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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1k6SdK2_-E)

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I’m not sure what caused Anthony Bourdain to take his own life. People don’t realize it, but in this life, you will truly only live in one place. Ever. Your head. You may live in a shack, or a mansion. You may spend a summer in France to study abroad, or couch-crash at a friend’s place in Cali. No matter where you move your things, and hang your clothes, you will always live in your head. Do you clean up in there? Is it overcrowded with baggage and things strewn recklessly? Is it secure, or are thoughts from the outside world constantly breaking in to steal your joy or your peace? Is it properly insulated to handle when life gets cold? Is it properly wired to ensure that positivity can flow and illuminate the deepest corridors… or is it always dark? We take whole weekends or even hire help to clean up our homes and apartments, but we don’t take the time or hire a therapist to help us clean up our minds. The whirlwind of life… from family to romance… work life to social life… there are so many thoughts, events, memories, and people that pass through our mental home and they don’t get put up or removed on their own. We have to put them up ourselves, or with the help of others. Damage caused by life’s traumas needs to be repaired. Memories like old clothes need to be reviewed, categorized, and either hung up in the closet for easy access, or stored in the attic. Some events need to be dusted off and filed as lessons while others are fond memories that we can leave at the forefront of our minds like pictures on a fridge. Some people are constantly in our mind creating a mess and disorganizing what we work so hard to clean up - we need to kick them out. Maybe like a carelessly constructed home, we don’t have enough natural light flowing in; we need to build more windows for positivity - or, at worst, give ourselves more positive affirmations and positive inflow to create enough artificial light to keep the darkness at bay. If you’re constantly getting heated over situations or you feel the world is too cold, maybe you need your thermostat repaired - which means you need a professional to look at your wiring and to help you figure out the optimal temperature to keep you happy. My point is…PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR REAL HOME! Pay attention to its upkeep and it’s maintenance. You don’t have a “heart” as we constantly romanticize in our culture. You have one place in your body that simultaneously manages your physical self, the emotions you express, and the decisions you make. Please take care of yourself and take the health of your mind seriously. You only get one. #RIP #mentalhealth #AnthonyBourdain#KateSpade #mentalillness #takecareofyourself

[flydreamcatcher]

Kanye is Right...Again

In 2004, I remember falling in love with the music of Kanye West. His production was a collage of hard-hitting 808's danced over by sped-up samples; it was as if Alvin and The Chipmunks were transported to the ‘60s and soaked in the syrupy soul of Motown. He didn’t really rap well – his freshly wired jaw, mushed and mangled words as he slurred through enunciations, plus…his flow was elementary.

But he was fresh.

Hip-hop was rife with violence and the re-emergence of gangsta rap: 50 cent had dropped a classic, Get Rich Or Die Trying – a melodious cocktail of violence, street code, and hustle, while Jay-Z wound down part 1 of his career with The Black Album, an ode to the mafioso lifestyle and street opulence. Kanye was different.

Blackness was never a monolith, but mainstream media’s depiction of it, has been. Family cookouts and reunions, guns blazing through dark alleys and decaying projects, street corners riddled with young black men wearing hoodies and Airforce 1’s as slow-rolling Cadillacs pull-up with wound-down windows. Athletes and strippers. Prisoners and drug-dealers. Single-mothers and deadbeat-dads. Jocks and gangsters. The appeal of Kanye was that he served as a voice for a generation of black youth that was not fitting into these worn-out stereotypes: He was middle-class…quirky…not great at rapping, but genius-y at the technical stuff, preppy - but in a black way, and a guy who worked in a regular 9-to-5 job that had a manager (like most black kids lol). He was relatable.

The rise of Kanye coincides with the rise of Black “otherness”. Fast forward to almost 15 years later where Kanye disciples like Drake and Lil Uzi Vert thrive in challenging thoughts/ideas about black masculinity, Kyle and Childish Gambino embrace their nerd-dom on tracks, Odd Future produced the first openly gay black R&B star (Frank Ocean), and even where artists like Logic challenge our thoughts on suicide and mental health in general. Kanye tapped into a rising consciousness…a slow revolt that was occurring as a result of the suppression and marginalization of those that didn’t fit neatly into the stereotypes of blackness.

He became a contrarian…and I think we did too.

Being “other” has become the new cool. Gone are the days of rolling with what the media tells you is cool. The mere thought is repulsive. There is no such thing as ordinary; our everyday language has shifted to the point of consistent hyperbole in a desperate attempt to keep people’s attention. If this isn’t “awesome” or “the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen” or “the worst fried chicken I ever tasted” then you probably won’t be interested. You watch “The Walking Dead”? Everybody watches that…not cool. You listen to Beyonce? That’s nice…but it’s not cool, really…it’s more…”expected”.

Niche is the new cool. Taking extreme views to be perceived as radical. Listening to obscure artists you scrounged up on SoundCloud. Watching foreign films and anime. Leafing thru vintage comics and thrifting for old warped vinyl. To be a nerd (blerd?) is cool. Being foreign and different from the “average Black American” is cool. Playing RPG video games is niche, and cool. Even being a victim has become cool; the culture of garnering attention through the presentation of past or present pain has permeated social media.

Everybody wants to be heard.

The good news is that people who were never being heard before, have a voice. The bad news is that people who were used to sharing the collective voice of the mainstream, are now scrambling to find a niche group label that they can apply to themselves.

Like most people, Kanye West positioned himself as different with The College Dropout partially for the art, but probably also to standout and get attention. It’s the same way he has positioned himself as different with his support for Donald Trump, and his attributing slavery to being a choice. It’s a thinly veiled attempt at trying to secure the next headline, but more importantly Kanye knows that no matter how outrageous what he says is, thinking what everyone else is thinking is no longer cool.

He’s right…again.

[flydreamcatcher]

RUKUS / #WAHALAwednesdays / ("ISKABA")

[flydreamcatcher]

Donald Trump Is President

I think so many people have it wrong.

I’ve read think pieces and statuses highlighting Trump voters and how they’re bigots and bullies, or racists and radicals. I disagree; I don’t think that’s the majority of them. I think the majority of Americans quietly were tired of caring about anything other than themselves. Tired of caring about those without access to healthcare, tired of caring about bomb-riddled, mud-smudged Syrian refugee children, tired of caring about the startling number of black bodies strewn on streets after police encounters or gang violence, tired of tear-jerking stories of Mexican immigrants clawing to find a better life in America, tired of hearing about LGBT and women’s rights, tired of hearing about protected classes and inequalities, tired of being called privileged. Today, America tipped over that huge melting pot - that cauldron of cultures and beliefs - pouring its contents over a radicalized Republican candidate that has promised to serve as a strainer; filtering out the colorful ingredients - the misshapen additions that have long been sprinkled into America’s base and provided a flavor of diversity in the form of hard-working immigrants and refugees - and tossing them to the side. This new American recipe is chalk full of fear, anger, ignorance and apathy. There is a silent theme that none of us want to acknowledge. It hides behind excuses for the disparate treatment of unarmed Black men…it’s tucked tightly into conversations on the wage gap between genders:

Quietly, we view privilege as a see-saw. We are on this ever-shifting see-saw of rights, incentives, opportunities and privileges. The higher up the see-saw takes you in your privilege, the lower it takes someone else on the opposite side. You being rich makes someone else feel poor. You being brutalized makes someone else feel safe and fortunate. You being part of a growing minority, makes someone else feel like a part of a shrinking majority. With that being said, while some of us, who have been close to the ground-floor in this country, have aimed for an America where that seesaw sits flat and level at 90 degrees with no one inherently given more privilege than another, no one’s opinion holding more weight…the closer we come to realizing that the more some people feel as though they are being brought down from their perch. Today’s election results were a direct result of those who do not want to lose their place up high on that see-saw. People who are tired of being lowered incrementally on that see-saw by talk of equal pay, equal rights, or universal healthcare. People who are tired of someone that doesn’t look like them running this country. People who never want things to truly be level. These are the people who voted Trump. Most silently, and selfishly - knowing their alignment with bigots, racists, and radicals is not for the greater good, but rather for a chance to maintain or bolster the privilege they have, and possibly restore it to what they once had. And honestly, if you were one of them…wouldn’t that make YOUR America great again?

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Saving Black Lives (for dummies)

Why I Wrote This:

First off, I want to say, that if you’re reading this you are not a “dummy”. You are probably someone who has at one point or another seen the murder, brutalization, unfair incarceration, or exploitation of someone of color. You may have cried, screamed, lamented, or vented to a friend…but it didn’t feel like enough. Then you asked a very important question:

What can I do to change this? This is where people get stuck. Heck, this is where I got stuck. As a writer/musician, my outlet was always my music. Sometimes it was social media, where I would take to Facebook and debate the ignorant people that seem to swoop in like vultures whenever unjust tragedy strikes the black community. After seeing the execution of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile - it just didn’t feel like writing out of anger was enough. I needed to do something constructive. Many of us have marched through the streets of our city at some point with signs advocating change.Some of us have rioted.Some of us have attended wake-keepings and vigils for lives unjustly taken.Nothing seems to change. Well you’ve come to the right place. If you want to skip straight to the action look for the *, otherwise��read on.

What Are The Problems:

Well to be clear, there are TONS of things that need participation and insight from everyday Black people and those who support us. Unfortunately, there is no Martin Luther King or Malcolm X. There is no Muhammed Ali sacrificing everything to prove a point. It’s just us - regular people.

When we talk about what issues are most important I think we can break it down into the following 5 categories and what are goals are to solve these problems:

1. WE ARE DYING. - Ending the killing of unarmed black men at the hands of law enforcement.

2. WE ARE NOT FREE. - Ending the mass incarceration of Black Men     - Reducing the disparity in sentencing of Black Men     - Allowing those that were incarcerated to reintegrate into the workforce.

3. ECONOMIC DISPARITY. - Increasing the number of black-owned businesses     - Increasing the value of the black dollar by consolidating economic efforts. - Reducing the dependence on non-black investment

4. LACK OF REPRESENTATION. - Increasing the number of political leaders that openly support and act on issues relevant to the black community     - Increasing the number of board members that represent black views in Fortune 500 corporations.

5. NEGATIVE IMAGING/MARKETING. - Changing the imaging of Black men and women on TV (TV shows, news, media outlets) to more positive imaging.     - Creating additional narratives with insight to black stories.

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive list of everything that needs to change in the black community, but it is a list of things that black people generally agree are major issues for our community. Now that we know what the problems are, what can we actually DO to solve them?

What Do I Need To Do?*

Well since we laid out the issues we were facing earlier, here is where the rubber meets the road. How do we reach the goals we set forth? I tried to consolidate this into a few actionable items.

1. TO FREE US…AND GET US REPRESENTATION:

Register to Vote: I know, I know…this sounds redundant. But what you have to realize is that the people responsible for the disparity between the number of plea bargains offered to people of color vs. their counterparts - those are district attorneys aka prosecutors. The people dishing out sentences - those are judges.

95% of elected prosecutors are white.

Let that sink in for a bit. In a court system that sees unquestionably more minorities, their fate is in the hand of someone that may have been voted into office by less than 5% voter turnout.

We need to participate in local elections and vote for prosecutors and judges that are opposed to mandatory minimum sentences, believe in offering personal recognizance instead of bankrupting defendants on bail, and don’t just brag about how many people they have incarcerated, but also expose their record on minimizing arrests and incarcerations.

Use your vote to support targeted bills: Bills like the one Bernie Sanders proposes (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernie-sanders/we-must-end-for-profit-pr_b_8180124.html) call for an end to For-profit, private prisons which incentivize incarceration and lobby government officials at all levels.If private prison labor will continue to be used by companies such as Whole Foods, shouldn’t those inmates be eligible for gainful employment by the same companies AFTER serving their sentence?

TIP: Download the “Countable” app on your phone, enter your location and get informed on the issues and representatives near you.  

ACTION: Register to vote online here if you’re in Texas -> http://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/

2. TO STOP DYING:

Once registered to vote we can propose policies to do the following: - Determine better and more specific protocol on how and when force can be used by police with the mission that officers should use minimal force to subdue suspects as well as increased training hours on de-escalation techniques. - Force nuanced data to be kept on injuries as a result of brutality in the field or in custody categorized by race, ethnicity, age, gender, religious affiliation, locale, etc. - Enact strict policy in regards to officer discipline to remove officers off the street based on multiple complaints that indicate a propensity to use excessive force. - Force funding and implementation of body cameras on all field officers.

ACTION: Checkout http://www.joincampaignzero.org for easy to understand information on policies in your area and the progress of policies that have been proposed by like-minded individuals.

3. TO EMPOWER US ECONOMICALLY:

Support Black Owned Businesses: It’s actually quite simple for several products and services. Mashable did a great article on this:

http://mashable.com/2015/03/31/black-owned-businesses/#htCMkll8SPqd

There are tons of Black owned businesses in your communities that you just need to ask around about. People who sell hair and make hair care products, others that fix cars, sell delicious food, or own their own dental or medical practices. The key is putting in a little time to ask via word of mouth, or using a Google search to find out what is in your area. There are a few sites devoted to being directories for Black businesses as well like http://www.supportblackowned.com and http://www.blackownedbiz.com

Keep in mind, the more businesses that we own, the more control we have over hiring black men and women who have left the prison system and are looking for legitimate work opportunities.

ACTION: Boycott companies that do not value Black Lives: Johnson & Johnson recently settled a lawsuit for $72,000,000 for knowingly selling their baby powders containing cancer-causing ingredients, and specifically marketing these dangerous products to black and hispanic women despite knowing how they use them (black women traditionally in the vaginal area - leading to ovarian cancer) and knowing the fatal effects. This company clearly does not value black lives and the only way to hit them is in their pocket, by boycotting ALL Johnson & Johnson products.

Koch Industries, although not as direct, also supports radical movements diametrically opposed to black progress and equality like the Tea Party Movement. They own Georgia Pacific which makes brands like Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, Brawny, Dixie, and Vanity Fair.

4. TO CREATE POSITIVE IMAGES OF BLACK MEN AND WOMEN: Boycott shows and music that perpetuates stereotypes about black people: This is obviously a choice, but if you feel that a show, song, movie, or album perpetuates a stereotype that negatively reflects on black people, then you have every right to take your hard earned  dollars and invest them in more positive images. Spend your money on what you want to see/hear in the world. ACTION: Do a little research. Although this is an old list, songs like the ones found here -> http://madamenoire.com/52205/songs-to-inspire-and-uplift-black-women/ might be exactly the kind of music and artists you want to invest in. Tune into movies and shows that cast black men and women in a more well rounded light; not just gangsters, drug addicts, criminals, slaves, the help, or impoverished ghetto residents.

Now I’ve done a few things - what next?

If you’ve taken action on the few bullet points that I listed, make sure you do a little research because there is PLENTY more to do. The next step is to SHARE, SHARE, SHARE with everyone you can on social media and by word of mouth to make sure that we get the ball rolling on being savvy and involved. Retweet, share on Facebook, or send a link to someone who believes just as much as you do that there is work to do.

Send me a message if you have any questions or thoughts - thanks!

-KO

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“Iboun loun lo?”

It was already the second time this guy was asking me something, but I think he was starting to realize I had absolutely no clue what he was saying.

“How much to get to Ikoyi? “ I asked, the frustration now evident in my voice. My pidgin is terrible and I didn’t feel like...

[flydreamcatcher]

Feb. 4, 1999 - Amadou Diallo, 23 - Bronx May 25, 1999 - Rodney Mason, 38 - Queens May 26, 1999 - Dante Johnson, 16 - Bronx Jun. 28, 1999 - Renato Mercado, 63 - Manhattan Jul. 24, 1999 - Delano Maloney, 32 - Brooklyn Aug. 5, 1999 - Jatrek Hewitt, 17 - Staten Island Aug. 9, 1999 - Robert Striker, 54 - Manhattan Aug. 15, 1999 - Angel Reyes, 47 - Manhattan Aug. 18, 1999 - Larry Cobb, 30 - Manhattan  Aug. 30, 1999 - Gidone “Gary” Busch, 31 - Brooklyn Aug. 27, 1999 - Unidentified Man, 35 - Bronx Sep. 1, 1999 - Richard Watson, 32 - Manhattan Oct. 20, 1999 - Afif Hazim - Queens Jan. 17, 2000 - Alan Zelencic, 28 - Queens  Mar. 1, 2000 - Malcolm Ferguson, 23 - Bronx  Mar. 1, 2000 - Maliki Raymond, 24 - Manhattan Mar. 16, 2000 - Patrick Dorismond, 26 - Manhattan  Mar. 31, 2000 - Andre Fields, 17 and Tasheen Bourne, 19 - Brooklyn Feb. 5, 2000 - Donald Moore, 37 - Queens Apr. 12, 2000 - Malcolm Burno, 17 - Brooklyn Apr. 22, 2000 - James Murphy, 43 - Queens Jul. 7, 2000 - D’andre Darnell Cisco, 25 - Queens Aug. 4, 2000 - James Edward Moore, 37 - Bronx Aug. 12, 2000 - Arthur Alalouf, 47 - Brooklyn Oct. 20, 2000 - Reynaldo Colon, 33 - Brooklyn  Oct. 23, 2000 - Carmen Valentine, 22 - Brooklyn Nov. 2000 - Andre “Woody” Harris - Brooklyn Dec. 24, 2000 - Jonathan Lynch, 32 and James Culberson, 25 - Brooklyn May 22, 2001 - Curtis Harmon, Jr., 35 - Bronx  Jun. 8, 2001 - Curtis Merriweather, 45 - Brooklyn Jul. 26, 2001 - Charmene Pickering, 27 - Brooklyn Aug. 4, 2001 - Maria Pena Herrera, 24 and Dilcia Pena, 16 and Andy Pena Herrera, 4 and Ricardo Pena Herrera, newborn - Brooklyn  Oct. 6, 2001 - Malik Mustafa, 36 - Bronx Oct. 8, 2001 - Shannon Vinson, 28 - Brooklyn Oct. 8, 2001 - Donna Towe, 45 - Bronx Oct. 9, 2001 - Richard Hatcher, 18 - Queens Oct. 15, 2001 - Unidentified Man - Queens Nov. 11, 2001 - William Phifer, 56 - Manhattan Nov. 23, 2001 - Steven Michalacos, 67 - Brooklyn Dec. 22, 2001 - Unidentified Man - Brooklyn Jan. 16, 2002 - Georgy Louisgene, 23 - Brooklyn Jan. 23, 2002 - Juan Mendez, 38 - Manhattan Mar. 30, 2002 - Cesar Mercado, 47 - Manhattan Apr. 15, 2002 - Unidentified Man, 20s - Manhattan Apr. 21, 2002 - Ricardo Carlon, 24 - Staten Island  May 1, 2002 - Egbert Dewgard, 31 - Brooklyn  Jun. 21, 2002 - Unidentified Man, 20s - Manhattan Jun. 22, 2002 - Stefanos Kiladitis, 21 - Brooklyn Jul. 7, 2002 - William Partlow, 42 - Bronx Jul. 10, 2002 - Kevin McKissick, 13 - Manhattan Jul. 28, 2002 - Kedrian Edwards, 19 - Bronx Aug. 26, 2002 - Marcellus Graham, 28 - Brooklyn Aug. 27, 2002 - Ernest Prather, 39 - Brooklyn Aug. 31, 2002 - Paul Angel, 55 - Brooklyn Sep. 1, 2002 - Jamil Moore, 22 - Brooklyn Sep. 16, 2002 - Raymundo Guzman, 27 - Manhattan Oct. 30, 2002 - Alfred Nelson, 36 - Staten Island Jan. 1, 2003 - Jamel Nixon, 19 - Brooklyn Jan. 1, 2003 - Anthony Reid, 21 - Brooklyn Jan. 2, 2003 - Allen Newsome, 17 - Manhattan  Jan. 2, 2003 - John Lagattuta, 35 - Brooklyn  Jan. 4, 2003 - Lucia Rodriguez, 63 - Brooklyn Mar. 4, 2003 - Anton Goldenburg, 55 and Rifka Goldenburg, 54 - Brooklyn Apr. 16, 2003 - Etzel Faulkner, 42 - Queens Apr. 30, 2003 - Floyd Quinones, 28 - Brooklyn May 1, 2003 - Carlos Lopez, 19 - Brooklyn Aug. 8, 2003 - Melvin Sylvester, 65 - Manhattan  May 16, 2003 - Alberta Spruill, 57 - Manhattan  May 22, 2003 - Ousmane Zongo, 35 - Manhattan  Jun. 4, 2003 - Jose Mateo, 22 - Manhattan  Jun. 16, 2003 - Juan Carlos Sanchez, 30 - Manhattan Jun. 20, 2003 - Calvin Washington, 41 - Brooklyn Jul. 22, 2003 - Othniel Askew, 31 - Manhattan Sep. 19, 2003 - Stephen Seignious, 37 - Bronx Oct. 29, 2003 - Renardo Powell, 26 - Brooklyn Nov. 6, 2003 - Russell Wimbush, 43 - Staten Island Nov. 9, 2003 - Yuekor Yuen, 76 - Brooklyn Nov. 15, 2003 - Desean Cathcart, 26 - Brooklyn  Jan. 24, 2004 - Timothy Stansbury, 19 - Brooklyn  Feb. 8, 2004 - Wilson Alba, 31 - Brooklyn Feb. 15, 2004 - Thomas Cipolla, 28 - Bronx Mar. 10, 2004 - Leroy Smalls, 41 - Manhattan Jun. 20, 2004 - Juan Aponte Huerta, 47 - Manhattan Jul. 29, 2004 - Dante Pomar, 19 - Queens  Aug. 30, 2004 - Rashawn Sharif Moody, 18 - Brooklyn Sep. 24, 2004 - David Guzman, 33 - Queens  Sep. 27, 2004 - Boangeres Mota, 37 - Manhattan Oct. 9, 2004 - Gregory Chavis, 19 - Bronx Oct. 18, 2004 - Manuel Chamelta, 18 - Queens Nov. 22, 2004 - Jose Feliciano, 44 - Brooklyn Nov. 24, 2004 - Dominic Middleton, 12 and Kristina Middleton, 1 - Manhattan Nov. 26, 2004 - Craig Davis, 35 - Brooklyn Dec. 10, 2004 - Carleton Lockhart, 32 - Bronx Dec. 14, 2004 - Marie Fares, 60 - Queens Dec. 15, 2004 - Gayle Duran, 19 - Bronx Jan. 6 2005 - Brian Allen, 46 - Queens Feb. 14, 2005 - Tolsie Nohar, 17 - Queens  Feb. 21, 2005 - Montique Smalls, 38 - Brooklyn May 8, 2005 - Byron Hearst, 28 - Brooklyn  Jul. 27, 2005 - Terrence L. Thomas, 35 - Queens Sep. 10, 2005 - Damien Greenslade, 26 - Manhattan Sep. 22, 2005 - Paul Bookson, 71 - Brooklyn Sep. 23, 2005 - Virginia Verdee, 12 - Bronx  Oct. 22, 2005 - Darryl Green, 21 - Brooklyn Oct. 30, 2005 - Leonel Disla, 19 - Bronx  Nov. 4, 2005 - Stephonne Crawford, 21 - Brooklyn Nov. 18, 2005 - Adam Perez, 31 - Manhattan Jan. 4, 2006 - Peter Lee, 20 - Bronx Jan. 26, 2006 - Unidentified Woman - Bronx Jan. 27, 2006 - Kevin Leo, 28 - Bronx Feb. 8, 2006 - Eric Hernandez, 24 - Bronx Feb. 13, 2006 - Michael Harris, 24 - Bronx Feb. 16, 2006 - Stephanie Lindboe, 65 - Staten Island Mar. 28, 2006 - Julio Alberto “Zapatone” Ortega-Moncada, 31 - Queens Mar. 25, 2006 - Rasheem Parrish, 21 - Queens  Apr. 10, 2006 - Steven Vitale, 55 - Staten Island  Jul. 5, 2006 - Colleen Marza, 49 - Queens  Jul. 9, 2006 - Bobby Roman, 26 - Brooklyn Aug. 9, 2006 - Marilyn Zeh, 32 - Queens Aug. 22, 2006 - Ronald Clemons, 45 - Brooklyn Sep. 16, 2006 - Mingo Kenneth Mason, 18 - Manhattan Sep. 30, 2006 - Joseph Bernazard, 26 - Brooklyn Oct. 26, 2006 - Eric Hines, 17 - Brooklyn Nov. 1, 2006 - Jose Rivera, 32 - Bronx Nov. 11, 2006 - Katrell Butler, 28 - Brooklyn Dec. 16, 2006 - Anatoly Dmitriev, 62 - Bronx Nov. 25, 2006 - Sean Bell, 23 - Queens  Dec. 13, 2006 - Timur Person, 19 - Bronx Jan. 8, 2007 - Blondel Lassegue, 38 - Queens Mar. 10, 2007 - Kristen McKenzie, 21 - Brooklyn Mar. 13, 2007 - Corey Mickins, 25 - Manhattan Mar. 14, 2007 - David Garvin, 42 - Manhattan Apr. 26, 2007 - Patrick Bryan, 41 - Queens May 10, 2007 - Guyatree Harpati. 22 - Queens  May 18, 2007 - Fermin Arzu, 41 - Bronx Jun. 19, 2007 - James Harris, 42 - Bronx Jul. 7, 2007 - Victor Gordon, 23 - Brooklyn  Jul. 23, 2007 - Shirley Fontanez, 18 - Bronx  Sep. 7, 2007 - Juan Calves, 51 - Bronx  Sep. 28, 2007 - Ronald Battle, 25 - Manhattan Sep. 29, 2007 - Sonia Garcia, 28 - Bay Shore, LI  Oct. 20, 2007 - Jayson Tirado, 25 - Manhattan  Nov. 12, 2007 - Khiel Coppin, 18 - Brooklyn Nov. 18, 2007 - David Kostovski, 29 - Brooklyn Nov. 20, 2007 - Santos Mulero, 57 - Bronx Jan. 1, 2008 - Darin John Richardson, 29 - Brooklyn Jan. 5, 2008 - Ronnie Smalls, 25 - Queens May 28, 2008 - Eugene Morales, 22 - Manhattan  Jun. 1, 2008 - Carlos Rios, 47 - Bronx Jul. 13, 2008 - Unidentified Man - Bronx Jul. 17, 2008 - Spencer Parris, 39 - Manhattan Aug. 2, 2008 - Darryl Battle, 20 - Brooklyn  Sep. 24, 2008 - Iman Morales, 35 - Brooklyn  Oct. 26, 2008 - Dwayne David Forde, 22 - Brooklyn  Oct. 26, 2008 - Kayshawn Forde, 21 - Brooklyn Nov. 13, 2008 - Gilberto Blanco - Brooklyn  Dec. 9, 2008 - Alex Figueroa, 40 - Bronx Jan. 12, 2009 - Elena Cole, 46 - Centereach, LI Mar. 31, 2009 - Eric van Reid, 50 - Queens Apr. 8, 2009 - Ginette Denize, 48 - Brooklyn Apr. 12, 2009 - Mauricio Jacques, 35 - Bronx May 10, 2009 - Kenneth Williams, 21 - Brooklyn May 28, 2009 - Omar J. Edwards, 25 - Manhattan  Jul. 11, 2009 - Shem Walker, 49 - Brooklyn Jul. 22, 2009 - Unidentified Man - Manhattan Aug. 2, 2009 - Oswaldo Sevilla Moran, 31 - Bronx  Sep. 12, 2009 - Unidentified Man - Brooklyn Sep. 27, 2009 - Vionique Valnold, 32 - Bronx  Oct. 7, 2009 - Carlton Lewis, 21 - Manhattan  Nov. 20, 2009 - Kevin White, 43 - Brooklyn Nov. 21, 2009 - Dawshawn Vasconcello, 18 - Queens  Dec. 10, 2009 - Raymond Martinez, 25 - Manhattan Feb. 22, 2010 - Satnam Singh, 32 - Bronx Mar. 8, 2010 - George D’Amato, Jr., 22 - Brooklyn Mar. 22, 2010 - Santiago Urina, 57 - Bronx Apr. 1, 2010 - Michael Romero, 32 - Brooklyn Apr. 26, 2010 - Unidentified Man - Brooklyn Jun. 24, 2010 - Marvin Fulford, 48 - Bronx  Aug. 8, 2010 - Luis Soto, 22 - Manhattan  Aug. 27, 2010 - Briana Ojeda, 11 - Brooklyn Oct. 3, 2010 - Emmanuel Paulino, 24 - Manhattan  Dec. 22, 2010 - Zach Bingert, 21 - Queens  Mar. 8, 2011 - Kemp Yarborough, 37 - Bronx  Mar. 8, 2011 - Carmelo Calabro, 77 - Brooklyn Mar. 18 2011 - Johnathan Smith, 26 - Brooklyn  Mar. 20, 2011 - Paul Goldreyer, 48 - Bronx Mar. 26, 2011 - Orlando Santos, 28 - Bronx May 11, 2011 - Unidentified Man, 31 - Brooklyn Sep. 5, 2011 - Denise Gay, 56 - Brooklyn  Sep. 7, 2011 - John Collado, 43 - Manhattan  Sep. 13, 2011 - Makever “Keba” Brown, 22 - Manhattan  Sep. 14, 2011 - Tyre Chisholm, 22 - Bronx  Oct. 2, 2011 - Yvonne McNeal, 57 - Manhattan Nov. 4, 2011 - Theauther Love, 87 - Brooklyn  Jan. 12, 2012 - Duane Brown, 26, Brooklyn (killed in own home) Jan. 26, 2012 - Christopher Kissane, 22, Brooklyn Jan. 29, 2012 - Antwoin White, 17, Brooklyn Feb. 2, 2012 - Ramarley Graham, 18, Bronx (killed in own home) Feb. 14, 2012 - Michael McBride, 52, Manhattan Mar. 15, 2012 - Shereese Francis, 30, Queens Apr. 12, 2012 - Tamon Robinson, 27, Brooklyn Apr. 12, 2012 - Rudolph Wyatt, 23, Manhattan May 10, 2012 - Samuel Rivers, 40, Queens Jun. 14, 2012 - Shantel Davis, 23, Brooklyn Jul. 4, 2012 - Edgar Owens, 46, Queens Aug. 11, 2012 - Eddie Fernandez, 28, Bronx Aug. 12, 2012 - Darius H. Kennedy, 51 Manhattan Aug. 24, 2012 - Jeffrey Johnson, 58, Manhattan Sep. 7, 2012 - Reynaldo Cuevas, 20, Bronx (shot escaping robbery) Sep. 7, 2012 - Walwyn Jackson, 27, Queens Sep. 20, 2012 - Tyjuan Hill, 22, Queens Sep. 25, 2012 - Muhammad Bah, 28, Manhattan Oct. 5, 2012 - Noel Polanco, 22, Queens Oct. 25, 2012 - Prince James 18, Bronx Nov. 4, 2012 - Ronald Herrera, 20, Bronx (friend of Reynaldo Cuevas) Jan. 3, 2013 - Peter Jourdan, 37, Brooklyn Feb. 21, 2013 - Ryo Oyamada, 24, Queens Mar. 23, 2013 - Jackson Alexandre, 28, Brooklyn Mar. 9, 2013 - Kimani Gray, 16, Brooklyn Apr. 15, 2013 - Dason Peters, 33, Brooklyn  Apr. 15, 2013 - Dylan Samuel Peters, 1, Brooklyn Jun. 19, 2013 - Thomas Robinson, 50, Brooklyn Jun. 20, 2013 - Jose Muniz, 52, Bronx Jun. 5, 2013 - Lana Morris, 46, Queens Jul. 12, 2013 - Deion Fludd, 17, Brooklyn Jul. 21, 2013 - Kyam Livingston, 37, Brooklyn Jul. 6, 2013 - Felix Coss, 61, Brooklyn Aug. 14, 2013 - Eric Zaman, 25, Queens Aug. 15, 2013 - Carlo Alcis, 43, Brooklyn Aug. 4, 2013 - Shaaliver Douse, 14, Bronx Sep. 17, 2013 - Barrington Williams, 25, Bronx Oct. 31, 2013 - Unidentified man, 26, Bronx Oct. 4, 2013 - William Bruce Hemphill„ 51 - Staten Island Nov. 18, 2013 - Rexford Dasrath, 22, Brooklyn Dec. 26, 2013 - James Torres, 44, Bronx Apr. 12, 2014 - Jack Calvello, 85, Queens May 16, 2014 - Scott Kato, 45, Manhattan  May 18, 2014 - Osbourne Broadie, 39, Brooklyn May 27, 2014 - Manuel Ocampo, 18 , Brooklyn, NY Jul. 17, 2014 - Eric Garner, 43, Staten Island

http://nyc.october22.org/KilledsinceBell.pdf

[flydreamcatcher]

Am I the only one tired?

Tired of having to justify why someone that looks like me shouldn't be shot on sight. Tired of being labeled a thug by antiquated images perpetuated by biased media outlets. Tired of the term "post-racial" and the rose-tinted shades that come with it. Tired of having to modify my blackness to appease those who do not share my skin color and might be offended/frightened by the boldness of my culture. Tired of the term "race card" being considered overused when it was unused/ignored for almost 200 years and has led to the systematic subordination of generations. Tired of people not knowing that history leads us to where we are today. Tired of not being able to speak these thoughts too loud because somewhere in my heart I fear that if these words left my tongue and manifested themselves at the ears of my oppressors...I might die too.

I'm tired.

[flydreamcatcher]

Summer jam! Rukus feat. Kuebounce - "Can I Get With You"

[flydreamcatcher]

[flydreamcatcher]

Whoa.

Most people are shaking their heads, rolling their eyes, rubbing the back of their necks nervously, or just flat out saying “Nuh uh” at the title of this. I completely understand - a few days ago I would have felt the same way too.

But then I saw Mike Brown’s body; face-first on the...

[flydreamcatcher]

"Banned for life." Hmmm…nah that’s too old school.

#bannedforlife Better.

Its the headline of every newspaper, blog, and the hashtag circulating around the internet: NBA commissioner Adam Silver announcing that embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, is done - no more NBA...