Good Morning, Columbia City

Heading to MLK and Genesee...

By the look of it, there's a pot of gold on Cleveland High School and, on the other end, Pacific Medical Center.

Not long after taking the image, I heard a mother speaking Arabic to her son—the mother was monumental; dressed in black, she was a whole universe to the small, Americanized world of her son. As she spoke, I realized to my embarrassment that when I ever I hear Arabic, I imagine a prayer is being expressed or some praise is being made to Allah. I never imagine something mundane or scientific in the lyrical but raspy flow of Arabic words.

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Charles Mudede

Charles Tonderai Mudede, The Stranger’s senior staff writer, is a Zimbabwean-born cultural critic, urbanist, filmmaker, college lecturer, and writer. Mudede collaborated with the director Robinson Devor on three films, two of which, Police Beat and Zoo, premiered at Sundance, and one of which, Zoo, screened at Cannes. He has also written for the New York Times, Cinema Scope, Tank Magazine, e-flux, LA Weekly, and C Theory.

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