rise up, my blk ppl, rise-the-fuck-up!
Keith Boykin posted this alert a couple days ago. Seems as though the U.S. Park Service has denied Pride in the City access to Riis Beach on Sunday. With last year's drama with the bathrooms being closed on the beach and now this effort to basically push Pride in the City off the beach on into the adjacent baseball fields, limiting the total number to 1500 (at first it was 150!), POCC has a press conference set for today.
Ms. Harmonica Sunbeam had this to say about the hole fiasco, "DESPITE THE FACT OF US GETTING THE PERMIT THE KIDS ARE GONNA STORM MISS RIIS ANYWAY! I SAY FIGHT THE POWER PEOPLE."
Touche.
A couple days ago in an mass email I sent out to let peeps know what was going on I wrote above the fwd "rise up, my blk ppl rise-the-fuck-up!" Now I'm a little torn about to what extent this rise up merits. While think its imperative that we fight for public space sigh... do we really have to fight for this though? i feel uncomfortable with that language... its the public beach for god sakes! PIC brings in $$$ to the city. HIV tests are had! blk ppl are havin fun! okay, so yes, the dragon is against us, so yes we do have to fight... sigh. But on the other hand, with all the good will of the beach party, HIV testing #1, the dance party on the beach #2, a break from the concrete city of new york #3, chillin out with fly blk folks the *new* #1..., there is the flawless strut that is, well, flawed. Not something that a lot of folks I know want to pozition themselves for which to fight. The comments under Keith's first posting speak to these internal community feelings and criticism.
I know for one that I will be at the beach and I will be the skinny little brotha with the baby pack and the tiny mussels with the fresh cut. So I don't have much room to talk. BUT, I do feel like a greater cultural, political moment of visibility and resistance is within reach for us blk folks in the life...
Maybe we just need a little sun (no shade) and beach time to get us going.
See ya at da beach!
...oh and blkout arts spot looks kinda cute for friday.
Ms. Harmonica Sunbeam had this to say about the hole fiasco, "DESPITE THE FACT OF US GETTING THE PERMIT THE KIDS ARE GONNA STORM MISS RIIS ANYWAY! I SAY FIGHT THE POWER PEOPLE."
Touche.
A couple days ago in an mass email I sent out to let peeps know what was going on I wrote above the fwd "rise up, my blk ppl rise-the-fuck-up!" Now I'm a little torn about to what extent this rise up merits. While think its imperative that we fight for public space sigh... do we really have to fight for this though? i feel uncomfortable with that language... its the public beach for god sakes! PIC brings in $$$ to the city. HIV tests are had! blk ppl are havin fun! okay, so yes, the dragon is against us, so yes we do have to fight... sigh. But on the other hand, with all the good will of the beach party, HIV testing #1, the dance party on the beach #2, a break from the concrete city of new york #3, chillin out with fly blk folks the *new* #1..., there is the flawless strut that is, well, flawed. Not something that a lot of folks I know want to pozition themselves for which to fight. The comments under Keith's first posting speak to these internal community feelings and criticism.
I know for one that I will be at the beach and I will be the skinny little brotha with the baby pack and the tiny mussels with the fresh cut. So I don't have much room to talk. BUT, I do feel like a greater cultural, political moment of visibility and resistance is within reach for us blk folks in the life...
Maybe we just need a little sun (no shade) and beach time to get us going.
See ya at da beach!
...oh and blkout arts spot looks kinda cute for friday.
posted by Andre Lancaster at
9:33 AM
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