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Rashida Tlaib and dream hampton show who Detroit women are -- brash, determined, unapologetic.
America saw their focus and ferocity this week via Congresswoman Tlaib's profane blast at President Trump and hampton's role as executive producer of "Surviving R. Kelly," a six-hour cable TV expose of the R&B singer's exploitation of teen women. (The filmmaker uses a lower-case style for her name as a nod to feminist author bell hooks, an early influence.)
Rashida Tlaib and dream hampton
Each earns national attention in recent days and embraces it unblinkingly.
Tlaib's splash came on her first day as a representative, vowing that the House's new Democratic majority is "going to impeach the motherfucker." She swore Thursday night at a Washington bar event called, appropriately a "Swearing-In Celebration." (The video below has 26,000 viewings.)
An assistant editor at The Atlantic describes her out-of-the-gate move as "Tlaib’s norm-busting approach." Amid clap-backs that her defenders mock as "pearl-clutching," the Southwest Detroiter affirms that she'll stay "unapologetically me."
This is not just about Donald Trump. This is about all of us. In the face of this constitutional crisis, we must rise.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 4, 2019
I will always speak truth to power. #unapologeticallyMe
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 4, 2019
"We say colorful things in interesting ways," she told WDIV's Mara MacDonald on Friday.
Her unfiltered outburst hours after taking the congressional oath is in character. Tlaib, a former three-term state representative (2009-15), was among more than a dozen protesters ejected from a Detroit Economic Club luncheon at Cobo Center in August 2016 after they jeered presidential nominee Donald Trump. "Demonstrators stood on chairs and yelled as Trump delivered a speech," Gus Burns reported at MLive.
"Trump has created an atmosphere wherein my sons are questioning their place and identity as Arab Americans and Muslims," Tlaib wrote in a Detroit Free Press commentary two weeks later.
"As a responsible parent who continues to reflect and read the criticisms of my actions, I think of my two boys and I remind myself: Silence is not an option and it never should be."
Voters in the 13th Congressional District knew who she is, in other words, and more than a few comment supportively under her tweets Friday.
Nationwide buzz
The other fierce Detroiter's new splash came at the same time on Lifetime, which aired her hard-hitting documentary on Thursday-Saturday. The series drew millions of viewers and sparks a national discussion, particularly on social media -- where #MuteRKelly is trending. (A trailer is below. All six segments can be watched here.)
"Surviving R. Kelly" interviews multiple accusers, including ex-wife Andrea Kelly, who share allegations of pedophilia and physical and sexual abuse spanning decades.
"We have evidence of him raping underage girls, which is what sex with underage girls always is," hampton told Shadow and Act, a film industry site, before the telecasts. "I'm at war with R. Kelly. ... He's dangerous."
On Twitter, she declares Saturday: "I am from Detroit. I am not afraid of threats."
That prompts this reply from a Michigan native who's a suburban New Yorker:
#DetroitFierce. Because #DetroitStrong isn’t strong enough for those of us from there.
— Spartan4Ever (@SpartanInNY) January 5, 2019
If you're just hearing about dream hampton or welcome a reminder of her decades-long social justice activism, here's a quick fill:
- East-side Detroiter whose name is inspired by Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech eight years before her 1971 birth. She graduated from Bates Academy and Cass Tech High School.
- Hip-hop journalism career includes being the first female editor of The Source magazine and as a Vibe contributor from its 1993 launch until 2008. Her work also has appeared in Spin, The Village Voice and more than a dozen anthologies.
- Co-author of Jay-Z’s book "Decoded" (2010)
- Short films include "I Am Ali" (2002 Sundance Film Festival entry), "TransParent" (documentary on the 2011 Detroit killing of Shelley Hilliard, a 19-year-old transgender woman) and "We Demand Justice for Renisha McBride" (2013).
She and the outspoken U.S. House member are proud Detroit women. "Growing up in Detroit taught me strength," Rep. Tlaib posts Saturday.
Hear them roar:
