demands for justice and dignity for the black people. However, many critics have raised concern over the legitimacy of the phrase, black lives matter since all lives irrespective of race, should matter. This article does not intend to pursue the ongoing debate over the semantic use of black lives or all lives. Instead, the paper seeks to study, through the lenses of the African American …
Against Critical Race Theory, Paul C. Mocombe
Against Critical Race Theory, Paul C. Mocombe
Ethnic Studies Review
Critical Race Theory (CRT) seeks to apply the negative dialectics of critical theory to the intersection of race, law, and power in the pursuit of racial and ethnic equality in Western society. That is to say, critical race theorists seek to convict Western society for not identifying with their values due to the prevalence of racial and ethnic oppression and subordination in the society. I argue here that this pursuit of racial emancipation and anti-subordination through the negative dialectics of critical theory by critical race theorists offers a false sense of racial difference which is convicting the values of the …
Being In One’S Place: Race, Ontology And The Killing Of Trayvon Martin, Ron Scapp
Being In One’S Place: Race, Ontology And The Killing Of Trayvon Martin, Ron Scapp
Ethnic Studies Review
The killing of Trayvon Martin along with the trial and acquittal of George Zimmerman provoked many discussions and debates: some touching upon painful issues, others just rather painful to listen to or read. What struck me most however were the conversations and opinions about what the killing, trial, and subsequent acquittal meant for our nation. What we came to learn is that the killing, trial and acquittal mean different things to different people. That fact should neither surprise us nor make us hesitant to examine, still further, the complex nature of the Trayvon Martin killing, its aftermath, and the history …
What The Black Lives Matter Movement Demands Of Ethnic Studies Scholars, Melina Abdullah
What The Black Lives Matter Movement Demands Of Ethnic Studies Scholars, Melina Abdullah
Ethnic Studies Review
“Come in. Sit down. Close your eyes. Be silent and listen.” Melody engulfed the room. Our bodies unwittingly swayed softly to rhythms that conjured Ancestral memories. The bald, brown-skinned, goateed, dashiki-wearing man in front of the room exuded both warmth and strength. As a fourteen year-old ninth grader, the constancy of my giggle was interrupted by the sanctity of the space. Squeaks of the crotchety wooden desks that formed a large circle joined the music that hummed from the old record player at the front of the room. Minutes felt like days. Sound transported us through time and space and …
The Black Lives Matter Movement And Why The Response Of All Lives Matter Is Misleading, Scott Loken
The Black Lives Matter Movement And Why The Response Of All Lives Matter Is Misleading, Scott Loken
Ethnic Studies Review
This paper discusses the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s brief history and relevance, and the problem with the response of All Lives Matter and how it is misleading. It discusses incidents leading up to the initial Social Media hashtag and how the statement took off as a rallying cry in response to any incident which seemed to be racially motivated, especially in situations where police officers were involved resulting in the death of African American citizens. This article examines how the organization was first developed in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman and his acquittal of …
Hyphy Sparked A Social Movement, Andrea L.S. Moore
Hyphy Sparked A Social Movement, Andrea L.S. Moore
Ethnic Studies Review
“Hyphy,” a genre of rap and lifestyle associated with Bay Area hip hop evolved into a counter-cultural social movement for marginalized youth in early 2000. Hyphy originated from Black youth as a musical protest in response to their historical lack of social power, economic resources and systematic institutional oppression. Hyphy provided a space to release tension, celebrate life and freedom of expression, primarily as a means of resisting hegemonic perceptions of Black youth and their cultural productions. Applying a cultural studies theoretical approach, this ethnographic research examines literature and media coverage pre and post Hyphy highlighting the ways in which …
The Birth Of A Cinematic Storyline Normalizing Violence Against Black Lives, James Curiel
The Birth Of A Cinematic Storyline Normalizing Violence Against Black Lives, James Curiel
Ethnic Studies Review
The first Hollywood blockbuster, The Birth of a Nation, did more than establish cinematic conventions of camera techniques and movie distribution, for it also established a conventional storyline whereby white, patriarchal power is re-established through violence led by a white savior. This storyline can be traced throughout the history of major blockbusters such as Gone with the Wind of 1939, the cavalry trilogy by John Ford in the 1940s, The Omega Man from 1971, and The Outlaw Josie Wales from 1976. A quandary thus arises as to why The Birth of a Nation is held in such infamy and disdain …
The Color Of Mass Incarceration, Ronnie B. Tucker Sr.
The Color Of Mass Incarceration, Ronnie B. Tucker Sr.
Ethnic Studies Review
This article looks at the issue of incarceration with a focus on the number of African Americans both male and female who are now incarcerated in the United States. The article takes an analytical perspective in reviewing the fact that the majority of African Americans in the prison population are not there for violent crimes, but yet, African Americans contribute to the mass color of incarceration. The article also includes discussion on how the “so-called’ justice systems has treated African Americans unfairly when charged with the same criminal offenses as those of the majority population. The paper also addresses the …