All Innocent. All Killed. All Black. All Unarmed.: Part One.

The recent Zimmerman verdict has had many talking about what's been happening in our community for years; gun crime with acquittal or no charges as the common end result.

Here are five examples of 'No Justice, No Peace' cases in the African-American community in the past ten years.


1. Tobias Mackey

Tobias Mackey

In 2010, Dallas police officer Matthew Tate shot unarmed Tobias Mackey 9 times; six times in the chest, three times in his hands and once in the head.

Dallas officers said when they approached Mackey, they commanded him to put his hands up but Mackey refused and began reaching in his pockets.

There are also reports that the crime scene was tampered with; the body was removed and the blood was cleaned up.

A grand jury cleared Dallas officer Matthew Tate of any criminal wrongdoing.

The Dallas Police Department also has a history of not indicting white officers who shoot minority suspects.


2. Travares McGill

Travares McGill

In 2005, Travares McGill and his friends were hanging out in a parked car in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Security guards shined light into their car and Travares and his friends panicked.

Travares tried to back up the car and speed away. Travares was shot in the back and killed. The case went to court but the judge dismissed it, stating that it was a case of self-defense.


3. Aiyana Jones

In 2010, 7-year-old Aiyana Jones was shot and killed during a cop raid.

Officers threw a flash grenade into the home Aiyana was staying in, to distract the occupants and enter the home. Police officer Joseph Weekley claimed he accidentally discharged the gun, killing Aiyana as she lay sleeping on the couch.

Weekley stood trial, but the judge declared a mistrial after a hung jury could not come to a consensus on whether to acquit him, find him guilty of involuntary manslaughter or convict him for careless discharge of a firearm causing death.

The trial has been scheduled to start again on July 25th 2013.


4. Rekia Boyd

Rekia Boyd

In March 2012, 22-year-old Rekia Boyd was gunned down by Chicago detective Dante Servin. The off-duty officer responded to a disturbance call and while attempting to shoot the suspect Antonio Cross (who took out his cellphone (which prompted the shooting)), a bullet struck Rekia's head as she tried to escape. 

Detective Servin has never been criminally charged, however, Chicago City Council has approved a $4.5 million wrongful death settlement with the family of Rekia Boyd.

5. Bo Morrison

Bo Morrison

In 2012, 20-year-old Bo Morrison was shot and killed at an underage drinking party.

When the party got too loud, police were called by a 35-year-old neighbour named Adam Kind.

After the garage door was kicked in and party goers fled, Bo Morrison hid on the back porch of Adam Kind's home, who then heard noises and mistook Bo for an intruder. Bo Morrison was subsequently shot in the chest.

Adam Kind has never been formally charged because he's protected by the 'Castle Doctrine' law of Wisconsin (similar to Florida's Stand Your Ground). The law protects homeowners from prosecution when killing people under self-defence. 

In Death I Shall Be A Terror To The Foes Of African Liberty.

I think this is one of my favourite lines of Marcus Garvey's 'Look For Me In The Whirlwind' speech.

The energy of the orator performing this famous speech by Marcus Garvey send shivvers down my spine.

Marcus Garvey was right. He would be a terror to the foes of African liberty after his death because his message is still alive, still being transmitted, still being realised. His message is just getting louder and louder as more people are rediscovering Pan-Africanism and the need for African Liberation.

Some events taking place in Birmingham UK in August in honour of His Excellency, The Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey:

Keti Koti Suriname: Alida, The Slave With One Breast.

Alida was a beautiful, young enslaved girl who attracted the attention of the husband of plantation owner Susanna Du Plessis.

Susanna Du Plessis was jealous of the fact that her slave got the attention of her spouse and cut off Alida's breast.

Alida became known as the slave with one breast and is also regarded as the Mother Of The Boni (the Surinamese Maroons).

Alida represents the strength and courage of enslaved Surinamese.

Every year, the Surinamese honour Alida through a pageant known as the Surinamese Miss Alida Pageant.

A statue of Alida in Suriname. Her left breast is painted red, representing the cut breast.

Source

I Got My Upper Second Class BSc Hons!!!

I made it!!! I got my 2.1 Bachelors of Science with Honours in Biological Sciences... I made it alive!!!

I'm currently on cloud ten (cloud ten because I already had a good week with great, great opportunities, and eye-opening and awakening experiences)...

I'm so pleased because my year has been a roller-coaster ride!! This bit of happiness despite what I've had to endure over the past ten months, has been a long time coming! 

I'm truly, truly happy right now. I can't really describe it. 

I told my immediate family and a lot of them were happy for me but were unsurprised... I suppose they expected that of me. I honestly didn't expect that of myself... second semester wasn't the best semester, but I still managed to get some good modules here and there. 

The only thing left regarding university is my graduation ceremony in November! November is so so far... so I won't get that cap and gown pic until then. However, this will leave me with a lot of time to decide what I'm going to wear and how I'm going to celebrate it. 

Life is so good right now. ^^ 

The Onion's Satirical Article Regarding Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin.

The Onion is always a step away from causing some kind of offence. Last February, The Onion wrote an inappropriate article about child actress Quevenzhané Wallis, calling her a c_nt.

After a multitude of complaints, that article was taken down and The Onion apologised. I myself wrote an article with a complaint letter attached, stating why The Onion's article was inappropriate.

Just today, The Onion wrote another article that made me raise an eyebrow. This is the original article:

The Case For And Against George Zimmerman

FOR

• Typed, signed letter from Martin confirming he attacked Zimmerman
• Americans have soft spot for nation’s rugged, rawly sexual neighborhood watch volunteers
• Actions fall within the letter of Florida’s “Get Out Of Your Car, Track Down Your Target, Provoke A Fight, Then Stand Your Ground” law
• That scary photo of Trayvon Martin flipping off the camera
• Big, round, happy moonface reminiscent of beloved comedian Jonathan Winters
• Not convicting him would have a fun “Wow, how the fuck did this happen?” kind of craziness to it
• Only shot unarmed black guy once, as opposed to national average of 21 times
• Presence of an eloquent and highly persuasive Henry Fonda in the jury box
• He didn’t do it

AGAINST

• Murdered a kid
• Alibi that he was bowling with friends at the time of the crime falls apart under close scrutiny
• Decency, common sense, basic morality, etc.
• Best-case scenario: He got into a fight with a 17-year-old and then shot and killed him
• His original description of Trayvon Martin as 8 feet tall, 250 pounds, and carrying a semiautomatic is dodgy at best
• Chilling 911 call features Zimmerman saying, “Hold on a sec, I’m going to kill this black kid real quick”
• Millions of paranoid, racist assholes leaping to Zimmerman’s support may actually be hurting his public image
• Always good to make the American legal system seem fair from time to time

I decided to email The Onion regarding this article. Their feedback email address is: publicfeedback@theonion.com


Dear The Onion,

On Monday the 24th of June, The Onion published an article entitled 'The Case For And Against George Zimmerman'. This article was clearly inspired by current events; George Zimmerman, an ex-neighbourhood watcher, is currently being tried for the murder of a 17 year-old African-American teenager, Trayvon Martin. The past year and few months have been a very difficult time for the family of Trayvon Martin, who have been subjected to consistent slander of Trayvon Martin from the day he died up until now.

As with every other news site, The Onion is within its rights to produce articles inspired by current events. However, this particular article, which contained many offensive references in an attempt to be humorous, was quite insensitive, inappropriate and unnecessary.

One major example of the insensitivity in this article is this particular line classed in the 'For George Zimmerman' section of the article:

''That scary photo of Trayvon Martin flipping off the camera''

It is unclear whether this line reflects the views of the writer of this article or if that is the general view of George Zimmerman supporters. Either way, it is unacceptable to ever consider that the dress code or the photographs of a regular American teenage boy flipping his fingers is a justification for murder. This suggestion is simply immoral.

I understand that The Onion is a satirical news site, but I do not believe that satire can be applied to every situation. Therefore, it would be in The Onion's best interest to apologise to the family of Trayvon Martin and remove this inappropriate article.

Regards,

[Your name]

Great Black Women With Dr Runoko Rashidi

Last Saturday I attended a presentation organised by the Friends of Fondation Félicité; 'Great Black Women Past & Present, Those At Home & Abroad'. Author and historian Dr Runoko Rashidi presented the presentation, which (as expected) was inspiring and very informative. Dr Rashidi was really in his element, sharing a story behind many of the pictures in the presentation as well as sharing  bits of his personal life. He also showered black women with incredible amounts of praise and love; adding onto the positivity of the evening. 

Friends of Fondation Félicité (a UK-based non-profit organisation) started the evening with their own presentation about the organisation. FFF supports an already established foundation in Haiti, the Fondation Marie Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur Dessalines. Félicité was the wife of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (who is widely regarded as the founding father of Haiti). FFF raises money for FF in an effort to help Haitians in spiritual and mental healing. FF also assists Haitians in becoming more self-reliant and efficient (a goal often ignored by many charity and aid organisations).

Félicité was regarded as special by her father. He believed she would go on to do great things. When he was in jail and Félicité was born, he refused to have Félicité named until his release. Félicité was an incredibly selfless and caring woman who helped care for the sick and wounded in the Haitian Revolutionary War. Félicité is honoured in Haiti's Independence celebrations (which occurs on January 1st) by the consumption of Soup Joumou.

The presentation consisted of a slideshow of images of black women all over the world, from the Americas to the Melanesian islands and from the well-known to the unknown. The slideshow was available for purchase as DVD from Dr Rashidi.

The Venus of Willendorf

One of the first images shown was that of The Venus of Willendorf, which is a small artefact dating back to the Stone Age of Europe. The body resembles that of a woman of African descent.

Dr Rashidi then presented images of the Black Madonna. One of the excuses behind the dark complexion of the statues was that 'it was a bad paint job' which resulted in the original colour (white or tan) turning the statue black. Dr Rashidi raised the questions 'why are so many of the Madonna's black? Why didn't the rest of the Madonna turn black?'. 

Black Madonna’s are also considered powerful miracle workers.

Black Madonna and Child

Dr Rashidi further shared that the origin of Madonna and Child is based on the story of Aset and Heru. Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian believe structure. Aset married Ausar who died before the pair even consummated their marriage. Aset was impregnated by Ausar through immaculate conception and had her son Heru, nine months later.

Left: Aset and Heru. Right: Madonna and Jesus

Dr Rashidi also mentioned that the NotreDame Cathedral of Paris is build over the temple of Isis. Notre Dame cathedral even had elements of Isis incorporated into the cathedral.

We then moved on from great black women in the past, to great black women geographically. 

A woman from the Buka Islands

People from the Buka Islands (Buka means black) are said to be proud of their African heritage and have a reputation for being the darkest people on the planet. Dr Rashidi said that there are many Africans including South Sudanese who could give the Buka people a run for their money.

After a series of slides of black women all over the globe, we were shown images of great black women who fought for our freedom. 

Nanny Of The Maroons

Nanny of the Maroons was the leader of the Jamaican Maroons, which were a group of enslaved people who fled the oppression of their slave masters and established their own communities on the island.

Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba

Queen Nzinga was queen of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms of Angola. Her efforts saw the slave trade eliminated in her kingdom.

La Mulâtresse Solitude 

La Mulâtresse Solitude, was a slave rebel who fought against slavery in Guadeloupe. In a fight for freedom, she was captured and then excuted the day after she gave birth to her baby. Dr Rashidi shared that the fate of the baby is still unknown. 

Amy Ashwood Garvey

We also paid homage to the first wife of the Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Amy Ashwood Garvey. 

Ida B. Wells, was a journalist, suffragist and sociologist and regarded as the female W.E.B. Dubois. According to Dr Rashidi, Ida referred to her husband as Mr Barnett as a sign of respect.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta

Finally, one of the last images of the presentation that really stood out to me was that of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a Yoruba princess who was taken as a goddaughter by Queen Victoria.

The presentation was a celebration of great black women; well known or everyday women... we were all celebrated. 

Our sheroes are often ignored and their roles in the fight for freedom or their general influence is often overshadowed by that of our heroes. 

Dr Runoko Rashidi wonderfully said:

Next to every great man, there is a great woman next to him and sometimes even in front of him. The Black Woman is God On Earth. 

Rape Is Freedom Of Speech.

Rick Ross for Reebok

Rick Ross' rape lyric in UOENO:

''Put Molly all up in her champagne, she ain't even know it, I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it''.

According to Urbandictionary.com, Molly is defined as:

The purest form of ecstasy (MDMA).

It's safe to say that in Rick Ross' lyric, he was using it as a date-rape drug.

Since the backlash occurred, Rick Ross was dropped by Reebok. Rick Ross has since then apologised. Late apologies lose its sincerity.

Rick Ross' apology consisted of pretty much blaming everyone else and saying sorry for the sake of saying sorry. According to him, we have all misinterpreted his lyrics. Rick Ross, we are not stupid. We read it. There is no subliminal message or figurative speech behind it.

A few rappers came out of the woodworks to show their support for Ross, here is what Drake had to say:

"That situation the other day with the Rocko song was a big wake-up call for all of us. Like, rap is important. The world is listening, this is a wake-up call. If you're going to say something that's going to put you at risk, make sure it's a message worth fighting for. I know Rick Ross very well, by all means I don't mean to speak on another man's situation, but it just, for me, it clicked. ... Watching Pac, he felt like that message was worth fighting for. And in this day and age, he would have lost corporate sponsorship and he would have lost money but at the end of the day, that message was important for him. It's just a wake-up call, man, and just realizing more to it." ("East Village Radio")

What a classical move; victimise the perpetrator.

So rape is a message that is worth fighting for? How is complete thirst for dominance over another human-being a message that is worth fighting for?

A message that is worth fighting for is the freedom for the Palestinians in Israel, or justice for Trayvon Martin, or a protest concerning the stop and frisk searches in New York. Promoting rape is not a message that should ever, ever, ever be promoted, Audrey.

And dropping Pac's name in a paragraph about Rick Ross? Rick Ross isn't even worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as Pac. Rick Ross isn't fighting for anything except for the freedom to be a fucking dick.

Tyga:

On Ross' verse on the Rocko song "U.O.E.N.O.", Tyga felt the situation was blown out of proportion. "It's freedom of speech," he said, "I mean it wasn't even his record." The rapper expressed that those criticizing Ross probably don't actually know all that much about him. "I mean activists, and all those righteous groups. That's what they do, they probably don't even listen to Ross's music. I know they don't know who Rocko is." he said, concluding that "they're just finding anything they can." (Hot New Hip Hop) 

Rapping about rape is not freedom of speech. In fact, obscenity is not covered by freedom of speech. You were not given 1st Amendment rights to preach about rape.

No one has to know Rick Ross or listen to his music to know what he said was revolting. Bye Tyga.

 Meek Mill:

"I don't even care about nobody criticizing no lyrics. People rap about killing stuff all day.Biggie said, "Rape your kid, throw her over the bridge" back then, it was nothing, it was just hip-hop. Now you got all these weirdos on these social sites voicing their opinion about something anybody say. I don't care, you know what I'm saying? I'm from the hood. I never really cared about what nobody say in no rap. Rap's always been talking about killing, drugs, all types of stuff. You know what I'm saying? So you can't just criticize no one thing nobody say. It's imaginary visual. If a writer write about somebody getting raped in a movie, that mean he a rapist or he want girls to get raped? No, he just wrote about that in a movie. [Eminemtalked about] you can kill your mom, kill your baby mom, rape her, tie her up. ... It's just different now. People can voice their opinion on a social site and become popular and people are turning it into any thing. Me? I don't care about that. You can say whatever you want. I take care of my family, I'm getting money, I'm living my life and I'm being me." (Urban Informer)

Imaginary visual? You know what I visualise when I read the lyrics? Rape. And that isn't a good thing.

All of these mainstream rappers trying so hard to be like poets or freedom writers, like they bring actual positivity or are fighting for a cause...

Misogyny clearly has a secure place in rap.

Notable Revolutionaries: How Many Can You Name?

Source

I came across this image on Tumblr. I started counting how many I could name. I named 13.

I asked my 10 year-old cousin and she could only name one person; Bob Marley. My cousin and sister named four between them.

How many can you name? 

Who Gave Them The Internet? - Boston Bombings.

Source

Someone Revoke Zimmerman's Brother Of His 1st Amendment Rights.

Pretty much everyone would go to extreme lengths to defend their family. I get that... but to me, justice is so much more important than lying and defending your murderous brother.

Robert Zimmerman, the brother of George Zimmerman (the man who shot Trayvon Martin in an unprovoked attack) made this tweet last Sunday:

Robert Zimmerman truly is a dumb-ass, just like his brother (this trait clearly runs in their family). On one hand him running his racist mouth is annoying and predictable but on the other hand, he is making things very difficult for Zimmerman's defence.  

Robert has since apologised on Piers Morgan regarding his tweets:

 "I realize those were controversial and offensive, and I did publicly apologize for them. I don't think it was the right thing to do that way. I understand it's controversial and I apologize for it and I'm sincere about that. I shouldn't have done it this way."

Robert's apology does not come from a sincere place, especially since he only attempted to recant because of the backlash he received.

In response to Robert's tweets, there is no defence for killing anyone, even when they throw up 'fuck you' signs or gang signs in photographs. And to even justify and defend your brother's killing by using a completely isolated case (which even took a completely different turn (apparently the killing of the one-year-old boy was premeditated)) shows just how prejudiced the Zimmerman family really are.

They can carry on with this smear campaign against Trayvon Martin and all other black boys. They're just digging themselves a deeper hole in the process.

I Don't Really Consider Myself As A Black Girl Model.

Source

Devyn, the fashion industry will remind you that you is black, black, black and black.

The First Ethiopian Miss Israel And The Forced Sterilisation of Ethiopian Jews.

Without a doubt, the first Ethiopian Miss Israel is a beautiful young woman with a smile so charming, that Obama even invited her to a White House gala dinner.

Major congrats to Miss Yityish Aynaw. Her beauty was definitely unparalleled at Miss Israel 2013. 

I really don't want to take away from her incredible achievement; it's a major record breaking, history making, achievement. However, I can't help but notice how convenient the win was for the Israeli government/propaganda machine. 

Why? 

Because a number of weeks ago, reports came that the Israeli government had been using long-term birth control on Ethiopian Jews under false pretences. For years, female Ethiopian Jews were injected with Depo-Provera; a long-term birth control that lasts for three months. Scare tactics were used to terrify these women into taking these injections, even when it went against their will.

According to Haaretz, Health Ministry Director General Prof. Roni Gamzu has ordered for these birth control injections to stop, unless the recipients understand the implications of taking the birth control.

While I understand the importance of consent, (i.e. medical treatment and scientific research, both of which depend on consent in order to be carried out), I'm quite infuriated about the fact that these women's opinions and feelings were never taken into consideration.

No kind of thought was given to how this infringed these women's human rights. 

And as if ignoring the feelings of these women wasn't bad enough, some writers have had a 'what's the big deal?' attitude about this. Remember, Depo-Provera is a long-term birth control and not a permanent sterilisation treatment, but some writers think that makes it ok because the women aren't permanently prevented from having children. These writers have completely missed the point here. 

My main issue with this is the fact that these rights that so many Western and Israeli Jews take for granted, are not being given to these women who are very worthy of being in Israel. They're not told the truth, they're not given the opportunity to choose and they're being prevented from doing what most women desire; have children and raise them. 

Just to conclude, I'm pleased that the Depo-Provera prescriptions are being stopped and that it was never a 'permanent' solution to begin with. However, I'm quite aware of what Israel's intentions were with this and I know for a fact that Yityish's win served as a great distraction, more so because her win got more media attention than the actual birth control issue. Furthermore, perhaps this win was Israel's attempt to prove its diversity and progressiveness when it comes to co-existing with people of other races. I'm happy for Yityish and her accomplishments, but I haven't forgotten what they've done to her people... our people; women and Africans.

I Take My Coffee Black, Like My Men.

Peace Africa.

Regrading Brandon Stanton of HONY, Businesses Need To Stop Exploiting Art

If you haven't heard of Humans of New York, your Facebook feed is seriously missing out.

Brandon Stanton is a street photographer who snaps shots of New Yorkers for Humans of New York. The shots are candid and untouched but very nice to look at... particularly because New Yorkers have so much individuality and 'culture'. Humans of New York shows just how diverse the city is and how different New Yorkers can be from one another.

Given Stanton's very popular and impressive shots, it's unsurprising that DKNY stole the images after he turned down their offer to purchase them .

The backstory:

• DKNY wanted to use Stanton's images and offered $15,000 in exchange for 300 pics
• Stanton's friend said $50 per pic from a company worth millions is not enough
• Stanton rejected DKNY
• DKNY used his images anyway
• Fan sends picture of Stanton's images in a DKNY store in Bangkok
• Stanton demanded that DKNY donate $100,000 on his behalf to a Bed-Stuy YMCA
• DKNY explains the situation, offers an apology and donates $25,000 on behalf of Stanton to the Bed-Stuy YMCA

DKNY has clearly crossed the line in this case and their 'compensation' wasn't nearly enough for a million dollar business. 

Furthermore, violating copyright is punishable by law. I'm guessing they didn't think anyone would notice the photographs in a DKNY store in Bangkok so they proceeded to violate copyright laws anyway. 

From an artists' point of view (if you regard writers as artists), it pains me to see plagiarism and counterfeiting of artists' work. They put the time into it, they put the struggle into it, they put their passion into it... only for it to be passed off by someone else as their own work.  

The work of artists is here to be shared (that's what artists do, share their work) but that doesn't mean their work should be regarded as 'free' just because it is shared.

The irony of this entire situation is that DKNY is part of the fashion industry; its entire basis is on art. From artist to artist, DKNY should have accepted that

• their offer was abysmal; $15,000 for 300 pictures is nearly nothing
• Stanton rejected their offer; they should have respected his decisions
• they couldn't use his images without his 'go-ahead'

But like most iconic and major fashion companies, DKNY are now just in the business of making money. So it really wasn't that surprising that DKNY did what they did. 

Like everything else, art is a trade, people don't do it for 'free' unless they say they do. Don't assume that it is 'free'. Artists have to make a living too. 

Artists who have got to a stage where they deem themselves valuable, should start demanding incentives for their work. You can't keep doing free work for people if your artistry is your only source of income.

Artists also have to go out of their way to protect their work. I sometimes like to post art but if I can't locate where or who it has come from, I can hardly add a source to it. It's not that I don't want you to get your recognition, sometimes it's hard to say who it is from. 

Artists should keep their watermarks/signatures on their work because people will attempt to pass it off as their own; protect your work and use a good watermark/signature so that it can't be easily exploited.

Stanton's reaction in this is commendable. He wasn't asking for money for his personal use, he was asking for it to be donated to an organisation that does good for children.

Stanton started a fundraiser to raise the remainder of the $100,000 he requested from DKNY and he got about $103,710 (last time I checked).

Artists, protect your work. Demand incentives.

You Wanna Say Nigga But...

Source

Why It Doesn't Matter If The Next Pope Is Black

With Pope Benedict XVI officially quit today, there is a possibility that a 'first' black pope will become his successor.

If everyone looked a little further into the past, you'd actually find that if the next pope was a black pope, he wouldn't be the first one.

According to the Liber Pontificalis (a record of names of popes since the first pope, St. Peter), there have been three black popes:

• St Victor (186 - 198)
• St Miltiades (311 - 314)
• St Gelasius (492 - 496)

There is a possibility that there have been many more black popes, particularly because of the Moorish presence in Europe.

The enthusiasm about a possible black pope

A lot of people seem hopeful and enthusiastic about the prospect of having a first black pope in 1500 years. The pope will be leader of the most powerful Church in the world. So while I understand people's excitement, I really believe that we shouldn't put too much value in the importance of having a black pope...

I genuinely believe that a black pope wouldn't make a difference to people's lives in the African Diaspora.

The pope would still put the Catholic Church's agenda first, because remember, he is 'leader' of the Catholics, not of black people. The pope will solely focus on his job as the pope, not as a saviour for black people everywhere.

The other sad reality is that even when we have leadership positions and the potential to do great or good for ourselves, we don't. A great example of this is Kofi Annan as former United Nations Secretary General, who didn't do enough to prevent the Rwandan genocide.

Black leaders in any position, are always pressured to not solely improve their own communities in case of backlash, accusations of abusing their power to carry out their own agenda and not the one they've been assigned to or because of fear of no possible re-election.

A black pope is welcome, but we don't need it as validation of our ability to become leaders.

Letter Of Complaint To The Onion After Calling Quvenzhané The C-word

The Onion is a satirical, parodic news site, known for their 'hilarious' news about celebrities, politicians and ordinary everyday people. 

I liked their parody news reports, some were funny but the majority of them had 'try-hard' written all over it.

Cute little Quvenzhané Wallis attended The Oscars yesterday as the youngest ever Oscar nominee for her role as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild.

She's so adorable.

The Onion participated in the Oscar tweets (as expected) but a really distasteful tweet was send out amongst the other bad jokes: 

The Onion Twitter

How is it appropriate for anyone to make such a vile joke about a 9 year old girl? How is it appropriate for anyone to make such a joke about women anyway, regardless of their age?  

The Onion is in the business of making jokes but The Onion clearly doesn't realise that some things are funny and some things are definitely not funny. This joke is in such bad taste and it's a shame that a talented 9 year old girl has been subjected to such nasty treatment.

The Onion has since removed the tweet but hasn't yet formally apologised for it. 

I've decided to email The Onion. Their feedback email address is: publicfeedback@theonion.com

My letter:

Dear The Onion, 

On the night of Sunday February 24th 2013 at 10.42pm, a tweet was send out from the official 'The Onion' Twitter page. The tweet suggested that the youngest Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis, is the C***-word. This was on the biggest night of Quvenzhané's life.

After a series of complaints on Twitter, the tweet was promptly removed. 

However, no official apology or acknowledgment of any wrong-doings has been issued.  

I understand that The Onion is a satirical news site but The Onion simply went too far when making that 'joke' about a 9 year old, talented actress. The joke was inappropriate and it would have also been inappropriate to be used against anyone regardless of age.  

It would be in The Onion's best interest to offer Quevenzhané Wallis an apology for the tweet but also to the individuals who have complained about this tweet. 

Yours sincerely,  

[name]

Film Afrika: Mix tape Malcolm X Documentary

This was my first ever Film Afrika. Film Afrika at Yemanja occurs every last Friday of the month.

This Film Afrika was about Malcolm X (he died on the 21st of February 1965). In commemoration of him there was a viewing of a mix tape Malcolm X documentary (documentary footage compiled from many different sources) on the Friday and on the Sunday there was a commemoration ceremony (which I couldn't attend).

The documentary mix tape showed footage of a series of documentaries. I'm still trying to find out which ones but I think I'm very likely to just purchase a copy from Yemanja at £4.

I've learned more about Malcolm X from the documentary. I've learned of the FBI's complete involvement in X's life and their infiltration of the Nation Of Islam. I've learned that the Honourable Elijah Muhammad wasn't as honourable as people like to say he is.

Below I've compiled a few documentaries (some of the clips were shown in the mix tape, but not all).

I've also added a personal favourite clip of Malcolm X's speeches.

My personal favourite, it's still 100% relevant to this day:

Who Taught You To Hate Yourself?