Do you have that "fire in my belly?"
Commentary by Chitown Kev
I arrived in Baltimore late Thursday morning, July 11, as my transportation woes continued. I missed my early morning volunteer stint at Netroots Nation. I did my afternoon volunteer shift but was still a little po’d that I missed my mid-morning shift even though I was able to reschedule that volunteer shift for Saturday afternoon.
And while I hoped to see one particular keynote speech, I could not remember when that keynote was supposed to take place.
After my afternoon volunteer shift, I decided to wind down; I don’t remember if I went and got a bite to eat and I really did not feel like going to the keynote speech for the night but, as there was a opening night reception (free food!!!!!), I decided that I may as well go to the keynote speech as I was waiting for the reception.
And the free food.
As soon as I walked into the room, they announced the keynote speaker. It was the one speaker that I wanted to hear at Netroots more than anyone else.
New York Attorney General Letitia James.
What a welcome and surprise birthday present! My anger and anxieties about all of my transportation drama melted away.
I found a seat at one of the tables near the front of the hall (which may have been reserved for all I know!). Took a few pictures. And listened.
To her credentials (~3:11- 4:18)
I don't have to tell you during the previous administration my office sued the federal government more than 100 times for illegal actions and I am prepared to do that shit again.
We sued to challenge the administration's efforts to harm the environment to deny access to health care to roll back Reproductive Rights to discriminate against immigrants to separate children from their parents to place migrants in cages to deny the LGBT plus Community their full rights and protections under the law and to put workers In harm's way and to turn this country into a right to work state which is nothing more than a right to work for poverty wages.
AG James then leapt into “the stakes and not the odds” of the upcoming 2024 presidential election ( I cannot directly quote or paraphrase NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen’s statement on that enough). (~4:24- 5:37)
Make no mistake if he wins again things will be far worse worse because they are more disciplined, more organized, more focused, and more enraged. And without the prospect of facing voting voters again after four years of learning what he can and cannot get away with, with a supreme court granting him partial immunity and with eight years of new grudges he will be infinitely more dangerous the second time around.
He has no vision, blind to facts, blind to figures, blind to science, void of any rational thought; he is a broken man. He practices the politics of petty personal grievances and sweeping vendetta and if he is allowed to walk into a second term after all that he has done already there is no telling the extent to which he will abuse his concentrated power...
AG James went on for a bit about the problem. And then she talked about solutions. (-9:00-10:40)
I and my Democratic attorney generals, my colleagues, we wake up every day and I can only speak for myself with this fire in my belly recognizing the simple proposition and that is is no man is above the law— that no man or woman in this country is so high that he or she is above the law. No officer or government no matter how high or no matter how low should stand in defiance and with impunity to the law.
All of us must be bound by the rule of law and so let's get back on message because this is a time to look forward to a time where we should have a call to order, a call to organize, a call to protect our rights; a call to protect vulnerable and marginalized populations; a call to lift our voices; a call to light the flame of freedom, a call to collective action, a call to remember all of those heroes who died on the field for our rights and our privileges as a nation because we cannot win without standing together and fighting with everything that we have.
I did not walk into AG James’ speech with that “fire in my belly.” I surely had that fire when I left out of that speech.
To be honest, it’s been really difficult to keep that that “fire in my belly” stoked for the past few days, given the news headlines.
But that “fire in my belly” is necessary for me and for all of us to have if we are to save this country from...itself?
Whenever I lose that “fire in my belly” or when that fire gets really low, I will think of Ms. James speech or maybe even watch it in order to keep that fire stoked,
And I thank AG for this speech given on my birthday, July 11, and for all that she does. I needed that.
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News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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Many projects based on both the real and fictionalized lives of those in prison, especially Black and brown men, focus on darkness, with room for maybe a slither of light. That would leave one to assume that these stories can only be told when weighed down with sobering hardships. And while you can’t dismiss that, solely depicting those legitimate struggles results in a flat, inhumane representation. This is doubly damning for individuals whom society has already metaphorically imprisoned before they even have a criminal record.
“Sing Sing” isn’t like that. The A24 film implores you to watch these men bring light through play, humor and art. It commands that viewers look them in the eyes as these formerly incarcerated men introduce themselves. It’s a reminder that the men of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in upstate New York are human and deserve to be seen and treated as such.
The film, which was named Festival Favorite at this year’s SXSW, highlights the formerly incarcerated men who used theater and performing arts to heal and create a new reality for themselves while at Sing Sing. Directed by Greg Kwedar, “Sing Sing” is a tender depiction of a population that often goes forgotten and dehumanized.
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On the day her daughter was born, Fatou Saho swore from her hospital bed that she would never subject the girl to female genital cutting, a practice that Fatou and three-quarters of the women in this West African country have endured.
So when her daughter complained four years later that her “private part” was hurting, Fatou recalled her heart started racing. Stifling her panic, Fatou asked the girl to sit on her lap, saying, “Come here, let me see.” Fatou discovered that — unknown to her and against the law — her daughter had been cut.
Over the past year, Gambia — a tiny majority-Muslim country — has been engulfed in a nationwide debate about female genital cutting, which is widely known as female genital mutilation (FGM). The oft-heated discussions have been spurred by a bill that would repeal the country’s ban on cutting and thus make Gambia the first country in the world to roll back such a protection.
In March, a large majority of parliament members voted to advance the bill. The health committee then held hearings with doctors, activists and religious scholars before releasing a report earlier this month recommending that the ban, adopted in 2015, be maintained. A final vote is scheduled for July 24, though the bill’s fate could be decided sooner.
Even as arguments have raged throughout Gambia about the practice, girls have continued to be cut, according to activists and government officials, with no punishment for the cutters.
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Health-care facilities have been under attack by both sides in Sudan’s year-long civil war. Aid groups are trying to shore up care with mobile clinics but fear the need is too great. NPR: Attacks on Sudan's hospitals, clinics put millions at risk
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On a recent June morning in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Tedla Damte, UNICEF Sudan’s chief of health, woke up energized thinking of his plans for the day: a visit to a UNICEF school for displaced children and meetings with the Sudan’s minister of health.
Since the country’s civil war started in April 2023, the veteran humanitarian worker has been trying to manage the massive health crisis unfolding in Sudan. It’s a challenge that most days Damte has been ready to meet. But that day in June, he got a text message from Darfur, on the other side of the country, where fighting has escalated over the past few months.
It was from a colleague, informing Damte that the Saudi hospital there had been attacked and damaged. “And it was really heartbreaking when I heard that the attack also made us lose one of the very seasoned pharmacists who was giving his life in the front and helping the people of Sudan,” Damte said.
That attack was one of several against hospitals in Sudan since the start of June. Armed groups have targeted hospitals, health-care facilities and staff since a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support forces erupted into civil war. Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes against civilians and against medical facilities and staff.
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São Paulo's Liberdade neighborhood, home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan, is renowned for its Asian-style architecture, restaurants and public lighting resembling paper lanterns. Reuters: Visitors uncover Black Brazilian past of Sao Paulo's Japanese neighborhood
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São Paulo's Liberdade neighborhood, home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan, is renowned for its Asian-style architecture, restaurants and public lighting resembling paper lanterns.
Thousands of tourists enjoy the area's cuisine and culture, often unaware of the neighborhood's Black history.
The name "Liberdade" (liberty in English) has been linked to the story of Chaguinhas, a formerly enslaved Black soldier who was sentenced to death in 1821 after he led a protest for better wages, prompting spectators to the execution to call for his "liberty."
"When people see the neighborhood, there is another history being told," said Debora Pinheiro, a guide on a tour attended by Reuters. "The Japanese arrived in the early 20th century and started a process of gentrification. But the Black presence is still huge."
Afrotourism - tourism with a focus on Black history - is a growing industry in Brazil. Guia Negro, an organization founded in 2018, aims to disseminate the often overlooked history in Brazil. It now offers tours in 22 cities, including Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.
In 2023, the tourism agency announced that it would promote businesses in addition to tourism. The same year, Pequena Africa (Little Africa) in Rio de Janeiro had more visitors than the iconic Christ the Redeemer or the Sugar Loaf mountain (Pão de Açucar), according to the agency, which cited data from the Rio mayor's office.
Pinheiro said that the addition of "Japao" (Japan) to the name of Liberdade's metro station by commercial initiative highlights how Black history is still erased in São Paulo.
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