Red Power Movement.

By:Rafeeat Bishi

When we talk about civil rights movements we leave out the important movements for other marginalized groups, such as the Chicanx movements of the 60s or the movements for Japanese Americans' citizenship. When researching for our Indigenous projects, I learned about the Red Power Movement.

The movement was aimed at restoring ownership over land and protesting against racism and violence against their communities.

The movement originated on the Island of Alcatraz, home to the former maximum-security prison. In a symbol of reclamation, the Indigenous people occupied the island and named it for All Natives to come. They stayed for over a year. The occupation remained peaceful and demanded that the Nixon administration give the deed for Island. 

The Island became settled with over 600 people and they established a community, complete with a clinic, a school, and a public relations department. 

After a few tragedies and disorganization (drugs had infiltrated the Island 
(according to History.com -_-), Nixon cut power to the Island. The Natives were forced out.

Now, the Island is home to displays of the historical event and Indigenous history. Federal laws were passed in order to preserve Indigenous culture and history as a result. 

I hope that we can learn more about these movements in school. I had only known Alcatraz to be some big bad prison. Instead, it was home to one of the largest (and successful) uprisings in American history. Maybe some Americans don't like to reckon with the fact that they lost. Hahaha

I want to research some accounts from actual participants/descendants to make sure I have the full story!

Lana Del Rey's Antics

By: Rafeeat Bishi

*This is old stuff but I had this saved in the drafts and never finished it up. 

          Lana Del Rey (real name Elizabeth Grant, which I'll refer to her throughout the rest of the post because her faux-Latina thingy isn't cute) recently came under fire after making a post about the unfair treatment of women in the music industry.

         I like some of Elizabeth's music but she often comes off as very white feminist (or not even feminist at all) and tends to sing bout problematic themes in her music (abuse, pedophilia. I avoid these songs).

        Last year she went after Kanye West for supporting Trump claiming that he was hurting "the culture" -_-. Mind you she had yet to call out any of the white people around her or celebrities that had done similar. She also vilified a Black woman when they had explained the issues with her comments. 

This pic represents my reaction to her post. 

       Now, she brings up the culture again to say how it's unfair that women like Nicki, Beyonce, Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Kehlani, and Camila Cabello get to be number #1 on the charts for singing about s*x, cheating, and nudity (??? Barely any of the women on this list sing about this, and those who do almost never chart).

      This is incredibly tone-deaf. Elizabeth could have addressed the misogyny in the industry without criticizing the successes of mostly women of color who for a majority of their careers are vilified for their music.

      Nicki Minaj didn't get a #1 until this year and has been constantly scrutinized for her music. Beyonce had to deal with an entire police force refusing to provide her with security because of her Formation video.

      Mind you: Elizabeth has explicit songs about *certain acts* that speak on the one thing she was criticizing.

     She is painting herself as a victim because she's never had a number 1 when her father propelled her career in the industry and she's been able to do countless types of videos without losing support. I wish she would listen to the criticism and not play herself to be the victim. We'll see. The post is still up on insta I believe.

Update: it got worse.