INTERVIEW: Roy DeCarava > from The Liberator Magazine

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Roy DeCarava, R.I.P. [video]


{© Roy DeCarava}

Photographer Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) passed away last Tuesday at the age of 89. What I have always admired about him, besides his awe-inspiring body of work, is his ability to articulate his motives with precision and no small amount of humility. DeCarava, thoughtful, sensitive, and wholly honest, was always able to pin down the "why" of his work and technique, and trust me, that's not always easy to do. You'll see what I mean in this Charlie Rose interview from 1996 below, which coincided with this [MoMA retrospective].

INFO: Nigeria - Earth's Tower of Babel


Nigeria - Earth's Tower of Babel
By Max Siollun | Published  04/24/2010

"Every Person From the North = Hausa"

I was speaking to some friends recently and they pointed me to some online debates among Nigerians who "refused to believe" that there are 250 ethno-linguistic groups in Nigeria. Even those that concede there are 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, do not realise that a great many of those 250 are in the north.

There is a tendency among southern Nigerians to ignorantly refer to any northerner as "Hausa". The recent furore regarding the Jos murders, General Domkat Bali and Major-General Saleh Maina (GOC of the army's 3rd armoured division in Jos) is a case in point. There has been an explosive debate with many Christians, middle belters and southerners accusing Maina of pro Fulani bias because he is "Hausa-Fulani". The ignorance of the furore is palpable, because Maina is NOT Hausa or Fulani. He is Kanuri, but has fallen victim to the generic mindset of "every northerner is Hausa". Many southern Nigerians ignorantly label Nigeria's past northern leaders like Abacha, Babangida, and Abubakar as "Hausa" when in fact NONE of these men was Hausa. I am sure that many are also unaware that Nigeria's Senate President David Mark (i.e. citizen no. 3 in Nigeria) is from the Idoma ethnic group in the middle belt.

The Maina/Bali controversy is not the topic of this article. I hope our Nigerian and friends from other countries reading this will be enlightened by the diversity in their own country - especially in the north. A few sobering statistic (I know some of you do not like stats, but I cannot help it right now):

The Koma and all those "Minorities"

1) About 700-800 languages are spoken in Nigeria and Cameroon alone. Two countries with less than 3% of the world's population speak over 10% of ALL languages in the world.

2) Which is the most linguistically diverse region in Nigeria? The North.  Many do not realise that there are states in Nigeria where one encounters different ethnic groups/languages as one moves from one town to the next. Some groups like the "Big Three", the Tiv, Kanuri and Ijaw number in the millions. However, others are in the mere thousands and are so obscure that the federal government might not even be aware of their existence.

3) States like Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau and Taraba are reputed to have over 50 (yes, I said FIFTY) ethnic groups EACH.

4) Who reading this has nostalgic memories of the Koma people?  With approximately 50,000 people, this was the ethnic group that remained "undiscovered" in the mountainous highland area to the north-east, living a naked Pagan lifestyle up in the mountains with no interaction with modern society. There were "discovered" in 1986 during the administration of Colonel Yohanna Madaki - then Military Governor of Gongola State. Early missionaries who tried to convert them had to go naked so as not to make them feel uncomfortable around clothed strangers.

Christian North, Muslim South

A few days ago, Libyan leader Colonel Ghaddafi advocated splitting Nigeria between Muslims and Christians. Sounds plausible right? Should be easy since the "north is Muslim and south is Christian"?  Wrong.  The Muslim north/Christian south discourse has been a massive myth for decades. Some northern states like Kaduna, and southern states like Oyo have mixed Muslim and Christian populations. Let’s not even mention Kwara state. Aside from having sizeable Christian and Muslim populations, no one can even agree whether it is in the north or south!

Ask anyone about the far north western corner of Nigeria, and they are likely to think of it as the home area of President Yar'Adua and as the area of Nigeria where Muslim Sharia law started. Zamfara state in the far north west was the first Nigerian state to adopt Sharia law when it was governed by Ahmed Sani. Yet right next door tp the first footsteps of Sharia in Nigeria, there is an indigenous Christian minority ethnic group. Who remembers Colonel Dauda Musa Komo - former Military Governor of Rivers State and nemesis of Ken Saro-Wiwa?  Komo, and other famous individuals like Sani Sami, Ishaya Bamaiyi and Tanko Ayuba are from the minority Zuru Christian area in what is now Kebbi State.

Nigerians are unaware of the diversity in their own country because many do not have experience of interaction with the numerically smaller ethnicities. Most Nigerians who travel outside their home areas do so to get to big cities like Abuja and Lagos. It is rare (except for NYSC) to find Nigerians living in the rural/local parts outside their home area.

Nigeria - Earth's Tower of Babel

Nigeria is Earth's answer to the biblical Tower of Babel. A kaleidoscope of different cultures, languages and labyrinth diversity. Let us open our eyes and minds to the breathtaking diversity of the area called Nigeria. Before you call that fellow across the road an [Hausa][Fulani][Yoruba][Igbo], have a hard think, you might be surprised at what you find out....

Till next time,

Max

http://twitter.com/maxsiollun
http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/

 

VIDEO: Baloji - "Independence Cha-Cha" + "Karibu Ya Bintou"

Baloji explains...

By: Oroma
Words: Baloji
Photo: Nicola Karakatsanis
Thanks: Bart Deweer
A few weeks back, a friend put me on to Baloji an artist from the Congo with a sound, video and vibe nothing short of magnetic. The concept of his video, "Karibu ya Bintou" sparked an interest  and  given that I don’t understand French, I asked Baloji to explain some things particularly, the mask on his album cover, the skeletal outfits in the video and the history of wresting in the Congo. If you have not seen Baloji’s video “KARIBU YA BINTOU” please watch it here to better understand my questions and his explanations.

“Baloji means sorcerer in Chiluba and Swahili It’s like a curse, like carrying part of the devil or the bad side of things and you know how sorcery is viewed in Africa. People fear them, fear their powers, fear that they can put bad spirit inothers food and drinks and assumed that they are connected to bad forces.

They call this curse the shadow because it follows its host until it gets what it is asking for ! So I struggled with my name for years before asking my mother why she chose this name. She explains it was to pay hommage to an uncle who had the same name and saved the life of my very own father….so in the same sense, sorcerers can also save people to contrary belief and that is what the poet is talking about in the intro of karibu vidéo.

The mask in the vidéo is part of this fétish Africans have with sorcery.

The album cover is also referenced to the mask. It has a Persian motifs and looks Mexican but it is really inspired by the Congolese art forms.  ( more on this in Pop'Africana )

Congo has a tradition of wrestlers based on the US WWF(WWE) but with an African twist which is so because of the  religious and mystical aspect to it. Think of it as the (dragon ball meets hulk hogan and the street fighters video game characters)

So the vidéo is telling my story- of how I am going into Kinshasa, coming out of the lake city center saying we make visible the mask everybody is wearing by hiding.

The second aspect of the video is where the wrestlers were preparing in the morning of the fight by using rituals and going in the street at noon with their trucks and fanfares to inform the city that there will have a match at 4 o’clock ! describes the energy and excitement of Kinshasa
I wanted this vidéo to describe Kinshasa as I see it « a madmax décor/backdrop »

It’s frentic and chaotic! Nothing is predictable or under control, the justice is lost in their own mess but people have such amazing strength that they keep on fighting even if nothing works. It’s like they keep on trying to prétend that nothing happened since the end of the Zaire regime, that the situation is manageable.

Kinshasa is wild and on the other end it keeps waiting for help like a motherless child.

More of this conversation and Baloji’s explanations in the coming issue of Pop’Africana.

 

INDEPENDENCE CHA-CHA
Directors: spike and jones 
DOP: nicolas karakatsanis
Producer: annemie decorte & michèle meire (dr film)
styling: ann lauwerys
thanks to lexxus legal & racine alternative 
Album : KINSHASA SUCCURSALE - Label : Kraked
ISRC : FR-8C7-10-00002

*

Shot in the "Bon marché" (Barumbu) neighbourhood, at the heart of Kinshasa, featuring the late Wendo Kolosoy’s backing band, "Indépendance cha-cha - Le jour d'après" is a new take on the African independence anthem written in 1960 by Joseph "grand kallé" Kabasele and Nicolas " dr. nico" Kassanda.

Filmé au coeur de kinshasa dans le quartier du "Bon marché"(Barumbu) avec la participation des musiciens de feu Wendo Kolosoy. "Indépendance cha-cha - Le jour d'après" est une relecture de l'hymne des indépendances de 1960 écrit par Joseph "grand kallé" Kabasele et Nicolas " dr. nico" Kassanda. 
=============================================
KARIBU YA BINTOU
Shot in the streets of Kinshasa, site of Muhammad Ali's legendary 'Rumble in the Jungle', Karibu Ya Bintou ("Welcome to Life in Limbo") is a short film with music from the 2010 album 'Kinshasa Succursale' by Baloji. 

Electric finger piano (likembé): played by Konono N°1, the legendary Congolese band who collaborated with Björk & count Vampire Weekend and Beck amongst their biggest fans.

baloji.com
baloji.com/blog
myspace.com/baloji

Contact:
info@baloji.com

Music
Composition & Lyrics: Baloji Tshiani
Thanks to Konono N°1 
Arrangements: Betis Didier Likeng / Cyril Harrison 

Universal Music Publishing - Kléa Songs 

Short film

Directors: Spike and Jones 
DOP: Nicolas Karakatsanis 
Producer: Annemie Decorte (Dr. Film)
Styling: Ann Lauwerys 
Mask: Katrien Matthys

 

PUB: bambootalkpress.com - Call for Submissions

Call for Submissions


She Sex

Bamboo Talk Press invites submissions in the genre of poetry, short-stories, art and photography for their 1st anthology ‘She Sex' which examines Caribbean women’s views on sexuality as it pertains to religion, race, age, family, culture and sexual orientation. How many of the choices we make are for us, how many are predetermined by tradition and society. Women Talk your Talk. What inspires you to be who you are, what edits you?

 

Submission Guidelines

Poetry & Short Stories
Please send no more than 3 poems
Short Stories must be no less than 200 words and no more than 1000 words. 

Photography & Art
Please send a maximum of 3 photographs or 3 art pieces
Please send as a 72 dpi image
Please send as tiff or jpg attachments
 

Authors and artists will retain the copyright of their work. With your submission you are giving Bamboo Talk Press one time only permission to publish your work.

We look forward to your submissions. At this time we are unable to pay contributors, but all contributors will receive a copy of the anthology.

 

 

Contact Us

website: www.bambootalkpress.com

Send all submissions and queries to 
email: bambootalkpress@gmail.com

 

 

PUB: West Coast Line Experimental Writing Contest

West Coast LINE Submission Guidelines

 

DOWNLOAD GUIDELINES (PDF)

West Coast Line publishes work by writers and artists who are experimenting  with or expanding the boundaries of conventional forms and contexts.  We are interested in work engaged with problems  of representation, race, culture, gender, sexuality, technology, media, urban/rural spaces, nature, and language.  We advise those considering submitting work to first familiarize themselves with the journal, and with the work of our recent contributors.  

Recently we have published poetry by Bruce Andrews, Charles Bernstein, Wayde Compton, Dan Farrell, Max Gadd, Hiromi Goto, Erin Mouré, Lisa Robertson, Fred Wah; essays by Di Brandt, Margot Leigh Butler, Peter Culley, Paul Kelley, Scott Mc Farlane, Larissa Lai, Roy Miki, Janice Williamson, Rita Wong; visual art by David Garneau, Laiwan, Ashok Mathur, Monique Mees, Cindy Mochizuki, Chick Rice, Jan Wade.

 

Submissions desired:


1. Mixed-genre: polyphonic texts, bibliographies, edited letters and manuscripts, text/image-based translations, book-installations, film/video stills w/wo text.

 

2. Poetry: "avant-garde," experimental and linguistically innovative writing, extended and serial forms, poetics, excerpts from long-poems; translations of contemporary sub-altern

 

3. Fiction: Please note that WCL very rarely publishes short-stories. When we do, we are looking especially for formally innovative and experimental work (up to 5,000 words).

 

4. Critical prose: please send us a query before submitting critical work, or if you are interested in writing a review.

 

5. Visual Art: please send us a query before submitting visual art.

 

Please note:


our annual reading period is now June 1st to August 31st. Submissions received outside this period will be returned unread

• we do not accept electronic submissions (disk or email)

• a self-addressed envelope with Canadian postage or an International Postal Response coupon should accompany submissions. American stamps are not valid in Canada we cannot respond to submissions without return postage

• copyright reverts to the author after publication of the issue

• payment: $10 per page (min. $50; max $200) + contributors copies; covers: $150

• payment is made after publication

• donations of $35 or more receive a subscription and an official tax receipt.

 

Still interested? Please address submissions to:

 

Attn: Submissions

West Coast Line
EAA 2027
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
CANADA
 

 

PUB: Meridian Literary Contest

Competition

Meridian Writing is pleased to announce our summer short story writing competition is now open. We will accept stories of up to 3,000 words, and is open to both published and unpublished writers.

Please note that all entries must be accompanied by an entry form and correct fee.

First Prize          £100

Second Prize      £50

Third Prize         £25

In addition to Prize Money, all winning authors will receive a firstwriter.com   voucher worth $15/£10/15, allowing them to take out a free subscription to firstwriter.com, providing access to details of hundreds of publishers, literary agents, writing competitions, and magazines. firstwriter.com will contact the winning authors directly.

Closing Date - 30th June, 2010

Competition Rules

  • The competition is open to both published and unpublished authors writing in any genre, including children's fiction. Stories must not have been previously published elsewhere either in print or online.
  • Authors must be sixteen years of age or older.
  • Stories should be a maximum of 3,000 words in length, but there is no lower limit.
  • The entry fee for each story is £5.00 GBP. There is no limit on the number of entries any one person may enter but no author may win more than one prize in any competition. Multiple entries may be made on one entry form with all stories listed.
  • Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form (which can be copied from our website, or obtained from our contact address: please enclose a SAE) or the Online Entry Form.
  • The Judges wish to make an unbiased decision on all entries, so please ensure that only the story title is printed on the story itself. This includes NOT having an author contact detail cover sheet. Any entries which do not comply with this rule will be disregarded from the competition. 
  • The closing date for the current competition is: 30th June.
  • The winners will be announced in July, with the winning stories being published on the Meridian Writing website.

Entry Details

  • If you would like confirmation that your postal entry has been received, or the list of winners, please enclose a suitable SAE (either marked 'Received' or 'Winners'). Online entries will receive a confirmation email once we have determined the correct fee has been received.
  • Your story should be clearly typed or printed in English (12pt, Times New Roman preferred) on one side only A4 paper, a word count included and double spaced. Include a 'header' which contains your story title and page number. Online entries will be accepted as an attachment saved as a .doc (or equivalent) file and mailed to our email Entry Address. Please ensure stories are emailed at the same time as the online form is submitted to avoid confusion.
  • If someone else is paying for you via PayPal, please enter a note to this effect to avoid any confusion.
  • Please refer to the 'Contact Us' page to see details on how to pay the entry fee.  
  • No stories will be returned, so make sure you keep a copy of your story.
  • The winning and runner-up stories will be published on the Meridian Writing website.
  • The Judges' decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • Winning authors will be required to supply a short (50 - 100 word) bio which will be published alongside their story.
  • Copyright remains with the author, but Meridian Writing has the unrestricted right to publish winning stories online. Additional publishing of any stories will be made with the consultation and agreement of the author.

OP-ED: Protest, Insurgency and the Workings of White Privilege

Imagine: Protest, Insurgency and the Workings of White Privilege

April 25, 2010, 8:33 am

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called "Imagine." The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure--the ones who are driving the action--we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters--the black protesters--spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government. Would these protesters--these black protesters with guns--be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that's what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation's capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country's political leaders if the need arose.

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry, screaming, black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.

Imagine that a black rap artist were to say, in reference to a white politician and presidential candidate: "He's a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun." And what would happen to any prominent liberal commentator who then, when asked about that statement, replied that the rapper was a friend and that he (the commentator) would not disavow or even criticize him for his remarks. Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said in 2007about Barack Obama, and that's how Sean Hannity responded to Nugent's remarkswhen he was asked about them.

Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister--who also works for the organization--defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchananemployed as Executive Director of his group, America's Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.

Imagine that a black radio host were to suggestthat the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding,or blamed a white president for a fight on a school busin which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough--“living fossils” as he called them--“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.*

Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recentlyat a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.

Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage,predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Arab Muslims and liberals,respectively. And it wasCongressman Culbertson,from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.

Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh,when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up The New York Times.

Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.”

Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress.

In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?

To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week,that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.

Game Over.

*(Denver Post December 29, 1995)

 

 

INFO: Breath of Life: The Last Poets, Tumi Molekane, Sly & the Family Stone, Natalie Cole, Macy Gray, & Corinne Bailey Rae

Breath Of Life - A Conversation About Black Music

Have you ever actually heard Harlem's The Last Poets? Have you ever heard of South Africa's Tumi MolekaneSly & The Family Stone, Natalie Cole, Macy Gray and Corinne Bailey Rae each cover "Que Sera, Sera," which one do you like best? Check out this week's Breath of Life for the answers to all these questions.


http://www.kalamu.com/bol/

INTERVIEW: Isabel Allende > from Shadow And Act

From The Slave Uprising In Haiti To 19th Century New Orleans

Chilean author Isabel Allende on her new novel Island Beneath the Sea; The story takes readers back 200 years in time to the slave uprising that led to the creation of the world’s first independent Black republic (Haiti), to 19th Century New Orleans; she also discusses the new controversial Arizona immigration law, and the rise of leftists leaders in Latin America:

isabel-allende-dn