Can you honestly defend Bill Cosby??

I have been a Bill Cosby fan from before I can remember. My dad's Bill Cosby records entertained the family for years. The Cosby show was a favorite in my house and gave rise to a new Black consciousness. That's why I find his situation so sad. I can't defend him. One person may be a ' money grab'. Thirty-five and counting can't be defended; at least not by me. 

Read this for more:

http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/07/bill-cosbys-accusers-speak-out.html

Chris Rock and Good Hair

One of our most contentious classes is about Black women and their hair. For the last few years I've used Chris Rock 's documentary Good Hair. I've learned that messing work a Black woman's hair will cause discussion (to say the least). It's a complicated issue that deserves a nuanced examination. Here are some of the questions I asked today's class :

Use the documentary 'Good Hair' by Chris Rock as reference for the following questions. Answer the questions in sentence and paragraph form where needed:

What is considered Good Hair?

Why do you think the term Good is used to define hair of that nature?

Why is Chris Rock interested in this subject?

Who does he interview about this subject?

Is Black hair a 'money maker' in the U.S. 

What are some of the complications in the Black hair care industry?

What is a relaxer? How does it work? Is it healthy?

What do they mean by allowing the permanent to burn?

What is a weave? How does it work?

Why do Black women get weaves?

Is getting a weave affordable? Explain? 

Where does the hair come from?

Identifying the Slave and Master Mentalities

Our most recent assignment is to identify the Slave and Master mentalities studied in class in everyday societies today. Although clinically each of the mentalities have been examined in class, identifying them in everyday modern life is more difficult. The students are having an easier time identifying the Slave mentality but are having difficulty identifying the Master mentality, possibly because it is considered mainstream and normal. I'm looking forward to the results of this assignment and seeing what the students have done.

AMISTAD

We watched the movie Amistad in class. Although flawed in some ways it does demonstrate many of the concepts discussed in class when dealing with pre-European African culture and the Atlantic Slave trade. This is vital to the class as we try to visualize why and how Africans initially got to the West and what happened when they arrived.

Systemic Racism

What is Systemic Racism?
It is a society where the Institution itself is based and historically built on the tenants of inequality based on Race. It is a system where one group or groups are institutionally marginalized, dehumanized, and discriminated against for the advancement of another.
I believe that the only way to fight systemic racism is to know and understand the system itself. To master the game. As one of my former coaches once told my with mastery comes recklessness.

Ancient Africa and the Slave trade

This class has looked and completed projects about Ancient Africa. The common theme amongst all of the presentations was that Africans pre-Europe were (compared to many other parts of the world) advanced. They exhibited advanced culture, architecture, smelting of metals, science, education, warfare, religion and other aspects of civilization. 

We have also studied the results of  history. That result being us. We've listed some of the modern characteristics of Black people. The ones you generated and are hung at the back of the room. They don't correspond with the characteristics of ancient Africans. How then can one rationalize the difference. How and when did the change occur? When did the switch get flipped? What happen to change the African? What process robbed the African of Africa?

Rise of Racism

Something I'm going to use to discuss the rise of racism in the United States and Canada. Please check it out:

Rise of Racism