Uptown Notes

On Tuesday, the New York Times published a story entitled “As Population Shifts in Harlem, Blacks Lose Their Majority.” The [...]

I just watched Precious, Lee Daniel’s film based on the novel Push by Sapphire, and the only way I can find to describe it is extraordinary in the superlative and literal sense. Extraordinary, in the superlative sense, for its craftsmanship in visually and textually telling a narrative of the composite character Precious. It is extra-ordinary (beyond ordinary), in the literal sense, in that it concentrates on a particular set of lives ravished by sexual abuse, physical abuse, and poverty. This is not the tale of all in poverty, but it is a tale that exists.

On Sunday night, Kanye West once again burst into the limelight with his interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at [...]

A look at what happens when race and gender are uncorked in a chicago eatery

Finally a skit on Gates that made me laugh.

Hat tip to ZM

Why I didn’t jump up and talk about swimming pools or Skip Gates … and maybe why you may not as well.

Cornel West and Carl Dix tangle at CCNY on Tuesday night.

The recent death of Chris Jones, attributed to a gang in suburbia has sparked more hysteria about the violence, gangs, and most importantly race without mentioning race.

This week, my dear friend Yusef Ramelize, took on the issue of homelessness. No, he didn’t decide to volunteer at a soup kitchen. No he didn’t decide to give out change to someone he saw as he was exiting the platform. No he didn’t email his friends and tell them they should join a “homelessness sucks” cause on facebook. He decided to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness by getting a first person experience. Yusef is going homeless for one week.

Check out a free screening of G-trification a short film by Karra Duncan today (2/26) at 5:30pm at the Harlem School of the Arts during the Harlem International Film Festival. It’s a short, potent, and poignant commentary on transformation uptown.