What is at Stake

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I listened to President Obama’s speech intently tonite, looking for a renewed sense of optimism about his election, looking to reconnect, to get that renewed inspiration from his moving speech on race relations in America during the run off, looking for something that has been lost in the divisiveness of Washington politics over the past several months.

He is race neutral and is well suited to lead this country at a time when the economic recession clearly has taken its toll on African American and Latinos in disproportionate numbers, when this happens it is in good measure a sign of how this country will splinter and divide, this speech addressed these issues both in specifics and in the broader context of American life. I appreciated that a good deal. Equally as much as we need an economic stimulus we need both an intellectual and spiritual stimulus, in this speech he delivered both and in so many ways it struck nerves and memories that have been numbed by ‘excuses’ and self defeating doubts. As a parent I thought a good deal about my role and my own journey, my short comings and aspirations, those things that made a difference in my life, those things like graffiti art and friends who nurtured my creativity and taught me that discipline will not only refine my art but my adulthood. This is the message tonite, to take it to account, your role your part, your journey and what of that you can pass along to others in order to build a more perfect union or community.

As I am writing this I had to take time out to chill in front of my home because there were a dozen kids just lamping, telling jokes, screaming and carrying on, nothing out of the ordinary for city kids yet I knew that if I didnt post up they would shit on my hood, litter, so I posted up and made some calls and sure enough in a brazen manner a kid tossed a plastic soda bottle in front of my home, ‘seriously take 30 yrs off me and I would swept the block with him’, I called him out on it and he was indignant and decided to take his time, a younger kid picked it up and tossed it out which made me pissed so I called him and his jerry curls out which cracked up his crew, then I had to address them about shitting on their own hood. Im not their parent, I cant whoop his ass even if I wanted, but it brought me back to what Obama was saying about responsibility not just with your kids but your neighborhood kids. Some shit you dont breach with them because kids are so arrogant today and before you know it shit goes awry. Yet you need to lead by example and hope that at least one of the dozen gets it, this is I believe is what is at stake in the larger context of tonites speech.

Posted by Mare 139 on July 16, 2009 at 08:25 PM

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Carlos Mare 139 Rodriguez is an internationally acclaimed artist/sculptor and pioneer in the art and culture of Hip Hop. Leading his generation into a new world of possibility with style writing sculpture, he pioneered a vision that had, before him, no reference outside of the painted subways of the time. Throughout his career as a sculpter, Mare 139 has consistently brought innovation to the genre’s aesthetic and vocabulary. Mare 139 earned the prestigeous 2006 Webby Award for his launch of the Hip Hop documentary Style Wars website. Style Wars has also garnered the COMMARTS/Communication Arts Award, Horizon Interactive Award, as well as SXSW/South by Southwest Interactive. Not only an award winner but an award designer, Mare 139 designed and created the award for the annual BET/Black Entertainment Award show, which is given annually to entertainers, athletes and actors. Recipients include Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jay Z, Prince Snoop Dog, Beyonce, Kobe Bryant, Usher, Serena Williams and many others. He also designed a G-Unit Award expressly for 50Cent given to him by fashion designer Marc Ecko. Other award projects include the 2005 and 2007 Red Bull Beat Battle Award and more recent the SPY Award for the 30th Anniversary of the Rock Steady Crew. In 2006-07 Mare 139 worked closely with Director/Actor Robert DeNiro on the film The Good Shepherd as a documenter of ‘the making of the movie’ and as member of Mr. DeNiro’s editing team. His writing has been published in Martha Coopers brilliant photo book Street Play that documents the imaginative ‘play’ of children in the streets of NYC in the late 1970’s. His writings capture the creative play and dangers of his youth in the South Bronx.

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