I will be chronicling the start of the conference and the back-to-back morning sessions that focus on the disproportionate impact of prison and the criminal justice system on specific communities in New York City, mainly in the Bronx and Central Brooklyn, and how community-based strategies can promote healthy children, families and neighborhoods.

Read and watch the full coverage here.

Co-Editor Larry Smith reads excerpts from Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak

Thought 140 words on Twitter was limiting? Try writing your story of love and heartbreak in six-words. Smith Magazine–an online magazine that focuses on personal narratives-presented the newest of the “Six-Word Memoirs” series, “Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak.”

Though some of the books pages are graced by famous names like Mark Ecko, Janice Dickerson, and Dr. Drew Pinsky, the bulk of contributors are “obscures” which refer to readers of the magazine who post their own memoirs on the site.  In fact, the book has 800 total contributors, the most of any book.

A crowd gathered in a small area on the upper level of the McNally Lackson book store to hear excerpts from the book, back stories to some of the books most exciting stories, and to share their own six-word stories on love and heartbreak with others in attendance.

What’s your six-word love story?

7:11 p.m.
After a late start, the event got underway.  After editors Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith were introduced, a short video intro of the book played.  Prior to displaying it on the projector, Larry said “This year’s video is 90 seconds.”  Apparently there were complaints last year of the video being too long.

7:18 p.m.
Larry and Rachel read the intro to the book, which included a story Larry told about a nine-year-old girl in 2nd grade that had the assignment of writing a six-word memoir.  The girl responded. “Nine years stacked within my soul.”  The crowd laughed.

7:22pm
Rachel asked people to call out page numbers between 1 and 130.  Once numbers were called, they read a couple memoirs from that page.  One woman called out “19.”  Larry, wearing his six-word memoir on his shirt–”Our prison visitations were surprisingly romantic”–said,  “I gotta tell this story about page 19.”  He said he gave the books as gifts over the holiday and his nephew read page 19 and it said,  “Don’t worry, I’ll make myself cum.”

Co-Editor Rachel Fershleiser tells love story of 76 year-old lady’s romp with two men.

7:30 p.m.
Larry invited authors to come up to read their memoir.  “I forgot what I wrote” said Ben Carlen.  “Oh yea,” he said looking at his page recalling his story.  Throughout high school, Carlen didn’t have a girlfriend and had never been in love.  That was until he was 17 when he took a trip to England.  “I said this is it.  I met the love of my life,” he said of a young woman he met while there.  Though the romance ended quickly once he returned to the states, he immediately wrote her letters.  He never heard from her again.  His memoir, which didn’t make the book said: “Canadian girlfriend actually existed dumped me.”

7:37 p.m.
Lara, page 91 shared her six-word memoir was “My sluggish laptop. His archived porn.”

7:47 p.m.
“Talk about how you get from thousands of six-word memoirs to your book,” asked an older man with a grey beard in the front row.  He ended up being Rachel’s father.  (Was that a set up question?- notice the six-words…yes its addicting!)  Rachel explained the process.  They would read them and circle their favorites.  Larry says the average teen submits eight.

7:52 p.m.
18 people sat in the café area, two weren’t listening.  Their heads were down and their attention focused on the papers in front of them.  About 10 people stood behind the near 25 that were seated.

7:54 p.m.
Rachel talks of confessional society in the era of Facebook, Twitter, and other ‘post your life’ type sites.  This was her response to a woman’s question about amenity and six-word memoirs.

7:59 p.m.
Rachel became “Oprah” and began passing around the mic to people in the café.   Some opened up and told their stories behind their six-word memoirs while others just read.

Attendee’s offer their six-word memoirs

8:08 p.m.
Six-word memoirs comes to an end.  Larry and Rachel say thank you’s and closes out the night.

Co-Editor Larry Smith talks about the difference between the six-word memoirs in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York

Our hosts Larry and Rachel read from Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak

Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak is a reading put on by SMITH magazine at McNally Jackson Booksellers in SOHO.

The event, hosted by Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith, features readings of some of the best six-word stories from the book, Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak by Writers Famous & Obscure, and website. Audience members are also encouraged to pen their own six-word memoirs (we’ll have to see about that).

Let the storytelling begin:

After the show, I spoke with our host, Rachel, and a contributor, Dean Morris, about what all things six-words:

Rachel:

Dean:

8:08 p.m. — Somehow I managed to escape the public embarrassment. Instead I’m prompted to submit it via e-mail. Larry and Rachel thank the crowd, and the evening is done.

8:05 p.m. — Time to write our own six-words memoirs. And I suddenly have writer’s block. Hmm… “Inspiration, saturation — rhyming, still no creation.” Yup, that sucks. The mic keeps getting passed around. Shit. “25. Intelligent. Sarcastic. Athletic. Single. Takers?” We’ll go with that. Waiting for the mic.

7:58 p.m. — Host Larry’s own memoir is “Our prison visitations were surprisingly romantic.” And apparently it’s about his wife, Piper, who is in the audience.

7:56 p.m. — A lady from the crowd asks if people ever ask for anonymity. Rachel responds that they’re the first book to have 800 contributors and cite them all.

7:52 p.m. — When asked to describe Smith magazine, Rachel said: “Instead of providing a birds eye view, we provide a chicken’s eye view pecking stuff on the ground.”

7:50 p.m. — They also have a site for teens. The average teen posts 8 memoirs, whereas the adults only post 1.3. So much for teens being slackers.

7:49 p.m. — Rachel’s father asks the question,”How do you go from all these online submissions to a book?” Rachel says that they very simply read through tons of entries on the site, mark their favorites, then go back and curate them. So the second you submit something on the site, you are published, and there is a chance you’ll make one of their books. If the wireless was working in here right now, I would publish a memoir. Maybe it would be: “Wireless is great, until it’s not.”

7:47 p.m. — They show a video of a man in San Francisco who was prompted to write a six-word memoir for every relationship he had ever had, so he did. About 10 of them.

7:43 p.m. — Larry comes back to the mic and plugged a few writers giving readings at a book store at 59th on Wednesday by reading their memoirs but not giving their names. It’s intriguing, and it works.

7:38 p.m. — Another unnamed female contributor: “My sluggish lap-top. His archived porn.” Winner.

7:37 p.m. — Someone asks if the dog has a memoir. “I barked. Everyone here hates me.” There, I wrote it for him.

7:36 p.m. — “I was 20, I was in love, and I was stupid.” That’s how another contributor started her story about her first love who was clearly in love with another woman but she loved him and paid for lots of his things. He was supposed to pick her up at 8 one night to go dancing. That was 20 years ago. “I cleaned, he cleaned me out.”

7:33 p.m. — “Feasted, fasted, festered, fostered, fisted, eww.” Glad there wasn’t a back story ready for that, Ben.

7:30 p.m. — Ben Carlos is invited to the mic to share his memoir. He looks at it on the page (he had forgotten what he had written and the page it was on), and said “Oh yeah, woops.” Turns out he thought a different memoir was in the book and has a story about that, but not the one actually in the book. Someone should probably get him a copy.

7:26 p.m. — Larry says their first book had over 1,000 contributors. The best part about all of it, he says, is the back stories to the memoirs. Rachel’s favorite is “Jim slept here. So is Carlos.” She e-mailed the author asking about the memoir. The author, who turned out to be a 76-year-old woman retired in Mexico, said that Carlos was her Mexican lover for 8 ½ years (he’s 21 years her younger). He wanted to marry, she didn’t, so they split. Then came Carlos. He was only 14 years younger than her. Bravo.

7:25 p.m. — “Dogs remain faithful. Husband off leash.”

7:24 p.m. — Here, Larry shares a funny back story for one of their memoirs

7:22 p.m. — The intro wraps. “Now that you’ve got the basics, feel free to ignore us,” Rachel says. The two hosts instruct us to shout out page numbers of the book at random, and they’ll turn to the page and read the memoirs at random.

7:21 p.m. — Apparently six-word memoirs are getting lots of action on the blogs in Romania. The crowd laughs-except Rachel and Larry are serious.

7:19 p.m. — Larry says love is the most common theme in the six-word memoirs. All kinds love, and even “love’s evil twin: heartache.”

7:16 p.m. — Rachel says Smith magazine launched in 2006. She cited Hemingway’s six words “for sale, baby shoes, never worn” as some of the motivation behind their launch.

7:15 p.m. — After a touching soundslideshow (no really) of some of the best six-word memoirs with accompanying picture and song,(and more annoying barking dog approval), Rachel introduces herself. Apparently she and Larry have been touring independent book stores around the country.

7:11 p.m. — The event finally starts.. To a crowd of about 30 people, the events coordinator kicks off the evening by plugging their merch table. Other news, the event is being recorded for their podcast. A dog barks in approval. The events coordinator exits stage left.

7:00 p.m. –  A projection screen is put up, displaying some memoirs:

Azi Paybarah from the NY Observer’s PolitickerNY.com blog
Grace Rauh from NY1
Fernanda Santos from the NY Times
Liz Benjamin from the NY Daily News

And here we go…

5:57 p.m.: None of the panel has arrived as of yet.

6:00 p.m. : Room is starting to fill up. Two panelists have arrived and are mingling with Asst. Professor Doug Muzio and Prof. Sarah Bartlett.

6:04 p.m. : Third panelist, Azi Paybarah, arrives, food in hand.

6:06 p.m. : Final panelist, Fernanda Santos, from the New York Times, files in.

6:08 p.m. : Here we go! Introductions from Sarah Bartlett.

Azi blogs at the NY Observer.

Santos has been with the Times since ‘05, and previously was at the Daily News for 3 years covering cops/crime.

Grace Rauh was primarily a newspaper reporter, who started at the Oakland Tribune. Currently at NY1.

Liz Benjamin runs the politics blog for the Daily News.

First question of the evening from Prof. Bartlett:

What do you think the top two or three stories will be for the next 12 months?

Azi: “Billion dollar” campaign for Mayor Bloomberg.

Rauh: The mayoral campaign and the budget.

Benjamin: Gov. Patterson and whether or not he can “get his head out of his butt” and run the state. State campaigns are already picking up for 2010. The Gillibrand seat will be up in two years

6:10 p.m. Question

How do you pick and choose your stories?

Santos: Our realities are very different. Azi and Liz’s blogs are great resources for me Times has 3 reporters at city hall with a division of labor. “I can’t deal with working inside an office”. 3 reporters gives us flexibility. Much more interested in covering the human side of the mayor’s decisions. At the Times, we have to do a mix of breaking news and enterprise stories. When it comes to the later, we have to sell it a lot more to the editor.

Rauh: At the Sun, I spent  alot of time pitching stories and trying to get a nugget that would lead to a big story. Now that she’s switched to tv, you have to really go to the place where the newsmakers on. Still learning to report the broadcast side of things.

Benjamin: Bloggers like me and Azi fill the space in between the tv and print media. Aggregate blogging is big as is doing value added bloggin. (Digression: Bloomberg forgot Sully’s name at press conference today and called him “Captian Cool”. Santos says Bloomberg has a problem with name.) Azi takes video snippets to post to on his blog, which gives a new level of oversight to the public.

Azi: There is a desire to hit on themes. Say, for example, the mayor continues to flub names, it might not be the news of the day, but it’s a repeated theme that can be picked up and woven into larger stories down the line. It’s like reading a person’s Twitter feed.

Benjamin: We play off each other. The video at X event reminds me of something the mayor did over here. The blog allows you to pull things together in an interesting collage. The blog format makes it harder to go back and write the standalone news column. ”

6:22 p.m.

How do you develop sources in a public place like City Hall?

Benjamin: Stay away from City Hall!

Azi: Avoid the Starbucks near City Hall.

Benjamin: Big events like caucuses are great places to network. Bars are a great place to network

Santos: There are the main players that everyone hits on, but there are also the people who aren’t on the fringes but who are involved. Bill Cunningham used to be the go to as a press operative from the mayor, but there are other people who can be talked to. The overwhelming number of quotable officials are white men, so there’s an effort to try to seek out alternative voices.

Santos on Benjamin: “She’s a drinker.”

Benjamin: “This business moves on booze.” Everybody has some kind of party, especially during the holidays.

Rauh: For people new to the area, it can take some time to build up sources. When starting new, schedule as many meeting as possible. Lunches get canceled often, so breakfasts end up being good places to establish sources and contacts. You also want to talk to people who aren’t immediately in the news at the moment, because they could be at any time.
When you’re at a smaller publication, the relationships are very critical to getting things done.

Azi: Tougher for a tv reporter because they’re more visible. Bloggers and print reporters can find it easy to keep their face out of the press. Best way to find people is to get there early and get stay late. Use Facebook, gchat to make yourself accessible to the readers. That can lead to deeper sources.

Benjamin: Politics is about trafficking in information.

Santos: A lower level political operative can often be just a good a source as a major player. We don’t do a lot of super local stories, but the stories often start with something more obscure and see how it plays out across the city or nationally. Meeting big people face to face is important. Getting the meeting is great.

Benjamin: At the base of what we do is a curiosity about people and stuff. Reporters “are nosy as hell”.

6:35 p.m.

Are City Council members good sources?

Rauh: The mayor’s press operation is pretty tightly held and it can be hard to chip away and get info.

Benjamin: “The council leaks like a sieve.”

Rauh: Everyone is trying to maneuver for their own interests, so they can sell people out, etc.

Santos: You get a lot of stuff from the council members since they have different viewpoints. They also want to have their name in print.

Azi: Council members can be great. “Here’s my email. Here’s my phone. Here’s my wife’s phone.”

Rauh: Officials often like to be on tv as well.

Benjamin: In a lot of ways, the term limit story may not have been so big if the economy hadn’t tanked. David Yassky took a lot of heat for his vote on the Bloomberg term limit vote.

Santos: Yassky was hurt by sitting on the fence and then saying he was going to do one thing and then ended up doing another.

Azi: For a lot of people who voted for Bloomberg’s term limits, they may not want that to be the last thing people remember, so they have an incentive to be out working on their image.

Santos: Bloomberg showed with people who voted against his term limit extension to perhaps show his magnanimity.

Benjamin: Some of these people have never had jobs outside of politics, so that’s useful to remember. It may be the only thing they know, so things become personal. “It’s power at the base of it, and money.”

(From L to R: Liz Benjamin, NY Daily News; Grace Rauh, NY1; Fernanda Santos, New York Times; Azi Paybarah; New York Observer. Photo Credit: Michael Preston, New York City News Service)

6:44 p.m.

What’s the hardest thing about your job?

Santos: “Figuring out what’s bullshit and what’s real.” I get disgusted with the crap, but you can’t always say that. Outside of the game of politics, these are real people.

Azi: The hardest thing is not working. Monday, you feel like you have to something ready. But at some point, you have to realize that you have to have a life. In one sense, I’m going to keep working at having a job but having a life as well.

Rauh: Things are a little slower in CA. You have to figure out how to be a good reporter and pour yourself into your job but not let it take over your life. It’s also challenging to try to take the policy story and connect to it what it means to the public. “You can get int a bubble mentality.” You want to cover politics not just as a horse race, but not at the expense of telling the story and how it really affects people.

Santos: It’s very hard to realize that you can’t always think of everything that could go into a story.

Benjamin: As we get to more interactive media, it’s hard to accept that you’re not a fly on the wall, but that you are actually a part of the story. There is no such thing as objectivity in this. A lot of things can become very personal. “It’s bloodsport”. You can get used. You try to figure out what people are gaming you on. Dealing with the chess of raw politics is hard.

6:55 p.m.

Student questions begin – What did you think of the Caroline Kennedy/Patterson issue? How can you figure out if you’re being used and stop it in time?

Azi: Mentions Clark Hoyt’s Public Editor column from last Sunday’s New York Times about the reporting on the Kennedy/Paterson story.

Benjamin: I’m going to hazard a guess that everyone on the panel know who made the calls involved with that story. The message was so muddled out of the governor’s office that it was hard to figure out what’s going on. It’s maddening. “He’s lost all credibility with the press corps” because we know who it is.

Benjamin: When someone like the governor wants to leak something, you have to put it out there. That’s our job.

Santos: Someone within the governor’s circle leaking things and the question is, “Why would they do that?” The message is sometimes what’s between the lines.

Rauh: I don’t think any news org. thought about if they should run the story or not. “We want to be used”. It’s a competitive environment and so there is a premium on getting things and exclusivity.

7:03 p.m.

What stories do you think aren’t getting enough attention?

Santos: I don’t think there are enough focus on the way City Hall decisions really affect people in a tangible way. Those stories are missing from the paper and you need time and shoe leather to get.

Azi: I want agree and disagree with Santos at the same time. Budget stories are under reported. It’s hard to work with the numbers. I couldn’t tell you what’s going on with the City Hall slush fund scandal. “It’s not in the DNA of many papers at the moment to stay on budget stories.” Council hearings are a place where a lot of these things get aired. There was a meeting tonight about the impacts of the stimulus on NYC and very few people were there covering it.

Benjamin: It’s follow through. The news cycle is so crazy now that things get lost, like follow up.

Video of Benjamin and Ruah talking about the lack of follow up reporting that occurs:

7:14 p.m.

What are the obstacles do you face as bloggers?

Benjamin: At first, people would ask if I would put this in the paper, but now getting things in the blog now is accepted. There’s still a bit of reluctance about some news going in there as it tends to be more inside baseball and they may want stories to have a wider audience.

Azi: Timing and technological connections are an issue as is the fact that people still are less respectful of bloggers.

Benjamin: “The pace is punishing. It’s like working for a wire service.” A blog is kind of like that.

Hear Benjamin and Azi talk about the challenges they face:

7:19 p.m. Question

What’s up with Hiram Monserrate?

Santos: It was a total political ploy. Hiram played both sides.

Benjamin: The girlfriend thing is winding its way through the court. There is a protection order in place that the judge has not removed. The Democrats will be in a real pickle should Hiram avoid a felony conviction and become subject to a lesser charge.

7:27 p.m.

Have any of you ever felt compelled to run for office?

Panel en masse: No!

Question from Doug Muzzio:

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to new journalists?

Santos: You’re not going to be the best at every aspect of reporting, so figure out what you can be best at. Learn how to do it all, but focus on your strength.

Rauh: Take people out. “Not like on a date”. Invite people for coffee or lunch if your publication would pick up the tab. I’ve never gotten a job in the field by an application. See if you can get in front of the editor.

Santos: Know what you can do. Don’t overreach. Don’t be afraid to move.

Rauh: Be open about different opportunities.

Azi: Seriously think about if this is what you want to do. If you want to do it, then you have to identify your audience and tailor your work to them.

Benjamin: I’d echo all of what was just said. I placed an ad in E & P “situation wanted”. I would urge that you get out of the city because there’s more of an opportunity to hone your skills and cut your teeth. It could be beneficial to get outside of the NYC media market and get another worldview.

Santos: Don’t overlook community papers as they can be great ways to get started. People at the big papers often look at the small papers as sources for stories.

And that’s the end of the panel. Prof. Bartlett thanks the panel for their time and they exit to applause from the audience.

Five minutes from now, the Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to lead a rally outside 133 64th St. in Manhattan, at the corner of Lexington Ave., the building where accused securities fraudster Bernie Madoff lives.

Madoff is out on $10 million bail but confined to his home. Sharpton and other critics contend that this is much more lenient treatment than minorities accused of crimes receive.

12:32 pm

Still no Sharpton. The crowd is small, maybe 15 people. Channel 4 and 7 newsvans are here.

12:35 pm

The police have set up barricades in the middle of 64th St., and people are gathering across the street from Madoff’s building.

12:40 pm

About 10 people have started marching in an oval inside the police-barricaded area, shouting “Hey hey, ho ho, Madoff has got to go” and “Justice for everyone.”

12:53 pm

The number of people marching and chanting has increased to about 27. They are mostly African-American, plus a few older white folks.

Hey! Sharpton’s here! He has joined the marchers.

12:58 pm

The chants are all about equal justice now. There are several photographers here, as well as curious well-dressed Upper East Siders who look like the economic downturn hasn’t hit them quite yet. Several cops are standing around looking placid.

1:02 pm

The marchers now number more than 30, and a few more white people have joined the ranks. Suddenly they’ve gone silent. Still marching, no chanting. OK, now a National Action Network spokesperson is explaining why they’re here.

1:09 pm

The woman at the microphone, Tamika Mallory, spoke of a two-tiered justice system in the city and called it a blatant injustice. Sharpton spoke after her, echoing her comments. Here is an excerpt from his speech (not the greatest quality audio, partially due to the photographer’s camera next to me clicking incessantly):

1:15 pm

After a few more minutes of chanting, the protesters wrapped it up, applauding their own efforts. Members of the press, including me, descended on the group asking for interviews.

Michael Hardy, general counsel of the National Action Network, discusses the double standard of justice that led his group to organize today’s protest:

Osorio recently put out a book, “Straight from the Source: An Expose from the Former Editor-in-Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible,” which is more of a defense of her career as the first female editor-in-chief of The Source magazine.  After she was fired, Osorio sued the publication for gender discrimination, sexual harassment, defamation, and retaliation.  The verdict worked in her favor, and she won $14.5 million.

The following is a live blog of the lecture given by Osorio, followed by a book selling and signing:

6PM: Auditorium already packed, mostly women, lucky I found one seat in the front.  There is chatter of excitement among me, people have already read the book.

6:17: Elaina Romero, journalism professor of City College introduces Osorio, as a multi-racial woman trying to survive the male-dominated hip-hop industry.  She was around when the highest selling issue of The Source came out.  She has had over ten years experience in publishing, and is here to talk about gender issues in the hip-hop culture.

6:19: Osorio takes over the podium, admitting she arrived late.  First refers to Lilly Ledbetter, from Alabama, who filed a similar lawsuit of pay discrimination against her company, Goodyear Tire.  Only heard her name from President Obama, when he signed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  Was first legislation act that he performed.

Osorio talks about growing up as a New Yorker, in the Bronx, of Chinese/African American/Puerto Rico descent.  She claims to usually identify herself not with the following ethnic cultures, but with hip-hop.  She even bought turntables.  Before she could make a joke out of it, saying that she wasn’t cut out to be  DJ, few chuckles were heard in the audience.

6:26: Brings up her other passion: writing.  Writing was therapeutic, as she would express her feelings whenever she ended relationships.  “It helped me get over things,” she said.

She never thought it would turn into a career, changing her major many times while attending Fordham University, and finally settling on a Fine Arts degree.  Then she went to law school.  She shopped around her clips, which got in magazines like Billboard, and eventually landed a job at The Source, which was a dream for her.

Osorio at City College

Associate Music Editor was her starting title.

Some members of the audience are leaning forward, obviously interested.  Osorio is very conversational and casual, holding a cup of Starbucks in her hand.

Osorio acknowledged change within the hip-hop industry of the depiction of women- from Queen Latifah and Salt-n-Pepa as positive role models, to the more sexy Lil Kim and Foxy Brown.

6:31: Favorite artist is Notorious B.I.G. and watched the movie.  She recalls an intimate scene between BIG and Lil Kim.  Kim was reciting a rhyme that came to her head, and in response BIG told her to change it, “people aren’t interested in that, they’re more interested in sex.”  Mainstream image of female rappers is misogynist.

6:33: Osorio mentions how she hates the phrase, “scantily clad.”

6:35: Someone walked in late into the auditorium, slight disruption, but seemed excited, big smile on her face as she scurries to a seat.

Osorio hints at how hard she worked, climbing up the ranks of magazine staff to get to EIC position.

6:38: Talks about her firing because of an e-mail she sent complaining about being discriminated.

Reads excerpt from her book- about how woman’s reputation is based on the men she’s linked with, “The more successful I became, the harder it came to get people out of my personal business…”

6:42: Shuts book and shifts to  one-to-one tone with audience.  Admits she had relationships while being on the staff, and that some were sexual, shook her hand as she said, “Yes, I had sex.”  Audience laughs.  “But that was taboo in the industry.”

Filed for defamation because people from work spread rumors that she slept with rappers, which she denies.

6:44: “To each his own.”  Osorio refers to women having kids out of wedlock, meanwhile it looks normal for men in the hip-hop industry to have kids in this manner.

6:46: Special message that you can’t change the world unless you change yourself, “..and that’s what I did.”

6:49: Not easy to make decision, recalls incident of gender discrimination at a meeting with her boss.  Boss made a comment about how there’s too much estrogen in the room, while women, including herself were present.  Osorio says she didn’t say anything, but it bothered her.

6:53: “Although I love it, it spun out of control.”  She is referring to hip-hop industry.  But she does see positive messages shining through recently.

6:54: Q&A section.

A class was in the auditorium, and teacher announced for them to leave- about 15 people left.

First question from audience: What was your defense when people said you listened to hip-hop, you know hip-hop discriminates women, how could you be offended?

A: I always tried to avoid listening to the words, and just loving the beat.  I would say to myself that they’re not talking about me personally…but after getting involved with the industry, realized it was a bigger issue, all about content.

Osorio recalls testimony from another female worker during her lawsuit.  Boss told her she had a “fat ass.”  Worker’s response was that she didn’t find it offensive because she thought it was a compliment.

Audience cringes and grunts.

7:04: Osorio’s response to industry’s social responsibility, particularly The Source’s: video will be uploaded:

7:06: Question asked, where do we go from here?

A: Not everyone can be Mother Teresa.  But those who feel strongly, should stand up and do something about it.  Everybody has to do their part.  It all starts individually.

Comment from audience: Angie Martinez is annoying.  Osorio counteracts with Martinez being one of her closest friends, and though she may be depicted as partying all the time, she works just as hard.

Angie Martinez is a radio personality on HOT97, http://www.hot97.com/angiemartinez/

7:12: Question on how circulation was when she worked at The Source.

A: 500,000- 360,000 from newsstands.

7:14: Smell of popcorn, followed by announcement that one more question will be taken before reception.

Q: Who do you think is a positive role model, who do you think is a great example other artists should follow?

A: Kanye West, whose mother died in 2007 due to complications from plastic surgery.

7:18: End of lecture, Osorio retires to back of room, where copies of her books are laid out.  Line forms.

Straight From the Source

7:26: I shake Osorio’s hand, and ask a question about what does she think women who face the situation of discrimination in the workforce should do?  She recommended I read passages in her book, probably to avoid being quoted, or was in a rush, as the line continued behind me.  But, she did offer me her AOL e-mail address.  She mentions that it’s a personal decision to overcome the fear of getting fired.  In her case, it was necessary.

Excited Fan Getting Book Signed by Osorio

7:30: I spot a guest sign-in sheet.  Including my name, there were 41 signatures.  But from speculation, more people attended than that number.

I get on line to grab some appetizers, and speak to the women in front of me.  Sharon Bell, 58, from Manhattan, along with her goddaughter attended the event.  Bell’s daughter goes to school here.  Her daughter already read the book, and is recommending her goddaughter to read it as well.  They bought a copy here tonight.

Froma parent’s perspective, she found this enlightening.  “I remember hearing her case, how the media put her in a negative light.  They showed her with her cleavage showing, while talking about her discrimination lawsuit.”  After seeing Osorio tonight, dressed in a simple sweater and jeans, Bell said that no matter how the woman dresses, it’s never right to be harassed.

The Black Panther animated series.

The Cleveland Show.

Astro Boy Movie.

The Princess and the Frog – the new Disney movie where the lead princess is a black character.

5:04

2008: The Boondocks banned episode.

No token hero: Static Shock. Napolitano says that the character of Virgil defies tokenism and reminds us that the black lead’s white friend acts “even blacker.”

In 2000, Dora the Explorer hits Nickelodeon, one of the very few attempts to seriously represent the Latino community in children’s television.

5:03

Simpsons becomes the first cartoon to lend a serious ear to gay issues with its “Homerphobia” episode.

5:00

1969 Fat Albert appears on screen – Bill Cosby turns his childhood experiences into a cartoon. The cartoon addresses topics such as drugs, racism, peer pressure and the strains of urban life.

4:56

In 1963, Astroboy is born – the first anime. Animation took a huge step from vilifying the Japanese in comics to becoming voracious anime consumers.

All Negro Comics comes into being in 1947s during a brief spurt of the segregation gap breach with Jackie Robinson and Orrin C. Evans.

4:50

Something happens with the Napolitano’s mouth and he starts to lisp noticeably.

4:47

Walt Disney sent by USA to South America to try and reclaim America’s image against German propaganda. Saludos Amigos produced – the prototype for all the “Speedy Gonzalez” and “Chiquita Banana” characters.

4:38

Napolitano told three stories about Aunt Jemima, Uncle Remus and The Yellow Kid – fiction and cartoons representing blacks and immigrants respectively. Back then, animation companies liked to present different ethnicities as parodies of themselves.

4:30

The main speaker, Dan Napolitano opened the panel. A multicultural director at Alfred University introduced the “Art Force Five” – five young people representing the different art forms. They go into schools where some students may have been formerly incarcerated to talk about art.

Friday found me at the New York City Comic Con. The main space at the Javits Center dazzled with its array of colorful fiction but once you’ve seen one con, you have seen them all. What really interested me were the panels. I found one called “From panthers to princesses: diveristy in animation.” Intrigued, I came in just as the panel was about to start.

6:20 pm: I’ve returned to Re/Dress for the first time in almost a month and was greeted like a true friend of the shop. (I’ve covered the store for project in the past. Deb, the owner, knows me and says hi to me every time I’m here.) So far it looks like only a few people have streamed in. They’re as nice as all the other people I’ve encountered while I’ve been shopping and working (the latter more than the former) at the shop.

6:24 pm: I’ve already been offered champagne.

6:52 pm: Have decided to finally join the fold. It’s still in the “Ooh, pretty” part of this affair – that is, the shopping portion. I looked and skirts and found some things that were cool. My love of plaid was reaffirmed. The cookies are really good.

6:54 pm: Overhearing the conversations around. A designer I’ve heard of is supposedly in attendance. I’m on her mailing list in my civilian life. Her stuff is pretty cool. Perhaps she’s someone I can write about for a project. Having ideas is a good thing.

7:12 pm: So apparently Target has plus-size tights in bright colors. I learned this from a girl by the meat platter. She’s got some cool style. She was wearing a yellow cardigan and hot pink tights. You learn something new every day. (And there’s actually a Target down the way at the Atlantic Mall. Suddenly, I’m wondering if it’ll be open when this is over.)

7:43 pm: This place has gotten much more crowded since the beginning. I’ve met a few people that I’ve talked to. I flocked to these women with cameras. One works for a magazine for plus-sized women. I also chatted with a woman who runs “Goddess parties.” It’s a term I’ve heard before but I can’t exactly remember what they are. When I get home, I’ll have to look up both of those sites.

7:49 pm: Met the designer. She invited me to her store, which is right by school. Yes, I plan on e-mailing her.

8:05 pm: I got to use some of the information I gained from my previous project to pepper an interview. Also, there will be a floorshow in about twenty minutes. (All this and a floor show? Wait, what exactly is that call out line for the Rocky Horror Picture Show?) Also, I just heard someone utitlize the term “strum und drang” in everyday conversation. I find this cool, because I’m kind of a nerd.

8:24 pm: I stepped out for a minute for some air and then did another round of the store. Being here makes me wish I had disposable income again. I’m really into the vintage coats in the back of the store, the ones in bright colors with the fur collars. There’s one I give the eye to every time I’m here. It’s teal, a color I’m really a big fan of.

8:58 pm: We’re still waiting for the official floorshow. But so far, there’s someone I believe is a professional performer and some of the employees dancing to some techno music. The presumed performer is a dead ringer for one of the finalists on Australia’s Next Top Model. She’s wearing a red lame corset; it sort of matches her hair.

9:02 pm: And now, the floorshow.

9:09 pm: The first performer was a belly dancer. Her name was Myasia (though I’m not sure of the exact spelling), and she came all the way from D.C. It’s amazing how far the reach of this store has gone. It reminds me that I had previously talked to some who came from Portland. Which actually is way farther than D.C. I wonder if my cousin (who takes belly dance classes) has heard of her before.

9:12 pm: Borough President Markowitz has sent a representative with a proclamation for the store. Today has been declared Re/Dress NYC Day in Brooklyn. That’s a pretty cool honor. Now Deb just encouraged the women from the Borough President’s office to shop here now.

9:16 pm: Now we have a burlesque performance by the World Famous BOB. I am somewhat familiar with her name, thanks to my years of reading BUST Magazine. (Thank you, BUST Magazine.) Unfortunately, there have been some technical difficulties, music issues and the like, so the AusNTM doppelganger has taken to dancing and doing cartwheels for our amusement. Things should start up again momentarily.

9:23 pm: As we wait for things to get working again, the performers have been dancing to “Single Ladies” by Beyonce. That’s a songs I’ve probably been hearing too much of lately.

9:29 pm: I’m really getting involved now. My laptop might just save this party.

9:32 pm: But it unfortunately didn’t.

9:44 pm: It appears I have spoken too soon. Thanks to my trusty laptop, the music (whose low volume had been a problem before) can now be played at the proper volume.

9:45 pm: Maybe.

9:53 pm: The technology has brought the event back down to its chat session origins. But no one in attendance seems to mind, really. In other neither-here-nor-there news, I want that grey Gap dress that’s hanging on the front rack. It’s something I could wear to my internship – I’ve seen people there wearing dresses like that.

10:06 pm: Snoop Dogg is playing on the speakers (which seem be working okay – which now confounds me as to what happened before). The crowd has begun thinning out. I also wonder if it might be time for me to take my leave. And since the buying time, it will probably be empty-handed. Until next time, Re/Dress.

Postscript:
10:29 pm: I spoke too soon. By some strange serendipity, as I prepared to return to Manhattan, the show began again. Burlesque performers Della Dare, Dirty Martini, and (finally) the World Famous BOB (she’s a fuckin’ genius, according to the end of her song) strutted their stuff and bared nearly all to the delight of the remaining audience members. I also learned that there is a burlesque school, but that probably shouldn’t be surprising.

10:30 pm: Deb to audience: “This is my gift to you, and I love you”. A very fitting end to the evening.

A Universal Declaration without much fanfare. Photo by H'Rina DeTroy

But, instead of long, perfunctory speeches about promoting human rights, a screening of ten short films marked the 60th year of the Declaration. Perhaps the United Nations have hit upon a way to voice its good intentions as an instrument of diplomacy and accountability in global relations by relying on film makers to do what an entity like the UN can’t do as well — show instead of tell.

"A Water Tale" takes a place where there isn't any. Film by Francesco Jodice. Photo by H'Rina DeTroy

Obama’s victory is an example of how newer technologies can engage and fuel change. Here are a few ways to experience the UN Declaration with sound and visuals.

Afropop Worldwide collaborated with Amnesty International and others to present an hour-long online radio feature dedicated to the 60th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, featuring Femi Kuti of Nigeria and other World music artists.

“Read” the Declaration via Youtube, backed by a simple beat and melody: