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The tale of Lilith

There are a lot of accounts about the ‘demon-ness Lilith’, and her origin story leads a lot to be desired. Apparently, she was the first wife of Adam in Sumerian folklore, and because she did not want to be under Adam’s control any longer, and became, depending on which account you read, a vampire, a demon-ess, or a harlot, or all three, for not wanting to be apart of ‘God’s plan.’ The Sumerian accounts, taken from the 3rd millennium, were the first accounts of what happened to her before the biblical Hebrews surmised of her.

She is described as a ‘beautiful maiden’ but was believed to be a harlot, who once took a lover, offered no satisfaction to him, nor would she ever let him go. According to the Sumerian epic, dating from around 2000 B.C, ‘Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree’ and was ‘‘believed to appear to have human eyes. She is slender, well-shaped, beautiful, and nude, with wings, and owl feet. She stands erect on two reclining lions which are turned away from each other and are flanked by owls. On her head, she wears a cap embellished by several pairs of horns. In her hand, she holds a ring-and-rod combination. Evidently, this is no longer a lowly she-demon, but a goddess who tames wild beasts, and as shown by the owls on the reliefs, rules by night.’’

Apparently, the earliest mention of the ‘she-demon, whose name is similar to that of Lilith is found in the Sumerian king list which dates from around 2400 B.C. ‘‘It states, that the father of the great Gilgamesh was a Lilu-demon. The Lilu was one of four demons belonging to an incubi-succubae class. The other three were Lilitu (Lilith), a she-demon; Ardat Lili, or her handmaiden, who visited men in the night and bore them ghostly children. There is also the tale of the Irdu Lili, who was her male counterpart and would visit women and beget children by them. Originally these were storm demons, but because of a mistaken etymology, they came to be regarded as night demons. On one brief reference to Lilith in the Bible, Isaiah 34:14, in describing Yahweh’s (God) day of vengeance, says: The wild cat shall meet with the jackals, And the satyr shall cry to to his fellow, Yea, Lilith shall repose there, And find her a place of rest.’’

The Tuskegee Experiment

NO. 1

The Tuskegee Experiment was a hoax experiment used to study how black Americans differ from white Americans in catching a disease. It was a study truly held on the biases and stereotypes of other races. No scientific experiment inflicted more damage on the collective psyche of black Americans than the Tuskegee experiment. ‘‘In 1932, following a survey of the incidence of syphilis in a number of Southern regions, the venereal disease division of the U.S Public Health Service (USPHS) began what turned out to be a forty-year project in Macon County, Alabama, to follow the effects of untreated syphilis in some 400 black men. The study continued through World War II, when a number of the men who were called up for the draft and, had they not been research subjects, would have received medical attention for their infection. It continued through the 1950s, after the efficacy of penicillin treatment was established, and after the Nuremberg trials produced a code of ethics for biomedical research. It lasted through the 1960s, untouched by the civil rights agitation, and unaffected by the code of research adopted by the USPHS itself. It ended only in 1972 when an account of the experiment in the Washington Post sparked a furor.’’

NO. 2

One question that boggles the mind is how could an experiment of such degree that violated both moral and medical ethics continue on for so long? Unfortunately, no questions were asked about the rights and welfare of the men who became study/research subjects, and those same men didn’t even understand that they were unwillingly participating in a research project. Each man was given many treatments, placebo’s mostly, including a ‘spinal tap’, where the needle went directly into the spine without anesthesia, just to see what would happen. ‘‘At least three generations of doctors serving in the venereal disease division of the USPHS, numerous officials at the Tuskegee Institute and its affiliated hospital, hundreds of doctors in the Macon County and Alabama medical societies, and numerous foundation officials at the Rosenwald Fund and Milbank Memorial Fund. It also includes the many readers of such medical journals like the Public Health Reports, the Archives of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of Chronic Diseases. These readers could not have escaped the conclusion that untreated blacks had been severely damaged. In July 1954, an article in the Public Health Reports, to choose one example from many, concluded that ‘the life expectancy of a Negro Male between the ages of 25 to 50 years, infected with syphilis and receiving no appreciable treatment for his infection, is reduced by about 17%.’’

NO. 3

As the 400 men were being ‘treated’, government officials were ecstatic to see that syphilis was the same in blacks as it was in whites, by looking at the many and various autopsies of the men who did not survive, due to organ failure and damage. Racism was at the forefront of this tragedy, as scientists saw black men as expendable and looked forward to seeing the disease progress. Men who were affected tried to seek out treatment elsewhere, in other counties but were called back by the very doctors and nurses they trusted, since they were apart of the study. Once the news story broke out, many in the black community lost faith in the government and no longer believed health officials who spoke on matters of public concern. For example, when the AIDS crisis began in the ’80s and ’90s, ‘‘the Tuskegee experiment predisposed many blacks to distrust health authorities, a fact many whites had difficulty understanding. The NYTimes on May 6, 1992, many black Americans believes that AIDS and the health measures used against it are part of the conspiracy to wipe out the black race. To support their assertion, their editor cited a survey of black church members in 1990 that revealed ‘an astonishing 35% believed AIDS was a form of genocide.’

Vogue Arabia

electing a brown skinned cop who uses imperial feminism to reinforce American exceptionalism all while she backs the same colonial projects and state funded violence that allows for the re-criminalization of poverty, the erasure of civil rights, and the expansion prison industrial complex is not a win.

there are a multitude of ways and workings to disrupt, divest, and dismantle the master’s house. kamala winning this election doesn’t fix this lovecraft country. kamala winning this election means a return to our communities to manifest direct action, collective liberation, and radical abolition that upRoots fascism, imperialism, and white supremacy from our gardens.

First Official Blog...Is being poor dangerous?

For those who feel like they do not have enough money to pay for college, buy decent clothing like certain name brands and makeup, etc.,  or even make enough to buy food from the market, is being poor dangerous? Well, speaking from experience, I can answer that yes, is is highly dangerous, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. People in the U.S mostly live in cities like New York, California, New Orleans, and Malibu to name some, and most of these cities are segregated. Each person, family, friend has a different background, therefore they have a different connection with others unlike themselves. This means different levels of inequalities, especially for those who are not rich. This has all to do with the economic structure between poor, middle class and the wealthy. Segregation is everywhere, and in cities, it is a mix of ethnicity, gender, citizenship, and class, and when they become connected, they create systems of labor, respect and suffering. Everyone is structurally vulnerable, as they participate in a #gray zone. Primo Levi describes it as the knowledge of a corrupt system but trying  to survive within it, whether you are at the top or at the bottom, and when you are at the bottom, the system is designed to make people remain there, especially if you are poor working class, a different race than the majority, and when you are, well, illegally living here, which is unfortunate. So, what do you think? Do you believe that being poor is dangerous? 

and just in case you thought she was lying...

where y’all at?

Find me here

Did You Know the Natural History Museum held human remains?!

NO. 1

Robert Peary, the famous adventurer, and explorer traveled to Greenland around 1897. There, he studied Inuit survival strategies and proved that Greenland was an island. But this isn’t about him, but about the group of Inuit descent he deceived to become famous. This is about Minik Wallace, a small boy that grew up in America because of Peary's lie.

NO. 2

Robert Peary invited the Inuit to the Natural History Museum. A group of six was chosen to go: Minik’s father, Quisk, was a renowned hunter, then the shaman Atangana (ca. 1840–1898) with her husband, renowned hunter Nuktaq (ca. 1848–1898), their adoptive daughter Aviaq (ca. 1885–1898) and the young adult Uisaakassak, the fiancé of Aviaq. The adults did not understand the purpose of the trip, but some wanted to travel. They were told that while in America, they would receive gifts, tools, and weapons. Not to mention the promise of being able to return back to Greenland after. Instead, when they arrived in September in New York, they were exploited like objects and specimens. The museum staff did not house them in a safe environment but instead made them stay in their basement. In the light of day, over 2,000 people paid for tickets to see the Inuit group. Truly, the new world was not what they expected it to be, and Peary did little to help them. Four of the group succumbed to tuberculosis, including Minik’s father, and were taken to Bellevue Hospital, and died, unfortunately, leaving Minik alone.

NO. 3

On February 17, 1898, Minimik's father passed away. Minik begged for a proper burial for his father with the traditional Inuit burial rites. The museum staff staged a fake burial, filling the coffin with stones for weight, and placing a stuffed body inside. They performed the burial for Minik’s benefit. The staff stole the body to research, and studying the dead would be impossible if their 6ft in the ground. The body of Quisuk was de-fleshed and his skeleton was sent to the Natural History Museum for display. William Wallace adopted the boy and raised him like his own son, but got fired from his job in 1901. In 1906, he found out from a newspaper that the skeleton of his father was being displayed. In Wallace’s own words, "He was coming home from school with my son Willie one snowy afternoon when he suddenly began to cry. 'My father is not in his grave,' he said, 'his bones are in the museum.' "We questioned him and found out how he had learned the truth. But after that, he was never the same boy. He became morbid and restless. Often we would see him crying, and sometimes he would not speak for days. "We did our best to cheer him up, but it was no use. His heart was broken. He had lost faith in the new people he had come among."Minik, with the support of his adopted father, urged the museum to give back the skeleton of his father.'' The museum staff denied his many requests to reclaim his father’s bones. They evaded the questions of having Inuit skeletons displayed in the gallery. Minik was never able to reclaim his father's bones.

 NO. 4

In 1909, Minik returned to Greenland as an adult, but felt more alienated there than in the U.S. Minik had forgotten his native language and had to learn how to hunt. "Why am I no longer fit to live where I was born? Not fit to live where I was kidnapped?" "Why am I an experiment there and here, and tormented since the great white pirate interfered with nature and left me a helpless orphan, young, abandoned, 10,000 miles from home? I don't think both ends and the middle of the Earth are worth the price that has been paid to almost find one pole." Minik returned to live in the states again in 1916, but caught the influenza flu. He died on October 29, 1918, and it wasn’t until 1993 did the body of Minik’s father and the remains of the others were returned to Greenland for their burial. Read Give Me My Father's Body: The Story of Minik, the New York Eskimo to honor Minik, his father, and the comminity of Polar Eskimoes.

Sex Sells! Exploring the Music Industry.

NO. 1

From “Chapter Two: Hip Hop, Context, and Black Girlhood.” Counterpoints, vol. 399, 2012, pp. 16–31. ‘‘The hegemony where domination is maintained through contemporary democratic societies not through the use of force, but through winning the consent of the people.’’ How many times has Gen Z heard from educators, politicians, and parents alike that the rap genre today should be discouraged as the lyrics are filled with violence, exploitation, criminality, and sexual themes? The music industry understands that the culture of black and brown people perpetuates the idea of fighting against such domineering systems but, unfortunately uses those ideas against that very people. Major music artists such as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Jermaine Dupri, and Percy ‘Master P’ Millers share a large majority of profits with major record labels, but the industry as a whole is ‘white controlled’. And if any rapper wants to be successful socially and financially, they will change their image and structure their performance, lyrics, and music videos to cater towards the ‘White imagination.’

NO. 2

But then there is the other side of the fence that believes that people are going to gravitate toward what they feel motivates them, inspires them, and utterly captivates them no matter the judgment that is unleashed. Regular people cannot change how the music industry operates, so it makes more sense for these rappers to make steady profits from these mega companies. Plus, it is not the responsibility of these rappers to enforce a cleaner message for children and young adults. New female rappers like Ice Spice, Megan the Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, and others are breaking the ‘glass ceiling’, and are widely successful and popular for their music. They are bringing more attention to the rap game and are paving the way for the next generation of female rappers, proving that they can be just as successful as their male counterparts, if not more. Their success is encouraging more women to pursue rap/hip-hop.

NO. 3

Most female rappers of the time today could not be where they are without honoring those who contributed to hip-hop and rap: young Black and Latino youth. From “Under Construction’: Identifying Foundations of Hip-Hop Feminism and Exploring Bridges between Black Second-Wave and Hip-Hop Feminisms, ‘‘In the late 1970s and 1980s, hip-hop was. in part, a response to the class exclusivity of the New York disco scene and the growing gang culture of inner-city New York. Initially, the culture was created as a social and recreational space for the working-class and poor folk who had been pushed to the fringe of society and forgotten. Gradually, hip-hop emerged in the recreational space but also in which to voice contempt for the living conditions of the economically and racially marginalized. From its inception, hip-hop has represented resistance to contemporary political and economic oppression that makes social marginalization possible.’’

NO. 4

As a woman of color and anthropologist, I completely understand both sides of the controversy of rap. As much as female rappers are breaking the rap game, so to speak, their lyrics perpetuate negative stereotypes of the Black community and hostile misogyny toward women. It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, for society’s judgments towards rap and the people who create it will be called into question, but there should at least be a conversation about it so that we can all have a better experience. Society itself holds a double-edged sword when it comes to this, as this music is appreciated by suburban white males, wanting to identify with a culture that is not there behind closed doors while belittling the culture and artists in the limelight. No matter the judgment and hypocrisy, these artists success speaks for themselves.

FAMOUS AUTHORS

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KEIMENA: This page is entirely in Greek, but if you’re looking for modern Greek literature, this is the place to access books online.

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Italian Women Writers: This site provides information about Italian women authors and features full-text titles too.

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Afghanistan Digital Library: Powered by NYU, the Afghanistan Digital Library has works published between 1870 and 1930.

CELT: CELT stands for “the Corpus of Electronic Texts” features important historical literature and documents.

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LibriVox: LibriVox has a good selection of historical fiction.

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MISC

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