Artist Chat: City Love "Colorblind"

Listen to City Love- "Colorblind"

Rough transcription by: Victoria Granton (10th Grade)

Going colorblind i never understood the meaning of our skins,
I never learned.
That we are equal but so different running in a race (style), Why begin?
With such a (League)
Running all around so others, counting dollars growing made in soil,
I told a slave.
Races (with) walls between us, races used against us,
build in fear and breeding hate.
(Watched the premise seemed Provasive.) Written in laws and told in schools,
Their on tv.
White is thought to wonder ( ) Getting big and ( ) off the ground,
And be like white.
Just like white was Jesus one night while founding father judges white,
Like stars and stripes.
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Chorus:
Once was colorblind but now i start to see,
how my skin of white has opened those who need.
Oh amazing grace please open up my eyes,
and help others see if they too have been blind.
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Rap:
About colorblind i never saw what it takes to make a change and talk race at all,
And were walking on eggshells mixed with the ( ).
Comments with the past saying that its irrelevant.
But
If were going where we couldn't fall,
how are we getting where we gotta go?
How we make that road. Oh.
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We were born as equals but then some of us are better with golden spoons,
while others starve.
We were born as equals with our 100 years of order drawing lines,
Into the sand.
Drafting laws and separating, Houses ( ),
That we are one!
While we may be equal or different while there are so many of our restraints, ( ).
Equal is so beautiful, and strong is great for our diversity, our ( ).
(But here is description and now listen) ( ) Is invisible,
For all to to see.
( ) well it is,
And build a bridge.
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Chorus:
We were colorblind but when we start to see,
that you can't just close your eyes to history.
Oh amazing grace please open up my eyes,
and help others see if they too have been blind.
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Random words after..............

About:

We are City Love (Sterling Duns and Caselli Jordan), a conscious, soulful acoustic duo with harmonies, hip hop, mandolin, cajon and guitar.  From the heart.  We write music that inspires, challenges, and lifts us up, and we hope it will do the same to those who listen.

Our Mission:

We believe that self-expression is transformative and we want to encourage others to express themselves through whatever art form calls to them.  Our songs are about many kinds of love, about problems, solutions and positive change, and about knowing and making peace with the darker aspects of our world while choosing to nurture the light.  We are committed to love of humanity, service, integrity, humility, social justice, social harmony, gratitude, simplicity and balance.  

Let' Talk

Again, after listening to this music all week I couldn't help but share it with you guys. What do you think about the song "Colorblind?" Below offer City Love a critical review of their message. How does this song connect to themes from our course? Be specific as you comment. What lyrics resonate with you? What is happening in American society today that makes this music relevant? 

Accidental Racist: Colorblind or "Color Brave"

No doubt, race isn't easy to talk about.  Thankfully, a critical mass of your class has opened not only your minds, but also your hearts to engaging with "Historical Thinking" as it relates to the evolution of Race and Racism in American History. You must consider how you are changed or impacted by your learning--that's how you make sure your learning matters. Hopefully, this discussion inspires such intellectual growth.  As we interpret Beyond Loving let's conceptualize the idea of interracial "intimacy" and friendship and personal connection across racial lines and engage with this millennial idea of Color Bravery. 

Here, Mellody Hobson introduces the notion of Color Bravery to our class Let's use this space to consider Mellody's argument. Here are some questions to inspire discussion: What does it mean to be Color Brave? Is it dangerous to be Colorblind? What is Colorblind Racism? What must be done to improve race relations or deepen personal relationships across racial lines?

The link below that discusses last year musical collaboration "Accidental Racist" might also further this discussion. Read the attached and watch the video below before "blindly" jumping into this conversation.

THE ACCIDENTALLY COLOR-BLIND RACIST

"2015 State of the Union". Where are WE now? Where are WE going?

Let's use this space to make sense of the Presidents address from last night.

Each year the state of the union gives the nation time to reflect on the progress it has made and plan for the challenges that it has yet to face. Share quotes from the speech that stick out to you as meaningful or important in the following ways:

1. Connects to course curriculum. Be explicit about the connection that you notice and remember class curriculum includes ALL of our class content including conversations and shares about Ferguson, Police Brutality, attacks in Nigeria and Paris etc.
2. Connects to your personal story. 
3. Pose questions about the plans the President has for the nation or about the progress We have made. 

I look forward to a thoughtful and fruitful discussion. Once you share an original thought, I encourage you to respond to entries you find interest.

Here's an annotated version of the State of Union.

Unpacking "Selma" and the Color of the Law

Right after I left Rave theater I texted a friend this brief amateur review of Selma, "Stellar...A little misogynist, but timely and beautifully directed. The sixties felt REAL and RELEVANT."

Did you notice any overlap between our discussions of police brutality and #blacklivesmatter and events in the film. An old adage states that "the more more things change, the more they seem to stay the same" especially in state driven by gradualist politics. The turmoil in Selma is a legacy of plantation life and the creation of the system of racial subjugation that drove it. One Hundred years following Emancipation, Black citizens of Selma are live in a racial habitus that dehumanizes works to "break" rather than include.

Read any of the following articles and comment on the important points you think it makes in relation to your viewing of Selma. The New Yorker article is my personal favorite offering a complex contextualization of the moment. What systematic injustice do you notice in the film Selma? This film also plays with Historical Thinking in some fundamental ways that some call problematic and discrediting.

Use the articles below and your film experience (empathy) to comment on the utitlity of the film. I'm also really interested in hearing the way you see recent events stemming from your nations racial tensions and demonstrations against police brutality relating to the Film.

"The Color of Law" The New Yorker

"‘Selma’ vs. History" The New York Review of Books

Ten Things You Should Know About Selma Before You See the Film

Beyond Black and White: Asian-American Memories of Selma

Curtis @ GAMP. Chat with the Composer.

Historical events can cause 

psychological and emotional trauma.

Hear the composer's thoughts and listen to "Call to Prayer."

How can Weinberg’s “The Prayer” help us connect to the lived experience of Trauma in the Iraq War? How can MUSIC makes us more thoughtful historians?

SPQR: Pax Romana Ushered in by Violence

The HBO series Rome dramatizes the murder of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March (see clip below).

The Murder of Julius Caesar.


It is ironic that this level of violence ushers in the Pax Romana that we have begun to discuss in class. What do you think motivates this murder? The perpetrators, led by Senator Brutus, made a conscious choice to murder Caesar in public in the Senate house. What does it possibly symbolize? Can we fairly call Pax Romana peaceful if this is how it begins? What motivates these Senators to kill Caesar? Could Pax Romana have happened without such violence? 

Let's talk (reflect)...

IN and OUT groups: What does it mean to be "COOL?"

Role theory is a perspective in sociology and in social psychology that considers most of everyday activity to be the acting out of socially defined categories (e.g., mother, manager, teacher). Each social role is a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms and behaviours that a person has to face and fulfill. The model is based on the observation that people behave in a predictable way, and that an individual’s behavior is context specific, based on social position and other factors. The theatre is a metaphor often used to describe role theory. Being "cool" or "uncool" is a role. Let's question this role as sociologists would. 

In this blog, use the materials here AND your human experience to reflect on the following: Does cool exist anymore? What does it mean to be cool 2014. Refer to the sociology in Chapter 3 that describes IN and OUT groups? How is "cool" determined in a post industrial society? 

Watch and read the videos and articles below to support your thinking in this Blog:

Are you in or out? What does it mean to be cool? (High School & Cool)

What does it mean to be cool? (CBS)

"What does cool even mean in 2013?" (Slate Magazine)

I wonder how this informs or changes your definition of what it means to be cool. Based on the information below, does "cool" happen at a small close knit school like GAMP?