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Culture / Featured / Money & Power / Politics / TrendingIntroduction: The Importance of DEI in Aviation
For decades, the skies have been dominated by a narrow demographic, but Black pilots have a vibrant history in aviation. Throughout history, they were determined to break down barriers with their hard work, skill, and resilience. These aviators still encounter misconceptions, difficult challenges, and fears about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Like many other industries, the aviation industry has beenobtuse to accept diversity. This results in black pilots facing underrepresentation along with other minorities in the aviation industry.
The Lies About Black Pilots: Calling Out The Industry & Media Trolls in Aviation
The many pervasive challenges Black pilots encounter throughout history- and still do today- come from individuals who believe that DEI jeopardizes aviation safety and professionalism. The aviation industry has always been and still is dominated by white men. The idea of “not being qualified” has always been a racial stigma that the black community has had to cope with historically. The trolls have surged social media and online forums with bogus accusations targeting Black pilots, criticizing their competency based solely on prejudice. Charlie Kirk, a conservative, sparked uproar with his comments on black pilots. He is always known for sturring controversy and also enjoys debating college students. Kirk was talking about what he thinks to be terrible effects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which are intended to encourage people from ethnic minorities to seek jobs in fields that do not reflect thm.
Charlie Kirk blamed DEI for his racist comment about Black pilots.Kirk also implied he doesn’t want “LaQueesha James” flying his plane or a Black lesbian operating on him…Videos and story— https://t.co/StmFpfDJpv— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 24, 2024
Kirk is wrong for several reasons, Kirk’s alleged fear of black pilots is unwarranted, and such unverified remarks do little to persuade others in the country that these left-wing schemes are dangerous. Furthermore, considering Kirk’s lack of aviation experience, the Tuskegee Airmen would certainly appreciate a word Also, consider that the pilots of all significant commercial airline crashes in the United States. This would entirely undermine Kirk’s claims and demonstrate that his purported concerns are unjustified or motivated by an agenda. If Kirk is concerned when he sees black pilots, if he sees any at all, he should be comforted to know that every historical record and statistic shows that his pearl-clutching is unfounded.
Of course this was going to happen… https://t.co/9F0mUWv8so— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 27, 2024
These discriminations frequently repeat the same fallacies that were disseminated during World War II, when the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black squadron, were questioned not for their talent, but for their skin color. Today’s online trolls are just rehashing old, invalidated assertions, hiding behind pseudonym names, and claiming that boosting diversity through DEI projects would decrease standards. However, this could not be further from reality. Hostility to DEI, particularly among White males in aviation, stems from a fear of losing power in an industry that has historically been homogeneous. It’s a type of gatekeeping aimed at keeping the status quo in place, with White male pilots serving as the standard bearers of aviation, despite evidence that diversity promotes safety, creativity, and problem-solving.
The Challenges Black Pilots Face in Work Culture
Racism, Slow recognition, Segregation, Doubt, etc. are the many challenges black pilots face. These generational issues are a view that black people still have to contend with. Black pilots today are underrepresented. Black pilots frequently feel undermined by this lack of diversity, especially when dealing with prejudice from coworkers, passengers, and even management. The Tuskegee Airmen had a lot on their plates. Their biggest misconception is that they were inferior to white men. Assuming that Black troops lacked the discipline and aptitude to operate cutting-edge aircraft and perform in combat situations, White military authorities and the general public questioned their intelligence, bravery, and skill. The Tuskegee Airmen performed exceptionally well, completing demanding training and serving with distinction in World War II despite these prejudices. In addition to dispelling the notion of racial inferiority, their success helped to desegregate the U.S. military, which was a turning point in the struggle for equality and forced a country to reevaluate its ideas about aptitude and race. The African American Organization Aerospace of Professionals (AAOBAP) claims that these difficulties are a result of a lengthy history of racial discrimination in the aviation industry, where Black pilots have traditionally been subjected to preconceptions that cast doubt on their abilities. These prejudices still exist today, as evidenced by the fact that many pilots encounter microaggressions or are misidentified as other crew members, which highlights the continued influence of stereotypes on Black aviation professionals.
And the Fight continues
With the constant trolling, racism, and discrimination, there will always be people like Charlie Kirk. Black pilots have consistently demonstrated their talent, tenacity, and commitment to the sky despite a history of prejudice and skepticism. From the first Tuskegee Airmen to today’s successful pilots, their contributions highlight a history of bravery and skill that has dispelled myths and raised the bar for aviation. These men and women unquestionably demonstrate that the obstacles they encounter are not related to competence but rather to perception, embodying the perfection expected—and necessary—of any elite force. As the tale of Black pilots develops, it becomes evident that they are not only capable but also leaders in the struggle for respect, equality, and representation in the airspace and beyond.
Copyright 2024 Smack Campus Magazine A Smack Media Group Company [...]
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Art & Living / Culture / TrendingWhen Virginia Johnson auditioned to be a ballerina for the newly created Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969, she was already conditioned to steel herself against rejection.
Her longtime teacher, Mary Day, had warned her that major ballet companies were not ready for a Black dancer, especially one as tall as she was.
So when Arthur Mitchell, a co-founder of the dance company, told her that he “didn’t like my dancing, didn’t think there’s any hope for me, but said we’ll see what we can do,” she did what she had always done: kept her head up, and kept dancing.
Mitchell was a pioneer in his own right. Already a star at New York City Ballet, he was one of the few Black principal ballet dancers in the world. But he wanted more: a school to expose other Black and Latino kids to ballet and a professional company to offer the most talented a place to excel.
It turned out that Johnson’s training had been very different from the style that Mitchell preferred. Despite that, Johnson went on to become a principal ballerina for DTH – the highest rank in a dance company – for 28 years.
She starred in pieces as wide ranging as Giselle and A Street Car Named Desire, and then pivoted to arts reporting before returning to the dance theatre as artistic director.
This week, after more than a decade in that role, Johnson retires from Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Part of her job involved getting the traveling company back on stage and back on solid financial footing after it shut down for many years.
On July 1, DTH’s current choreographer, Robert Garland, will take over her job.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Some of the excerpts include some quotes from the interview that were not aired in the broadcast version.
Michel Martin: Talk to me about those early days. The shocker for me is that Arthur Mitchell didn’t like you. I’m like, what? Why? Because you’re actually a little bit tall for a prima ballerina.
Virginia Johnson: I’m very tall. I was a very tall Giselle. I was trained in the Vaganova School, which is a very classically and very placed . There’s a beauty to being still. Arthur Mitchell came from George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, which is where he created the style of dancing called neoclassical ballet, which is about dynamic movement and covering space and not being static — not making poses, but making movement. And so, yeah, you know, it was horribly deflating and painful when he was like, “Oh, I’m not sure about you.” But it was also an opportunity to learn something and to be challenged by something new.
Tell me about those early days. Did you feel like pioneers?
We did feel like pioneers. We did very much feel like we were crusaders, that we had an important message, that we had to change people’s minds. And those early years of Dance Theatre of Harlem were extremely — it was a lean time for us. It was a small company. We did a lot of bus and truck tours. We were going into small cities. People were thinking they were going to see the Harlem Globetrotters.
No.
Because it was a bunch of tall, skinny Black people and they couldn’t imagine that we were ballet dancers.
Are you serious?
We would be in the airport and it’s like, are you guys the Harlem Globetrotters? So there was a lot of convincing. We had to band together. We had to be strong and we had to be excellent.
And Arthur Mitchell was a very tough taskmaster, and he drove us to become dancers that we may never have become without the imperative, you know: If you’re a Black person in America, you can’t be good. You’ve got to be better than the best because people are not going to accept you. And so he very much brought that idea into, okay, we’re in ballet and we’re not just being ballet dancers. We’re going to be the best ballet dancers.
The other thing that the Dance Theater of Harlem did that I think people may not understand, even if they’ve seen it, is that even the language of ballet is very white. There’s like the so-called white ballets. And that’s not because the people are white. Why are they called the white ballets?
Because the costumes are white. But so yes, the thing that people get stuck with is a very narrow definition of what ballet is. And certainly ballet started in the court of Louis the 14th. You know, but there’s Russian ballet and there’s Italian ballet. Ballet is everywhere. Ballet speaks to people because it’s an art form of elevation. And elevation is a human impulse. Ballet got refined and sliced and diced and came to be this thing that was about everybody looking exactly alike and everybody having the same physical shape, having the same timing, the same unity of…
Precision
Precision.
It was almost like kind of a militaristic approach to it, albeit on centering the female body and a specific type of femininity and etherealness and so forth.
Exactly
You had an incredible career of 28 years as a dancer. I think people even outside of dance can understand the toll that it takes on your body. How did you do that?
Well, it was love. Ballet is very hard. And you have to knock yourself out every single day. And yes, there is a certain amount of pain. There’s certain amount of physical and mental anguish to that. But I was getting to do what I love to do. And the challenge of becoming better than I was yesterday was something that I use like candy for me.
Anything that remains a pain point for you or something undone or anything you wish you had done that you weren’t able to do?
This is going to sound really very egotistical, but I wish I had had a lot more confidence in myself because I would have been a greater dancer than I was.
How did that understanding come to you?
I had to get old. I was so full of doubt about every single thing that I did and that I really did spoil things for myself. But I did keep trying. And I finally got old enough that I was doing performances. You know, I was in my late thirties when Giselle came to me, very old. So I at least had that little bit of awareness, self-awareness that I was like, okay, you’re getting to do this, you sure better do it.
What made this the time to step away?
Oh, I’m old.
You’re not old. You’re seasoned.
No, it was because this company needs more challenge, needs a new challenge, needs a vision. Robert Garland, we danced together in the day with the company. But Robert Garland is an amazing choreographer. He’s somebody who’s got his pulse on American culture. And when I talk about American culture, I’m talking about African-American culture, classical American culture, American culture as we want it to evolve to be, which is representative of the people who are in this nation. And Robert is a young man who has access to that kind of vision. So it wasn’t about me stepping down. It was about what does this organization need now to really keep thriving.
Copyright 2023 Smack Magazine Houston. To see more, visit NPR. [...]
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Culture / Featured / Money & Power / Politics / TrendingIntroduction: The Importance of DEI in Aviation
For decades, the skies have been dominated by a narrow demographic, but Black pilots have a vibrant history in aviation. Throughout history, they were determined to break down barriers with their hard work, skill, and resilience. These aviators still encounter misconceptions, difficult challenges, and fears about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Like many other industries, the aviation industry has beenobtuse to accept diversity. This results in black pilots facing underrepresentation along with other minorities in the aviation industry.
The Lies About Black Pilots: Calling Out The Industry & Media Trolls in Aviation
The many pervasive challenges Black pilots encounter throughout history- and still do today- come from individuals who believe that DEI jeopardizes aviation safety and professionalism. The aviation industry has always been and still is dominated by white men. The idea of “not being qualified” has always been a racial stigma that the black community has had to cope with historically. The trolls have surged social media and online forums with bogus accusations targeting Black pilots, criticizing their competency based solely on prejudice. Charlie Kirk, a conservative, sparked uproar with his comments on black pilots. He is always known for sturring controversy and also enjoys debating college students. Kirk was talking about what he thinks to be terrible effects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which are intended to encourage people from ethnic minorities to seek jobs in fields that do not reflect thm.
Charlie Kirk blamed DEI for his racist comment about Black pilots.Kirk also implied he doesn’t want “LaQueesha James” flying his plane or a Black lesbian operating on him…Videos and story— https://t.co/StmFpfDJpv— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 24, 2024
Kirk is wrong for several reasons, Kirk’s alleged fear of black pilots is unwarranted, and such unverified remarks do little to persuade others in the country that these left-wing schemes are dangerous. Furthermore, considering Kirk’s lack of aviation experience, the Tuskegee Airmen would certainly appreciate a word Also, consider that the pilots of all significant commercial airline crashes in the United States. This would entirely undermine Kirk’s claims and demonstrate that his purported concerns are unjustified or motivated by an agenda. If Kirk is concerned when he sees black pilots, if he sees any at all, he should be comforted to know that every historical record and statistic shows that his pearl-clutching is unfounded.
Of course this was going to happen… https://t.co/9F0mUWv8so— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 27, 2024
These discriminations frequently repeat the same fallacies that were disseminated during World War II, when the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black squadron, were questioned not for their talent, but for their skin color. Today’s online trolls are just rehashing old, invalidated assertions, hiding behind pseudonym names, and claiming that boosting diversity through DEI projects would decrease standards. However, this could not be further from reality. Hostility to DEI, particularly among White males in aviation, stems from a fear of losing power in an industry that has historically been homogeneous. It’s a type of gatekeeping aimed at keeping the status quo in place, with White male pilots serving as the standard bearers of aviation, despite evidence that diversity promotes safety, creativity, and problem-solving.
The Challenges Black Pilots Face in Work Culture
Racism, Slow recognition, Segregation, Doubt, etc. are the many challenges black pilots face. These generational issues are a view that black people still have to contend with. Black pilots today are underrepresented. Black pilots frequently feel undermined by this lack of diversity, especially when dealing with prejudice from coworkers, passengers, and even management. The Tuskegee Airmen had a lot on their plates. Their biggest misconception is that they were inferior to white men. Assuming that Black troops lacked the discipline and aptitude to operate cutting-edge aircraft and perform in combat situations, White military authorities and the general public questioned their intelligence, bravery, and skill. The Tuskegee Airmen performed exceptionally well, completing demanding training and serving with distinction in World War II despite these prejudices. In addition to dispelling the notion of racial inferiority, their success helped to desegregate the U.S. military, which was a turning point in the struggle for equality and forced a country to reevaluate its ideas about aptitude and race. The African American Organization Aerospace of Professionals (AAOBAP) claims that these difficulties are a result of a lengthy history of racial discrimination in the aviation industry, where Black pilots have traditionally been subjected to preconceptions that cast doubt on their abilities. These prejudices still exist today, as evidenced by the fact that many pilots encounter microaggressions or are misidentified as other crew members, which highlights the continued influence of stereotypes on Black aviation professionals.
And the Fight continues
With the constant trolling, racism, and discrimination, there will always be people like Charlie Kirk. Black pilots have consistently demonstrated their talent, tenacity, and commitment to the sky despite a history of prejudice and skepticism. From the first Tuskegee Airmen to today’s successful pilots, their contributions highlight a history of bravery and skill that has dispelled myths and raised the bar for aviation. These men and women unquestionably demonstrate that the obstacles they encounter are not related to competence but rather to perception, embodying the perfection expected—and necessary—of any elite force. As the tale of Black pilots develops, it becomes evident that they are not only capable but also leaders in the struggle for respect, equality, and representation in the airspace and beyond.
Copyright 2024 Smack Campus Magazine A Smack Media Group Company [...]
Read more...
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TrendingLincoln Mondy grew up in a mixed race family in Texas, where his white mother’s family used regular tobacco, unlike his Black father.
“My dad exclusively smokes menthol cigarettes,” he says. “Menthol was such a part of Black culture. And I knew that Black people smoked menthol and that was just a fact.”
The 29-year-old filmmaker turned his curiosity about race and menthol tobacco into a documentary on the topic he produced for the Truth Initiative, an anti-smoking advocacy group.
He then realized how menthol’s popularity with the Black community came from decades of racially targeted marketing, including ads (such as the Kent Menthol ad shown above) depicting Black models in Black magazines like Ebony, and cultural events in Black neighborhoods — like the KOOL Jazz festival, sponsored by the menthol brand. “They really created menthol as a Black product,” Mondy says.
Now, as a proposed ban on menthol remains in limbo since the Biden administration put it on hold in December, lobbying and debate continues about how the ban would impact Black smokers.
Not only is the minty, cooling flavored tobacco most heavily marketed and consumed in Black communities, where over 80% of smokers use menthol, it is a big reason Black men face the highest rate of lung cancer, says Phillip Gardiner, a public health activist and co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. Latino and LGBTQ communities as well as women were also targeted, he says.
The minty, cooling flavor of menthol masks the smoke and soothes the throat, making it easier to inhale deeply. “The more deeply you inhale, the more nicotine and toxins you take and the more addicted you become,” and the more lethal the product, Gardiner says.
That history is why efforts to ban menthol cigarettes and cigars have always been entwined with race. Menthol has become a flashpoint of controversy, dividing Black leaders and their communities.
The Food and Drug Administration was set to enact a long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes and cigars last August. The rule detailing the ban has already been written but needed to be approved by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget before it could be finalized. The White House since delayed it until March, and agreed to hold meetings with groups opposed to the rule. This angered activists like Gardiner.
“It’s ridiculous; thousands of lives are being lost because of the inactivity of the FDA and now the White House,” he says. Gardiner says the delays are the result of the industry wielding its financial influence within the Black community.
Late last year, tobacco giant Altria recently sponsored a poll finding a menthol ban would sway more Black voters against President Biden. Details of that poll have not been released, and NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson refutes its findings, saying in a video statement, “we’re the largest civil rights organization in the Black community in 47 states across the country; no one has raised this as a political issue.”
One of the most vocal and influential voices against menthol bans is Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton and his group, National Action Network, didn’t respond to requests for comment, but in the past, they’ve acknowledged working with and receiving funding from tobacco companies— including in fighting in New York state, which has considered a menthol ban.
“Smoking is bad for you, no question about it, but if it’s a health health issue, why aren’t you banning all cigarettes,” Sharpton says to a cheering crowd, in a video from a speech at a 2019 National Action Network event. Implied in a menthol ban, he says is the notion that “whites know how much to smoke and we don’t know how much to smoke.”
More recently, in lobbying against a federal ban, Sharpton has also repeated his argument, including in a letter to White House’s domestic policy advisor Susan Rice that it would lead to more over-policing of Black people. He cites the death of Eric Garner at the hands of New York City police during an arrest on suspicion of selling loose untaxed cigarettes.
In fact, a federal menthol ban would not outlaw individuals from possessing or using those cigarettes, but bar the manufacture and sale of them.
But Lincoln Mondy, the filmmaker, says coming from respected leaders like Sharpton, messages that tap into existing fears about aggressive policing can be deeply confusing and divisive for the Black community.
“My granny has pictures of Al Sharpton on her mantle, along with Jesus,” he says. “Especially for our elders, you have Black leaders who are selling this tobacco PR line around policing and : ‘They’re just trying to take things away from Black people.'”
He and others say the delays in the federal menthol ban have already handed the industry a win. In places like California and Massachusetts that already banned menthol, the tobacco industry is now selling menthol-like flavors that aren’t technically menthol, and therefore not subject to those new laws.
A similar end run, he says, would be likely if any national ban were to take effect.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.
Transcript :
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Efforts to ban menthol cigarettes and cigars have always been entwined with race. The flavor is most heavily consumed in Black communities and is a big reason why Black men face the highest rate of lung cancer. But when the federal government banned flavored tobacco 15 years ago, it left menthol on the market. The Biden administration has since put off implementing a ban. NPR’s Yuki Noguchi reports.
YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Lincoln Mondy grew up in Texas in a biracial family. His mother’s white family used regular tobacco, but not his Black father.
LINCOLN MONDY: My dad exclusively smokes menthol cigarettes. Menthol was such a part of Black culture, and I knew that Black people smoked menthol, and that was just a fact.
NOGUCHI: Mondy turned his curiosity about menthol into a documentary for the Truth Initiative, an anti-smoking advocacy group. He realized his racial associations with menthol came from decades of targeted marketing in Black magazines like Ebony, or from cultural events in Black neighborhoods.
MONDY: Kool cigarettes hosted this jazz festival in Detroit for years, right?
NOGUCHI: Phillip Gardiner is a public health activist and co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council.
PHILLIP GARDINER: Today, over 85% of African American adults who smoke cigarettes smoke menthol cigarettes, and that’s because of the predatory marketing.
NOGUCHI: He says women and Latino people were also marketed menthol’s cooling properties, which makes it easier to inhale deeply.
GARDINER: The more deeply you inhale, the more nicotine and toxins you take in, the more addicted you become.
NOGUCHI: And the more lethal they are. Anti-smoking advocates point to menthol as a clear contributor to racial disparities in health, specifically cancers. The Food and Drug Administration was set to enact a long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes and cigars last August. The White House since delayed it until March, angering activists like Gardiner.
GARDINER: It’s ridiculous. Thousands of lives are being lost because of the inactivity of the FDA and now the White House.
NOGUCHI: Menthol has become a flashpoint of controversy dividing Black leaders. Gardiner blames the delays on the industry he says is wielding its financial influence within the Black community. It recently sponsored a poll finding a menthol ban would sway more Black voters against President Biden. One of the most vocal and powerful voices against menthol bans is civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton and his group, National Action Network, didn’t respond to requests for comment, but they previously acknowledged working with and receiving funding from the industry.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
AL SHARPTON: Smoking is bad for your health, no question about it. But if it’s a health issue, why ain’t you banning all cigarettes?
NOGUCHI: In lobbying against a federal ban, Sharpton repeated his argument that it would lead to more overpolicing of Black people. Lincoln Mondy, the filmmaker, says coming from respected leaders like Sharpton, messages that tap into existing fears about policing can be deeply confusing and divisive for the Black community.
MONDY: My granny has pictures of Al Sharpton on her mantle along with Jesus, especially for our elders, like, you have Black leaders that are sowing this tobacco PR line around policing and around sort of like they’re just trying to take things away from Black people.
NOGUCHI: Mondy says the delays have already handed the industry a win. Since places like California and Massachusetts banned menthol, the tobacco industry started selling menthol-like flavors that aren’t technically menthol and therefore not subject to those new laws. He says a similar end run could happen around any national ban if it takes effect. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. [...]
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Entertainment / Music / Trending“I’ve never really had a religious experience, in a religious place,” the Atlanta rapper Killer Mike says to begin the title track of his 2012 album, R.A.P. Music. “Closest I’ve ever come to seeing or feeling God is listening to rap music. Rap music is my religion.” The intent in his voice doesn’t read as blasphemy. It’s more a confession: that his spirituality is not only unconventional, but profane. After comparing his music to various holy hallmarks — gospel music, church, calling it “player Pentecostal” — he offers his career up on the altar as a sacrifice despite his sin: “So I pray to the Lord He spare me, and I make it by and by / And I help souls stay out of Hell with what I testify / And maybe when I grab that microphone and never lie / That’ll merit that He spare me, I won’t have to feel that fire.” It is a telling arrangement for the artist, the opposite of a Faustian bargain, where he keeps his soul in exchange for spreading the good word.
How he has fared on that mission might depend on who you ask. Mike has cut a particularly controversial figure as he’s transitioned from Dungeon Family member to half of the crossover duo Run the Jewels. Plenty of rappers aren’t scrutinized for what they represent outside of their music, but Mike is zealous expressing his ideas and dogmatic in their defense, not unlike most preacher men. Faith, in fact, is the undertone in much of his music, which often thinks of Mike as a vessel for God in one sense or another, as “R.A.P. Music” does. But that music has been noncommittal about his actual theology. (It’s unclear how literal he was being about starting his own church during an experiment on his Netflix show.) To this point, Mike’s musical relationship to his faith could be summed up by one facetious line on RTJ4: “Not a holy man, but I’m moral in my perverseness.” God has frequently appeared in his lyrics, but mostly as a means to caution and counsel others, or as a barometer for how far he has strayed from a righteous path.
Michael, Killer Mike’s first solo album in nearly 10 years, casts his faith in a new light — as essential to his story and his mission. Before, God was often inaccessible in the world of Mike’s music, turning a blind eye to the terrors its people faced (“I used to pray to God, but I think he took a vacation / ‘Cause now the state of Cali is ran by these corporations,” he rapped on “No Save Point“). On this album, he is not just adamant and occasionally God-fearing, but prayerful. He is a sinner born again, one for whom the holy spirit has become a lifeline: “Born at Grady, a bastard baby, the single lady / I beat the odds; without God, I probably wouldn’t have made it,” he explains on “NRich.” There are still flashes of the old cynicism — on “Don’t Let the Devil,” he raps, “Tell the deacon we ain’t speakin’, need money, his prayers worthless” — but for the first time in his career, Mike sounds like more of a believer than a skeptic.
Faith, particularly Christian faith, has never been far from rap’s purview. It has tended to lack the clarity of thought afforded other rap staples, manifesting crudely even when — from “Only God Can Judge Me” to “Jesus Walks” — it connects commercially. Some of the music it generates is blasphemous (“Ten Crack Commandments,” anyone?). Much of it is bad, or at least corny in its presentation. But when effective, it can function as both a powerful narrative device and a litmus test for personal principles. When you understand what an artist believes, particularly about the status of their immortal soul and the resulting moral responsibilities, it becomes clearer what the characters in their music are after and how they define (or even justify) the lives they live. Christian iconography outlined the career of the late DMX, and on his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, he is constantly waging war with the devil. Jay-Z, who has played the sacrilegious outlaw (See: “D’Evils,” “Lucifer“), leans into that characterization on 2007’s “Pray,” where he all but asks God to become an accessory to his crimes. And yet, underneath the amorality is a small show of penitence, the rare display of fealty to a greater power from one of hip-hop’s God MCs.
More recently, many of the biggest stars have dedicated significant space in their discographies to reckoning with religion. Kendrick Lamar’s music has always been underscored by his faith, but 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly wrestled with that spirituality surreally, through allegory and metaphor, like a Bible story — communing with a God disguised as a panhandler and personifying the devil’s temptations through a character named Lucy. “My rights, my wrongs; I write ’til I’m right with God,” he rapped on “Alright.” By 2017’s DAMN., he seemed spent in pursuit of that goal: “I feel like the whole world want me to pray for ’em / But who the f*** prayin’ for me?” he asked on “FEEL.” Conversely, at the height of his power, Chance the Rapper was playing the altar boy, replicating a feel-good devotional music that was nearly scriptural in verse and reference, peaking with his spot on “Ultralight Beam” and his mixtape Coloring Book.
Other offerings have been more superficial. Drake’s No. 1 hit “God’s Plan” gestures vaguely at His influence with a half-hearted, monotone performance. And then, of course, there is Kanye West’s late-career crusade, which feels less like ministry work and more like agitprop for Ye himself as a messianic figure. Killer Mike has been rapping about God nearly as long as Kanye, with nearly as messy a relationship. What he seems to believe, or at least what he confesses in his music, has shifted over time, aided by his steady improvement as a storyteller.
A powerful orator, Mike has always performed as if on the pulpit: He has a voice that could rattle stained glass, with a fire-and-brimstone delivery to match. His timbre, spirit and mannerisms can command the attention of a congregation, but, for many years, protest came before preaching in his songs. “If Jesus came back, Mother, where you think he’d be? / Probably in these streets with me,” he raps on “God in the Building,” from 2008’s I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II, with the impassioned rhetoric of a great televangelist. It’s a recurring theme in his music: Jesus in the hood, not just a miracle worker but a social worker and community organizer.
If Jesus is in the streets, it follows that Mike would make himself an enemy of organized religion. Just as his raps have frequently targeted world leaders for failing to serve those they represent, they target church leaders for abusing positions of power. “I don’t trust the church or the government,” he says at the end of “Untitled.” On “That’s Life II,” he takes aim at molester priests and megachurch celebrities filling their coffers. In his songs, religious figureheads are spiritual middlemen, putting a price on prayer and lying about their influence on the returns. “A pope is a fraud, a church is a lie / A queen is the same damn thing, you should pray to your fake god that she die,” he raps on “Angel Duster.” More recently, he literally transformed the crucifixion story into a parable on state-sanctioned violence and anti-socialism: “Never forget in the story of Jesus the hero was killed by the state,” he raps on “walking in the snow.”
In Mike’s early music, advocacy is God’s will, and activism is evangelism. But even with God moving in him, His reach and Mike’s patience seemed to have clear limits, causing a buildup of fury he would redirect at anyone he had a gripe with: rap rivals, of course, but also moguls on the Forbes list, the “sucker s***” on TV, dirty cops and the Reagan administration. From there, the lines would blur: Being a holy champion would take a backseat to being an agitator, fire-starter and fully loaded marksman. Two tenets of his philosophy would come to transcend all else: a gun is more direct than divine intervention, and people must deliver themselves from evil.
Now, after years of keeping religion at bay, Mike uses it to set the table for Michael — and in divulging some of his most personal stories, recounting the particulars of his struggle and his rise, his purpose seems to come into focus. He has always seen rap as a higher calling, but now he seems to literally be positioning himself as the evangelist promised on “R.A.P. Music.” In so doing, he seems to define his own ministry, one that not only encompasses decisions he’s made in the past but colors his music’s politics. “Bless all the felons that handled the raw / F*** all the tellers that ran to the law / Watch out for the hitters with sticks in the car / My name is Michael, I’m down by law,” he raps to end the opener, establishing the parameters of his doctrine.
Michael is no gospel album, but it is rooted in a Southern religious identity. It thinks about Christianity as inextricable from local philosophy; even if you aren’t a regular churchgoer, you have been touched by it. Some likely have a subconscious impulse to think of the album as self-righteous, and while rap bombast and Christian pomp do align in some regards, they are ideologically at odds. Mike picks and chooses which commandments to obey, but it is in that way that his faith is most real; practically every adherent to every religion practices in ways that feel most in tune with what is pragmatic in their own situation. In his life, some of the piety is aesthetic, some of it is conditional, and some of it is confessional.
There are a lot of hammond organ and choir fills — symbols of the Southern church. Mike recalls dropping his babies at the church nursery, and he has an altar to his grandmother where he asks her to pray for his generation. He knows the preachers and the thugs. Though usually cheeky, here he is close to reverent, blessed to have made it out of the slums. His album is one about the sustaining power of belief, and God as a conduit for positivity. In one section of “Exit 9,” Mike remembers his grandmother pleading with him to be “saved in Jesus’ name,” but he wouldn’t listen: “I know some of my actions, they was taxin’ and I hurt her / But Lord, if she listenin’, please let her know I heard her.” In that moment, God is flowing both ways, connecting the two of them across time. Listening to his stories of survival, it feels as if his belief was hard won.
Most rap spirituality is ultimately a secular spirituality — often explicit and sacrilegious, sure, but also egocentric, bound closer to its profit model than any altruistic ideal. To be fair, churches do make billions annually. Faith is as much an industry as a means of collective expression. But that doesn’t mean it can’t positively impact those who buy in, however they choose to. The most enriching and interesting music to come out of that decision is the stuff that can somehow tap into the uplifting power of a Sunday service, or grapple with our humanity in ways that illustrate why we look to religion for answers in the first place.
Michael does neither, but finds a curious alternative: the autobiography as confessional, using personal history as a means to explore the way God manifests — in individual lives and in the Southern imagination. Across the album, Killer Mike thinks about and applies his Christianity differently. As with most rappers, there is a general thankfulness for the blessings God has bestowed — more in the flexing, Big Sean application of the term than the charmed Chance one — but his spirituality doesn’t strictly see divine favor being represented by material gains, and his worship isn’t without questions. The God of his music is one that sees and serves the castoffs in society: the junkie, the fiend, the loser. “Now, I only go to churches where they welcome worthless men / Who had to get it out the mud and rise up out the sediment,” he raps on “Two Days.” Mike, for his part, has become a willing shepherd. But even as he uses his craft to confer the spirituality he talked about feeling as a rap listener a decade ago, there is a sense that the enlightenment he seeks may exist beyond his bars.
Copyright 2023 Smack Magazine Houston
By: Sheldon Pearce
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Art & Living / Culture / TrendingWhen Virginia Johnson auditioned to be a ballerina for the newly created Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969, she was already conditioned to steel herself against rejection.
Her longtime teacher, Mary Day, had warned her that major ballet companies were not ready for a Black dancer, especially one as tall as she was.
So when Arthur Mitchell, a co-founder of the dance company, told her that he “didn’t like my dancing, didn’t think there’s any hope for me, but said we’ll see what we can do,” she did what she had always done: kept her head up, and kept dancing.
Mitchell was a pioneer in his own right. Already a star at New York City Ballet, he was one of the few Black principal ballet dancers in the world. But he wanted more: a school to expose other Black and Latino kids to ballet and a professional company to offer the most talented a place to excel.
It turned out that Johnson’s training had been very different from the style that Mitchell preferred. Despite that, Johnson went on to become a principal ballerina for DTH – the highest rank in a dance company – for 28 years.
She starred in pieces as wide ranging as Giselle and A Street Car Named Desire, and then pivoted to arts reporting before returning to the dance theatre as artistic director.
This week, after more than a decade in that role, Johnson retires from Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Part of her job involved getting the traveling company back on stage and back on solid financial footing after it shut down for many years.
On July 1, DTH’s current choreographer, Robert Garland, will take over her job.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Some of the excerpts include some quotes from the interview that were not aired in the broadcast version.
Michel Martin: Talk to me about those early days. The shocker for me is that Arthur Mitchell didn’t like you. I’m like, what? Why? Because you’re actually a little bit tall for a prima ballerina.
Virginia Johnson: I’m very tall. I was a very tall Giselle. I was trained in the Vaganova School, which is a very classically and very placed . There’s a beauty to being still. Arthur Mitchell came from George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, which is where he created the style of dancing called neoclassical ballet, which is about dynamic movement and covering space and not being static — not making poses, but making movement. And so, yeah, you know, it was horribly deflating and painful when he was like, “Oh, I’m not sure about you.” But it was also an opportunity to learn something and to be challenged by something new.
Tell me about those early days. Did you feel like pioneers?
We did feel like pioneers. We did very much feel like we were crusaders, that we had an important message, that we had to change people’s minds. And those early years of Dance Theatre of Harlem were extremely — it was a lean time for us. It was a small company. We did a lot of bus and truck tours. We were going into small cities. People were thinking they were going to see the Harlem Globetrotters.
No.
Because it was a bunch of tall, skinny Black people and they couldn’t imagine that we were ballet dancers.
Are you serious?
We would be in the airport and it’s like, are you guys the Harlem Globetrotters? So there was a lot of convincing. We had to band together. We had to be strong and we had to be excellent.
And Arthur Mitchell was a very tough taskmaster, and he drove us to become dancers that we may never have become without the imperative, you know: If you’re a Black person in America, you can’t be good. You’ve got to be better than the best because people are not going to accept you. And so he very much brought that idea into, okay, we’re in ballet and we’re not just being ballet dancers. We’re going to be the best ballet dancers.
The other thing that the Dance Theater of Harlem did that I think people may not understand, even if they’ve seen it, is that even the language of ballet is very white. There’s like the so-called white ballets. And that’s not because the people are white. Why are they called the white ballets?
Because the costumes are white. But so yes, the thing that people get stuck with is a very narrow definition of what ballet is. And certainly ballet started in the court of Louis the 14th. You know, but there’s Russian ballet and there’s Italian ballet. Ballet is everywhere. Ballet speaks to people because it’s an art form of elevation. And elevation is a human impulse. Ballet got refined and sliced and diced and came to be this thing that was about everybody looking exactly alike and everybody having the same physical shape, having the same timing, the same unity of…
Precision
Precision.
It was almost like kind of a militaristic approach to it, albeit on centering the female body and a specific type of femininity and etherealness and so forth.
Exactly
You had an incredible career of 28 years as a dancer. I think people even outside of dance can understand the toll that it takes on your body. How did you do that?
Well, it was love. Ballet is very hard. And you have to knock yourself out every single day. And yes, there is a certain amount of pain. There’s certain amount of physical and mental anguish to that. But I was getting to do what I love to do. And the challenge of becoming better than I was yesterday was something that I use like candy for me.
Anything that remains a pain point for you or something undone or anything you wish you had done that you weren’t able to do?
This is going to sound really very egotistical, but I wish I had had a lot more confidence in myself because I would have been a greater dancer than I was.
How did that understanding come to you?
I had to get old. I was so full of doubt about every single thing that I did and that I really did spoil things for myself. But I did keep trying. And I finally got old enough that I was doing performances. You know, I was in my late thirties when Giselle came to me, very old. So I at least had that little bit of awareness, self-awareness that I was like, okay, you’re getting to do this, you sure better do it.
What made this the time to step away?
Oh, I’m old.
You’re not old. You’re seasoned.
No, it was because this company needs more challenge, needs a new challenge, needs a vision. Robert Garland, we danced together in the day with the company. But Robert Garland is an amazing choreographer. He’s somebody who’s got his pulse on American culture. And when I talk about American culture, I’m talking about African-American culture, classical American culture, American culture as we want it to evolve to be, which is representative of the people who are in this nation. And Robert is a young man who has access to that kind of vision. So it wasn’t about me stepping down. It was about what does this organization need now to really keep thriving.
Copyright 2023 Smack Magazine Houston. To see more, visit NPR. [...]
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TrendingBilly Porter thought he was going to be a preacher before discovering musical theater as a teenager and pursuing that instead. And, while a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy means he definitely made the right choice, We’d pay any amount of money to see a preacher wearing one of his red carpet looks.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Peter Grosz: So we have to ask, since we just mentioned it in our introduction of you, is that true? Were you going to be a preacher growing up?
Yeah, I grew up in the Pentecostal church. And, you know, in that space, when somebody felt a special energy coming over you, they called it the anointing. And when that happens, it means you’re going to be a preacher.
How did you feel? Did you feel like you could see yourself as a preacher? Because as somebody who had a performative gene and an instinct, that must have been exciting.
You know? I took it on and I preached my first sermon when I was probably around ten or 11, and I knew immediately: NOPE
You’re now a style and fashion icon in addition to everything else. Are there any things that you’ve worn on the red carpet that were extremely stylish, but also extremely uncomfortable? Then, during the award ceremony or whatever event that you’re in, you’re like, I’m going to change into some sweatpants because I’m going to sit here for 3 hours. I can’t be sitting in this, like, birdcage looking cape thing or whatever.
Yeah, you have to think about that and think about what you’re going to take off. Like, the hat that I went to the Grammys with, the one that opened and closed. Yep.
For people who don’t know, it was this hat that sort of had this 360 degree curtain that was motorized. And it just opened up like a curtain in front of your face.
Oh, my God. It hurt so bad that it left a mark. It like, almost cut me, it left an indentation, it was so heavy!
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TrendingMidway through Elizabeth Colomba and Aurélie Lévy’s new graphic novel, Queenie: Godmother of Harlem, the viewer is confronted with a harrowing scene.
The protagonist, a young Afro-Caribbean immigrant named Stephanie Saint Clair, is on a bus traveling South from New York City to escape an abusive relationship — when the Ku Klux Klan stops the vehicle. After ordering Saint Clair and all other Black passengers off the bus, the Klan violently assaults them.
This was the first scene that New York-based artist Colomba drew and presented to publishers after she and Lévy, her longtime Paris-based collaborator, began scripting the project three years ago.
“It’s a pivotal moment in her life,” Colomba said. “She could have been killed easily, and I’m sure they left her for dead. … And so it’s almost like the Phoenix, it’s almost a miracle. There’s something so powerful to transcend that.”
From the proverbial ashes of this moment, Stephanie Saint Clair, who also went by “Queenie,” fashioned a new persona, one she would use while running the numbers game — the illegal lottery — during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Set in 1933, in the wake of Prohibition ending, Queenie: Godmother of Harlem tells her story, which has largely been forgotten until now. Unfolding like a mob thriller, and interspersed with flashbacks to Saint Clair’s childhood, the book follows her battle to retain her empire as rival gangs muscle in on her numbers racket.
Colomba and writer Aurélie Lévy did intensive research into Saint Clair’s life and the time period in which she lived. But they acknowledge that there were some details they had to fill in. For instance, historians disagree on whether Saint Clair was born in the French Caribbean island of Martinique or Guadeloupe. And it’s unclear if she did in fact encounter the Klan. But incorporating that scene allowed the authors to explore the racial dynamics of the time that Saint Clair — who spoke English with a French accent — was up against, as well as her character’s naïveté around being a Black woman in America.
“Because she’s from Martinique… she thinks she can get away with things. She thinks that she’s not going to be seen as an African-American, but as either a French person or as somebody who is from the Caribbean,” Colomba said, likening the character’s encounter with American racism to a culture shock.
Though Colomba and Lévy included many real figures — including Saint Clair’s protégé Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson and rival mobsters Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano — others are fictional and intended to chip away at different layers of Saint Clair’s experience and frame of mind. For example, Lévy and Colomba invented a white Jewish male character named Rosenfeld, who acts as a father-figure to Saint Clair and fronts her business. Lévy explained that this was necessary because, as a Black woman, Saint Clair would likely not have been able to make her own investments.
“We felt a huge responsibility,” Lévy said, reflecting on the writing process. ” very dense historically. And then we had to find out as much as we could about her and then invent the rest,” she said. “It was both a blessing and a curse to have those gaps.”
A curse because Saint Clair also carefully controlled her own narrative, so it’s impossible to know what is true and what may be embellished. A blessing because Queenie was a larger-than-life gangster and fashion icon.
In 1912, Saint Clair boarded a ship for New York City. By the 1920s, Saint Clair had established her numbers racket in Harlem, and within a few years, she was earning an estimated $200,000 a year, or $3.5 million today.
As her empire and fortune grew, Saint Clair crafted a persona of wealth and power through advertisements she purchased in The New York Amsterdam News, a widely-circulated Black newspaper. The ads featured photographs of Saint Clair in fine clothing and jewelry.
“It was propaganda,” Lévy said. “You had to be pretty smart to understand the power of image.”
But Saint Clair also used the ads to advocate for Harlem’s poor and Black residents. They included mini opinion pieces where she called out police brutality and corruption — often by name — and denounced unlawful searches. In this way, she helped educate her community on their civil and voting rights. Her business was also lucrative because Black people at the time were largely excluded from participating in legal forms of investing. Banks often refused to serve Black people and denied them loans. As a result, many saw the illegal lottery game as one of the few avenues for building wealth.
“I think what blew us away about her was how forward-thinking, precocious and visionary she was,” Lévy said. “And whatever she left you, she deliberately left. I think she was very careful about that.”
The graphic novel portrays Stephanie Saint Clair as a savvy, brilliant woman with an unusual knack for numbers, and depicts her transformation from precocious child longing to escape plantation life in Martinique into a woman who is at once ruthless and tender.
Lévy and Colomba said they wanted to avoid the pitfalls of the biopic as they told Saint Clair’s story. Both were well aware of the burden of representation that often accompanies Black characters who are the first of their kind.
“Unfortunately, when we encounter figures that are people of color, there’s a tendency to simplify and to make them reassuring. They either have to be really bad or really good. And it doesn’t make them human,” Colomba said. “I think by creating a layered character, it humanizes . Being complex is just being human.”
“And I think nothing testifies more of how hard times were than who you had to be to survive as a woman and all the more as a Black woman. So there’s no way she could have been ,” said Lévy.
Colomba said she first learned about Saint Clair through her mother, Lucíanne, a former school teacher and immigrant from Martinique who taught her children about their Caribbean roots, history and heroes.
“My mother was always a point to introduce us to figures from the Caribbean … who have some power in culture and who she felt important for us to know,” Colomba said. “She always wanted for us to know more about our culture.”
The moment Colomba learned about Saint Clair, she was immediately captivated and wanted to know more, to understand how Queenie became the person she was.
“When you are born in Martinique and just before the 20th century, your choices in life are slim. And it takes an incredible mind or tenacity to think that you deserve more. And for , she decided at a very young age… to envision something bigger,” Colomba said.
And she and Lévy hope that Queenie’s story will resonate with others, too.
“There is something quite inspiring about someone who is so tenacious and decides that the box she was put in is not going to contain her,” Colomba said.
“She rewrote her own story. That’s how I like to imagine her: as someone who controls the narrative,” echoed Lévy.
Edited by Mallory Yu
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Apartment / Real Estates / UncategorizedPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
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Apartment / Real Estates / UncategorizedPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
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Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Apartment / UncategorizedPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Real Estates / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Real Estates / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Mountain / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Green / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Real Estates / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Real Estates / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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Real Estates / Uncategorized / VillaPellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisie.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.[vc_column width=”1/2″]Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae.
Remember that just about the entire coast of both North and South Holland is entirely sandy beach with lots of dunes. We prefer to use our server from cloudhost.
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum. [...]
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