Posted on 11月 6, 2008. Filed under: Black Resources, Commentary, Government, Politics & Security | タグ: abroad, America, american, barack, biracial, black, Blacks, change, children, clinton, culture, election, envy, family, foreign, government, hate, intelligence, interpretation, interpreter, japan, Japanese, jobs, korean, language, learn, media, military, multiculturalism, nationalism, negro, obama, politics, poverty, president, race, racism, relations, rights, stereotypes, translation, Translator, usa, vote, war, women, world |
When President-elect Barack Obama and his family take up residence in the White House it means that he will move into every household in America. He will not be just some Black dude that moved in down the street in a predominately White neighborhood and his family will not become the new Cosby Show. The Obamas move on big time to prime time on the biggest channel watched by millions in the world.
I am a child of the 60’s and a US Marine Corps veteran that served and fought for America much like my father, uncles and cousins did during the Korean War and conflict in Vietnam. The biggest difference in the conflicts during my military service and theirs is that they fought wars abroad only to return home to fight various forms of in your face racism in America.
I am a product of the Detroit public school system and moved from the ghetto to the top flo’ (and at times back down) because others broke various glass ceilings. There was a school house in Little Rock, Arkansas that had its glass ceiling broken by some black children which ultimately allowed people like me, opportunity. There was a young lawyer that had only lost one case out of 30 who went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history. His tenacity ended segregation in public schools. There was a little ol’ woman that rode a bus and refused to give up her seat (and she was not the only one, just the most famous) that translated into people like her being legally allowed to do more than keep their seat. When I headed to a school full of people that I predominately saw on television, in magazines, downtown or at the “white” shopping center, it was like being in a different country. A glass ceiling broke in my house and let in the fresh air of hope when I accomplished things that a couple of generations in my family had not. They paved the way, I just followed the path. Like a young Barack, I had a mother that shoved when I need a push and a family that supported me when I needed.
As a 16-year-old college freshman exposed to something new, I made the most of it. Barack Obama attended the some of the best schools in America and is headed as uptown as one can go in America. I am sure that he will take advantage of being exposed to something new and that he and the in-coming First Lady, Michelle Obama, will expose something new to many in America and around the world. (さらに…)
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Posted on 11月 1, 2008. Filed under: BLACK TOKYO NEWS, Food & Drink, Music & entertainment | タグ: american, black, female, Foreigner, japan, networking, roppongi, tokyo, women |
This in from Sista in Tokyo (SIT): For well over two years now, a group of black professionals in Tokyo has been getting together to connect, chill, and catchup on the first Friday of every month. I’ve posted a few times about some of the more interesting discussions from our little shindig, but have not yet posted on the actual group. So today, I figured it was about time I did so.
Tomorrow, our cocktail hour will be held at 57 restaurant in Ropppongi(located behind Tokyo Midtown). Usually, our group includes around 7-12 attendees from various industries here in Tokyo. It’s almost always predominately male, hence my reason for posting this announcement today :).
I am extending a personal invitation to all SIT readers currently living in Tokyo (or visiting) to come out, kick back and enjoy a laugh or two and have a drink! I have included details below. Also, if you’re interested in keeping up with the goings on and other events happening, you are welcome to join our Black Professionals in Tokyo Group located an Ning. You don’t have to currently reside in Tokyo to be a member– and you don’t even have to be black, just like being around black people :). (さらに…)
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Posted on 9月 14, 2008. Filed under: Blasian, Commentary, Culture & Society, LEARNING & STUDY (Gakumon) | タグ: Africa, African American, black, books, japan, Japanese, multiculturalism, obama, race, relations, research, video |
Black Scholars Who Make a Specialty of Asian Studies
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Posted on 9月 8, 2008. Filed under: Culture & Society, LEARNING & STUDY (Gakumon), LIFE IN JAPAN | タグ: black, home stay, Japanese, Law, study |
Rackii (that’s Lucky, for you non Japanese speakers) me, Chicago has an pretty great public transportation system that just so happens to be color coded. When I need to get home, I take the Red Line southbound train to, let’s say, the Harrison stop and bam! I’m at my dorm. It’s sort of the same idea in Tokyo, but entirely more sophisticated and when I say sophisticated, I mean confusing (if you’ve never had to use a metro system before). My wonderful host mother drew out a totally kawaii map for me with perfect directions on how to get to Azubu (where Temple University Japan is located) from Koshigaya and back.
My host mother drove me to Kita-Koshigaya station to meet another home stay student, Hayley, who I’d spoken to for sometime thanks to the genius of Facebook networking. At any rate, we were very surprised at how easily we got from point A to point B. I hear it’s super easy to get lost on a train and end up in the middle of nowhere, but we actually had the pleasure of ending up in the City so my train riding confidence has gone up through the roof. However, I’m still not used to the idea of being so packed in a train I can barely breath. The second train we hopped onto was just that packed. Riding the trains here takes a certain amount of mental fortitude I had absolutely no idea I even had.
(さらに…)
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Posted on 9月 8, 2008. Filed under: Crime & Punishment, Sports | タグ: african, black, club, drugs, Gaijin, japan, murder, roppongi, Russian, sumo, tokyo |
Former makuuchi division Russian wrestler, 20-year-old Toshinori Wakanoho (whose real name is Soslan Gagloev), under arrest for possessing marijuana, has told police that he first turned to drugs in his early teens, and that after he entered the sumo world he smoked dope every time he went home to Russia.
According to a statement Wakanoho made to police, he went to a nightclub in Tokyo’s Roppongi entertainment district by himself on June 20, where he was offered marijuana by a Russian man and a black man. He smoked the drug in the club’s restroom using a bong, or water pipe. Wakanoho then bought marijuana, two pipes and rolling papers from the black man for 20,000 yen. (さらに…)
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Posted on 9月 4, 2008. Filed under: Commentary, Culture & Society | タグ: african, African American, black, debito, Foreigner, Gaijin, gaikokujin, kokujin, racism, racist, zurui |
There has been much debate on the terms “gaijin” (foreign/outside person) and “nigger” lately in Japan among the foreign community. In a series of articles published in the Japan Times, professor, activist, and coauthor of the “Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants, Arudou Debito comes out swinging. Here is his latest article: THE CASE FOR “GAIJIN” AS A RACIST WORD: THE SEQUEL – LET’S COME CLEAN ON “GAIJIN” [Published September 2, 2008 as “The ‘gaijin’ debate: Arudou responds”]
Last month’s column (JBC August 5) was on the word “gaijin”. I made the case that it is a racist word, one that reinforces an “us-and-them” rubric towards foreigners and their children in Japan. It generated a lot of debate. Good. Thanks for your time. Now let’s devote 700 more words to some issues raised.
Regarding the arguments about intent, i.e. “People use the word gaijin, but don’t mean it in a derogatory way”. The root issue here is, “Who decides whether a word is bad?” Is it the speaker using the word, or the person being addressed by it?
Ditto for the word gaijin. People like me who have lived here for many years, even assimilated to the point of taking citizenship, don’t want to be called “gaijin” anymore. We can be forgiven for taking umbrage, for not wanting to be pushed back into the pigeonhole. Don’t tell us who we are–we’ll decide for ourselves who we are, especially in our own country, thanks. So stoppit.
Now for the more controversial claim: my linking “gaijin” with “n*gg*r”. Although I was not equating their histories, I was drawing attention to their common effect–stripping societies of diversity.
You can read the rest of the article and numerous comments here.
Here is the response that I (Zurui) sent: (さらに…)
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Posted on 8月 23, 2008. Filed under: Government, Politics & Security | タグ: 2008, black, CNN, democrat, democratic national convention, election, foreign policy, georgia, Hillary Clinton, international, joe biden, John McCain, obama, Obama-Biden, politics, republic, Russia, Senate Armed Services Committee, tokyo, vice president, zurui |
The secrets out! Joe Biden was critical of Obama at the beginning, stating: “Obama is not ready!” Joe Biden voted for the war in Iraq. Will John McCain focus on these statements. Of course he will. But hey, game on!
Late Friday, CNN reported that Sen. Hillary Clinton had been told she is not the vice presidential choice, Joe Biden will fill the role and the US Secret Service has been dispatched to Senator Biden’s home.
Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Joe Biden has extensive foreign policy experience and would help beef up Obama’s relatively light resume on matters of national security. Biden recently returned from Georgia where he met with leaders to discuss the Russian invasion and the volatile region.
Hillary Clinton was not vetted for the VP spot since she is considered not a good match for the VP ticket and Bill Clinton still carries some negative political baggage. Although Obama calls for Change, Biden is a long time Washington insider but Biden brings experience and know-how (someone who can vouch for Obama) plus the all-important foreign policy experience that McCain claims Obama lacks.
Click here to see Joe Biden’s stance on Civil Rights, Defense, and other issues.
Click here to view Joe Biden’s home page.
BTW, Biden’s son serves in the US Army JAG Corps and is about to deploy to Iraq.
VOTE OBAMA-BIDEN 2008
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Posted on 8月 19, 2008. Filed under: Blasian, Culture & Society, THE MILITARY IN JAPAN | タグ: african, African American, biracial, black, Blasian, divorce, foreign, Foreigner, husband, international marriage, japan, Japanese, marriage, military, wife |
That was the question posed by Jet Magazine in 1953. Many know that the most tenacious form of legal segregation in the United States (US), the banning of interracial marriage, was not fully lifted until the last anti-miscegenation laws were struck down in 1967 by the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia. At that time, inter-racial marriage meant marriages between blacks and whites.
Changes in racial attitudes in the US over the last 30 years clearly played a major role in the mushrooming of inter-racial marriages, which were illegal in most states at the end of the 19th century. As recently as 1945, the legislature of California which, next to Hawaii, has become the country’s multi-racial state passed a law that banned marriage between whites and Negroes, mulattos, Mongolians (which included Chinese and Japanese), and Malays.
US Servicemen and Japanese Women
After World War II, however, the law began to change as U.S. servicemen married Japanese women, and as the civil rights movement began challenging anti-miscegenation laws in the courts. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all such laws were unconstitutional, although it took Alabama until 2000 to repeal its ban. (さらに…)
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Posted on 8月 15, 2008. Filed under: LIFE IN JAPAN | タグ: African American, black, dating, Ehime, English teacher, female, hair, hair care, japan, TESL, tokyo |
Check out the new updates from Dear Life Japan. The vlogger has finally arrived in Japan!
I look forward to learning more about her experiences in rural Japan. Please be sure to send her your questions and feedback!
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Commentary: What Barack Obama means to me
Posted on 11月 6, 2008. Filed under: Black Resources, Commentary, Government, Politics & Security | タグ: abroad, America, american, barack, biracial, black, Blacks, change, children, clinton, culture, election, envy, family, foreign, government, hate, intelligence, interpretation, interpreter, japan, Japanese, jobs, korean, language, learn, media, military, multiculturalism, nationalism, negro, obama, politics, poverty, president, race, racism, relations, rights, stereotypes, translation, Translator, usa, vote, war, women, world |
When President-elect Barack Obama and his family take up residence in the White House it means that he will move into every household in America. He will not be just some Black dude that moved in down the street in a predominately White neighborhood and his family will not become the new Cosby Show. The Obamas move on big time to prime time on the biggest channel watched by millions in the world.
I am a child of the 60’s and a US Marine Corps veteran that served and fought for America much like my father, uncles and cousins did during the Korean War and conflict in Vietnam. The biggest difference in the conflicts during my military service and theirs is that they fought wars abroad only to return home to fight various forms of in your face racism in America.
I am a product of the Detroit public school system and moved from the ghetto to the top flo’ (and at times back down) because others broke various glass ceilings. There was a school house in Little Rock, Arkansas that had its glass ceiling broken by some black children which ultimately allowed people like me, opportunity. There was a young lawyer that had only lost one case out of 30 who went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history. His tenacity ended segregation in public schools. There was a little ol’ woman that rode a bus and refused to give up her seat (and she was not the only one, just the most famous) that translated into people like her being legally allowed to do more than keep their seat. When I headed to a school full of people that I predominately saw on television, in magazines, downtown or at the “white” shopping center, it was like being in a different country. A glass ceiling broke in my house and let in the fresh air of hope when I accomplished things that a couple of generations in my family had not. They paved the way, I just followed the path. Like a young Barack, I had a mother that shoved when I need a push and a family that supported me when I needed.
As a 16-year-old college freshman exposed to something new, I made the most of it. Barack Obama attended the some of the best schools in America and is headed as uptown as one can go in America. I am sure that he will take advantage of being exposed to something new and that he and the in-coming First Lady, Michelle Obama, will expose something new to many in America and around the world. (さらに…)
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