Blogcritics Author: Cherryl Aldave

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Poor Whites and Blacks Plotting to Take Mexican Jobs on May Day?

Cherryl Aldave — Mon, 1 May 2006 06:06:25 EDT

Business Week Online says: Immigrant advocacy groups have organized a general boycott for May 1, hoping to show the country how important they are.What if all the poor and unemployed whites and blacks show up at all the jobs the Mexicans have walked off of and say "We're here to work!" It could happen, according to a rumor I heard recently.Yesterday, in a conversation with a group of local North Carolina hip hop artists and spoken word artist Monte Smith, the subject of the illegal immigration debacle came up. Monte piped in and told us that he's heard rumors from unemployed people where he lives in North Carolina. Apparently, some of them plan to show up to businesses with a majority of Mexican employees today and try to take their jobs!We all had a good laugh about it, but it won't happen unless these people want to work for $5.15 an hour (or less!). They're starting to think that's better than the nothing an hour they're getting while unemployed.This little rumor speaks volumes to the gnawing discomfort many Americans feel towards illegal immigrants, for what they see as "jumping the line" and not "waiting their turn" in terms of legal citizenship. There also seems to be a lot of outright economic resentment from people in my community here in North Carolina, some of whom have told me they are tired of trying to get jobs or contract work only to be "undercut" by Mexicans.Mexican immigrants and all other immigrants should be allowed to work and earn a better life, but legally. Perhaps something should be done so the immigration process is easier, hence people won't feel the need to break the law. I believe businesses should be held responsible for illegal hiring practices, which in the long run hurts all Americans.As for May Day, it seems that all we can do is sit back and watch how things unfold today. Meanwhile, I'll keep my ears open to see if any of the "walk on" workers are successful in securing jobs!

Cherryl Aldave is an angry Black and Filipino woman from North Carolina. She writes mostly to prevent herself from cold snapping from thinking too much, but does it for money too. She is working on her first book, Fear of a Black Pek-Pek. Visit her at her blog The Last Nerve.

Can Black People Be Racists?

Cherryl Aldave — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 05:43:48 EST

I write a lot about race on my blog. A lot. So much so that I've gotten many wonderful notes (read: hate mail) from concerned citizens across the globe calling me a "racist" and chiding me for my "racist remarks." I am a half-Black, half-Filipino woman with issues. Serious ones. I live in a world where my skin color, despite the fact that less than one percent of my genetic makeup determines my skin color, shapes my possible pathways to success, financial opportunities, educational access, etc. This is true for all people. No matter what our "color," we are all affected by this false construct of "race."Being from the South, where racial differences are less subtle than in other parts of the country, has helped to shape my opinions of the world at large. In a way, I see the whole world as a larger South - a new South, where White owned corporations continue a facsimile of slavery through slave labor conditions and wages for workers in "underdeveloped" nations. I tend to frame everything within the context of Black and White, and I don't know if I would do so if I were White.White people in America have the privilege of not having to deal with their "race" on an everyday basis in the same way as minorities, so most Whites do not spend much time thinking about the effects of racism. I, on the other hand, think about race constantly, because my struggle with racism, and how it affects my life and my family's life, is ongoing. Sometimes I feel like if I could not write about how racism affects me, I might literally go postal. It's a great release. But in my writing, I have never advocated the killing or enslavement of White people or said that Blacks are superior in any way, nor would I ever. And that's why I feel I am not a racist.Blacks in America -- us "angry" ones -- like Paul Mooney, Dave Chapelle, Richard Pryor, etc., use and have used writing about race as a sort of therapy; self-medication in a world where the wounds of slavery have been slow to heal. Sure, there have been advances in race relations, but the lack of prosecution against any entity for the great, open-ended indignity that was slavery, coupled with the lack of monetary compensation given for the time and labor forcibly taken from Blacks during slavery, has left the gnarly taste of injustice in many a Black person's mouth. There's still an overwhelming sense of "non-closure" in America concerning slavery, which many Blacks, including myself, frankly feel very bitter about.But does that make me a racist? I understand that not all Whites enslaved Blacks, but certainly all Whites benefited from it, if not directly, than indirectly. And in my mind, Blacks spewing off remarks about "the man" and the system he created is not equal to Whites saying similar things about Blacks. Is this a double standard?When Blacks speak in racial terms about Whites, that speech is in no way tied to any institutional oppression of Whites by Black people. Not so for Whites. In my mind, "racism" is more than verbal. It implies systems put in place in all facets of life meant to prop up one race's cultural, moral, and intellectual values as superior. And when it comes to White people, the word "racism" has a much more sinister connotation as well. I wonder if the Whites who insist that I am a racist do so only to unshoulder the burden of carrying the word alone. Until Black people have built a history of controlling the type of education White children are allowed to receive, or the types of jobs White people are allowed to have, or lynching White men for the mere act of looking at Black women, I dare say that Black people are not in a position in this country to be racist against Whites. The question remains however, if the tables will turn.

How Do The Fatherless Celebrate Father's Day?

Cherryl Aldave — Sun, 19 Jun 2005 04:27:04 EDT

If you have a dad, you're lucky.I've always envied people with dads, especially this time of year when TV is full of ads for department stores and dad's day deals, and restaurants all over town offer discounts to "Bring Dad in for Dinner". I imagine what it feels like to bring Dad that special shirt or requsite ugly tie, and yes, treat him to a good meal on Father's Day, but it has to stop there.It stops there because I don't have a dad. Not because he died doing something heroic, or in an accident. Not because he "just doesn't come around". But because I have no clue who he is. Where he is.I know his name and I have a few pictures, but I don't know him as a person. When my parents split when I was a toddler, he split, and I haven't seen him since.My significant other is always complaining about his father. They have a strained relationship. I always make sure to remind him, "At least you have a father. Be thankful."My man's father comes around and calls often. The love between them is there, they just have issues like a lot of families do. But my man knows what it's like to look half of his history in the face, and see the same lips shouting back in an argument. Even for this, I would be thankful.Where others have memories of their fathers, and all the things fathers are generally good for, I have blanks. No one to keep me from getting jacked at the auto shop, no one to show me how a good man should treat me, no one to defend me when the bad ones occasionally got violent. No birthday presents. No calls. Nothing. No one to help my mom so she worked too much -- and drank too much. We were alone, together.It's amazing for me to see how some people will do anything to have a child, while others leave theirs behind like used kleenex. I used to feel like he should have left me in one, but now I know better.I know now that I'm a grown-up, that sometimes for other grown-ups, the world is too much. I know this is not my fault. I know that my significant other's dad is softening with time and thinks of me as a daughter, as do others in my community. For this I am thankful.I also know that my man is there for our three children, and they will not have to grow up with that empty space in their lives that I did. For men like him I am the most thankful, and that's how I celebrate Father's Day. In honor of all men who take care of their children, no matter whose dad they may be. Cherryl Aldave is a writer from North Carolina.

Freddy Fresh Presents the Rap Records

Cherryl Aldave — Fri, 20 May 2005 09:20:01 EDT

Freddie Fresh Presents The Rap Records is the Hip Hop deejay and record collector 'must have' item of the year.The book lists indy and major label rap singles released between 1979 and 1989 on vinyl. About 1400 records are included, many with cover art. A convenient star system hips you to the value and rarity of choice cuts. A few '90s singles, non-rap singles and some albums are included, as Freddy Fresh gives entire label discographies for historically important imprints like 4th and Broadway, Cold Chillin, Sleeping Bag records and others. The book also includes extras like lists of early rap singles by year, and lists of specialty rap records. Beyond that just reading over the names of some of the lesser known records like Blowfly's 1984 ditty "Too Fat To F*ck" is intensely enjoyable.Freddy Fresh is a record collector and internationally known DJ and producer. Early in his career he repped labels from Def Jam to the now defunct B-Boy Records. Much of the information in the book is from his record database compiled over his twenty year career, with additional research from the collections of over eighty deejays and producers from around the world. This book was released in 2004, but is a work in progress and will be updated whenever there is enough new material to warrant a re-print.