Since the days of the zip-coon, to the hardcore thug of present day, stereotypes continue to affect how we see and are seen--especially at a young age. And those interpretations can easily determine whether one travels the road to greatness or down the primrose path.
So to combat the lobby of naggers that want all of pop culture to take the weight for the ills of our communities, the Seattle, Washington-based Rising Oak Foundation is sponsoring a series of events spanning three months that focus on influences and obstacles to the maturation of young African American males. Beginning Saturday, January 20 with a screening of filmmaker Byron Hurt’s Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, the Foundation's Outside the Hype: Exploring the Representation of Black Males in Society aims to interrogate the commodification of masculinity and how those ideas are reflected creatively, politically, intellectually, and spiritually.
Included in the series is a performance by artist Carl Hancock Rux. Carl, an accomplished artist of many disciplines and accolades, as well as collaborator with both the Nuyorican and SMH, will present the No Black Male Show on February 9 and 10. Carl's work will further investigate the conflict between black masculinity and its pop culture manifestations. This will be followed by a screening of the Rachel Lyon and Jim Lopes documentary, Race to Execution. The series will culminate with Which Way Seattle? State of Young Black Men, a community dialogue.
