a little link love

1. questlove’s piece entitled trayvon martin and i ain’t shit is a heartfelt and sobering look at what it’s like to be a black man in america.  in the piece he describes an incident on the elevator of his swank new york building where a white woman refused to tell him what floor she lived on — questlove was politely offering to push the button for her, but soon realized that she was afraid to let a black man know where she lived.  in his piece, he describes the burden of possessing a large-framed-male-black body when living in a country that has demonized your very existence.

2.  ebony writer jamilah lemieux applauds questlove’s writing and tears to shreds a piece written by white feminist kim foster who claims questlove’s encounter in the elevator wasn’t about racism, but the white woman’s fear of being assaulted by a man (sans-race).  thank goodness jamilah took this nonsense to task, schooling foster and other white feminists on intersectionality and the privilege that brings one to insert her victim-centered narrative into a discussion about racial profiling and the murder of an innocent child.  white feminists often need to be told “this ain’t about you!” and then be forced to have several seats.

3. why didn’t i know about the amazingly talented writer zadie smith?  after reading her interview for the london evening standard, i was moved by her progressive socio-political analysis and ridiculous beauty.  she bad.

4. harry belafonte is an actor and civil rights icon who, during a time of overt hatred, used his celebrity status to shed light on civil rights abuses and support humanitarian causes.  among many acts of resistance, he financed the freedom rides and helped to organize the march on washington.  his story should be mandatory reading for every brown and black celebrity to learn how to give back and empower your community.  evidently, jay z (he recently fired his hyphen) has not taken to heart belafonte’s lessons, and in response to the elder’s criticism that he and others were not doing enough for social justice causes, jay stated:

“I’m offended by that because first of all, and this is going to sound arrogant, but my presence is charity. Just who I am. Just like Obama’s is. Obama provides hope. Whether he does anything, the hope that he provides for a nation, and outside of America is enough.”

wow. and here i thought charity could be described as a commitment to ending inequality and a dedication to social responsibility.  who knew that simply waking up in the morning, placing my feet on the ground, rocking tom ford and hopping in my new bugatti constitutes an exercise in making the world a better place?  damn, somebody should have hipped mother theresa.