blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

The funny thing is, I went to this conference in Madrid about "Tolerance." I was the only Black person there. I found it odd that we constantly used a word which connotes the dominant culture's need to "put up with" the presence of other cultures. I couldn't help but feel, as I sat there and heard every one debate the use of the word (translation: in other words, the dialogue never went beyond that) that not one person there thought about how much other cultures have to "tolerate" us: the Native Americans who have to "tolerate" the continual presence of "others" on what is rightfully their land, the local Hawaiians who have to "tolerate" all the tourists crowding up their space, the Harlemnites who have to "tolerate" the influx of new monied folk, the immigrants here in Denmark who have to "tolerate" the exploitative stares and continual degradation in the media, the millions of South Africans who h...

Tired from another day at the modern day plantation, I quickly took a seat on the Copenhagen-bound train. Staring up at me from the seat was today's MetroXpress, with the headline: Too Dark for the Cover.( click here for original article in Danish ) It continues, "Women magazines don't use dark models on the cover because it doesn't sell." According to the article, no Danish magazine has had a Black model gracing its cover in the past year. My first reaction was like, hello? Is this news? After all, we are in Denmark and Danish women want to see themselves on the cover and will quicker drop their money on the counter for something that validates their beauty than denies it (sounds familiar?) "We have never used Black girls on the cover of our magazines."(sheesh, the magazine seems to be berating me!) "If you look...at our readers, the majority is white. We have to reflect our readership. Why should I choose something that doesn't work?" Ex...

The sun in Trinidad is despotic. It oppresses all in its wake. As the arms of the clock stand upright and united, the sun is at its hottest. The island’s inhabitants move as languid and lethargic as an iguana. Even the hummingbird’s flutter seems labored. But each day, from the time even before the original, now dead inhabitants, the sun allows itself to be swallowed up by the horizon. The coolness of the evening laps upon the shore of the land and relieves the descendants of colonialists, slaves, indentured servants and the many entrepreneurial others. The play button is pressed and life happens. The pre-evening stillness is punctured by the heavy labor of a 12 year-old girl scrubbing against the wooden washboard. Unlike her peers, she has not shot up as a tall as the sugar cane. Her shoulder-length dark hair is plaited on each side and its ends gently brushes her shoulders from time to time. She is wearing a polyester, plaid uniform over a crispy white shirt. She wears white ...

Just finished Junot Diaz's The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao a book which I highly recommend. Diaz is triumphant in grabbing the bull of history, politics and life by the horns and taming it into an engrossing tale that makes you laugh and in the end, cry. I always knew he'd come back strong after his first collection of short stories, Drown. His work makes me proud to be a writer. Earlier this week, 60 Minutes ran a program called, The Key to Happpiness which features a segment on Danes, happiness and quality of life. (I not only recommend taking a look at this segment, but take a moment to read the comments as well--some of them are pretty funny!) The Los Angeles Wave published an article about Black Books and publishing entitled Extending Shelf Lives and on that note, you should definitely visit Ringshout if this is at all what interests you. Much props to Chris Jackson and crew for the efforts and amidst all this, I can't help but think of Bandit Queen Pres...

The past few days I've managed to catch up with some of my buddies. On Monday T came over with her baby #3 and boy, was she cute. I have this thing that I try to do with babies: Ignore them. I do this because I don't want to get bit by that baby bug--if there is one mantra that has proven to be correct, it has been, "one is enough!" The main reason for that is financial. If I had the extra dough, trust me, I would have had baby number two by now. But focusing on what I do have, Kai my lovely little baby rocks my boat enough not to go there--that is focusing on what I don't got! But anyway, this tactic of ignoring babies never do work, cause by the end of the visit I'm completely in the palm of this baby's little hand. She was smiling and chilling and looking at me like, "You can't resist me!" And she was right. T and I caught up on some things, ate lentil soup with dumplings and chilled. She and I were pregnant together and she mentioned ho...

Years before the stumbling upon the so-called New World the Portuguese had already penetrated the Western coast of Africa and they bring home gold dust, strange fruits and African slaves.. They beat back the bush like a lion tamer with a whip and leave but nothingness in their wake. They conduct business with others who can not fathom the destiny of this trade. Portugal dominates the global stage then.. Columbus, married to the daughter of a Portuguese nobleman, is witness to the rise of this empire. It is a convenient marriage for them both—he procures access to the Royal Court and her family receives hopefully, relief from their poverty. The exploration of the Atlantic and the pushing back of the Horizon is in the air. The magnitude of the destruction can not be reckoned with, especially among a people who do not fear death. Fortresses are built and Portugal’s only real enemy is not the people who inhabit this coast, but from within, therefore, she can not look without. Fast f...

One good way to avoid doing all the things you need to do is to help others--that way you don't feel like you're wasting time. Rather, you're bringing someone else happiness right? Well, that's what happened today. It all started when I sat at my computer and started to get this overwhelming feeling I usually get when I know there's lots of stuff I want to do but I don't know where to start because I haven't written a list so I start cleaning the bathroom, then I sit at the computer again, then I get my laundry ready, only to start wiping down the counters and like I said, all I really need to do is sit down and write a goddam list and prioritize cause that way I'll be able to do the most important thing on the list (like my HAIR!)or working on one of my projects, or sorting my clothes out, or dusting, or--whatever, you get the point. So I do what any logical person would do--I called my friend. I haven't seen V in ages. The last time I saw her was l...

"It must be recognized that the selfish interest of a person or of the class to which he belongs always acts as an internal limitation which regulates the direction of his intellect." --Dr. B. R. Ambedkar,The Untouchables Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables?