Thee Progression

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[theeprogression]

Police unloaded six rounds into Stephon Clark's back. I'm not one to be romantic, but this is barbarism. And at this frequency, genocide. (at East Harlem)

[theeprogression]

at Kingdom of Wakanda

[democracynow]

Mother of Accused NSA Leaker Reality Winner: My Daughter Wasn’t Read Her Miranda Rights

Today we spoke with Billie Winner-Davis, the mother of accused NSA leaker Reality Leigh Winner, who faces 10 years in prison. Winner is a former National Security Agency contractor who has pleaded not guilty to charges she leaked a top-secret document to The Intercept about Russian interference in the 2016 election. She has been now jailed for nine months, brought into a courtroom this week in an orange jumpsuit and shackles.

“What I want for her, what I need, is for everybody to keep her in the focus,” says Billie Winner-Davis. “Say her name. I want everybody to know who Reality Winner is and what is happening to Reality Winner. It’s very, very important that she be remembered and that people not forget what she is going through, the battle that she faces, that she is being silenced, that she is being hidden away, she is locked away. And I really want everybody to remember her name, to speak her name, to talk about her. That’s what I want.“

Read the full interview with the latest updates in Winner’s case. 

[theeprogression]

“Most Slaves Were Never Chained”

“Most Slaves Never Were Chained”

I just encountered Melvin Edwards’ Utonga. It is one of the two hundred wall-mounted reliefs in his decades-long sculpture series entitled Lynch Fragments. Two of which are on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Spanning since 1963, the Lynch Fragments are hybrids of both painting and sculpture. Spikes, chains, locks, blades and other conventional items such as agricultural tools appear to be thrown together as if forged from heated debris. They emanate sensations of captivity, danger, and oppression. “Utonga” means “The Wall” in Shona, a national language deriving from Zimbabwe. The art work was welded from steel in 1988, it is 9 inches long, 13 inches wide and 7 7/8 inches in height. Utonga depicts bondage both of the body as well as the mind, a welded symbol for Black diaspora worldwide. Black diaspora is implemented methodically with almost unfathomable consequences due to its multifaceted nature.

Like all Lynch Fragments, Utonga presents itself in the unique way because it does not resemble any one thing in particular. It is rather an amalgam of manmade and geometric objects, or fragments. It imposes upon the viewer sensations of uneasy weight, or violent restraint. Utonga’s spike and geometric bars are entangled with a steel chain, illustrating a level of complexity, difficulty, and even bodily harm. It appears as though it will hurt you if one picked it by the wrong end. Mr. Edwards successfully utilizes these geometric figures and seemingly conventional items to convey the concept of “bondage.”

As journalist Steven Thrasher noted each sculpture in Lynch Fragments conjure up powerful emotions, that when observed altogether magnify the gravity such calamity to exponential levels. Indeed, man used tools and ideology to enslave their fellow man, and Mr. Edwards used the imagery of those tools to illustrate the gruesome conditions Black people continue to face in the Americas and around the world.

A quote by Mr. Edwards reads, “Most slaves never were chained.” This caused me to ponder the ratio of oppressed versus the oppressors. What does it take to actually and effectively subjugate a demographic for centuries? I instinctively retreat to the thoughts of historic moments such as the rebellion onboard The Amistad and the Supreme Court decision, or the current #MeToo revolution we are bearing witness to. We must appreciate instances when conspicuously powerful oppressors succumb to even an iota of justice due to their abusive transgressions.

And yet Mr. Edwards is right in more ways than literal. Indeed, an oppressor does not need to physically restrain every member of the oppressed for him to effectively subjugate many.  Instead he need only demonstrate a violent act upon some members of the oppressed in order to further his agenda and the abusive continuum. Any society in which this continuum thrives creates an ever more susceptible populous for enslavement or abuse. The population gets “use to” the idea of the injustice, allowing it to become a part of a status quo. Modern-day slavery and sexual exploitation are still  apparent in American culture, and throughout the world. We have been trained to mind the signs of obvious exploitation however it does not always showcase itself like in the settings of television shows Roots or Mad Men.  Even when we are confronted with the vile realities of such exploitation, we often fail to act on the side of justice. As in the case of Anita Hill.

This atmosphere enables future generations to perpetuate the abusive paradigm and even directly capitalize from it. The predators need not prey on every individual to oppress the majority.  

[theeprogression]

A Guardian at the Gates of Harlem

Naqi Cruz

October 6th 2017

 A Guardian at the Gates of Harlem

Black America is in the process of reevaluation, conducting a critical analysis of its existence. It is not an unprecedented phenomenon for us to experience this state of mass reflection. We have replicated it throughout the generations. It is a necessary evolutionary experience that leads to organized action such as Abolitionism, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and even today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement. Furthermore, there’s a correlation between our mass reevaluation and the occurrence of once seemingly unfathomable revelations about the American ethos, the condition of humanity and Black identity. From these revelations come targeted organized action, a natural progression. So it should be no surprise we are casting a critical gaze upon the symbols of white supremacy so blatantly apparent in our society, such as certain flags and monuments. This is a noble and absolutely necessary endeavor. Nonetheless, it is also important to appreciate artworks that pay tribute to the progress of Black America. This past September, I chose to evaluate the form and content of the Frederick Douglass Memorial in what I once considered the Southern border of West Harlem in New York City.  This memorial symbolizes Black perseverance overcoming detrimental circumstances.  

I discovered this memorial in the summer of 2010, the year it was constructed. The six year anniversary of the site’s official dedication was on September 20th, 2017. I cannot thank sculptor Gabriel Koren and designer Algernon Miller enough for this priceless work of art. The entire memorial sits atop a traffic circle surrounded by residential buildings, specifically located on Central Park North and Frederick Douglass Blvd. (West 110th street and 8th Avenue). The bronze sculpture of Frederick Douglass is considered to be of “heroic scale” according to its official description. However, it is of relatively modest size compared to its Central Park South-Columbus Circle counterpart. That is, the memorial site and statue itself is much less grand than the Christopher Columbus monolith that dominates Columbus Circle, just a few miles south of the Douglass memorial. The seventy-six foot Columbus construct dwarfs the eight foot Douglass statue. Although they are two separate works, their scale ratio is symbolic. The Columbus statue towers over the affluent traffic circle, surrounded by high end retailers, corporate giants like Time Warner and even President Donald Trump’s International Hotel. It is fitting the Columbus monolith is located among a concertation of phalli named after the pirate himself.  Relative to other statues of notable leaders, one could argue the Columbus monolith projects a scaled hierarchal concept. This glaring inconsistency becomes more obvious when one contemplates the individuals' merits and experiences in the context of their era and circumstance.  Christopher Columbus is infamous for spending the better years of his life orchestrating the oppression of others and pillaging their native lands. Mr. Douglass on the other hand experienced unfathomable hardships throughout his life-long battle to rid himself and others of oppression, an oppression birthed in the superiority complexities like “Manifest Destiny.” As the case with the majority of Black Americans in the early 1800s, Mr. Douglass was born into slavery and raised not to know his heritage. Illiteracy, malnutrition and bodily harm are but a few of the affects caused by enslavement he endured. He ultimately seized his freedom and became magnificently successful in spite of unparalleled physical and psychological oppression. Undeniably the Frederick Douglass memorial symbolizes much more than the amount of construction materials used or land allotted for the project. It is a portrayal of his intellect, perseverance and honor. Three ideals Douglass upheld while withstanding several adversarial ideologies. He was subjected to systematic psychological oppression and overcame it. Such comprehensive oppressive ideology produces violent manifestations like slavery and the Jim Crow laws. This memorial signifies our powerful heritage and the protracted war of Black Americans to protect our heritage.

      The three-dimensional bronze Douglass sculpture is in a naturalistic style despite being increased in scale to eight feet. The surface is smooth to the touch. It is flanked by geometrical cubic and triangular blocks made of granite and a bronze fountain wall complete with flowing water (all of which are three-dimensional constructions). Mr. Douglass’ facial expression can be described as hardened. His gaze is aimed northward up Fredrick Douglass Blvd, overlooking Harlem, like a lighthouse overlooking its harbor. The free-standing Douglass sculpture is leaning slightly more on his left leg with his left arm relaxed. His right hand is resting firmly on a lectern, he was a renaissance man and a noteworthy orator.

           The memorial consists of two-dimensional aspects as well. A constellation of stars depicting the Big Dipper and the North Star are engraved along the fountain wall. These inscriptions represent the stars that were utilized as navigational tools to reach the Underground Railroad, the elaborate network of secret routes and safe houses organized by revolutionaries, abolitionists, and humanitarians so slaves could escape bondage and seize their freedom. The written words are another aspect of two-dimensionality and are engraved on the memorial. These words are actual quotes from Fredrick Douglass himself! Many of them express powerful ideals with letters all capitalized such as, “RIGHT IS OF NO SEX – TRUTH IS OF NO COLOR…” part of the motto for a weekly paper he published called The North Star.

           This memorial and the life of Fredrick Douglass are invaluable testaments. Still, almost 200 years since the birth of Frederick Douglass in 1818, America still struggles with achieving equal rights and enforcing justice. Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist, activist, orator, writer, publisher, and statesmen among many things. He would have been an enemy to someone like Columbus. The pioneering actions of Mr. Douglass are prime examples of so-called American values. As a leading forefather not only in advocating for Black people, but on behalf of advancing the rights of women and the preservation of the union through his consultations with President Lincoln, Frederick Douglass is among those who dedicated their lives to the multifaceted battle for collective emancipation of body and mind. This can seldom be compared. This battle is one Black people around the world still struggle with today and this memorial represents the infinite potential one can conjure even in the face of the bleakest circumstances.  

[democracynow]

Meet Tarana Burke, Activist Who Started “Me Too” Campaign to Ignite Conversation on Sexual Assault

Activist Tarana Burke says she started the “Me Too” campaign as a grassroots movement about a decade ago to aid sexual assault survivors in underprivileged communities, where rape crisis centers and sexual assault workers weren’t going. We spoke with her in the Democracy Now! studio on Tuesday:

“For every R. Kelly or Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein, there’s, you know, the owner of the grocery store, the coach, the teacher, the neighbor, who are doing the same things. But we don’t pay attention until it’s a big name. And we don’t pay attention ‘til it’s a big celebrity. But this work is ongoing, because this is pervasive.”

Watch the full interview here. 

[theeprogression]

There is no justice in absence of truth.

That is to say, without the facts, the story and testimonies of experiences justice can never be ascertained. Is it possible to retrieve all the facts.... To know the entire story... And to articulate every testimony? Is it possible to implement justice when the formula for truth is multifaceted?