Issue 2
Black History Month
We need to study the history of our country from everyone’s perspective –especially those who were denied access and inclusion for centuries. Until we as Americans reconcile the bad along with the good of our history, we won’t be able to truly understand where we are and how we got here. And how the hell are we to make progress if we don’t know where and who we are as a Nation?
Welcome to issue 2!
We’re honored to introduce 2 new authors in issue 2: Berni Xiong and Brian Mahany. Berni is a gifted writer and professional Life Coach who spurned the material trappings of corporate life to give of herself on a daily basis. Brian has seen all aspects of the justice system from the perspective of a police officer, prosecutor, and now as a private attorney who specializes in empowering victims of discrimination.
Bashir Malik: Interview with a Conduit
The first time I spoke to Bashir Malik, I thought he was from another planet. Some fantastic, magical Other Place where everyone loves and gives freely and nobody ever plots to dominate. He says he is from Milwaukee, but that just can’t be. He is a creature like no other, whose love arcs and ebbs [...]
Life Was Hard. Life is Good. Let's Go Dance.
I witnessed in this single event a union of extremely diverse people who, during those five hours, spoke and understood a single common language where race, religion, gender, politics, age, sexual preference, culture, disability, income class, and body type didn’t matter.
Revisiting the case of Matthew Wayne Shepard
Burn a cross in the yard of a Black neighbor and you have committed a hate crime. Deface a local mosque or temple and you commit a hate crime but beat someone up solely because s/he is gay—as of today, that’s not a hate crime under federal law. That should soon change, however. The U.S. [...]
B-boys and B-girls Battle for Peace
Febuary 13th, Madison, Wisconsin People young and old and from every conceivable ethnic background gathered at the Neighborhood House community center to celebrate Hip-Hop culture and the positive effect it’s had on their lives. Contrary to prevalent stereotypes that cast Hip-Hop aficionados as materialistic, misogynistic thugs, the theme of the event hosted by sweatSHOP/Youth Build was [...]
Riverwest Interview part II
(chapter 5 of 11 in “My Life After Hate”) Arno: Yeah. According to us, if you weren’t white power, you weren’t a skinhead. Never mind that the first skinheads included black guys and that there were Jamaican influences. We were told that, of course. And we were like, “Whatever, that’s just Jewish propaganda.” We always [...]
raver
(chapter 6 of 11 in “My Life After Hate”) Paul had been telling me about rave parties all summer, trying to “recruit” me away from the limbo I was in and into the blissful spun-out rainbow family he had come to be a part of. He kept talking about dancing, like it was this magical [...]
Charlie Dee's English 201
(chapter 7 of 11 in “My Life After Hate”) I took a second crack at an associate degree from Milwaukee Area Technical College in 1996, this time for “Computer Graphics and Multi-Media”. It felt great to be taking classes and simply being in an academic environment. Going to school was the complimenting daytime element of [...]
Sammy Rangel “FOURBEARS: Myths of Forgiveness”
FourBears: The Myth of Forgiveness: isn't a simple memoir; it is a graphically illustrated guide from tortured child, to remorseless beast, to healing and change. This book is about helping others find their way out of their history and into the here and now. Proof that what once held you down can now hold you up. After the book reflects on a horrific upbringing it looks to offer key and ground breaking insights of the inner workings of the mind of a victim and later a perpetrator of hate and violence. Service providers working in treatment centers and institutional settings would greatly benefit from this work. Anyone facing issues with forgiveness and change might find a process toward healing and recovery.
Recommended Reading
Frank Meeink—Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
TJ Leyden—Skinhead Confessions
Arno Michaels—My Life After HateMusic
Wizard Fingaz & Soul Sathe embarked on a collaborative project known as Tribal Sorcery · deep conscious hip-hop
