Um, so I take it, Y'all were not happy with the series that CNN ran on Saturday and Sunday as part of its "Black in America" series. I did not imagine that my post about the series would generate such interest from you.
Well if you are tired of the same regurgitated pablum and the same faces and voices from the CHAT-lin circuit...If you are tired of Black women, ESPECIALLY YOUNG BLACK WOMEN, being excluded from all of these discussions, you might want to check out a panel that was filmed this weekend at "Netroots Nation". Yes, Black people actually went to Netroots nation, about 20. They had a reasonable number of panelists, so everyone got to make their point and they all took their turn and there were two Black women on the panel.
It features
- Brandon Q. White (moderator) of SuperSpade,
- Leutisha Stills aka" The Christian Progressive Liberal" of Jack and Jill Politics,
- Andre Banks from Color of Change
You ought to get excited when Andre starts breaking down how we are going to be able to use technology and data to take on the BEE and the CRIC. He didn't offer that information for that purpose, but it is still useful information. You also might want to pay attention to when Leutisha starts talking about steering wheels. My favorite moment came somewhere abut 32:15. Someone talked about Jesse Jackson being exiled to Europe and the possibility of attaching a "hot mic" to my favorite pompadoured preacher. Black Women were representing!!!!! Its amazing what happens when you let Black women actually talk on a panel *cough* CNN*cough* The audio is low for the first two minutes, but it picks up.
The Moderator and the person who organized th panel ( WITH VERY LITTLE NOTICE FROM NETROOTS NATION) is an young activist out of Michigan named Brandon White who has asked the following:
The panel was extremely enlightening and I want to particularly
thank our panelists____________, Leutisha Stills from *Black Agenda Report* and *Jack and Jill Politics*, and Andre Banks from *Color of Change*. The panel was honest, probing, and forward thinking. We addressed some very important issues I think we need to be considering regardless of what happens in November.Posting this video (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/569794) on our respective
blogs will help us and our readers help shape the future strategy
surrounding Black online activism and Black blogging. In particular, I
wanted you all to watch the video and chime in along with the list of
questions I have outlined below. I implore those heading to Blogging While
Brown <http://bloggingwhilebrown.com/> to continue this very important
conversation.Thanks,
Brandon Q. White
The Superspade <http://www.thesuperspade.com>
There is some random lady on the end of the table that Brandon stopped on the street and asked to participate, but she's bad TV because she talks too much with her hands. I am sure she made some very good points but I was distracted by the fact that she appeared to be conducting an orchestra while speaking.
There is a lot of substance, but moments of hilarity ensue when discussing the CRIC. Andre and Leutisha were truly inspiring to watch. Their mastery of the subject matter and their engaging speaking style should have some television producer with a lick of sense calling them immediately.
Here are the questions Brandon asked the panelists:
1. What is the difference between Black online activists and Black
bloggers?
2. What do Black bloggers talk about when they are not talking about
Obama?**
3. How do you see the ascendancy of online activism impacting the
traditional civil rights infrastructure?
4. Who blogs locally? (hands) More often than not, the hardest place to
organize is where you live. What is your relationship with offline
activists in your local community and what should we do to get to the point
where we can have local versions of Jena 6 and Fox/CBC debate?
5. How can/should Black online activists going to fill the current and
future void of Black leadership?
6. We need more Black bloggers, (burnout) who in this room has
encouraged or developed a new Black blogger
7. How do you envision Black bloggers holding Obama accountable should he
be elected?
8. Are Black bloggers the flavor of the month and what is our obligation
to the community once we have a known voice?
9. There has been much talk about Obama's campaign and possible election as
a sign of America's transcending race. What infrastructure and/or strategies
need to be in place to continue to raise the issues relevant to the Black
community and hold Obama accountable should he be elected?
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