Published: Thursday - October 25, 2007
Words by Anne van de Sande
JLove Calderon (Photo: JenniferCalderon.com)
Not only does JLove live, sleep and breathe hip-hop, above all, she fights for the genre and its culture. The well respected educator/activist, who is dedicated to the struggle for human rights and the positive proliferation of youth and hip-hop culture, has created and contributed to numerous of events and organizations, including We Got Issues! National Arts and Civic Engagement Tour and B-Boy Summit.
Growing up as a white girl in a multi-colored community filled with gang violence and hip-hop music, JLove is no stranger to the subjects she discussed while presenting at universities with the likes of KRS-One and Rosa Clemente. The activist recently released her second book, That White Girl, in which her own life and experiences serve as the guideline. Read on as JLove discusses her novel, love for hip-hop and her outlook on racism in hip hop culture.
BallerStatus.com: Where were you born? And what major aspects of your culture affect your writing?
JLove: I was born in Denver, Colorado. The major aspect of my culture that affects my writing is the desire to speak truth to power. It is really actually a reaction to my culture. I was brought up in a place where you are taught that questioning authority is wrong, and to blindly accept what you are taught. As I got older and hit high school I knew I couldn't get down with that philosophy.
BallerStatus.com: How do you come up with ideas for what you write and what methods do you use to give your ideas shape?
JLove: I come from a magazine writing background and I am a social/political activist, so much of my material and ideas come from social, economic, spiritual, political and economic issues that affect the working class, the poor, and people of color. When sh-- pops off, I am on top of covering it. From police brutality to the prison industrial complex, to the miseducation system, to immigration... my goal is to provide insight and information to folks for the purpose of educating, agitating, and radical action.
As far as my book projects go, they mirror my life's inspiration and passion. I write about that which impacts me and my community the most. Therefore my books reflect issues of race, class, privilege, hip-hop, love, peace, the struggle, and on and on. The methods I use to give my ideas' shape begin with sitting with the issue at hand. Thinking about why it is important and how it manifests itself in the world. I ask myself, who does it impact? How did it begin? What persons or systems benefit from it? What's at stake here? Once I get grounded in the topic or issue I begin brainstorming. What is my goal? How can I present this in its most appealing and tantalizing state so that people will care? Part of writing, whether it is fiction or non-fiction is drawing the reader in. No matter what you're writing about, there are millions of other things your readers can be paying attention to, so how you say it is as important as what you say. Then I start the writing process. I write the first draft and edit, edit, edit. That's my process.
BallerStatus.com: Your latest book, That White Girl, is based on your own life. At what point did you decide to write a book about your own life?
JLove: It started out as a chapter in a book that my friend, Palestian poet/activist Suheir Hammad, was creating about women in hip-hop. Then Def Poetry got picked up on Broadway, so the project was on hold. That same year I had written an article about white kids in hip-hop, called "White Like Me." I put out a Code of Ethics for white kids that discussed our obligations to hip-hop culture. Well that didn't go over too well with many white kids, and it picked up a lot of attention. My friend author/activist Sofia Quintero interviewed me about the backlash. Short of time, she asked me for more background about my white privilege, hip-hop work, so I sent her the 30 pages I had written for Suheir. She loved it, sent it to her agent, I got picked up, and that's when I decided to write the story of my life. Call it divine intervention; I had never planned on writing a book about my life!
BallerStatus.com: Do you feel it is more difficult to put your own experiences on paper than to write a fictive story?
JLove: I am just a beginner novelist, so I can only speak to where I am in my journey. For me, it is easier to write about my own experiences as opposed to fiction because I do not have to spend time, imagination, and creativity to create the story, the characters, the setting, the dialogue... That is all ready, all I have to do is sit back and remember all the things I went through in life and put it on paper. The harder thing is processing 30 years of your life. It is emotional, painful, exhilarating, insightful, and amazing. I have been living in the past for three years as I've been writing this book... very crazy for me.
BallerStatus.com: What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing That White Girl?
JLove: The challenges were numerous. From the start there was a struggle with the publisher about if it was gonna come out as a novel or memoir. They were looking at market trends; I was focusing on my truth. Then it was time. I have a full-time job, two kids, a husband, and my activism work. Try fitting a book in there, too! While working on the book, I had to really figure out the main goal of the book. I mean if you look at your life, think of all the stories, experiences, people, and places that occur. What or who is important? Why pick one story over another? How deep do I go into my friends/characters lives in the book? How do I show the complexity of each and every situation without it becoming a 400 page tomb? How do I tell the truth and protect those who need protecting? These were just some of the writing and content challenges. On top of that was a whole bunch of other sh-- that I'm not even gonna get into, because it would take over this whole interview. Let's just say that at one point after I had finished the whole book, issues arose that almost caused me to pull the plug and not put it out. It's a tough business out there.
BallerStatus.com: Just like the main character of the story, Amber, you have a passion for hip-hop music. What was it about hip-hop that made you want to be a part of it?
JLove: Hip-hop spoke truth to power. I admired that. I craved that in my life. The energy, the beats, the flavor, the freshness, the originality back in the 80s and 90s, the stories, the live shows, the dances, the artists, the culture, the power, the lyrics... enough said.
BallerStatus.com: Racism is one of the main issues that are being addressed in the book. Now you've been involved in the hip-hop industry for quite some time now. Do you feel the genre has overcome race and class boundaries throughout the years?
JLove: I think that hip-hop culture, more than any other single institution or culture, has overcome race and class boundaries. During my time growing up there was racial and class divide everywhere I went. Hip-hop as a culture shifted that. That is one of hip-hop's greatest assets, the ability to provide a multi-racial, anti-oppressive community for all people. The biggest areas that hip-hop culture need to overcome, in my opinion, is misogyny and homophobia. But that's another topic, let me not digress.
BallerStatus.com: In terms of fighting for racial equity in general, what specific things do you think people can do?
JLove: Fighting for racial equity is the name of the game. A multi-faceted approach is the way to do it. Individually, every single day that you draw breath you must consciously walk in the world and demand justice. It looks like not co-signing on bullsh-- from a racist joke to job discrimination. It looks like speaking up whenever necessary, whether you are in the mood or not. It looks like engaging people in dialogue, provoking deep thought and mindset shifts of family, friends and co-workers. Institutionally, it looks like penetrating racist institutions and changing them from within, kinda like an undercover revolutionary. We need to be up in the following systems: education, health care, housing, immigration, and legal, to name a couple. Radicalize from within. Simultaneously we need to have an independent movement that uses "by all means necessary" to interrupt and disseminate all forms of white supremacy and institutionalized racism. That, I believe, should be the master plan to create a just, harmonious, and sustainable planet.
BallerStatus.com: How do you think the hip-hop generation of today can bring about change in society, thought and views?
JLove: I absolutely believe that the hip-hop generation has the power and ability to bring about change in society. But it's gonna take something, and it's not gonna happen overnight. No real social change does. What we have going for us is unity, hip-hop activists, intergenerational and multi-racial membership, and a sense of purpose. What we have is hip-hop organizations across the nation who are fighting for change systemically as well as individually. What we have is a critical mass of voting age hip-hop heads who really do care about social, economic, political equity. An organized movement is the key, and that movement is building as we speak. If you don't believe me, do some research. Look up people, places, and organizations like Rosa Clemente, Davey D, Kuttin' Kandi, Kahlil Almustafa, REACHip-Hop, Imix Bookstore, the Hip Hop Mental Health Project, Tools of War, the Bishop of Hip Hop, M1, MXG, Hip Hop Sustains, the NHHPC, the League of Indy Voters, Jeff Chang, Danny Hoch... the list goes on and on and on. We will win!
BallerStatus.com: Next to writing, you're also involved in community organizing and activism. You focus on the development of inspired dialogue within and between diverse communities. How would you describe the work you do?
JLove: I am dedicated to truth, love, and freedom, therefore I am committed to creating community, building healthy tribe, righting wrongs, and loving completely. What this looks like in my life is working to eradicate racism by putting out books and curriculum, as well as facilitating workshops and trainings specifically focusing on this. I also focus a lot of energy on my non-profit, We Got Issues!, where we are working to ignite a new brand of feminine centered leadership and social/political activism in America. We do training and development, outreach and education, and advocacy and recognition. My life work is as mother, wife, author, educator, activist, trainer, producer, and institution-builder. And I love all of it!
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