About Talia Whyte

Posts by Talia Whyte:

The Hollywood Roundtable and Public Diplomacy

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This year marks the 55th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Many people were behind organizing the historic event, including many Hollywood actors.  Following the march, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) recorded a roundtable discussion with Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Joseph Mankiewicz, James Baldwin, and moderator David Shoenbrun as they discussed the march and race relations in America.

USIA’s mandate at the time was to provide an honest assessment of American life to an international audience. The participants both criticized and praised American values.  USIA films at the time were not shown in the United States due to the Smith–Mundt Act.

“No matter how bitter I become I always believed in the potential of this country,” says James Baldwin in the film. “For the first time in our history, the nation has shown signs of dealing with this central problem.”

While the march and the roundtable, which were broadcast around the world together, was received favorably globally, many Americans criticized USIA for “putting out our dirty laundry” to the world.

So much for democracy…

But the real question here is if all these men were still alive today, would they met for such a discussion, considering Charlton Heston became a conservative later in life. And why were there no women invited to be part of this discussion?

Book Review: Fire and Fury

So I finally got around to finishing Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.  I wanted to finish this before I started Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear, and April Ryan’s Under Fire,  I purchased Fire and Fury when it came out in January, but it was hard to read because it seemed too real.  I had to put it down a few times because it was too depressing.  It also confirmed what I always thought: Donald Trump is utterly incompetent and way in over his head being president.

Of course, we are reminded of his incompetence every day, but here are some highlights I got out of the book that should scare everyone:

  • Roger Ailes is alleged to have said that Trump had “no political beliefs or backbone.”
    No one thought Trump had a chance of becoming president.  On election day, the Trump campaign was prepared to lose.Trump campaign worker Sam Nunberg had to explain the Constitution to Trump.
  • While on a plane ride, Trump said of himself when he asked about what white trash was: “They are people just like me, only they’re poor.”
  • Trump said life is worth living when you get your friend’s wife in bed.
  • A passage from the book: “He had somehow won the race for president, but his brain seems incapable of performing what would be essential tasks in his new job.  He had no ability to plan and organize and pay attention and switch focus; he had never been able to tailor his behavior to what the goals at hand reasonably required.  On the most basic level, he simply could not link cause and effect.” – No sh*t!
  • Another passage: “The new politics was not the art of the compromise but the art of conflict.”
  • Tillerson, Murdoch and pretty much the rest of the administration thinks he is a moron.

This is your president. I don’t know if I have the energy to read Bob Woodward’s new book, which is Fire and Fury Part 2.

 

Book Review: How To Love A Jamaican

I loved this book!

Alexia Arthur’s debut book of amazing short stories was one of my favorite books this year. She is such a great writer. Each story deals with the different identities represented in the Jamaican diaspora. One of the common themes in the stories is the important role of Jamaican mothers, aunts, and grandmothers in families. My maternal grandmother died when my mother was still a child, so she was raised by her grandmother. My mom would always say that she is the woman she is today because of her grandmother.

In “Bad Behavior,” Arthurs discusses the complicated relationship that occurs when a couple sends their teenage daughter to be raised by her grandmother in Jamaica to try to tame her sexually aggressive or “slack” ways. In “Mash Up,” the protagonist tries to find out why his mother has a more supportive relationship with his ne’er-do-well twin brother than with him, who has lived a more outstanding life.

The first story, “Light-skinned Girls and Kelly Rowland,” struck a nerve.  The black women only dated white men and only used black men to make their ex-white boyfriends jealous.  I have heard this story way too many times in my life.  I actually knew a couple of Jamaican women like this when I was in college…

The last story, “Shirley from a Small Place,” feels more like the story of Rihanna, who is from Barbados.  It is about a rock star who deals with her famous life in America but goes home to Jamaica, where her mother still sees her as just her daughter.

The whole book was awesome, and I highly recommend it!

What’s Cooking: Rasta Pasta

I love eating Rasta Pasta!

I am going to a cookout this weekend, and I thought why don’t I break out an old Jamaican recipe this time.  I don’t remember where I got the recipe originally, but it’s good. Below is a vegetarian version of the recipe I have been using for years:

Vegetarian Rasta Pasta (serves 6)

1 lb. penne pasta or macaroni
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup red sweet peppers, julienned
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp each: thyme and basil
1/4 tsp hot pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup cooked corn kernels
1 cup broccoli, broken into florets and lightly steamed
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 quart of tomato sauce

1. Cook the pasta until firm and tender. Drain and place on a serving dish.
2. Saute the garlic, scallions, sweet peppers, and onion in the oil until the onion is transparent.
3. add the thyme, basil, hot pepper, corn, broccoli, parsley, and sauce, and heat fully.
4. Pour the sauce mixture over the pasta, and serve hot.

Traditionally, it is made with jerk chicken, shrimp and alfredo sauce. This video shows a version with just chicken.

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