When a writer’s name and book titles end up repeatedly on lists of celebrated “best authors” or “best books” it is usually a strong indication they are not only worth reading but occasionally: re-reading. So it is with the Harlem, New York-born author James Baldwin (Aug 2, 1924 - Dec 1, 1987). Were he still alive on this 88th anniversary of his birth, Baldwin could smile with satisfaction at the knowledge that his masterful works continue to illuminate the shadowy depths of human existence and to help empower the lives of socially embattled individuals. In June, the Library of Congress included the author’s classic The Fire Next Time on its initial list of “Books That Shaped America.” Chroniclers of the great author’s powerful impact on contemporary culture and history, however, started making sure in the last century that readers in this century would retain access to his legacy. In 1999, the Modern Library placed his Notes of a Native Son among the top half of “the 100 be...

                                                  Rev. Jeremiah Wright (press release photo) “…Y ou are looking at the miracles and missing the meaning behind the miracles.” --Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Guerrilla decontextualization is a somewhat ungainly term that falls more out of line than in line with similar coined phrases such as: guerrilla marketing, guerrilla filmmaking, or guerrilla street artist. These comparable terms have in common ideas of creative expansion or independent expressiveness. Guerrilla decontextualization on the other hand belongs on the more sinister lexicon family branch of the term guerrilla warfare. It can be defined as the practice of extracting such elements of media technology as video clips, sound bites, and manipulated images for largely two purposes.  One would be to intentionally misrepresent an indivi...