Black in Chi

So here's the rant about being a blackman in chicago. i basically had a discussion with one of my best friends about the frustration i feel walkin the streets here. I can't seem to walk 10 feet without a white woman grabbing her purse, puttin her head down and tripling her speed. I've tried not to notice it..and tried to elevate my mind but it's frustrating. Worse is even the people who see me every morning on the train. Who commute with me behave like, ad it's not just woman either. Though it's more rae men also behave liek ths and i have to wonder what's giong on. It's not complete i only started archiving after teh discussion had begun but what i got was still good.

teef1 (4:32:43 PM): Yeah. Not good
asante_kofi (4:33:14 PM): i have to admit ..i'm getting angrier by the day here in chicago
asante_kofi (4:33:48 PM): and i wodner if there is refuge anywhere
asante_kofi (4:34:15 PM): i asked jay if this was a chicago thing by saying your city and he basically said that this was also happening in NYC
asante_kofi (4:34:33 PM): it cant be as bad but still
teef1 (4:34:51 PM): I can't say that it happens much to me. Maybe I don't notice. Maybe they're not threatened because I'm short. Don't know.
asante_kofi (4:35:02 PM): i'm tired of seeing it and tired of noticing it..i try to elevate my mind but it only lasts abouta week
asante_kofi (4:35:37 PM): yeah well you have aspiritual glow bruce that beats all understanding
asante_kofi (4:35:54 PM): remember that time we went to church
asante_kofi (4:36:17 PM): and that guy just had to tell you he felt your spirit..almos like he could see your aura
teef1 (4:36:19 PM): Soul Glow?
asante_kofi (4:36:26 PM): word
teef1 (4:36:27 PM): Yeah, I thought that was weird
asante_kofi (4:37:04 PM): maybe it's cause you're light skinnenedteef1 (4:37:28 PM): I'm not that light.
teef1 (4:37:34 PM): I'm kinda medium
asante_kofi (4:37:39 PM): lighter than meteef1 (4:38:00 PM): Very true
teef1 (4:38:04 PM): That could have something to do with it
asante_kofi (4:38:37 PM): i don't know...it's getting to the point where i'm about to start callin ppl racists to their face
asante_kofi (4:38:46 PM): which of course is a self fulfilling prophecy
teef1 (4:38:49 PM): That's not cool, man
teef1 (4:38:51 PM): Exactly
asante_kofi (4:38:51 PM): and gets me nowhere
asante_kofi (4:39:05 PM): yeah i just say things under my breath loud enough for them to hear it
asante_kofi (4:39:18 PM): like" keep racism alive"
teef1 (4:39:25 PM): You need to show them a positive attitude, no matter what
teef1 (4:39:32 PM): Wear them down
asante_kofi (4:39:41 PM): my sister laughs at that one
teef1 (4:39:51 PM): Like Romans says, overcome evil with good.
asante_kofi (4:39:55 PM): yeah i know man.you kow me..i have een tolerant for a long time
asante_kofi (4:40:00 PM): but lately i am tired
teef1 (4:40:06 PM): In so doing, you heap coals of fire on their head
asante_kofi (4:41:55 PM): true..and i dont know when it changed in me
asante_kofi (4:42:00 PM): but i know it started in chicago
asante_kofi (4:42:35 PM): started i mean
teef1 (4:42:45 PM): http://www.eonline.com/Celebs/PartyGirl/Gallery2004/041028b.html
teef1 (4:42:49 PM): Here man, feel better
asante_kofi (4:43:25 PM): wow..yeah man
asante_kofi (4:43:54 PM): 200 the year when the top three hottest women were blackteef1 (4:44:00 PM):
asante_kofi (4:44:09 PM): beyonce undisputed hottest woman in music
asante_kofi (4:44:21 PM): halle berry undisputed hottest woman in film
asante_kofi (4:44:28 PM): and oprah owns television
asante_kofi (4:44:48 PM): this calls for a girlfriends marathon
teef1 (4:45:04 PM): Word
teef1 (4:45:06 PM):
asante_kofi (4:45:07 PM): even if i can't stand beyonce talkin
teef1 (4:45:23 PM): But, she can sing
asante_kofi (4:45:31 PM): true,. but she ain't jill scot

Now i know that racism exists everywhere and even when i get to engladn i'll have to deal with it but they way it manifests here is mayeb the thing i'm bothered with. I am a peopel watcher. I love walking down the streets taking in humanity. As a designer that's part of my makeup. And to not even be able to walk freely down the street really bothers me alot. But like my friend says i have to rise above. If you pray, then pray for me on this issue cause it's something that i have to deal with everyday.

ATCQ

Today's post was gonna be about how i feel as a black man in chicago. there's a daily pattern that i notice that definately irks me but i will let that pass today because i was blessed yesterday to witness some greatness.

At the end of the day yesterday as i was scanning my bulk mail to make sure nothing of worth had been chucked in with the usual trash asking me to refinance my loan and get my you know what enlarged i noticed an email from the House of Blues.

Now I am a subscriber but really they send too much stuff so i relegated it to the bulk mail and check it only when i feel like it. The email was a quick scan of their upcoming concerts. Now what did i see at the top? The LL(Cool J) concert had been cancelled. Now usually i wouldn't are cause much as i like LL i think he's fallen off a little bit and it's a good concert to go to to see the ladies..cause they definately love Cool James.(Hmmm, why wasn't I ging to this??) Anyway LL had been cancelled and replaced by "the creme de la creme" A Tribe Called Quest!!!!!!

Huh!! What!!??? i was in a state. they had broken up 6 years ago and though I heard of a possible reunion that news had been announced ages ago and there had been no follow up. So I was shocked. Tribe are the ultimate hip hop group. they are an integral part of teh soundtrack of my life and can definately be looked at as one of the"ties that bind" for two groups of friends of mine. Just amazing. The days when hip hop was associated with class and intelligence instead of bling and shakin rumps. they were hall of famers by their first album and they put out 5.

Anyway i had to go and looked to buy my tickets via ticket master..yet it wasn't possible. Tickets couldn't be purchased online. I didn't know if they were sold out or just not seling online so I tried calling. I couldn't get through...was on hold for awhile. To make matters worse it was the end of the day and my ride was waiting. and though i work near the HOB I had catch a train home so i could get my car to come back into the city from my suburban confines. So i went home and started making phone calls. Cause i knew that there was no way i could keep this to myself.

So as I was on the train i called a friend of mine. She was excited but caught in a quandry. She had a presentation the next day and a quiz on wed that hadn't studid for. But again it was Tribe. she was torn. So she said to call another friend of ours to serve as the tiebreaker. he took less than a second to say yes and on the way we were. she was still at work..which is close to mine and she also actually lives in the city so she had no problem going down and pickin up the tickets.

We were set..show started at 8:30/ doors opened at 8 and that was the decided meeting time. Which actually ended up beng more like 8:15 cause parking was not kind. When we got in the setup was a little different than usual. there was the normal DJ on stage but the show was being sponsored by Salem Cigarettes and Enyce clothing. The stage had an elevated platform on it with these two female hip hop dancer "chicken headin" to the beat. After a bit they came down and then we were presented with a fashion show from Enyce. not exactly what we came for but except for the annoying male models who were trying too hard to be hard there was some nice things to see so i wasn't too bothered.

When that was over i got a bit of an age check. Funkmaster Flex came on to do a set. Now Flex is oen of the worlds most famous hip hop dj's who comes from NYC. He was trying to get the crowd up for Tribe by playing some serious old skool classics. Half the kids in there didn't know the songs. They looked like deer in headlights at times. I was like how do you not know this...
But to be fair he also could have pulled out a couple of better known tunes. Cause when he was finished the previous Dj dropped some stuff you wish he had played.

Then we were told there was one more special guest before Tribe came on. No one else had been mentioned so we didn't know who to expect but we were very pleasantly surprised as the this tall, thin, curly haired white girl walked on stage with a violin. It was Mari Ben Ari of kanye west fame and she killed it. They played different songs and she would use the violin to either do beats or be the voice. Just great stuff. The place had been a little quiet before but after her it was hyped. Then they introduced Tribe and it erupted.

And it wasn't just 3 members of tribe that walked on stage. For those in the know...Mike Jarobi was there too. They did all the classics..and just had people singing to every song. Bonita Applebum, Hot Sex on a Platter, Relax, Buggin out they did it all. The only bad thing was that House of Blues has some union issues that stop the show at 11:30 during the weekdasy so we only got an hour and a half of Tribe. Whatever the case it's the second best concert I've been to...behind the mighty mos and talib who have taken the torch from Tribe of course.

well take it easy all,

carrots,

K

Weekend musings and a letter review - please post comment

So it was a relaxing weekend. Nothing much happened. But it was good for a few projects that I am starting. Check this space. In a couple of weeks all will be revealed.

Anyway so the lack of much activity gave me time to think which is cool. I haven't had a time to really think in a while. I have even been going into work earlier which has cut down my morning think period.

People definately need to just spend time in their own heads more. Not living in them but sort of clearing up the clutter and dealing with things properly. Work on your imagination or on smal things that are bothering you or are interesting to think about. The brain is a very powerful tool and we under utilize it all the time. Below will be some thought that I had this weekend..expounded an clarified a little for this venue. I'll then finally post the letter i have to translate. Please comment . on anything but the letter especially, and let me know what you think.

Thought 1:
I have been considering my identity as of late. Looking at the things that identify a person their occupation is always a big talking point. But as I am realizing, especially today, it's not exactly the end all be all. Nowadays I find it hard saying I'm an engineer. I work as an engineer but the feeling for it has gone. A lot of the extra things I used to do and search for have faded. I don't even know if I think like an engineer anymore till i get to work and have to do it. And i wonder if this is down to the nature of the work I'm doing now which is cool and i'm learning alot but I haven't exactly been challenged in the engineering sense. And then again is that my fault for not seeking the challenges that are there. I've done a couple of things and there's some more stuff coming up that will require "engineering" but it strikes me as funny that my degree in Industrial Design will probably do more to get me back to being an engineer than my past two jobs. Even now i'm beginning to read and take on certain projects motivated by my ID stuff that will require an engineering mindset. Only now i feel like i've lost alot of knowledge and "nouse" and that bothers me but hopefully i don't waste this year and can get that feeling back. Cause really it's something i miss at times. i worked hard for 5 years to get a degree and don't want it to feel empty when i say it.

Thought 2:
Now I'm fumin abit on one subject. Arsenal v Manchester United. There was a game on this weekend. Watched by over 400 million people worldwide. Arsenal, my favourite team, are currently leading the league in england and had not been defeated for 49 games. That's a whole season plus. They play some of the best football going...just beautiful and crisp and single passing. Now ManU is ateam i respect. A great history and who were the dominant force in england for awhile..but now there has been a slight shift and at the start of the game they were in 9th a full 11 points back. Long story short Arsenal lost what would have been their 50th game in a row and ManU are now only 8 point back in 8th. However the way the won witha dubious penalty and basically kicking ppl is what get's me amd. Fair enough if they won because they played better but they were awarded a penalty on aplay when the guy who was "fouled" even admitted to the opposing team players that he wasn't touched. Which incenses me. Just straight cheating..and yet ppl always look at the Gunners(Arsenal) poorly. Needless to say i'm not happy about it but what can i say it's over and there's still a whole lot of football to play. I believe in Arsena; and don't believe this is the end..but lookout for this fixture when the teams have to play at Highbury(Arsenal's Stadium) in the spring.

Well the football rant has teken any of the other stuff away so maybe it will come to me tomorrow. I have a couple of things to say on being a black man in chicago. yep it's gonna be a long one.

Ok well here's the letter let me know what youthink. It's pretty self explanatory but if you feel i need to make clear any other things let me know.

K



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Dear Mr. (Name Withheld),

I am writing to reawaken the discussions we had a few months ago concerning the possibility of sponsorship for my Masters degree. I remind you to the fact that I have been accepted into the Industrial Design Engineering Program at the Royal College of Art in London, England.

After our previous conversation I searched for other sponsorship avenues, both corporate and academic. Unfortunately each had their individual obstacles which prevented collaboration. Because of that I have deferred my entrance into the program for a year to seek funding/sponsorship that can support me both financially and technically. Also since our discussions broke down due to the re-organization of the company I thought (Name Withheld)may wish to reconsider sponsorship as I would be starting next year.

I must say I am pursuing this relationship not just because of the financial benefits but also because I became familiar with (Name Withheld) R&D at my time at Starlab and feel it is a company that looks s to make an impact with new technologies. It’s this kind of impact I want to make and believe my background in engineering coupled with the educational tools and environment from the Royal College of Art along with collaboration from (Name Withheld) could be a magical combination that would yield numerous benefits for both sides. I have included my CV for your review and hope to hear from you soon.