My Personal “WTF Moment” – 4/30/11

You never know what you’ll see walking through a random antique store.  I’m speechless

Regal Black Women from Around the World

 

 

 

 

Click here to read about these women and others on Black Enterprise

HBCU Student Not Allowed to Graduate Because of Facebook Post

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action 

Roman Caple is a senior at St. Augustine’s College.  He was set to graduate this weekend until he was informed by the school that he wouldn’t be allowed to walk with his classmates.  Caple says that his punishment was due to a Facebook post that allegedly "jeopardized the integrity of the college."

Caple argues that the reaction of school administrators came as a result of his posts following a tornado that hit Raleigh, NC two weeks ago.  But he says that most of his comments were meant to be uplifting.  One of his posts said the following:

"We all need to set our differences aside and help one another. Falcons we will continue to fly high because that’s what we do. Help your neighbor, if need be, Falcons are one."

What if Kate Middleton Were Black?

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action 

If there were a royal wedding being held in Africa, would CNN spend an entire week covering it?  If not, what does that say about race, if anything at all? 

I couldn’t help but feel entirely disconnected from the ceremony that was being shown all over our television sets at the same time hundreds of people were being killed in an Alabama tornado.  I kept wondering if the fantasy of the British fairytale had more relevance to news producers than the reality of death and devastation.

The Reality of Being a Football Star

 

Watch as YBW’s Eshe White interviews a former football star about the realities of playing in the NFL

 

Technorati Tags: black athletes,african american athletes,eshe white

Report Says that Obama’s Father Was Forced Out of Harvard University

 

 

BOSTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s father was forced to leave Harvard University before completing his Ph.D. in economics because the school was concerned about his personal life and finances, according to newly public immigration records.

Harvard had asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service to delay a request by Barack Hussein Obama Sr. to extend his stay in the U.S., "until they decided what action they could take in order to get rid of him," immigration official M.F. McKeon wrote in a June 1964 memo.

Roland Martin Has a Back and Forth with Donald Trump on Twitter

 

Roland Martin has begun calling out Donald Trump on his Twitter page. This is what Martin had to say:

 

"Do not support Trump’s #CelebrityApprentice. He’s a travesty. I refuse to stay at Trump hotels; will NOT watch #CelebrityApprentice or buy products that continue to advertise on his show. He’s pathetic."

 

Donald Trump Then Replied:

 

 

“I am the least racist person on the planet. I have a great record on that, especially in terms of my friendships. And I have never heard of Roland Martin.”

 

Technorati Tags: roland martin,donald trump,black politics

President Obama Says That He’s Never Seen Devastation Like What He’s Seeing in Alabama

 

 

Tuscaloosa, Alabama (CNN) — President Barack Obama toured rubble-strewn Tuscaloosa, Alabama, neighborhoods on Friday, declaring the devastation brought by a series of powerful storms and tornadoes was beyond anything he had ever seen.

The storms killed at least 316 people in six Southern states and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Obama promised expedited federal aid to states affected by the tornadoes.

"We’re going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," he said.

Why I Honestly Feel Sorry for Donald Trump

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

Like nearly every other black man in America, I’ve been taken aback by the manner through which Donald Trump has used racist code language to undermine the presidency of Barack Obama. After first wondering if he was born in the United States, Trump has made reference to Obama playing too much basketball to pay attention to the price of gas and even questioned whether or not he truly earned the grades necessary to get into the Harvard Law School.

Detroit’s NAACP Honors Kid Rock and His Confederate Flag

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

The NAACP of Detroit has committed what appears to be an incredibly sad act by giving it’s Great Expectations Award to Kid Rock during it’s annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner.  It’s ironic that the NAACP is giving an award to someone who regularly uses the Confederate flag during his concerts.  The civil rights supporter in me doesn’t understand the NAACP’s actions, but the Finance Professor in me understands their actions perfectly.

Here are some questions for the NAACP as they honor one of their greatest heroes, Kid Rock:

1) If Kid Rock were not a donor to your organization, would you have given him this award?  Probably not.

click to read

KeyShia Cole’s Mother Arrested for Drugs

Frankie Lons, the mother of superstar Keyshia Cole, was arrested for "misdemeanor possession of drug-related materials" and "probation violation."  Frankie is the star of Celebrity Rehab.  Wow.

President Obama Meets with Participants in the 1968 Sanitation Strike

“The President invited the living participants in the Memphis Sanitation Strike to honor their courage, and their fight on behalf of all workers for safe conditions, respect in the workplace and a better life for themselves and their families. As workers across the country continue to face challenges to their rights, the issues for which these men fought continue to be relevant  and the President remains committed to the causes for which they marched.” – from the White House

Is the Catholic Church Racist?

By Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World  – the picture above (left) is from the press conference held for Father Pfleger in Chicago

I went to the press conference being held on behalf of Father Michael Pfleger, the respected Catholic Priest on the Southside of Chicago.  In case you don’t know, Father Pfleger’s church, St. Sabina, is a predominantly black church and his members love him.  He has served the South Side of Chicago with the kind of courage only shown by a true spiritual soldier.  He has stood strong with mothers as their sons have died and has put himself in the middle of nearly every kind of devastation that plagues inner cities across America.

Black Americans Not Getting Good Financial Advice

 

by TEWire
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspapers
Originally posted 4/27/2011

Only two out of every 10 African-Americans are on a path to achieve their retirement goals, according to a six-month-old survey of Blacks conducted by a major wealth manager.

 

Do Black Women Have a Preference for Thugs? (Video)

In this episode of Your Black Love, Deborrah Cooper and I ask whether or not black women have a preference for dating men that are not good for them.

Do you know a woman who dates one bad guy after another and then seems to spend all of her time whining about the fact that she can never find a good man?  Yea, I have too.  Well, it seems to me that, at some point, we must all have some degree of accountability for our relationship choices. 

Cam Newton is the top Pick; Now the Questions Begin

By Jason DeCrow, AP

NEW YORK — At least one major question about Cam Newton has been answered.  The lights shined on Cam Newton after the Panthers made him the first overall pick on Thursday.

The lights shined on Cam Newton after the Panthers made him the first overall pick on Thursday.

Report: Newspapers and Websites Lack Diversity in Sports Reporting

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Some 320 websites and newspapers that belong to Associated Press Sports Editors slightly improved their racial hiring practices last year, according to a study released Wednesday, though they failed again to make any strides in gender hiring for key newsroom positions.

The report, released every two years by the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, gave those outlets a C plus, up from a C in 2008, for racial hires and an F for gender hires in jobs including sports editor, columnist, reporter and copy editor.

Dr. Boyce Watkins on the Huffington Post – 4/29/11

 

Rocky Clark Is Dying From a Lack of Health Insurance

Posted April 26, 2011 | 06:25 PM (EST)

I woke up thinking about a person I met just two weeks ago. I was thinking about this man because he is going to die unless we find a way to help him. He is paralyzed from the neck down, has one working lung and that lung has enough blood…

Read Post

Fighting the Arrest of Tanya McDowell: Educating Your Child Should Not Be a Crime

773 Comments | Posted April 24, 2011 | 10:28 PM (EST)

When I heard about the case of Tanya McDowell, the homeless mother sent to jail for sending her 5-year-old son to the "wrong" school district, I immediately thought back to the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar not long ago. I wondered how the world has gone mad…

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Why I don’t Care about the Royal Wedding

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action 

I had to keep myself from getting sick when I turned on the TV this morning to see some random people walking down the street wearing clothes too expensive for nearly all of my friends to afford.  I wondered why the world has become captivated and frozen over such a disgusting exercise of extravagance.  So, I thought I would list at least four of the reasons that I won’t be watching the royal wedding: 

Malcolm X’s Interpretation of Fox News Racism

 

Watch the video below to understand the nature of Fox News Racism.  There’s a historical context to all of this, whether we’re talking about the Birther Movement, the Tea Party or any of the other activity coming from the Right Wing.  Check it out below or click here to watch.

 

Teen Mothers in Detroit Face Police brutality when Trying to save their School

 

From the Voice of Detroit

DETROIT – In an interview with VOD, Ashley Matthews, 17, described the heroic student-led occupation of her school, Catherine Ferguson Academy on April 15. She spoke of the wholehearted support the young mothers received from the community, as well as the vicious physical and verbal brutality police visited on them during their arrests.

She said two toddlers, there with their mothers, watched the events.

Oil Companies are Making Less Gas but Much Higher Profits

 

 

Gasoline prices are skyrocketing — and so are oil company profits.
Exxon Mobil Corp. earned nearly $11 billion in the first three months of the year, a rollicking 69% increase over its performance for the same period last year. That’s on sales of $114 billion.
It’s the same story for the other big oil companies. Royal Dutch Shell turned a profit of $6.3 billion in the first quarter, and BP — despite lingering costs from the Gulf Coast oil spill— made $7.1 billion.

 

click to read

12 Airport Employees Charged in Drug Smuggling Ring

 

BY TRESA BALDAS

Twelve people were charged today in two separate drug smuggling schemes involving baggage handlers at Detroit Metro Airport who allegedly helped sneak in suitcases filled with marijuana and cocaine from Jamaica and Houston.

According to two criminal complaints unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Detroit, six individuals were charged with running a drug smuggling scheme between Jamaica and Detroit by using baggage employee codes and insider knowledge to get drugs past security.

The complaint alleges that Northwest/Delta Airlines baggage handlers at Detroit Metro Airport were in cahoots with airport employees in Jamaica who helped sneak the suitcases full of marijuana and cocaine into Detroit. The scheme was discovered on Jan. 23, 2010, when a federal agent learned about a drug seizure by Jamaican Customs involving roughly 53 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were in a suitcase headed for Detroit, which triggered an investigation that revealed an inside job.

Click to read

Technorati Tags: black news,african american news

Dr. Boyce Thought of the Day: Cory Gunz, Busting Rhymes and Dribbling Basketballs

I’m sitting here watching this MTV show "Son of a Gun," about a rapper, Cory Gunz, who is deciding which hip-hop label to join. I admittedly become annoyed with media feeding these bullsh*t dreams to black men, when 99.9% of them never end up making money as rappers or athletes. Brothers please understand this: Your best options for success are education and entrepreneurship – not busting rhymes and dribbling basketballs.

 

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition.  To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Whatever Happened to Natural Hair Care?

by Leslie Detouche  – Your Black World 

How can we forget Lauryn Hill revamping the natural hair revolution? Well, in case you were wondering – the revolution is still going on. Black women are constantly being encouraged to embrace their roots so to speak. One of the leading natural hair care stylist in the business, sits at the helm of this interesting plight of sorts. Ms Malaika-Tamu Cooper is the owner of Dreadz N’ Headz natural hair care center, located in northwest Baltimore Maryland.

Click to read more

 Visit YourBlackWorld.com to join our coalition!

Dr. boyce: Cam Newton Goes Number One – Some Quick Advice

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

Auburn University’s Cam Newton capped off his stunning win of the Heisman Trophy by being the #1 draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in this year’s NFL draft.

I’d like to make some quick recommendations for Cam as he begins his life of fame and fortune:

1) Save your money:  Most of your fellow NFL players were sweating out the lockout because they weren’t able to make payments on all the cars and houses that they can’t afford.  Get a good financial manager you can trust, learn to start your own business, and make sure you’re educated enough to understand what other people are doing with your money.  If you lose everything, no one is going to care.

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To have Dr. Boyce Watkins commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 

 

 

Technorati Tags: cam newton,black athletes,black news

GOP Rep Says Black People Don’t Work as Hard as Whites

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action

Republican State Rep from Oklahoma Sally Kern seems to think that black people don’t work as hard as whites and that we are more likely to go to prison because we think the government will take care of us.

“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them."

My Visit to See Rocky Clark

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

Today, I stood in the presence of a true soldier. I went to the hospital in Chicago to visit Rasul “Rocky” Clark, the young brother who was paralyzed 10 years ago in a football accident at the age of 16. Rocky was paralyzed from the neck down, only able to move his head and nothing else. His legs and arms are thinner than anything I’ve ever seen, he can barely breathe, and he’s dying right now because his insurance company decided to kill his policy.

Rocky’s mother, Annette, has stood by her son day-in and day-out every single day since the accident. She has a bed right next to him in the hospital and repeatedly told me that “I’m not gonna leave my baby.” Every normal day seems to be abnormally tragic, with nurses cleaning bacteria out of Rocky’s one remaining lung, and the young man quietly repeating the words, “Mama, I can’t breathe.”

President Obama, Appeasement, and The Birth of a Nation

 

by Frank Igwe – Your Black World 

"Appeasement is like feeding the crocodile, hoping that it will eat you last.” -Winston Churchill

As Hitler’s Third Reich expanded across Europe, and leader after leader sought to placate and temper his appetite for war by surrendering territory in the hope for peace, Winston Churchill took a stand, and stated: "Appeasement is like feeding the crocodile, hoping that it will eat you last.”You see, Churchill understood a basic truth that has been around since the beginning of time: A bully will continue to be a bully, until you take a stand and fight. Hitler’s aggression was built on a platform of racial superiority, of dividing the world into “in-groups” and “out-groups”, the chosen and “the others”, slaves and slave masters. He may have succeeded in his quest for world domination, and global ethnic cleansing had it not been for one courageous leader who said, ENOUGH!

NFL Player Albert Haynesworth Allegedly Put Credit Card in Woman’s Cleavage

 

 

By JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth allegedly slid his credit card into the bra of a waitress and then touched her breast, according to court papers filed Wednesday offering Haynesworth a plea deal in the sexual abuse case.

Haynesworth’s lawyer, however, said the deal was not one he’d take and that his client would fight the charge. Prosecutors filed paperwork in Superior Court in Washington saying that if Haynesworth agrees to plead guilty to simple assault they would drop the misdemeanor sexual abuse charge. Both charges carry the same maximum penalty, however, up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Whoopi Goldberg Calls Donald Trump Out for his Racism

 

Your Black World Reports

It appears that Whoopi Goldberg has had enough.  The host, who normally defends men accused of racism (i.e. Mel Gibson and Ted Danson), found herself highly offended by Donald Trump’s reference to President Obama playing basketball and then stating that Obama was not qualified to get into Harvard. 

Oprah Winfrey Asks President Obama about the Birth Certificate

Your Black World Reports

On a recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, President Barack Obama was asked about the birth certificate issue.  The president recently released his birth certificate to the public in order to squash growing controversy about his birthplace.

"Why did you wait so long, though?" Oprah asked. "When it first came up, were you thinking, I hope I was born here?"

A Judge Lifts the NFL Lockout

*A federal judge has sided with NFL players and granted their request for a preliminary injunction to lift the lockout imposed by team owners.

The ruling gives the players an early victory in their fight with NFL owners over a new collective bargaining agreement in the $9-billion business.

read more click here

Should You Need a License to Braid Hair? A Woman Files a Lawsuit Over the Issue

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

Jestina Clayton is a woman in Utah who is originally from Sierra Leone in West Africa.  She does African braiding part-time in order to make extra money.  She is now being confronted with the loss of significant income, since a law in the state of Utah claims that you must have a full cosmetology license in order to braid hair.

Clayton filed suit this week in the court of law.  She is being backed by the Institute for Justice, a Virginia-based organization that helps people like Clayton challenge unjust laws.

Denver Broncos Player Jason Hunter Stabbed by His Girlfriend

Your Black World Reports

Jason Hunter of the Denver Broncos was stabbed by his girlfriend Wednesday morning, according to police.  Hunter is currently in stable condition.

“There case is still being investigated, so there are a lot of details we don’t have yet,” Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said.

Father Michael Pfleger Gets Suspended from the Catholic Church

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

If there were ever a human being who best embodied the words “What would Jesus do?” it would be Father Michael Pfleger out of Chicago.  Father Pfleger has put it on the line for 30 years as the head of the St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church in the south side of Chicago.  The church is predominantly black, but Father Pfleger connects with his parishioners as if they were his family.

Black Unemployment Reaches Depression Levels in Many Major Cities

by Janell Ross, Huffington Post

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the decade leading up to the Great Recession, Wanda Nolan grew accustomed to steady progress.

From an entry-level job as a fill-in bank teller, she forged a career as a commercial banking assistant, earning enough to become a homeowner. She finished college and then got an MBA. Even after the recession unfolded in late 2007, her degrees and her familiarity with the business world lent her a sense of immunity to the forces ravaging much of the American economy. Nolan was an exemplar of the African American middle class and the increasingly professional ranks of the so-called New South.

But in September 2008, everything changed.

A bank human resources officer called her into a private conference room. “All I heard was, ‘Your position has been eliminated,’” says Nolan, 37, who, despite being one of the more than 13 million officially unemployed Americans, still spends most days in her self-styled banker’s uniform of pearls and pants and practical flats. “My mind started racing.”

More than two years later, Nolan is still looking for a job and feeling increasingly anxious about a future that once felt assured. Her life has devolved from a model of middle class African American upward mobility into an example of a disturbing trend: She is among the 15.5 percent of African Americans out of work and still looking for a job.

For economists, that number may sound awful, but it’s not surprising. The nation’s overall unemployment rate sits at 8.8 percent and the rate among white Americans is at 7.9 percent. For a variety of reasons — ranging from levels of education and continuing discrimination to the relatively young age of black workers — black unemployment tends to run twice the rate for whites. Yet since the Great Recession, joblessness has remained so critically elevated among African Americans that it is challenging longstanding ideas about what it takes to find work in the modern-day economy.

Millions of people like Nolan, who have precisely followed the oft-dictated recipe for economic success — work hard, get an education, seek advancement — are slipping backward. Even as they apply for jobs and accept the prospect of a future with less job security and lower pay, they remain stalled in unemployment.

Trading down has become a painful truth for much of working America, but this truth becomes particularly stark when seen through the prism of race. Only 12 percent of all Americans are black, but working-age black Americans comprise nearly 21 percent of the nation’s unemployed, according to federal data. The growing contrast between prospects for white and black job-seekers challenges a cherished American notion: the availability of opportunity and upward mobility for all.

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Richelle Carey on CNN Discusses the Case of Tanya McDowell (Video)

Technorati Tags: tonya mcdowell,tanya mcdowell,richelle carey

The Obama’s Stop to See Oprah on their Way to NY

CHICAGO — President Barack Obama flew home to Chicago on Wednesday to help his pal and supporter Oprah Winfrey close out her syndicated talk show with a “big get” – an interview with him.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, took turns answering Winfrey’s questions during a taped interview at her studio, her first in 25 years with a sitting president and first lady.

McJobs Are Not the Cure for An Ailing Economy

Editor’s note: Annette Bernhardt is policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project, a national advocacy group for the rights of lower-wage earners. She was lead researcher on NELP’s recent report, "A Year of Unbalanced Growth: Industries, Wages, and the First 12 Months of Job Growth After the Great Recession."

(CNN) — We are starved for signs that the economy is picking up. So when McDonald’s threw its doors open to hire 50,000 workers nationwide, media networks scrambled to film applicants lining up across the country for that increasingly elusive piece of the American dream — a job.

Tyler Perry Launches Third Series on TBS

The prolific writer/director/actor has signed his latest deal with the Turner-owned network for "For Better or Worse," a dramedy series based on his "Why Did I Get Married?" film franchise.

Michael Jai White ("The Dark Knight") and Tasha Smith ("Couples Retreat") are set to reprise their big-screen roles as television anchor Marcus and salon owner Angela.

Lawmakers Start Asking Questions about the Tanya McDowell Case

HARTFORD — State lawmakers are wondering why a homeless Bridgeport woman is being prosecuted on felony charges for enrolling her son in a Norwalk school.

Rep. Bruce V. Morris, D-Norwalk, said Wednesday that since Tanya McDowell‘s 5-year-old son A.J. was withdrawn from Brookside Elementary School in January she should be held accountable for no more than half the $15,000 she has been charged with stealing.

Ron Artest Wins NBA Good Citizenship Award

 

Your Black World reports

Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award this week.  His teammate, Lamar Odom, was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

"I think it’s great recognition that the NBA sees what I’ve been doing outside of basketball," Artest said. "I’m definitely grateful for the award.

"It’s something that’s not on people’s minds as far as me getting a citizenship award, but it was something that I wanted and I’m definitely happy I got it."

Quote of the Day: The “After-Birthers”

Quote of the day: “The birthers are now going to have to change their name since the birth certificate has been release.  Instead of being called ‘the birthers,’ they are now going to be called ‘the after birthers,” because they simply aren’t going to quit.”  – Mark Thompson, host of “Make it Plain with Mark Thompson”

The Impact of Fatherless Homes

Please watch this PSA that shows the devastating impact of fatherless homes on the African American community.  The video is incredibly powerful.

Technorati Tags: black fathers,african american fathers

Forbes.com: Tanya McDowell Pleads Not –Guilty

NORWALK, Conn. — A homeless single mother who lives in her van pleaded not guilty Wednesday to stealing nearly $16,000 worth of education for her son by enrolling the kindergartener in her baby sitter’s school district.

Tanya McDowell, 33, was arraigned in Norwalk, where she was arrested April 14 on felony charges of committing and attempting to commit first-degree larceny.

Prosecutors say McDowell used her baby sitter’s address to enroll her son in Norwalk schools in the fall but should have registered the boy in nearby Bridgeport, a significantly poorer urban district and the location of her last permanent address.

Luther Campbell Raises Just $250 for His Mayoral Campaign

Your Black World Reports

It looks like the phrase “Too legit to quit” doesn’t quite apply to Luther Campbell.  The former leader of “2 Live Crew” has raised a reported $250 for his campaign to run for Mayor of Miami. Campbell was hoping that a recent fundraiser would bring him $5,000 to $10,000, but he was wrong.  Campbell is now $150,000 behind the fourth-highest fundraiser, Jose “Pepe” Cancio.

Diamond Breland: A Young Woman’s Take on the Tonya McDowell Case

NY Mayor Goes Nuts After Finding Out that Diddy Got a Police Motorcade

Your Black World Reports

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg went on a tirade after finding out that the NYPD gave the rapper Sean “Diddy”Combs a police motorcade to make a $75,000 event in New Jersey.  The mayor launched a probe into the incident, stating that it is unacceptable for anyone to receive police assistance with taxpayer dollars.  Officers from NYPD internal affairs went to the Midtown South precinct to go through logs, records and work schedules to find out who was responsible for what happened.  They are also reviewing videotapes from 35th Street and Times Square to find out more information.

Students Fight to Save HBCU in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Eye-level watermarks, gutted buildings and rows of mobile classrooms linger as reminders of the flooding from Hurricane Katrina that nearly wiped out Southern University at New Orleans in 2005.

Now the predominantly African-American university faces what students and administrators view as a new threat: Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to consolidate the school with the nearby, mostly white University of New Orleans.

Dr. Bobby Jones Brings Christians Together for the Kentucky Derby

Your Black World Reports

Dr. Bobby Jones, “The Ambassador of Gospel,” is seeking to bring Christians together for the Kentucky Derby.   He is part of the “Kentucky Derby Christian Music and Comedy Cabaret,” which is set to be a blast for Jones and everyone else in attendance. It is one of the first efforts to bring thousands of Christians together for a Kentucky Derby event.

The event will include performances from The Nashville Superior Choir, Debra D. Winans, the Legendary Gospel Group, The Dynamic Dixie Travelers, The Danya Band and more.

Tickets and more information can be obtained at www.aracetopraise.com.

Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton discuss Tonya McDowell and the Birther Movement

In the episode below, Your Black World Coalition founder, Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton  of the National Action Network discuss the Birther Movement and whether or not it’s racist.  They also discuss the case of Tonya McDowell, the homeless mother who was arrested for sending her child to the wrong school.

Famous Athletes Who Went Broke

In 2008, the NBA Players’ Association claimed that 60 percent of pro basketball players go broke within five years of retirement. It’s not hard to see why. In the annals of “easy come, easy go,” few people see it come and go like professional athletes.

While it’s true that many take their salaries and invest them in sensible and enduring business ventures, many others squander their multimillion-dollar salaries on expensive cars, jewelry and mansions, and when the checks stop coming in, they have little to show for it.

Rapper Jim Jones Arraigned for Suspended License

From the Associated Press

Rapper Jim Jones has made a return to a venue he’d rather avoid: a New York City courthouse.

"I’m trying to stay out of this place!" the hip-hop artist said with a smile as he left court after his arraignment Tuesday on charges of driving with a suspended license. In 2009, he pleaded guilty in the same courthouse to a misdemeanor assault charge for a punching a friend of R&B star Ne-Yo in a Louis Vuitton store.

President Obama Releases His Official Birth Certificate

Your Black World reports

President Barack Obama has officially released the long form of his birth certificate in response to the questions about whether or not he was born in the United States.  Originally, the president had only released the short form copy, which led to speculation that he was born abroad.

Things I Learned about Tyler Perry While Being Interviewed by Mo’Nique

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

I watched Tyler Perry last night on the Mo’Nique Show on BET.  It was an interesting interview, with Mo’Nique fawning over Tyler’s brilliance in the way you would expect an actress to kiss up to one of the most powerful filmmakers in the world.  I fully expect that Mo’Nique will get some coveted roles in future Tyler Perry films.

Are Black Children In Danger While In Their Mothers’ Wombs?

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

Tricia Fraser filed suit last Tuesday against a Texas-based pro-life group that used her daughter’s face on a billboard that ran in Harlem earlier this year.  Beneath the face of her child were the words “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.” 

In the lawsuit, Fraser claims that the use of her daughter’s image was “defamatory, unauthorized and offensive.”  She also said that it was racist.  The image was obtained legally, however, as Fraser had allowed her daughter to be photographed by a modeling agency.

President Obama Picks a New Defense Secretary

 

Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama will name CIA Director Leon Panetta as his nominee to succeed Robert Gates as defense secretary, a senior defense official and another U.S. official said Wednesday.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, will be named to replace Panetta as CIA director, a senior defense official said.

A Black Prof Discusses Racial Bias in Financial Decisions

Your Black World reports

Have you ever tried to get a loan, and felt that you weren’t being treated the same as if you were white?  What about watching that promotion at work being given to the white guy down the hall when you were the one slaving night and day for 20 years?  Well, this feeling is not uncommon.  A recent survey at YourBlackWorld.com showed that nearly 90% of African Americans feel that they’ve experienced some kind of discrimination in the workplace.  In spite of our having a black president and attorney general, new laws have not been introduced to help people of color fight discrimination in the workplace.

Another prominent type of discrimination is the racial bias in other kinds of financial decisions.  Millions of black people were victims of predatory lending during the recent financial crisis, leading to a massive decline in black family wealth over the last decade.  Additionally, the ability to build a business, get government contracts or do other things to create financial security for your family can be impacted by the color of your skin.  Prof. Stephanie Yates Rauterkus at The University of Alabama Birmingham speaks on the topic in the video below.

Click here to watch the video

To join the Your Black World Coalition, please visit YourBlackWorld.com.

Tonya McDowell Heads to Court Today – 4/27/11

NORWALK, Conn. — A homeless single mother arrested for allegedly enrolling her son in the wrong school district is set to make her first court appearance Wednesday morning in Norwalk Superior Court.

Prosecutors say Tonya McDowell, 33, stole more than $15,000 worth of education by using her babysitter’s Norwalk address to enroll her 6-year-old at Brookside Elementary School.

McDowell told police she was living in her van and sleeping at a Norwalk shelter, or staying at a friend’s Bridgeport apartment when she enrolled her son in Norwalk last September.

 

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