SUNDAY SMACK: TREATMENT OF ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING

This morning, one of NYC’s news radio stations mentioned last night’s tragic Orlando, Florida nightclub mass shooting as follows: We now know the nationality of the gunman in the Orlando gay nightclub shooting — coming up. My Sunday Smack: “Do you have any problem whatsoever with the above statement?” I’d love to understand the reason […]

SUNDAY SMACK: THE DRAFT AND PRESIDENTS

This week’s Sunday Smack covers war, and asks a simple question: If the United States reinstated the military draft, would Americans change the way they vote for presidents? song currently stuck in my head: “girls and boys” – prince

SUNDAY SMACK: WHAT ABOUT THIS CHINESE WASH-THE-BLACK-OFF COMMERCIAL?

My friend Anisha Moon, a musician (you can see her here, trading lyrics with Leon Ware), and entrepreneur, posted this Chinese laundry detergent commercial on her Facebook page. Here’s the story flow. 1. An Asian woman is washing clothes. 2. An African descendent man appears, apparently taking a break from painting. 3. And he finds […]

IF ONLY FREDDIE GRAY WAS A POLICE CAR

Of course cop cars matter! So do the lives of police officers! And guess what? Freddie Gray’s life mattered! While I’m making my rounds of citing who and what matters, allow me to state what should be obvious: Black lives matter. Are you mad because I ended that last sentence with bold characters, and didn’t […]

ZIMMERMAN’S LYRIC: SELLING THE GUN HE USED TO KILL TRAYVON MARTIN HAS DEEPER MEANING

I didn’t want to spend too much time discussing George Zimmerman’s decision to sell the gun he used to kill 17 year-old Trayvon Martin, since doing so only contributes to his public relations platform. But I want to point out the important and converging symbolism in what Zimmerman is doing when he referred to […]

SUNDAY SMACK: LIFE UNDER TRUMP?

By now, you’ve seen the Boston Globe’s (satire?) front page that’s supposed to predict what a Donald Trump presidency would look like in a year. [PDF.] The newpaper, which published an accompanying editorial to explain why Trump must be stopped compared the GOP front runner to a dictator: If Trump were a politician running such […]

SUNDAY SMACK: SHOULD PRO-LGBT RIGHTS BOYCOTT IN NORTH CAROLINA ALSO APPLY TO BLACKS?

This week’s Sunday Smack inspiration comes from the North Carolina General Assembly’s decision to overrule a Charlotte ordinance which banned discrimination against LGBT people. The legislature also banned North Carolina cities from passing LGBT non-discrimination laws, as well as regulating local minimum wages. However, the mounting pressure being placed on North Carolina by large organizations […]

SUNDAY SMACK: IS THIS GRATITUDE?

This week’s Sunday Smack draws from some personal family experience — or more specifically, that of my Grandmother on Dad’s side of the family. Everyone in the community called her “Mother.” Before Mother owned a candy store, she cleaned homes for a living. Mother had a client, a wealthy White woman, who considered Mother a […]

TRUMP RALLY: A BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB FOR BIGOTS

Folks, please stop it with the “Donald Trump attracts White supremacists meme.” Or, get the history straight — if you plan to keep meme-spraying — since right-wing extremists have been a part of American politics for over a century. I can even argue that White supremacy found a place in Amercan politics for hundreds of […]

SUNDAY SMACK: WHY IS THIS MAN SO ANGRY?

Take a look at this short video below from a Donald Trump rally. “Go back to Africa” was shouted three times. “ Go back to Europe” was shouted once. The N-word was shouted once. Plus you’ll hear a couple of F-bombs. I’ll admit that a video clip doesn’t always provide the most accurate context of […]