DefProf on NBC Bay Area Vista

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The part about accountability and action is around the time code of 5-5:30 minutes.
(See the "100 miles and Runnin" blog post for more info...)

100 Miles and Runnin'

President Barack Obama has been in office 100 days. Tonight he gave his address. Read the transcript and download the audio by clicking the image below.



Or watch it on the White House Youtube channel.


Many media pundits and public servants are giving out "grades" that resemble academic parameters of evaluation. Not surprisingly, many in the President's party have distributed evaluations of "A+" and representatives of the fractured Republican party have given more diverse evaluations ranging from "As" to "Incompletes" (for example, see this panel moderated by Gwen Ifill in St. Louis, Missouri).

While more conservative discussants seem to focus on spending and comparisons to Roosevelt's New Deal, more progressive evaluators are rightly criticizing the US's decision not to participate in the United Nations' Durban Review Conference in Geneva, April 20-24, 2009 (see this posting by the Green Party).

My 100-day assessment is that people must continue to make our government ACCOUNTABLE through sustained ACTION, which includes making informed decisions that best affect our collective well-being and equality. I said this on NBC Bay Area news before inauguration and I maintain that position.

(click the image and link to the blog post to watch the video)

As someone who participated in the 2001 UN WCAR, I am very disappointed in the US government's position regarding the Durban Review Conference.

There are petitions available to help voice this concern.

I am hopeful regarding the stimulus plan, but I am still collecting information and attempting to participate and voice concerns (see what Professor Abdul Akalimat posted concerning the plan's broadband aspects on the eBlack Studies listserv). There is more to come concerning my activities. Check out this NTIA site for now.

What are you doing?

Berkeley Hiphop Conference

Professors as well as undergraduate and graduate students who teach and research Hiphop studies gathered at UC Berkeley on April 18, 2009. In addition to exihibitions and performance, many conference papers were presented and discussed. Topics included issues concerning community-relevance, research methods, publication challenges and ethics, among others. There were over 80 attendees at this free conference on a warm sunny day in Berkeley, California. The participants reflected the "collective" aesthetic associated with Hiphop culture, which gave this conference a positive and memorable "vibration." My three-year old son even enjoyed the traditional conference format because the content presented and the passion of the presenters proved engaging.










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