I'm glad to see more Asian representation in movies (since I'm Southeast Asian) but I'm still tired of how Asian people and their characters being treated poorly by Hollywood.

Representation is great! But if it's a bad representation (and by 'bad' I mean in terms of using negative stereotypes or using completely incorrect information) then it's still trash...

Blind / Low Vision Person’s Review of “Blind” by Rachel DeWoskin and Why Writers Should Not Underestimate the Benefits of a Sensitivity Reader

[Content warnings: spoilers for the book. Ableism. Brief mention of an accident involving eye trauma. Mentions of suicide. Stereotypes about blind people. Also this review, because I focused on the portrayal of blindness, comes across negatively. Please know that I have no hate for the author and might even read another book she wrote. However, I did not like the way this book portrayed blindness and, as difficult as it is, I wanted to be honest in my review.]

I struggled with the title, and I’m not even sure benefits is the appropriate word. What I want to convey here is not Brought to You By Big Sensitivity Reader Company vibes, but more This Book Was Not Good and It Needed a Sensitivity Reader Very Badly vibes.

Blind is about Emma Silver, a high school student who goes blind in a traumatic accident. Here is a good summary and review by a blind person. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated well. I’ll start by saying this will only be a review of the portrayal of blindness — I’ll try to leave my other opinions out just to keep things focused.

Unfortunately, focusing on just blindness means that it will not make this review more positive, because this book is about a blind girl recovering from going blind. In a way that is both inauthentic and swerves well out of the author’s lane. I say that because, as I hope will become apparent, this book consists of main character Emma being sad about being blind for the majority of the book. The book doesn’t simply have a character who goes blind. That is the main character’s entire arc.

This is a long review. However, I believe it will be invaluable for my readers and anyone who is interested in writing a blind character. Because this book passes most of my minimum standards for writing blind characters and was still lacking due to many factors, including stereotypes. I included many sub-headings so you can find specific topics easily.

Helpful Links

I include these links in the review. I’ll list them here for easy finding.

Here are two reviews of the book by blind readers: one and two.

Here is a video of the author talking about some of research she did for the book.

Here is my post Things I Want to See More Of / Less Of.

Here is my post about writing a blind character adjusting to being blind and being all sad about it when you aren’t blind yourself.

And finally, here is the post I shared that lists misconceptions about blind people.

The Author

The author, Rachel Dewoskin, is not blind. I did as much research as I could, but even if I hadn’t done so before reading the book, it was obvious she wasn’t blind herself. There are too many inaccuracies and offensive moments. This becomes a problem not because her MC was blind, but because she told a blind person’s story and used tropes in ways I think would be better off written by a blind person. If I’m going to read a story like this, I don’t want to read it from the perspective of a person who isn’t blind. When I get into the details of what went wrong, I hope you’ll see why.

Did the author do her research? Yes. The author met with blind people, clearly researched assistive technology and cane skills, and even taught herself contracted Braille. She talks a little about it in this video.

In fact, I wanted to say I am so impressed and grateful this author immersed herself in things like Braille and cane skills. None of my followers have shared that they went to a Lighthouse For the Blind or taught themselves to read Braille or spoken so passionately about why they loved it.

But sometimes research falls short. Or it is simply not enough.

That’s why I’m writing this review. For you writers writing blind characters when you aren’t blind. Because while the author clearly had good intentions, while the author clearly did her research and put in the time to learn and listen in ways I don’t think many of my followers have yet — the book was not authentic enough for me.

This book needed several sensitivity readers. If it had any, I would be surprised.

The Cover

The audiobook seems to have Braille on the cover, but I can’t tell if it is accessible or simply a picture of Braille. The cover features the word Blind in white print on a black background, with what seems to be Braille in rainbow colors that also spell out the title. I’ll reserve judgment here, since I don’t know the answer. If the Braille is tactile, then the cover is fantastic.

In the video I linked, the author seems to be holding the hardcover edition of the book with Braille on the cover. I can’t tell if the Braille is actually tactile or not.

What I Liked About the Book

I wanted to list a few things I liked about the book.

1. The main character is Jewish.

2. Emma has a large family full of well-developed characters and realistic portrayals of various ages. Everyone reacts uniquely to her blindness and I thought these characters were all used well. The scenes with Emma and her older sisters as well as the scenes with her mom were really great.

3. Emma gets therapy for her trauma. She also gets training to use a cane. These are annoyingly rare in stories.

4. As I said, the author clearly did her research. This is obvious when reading the book and In everything I found when researching the author after I finished it. I want to give the author praise here. I thought her explanations of technology Emma uses were the most accurate I have seen so far, both in books and when doing sensitivity reads.

What I Didn’t Like

I will start with this: Emma, after a year of learning to use her cane, is still using a cane inside her own house. After a year. This is not realistic, nor does it seem comfortable at all to use a cane in one’s own home. I don’t know anyone who does this and according to the other reviews, I am not the only one who was surprised by this.

Basically, this story would be okay with some inaccuracies. That’s to be expected. The real issue I had with this book was that it uses tropes the blind community generally hates and that the book is literally about !!! a character going blind and adapting. That’s the story. If you remove the blindness and the trauma, the story falls apart.

The author told a story that was not hers to tell and she did so badly.

If you are confused about why I dislike this, please read this post called Writing Blind Characters Accepting Being Blind When You Aren’t Blind Yourself.

What Did The Author Do Badly?

Trauma and Blindness

The story starts when main character, Emma, goes blind after a fireworks accident. Not only is this cliché, but it also tics one of my boxes in my Things I Want To See Less of post. This author wrote about a character going blind due to a traumatic accident. Link to the post.

In telling a story that was not hers to tell, here are some harmful things in the book:

The author does not do a good job of separating Emma’s trauma from her blindness. To be fair, this is difficult and most people don’t know to go about doing so with purpose. There are a lot of times in the book where the fact that Emma is traumatized leads to her saying a lot of terrible things about blindness and blind people that are never corrected or contradicted in the story. Again, if you are not sure why this is a problem, read the link I shared to my post.

Here are a few times this issue came up:

-Emma develops a habit of rocking, which myself and many reviewers know to attribute to trauma, but it isn’t clear if the author thinks blind people rock, as the stereotype indicates. Is Emma rocking as a trauma response or because she is blind? The book doesn’t make it clear. This is a time where authors need to be clear.

-Emma assumed she will never get a job, be kissed, get married, etc, after going blind.

-Emma yells about being ruined due to her blindness. The first two hours of the audiobook consist of Emma complaining about being blind. She mentions never being able to get a job a few times, assuming she won’t be able to work. While blind people do struggle with employment, this is due to discrimination, lack of transportation, lack of accommodations, lack of community support, and other systemic issues.

-Emma calls herself disfigured.

-Emma states she wanted to die. In another part of the book, when a background character we never met, Claire, completed suicide, Emma wonders if she was so focused on Claire because she wondered if she wanted to kill herself too.

-On the subject of the character, Claire, Emma states: “How easy would being gay be compared to being blind?”

This is especially damaging because some people are blind and gay. It also isn’t fair for Emma to compare them and the systemic issues that are faced by blind people and gay people. Emma not only trivializes homophobia, but also decides being blind is worse. For Emma, being blind is the worst thing ever, which is very isolating to read.

There are times where the fact that Emma is traumatized was not only grouped in with her blindness, but where the author used trauma to write ideas about blindness that are ultimately harmful.

This book, if readers of the blog want to read it, should be a lesson on why separating trauma from blindness is important. Whether that means making clear distinctions in the narrative itself or just not writing about a character going blind after a traumatic accident.

Let’s continue the overall things done badly.

Stereotypes and Tropes About Blind People

1. Rocking —

I have already mentioned the rocking thing above, but to reiterate here, not all blind people rock to orient themselves.

2. Touching Faces —

Emma and another blind character literally feel each other’s faces, one of the most hated tropes for blind people. In another scene, Emma feels another character’s face without asking.

3. Where Are the Audio Descriptions? —

Emma compares her life to a horror movie she couldn’t watch. This is a subtle reinforcement of the idea that blind people don’t watch films or television. The book makes no mention of audio descriptions. I suppose Emma and all the other blind characters simply don’t watch films or shows anymore.

4. Supposedly Fake Service Dogs —

Emma gets a dog that is specifically said to not be a guide dog. Emma brings this dog to restaurants and to school. Emma explains that she can get away with bringing her dog because no one wants to tell the blind kid no. This was, as you may be able to imagine, frustrating to read. Plenty of blind people have been denied access to transportation and buildings with a guide dog that is supposed to be able to travel freely. Emma’s blindness would absolutely not be a big help to her in bringing her dog places where it is not allowed. In showing Emma getting away with bringing her dog into restaurants when he is explicitly not a service dog, the author is contributing to a huge myth that prevents actual service dogs from traveling freely. Yes, this is only a book and it probably isn’t falling into the hands of someone powerful — however, it has probably been picked up by a business owner, a driver for public transport, a teacher, etc.

5. Avoiding words like see and look —

Emma avoids words like see and look. She also gets angry at her friends for using such words. At one point, Emma’s friend says something and Emma snaps, “I can’t see”. This prompts her friend to, according to Emma, never make that mistake again. Toward the end of the book, Emma is still avoiding such words.

Here is a list of misconceptions about blind people. Look at #6.

Here is another review of this book that also touches on this issue. The reviewer states: “The strange thing is that I’ve never known any blind person avoiding the use of words like “see” or “look.” Again, I’d hate for sighted people to read this book and think that blind folk all avoid words with visual associations; in fact, the only blind friends I talk to moan about sighted people avoiding the use of such visual words because they think we’ll be offended!”

6. All Blind People Are Apparently Totally Blind —

At one point in the story, Emma attends a school for the blind. Another character, who I think was Emma’s mother, says that the campus is beautiful. Emma makes this remark: “Why bother making a school for the blind beautiful? It’s lost on everyone anyway.”

Wow, Emma, that was rude. This is another example of where Emma’s pain and anger cause issues for readers. If they take this at face value, they may think that blind people don’t notice or appreciate beauty. More importantly, they might also assume, like Emma, that all blind people can’t see. As I have stated many times on this blog, most blind people have residual vision. Not everyone is totally blind. This is why, like beautiful grounds, schools for the blind also have things like stairs with high contrast.

7. Subtle Use of the Idea That People With Low Vision Should Rather Strain Themselves Than Be Blind —

This one was less obvious for me. However, once I thought about it again, I understood what I was reading in this character. There’s a rather outgoing character named Seb whose personality is very refreshing in this story. Seb attends the school for the blind with Emma. Seb has low vision.

So Seb wants to get a job. Remember how Emma was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get a job now that she is blind?

Instead of showing Seb getting a job to prove that idea wrong, he knows he has to conveniently not mention being blind when he applies, showing up in sunglasses and without a cane. The book states he worries he wouldn’t be able to fill out the application.

Here is what the book states:

[Quote] “He got hired without telling any of the guys who ran the place that he wasn’t sighted; I know because he had confided in me and Dee the week before that he wanted the job—if friend worked there and said they had an opening—but Seb was worried he wouldn’t be able to fill out the application. So he showed up one night before closing time, wearing sunglasses and not carrying a cane, and asked all casually if he could grab and application and bring it back the next day.

And he spent all night filling it and brought it back the next day. He didn’t mention that he was blind or that the application had taken six hours to finish with the help of his sighted brother.” [End quote]

Seb has no obligation to reveal any personal information to them. If he wants to fill out the application on his own time, in a way in which he feels comfortable, that is fine. However, the book implies he thought he would not be hired if they knew he was blind. Rather than talk about the employment discrimination that is such a huge problem for blind people, the book decides to skip over this. And rather than address Emma’s fear-based expectation that she will never get a job, presumably because she doesn’t think blind people can do anything, the book ignores it.

Seb getting a job, especially in this way, does absolutely nothing to assuage Emma’s fears. Or challenge any possible low expectations the readers may have.

Seb fills out the application by himself and it takes six hours. Six. Hours. His brother also helps him eventually and it still takes that long. No one I know, even with intense internalized ableism, would sit there for six hours doing something like that.

Seb should be using a magnifying device or a scanner app. There is tons of technology out there for people with low vision and the author chose to include absolutely none of it in the book. Instead, she chose to show a character struggling for six hours without exploring his reasons for doing so. Does he do this because of internalized ableism? If yes, how can the same character tell Emma the school will get rid of her “Poor Blind Kid bullshit”?

Now, in some families and some cultures, it would be more appropriate for a family member to help. However, the author tells us nothing more about Seb’s culture, his family life, or his motivations. I assume he did not ask for his brother’s help until later, because I can’t fathom why having a family member help from the start would take six hours.

Why is a character doing this in a story that is supposed to be about adjusting to blindness? Clinging to his remaining vision instead of using a few adaptive tools to make things easier on his eyes hardly makes him a good role model for Emma. Why is a character modeling independence in this specific way? In a way that tells Emma that it is better to struggle with a little vision than to be totally blind?

This is reinforced when Emma says some kids, including Seb, pass well. This is something that cannot be given nuance unless it is written by someone who experienced it. Otherwise, the story shows Emma over and over again that being blind is bad. Undesirable. Which is ableist.

Do people struggle with this? Absolutely. Did the author write it well? No.

And Here Are a Few Things That Could Have Been Done Better

In this section, I wanted to go over things I thought could have been done better. They aren’t necessarily harmful, but I wanted to mention them.

Sunglasses

The main character wears sunglasses when she goes out. This is likely because she has a scar she feels self-conscious about, but this is still a big stereotype that the author could have taken more care with.

O&M Issues

So Emma has someone come around to teach her orientation and mobility, which was nice. The author put in her research here as well. However, the instructor leaves after a time, which seems odd. Rather than work with her around her schools or other locations, he decides she has learned all the basics. I received O&M training until university.

Now Let’s Examine The Blind Characters vs Tropes

In this section, I want to go over the biggest tropes in the stories structure, the number of blind characters, and what I normally advise to get around these issues. We’ll see how this advice compares to how the book turned out.

So, the things to look out for are:

-tokenism

-blind characters going blind through trauma

-blind characters being sad about being blind

Examining Tokenism

Emma is not the only blind character. The blind characters include: Emma, Sebastian, Dee, and Annabelle. I normally say to have one other blind character at minimum. The book meets that requirement.

Examining Blind Characters Going Blind Through Trauma

I also normally suggest avoiding characters going blind through trauma, especially main characters. If the writer would like to go ahead with this, I normally suggest 2 or 3 other blind characters who didn’t go blind through trauma. With 2 as the minimum. I admit, I prefer the main character not to be the one going blind through trauma, simply because the main character has so much power in the perception of the reader.

Let us examine each character.

Emma - went blind through a traumatic fireworks accident

Sebastian- unknown

Dee - unknown

Annabelle- went blind through Retinitis Pigmentosa

On the topic of Dee and Seb, Emma does mention they may have better hearing, which she claims you only have if you lose your sight before the age of ten. We can guess that Dee and Seb both went blind in early childhood or were born blind, but we aren’t sure. What I want here is explicit confirmation that other characters didn’t go blind through accidents. We only get that with Annabelle and her RP.

Not only that, but the other blind characters are not in the novel as much. Annabelle only shows up at the end, seemingly as a way for Emma to help another recently blind person to show how she has developed. Seb and Dee are only in a few chapters, mostly as flashbacks. They don’t get much backstory or development either.

However, it fills my minimum requirements, so I’ll let it pass.

Examining Blind Characters Being Sad About Being Blind

This is literally Emma throughout the entire book. Until the last few chapters.

Annabelle has a similar, shorter arc, although she is only 9 at the time. Annabelle comes in near the end of the book.

It is normal for people to need an adjustment period, particularly if they are young. However, to have the entire book consist of Emma being sad and having trauma focused mostly on her blindness is not something I’m okay with. Especially because, as I wrote in this post, it can leave non-blind readers with a very negative impression of blindness. Again, why would I want to read about this arc from an author who isn’t blind? Why make the entire book about adjusting to blindness?

Anyway, then we have Seb and Dee.

There characters were refreshing in this story, which is mostly Emma being sad and angry.

Dee doesn’t seem to be sad, but we don’t know much about her. She does seem well adjusted and laidback. She and Seb go skiing, so that’s something.

Sebastian gets a little more attention in the story. He does tell Emma the school for the blind will knock the “BPK bullshit” or “Poor Blind Kid bullshit” right out of her. I thought it was funny. Sebastian also has a big personality and interests outside of moping about being blind. He enjoys skiing and, according to Emma, he would have no problem with presenting on the Lighthouse For the Blind in front of people who aren’t blind, unlike Emma, who struggles with calling attention to her blindness. Which I can understand, what with the awkward questions her sighted classmates give her.

However, Seb also has an issue with hiding or fighting against his low vision in some parts of the story. If Sebastian were the main character, I could understand some of the things he does. However, this does not go well at all with Emma’s arc.

Anyway, Seb and Dee don’t get nearly enough time in the book for me to feel 100% comfortable using them as exceptions.

How Would a Sensitivity Reader Help?

If I were doing a sensitivity read for this book, I would suggest including more about Seb and Dee and the school for the blind. I would have explained that the way the story sidelines them shows Emma is not okay associating with her blind friends. I would have asked for more backstory, more contrast between them and the main character, and possibly a few more blind characters Emma met at the school for the blind.

If the writer was insistent on having Emma go blind in an accident, I would have suggested reducing the time she spent depressed and shifting the focus from her blindness to her traumatic accident. I would have had the author work harder to separate the two, even if it took Emma a while to do so. I would have also suggested reducing Emma’s remarks or have them called out. For example, her comments about not being able to get a job or beautiful schools being lost on blind people. Sebastian would have been excellent in this role.

I would have worked with her to either get rid of or subvert the list of stereotypes. Most of them are easy fixes.

I would have told her blind people don’t use canes in their houses. I would have given suggestions for assistive technology for Seb to use. I would have helped her with the section on trauma and blindness, reducing or erasing a lot of the issues I included there. I would have suggested giving Emma an arc that isn’t entirely about adjusting to blindness, even if her story starts with going blind.

I probably would have seemed nicer about my feedback because the author still had opportunity to make changes.

The author could have done more research on stereotypes and cane usage, but I think there is an important lesson here about the benefits of sensitivity readers.

In the end, a sensitivity reader would have fixed most of the problems in this story, despite the amount of research the author did. Research cannot always teach you everything and that is where a sensually or authenticity reader comes in. Moreover, there is a certain respect in involving communities you are representing. In paying them in money or exposure. In listening to their voices and respecting what they say. If the author was willing to learn Braille and sit with blind people to learn about canes and technology, why did she stop at getting sensitivity readers? Why does it feel like she didn’t want to include the blind community in any meaningful way?

I hope this helps someone.

-BlindBeta

WHAT IS RACISM? It is natural? Can you stop it? (Enjoy the free read) The following material is copyright protected content but you can feel free to share it as long as it is connected to the original post. The content is from the book “THE PACIFICATION OF HUMANITY: Exposing the ideological contagions” by Emmanuel S. John Chapter Nine DISTORTION More people more problems Many people struggle with the use of language and almost as many people struggle with the constructs of race. There may be a connection. We have become increasingly more intolerant of one another regardless of our viewpoints. People carry around more anger than at any point in human history: They are quicker to find differences than similarities. What if I told you that "stereotyping" is a natural occurrence in the human animal? That it is impossible for the human animal not to profile or stereotype? Some of you are doing it right now. Probably stuffing me into a little box labeled he's in "the ____ group!" Does my claim that we can't stop it surprise you? Would you automatically think I was going to justify hatred? No, you wouldn't dare suggest that stereotyping is unnatural while at the same time stereotyping me. That would be crazy! Relax, talking about it will not make us racist or make things worse for the whole world even though that is what you have been programmed to believe via the cultural bullies. What I am suggesting is that you've been tricked by something or someone for no other reason than to acquire your emotional support or allegiance to an ideology; maybe to distract you from some other issue of the day that they don't want you focusing on. Stereotyping at its core is a natural occurrence that is seldom about race. It's about a little, forgotten phenomena called "in-grouping and out-grouping." This Out-grouping occurs all the time. It occurs every second in nature and for this reason it is natural; it's an ancient survival tool that all animals use. Monkey tribes do it all the time. Antelope and other animals like zebras rarely pack together unless they're all at the watering hole. Some behaviorists even suggest that similar looking horses will group together. Ever heard "like attracts like" or "birds of a feather flock together?" How come it is natural for animals but not for humans, who said so? Are we just that much more advanced? It is a part of human nature and humanity to in-group and out-group. How come they don't mention this stuff in school or on the evening news? Ask yourself why they don't educate young people about this very human trait? The answer is simple; they are using our emotions about race to polarize us. It's not an honest mistake. We have purposefully been given half the story in order to fulfill an agenda; to win our allegiance and to gain our support on an issue. In Grouping & Out-Grouping If we put 10 people who are exact copies of one another in the same room they will still eventually sub-group according to personal preferences. If I had 10 black men born in Africa, into the same tribe, same IQ's, who ate all the same foods every day, with no media or favorite stores or music they will still sub-group. Some would be better hunters, some leaders, some farmers, some followers, some will like the color red while others will like the color blue. Many would argue together over all the above. Do you see my point? Hopefully that's simple enough. People naturally group together; social animals do it even more often. That is what social animals do because like attracts like. Man cannot separate himself from or intellectualize himself out of his limbic system functioning (the part of his brain where fight and flight reside, the survival mechanisms). Grouping is a part of nature. It is left over from the herd and pack mentalities we once had as cave dwellers just trying to survive. You can't outthink this part of the brain and you can't legislate it away. No matter how alike a group may start out, eventually some of the above tribe members will get together and plan the hunt and call themselves the hunters and others will manage the farming and call themselves farmers. The farmers may even start to criticize the hunters when they came back empty-handed etc. Then there is gender grouping; we all know that women and men group themselves up at parties. This is in-grouping and out-grouping and it is not a gender issue either. Racism does not begin with race; it's about out-grouping and in-grouping as a survival strategy; as a way to assess safety issues and limit threats. This part of the brain does not use logic, rationale or memory; only conditioning. Any suggestion that we have evolved past this would suggest that grouping is a product of logic, which it is not; it's instinctual. It is possible to be conditioned to hate or fear a particular group, but that only lasts as long as the conditioning continues: As long as people are still being reminded of their conditioning. A black kid taught to hate whites will eventually change his mind after some exposure to good white people and less exposure to haters. He is actually more likely to group up with people from the same socio-economic class before deciding on race; why, because this group will survive in a familiar way. Hence, sub-grouping is natural and perhaps even necessary. The more obvious the differences, the more quickly grouping or separation occurs. Out-grouping occurs with age, gender, height and race, but it's still only about grouping and not about hate. If I brought 4 men in from another tribe (same race) it could even start a war. War is a major sub-grouping event usually created by more obvious differences, but often only over competing ideologies and perspectives. The point here is not about racism. No matter how hard we try, it is impossible for any society that embraces different cultures into its ranks to not have cultural (group) separations. Unfortunately, there are people who ignore this simple truth. They believe that you can change and control your instincts. They are called ideologues. They make ideology reality and then demand that because they can think something is real that it must be real and that out-thinking nature is possible. We have to adapt to nature because we can't out-think it. Nature is not wrong it is natural. In the long run Nature always wins! Trying to ignore nature is a form of an ideological contagion that suggests out-grouping is wrong; an ideology most commonly spread by institutions of "higher" learning. These self-described intellectuals are the owners of the biggest echo chamber on Earth. Most of the really farfetched lunacies in society come from our college campuses where academics (People who don't usually have real jobs or live in the real world) live in their little bubbles of bad ideas that have been handed down and passed around from the prior generation of academic elitists and ideologues. They're protected from reality and nature. Academia is one of the most strictly regulated and controlled echo chambers in modern society. A place where is has become common practice to only hire other people to work in the system who pledge themselves to progressive liberal thought. Living in these ideological echo chambers makes them delusional (a form of mental illness) because they don't operate on reality or facts. They are very self-deluded people who believe that if enough people feel (Think) the way they feel (think) then it must be real. The ideologues are the people who literally wrote the books on "I feel that…" and "yeah, but no,,," Their numbers and their influence are so vast that they lend a faux credibility to their unproven ideals. These people are responsible for keeping hate and division alive because they bully everyone around them. No one is allowed to object out loud so their self-deceptions fester and grow. Their echo chamber even provides sustenance for the cultural bully. They perpetuate division by choice, so they believe that division is a choice and not an aspect of nature. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE BOOK. I SKIP AHEAD IN THE CHAPTER HERE RACISM Real Racism The real definition of racism is of no interest to the Ideologues. In truth "Racism" only exists when a good, service or opportunity is denied because of race. Thinking about denying someone a job based on race is not illegal or considered to be committing an act of racism. For racism to exist the job must actually be denied for the reason of race; regardless of the rationale. Simple test; Am I denying this person something because of race. If you deny him the job for punctuality issues in the past it's not racism, no matter how many white people work for you. Speaking about another race in a negative manner is not Racism, that’s why they came up with the term "hate speech." The problem with the term "hate speech" is that speech is supposed to be free and that is guaranteed by the 1st Amendment. They have resorted back to the word racism because it still has a lot of emotion attached to it. The race baiters use race to coerce you into silence. They would like you to think that speaking about race is just as bad as committing racism. Many northern black voters have never been in the South, yet they are all sure that everyone "down there" is filled with hate for them. (Recall the emotional aspect of polarization and how the Nazis used unrealistic fear to motivate support.)(SEE EARLIER CHAPTER) The left-leaning ideologues would be in major trouble if the religious Northern black vote unified with the Black and White religious Southern voters. It would end the Democratic Party. For this reason they are desperate to Keep Hate Alive! Their real motive is to engulf you in their argument and to get you to join them in their redefining of the word. The less you think, the more power and control they have; in a perverse ironic way, this assimilation of blacks as democrats is a form of ownership and slavery to their cause. The origins of the word Racism is not as old as you might think (which should give you pause). Its evolution had nothing to do with people of African descent. Leon Trotsky’s 1930 work, "The History of the Russian Revolution" was the first time that the term was coined. The word came from a Latin transliteration of the word he used in that book. “Racistov” essentially meaning “racists.” Trotsky was the cofounder and first leader of the infamous Red Army. Interesting enough, he was a Jewish man in a pre-WWII Russian State. He co-led the 1917 revolution alongside Vladimir Lenin as Commissar of War in the new Soviet government. He helped defeat forces opposed to Bolshevik control. As the Soviet government developed, he engaged in a power struggle against none other than Joseph Stalin who had had him previously exiled. It had nothing to do with people of African descent and in fact, it was a reference to a notion that Jewish people were not Caucasian. That is the original meaning of the term. Trotsky was arguing that Jews were Caucasians; just like Russians. Jews were being denied equal opportunity and access. In 1970's America the term shifted to "Denying the access to a job, to food, to shelter, to opportunity; or to equal treatment based on race alone." The co-opting of the word was initiated because it was the same thing that was happening to the Jewish people in Russia. That is the original and still the modern, standard for defining racism. Did they teach you that in school? Of course not, it wouldn't serve their agenda so they are trying to expand it to mean more than it does. Words and Perspectives! (see earlier chapters) Every other non-racial factor entered into the decision to deny someone access to something diminishes the impact of racism. The race that is "in power" is not relevant; it does not require the racist to be white. Slavery is not necessarily racism either. There have been many cultures that have enslaved their own race. People in the Middle East were the first to hold slaves and usually of the same race. The Muslims were the first outsiders to enter Africa and enslave black Africans. Black Africans (not all Africans are black, but you knew that too right) learned that if they converted to the Muslim faith they could not be held as slaves. According to Mohamed, one Muslim is not allowed to enslave another Muslim; hence the birth of the Black Muslims. The Black American Muslim is actually celebrating a heritage of slavery by being Muslim. While the faith freed them from slavery, it mandated or enslaved them into the religion/ideology. All this occurred long before the US was even conceived of. This information is not hard to find. SHOCKER ALERT!!! The first person in the US to legally own another person was a black man named Anthony Johnson in 1654. He sued and won when a North Hampton court allowed him to indefinitely retain and keep a black indentured servant named John Casor. Casor had left Johnson's keeping to be a paid servant/employee of a white man. Johnson sued in court for the return of his possession, Mr. Casor. His victory created the landmark case for ownership of a human being in the US colonies in 1655. Mr. Casor and those who followed, were the first property that a black man could actually own; yep, another black man. You can be certain that social order deemed that if a black man could own a black man, then a white man could own one too. Why didn't they teach us this in school? I'll tell you why, because it doesn't fit their narrative or their agenda. Leaving out important facts like this is evidence that agendas are at work in the US public education system. This is revisionist history. Remember, polarization requires an emotional reaction with a solution in place for you to choose. (See earlier chapters) It requires a victim. The black man can't be a victim of the white man if a black man fought for it and set the precedent. Ideology is not routed in facts, but instead in the fantasy of how things "should" be, not how things actually are. In the worlds of the ideologues, the means to the end are not relative to the greater good of serving an agenda. If I get you FALSELY outraged, you then turn to me for more information. Bam!!! I then have control, power and trust. Many of the cities struggling in America today are actually run by black people yet they use racism as an emotional bone of contention or as an original cause for the problem. A black-run city can commit racism by denying Caucasians, Asians or Hispanic peoples certain jobs in that city government by simply favoring the black candidate over any others. That's real racism and it happens all the time, but no one says a thing and there is no law enforcement to stop it. If it's just their friend that they hire, then that is called Cronyism (no matter the race). Add a dose of racism on top of some cronyism and you will not be getting the best person for the job. Cronyism is a major problem in many of America's largest cities and institutions, including the Federal Government. Additionally, not advertising a job because you don't want another race to apply is racism (denial of access) and that is why many jobs in the form of government grants are required to be advertised for a set period of time. This, however, does not affect the hiring preferences. Ask yourself the following: Why are these major black run cities not required to hire based on population percentages to prove their fair treatment in regards to race and to guard against racism? White-run cities are required to maintain certain equivalents based on race. Why should cities like Baltimore, Detroit, LA, Chicago and even New York (and others) not reflect their populations in their hiring practices? If the candidate chosen is similarly qualified to the rest of the applicants and then race determines the choice that is Institutionalized Racism. The ideologues believe that if they can keep the populace convinced that racism is a White/Black thing, then no one will even look behind the ugly curtain of what real racism in America looks like. FYI - Choosing by religion is bigotry or anti-Semitism The person selected because of race suffers subconsciously regarding their own self-worth because they will always have to question whether their position was earned, deserved or instead token. While people being chosen for an affirmative-action position may like the money, they will always question their real qualifications; their own sense of accomplishment will always be personally suspect. Affirmative action robs each and every candidate of their real sense of capability, regardless of how qualified they are. In much the same way as when we elect a president who is black, he will always question whether he got the votes because he was the right person or because he was black; or even a little black. Any person chosen by race will still wonder if s/he could have attained the position if the playing field was truly equal. More than ninety percent of blacks voted for Obama, many came out to vote for that reason alone. They said it out loud; that was racist. Sure, they wanted to help elect the first black president but that is racist too, because they chose by race. Many said they didn't care; that they were voting for him because he was black and it was justice for them; rational to commit a racist act. He was chosen by race; quite openly I might add. Many white people also voted for him because he was black. They chose by race. Is that racism? Is there a difference to you? What if I voted for the white guy; not because I dislike blacks but because I favor the white guy? Suddenly something changes doesn't it? That is racism and this is critical thinking. It's all an act I chose the topic of race because it is a good example of how modern media and certain segments of society, including the educational system, seem invested in your belief that racism is only white to black, that is alive and well. They want you to think that it somehow rests in people's hearts and not in their actions. The fact is that racism was decreasing so dramatically that it became necessary to expand the definition in order to keep the emotional reactivity and victimization alive. Now, if you even "think" about race you're a racist. Convenient, but not true! While some of this confusion is ignorance-based the majority of it is intentional and usually brought on by people in the background who you never see. Spurred on and given life by people who work in safe zones and live in gated communities; the same people who grab their purses tighter and lock their car doors when they see a person of another race walking down the street toward them. Their often faux outrage about race is usually an overcompensation and an attempt to mask their real perspectives about equality. In fact, one might question their supposed need to represent the black race, as if the black race can't take care of or represent itself; that it needs them. Unfortunately, many people in power in modern society have been affected by revisionist history. Proof of Revisionist history is in the mere truth that you were not aware of some vital facts in the history of human ownership in America, in slavery or of the real origins and meanings of the word racism. Words, definitions and perspectives. I encourage you to become attentive to current efforts to revise history by entities that only provide examples of events that support only their agendas. What many people call "Racism" is actually bigotry and prejudice; not illegal. Hatred is not illegal. If it were we'd all have a record or be in jail! Trying to make hatred illegal makes about as much sense as trying to make love mandatory. Trying to stop hatred with legislation will only make more hatred as it breeds resentment. Trying to force love will only make it harder to find, because love is supposedly unconditional. Control is an illusion that most often results in catastrophe. Allowing people to be themselves always results in more Harmony! One more brief consideration: If a white man hates a black man he is called a racist, yet ask that same black man if he hates any black men and like any other race, he will confirm that he currently does or has in the past. I don't like all white people, so I don't expect people of other races to like all white people. I can dislike a Chinese man and not be racist. Just like Martin Luther King, I judge a man based on the content of his character. I judge character without pause and without caving into hateful labels and coercion. If you said, I hate that white guy, I certainly wouldn't suggest you are racist because you hate one white guy. I would not call you racist because you used the identifier of white. It's no different than that tall guy, it's descriptive not racist. I wouldn't think you hate all tall people, only that one. My point is that you have been duped!!! Played!!! You have been co-opted into serving an agenda you don't support. Are you mad yet? Yes/No? At me or at your school system? Good! In the next chapter I will explain how they did it to you and how to avoid it in the future. THEPACIFICATIONOFHUMANITY.com

CHICAGO SPOTLIGHT: THE MOTHERS OF HOUSE!

The brainchild of DJ Ike Williams, the Mother’s of House is a celebration happening this Saturday night featuring DJ Lady D, Mz. Nicky and Dee Jay Alicia.  Mz. Nicky, DJ and entrepreneur, is the president and co-founder of D ’Vine One Enterprises, a group comprised of like-minded DJs who share the same love of house music. She currently plays all around the Chicago area and has played in Detroit and on the East Coast.  DJ Lady D has played nationally and internationally since 1995.   She continues to DJ, Tour and release music.  She was featured in the book Disco Demolition in 2016 and has played at music events around the world including Summerdance, The Chosen Few Picnic, Lollapalooza and Wanderlust.  She’s managed her own record label, D’lectable Music since 2004, hosts a weekly event, called Disco's Revenge and produces a one hour mix show the last Friday of Every month for Vocalo.org 91.1 FM-Chicago.  DJ and Producer, Dee Jay Alicia, has been spinning house music for the past 7 years but started DJ’ing in 1996.   She’s known for her talent, savvy marketing skills and most recently as the producer of two house tracks, “Rough” and “Gruv me” produced with Terry Hunter and Mike Dunn, featuring yours truly,  both of which went to #1 on the Traxsource Afro House charts.    She was recently added to the lineup for the 2017 Chosen Few Festival for the 2nd year in a row. Each one of these women are celebrated DJ’s and mothers. I sat down with them at the beginning of the week over wine and an incredible meal prepared by DJ Brett Morrison, to talk to them about their journey, their careers, the ups and downs of the industry and how they balance work and family.

THE BEGINNING

Black Widow:   Thank you ladies for speaking with me this evening.   What got you into house music? What was it about house music that made you want to become a part of it?

(Mz. Nicky:       It started for me in 7th grade.  When I first heard it, my first thought was “What is that”?  You know listening to WKKC Radio and things like that just pulled you into the music and I loved how everyone felt when they were listening to it. I knew from there I was going to be into it for quite a while. Now as for playing house music, that didn’t start for me until 2008.

 Black Widow: And how did that come about?

Mz. Nicky:       I was telling Brett (husband) and other DJs can you mix these two songs together? I would always have parties and ask them can you mix this with that they’d be like ok…well why don’t you do it?  LOL! It actually was a bet between Big Easy (DJ) and I initially and I just remember getting up in that studio and I did it and it just went from there.  I just fell in love with it, I just loved it…I still love it.

DJ Lady D:       I never planned to be a DJ; it’s just something I loved to do. I mean I loved going out. I used to go to Shelter. I had been to see Ron Hardy at the Candy Store; I had seen Farley at the Playground.  I would say Ron Hardy was definitely impressionable.  I was mesmerized when I saw him.  I just remember seeing people jackin all around me and was like DAMN…I mean house music is just infectious.  It’s a part of my heart and soul, part of my fiber.  I started going to parties my freshman year of high school. We would go to Mendel parties every weekend.  I went to Whitney Young and the Hot Mixx 5 would do Sock Hops in our gymnasiums.    BMX was instrumental too.  I started dating a DJ and he had equipment at the house but he was never home because he was working in the clubs. So I started picking up records and I had to learn with my doubles and just played all the time at home.  This girl, Bigonia, who now runs a promotional company in NY, was our roommate. She booked me at a shoe store called Sole Junkies and that was my 1st gig. After that, promoters started booking me and it snowballed from there.     It started in Chicago then I started traveling through the Midwest, then North America then I started getting invitations to play overseas. So yeah…it just kinda snowballed. 

Dee Jay Alicia:   I grew up in Chicago, so House music has always been a part of my life.  I remember the first time I heard, "Your Love", and I played it over and over and over again. Strings of life…I was blown away.   I went to a few parties and got into the music but I couldn’t go out.  I had a mom that was sick and I needed to be home.  So what I would do was listen to WKKC or BMX. I had my little dual cassette player and I would make my own mix tapes. If there was a song being mixed in and I didn’t like it, I’d hit the pause button…click…then I’d wait until it was almost about to go off then click…release the pause button again. So I had the blends down but the song was short! (LAUGHTER)  I was editing with my little dual cassette player.  I had to stay close to home to take care of my mom.  House was actually introduced before I started spinning because I found a calm listening to Sean Alvarez while I was in school.  I was doing a lot of writing and thinking and his music didn’t interfere with my thought process.  I was playing steppers music and some house music initially.  In 2010 I met Derrick Smokin Jones and he suggested I look into spinning house music too.   So I started spinning more house music and going to house parties.  Then I had a spiritual experience with Jamie 3:26.  I remember walking in the party and it was dark. All I heard was shrieks and people screaming.  I’m like OMG what is about to happen right now? I saw him walk in with his Kangol and Adidas and his backpack and he went to the DJ booth and played “I Feel Love” (Donna Summer) and I levitated off the floor! (Everyone laughs in agreement) and I remember saying, this is all I want to do. I want to make people feel like that! I mean it was really life changing!

MOTHERHOOD, FAMILY AND BALANCING IT ALL

Black Widow: Usually people expect women once they have kids, get married etc. to stop going to the clubs.  They put you in that box of what is acceptable for a mother or married woman.  How did you guys deal with the judgement of family and others who felt mothers shouldn’t be in the club?

Dj Lady D:        Being a mother came in the midst of all of that. I mean I started playing in ’95 and had a kid in ’98. People were looking at me crazy, like I was hitting my stride or my peak and was about to become a mother. People thought it was over for me.  So to even be here today and still doing this, I’m just grateful because I was supposed to stop. I wassupposed to be done. I mean promoters didn’t want to have anything to do with me after I gave birth.  

   Mz. Nicky:       I had my mother saying “What are you doing? Why aren’t you at home with your baby? I had aunts saying you should be at home... why you out are in the club?  It was frustrating because I felt like I was able to balance it all.  I always made sure my kids were good and the priority but I was also building a business and a brand.  Now they see how successful I am in it.   I was passionate and determined about the brand I was trying to build and when you are passionate and want something, especially as women, we’re going to get it.  Now my entire family is involved. My kids are involved and I get to do this with my husband as well and we balance it all out.  They understand, when mommy goes out at night, she’s going out to work! They have to understand that this is how I help provide for them.  This is what I have to do to make ends meet. I have to make it happen.

DJ Lady D:       I had the opposite experience because my family was super supportive.   I think DJ'ing is probably the only career I could have had that allowed me to be so involved in my son’s life and upbringing.   I was free during the day, so I could pick up and drop off, chaperone field trips, PTA organizations, do the bake sales, taking to him to activities. My son saw me at every school event.  I could do everything during the day.  As a DJ, I was a Boss; I demanded full value because everything my son needed depended on me making it happen.

  DJ Alicia:         I purchased my building so I could have my mom close to me. I was taking care of her, I was working, and got all the degrees; Associates, Bachelors, Masters…I just got motivated after having my son. It wasn’t about me anymore it was about us. I have to make this happen. I graduated, got a great job and was doing well then BAM…I lost my job and was unemployed for 4 years.   I was doing the internet radio show, was spinning at different gigs and it became a means of survival.   During that time, my mom was like, go live your life.  She was like you gave me all those years…those teenage years when you should have been out partying etc., so she would be like I got him…he’s good. That’s really the only way I could have done it.

THE SISTERHOOD

Black Widow: You are obviously women who genuinely like each other. That in itself combats a stereotype.  How do you channel that sisterhood?

DJ Lady D:       I just want to do a set that’s inspirational for women.   I want each song to have real meaning behind it. I want it to touch them.  To me, it’s important as a woman to be putting out this positive spirit and uplifting people.  When you talk about Mothers of House, we are all mothers, we share these common experiences…we haven’t been brought together by accident.  It’s great to be able to hang out, laugh with one another then go out and beat those decks together.  I love it.

Black Widow: How do you combat the negativity that likes to pit women against one another, especially in the DJ Game?  I mean, it really happens to women...especially when they link up in positive spaces. How do you combat all of that?

DJ Lady D:       I don’t keep my ears to the street. That’s one thing I do to combat anything negative.  I’m not checking for it and it ain’t checking for me.  I guess ignorance is bliss. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but it doesn’t matter to me.

Dee Jay Alicia: I enjoy listening to Lady D. I enjoy listening to Mz. Nicky. It’s not like we are coming in with our equipment pushing each other out of the way. Nah… it’s just a positive vibe.  Those are the kind of gigs I want to play. If it’s not giving me those kind of vibes, I’m not doing it.

DJ Lady D:       As women it’s important to encourage and support one another’s dreams and visions especially when no one else will.  It’s lovely to be around a set of positive women who support you and encourage you.  To bring me in and say we want to include you…I’m like…yes this is great!  I’m not here by accident…you know?

Mz. Nicky:       That’s divine order girl!  Whew!!!  I just am grateful to Ike (party promoter) for his vision and for him choosing us to be in the forefront of something he puts his passion into.

DJ Lady D:       Yes and it’s nice that this is coming together for Mother’s Day!

Everyone:        Nods in agreement

Mz. Nicky:       you know for me….I hold these ladies in high regard. They’ve been doing this a lot longer than me and to be playing with them is an honor. 

BEING A WOMAN IN THIS INDUSTRY

Black Widow: Do people still attempt to diminish your talent and abilities based on how you look, who you know, who you are affiliated with or who you are married to?

EVERYONE:     OMG! YES!!!!!!!!!!

Mz. Nicky:       I’ve had guys tell me I’m not really mixing, or the only reason I’m successful is because of my husband or because I’ve screwed every DJ in Chicago.  SIGHS… I’M WHERE I AM BECAUSE I’M TALENTED. I’M WHERE I AM BECAUSE I WORK HARD. I’M WHERE I AM BECAUSE I HAD PEOPLE WHO SOWED SEEDS INTO ME AND BELIEVED IN ME. I’m where I am because of who I am…Period.  People have assisted along the way. I thank God for my husband because he really opened my eyes to certain things.  But yeah, I felt like I always had to prove myself. 

Black Widow: It’s funny because everyone has someone….a friend, mentor …

Mz. Nicky:       Absolutely

Black Widow: But it seems like with women having a mentor, or boyfriend or husband or anyone who assists you along the way somehow takes away from your talent or diminishes your capabilities. Whereas guys link up and mentor each other and no one ever tells them they are not as talented because of who helped them along the way.

Dee Jay Alicia: None of those naysayers were with me when I was covered in dust looking through 50 cent record bins,  none of those people were with me when Raphael(DJ) left me in the basement and said you count every single beat in these records and write down those BPMs to the records in those crates. I mean I was a literally a human serato!  *counting 123…124…125* None of those people are with me when I’m on Ableton till 3 in the morning trying to put a track together, none of those people are with me when I’m spinning a party til 3am and have to be at work at 9. None of those people are with me when I’m spending a ton of money on Traxsource trying to find something new, None of those people were with me when I went from wax to cd to serato back down to CDs back to flash drives because they didn’t believe I was spinning.  *Takes deep breath*  I’ve had to change how I spin to be respected because no matter how many times I post a video of me spinning on wax with Herb Kent, people refused to respect what I did. It just can’t be about our talent!    And it’s not just us…the naysayers will approach the people who do support us and get in their ear. One person told one of my fans that I was syncing!!!! AIN’T NO SYNC BUTTON ON SERATO! AND IF YOU KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT DJ EQUIPTMENT, YOU’D KNOW THAT!

EVERYONE:       COSIGNS, LAUGHTER AND HIGH FIVES!

Dee Jay Alicia:  It used to be so frustrating because I let that be in the forefront of my mind. You know I was motivated by saying, “I’m gonna prove you wrong” and it wasn’t until the picnic last year that I felt like I could do this for the love now. I don’t have to prove to anyone that I can do it. I can fall back in love with it again and not care about what anyone says or thinks.

DJ Lady D:       You know it’s all about being confident in who you are. When I was doing A/R and production, I remember a man telling me, you know I’d get as much work as you if I had tits.  I’m like really? Well go grow some…

Mz. Nicky:       RIGHT!!! Its like did you just hear what I just gave you? All of that is nothing right? I’m just a cute face or whatever? None of my talent matters right?

DJ Lady D:       I try to think if I let that kind of stuff get to me but I don’t think I did. It’s not really in my personality but the more I think about it…you know I was just doing shit.  I wasn’t trying to break glass ceilings, I was just doing shit.   I don’t call myself a feminist, but I just act in ways that promote feminism.  I’m just doing shit…I’m not trying to be a pioneer, I’m just doing shit. I’m doing what makes me happy. I’m doing what I love to do.  Yes… being one of the only 2 female DJs in Lollapalooza’s history is great or being the 3rd woman to play at Shelter is great and that’s wonderful! I’m just doing my thing.

Black Widow:   And people act like you aren’t supposed to celebrate those achievements.  Why not celebrate them? You’ve worked hard for them.

Dee Jay Alicia: I’ve had to duck and brace for impact with my achievements.

Mz. Nicky:       You know you have to change your focus sometimes. I love soulful house and I had things on my bucket list like playing with the Jersey boys and playing in Baltimore.  Once I changed my focus, I got a call from Jersey.  I just feel like when I changed my focus, negative things and people were removed from my life.

Everyone:        Unanimous Praise Shouts!

Mz. Nicky:       it wasn’t until recently. I think when we played at Renaissance (gestures to DJA), that I had a breakthrough.  I’ve always felt like I’ve had to prove myself during my set. You know people were coming to hear my blends, the songs I’m playing etc.… that night at Renaissance; I just let it all go and play.  It was the first time that I just played some music in a long time.  That’s where I am now…I’m just playing music and I’m enjoying it again. I’ve always been passionate and loved it but I felt like I had to prove something.  Now it’s to the point where I just don’t care about that…it’s about how I feel and catering to my floor.

Black Widow: When you are a Female DJ and you are setting your prices, parameters and getting title of bitch because you aren’t wavering or allowing people to price you down, how do you navigate through that when you know they wouldn’t come to a male DJ the same way?

DJ Lady D:       You gotta be gangsta. I learned a lot from Psycho-Bitch and Teri Bristol. They were bosses and they really taught me a lot especially what DJ’s should be paid.  I learned that when you name your price, people will either come up to it or I just don’t do it.  I have to make a living and support myself and my kid. PERIOD…there’s no negotiating my rent so I don’t negotiate my rate.

Mz. Nicky:       I don’t get as many bookings as I used to anymore; not like I used to.  Back then I just wanted exposure but now,  I’m like wait a minute, I’m giving you entertainment, I’m promoting , you are getting a following out of me, you are getting a lot of stuff from me.  I’m grateful for exposure but I don’t need it.  I’ve exposed myself. I’ve worked hard for it.  Now that I’m standing on what I’m deserving of, I don’t get bookings like I used to and I’m okay with that.  All money ain’t good money. 

Black Widow: Do you feel people come at you and purposely low-ball you?

Mz. Nicky:       Absolutely. Your DJ makes your party, pay your DJ. That should be the first thing you budget for when you decide to have a party .  You should never have a party thinking if I don’t make enough off the door or the bar, I’m not going to have enough to pay the Dj. NO! Pay your DJ.  We are doing a job for you.  You are getting a professional person!  Then they’ll say, “Aww sis, do it for the love”…

DJ Lady D:        and I do somethings for the love, for certain people or charitable organizations.

Mz. Nicky:       Absolutely, I do too.  You have to sow seeds sometimes.

DJ Lady D:       Across the spectrum of a year, I usually will say I’ll do 5 free events, 5 reduced rate gigs or something like that for charities and good causes and organizations.  After that’s exhausted, I just let them know. I can’t do it.   It’s just that simple. 

Dee Jay Alicia: Quite simply, my answer is my manager.  I mean this ain’t free. All of this music, this equipment I’m buying.  I need these things to perfect my craft.  You are paying for our creativity.  Some people I’ll deal with directly, I’ll do charity events too.  I let my manager deal with most of that because I know she’s not wavering.  This ain’t the pawn shop or the swap meet.

DJ Lady D:       It’s always good to have an agent working in your best interests.

Dee Jay Alicia: yea because of the nature of my personality, I had to get a 3rd party to deal with that.

THE FUTURE

Black Widow: What’s in the future for you guys?

Mz. Nicky:       It’s all about letting go of that need to prove myself; I’m just open to new experiences. I’m focused on my family, my children, and my grandchild.  Family is everything to me.  I’d like to have something for the kids. Something to pass the torch. There are DJ’s doing similar stuff now and I’d love to be able to teach the youth about this thing called house.  So yeah…I’m just open to whatever God has for me.

Dee Jay Alicia:  I want play globally.  I’m at the point where I want to make the road smoother for women coming behind me.  You know when Lady D was doing her thing it was gravel and she paved it.  Now with me it’s pavement…maybe I can make the road a bit smoother. You know? Maybe women won’t have to go through what we have all gone through; maybe we can make it easier for them.  I also want to move more into production. I have an ear and love creating.   I want to DJ and produce because it’s my passion.

DJ Lady D:      I thought I was ready to hang up my headphones but they keep pulling me back!  It’s beyond me and the universe tells me I’m not done yet so I’m gonna ride this till the wheels fall off.  I’ve worked with Girls Rock Chicago, a nonprofit organization that teaches girls music.   They do a summer camp every year. I used to do a few workshops.   I developed a DJ curriculum and I think it’s something I want to continue doing.  I think it’s important to allow girls the freedom to be creative and musical. It’s about giving them confidence and self-esteem through musicality. It’s about giving them the right to express themselves. Teaching for me is definitely in the future.

Mz. Nicky:       I think the house community needs us.  They need more of what we are contributing as women, as sisters in this.  They need to see the sisterhood, the unity.  We can show people that when we support one another, everybody wins!

Dee Jay Alicia: and they are growing with us.  Our fans have allowed us to evolve. When I came into this, I was you know…BMX!  But, they have allowed me to graduate and they have evolved with me and allowed me to grow. It’s a constant evolution and as long as people allow us to continue sharing with them… I’m sharing.

Black Widow: Ok, last question. What can we expect from you at the Mothers of House Party?

DJ Lady D:       Surprises and inspiration

Dee Jay Alicia: Love

Mz. Nicky:       Great music and positivity

Black Widow:  Well there you have it! Thank you ladies so much for sitting with me. I cannot wait for Saturday night.

 You can find the Mothers of House below:

Dee Jay Alicia (www.deejayalicia.com)

Facebook:   @DJAlicia 

Instagram:   @dj_Alicia

Soundcloud @dj-Alicia

Twitter:        @DJAlicia

DJ Lady D:

Facebook:   @Djladydchicago

Instagram:  @djladyd

Mixcloud:   @djladyd

Mz. Nicky D’Vine

Facebook:    @Divine.One.Enterprises

Instagram:   @Mznicky3

Twitter:        @mznickydvine1

Mixcloud:    @mznicky-thedvineone

Soundcloud @thedvine1-mznicky