Art, Culture, Activism -- Tavis Smiley -- Black Latino Summit

This weekend Tavis Smiley re-ran his two-hour radio program (heard here on Sats. and Suns., 2 PM, in two parts, one each day) made from the "Black Latino Summit" held in Los Angeles late last year. One of the moderators and spokespeople is Wendell Pierce (Bunk - The Wire -- he's also starring in the new Simon series set in contemporary New Orleans).

Wendell Pierce is a serious artist. He's also a cogent thinker and articulate. He spoke clearly to the need for people to not confuse art with culture, that these are not necessarily the same sorts of expression. He defined the differences. He followed up with describing how art can, and may, and often does, grow out of culture. Then he connected both art and culture with activism, while insisting that there is a necessary place in any community's culture for art, and that parents should do their best to bring up their children with art as much as culture. IOW, museums, theaters and ballet lessons are as important for nurturing identity and community as is church and other cultural expression.

He describes the split between the African American communities and the Latino communities. He explained how his move to Los Angeles taught him what their communities shared culturally. His connection of the funeral second lines of New Orleans to the Latinos' El Día del Muertos was brilliant.He and the other moderators did a spectacular job too, of explicating just how the power structure works -- and spends lots of money on -- keeping the African American and Latino communities divided, along that same old effective strategy of 'divide and conquer.' We all must be smarter than to be used that way.

The Tavis Smiley show website is here.You may find the broadcast archived there, or listen to it streaming, depending on the time it broadcasts in your area. Listening is highly recommended.

Martin Luther King

In Memphis, Mason Temple, the last place MLK gave an address, before his assassination.

Belafonte, who characterizes himself as a humanist, not a Christian, speaking about Christianity, slavery, the Black Church, his dear departed friend, Martin Luther King, and their discussions, blow through your ears, into your heart, like a powerful wind blows through a wide field of grain.

The Tavis Smiley show.

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Vaquero's out the door.

We spent all yesterday, a true spring day, together. We got haircuts, got new sneakers (surely a sign of spring!). We worked on the EMP presentation. Whoa, is it gonna burn! About ten we went to a lovely little new Thai restaurant for dinner. This morning was packing, making a huge brunch, working some more on the EMP presentation, and then off he went.

He'll be in good hands, I'm sure. I hadn't realized for some reason that in Portland he's going to be met by Alexander Cockburn and the Counterpunch editor.