Voice of Consciousness

Kamala Harris represents an immigrant's dream for their posterity -- that their children will realize the dreams that even they may not live to see. A second generation immigrant, I recognize the roots of the Black Diaspora embedded in the persistence, competitiveness, and optimism of sociopolitical mobility. In her sits the paradoxes of assimilation and systemic racism. At once, she is an insider and an outsider to her intersected ethnoracial communities of race, ethnicity, nation, and religion; a pride and warning in flying so close to the sun; and the center and bridge of complex families and social networks.  The coming years will reveal more of the nuances of her history. My favorite revelation so far is that of @archivistchris, who posted a picture of a young adult VP Kamala Harris posed with a tall box cut softened with the curls of a cultures interwoven into the scalp. In the photo, her eyes are fixed to a horizon that she gazes at with her chin raised. She is not looking i

$750 is anarchy.  $750 is criminal. 45 paid $750 in personal taxes for 2016 and 2017. No personal taxes for the prior decade, as reported by  The New York Times . I paid more money in federal taxes as a college student working a part-time job. I even paid more money in federal taxes as a graduate student with only fellowship funding. Understand the absurdity of shelling out $1500 a year as a grad student making less than $20k, during the same exact time that the millionaire "leader of the free world" is paying $0 in personal income tax.  In a good decade, I gave $15k to the government, after deductions. Trump? No more than 10% of that. Trump paid less taxes than I did while I was in graduate school. Two months of rent covers 30 days of shelter but only 2-3 nights of stay in a Trump Hotel. He's out a short vacation. I am racking up fees because my rent is late. We have the audacity to talk about financial literacy and wealth management and to dole out achievement driven ex

Voices in Action Concert: Artists Against Oppression Hey folks,  Today at 8:50 PM EST / 5:50 PM PST, I will be performing my poem I wrote two months after the execution of Sam Dubose on July 19, 2015 by University of Cincinnati police, Ray Tenning. Tenning was fired from the department and indicted for murder and voluntary manslaughter ; however, after two hung juries, his charges were dismissed with prejudice. "#NotAnotherHashtag" was penned connecting my own anguish to my own encounters with the police, which I detail in the poem. I detail the case that shifted my mind in a blog I wrote, "I am Rayshard Brooks" . I also detail this case through a comedic form, "Ketchup" for In Laughing Color for Queerky Folks . I hope you can tune in. Ali Voices in Action Concert is a telethon-style event that will livestream on Sunday, July 5th from 9am to 9pm PST (6am - 6pm EDT) to raise money for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. The event c

11 charges for murderer. 3 for partner. I didn't even know some of these charges were crimes. Rolfe (murderer): 1. felony murder, 2. aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 3. aggravated assault, 4. violation of oath (unspecified), 5. shooting towards a bystander in a car in the parking lot, 6. criminal damage to property after a bullet hit the car, 7. oath violation for not informing Brooks of cause of arrest, 8. shooting a Taser at Brooks as he fled, 9. excessive force when shooting Brooks, 10. failing to administer medical aid to Brooks after he was shot, 11. aggravated assault for kicking Brooks after he was shot Brosnan (partner): 1. aggravated assault for standing on Brooks’ body after he was shot, 2. violation of oath for standing on Brooks’ body, 3. violation of oath for failing to give timely medical aid. Morals of the story? 1. This is not the Wild Wild West. 2. Raging out is not a part of the job. 3. Police can be criminals too. At least, this

“If I didn't  define myself  for  myself , I  would  be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -- Audre Lorde Tamika Mallory's speech provides an important lesson and warning about letting other people define what the nationwide #GeorgeFloyd protests means for us and why you should not allow people to write our story of our actions. See my full transcription of the speech below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by matthewacherry (@matthewacherry) on May 29, 2020 at 3:13pm PDT My transcription of Tamika Mallory's Speech on Nationwide #GeorgeFloyd Protests This is a coordinated activity happening across this nation,  And so we  are in  a state of emergency. Black people are dying,  in a state of emergency. We cannot look at this  as an isolated incident. The reason why buildings are burning are not just for our brother  George

People will try to rewrite Atlanta's protest history. When they do so, remember this. This is where it began.   The is Atlanta right now. Worth a million words. #GeorgeFloydprotest pic.twitter.com/O8S5X0nvAD — Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) May 29, 2020

There are a lot of #coronavirus rebate policies floating around. My response considers these policies broadly. The policy we need must have elements that are universal, need-basis, and industry/occupation-targeted. Basically, we need a 21st Century New Deal. Most of the policies presented are income-based, and the worse are contingent on tax liabilities. The overwhelming majority ignore that need is created both by how consumers actually spend their money and how American workers make their money. Let me explain why such policies ultimately will be inefficient at plugging the gap in the long run.  Foremost, income-based policies ignore the choking reality of wealth inequality. Assets (e.g., savings, checking accounts) are the primary means people have to cope with financial crises. Yet, a sizeable portion of the American public has little to no savings but this is being completely ignored.  Moreover, most policies conveniently ignore the outstanding burden of debt liabili