Ni**as In Paris???

Recently Gwenyth Paltrow tweeted a picture that had Twitter on fire.  She attended the Jay-Z Kanye West concert in Paris with some of her celeb friends Beyonce (of course), Kelly Rowland and Spike Lee.  And while she was there she tweeted a picture with the caption "Ni**as in paris for real" (see pic below)

Gwyneth Paltrow on WhoSay

Why is everyone going crazy? At the concert that night, Jay-Z performed his song 'Ain't No Ni**a' and EVERYONE in the room was singing every lyric (including all the White girls to their Black boyfriends in the audience that night).  After all, it's just the name of the song title...right?

Reaction to this innocent (I don't think that she did it maliciously) has been varied...some say that she shouldn't have used it.  Some say get over it.  Some say that White people shouldn't use it.  It's enough to make your head spin.

So what are the 'rules' we need to live by concerning the every controversial N-word?  Is it OK to use it in hip hop circles only?  Do Black people get to use it towards each other at free will and every other race has to tread lightly when using it?

Do we allow this to go by as innocent and frown upon a  Dutch magazine calling Rihanna's style 'ni**gabitch'?  (Click here to read more)

I don't think we'll ever come to a consensus on the use of the word...but I'm curious to know if any of you use the word.  Do you get offended when Black people use the word?  Other races?  Maybe it's the context that matters most?

Stunning Photos of Former Slaves

Have a look at these amazing photos.  In the 1930s the Federal Writers Project of the Work Progress Administration collected more than 2000 first hand accounts of former slaves as well as 500  black and white pictures.  They were collected from 17 states and most of the people interviewed were in 80s 90s and some even past 100 years old.  

Many of the collected stories were written phonetically which gives the reader a sense of how they really were.  The article highlights the account of a 121 year old slave that said: " ‘Yo’ know de sta’s don’ shine as bgright as dey did back den. I wonah wy dey don’. Dey jes’ don’ shine as bright.’ "

I would love to see this collection of stories.  To look at a snippet of history, told first hand, would be incredible.

I have always wished I could somehow sit and have a conversation with those who were enslaved. See the hurt and joy etched on their faces.  Hear the nuances of their speech.  Hear the stories straight from their lips.  This collection may be as close as it gets.  

Has anyone heard of or seen this collection?

Click on the link below to view all the pictures. They are absolutely beautiful.

http://blacklikemoi.com/2012/04/african-american-heroes/stunning-portraits-of-former-slaves-photographed-seventy-years-after-the-emancipation-proclamation/

Rihanna Called N-Word In Dutch Fashion Magazine 'Jackie'

A Dutch fashion magazine, Jackie, recently called Rihanna a "n***abitch" with a "ghetto ass" in an article describing her sense of style. Excerpt from the article below:

"She has street cred, she has a ghetto ass and she has a golden throat. Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate n***abitch and she displays that gladly--for her that means what's on can come off. If that means she'll be on stage half naked, then so be it. But Dutch winters aren't like Jamaican ones, so pick a clothing style in which your daughter can resist minus ten [temperatures]. No to the big sunglasses and the pornheels, and yes to the tiger print, pink 'shizzle,' and everything that glitters. Now let's hope she won't beat anybody up at daycare."

At first, the editor-in-chief, Eva Hoeke, took to Twitter and stated that the original intention for the choice of words was to be a 'joke' and apologized for potentially offending anyone. However, after realizing the error she tweeted: ‘1. Don’t publish bad jokes in the magazine 2. Don’t pretend bad jokes to be funny. Sorry guys. My bad.’

The backlash continued. Hoeke was harassed and threatened and by the end of the day she found it necessary to quit her job at Jackie after 8 long years.

This incident got me thinking about the state of North American popular culture. Step out of North America for a moment and take a look at what other countries see when they look at our culture. There are flashes of bitches and n***as littered all throughout our pop culture and we don't think twice about the effect it has on the rest of the world.

Is this a classic case of being lost in translation? Was the magazine being malicious? Should the Dutch have know better? Done their research? or were they reflecting what they see pouring out of North American media? Interested in hearing your thoughts. Let's start a discussion.


blessings,

t

Article in Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/rihanna-called-n-word-in-_n_1160181.html