“Black Monsters/White Corpses: Kanye’s Racialized Gender Politics” and other links…
Latoya Peterson: “However, within the racial context, it’s designed to simultaneously play into America’s deepest fears and deepest needs at the same time: the fear of black men (in general) and their alleged desire for white women. I would think Kanye was playing into that idea consciously, and perhaps he is. But the segregation of treatment contributes to a final note, where Kanye is also upholding the ideals of white supremacy. Even in death, white women are worthy of love, tenderness, and a starring role in male fantasies. Brown women are relegated to the background, left to their own monstrous devices, shadow creatures performing their roles.”
“Mixing it up: Multiracialism redefines Asian American identity”
Jeff Yang: “To be accepted as Maori, you must be able to recount your ancestral line back up to an iwi—a tribe—and then beyond that, to the atua, the gods. You can be 1/1024th Maori by blood, but if you can speak the story of your family’s descent from the Earth Mother Papatuanuku to the present, you’re as Maori as anyone. It's a viral rather than dilutive interpretation of race; a way of looking at identity as a story, of which each individual is a chapter.”
“‘Better Late Than Never’ Category: Rome, Carthage Finally Make Peace”
Reuters (1985): “The mayors of Rome and Carthage will sign a symbolic friendship and collaboration pact in a ceremony at the ruins of ancient Carthage, near modern Tunis, early next month, a spokesman for Rome’s Communist Mayor Ugo Vetere said Friday.”
“Next Time Halle Berry Should Invest in a Test Tube Daddy”
MoneyMama: “Things looked amicable when the two initially broke-up last year, some time after the birth of their daughter, Nahla. But now the two are slugging it out in the press, with Berry leading the charge. She claims she had to drop out of a film production in New York to fight for custody of Nahla and has accused Aubry of once calling her the ‘N-word.’”
“Tyler Perry Is Rich Now And He Can Do Whatever He Wants”
Danielle Belton: “There is the world, the one you and I live in, the normal world, where you have to stand in lines and go on auditions and sit through job interviews and you have to go through pointless first date after pointless first date to find the things you want and need in life. And then there’s the First Class world of those who have some comfort and can get good tables in restaurants you can’t afford and can take a nice vacation once a year with the second wife or husband. And THEN there's the world Oprah and Dick Cheney live in.”