It sounds like the University of Bridgeport.

Worry01 on May 4, 2010 at 6:31 pm

I only went to Madison to visit Mifflin Street – really! Well, I am truly shocked. EUBONICS IS BACK? Is it going to be like parents in the 60s trying to say “groovy” to “reach” their kids? Some of us had to learn Nuyorican the hard way – on the Loisaida of town, down in the alphabets. You had to be in the south bronx. You had to know Ft. Apache personally.

Exactly how is this going to help people–I don’t get it. Is this the 101 course as pre-requisite to a DJ Rapping degree course? Please – explain it to me plain and simple. I still think a hoe is something you use to garden or farm.

Sarah Leah Lawent on May 4, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Debbie, what are the worst institutions of higher learning in the United States? We always hear about the best ones, but whoat of those that simply do not make the grade? They deserve their fifteen minutes of fame or infamy. 😉

Worry01 on May 4, 2010 at 6:37 pm

Hip Hop – how to be cool, be dumb and attract hos. I wonder if there’s more to this “education.”

On second thought, I don’t want to really know!

NormanF on May 4, 2010 at 7:12 pm

When I lived in the North, Madison, Wisconsin to be exact, some “educated” people from UW made fun of my Southern accent.

I barely have a Southern accent. I have heard my recorded often as I used to record books, newspaper and magazine articles for a blind WWII veteran. I even helped him record his WWII memoirs for his family.

So, then at UW, ebonics is OK but a very mild Southern voice is NOT OK!

HA! Must have something to do with my color. I am not black. Darn…

Sewsalot on May 4, 2010 at 8:01 pm

UW is the alma mater of my favorite writer Peter Egan, its a shame this Institution is being used for such debauchery.

Its time to get medieval on these nuts Michel Cirelli, Christina Marin Patrick Camangian and all their ilk should be taken to public square and hanged as witches. This is the equivalent of torturing good kids to make them believe in such foolishness inorder to subjugate them to a life of ignorance.

After waisting your time and money on this curriculum you are no good to anyone willing to give you a W-2, just like a liberal arts degree. Every time a liberal gets into the white house these ebonics slaves come out of the woodworks. When will we put and end to this garbage?

ARISHEM on May 4, 2010 at 9:02 pm

Reminds me of a funny exchange that took place at The Home Depot. I needed to mix some concrete while in my crawl space and I wanted a short handled hoe to mix the mud. I couldn’t find any hoes with short handles, probably thanks to Cesar Chavez, so I went to the guys in the orange vests to ask. I found a couple of employees who happened to be young black guys and I asked them, “Where are your hoes?” They both looked at me the way a chicken watches a card trick for a moment and then they both got big grins. One of the answered, “I think there’s some up front”.

After I explained myself it turned out they didn’t carry any hoes of the short-handled variety.

Richard on May 4, 2010 at 10:45 pm

Sh*t Hop will go down as one of the most destructive influences in our society. It legitimized the victim mentality. It legitimized the criminal mindset. It legitimized destructive behavior in a civilization.

CaliforniaScreaming on May 5, 2010 at 1:19 am

MORE PROOF POSITIVE RAP IS CRAP AND HIP HOP IS A SUBHUMAN CULTURE!

Bob Porrazzo on May 5, 2010 at 6:44 am

The only response to your description of modern day education is to repeat Michael Savage….”liberalism is a mental disorder.”

Jerry on May 5, 2010 at 7:35 am

Can the bar go any lower? Will all students enrolled receive A’s?

Lowest.Set.Bar.Ever. on May 5, 2010 at 9:59 am

this madness has even spread into the working world. i work for a major aerospace company — starts with a “b” and ends with an “ing” — and transfered from the pacific northwest to the new south carolina facility. soon upon my arrival, i was invited to a workshop where the discussion was how to tailor the training of new factory workers. the issue at hand was the local workforce was largely illiterate and innumerate, so, how do we train them was the dilemma. hmmm… how do you train airplane mechanics who can’t read, write or do basic math? the actions at the end of the workshop all centered around working with a local technical college, based on the assumption they had experience with educating the local population, to see how we could reconfigure our corporate training program.

i’ve skipped the 30 and 60-day workshop update meetings… might attend the 90-day update just out of curiousity.

howardroark on May 5, 2010 at 10:00 am

Debbie,

Approximately three weeks ago I was running at Rice University in Houston, Texas and noticed a sign for a celebration on campus. The celebration was for 22 years of hip hop in Houston, Texas.
The event must have been at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

Michael on May 5, 2010 at 10:29 am

“Can the bar go any lower? Will all students enrolled receive A’s?”

Isn’t it obvious after the last FOUR decades of Blacks and others like this being given passing grades,despite never doing anything in schools even close to learning?

Phineas on May 5, 2010 at 11:09 am

Happily, since my parents were situationally — not generationally — poor and I had to work my way through school I could not afford the A-list universities.

Thank God.

Mack Hall on May 5, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Well, I thought you were just ripping on hip-hop culture but as I read through some of your other posts, I realized that you are apparently hateful toward and ignorant of a lot of subjects. As you have a following of like-minded folks, I’m sure this comment will get pulverized by individuals calling me everything but a good Christian, so let ‘er rip.
Thank you for setting up another great example of us vs. them. If you think you are superior to anyone (including all those hip-hop folks that you so disdain) you are deluding yourself…you are spreading the same nastiness and disregard for others that you complain about in others.

d. wils on May 5, 2010 at 12:46 pm

this blog and all if its comments are dripping with blatant racism. how about we all stop being cultural imperialists and not talk about cultures and people that you clearly are not acquainted with and do not understand. how about instead, you go educate yourself about the legacies of racism and colonialism in this country, and maybe you can see some of the parallels with your attitudes and the racist attitudes of your ancestors.

you think white is right and that we all should be like you…can you maybe think about why that is wrong?

megan on May 5, 2010 at 12:47 pm

How can it be wrong to reach, connect and ultimately inspire a student by finding a common ground with which to communicate?

The only place you can go from there is up.

The spoken word is an art form, and like other art forms it can be used as a teaching tool. I’ve seen lives of young people be completely transformed– for the better– by spoken word.

Your article clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of the subject.

Charlie on May 5, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Debbie and co.,

Have you ever attended one of these trainings, sat in a classroom with one of these teachers, spoken to students who have been academically engaged through Hip Hop ed. and gone on to college and graduate school? It seems you are speaking from a vehemently ignorant perspective. It is true that the majority of mainstream Hip Hop is sexist, violent, and hyper sexual but like all music/cultural movements there are many dimensions to it. I know first hand that Hip Hop can be used as a vehicle to educate and bring communities together for positive change.

I sincerely hope you can learn to humanize people who are different than you, who come from different neighborhoods, and whose life experiences are not valued by institutions of higher learning.

Is the goal of a teacher to have his/her children learn? If so, why shouldn’t we use Hip Hop as a medium to reach and excite students? Or is your goal to maintain traditional education practices at the expense of your student’s education and life outcomes?

The mentality you have is poison and is fuel for prejudice and violence because it leaves no room for discussion. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted… but to weigh and consider”. -Francis Bacon

Please stop talking out of ignorance.

-EC

EC on May 5, 2010 at 12:57 pm

It is truly your loss to not attend these workshops and you are alienating yourself and others to an entire cultural and learning experience. While I’m sure you have built up an idea of what that is in your head, you are far from correct. I would suggest you spend even five minutes reading some of Michael Cirelli’s and Rachel McKibben’s work before you open your mouth or lift your fingertips again to type a word about either of them or the work they are involved in.

Journalists who do not do research on what they are writing about are really just gossip columnists. Perhaps you should title your blog more aptly, Dear Debbie instead.

Amanda on May 5, 2010 at 1:03 pm

Megan,

Debbie, nor anyone else posting here are racists. A persons color or ethnicity has nothing whatsoever to do with it. Many whites are also part of the hip-hop “culture”, and this is widely known. Instead, you should call us “culturalists”. We wear that badge proudly! It is the opposite of the lie that is “multi – culturalism”. Yes, there are many cultures that are clearly superior to others. All cultures are not equal, when some cultures are destructive to themselves and others. I know this is not what you learned in skool, but what you were taught is a LIE! Deal with that and live in the real world.

spiffo on May 5, 2010 at 1:05 pm

Debbie,

From your comments I see that you are unfamiliar with hip-hop culture and with the students this program is targeting. I recommend you attend the workshops and then offer a critique, rather than jumping to conclusions using inflammatory and irresponsible language. The workshop doesn’t mention “ebonics”, you do.

One of the workshops uses hip-hop to help students learn SAT words and perform better on standardized tests – and it’s proven effective. If there’s any more mainstream measurement than standardized tests I haven’t seen it.

But more importantly, you’re dismissing a culture you clearly know little about. For all your talk about education, you show no interest in educating yourself. Do all cultures have to be just like yours to matter? Please.

-A Teacher

A Teacher on May 5, 2010 at 1:06 pm

To go into the history of hip-hop here would be pointless, as it’s clear that you and your loyal readers have no real interest in addressing the questions you pose in your blog. Nonetheless, the racism and prejudice in this blog and its comments compelled me to respond.

In short, hip-hop has its roots in decades of cultural and political suppression. To deny the talents and contributions of Billie Holiday, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix and any number of other jazz/rock musicians is plain ignorant. To ignore their impact and influence on the evolution of hip-hop is absurd. To pretend that hip-hop culture has not contributed to the evolution of modern poetry is ridiculous. All of that aside, your post itself justifies the need for such courses throughout the university system. Clearly you and your regular readers have no respect for or understanding of non-white cultures. Perhaps a bit of education may open your eyes to your own bigotry.

On another note, the remark that “Blacks and others like this [are] given passing grades, despite never doing anything in schools even close to learning” is precisely the kind of attitude our younger generations are trying to expel. Appropriate that the name you’ve used to post the comment does, in fact, refer to dark-skinned people in ancient Egypt. It appears that your ignorance goes much deeper than the subject at hand. Of course, that should be obvious by your assumption that people of any color are inherently uneducated freeloaders coasting through life.

rks on May 5, 2010 at 1:10 pm

I’m all for freedom of speech but the author of this article obviously never attended any of the Urban Word sessions, so I won’t feed into her ignorance of what the program really is about. What I will say is that people need to open their minds to what can be done about the current means of education in the country let alone New York.

To think that Hip Hop is all about hoes, pimps and drugs is a true insult to the culture. Meanwhile you have other genres of music who talk of killing family members, mutilating and dismembering animals, all while on stage. There are youth who follow those genres as well. Many of them commit heinous crimes and you have nerve to attack Hip Hop? Interesting.

Has anyone ever listened to “Homeboy Sandman”? No, because he speaks of positivity. How about “DJ Rabbi Darkside”? No, because he speaks of positivity. Commercial radio has sullied what began as a positive and uplifting culture because of what media feels is more profitable to them. Anyone of you ever take a course in media marketing? Remember the uproar about the cigarette companies targeting kids with their clever ads? Please do your research before posting ignorant articles, comments and ideals. That goes to you to Debbie.

Peace and Blessings.

Coole High on May 5, 2010 at 1:12 pm

You have obviously taken the worst of a particular community and treated it as if it was the absolute sum of the culture, a classic fallacious argument. As a student of law, you have the educational background to know what a fallacy of composition is and it is clear that you use it to play upon the ignorance of, and pander to your audience ad populum. Therefore, I cannot take you seriously or your writing. Good Day.

-Sincerely, Lil Jon.

rc on May 5, 2010 at 1:26 pm

hip hop is predominately people of color, you cannot ignore the racial dimension of it, and say that youre not a racist because eminem is white. get real.

megan on May 5, 2010 at 1:26 pm

From what i read, it appears Debbie Schlussel is as well as some of the commenters are grossly ignorant to what hip-hop and spoken word really is. For most people this is understandable. All most know about hip-hop is what they hear on the radio, which is not hip-hop at all. That is popularized “rap”, a term that is rarely if ever used when talking about Hip-Hop. It’s good that The University of Wisconsin-Madison finally has this curriculum which teaches to fully investigate opposing viewpoints before arguing them or risk sounding wholly uninformed at best, to name just one aspect of the teachings. I suppose they didn’t teach that when Miss Schlussel attended. Here is a brief education on what Hip-Hop really is: Hiphop is a term that describes our independent collective consciousness. As a conscious way of life, we acknowledge our influence on society, especially on children; and we shall forever keep the rights and welfare of both in mind. Hiphop Culture encourages womanhood, manhood, sisterhood, brotherhood, childhood and family. We are conscious not to bring any intentional disrespect that jeopardizes the dignity and reputation of our children, elders and ancestors.

That’s just a part of it.

Research!

Victor on May 5, 2010 at 1:30 pm

I agree with Coole High

After reading this I realize that U R FUKKIN STOOPID (should be easy for you to translate 😉

Mic Wilson on May 5, 2010 at 1:30 pm

I’m not surprised in the least by the uninformed and ignorant post made by you, Debbie. You seem to take pride in being smug as you lash out at an event which you really do not understand. Always easier to mock and archive your outrage than attempt to understand I suppose.

It’s a shame you were not educated enough in doing proper research at the prestigous university you attended.

Ed P. on May 5, 2010 at 1:31 pm

wow. ign’ant white people be dumb and shit.

Alvin on May 5, 2010 at 1:32 pm

In conceiving the Professional Development to accompany the Hip Hop test prep project we’ve been working on for the last 10 months, my partner and I have included a ‘devil’s advocate’ question phrased: “Does Hip Hop ‘dumb-down’ the curriculum?” We have been theorizing the possible responses on the ‘yes’ end of this question, but now, we need not theorize anymore. I find it helpful to gain insight into the mind and musings of the elitist/racist/cultural supremacists. It’s so easy to lose sight of how narrow-minded this country is, and how tightly institutionalized racism grips the majority. Which is exactly why the Summer Institute goes down in Wisconsin. To give those sporting a question mark an opportunity to engage in discourse and discovery. A big part of our job is making believers of non-believers, from classroom to crowd to Congress. Grassroots movements terrify the ruling class. Debbie, I hope to see you there this summer. It may restore your faith in your esteemed alma mater.

And to quote the venerable Core Rhythm’s response: “Be happy Arts Educators, we have officially made noise! We have gotten the attention of the very people we are attempting to protect our students from cause they now see that it is WORKING! This only validates our importance and contribution. We have done a masterful job. Let’s keep on…”

Respectfully,

Rabbi Darkside (S. Sellers)

ps – highfalutin academics, please take a minute to use spell check. It wouldn’t really “waist” too much time.

Rabbi Darkside on May 5, 2010 at 1:57 pm

This program at the University of Wisconsin exposes students to some of the most creative, talented, relevant, and HONORED people in American letters today, including Rachel McKibbens, Regie Cabico, and Patricia Smith, the latter a recent National Book Award finalst and winner of the Puschart and National Poetry Series prizes. The program encorages students not only to read these artists but to have respect for, and create, in their own voices. Your criticism of the program, beginning with the misspelled headline that implies illiteracy and ignorance, is remarkably uninformed and reeks of racism.

Bruce DeSilva on May 5, 2010 at 1:58 pm

“We have gotten the attention of the very people we are attempting to protect our students from…”

Very true, Rabbi Darkside. But be careful, teaching artists, being on the radar opens you up to the white supremest, hetero normative, misogynistic backlash which is always longer and harder than you expect, and it gets personal really fast.

Billy on May 5, 2010 at 2:18 pm

If you had ever attended the institute (which, judging by your article, you CLEARLY have not), then you wouldn’t have a piece of ground to stand on saying this. Please attend any of the events you listed above. I guarantee that you wouldn’t find a single shred of evidence to support your argument.

Sincerely,
Adam Levin
Member of the First Wave Spoken Word and Urban Arts Learning Community

Adam Moshe Levin on May 5, 2010 at 2:41 pm

I struggled with the decision to respond to this, because quite frankly, I am tired of it being necessary to defend hip-hop. Yet it clearly is.

Rock as a genre is not held accountable for the devil worshiping death metal bands. Pop is not condemned for its oversexualized underage starlets. Yet time after time, year after year, hip-hop is berated by uninformed biased non-listeners, as proved by your mention of Homeboy Sandman. I know Boy Sand personally and am quite familiar with his music. If the author were either of these things, she would have realized he is an agent of peace and improvent for

Willie Green on May 5, 2010 at 2:46 pm

Peace to All,

This is great as Rabbi Stated. This only shows how much attention Hip Hop education is receiving when people that don’t know about the culture still feel compelled to write about it because of what they have been fed by mainstream media. Debbie please attend this event and see if it is really what you presented it to be. Homeboy Sandman is an Ivy League graduate and if the work Urban Word does wasn’t valid why would these institutions align with them?

Love and Light to All,
Why G?

Visit these site to see some results of Hip Hop Education
http://www.opimusfoundation.com
http://www.urbanartbeat.org

Why G? on May 5, 2010 at 2:54 pm

All people. Ironic she used him as ammo. (I apologize for the break in my message, this is difficult from a BlackBerry)

It is ignorant and dangerous to make judgments on any artform based simply on the mainstream. I think if some of the commenters really thought, they wouldn’t judge anything on the most obvious one percent of anything. That’s blatantly uninformed. Most hip-hop is made in the underground, and positive rappers outnumber your examples ten to one. I can guarantee this, I make this music for a living

Willie Green
Record Producer/Recording Engineer/A&R

Willie Green on May 5, 2010 at 2:55 pm

Debbie

Yet again, this post is an example of how you get it wrong. When you heard that the Virginia Tech Massacre shooter was Asian, and you said “Pakis are considered Asian” When you called Sonia Sotomayor, “Sonia from the block” and compared her to J-Lo, When you, bizarrely, said Oprah Winfrey was “Racist against Black Dogs” and now, when you set up a straw man argument denigrating the work of dedicated educators who produce quantifiable results because of your own racial prejudice and ignorance. You are a racist, and pander to the very worst elements of your readership. I note that is not six comments in, and your rabid fan base is advocating lynching these artists and teachers. Educating you on the Nuyorican literary movement, or on the incredible work that these organizations and individuals due, often gratis, for children in desperate need of committed educators and mentors would be a waste of time, because you, and your followers are not interested in facts. You are only interested in sensational sound bites, and in airing your bigotry under the banner of humor, a flavor of humor that you can clearly dish out but not take, as your numerous lawsuits for, of all things, threatening emails, clearly shows. You have taken something useful, and good, and chosen to sensationalize it and politicize it in the interest of advancing your own bizarre rightwing agenda. This is clearly within your rights to free speech, and while I do not doubt that you are acting in bad faith, being the cut rate Ann Coulter also-ran that you are, I do not think it is just that you should present these programs as something they are not, in the interest of fomenting racial tension. As I am sure you know, these programs have nothing to do with introducing “Ebonics” into public schools and everything to do with contextualizing literary studies for students, and the writers and performers you malign are anything but the blackface stereotypes you invoke. I encourage any of your readers to take the initiative and read the writer’s mentioned in the article and judge for themselves before joining you in condemning them.

Jake on May 5, 2010 at 3:26 pm

I will just say that language is a constantly evolving organism that takes various forms according to cultural surroundings and progression. To immediately disregard the language of hiphop without any serious attempt to understand its cultural underpinnings or validity in the global conversation as ignorant monkey talk is inherently prejudiced. Listen to RZA or GZA or Aesop Rock or El-P or anyone else that you’ve never given a chance, listen to them speak, converse, and do their art and tell me that you have an intellectual edge on these cats. I guarantee that you don’t.

Marty on May 5, 2010 at 3:37 pm

As one of the educators listed in this harmful and reductive diatribe, as a parent of elementary, middle and high school students, as a hip-hop enthusiast, as a civilized human being who understands (some days more than others) the importance of good debate, I must respond.

What you’ve done here, Debbie, was take a shoelace and attempt to make a noose of it. Like every form of music in existence, hip-hop has its share of misogynist & violent images, lyrics and performers, yes. These facts, however, do NOT strip the hip-hop culture of its historical, social & political significance. Just like rock n’ roll isn’t dismissed as being full of pedophiles just because Elvis had a live-in 14-yr old girlfriend back in the 1960s and Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-yr old cousin. You don’t find me saying all country music is about drugs and murder after hearing Johnny Cash sing “I shot a man in Reno / just to watch him die” or “I took a shot of cocaine / and I shot my woman down.”

Debbie, it is painfullly clear you have done nothing to inform yourself of the origins aka “HISTORY” of hip-hop: Griots, West African oral traditionalists who date back to the 1800s. Their vocal stylings paved the way for blues, jazz, scat and rap. (Which was, in turn, stolen and “fixed” to become white bread rock ‘n roll of the 1950s, but I digress.)

A hip-hop curriculum is designed to engage the most reluctant readers and writers by creating a pedagogy that utilizes the strongest components of hip-hop (rhyme scheme, hyperbole, alliteration, metaphor/simile, cadence) as devices that will enable students to find parallels between the contemporary griots of today and the classic poets. As an educator who was a high school student in the 90s, let me be the first to tell you, THINGS CHANGE. Constantly. The American history books I was taught from were excessively 1) outdated 2) one-sided 3) reductive. It is our responsibility as educators to keep up with the times. If it means learning the best parts of one of the most influential movements in musical and cultural history, where’s the harm in that? How else are we going to battle cyberbullying? Sexually provocative children? Racism? Bigotry?

Personally, I’d like a punk rock curriculum that highlighted the parallels between The Dead Kennedys, Crass and Black Flag and the writings of Walt Whitman, Anne Sexton and Kenneth Patchen. Or how about an emo curriculum. A pop music curriculum. Something for everyone. I was made to read three poets while in high school (and this was an honors English course.) All three were white, male and nothing like me. Their poems were about nature and the sweet love of soft things. As a latchkey Mexican kid who grew up among skyscrapers, I couldn’t relate. So, I wrote poetry off for the next seven years. I did not learn that there are different breeds of beauty, so I thought mine was wrong. Luckily, I found a poet who spoke my language (not ebonic, not spanish, but whose voice came from the same house as mine) and I am alive, today, because of it, because of the music I could relate to (Public Enemy, MC Lyte, Eric B and Rakim.) because some people were willing to say, “Your voice counts too.”

To embrace a culture that is not yours is not a “dumbing down.” It is a handshake. A step up. A warm embrace. I hope those of you who took enough time to read this blog post and respond with contempt will spend an equal amount of time educating yourselves on tolerance, empathy and cultural enlightenment. You don’t have to join us. You don’t have to like the music we use as a teaching device. You don’t have to like our brown faces, even. But you do have to acknowledge that education is important. And it is an emergency. And if there are a few of us willing to roll up our sleeves and make this crazy world accessible to our youth, don’t knock it. We’re more than you.

And if you don’t know, now you know,

Rachel McKibbens

Rachel McKibbens on May 5, 2010 at 3:57 pm

are you in arizona? if not you belong there with all the other bigots and racists in the country. step into a classroom in nyc, compton, houston, south florida, dc, cleveland and newark for one day, then i will entertain your views on engagement and learning in urban education.

urban educator on May 5, 2010 at 4:30 pm

Hi Debbie,

Im Siaara Freeman ( please excuse my ethnic name, I realize how much it must disturb you, as it is composed of things you obviously hate such as : creativity and urban input).

I am a sophmore law student at Notre Dame University.
I have listened to hip hop my entire life
and guess what

I managed to maintain a 3.8 and secure a 28 on my act score
All while jamming to tupac, can you imagine
I must be lucky, a talented tenth teenager huh?
(and it was an interacial school system I graduated from, so no easy a’s infact I do believe I had to work twice as hard)

I am also a spoken word artist
a three year veteran of Brave New Voices
as well as the current grandslam champ of cleveland
and a member of the adult spoken word team
attenting nationals this year

I would adore for you to attend
be a beakon of hope in our sea of ignorance
please bring waves of bigotry
it is people like you
who taught me how to swim in such shallow waters
without drowning in self doubt

You are the reason my grandmother
will never allow herself to trust a white woman
why she dosent understand why my bestfriend is greek.

you are the embodiment of all the ladies
who have been shocked
by my articulance

I do not intend to reject my culture because of you debbie
Nor do I intend to invite you in it

My inital response was shock, then anger, then laughter.
You are amusing Debbie, holding tight to your confederate flag
in what you consider the end of days

hold tight debbie
hatred requires a strong grip

Siaara Freeman on May 5, 2010 at 4:37 pm

Congratulations Debbie!

Your supremely elitist snark fest of a blog post has inspired me to consider attending this program.

I volunteer a great deal of time, promoting spoken word in and out of the class room. Any tool I can use to help bridge the gap in communicating with teens and educating them on the power of their own voice is valuable indeed.

I mean, I didn’t even KNOW about this program until you harangued so vehemently against it.

You truly can’t buy that kind of exposure!

The main difference now is that instead of increasing “2 Live Crew” Album Sales (ostensibly creating their career by making them free speech martyrs in the early 90’s), your ilk’s inflammatory rhetoric and fear of diverse creativity can actually help promote positive, creative, important projects like this.

Word up!

Alex on May 5, 2010 at 4:37 pm

Debbie:

As you are a daughter of Holocaust survivors, it is extremely startling that your diatribe in regards to people of color, the hip-hop community and liberatory educators (look it up) parallels the same ignorant Nazi ideologies that murdered countless innocent lives.

It is a shame to see how far you’ve come, as a lawyer and “scholar,” and how little we’ve grown in regards to the repressive, racist and ignorant diatribe that our people have displayed on this website. Today, I’m embarrassed to be white, thanks to you and the subsequent clanspeople who have commented above.

White Man on May 5, 2010 at 4:42 pm

and you’re ugly.

Joaquin on May 5, 2010 at 4:43 pm

I just wanted to chime in to say that what you call “Ebonics” is more commonly known as African American Vernacular English these days. It is recognized by the majority of contemporary linguists as a dialect of American English, not a corruption. It is as easy as spending a few minutes at Wikipedia to familiarize yourself with the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English

Namaste.

Kyle Jeffries on May 5, 2010 at 4:58 pm

Shocker! DS once again stereotypes a whole culture and makes black people out to be ignoramuses. But then since conservatives and liberals alike generally dislike DS, certainly the KKK would welcome her with open arms.

MrGreyGhost on May 5, 2010 at 5:02 pm

Debbie – just out of curiosity: why do you have so much contempt for a people or culture you clearly know nothing about?

Nathan on May 5, 2010 at 5:12 pm

Debbie- Can you say *oink oink*? I bet you can.

Michael Anderson on May 5, 2010 at 5:21 pm

It’s a shame that you’ve created such a narrow definition for what is quickly becoming a very vibrant arm of contemporary poetics. The manner in which you mock the study of modern urban vernacular is eerily similar to the initial public outcry against Walt Whitman’s use of free verse, Langston Hughes’ championing of jazz and Allen Ginsberg’s Bohemian imagery. We all know all those poets have become part of the United States poetry canon and I predict many of these poets you defile in your post will also go on to join that canon as well.

Oscar Bermeo on May 5, 2010 at 5:26 pm