I'm all for positive discrimination. In order to achieve any sense of
equality, it has to be done. It's the way to correct things.
RA is a London-based website so far as I know. London is an
international city whose residents are less racist than average. It
seems that the most racist parts of the world are the parts with the
least amount of diversity. This obviously because when you live and work
with people from all over the world you see them as human beings. The
narrator could be black, but from London.
Not giving credit, clearly is unprofessional. The accent of the
narrator, I don't think is a problem. I'd love to see and hear more talk
of Detroit music from Detroiters, and for Drexciya specifically, well -
an African accent could be perfect.
I do wonder if race and racism entirely an artificial idea, that it
is really down to a tribalism. It's something I think is often used
to manipulate people in times of war (or conquest), and to sow
division. Isn't race more a colonial idea, to justify the theft of
land from its native people? These days we should know that we're all
the same race, and that there are so many colours. Nobody is simply
white or black. There is no black or white. Except, where positive
discrimination is due.
I'm lucky never to have experienced racial discrimination. I've rarely
seen any racism, and certainly less as time goes by. However, things
could change, but I'm thankful to live somewhere there is very little of
this, with respect to people from many places. Things have been sliding
backwards though, throughout Europe. Still, Europeans are not
responsible for racism in the US. There are people that are responsible,
and you'll find them in positions of power, using it as a tool, a method
of control. IMHO.
I'd be really disappointed if the music was _all_ about race and racism.
I don't think that's a fair representation.
On Thu, 18 Oct 2018, at 5:25 PM, denisedalph...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> We should hear the voice of a Black Detroiter narrating about Detroit
> music. How often does that happen. That doesn’t communicate that the
> music is only for people of color. White people are never excluded
> from anything. And in 2018, unintentional? Please.>
> Luis Manuel Garcia writes amazing pieces about intersectionality in
> club culture for RA. They have the information, they’re just choosing
> to be old grampas about it.>
> On Oct 18, 2018, at 11:56, Steven Robertson <stev...@k-os.net> wrote:>> As a
> white person who grew up in Scotland, listening to Public Enemy,
>> and Paris, and reading the biography of Malcolm X, I don't exactly
>> feel comfortable making comment here. I think here there's clearly a
>> lack of sensitivity. It is likely to be unintentional, and in the
>> case of the unattributed source, they have at least corrected this
>> soon after the issue was raised publicly in the past few days.>>
>> I appreciate that race and racism have a lot to do with the Drexciya
>> story and UR. However, I do feel that the assertion here that it is
>> _all_ about race and racism, should be challenged. There is a
>> cultural context which is certainly important to remember. It's worth
>> remembering too those that were lost in such terrible conditions on
>> their way to America. I would argue that the music is not all about
>> race and racism. The music has a soul and that soul is humanist, not
>> racist. It's not racist towards white people from Europe. Drexciya
>> stands against slavery. We are all human beings. We are each
>> responsible to our own behaviour, and our shared futures. The music
>> transcends race and racism. We fight the power, and the slavers
>> wherever they may be. Drawing a line in the sand and saying that you
>> don't belong here is not quite what I think is intended by the music
>> either. We are all belong to the sea in some way. It's the strongest
>> idea about it I feel.>>
>> On Thu, 18 Oct 2018, at 4:14 PM, Andrew Duke wrote:
>>> Sigh. I am absolutely disgusted by RA's handling of this at time of
>>> publishing and since. Denise makes great points. Liz Copeland's
>>> interview with James Stinson is also used. I am tired and cranky and
>>> thus this post ain't eloquent. Someone just sent me this link
>>> (below) re RA that was published Oct 11, just a few days before the
>>> original--uncredited--Drexciya feature. The linked feature on RA is
>>> especially relevant re the mess they made this week and how the
>>> concerns of Denise and others were ignored and 313-moderator Kent's
>>> concerns "downvoted":>>> https://telegra.ph/Precedent-Advisor-10-11
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Oct 18, 2018, 11:12 AM Denise Dalphond,
>>> <denisedalph...@gmail.com> wrote:>>>> I told RA what I thought. They
>>> ignored me. That's what usually
>>>> happens.>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Denise Dalphond, Ph.D.*
>>>> *ethnomusicologist*
>>>> *schoolcraftwax.work*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 10:11 AM Callum MacGregor
>>>> <callum.macgre...@gmail.com> wrote:>>>>> What about redubbing the audio
>>>> with you narrating? Make a
>>>>> corrected version....>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, 18 Oct 2018, 16:06 Denise Dalphond,
>>>>> <denisedalph...@gmail.com> wrote:>>>>>> I love Drexciya. And it's really
>>>>> cool to be able to hear from
>>>>>> James Stinson still in 2018, thanks to Andrew Duke. And it's
>>>>>> pretty amazing that Andrew Duke did that interview. It's a
>>>>>> priceless artifact. I could go on!>>>>>>
>>>>>> Resident Advisor didn't credit Andrew Duke when they first posted
>>>>>> the video, and why is there a white woman's british voice
>>>>>> narrating? It's off putting. They're using the voice of the
>>>>>> colonizer to tell the story of brilliant, musical escape from
>>>>>> enslavement and forced labor. Escape from the colonizer.>>>>>>
>>>>>> Oh here goes Denise, making everything about race. But this
>>>>>> actually all the way super duper is all about race and racism.>>>>>>
>>>>>> And how much electronic music culture coverage is based in
>>>>>> europe, the birthplace of imperialism and colonialism? A lot.>>>>>>
>>>>>> Music fans and writers should be more concerned about preserving
>>>>>> and protecting and respecting the culture that made this music.>>>>>>
>>>>>> Why didn't they ask Cornelius Harris to narrate? Why didn't they
>>>>>> ask John Collins to narrate? That would be meaningful to artists
>>>>>> and fans alike.>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Denise
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Denise Dalphond, Ph.D.*
>>>>>> *ethnomusicologist*
>>>>>> *schoolcraftwax.work*
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 9:47 AM Jeff Davis
>>>>>> <j...@jeffreyjdavis.com> wrote:>>>>>>> Pretty sure most of you saw this
>>>>>> already but I thought this
>>>>>>> short>>>>>>> video did a good job encapsulating and contextualizing the
>>>>>>> concepts>>>>>>> behind Drexciya.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgG-QiChiA8
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> includes a snippet from an Andrew Duke interview as well!!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> thanks,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Jeffrey J Davis
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> j...@jeffreyjdavis.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> www.jeffreyjdavis.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 218.833.2847
>>
