God Bless New Orleans

I visited New Orleans for the first and possibly the last time last week. Although I love the food and its rich culture, I also had my share of drunkards and passive (and some not so passive) acts of racism. It was trip to celebrate my aunt's birthday. We stayed at the Ritz-Carolton on Canal Street. Let's just say some of those folks aren't used to seeing very many non-celebrity, Black women patronize their establishment. I will never stay at the Ritz again. That experience has tarnished my opinion of the establishment. I will say Kimberly, the Front Desk Manager, did a fantastic job of going above and beyond the call of duty to assuage us.

The photo above is a throw-up I noticed while walking through the French Quarter one afternoon on the side door of a restaurant. It really made me think about Bush and his response, or lack there of, to the victims of Katrina and Kanye's comments. I also have a hard time interpreting the writer's message. Why is the silhouette pondering the idea of "God blessing New Orleans"? Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm reading too much into this throw-up. What do you see?

You've been bamboozled, hoodwinked, led astray

When asked, in an October 2008 interview,what historical figure he would most hate, Soulja Boy said:

“Others have said Hitler, bin Laden, the slave masters…” He said, “Oh wait! Hold up! Shout out to the slave masters! Without them we’d still be in Africa. We wouldn’t be here to get this cheese, ice and tattoos.”

Like him or not, Soulja Boy has had a huge impact on hip hop. Everyone from little children to Beyonce to Ellen Degeneres was doing the "Superman." Type in the words on YouTube and thousands of videos of people, all races and ages, pop up.
Nevermind the fact that the song's lyrics were about disrespecting a woman. Some rappers swear that the negative messages in their music are just an act. But that interview was not an act. It was not a song. It was a black man saying that black people should be happy that the slave masters beat, raped, killed, sold, and oppressed our ancestors, because he can now have cheese, ice, and tattoos.

Is he serious?

What message is being sent to the world about our community when one of its most public faces says "we wouldn't be here to get this cheese, ice and tattoos"? Isn't this just another example of modern coonery?

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