The Middle Class: The Engine of Economic Growth The Center for American Progress has launched a 2012 series of events and publications on the importance of the middle class to our economy. Our… Continue reading
Brother Eric Baba Shomari Professor Grimes are the aliases of Professor Eric K. Grimes, an adjunct Professor and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a community leader. This space is… Continue reading
This article was written last year, stay tuned for an updated version that looks into Lupe Fiasco’s latest album. If you haven’t guessed already the song we will be discussing is “Bitch Bad,” but also “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free).”
Lupe Fiasco’s latest drop, “Words I Never Said,” from his upcoming album Lasers (Caution: Contains Explicit Language). The lyrical content on this track is politically incisive accompanied by a strident soundscape courtesy of production by Alex da Kid and vocals by Skylar Grey. In other words…it sets the tone proper!
This song has been at the top of my play list for the passed week or so. I figured I’d share it, especially in light of the wonderful milestone that the people of Egypt have just accomplished by pushing out Mubarak in their pursuit of REAL democracy.
How humbling it is to see that decades of U.S. meddling and financial support can snuff out the will of the people but for so long. Let the freedom fighters in Egypt heed the wisdom of a saint and ancestor of the African struggle here in the U.S.–Ida B Wells–when she says, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Speaking of the status of the fight for REAL democracy in the U.S. as compared to that overseas, a lengthier reflection is called for, however, Bob Herbert of the New York Times beat me to the punch.
Permit me though to sound an important note on radical democracy–which is quite apart from the neo-liberal/bourgeois strain plaguing us at the moment. The former seeks to subordinate the state and corporate class to the collective interests of human kind. While the latter reduces democracy to an individual in a voting booth every few years–never mind how accumulated capital has already chosen our choices.
So enjoy this song, a taste of REAL contemporary Hip-Hop, along with a glass of whatever you prefer–for me, that’s red wine. And let us raise a toast to REAL democracy.
ABC Local News By SARAH BLOOMQUIST PHILADELPHIA – March 14, 2012 (WPVI) — If they feed the hungry outside in public places, homeless advocates will have to change the way they distribute meals in… Continue reading
On the front lines of Philadelphia’s dropout crisis Relationships key to both causes and remedies, say those working with youth by Eric K. Grimes and Benjamin Herold “I couldn’t have dropped out without… Continue reading
