What It Means To Me

I was just reading The Stranger's issue on Obama's victory and the 11 articles they published about what having an African-American President for the first time in American history meant to some of their writers. One article struck me in particular, titled "What James Baldwin Taught Us, the Tears of Jesse Jackson, and the Places Where Hope Is a Menace" by Adam Haslett. The specific passage that threw me into this spiral upward of thought was a reference to the writings of James Baldwin. What it stated was that "black liberation was never just about black people. It was also about whites being liberated from the tyranny of their own white supremacy." At first I wasn't sure how to feel about this because it instantly became the most poignant statement on white privilege I've ever heard. It told me that I am living in and with the tyranny of my own white supremacy. And that kind of hurts in a way. Not to the extent that I want to proclaim an end to racism a la Karl Rove, but rather that this tyranny still exists, and that despite my best efforts to be conscious of the way I choose to live, I still have this looming knowledge that this said tyranny prevails around me. So I suppose what I'm getting at is that what Barack Obama becoming the 44th President of the United States of America means to me is that while I know this has been one huge progressive step for all of America, I am hoping that it might just be one small step toward the liberation from the tyranny that is my own white supremacy. The most important thing of all though is that I can hope once again.



--Aaron T.

The Cornerstone

last night we rocked the Cornerstone, which is a monthly hip-hop night at Faire Gallery Cafe in Seattle. We were the music showcase of the night, which meant before us were a grip of spoken word poets, local emcees, and a cipher session. We had a blast from start to finish. everyone who blessed the mic was real dope and everyone in the spot was real friendly and excited we had come up. As for our set... you gotta know we killed it. shouts to everyone in the front jumping with me from start to finish. shouts to Diztortion, Renaissance, DJ Rise, and everyone else who made us feel at home last night.



the aaron T fan club



jyri getting down