SolArt Radio Episode #12: MJ Memorial and More
On this 12th episode of SolArt Radio, I take the reigns for the hour to recount my experience at the memorial service for the King of Pop Michael Jackson! As readers of this blog know, I was one of the lucky few – relative to those who wanted to be there – to get a pair of tickets. To underscore my thoughts, I begin the show by playing three musical highlights from the service – Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, and Jermaine Jackson.
You’ll definitely want to stay tuned after that to find out all about the first Sol Art Radio show production of the summer! The band Enjambre will be performing a special acoustic set this Saturday, July 18th at the Breath of Fire Theater Space in Santa Ana. Aside from that special announcement, I bring you the music of bands like Girl in a Coma, Strangely Attractive, and the Nekromantix.
Being the HipHop Head that I am, episode #12 comes to a close with some joints from the underground brought to you by The Glass Bottom Boat, Rebels to the Grain and Maya Jupiter! As always, spread the word and tell a friend about SolArt Radio!
Cali’s Budget Mess and the Coming Hate
California’s budget – if you haven’t heard! – is in a state of severe crisis. The political implications of this are manifold. The dominating conversation has been, up to this point, centered on social services and deep cuts. Of course, many on the right delight in the opportunity to gut public trusts like education and the left is quick to bemoan increasing the hardships of the poorest among us as a result of the deficit.
One political movement, however, is setting up to take a play out of the scapegoating history book of this nation and use the budget crisis as an opportunity to advance xenophobic aims. As evidenced by an article in today’s Los Angeles Times, anti-immigrant groups in the state are readying a ballot initiative for next year’s election to “end state benefits for illegal immigrants and their U.S. born [my note: Citizen!] children.”
Barbara Coe, a leader of the OC based California Coalition for Immigrant Reform was interviewed for the piece and, always quotable, said that the presence of undocumented immigrants and their children is “invasion by birth canal.” Too bad Diego Rivera isn’t around to paint that mural! Hoping to exorcise the demons of Prop 187, the anti-immigrant groups are hoping their new initiative effort is more legally sound and will avoid being struck down in the courts.
The prongs of the new attack are varied. Of course, whatever existing channels for undocumented immigrants to access state and local benefits would be shut off if this effort should come to pass. However, with groups like the CCIR, this time it’s all about the children! The initiative in question features provisions aimed at what the anti-immigrant movement loves to term “anchor babies.” Infuriated by the legal status of children born in the U.S. of undocumented parents, they have crafted a legal argument stating that such children are not entitled to citizenship under the 14th amendment!
The budget is a mess and the wave of xenophobia is coming. I say we become proactive and recruit Rosie Hamlin of “Rosie and the Originals” to record an anthem against this hatefulness taking a playful note from her timeless hit and rechristening it “Anchor Baby!”
A Look Back at My Good Ol’ College Days!
Thanks to an odd glitch on my Myspace page, I was able to view some old jokes I had written in on my “schools” field once upon a time – including a listing of all my campus affiliations! I am proud to admit that I am an alumni of UC Rivercide, and as you can tell, class, reading, and drinking at the Getaway Cafe was just not enough to complete my collegiate experience. As per my old Myspace page, I was a very active student involved in a number or campus clubs and even a fraternity, including:
~ Phi Beta Go Fuck Yourself! (Our “Anti-Socials” were the best!)
~ Future Huevones of America (too lazy to go to any meetings)
~ Taco Cart Guys for 9/11 Truth (Taco Meat cooks at 155F, Jet Fuel Burns between 800F – 1500F, and all the taco meat in the South Tower was crudo, demolition?)
~ Illegal Immigrants Against Illegal Immigration (self-hating co-founder)
~ Americans with Spanish Surnames (A.S.S.)
Subversive Historian – 07/10/09
The Chicago Freedom Movement
Back in the day on July 10th, 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on behalf of the Chicago Freedom Movement. An estimated 60,000 people gathered at the big rally in Solider Park to hear the Civil Rights leader speak alongside musicians such as Mahalia Jackson and Stevie Wonder who were also present. As the most ambitious campaign for civil rights in the North, the movement brought together the Southern Christian Leadership of the South, with Chicago’s Coordinating Council of Community Organizations. Together they forged a vision to end slums in the city while promoting racial equality in the realms of housing, education and employment. After King concluded his speech at Soldier Field, he, like his namesake before him, posted demands on the doors of power. Addressed to real estate brokers, local politicians, and banks, among others, the list called for nondiscriminatory policies to be publicly stated.
After the Soldier Field rally, the movement organized open housing marches through all-white neighborhoods. During those tense moments, King, a veteran target of racism, described the moments as hateful and hostile on a scale he had never seen before…
MJ’s Memorial Service in Photos
It’s been a busy topsy turvey week for me at donpalabraz.com! I started out the week on Monday with the disappointment or reading an email from the Staples Center that regretted to inform me that my registration to attend the Michael Jackson memorial service had been rejected. Two hours later, I checked my email again only to find an updated reply stating that I had indeed been granted two tickets to attend! With that, the course of my whole week changed. Here’s my attempt to tell the story through a few selected pictures:
Subversive Historian – 07/09/09
Oliver Law and the Lincoln Brigade
Back in the day on July 9th, 1937, Oliver Law, Commander of the Lincoln Brigade, died leading his troops during a campaign of the Spanish Civil War. Noted by history as the first African-American to command an integrated military force of U.S. citizens, Law suffered a fatal wound in the attack on Mosquito Ridge during the Battle of Brunete. Of internationalist concerns prior to the outbreak of Civil War in Spain, Law was born in West Texas and served in the segregated U.S. army. Following his career in the military he went to Chicago and became an organizer who was arrested for speaking at a rally against Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. Firmly anti-Fascist, Law joined many other African-Americans and other U.S. citizens in forming the volunteer Lincoln Brigade to assist in the struggle against General Franco.
Wishing to enshrine the life of Law and others like him, Paul Robeson once said, “I would like to make a film on the life of a Black commander of the Lincoln Battalion who died there; but this would be refused by the big Yankee movie companies.”
John Mayer – Human Nature
John Mayer’s performance of Michael Jackson’s song “Human Nature” was a favorite of mine during the entire memorial service. I really liked Jermaine Jackson’s rendition of “Smile” but I’m a guitarist – even if only a failed one – at heart. There was a certain profoundness to this performance that only silence can make heard. With Michael Jackson leaping upward into the loam, the absence of singing on this song underscorded his physical absence from this Earth…
Subversive Historian – 07/08/09
The Hamburg Massacre
Back in the day on July 8th, 1876 an incident occurred in South Carolina that would be known to history as the ‘Hamburg Massacre.’ Days before, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of “Independence Day,” an African-American company of the state’s militia had been marching on a public street when two whites approached in a buggy. A conflict ensued as the whites wanted to continue on their course without any consideration to the fact that they had ample room to move around the militia. The very next day, the two white men sought warrants for the arrest of some of the African-American militiamen for their supposed offense. The defendants failed to show up to trial on July 8th out of fear of the number of white citizens who began arming themselves. A mob mentality soon ensued as an illegal demand was voiced that the militia be disarmed. Negotiations took place on that very issue and when they broke down, violence erupted. James Cook, the town marshal and non-militia member, was the first black killed. Many others were taken prisoner and five of them were summarily executed.
The Hamburg Massacre, investigated by South Carolina’s Attorney General, prompted Governor Chamberlin to ponder, “What hopes can we have when such a cruel, bloodthirsty spirit waits in our midst for its hour of gratification. Is our civilization so shallow?
Report Back from Michael’s Memorial
I’m just back from my experience of a lifetime at the memorial service for Michael Jackson. An estimated one billion people saw the event on television, but I was there in person. I’ve been busy doing interviews on Uprising Radio on the spot and the Four O’Clock Report with Gustavo Arellano afterwards. In between those reports, I blogged all about it over at the OC Weekly too. More pictures are soon to come here as well as thoughts about the service itself:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/media-circuses/gabriel-san-romans-thoughts-fr/
