Last night I attended the opening of the Spelman Museum of Art and their show Undercover:Performing and Transforming Black Female Identities. It was a great collection of work that left me breathless as I enter and saw an original print of Gordon Parks‘ famous shot of the women of the Nation of Islam. It literally gave me chills. What he accomplished through his work is such that I attain for and more.
The exhibit includes many different mediums of art such as film, sculpture, paints, mixed media, photography, sketches, etc. It was definitely a place to experience the various identities black women have taken shape in the past 80 years. It is amazing to see in real life some of the things that we endure when we wake our eyes every morning. Bittersweet if you ask me. If you are in the Atlanta area, I definitely recommend checking it out between now and December 10, 2009.
One of my favorite photographers, Renee Cox was included in the exhibit. Check out some of the images that were on display at the exhibit.
Last night, went to a dinner and discussion about the truth of the military. It was of interest to me because i am definitely not a supporter of the military and its practices. i learned a lot about the movement against recruitment and am getting involved through A.C.A.P, a local Atlanta chapter committed to providing alternative career choices besides the military.
I learned that since the No Child Left Behind Act (a complete bullshit act) the military has access to every child’s information in the public school system. Which explains their excessive calls and monitoring that happens when they are in recruitment, also known as, enslavement. It was good hearing everyones different story regarding the military and they weren’t exactly the best examples. I’m sure some good can come out of serving in the military … not exactly sure what they are, but they must exist somewhere!
I am for sure going to be involved because I know that people access the military mostly out of desperation and the comfortableness of having someone else pay and feed you, all at the small risk of life (?) Different and BETTER opportunities exist out there. There just needs to be a movement to make those options accessible. Just as accessible as those obnoxious Army commercials.
I was inspired by the Freedom to Marry contest to try and reveal the real problems about why the freedom to marry is so important to the equality of us all. The contest said:
“Grab a camera and make a short video about why marriage matters to you.”
So, we came up with the idea to have a loved one lost and how blatantly unfair it is because of the beliefs of the “powers that be.” There are more than 1,138 benefits that legally married couples have accessible to them and that those who aren’t legally able to marry.
It’s not rocket science, injustice is injustice.
This short is an example of just one of the injustices.
visit the site Freedom to Marry to learn how you can help to end this injustice.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
I just got through on a brief road trip from Georgia to Mississippi and it reminded me of how fun it is to road trip. (When gas prices are NOT $4.29/gallon) Being on the open range is great because you actually get to see how beautiful nature and this country really is and meet random cool ass strangers who welcome you into their home with open arms. With that being said, that will be the basis of a future project. Experimental and FUN nontheless. Look for it soon!
Of course, you do! Unless you’re not the average American who usually has more than one credit card bill in default. Well, I just had a delightful conversation with one of the creditors contacting me looking to get some money on a past due account. The card was initially for emergencies..you know, how they always start out. But in my former days of being a broke college student and needing books for classes, the card became the (not-so) perfect solution.
Well, a couple months and interest fees later..my phone rings off the hook. And today, one of them actually got in touch with me. She started off by asking if I had any intention on paying on the card and also offered me a program to help resolve the debt. But quickly reneged the statement because my balance was too low to enter the program. I told her that the reason for not paying on the account is that I’m unemployed and I think that paying on a credit card bill is not neccesary for my survival essentially…and she quickly agreed and understood where I was coming from. I mean it IS a reccesion going on.
So then, she asked if I could borrow $40-$80 from someone so that the account would not be charged off. I stated that if I had $40-$80 from a friend, that would definitely be going into my gas tank due to the tremendous high gas prices that we are getting accustomed to. She then mentioned that having a card charged off is not good for me down the road, say when I want to buy a house (and do all that “American Dream” stuff.) I then brought up the fact that I’m moving to Africa eventually, so I really won’t have any use for the American credit system. She seemed intrigued by that fact.
I then followed by saying..”But if you really want to know how I feel about the American credit system…I kinda think they owe me. You know, that whole ‘slavery’ thing. Yeah, I think the ball is in their court.” She then chuckled.
Hands down, the best conversation I’ve had with a creditor.
Next time, I have a couple extra stacks laying around, I’m thinking of Bank of America! *smile*
