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George Zimmerman, Geraldo Rivera, Latinos, racism, The Huffington Post, Trayvon Martin

Trayvon…

As I write my next blog for the Huffington Post, I feel obligated to say how angry I am becoming. There are so many things that I am seeing and reading about this Trayon Martin tragedy that it just makes me sick. This whole situation where George (Jorge) Zimmerman has not seen a minute of jail time is unacceptable.

I am angry because I feel that not of the right enough people take this seriously. Of course, most people of color take this serious because bottom line, Trayvon could have been anyone of us. What gets under my skin is the media’s attempt to show a different side of this kid by making it seem as if he was a criminal. This is making it seem as if his murder could have been justified although he was unarmed. Not to mention that he was 17 years old! 
Let’s think about Zimmerman. Yes, he is Latino and should I really talk about how racist my brethren can be? I talk about Afro Latinos all the time and the prejudice they face in this country as well as other countries. I would not surprised one bit that he may consider himself white as many Latinos have under the 2010 census. It has been my experience that many of these “white” Hispanics strive to gain the same level of acceptance and privilege that many white Americans have. So many adopt the same racist fears and attitudes of bigoted white people.
The problem is this notion that black people are criminals. Zimmerman thought that Tayvon was up to something and the fact that no one really questioned this is indeed sad. The fact that the Sanford PD has not arrested him is so troubling. This is old news at this point but I feel the need to talk about this because this it has been weighing on my mind even before my trip to Boston. In fact, it has been bothering me so much that I cannot finish my original blog I had set for this day.
Then there is Geraldo Rivera, who made this situation worse with his stupid comments. I just need to get this initial blog out because I feel very unfocused, which brings me to my Huffington Post article. SU students, faculty, and staff got together for a rally today. It was comforting to see that we can come together for a cause. Now it is up to us to do more. I will be addressing all the above issues in a more structured format.
ACUI, Boston, conference, goals, my life, Syracuse University

Boston Bound

It is not often that I get excited for business trips but for this venture out of Syracuse, I am totally pumped for. I am going to the ACUI National Conference in Boston. For those who do not know, this is a conference for student union professionals to get together to share ideas and best practices. What makes this exciting is that I get to network with people who do like minded work.

This goes with my motto this year of Investing in Myself. It has been a long time since I haven’t been to a conference since 2008 when I took 3 Latino students to the second annual AAHHE Conference in Miami. I did some networking there but not a lot because my life was different then. Regardless, I’m still happy to be able to be in a different environment learning new things.

Networking is very important because it all comes down to who you know in the job market. When you can put a face to a business card or a resume then chances are that person will get at least a longer glance at your job application.

It reminds me of something that happened to me 2 years ago when I was looking to hire a Graduate Assistant. The hiring process is pretty complicated for these graduate students that need to apply to get into the Higher Education program and then try to get an assistantship through a series of interviews. Before the big day there was a reception that allows departments to mingle with potential GAs. I went to the reception to see what the pool looked like because this was the first time I was in charge of this hiring process for my office. As soon as I walked in and got settled, she found me. With a plate a food in my hand, this woman comes up to me and introduced herself with a good handshake and tells me that she is looking forward to our interview. We had a great conversation that left a great impression and I remembered her the next day which lead to me eventually hiring her.

My point is, we never know who we can effect with our presence. The plan is to go to Boston for the educational sessions and mingle those people who can help me be a better professional. The other plan is to get a good feel for other schools as the potential for me to leave SU is always there. I need to make my own contacts and connections. I was commenting to my girlfriend that I have been here for 10+ years and barely know anyone outside of this place, so that needs to change right away.

I am also totally aware that I will be in Boston during St. Patrick’s Day, a fact that has not truly hit me yet either. I have never been the one to celebrate it so that means I am up for some good times. That is also why I went ahead and bought the shirt pictured above. Furthermore, I have some family in Boston that I would love to see. This will be my chance to connect and see the city.

If you follow me in my other mediums then expect to see a lot of pictures from my Instagram app. If you know of any places I should go see…please let me know!

Cornel West, my life, Students, Syracuse University, The Huffington Post

Don’t Confuse Your Life Task With Your Day Job

“We must learn to lift as we climb.” – Angela Davis

It’s not very often that I am caught off guard about something. I tend to regulate my emotions to the best of my ability and yet, despite that you can still see my heart on my sleeve. When I took the offer to write for the Huffington Post, I will admit, that I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting into.  I knew that my potential audience would be bigger and my name would get out there more, but I didn’t know what to expect in terms of feedback.

It was my girlfriend who told me that I needed to be very mindful about potential comments that I may receive, after all, I do not get very many on this blog and I have become quite used to that. But, she was referring to people who would not agree with my view on life. What she was trying to do was prepare me for potential negativity with the things I write. 

There was a lot of thought put into what I was going to write about in the Huff Post. I wanted to make sure that I was going to be ok with the angle I decided to take, which of course is all based on my time working at Syracuse University. I really wanted to get into my observations and my feelings with working at SU as well as getting to know the students. I wanted to be able to reflect on my experiences as a former student and current staff while giving the reader a glimpse of what I see and do.

I have taken pride and often times I have been humbled by the show of support by fellow alumni and staff when I debuted a couple of weeks ago. There was nothing better to me than to be recognized for my ability to write. I also wanted to use my gift to highlight those who work in the trenches with me. So this is not only meant as a tool to talk about students but the wonderful staff as well. That is what I based the second blog post on. I started looking at things differently after that blog was published.
I have made it a point not to be overly critical of my own work. I go into this whole writing thing knowing that I can always improve because typos are the bane of my existence. I can take people arguing with me when I post something controversial. I know that not everyone wants to hear what I have to say when it comes to Racism and I am ok with that. But, in this particular case, I am writing about my students, the ones that I have a love/hate relationship with because in many ways (and i hate to admit it) they are the closest thing I will have to younger siblings. 

So imagine my surprise when the comments are negative. By no means am I that sensitive, but I was completely caught off guard by the type of responses. I find it funny that I can talk about something that I feel we need, which is more Latinos in Higher Education, and to insinuate that everything that I am saying is borderline racist is laughable. Of course, I made the choice of engaging one person when I just should have let it go as many of my other friends told me. But, what got me was the fact that there were people liking these responses. It made me question a few things.

Cornel West came to Syracuse University this week too. He spoke about the new youth movement and how America’s youth are poised for action. He said that at any moment we will be witness to a time period where people will begin to mobilize for justice, much like the Occupy Movement. He talked about leadership and being able to tell the truth and take the truth, but the one thing that I found to be most profound (and there were many) was when he gave advice to students who are looking to make in the word, “Have the courage to be yourself. Don’t confuse your life task with your day job.” That in itself made me realize that I am doing exactly what I want to do no matter what anyone thinks.

However, it was all brought together by my students. I had 3 students this week ask me for personal advice; things that they cannot ask anyone else. I had one student break my heart when he told me that he felt defeated. He knows what he wants to do but has no idea how to get there. He is convinced that his poor grades will make him a laughing stock. This kid told me that no one knows his story and the hell he has been through in life and all he wants to do is just help other students. What do I tell him? Do I tell him that he is a fuck up? Do I say “pull up your bootstraps, hard work will get you what you want!”

Yes, he needs to put in the work…but how do I help him find his motivation? By doing my job, that just happens to be my life task.

abusive relationships, men, rape

Rape is NOT the Word to Play

I have issues with how people generally use the word rape, but more specifically men. Rape is not a word that should be used to describe anything else but what it was intended to mean. It has become apparent to me that rampant use of the word can only suggest that most men do not really know or understand the definition of rape. The only good thing about this is that I will provide a complete definition of the word and why it should not be used with irreverence.

Looking up the word rape on dictionary.com I saw this: the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse. Let’s be clear here, there is nothing about this word that can be used in a positive way. Rape is a violent act in which one exerts the ultimate power over another person. The victims are left broken mentally and physically. In many cases it takes years to recover…if they recover.

There are women that I know that have been raped. I am willing to guess there are more women that I know who have not told me they were raped, which brings me to my point. Saying the word as a way to describe a meaningless act takes away from this horrid experience. I follow so many people who are into sports. The analogies that are used to describe things are unacceptable. For example, when someone does something extra ordinary in a sport I have seen people tweet that “he raped them” or if a team loses by a lot, “they were raped!”

My first question is…really? You mean to tell me out of the words that people can come up with, that this word is one they choose to use? It does make me wonder about the limited vocabulary that men have in general. I treat rape as if its the worst of the four letter words because it is that serious and yet in this patriarchal society we make it seem as if its no big deal. I don’t think that our ancestors who have been raped throughout history would feel this word, that describes the ultimate defiling of someone, should be used in such ways.

I am sure that the men who have been raped in jail look at this act in a brand new way. This is not about sex and sexual urges. It is about power and exerting that power over someone. That is why in the olden days taking a woman was a part of the “spoils” of war. That is why the Spanish felt that the taking of the women from either the indigenous or the slave population in colonial time was viewed as spreading the divine seed to make the heathens better.

One has to understand the rape culture by looking at some key statistics. 1/6 women will be a victim of sexual assault. 60% of sexual assault goes unreported. Every 2 minutes someone is sexually assaulted in the US. 15 out of 16 rapists will never get jail time. Tell me what the joke is? I blame men for not really seeing what women go through. Men of color, in particular, need to understand that we already objectify our women by approving the images of the “video hoe” and subscribing to the ideas a woman are no more than a “thirsty bitch”. Very rarely is there consideration to the fact that our mothers and sisters are included in the statistical numbers above.

Even the imagery of rape makes the act a joke. In looking for a photo to attach for this blog post, I saw so many joking images about “rape face” that is it appalling and yet, this is the society we live in where we are oversexed and undereducated.

I have said this once and I say it over and over again, more men need to stand up against domestic violence and rape. While domestic violence is a separate issue and a separate blog all together, both of these issues speak to the type of men that we see in this society.

So before you open up your mouth or type your next tweet I encourage to understand the meaning of any word before you make yourself look as ignorant as you probably are.

Afro Latino, karma, The Huffington Post

Leap Day Prose

I feel that I doing myself a disservice if I did not write on Leap Day. It just marks to me that the last time there was a leap year, I wasn’t writing at all. There is also a part of me that reflects on my life four years ago. While I will not get into that, I am just amazed how different my life has changed within the last four years.

Black History Month is just about over. The Latinegr@s Project has done a fabulous job in highlighting Afro Latinos. There seems to be an issue with Latina Magazine again in their definition of Afro Latinos. One person in particular has taken an issues with them and my team will be coming up with a statement about all this shortly. I am not getting into this now, but I am just relay that this is on my mind.

Women’s History Month starts tomorrow and I have not done anything for that in the past, however, that will change this year. I have many things on my mind when it comes to misogyny that I need to just get off my chest. I have been saying a few things on Twitter about domestic violence and the use of the word rape. There comes a point in time in which men need to stand up for things wether it be racism, sexism, or homophobia. I plan to have my say in March.

Then there was my debut in The Huffington Post this week. I am overwhelmed by the show of love from my peers and I will strive to make them proud. It took me a weekend to write and then another day to get it edited by my lovely girlfriend. I think she did a great job as a copy editor and pushing me to get to my point. Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure what my point was going to be when I started writing it. My plan is to blog once a week.

What I did learn from all of this is that I need to continue to elevate my game to higher levels. I need to push the envelope on conventional thought. My blog for the Huff is meant for me to talk about issues involving my time at Syracuse University. I want to treat that as my professional blog and I intend to do so by highlighting things around me.

Finally, I think a lot has to be said for karma. My last post a few days ago talked about how things happen for a reason. Well, up to this point, I had not expanded on any of the risks I am taking but I found it to be very interesting that one of my roommates is moving out. He got a job in Detroit and is leaving by the end of March. I am happy for him, but why is this interesting? Simply put, I a securing a deal to sell this house and I was going to tell my roommates about it in a few day so they can prepare to move. Amazing how life works huh?

my life, the alchemist, The Huffington Post

Things are Happening! (The Alchemist Edition)

I cannot stress this fact any more than just coming out and saying it: Everything happens for a reason. I started out this year with specific goals and not only are they happening but the it seems that this road is continuously being paved with more opportunities for me to take advantage of. I cannot help but wonder if these new things that are occurring are a result of pure coincidence or a result of good karmic work being put in.

I have often talked about good omens and following signs when you see them. I often think about The Alchemist and how sometimes the most important thing to do is wait while the universe conspires to work things in our favor. However, if and when those times of waiting do happen, it is how we prepare ourselves that separates those who take advantage of opportunity and those who freeze in fear of the possibilities. 
I chose to take some risks because I cannot continue live a life in stagnation. Looking for good omens and creating opportunities all plays a part in risk taking. The best part about making no more excuses is that everything seems to move at a different rate of speed. When we hold yourself responsible for your own successes and failures, life becomes different. I can sit here and say that perhaps it is my fault that I have not left Syracuse. Sure, the first thing to say is that the job market sucks but what am I doing to adjust to those changes?
So when I decided to use my time in waiting to better myself, things around me begin to change. I am more busy and opportunities seem to pop up whenever. What I am happy about the most (besides dating a totally hot woman), is that I am done talking about what I am going to do because I am doing it. That subtle difference of knowing the path and walking the path produces results that only I can measure. 
The excitement of being a blogger for The Huffington Post has not worn off. It took me all of yesterday to finally narrow down what I am going to write about. For me, my inspiration always seems to hit me when I am about to go to bed. So at about 4:00am I wrote half of my article. I look forward to submitting this entire thing tomorrow and then letting all this soak in. 
Of course, I am writing more now because I need to. It is funny how that works.

Blogging, my life, Syracuse University, The Huffington Post

Crossing The Threshold

I have been writing this blog for 3 years and I feel that have done my best to get my name out there. I have joined groups, blogger circles, and various other sites in order to promote myself. Yet, I feel that I’ve always been below the radar when it came to writing blog posts. I’m not in it for the money but as a blogger, I want to see some progression. One of those points, if not the key point, of progression as a blogger is The Huffington Post.

I have viewed The Huffington Post as a symbol of “making it” in the blogging community. I know people who have written for them and have always wanted to get my chance to do that. I feel like “The Huff” is a bigger stage and to a person like me who would love to have bigger audience, this is indeed a grander stage. Today, I was informed that I will indeed have my chance to write for them!

It is funny how fast things seem to happen. Yesterday I received an email from my good friend (and former student) Victoria that the Huffington Post is setting up a college blogger initiative and they are looking for students, faculty, and staff to write about anything that has to do with campus life. She thought I would be great and responded. Today, I was told that I they would love to have me and like that…I am in! I am now a blogger for the Huffington Post!

Excited cannot even begin to describe how I feel. I’m trying not to be too hype about it because I have a lot of work to do. I have to figure out what to write and my skills as a writer have to be on point. Do not be mistaken, I am not nervous because it is game on. The lights are on and I am ready to showcase my abilities.

I also feel that this is a culmination of my past efforts. I have to submit a bio. I wrote several times in the past on how difficult it is to do that, but I did get it done (and now I have a reason to update). So now, that is one less thing to worry about. Then I have to submit a picture and that makes me laugh too because everyone asked me why in the world would I need to do a photo shoot? Well, it seems that the things that I have prepared for, has benefited me. 

I will be writing my first blog for them this weekend and we will see what happens from there. I have also made sure that I have someone besides myself reading what I write for grammatical purposes. I have always felt I needed an editor because I just cannot seem to catch all my mistakes. In any case, I am extremely happy on how all this has turned out and I want to think all of you for your continual support.

I also want to send out a thank you to Victoria Chan for sending me that email. I wouldn’t have been in this situation had she not thought of me (I owe you Bubble Tea).

Afro Latino, Latinegas Project, racism, Students, Syracuse University

Why I do What I do.

I am taking this opportunity to write while I am in a relatively bad mood. There are many things going on in my life that are just annoying on a personal and professional level. It also does not help that the Knicks just lost to Miami Heat which just puts me closer to edge.  With this aggression, I want to write about why I do what I do because as this blog gets older, this becomes something that I can point back to time and time again.

My day job has not been really stated. I work at Syracuse University as a member of student affairs that handles events that occur primarily in the student center. I advise 5 student groups ( 2 Latino student organizations, 1Multicultural Frat, 1 Latino Frat, and co-advise NALFO). I donate my time to students and try to guide them in the right direction. I have written several letters of recommendations for awards, employment, graduate schools, and internships. I have become a supervisor, mentor, advocate, psychologist, friend, brother, and in some cases, another dad. I can also be the bad guy, the asshole, and the sarcastic dude that never smiles.

My love for students never dies because I know what it is like to be in their shoes. I know what is like to almost not graduate. I know how it feels to be bored with classes and to be distracted by outside forces like girls and family. I know what it is like to be the only person of color in a class filled with white students and the loneliness that is felt when you have to speak for your race (in my case it seemed I was speaking for Blacks and Latinos). I went through many things and never understood who to go or if there even was someone that I could talk to.

When I was hired 10+ years ago, I wanted to be that person. While I think that I have achieved that goal, I found it difficult to just stop there. I wanted to create something that made Latino students proud. With that came the Latino Listerv (that barely gets used now), I began to advise my first student organization, and then there was the creation of Fiesta Latina. With all that, I was not done. I wanted to do anti racism work because pride of a culture comes from understanding it’s struggle.

The Latinegr@s Project was born 2 years ago in a joint effort between me and Bianca. Everyday since then I have been grateful for joining forces with her. My view of educating students broadens to educating the masses (or whomever will listen). Each of these things become extremely hard while not being mutually exclusive. Not all my students are Latino. My adviser role reaches a diverse amount of students just like the blog posts I write.

Yet, I get annoyed when students do not see the full scope of their potential. While, I was there once, the amount of resources has increased; the amount of programs promoting diversity increased and there seems to be very little care shown. As if there is this sense of entitlement where they may be glad programs exist for the sake of existing but not really interested in going. Never is there a thought of what might happen if things like Latino Heritage Month would cease to exist.

I get annoyed when the images of Afro Latinos are never properly shown, which is why I press on with the Latinegr@s Project and its expansion last year. One can never show too many positive images of black and brown people. There is no such thing as being too educated, but what if there are people who just don’t want to listen anymore? When I see imagine above I realize that Afro Latinos are truly invisible. When I see things like the video below, I know that racism is an issue (even if you consider your to be a high class Cuban).

It makes me thing of my students who do not recognize that having bad grades because they rather bag “hoes” and smoke weed just makes them a statistic. I do what I do because I have to fight the good fight. I want to show students that their voice matters.

Afro Latino, birdcage, Black History Month, Jeremy Lin, Linsanity, New York Knicks, racism, the matrix, The Walking Dead, Tim Wise, white privilege

I Promote Divisions?

I am not a crime-fighter. I am not a super hero. I am man with a vision and goal. When one does the anti racism work that I do then one will know that some people misunderstand words and phrases because those who operate within the fabric of the system do not see the birdcage for what it is. It becomes difficult to explain that despite whether or not one may believe that words like “white privilege” is real, it becomes even harder to deconstruct the belief that there is a system of advantage that other have been born into.

As I look over the landscape of the Latinegr@s Project, I do see how I got here. There are a number of people who are glad that we exist and we promote ourselves and the education of others. I am not making this up when I say that more slaves ship landed in Central and South America than it did in the United States. Yet, Latinos refuse to see how they fit in to Black History Month and some African Americans do not even understand that we are closely related in more ways than just sharing project building space.

Michonne is a major
character within the series.

I have been told more than once by more than one person that the things I do and say promote division and that perhaps I am drumming up controversy for the sake of getting attention. I disagree. I am very open in my opinion and criticism of all forms of oppression when I see it. It is not my fault that a company like McDonalds decided to air commercials of African Americans dancing while eating chicken. I cannot possible be the only one who has an issue with this. I have the right to express that and the right to say that The Walking Dead comic book has more Black people in that the television show.

This is not me whining. This is me pointing out things for others to digest. The beautiful thing about living in the United States is that I have the right to say anything I want and others have the right not to listen to me. But, if one is to engage me on any one of these topics, please understand that I know what I am taking about. I did not coin the phrase White Privilege, you can thank Dr. Peggy McIntosh. She is a feminist and white woman. She coined the phrase because believe it or not, it exists! So much so, that there is a conference about it.

Which brings me to this idea that I am promoting division amongst people. That is absurd. Divisions of people already exist an yet no one wants to discuss this. It is like saying this makes it real and being quiet makes it all go away. I promote education and pride within people. We all need to hold and adhere to what we are and what our culture is because it will become lost. I also point things out because there are a plethora of ignorant people out there. Think about Linsanity that has take over New York and just about any sports channel.

I don’t think this is funny.

Here is a story of a guy who got cut by thee NBA Teams and then lands on The New York Knicks only to become an overnight icon. This is something that we would normally see in the movies. Jeremy Lin becomes the most popular Asian man in the United States since Bruce Lee. The best part about this is that he was born in this country and yet we see the ignorance of people come out. ESPN fired someone because of it. Not to mention the random things and pictures I see on Twitter that I do not consider to be funny at all. The sad part about it is that black and brown people alike make stupid ass racist comments. I guess 400 years of oppression give us the right to push others down?

Which leads me to my final point about the Matrix. Morpheus said it best: The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. That system, my friends, is the system of Oppression.

I will let Tim Wise take it from here:

Afro Latino, Black History Month, Latinegas Project, latism, salsa, Syracuse University

Mid-Februray Free Write

Let me just cut to the chase. I have been busy taking classes and reading. Work has always been the same and I am also taking the time to go to the gym. I will also mention that I have been making the best of efforts to change my diet. Much of this takes up large amounts of time and yet, I still manage to find time to do things like see my awesome girlfriend for a weekend. I am very proud of myself.

Which brings me to this free writing type of update. While I have not written in a while, I have been busy making sure that Afro-Latinos have a voice this month. On Twitter, there was a broad discussion about 2 weeks ago hosted by #latism. The subject was the racial mosaic that is Latinos. I am glad to have been apart of that because the timing seemed to be right for me to be interviewed by Voxxi. It is not all the time that I get to interviewed by an online magazine.

Then, Team @beingafrolatino was invited as guests on the Vanessa Oden Show which is a internet radio show based out of Oakland, California. Along with fellow co-founder, Bianca, we talked about Afro Latino identity and how other people view us. The show was so successful that we did a part 2 this past Monday where we talked more about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. In these instances there are so many things to talk about that you cannot begin to squeeze into 2 one hour shows. I was told that the podcasts for those shows will be available soon and once that comes out I will share it.

I am also excited to be able to see yet another Salsa Artist come to Syracuse University. One of the groups that I advise called La LUCHA manage to get enough funding to bring up India! This is yet another thing that I have on my plate in my on going quest to promote Latinos. I want to point out here that while I champion the cause of Afro Latinos, I still consider myself to first and foremost a Latino. We all share the same culture although I cannot say the same about social standing within the community.

I also feel that there is just not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. The problem with not making anymore excuses is that free time becomes limited. The reading from this class alone takes up so much time that I can barely watch television. While that is not a bad thing, it just amazes me how I can just forget to watch shows that I am normally used to. I can say thank goodness for the DVR but I barely watch that either because I have so much to read.