Ignorance and Kwanzaa

It's that time of year again when Christmas decor line commercial streets, menorahs light up various homes, and every black person in America is wished "Happy Kwanzaa."

Today, I was one the lucky black folk to receive this holiday greeting from a random white woman. Granted she was trying to be nice, but she started off with happy holidays and then remixed to happy Kwanzaa. This was one of those moments in life it was best to keep it simple. I politely told her: "I don't celebrate Kwanzaa." In fact, I am a part of a large group of black people in America that do not celebrate this "contrived" holiday, as my colleague (who's black) called it, and she's pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Kwanzaa was conceived in the 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, as a way to bring African-Americans together as one in the wake of the Watts riots. It's a combination of several different African traditions (the word Kwanzaa is Swahili for "first fruit") from various African cultures.

Despite the holiday having it's African roots, the holiday is NOT African. My mother told me her first experience with this holiday when she arrived in the United States nearly thirty years ago and  she said people would ask her how she celebrated Kwanzaa. She, being a feisty Nigerian, responded: "What nonsense is that?" People were shocked she didn't know and she was puzzled why people expected her to know. She later found out it was an African-American holiday that has various influences from many African cultures, which changed her response to, when she was later asked (and still asked to this day): "Do I sound African-American to you? Nonsense!"

Back to my colleague, who is African-American, told me she had never celebrated the holiday. In fact, it seems like the number of African-Americans that celebrate Kwanzaa is pretty small, even though there are no official stats.

Now, let's recap everything:

• Kwanzaa is a contrived holiday, meant for African-American unity.
• Kwanzaa is not an African holiday, even though it's influence comes from various African cultures.
• A large majority of African-Americans do not celebrate Kwanzaa.
• Do not ask a feisty Nigerian woman about Kwanzaa, because she'll treat you.

In addition, we know that not all black people in the United States are Christian or Afro-centric. The reason why the greeting "Happy Holidays" is used is to avoid sounding stupid, like the white woman who gave me the Kwanzaa greeting with the biggest smile. Even though she was well intentioned I'm sure, she sounded like an idiot. My mother always says, if you don't know something, it's better to just keep your mouth shut and let people think you're smart. This was, again, one of those moments. Happy holidays, everyone!

"Your cookie is free, black lady"

Coming into work and finding stuff to blog about has always been interesting. Now I have yet to comment about last week's sanctioned murder of Troy Davis, but this other issue definitely has my stomach growling (but not with hunger).

Yesterday, a college bake sale at University of California at Berkley made headlines across the great USA. Not because the cupcakes could compete with Chicago's famed cupcake store, Molly's Cupcakes (my favorite place to indulge in Chi-Town), but because all of the baked goods were priced based on the customer's race and gender. The highest price were for white males and the lowest were for black females. All other racial groups were somewhere in between and all women got a discount.Crazy, huh? Well, guess what student organization was behind this? The College Republicans (not a surprise). Their point: to show the affects of affirmative action.



I don't know how many times the purpose of affirmative action must be explained, but let's be real. I thought we all knew that affirmative action is in place because historically (and still currently) groups other than white males are frequently discriminated against. Affirmative action is in place to help those in marginalized groups (women, Blacks, Latinos, Asians) cross the divide to ensure a fair chance at an education. It does not mean that those within these groups get it easy but it means that they have to work just as hard as their white male applicants to get in instead of TWICE (or more) as hard.

More bothersome about this bake sale was not the bake sale itself, but the fact that among those who planned it were Asian and Latino. Simply put, they wouldn't have been able to JOIN any college organization because some of them may not have even been accepted if it wasn't for affirmative action. And all because you may be seen as superior to black folk does make you equal to white men.

I don't know if I have said this before or not, but I strongly believe those who have not come from generations of societal (and many cases, legal) disenfranchisement don't (or refuse to) understand why several of these laws have been created - to prevent history from repeating itself and to program those of who come from generations of bigotry to understand what their generations of the past have done and what they are doing now is disruptive to a productive, "post-racist" and culturally relative modern society. If you're a white man and you don't understand why that white woman, who attended a school equal in calibur to yours, scored exactly the same as you did on the ACT and the SAT, got in over you, let me break it down. She got in because YOU have a better opportunity to get into any school of your choice because no one will turn you down because of your race or gender. That white woman could be turned be turned down from several schools simply because of her gender, even in today's society. Why do you think Hilary Clinton is not president today, despite the fact that she's more qualified than Barack Obama? America is still conditioned to think that men are more capable than women, regardless of race.

All in all, I think the discounts are well deserved. Based on data collected by the National Committee of Pay Equity, white men earn the most out of everyone else.

Obama Drama...Again

This still annoys me the most and I can't believe that people are STILL talking about this...Obama's place of birth.

Despite the fact that there is indisputable evidence that he was born in Hawaii (a STATE of the USA), and there is NO evidence to show that he was born elsewhere, this debacle is simply ridiculous. Look at this video from CNN International. Obama had to even release his long-form birth certificate even though he released his short-form birth certificate back in 2008.

Whatever many of you may think the reason is, some agree that this is only issue because our president is black. Yes, I said it. It is because he is a black man with an African father.

I know many people don't like to involve race in this issue, but I think it plays a big part. As far back as I could remember, I don't think any president's birth place has been questions but Barack Obama's. All because his last name is not your "typical American last name" does not mean he wasn't born in the United States. You don't have to be a Smith or a Johnson to be American; not all Smiths or Johnson are American.

What vexes me the most about this uncanny dilemma is that is it distracting people from the actual issues within the United States, like unequal education, urban/rural poverty, health care, and the list goes on. Americans, when are going to actually focus on the issues and not someone's religious or ethnic background and any other inborn attribute a person could have? We are a country of 300 million people of every single ethnic and social background on the planet. What really matters is what our president can do for the greater good of the country.

Again, I repeat, this is all because the president is black. I know there are some white people that would not like to hear this, and maybe I might even get some hate mail. But everyone, ask yourself, why is this an issue? Should it be an issue? Who is bringing it up? What is their purpose? I am sure once you find the answer, it would point to the fact that Obama is black and of direct African extraction.

Nigerian Man/Korean World - Part 4

People who follow me on Twitter probably have an idea of what this is going to be about. And the second largest group of readers I have (South Koreans) might find this intriguing.

In one of my documentary classes here in Korea, taught by a renowned documentarian, I went through one of those awkward experiences. If you are a minority in any way, any where on this planet, you know what I mean.

I have felt this in the past, and to be honest I thought I was over really feeling like the minority a long time ago, since I had been the minority almost everywhere I have been/lived in my life. I'm Nigerian-American, so a minority in the greater African-American community and in Nigeria and the United States - pretty much the majority of circles anywhere on the globe. Today it was made the most apparent ever in my life.

The documentary we watch was Marlon Riggs "Tongues Untied," a film about the experience of the gay African-American male. Not only am I the only black male in this class, but I am also the only black male in this school. And, of course, every single person in this class was staring at me, looking for answers. And I was not about to be the token.

The situation was so awkward I couldn't even focus on/enjoy the documentary. A part from the film containing extremely graphic imagery (which I am sure made EVERYONE feel awkward) and there were several racial slurs used that I am unsure if the majority of the class understood the implications of these words. The teacher asked me how I felt about the documentary, and me being the person I am, explained exactly how I felt - awkward. I told him I felt the stares from others in the class and I truly felt like a minority and I hoping that no one asks me questions today. Overall, I couldn't enjoy or learn from it like I would like to. And, yes, I said this in front of the class because I think it was important for them all to know.

I think living in a homogeneous society, Koreans maybe don't fully understand what it feels like to be a minority unless they have traveled/studied abroad, which made it important for me to state my feelings. I also think it is even harder to understand how it is to feel like a minority every day of your life. Of course, like I try to see every experience, maybe this extreme sense of awkwardness is a blessing. Maybe I could use the misunderstanding of otherness as an angle to my work. Maybe even the main angle. Maybe the story I tell could be more inside looking out than outside looking in, utilizing the theme of otherness.

Even though this experience might not be enjoyable for some, in fact many, this experience was again interesting and made me learn more about myself and my self-value - another reason why I think it is important for us all to travel abroad and take ourselves out of our comfort zone. This situation was extremely uncomfortable for me and I would prefer it would not happen again, but I learned from it, which makes the situation invaluable. If it were to happen again, maybe I'll be more comfortable, but like I said, I hope it doesn't.

A Tale of an HBCU's Discriminatory Dress Code?

It's been a hot minute, but I am back with an interesting story.

This week, there were several things I did that are apart of my usual routine (it does change a bit weekly, since I like a little of variety). Particularly, I watched "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and went to the village luncheon hosted by the Office of African-American Affairs at Columbia College Chicago.

Since I am assuming many of you have at least heard of the "Real Housewives of Atlanta," I'll just explain the village luncheon, which is a lunch in which students of African descent can network with Columbia faculty and staff of African descent over food and lively discussion on hot topics that affect the African-American community at large. This luncheon takes place on a monthly basis.

One of the topics brought up was Morehouse College's new dress code. Morehouse, one of the many historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), is an all-male school in Atlanta that prides itself in molding the "ideal" African-American men. The new dress code prohibits the follow:

• Do-rags, hats, and hoods worn in classrooms or any other indoor venues
• Sunglasses worn in class or formal events
• Jeans at major programs and no sagging pants on campus
• Clothing with derogatory or lewd messages in words or pictures
• Clothing usually worn by women (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, etc) on campus or college-sponsored events

Many of these regulations I understand and I personally do not have a problem with (even though I could argue that there is a sense of "whitening" in some of them, but that's for another posting), but the last one seemed like there was an obvious form of discrimination against gay African-American males (remember how I said I was going to talk about homosexuality in the African-American community?).

Based on what I have seen on "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and also how the Advocate dubbed Atlanta as America's gayest city earlier this year, I know that many of the gay African-American men in Atlanta regularly dress in clothing typically designed for women, not in the sense of cross-dressing. Morehouse College, being an educational institution in Atlanta, must be fully aware of this and for them to make this rule, obviously they have had students that have regularly dressed like this and I assure you most, if not all of them, are gay.

During the village luncheon, one student angrily protested how this rule is discriminatory, while many argued that even though it is discriminatory, Morehouse College has a right to create that rule since it is private.

My question to all of you is, regardless if you think this is discrimination or not, is it wrong for a private institution of higher education to have a rule that may marginalize a group? Would it only affect the institution? What does this say and do to the African-American male that is gay? What positive and negative affects could this have on the African-American community overall?