On a positive note...

Mary J. Blige along with Steve Stoute have created this foundation for women called For the Advancement of Women Now, Inc. It sounds great, they opened up a center for women in Yonkers,New York and want to duplicate it all over the country. Check the website and more info below-

Our Mission
To inspire women from all walks of life to gain the confidence and skills they need to reach their individual potential.

We will accomplish our mission to empower and encourage women by shaping and supporting programs that foster education, career development, strong self-esteem, and personal growth.

FFAWN will initially focus its efforts in Yonkers and surrounding communities in Westchester County and then expand its scope to include the Greater New York area and, eventually, the entire country.

AM I INVISIBLE

I wrote this awhile ago, it was sparked by an incident that happened to a young women who went to Mills and she was attending school in New York. She was living with roommates and they discovered her dead body in the room days later; she had been beaten to death by her former boyfriend and left for dead.

Around this time other violent crimes against Black women were happening as they have for centuries and there was no or little media coverage or outcry. It seems that when something happens to women of color we are supposed to take it and be silenced, we are not valued or respected and that is why things like this young girl in Richmond getting beaten and gang raped while people watched can occur. What are we teaching our men, our women, ourselves? These things things must not be allowed to go on!




What does it mean, if things obscene seen and no help you bring
The song I sing, silenced, the quiet violence or the noisy love
To both you shrug and ignore the blood

Hook-
Am I invisible or do you just not care to look
Am I expendable, do you care when my life is took

Sweep things under the rug, until they have to be dug, from under
Appalled at the plunder, slumber on it, but still condone it
Treat us like enemy or your opponent

Hook-
Am I invisible or do you just not care to look
Am I expendable, do you care when my life is took

THIS MUST STOP!

I AM OUTRAGED, APPALLED, ANGRY, SAD..THE FACT THAT THIS WAS AND IS ALLOWED TO HAPPEN IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! OUR YOUNG WOMEN ARE NOT VALUED AND ARE NOT BEING TAKEN CARE OF! WE MUST INSTILL IN OUR YOUNG WOMEN AND OUR YOUNG WOMEN THE VALUE OF THEIR LIVES AND THAT THEY SHOULD TREAT THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT! AS ADULTS, YOUNG AND OLDER WE MUST PROTECT OUR YOUTH, ESPECIALLY OUR YOUNG WOMEN!
THEFACT THAT THIS YOUNG GIRL WAS RAPED BY SOMEONE SHE KNEW AND ON A SCHOOL CAMPUS IS DISGUSTING, TIME FOR A CHANGE! THIS MUST STOP AND I HOPE THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF MEDIA COVERAGE AND THAT THEY CATCH AND PURSUE ALL RESPONSIBLE AND THOSE WHO STOOD BY!
ARTICLE BELOW-


RICHMOND, Calif. (Oct. 27) - Police believe as many as a dozen people watched a 15-year-old girl get beaten and gang-raped outside her high school homecoming dance without reporting it.
Two suspects were in custody Monday, but police said as many as five other men attacked the girl over a two-hour period Friday night outside Richmond High School.
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Embedded video from CNN Video
"She was raped, beaten, robbed and dehumanized by several suspects who were obviously OK enough with it to behave that way in each other's presence," Lt. Mark Gagan said. "What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw what was happening and failed to report it."
The victim remained hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Manuel Ortega, 19, was arrested at the scene and was being held on $800,000 bail for investigation of rape and robbery. He is not a student at the school.
Richmond police Sgt. David Harris said he did not know if Ortega had retained an attorney.
A 15-year-old student also was booked late Monday on one count of sexual assault, Gagan said.
Police said the girl left the dance and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the courtyard. The victim had drank a large amount of alcohol by the time the assault began, police said.
Officers received a tip about a possible assault on campus and found the girl semi-conscious near a picnic table.
Marin Trujillo, a spokesman for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, said there were four police officers and three school administrators monitoring the dance, but the assault happened away from the gym.

Another cool blog!!

My girl Wren has a great blog! She is a dope artist in every sense of the word :)

Check her out!! http://wrenagade.blogspot.com/

I'M ON YOUTUBE!!!

I AM ON YOUTUBE!! THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL NICK JAMES! HE IS A GENIUS, JACK OF ALL TRADES, I WORK WITH HIM, HE IS MY FRIEND AND YOU SHOULD GOOGLE HIM! :)

I GOT A BLOG PLACEMENT!

I got a blog placement on a really fresh blog! Yay! I really appreciate them placing me in their buzz artist section, I was placed by a fellow San Franciscan, which is doubly cool.lol. Anyway, check me out and check out the blog!

http://www.yk2daily.net/2009/10/buzz-artist-siaira-shawn.html

Janelle F***ing Monae!

Kia-yes the car company-seems to be hooking up with all these fresh out of the box artist(like of all kinds) and spotlighting them. Interesante

They have chosen one of my fav artist Janelle Monae to participate and she has given us a new song! I've been waiting, not so patiently for new material, so I'm estatic. It's rock and roll baby, B.G.C. style!

Janelle Monae "Come Alive" (The War Of The Roses)
http://www.kiasoulcollective.com/home/music/

MY girl!
Music « Kia Soul Collective
Source: www.kiasoulcollective.com
We’re pretty sure Janelle Monáe is from the future or from a super cool planet that the rest of us are not up on yet. You know – some spot just over in the next galaxy where the music rules and where everyone rocks their own version of the Kia Soul. ...

YOUTH TOGETHER

So, I work for this wonderful organization named Youth Together. I had to shout us out! We work with high school students in the East Bay,ca on issues concerning their communities and schools and larger issues of education reform and equity. Check out some info below, check the website, donate or just peruse! Thanks


http://bit.ly/j12cf-video of award we recently won :)

In 1996 Youth Together was formed by youth, community members, parents and school officials in Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond, California concerned about inter-racial violence and inadequate school conditions.

Because of the organization’s youth leadership programming, student centers, and campaigns, six local high schools are developing positive, long-term solutions to fight social, political, community, and educational inequities in their lives, serving as a model for empowering change in other communities.

BRANDY!!

So, anybody who REALLY knows me, knows that I LOVE Brandy! Like, growing up, she was my favorite, artist role model. I mean, what chocolate, black girl had number one albums, tv show, dolls! I love her, always will. Looking forward to new album because Never say Never was a classic, I don't care! lol. I know she can do it again :)

So, here she is singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" wrong lyrics, no makeup, killing it!! lol

NEW MUSIC

So, another UK chick in the sea of UK chicks.lol..But, nice music is nice music. I'm feeling the simplicity and her style, I'm liking that women of color artist are framing how they are looking now and are doing such great, chill, innovative, etc. things with their styles and aesthetic. It's refreshing and hopeful to see the image being blown apart of what you are supposed to look like as an artist who is a woman, especially of color.

On another note, I will be vigilant in posting our Black girls/women who can sing from America as well. The trend seems to be, lets go overseas, like the talent pool(get it.lol) dried up over here. Not the case! No hard feelings, we will find our ways to get out there and bring our originality and perspective to the masses!

B.G.C. AMERICA PEOPLE! :)

Check her out tho-Kerry Leatham-myspace.com/kerryleatham

Kerry Leatham 'A Different Light' from Luke Meadows on Vimeo.

B.T.W.

I ACQUIRED SAID BICYCLE THANKS TO A LOVELY BROOKLYN PERSON WHO ALSO HAS A COOL BLOG-www.liquidsilverstars.blogspot.com

wonderful poetry and musings for the soul! check it!

I'M A BIKER!

So, I have been biking and now I am part of a black bike crew called..wait for it...Red Bike and Green! Genius, I know! It was started by another lovely person whose blog is here-redbikeandgreen.blogspot.com

B.G.C. REPPING HARD!!! :)

I am really juiced to be in a crew, we took over the streets of Oakland Friday night, a whole bunch of brown, fresh folks on bikes and the black folks who were all suited and booted were juiced! lol. The crew is about solidarity and not letting things that are fun, healthy, and good for our community(environment) be the domain of those of the paler persuasion. :) I always wanted to take over the streets with my own crew as a kid, so Friday was living a dream.lol..Look out for us next month! And check out the blogs!

Mitrice Richardson Is Just Another Missing Black Woman

Mitr

The situation is written about extensively on the blog link above and I believe on concreteloop.com, other blogs, and facebook.com.

Another young Black woman lost and no major media coverage that I have seen, so we as young black/brown media makers have taken it into our hands to spread the news.

Mitrice Richardson was arrested in Malibu, Ca for not paying her bill, while exhibiting erratic behavior and then police found a small amount of marijuana in her car. She was brought to the station and released on her own at 1am, with no car, no phone, no wallet. She has since disappeared. Details are still sketchy, but police are now searching for her.Her mother and the family lawyer are blaming police for inconsistencies and negligence.

This is what B.G.C. is; about spotlighting and pushing us and our issues, triumphs, and problems to the forefront because we are still made to feel and be invisible.

Oh Yea-Me.lol

SO, YEA..I'M AN ARTIST.LOL.I GOTTA DO SOME MORE SHAMELESS PLUGS :)

ALBUM OR E.P. COMING SOON-"THE OUTSIDER INSIDE" IT WILL BE FRESH, I THINK YOU WILL LIKE IT :)

VIDEO COMING SOON-BREAKFAST CLUB SHIT.HAHA..STAY TUNED

CHECK OUT THE MUSIC-MYSPACE.COM/SIAIRASHAWN, http://www.imeem.com/people/Vsagh9, AND THE UPDATES ON FACEBOOK.

PEACE

Forget Me Not

Hola, Check out this fresh vid by the Noisettes. A great band out of the UK. Shingai Shoniwa(lead singer) is beyond fresh!

Got the vid from a great sister blog-quirkyblackgirls.blogspot.com-check em out