Is Michelle Obama's "Ass" Off Limits?

from Vibe.com

CRITICAL NOIR
Is Michelle Obama's "Ass" Off-Limits?
by Mark Anthony Neal

At the crux of Erin Aubrey Kaplan's humorous and cute Salon.com essay, "First Lady Got Back," is the simple admission that Michelle Obama--and by extension the First Family Obama--represent a "realness" that hasn't existed in Washington political circles in some time. Indeed in a society in which the notion of "fitness" has become not only a market unto itself but a mode of regulation that defines what bodies are "fit" to represent the American body politic, Michelle Obama's body invokes a realness that is both refreshing and affirming--in the way that that Propel Water commercial from a year ago (the one with the healthy sista strolling the streets getting her walk on to the gaze of male celebrities). But that doesn't mean that Kaplan's piece doesn't conjure a more troubling view.

Never before has a First Lady's body been subject to the amount of scrutiny and surveillance as is the case with Michelle Obama; she has been rhetorically poked, prodded and groped. Many would have found such a line of coverage unfathomable and even offensive if applied to women like Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, or Roselyn Carter...

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Blowback, Prop 8 style

from NewsOne.com


LEFT OF BLACK
Black Voters, White Progressives and Prop 8
By Mark Anthony Neal

In all of the euphoria over Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American President, black voters have been cast as a vital part of the electorate that made his victory possible. There has been another story developing in the state of California, as black voters in the state, according to exit polls, voted 2-1 in favor of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment which bans same-sex marriage reversing ruling made only months ago by the California Supreme Court in favor of same-sex marriage.

Black support for Proposition 8 highlights one of the many fault-lines in the alliance that swept Barack Obama into the White House. The rhetoric is being amped up as some are essentially blaming black voters-often thought as critical to a liberal or progressive voting bloc-for the revoking of same-sex marriage privileges. The rift between traditional black voters and white progressives comes at a critical juncture, as President-Elect Obama seeks the political footing for his agenda. Without a viable and visible progressive political bloc, Obama will have little choice but to govern from the political center.

Though black voters have historically been some of the most consistent members of a liberal voting bloc, they tend to be more conservative on social issues such as same-sex marriage. This was something that strategist Karl Rove understood as the Bush campaign used the shiny-ball that was same-sex marriage in the 2004 presidential to garner just enough support among black voters in a state like Ohio to turn the tide in favor of the incumbent. It was a lesson that those who sought to defeat Proposition 8 should have studied.

It is clear though that organizers did little outreach into black communities assuming that with a black presidential candidate that was supportive of same-sex marriage, (though more tepidly supportive of Proposition 8 during the campaign cycle), that black voters would fall in line. But black views on same sex-marriage are more complicated; simply reading black voters as inherently homophobic misses the complexity of an issue that, in black communities, is often tied to the absence of black men as husbands and fathers. Understood in that context, same-sex marriage goes against the belief of many within black communities that black survival is hopelessly tied to traditional marriage patterns. That said, the Black Clergy needs to be accountable for hateful rhetoric directed towards gays, lesbians and transgendered citizens (including a good many in their congregations) and for willful fear-mongering.

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Hughley vs Chappelle?

from the Chronicle.com

***

Waiting for Chappelle
by John L. Jackson Jr.

DL Hughley is trying to step into that televisual void opened up by Chappelle's hasty departure from his hit cable show in 2005. Chappelle walked away from the show (and tons of money) because he started to fear that some of his provocative racial humor was possibly reinforcing American racism, not challenging it through parodic excess. Hughley's new CNN show is operating on that same racial terrain, and he hasn't quite found the right balance between biting satirical commentary and the threat of a more vapid reinforcement of our worst racial stereotypes.

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Bakari Kitwana Chats It Up with Common

"Mama Africa" Goes Home

Obama and Hip-Hop? Jeezy and MAN on NPR

from NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday

Obama Hip-Hop: From Mixtapes To Mainstream

Weekend Edition Sunday, November 9, 2008 - This election season, hip-hop performers and producers flocked to their mixing boards in unprecedented fashion.

Rapper Young Jeezy and professor Mark Anthony Neal discuss the impact of Barack Obama on hip-hop.

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Byron Hurt Chats Up "Barack & Curtis"

from NPR's All Things Considered

November 8, 2008 · Byron Hurt, the producer of the Web documentary Barack and Curtis, talks about the changing face of black masculinity in the U.S. since Barack Obama's rise to power.

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