(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos, Week In Review: Boyega to fellow actor Idris Elba, "You Black," dude. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-17 He's so fine... but I must disagree with him. Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar It’s Black History month and one of my all-time favorite actors is making some news of his own — and not for his acting. The whole world oughta know how much I luvz me some Idris Elba. It is my considered opinion that if we must have a (totally useless) “Sexiest Man Alive” list , then Idris Elba ought to have a permanent spot on it. He’s that fine. I guess that’s why he had to go out of his way to remind us that ain’t none of us perfect. Why, Idris? Why? In a new feature for the spring 2023 issue of Esquire UK, the 50-year-old actor addressed racism he has experienced in his career, while adding that he has "stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. "We've got to grow. We've got to. Our skin is no more than that: it's just skin," he added. x “Racism is very real. But, from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a ‘black actor’ when I realized it put me in a box... Our skin is no more than that: It’s just skin.” @idriselba https://t.co/adHVF1Z6m6 — Movieguide® (@movieguide) February 15, 2023 I get what Idris is trying to say. Sorta. in the ideal world, he’d have the luxury of calling himself whatever the hell he wants. His race wouldn’t matter then, and it shouldn’t matter now. But it does. His declaration coming at this time is, at best, misguided. If you want to know how his words landed, just check out who is crawling out of the woodwork to defend and promote them… who is gleefully quoting him. “Idris Elba rejects identity politics!” On the other hand, the outcry from those who elevated him to demi-godlike status got so bad that he was forced to issue a clarifying statement. Remember Idris, you are explaining, you are losing the argument. x There isn't a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not. Being an 'actor' is a profession, like being an 'architect' ,they are not defined by race. However, If YOU define your work by your race, that is your Perogative. Ah lie? — Idris Elba (@idriselba) February 11, 2023 To be fair, Idris Elba’s body of work, both on and off the big screen, proclaims him to be a proud, principled Black man. And we love him for it. But his statement betrays a lack of understanding of the forces at work whose job it is to protect and promote white supremacy and racism. It doesn’t matter what he calls himself, or how he describes himself; what matters is what people see when he walks into a room. As Ralph Ellison put it over 70 years ago: “I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids -- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination -- indeed, everything and anything except me.” Exercising his right to call himself whatever he wants will have absolutely no impact on racism. None. As we have often repeated, racism is a white peoples’ problem, and they and they alone have the power to dismantle it. It’s not him calling himself a Black actor that put him in a box, it was the Hollywood execs and the system that they perpetuate that put him in a box. John Boyega had the right of it. Boyega, for whom I have enormous respect and who has quickly become one of my favorite people, gets it. x I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this. Not on making weird adjustments for them. We continuously focus on what we have to do so they don't do this or that. Very worrying. We BLACK and that's that. https://t.co/E0sBLJOBIR — John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) February 10, 2023 The irony for me is, I don’t think Idris Elba ever did call himself a “black actor.” At least, I can find no record of him referring to him as such. As a young talent, he turned up in Hollywood as an actor looking for work. He certainly didn’t go into some casting director’s office and say, “I’m a Black actor looking for work.” The powers-that-be affixed the descriptor, and loving, supportive Black folks welcomed him into their hearts as a Black man. To echo John Boyega, “You Black, dude.” That’s it. It’s a bit sad that the unfortunate comment overshadowed the rest of a very good interview. I learned things about him that I hadn’t known before. As a devoted fan, I loved it. I’m Black. And that skin stays with me no matter where I go, every day, through Black areas with white people in it, or white areas with Black people in it. I’m the same Black. He should have left it at that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new generation is exploring how the city’s celebrated food owes as much to West African and Caribbean cuisines as to Creole cooking. NYT: In Majority-Black New Orleans, Chefs Are Rewriting ‘Whitewashed’ History ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first dish served at Dakar NOLA is called Last Meal. It’s a soup of black-eyed peas, crispy rice and Louisiana blue crab, with robust spicing that recalls this city’s famous gumbos. Chances are you’ll still be thinking about it days later. Last Meal is that delicious — and even more unsettling. It is inspired by ndambe, a dish that Dakar NOLA’s chef, Serigne Mbaye, ate while growing up in Senegal. But a version of that dish was also fed to enslaved West Africans just before they boarded ships to the United States. Last Meal, like the peas fed to those in bondage, contains palm oil, which is high in saturated fat. Kidnapped Africans needed to be “fattened up” before being loaded onto ships, so slaveholders could “protect their investment,” Mr. Mbaye explained to about 30 guests in January. He shares this story at the start of every meal at Dakar NOLA, which opened in November. “I’ve seen people cry plenty of times when talking to me about the black-eyed pea soup,” he said during one of several interviews. “We need to let people know where the food came from. The story isn’t always going to be pleasant.” It’s a particularly resonant story in a city whose image as a haven of merriment and great food, and as a living portal to history, has been cultivated for well over a century. New Orleans is also a majority Black city that was once the site of the largest slave market in the United States, where by one estimate more than 135,000 people were bought and sold. Startling racial inequality is not just a fact of the past in New Orleans. Today, the median income of Black households here is 36 percent that of white households, and about half of all Black children live below the poverty line, according to the Data Center, a Louisiana-focused research firm. These disparities are similarly reflected in the amount of acclaim and fortune that flows disproportionately to the city’s white chefs and restaurateurs. New Orleans chefs, restaurateurs and scholars have been rethinking the city’s culinary history. Front row, from left: Serigne Mbaye, Afua Richardson, Nina Compton, Lisa Nelson, Zella Palmer, Martha Wiggins, Edgar Chase IV. Back row, from left: Prince Lobo, Dr. Howard Conyers, Robert Manos, Charly Pierre. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nothing will stop me speaking my mind. Espn: Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on FIA clampdown ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lewis Hamilton has said he will continue to speak his mind on important societal issues regardless of the FIA's clampdown on political protests ahead of the 2023 Formula One season. In December, the FIA, the sport's governing body, updated the International Sporting Code with a clause requiring prior written permission for drivers to make or display "political, religious and personal statements or comments." F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has said the sport will not allow its drivers to be gagged, but the FIA has the power to hand down financial and sporting penalties if rules are not followed. Hamilton has been increasingly active in highlighting different issues during race weekends, such as when he wore a shirt saying "Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor" before and after the Tuscan Grand Prix in 2020, and he said no rule would make him change his approach. "It doesn't surprise me," Hamilton said of the FIA decision, in a media session after the launch of Mercedes' 2023 car. "But nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I'm passionate about, and on issues that there are. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tiffini Gatlin's Latched & Hooked brand creates high-quality synthetic hair extensions for customers who prefer protective styles with stress- and toxin-free alternatives. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Black-owned hair brand makes history on QVC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Latched and Hooked is a Black-owned and operated company providing non-toxic solutions for protective hairstyles. The brand was launched in 2016 by Tiffini Gatlin, who was named one of Ulta Beauty’s MUSE 100 honorees. The company was also recognized by the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, which brought a $100,000 investment in her business. Now, the company has made history with the launch of a collection on home shopping channel QVC — a first for a Black-owned faux hair designer. “I wanted to design a wig for women who don’t wear wigs,” explained Gatlin in an interview with AfroTech. “Wigs can be intimidating and the wig I’m launching on QVC is a pre-tied turban wig so there is no lace cutting or gluing.” While Gatlin has already experienced some impressive milestones, this latest victory opens a big door for her company and will allow her to reach a new audience of millions. “I’m so overwhelmed with emotion and I can’t thank you all enough for tuning in early this morning,” said Gatlin in an Instagram post. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Advocate for yourself" is career advice we all hear. But for Black professionals, it's complicated, a new survey finds. Huff Post: Black Employees Face Backlash From White Managers When They Self-Promote At Work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A 2022 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology surveyed a racially diverse and stratified sample of professionals, all from a large global financial institution and who all had white managers. Employees answered a survey about their self-promotional behavior with prompts such as “I talk proudly about my contributions or education with others at [company name],” and a group of management researchers used manager surveys and human resources information to see how supervisors rated the employees’ performance. The researchers found that although white, Asian and Latinx employees received higher job ratings when they talked more about their contributions and accomplishments, Black employees were penalized by white managers for doing the same thing. Black employees who rated themselves highly on self-promotion received lower ratings of their job performance and assessments of their fit with the organization. In other words, self-promoting at work benefited white, Asian and Latinx employees while it had negative consequences for Black colleagues. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cambridge Analytica is spreading their dirty politics worldwide. The Guardian: ‘Team Jorge’ and Cambridge Analytica meddled in Nigeria election, emails reveal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Four weeks before a pivotal presidential election in Nigeria, an Israeli private operative specialising in political “black ops” was preparing his trip to the country. On 17 January 2015 the man, who used the alias “Jorge”, emailed Cambridge Analytica, the political consultancy he was coordinating with on a covert plan to manipulate Africa’s largest democracy. “Friends, hi, I will be on the ground tomorrow for couple days … Who is best to meet there[?]” he asked. “Low profile as we came in on a special visa and we are watched closely (which is part of our plan :) anyway we need better understanding of the current status, improve communication and coordinate plans, we want to run by you a couple things that we might execute if the stars align. so plz, in very limited circulation, who is best to meet, and whats his/her position, and contact info.” Jorge, or “J”, as he signed off many of his emails, was operating separately to Cambridge Analytica. But his group was coordinating with, and working alongside, the British political consultancy, which shared a secret mission to help re-elect Nigeria’s then president, Goodluck Jonathan. On Wednesday, Jorge was unmasked by the Guardian and its media partners as Tal Hanan, a hacking and disinformation specialist operating from an industrial park 20 miles outside Tel Aviv. He calls his group “Team Jorge”, and claims it has worked covertly on more than 33 “presidential-level” election campaigns on behalf of clients. The reply to Hanan’s email asking who to meet in Nigeria was sent by Brittany Kaiser, a young Cambridge Analytica employee who later featured prominently in the Netflix documentary The Great Hack, about the company’s Facebook data scandal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Colonial exceptionalism and a victim mentality are integral to Russia’s self-image. Foreign Policy: Why Russia Markets Itself as an Anti-Colonial Power to Africans ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Russian foreign minister’s recent tour of Africa may have been unannounced, but it was not unexpected. In his second trip in eight months, Sergey Lavrov visited Eswatini, Botswana, Angola, and South Africa. In February, he will visit Mali, Tunisia, Mauritania, Algeria, and Morocco. Across the continent, he and his colleagues will likely promote the view that Russia is an anti-imperialist force, instrumentalizing positive memories of Soviet support for various African wars of independence against exploitative Western colonialists. Moscow has long used “memory diplomacy” in Africa—invoking positive memories of the past to bolster its influence and interests—but now these tactics are standing in the way of Ukraine’s soft power. “Russia was among the few world powers that neither had colonies in Africa or elsewhere nor participated in [the] slave trade throughout its history. Russia helped, in every possible way, the peoples of the African continent to attain their freedom and sovereignty.” This is the message that the Russian Embassy in South Africa, one of the Kremlin’s more vociferous consular social media accounts, released to mark Abolition of Slavery Day on Dec. 2, 2022. Twitter users were quick with rejoinders that Russia’s lack of colonies in Africa was not for want of trying and that, in any case, it had subjugated peoples in Asia and Eastern Europe. More importantly, Russia’s self-depiction as anti-colonial struck many as outrageously cynical when that same country is simultaneously pursuing an imperial war of conquest against its neighbor Ukraine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 2021, activist Edwin Kiama tweeted a picture of Kenya’s then president, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his deputy William Ruto (now the president) with a caption cautioning the International Monetary Fund (IMF) against lending the country any more money without ensuring better accountability for how it was spent. He was arrested and briefly detained soon afterwards. The IMF continued to extend loans to Kenya. In Cameroon, leader of the opposition Kah Walla called on the IMF to demand more accountability from the government on a $335m (£280m) loan that she believed had done little to help poor citizens, and to not give another loan before they had received an account for the previous one. The IMF nevertheless gave the next loan and the kleptocracy continued, with Walla commenting: “This is complicity.” This year, in Cameroon, on 23 January, the mutilated body of journalist Martinez Zogo, who had investigated large-scale embezzlement of state funds by a government-linked businessman, was dumped near the capital Yaoundé. Five days earlier in Rwanda, John Williams Ntwali, one of the few journalists in that country who published stories critical of President Paul Kagame’s government, was killed in a car accident deemed “suspicious” by press freedom organisations. And on 21 January, human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko was assassinated by gunmen in his home in Eswatini after threats from the country’s king that “mercenaries” would “deal” with activists. In a recent investigation on trends of repression and resistance in five African countries, published by ZAM magazine, it has become clear that demands for accountability for the management of state budgets of African countries, and particularly the use of donor funds, are growing louder – and also that these demands are either ignored, or are met with murder, torture and imprisonment, added to oppressive laws that muzzle dissenting voices. ZAM magazine, which recently published an investigation into repression. Photograph: ZAM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, a rare academic event is taking place: The school is attempting to revoke tenure from an endowed professor. Rarer still is the reason. Cases of professors losing tenure are often due to sexual or financial misconduct, but Amy Wax is facing sanction for racist and sexist statements made publicly and privately. Wax, a lawyer and neurologist who started her career at the solicitor general’s office under Presidents Reagan, H.W. Bush, and Clinton, has become something of a standard-bearer for the right’s war on wokeness — and a confounding case study in the pitched arguments over academic freedom, tenure, and higher education. She started making national headlines in 2017, when, in a column that now seems mild by standards she would later set, she and a co-author bemoaned the breakdown of “bourgeois culture.” Their claim that “all cultures are not equal” in reference to “inner-city blacks” and “some Hispanic immigrants” along with “some working-class whites” sparked a flurry of open letters, responses, and condemnation. But the controversy died down fairly quickly. Less so with the next case, when comments Wax also made in 2017 were resurfaced, in which she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the class, and rarely, rarely, in the top half. I can think of one or two students who scored in the top half of my required first-year course.” This apparently violated Penn’s policies on the confidentiality of student grades, and Ted Ruger, the dean of Penn Law, stripped Wax of her mandatory first-year course. (Ruger also stated her claims were false.) Ruger pointedly endorsed Wax’s academic freedom and explicitly stated the punishment was for breach of student confidentiality. Telling a Black student “that she had only become a double Ivy ‘because of affirmative action.’” “Stating in class that Mexican men are more likely to assault women and remarking such a stereotype was accurate in the same way as ‘Germans are punctual.’” Telling a student “invited to her home, that ‘Hispanic people don’t seem to mind…liv[ing] somewhere where people are loud.’” “Stating in class that people of color needed to stop acting entitled to remedies, to stop getting pregnant, to get better jobs, and to be more focused on reciprocity.” “Commenting after a series of students with foreign-sounding names introduced themselves that one student was ‘finally, an American’ adding, ‘it’s a good thing, trust me.’” We can speculate (and, yes, generalize) about Asians’ desire to please the elite, single-minded focus on self-advancement, conformity and obsequiousness, lack of deep post-Enlightenment conviction, timidity toward centralized authority (however unreasoned), indifference to liberty, lack of thoughtful and audacious individualism, and excessive tolerance for bossy, mindless social engineering. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/17/2153097/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review-Boyega-to-fellow-actor-Idris-Elba-You-Black-dude Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/