by kspence | Oct 12, 2013 | Black Power, Detroit, Neoliberalism, Urban Politics
Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison this week for running a criminal enterprise. In his sentencing Judge Nancy Edumunds argued that given his history (the charges went back to his tenure as a state legislator) and given the status of the city, he...
by kspence | Oct 10, 2013 | Education, Neoliberalism |
So I’m in the midst of a book project I thought would not begin for a few years at least…and I’m trying to write everyday. But I’ve got a lull that can only be filled by research, so I’m going to fill my word count today with a bit of old...
by kspence | Aug 26, 2013 | Education, Neoliberalism, Obama |
On August 22, President Obama gave a speech outlining a series of proposals designed to deal with the crisis in higher education. The contours of this crisis are painfully obvious to any parent with college-aged or near college-aged children. Both tuition and room and...
by kspence | Aug 5, 2013 | Detroit, Neoliberalism, Urban Politics |
Over the past few months or so I've had to correct the record on Detroit. About what it is, about what it was, about what it can be. I expected to have to correct the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Detroit News even. But I didn't think...
by kspence | Jul 30, 2013 | Black Popular Culture, Gender and Politics
I want to visually follow up on a point I made yesterday. I think Ryan Coogler did an excellent job at representing Oscar Grant not as a type, but as a fully developed human, with a range of feelings, with a range of identities. I happened to be blessed to...
by kspence | Jul 29, 2013 | Black Family, Black Popular Culture, Gender and Politics |
I remember when BART cops murdered Oscar Grant in 2009, because it happened just a few weeks before Obama's inaugural. I'd known that Obama's election didn't eradicate racism or classism, but the stark juxtaposition struck me, as well as the facts of...
by kspence | Jul 23, 2013 | Black Politics, Crime and Punishment, Obama, Politics |
Today Salon ran two articles examining Detroit and Trayvon Martin. The article on Detroit, like most others ignore the role structural racism played Detroit's circumstances.[foot]Check out Krugman's response to Charles Lane for example, or...
by kspence | Jul 22, 2013 | Detroit, Neoliberalism, Urban Politics |
Last week Detroit Emergency Financial Manager Kevin Orr filed bankruptcy papers, and was later sent back to the drawing board. When I heard the news, I felt as if I'd been simultaneously punched in the gut and then had a two hundred pound weight strapped on...
by kspence | Jul 14, 2013 | Neoliberalism |
Scattered thoughts. Those of us who are routinely asked to speak about or somehow on behalf of black people should stop moralizing to black populations. And get in the habit of affirming the right of black people to grieve and respond in whatever we see fit. AND...
by kspence | Jul 11, 2013 | Black Popular Culture, Culture, Hip-hop, Neoliberalism
While some would argue Magna Carter Holy Grail is Jay-Z's latest album, I'd disagree. I think it more accurate to call it a delivery system, given the technological and economic dynamics of its release. Although if you didn't cop it through Samsung,...
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