Thursday, October 29, 2009

Tupac speaks about the New Black Panther Party, this film, Bastards of the Party looks at the legacy or remains of the BPP, the youth --in this instance, in Los Angeles who knew something great or revolutionary happened, yet lack the guidance or leadership to know how to continue the principles of revolution. The director of the film is curious about the culture of violence in his community, the black community. What social situations gave rise to the two most notorious gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. Clps & Story: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/bastardsoftheparty/index.html

Raised in the Athens Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, Cle "Bone" Sloan was four years old when his father died, and 12 when he became a member of the Bloods. Now an inactive member of the notorious gang, Sloan looks back at the history of black gangs in his city and makes a powerful call for change in modern gang culture with his insightful documentary, BASTARDS OF THE PARTY.

Clips: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8238349959209990570#

After flushing out themes, develop 6-8 sentences: 2 analogies, 2 definitions, 2 consequences, and 2 testimonies, then write an introductory paragraph (10-sentences) about the theme per: Bastards of the Party.

We identified themes: violence, police brutality, the BPP for SD, United Slaves or US, black migration from the south, poverty, Civil Right Movement. There are others.

We will continue the film Monday, Nov. 2. If you were absent you can borrow the film from the public library or film rental store.

Other homework is to continue in SPHE: Parallel Structure, which we also reviewed briefly. For the afternoon class, students were asked to find a poem in Rose which uses parallel structure.

Evolution of a Revolutionary books
The COA college book store is ordering copies of the book, only 10, so if you need a copy you can purchase a copy there on Thursday next week.

Today we are meeting at the Lake Merritt BART Station at 5:30 to go to the film "Precious." Don't worry if you didn't RSVP with me, just come and I can get you in.

Call me if you can't find us at the BART Station. The film starts at 7 PM and we need to be there before or by 6:30 PM

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Choose a poem from The Rose That Grew From Concrete. Identify the themes. Use the topical invention strategies discussed in class to develop: analogies, consequences, definitions and testimony--at least one per type.

Next, use the 3-Part Thesis format to develop at least three thesis sentences.

If your poem is digitized, you can include it as a part of the freewrite. If not, give the name and we can find it in the book. Tomorrow you will take your freewrite and develop it into a 3-paragraph essay.

Start Section 7 in SPHE. Bring the Guy book to class. I asked the bookstore manager to purchase 10 copies of the Guy book for students who didn't get it at the beginning of the semester.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Today we wrote Essay Exam 2: Possessives. The Holler essay is due tomorrow with a peer review. If you missed Monday's class then go to the Writing Center and get a tutor or teacher to go over the paper for you. I had students identify three areas they wanted the reviewer to pay attention to. My suggestion was: the thesis, evidence used to support it, and overall coherence. Does the essay make sense and do I prove my point?

These questions/areas are suggestions.

Homework is to buy Evolution of a Revolutionary, and bring it to class. Continue in SPHE. We will review the exercises in class tomorrow. We will have conferences this week to go over your progress. If you have passed all of your essays, including most, if not all, cyber-assignments, you are passing the class.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Precious: The Film
I have access to free passes to the film, "Precious," this Thursday, October 29, at the Metreon (4th at Mission Street) in San Francisco.

Please indicate in your response: how many tickets and leave your email address. I have posted a description of the film.

Liquid Soul Media will be conducting an advance screening of the highly anticipated film “Precious” Starring Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe in Houston on Thursday, October 29th at 7:00PM at the AMC Metreon.

Lee Daniels’ PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome.

Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. She’s pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo’Nique), a poisonously angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write.

Precious may sometimes be down, but she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One.

Precious doesn’t know the meaning of “alternative,” but her instincts tell her this is the chance she has been waiting for. In the literacy workshop taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.
The Spoken World
Field Trip

I have spoken to Speak Out, the organization hosting Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Spoken World, next week, Nov. 2, 2009, 8 PM (doors 7 PM). Tickets for students are $7 and I would like to reserve seats. Let me know tomorrow, Oct. 27, if you would like to go and how many tickets.

You can post your name and how many tickets here as well. We can meet together at 7 PM at the venue and sit together. I live in East Oakland and if anyone wants to carpool let me know. BART stops up the street from the theatre. We could meet at Lake Merritt BART and catch a Richmond train together. I am open to both scenarios. BART means I don't have to look for parking which is hard to find.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Oh, the presentations were great! Keep up the good work, now get the essays in. Don't email the Holler essay to me. Bring a copy to class for the peer review Monday morning.
Today the peer review for the Holler essay was due, but only one student had an essay to turn in. The assignment was originally posted October 7 or 8th, the reminder posted this week. Look at the original assignment for the specifics.

Bring in the information on Dyson I asked for and a published book review for HollerMonday, October 26.

We will have the peer review on Monday, October 26 and the final draft will be due on Wedneday, October 28. The planning sheets answer the following questions: What is your topic? What is the purpose of the paper: to inform, explain, explore, describe a problem and propose a solution, or argue a point? Who is the audience? What question do you want your paper to answer? What is the main writing strategy you think you will use> Description, process or causal analysis, compare and contrast, problem/solution, classification, evaluation or argument are some possibilities.

The outline form I like is:

Use complete sentences for each point

Thesis

First major point
Evidence...

Second major point
Evidence...

Third Major Point
Evidence...

Etc.

Concluding sentence
Cyber-Assignment
Write a letter to Robert King expressing your feelings about his presentation. Include any questions you might have which you'd like answers to.

His website is kingsfreelines.com

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Cyber-Assignment: Self-reflection on the writing process for Holler--developing your presentation, choosing the poem and song and feedback from the audience. Please also include your outline, if you had one.

This is due by October 22, 2009. Students who were present make sure you post your comments. Presenters post your reflections on the process there as well. This is the more polished response to the question. All responses are posted at the same link below.

I told you about this.

14th annual October 22nd

National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, Rally and March, Thursday, October 22nd, Oakland City Hall (Frank Ogawa Plaza), 12 Noon

People are angry, and they should be!

The rally and march on Thursday, October 22nd will express the outrage against a system in which police brutalize and kill people, and then does everything it can to
protect them from punishment.

First the BART murder of Oscar Grant in Cold Blood! Then, a belated indictment for murder that came only after a rebellion that rocked the streets of Oakland. Now, the
moving of the trial to insure the murdering cop “get a fair trial”.. A screaming irony, considering the "fair trial" that Oscar received at the hands of judge-jury-executioner Johannes Mehserle.

The system looks like they're fixing to let Killer cop Johannes Mehserle walk free. We've seen this before. We’ve seen this over and over. A change of venue paved the
way for the acquittal of the police that murdered Amadou Diallo and mercilessly beat Rodney King.

Though the New Years Day killing of Oscar Grant was captured on video, 5 others were killed by police that same day around the country. 23 were murdered by police
during Memorial Day week alone. Locally, the numbers keep mounting – Brownie Polk, Parnell Smith, Jody Woodfox, Andrew Moppin, Anita Gay, Jose Luis Buenorostro,
Casper Banjo – 48 Oakland police kills since 1998. From coast to coast, border to border – and thousands of others around the country in this growing epidemic. Millions more are the targets of profiling, repression and criminalization, especially immigrants and a whole generation of youth.

October 22nd is a day when people from many sections of society come together, crossing the divides that separate them, to stand with the people who are the targets of police violence.

For information contact: Oct22BayArea@gmail.com 510-725-8754
Today we continued with our Holler presentations. Respond to student presentations at the links already established. Make sure you give the name of the presenters and their chapter(s). The presentations were outstanding, students were rehearsed and knowledgeable about their topics. Bravo! We ran out of time, so we will wrap the presentations up on Thursday, October 22.

Homework is to continue in SPHE, post a self-reflection on the writing process--developing your presentation, choosing the poem and song and feedback from the audience. I will post a separate link for this post. Your essays on Holler are due now. So get them in to me by Thursday. You have a few choices on the form: book review, survey of the themes, chose 2-4, or focus on the artist Tupac and show how Dyson accomplishes his goal, he made a book out of Tupac's life.

You will post the revised essays next week.

Here is a book review for our guest.


From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King with an introduction by Terry Kupers, M.D., M.S.P., PM Press 2009, 217 pp, $24.95 cloth

Review by Wanda Sabir


Outside Angola State Prison, “Last Slave Plantation” is painted on the asphalt near the initials LSP for Louisiana State Penitentiary. Prison guards block the road, as signs wave demanding the release of the Angola 3: Albert Woodfox, Herman Wallace and Robert King Wilkerson. In February 2001, Robert King walks out a free man, all charges dropped.

Who would have known, who could have predicted this man’s life was destined to take the turns it did – not for any particular misdeed; rather, his captivity was based solely on prejudicial perceptions that labeled him and other Black, poor boys and men, then and now, unworthy, criminal.

Freedom was a notion many in his community claimed but few knew because of the politically racist policies of the Deep South. Yet, despite all this, the child, Robert Hillary King, found a home and a grandmother and a community where not only was he welcomed, he was loved too.

Sheltered from the travesties of Jim Crow – segregation and deprivation – he took the lean days in stride with the fat. Even when accused, picked up and booked, not once, but three times, the first while just a child for crimes he hadn’t committed, King retained his optimism and belief in the human race. One would think, later on, after 29 years in solitary confinement with charges which were all eventually dropped, he might carry some bitterness, righteous anger for irretrievable time lost – 31 years - but he doesn’t. If anything, his anger is at a system, what he calls a post-colonial system which sanctions the disenfranchisement of certain people – 500 years after the first Africans disembarked on American shores.

Robert Hillary King a.k.a. Robert King Wilkerson takes us on a lyrical journey “From the Bottom of the Heap” to the depths of a darkness so dense flashlights can’t pierce the intangible conscience or sensibility of a nation or a people who would subject another citizen to what King describes in his autobiography as a normal state of affairs for Black men pre-Civil Rights Act, pre-March on Washington, pre-Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

Told in a straightforward manner, this gripping tale has humor and all the innocence of a child’s voice, a more mature young man’s, evolving finally into the voice of an adult trying to plant his flag in ripe soil to claim a piece of the planet for himself and his kin. Unlike Ralph Ellison’s protagonist, King doesn’t evaporate or melt into the darkness. He fights, he yells, he refuses to take the beatings, whether ideologically or physically. He never gives up hope.

It’s amazing that King actually believed in the judicial system; he believed in it up to the third time he was thrown into the Parish Prison and was looking at 35 years to life. It was at this time, when he realized that the court was just interested in closing cases, not in justice, that he “felt psychologically whole.” King felt that if he didn’t act on this “new consciousness” it would be a betrayal of his sanity, so he and 60 other “brothers in jail who also felt this need to appeal to no one but themselves, where freedom was concerned,” planned an escape (156-157).

King stayed at large for a couple of weeks and though he was returned to the New Orleans Parish Prison with eight additional years added to his 35-year sentence, he no longer masked his reality with religion or other opiates. He says, “In studying and learning of my enemy, I also learned of myself, my place in history. In learning of my place in history, I rediscovered my long lost humanity. Individuality was replaced with the need for unity.

“I saw that all are expendable at the system’s whim. I saw how my mother, her mother and her mother’s mother before her suffered. I saw past generations of my forefathers stripped from their homeland, brought by force, to these shores in chains” (169). It is here King recognizes his piece on the game board and steps off the table – refusing to play anymore.

He’d heard about the shooting on Desire Street in New Orleans between the police and the Black Panther Party – several members also jailed at New Orleans Parish Prison – both men and women. During this time he is introduced to the BPP and sees in it the answers to so many questions he’d had before. He says, “Certainty replaced uncertainty” and despite the tragic loss of his 5-year-old son, Robert Jr., due to medical malpractice and the loss of his physical freedom, King seems to have gained a lot more than he lost.

King is shipped briefly to Angola again, returned to Parish Prison in 1971, and then shipped back to Angola for good in 1972, where he was charged with investigation into the death of a prison guard, a death that happened before he arrived back at Angola. Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Gilbert Montegut were also tried. Woodfox has been cleared of the charges brought in 1972 and is presently awaiting release. Wallace’s case is on appeal to the Louisiana State Supreme Court.

“From the Bottom of the Heap” is the story of one man, yet it could be the story of a nation – from Jim Crow to Hip Hop, the strategic targeting of Black youth, the criminalizing of persons based solely on the color of their skin, the content of their wallets and the address of their parents. This story is the answer leaders today need to hear – it is a voice no one is listening too.

The same economic circumstances which made it impossible to feed one’s family 50, 60 years ago exist today. The public education system is just as inadequate now as it was then in preparing future generations for occupations that will support their families. In fact, the situation today might be worse.

The end of the book shifts and changes tone: There are letters, a poem, a chronology of the Angola 3, more thanks, a family tree and an ad for Freelines – King’s sweet confection first made in prison. When one thinks of a second coming, Robert Hillary King comes to mind – he says he was reborn Feb. 8, 2001. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, after so much loss, so much death, the ashes serve as fertilizer for a brighter today and tomorrow.

King hasn’t walked on water yet, but I’m sure he could if he wanted to. If ever a child was born without a chance, it was this bright light – Robert King, on May 30, 1942 - this child born of descendants of former slaves in Gonzales, Louisiana. Yet, as long as he had lungs, this boy, later man, was not going down without a noise. And it is this noise, this shaking at the gates of justice, rattling the consciences of fellow Americans, that earned him his freedom and will earn his comrades Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox theirs too.

Published in the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper and LeftTurn Magazine Nov.2008
Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website and blog at www.wandaspicks.com for an expanded version of Wanda’s Picks, her photos and her radio show. To learn more about the Angola 3, visit www.Angola3.org , www.3blackpanthers.org and www.A3grassroots.org.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Thursday, October 15, we only had time for one presentation, Emmy's on Chapter 4. Other students like Howard were prepared to present, but we ran out of time. Emmy's presentation was excellent. She was prepared and knew her topic thoroughly. She provided additional information as she shared her expanded perspective on the topic.

Many students were confused about the Be-Verb essay. We reviewed the introduction and all the templates. We will write the Possessives essay in class. Debbie mentioned that she knows a woman who knew the Shakurs who might come visit and speak.

The event at the Oakland Main Library 10/15 went very well. There was a photo on display of a young Afeni holding Tupac (as a baby) in her arms.

The essay is due on Monday. There is no school Tuesday, October 20. Your essay for Holler if you hear me is due no later than Wednesday.

Essay Assignment:
Write a review of Michael Eric Dyson's book: Holler If You Hear Me. Using your chapter as a launching point for the discussion talk about how Dyson's captures the essence of an artist many understood and perhaps continue to misunderstand. How is understanding Tupac key to understanding today's youth? Do you think Tupac as emblematic one of the reasons why Dyson decided to delve into his life scholastically, after all, Dyson is also a preacher?

Develop a question from what I stated above and use your essay to answer it. Read a few reviews to get a sense of how one is structured. Bring in a published review of Holler to class on Monday/Wednesday, October 19/21 to share. Your essay is due Thursday, October 22 for peer review. The final draft is due the following day via email (professorwandasposse@gmail.com) and posted on blog at a link not provided yet(watch the formatting when posting).

Wednesday, October 21, Robert Hillary King, author of From the Bottom of the Heap: The Story of Black Panther Robert Hillary King will present to students in a few of my classes: English 201, 8-8:50 AM, L-202E, English 1A, 11-11:50 AM, B-205, and English 201, A-200, 1-2:50 PM (we'll show a short film about King in this class). You are welcome to join us at any or all the presentations. He knows Afeni Shakur and is active in the Prison Abolition Movement, particularly re: the Angola 3. He will speak about literary, and also share his experiences in the Black Panther Party which he joined behind bars at Angola State Prison where he served 31 years, 29 in solitary confinement.

He is visiting from Austin, Texas, for the Black Panther Party Book Fair, Saturday, October 24, and other events next week.

Be on time.

We start Evolution of a Revolutionary Monday, October 26, 2009. Your final paper will take its question from this text. As you read note themes explored. I will give you a question to consider, however, I am open to others you might find more intriguing.

The question I propose is one of nature vs. nurture: How much of who Tupac becomes a result of his parents (nature/DNA) and how much is a result of his environment (nurture)? Was he destined to be the person he became or did he have a choice?

The essay plan will be due: November 5, along with a tentative outline. The final draft will be due: November 12 for peer review. The essay will be due to me November 16.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Presentations

Today's presentations went well. Erik, Bettie & Shay, made outstanding presentations. Other presenters were Debbie Adame and Debbie Lee.

These two presenters did better when responding to questions; however, when Debbie Lee followed Debbie Adame, her comments were clearer and on point. Both presenters had a lot of passion for the topic, but hadn't rehearsed their presentation. I hope their second presentation will be smoother tomorrow.

Bettie and Shay were both creative and well-informed. Their presentation extended the arguments presented in the chapter and the slide show on top of the song: Words of Wisdom was great. I don't know why the images were blurry, but in the future Shay, show the file images, even if they are smaller.

Erik's presentation was simple, yet effective. He knew his chapter and the points he wanted to talk about. I really liked how he analyzed his poems and tied them into the themes he was discussing.

Please comment on the writer's grasp of key ideas and concepts presented in the chapter. Comment on the presentation itself: was the writer prepared? Did he or she know the chapter?

Be constructive. Add to the discussion something the presenter did not choose to highlight.


Each response needs to be specific to the writer/team. You will write a separate comment for each writer.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Presentations will begin Wednesday. I am looking forward to them. Don't worry, have fun! You can't mess it up and if the oral presentation isn't that great, then it won't count against you. Essays are due Monday, October 19. Check earlier posts for the specifics on the essay.

We watched the first episode of Brave New Voices for our freewrite. Post your response here. The questions is: How does writing free or liberate a person?

Be-Verb essays are due no late than Thursday, October 15. We will meet in A-205 Thursday as usual. I will have a projector in the classroom Wednesday and I will bring my laptop with speakers.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Today students turned in Essay 3 or in groups worked on Essay 3 POV. If you didn't turn the essay in, please give it to me Monday, October 12. I gave students a handout to use in writing the paraphrase for Essay 4 (Be-Verb). We will make our presentations on Wednesday and Thursday. I will give you time Monday-Tuesday to plan and practice with your partner.

The essay due Monday, October 19, on Holler will be a book review and survey of Dyson's subject: Tupac Shakur. Students are to look at the book as a whole and then use your analysis of your particular chapter to talk about why the inclusion of this chapter was necessary to the discussion: how it expanded the conversation, what information it added and how it prepared the reader for what proceeded it and what was to come (be specific). All the essays will talk about the entire book, with an emphasis on your chapter: themes and key points.

I'd like you to prepare an Initial Planning Sheet and an outline for the essay. You will have time to do this on Wednesday in class. I don't remember if I already gave you copies of the Initial Planning Sheet. Did I?

The essay needs to be minimally 4 pages. Read a review of the book, a substantive bio on Dyson, as well as a published interview with Michael Eric Dyson. He talks about why he wanted to write about Tupac in the introductory section including: I Always Wanted to Make a Book Out of My Life, can you add anything else to his list after you learn more about his life or read more of what he says outside of the publication?

Bring Rose to class next week. Read the introduction, preface and forward.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

The Meaning of a Name Cyber-post freewrite

Post your three paragraph responses to this narrative piece by Felicia Pride here. Make sure you include three citations: paraphrase, in-text citation and block quote. Also, include the MLA for the essay(see Pidd).

You can reflect on your own name and aliases if you like.

Monday, October 05, 2009

Holler Assignments: Presentations

We are going to make presentations on Holler next week. You will present as groups. Each group will have 15 minutes to present their chapter(s). There will be some overlap. Be creative and use music indicative of the chapter you are presenting. Also, be theatrical. Bring to life some of the key characters Dyson mentions.

I will give you time to meet with the other person presenting with you tomorrow after we review Point of View (essay 3) exercises. Bring in questions. The essay will be due Wednesday, October 7, typed. We'll work on Essay 4 in class Wednesday.

If you were absent I'll give you a chapter to work on with other students who were also absent. I want you to do this in pairs. If you need to draft other students the day of the presentation to help with a skit that's fine. Trade phone numbers with your partner and meet outside of class at least twice to work out the details of the presentation. Again, the goal is to bring the chapter to life and show Tupac in all his glory.

I'd also like students to incorporate a poem from The Rose That Grew from Concrete in the presentation. If you need technology, let me know in advance.
Tupac Speaks

Today we listened to an interview with Tupac Shakur at Radio Free Georgia, "Round Midnight," hosted by Bomani Bakari in 1989. The tracks we listened to were:


Visit http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=48183 for the Bomani interview.

Tupac was born, June 16, 1961 and died Sept. 13, 1996. How old was he when he had these two interviews?

1. On African names and embracing an African-American identity

2. On negative images of the black community and the New African panthers movement

3. Takes questions from callers concerning historic origins of the NBP, women's role in the organization and contemporary discrimination of African-Americans

Post your impressions of the interview, use quotes and/or paraphrases which resonated with you. How did reading Dyson prepare you for Tupac? What did you already know about the artist that he confirmed in the interview about his political beliefs? What did you learn you weren't already aware of? How did you like listening to Tupac? List all the references you did not recognize such as the Virginia Beach incident and Bishop Stallings in DC.


The second interview was with Davey D in 1991 in Oakland after Tupac's film debut in Juice and the release of his first solo release, 2Pacalypse Now(Nov. 1991).

Visit http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/2pac-lost-interview-w-davey-d-from-1991-from-juice-to-the-meaning-of-hip-hop/

Describe the interview styles of the interviewers: Davey D vs. Bomani Bakari.

1. Recap the key points in this interview. Again, what did you learn about Tupac? How is what you read confirmed or expanded hearing his voice? What did he say that echoed what you have read about him in Dyson--include references and page numbers. (Minimally 3 paragraphs each). You can submit in the same post. Use headings.

Do any of you know the film, Juice and the album, 2Pacalypse Now? For extra credit you can bring in the film and CD for a short presentation/talk. Let me know if you plan to do this.

Notes:Who are these people and what happened?
Yusef Hawkins
Virginia Beach incident
Bensonhurst, NY, NY incident
New Afrikan Movement
Bishop Stallings
Underground Railroad
Tupac recommends certain books...

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Tuesday in class we completed and graded Multiple Choice Mid-Term Exam 1. Most students scored in the 30-range, which means they missed 20 questions. Not good. When you get the exams back Monday, October 5, notice your errors and review that section of Pidd. We are writing the Point of View essay next week pp. 144-172. We will write it in class, probably Wednesday, October 7. We'll start the Be-Verb essay Thursday, October 8 and the essay will be due on Monday, October 12. We'll write the Possessives essay in class and perhaps Parallel Structure also. Subject/Verb Agreement will be homework. We might write the Bad Granny Essay in class.

In the meantime check back for questions to respond to for Holler Chapters 3-6.

Next week we will complete the book.