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On August 15, 2015, Janelle Monae and her Wondaland labelmates gave a free concert in Washington D.C. that was only advertised on social media. Before the show, Monae and the Wondaland crew led a rally through the streets of D.C. that included a stop at the Capital. The rallying song/chant represented her new song,
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This song is a vessel. It carries the unbearable anguish of millions. We recorded it to channel the pain, fear, and trauma caused by the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters. We recorded it to challenge the indifference, disregard, and negligence of all who remain quiet about this issue. Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. They say a question lives forever until it gets the answer it deserves... Won't you say their names? |
 Janelle Monae
"Hell You Talmbout," dedicated to the Black Lives Matter Movement, freely available to anyone on Soundcloud. On her instagram page, Monae explained the message of the song (see quote at the left). Her song channels and records the pain of her people, her own political convictions, and a challenge to those who remain indifferent. This song nows plays as the soundtrack to this homepage in order to capture how we will approach writing and designing for real audiences, in real time, in the real spaces of actual lives.
In the same week of "Hell You Talmbout's" release, Monae had performed for the Today Show in New York which cut off her speech about Black Lives Matter. This was not a surprise given the ways that mainstream media has continually promoted stereotypes (whether it be immigrants as all illegal/dirty, poor people as savage, women as oversexualized objects who can sell things, etc), but mainstream media simply does not have a final say or sole impact in the 21st century. Monae's instagram account and song/anthem available on soundcloud reaches as many people--- and more diverse people--- than a one-time performance on mainstream television. While social media is hardly immune from harmful racial, sexual, gendered stereotypes, to dismiss digital spaces (as you will hear many teachers do) based on some myth that people are more distracted and disconnected than previous centuries is irresponsible. |
The fact is this: marginalized groups can count on digital spaces to represent their views, beauty, and aspirations MORE than mainstream outlets. To be literate in the 21st century means understanding this fact ALONGSIDE being digitally literate yourself. What will your digital footprint be? How will you use writing and design to canvas your own humanity? political visions? dreams for yourself and a socially just future?
This collage works as the background image to this website. The collage features, from left to right: Puerto Rican freedom fighter, Pedro Albizu Campos; Black Lives Matter protesters; Trayvon Martin; and 2014 protesters in Iguala Mexico after the disappearance of 23 college students.
When you write in this class, ask yourself: hell you talmbout? What do you have to say? What impact can you make?
Monae is drawing from Black Vernacular Culture when she says "Hell You Talmbout?" It is an expression that she would have heard from her grandmothers and greatgrandmothers (note: this is NOT slang or colloquial--- slang refers to short-term temporary sayings and colloqualisms refer to small regionalisms). The expression challenges the truth of what you have to say AND expects you to have something of weight and importance to say. Despite what school will tell you, you need to use all of the languages, dialects, and vernaculars at your disposal if you want to attract and move multiple audiences. While many teachers may tell you that only one kind of English is appropriate, effective language use is never that simple. It is not an accident that Monae and her ancestors said: Hell You Talmbout--- it simply does not mean the same thing as asking someone what they are talking about. The very language matches the history: the music, lyrics, and call-and-response style match how Civil Rights activists used song; the drumming and chanting sound identical to 1920s Black college student protesters who used the lyrics of spirituals sang by slaves for their chants. The language that you use to represent the history you are referencing must be DELIBERATE and may not match what school has anointed as the one, right way and set of rules you must first learn.
This will not be a class about following teachers' rules or writing in a way where only a teacher reads it (or, in the case of professors, writing in a way where only other professors in a very small area of expertise read it). Can you follow in the footsteps of Janelle Monae and make sure that when you write and design in this class, that you are really saying something and know what the hell you talmbout! If so, there is a world out there in need of your voice and perspective!
Monae is drawing from Black Vernacular Culture when she says "Hell You Talmbout?" It is an expression that she would have heard from her grandmothers and greatgrandmothers (note: this is NOT slang or colloquial--- slang refers to short-term temporary sayings and colloqualisms refer to small regionalisms). The expression challenges the truth of what you have to say AND expects you to have something of weight and importance to say. Despite what school will tell you, you need to use all of the languages, dialects, and vernaculars at your disposal if you want to attract and move multiple audiences. While many teachers may tell you that only one kind of English is appropriate, effective language use is never that simple. It is not an accident that Monae and her ancestors said: Hell You Talmbout--- it simply does not mean the same thing as asking someone what they are talking about. The very language matches the history: the music, lyrics, and call-and-response style match how Civil Rights activists used song; the drumming and chanting sound identical to 1920s Black college student protesters who used the lyrics of spirituals sang by slaves for their chants. The language that you use to represent the history you are referencing must be DELIBERATE and may not match what school has anointed as the one, right way and set of rules you must first learn.
This will not be a class about following teachers' rules or writing in a way where only a teacher reads it (or, in the case of professors, writing in a way where only other professors in a very small area of expertise read it). Can you follow in the footsteps of Janelle Monae and make sure that when you write and design in this class, that you are really saying something and know what the hell you talmbout! If so, there is a world out there in need of your voice and perspective!
See and Hear More of Janelle Monae & Wondaland artists in the videos and live performances below...
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