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I’m actually pretty damn proud of Luke Mullen in his choosing of TJ’s name.
Jagger of course after Mick Jagger. Jagger was of course the lead singer for The Rolling Stones and an overall iconic rockstar. He was known for his gender non-conforming stage persona in the 70s. He experimented with Glam Rock fashion, and makeup, and had quite the extravagant stage-presence. Jagger is notoriously bisexual and has been with many men and women in his time, including Princess Margaret and David Bowie.
Thelonious is most likely after Thelonious Monk, a Black Pianist and a prominent jazz artist from Harlem. He was known for his fantastic improvisation skills and compositions. He was an active jazz artist for nearly 40 years and was in a quartet with John Coltrane. Monk was also a victim of Police Brutality like many Black men in America. In 1958, on his way to a gig, where he was pulled over by police officers. When he refused to answer their questions, he was beat unconscious with a club-like weapon known as a Blackjack. Monk also suffered from severe mental illness that was misdiagnosed several times, he was put on narcotics, lithium, and other hard medications to try to ‘fix him’. Monk died in 1982 to a stroke.
So I’m proud of Luke’s picks, having TJ named after a gender non-conforming bisexual rock star and a mentally ill strong black man.
I don’t think I’ve cried this much in a long time.
PLEASE WATCH When They See Us on Netflix.
‘When They See Us’ is a horrifying story of racism and the treatment of black people in this country, told beautifully through film. The story is a true story about five young boys; Kevin Richardson, Antron Mccray, Raymond Santana Jr., Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam. These young black and brown boys were no older than 16 when they were wrongfully convicted and accused of the rape and attempted murder of Trisha Meili, a 28-year-old, white woman. Kevin Richardson, the youngest of the five, was only FOURTEEN when he was beaten, detained, and illegally coerced by the NYPD in 1989.
The case was known as the Central Park Jogger Case and the five men the Central Park Five. The only thing these boys were guilty of was being black and brown in Central Park that night.
Kevin Richardson, Antron Mccray, Raymond Santana Jr., Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam, spent the end of their childhood incarcerated.
This past year I’ve seen other shows telling true stories, like The Bundy Tapes, receive raving reviews and advertising. I have not seen a thing about When They See Us. Now this would surprise me, if it weren’t for the constant systematic oppression of people of color in this country.
This series is not getting the attention it deserves, cause, quite frankly, too many white people get uncomfortable and turn off anything that makes them feel bad for being white. The problem is not that you’re white, it’s that you’re not using the privilege that comes with the color of your skin, to stand up for or at least learn about the experiences of other people.
So, to all the white kids following me; LEARN, learn the things you’re not being taught because media won’t show them and history won’t teach them.
Learn about the injustices that are coming in every direction at our siblings of color. Learn the history of oppression in this country, and systematic racism that has been built over centuries by other white people.
Use your privilege to do something for people who can’t do anything without getting a bullet in the chest or a life-sentence on their head.
Know your privilege and use it.