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chaun webster

People Make Place. Neighbors Make Neighborhoods.

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About a half-hour ago I was sitting here in Beyond Repair with Steven and had a bit of a shock. Who stepped into the Midtown Global Market, looking around, confused, not sure where to go? None other than MPD Police Federation President, Bob Kroll. He soon walked off, looking for something. Intrigued, I left Steven in the shop and walked around the market looking for Bob. Was he searching for us? If not, was he hungry? Where would he eat?

It seems though, while I was gone, Bobby found his way to the shop. He came in, saw a stack of Sgt. Kroll Goes to the Office, took about four or five, and avoiding any eye contact or interaction with Steven of any kind, quickly walked out.

I’ve been extremely happy, and frankly somewhat surprised, at the overwhelmingly positive reception this action has elicited. Both from the public at large, as well as elected officials in MPLS city government. Furthermore, it seems the action has been effective enough to get back to Lt. Kroll, and drive him across town to what he refers to in the comic as our “shit-hole neighborhood!” But hey, art will compel you into worlds that, prior to exposure, one would never dare to venture. I congratulate Lt. Kroll for, once again, braving the wilds of South MPLS.

All this said, I feel it is important for me to make this public; after the release of Sgt. Kroll Goes to the Office many people have urged me to publicly state the fact that Kroll, MPD, and their allies could retaliate in some way. Maybe, maybe not. But I agree that it is important to state that this possibility is, in fact, logical to consider and on my mind.

As an example, after the production of the comic was made public, but not yet released, the car in the above photo parked directly outside our home one afternoon. Having constructed low-wattage radio stations in the past I was interested, but also confused, by the DIY antenna apparatus on the roof of the vehicle. Something was off with its construction and orientation. I took a photo and sent it to a friend who is far more knowledgeable in that area than I am. He stated that, while not definitive, his guess was that it was a “cell phone sniffer.” What’s that? Well, myself and the small group who organized the visit to Mayor Hodges house last November, on the night the police were cracking down at the 4th Precinct Shutdown, are well aware of what it is. Area journalists, through a FOIA request, were able to find out as well. It’s a device that can read your text messages and listen in to your phone calls. It’s a tactic that MPD used that night and what allowed them to meet us at the Mayor’s house in advance of our arrival. And who knows, maybe it’s what is on top of the van outside our home in this photo. Or maybe not.

All of this sounds terribly psychotic and paranoid. But paranoia often arises out of social landscapes that speak towards something larger than each singular, seemingly fantastical, worry or suspicion. A kernel of truth exists in each.

So, if I start getting pulled over a lot; if we suddenly have numerous coding violations on our home; if, god forbid, DHS and MPD knock down our door over alleged child abuse accusations (which happened not long ago to a friend here in town who is critical of the police and their tactics; if I happen to be walking home and have the shit beat out of me, well, we all know who’s hand is at play. (Hi, Bobby!)

And this goes for ALL the artists involved in its production, and everyone else helping with its distribution as well.

I was sad to miss Bob when he visited the shop. I genuinely would have liked to have talked to him about his actions and ours. I called the Police Union a short while after we missed one another, but he wasn’t there. So I left a message on his voicemail inviting him to call me back to talk about the work. Maybe even have a book signing at the shop?

So Bob, it’s apparent that you are, in fact, paying attention to all this. I invite you to talk about it, but please don’t hit me – or accuse me of anything, or fuck with my kids, or listen into my phone calls or read my emails – let’s just talk.

I’ll be at Beyond Repair noon tomorrow. See you here. I’ll buy you a coffee.

Oct. 5, 2016 · 6:33pm· Resident Weirdo· ∞

I’m thinking about the links between our discussion tonight concerning The Undercommons and my feelings and experiences with the world of “Great Black Music,” the tradition, culture, and pedagogy of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and its orbit.

What occurs when you move away, not in opposition, but through your own accord? Not a counter to, but “the new thing?”

Real “new things” aren’t linear progressions. While nothing is new, ever, we can achieve “something else.” They are built, mixed together, a composite of the rubble around them. Importantly, some people see rubble where buildings still stand.

So, with the words of Harney / Moten in mind, after sharing a drink with Chaun and Nate after they stopped over at the house, after I put the kids to bed, it seems only fitting to play this cut from Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, as the chorus keeps ringing in my head:

“Got to get myself away from here…

Got to get myself away from here…

Got to get myself away from here…

I gotta to make it right away!”

 

Jan. 31, 2016 · 1:02am· Resident Weirdo· ∞

Hey, look who showed up to sing for Emory Douglas after his conversation with Sam Gould and Chaun Webster at the shop the other night.

Million Artist Movement Sings for Emory Douglas from Sam Gould on Vimeo.

Dec. 14, 2015 · 10:11am· Resident Weirdo· ∞

Sun, Dec. 13, 2015 ⁄ 4:30–5:30pm

Publics and Publication: A Conversation with Emory Douglas

ED

As part of an intermittent series of conversations taking place at Beyond Repair entitled Publics and Publication, Emory Douglas (artist and former Minister of Culture for The Black Panther Party) and Sam Gould (Editor of Red76) will discuss the role of the BPP’s newspaper, The Black Panther, as not simply a fixed object existing to move information along, but a very specific device to form a public around the desires and ideals of the Black Panther Party and its orbit. 

 

The conversation will touch on both the practical elements of putting out the paper, but equally as much the theoretical role and value of The Black Panther and how it served as a tool to illustrate distance between individuals, a device that opened up a space of questioning for the reader, pragmatically, within their day. Inasmuch The Black Panther was both a physical object, allowed to travel relatively freely within the world, but just as much a subject, a tool for public-making afforded a nature as complex as its readership. 

 
Not solely with an eye towards the past, the conversation will utilize the history and role of the paper in its moment as a way to consider the tactical uses of publication within our own moment, both here in Minneapolis’s 9th Ward, and further afield.

 
Early in the new year a book will be produced from the evenings discussion, available for sale at Beyond Repair and online. Sales from the book will be used to create new actions, publications, programs, and more to address the role of the 3rd Precinct within the 9th Ward of South Minneapolis and how the precincts actions affect the quality of life of 9th Ward residents.
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We’d very much like to thank the folks at Juxtaposition Arts, as well as Penumbra Theatre, and the Walker Art Center, for their support and collaboration in bringing Mr. Douglas to Minneapolis and Beyond Repair. 

Dec. 3, 2015 · 4:10pm· Resident Weirdo· ∞

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