Bill Strickland: “I’m Going to Write My Own Script”

Those familiar with Samuel Zipp’s work will recognize him as an expert on Stuyvesant Town. Writing in the New York Times in 2006 on the occasion of Stuyvesant Town’s upcoming sale Zipp declared: “Having begun its life as the state-of-the-art method for supplanting working-class neighborhoods with middle-class apartment towers and white-collar institutions, Stuyvesant Town will end up as a victim of a newer, less abrupt and violent version of the very forces of urban change it helped unleash more than 50 years ago.” In Manhattan Projects Zipp expands on this thesis to show how Met Life’s “suburb in the city” was never intended as a rent-controlled utopia, but rather that it was a unique marriage of corporate and government interests. It was not altruism that inspired Met Life to create Stuyvesant Town, but rather the firm’s belief that it could shore up its bottom line by creating a space where “white, middle class family life” could flourish within the city. Zipp contends that Met Life succeeded in bringing its “suburb in the city to life” because its vision for its personal Manhattan cul-de-sac was in line with the city’s own desires to become a white-collar hamlet.

There was a time not too long ago when this blog focused on music, something about keys to my life or some such. Anyway those days are long gone, but we all know that in reality there’s no stoppin’ the music. I’ve recently noticed that my fellow Harlem Moon alum Scott Poulson Bryant started keeping a list of his top 100 songs. Since he’s promised an Abba mention somewhere in the mid 60s, I thought it’s worth repaying the favor by plugging his site. So without further ado, Scott’s Top 100

I know this is mad late, but earlier this month Next American City allowed me to share my thoughts on the Lebron saga. Here’s a snippet:

Come to The Shrine in Harlem next Thursday, July 15th to experience this masterpiece performed in French and English as a liberatory literary gathering to benefit two grassroots Haitian organizations working to rebuild the first black republic.

Join Poets for Ayiti this Wednesday, April 28, at the Bowery Poetry Club for an outstanding reading from their For The Crowns of Your Heads.

By purchasing a copy of For The Crowns of Your Heads, you are contributing to the rebuilding of Bibliotheque du Soleil, the Port-au-Prince library destroyed during the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. As a thank-you for your donation of $20 or more, you will receive a copy of the limited edition chapbook For the Crowns of Your Heads, published by Poets for Ayiti, a collective of poets from diverse backgrounds committed to the power of poetry to transform and educate.

1) Dwyane Wade dribbles too much.
2) Why is Dwyane Wade allowed to throw his teammates under the bus?
3) I’m not sure I understand why OKC didn’t get a veteran point guard? Not so much because Westbrook is too erratic, but it’s unclear how his growing/learning curve really aligns with Green and Durant’s.
4) Why [...]

One wonders though: a surge in Haitian-American volunteerism after the earthquake was inevitable, but the question is if this revamped volunteerism is sustainable. After all, when it comes to Haiti, progress is seemingly embodied by a gaggle of constantly emerging organizations and individuals seeking to improve life. Far too often these efforts have either been too overwhelming, too redundant, too sporadic, or at the very least exhibiting poor coordination between different groups. Without a clearer consensus on the historical legacy that these ventures are building on, progress in Haiti risks being relegated to being more of a verb than a noun.

The Spurs should trade Tim Duncan to the Orlando Magic and start rebuilding. This can not be a straight up trade, but let’s say a scenario where San Antonio sends Duncan to Orlando, then agrees to a sign and trade with Chris Bosh and some spare parts, then suddenly they’re a step closer toward at least the middle of the pack in the West.

if Glaude’s purpose in his entry is to claim that black churches are changing and their roles within black communities are changing, then this is a fact that goes without saying. However, if his intent is to truly proclaim the death of “the black church,” then I would like him to identify this specific church so that I may know to whom to address my condolences.