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A Blerd Reflects on the Social Issues of 2014

I will always remember 2014 as the year America was reminded of its social issues. On the heels of the popularization of “post-racial,” the universe stood puzzled at our collective blindness and punished our hubris by revealing Donald Sterling, Sony emails and Don Lemon journalism. None of these things were new; we just collectively packed away and ignored them, like “organizing” your room by piling all your loose belongings in an overstuffed closet. The year came with other reminders as well, from cultural appropriation to domestic abuse and corrupt policing. For many of us, 2014 was the reminder we never needed.

Following the release of Donald Sterling’s voicemails and news of his history being brought to public light, fans promised a boycott at the same time others searched Hub Stub for reduced ticket prices. In the first home game following the news, reports claimed the Golden State Warriors were prepared to shake hands with the Clippers and walk off the court, refusing to play if Sterling was present. He was banned from the game and the show went on so we didn’t see if the players had the fortitude to back their claims, but the whole fiasco begged the question – how do my convictions weigh against my entertainment?

A person can be an artist of anything – for an actor, their art can be a film; for a chef, their lasagna. I can cherish the beauty of someone’s work without consideration of his or her history, relationships or personal life. Or can’t I? As consumers of art, when do we separate the art from the artist?

When it comes to being aware as a media consumer, sometimes I feel like Cypher in The Matrix:

“I know what you’re thinking, ’cause right now I’m thinking the same thing… I’ve been thinking it ever since I got here: Why, oh why, didn’t I take the blue pill?”

One of my favorite quotes is an inspirational line attributed to Bill Cosby. I recited it to myself in times of intimidation, fear and nervousness. It was the entire movie of 8 Mile encapsulated in a dozen words, with Rabbit making eye contact in the mirror through his black eye. It says, “You have to want it more than you are afraid of it.” In light of the flood of sexual misconduct claims against Cosby and his handling of the allegations, I found myself uncomfortable with my favorite quote.

Read more from Jordan Calhoun at Black Nerd Problems

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Comic Girl Highlight: Pantha

Real Name: Rosabelle Mendez
Alias: X-24
Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: “New Titans #73” (February 1991)
Affiliation: Teen Titans
Superpower: Enhanced agility and strength, razor-sharp claws, cat’s-eye vision, skilled fighter, escape artist, healing, super hearing, super sight, super smell and super speed

Pantha was a student at NYU (New York University) who studied to become a veterinarian. She was kidnapped by Maxwell Lord and sold to the Wildebeest Society. Rosabelle was used for research and experimented on and as a result was created as a hybrid feline by the Wildebeest. Several experiments were conducted including X-24. When Rosabelle escaped, she decided to plot her revenge against the individuals who performed experiments on her. According to Comic Vine, Pantha was created by Marv Wolfman and Tom Grummett. She appeared first in “The New Titans #73” as a shadow and fully in “The New Titans #74.”

During her plot for revenge, she was at odds with Deathstroke many times. Deathstroke has become more familiar with many of us as a popular villain on the hit CW series Arrow. Under the codename Pantha, she later joined the Teen Titans, but at many times was at odds with her teammates. According to Wikipedia, she later teams up with her old allies when Cyborg, now with an entirely new level of power, threatens the entire Earth. The Justice League of America showed up also and a series of mistakes led to the entire team fighting. Pantha took on Catwoman, but neither side won as they were interrupted by blasts from Orion. Baby Wildebeest himself was subdued by Superman.

When the “Infinite Crisis” occurs, she joins another team of Titans in addition to Doom Patrol and Justice Society of America. JSA includes a previous comic girl featured in this spotlight by the name of Crimson Avenger. Pantha has feline-like strength that possesses super human strength, agility, speed, reflexes, and leaping. She also has razor sharp claws on her hands and feet that are able to cut through steel and used to crush into stone walls. She also has a slight healing factor that allows her to recover from minor injuries almost immediately.

During the “Infinite Crisis,” an altercation takes place between Pantha and Superboy Prime. In the battle, Superboy accidentally kills Pantha and he also slaughtered Baby Wildebeest.

In the “Blackest Night,” which was a Titans crossover story, Pantha is resurrected as a member of the Black Lantern and ready for battle once again with the Titans. Sadly, her body is destroyed and permanently disintegrated. Fans of the Teen Titans TV show may remember Pantha’s stint as a wrestler and wears a wrestling mask. Her debut was on the episode Calling All Titans.

Source: Jamie Broadnax at Black Girl Nerds

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Black Theoretical Physicist Ronald Mallett’s Quest to Build the First Time Travel Machine

Physicist Ronald L. Mallett is actively working on building the world’s first functioning time machine. Mallett published an autobiography called “Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality” about his journey to becoming one of the first Black Ph.D.s in theoretical physics, all inspired by his quest to build a time machine in order to travel back in time and save his father from death. Filmmaker Spike Lee’s production company Forty Acres and a Mule acquired the film rights to Mallett’s book in 2008, but the film was never made. Fortunately, Mallett has shared his amazing story and ongoing journey in several documentaries and educational specials available on YouTube.

Rasheedah Phillips is a Philadelphia public interest attorney, speculative fiction writer, the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair, and a founding member of Metropolarity.net. She recently independently published her first speculative fiction collection, “Recurrence Plot (and Other Time Travel Tales).”

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A 1992 Speculative, Critical Race Tale Brings Up Relevant Questions in Current Times

“The Space Traders,” a short science fiction story by late law professor and civil rights activist Derrick Bell, imagines a day in the year 2000 when thousands of ships carrying an advanced alien race arrive in America. The aliens offer clean nuclear energy, technology, bail-outs for all the banks, and other benefits, in exchange for only one thing – to take all African-Americans back to the aliens’ home star. “Space Traders” first appeared in Bell’s 1992 best-selling collection, “Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism,” a book of essays and short stories exploring the persistence of racism in America. The short story was adapted for television in 1994 by Trey Ellis and Reginald Hudlin for an episode of Cosmic Slop, a three-part HBO anthology series highlighting POC-centered science fiction. Described by Ellis as “a sort of Afro-Twilight Zone,” the episode was even introduced by P-Funk front man George Clinton.

Interestingly, the story received renewed interest during the 2012 presidential election, when the TV adaptation of the story and a video of young Barack Obama hugging Professor Bell fell into the hands of conservative, right-wing news sites. Bell, a former mentor of President Obama, was accused by conservatives of using the story to race bait and incite paranoia, while also suggesting that Obama is racist by association.

Watch the Space Traders episode below and read the original story by Professor Bell

Rasheedah Phillips is a Philadelphia public interest attorney, speculative fiction writer, the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair, and a founding member of Metropolarity.net. She recently independently published her first speculative fiction collection, “Recurrence Plot (and Other Time Travel Tales).”

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The 5 Best Available Smartphones For Mobile Gamers

Smartphone technology has really advanced in recent years, and these devices can be used for everything from watching videos to playing games. They can range from both graphically sophisticated efforts like Asphalt 8 and things like casino roulette. These are the top five gaming phones of 2014.

This list is presented by a guest blogger from Black Girl Nerds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 ($599)

This is the biggest Samsung smartphone — with a 5.7-inch, 1440 x 2560 resolution display – and image quality is superb. This makes it brilliant for games like Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5, where it is all about the graphics. Downsides are the cost and the fact that the 176-gram body isn’t all that comfortable over long periods of gaming.

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Top 11 Graphic Novels and Comics Of 2014 All Blerds Should Read

This year has been blerd-tastic as creators of color have made their mark on the publishing scene. It feels like each week hot new books are hitting virtual and IRL bookshelves. If you haven’t been able to keep up, no worries—here are our best picks for graphic novels created for, by or starring people of color from 2014, as presented by Terreece M. Clarke at LifeSlice Media.

Chew

CHEW by John Layman and Rob Guillory

The 8th volume in a long-running, award-winning series, Chew is drawn by Black artist extraordinaire Rob Guillory. Anthony (Tony) and Antonelle (Toni) Chu are fraternal twins. Tony is Cibopathic, able to receive psychic sensations of the past of anything he bites into or ingests. Toni is Cibovoyant, able to flash onto a vision of the future of any living thing she bit into or ingested. After Toni was murdered her brother Tony vowed to catch her killer with her help.

Legend of the Mantamaji

LEGEND OF THE MANTAMAJI BOOK ONE & BOOK TWO by Eric Dean Seaton creator, Brandon Palas -illustrator, Deron Bennet – letterer, Andrew Dalhouse – colorist

A Black superhero not of the Marvel/DC universe with its own history and characters? It’s true. Television director Eric Dean Seaton [Undateable, Austin & Ally, That’s So Raven, Reed Between the Lines, etc.] gathered an all-star crew to bring the first two volumes of his first graphic novel “Legend of the Mantamaji” to life. The Legend of the Mantamaji series tells the story of Elijah Alexander, a successful, brilliant, handsome Assistant District Attorney with a huge ego who discovers that all of the African legends his mother read to him when he was a child are true and that he is among the last of an ancient race of magical warriors sworn to protect humanity. As he discovers his heritage, Detective Sydney Spencer is hot on the trail of a super secret street gang behind an increase in crime and an increase in the demise of other gangs. Superheroes, science and plot twists combine in this action-adventure.

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