Oh, Now He's Not a Natural Born Citizen

Worth Repeating

Compelling and stimulating, this film is also a lesson about the history of African peoples. It is worth listening to and extremely well told. Adding to its power is the place that John Henrik Clarke himself has had in this history, including his role as an advisor to Kwame Nkrumah and a confidant and friend to Malcolm X. Although the filmmakers have gathered exceptional and rare archival footage and still photos covering a range of subjects and history, the centerpiece of this work is Clarke's own voice and vision. It is unfortunate that his intelligence and knowledge have not been more generally available until now. One has to applaud the efforts of the filmmakers for offering us the wisdom and insight of a truly important thinker and remarkable man. Enjoy and PASS ON.

Michelle and Jackie

Many comparisons have already been made between Michelle Obama and Jackie Kennedy. While I appreciate the spirit, I beg to differ. To put it bluntly, Jackie had no back.
- Erin Aubry Kaplan

Another Bank Bailout???

Yes, today the United States Treasury department paid $33.56 billion to 21 banks and I can't imagine the amount not growing.

Mama Africa - Mirium Makeba

The South African icon Miriam Makeba, affectionately known as Mama Africa, passed this past Monday after performing at a concert in Southern Italy against organized crime. This was a demonstration of how she used her talents as a musician to uplift society.

Makeba stepped on the international stage when she appeared in the anti-apartheid documentary “Come Back, Africa” in 1959. At one point Mama Africa lived in exile for speaking out against the system. In 1960 her attempt to return home to South Africa for her mother’s funeral was denied. In 1963, she made a moving speech when she appeared before the United Nations (UN) Special Committee on Apartheid calling for an international boycott of South Africa. Her musical contribution was a factor in bringing down apartheid.

The South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma stated that, “One of the greatest songsters of our time, Miriam Makeba has ceased to sing.”

Rahm Emanuel

Back in June Barack Obama gave a speech to AIPAC and was immediatly after endorsed by Rahm Emanuel, a leading member of the House, who belongs to an Orthodox Jewish congregation in Chicago and who up until that point had stayed out of the election because he is a friend of Obama's and has close ties to the Clintons (he served in the Clinton White House).

Today Emanuel accepted the position of Obama White House chief of staff. The Chicago Tribune published an article on Emanuel in 2006 which cited him as “the man who remade the Democratic Party in his own image.” It takes money & an agressive personality to accomplish this. Rahm Emanuel has both. Doubtless, this is why the Chicago Tribune labelled Emanuel as a “profane, ruthless, and savvy operative.”

The website http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=318 refers to Emanuel as a 'Zionist Jew'. I am not endorsing this website just letting you in on some research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel has some interesting information as well. If you did not get to look at the Clinton Chronicles, take a look at my Tues. Sept. 30 posting.

Thoughts???

Barack & Michelle cast their ballots

Well, unless the Republicans cheat or just outright still this election too, by tomorrow morning we will be calling these two President Elect and Mrs. Obama. This video clip is the type of positive Black family moments we will be able to get accustomed to.

Cynthia McKinney & the Great American Blackout

With two days till the election this serves as a reminder that we must all get out and vote. Volunteer to drive senior citizens to the polls, work as poll watchers, as well as at campaign headquarters. We must not have a repeat of the thievery that took place in 2000 and 2004.

American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement witnessed in both elections while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles but also found herself in the middle of one after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Some call Cynthia McKinney a civil rights leader among the ranks of Shirley Chisholm and Malcolm X. American Blackout gains unprecedented access to one of the most controversial and outspoken politicians in America and examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence political dissent. In order to see the full video go to http://www.freedocumentaries.org/theatre.php?filmid=155&id=1015&wh=1000x720

Robert F. Williams

This is someone your history teacher forgot to tell you about.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF ROBERT F. WILLIAMS PROVIDED THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICA'S MOST MILITANT ADVOCATES OF RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. FROM HIS ACTIONS, SPEECHES, AND WRITINGS EMERGED THE FOUNDATION FOR THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT.

His most influential years were lived in exile in first Cuba and then China. His communications were suppressed by the CIA and the United States postal service.

Two books to check out: Negroes with Guns – by Robert F. Williams and Radio Free Dixie – by Timothy Tyson

Vote Early. . .Vote Now. . .Make History

Early voting trends are favoring Barack Obama.

How Many Fits Will $150,000 Buy???

The Republican Party spent $150,000 in designer stores for Sarah Palin. Another $5,000 was spent at Atelier, a classy men's boutique, for Todd, commonly known in Alaska as "The First Dude."

Ms. Palin to appears in at least one, and sometimes two or three, new outfits per day. Well you know if your clothes are on hit the hair and face have to match, the Reps also spent nearly $5,000 on hair and makeup for Sarah Palin.

So what catagory do you list the "necesseties" in for reporting purposes? How about "campaign accessories"?

It appears that the former beauty queen contestant has not been photographed in the same outfit twice. Some of the outfits 'white tops with black skirts' should not have been worn at all since they made her look like a coffee shop waitress.

There were reports earlier this month that she had been working with a team of stylists and a voice coach. What did not emerge until today was the scale of Ms. Palins' packaging. This makes women look bad. She is campaigning for God's sake. Not selling a Hollywood picture.

We have jumped all over male candidates, i.e. John Edwards's $400 haircuts and Mr McCain's $500 Ferragamo shoes, for much less.

"The campaign does not comment on strategic decisions regarding how financial resources available to the campaign are spent," said Ms Comella, in a statement to the US political website Politico which first noticed the coyly named entry in the Republicans' accounts.

The Reverse Bradley Effect???

People seem really concerned about the Bradley effect in this years’ presidential election. Well what about those whites who will not admit to voting for a Black man? Monday's Washington Post-ABC tracking poll showed Obama winning 22 percent of conservatives and getting 12 percent support among Republicans.

The so-called Bradley Effect, meaning that whites lie to pollsters about their support for a Black candidate, is cited as the reason Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley lost to George Deukmejian in the 1982 California governor's race despite polls showing him up seven points. I know some of you have had conversations with coworkers or friends that went along the lines of, “Well I can talk to you, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to find out…” Once a person enters the voting booth unconscious motivations and buried prejudices may or may not come out. And since this is where it counts, polls cannot be as accurate as we may hope and believe.

Only time will tell.

Iraq For sale

MOVIE PREVIEW: Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers This 2006 documentary about the ongoing Iraq War and the behavior of companies with no-bid contracts working within Iraq gives detailed information on four major contractors who over-bill the government (and by extension, the American public)and are doing substandard work while endangering the lives of American soldiers as well as private citizens. The documentary contends these companies are composed of ex-military and ex-government workers who unethically help their companies get and keep enormous contracts and milk the American taxpayer. - Free Documentaries

This is information the Bush Administration has tried to cover up. The Republicans have sacrificed American lives for profits. One of the most interesting clips is of Bush taking questions. . .of course he doesn't know the answers and says he will have to make a call. Halliburton fails to provide their employees with safe drinking and bathing water, and charges the United States government $100 per bag of laundry. Employees who do not like the fact that their laundry is returned dirtier then when they sent it and chose to wash their items in the sink are told that they must participate in Halliburton’s laundry service.

Halliburton operates under a no bid, cost plus contract. That means that the contract was just handed to Halliburton and no other company bid on it and that the more they charge our government the more they make. They rented Ford vehicles for $250,000, intentionally ordered wrong equipment, destroyed items that broke instead of having the item repaired, ran empty trucks on envoys and charged the United States government for it all, overcharging in excess of 1billion dollars. Please remember that Dick Chaney was once the CEO of Halliburton and that the Vice Presidents office coordinated their contracts. You can see the full video at
http://www.freedocumentaries.org/theatre.php?filmid=130&id=926&wh=1000x720

Way Too Little Too Late

John McCain was a little more effective and coherent tonight than in the previous two debates. Unfortunately, for him, he spent the evening seemingly very angry. This was not a game changing performance. OBAMA wins again.

"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago," McCain said. What a ridiculous statement. Obama can easily be forgiven for mistaking McCain's policies for Bush's "because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people ... you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush." Obama responded.

Are you as sick of Joe the plumber as I am??? Come to find out his name isn't Joe and he isn't even a plumber. He was simply trying to trip Obama up with his ill thought out question.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

The best rapper alive is. . . Eminem??? Now don't get me wrong. I have a couple of his CD's and I saw 8 Mile. But the best rapper alive??? According to VIBE the winner of their 1st annual Best Rapper Alive tournament is Eminem. Next year more African Americans need to actually vote. I realize urban white kids probably spend much more time playing around on the computer but we gotta vote too.

Donna Brazile

This is an awesome woman. You have seen her all over CNN and the networks this and every election season. She was Al Gore's campaign manager in his 2000 bid for the White House. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a senior lecturer at the University of Maryland. I read her biography back in 2004. Get yourself a copy of Cooking with Grease. This is a woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind.

McCain's Temper

THIS IS NOT SOMEONE THAT WE NEED RUNNING OUR COUNTRY

FREE Mumia Abu Jamal

Check out http://www.mumia.org//freedom.now/
A three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has shot down all three claims by death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal challenging his conviction for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. This man is a prisoner of war. There are many Black Panthers still in jail.

As part of his defense, Abu-Jamal has argued he was denied a fair trial in 1982 because the prosecution barred 10 qualified African-Americans from sitting on the jury, which in the end consisted of 10 whites and two blacks. This is a crime that another man has confessed to.

Abu-Jamal was serving as the president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists at the time of his arrest. He was a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a teenager. Check out the website for rallys and marches in your area.

Check out http://www.mumia.org//freedom.now/

So you Thought Bill & Hillary were your Bestest Friends???

Important information to know. This video is a little staticy in a couple of places but the audio is always very clear.

The 1st Debate

Ok, let's be fair here. . . Barack Obama won the debate. John McCain's arguments were hard to follow and he never seemed in control of what he was saying. His presentation lacked enthusiasm and clarity, he came of as uncomfortable. McCain seemed annoyed when at odds with Obama over a variety of issues, including Iraq, sanctions, and spending. He also opted to refer to about Sarah Palin as his maverick partner, who, after her uncertain week, may no longer be his ticket to the White House.

Obama on the other hand was polished, confident, and focused. He came off as fully prepared, and able to convey a depth of knowledge on nearly every issue. Obama was unhurried, and rarely lost his train of thought. His obvious preparation and sharp answers contradicted McCain's frequent claims that the Democrat was uninformed and "didn't understand" key issues. Linking McCain to Bush in his very first answer, he kept it up as his primary line of attack. Obama forcefully hit McCain for his early support of the Iraq War and though he never drew blood, he did keep McCain off balance.

Often interrupting McCain attacks with swift explanations and comebacks, Obama managed to turn accusations of being liberal as evidence of his relentless opposition to George Bush. He was so confident by the end that he reminded the nation that his father was from Kenya. Two more performances like that and he will be very tough to beat on Election Day.

Frantz Fannon

A Great Read

Crisis

I heard a radio personality say That relaxed lending policies caused the market to collapse. He said it was the mentality that everyone deserved a home no matter what. He said the Clinton administration encouraged this policy. It was only a matter of time that this would be blamed on the minorities. A friend of mine said she heard Rush Limbaugh refer to it as “reparations”. A United States Senator also leveled blame on minority loans. Well the sub-prime loans could hardly be equated to 40 acres and a mule. These loans did get more people in homes, but they also led to more foreclosures because people simply could not afford the payments, but along the way the loan makers made millions as they traded the bad paper back and forth. So now it's time to pay the piper and it looks as is those that got theirs first expect those of us who haven't made a dim to pay up. The power was in the hand of the lender, and it is truly shameful to now try to blame the borrower.

Book Review - The Senator & the Socialite

Lawrence Otis Graham tries to tell the story of Blanche Kelso Bruce and his wife Josephine Willson Bruce in The Senator and the Socialite: The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty. Starting the story before the Civil War, Graham follows the “First Black Dynasty" through three generations and their ultimate fall from grace. Blanche and Josephine are only the first half of the book followed by his son and grandchildren.

Blanche Kelso Bruce was born to a slave mother and her owner in 1841. Favored because of his bloodline connection to the master, Blanche was taught to read and was well prepared for freedom when he moved to Kansas at the age of twenty-two. He studied at Oberlin College and made his way to Mississippi, where he rose quickly in politics and purchased a plantation in 1874. It was through the purchase of this plantation farmed by sharecroppers that Bruce amassed a real-estate fortune. He became the first black man to serve a full term in the United States Senate, although he would only serve one term. In 1878 Bruce married the light-skinned Josephine Willson, who was the daughter of a wealthy black Philadelphia doctor and consequently came from the North's tiny black upper class. Together they broke down racial barriers in Washington, D.C. by befriending the right people, from President Ulysses S. Grant to Frederick Douglass to John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Booker T. Washington. After serving as a United States Senator Bruce gained appointments under Presidents James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, William H. Harrison, and William McKinley. The impressive rise of the couple leads to enormous wealth and status, with Bruce even having his name printed on U.S. currency through his appointment to the top Treasury Department post.

As white supremacists inflicted violence, destruction and chaos across the South with increasing boldness after Reconstruction and as southern Blacks were losing their life and liberty, the Bruces son, Roscoe Conkling Bruce, who was named for a racially liberal New York senator who was a close friend of Blanche’s, headed off to Philips Exeter Academy, a private boarding school, followed by Harvard College. While attending Harvard Roscoe spied for Booker T. Washington on Boston's 'anti-Bookerite' black radicals.

While Blanche Bruces reputation would open some doors for his son, even with a degree from Harvard nobody would hire a black man. Consequently, Roscoe was hired by and became a protégé of the powerful Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee University and eventually became the superintendent of Washington, D.C.'s segregated Black schools, a job that Tuskegee had maneuvered out of the expectant hands of W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois's attacks on Washington’s accommodation of white supremacy, which he published in The Souls of Black Folk (1903), were becoming increasingly popular among Washington, D.C.'s Black educated middle class. That Roscoe Bruce was hired on at Tuskegee is not happenstance, for the Bruce family shared its founder, Booker T. Washington's, philosophy of accommodation and dependence on connections with rich white people. A scandal erupted in 1919 wh8ich ended Roscoe's political career and forced his family out of Washington, D.C.

Roscoe's wife, Clara, a smart, former Radcliffe student, tried to save her family by earning a law degree at Boston University. The first Black editor of a law review in U.S. history, and the first woman, Clara's Bruce’s law career was curtailed by the lack of opportunity for Black lawyers (and women in general) in early twentieth-century America. Roscoe and Clara moved to New York in the 1920s and formed an alliance with John D. Rockefeller Jr. while becoming a force in Harlem society.

Factual errors spoil the work in many places. Graham confuses the famous Washington, D.C. minister Francis Grimke with Archibald Grimke, a Harvard-educated lawyer who lived in Boston, and refers to Paul Laurence Dunbar as a "Harlem Renaissance poet." Dunbar, who died in 1906, did most of his writing in Ohio and Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. is not now and has never been the Deep South and upper-class white and black people did mix to a surprising extent. Many Blacks found real economic and social opportunity in the city, and northern Democratic and Republican congressmen were generally considered friendly to Black Washingtonians. Graham's bibliography is extensive but does not compensate for the lack of citations and omits Constance McLaughlin Green's Pulitzer Prize-winning scholarship Washington (1963) and The Secret City: A History of Race Relations in the Nation's Capital (1967).

Glorious

Last Thursday, as Barack Obama gave his historical acceptance speech Fannie Lou Hamer was on my mind. Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was organized with the purpose of challenging Mississippi's all-white and anti-civil rights delegation to the Democratic National Convention of 1964.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s efforts drew national attention to the treatment of Blacks in Mississippi, and represented a challenge to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for reelection. Hamer drew a great deal of attention from the media, enraging Johnson, who referred to her as "that illiterate woman".
Hamer spoke in front of the Credentials Committee which was broadcast nation wide and reached millions of viewers. She told the committee how Blacks in across the country were prevented from voting. As a result of her speech negotiations were conducted, without Hamer’s participation, and a compromise was reached in that the DNC would select the two delegates to be seated. The MFDP was not allowed to choose the delegates for fear they would select Hamer. In the end, the MFDP rejected the compromise, but had changed the debate to the point that the Democratic Party adopted a clause which demanded equality of representation from their states' delegations in 1968.

Last week, forty-four years later, an African-American accepted the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Fannie Lou Hamer succumbed to breast cancer in 1977 at the age of 59.

So Excited.

I tried to watch all of the DNC before commenting. I couldn’t do it. It is now official. Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for the Presidency of the United States. Hilary Clinton ended the roll call vote in acclamation for the Illinois senator. Bill Clinton convincingly backed her up by embracing the Obama-Biden ticket and providing validation of why the country will be in safe hands. He also told us why Americans should vote Democratic this fall. Neither Hillary nor Bill left any room for doubt. What few rifts might have remained after Hillary’s speech last night and releasing her delegates today; Bill healed.

Joe Biden’s acceptance speech was even more moving. The reference to his family’s hard times had me, as well as Michelle Obama, in tears. And, watching all the pride on his mother’s face was extremely touching.

The Nominee has never taken the stage before the final night of the convention. Tonight was no ordinary night at the DNC. Barack Obama joined Joe Biden after his V.P. acceptance speech. All eyes will be on Invesco Field tomorrow night. Forty-Five years to the day that Martin Luther King made his “I Have a Dream” speech, Barack Obama will accept the Democratic Nomination.

The most consistent aspect of the Obama campaign from the beginning has been its discipline, and the nominee’s control of his own message is apparent. Thus far, the Denver convention seems to be on that same track.

A V.P. & the DNC

With less than a week until the Democratic National Convention and 74 days until the election it looks as if Barack Obama will make his selection for a running mate known this weekend. Speculation about the potential candidates has recently been focused on Delaware Senator Joe Biden, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh.

Senator Joe Biden is a foreign policy expert with working-class roots who made a short-lived bid for the Democratic nomination earlier this year and currently chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The benefit of choosing Biden would be that he could help Obama win over crucial blue-collar voters in swing-states like Pennsylvania and Ohio. And let’s face it we need to pick up some of those swing-states if we are going to pull this off. The liability of choosing Biden is that he is a Washington insider and this could hurt Obama’s message of change. How much change could one expect with someone on the ticket who has been a senator for over 35 years? And let’s not forget that back in 2007 he referred to Barack Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy".

Governor Tim Kaine was an early Obama backer and has clout in key states. He was the first major political figure outside Mr. Obama's home state to endorse him and he could be an electoral asset to Obama in a state where there is sure to be a fight, Virginia, where Kaine has served as governor since 2006. The downside of choosing Kaine is that he has little to no experience.

Senator Evan Bayh is a former Clinton-supporter and could possibly help unite the party; however, this man has less charm, wit and personality than any politician I have ever seen.

With all of this said, next week promises to be quite interesting. The focus will be off of Beijing and on Denver, Colorado. For more information click on the above picture of Barack Obama and stay tuned.

Book Review - A Long Way Gone

I recently finished reading A long Way Gone. The first time I started reading this book was over a year ago. I got through the first chapter and had to put it down. It was too sad.

The book, subtitled “Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” tells the story of Ishmael Beah a young boy from Sierra Leone caught in the middle of one of the most brutal and violent revolutions in recent, while only twelve years old. Beah is a wonderful writer who gives his readers a clear and moving picture of each of the circumstances he encountered on his journey as a boy who goes from fearing the violence of the civil war in Sierra Leone to reveling in the torture of other human beings after being recruited by the government army at the age of thirteen.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. Over half of Beah’s narrative chronicle how easy it is for a normal boy to become addicted to hate, killing, and drugs. Some of the more disturbing moments are the shooting or slitting people's throats without remorse or even a second thought.

After two years of fending for himself in a kill or be killed atmosphere UNICEF pulls Beah, as well as many other boys, too safety. This is where the autobiography lacks detail. We simply get a glimpse of what it took to free Beah of his addictions and how he actually got to New York.

In all fairness I must mention that this book is not without controversy. The Australian has published several articles debunking the memoir and alleging that Ishmael Beah extremely embellished the facts. According to journalist working for the paper Beah’s timeline is exaggerated. Instead of Beah’s village being annihilated in 1993 as Beah purports, the reporters contend that the village was in fact in not raided until 1995; making Beah an orphan soldier for little more than two months.

Without making a call as to the authenticity of the books timeline I will say that if you have the heart, or stomach as the case may be, this is an informative look into what happens to children of war in third world countries.

A Call To All My Brothas

Last Sunday I was sitting in one of my favorite spots to blog, Food for Life Supreme, having just completed my posting, which included an R.I.P. to Bernie Mac, enjoying some of the organic, vegetarian, tasty, cuisine that the brothas and sistas offer; when a lady literally screamed, "Not Isaac too???"

On Saturday, Bernie Mac died of Pneumonia at the age of fifty and Issac Hayes died Sunday of a stroke at the age of 65. Both of these men were great at what they did, but of course you have heard all of this over the past few days. So why, you ask, another article/blog/piece regarding the same unfortunate events? My answer,these men were not old and in a country with every possible medical advance our brothas are dying young and at disproportionately higher rates then men of other races. Black men please take care of your health.

African American men live on average 7.1 years less than men of other races. Our men die at double the rate of white men due to heart disease, they have a higher rate of prostate cancer and diabetes, and believe it or not homicide and HIV are not even in the top 10 for white males while they are prominent on the list for our brothas.

Check out these links:
Black Vegetarian Society

Black Male Health Online

Black Mental Health Alliance

An ounce of prevention is worth n pound of cure. Take some time to evaluate what you are eating, your sedimentary lifestyle, make an appointment for a check-up and take the time to actually go, and remember stress can kill you. - Mad luv for all my brothas

Do you really want this man running the country???

What would your response be if a married member of your family offered up his wife for a topless, and occasionally bottomless, competition?

Well, last week John McCain suggested that Cindy participate in the Miss Buffalo Chip contest; a pageant that is more than a little risqué, not to mention marred by spousal violence. The contest includes a talent component – pickle licking, and a wet tee-shirt competition. ESPN's Jim Caple described the contest as "essentially a topless beauty pageant and occasionally bottomless, too." Caple reported, “During a drenching rain [last] Wednesday night, the contest broke up into smaller groups and one woman wound up dancing naked on a bar top. Her boyfriend/husband saw her and angrily dragged her away as she struggled to put her pants back on and muttered something about how, ‘It's only this one week a year.” Unfortunately the pageant sees its share of domestic abuse, which even the event's organizers admitted to ESPN, is a major problem.

John McCain doesn't appear to be any more savvy then the current idiot occupying the oval office. If the Republican presumptive nominee is willing to offer up his wife for a few votes, or worse laughs, just think of what he will offer up you and yours for?

Come On Brotha?!?!?!?!?

Wow, this really looks bad. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent last night in jail –for violating the terms of his bond by traveling to Canada. When he woke up this morning Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox charged him with two counts of felony assault – for assaulting an officer trying to serve a subpoena. This is in addition to the eight felony charges that he is already facing – for trying to cover up an affair with his now resigned chief of staff, Christine Beatty. Moments before Mr. Cox’s announcement, a circuit court judge allowed the mayor to be released from jail after posting a $50,000 cash bond. He also took away the mayor’s travel privileges and ordered him to wear a global-positioning tether. But Mayor Kilpatrick could soon be headed back to jail, as today’s assault charges would be another bond violation.

Mr. Cox, a Republican who called for Mr. Kilpatrick to resign in March and who is widely expected to run for governor in 2010, decided to bring the assault charges after reviewing a report from the state police, who investigated the Democratic mayor’s run-in with the Sheriff’s department. (Detroit Press)

Now I am sympathetic to the condition of Black elected officials but the is ridicules. I can’t even say that I feel sorry for the embattled mayor. It is really sad that for the first time in Detroit's 307-year history a sitting mayor has been imprisoned. All this could have been avoided if he had only told the truth about his relationship with Christine Beatty under oath. He has now tarnished his reputation, his name, the office and has put his family under undue stress and embarrassment just for being, how can I put this nicely, a dog.

We will be watching. Hopefully he will redeem himself by stepping down as mayor and quietly trying to put his family back together in order to reclaim his pride.

Do You Know Tamika?

The Lima PD knew she was a mother of six young children when they raided her home looking for her boyfriend. Tarika Wilson was shot and killed as she held her 1 year son who was shot in the shoulder. When Tarika’s neighbors informed her mother that the house was being raided she came to the house to see about her daughter and grandchildren, where police told her to “shut up and stay out of the way or you’ll be tazed”.

This all took place on January 4th of this year in Lima, Ohio where one in four residents is black. Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, a white police officer told jurors that he thought his life was in danger when he shot the unarmed Tarika as she held her son in her arms. Chavalia told jurors that he now knows the gunfire he heard was coming from downstairs, where other officers shot two charging pit bulls, but at the time “There was absolutely, positively no doubt in my mind right then and there that whoever this was is shooting at me. They're trying to kill me," Chavalia said. Chavalia pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of negligent homicide and negligent assault. He faces up to eight months in jail if convicted of both counts. An all-white jury was selected on July 28, 2008, with a black woman and a white woman as alternates.

On Monday, August 4, 2008, Sgt Joseph Chavalia was acquitted.

Why was this “officer” charged with misdemeanors? In a town where one in four residents is Black, out of 12 people, there should have been some Blacks on the jury. Have you heard about this case? T.V./Radio coverage? Why isn’t anybody doing anything about this? What can you do?

Inform your Black talk, t.v./radio personalities. Inform you elected officials. Inform family, friends, and colleagues. This happens far, far too often and has been going on since the middle passage. This time it was Tamika next time it could be you or yours. It is time to insist that Black lives be valued.

Who Is It For?

Ok, so CNN is having another one of their "Special Interest Group" programs Black in America. Did you already know about it? Do you plan to watch it? What segment of the population do you feel it is aimed at and who do you think will actually tune in? Hit the comment button below and make yourself heard. Anonymous comments are great, too.

Did Anybody Hear About This?

SHAQ HELPING HOMEOWNERS FIGHT OFF FORECLOSURE

The following story ran in the Orlando Sentinel on June 17th of this year. Now if he had been speaking bad of a former colleague (something he did that we all heard about), or making some of the other blunders that Black athletes and/or artist have made, i.e. drunk driving, beating or cheating on his wife, getting caught buying drugs or guns, it would have been all over the t.v. and the internet but since he is actually helping people it is very hush, hush.

A week after Shaquille O'Neal started working on a plan to rescue Central Floridians facing foreclosure; he has learned just how widespread the problem is. "He has two or three thousand e-mails," said Curtis Cooper, an Orlando Realtor and mortgage broker working with O'Neal on the project. "There have been a lot of calls from talk shows and radio shows." While some of the calls have been from Good Morning America, Inside Edition and would-be business partners, most have come from people who are days or weeks away from losing their homes. People who have found little help from their mortgage companies and are now looking for help from the celebrity who says he has a plan. People like Belinda Petroccia. "There are so many shysters out there who take advantage of you financially and emotionally," said Petroccia, who saw her income dip with the tumbling real-estate market and now faces foreclosure on her Wedgefield home in east Orange County. "When I saw this, I thought, 'That's what I need -- maybe Shaq can help.'" Last week, an attorney working with O'Neal said the Phoenix Suns center wants to buy the mortgages of people whose homes are in foreclosure, then give the homeowner a new mortgage with better terms. Homeowners would stay in their homes with more affordable payments, and O'Neal would turn a small profit. "He said, 'Let's just go out and help as many people as we can,'" Cooper said. "He's sincere about it."

If you or someone you know would like to request help you can get more information by contacting Cooper by e-mail at uc3n1@cfl.rr.com

You Decide

I am currently taking a summer course at Georgia State University, Black Nationalism. The class meets from 12noon - 4pm Monday and Wednesday. With a class that long grad students tend to talk and mingle. Well there is a lady in the class, of European decent; I'll call her Shelley, about my same age who also happens to be a mother of teenagers. Consequently, we talk about everything from the assignments for class, the department, our children.

Last week another student in the class mentioned the portrayal of Black men in the media. When the above Vogue cover was mentioned my colleague and I had a vast difference of opinion. Shelley didn't see the problem with first, the large black savage gorilla beast used to lure men into enlisting in the military - to "Destroy this Mad Brute" and save the white women’s virtue; nor did she see the correlation of a 6 foot 8 inch 250lb Black man almost carrying a 5 foot 9inch 120lb woman. They even had her wear a green dress to show the connection with the poster. Does anyone see my point here?

This country has had a long and sordid history of using the media to manipulate the perception of Blacks. Why is this not obvious to anyone who lifts a newspaper/magazine or turns on a television set?

My white liberal colleague came off as too sophisticated not to know about racial injustice and too comfortable with her skin privilege to care. And I am sure I came off as an angry Black militant. I suppose there is no such thing as an objective point of view.

Wisdom with Time

I started this day off giving honor and thanks to both of my grandfathers: James C. Patterson and Ardell Hamilton, Sr. What brought this on you might ask? I spent last evening basking in the knowledge of comedian, activist, and writer Dick Gregory. Some of the things he said just made me stop and think of the conversations that I had with my grandfather’s and the stories that my parents and their siblings have shared over the years. These are some points that Mr. Gregory left me pondering:

* The so called spiritual, Amazing Grace was written sometime between 1760 and 1770 by the captain of a slave ship. Wretch, do you know what the word actually means? “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that sav’d a wretch like me!” I did not. I just sang it because that’s what we sang at church. A wretch is a miserable, unfortunate, despicable person.

* Harlem is home to one of the highest concentrations of African Americans, yet Ms. Clinton won the popular vote on February 5th of this year. On February 16, 2008 the New York Times ran a story that indicated that not a single vote was cast for the current Democratic Nominee. Read it for yourself. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/nyregion/16vote.html?ex=1361250000&en=f77e8a83729ad389&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

* African-Americans are five times more likely to be poisoned by lead than other groups. A new study finds powerful evidence that lead exposure is a strong predictor of being arrested and a parallel brain-imaging study pinpointed the areas in the brain that are damaged by lead as those controlling judgment, decision-making and impulse control. Listen to an NPR interview http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4697843

This past weekend

So did you enjoy your long holiday? What were you celebrating? The 4th of July? The Independence of a country that has oppressed your peoples for hundreds of years and continues to reap havoc on the Black family?

The 4th of July causes me to stop and think. Now those of you who know me know that I love any excuse to get together with family and friends. The 4th of July, however, celebrates the liberation of wealthy colonial slave owners from the bondage of British taxation without representation. It did absolutely NOTHING for the slaves.

In 1776, a period of monarchy, colonialism, slavery and gender inequality, it certainly was not self-evident that all persons were endowed with fundamental equality and that governments existed to serve the just interests of the people. Martin Luther King Jr. called Thomas Jefferson's document the nation's promissory note; a check that when Blacks attempted to cash, bounced. And I should say here that our country still has not acknowledged the bounced check let alone made restitution. So any celebration of the 4th also needs to be tempered with a sober reflection on our nation's sins: genocide and land theft perpetrated against Native Americans, chattel slavery and Jim Crow against African Americans, second class citizenship for women - both white and Black, internment camps for Japanese Americans, brutal labor practices against Chinese immigrants, imperial aggression in Latin America and the Middle East.

We cannot ignore Frederick Douglass' admonition that the 4th of July does not mark freedom or self-determination for Black Americans. The abolitionist newspaper editor faced a similar dilemma on July 4, 1852, as a speaker in Rochester, N.Y. "Pardon me; allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?”

In the speech, known as “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” the editor/publisher of the North Star answered himself: “But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.”

How can I or you celebrate a day that our ancestors did not benefit from? July 4,1776was a day that white America declared it was free & independent from Great Britain. The war lasted from 1775 until 1783 when the final peace treaty was signed in Paris. Now, the Blackman in America didn't get his freedom until 1865, almost 90 years later. Even though we helped fight in the Revolutionary war we as a people were nothing but the property and servants of others, and even when "freedom" came free to do what? Without land, skills, resources and education our forefathers weren't really free (but that is for another discussion - which I will get to.

It is obvious that African Americans have come a long way. The Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, is evidence of this. However, in the words of Frederick Douglas,
"This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice we must mourn. What to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour."

Last Friday I gathered with a group of Black scholars and we ate, drank and enjoyed watching Roots, Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his African ancestors that follows several generations in the lives of a slave family. Originally aired on national television in 1977, the saga began with Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) a West African youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. The family's saga is depicted up until the Civil War where Kunte Kinte's grandson gained emancipation. Roots made its greatest impression on the ratings and widespread popularity it garnered. On average 130 million - almost half the country at the time - saw all or part of the series.

I certainly hope you made the best of a day that continues to mock people of color, for what was true in 1852 is still true today, there is not a nation, or President, guilty of the atrocities that the United States has and continues to perpetuate.

Book Review - Supreme Discomfort

Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas is written through the lens of race and is an unauthorized biography written by co-authors Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher, who are reporters for the Washington Post. Merida and Fletcher are thorough; Justice Thomas turned down their request for an interview so they talked to hundreds of people who know him. This book is neither a tribute nor a character assassination of the man they say “has turned himself into the most successful victim in America.” The authors tell of his generosity to friends, his serving as a surrogate father to the son of a nephew who is currently serving a thirty year prison sentence, his willingness to help young Blacks, his loyalty, his insecurities, his resentment of light-skinned Blacks, and his ability to hold a grudge. Supreme Discomfort gives a mostly chronological narrative of Thomas’ life, including his upbringing in Georgia, his years at Holy Cross and Yale Law School, his “meteoric rise” in the Reagan Administration, and the searing 1991 confirmation hearings on his nomination to the Supreme Court. As the authors put it, 'This book examines Thomas’ entire life, but it relies heavily on the racial prism. For it is that prism through which Thomas often identifies himself. He is in constant struggle with his racial identity – twisting, churning, sometimes hiding from it, but never denying it, even when he’s defiant about it.” The book revolves around the question of Thomas’ blackness. How can a Black judge issue conservative rulings that go against such black tenets as affirmative action?

Merida and Fletcher report the complexities and contradictions but never quite succeed in getting a handle on Thomas. As the authors put it, “He is not an uninteresting man. Maddening sometimes, but not uninteresting.” It does appear that this man, however intelligent he might be, has been so deeply damaged, both emotionally and psychologically, that his decisions are almost always reflective of his very painful and personal racial experiences and this damage was in place long before the infamous confirmation hearings. What materializes is a picture of a man who has almost always lived a dual life, thus the title of the book. Thomas is according to Merida and Fletcher, “a welter of conflicting personas.”

Justice Thomas’ connection to his birthplace, Pin Point, Georgia is “tenuous at best” notes the authors. This is interesting because during his confirmation hearings there was a great deal placed on the fact the he was born in this poor rural community and had to pull himself up with his boot straps. Yet the authors are careful to point out that he went to live with his grandparents in Savannah, Georgia when he was six and that this afforded him a middle-class upbringing as well as parochial schooling.

A luminous biography of the man many Blacks call an ‘Uncle Tom’ due to his eliminating the equal protection measures that afforded him the opportunity to prosper in a racist society. Supreme Discomfort allows the reader to understand, even if they don’t agree with, this right-wing bureaucrat who was willing to be promoted or placed on display whenever the Republicans needed a Negro yes man and his current willingness to rubber stamp the efforts of his fellow Republicans on the Supreme Court in order to overturn the civil rights decisions gained by people like his predecessor Thurgood Marshall. Thomas insists that he not be judged based on race and is adamant with regards to color blindness. However, according to the authors, Thomas won’t hire blacks as law clerks if they have taken “that Afro-American studies stuff” as undergraduates. It is troubling, though not surprising, to see how many former law clerks to Justice Thomas have ended up in the Bush Administration as authors of policies supporting unrestrained Presidential power [a position Thomas has aggressively endorsed in several Supreme Court decisions].

And what about Anita Hill? Was she telling the truth during his appointment hearings? Was Thomas? Ms. Hill made a very credible witness testifying about sexual harassment she experienced at his hands during the period she was employed by him. The book reports that many of his classmates and associates have heard him make crude sexual jokes and that he has a propensity for pornographic movies, as well as the fact that there was a second woman prepared to testify against him. In the end, the authors go with the argument of Thomas (he) say Hill (she) say.

In any case, Supreme Discomfort is a great read and it offers its readers some insight into Black conservatism. The book will not however change the reader’s perception of the man.

A Great & Mighty Walk

Compelling and stimulating, this film is also a lesson about the history of African peoples. It is worth listening to and extremely well told. Adding to its power is the place that John Henrik Clarke himself has had in this history, including his role as an advisor to Kwame Nkrumah and a confidant and friend to Malcolm X. Although the filmmakers have gathered exceptional and rare archival footage and still photos covering a range of subjects and history, the centerpiece of this work is Clarke's own voice and vision. It is unfortunate that his intelligence and knowledge have not been more generally available until now. One has to applaud the efforts of the filmmakers for offering us the wisdom and insight of a truly important thinker and remarkable man. Enjoy and PASS ON.

It's Summertime!!!

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And nothing beats the lazy days of summer like an 80's grove.

This Racist Bigot is at it Again

This obnoxious idiot, during an on-air conversation Monday about the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, Don Imus asked, "What color is he?" When his side-kick responded that Jones was "African-American," Imus responded: "There you go. Now we know." We need to get this fool off of the airwaves. . . immediately. Listen for yourself . . .

Tell the Truth and Shame Kobe

Ok, so I've waited a few days so all you fakers fans could recuperate. . . but now it's on. I have been sayin' for years that while Shaq could obviously get a ring without kobe, kobe couldn't do a thang without Shaq and this years finals proves the point.

Just in case anybody had forgotten that Kobe Bryant has never won an NBA title without Shaquille O’Neal, the big man sent out a reminder. The Phoenix Suns center can be seen on the link below rapping that “kobe couldn’t do without me.”

And just in case you were wondering Shaq has recorded seven cd's and yes, I have them all.

This Says It All

As the summer driving season begins many Americans will come face-to-face with one of the Bush administration's crowning achievements — the $4 gallon of gas. Like the subprime mortgage crisis, high gas prices and the related high prices of crude oil have made their way from the business pages to front pages of major newspapers. Yet, earlier this year CBS's Peter Maer asked Bush if he had any advice for the average American facing the prospect of $4/gallon gasoline. Bush, the former unsuccessful oil man, had not heard the prediction. "Oh yeah? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that," Bush said. When do you think the last time was that Bush or his wife pulled into a gas station and filled up any type of vehicle?

I don't think this country can survive four more years of a Bush administration. Not to mention the country . . . can you???

I Told Y'all Weezy Is HOT

Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III becomes the first album in more than three years to sell a million copies in a week. The opus sold 1,006,000 copies to debut at #1 on Nielsen/SoundScan's list of the best-selling albums in the U.S. That's the biggest sales week since another rap album, 50 Cent's The Massacre, bowed at #1 in March 2005 with sales of 1,141,000.

With downloads, cd's on the street, and and the ability to burn cd's, I thought people would stop buying. But you've got to admit Lil Wayne's swag is oooohhh so deep. Even Kanye West fell short with his latest, Graduation, in 2007 with sales of 957,000.

And you gotta love the Lollipop video:
http://www.universalmusic.com/premiere-play/Lil-Wayne/Lollipop/1455377230

Chinese People Are Now Being Classified As Black

Now if this doesn't just take the cake. A high court in South Africa ruled on Wednesday that Chinese-South Africans will be reclassified as ‘black,’ a term that includes black Africans, Indians and others who were subject to discrimination under apartheid. As a result of this ruling, Chinese will be able to benefit from government affirmative action policies aimed at undoing the effects of apartheid.

In 2006, the Chinese Association of South Africa sued the government, claiming that its members were being discriminated against because they were being treated as whites and thus failed to qualify for business contracts and job promotions reserved for victims of apartheid. The association successfully argued that, since Chinese-South Africans had been treated unequally under apartheid, they should be reclassified in order to redress wrongs of the past.

It looks as if everybody everywhere, except Blacks in the United States, are entitled to reparations of one type or another.

More Than A Statue

Last Saturday (06/14) Argentina, the birth place of the global revolutionary, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, finally paid homage to the guerrilla fighter who was killed on the orders of the United States in 1967 during the Bolivian Revolution.

Thousands of Argentine's celebrated what would have been Che's 80th birthday.

No Argentine has left a bigger mark on the world than legendary revolutionary Guevara, yet there has been no major monument in his homeland. Yet, his face has sold a millions of hats, t-shirts, buttons, and bags. I have a few myself.

In an interview earlier this month two of Guevara's children said they were tired of seeing their father's image used to sell everything from T-shirts to vodka, calling the growth of the revolutionary as a global super-brand. Aleida Guevara, the eldest of Guevara's four children by his second wife, Cuban revolutionary Aleida March, said the commercialization of her father's image contributed to tension between rich and poor in some countries. "Something that bothers me now is the appropriation of the figure of Che that has been used to make enemies from different classes. It's embarrassing," she wrote during an Internet forum sponsored by the Cuban government. "We don't want money, we demand respect," wrote Guevara, who is a trained physician like her father.

To learn more about this fascinating revolutionary visit http://www.che-lives.com/ or http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/index.html

Happy Father's Day

To Black fathers who have tried to provide and protect.Stay strong.To Black fathers who continue to encourage and empower their children.Continue. To Black fathers who love Black mothers.Thank you. To Black fathers who practice what they preach. Set the example. To Black fathers who reach out and reach back. Continue to uplift. To Black fathers who are honest and honorable. Remember Martin King. To Black fathers who are determined and disciplined. Remember Malcolm. To Black fathers who have not given up. Remember Mandela. To Black fathers who are courageous and demanding. Remember Douglass. To Black fathers who are systematic and work hard. Remember DuBois. For Black fathers who are self-determining. Remember Booker T. For Black fathers who have decided to win, who have decided to fight back, who don't make excuses and who promote and practice the essence of black fatherhood/manhood/brotherhood...Let's continue to celebrate the power of our endurance. Let's continue to choose the right path. Let's remain strong and let's keep the faith. - Richard Rowe

Acquitted

The establishment is hard on Black men. They got Michael Vick for killing dogs, Wesley Snipes for tax evasion, and they have T. I. on Federal gun charges (he is due to report to jail for a 12 month sentence later this year). But after six years of postponements R. Kelly has been acquitted on 14 counts of child porn. . . . the message? Americans love their dogs, uncle sam wants his $$$, and blacks shouldn't have guns, but Black women are yours to treat any kind of way you see fit.