Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Oprah Winfrey like you’ve never seen her before.
Here is an interview that Heather Ellis did for AOL Black Voices – it appears that her side of the story is very different from the prosecution and she may have reason to sue the police department.
Here is more CNN coverage, including final statements from Heather Ellis.
It appears that Heather’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, actually knows what he’s doing – the trial is getting interesting.
Does anyone see a smoking gun in this video?
Heather Ellis’ case makes the top story on the Memphis news – the country awaits the verdict of her trial.
Watch video of our rally that was held for Heather in Kennett, MO.
Given that Tom Joyner’s Show is sponsored by Walmart, this leads to a relatively awkward conversation!
Check out Shanelle Walker, the pride of the Windy City
Listen as Dr. Wilmer Leon speaks with Elliot Millner and Pastor Nathaniel Ellis about Heather’s trial.
CNN is going to interview Dr. Boyce Watkins on Friday, and Fox 5 has jumped on the case.
She is now saying that she made it all up when she called to report her husband beating her – does she sound convincing?
04
Nov
09
Living a Healthy Lifestyle
by Dr. Deborah Stroman, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Got Sugar in the Blood? Change Your Lifestyle Today!
Do you remember your elders speaking about “sugar in the blood”? Do you have a friend or family member who suffers from diabetes? The importance of understanding high blood sugar is critical to the management of our often fast-paced, unhealthy, and stressful lives. A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit the “Bodies – The Exhibition” and experienced the most engaging presentation on the anatomy and pathology of the human body. Cadavers, adult and fetus, were on display to showcase the miracle of the body and the importance of good health and exercise. This poignant visit, which highlighted all of our major bodily systems, provides the inspiration to urgently share information regarding sugar – the crack cocaine of the Black of the community!
Dr. Christopher Metzler at Georgetown University spars with Bill O’Reilly over President Obama’s position on race relations.
by Dr. Boyce Watkins , AOL Black Voices
Just when you thought black celebrities didn’t care anymore, the "Bad Boy of Radio,"Michael Baisden announced today that he is going to give $5,000 to the legal defense fund of the family of Heather Ellis, a 24-year old black female college student who faces 15-years in prison after cutting in line at a Walmart.
Heather Ellis’ case was debated on Anderson Cooper 360
Black women spend billions on hair but don’t own the companies that make it.
29
Oct
09
Roberta Flack: Killing me softly
Remember this beautiful song?
Listen to Lawrence Watkins speak on the secrets of business success.
Charlamagne says that Lil Wayne got exactly what he deserves.
Dr Boyce Watkins discusses the Heather Ellis Case, the rally and plans to find justice for Heather and her family.
Dr. Elaina and Michael Baisden break down the hype and misinformation about the Swine flu.
27
Oct
09
Tyler Perry vs. Spike Lee
Watch Tyler Perry defend himself against Spike Lee’s accusations of buffoonery on 60 minutes
Check out Girl Prep Hollywood, where young women learn to become real women.
To give you a picture of the location in which Heather Ellis fights for her freedom, meet Walter Currie, a 15-year old in nearby Poplar Bluff, who was set on fire by his classmates with the attacker allegedly yelling the words “Burn nigger burn” while he did it – visit SaveHeatherEllis.com.
Heather Ellis is a college student facing15 years in prison for cutting line at Walmart – visit www.SaveHeatherEllis.com for more details on the national protest to be held in Kennett, MO on November 14.
No matter what, Megan Williams is definitely a liar – the question is what did she lie about?
Yes, it appears that Lil Wayne has made some money – we only hope he’s been saving it.
Chris Rock is very emotional about criticism he has received since releasing good hair, saying that he disrespects black women and said that Oprah Winfrey looks like a slave – is any of this true?
Michael Baisden, Dr. Elaina George and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
A man dodges a runaway bus by inches in this video.
22
Oct
09
The Beauty of Black Women
This video shows the beauty of black women – check it out!
You might want to think twice before getting naked in your house – a man faces a year in jail for being naked in his own house.
A man shoots the boy having sex with his step daughter and aimed for his pelvis.
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, AOL Black Voices, Syracuse University
Hip Hop Wired is reporting that the rapper Nas is having some serious financial problems. In addition to owing his wife Kelis $44,000 per month in child support, it turns out that the artist also owes the federal government another $2.5 million in taxes. Here are quick thoughts about Nas, love and money:
1) Nas has a complicated life. His decision to marry the "love of his life" is going to cost him for the rest of his life. The rapper’s tax situation could be due to irresponsibility (as appears to be the case with Method Man and Nicolas Cage), or it could simply be a matter of using write-offs that were not allowed by the IRS. We can’t assume that Nas’ tax trouble automatically makes him into a horrible citizen.
In his weekly address, president Obama gets nasty with insurance companies.
T. Denise Manning is emerging as a leader for at-risk youth and teaching them how to get it together using a microphone, pad and pen as their weapons of choice.
This kid is considered to be the best 13-year old basketball player in the country.
20
Oct
09
A 19 Pound Newborn Baby?
His mother thought she was having twins.
The “Balloon Boy” hoax was revealed on CNN, as the boy blurts out the truth on national TV – his parents appear to be embarrassed.
A baby’s stroller falls under a train and the baby survives!
Method Man was arrested for tax evasion, but not Nicolas Cage – What’s up with that?
The KKK has threatened Heather Ellis,who faces 15 years for cutting line at Walmart.
Dr Boyce Watkins analyzes Dr. King’s kids and their legal drama.
The Ku Klux Klan threatened the student who rallied in response to facing 15 years in prison for cutting line at Walmart.
A college student in Kennett, MO faces 15-years in prison for cutting line at Walmart.
What do Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Barack Obama and Michael Vick all have in common?
A restaurant owner puts a sign outside his door that says “Obama’s Healthcare plan, N*gger Rig it.”
A pregnant 12 year old and her sister were allegedly abducted by their adopted white father.
Residents of Detroit get angry over the closing of some public schools.
Dr Boyce chats about President Obama’s win with the Nobel Prize.
Dr. Boyce Watkins speaks with Rev. Al Sharpton about Michael Vick’s deal with Nike and why couples get divorced over money.
08
Oct
09
Twins – But Can They “Sang”?
Listen up to the singing twins – what you think?
The rapper Nas has a lot to say about the death of Chicago teenager Derrion Albert.
08
Oct
09
Chris Rock Talks about Good Hair
The video shows Chris Rock checking out our haircare issues.
President Barack Obama was a favorite of the liberals on Saturday night live before the election, but not anymore.
Watch as the BET founder makes fun of a politician’s stuttering problem.
An Arkansas Man was arrested for raping and beating his 8-day old baby daughter.
College students around the country are using the drug Adderall to get through their study day.
This video shows CNN footage of the beating of Chicago Teenager Derrion Albert.
30
Sep
09
YouTube’s Greatest Hits
Watch this video of YouTube’s Greatest Hits!
Dr Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton wonder if Ebony Magazine can survive with new ownership.
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World, Syracuse University, AOL Black Voices
During the BET Awards, Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx did a skit called "Skank Robbers," which you can watch below. Some have argued that the video goes over the top, producing stereotypical images of black women to the point of being offensive. Referring to them as "skanks" was enough to draw the ire of many African Americans, but there was also a point in the video in which the narrator says, "From the producers of ‘Planet of the Apes’."
This video leads to the following questions as it pertains to BET:1) Who’s making the decisions? I’d love to see what thought process goes into deciding to make R. Kelly your keynote performer right after he is accused of creating child pornography, or having Lil Wayne sing about wanting to have sex with every girl in the world while underage girls are dancing on stage. I don’t hate BET, and I’ve done a great deal of work with them in the past, but I would like very much for them to explain to the public exactly how they operate.
If this link doesn’t work, then please click here.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University , MSNBC’s TheGrio.com
A few years ago, Dr. Cornel West wrote an outstanding book called "Race Matters." In the book, he explains why a post-racial America is not yet a reality. Race certainly matters in our nation, and we don’t need to look any further than the anti-Obama lynch mobs to find evidence of this fact.
What is most interesting is that the people who hate Obama for being black don’t even realize that this is the reason they hate him. That’s how the social sickness called "racism" sneaks into the very fabric of the social infrastructure on which our country operates.
President Obama’s recent experience is yet another reminder that the disease of racism has its greatest impact on those who think they’ve been cured. In spite of his continuous efforts to "just get along" with those on the right wing, they have insisted upon engaging in some of the most pathetic, thug-like behavior imaginable, creating a climate unlike anything our country has seen in the last 30 years.
If you think this has nothing to do with Obama being black, you need to open a history book. Lynch mobs rarely attacked a black man just for being black. They attacked him for being black and doing something that white people found to be unacceptable.
By
Under the pretext of responding to the September 11, 2001 attacks in America, the United and States and Great Britain invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 under the banner of Operation Enduring Freedom. President Bush 43’ told the American people that the US strikes were,
“…designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime… As we strike military targets, we will also drop food, medicine and supplies to the starving and suffering men and women and children of Afghanistan… ”
There is a major misconception about the reasons for the rise in the cost of healthcare. Procedures and the practice of defensive medicine have been described as the main reasons for the exponential rise. However, the reality could not be farther from what is portrayed on TV series like Nip/Tuck. The medical insurance industry has fueled the campaign of misinformation to enhance their divide and conquer strategy. As long as people spend their energy on blaming doctors, they have less energy to pay attention to rising deductibles, premiums and co-insurance. In short, the insurance companies benefit by keeping doctors and patients at odds. In reality when a doctor charges for a procedure or performs a surgery what is paid is no where near the amount that was charged. In short, the increase in patient premiums, deductibles etc… have gone to pay administrative costs and CEO salaries.
These are 6 things you need to know so you can understand the barriers your doctor has to navigate to take good care of you: Read More
29
Aug
09
“The Dream” Remains a Vision
On August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered one of the most famous speeches in world history, “I Have A Dream”. What has troubled me over the years is how Dr. King, the visionary, prophet, and revolutionary’s vision, action, and ultimate sacrifice have been hijacked, compromised, and relegated to being those of just a dreamer.
Dreamers are safe. People are comfortable with dreamers. Why? To be a dreamer you must be in a restful state, usually asleep. Dreamers are comfortable in that sleep state. Dreamers are docile, easy to manipulate, and non-threatening. To cast Dr. King in the light of a dreamer allows people to be convinced that action resulting from clear vision is not necessary. It allows the oppressed to be fooled into being patient and non-revolutionary; yours will come by-and by.
We hear those powerful words "I Have a Dream…" What many fail to realize is that Dr. King was no dreamer. He was a visionary, not some abstract thinker or philosopher. He was a prophet and a true revolutionary.
As I understand it, the original title of the “I Have A Dream” speech was “Normalcy—Never Again.” If that is the case, that title, “Normalcy-Never Again” is a real indicator of what was to come. It’s a clear statement that what had been accepted-what had been normal, i.e. oppression in America would no longer be tolerated.
Dr. King the realist states, "…we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land…” That was no dream; that was the Negro’s reality in 1963 and a clear indictment of the social conditions in America at that time. It continues to be the reality for too many in America today. A reality for those children languishing in inner-city schools, their parents who are loosing their jobs and loosing their homes, and those unjustly incarcerated in American jails and prisons.
Dr. King the strict constructionist referred to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. He stated, "It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned…America has given the Negro people a bad check – a check which has come back marked insufficient funds." Again, no dream in that statement, that’s a clear indictment of the human condition!
Dr. King the prophet offered hope by saying, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” He said this because he clearly understood the power of hope, as a minister he clearly understood the power of faith.
Before Dr. King talks about the dream, he says that we must march ahead. “We cannot turn back. … We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” In light of the November 25, 2006 murder of Sean Bell, the March 16, 2000 murder of Patrick Dorismond, the February 4, 1999 murder of Amadou Diallo, and many others, African American’s still find themselves victims of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality, racial profiling, and Driving While, and some times Walking While Black.
The "dream" reference actually comes towards the end of the speech. As Dr. King was close to ending his nine-minute delivery he said, “…so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” It’s important to understand that he spoke of the dream in the context of the horrific reality for “Negro’s” and the poor that he had just articulated. What makes the “dream” significant is its juxtaposition against America’s reality, failures, and oppression of its own citizens; their nightmare!
Today, many see President Obama’s historic accomplishment as evidence of the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream, a “post-racial” America. This is in fact evidence that America has made progress on the long and difficult road towards racial tolerance and acceptance. However, there are still many miles left to travel.
As long as African American men are incarcerated at a rate of more than six times the rate of White men and the incarceration of Black women continues to grow at record numbers, the “Dream” will remain a vision. As long as unemployment among African American’s is more than twice the rate of White Americans and as long as studies show that a Black family’s income is a little more than half that of a similar White family’s income, the “Dream” will remain a vision. As long as African Americans continue to deal with Driving While Black, excessive high school dropout rates, and imbalances in health care, the “Dream” will remain a vision.
Until every American’s reality reflects the very founding principals of this great nation:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The “dream” for too many in America will remain a vision.
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program “On With Leon,” and a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@yahoo.com.
© 2009 InfoWave Communications, LLC.
Sen. Edward “Teddy” Kennedy and Michael Vick are two celebrities who triumphed over tragic situations. Whoa Nellie! Let me bring you in on my thought pattern this morning as I drove to work thinking about the loss of the “Senate Lion.” What is redemption and how does America tally its votes? Does the color of one’s skin define how much, if any, of that forgiveness vote one is to receive? Let’s recap the dreadful scenarios and their outcomes.
The Massachusetts treasure that served nearly half a century in the Senate died from brain cancer at the age of 77. Elected at age 30 to a Senate seat once held by his brother, then-president John F. Kennedy, Sen. Kennedy held true to his liberal family leanings as he championed the cause of the less fortunate and underserved. His years of service were honorable and most vital to all of the social legislation that passed during his tenure. From the 1965 immigration bill that opened U.S. borders to Asian and Latin American immigrants, to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that eased the path for women to sue for alleged wage discrimination, Sen. Kennedy successfully maneuvered the political waterways to effect change. He fought tirelessly despite the sinister activities of Pres. Nixon to pin impropriety on him and his family. He led the political effort to enact the Civil Rights Bill of 1990 whereby he found himself at odds with leadership in both parties. Many applauded his passion to make sure that Robert Bork did not join the Supreme Court and lastly, he broke ranks with the Democratic powers to support then Senator Barack Obama to endorse a “change – we can believe in.” America has much to be thankful for in the work of Sen. Kennedy.
To say that Global Consumer Innovation (GCI) (www.globalconsumerinnovation.com) is just another marketing or research company is an understatement, to say the least. Touted as an innovation company, GCI uses its holistic perspective to create concepts for companies to enhance growth. Under the belief that corporations have, for too many years gone about developing products and services that are fundamentally flawed, GCI operates under the premise of designing products based upon collecting consumer data.
Founded by former Vice-President of Global Consumer Innovation and Global Capability Group for Dell, Fenorris Pearson, the GCI innovation team defines the next big idea that produces consumer products or services that disrupt the competitive landscape and generate revenue through billion dollar concepts. GCI recognizes that the methodology of corporate America is deeply flawed. There is a process that needs to be examined for success with every company, and GCI has perfected that concept.
Companies must take the frustrations of consumers and provide insights. All efforts must be totally consumer driven, without only seeking to reach quarterly goals or meet the bottom line. Major corporations bring in customers to view their products without knowing or understanding their needs. GCI is helping the consumer become involved and creating an innovation culture for best practices.
The GCI philosophy revolves around identifying whether or not a company has an innovation culture, designing the company to be more innovative, and the steps to take to create an environment. Most companies are all about making big investments. Venture capitalists do a wonderful job of understanding financials around what is brought to them. However, they don’t figure out who is going to buy it. Ninety-nine percent of all acquisitions fail because of poor marketing strategy. GCI offers their approach directly to the consumer. Their goal is to ensure that the investment succeeds.
Through strong leadership, innovative enablement, and solid growth practices, GCI is the alternative to the old way of doing business.
Jayson Blair knows his new profession — life coach — smacks some people in the face like a bad punchline.
"People say, ‘Wait a minute. You’re a life coach?’ That makes no sense,’" says Blair, the ex-journalist best known for foisting plagiarism and fabrications into the pages of The New York Times. "Then they think about my life experiences and what I’ve been through and they say ‘Wait a minute. It does make sense.’"
AP
Blair, 33, resigned from the Times in 2003, leaving a journalistic scandal in his wake. The resulting furor led the paper’s top two newsroom executives to resign. Blair wrote a book, then mostly disappeared from view.
For the past two years, he has been quietly working as a certified life coach for one of the most respected mental health practices in northern Virginia.
"He can relate to patients just beautifully," said Michael Oberschneider, the psychologist who hired Blair and urged him to become a life coach. "Sometimes you just meet people in life who have these electric personalities. Well, Jayson is now using his talents for good."
Oberschneider, director of Ashburn Psychological Services, took an interest in Blair after seeing him lead a support group for people with bipolar disorder that Blair founded in his hometown of Centreville after being diagnosed himself.
President Barack Obama is starting to see his kryptonite hitting him in the head. A recent poll shows that less than half of all Americans feel that he is going to make the right decisions for the country. The honeymoon might be over for the president, now the hard work begins.
Michelle Obama: She Wears Short Shortsk
No doubt about it. This story’s got legs. The first lady took a look-see at the Grand Canyon with her family this weekend while the rest of the country got a good look at her gams. Michelle Obama braved the blistering Arizona sun with an even braver style of shorts.
This winter we got a view of the fashionista-in-chief’s powerful arms, and now there’s proof that she’s got stems to match. The bare legs set off a firestorm of buzz on the Web, with looky-loos typing in "michelle obama short shorts" into the Search box.
The Huffington Post declared that Michelle O. was the first first lady to step out of Air Force One in anything close to Daisy Dukes and asked, "After all, can you imagine Laura Bush or Patricia Nixon doing the same?" Soliciting online opinions, the site is holding a poll on whether the first lady has the "right to bare legs."
To be clear, the shorts pictured are above the knee. But note that the first lady pairs the shortish shorts with running shoes. Sex pot? Not. She looks like a tourist at a national park, except with Air Force One behind her. Another fashion accessory that’s turning heads: Michelle Obama’s confidence.
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BILL POOVEY, Associated Press Writer
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) — Alonzo Heyward carried a rifle around his low-rent Chattanooga, Tennessee, neighborhood one day last month, ranting about suicide and ignoring the pleas of friends for hours before six city police officers surrounded him on his front porch and decided it had to end.
His father says Heyward told the officers, "I’m not out here to hurt anybody."
But the police, who tried unsuccessfully to disarm Heyward, fired 59 rounds to kill him on July 18. The medical examiner found 43 bullet wounds in his chest, face, arms, hands, legs, buttocks and groin. Police contend Heyward was a danger to others and threatened the six officers.
Chattanooga police spokeswoman Jerri Weary described the case as "suicide by cop."
As questions continue to surround the shooting, Heyward’s family and civil rights leaders take issue with the police response. Heyward, a 32-year-old moving company employee, was black. The six officers are white. They were temporarily placed on administrative leave but have since returned to work.
"We have a large concern about the amount of shots fired," said Valoria Armstrong, president of the Chattanooga branch of the NAACP civil rights group.
A Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial cartoon asked "IS THIS EXCESSIVE FORCE?" — spelling out the question with letters labeling the wounds in a drawing based on Heyward’s autopsy report.
His father, James Marine, 61, does not believe Heyward really wanted to kill himself or that he was trying to commit "suicide by cop."
"He just needed somebody to talk to," Marine said. … "I believe he was just depressed at that time."
In his first interview since being released from federal prison and conditionally reinstated in the NFL, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick admitted he didn’t stand up to his peers, talked about disappointing team owner Arthur Blank, and said he’d earned his fall from grace.
“I deserved to lose the $130 million,” Vick told CBS commentator James Brown during the interview that aired on the Sunday night TV news journal 60 Minutes.
“Why would a guy who was making a $130 million … on the flip side … killing dogs … he don’t deserve it.”
Just two years ago, Vick was the highest paid player in pro football, with the $130 million deal from the Falcons and endorsement contracts with Nike and Atlanta-based AirTran Airways, among others.
But he lost it all when he admitted to bankrolling and participating in an interstate dog-fighting ring.
Instead, Vick faced a 23-month prison sentence — 18 months of it served in a federal penitentiary in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas — and millions of dollars in debt.
19
Aug
09
Signs to know that he’s cheating
He’s superprotective of his gadgets. “The main way that trysts are found out is through the discovery of incriminating e-mails, IM chats, cell phone texts or bills,” says Belisa Vranich, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in New York City. So if he’s being unfaithful, he may guard his gadgets or act really defensive when you innocently touch his phone or computer. It should be a giant red flag if he readily gave you passwords in the past, and now he’s more evasive.
2. He steps up the grooming. “This is so obvious, but it’s a sign many women miss: If your man starts grooming down there without you requesting it, that could be an indication that he’s spending more time naked,” says Vranich. You can actually thank porn for this tipoff. Guys today are used to viewing manscaped dudes onscreen, so if he has another chick to impress with his sexual prowess, he may emulate those ultra-trimmed guys. Another clue: He’s spending more time at the gym.
The debate on healthcare reform is in full swing, but no one is paying attention to the long term effects.
I am for universal healthcare in theory. As a physician, I believe that it is a fundamental right. Unfortunately, the way the debate and pending legislation has been crafted, the outcome will result in unintended consequences.
As a physician in solo practice, I am in a unique position to see the outcome if we continue on the path that Congress is proposing in HR 3200.
- A single payer system that pays the same rate as Medicare or as the bill stipulates (5% above Medicare) will lead to LESS choice. People are overlooking the fact that most private physicians are currently NOT accepting new Medicare patients because they can’t afford to do so and stay open. There will be no reason for this to change if the reimbursement scale is adopted.
Unintended consequence: The network of private physicians would be smaller and more patients will be placed in a system of fewer physicians, less choice and longer waiting times to be seen. This would have the opposite effect – what is the point of universal healthcare if you don’t have quality physicians to provide it?
2. The proposed healthcare bill sets up a bureaucracy run by a National health insurance commissioner and sets up an insurance “self regulatory agency” – made up of national insurers, national agencies, and insurance producers. There are no physicians or patient advocates.
In 1903 W.E.B. DuBois wrote in The Souls of Black Folk, “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line, –the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.” In 1968 the Kerner Commission determined "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—-separate and unequal."
In 21st Century so-called “post racial” America the problem is still race. African American’s like Derryl Jenkins are still being brutalized by the police in north Minneapolis, MN; shot in the back of the head while handcuffed like Oscar Grant in Oakland, CA; and mistaken for perpetrators and killed by fellow officers like Officer Omar Edwards in New York City.
Many questions still need to be answered about these latest tragedies. What leads these officers to perceive people of color as a threat? Why do the police feel the need to use excessive force first and ask questions later? This takes me to the continual discussion about racism (white supremacy), its perceptions, and emotional responses that people of color deal with all too often.
Dr Wilmer Leon interviews Monica Davis about the plight of Black Farmers“. Click here to listen!
Hip-hop artist and founder of the Stop the Violence Movement, KRS-One, spoke with about 150 youth, area leaders and community members at The Urban League of Flint today.
"We are addressing these shootings. What’s up with Flint?" said Lawrence Krishna Parker, who goes by the moniker KRS-One. "Flint, do you realize, you could start a movement of peace and influence Detroit?"
He told audience members that the main causes of violence are illiteracy and poverty, stressing that knowledge and skill are the evenues to increase finances and avoid violence.
"Illiteracy causes violence," KRS-One said. "If you don’t have enough words in your vocabulary, you can’t even seek your way out of a situation."
Obama just bought a great deal of ad time to push his healthcare reform bill. What do you think?
Lisa F. shares his pain, but from a managerial perspective. “I know when a woman lies about being sick, just by looking at her hands and toes.” For the senior level new media executive, the giveaway is newly polished nails. “You cannot imagine how many women come in after a sick day with a fresh manicure or pedicure,” she observes.
Every day individuals fib, lie and embellish their way through the work day, not realizing that there are repercussions. The consequences may not always be as severe as termination, but it can be a reduction in bonus, a permanent mark on your record or a poor score on your yearly review, not to mention the damage done to your reputation among fellow colleagues. What follows are 4 frequent fibs that every single should avoid in the workplace.
Pulling the Healthy Sick Card
If you call in sick when you’re feeling perfectly fine you better be smart about it. Taking off one too many hangover Fridays, or regularly turning the day before calendared holiday 3 day weekends into your personal 4 day long weekends, will no doubt cause suspicious minds. So come clean to your supervisor and ask that these be reported as vacation days, or try to schedule your healthy sick days on less conspicuous days during the week.
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Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, a leading figure in the liberal wing of his party, said Monday he doubts there can be meaningful health care reform without a direct government role.
Dean urged the Obama administration to stand by statements made early on in the debate in which it steadfastly insisted that such a public option was indispensable to genuine change, saying that Medicare and the Veterans Administration are "two very good programs that have been around for a long time."
Dean appeared on morning news shows Monday amid increasing indications the Obama White House is retreating from the public option in the face of vocal opposition from Republicans and some vocal participants at a town-hall-style meetings around the country.
The former Vermont governor was asked on NBC’s "Meet the Press" about President Barack Obama’s statement over the weekend that the public option for insurance coverage was "just a sliver" of the overall proposal. Obama’s health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, advanced that line, telling CNN Sunday that a direct government role in a system intended to provide virtually universal coverage was "not the essential element."
Usain Bolt isn’t just rewriting the record books; he’s redefining what the human body can do.
Bolt became the first man to run 100 meters in under 9.6 seconds and still left people wondering how fast he can go.
Bolt clocked 9.58 seconds Sunday night, smashing the world record of 9.69 he set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won his first IAAF world championships title in the same stadium where Jesse Owenswon four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics.
"I don’t think I’m in Beijing shape, but I think I’m in very good shape," said Bolt, who was in a car accident earlier this year that took away from his training.
Tyson Gay did his part in the highly anticipated showdown, but was overshadowed by the ebullient 6-5 Jamaican.
Gay, who is 5-11 and wore the U.S. team’s "JO" patch honoring Owens on his singlet, set an American record of 9.71. He eclipsed his own mark of 9.77.
From www.BlackVoices.com
Now that Usher is gracing magazine covers again (the latest edition of Uptownmagazine recently hit stands), his estranged wife (and babies’ mother), Tameka J. Foster-Raymond, is taking her story to the airwaves, too. And not on Twitter, either. Earlier this week, the 42-year-old mother of five published a candid essay on the Huffington Post about complexion prejudices that plague the black community. "No matter what strides we make as a people, these issues continue to plague and rot our souls, causing significant decay to a portion of our population and truly hindering our progress," she wrote, quite eloquently. Not sure if the politically edged HuffPo was the most sensible outlet to tackle the subject of light skin versus dark skin (didEssence pass?), but the Oakland native should be commended for having the wherewithal to spark debate about it. Read the full essay here.
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — In a year of spoilers at the majors, Y.E. Yang was the biggest of all.
He toppled the mighty Tiger Woods.
Yang became the first Asian-born player to win a major Sunday with a stunning performance in the PGA Championship, memorable as much for his clutch shots as the player he beat.
Woods was 14-0 when he went into the final round of a major atop the leaderboard. He had not lost any tournament around the world in nine years when leading by two shots.
None of that mattered to Yang, a 37-year-old South Korean who hit the shots everyone expected from Woods. Leading by one on the final hole, Yang slayed golf’s giant with a hybrid 3-iron that cleared the bunker and settled 12 feet from the cup.
Yang made the birdie putt and shouted with joy as he pumped his fist. That gave him a 2-under 70, and a three-shot victory when Woods missed yet another short par putt and shot 75.
“I tried to master the art of controlling my emotions throughout the small wins I had in my career,” Yang said through his agent, Michael Yim. “I think it turned out quite well today.”
Tiger Woods (FSY) is poised to take one more step toward Jack Nicklaus‘ record of 18 victories in golf’s major championships Sunday at the PGA Championship.
But Woods will have to step lively at Hazeltine Country Club because longtime foe Padraig Harrington (FSY) is in the hunt.
SCORES: PGA Championship
TWITTER: Keep up with action from the scene
Woods, who shot 71 Saturday, is at 8 under par, two strokes ahead of little-known Y. E. Yang and Harrington, both at 6 under. Henrik Stenson and U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover are another two shots back at 4 under.
"You have guys who understand how to win major championships," said Woods, who is playing for his 15th victory in a major. "They believe in themselves. They know how to get it done. They can say, ‘I’ve done it before.’ I can say that. Padraig can say that."
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
As a college professor for the past 16 years, I’ve noticed two things about college: It can be a place to make your dreams come true, and it can also be a breeding ground for your worst nightmares. So, I thought I would compile a list of things that I’ve seen college students do to ruin their lives over the years. Hopefully, you and your child can learn from what I am about to share.
1) Sex, drugs, alcohol and gambling
College is a great place to pick up a lot of really bad habits. The worst part is that people tell you that these things are ok. It’s not that all of these are bad things to do, but at the very least, they should be done in moderation. It doesn’t matter if you are in college: If you have sex with too many people, you are going to catch a disease or get pregnant. If you use drugs, you are going to become a drug addict. If you drink too much, you will become an alcoholic. Gambling can also ruin your life as much as drugs or alcohol. I have several dozen friends with really messed up lives to this day, all of whom started their downward spiral on a college campus. You should not think that because you are in college, you are immune to these problems. If something doesn’t feel right, then you shouldn’t do it. Be mature enough to make smart decisions.
2) Falling for the credit card scams and ruining your credit
There are no serious credit card scams in college, only the little people who stand out in front of the bookstore trying to get you to take their "free money". Credit cards are very tempting when you are in school, especially since you are broke. If you decide to take one, make sure that you are very careful with how much you buy with the card, and that you have a careful plan to pay it all back. Putting yourself in over your head can easily destroy your credit. That is not a good cycle to get into. Not taking care of your student loan obligations can ruin your credit as well. You should manage your debt as best you can, because if you don’t, it can take decades to fix the problems that are created.
On December 10, 2007 suspended Atlanta Falcon’s quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his role in a dog fighting ring. He was also found to have been involved in killing pit bulls that did not demonstrate sufficient fighting prowess.
Michael Vick, once one of the highest paid players in the NFL with a 10 year $130 million contract that provided him with an $11.4 million salary in 2006 and $6 million salary in 2007 made 12 cents an hour in his job at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. He filed for bankruptcy; claiming assets of $16 million and liabilities of $20.4 million. Vick is on the hook for judgments of $2.4 million to the Royal Bank of Canada and $1.1 million to Wachovia Bank, both because of loan defaults, and $4.5 million for a sports agent who sued him and won.
On July 20, 2009, after serving 18 months of his 23 month sentence, Michael Vick was released from Leavenworth Federal Prison. After having served his time, on August 13, 2009 signed a two year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Forbes has theirs, why shouldn’t the most powerful media maven in the world have hers? In the September 2009 issue of ‘O’ the magazine, Oprah Winfrey names 20 of some of the most powerful contemporary and legendary women in her first-everPower List. There is no chronological ranking. This is an opportunity to celebrate some of the well-known as well as unsung heroes who inspire, educate and advocate in various arenas.
The full list of honorees includes: Venus Williams, Sarah Silverman, Anna Deavere Smith, Donna Brazile, Mayda del Valle, Terry Tempest Williams, Lauren Ambrose, Pema Chodron, Lateefah Simon, Shirley Ann Jackson, Dambisa Moyo, General Anne E. Dunwoody, Kara Walker, Sheila Bair, Mary Gaitskill, Cleopatra (YES, Queen of Egypt of yesteryear), Michelle Rhee, Lilly Ledbetter, Anne Mulcahy, Melanie Sloan. –O, The Oprah Magazine
By Brian Alexander
msnbc.com contributor
updated 8:31 a.m. ET, Thurs., Aug 13, 2009
Brian Alexander
Michelle Obama may have become an archetypal African-American female success story — law career, strong marriage, happy children — but the reality is often very different for other highly educated black women.
They face a series of challenges in navigating education, career, marriage and child-bearing, dilemmas that often leave them single and childless even when they’d prefer marriage and family, according to a research study recently presented at the American Sociological Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco.
Yale researchers Natalie Nitsche and Hannah Brueckner argued that “marriage chances for highly educated black women have declined over time relative to white women.” Women of both races with postgraduate educations “face particularly hard choices between career and motherhood,” they said, “but especially in the absence of a reliable partner.”
14
Aug
09
Woman Brands Her Baby’s Backside
From TheGrio.com
A California mother allegedly carved a letter "S" onto her 15-month-old’s buttocks, Sacramento police said.
Sergaye Lafayette, 23, remained in custody at the Sacramento County Jail on Thursday afternoon.
A doctor at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital’s CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center called officials about the scar.
The mutilation appears to have taken place about a week ago, according to a police report.
The child has been placed into protective custody, police said.
» by MICHAEL ICEBLUE HARRIS Aug 14 2009, 10:39 am
Miami street poet Trick Daddy will be releasing his autobiography later this year called “Magic City: Trials Of A Native Son” through MTV Books. Speaking to HipHopWired exclusively about the project, Trick revealed,
“Nothing I ever say whether in music or DVD or whatever will ever get any one indicted or open any closed caskets or fuck up no appeals but this book is definitely gonna be a best seller and show Miami in a whole ‘nother light. “Cocaine Cowboys” was a good movie but it never showed the people who actually went out and sold the drugs. Niggas who toted and shot the guns. Parents who got addicted to the drugs and the babies born addicted to the drugs. They don’t show and tell that part in these other documentaries and my book does all that and it also sets up a movie to follow behind that as well as 
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
He’s back. After a 2 year saga that kept my head spinning, the young man who made a terrible mistake is finally being allowed to make a living. I have supported Michael Vick all along, but not because I felt that he was innocent. I’ve supported him because I do not believe that dog fighting is the kind of crime that deserves a lifetime punishment. So, to the extremists at PETA who want to see Michael Vick burn in the hell of unemployment and incarceration for the rest of his life, I only have one thing to say: grow up.
Michael Vick’s reinstatement to the NFL and recent signing by the Philadelphia Eagles unleashed a plethora of thoughts within me. On some level, his return is a bit of an "Athletic Juneteenth" for those who tire of seeing our country make African American athletes into public enemy number one whenever they screw up. To this day, we act as if Marion Jones is the devil, Barry Bonds is a monster, and Terrell Owens is some kind of criminal. This treatment is nothing new, as black athletes have been getting villified for decades, and their molehills are consistently turned into mountains, ripe for high-tech lynchings. This is the tradition of America.
It only seems appropriate that Michael Vick sign his contract in a city like Philadelphia, the place that I love and fear at the same time. I love the city because they’ve supported me in my work with the great Wendy Williams, Dom Giordano andCharlamagne Tha God. But there is a dark side of "Killadelphia" that shows itself in the way they support their sports teams. They are the fans that cheered when it appeared that Michael Irvin may have broken his neck, so they sure as heck aren’t going to pay much attention to animal rights protestors blocking their path to a Super Bowl. In a city like Philly, the slogan is simple: "If you win, we forgive all sin." Vick will be right at home.
- (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
by Rev. Al Sharpton
As the battle lines for health care reform are being drawn – and redrawn – a silent segment of the population is strategically left out of the conversation. It’s a group of individuals who have been deemed enemies of society, and cast away behind iron bars to fend for themselves. In California’s 33 prisons, healthcare is so inadequate that one unnecessary death takes place per week, as inmates are often stacked in triple bunk beds in hallways and gymnasiums. With nearly twice the number of prisoners than they were designed to hold, California prisons will have to reduce at least 40,000 prisoners in the next two years – and it’s about time.
Federal judges just released a 184-page order demanding that California’s inmate population be reduced by 27%, and gave the state 45 days to come up with a plan. In what they termed an "unconstitutional prison healthcare system", the three-judge panel concluded that disease was spreading rampantly and prisoner-on-prisoner violence was all but unavoidable. Forced to close a $26 billion dollar budget gap, California will now have to look at mechanisms to reducing its extensive prison spending, which in 2007 topped out at nearly $10 billion (approximately $49,000 for each inmate).
Whether it’s for pure economic reasons or for an actual concern over the well being of prisoners, California will hopefully serve as an example for a reversal of the ever-growing prison industrial complex. A system that unfairly profiles and detains minorities, American jails produce a vicious cycle of recidivism and community breakdown. Last year, the Pew Center on the States released a scathing report stating that one in every 100 American adults was in jail, and that an astonishing one in 15 black adults was behind bars. According to government reports in 2007, there were three times as many blacks in jail than in college dorms, with Latinos not far behind at 2.7 times more behind bars than in secondary schooling.
Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
Courtesy of CBSMichael Vick discusses his situation with James Brown.
Related Falcons stories »
- Report: Vick to be an Eagle
- Bulldog QBs to take centerstage in Falcons’ opener
- Vick regrets dogfighting, accepts full responsibility
- Schedule and results
- TV Listings
Vick will return to the NFL after two seasons away, including 23 months in federal prison, and a league suspension that will end after Week 6 this year.
The Falcons host the Eagles in a Sunday game on Dec. 6, at the end of the regular season.
The controversial signal caller has gone through a whirlwind of highs and lows since the Atlanta Falcons drafted as the No. 1 pick in 2001.
He inked a $62 million deal that included a $15 million signing bonus. After a year waiting in the wings, took over the starting position in the 2002 season, and led the team to its first playoff berth since the 1998 NFC Championship season.
Many have felt that Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth may have got off easy after killing a pedestrian while driving drunk, but the NFL aren’t so lenient. While Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days in prison and is on probation for awhile, the NFL suspended Stall worth for the entire upcoming season without pay.
"Your conduct endangered yourself and others, leading to the death of an innocent man," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to Stallworth released by the league according to NFL.com. "The NFL and NFL players must live with the stain that you have placed on their reputations. As you recognized both at and following the hearing, guilt or innocence as a matter of criminal law is not the same as a violation of NFL policies."
Con-artist dupes 2 fiancées out of $400k
By theGrio
12:46 PM on 08/13/2009
VIDEO – A Florida man is facing charges after allegedly bilking $400,000 from two women that he was engaged to at the same time.
Marriage eludes high-acheiving black women
By theGrio
10:56 AM on 08/13/2009
Michelle Obama may have become an archetypal African-American female success story — law career, strong marriage, happy children — but the reality is often very different for other highly educated black women.
Police find disabled woman locked in van
By theGrio
8:11 AM on 08/13/2009
VIDEO — Dallas police have found a mentally disabled woman locked in a van in 100-degree heat. They said she may have died if she was in the van for even one more minute.
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Judge defends school’s ban on Confederate threads
8:10 AM on 08/13/2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge says a Tennessee school’s ban on Confederate clothing was a reasonable attempt to prevent disruptions because of previous racial threats at the school.
Birmingham mayor backs refunds for Jim Crow fines
By theGrio
5:54 AM on 08/13/2009
VIDEO – The mayor of Birmingham now wants the city to give refunds to people who paid fines for violating segregation laws decades ago. Civil rights leaders came out to speak on the decision…
Caught on tape: Off-duty officers encounter bar bandit at local pub
By theGrio
2:37 PM on 08/12/2009
VIDEO – An alleged bar bandit was stopped in his tracks after attempting to rob a bar filled with off-duty police officers.
Caught on tape: Shoplifter maces security guard
By theGrio
2:30 PM on 08/12/2009
VIDEO – Pennsylvania State Police are looking for a woman who maced a clerk at a Hempfield Township Target store when he tried to stop her from shoplifting DVDs.
1500 uninsured find free health care at makeshift hospital
By theGrio
1:41 PM on 08/12/2009
VIDEO – A group of doctors who started out providing free services in third-world countries has also been working in this country, and they’re seeing record numbers of Americans needing their help.
"The sex is better! I have so much more energy. I can move around better, and that’s what it’s all about. I want to lose more, so I’ll just keep eating better and exercising, and the weight will come off. It took time to put in on, and it will take time to take if off. It’s still okay to be big, but let’s be big and healthy. I had to lose some weight to get healthier because I want to be around for a while. I have twin sons who are 3 and a son who is 19, and I want the opportunity to meet their children."
– Actress/comedienne Mo’Nique talks about her 40-pound weight loss in the new Life & Stylemagazine.
The full-figured talent, who penned a best-selling book called ‘Skinny Women Are Evil,’ went from 262 pounds to 220 pounds.
Glenn Beck has excused murderous rampages as an understandable result of ‘political correctness’ and joked about poisoning a United States senator.
And to top it all off, Beck diagnosed bi-racial President Obama as being infected with a psychological bias against white people: "This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people … this guy is, I believe, a racist."
Many of us complained to Fox and nothing changed. Until now. …
Dr Wilmer Leon and Dr. Robert Brown discuss how to cope with the stress of a changing environment. Click here to listen!
A pioneer, a preacher, an activist and an athlete were among 16 people who President Obama honored Wednesday with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. "These extraordinary men and women, these agents of change, remind us that excellence is not beyond our abilities," Obama said at a White House ceremony. full story
While audiences across the nation are glued to their television sets for Bravo’s hit series ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ FOX Reality TV has decided to garner some attention of its own.
Beginning Aug. 15, former ‘Cosby Show’ and ‘A Different World’ stars Tempestt Bledsoe and Darryl M. Bell will be featured in the network’s all-new reality series, ‘Househusbands of Hollywood.’
The show will highlight husbands juggling the household duties of cooking dinner, planning parties and chauffeuring kids around Los Angeles. The men, who also have career aspirations of their own, will share stories with each other about their money-making wives.
A two-tour veteran of the Iraq War and graduate of West Point and Harvard University,Anthony Woods, 29, enjoys a solid resume that would make him a good candidate for public office.
But if you have heard of Woods, who is seeking election to Congress from California’s 10th House District, it likely has little to do with his impressive credentials.
Woods has gained notoriety because he is the first openly gay black man to run for Congress.
His run for office has drawn parallels to the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to a public office in California. In 1978, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back.
Dr Wilmer Leon interviews Suzanne Simons about her book “Master of War: Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the Business of War". Click here to listen!
In her new ad for PETA, Nia Long is looking a wee bit naked and a wee bit photoshopped. What do you think?
11
Aug
09
Jennifer Hudson Has Her Baby
Sources are saying that Jennifer Hudson gave birth late last night with her fiancé David by her side. The couple decided to name the child David Daniel Otunga, Jr. after his father and the baby weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces. I wish them the best.
Posted by LadyBaby at 9:21 AM 0 comments
Try as he might, Marion Barry, 73, cannot erase the fact that most people know him as the mayor videotaped smoking crack in a 1990 sting operation – the same year DC had the dubious distinction of being the murder capital of the world.
Yet, today, and despite this humiliating and seemingly career-ending circumstance, Marion Barry is as beloved in chocolate city as ever, most recently elected as a city council member for DC’s poorest area, Ward 8. He also provokes a vehement vitriol in the city as well.
Barry’s phoenix like political career, and his fascinating and flawed personal life is chronicled in the documentary ‘The Nine Lives of Marion Barry’ which premieres tonight on HBO. It highlights not only a politician rocked by scandal but a brilliant young man who overcame bitter early circumstances to work in the civil rights movement and to serve in public office.
After several starts and stops filmmaker Dana Flor and her partner Toby Oppenheimer spent at least eight years on this project, and Flor belives that the film is not only about the history of DC but a spring to open up a very necessary dialogue about race and perception of reality based on race.
Reggie Miller doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. According to twitter.com, former Pacer great and current TNT network NBA announcer Reggie Miller started up a conversation with the fiancée of Alex von Furstenberg, a Malibu resident and surf shop owner locally. Reggie waited for her to leave the local Country Mart then followed her up the PCH begging for future encounters.
Alex says he confronted Reggie about trying to get with his fiancée when Reggie told him he had friends with guns and called the cops on Alex. Alex was in the process of getting a restraining order against Reggie but says he has since worked out the situation with Reggie and his lawyer.
Michael Vick spoke with CBS’ James Brown today in an interview that will air on 60 Minutes this Sunday.
Vick has been largely silent since leaving federal custody last month after completing his sentence for a federal dogfighting conviction.
Tiger Woods will be fined by the PGA Tour for his public criticism of a rules official after winning the Bridgestone Invitational, a tour official said Monday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour does not publicize fines.
Woods was bothered after his four-shot victory Sunday because he and Padraig Harrington were put on the clock at the par-5 16th. He said that caused Harrington to rush three difficult shots, leading to triple bogey.
Remember when Beyonce gave Terrence Howard a lapdance at the BET Awards? Yeaaaaaaaa!
A 13-year-old girl arrested for shoplifting was held in the Dallas County Jail for nearly two weeks before it was determined that she is underage, a police sergeant said Thursday.
An internal affairs investigation has been launched to review the matter, police Sgt. Warren Mitchell told The Associated Press on Thursday night.
The girl, who had run away from home, was arrested July 10 at a Target department store for shoplifting. She held no identification and gave a false name and age, Mitchell said.
The sergeant said the arresting officer attempted to contact the police youth division to confirm the information but found no record of her. The arresting officer assumed she was 17 and took her to jail.
A Florida rapper is sentenced to two years in prison for a song called ‘Kill Me a Cop’ that he produced as a teenager.
Authorities say 20-year-old Antavio Johnson raps about killing two Lakeland, Fla., police officers in the tune, which cops found on MySpace while surfing for gang-related activity.
Johnson pleaded no contest to two counts ofcorruption by threat of a public servant and was sentenced to two years in prison last month. He was already in jail on a cocaine charge at the time. …
Singing about killing a cop was not Johnson’s first mistake. Pleading guilty and not hiring a lawyer were. Just ask Ice Cube and N.W.A., who sang ‘%#@* tha Police’ as a form of police protest more than 20 years ago.
Back in 1988, N.W.A had everyone from the FBI to the Secret Service breathing down its neck and lawsuits galore. If someone could have figured out a way to charge the group with a crime, lock ‘em up and throw away the key, I’m sure it would’ve happened.
10
Aug
09
Black News from Grio – 8/10/09
King of Pop coming to a theater near you
By theGrio
3:12 PM on 08/10/2009
Audiences will get to see the King of Pop perform one more time after a judge approved a major movie deal. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved a deal…
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NY suburbs to market affordable housing to minorites
11:33 AM on 08/10/2009
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) –The suburban county just north of New York City agreed Monday to create hundreds of affordable homes in heavily white communities and encourage nonwhites to move in.
Liberian official consoles 8-year-old rape victim
10:13 AM on 08/10/2009
PHOENIX (AP) –Liberia’s deputy ambassador to the U.S. said Sunday that he tried to console an 8-year-old rape victim in Phoenix with hugs and a teddy bear in a case that has gripped Liberians worldwide.
Police exonerated after beating allegations
By theGrio
10:02 AM on 08/10/2009
VIDEO – A Philadelphia grand jury has vindicated a group of police officers caught on video beating three suspects.
Teens look beyond first impressions at diversity camp
By theGrio
9:31 AM on 08/10/2009
VIDEO – High school students are forging relationships outside of their race after a college preparatory program in Texas.
by Dr. Elaina George MD, Medical Correspondent, YourBlackWorld.com
When I read that the president had met with CEOs and other top representatives of the largest health insurance companies, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies before healthcare reform was crafted by Congress, I had my doubts about the direction of health care reform confirmed.
I already had reservations about whether we would get true reform when the very members of Congress who were tasked to lead the crafting of the bill had received hundreds of thousand of dollars from the very entities that were the major cause of the problem – the health insurance industry, big PhRMA, and for profit hospitals.
No wonder we have been seeing commercials sponsored by big PhRMA in support of the current health reform bill. It appears it is quid pro quo for the administration’s deal to cap their concessions at 80 billion dollars over 10 years. NY Times Article
Unskilled labor jobs in the retail sector have been particularly hard hit. (Courtesy Photo/coastal.com)
(August 9, 2009) – President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan to save or create thousands of jobs appeared to be working this summer when the country’s unemployment rate began to stabilize. Unemployment fell in July for the first time in more than a year, according to the latest national job data – an indication the weakened economy might be on the rebound. But because more data is needed to determine the economy’s path, how soon the recession ends remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, "We won’t rest until every American that is looking for work can find a job," President Obama said Friday in comments at the White House.
He added that, "The worst may be behind us," and that "we’re pointed in the right direction."
Overall, the labor market has shed 6.5 million jobs since the start of the recession nearly two years ago.
The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also reported the jobless rate plunged to 9.4 percent from 9.5 As a result, the economy lost 247,000 jobs in July rather than the 325,000 that had been expected. However, the jobless rate among African Americans stands at 14.5 percent compared to 8.6 percent for Whites and 12.3 percent for Hispanics.
In March, unemployment among Blacks was 13.4 percent.
Although some reports list college-educated African Americans as having been the hardest hit, David R. Jones, president of the Community Service Society in New York City – where Blacks have tended to suffer the heaviest unemployment – said he did not think the recession has played out equally.
When the official word came out that Don Cheadle would be replacing Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes in ‘Iron Man 2,’ it was a shock to fans of the first film. Cheadle is undoubtedly one of the best actors out there, but folks initially couldn’t see him in a comic book film opposite Robert Downey Jr.
With roles in ‘Hotel Rwanda,’ ‘Talk to Me’ and ‘Traitor,’ Cheadle can just about do anything in any genre. At this year’s San Diego Comic Con, when fans got to see footage of him in the role, they were convinced he could play this part, too. So much so that when Rhodes’ alter ego, War Machine, appeared on screen, it brought the house down.
At the comic convention, Cheadle spoke at a small roundtable about taking on the role and bringing his own persona to what Howard started and what the producers wanted.
10
Aug
09
An Angry AKA Defends Her Sorors
In the past two weeks, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. has been the subject of intense media scrutiny as a result of a damaging civil lawsuit that was filed by some members who call themselves “Friends of the Weeping Ivy.” The news was picked up by the mass media and all hell has rained down on dear old AKA, my beloved sorority, ever since.
We have been called “Criminal girls with 20 pearls,” “She say she say,” “AKA’s money gone funny,” “Sorority girls gone rogue” and worse. To be candid, it has been embarrassing for all of us to endure the negative publicity surrounding the lawsuit filed against our international president, Barbara A. McKenzie, just one year after our centennial celebration in Washington, D.C., last July. And it has been downright heart wrenching to watch our sisters fight each other publicly with lawsuits and harsh indictments instead of finding a way to talk to one another directly and allowing our bylaws and internal oversight processes to deal with this matter privately.
10
Aug
09
Hunger Starts to Hit Detroit
On a side street in an old industrial neighborhood, a delivery man stacks a dolly of goods outside a store. Ten feet away stands another man clad in military fatigues, combat boots and what appears to be a flak jacket. He looks straight out of Baghdad. But this isn’t Iraq. It’s southeast Detroit, and he’s there to guard the groceries.
"No pictures, put the camera down," he yells. My companion and I, on a tour of how people in this city are using urban farms to grow their own food, speed off.
In this recession-racked town, the lack of food is a serious problem. It’s a theme that comes up again and again in conversations in Detroit. There isn’t a single major chain supermarket in the city, forcing residents to buy food from corner stores. Often less healthy and more expensive food.
As the area’s economy worsens –unemployment was over 16% in July — food stamp applications and pantry visits have surged.
Mark Lester, Michael Jackson’s lifelong friend, is now claiming that he is the biological father of Michael’s children. Well, after seeing the kids, are you really all that surprised?
09
Aug
09
Yes, He is the Man
World number one Tiger Woods overhauledPadraig Harrington with a spectacular burst of scoring to grab a two-shot lead midway through Sunday’s final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
In pursuit of a record seventh victory in the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) event, the American holed two putts from more than 20 feet to cover the front nine in a sizzling five-under-par 30.
That left him at 12 under overall with Irishman Harrington, leader for the first three rounds, alone in second place after reaching the turn in level-par 35.
British Open champion Stewart Cink of the U.S. was a further two shots back at eight under after completing 12 holes on a hot and humid day at Firestone Country Club.
LeBron James is going to make the Cleveland Cavaliers wait — and sweat.
James indicated Friday that he is unlikely to accept a contract extension from the Cavs until after the 2009-10 season and presumably will become a free agent.
At an event in his hometown to unveil Nike Air Max LeBron VII, the latest sneaker in his signature line, James made his strongest comments yet about his future. The NBA’s reigning MVP said he signed a three-year contract in 2006 to give him more options once it expires.
"I signed a contract in 2006 with an option, and it would make no sense for me to sign that contract if I didn’t keep my options open," he said. "I’ll let you fill in the blanks."
The Cavaliers offered James a contract extension on July 18, the three-year anniversary of the signing of his current contract. The team could offer the extension — at the highest salary allowed — of up to three years. James can sign the extension offer anytime before June 30, 2010.
James, who will make $15.7 million next season, also has an option in his current contract that can extend his deal through the 2010-11 season.
However, it appears for now that James does not intend to sign the extension or pick up his one-year option for $17.1 million anytime soon.
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
The following is an exerpt from the book, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about College."
Before I tell you all the great things about college, and all the things that are going to happen before, during and after, we should start with a very basic question: why do you want to go to college anyway? I mean, you could be doing a lot of things: playing in the NBA, bustin rhymes with your boys on stage, acting in Hollywood, or just plain old "kickin it". More realistically, you could also just jump right out and get a job after high school. There was a time when that wasn’t such a bad thing. My grandmother always tells me stories about the days when a high school diploma went a long way, when a house cost 8 cents, when dogs didn’t bite and you could leave your front door open at night. But a lot of things have definitely changed since then, and a person must adjust to the times.
If you want to increase your chances to getting a good job one day, then getting a solid education under your belt is a great place to start. Once, I asked a friend if she was going to college. I think that she was the kind of person that wanted to make the quick money, rather than spend 4 years investing in her education. In her mind, it was all about making money right away, and college would be a waste of 4 years for her. When I asked her if she was going to go to college, she said "I like money too much to go to college". I said to her "I like money too much not to go to college!" So the fact is this: you need degrees to get to the cheese! To lay it down in concrete terms, a census bureau survey showed that college graduates earn nearly one million dollars more during their lifetime than people with high school diplomas. What would you do with your extra million?
Sure there are exceptions. I went to college with guys who never graduated and left early for the NBA to make more money than most of us will ever make. However, this is clearly the exception. For every Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson, there are literally millions of other students who are not quite good enough to make the big money. For every Vivica Fox or Jenifer Aniston, there are a lot of women out there in Hollywood with roaches crawling across the bathroom floor. I am not saying this to stamp out the dreams you may have, it’s a reminder that you should pursue higher education no matter what you decide you want to do. This guarantees that you will have something to fall back on in case your plans don’t turn out quite the way you thought they would.
Michael Vick returned to the area that once celebrated his brilliant play on the football field, this time for the first of what he vows will be dozens of appearances around the country to urge low-income youths to avoid the tragic trail left by dogfighting.
Few got to hear Saturday’s message, however.
Vick’s visit to a suburban Atlanta community center was largely off limits to the very neighborhood it was supposed to be helping. In an agreement between Vick’s handlers and the Humane Society of the United States, only 55 people and one media crew were allowed inside. AnAssociated Pressreporter, videographer and photographer were among the media banished from the property by police.
Most people who live in the largely black neighborhood southeast of Atlanta were unaware of Vick’s appearance. Several showed up after the former Falcons quarterback had already left in a black limousine.
US President Barack Obama
Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President’s Secret Service.
Some threats to Mr Obama, whose Secret Service codename is Renegade, have been publicised, including an alleged plot by white supremacists in Tennessee late last year to rob a gun store, shoot 88 black people, decapitate another 14 and then assassinate the first black president in American history.
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Most however, are kept under wraps because the Secret Service fears that revealing details of them would only increase the number of copycat attempts. Although most threats are not credible, each one has to be investigated meticulously.
by Dr. Byron Price, Texas Southern University
On his website, President Obama offers us a “seat at the table,” which is the equivalent of citizens offering policy prescriptions to his administration. This unprecedented effort to increase citizen participation in the policy making process has the added benefit of simultaneously empowering citizens in a way that our government has not done and has to be what the campaign meant by “change we can believe in.” The criticism of whom he has appointed misses the mark concerning what I believe his change mantra signifies. Since the president appears to be open to unsolicited advice, I offer the following criminal justice recommendations and justification for these suggestions.
President Obama and the 111th Congress should consider ending drug prohibition.
“Consider the consequences of drug prohibition today: 500,000 people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails for nonviolent drug-law violations; 1.8 million drug arrests last year; tens of billions of taxpayer dollars expended annually to fund a drug war that 76% of Americans say has failed; millions now marked for life as former drug felons; many thousands dying each year from drug overdoses that have more to do with prohibitionist policies than the drugs themselves, and tens of thousands more needlessly infected with AIDS and Hepatitis C because those same policies undermine and block responsible public-health policies.”
As the preceding paragraph illustrates, “The War on Drugs” has been a dismal failure and has gifted nonviolent African Americans offenders, especially males a permanent handicap—a lifetime of limited opportunities. The collateral consequences of a drug conviction which limit African Americans opportunities are:
The denial of financial aid and work study .
Felony Disenfranchisement.
Lifetime ban on cash benefits and food stamps.
Lifetime ban on public housing.
Termination of parental rights and ban from becoming adoptive or foster parents.
Remove the felony conviction question on applications of employment.
Click to read.
Want to talk about race? Annette John-Hall of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Dr. Wilmer Leon speak on issues of race. Click here to listen
A Maryland judge has set a November trial date for Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon following two new indictments on theft and perjury charges.
The Nov. 9 trial date was worked out Wednesday during a conference between Dixon’s lawyers and state prosecutors, the Baltimore Sun reported. Dixon’s lawyers said she intends to plead not guilty.
The mayor was originally indicted in January on charges that included stealing gift cards that were supposed to be used by needy Baltimore residents and failing to report gifts from her former boyfriend, developer Ronald Lipscomb, on ethics forms.
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
OK, was I confused when I found out that Tiny and Toya (TI’s "baby mama" and Lil Wayne’s ex-wife, respectively) were being given a reality show on BET? Yeah, I was a little surprised. If only I could find a way to become a high profile baby mama — that seems to be the way to go. With my being a man, I guess that might be difficult to accomplish. All jokes aside, I watched this show with tremendous curiosity, as I think we can all learn from observing the thought patterns of those who live behind the scenes of our favorite celebs. Part of me feels sorry for both of these women, who seem to be desperately fighting their way out of the massive shadows being cast by the powerful men in their lives. Even the daughters of TI and Lil Weezy are trying to get their own reality show. Maybe they too are feeling the weight of their daddies’ collective fame. Why don’t we just give a reality show to the family dog? Now that would be hot!
08
Aug
09
Obama’s Daddy Initiative
(Shown: Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, left and Joshua DuBois, right, at a presidential debate in April 2008 at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. DuBois is now spearheading President Obama’s responsible fatherhood agenda ).
Despite a trenchant fight over health care reform, and grappling with an intractable recession, President Barack Obama on June 5 dispatched top White House staffers to Chicago to discuss another important matter on his agenda: Fatherhood.
The officials, including Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith Based Neighborhood Partnerships (FBNP) and Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to Obama’s senior advisor Valerie Jarrett), hosted a town hall meeting at the University of Illinois in Chicago. It drew an estimated 500 people to the South Loop, with Black Voices in attendance. Speakers included Rep. Danny K. Davis (D, Illinois), who reflected on growing up with his father, saying it was instrumental in his development.
"When you talk about responsible fatherhood, it gives us the opportunity to explore so many of the issues facing our society and our world," Davis said. "I’m just delighted. So again, I can’t commend the president enough."
Yep, I’m guilty. I admit it. I have indulged in one of my (many) guilty pleasures, ‘Bridezillas,’ a few times. Now, don’t even try acting all bourgeois, because you know you have, too. And even though we sit back and wonder what man in his right mind would marry one of these crazed chicks, with their "I’m all that" attitudes and ridiculous demands for cerulean – not blue – centerpieces, there’s a thing or two we can learn from them even before we find the proverbial "one."
1. Be a S.N.O.B.
Opt to settle for nothing other than the best when it comes to matters of your heart. Don’t worry, that doesn’t entail being a pompous, arrogant b&^%$. Instead, it means knowing precisely what you require in a mate and sticking to that ideal. But knowing is half the battle, yes? That brings us to point two.
2. List Your Demands
Mariah and Rihanna list their demands at every one of their shows in the form of a "concert rider"– agreements that each show promoter must adhere to. Guess what? Beyonce ain’t the only diva around. Here’s what you do: Pull out a piece of paper, grab a pen and write down every single thing you want and need in your soon-to-be-found husband (even if you think it’s facetious. FYI: It’s perfectly okay to list attractiveness as a requirement). List them out numerically. There doesn’t have to be a specific order, just get them on paper. Also, there’s no limit, so write to your heart’s content. Next, put stars next to those you deem to be of utmost importance (i.e., compassion for your feelings might be starred, while a required height of 6-foot-3 won’t be quite as pressing). Notice how many are starred versus those that aren’t. The starred ones are must-haves; the unstarred ones are the nice-to-haves. Put it in your wallet and carry it everywhere you go.
On this episode of “On with Leon,” Dr Wilmer Leon talks with listeners who have strong opinions on Henry Louis Gates, Barack Obama and the “Teachable Moment.” Click here to listen
Philadelphia police officers involved in the videotaped beating of three suspects after a car chase won’t be charged with crimes, according to a grand jury that found no excessive use of force.
The widely seen news footage of the violent police stop in May 2008 does not tell the whole story, District Attorney Lynne Abraham said Thursday.
Officers considered the shooting suspects armed and dangerous, and in keeping with department policy did not beat or kick them once they were handcuffed, she said.
The suspects — Pete Hopkins, Dwayne Dyches and Brian Hall — have since been acquitted of the triple shooting earlier that night for which police had pursued them.
Wanda Sykes says she wasn’t interested in hosting a late night talk show until Barack Obama decided to run for president.
Executives at Fox had been courting Sykes, but she just wanted to do standup comedy, her movie gigs and her role on CBS’ "The New Adventures of Old Christine."
Then came Obama’s campaign, and she realized she also wanted an outlet to discuss her views.
07
Aug
09
You Go girl!
Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who rose from the housing projects of the Bronx to the top of the legal profession, made history Thursday when the Senate confirmed her to become the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
Sonia Sotomayor, 55, will be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.
Sotomayor was easily confirmed in a 68-31 vote. Nine Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in supporting her nomination.
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, supported Sotomayor but was not present for the vote because of illness.
Sotomayor, a 55-year-old federal appeals court judge, will be the 111th person to sit on the high court and the third female justice.
She will be sworn in at the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday.
President Obama, who selected Sotomayor on May 26, said he was "deeply gratified" by the Senate vote.
"This is a wonderful day for Judge Sotomayor and her family, but I also think it’s a wonderful day for America," Obama said at the White House. 
Watch Obama’s remarks »
06
Aug
09
Obama’s Approval Rating Drops
President Barack Obama’s approval rating is falling on concern unemployment is rising and the budget deficit will grow, a Quinnipiac University poll shows.
Exactly half of the registered voters surveyed from July 27 to Aug. 3 by Quinnipiac said they approve of the job Obama is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove. That’s down from 57 percent approval and 33 percent disapproval in a poll taken in late June, according to results released today.
Americans are upset about rising unemployment and worried that health-care plans making their way through Congress will add to the U.S. budget deficit, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based polling institute. The combination has helped drive down the president’s ratings.
06
Aug
09
Black Congressman Convicted
Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana was convicted Wednesday on 11 of the 16 corruption charges against him in a case that included the discovery of $90,000 in his freezer.
Former Rep. William Jefferson arrives at U.S. District Court with his wife, Andrea, on June 9.
A federal court jury convicted Jefferson on four bribery counts, three counts of money laundering, three counts of wire fraud and one count of racketeering. He was acquitted on five other counts including wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
Jefferson, a 62-year-old Democrat, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 4, 2007, about two years after federal agents said they found the cash in his freezer. Authorities said the cash was part of a payment in marked bills from an FBI informant in a transaction captured on video.
Jefferson had pleaded not guilty. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 150 years in prison, with sentencing tentatively set for October 30.
After the verdict on the fifth day of jury deliberations, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis turned down a prosecution request for Jefferson to be taken into custody, ruling that he posed no flight risk.
The verdict showed that "no person, not even a congressman, is above the law," said U.S. Attorney Dana Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia. Asked what might have turned the case in the prosecution’s favor, Boente said: "We always thought that a powerful piece of evidence in this case was $90,000 in a freezer."
Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
I did some commentary on CNN last week about Justin Barrett, the cop who referred to Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates as a "Banana eating jungle monkey" in an email. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that the officer is suing the city of Boston, claiming that they violated his civil rights.
As part of my assignment for media work I was doing on the topic, I read through the email by officer Barrett very carefully. The email was not written by a disciple of David Duke, a man with gallons of racism flowing through his veins. Rather, it was written by a man who seemed to hold a great deal of anger and resentment toward almost everyone. In one sentence, he was critiquing the grammar of the journalist who wrote the original Gates article. In the other, he was degrading Professor Gates in ways that a police officer should never degrade the citizens he/she is sworn to protect.
I am not angry with Barrett, I feel sorry for him. In fact, when it comes to Barrett, I offer the following thoughts:
1) There is the broader constitutional issue of whether or not Officer Barrett has a right to say what he said. We do have the First Amendment, and no one seems to clearly understand the great social price we must pay to uphold these rights. Personally, I feel that Barrett has the right to say whatever he wants, but revealing such bias while serving as a police officer becomes a completely different issue. At the same time, should it be ruled by a court that Barrett has the right to say what he says, then I would stand behind his rights as well. I guess if someone calls you a "banana eating jungle monkey," you should just say, "ya mama."
Hours after The Denver Post raised questions about whether his tweets were written in a way commonly associated with street gangs, Nuggets guard J.R. Smith pulled the plug on his Twitter page on Tuesday. He presumably didn’t think it was worth all the bad publicity.
His last message to fans before it was closed late Tuesday afternoon: "ok people i love all of my fans im sorry but this will be my last tweet you know why but it is what it is love all an tke Care"
Smith’s tweets raised print eyebrows after someone noticed he was occasionally replacing words that would have a "C" in them with a "K," giving some the impression of an association with the Bloods street gang. (Kudos for the capital "C" jab above, kid.) Smith tried to correct the issue in a tweet late Monday night, but ultimately decided to close the account, according to The Denver Post.
05
Aug
09
“Jungle Monkey” Cop Sues Boston
A Boston police officer is suing the city after he was suspended for referring to a black Harvard professor as a "banana-eating jungle monkey" in an e-mail.
Boston police Officer Justin Barrett apologized for his e-mail about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
"If I’m charged with a crime I want a chance to answer. I want the chance for a fair hearing," Officer Justin Barrett told CNN on Tuesday.
Barrett has apologized and denied he is a racist.
His lawsuit claims his civil rights have been violated; Barrett’s lawyer said the words referring to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. were misinterpreted.
"The choice of words were poor; but they weren’t meant to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle monkey," attorney Peter Marano said. "They were meant in a response to behavior and characterizing the behavior. Not the person as a whole."
Marano said the city had effectively fired Barrett, though he is officially suspended with pay.
He said it was fair to hold Barrett to a higher standard than the general public because he is a police officer, but that he was still entitled to express his opinions.
"Being held to a higher standard shouldn’t eradicate his right under the First Amendment for free speech. That is part and parcel of the lawsuit," the lawyer said.
Gates was arrested at his house last month when a neighbor called police after she thought she saw a man trying to break into Gates’ home. The man turned out to be Gates himself, who was attempting to free a jammed door.
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University and Anderson Cooper talk about the Obama Administration.
Click here to watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University debate Roland Martin on CNN.
05
Aug
09
What? a $90 Dollar Pizza?
The colossal new Dallas Cowboys Stadium is living proof that everything is bigger in Texas. The menu in the luxury suites proves that things there are more expensive too.
Those enjoying a Cowboys game from a luxury suite at the new stadium will have to shell out $90 for pizza and $66 for a 12-pack of domestic beer, reports Steven Sipple of the Lincoln Journal World. Ninety bucks for pizza? That’s almost as much of a rip-off as Roy Williams.
It costs $800,000 per year to lease one of those luxury suites, a hefty sum that doesn’t include game tickets. On the bright side, the stadium’s official Web site says that "having your company’s name on a suite makes an important statement about your success" and can help make an impression on clients. (Namely that they’re paying you way too much money.)
Hollywood star Halle Berry has vowed that she will never get married again.
The twice-divorced 42-year-old actress is currently dating Gabriel Aubry, a French-Canadian model ten years her junior, and the couple has a daughter called Nahla.
However, Berry insists that a third marriage is not going to happen.
"I’m so not the relationship go-to girl. But I’m much clearer about what a relationship is, which is why I will never marry again. Gabriel and I have a great partnership and a lovely daughter,” the Daily Telegraph quoted her as telling The Mail on Sunday newspaper.
05
Aug
09
Rapper “The Game” Gets Sued
In July 2008, Compton rap star The Game made headlines when he assaulted a cousin while attending his sister’s July 5 funeral in California. Charges were immediately said to be pressed.
Over a year later, TMZ.com now reports that the cousin, Robert Kirkwood, has officially filed against the Interscope emcee and Black Wall Street CEO. The suit includes four other people, and states that the rapper got physical after the millionaire was confronted about not helping to pay funeral costs.
Leaders from the nation’s 105 historically black colleges have complained privately that President Barack Obama has allowed deep cuts in funding to black universities at a time when many of these institutions are struggling to survive.
At a meeting in Atlanta this summer, where presidents and senior administrators from more than 30 black colleges gathered, sources told BlackAmericaWeb.com that many participants grumbled about an $85 million reduction from the 2010 budget, funds that were specifically earmarked for historically black colleges.
The money is needed in large part to help keep some black colleges from possible foreclosures and others from considering staff layoffs, so representatives from black colleges say they will turn up the heat on Obama starting this month.
"They plan to lobby the White House in a more concerted effort," said one black educator who attended last month’s meeting of black college presidents.
Click here to listen to the leaked conversation by Michael Jackson where he is dissing his daddy. Interesting.
05
Aug
09
What a Poster!
Someone made this poster of Barack Obama, mocking him and saying that he is the joker of socialism. Does this look racist? Not quite sure.
Three women are facing charges after conspiring with his wife to lure him to a hotel room and kidnapping him. Oh yeah, they put crazy glue on his “sensitive body parts.” Damn
Drs. Mack Jones, Robert Smith and Wilmer Leon do an in-depth analysis of President Obama’s speech to the NAACP. Click here to listen!
Click here to watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speak with Rick Sanchez of CNN.
Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child made her West End stage debut in the über -hit musical ‘Chicago’ at London’s Cambridge Theatre on July 13.
As part of VisitBritain.com’s Transatlanticism Campaign (www.transatlanticism.org), BV Buzz traveled to London to see the R&B star ‘razzle dazzle ‘em’ as the first African-American woman to play femme fatale Roxie Hart on the West End.
"It feels awesome to be in a year of firsts! There’s the first Black president and first lady in the US, here in the UK for the first time a young black woman got the crown of Miss UK, and here I am the first black woman to play Roxie Hart. I am honored! I know that I am blessed! God’s been awesome and has shown great favor," she exclaimed.
In a bobbed wig and black lace dress, Williams is seductive in the starring role of the Kander and Ebb musical set in prohibition era Chicago.
"It’s unfortunate when business is out there about your personal shit, especially when you’re really not the guy to be having his shit out there," Nas said. "The sad thing is, you’ve got to get used to it. My skin is so thick that I probably need to write a book for people who are not ready for anything crazy."
"I heard that I was a cheater," Nas told Straight.com. "It almost sounds like I was a bad husband. Not to say I was the greatest—I’m not perfect in anything I do—but I think I deserve a fucking trophy. If I do say so myself, without sounding too cocky, I gotta say I was a hell of a husband and a hell of a dad."
Hillary Clinton arrives in Kenya, begins 7-nation Africa tour
1:35 PM on 08/04/2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is bringing a message of tough love to Kenya: you are a key American friend in east Africa, but you must rein in graft and follow through on political reform.
Teacher caught on tape choking student gets suspended
By theGrio
12:36 PM on 08/04/2009
A Jacksonville, Florida high school teacher has been suspended after choking a student in class.
California GOP not as diverse as California
11:58 AM on 08/04/2009
The California Republican Party has failed to keep pace with the most populous U.S. state’s evolving demographics over the past 30 years, signaling further trouble for a party that has been slipping in popularity, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Burglary suspect shot ‘dead’ — and lives
By theGrio
10:01 AM on 08/04/2009
A burglary suspect shot by Baltimore police is pronounced dead. But he isn’t. EMT’s declared 51-year-old Michael Quarles dead after he was shot inside a convenience store early Saturday…
» by DANIELLE CANADA Aug 1 2009, 13:07 pm
50’s getting no love on an International level. In the second international lawsuit aimed at the MC in a matter of weeks, his booking team is now being sued by a German concert promotion company. Major Movez concert promotion is suing 50’s booking agency, William Morris Endeavor for compensation of a breach of contract. Major Movez gave the agency a $125,000 negation fee to set up a 50 cent concert in Graz, Austria. The fee did not guarantee a concert but according to Major Movez if the deal didn’t go through, “WME would return the entire amount.” William Morris Endeavor did not return the
Click here to watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University with Pastor Eugene Rivers on MSNBC.
Shanelle Walker is the former student body President at Kentucky State University. She wrote this amazing poem to encourage African American youth to get out and vote for President Barack Obama. Not only is she a political activist, she is a writer, leader and emerging media personality. Is she one of the dopest young black poets in America? You be the judge! Rather than reading the poem, I recommend that you watch her perform it. The performance is on the video link below.
03
Aug
09
MJ’s Mom Gets the kids
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Michael Jackson’s mother was given permanent custody of the singer’s three children Monday.
Katherine Jackson has accused the executors of her son Michael’s estate of "keeping her in the dark."
Katherine Jackson, was appointed permanent guardian of Michael’s three children — Michael Joseph "Prince Michael" Jackson Jr., Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael II (known as "Blanket") — by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff.
A hearing is scheduled for October to look at some remaining issues.
Katherine Jackson was in the courtroom Monday with three of her children: Rebbie, Randy and LaToya.
An agreement last week between Katherine Jackson and Debbie Rowe, the mother of the two oldest children, cleared the way for an uncontested custody hearing.
Rowe, who was briefly married to Michael Jackson, agreed not to fight for custody in exchange for visits with the children as recommended by a psychologist.
The agreement does not involve any financial payments to Rowe "apart from the continuation of spousal support payments" that Michael Jackson personally agreed to make to Rowe after their divorce, their lawyers said in a joint statement.
03
Aug
09
Obama Tries to Regain His Ground
After a trying two-week run, President Barack Obama got back on message during his weekly Internet address to the nation saying the dark clouds over our economy are beginning to brighten.
For Obama, the message must feel like a welcomed return from the wilderness.
He has spent too much time entangled in an unwanted and distracting discussion of race that has consumed his messaging over the past two weeks. …
As a leadership scholar and proud member of the Black Greek Nation, I find it quite appropriate to comment on the sad state of affairs regarding the recently filed Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority lawsuit. President Barbara McKinzie and the executive director are being charged by eight sorority members of financial impropriety to the extent they want them removed immediately from leadership. Since the case has not been heard in a court of law, one should only share opinions (humor permitted) on the specifics of the allegations. However, since this latest announcement seems to suggest a pattern of inadequate leadership in some of our most cherished Black non-profit organizations, I write because I am very concerned about why our community continues to cling on to leaders who repeatedly demonstrate an inability to be accountable, effective and in touch with today’s reality. A few years ago another Barbara, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s president Barbara Moore, was charged with similar activities and the smoke has yet to clear on the internal damages inflicted on the organization. Moore did finally admit to using the sorority’s funds for her own needs though. Both sororities are purposed as charitable organizations to foster sisterly love and service to others yet find themselves dedicating dollars and time to legal matters and media hysteria. Sisters are blogging and posting vitriolic comments about who’s to blame, why the organizations are even relevant and necessary, other sorority options and even thoughts of why the lawsuit doesn’t even matter. If only we can generate this type of intense dialogue to find practical solutions to important matters like our educational needs in the Black community.
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University will be on Keep Hope Alive with Jesse Jackson Sunday morning at 8:30 am. For a list of affiliates, please visit www.keephopealiveradio.com.
He will also be on Kiss FM in New York City at 10 am on Sunday. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.
01
Aug
09
Black News – 8/1/09
Madea goes to Disney World with Philly pool kids
By theGrio
3:05 PM on 07/31/2009
A group of kids from Philadelphia who said they experienced prejudice firsthand arrived in Orlando, Florida on Friday for an all-expense paid trip courtesy of actor Tyler Perry…
Donated animals bring wealth to Africans
By theGrio
1:57 PM on 07/31/2009
Beatrice Biira fosters educational partnerships between the US and Africa. The Ugandan is currently studying at the Clinton School of Public Services in Arkansas, and it all began with the gift from Heifer International.
NFL player battling leukemia halts comeback
1:07 PM on 07/31/2009
MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Kenechi Udeze’s comeback from leukemia served as an inspiration to his Minnesota Vikings teammates. The announcement of his retirement will not diminish that.
Boston cop says he’s "not a racist" for Gates slur
12:47 PM on 07/31/2009
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston police officer who was suspended for using a racial slur to describe black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. apologized for his comments and declared he is not a racist.
Reverend Ike dies at 74
12:46 PM on 07/31/2009
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, who preached the gospel of material prosperity to millions nationwide as Reverend Ike, died Tuesday. He was 74.
87-year-old woman lives in leaky shack, prays for help
By theGrio
9:21 AM on 07/31/2009
An 87-year-old woman, living alone, in a 160-year-old shack about three miles south of Lena, Mississippi says she has no one to help her get out of the deplorable conditions. Every room in her shack leaks, except for the living…
Black cop at Gates arrest: I’m not an Uncle Tom
8:11 AM on 07/31/2009
A black sergeant who was at the home of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. when he was arrested says he’s been maligned as an "Uncle Tom" for supporting the actions of the white arresting officer.
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speaks with Roland Martin and Rick Sanchez of CNN. The conversation gets quite heated. Click here to watch the video!
Members of the country’s oldest black sorority are suing to remove their president, alleging that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the group’s money on herself — some of it to pay for a wax statue in her own likeness.
In the suit filed in Washington, D.C., the Alpha Kappa Alpha members also alleged that international President Barbara McKinzie bought designer clothing, jewelry and lingerie with the sorority credit card. She then redeemed points the purchases earned on the card to buy a big-screen television and gym equipment, the lawsuit said.
"This is extraordinarily shocking if not illegal conduct," Edward W. Gray Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs suing the Chicago-based sorority, said Wednesday.
McKinzie denied what she called the lawsuit’s "malicious allegations," saying they were "based on mischaracterizations and fabrications … not befitting our ideals of sisterhood, ethics and service," according to a statement issued this week by the sorority.
The lawsuit also accused the sorority’s board of directors of signing off on spending funds on McKinzie without the required approval by the group’s membership. For example, the lawsuit says the board approved a monthly "pension stipend" of $4,000 for four years after she leaves office and purchased a $1 million life insurance policy for her. The suit demands McKinzie be fired and return money to the sorority.
By
This afternoon, President Obama, Sgt. James Crowley, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. will sit down at the White House to “clear the air.” The President’s objective is to bring the parties together and through their personal interaction move the national dialogue on race forward. In the President’s “Teachable Moment” what should we learn? We should learn how one’s perceptions can color their reality. We should also learn the danger of trying to contort a non-race based issue into a dialog or valuable lesson on race.
In all of the accounts of Dr. Gates’ arrest there has never been any indication that Sgt. Crowley used racial slurs, epithets, gestures or any other means to inject “race” into the arrest. Even Dr. Gates’ attorney, Charles Ogletree, when asked about racial profiling during a CNN interview said, “I’ve never said anything about racial profiling; you’ve never heard those words from me, it’s a case of bad judgment…we won’t know about the race element until all of the facts are in.”
by Dr. Deborah Stroman
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Get Real! That’s my kind response to the critics of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) recent academic reform policy that eliminates the minimum SAT and ACT scores for admission. This well-thought out and crafted course of action finally gives colleges the academic freedom and independence to do what they do best – make decisions as to which students they want on their particular campus. Not the NCAA, the athletic leagues, or any other sport-related governing body has the right to tell an academic institution who is most deserving of the opportunity to sit in their classrooms and learn. Although our country promotes a spirit of education for all, the reality is that higher education is for the privileged. And those with the financial resources receive more access and resources. With a wink and a nod though, the student-athlete can oftentimes bypass this necessity if one possesses the talent to throw a tight spiral or shoot a silky-smooth jumper.
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speaks on MSNBC – click here to watch!
30
Jul
09
What Black Thinkers are Thinking
Writer & Novelist
Young black voters came out for Obama, but may not return
8:12 AM on 07/29/2009
During last year’s presidential campaign, the second-most talked about aspect of Barack Obama’s historic candidacy was the fervor with which…
Cultural Critic
Brewski diplomacy won’t wash down racism
12:59 PM on 07/28/2009
Unemployment among African Americans, which some may partly attribute to racism, is now at Depression-era levels. Racial profiling and police…
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We’ve learned enough from Obama’s "teachable moment"
8:00 AM on 07/28/2009
(AP Photo/Seth Perlman, file) Despite (or perhaps because of) President Obama’s rare White House press room visit Friday, the racial…
Associate Professor Political Science Department – City University of New York
Sotomayor may pass ultimate one-size-fits-all test
7:43 AM on 07/28/2009
Judge Sonia Sotomayor admits she’s an affirmative action baby. She stated in an interview that she did not have high…
Watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University on Anderson Cooper 360 speaking on the problem of racial profiling. Click here to watch!
30
Jul
09
Black News – 7/30/09
Attorney General: I was racially profiled
7:09 PM on 07/29/2009
The nation’s first black attorney general, Holder tells ABC News that, as a college student, he was stopped by an officer while driving and told to open his trunk for a search.
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White officers resign after fatal shooting of 73-year-old black man
6:27 PM on 07/29/2009
Two white police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a 73-year-old black man in northern Louisiana have resigned from the force. The Feb. 20 shooting of Bernard Monroe Sr. sparked protests and at least two investigations.
HPV infection makes cancers less deadly for blacks, doctors say
By theGrio
4:52 PM on 07/29/2009
VIDEO – Doctors have made an important discovery into the impact of HPV on head and neck cancer. Their research may explain why black patients are less likely to survive than white patients with the same diagnosis.
Ex-Giant Burress testifies before grand jury
2:55 PM on 07/29/2009
Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress testified Wednesday before the grand jury that is investigating weapons charges against him and told reporters outside that he was sorry for his actions…
Click here to watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University on CNN American Morning with Dr. Michael Fauntroy
29
Jul
09
News from the Grio – 7/28/09
Deaf man tasered
By theGrio
7:45 PM on 07/28/2009
Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn’t understand they wanted him to open the door, police said Tuesday…
Houston fire captain apologizes for noose in locker
By theGrio
6:20 PM on 07/28/2009
A senior Houston firefighter apologized Monday for keeping a rope that looked like hangman’s noose in his locker, saying it was a memento from early in his career and not meant as a racist symbol…
MLK statue defaced
By theGrio
4:14 PM on 07/28/2009
The statue of America’s foremost civil rights leader — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — has been defaced, painted white. Now Hollywood police are trying to determine whether this case is a hate crime or just vandalism. A homeless man…
Syracuse University Professor Dr Boyce Watkins speaks with CNN’s Rick Sanchez about Obama’s Mistake.
Click here to listen to Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Dr. Boyce Watkins (Syracuse University) talk with Harvard Law Professor, Charles Ogletree
Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, administered a powerful drug that authorities believe killed the singer, a source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CNN on Monday.
Dr. Conrad Murray was with Michael Jackson on the day that he died.
Murray, a Texas-based cardiologist, allegedly gave Jackson the anesthetic propofol — commonly known by the brand name Diprivan — in the 24 hours before he died, the source said.
The doctor’s attorneys in a statement Monday said they wouldn’t comment on "rumors, innuendo or unnamed sources." In the past, they have said Murray never prescribed or administered anything that could have killed the pop star.
Murray was the doctor who was at Jackson’s home when the pop star died on June 25.
Last week, Texas authorities searched Murray’s Houston medical office and storage unit, looking for "evidence of the offense of manslaughter," according to court documents.
Among the items removed from Murray’s office were a computer; 27 tablets of phentermine, a prescription-strength appetite suppressant; 1 tablet of clonazepam, an anti-anxiety medication; and some Rolodex cards.
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University and Anderson Cooper discuss the case of Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates. Click here to watch the video!
With the Gates fiasco, the rosy glow has faded
AP Photo, Cambridge Police Department
My first reaction to watching the unfolding Saga of Skip Gates’s Cambridge Arrest was that America’s postracial bubble, like its recent economic troubles, was about to pop. The fact that some observers had never bought into the story of a race-free America purged of its past sins by a watershed presidential election had done little to diminish either that narrative’s moral resonance or political weight.
Since America’s racial disparities remain as deep-rooted after Barack Obama’s election as they were before, it was only a matter of time until the myth of postracism exploded in our collective national face. That they would rear their ugly head in the form of an intellectual and racial cause célèbre is fitting, since black scholars and activists have been engaged in a robust debate over the meaning of race in the Age of Obama.
Suddenly Obama’s recent declaration before the NAACP—that American blacks have come farther than at any other time in our country’s history—seems suspect, our national progress undone by the fact that Gates’s predicament has become a metaphor for the nation’s legacy of racial discrimination.
Just out. Listen to the audio from the 911 call on Henry Louis Gates’ Arrest by clicking here.
Group holds a conference to promote Black Marriage. Click here to watch the video trailer! You can learn more by visiting their website at HappilyEverAfterTheMovie.com.
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University spoke with TV and radio show host Montel Williams on Monday. The conversation focused on race and racial profiling. They are going to also speak on financial advice in the future.
I’ve written extensively about the NCAA and what I perceive to be their consistent efforts to exploit the black community. They spend millions on public service announcements to protect their deception, but eventually the athletes and the public are going to wise up to what they are doing. The truth is that college athletes should be paid for the same reasons that any actor in a Hollywood blockbuster film would expect to receive compensation. The problem is that the families of athletes don’t quite know how to organize and fight for their power. So, when I read about the recentlawsuit against the NCAA for allegedly misusing the images of athletes for videogames, I was a very happy man.
Let me break it down for you:
Based on my 16-years of experience as a college professor (I currently teach atSyracuse University, a school that earns millions off black families every year), collegiate athletics is not, in my opinion, about amateurism and it’s not about education. It’s about making money. Period. Many athletes are admitted to college every year and they would not be granted admission were it not for their ability to play sports and make money for the campus. Making money is not a problem, but the problem comes with the fact that universities do not share this revenue with the families of the players.
Tony Wafford has taught his three daughters that when they go on a date, they need to be prepared: They carry a credit card, cash for a cab, a cell phone and a condom.
Young black women, he tells them, make up a strikingly disproportionate amount of HIV and AIDS cases in the United States. HIV infection is the leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those aren’t statistics you ignore.
The victim hails from a Liberian enclave in Arizona, and all of the children involved are refugees. Her 23-year-old sister, who was supposedly babysitting when four boys attacked the youngster in a storage shed (pictured), told KTVK in Arizona, "She always bring trouble…I came to her and said it’s not good for you to be following guys because you are still little." If the girl, who is now in foster care, were to come home, her sister says she would be scolded. "She’s just bringing confusions among us," she said.
PJ Morton won’t be the first preacher’s kid to sing secular music, and he isn’t likely to be the last!
Unlike those before him who were ostracized and condemned by traditional churchgoers and religious radicals for singing non-sacred sounds, Morton has decided to educate churchgoers rather than rebelling against them.
The 28-year-old singer, who is the son of renowned pastors Bishop Paul S. Morton (Changing a Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church in Atlanta) and Dr. Debra B. Morton (Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans), has written a new book called ‘Why Can’t I Sing About Love?’ that dispels the myth that all Christian singers must record and perform gospel music.
"I hope that the book causes people to see how big God is and that His affects reach far beyond the church and church music," he explained. "Also, I want people to realize that if we believe that the Bible is truly God’s word, we can’t overlook certain parts, specifically the book of love songs in the Bible. He created those as well."
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sarah Palin’s resignation from her role as governor of Alaska has prompted new questions about the GOP’s leadership and future. While Michael Steele made history by becoming the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee, where do African Americans stand in helping to redefine the party?
TheGrio sat down with a group of black Republicans to discuss their feeling on their political party and its future.
"What does it mean to be a black man that agrees with the Republican party’s agenda, the Republican party’s message?" said hiphoprepublican.com’s Brandon Brice. "That is, reducing the size of government, giving people real opportunities to excel from any circumstance or situation."
According to a report released in May by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Africans Americans make up two percent of the nation’s Republican party, compared to 22 percent of the democratic party. The study also found that during the 2008 election, 95 percent of blacks voted for Barack Obama, while just four percent voted for Republican candidate John McCain.
Investigators are looking into whether employees at the Los Angeles County coroner’s office illegally leaked information about Michael Jackson’s death probe to the news media, according to a sheriff’s spokesman.
Police stand outside the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office when Michael Jackson’s body was there in June.
Vivid descriptions of Jackson’s corpse, which was in the coroner’s custody for an autopsy, were published by tabloid newspapers in the days after his death.
The Los Angeles County Supervisors office on Friday asked the sheriff to conduct a "preliminary inquiry," which will determine whether there is enough evidence to launch a full investigation, said Steve Whitmore, a sheriff’s spokesman.
Whitmore did not provide details on what prompted the request.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas as saying his office called the sheriff’s department after reports that coroner’s employees not involved in the Jackson death probe had viewed his death certificate in the office database.
Tomorrow morning, July 26, 2009 at 8:30 am EST, Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University will appear on the Jesse Jackson Show with Rev. Al Sharpton and Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree. The conversation will center around the recent arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates.
25
Jul
09
Kelis Gets Rich off of Nas
Now last week I told you all about Nas not paying the $5,000 a month in child support to Kelis and that she was complaining that he only gave her a gift certificate for a few thousand dollars. Well now the baby is here and the entire situation has changed. Kelis has been awarded $55,000 a month in child support from Nas and in addition to this he must pay for the baby’s nurse, prenatal expenses, medical insurance and $35,000 to Kelis’ lawyer. DAMN who would of ever thought that Nas had bank like that??? I see him filing for bankruptcy some time in the near future.
Posted by LadyBaby at 6:05 PM 0 comments 
Labels: baby mama drama, black celebrity gossip, couples, Kelis, Nas
by Dr. Boyce Watkins
I am a curious professor, a compassionate capitalist and the owner of a small business. All of these hats create a complex perspective on whether or not it is a good idea to increase the minimum wage. After all, we are in a recession, and one might be tempted to argue that any sort of pay increase would slow down our nation’s economic recovery, eliminate jobs, and significantly reduce corporate profitability.
Sorry to burst those bubbles, but the data don’t validate most of the above concerns.
First of all, the minimum wage was introduced during the Great Depression, the mother of all economic downturns. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was designed to ensure that the most vulnerable Americans were no longer going to be exploited by the power of big business. The Great Depression came to an end shortly thereafter, and there is no evidence that it slowed down the economic recovery in any significant way.
Secondly, the budgetary implications of minimum wage increases are not very large. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 2 percent of all men and 3.6 percent of all women currently earn the minimum wage. But while the impact on our national budget is small, the gains for those affected are tremendous: there are nearly 5 million children in families who earn the minimum wage, and nearly all of these children are going to have better lives in the advent of an increase.
25
Jul
09
E. Lynn Harris Dies at 54
John Bazemore/Associated PressThe author E. Lynn Harris.
Updated | 2:48 p.m. E. Lynn Harris, the best-selling author of novels that addressed questions of identity and sexuality among black men, has died, his publicist told The Associated Press. He was 54.
According to his official biography at his Web site, Mr. Harris was born in Flint, Mich. and raised in Little Rock, Ark. At the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, he was the school’s first black male Razorbacks cheerleader and was a lifelong fan of the team. He sold computers for a living until he self-published his first novel, “Invisible Life,” in 1991; it was picked up by Anchor Books in 1994, spawning a prolific writing career spanning ten more novels, from “Just As I Am” in 1994, to “Basketball Jones,” published in January, as well as a 2004 memoir, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.”
In a review of Mr. Harris’s 2006 novel “I Say a Little Prayer” in The New York Times Book Review, Troy Patterson wrote that Mr. Harris “has helped bring taboo topics — like closeted black men indulging their sexuality ‘on the down low’ — into mainstream conversation.” From his debut with “Invisible Life”, Mr. Patterson wrote that Mr. Harris offered a writing style that “was smoothly paced, and the prose occasionally opened up on Fitzgerald-lite moments of sparkling sentiment.”
Boyce Watkins
Professor, Syracuse University
I’d hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are infected with a disease. The disease that has infected you is called racism. The disease is a silent killer, not of our bodies, but of our society. It also deteriorates the brain and makes us delusional, as we sometimes see things that are not really there or refuse to see things that are actually right in front of us. What’s worse is that we know the disease is in the fabric of our institutions, but it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location. This leads to sloppy missteps, embarrassments and damaging accusations.
Henry Louis Gates, the Prominent Harvard University Professor who was arrested this week at his home by Cambridge Police Officer James Crawley, may have been a victim of the disease of racism. Even he has gotten to the point of stating that this story is no longer about race and his buddy, President Obama, has been back-peddling faster than a free safety in the NFL. In the midst of letting go of his allegations of racism against Sgt. Crawley (which I thought was a very good idea) Professor Gates has stated that we should use this situation as a “teaching moment.” It is also my hope that Dr. Gates understands that the first step toward being a good professor is to learn how to be a good student. As a professor myself, I am hopeful that he will allow me to teach the first class.
When is racial profiling not racial profiling? When the facts or circumstances fail to fit the accepted definition.
In 1999, the Oxford American Dictionary (OAD) provided a definition of racial profiling for the first time. “Racial profiling: an alleged police policy of stopping and searching vehicles driven by people from particular racial groups.” In 2005 the ACLU provided the broader definition as follows, "Racial Profiling" refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Criminal profiling, generally, as practiced by police, is the reliance on a group of characteristics they believe to be associated with crime… Racial profiling does not refer to the act of a law enforcement agent pursuing a suspect in which the specific description of the suspect includes race or ethnicity in combination with other identifying factors.” Intent is a key element in evaluating this circumstance. It does not appear by any of the facts as stated that Sgt. Crowley focused on, targeted or arrested Dr. Gates based upon his race (human), ethnicity, religion, or national origin.
One unfortunate outcome of the Dr. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. arrest in Cambridge, MA has been a rush to judgment by many who should know better. To immediately place Dr. Gates’ unfortunate arrest into the category of “racial profiling” does a great disservice to the volumes of cases that fit the accepted definition.
University of Massachusetts graduate and African American leader Bill Cosby spoke Thursday about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cosby, who has frequently spoken critically about the state of black America, remarked, "Those two men need to realize the importance and how this is brewing."
Though charges against Gates were dropped, the professor still wants an apology from Sgt. James Crowley.
"What it made me realize," said Gates, "is how vulnerable all black men are, how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people are to [police]."
Meanwhile, Crowley has said, "I’m not apologizing. I have nothing to apologize for."
Cosby just wants a resolution.
"You don’t have to shake hands," Cosby said. "You sit together and say to the public, ‘this is what happened,’ so that people can go on about their lives without worrying about what color one happens to be."
Senne/AP
Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley says that he’s not racist for arresting Henry Louis Gates, citing the CPR he gave the Celtics star Reggie Lewis (below) as proof.
Kappock/News
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- Harvard prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrested outside his home, calls police ‘racist’
The cop who arrested African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates refused to apologize and denied he’s a racist, saying he once gave black basketball star Reggie Lewis mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
"I wasn’t working on Reggie Lewis the basketball star. I wasn’t working on a black man," Sgt. James Crowley told the Boston Herald. "I was working on another human being."
Crowley, 42, was referring to his actions after the Boston Celtics forward suffered a fatal heart attack in 1993 at Brandeis University, where he was a campus cop.
An 11-year veteran of the Cambridge Police Department, Crowley arrested Gates, a noted Harvard professor, last Thurdsay while investigating a reported break-in at Gates’ home.
23
Jul
09
Wendy Williams Leaving Radio
It has been announced that Wendy Williams is leaving radio so that she can focus more on her television career. Wendy currently has a show that airs on Fox and BET five days a week, so from the look of things her television career is taking off. Read the statement from her people below.
July 22, 2009 — Executives from WBLS and representatives for Wendy Williams today jointly announced Ms. Williams plans to leave her daily radio show at month’s end to dedicate herself full time to THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW, a nationally syndicated talker which launched July 13th. Ms. Williams, who has been a fixture on WBLS since 2002, has spent more than two decades on the air winning over fans and was recently nominated as a potential inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame. Her radio show has consistently rated as one of the highest rated programs on the station.
“We are saddened to lose one of our most popular personalities,” noted Deon Levingston, Vice President and General Manager of WBLS. “But we understand what it requires to put a live show on television each and every day and wish Wendy all the best in this new venture.”
“I want to tell all of my fans that after July 31st, I will no longer be doing a show with WBLS,” Williams said. “I really was blessed to have a broadcast home in NY on radio for the past 7 years and I want to thank everyone who supported me. I have one of the best jobs in the world, making a difference in the lives of my fans made all the difference to me and I look forward to doing the same thing in my new role as a TV host. My hope is that you will do your best to find me on your remote so I can continue to entertain and inform you each and every day.”
Posted by LadyBaby at 9:05 AM 0 comments
