The Establishment's Blog (116)

From the WTF department: Police in Swaziland ban women from wearing clothes that "encourage rape". More info below.

But really, beyond Swaziland, isn't time to stop blaming rape on the person who gets raped? Time to freaking get real. Whatever you wear or whatever you did is not an excuse for someone to rape you or for any other unethical behavior.

However, one reader stated on the…

America has about 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the prisoner population, the highest number of guns per capita in the world and in this land of the free you are about 20 times more likely to get shot than in any other developed country. Think it’s odd that the country with seemingly the most criminals would also have the most guns, and then that these gun owners would shoot more people?

One of the biggest conversations we will have in America in these last few days…

While we are by NO MEANS advocates for guns, some of the biggest proponents for the right to carry guns were The Black Panthers and other Black rebels.

An article in The Atlantic reminds us that the Black Panthers' Bobby Seale stated: “The American people in general and the black people in particular” must "take careful note of the racist California…

"Bury The Ratchet". That's the name of a campaign at Spelman College that challenges the images of showed in reality TV shows about women of color from Atlanta. The project is helmed by image activist Michaela Angela Davis. She recently told Jacque Reid on the Tom Joyner Morning Show that it's more a “pro-leadership” campaign than an “anti-reality show” one, aimed at getting the "spotlight off the ratchetness and on the successful women in Atlanta".

Actually this problem…

Oneness. Creativity. The Shift. Consciousness Awakening. The End of the World? What is going on with all this talk lately, as December 21st approaches. To those of you who may not know or have been hibernating in your own world of business, the spiritual communities and Pagan, Wiccan and Goddess religions along with the Mayans (yes their offspring do exists) are preparing for a cosmic alignment of our planetary system on December 21st, which is also know to us in the…

In the wake of the continuing political, religious and cultural clashes and war in Gaza, Huffington Post takes a look at the female rappers of Gaza and Morocco and reveals the truly fascinating perspective of female MCs in the region. check it out via …

An estimated 10,000 meals served in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, thousands of pounds of clothes and supplies distributed. All of this organized by Occupy Sandy, Occupy Wall Street's hurricane relief effort. Slate.com asks: "Is Occupy Wall Street Outperforming the Red Cross in Hurricane Relief?"

Is horizontal organizing more effective…

Today, Election Day 2012, marks a monumental turning point in our history. Will we as young people, people of color, and AMERICANS use our voices to make change and stand up for ourselves? A right that was fought for  with blood, sacrifice and…

If you are undecided about whether you are voting or not, Michael Moore has a message for you.

To my friend who is not voting on Tuesday:



I get it – and I don't blame you. You're fed up and you could care less whether Tweedledee…

D-Day, the last day to vote, is tomorrow for the US Presidential election. Make sure you know where to vote what type of ID you need to bring! (as you may know, voter ID laws disproportionately affect black people).

For a list of current polling places and to find out what ID you'll need, check out…

So I was on the Black Witch tumblr, tumblin' like always and look at what I found on my dashboard:

Oh. My. Gods. No.…

In the new video in support of Congo Week, many call the "conflict minerals" crisis a genocide, as over 6 million people have died. Excerpts: "laptops, televisions, (...) iPads, iPhones (...) have an innocent child's blood on it"; "every injustice is possible when good people remain silent"; "this crisis is fueled by the demand in resources of billion-dollar corporations"; "Congo has the agricultural potential to feed the…

Have you ever been stopped by the police for no apparent reason? A recent video published by TheNation.com is going viral and it is a MUST watch. A Harlem teenager recorded as plainclothes NYPD cops stopped him, violently pushed him, called him a "fucking mutt" and threatened to break his arms. An NYPD veteran also gives insight about how he and his colleagues were pressured to stop more people.

Check out 'The Hunted and the Hated: An Inside Look at the NYPD's…

October 1, 2011, two-days after my 25th birthday, I stepped foot onto Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles and joined a movement that would unexpectedly change my life. I had been an activist for ten years, and although I was experienced, I was still young and had a lot to learn. Present was the usual liberal/progressive crowd, people with antiwar signs, 9-11 truthers, vegan activists, marijuana legalization advocates, police brutality activists, etc. With this diverse group…

By: Alexandria Gamlin

There are few hard FACTS about Michelle Obama: She's ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, GORGEOUS, AND A GREAT DANCER. She's also married to this guy named Barack (perhaps you've heard of him) and he's kind of amazing too.

Mrs. Obama…

I remember an online forum I was on, that had the discussion of religion as a mental illness. The basic gist is that religion, when seen from a different perspective, can be seen as a widespread mental illness, near schizophrenia. I mean, to have religious faith, you have to believe in something that you can’t see, feel, hear or justify the existence of the same way you can with anyone else. All that one knows about that mythical being – emphasis on the “mythical” – is either…

So, there’s been something recent occurring in the online Pagan community. There was a rehash on Pagan.about.com about minority Pagan bloggers and of course, some commenter named Silvia felt mighty brave in her Whiteness and cried tears about how Wicca should be left to the White folks. Everyone, please witness this demonstration of why saying “Post-Racial America” is a long way…

What do you guys think of writer Touré's latest piece for the Washington Post about the war on drugs and hip-hop?

Excerpts: "In the early 1980s, most of the socially conscious hiphop records mentioned drugs as one of the many problems affecting black Americans, not the central one. When they did touch on drugs, they were almost always depicted negatively; doing drugs was a character failing, and the songs usually portrayed the speaker as a bystander trapped in a ghetto,…

Another year has ended. Yep. BW just recently passed into its third year on June 9th. I am still surprised it is still around. To be honest, it has not been an easy year to keep up things and it pretty much, personally, became a year of disappointments and being slowed down to the point I couldn’t achieve major goals for the column/blog. I’m glad people are reading and interacting but I’ve been slipping. I haven’t been on time with the Afro-Punk side of Black Witch (even this…

Everyone's talking about "the crisis" and how the little guy needs to hang in there and sacrifice for the greater good. Well Malawi's first female President, Joyce Banda, just sold off the presidential jet and a fleet of 60 Mercedes. Banda said: "I can well use private airlines". Should other leaders, not only in African countries, but everywhere, take note or what? Look into the cost of perks for government members in your country, wherever you are, you'll be baffled...

- L…