Fifth Edition

October 23, 2013

Black Consciousness
Promoting Freedom of Thought

Quote of the Day: Frantz Fanon What matters is not to know the world, but to change it

Table of Contents Scandalous....Rashieda Witter The Obamanation of Obamas Nation........ Yoweri Kimeria Politics and Curls.......VanaRose Contact Us: Facebook.com/BCNewspaper Twitter: @BCNewspaper Email: BCNewspaper@yahoo.com Online Version: scribd.com/BlackConsciousness

Copyright Black Consciousness Writers 1

Scandalous
Draped in a classic ivory colored trench coat, slacks tailored to a tee, Gucci platform pumps and a Prada purse to top it all off, Olivia Pope is without a doubt the baddest gladiator in a pantsuit. With her commanding strut and authoritative confidence, Kerry Washington adds powerful presence to the television screen through her portrayal of Olivia Pope on the ABC drama, Scandal. As the crisis manager that can easily handle any catastrophe thrown her way without breaking a sweat (or nail), Ms. Pope could effortlessly be the epitome of a badass, Black leading lady portrayed tastefully on televisionthe one thing holding her back is the taboo affair she is having with the President of the United States. As one of the 10.5 million viewers that tuned in for the season 3 premier, I gained a deeper perspective of some of the themes represented in the show and would like to shed some light on a few of them. First and foremost, I often question why there is always a moral downfall to every Black woman that upholds a powerful position in a TV series. Our SHEroes can never just be a strong minded, influential, selfmade business woman without a flaw. Some negative shortcoming must be connected to her character in order to intensify the plot, whether it is an abusive spouse, drug addiction, or in Olivias case, being the mistress of the leader of the free world. Sure these situations add to that Hollywood dramatic effect and amplify the scandalous nature of the show, however I fear that it may be distorting Americas image of the Black woman. We already have a questionable reputation thanks to reality shows such as Bad Girls Club, Basketball Wives and Love & Hip Hop, but Olivia Pope definitely wears the white hat in this category of leading ladies. Thanks to attention seekers who are willing to expose themselves and their families before millions of people, an explosion in the number of unscripted reality shows featuring Black women as leading ladies has infected the

airwaves. How did this prevalent image of Black women develop in contradiction to that of the elegant, accomplished Black woman, such as Pope? We have to change the perceptions of what the media thinks about us and encourage scripts to be written portraying us as heroines instead of victimsthere are a lot of Michelle Obamas in the Black community with victorious stories. I miss those days when I could turn on the television and see a variety of powerful cocoa ladies such as Clair Huxtable in The Cosby Show, Aunt Viv in Fresh Prince as well as the diverse, sovereign cliques of Living Single and Girlfriends, in which sisterhood was the dominate theme. Black girls rock and its time for mainstream media to recognize our finesse. Another theme I wanted to address is the depiction of an interracial couple. I doubt the show would be such a success if the President was Black and his mistress was white, or if both the President and Olivia were Black. Kerry Washington admitted that she would have turned down the role of Pope if the creative directors cast a Black man as President. In an interview with Ebony magazine she stated, If the president on the show is Black, I will not do the show. I didnt want to do anything that compromised my relationship with the [president] or that made it seem like I had an insider view on the Obama presidency. While her reasoning seems legitimate, I wont be surprised if what she really wanted to say is America is sadly not ready for a show highlighting a Black power couple, which is the sad truth. But its 2013 and TV needs to catch up to the times. One solution to this issue? We need to be more empowered as image creators. If WE used OUR own stories and voices to define US, then they would see diversity born from a struggle. If we focus on our greatness rather than the oppression, in no time we will be able to turn on the TV, see dynamic Blacks everywhere and say, Its handled. One Love,

Rashieda Witter, Co-Founder of www.Simonsof HipHop.com 3

The Obamanation of Obamas Nation

As the government opens up for business and the conflict among our government officials in Washington D.C. continues, now would be a good time to bring up the real underlying reasons for the unnecessary shutdown and the growing political division we are seeing in our nation's capital. It doesn't matter what party you may align yourself with, whether Democrat, Republican or Independent there are two things we can all agree on. First, is that Barack Obama's election to the highest office in the land was a triumph and inspiration for the black community in this country whose historical significance cannot be undermined. The second is that President Obama is without a doubt the most disrespected president in this nation's recent history. Don't misunderstand me, every president has and will go through scrutiny by the nation's general population and the mass media thanks to the First Amendment's clauses of freedom of speech and free press. Ronald Reagan was under scrutiny for Reaganomics, mostly by low and middle class families, and for tripling the country's national debt. Bill Clinton for the government shutdown in 1995 for an entire month and the infamous Monica Lewinsky affair and George .W. Bush for getting the U.S. into an unnecessary war with Iraq, the economic financial collapse of 2008 that is still being felt today and for generally not being as intelligent as we expect our president to be. The common links between the aforementioned presidents and all their predecessors are the fact that their scrutinies began AFTER they took office and no matter how much one may have disliked the president, they never acted or showed hate towards them simply because of the way they looked, as opposed to how they act towards our current leader. People always showed respect as a courtesy to the office of the president when he was in their presence, however, Barack Obama's harsh criticisms

started before he was even elected and has only grown. Did we forget the foray of nicknames given to him while he was still Senator Obama? How about the anti-Christ", "Satan", "terrorist", "secret Muslim", "Barack Hussein Osama" and much more hateful personal attacks. There were even predictions that his election would be the end of the United States as a nation and free country. After his election, we've seen the opposition in congress' vow of making him a one term president their number one priority, even going so far as to say they "would rather see the country fail than to see him succeed". We have seen Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona sticking her finger in the president's face, House Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelling "YOU LIE" to Obama during one of his first addresses as president, the birth and rise of the ultra-conservative Tea Party, continuous voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act which the Supreme Court deemed lawful and constitutional, and threats to secede from the union. The only other time secession of states was a threat was under Abraham Lincoln and that was mainly due to opposition of the possible abolition of slavery at the time, not because of mere dislike for the president. Obama's election to office was an example of the progressive step in the right direction for the Black and Brown population in this country showcasing that it is possible to achieve anything one wants in this country no matter who you are or what you look like. However, it also serves to show that the disease of racial discrimination rooted in this nation's subconscious is still very much alive and, if not acknowledged, will overlap common sense and reason with the majority paying the price for the prejudicial few. While we will all have to combat this, it has only made us stronger and in embodying Yes We Can, we can now say Yes We Did. -Yoweri Kimeria

Politics and Curls By: VanaRose

Who says naturalists cant find work? Its common for many critics to persecute Brown people for wearing their curly hair. Whether you are a young woman rockin her afro or a strong Black man with dreads that rest proudly on his shoulders; you will be told its harder to find a job. To some extent this is true for certain retail giants such as Hollister Co. and Abercrombie n Fitch, who have certain image requirements, often reject applicants based on their appearance no matter how tamed and neat their hair is presented. The fairness of these conditions are obviously still up for debate and clearly symbolize the prejudice still associated with Natural Black hair. Americas need for us to assimilate to the Straight, permed or weaved state of presentation continues to harbor over the Black community and in turn encourages us to deny our true selves. Even 11 year old Malia Obama isnt immune to this force, as she was heavily criticized for wearing her hair in twists while she was attending summer camp in Rome. She was then deemed as an unfit representation of America, unleashing a series of negative propaganda towards our current president. My response to this: who does represent America? Claiming to be the land of the free, home of the brave but are we as a people brave enough to take a stand for our culture? History teaches us that this is a land of immigrants, not just Europeans. Did you know that today the collective minorities are the majority taking up more of the population than people of European-decent? In translation that means Curls are in! Latinos, Caribbeans, and African Americans dominate the U.S. hair culture and will continue to do so for generations to come. This includes Black men, who are the prime example of embracing their natural look having always been natural they will never have to Transition back like many women will. With the exception of Rev. Jessie

Jackson, Black men will never experience the burning, itching, and pitching pains associated with conforming to Americas Hegemonic images , and that in itself is beautiful. We should all strive to embrace the purity of our hair as they have; becoming a living testament to the power and grace embedded in our textured roots. So dont fret if your hair is in a frizz, you are in every right to embrace the full essence of who you are. Your worth, intellect, and contribution to society are not limited by the texture of your hair. Confidence is the key to bringing out the positive of any look and conveying confidence needed to dominate any job interview. Embrace your waves, and if employers turn you away keep calm and smile on because it is their loss and you have that much more to gain. Just check out these amazing Hairspirational stories below: Karen Bass (Low Fro) - Former Floor Majority Leader for California State Assembly Angela Davis (Loose Curl Fro) 1960s Civil Activist Bob Marley (Long Dreads) International Singer/song writer and social activist Hassell Thompson (Dreads) - Democratic member of NY Senate Donna Edwards (Low Fro) First Black Woman to represent Maryland Congress Tracy Martin (Large Beard) - Father of Trayvon Martin and spokesperson for Civil Activism Daun Sessoms Hester (Mini Fro) - Member of the Virginia House of Delegates Lena C. Taylor (Thick Afro) - Wisconsin State Senator Selwyn Pieters (Dreads) Constitutional Lawyer Shirly Franklin (Shaved Blowout) - First Black Female Mayor of Atlanta, or any major southern city

Announcements
Wednesday 10/23 National Society of Black Engineers Meeting. SU room 221 @ 7:30pm Friday 10/25: Project S.P.I.T Open Mic Night. Harrison Engineering Building room 118 @ 7:30pm Monday 10/28: Dream Defenders UCF Meeting at the Gazebo near John T. Washington Center @ 5pm Men of Integrity - General Body Meeting in SU room 223@ 7pm Men of Integrity Intramural Playoff Game. RWC court 2 @ 8:30pm Wednesday 11/6: JTW Honor Society Professional Panel in the Pegasus Ballroom @ 7pm

*Whether it is passing out papers or printing, writing or illustrating, find out how you too can join the movement and promote Freedom of Thought. 8