Julianne Malveaux: The Loss in Massachusetts is Not What You Think

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley was a lousy candidate who ran a lousy campaign and lost her bid for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat as a result. Instead of preserving 60 filibuster-proof votes for Democrats, she handed the Massachusetts senatorial seat to Republican Scott Brown on a silver platter. And, as they are entitled to, Republicans are celebrating, dubbing the extremely conservative Mr. Brown as "41" and suggesting that his election signals a Republican resurgence.

Too many will see this as the waning of President Obama’s influence, but that’s not necessarily the case. Martha Coakley ran a lousy campaign. While Scott Brown was retail politics, she was wholesale. While he was "the people’s candidate", out shaking hands and exuding personality, she was uptight and uncommunicative. It probably ought not matter, but in sports-obsessed Boston she described a Red Socks pitcher as a Yankee fan, exhibiting not only ignorance of sports, but also of her base. She disdained hand shaking and was good for a series of bloopers, which she later described as "jokes". She is so out of touch that in a post-election interview, she said she would not have done anything differently!

What could President Obama do with that? He did the best he could. He showed up and campaigned for Coakley. He attempted to marshall votes for her. But if anybody ought to be blamed for the Scott Brown victory, it might be Tim Kaine, who leads the Democratic National Committee. He, it seems, should have had troops on the ground early enough to understand that Coakley was in trouble. And he, it seems, should have made sure the candidate got media training, among other things. After gubernatorial losses in Virginia and New Jersey (again with lousy candidates who might have been rescued), Kaine is an example of someone whose learning curve is flat. If Republicans are enjoying a resurgence that started with November losses, why wasn’t Kaine on top of it?

To be sure, the Scott Brown victory is a setback for the White House. But it is clear that health care was in trouble anyway. The bill, a decent bill, was full of uncomfortable compromises. It was not a bill that inspired passion. Indeed, the most important thing about the bill is that it is an important first step toward true health care reform, and a benefit to the more than 40 million Americans who do not have health insurance.

There is passion on the right to kill health care reform, but where is the passion on the left? Where is the passion on the left for anything, actually, but carping and whining? Were there passion on the left, Martha Coakley, imperfect as she was, would not have lost. There were enough stay-home voters in Massachusetts to have taken her over the top, but they simply didn’t care to.

Why didn’t they care? Lots of voters feel that they have been played by the great expectations they had just a year ago, when President Obama was inaugurated. Then, he talked in grand and glowing terms about the reform that was necessary to make our government move more smoothly and to pay attention to working people. Now, there are fewer people working – the unemployment rate has risen, in a year, from 7.6 percent to 10 percent, and that’s just the official rate. Not only are fewer people working, but also wages aren’t rising. And, the bankers that were bailed out are getting multi-million dollar bonuses. How is that for washing our faces in it!

Stimulus funds are winding their way through the system, but more slowly than anyone likes. The unemployment situation is high on most minds, but not high enough on the agenda of the White House. We need liberals to feel some of the same passion that the tea party posse feels, liberals who exude energy and excitement. Instead, there is something disturbingly blah about the way many liberals approach public policy.

This is the context in which Martha Coakley, lousy candidate for the United States Senate, chose to run. She didn’t ooze excitement, she ran a poor campaign, and she did it at a time when the Democratic blahs have left once-excited voters staying home. Republican resurgence? Obama’s waning influence? Or time, simply, to return Democratic passion to politics.

 Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author and commentator, and the Founder & Thought Leader of Last Word Productions, Inc., a multimedia production company.

Last Word Productions, Inc. is a multimedia production company that serves as a vehicle for the work and products of Dr. Julianne Malveaux. For the last 10 years the company has centered its efforts on Dr. Malveaux’s public speaking appearances, her work as a broadcast and print journalist, and also as an author. Currently, Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College For Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

To find more of Dr. Julianne Malveaux’s columns, work and appearances please visit:

www.juliannemalveaux.com

Cynthia McKinney Breaks Silence about Government Killings

They shot this Black man in his genitals and in his back.  It sounds like a hate crime to me.  How else could one describe it?
Well, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was self-defense.  But how many times have we heard self-defense by cops used as a cop out? 

Well, what about Amadou Diallo?  Amadou Diallo was murdered on February 4, 1999 by New York Police Department (NYPD) cops who mistook a wallet for a gun.  They claim that they thought he was going to shoot them and so they shot him in self-defense.  One officer fell as if he had been shot.  41 bullets later, Amadou Diallo had been shot 19 times.  Young Amadou was only 24 years old.  He could survive the itinerant life of an African trading family, moving from Africa to Asia, but he couldn’t survive the mean, racist streets of America.  And the killer cops went free.  Diallo’s mother and step-father settled with the City of New York for $3 million in a lawsuit alleging wrongful death, racial profiling, and violation of Amadou’s civil rights.

Kathryn Johnston was 92 years old when she was murdered by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers who claim that they shot her in self-defense after narcotics officers broke into her home on November 21, 2006 using a "no-knock" warrant.  Police forced their way into Johnston’s home and claimed to have found a stash of marijuana there.  The APD officers claimed that she had injured them with her rusty revolver.  Sadly, it was all lies.  Later, it was learned that the Atlanta Police officers were actually injured by friendly fire after discharging their firearms 39 times; that they planted marijuana in the Johnston basement; lied on the drug warrant authorizing the raid; invented an informant justifying the raid; and pressured an actual drug informant to lie for them.  Atlanta’s lying, killer cops did serve time–either for manslaughter, conspiracy to violate Johnston’s civil rights resulting in death, or perjury.  The three officers were also required to reimburse the Johnston estate the $8,000 cost of her burial.

In the wee hours of November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was murdered in a hail of 50 bullets fired by officers in the New York Police Department.  Bell was celebrating his upcoming wedding and was leaving the club where he had just held his bachelor party.  Police opened fire after they suspected the victim had a gun.  Bell was struck 4 times in the neck and torso and died from his wounds.  When no gun was to be found, they concocted a mystery witness who could possibly have had a gun.  New York’s killer cops were acquitted on all charges.

Although Diallo, Johnston, and Bell were Black, Blacks in the United States are not the only ones who can be victimized by murderous U.S. law enforcement.  While on a visit to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet and apologize to the widow of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a leading Puerto Rican Independentista.  Wanted by U.S. authorities for actions stemming from his belief that Puerto Rico was a U.S. colony that should be independent, Ojeda Rios was murdered on September 23, 2005, shot by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at his home.  An FBI press release stated that Ojeda Rios opened fire on the FBI and that the FBI retaliated, but that claim was not substantiated by an Inspector General’s report that noted that the FBI opened the attack on Ojeda Rios with a "flash bang" device.  Ojeda Rios shot 10 times and the FBI fired one hundred times.  Ojeda Rios was struck in the lung by a single sniper’s bullet, fell to the floor, and bled to death over 12 to 15 hours with no medical help allowed to save his life. 

The United States government wanted to investigate the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist organization in the United States, and solicited Randy Weaver to become an informant.  He turned them down.  After a series of incitements and retaliations, Federal agents trespassed on Ruby Ridge, Weaver’s home in Idaho, incited a response from the Weavers, two of whom left the house to see what was happening, and by the end of the ordeal, Weaver had lost two family members–his wife, Vicky and his 14-year-old son, Sammy; his dog; while another family member, Kevin Harris, had been wounded.  Randy Weaver was shot in the back.  Justifying its attack on the Weavers, the U.S. government claimed that Weaver and Harris had fired at a government helicopter.  At trial, the jury believed that Federal Agents shot and killed the Weaver dog, then shot and killed Sammy, prompting Harris to shoot and kill one of the agents.  The government awarded Randy Weaver $100,000 and one million dollars for each of  three children.  Although Harris had killed a U.S. agent for which a jury had acquitted him of murder charges because he had fired only after having been fired upon, the federal government awarded him $380,000 in settlement.

Now, although examples are rife in the Black and Latino communities of ordinary citizens finding themselves at the wrong end of a police muzzle for minor or no infractions, it should be clear that as long as government officials are out of control, no one is safe.  That’s why we all should be outraged and public about excessive force no matter where it happens or who the victim might be.

That’s why I support the young people who are still facing charges from the fallout from the Oscar Grant New Year’s Day murder.  Remove police violence and one would not even have an Oakland 100.  And quite frankly, with Oakland under the leadership of my former colleague, Ron Dellums, I’m surprised that this issue had not been more forthrightly dealt with prior to Grant’s murder.

This all brings me to the January 30 report on the murder by the FBI of a Detroit Black man who was also an Imam.  The case seems to have all of the ingredients of the worst of the above cases:  the use of informants, law enforcement claims of self-defense or firing in retaliation for being fired upon, and failure to call for medical assistance after a fatal shooting.  The FBI also refuses to release what kind of weapon the Imam had.  And more troubling is the autopsy that reportedly shows that Imam Abdullah was shot in the genitals–a vintage, racist attack on black men used by White men during the days of U.S. slavery and even after the U.S. Civil War; and in the back–I suppose that was self-defense, too.  Imam Abdullah, with the help of an FBI informant, was led to a warehouse where he was shot by the FBI 21 times.  At a press conference, FBI Special Agent Andrew Arena commented, "I take full responsibility for what occurred that day.  And I have to be judged: I’ll be judged by you. I’ll be judged by the community.  I’ll be judged by my bosses in Washington D.C. as far as the Justice Dept., and quite frankly, God someday."

The sad fact of the matter is that too many killer cops are still walking around free.  Sadly, many continue to serve as law enforcement officials, able to carry out their crimes against the community again and again.  Yes, they all will face God’s judgment when they die, but it would be nice to get some justice here on earth, too.  The Obama Justice Department has the opportunity to exact justice on behalf of communities besieged by rogue, killer cops.  The verdict is not looking good, unfortunately, on whether the Obama Justice Department will serve the American people much-needed, long-delayed justice or whether certain perpetrators and their law enforcement departments will be given yet another White House pass.
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Silence is the deadliest weapon of mass destruction.

Black News: Tea Party Group Sends Out Poster of Obama as a Pimp

From Hip Hop Wired.

 

A tea party group in Houston has been passing around a picture of President Obama as a pimp.  TeaParty.org, founded by Dale Robertson sent out an email with the subject line: “Obama Pimpin Obama-Care, One Last Time!.”  Robertson was also shown holding up a sign calling taxpayers “Niggars.” 

Your Black News: Chris Matthews Says He Forgot Obama was Black

From the Huffington Post:

Chris Matthews is definitely going to take some heat for exclaiming that he “forgot [Obama] was black tonight for an hour… I said wait a minute, he’s an African American guy in front of a bunch of other white people.” Matthews was analyzing President Obama’s first State of the Union speech when he made the remark.

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Black Political News: Howard Professor Talks Obama and Massachusetts

 

By

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

A great deal of Massachusetts’ history is tied to the sea. Because of this, Massachusetts is also known for its lighthouses. Lighthouses were once the trusted tool that guided navigators through treacherous waters enabling them to avoid coastal rocks and running aground. Like the lighthouse, the election to fill the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts should serve as a beacon to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Obama administration.

As the Democrats navigate through these treacherous and rocky political waters, the election of Scott Brown as the Senator to replace Ted Kennedy should serve as a warning to the DNC of the dangers of arrogance, complacency, and disorganization. It should also serve notice to the Obama administration of the dangers of failing to articulate a consistent message and failing to deliver what was promised to your supporters.

First, the DNC should recognize that Scott Brown did not run a great campaign insomuch as Martha Coakley, like Cree Deeds in Virginia, ran a terrible one. Coakley ran an elitist campaign, failing to reach out to the communities that helped to elect Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and President Obama. According to the Boston Globe, “The lapses were particularly noticeable in minority communities, traditionally bastions of Democratic votes, which did not turn out in high numbers…” As a demonstration of her arrogance, Coakley took a week off and vacationed during the campaign. According to The Hill, “Martha Coakley’s New Year’s vacation may reign as one of the costliest political blunders of all time.” Even if you’ve “got it in the bag” you never leave the bag unattended!

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7-year old boy raises $160K for Haiti Relief

Talking about giving back, Charlie Simpson, a 7-year-old boy from England has raised over $160-thousand for the relief fund for Haitian earthquake victims.

The unselfish kid asked his mother if he could set up a sponsored bicycle ride around his local park in West London.  Originally expecting to raise around $1,000 for UNICEF Haiti appeal with a 5-mile bike ride on Sunday, donations poured in from his webpage and are still coming.

His mother Lenora Simpson stated,

" He was really upset by the pictures on TV. He actually burst into tears. He sat on my lap and we had a chat about the things he could do. He decided to do the cycle ride and he made me do a sponsorship form and that was it. We sent it out on the web and it just went everywhere."

Click to read.

Black Teenager Gets Beaten Several By the Police

PITTSBURGH – The photos taken by Jordan Miles’ mother show his face covered with raw, red bruises, his cheek and lip swollen, his right eye swollen shut. A bald spot mars the long black dreadlocks where the 18-year-old violist says police tore them from his head.

Now, 10 days after plainclothes officers stopped him on a street and arrested him after a struggle that they say revealed a soda bottle under his coat, not the gun they suspected, his right eye is still slightly swollen and bloodshot. His head is shaved. The three white officers who arrested him have been reassigned. And his mother says she is considering a lawsuit.

“I feel that my son was racially profiled,” Terez Miles said. “It’s a rough neighborhood; it was after dark. … They assumed he was up to no good because he’s black. My son, he knows nothing about the streets at all. He’s had a very sheltered life, he’s very quiet, he doesn’t know police officers sit in cars and stalk people like that.”

A judge continued the case until Feb. 18 after the officers failed to appear at a hearing Thursday, Miles’ attorney, Kerrington Lewis, said. The police department is saying little as it investigates, and isn’t releasing the officers’ names.

Click to read.

News: Did Clark Atlanta University Violate the Law?

The  firing of nearly one-quarter of the full-time faculty members at Clark Atlanta University a year go led to an investigation by the American Association of University Professors.

The investigatory committee has just released its report about the sudden termination of 55 faculty member, concluding that the college’s actions were egregious.

Among the findings:

The administration selected the particular faculty members for dismissal without any discernible prior consultation with appropriate faculty bodies. The administration in its selections also paid no heed to the rights of tenured over nontenured faculty with respect to retention.

1. By not affording the dismissed faculty members opportunity for a hearing before a body of faculty peers, the Clark Atlanta University administration denied them academic due process to which they were entitled under stated university regulations as well as Association-supported standards.

 

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Wyclef Jean’s Charity Being Questioned by Authorities

Haiti’s musician Wyclef Jean, left, arrives at the airport in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010, the day after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit his country. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

(AP)

Groups that vet charities are raising doubts about the organization backed by Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean, questioning its accounting practices and ability to function in earthquake-hit Haiti.

Even as more than $2 million poured into The Wyclef Jean Foundation Inc. via text message after just two days, experts questioned how much of the money would help those in need.

"It’s questionable. There’s no way to get around that," said Art Taylor, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, based in Arlington, Va.

Taylor reviewed Internal Revenue Service tax returns for the organization also known as Yele Haiti Foundation from 2005 through 2007. He said the first red flag of poor accounting practices was that three years of returns were filed on the same day — Aug. 10 of last year.

In 2007, the foundation’s spending exceeded its revenues by $411,000. It brought in just $79,000 that year.

click to read.

Your Black News: Michael Eric Dyson Puts the Hammer on Obama

Michael Eric Dyson, professor of African American studies at Georgetown, addressed the Harry Reid “negro dialect” controversy last night on MSNBC.  He criticized Obama for avoiding racial issue.

You ain’t talking about civil rights, you ain’t talking bout affirmative action, you’re not pressing the issue.”

He also said that Barack Obama does not sound Black.

If Barack Obama was standing forth in America to speak brilliantly and courageously about the issues of race, he’d sound a lot more black too.

Click to read.

Black News: Did Bill Clinton Attack Obama’s Race?

From The New York Daily News

Bill Clinton helped sink his wife’s chances for an endorsement from Ted Kennedy by belittling Barack Obama as nothing but a race-based candidate.
“A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee,” the former president told the liberal lion from Massachusetts, according to the gossipy new campaign book, “Game Change.”
The book says Kennedy was deeply offended and recounted the conversation to friends with fury.
After Kennedy sided with Obama, Clinton reportedly griped, “the only reason you are endorsing him is because he’s black. Let’s just be clear.”

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What Would Dr. King Think?

by Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President – Bennett College For Women

Had Dr. Martin Luther King lived until his birthday, January 15, he would be 81. It is interesting to speculate how the octogenarian might spend his time. If he is anything like some of his peers – Ambassador Andrew Young or Rev. Joseph Lowery – he’d still be involved in some form of activism, perhaps combining religious service with involvement in domestic and international affairs, perhaps with dimensions that included some involvement in commerce (such as Mr. Young’s consulting company Good Works). What might Dr. King think or say about the state we find ourselves in today? A year since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, would he embrace the concept of post-racialism that some bandy about? Would he reflect on his words during the March on Washington and conclude that the dream he so brilliantly articulated had been realized? Or would he be forced to conclude that the check is still marked "insufficient funds".

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News: Danny Glover vs. Barack Obama

Elliot Millner, J.D.

Danny Glover recently directed some criticism at President Obama, regarding his lack of action in dealing with issues disproportionately impacting the Black community. President Obama fired back, saying that he was not neglecting Black issues, and that the issues he was being asked to address could not be fixed in one term, much less one year.

So, who is right? I’m not a fence-rider, however in many instances there is truth on both sides of a dispute or issue, and that is the case here. To be accurate, Danny Glover didn’t call out President Obama for simply not paying enough attention to Black people; he called him out for his overall policy approach, and it’s similarities (in Glover’s opinion) to the policies and approach of the Bush administration. This is a fair criticism, for a couple of reasons. Despite the conservative media’s protests to the contrary, Obama ran as a moderate, and that is basically what he is on most issues (if you don’t think so, compare Obama’s campaign platform to that of Dennis Kucinich or John Edwards). Former President Bush, although a Republican, was also considered a moderate (too moderate for many Republicans) on many issues. So, it is no surprise that President Obama may look similar to President Bush in his views and actions on some issues (most obviously in his war policy). I’m not saying I like it, but that is the reality. This is not an issue new to our current President, or to politics as a whole. Many (especially those who argue for the need of a strong third-party in American politics) have made the argument that there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats (often calling them "Republicrats") in general, especially when dealing with higher offices, such as the House, Senate, and presidency.

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Your Black News: Fox News May Be Taken off the Air

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As New Year’s revelers count down to the end of 2009, time is also running out for Time Warner Cable and Fox to agree to a new contract.

Time Warner Cable and News Corp. (NWS, Fortune 500), Fox’s parent company, have been locked in a public battle over how much the cable giant should pay for the right to deliver Fox networks into its subscribers’ homes.

If a deal is not reached before midnight Thursday, all of the Fox-owned broadcast networks and some of its cable channels could disappear for most of Time Warner Cable’s 13 million subscribers on New Year’s Day.

News Corp. wants to charge Time Warner Cable (TWC) $1 per subscriber for airing its broadcast station, Fox. The contracts for six Fox cable channels — FX, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer and Fox Sports en Español — as well as certain regional sports networks are also slated to expire. But Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network will not be affected.

Public officials weigh in

As the deadline approaches, a flurry of government officials are trying to intervene. On Thursday, Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., wrote a letter calling for a 30-day "cooling off period" to avoid programming blackouts. Time Warner Cable responded that it would agree to an interim agreement, but a Fox Network representative said the company was not ready to agree to that temporary deal and would continue to negotiate.

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Your Black News: Today’s Black News Headlines

• New York probes report EMTs ignored woman who died
• SCLC suspends chairman and treasurer
• T.I. released from prison early
• Obama says he has unemployed relatives
• Fiancee of Bengals’ Chris Henry: He changed my life
• US professor among 5 sentenced to die in Ethiopia
• World’s smallest baby almost ready to go home
• Youngest Black CEO of a public traded company: Ephren Taylor
• Woman held in Hawaii after Michelle Obama threat
• A quiet end for Boys Choir of Harlem
• Terrorist attack feared after Michael Jackson arrest
• Serena Williams is 2009 AP Female Athlete of Year

A Presidential Candidate Writes SU on Behalf of Dr. Boyce Watkins

 

Chancellor Cantor:

I write this letter with fond memories of interactions with the wonderful students at Syracuse University.  While on your campus, I found the students to be both thoughtful and welcoming:  perfect for a university campus.

I write to lend my full support for Dr. Boyce Watkins and his tenure application at Syracuse University.  Dr. Watkins has raised the profile of Syracuse University as he informs our national community on money matters as well as matters of the conscience.  And at this particular time in our country’s history, financial literacy must be viewed as an important life skill.  Dr. Boyce is doing for America what he does in Syracuse University classrooms every class meeting period.  So why would Syracuse University not want such a prolific and publicly appealing face as its representative?

Ultimately, Dr. Boyce must be judged by what he does in the classroom and in publications.  Does Dr. Boyce elevate Syracuse University and does he elevate his field?  Dr. Boyce demonstrates "academics in action" and makes scholarship relevant.  Why should Dr. Boyce’s scholarship and activism (which elevates Syracuse University) not be rewarded by a grant of tenure from Syracuse University?

As a former Member of Congress and Green Party candidate for President of the United States, I realize that political complexities can play a role in the decision to grant tenure to faculty on most American campuses. As I have just concluded successful organizing against war that brought together four 2008 Presidential candidates, I am reminded of the clean break that Dr. King had to make with his friends of the civil rights movement when he decided to speak out against the Vietnam War.  But Dr. King intoned that he had been fighting segregation too long to segregate his moral concerns.  Your decision with respect to Dr. Boyce is both political and moral.  And so, I will end with one very famous Dr. King quote and hope that the leadership of Syracuse University will do in this decision what is right:

"Cowardice asks the question – is it safe?
Expediency asks the question – is it politic?
Vanity asks the question – is it popular?
But conscience asks the question – is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right."

Sincerely,
Cynthia McKinney

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News: African American Leadership Weighs in on the Boyce Watkins Tenure Case

Reported in the SU Student Voice.

 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and former Rep. Cynthia McKinney have now thrust themselves into the debate over Boyce Watkins’ tenure appeal, The Student Voice has learned.

Three days after the Rev. Al Sharpton sent Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor a letter in support of Whitman professor Boyce Watkins’ pending tenure appeal case, Jackson told Watkins that he wanted to get involved. Watkins sent SV writer Naresh Vissa a text message early this morning saying Jackson wants to speak with Cantor as soon as possible.

Watkins and Cantor are scheduled to meet today to discuss Watkins’ future at the university after he was denied tenure, first reported in The Student Voice.

And McKinney, the Green Party presidential candidate in 2008, wrote what Watkins called “the most astonishing letter in support of my tenure case” to SU administration yesterday. Prominent African-American syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux has also voiced her support for Watkins.

 

Click to read.

Dr. Boyce Watkins: Eric Holder Talks to Black Fathers in a way that Doesn’t Make Sense

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

 

Elliot Millner brought it to my attention that Attorney General Eric Holder has been apparently spending a lot of time with Bill Cosby these days. In a recent speech at a black church in Queens, NY, Holder took a page out of the Barack Obama Campaign Catalog and chose to win favors with the black middle class by recklessly bashing away at absentee fathers and returning to the whole "ya’ll just need to grow up and be more responsible" argument that allows any politician to explain away a blatant disregard for meaningful public policy. Rather than talking about things that we can do as a society to take our collective foot off the necks of black men, he chose to say that black men are choosing to put the foot on their own necks.
Elliot Millner, who is also in the legal profession, intelligently said the things that I am sure Eric Holder wanted to say. But unlike Holder, Millner is not constrained by the political shackles that come with being an appointed leader in a society that makes a habit of oppressing, destroying and marginalizing black men.
In his speech, Holder said that, "It should simply be unacceptable for a man to have a child and then not play an integral part in the raising and nurturing of the child."
That quote is a nice way of reflecting on the obvious. It’s sort of like saying, "It should be unacceptable for a black man to become the Attorney General of the United States and not play an integral part in helping other black men overcome the blatantly racist and destructive justice system over which you preside."

Click to read.

Dr. Boyce: Has Tiger Been “OJ Simpsonized”?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Your Black World 

Tiger Woods is a black athlete. He isn’t "Caublinasian," mixed or any other ethnicity. He is, officially, a black man – especially after being reduced to being an adulterer who sleeps with porn stars. At least that’s what guests on the Joy Behar Show seem to think.

During a recent episode, a guest on the show, Karith Foster, was asked what she thought about Tiger’s recent indiscretions. In response to the question, the comedian said (without cracking a smile) that Tiger is "acting like a black athlete now."

I was shocked to hear these words come out of the mouth of any person, let alone an African-American woman. Dr. Deborah Stroman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first person to bring the comments to my attention. She and I both agreed that the statement was an outrageous, irresponsible choice of words, and the host should have challenged her immediately. But Foster’s comments might be telling, given that she once relegated herself to being the token black sidekick of a man (Don Imus) famous for referring to black women as "nappy headed hoes." Foster was fired not too long after being hired, which reminds us of the complications that come from making deals with the devil just to keep a job in media.

Needless to say, I was disappointed with Ms. Foster’s remarks. I also found it quite ironic that no one went out of their way to compare Woods with other black men when he was the clean cut soldier boy with the billion dollar smile. At that time, he was considered the exception to the rule, something that all of America could easily embrace. Some have decided to associate the "black male" side of Tiger with the seedy character who has emerged over the past two weeks. Such comparisons are insulting to good black men everywhere. At the same time, it should be acknowledged that not every American shares the opinion of Karith Foster.

Let’s be clear, Tiger Woods is not seedy, nor is he perfect. In reality, he is simply human. The problem is that we were all led to believe that he was super human, so the Tiger we are seeing today appears sub-human. Tiger Woods was the original Barack Obama, a man who injected hope into the psyches of sports fans everywhere, as we were all inspired to see a man with a brown face whipping the greatest golfers in history. Even to this day, Tiger is usually the only man of color on the golf course, and he is almost always the most dominant.

It will be interesting to see how the world processes Tiger’s recent mistakes. It is not inconceivable that Tiger could be "OJ Simpsonized" by this incident, especially if additional dirt is leaked to the public. If you recall, OJ was also an athlete who’d been given permission to spend a significant amount of time with white women before the murder took place. After his trial, however, he was considered to be the most morally depleted man in America.

 

Click to read.

Obama at Risk of Losing Black Support

From AOL Black Voices 

It has taken less than one full year, but it seems that President Barack Obama’s massive support among black mainstream leaders is starting to show some cracks.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have voiced concerns in recent weeks that Obama needs to spend less time worrying about bailouts of massive industry and more time thinking about black folks, who are his most ardent supporters and have been hit hardest by the economic downturn.

Now the Rev. Jesse Jackson is adding his voice to those who believe Obama isn’t doing enough to help the base of his support.

Jackson, a civil rights giant who has seen his influence wane in recent years, told a crowd at a California rally this week that Obama has misplaced his priorities in spending for the bailout of banks and sending additional soldiers to Afghanistan while poor people struggle here.

Click to read.

News: CNN Guest says, Tiger Woods “Acting like a Black Athlete Now”

Here is the CNN transcript of the Joy Behar Show:

Tiger`s Multiple Affairs; Interview With Levi Johnston

Aired December 7, 2009 – 21:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOY BEHAR, HOST: Tonight on The Joy Behar Show, Tiger Woods may try to avoid the rough on the golf course, but does he like it rough in the bedroom? According to one of his alleged mistresses, the answer is yes, sir.
Then he reveals details of Sarah Palin`s private life. But in an upcoming "Playgirl" spread, he`ll reveal even more. Levi Johnston joins me live. And who knows what he`ll reveal. I warn you, we keep it cold in the studio.
Plus, Andrew Sullivan, author, columnist and pundit has finally decided the right was wrong and I`m happy to welcome him to the fold.
All this and more starting right now.
We are not done with this topic. Tiger is not out of the Woods yet. The list of women he cheated with is reportedly up to nine and more could be on the way.
Here to talk about Tiger`s latest transgressions are Mike Walters, assignment manager at TMZ; Robi Ludwig, psychotherapist and comedian Karith Foster. Welcome to the show, everybody.
Ok. Let`s start with the shrink. How does this guy have the mental and physical energy to play golf?
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, it might inspire him to play better golf.
BEHAR: You think so?
LUDWIG: Well, it could, if you feel I`m all that. Or if you are getting a lot of attention and it feeds your grandiosity, then it can make you feel like you can do anything. He`s very good at his sport. So people are able to categorize.

 

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Black News: Read Obama’s Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Prize

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened of cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women — some known, some obscure to all but those they help — to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 43 other countries — including Norway — in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

Still, we are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict — filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.

 

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One Nation?

Last week members of the Congressional Black Caucus took President Obama to task for his inattention to the high rate of black unemployment – a rate much higher than the overall rate. By Friday, some progress on the unemployment front had been reported – the rate was down to 10 percent in November, from the October high of 10.2 percent. African American unemployment, though, was at the astounding level of 15.6 percent. Why don’t the high levels of African American unemployment deserve special attention?

President Obama says he is working for our entire nation, and that when unemployment rates drop, they will drop for everyone. Perhaps that is what he has to say. But even Ray Charles can see the disproportionate unemployment burden that the African American community is carrying. Targeted public policy is the only way to close the unemployment rate gap.

Our nation has a history of targeting public policy. When it appeared that banks were especially imperiled, we bailed banks, but not other industries out. Indeed, there was much debate about why bankers should get $700 billion when others also faced challenges. The faulty logic that applied was that banks had special challenges at the beginning of the recession, and that the money spent bailing out banks would have ripple effects throughout our economy. Next, there were special provisions made for the housing industry, with bailouts and concessions made to those who had mortgages they could not pay. Again, the logic was that these citizens have special roles in our society and economy. Renters were left out of these special financial provisions. We targeted homeowners.

Why, then, is it such an anathema to target African Americans? Believe me, if it were Wall Street brokers with an unemployment rate of 15.6 percent, one and a half times the overall rate, there would be some special program developed for those brokers! Someone would take to the floor of Congress to speak of the special plight of those brokers and to wax eloquent about why they deserve a break. The logic that when the overall rate drops, the broker rate will also drop, would be scoffed at! Can’t you envision the special pleading that would go to save the brokers?

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Too Many in College?

by Dr. Julianne Malveaux

A week or so ago, I had the privilege of participating in a conversation on NPR about college attendance. Sparked by a conversation in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a group of "experts" were opining that too many people are going to college. Too many? Conservative and racially biased Charles Murray (author of The Bell Curve) thinks that too few high school students have the cognition to successfully navigate college attendance. Marty Nemko says it is a cost-benefit thing. Sandy Baum says that everyone should have opportunity and access. Nobody mentions race, but I think it is the elephant in the room. Too many white folks are opining that too many people go to college, but their kids are in college. So do they really mean that too many black folks go to college? Are their objections really about reinforcing a class system?

Here is what we know about the benefits that come from college attendance:

·College graduates have lower unemployment rates than those who did not graduate from college.

·College graduates have higher lifetime earning than those who did not graduate from college.

·College graduates are more likely to vote, and to be civically involved than those who did not graduate from college.

·College graduates are more likely to contribute to philanthropic causes and to volunteer than those who did not graduate from college.

All in all, it seems that college attendance and graduation are value propositions for our society. Of course, the data I cite are average data, which means that everyone has a Diddy story of the high school grad or college dropout who made good, gave back, and all that. By and large, though, college attendance and graduation are worthy goals for our society to encourage.

At the same time, we have done poorly in fully encouraging college attendance and graduation. Forty percent of those 55-64 have either an AA or a BA degree, which means that the United States has the highest rate of college graduation for that age group of any country in the world. Fast forward 30 years and still 40 percent of 25-34 year olds have either an AA or BA degree. This means that our ability to produce college graduates has not improved in 30 years! While we are first for 55-64 year olds, we are tenth for 25-34 year olds. Canada, North Korea, and Spain are among the countries that top our college attendance for young people. They are investing in their educational systems, while we are ignoring ours.

To be sure, there are some young people who are simply not ready for college. But there have been too many barriers to the college attendance of African American students, both historically and contemporaneously. Historically black colleges mainly exist because white folk excluded us from matriculation. Even today, there are students who could not attend college but for the nurturing and remediation that comes with HBCU attendance.

My NPR colleagues said that students who are at the bottom of their high school class are among those who should not go to college. But many in the bottom half of their class are only there because of the poor quality of education that is delivered in inner city high schools. Many students come damaged and with educational deficiencies but are able to remedy their deficiencies with special programs that bring them up to speed. I don’t think we should write off a single student, no matter where she fell in her high school distribution. Most young people who are willing to learn can learn if they are enthusiastically encouraged. This is the HBCU story.

I bristle at conversations that speak of restricting access to college, especially when the conversation is not viewed through a racial lens. The fact is that college opens doors for young people, and many young people of color need doors opened for them. If there are too many people going to college, there are not too many black people. I bristle at the notion that we would restrict college access when all evidence suggests that education not only transforms individual lives, but also can transform our world.

 

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author and commentator, and the Founder & Thought Leader of Last Word Productions, Inc., a multimedia production company.

Last Word Productions, Inc. is a multimedia production company that serves as a vehicle for the work and products of Dr. Julianne Malveaux. For the last 10 years the company has centered its efforts on Dr. Malveaux’s public speaking appearances, her work as a broadcast and print journalist, and also as an author. Currently, Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College For Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

To find more of Dr. Julianne Malveaux’s columns, work and appearances please visit:

www.juliannemalveaux.com

Obama’s Security Threatened by White Privilege

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

On the evening of Tuesday, November 24 a young couple from Virginia made their way into one of the most secure events in the country, President Obama’s state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Monmohan Singh and his wife at the White House. Like the other 300 plus invited guests, Tareq and Michaele Salahi went through multiple layers of Secret Service security, took photos with Chief of Staff Rom Emanuel and mingled with Vice President Biden and other invited guests. The problem is that the Salahi’s were not invited to the dinner. Their names were not listed on the official guest list or any other list that would have allowed them entrance into the White House. They crashed the party!

All that this couple needed to gain entrance into a state dinner at the White House was a tuxedo, traditional Indian evening wear, attitude, and white skin. When they arrived at the Secret Service check point without a printed invitation and without their names on the official guest list, they were not detained or questioned. No telephone calls were made; no further inquiries were needed; just white skin, blond hair, the expectation of admittance, and a pretty smile. Had this occurred at an airport the Salahi’s would have never made it past airport security.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: Barack Obama and Black Men – What has he done for us?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Your Black World 

I did a recent CNN appearance along with the actor Hill Harper and Dr. Alvin Poussaint at Harvard University. The series was a one-year anniversary segment featuring political issues within the African American community. for the entire week, the primary focus was on the impact that President Barack Obama has had onAfrican American men. Given that I’ve been a black man for quite a while now, I found this conversation topic particularly interesting, so getting to speak to Richelle Carey again wasn’t the only perk of doing the job that day.

It must be made clear that the president should not be expected to save the entire world in one swoop. His job is difficult, and he can’t give everyone what they want all the time. But to the extent that President Obama has been positioned to trump pre-existing black leadership (remember that some say we now live in a post-racial America), one can argue that President Obama’s rantings in black churches come with some degree of accountability from the Oval Office. Obama has spoken at NAACP meetings, telling black men to take responsibility for our families (as if none of us do) and to engage in more personal responsibility (as if we don’t do that already). Such tough talk should be backed by meaningful policy, since structural incentives play a dominant role in the ultimate choice of the individual. For example, when companies get tax incentives to invest in new projects, they almost always do.

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Dr. Wilmer Leon: Obama’s Social Agenda and What We Need for America

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Your Black World, Howard University 

Early on the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama said, "This country is ready for a transformative politics of the sort that John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt represented." Socially, President Obama is beginning to move in such a positive transformative direction.

After 12 years of languishing in Congress, on Wednesday, October 28, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard / James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill. By signing this bill, the president expands the federal definition of hate crimes to include those motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. It also allows federal authorities to pursue hate-crimes cases when local authorities are either unable or unwilling to do so. This law was named after Matthew Shepard, a gay man murdered in Wyoming in 1998, and James Byrd, the African-American man dragged to his death behind a pickup truck in Texas that same year.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: Things You Don’t Know about Heather Ellis

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

 

Jury selection for Heather Ellis continues

Heather Ellis case one in a long line of Missouri’s racial injustices

This Nov. 4, 2009 file photo shows Heather Ellis, left, arm-in-arm with her mother, Hester Ellis, exiting the Stoddard County Justice Center in Bloomfield, Mo. (AP Photo/Corey Noles, Dexter Daily Statesman, File)

This week, for the first time, I had the chance to speak with Heather Ellis.

Heather was not previously allowed to speak, since her attorney told her to remain silent. I can tell you that after speaking with Heather for nearly two hours, she is a fine young woman. She is NOT the kind of person who needed to spend any time in prison, and I am glad she took the plea deal from the prosecution. Let me explain a few facts about the case that you may not know:

1) Heather is not admitting guilt: Anyone familiar with the criminal justice system in America should understand that there are times when you have to plead in order to make something go away. There was no smoking gun implicating Heather Ellis; there was only the risk that the jury (which her high powered attorney, Scott Rosenblum, considered to be the worst jury he’d seen in 26 years of practice) was going to send her to prison or jail.

Like most of us, Heather is not a person who wants to go to jail for any significant period of time. I personally worried that she would be abused if left in the presence of the very officers who’d attacked her on the night of her arrest, not to mention the criminals she would be incarcerated with. If she were my daughter, I would have told her to take the plea.

The good thing was that her fight led the entire nation to talk about issues that we would never have discussed otherwise. Anyone who doesn’t agree with her decision needs to go put their own child on trial with up to 15 possible years in prison and see how much yapping you do then.
2) There is no evidence of an assault on an officer and she was not convicted of these felonies: According to Heather (whom I believe and I’ll tell you why in a second), there was one police officer who was dead set on the idea of pursuing and harassing her. He followed her closely out of the store, referring to her as a b*tch and a ho. He then told her to "go back to the ghetto." That is when Heather turned and asked him why he was harassing her instead of chasing real criminals. That is when he said, "Because I want to harass your stupid a**." That is also the officer who, without warning, tackled Heather and dragged her to the police car.

The reason Heather’s story is credible is because this officer had been fired from another job for sexual harassment and had lied on the witness stand in the past. Her attorney’s research uncovered the officer’s dirty past, and Heather discussed this issue in more detail in our conversation.
3) This was not a jury of her peers: Heather’s father, Pastor Nathaniel Ellis, told me that he had wanted to push the trial to the very end. What changed his mind, he said, was seeing his daughter break down in tears over the idea of going to jail or prison.

 

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Mississippi Governor Wants to Merge All of It’s HBCUs

Gov. Haley Barbour’s plan to merge Mississippi’s three historically black universities has created a tense atmosphere in a state saddled with a violent civil rights past and a decades-long legal battle over the historic underfunding of those schools.
At Jackson State University, students have turned to Twitter and Facebook to gather signatures on a petition to block the move proposed by the Republican governor. A half-dozen students attended a state College Board meeting Thursday expecting some discussion about the proposal, but there was none.
“I personally believe they undermined the uniqueness of the black colleges and how far we’ve come with the little resources we have,” said Marissa Simms, a 20-year-old JSU student.
Many of the nation’s public historically black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, were founded more than a century ago. Mississippi’s own Alcorn State University in Lorman was the country’s first land-grant black college.
The state’s other historically black campus is Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena.
Nationwide, there are 40 four-year public HBCUs, and dozens more two-year colleges and private institutions. White House officials and representatives of national organizations say the colleges play a vital role in an initiative by the Democratic Obama administration.

 

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Your Health News: Another Hurdle Jumped for Healthcare Reform

WASHINGTON – A bruising debate on health care awaits the Senate after Thanksgiving now that the historic legislation has cleared a key hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

The bill would extend coverage to roughly 31 million who lack it, crack down on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits and curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally.

In the final minutes of a daylong session, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Republicans of trying to stifle a historic debate the nation needed.

The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the vote was anything but procedural — casting it as a referendum on the bill itself, which he said would raise taxes, cut Medicare and create a “massive and unsustainable debt.”

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: Jesse Jackson Gets into it with the CBC

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Black Planet, Your Black World Coalition

I love speaking with Rev. Jesse Jackson.  He walks and talks like a man who has seen and heard nearly everything.  Our civil rights leaders are social hubs through which many members of our society must travel in order to reach their destinations.   You can’t call yourself a black man and not know the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Rev. Jackson took things a step further by stating recently at a Congressional Black Caucus function that,”You can’t vote against health care and call yourself a black man.”

RELATED: Jesse Jackson Says To CBC You Can’t Be Black And Be Against Health Care

This comment was aimed at Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama, the only member of theCongressional Black Caucus who does not support health care reform.   What is most interesting about Jackson’s comment is that he is right, but not quite.  You can certainly argue that Davis’ lack of support for the plan implies  that his interests are not in line with the majority of African Americans in this country:  Most of them love Barack Obama and are willing to support anything that he supports.  The other sad truth is that health care reform is so complicated that most Americans don’t have a clue about what’s going on.   In that regard, we can argue that it is difficult for Davis to say that he represents the black community when he votes in a direction that is not correlated with the majority of African Americans in the state of Alabama.

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Heather Ellis Takes the Plea, but Dr. Boyce Watkins has Questions

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Black Planet 

I have been actively involved in the fight for Heather Ellis, the 24-year old school teacher now facing up to 15-years in prison for cutting line at a local Wal-Mart.  Although Heather has now reached a plea deal with prosecutors over her arrested, there are still questions that need to be answered.  No, she was not charged with cutting in line, but it was the cashier’s reaction to the alleged line cut which led to the relevant sequence of events.  Had the cashier been more professional and not refused to serve Heather, none of this would have happened (You hear that Walmart? Perhaps that’s why your attorneys are telling you to remain silent).

I have five simple questions about the trial of Heather Ellis:

1) If “no one was seriously injured,” why was she facing up to 15-years in prison?

In the opening statements of the trial, the prosecutor in the case, Morley Swingle (the dandy fellow with the Confederate flag on the cover of his book) stated that “There was no serious injury, but it did hurt,” when referring to the alleged assaults committed by Ms. Ellis.  If no one was seriously injured, does that constitute a Class-C felony?  This statement was quite telling when it comes to understanding the style of justice being administered in the Southeast Missouri area (which is why we are sending our reports to the Justice Department after the trial is over).  Given that Ellis appears to have been the only person to go to the hospital after she allegedly beat down all of these great big men, it would seem to me that perhaps she might be the one who is able to file an assault charge against the officers.  Additionally, the defense attorney on the case, Scott Rosenblum, presented evidence in court of there being blood in Heather Ellis’ jacket pocket from the night of the incident.  This would be consistent with her claim to the doctor the next day that she was assaulted by the police.

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Dr. Elaina George: How Does Depression Affect the Black Community?

 

 Medicine on Call with Dr. Elaina George, Your Black World 

Dr George and Delores Jones, a correspondent for AOL speak about dealing with depression and change through inspiration and spirituality. 

Click here to listen!

Dr. Boyce Watkins – The Heather Ellis Case: All About Racism

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

My mother raised me to believe that black men are supposed to stand up for black women. Heather Ellis is the woman who now faces 15-years in prison for an incident deriving from her being accused of cutting line at a Walmart. Based on my knowledge of the Heather Ellis case (and seeing the Walmart surveillance video that has not yet been released to the public), it seems difficult to argue in favor of a conviction.

I accompanied Dr. Christopher Metzler (Georgetown University), Dr. Wilmer Leon(Howard University), King Downing (Attorney with the Sean Bell Justice Project) and Elliot Millner (Legal Advisor for the Your Black World Coalition) to Kennett, MO. The trip was long, but rewarding. You can visit TheHeatherEllisCase.com to read more about the rally and how it all happened. The town shut down and took notice because they’d never seen black people come together to fight for their rights, at least not in that way.

There are some who seem to believe that if Heather cut the line, cursed at the cashier or kicked one of the officers, she should go to prison (The officer’s allegations can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and don’t appear on any video that I’ve seen. Police reports here have questionable credibility, since King Downing has data which shows that the Kennett police are systematically biased when arresting and convicting black defendants). But after witnessing egregious and illegal behavior on the part of many non-black college students for the past 16 years (ever been to a campus frat party?), it’s interesting that most of them are let go with a slap on the wrist, but some think it’s ok to send a black woman to prison over a minor incident. If I came to most universities (including my own), had a raid on a fraternity house and chose to send students to prison over whatever contraband I found, there would be outrage.

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The Problems with Obama’s Health Care Plan

By

Dr. Elaina George, MD

The health care reform bill (HR 3962) that just passed the House of Representatives is bad on so many levels it is difficult explain. As it stands, it will destroy both the doctor patient relationship and change the practice of medicine as we know it.

We have one of the finest health care systems in the world. It has been built on a foundation of choice. Doctors were free to choose the care that they deemed necessary to treat their patients, and patients were free to seek the medical care of their choice. Initially, the foundation was shaken by the rise of the managed care system with capitation. However, over the past 10 years, capitated plans which limit access to specialists have given way to the rise in power of insurance companies. They have used their anti-trust exemption to craft a system that has used monopoly to increase profits on the backs of both doctors and patients.

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Your Black News: Memphis Benefit Planned for Heather Ellis

What to make of the punch by the Columbia University Professor – Dr. Boyce

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

When I heard that black Columbia University professor Lionel McIntyre punched out a white university employee, I was obviously taken aback. I was even more intrigued by the fact that the two were having a heated conversation about white privilege when the alleged punch took place. Given that the fight was in a bar, I immediately thought about the Jamie Foxx excuse: "blame it on the alcohol." My goddaughter is an athlete at Columbia, but I had no idea that Columbia University professors could be so athletic in their free time. Although professor McIntyre’s actions are obviously inexcusable, the truth is that our actions "under the influence" tell a deeper story about our psyches, so there is more to this incident than meets the eye.

1) Call me crazy, but I understand how Lionel McIntyre felt. I would never punch out anyone from the frustration I’ve felt when dealing with white privilege, but then again, that is probably why I chose not to drink alcohol, since I am genuinely concerned about how I might react to the stinging pain of consistent racism. What is also true is that although some black scholars are afraid to admit it, many of us have felt incredibly angry and irritated by the arrogant nature of white privilege within academia. It’s not that black scholars dislike their white colleagues, it’s that many of us are tired of being thought of as second-class citizens. If any black Ph.D. student or professor says they haven’t thought about jumping over someone’s desk and "whooping ass" at least once, they’re telling a lie. Some of us hold in the frustration until we die of heart disease. Some of us submit ourselves to the system and become groveling Sambos, while many black scholars simply leave academia altogether. Either way, there is as much frustration for black scholars in America as there is within nearly every other profession dominated by whites. So as the comedian Chris Rock once said in a skit about O.J. Simpson, "I’m not saying he should have done it, but I understand."

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News: African American students told to pick cotton in front of white classmates

A history lesson that asked black elementary students to act like slaves has sparked protests from parents and teachers at a North Carolina school Wednesday.

During a field trip to Latta Plantation, three students from Rea View Elementary in Waxhaw were chosen by tour guide Ian Campbell to wear bags and mimic picking cotton while their white classmates looked on, WSOC-TV, Charlotte, reported Friday.

Many of the teachers and parents from the elementary school said they plan on writing the leaders of the plantation regarding the racially insensitive history lesson.

 

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Your Black News: Special Prosecutor Assigned to the Heather Ellis Case

The Dunklin County prosecuting attorney has stepped aside in a criminal case with racial overtones, and Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle has been appointed as special prosecutor.

Swingle has been asked to prosecute Kennett resident Heather Ellis. In an incident at the Kennett Walmart in 2007, Ellis was arrested and charged with two counts of felony assault on a law enforcement officer, a count of misdemeanor peace disturbance and a count of misdemeanor resisting arrest.

A scuffle broke out in a checkout line at the store after she was accused of cutting in line.

Ellis’ attorney filed a motion Nov. 2 requesting Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff to recuse himself from the case.

Sokoloff was accused by Ellis’ lawyers of "making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."

On Thursday, Judge Joe Satterfield denied the request, saying there was no legal basis for it.

According to the defense motion, Sokoloff replied to a story about the case written by Michael I. Niman of Progressive Populist, a twice-monthly publication.

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Black Professor Punches Out a White Colleague in Conversation Over Race

A prominent Columbia architecture professor punched a female university employee in the face at a Harlem bar during a heated argument about race relations, cops said yesterday.

Police busted Lionel McIntyre, 59, for assault yesterday after his bruised victim, Camille Davis, filed charges.

McIntyre and Davis, who works as a production manager in the school’s theater department, are both regulars at Toast, a popular university bar on Broadway and 125th Street, sources said.

The professor, who is black, had been engaged in a fiery discussion about "white privilege" with Davis, who is white, and another male regular, who is also white, Friday night at 10:30 when fists started flying, patrons said.

LIONEL McINTYRE "Unfortunate event."

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McIntyre, who is known as "Mac" at the bar, shoved Davis, and when the other patron and a bar employee tried to break it up, the prof slugged Davis in the face, witnesses said.

"The punch was so loud, the kitchen workers in the back heard it over all the noise," bar back Richie Velez, 28, told The Post. "I was on my way over when he punched Camille and she fell on top of me."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prof_busted_in_columbia_gal_punch_JmsXQ3NzaAt8uG6uUySGTN#ixzz0WYO8DtUv

What Do the Cleveland Murders Say About Our Society?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Anthony Sowell is a name that most of us would like to forget. Sowell is the 50-year-old man in Cleveland found to have 11 corpses in his home after being arrested on a rape charge. His neighbors noticed the smell, but some blamed it on the sausage factory next door.

Sowell’s case jars the mind, and even the sight of him makes me want to change the channel. But not only is Sowell repulsive, the circumstances under which these women were killed are equally alarming.

All of the women were African-American. All of them were poor, marginalized and ignored by society. Some of their families called police to report them missing and the police refused to thoroughly investigate. Even Sowell was intelligent enough to know that he was taking the lives of women who would not be missed, telling one of the victims that no one would care if she disappeared. In Sowell’s warped mind, many of these women had already disappeared. The truth is that he was absolutely correct.

The Anthony Sowell case is one that requires us to stop and reassess our values. Why are some people considered to be less worthy of police protection than others? I recall hearing a police officer explain to me that he felt that the job of the police was to simply protect the rich from the poor. I was under the false impression that their job was to protect the good from the bad. Apparently, Sowell’s victims were not wealthy enough, blonde or blue-eyed enough to be defined as inherently good. Their disappearances were deemed unworthy of the attention of Nancy Grace or anyone else for that matter.

 

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Dr. Wilmer Leon: The Heather Ellis Case Reminds us to Refer to the Constitution

Dr. Wilmer Leon, Howard University, Sirius/XM Satellite, Your Black World

One of the things that make America unique is its Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights. In its original form, the Constitution did not include a list of basic civil liberties or guarantees to the individual. Many prominent Americans, including Thomas Jefferson insisted that a list of fundamental protections be included to restrain the national government from tampering with the fundamental rights and civil liberties of its citizens. The intent of the framers of the Constitution was to level the playing field. They felt it necessary to restrain the very powerful government, prosecutors, and police from arbitrary and capricious action against the less powerful individual. Over time these protections have been passed down to the state level.

The case of Heather Ellis is a perfect present day example of why individual American citizens need to be protected from over zealous capricious prosecutors and police. For a young woman to be facing up to fifteen years in prison for trespassing, disturbing the peace, and two felony counts of assaulting a police officer, all for allegedly cutting a check-out line at a Wal-Mart is unconscionable.

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What are the Ingredient in the Swine Flu Vaccine?

 

by Dr. Elaina George, Your Black World Medical Correspondent

There has been a lot of confusion about what ingredients are in the H1N1 Vaccine. In order to distill the information to make it easier for you to make an informed choice, here is a brief synopsis of the information provided by the manufacturers in their package inserts.

There are 4 manufactures who have been approved to sell H1N1 vaccine in the US. They are: Novartis, CSL, Sanofi/Pasteur and MedImmune

1. Novartis makes an injectable vaccine for ages 4 and above

Ingredients: Thimerosal (Mercury) both in the single dose and the multi dose vials

Antibiotics – polymyxin and neomycin (can be neurotoxic)

Manufactured with phenol (the chemical used on skin in cosmetic face peals to remove wrinkles)

Note: They recommend that children ages 4-9 get 2 injections one month apart. This would increase the risk from a reaction to the mercury (e.g, neurological damage such as Gullain-Barre or possibly Autism)

 

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Barack Obama’s Fed Chair Makes some Unfortunate and Possibly Racist Remarks

• Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke listens to businessmen following an address in Chatham, Mass., Friday, Oct. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Last spring when Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke visited Morehouse College, an undergraduate student asked him what accounts for the enormous racial disparity in wealth. Bernanke responded that the source of the problem was the lack of "financial literacy" and "financial education" on the part of blacks, particularly with respect to savings decisions.

He said nothing about the lack of access to inherited wealth, such as inheritances and other intergenerational transfers. Most wealth acquisition today takes place by such asset shifts. Even more astonishing, Bernanke never mentioned the notorious history of white violence that included the seizure, destruction and appropriation of black property.
Acknowledging this unfairness is not an excuse but a powerful truth; remedying it requires straightforward government action, rather than lectures on the value of saving. In fact, the racial wealth gap can be decreased – and without using a race-specific strategy of wealth redistribution.

We propose Children’s Development Accounts, an expanded and non-incremental version of what Manning Marable of Columbia University has called the "Baby Bond" plan. It would provide an endowed trust fund for all children born into families with a net worth below the national median, progressively rising to $50,000 to $60,000 for children whose families are in the lowest wealth quartile. The program could be structured like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which uses a benefits phase-out schedule.

Click to read.

Black News: Texas Southern University Removes Tavis’ Name from Building

A long-simmering disagreement between broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Texas Southern University ended Friday when the university’s governing board agreed to strip Smiley’s name from its communication school.

Smiley promised in 2004 to donate $1 million and to raise another $1 million for TSU. The school later created the Tavis Smiley School of Communication in his honor.

In return, Smiley made one $50,000 donation in mid-2005 and raised $250,000 from three corporate donors.

But he said Friday that he had intended to fulfill his personal $1 million pledge.

“Any institution that turns away a $1 million gift in this economy, I think ought to have good reason for doing that,” he said in a telephone interview.

He also said former university President Priscilla Slade offered to name the school for him before he pledged any money.

“I even made a joke, how much is this decision going to cost me?” he said. “She said, ‘This decision has already been made.’”

“It doesn’t feel good,” he said of the board’s decision. “My intentions were to help the students.”

 

Click to read.

Marching for Heather Ellis – Why We Need to Do it Now

• by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, MSNBC’s TheGrio.com 

On November 16, 2009, the Your Black World Coalition, NAACP, National Action Network, and Southern Christian Leadership Conference plan to converge on the small town of Kennett, Missouri to fight for justice in the case of Heather Ellis, a 24-year-old college student who faces 15 years in prison for cutting line at a Wal-Mart.

When Justin and Journi, my assistant’s children, brought this case to my attention, I was heartbroken. Their passion about the charges pushed me to action, so I reached out to others to form the "Journey for Justice" to honor the two young children who inspired us to take action in Heather’s case.

I have spoken with the Ellis family extensively, and I’ve also spoken with those who are familiar with the case. It is my opinion that this trial represents one of the greatest travesties of justice imaginable. The greater concern is that Heather’s dilemma is not the root of the problem – it is merely a symptom of broader systemic patterns of civil injustice.

In nearby Poplar Bluff, MO, a 15-year old boy, Walter Currie Jr., was doused with gasoline and set on fire by his classmates, with the perpetrator allegedly yelling racial epithets as he did it. Heather’s case is just the tip of the iceberg when referring to the ultra-conservative Bootheel area, less than 100 miles away from the town where Rush Limbaugh was born.

Here are the 5 reasons why we will march on Kennett and why we are not going to stop:

Click to read.

Black Health Tips from Dr. Deborah Stroman

by Dr. Deborah Stroman, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Your Black World 

Do you need a simple rule to begin a smart nutrition routine? Try to make a change in your diet by “avoiding the whites” – those additives that supposedly will make your food taste just right or have the right consistency. To live well and be healthy, we need to make changes that may feel uncomfortable at first and possibly illogical to friends and family.

Salt, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, accounts for nearly 150,000 premature deaths every year primarily due to complications from high blood pressure. We do need ~ 6g of salt per day to live. Sadly, the average intake of salt is between 9g and 10g a day! Salt is a commonly occurring mineral, the technical name of which is sodium chloride. It is the sodium part of salt that is important. Sodium helps to maintain the concentration of body fluids at correct levels. It also plays a central role in the transmission of electrical impulses in the nerves, and helps cells process nutrients.

Click to read.

Your Black News – Racism? Boy Gets Set on Fire by His Classmates

Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 5:23 am
By: Denise Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com

A black Missouri teen, who last month was doused with gasoline and set afire by two white schoolmates, now faces charges himself as he recovers from burns over most of his body.

Walter Currie Jr., a 15-year-old in Poplar Bluff, Mo., was burned on June 13 after an exchange with two teens with whom he reportedly had a previous altercation.

The youth who allegedly doused him with the gasoline and lit the fuel has been charged with assault as a juvenile, Currie’s parents said. 
On July 6, several weeks after the incident, authorities gave Currie and his parents notice that he is being charged in connection with another incident where a teen related to the youth who set him afire was hit in the face, said Winonia Currie, Walter’s mother.

“All of a sudden, they decided to charge him with something that happened on June 10, but Walter said he didn’t have anything to do with it,” she said.

Because all of the people involved are juveniles, court officials in Butler County, Missouri said they can give only limited details on the incidents and cannot discuss names.

“I can tell you that there are charges against everyone involved,” Lesi Smith, chief juvenile officer for Butler County, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Click to read.

News: The Campus Accountability Project (CAP)

To sign up for the Your Black World Coalition, please visit www.YourBlackWorld.com.

Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

Hello to the Your Black World Family,

Think for one second and ask yourself:  How many Black professors did you have in college outside of those who taught African American studies?  Have you ever wondered why other students get to have professors who look like them, but Black people don’t expect to have that same right?  Imagine how much more comfortable your college experience would have been if you’d had a few more professors who looked like you.  That is what I am here to discuss.

I am working in conjunction with the National Action Network on "The Campus Accountability Project."  The goal of this initiative (which is going to last for no less than 10 years) is to directly confront the fact that most American campuses (HBCUs included) have a horrifically low representation of African American faculty, especially at the tenure level.  As we know, America has a very twisted history when it comes to diversity and treatment of people of color, and this history shows itself in the present every single day.  I remember being personally frustrated during my collegiate experience, given that I attended 4 years of college and another 7 years of graduate school without having ONE SINGLE AFRICAN AMERICAN PROFESSOR in any department, in any class, at any time.

This is WRONG and our students should not be forced to attend college within the confines of such an uncomfortable reality.  Personally, the experience can be traumatizing for our children and obviously leads to high drop out rates of Black college students. The acceptance of this way of life relegates Black people to second class citizenship status in many of America’s colleges and universities. Our children deserve better than this.

So, rather than just complaining about it, we are going to do something about it.  We are engaging in a national campaign for campus accountability, to encourage campuses to become more diverse.  We plan to conduct a series of meetings with university leadership, state legislators, legal counsel and community activists to ensure that our voices are heard.

The ideology is very simple: Diversity matters and campuses are ignoring it.  Additionally, diversity should not be laced with cosmetic tokenism, athletic scholarships and polite little King Day Celebrations.  It should be about respecting diverse ideas and ending the academic imperialism which disrespects Black scholarship and Black students, putting the needs of the African American community solely on the back burner.  Black athletes give nearly a billion dollars a year to the NCAA on the football fields and basketball courts; well, it’s about time we start to get a return on our investment.

If you believe in this cause, I hope you will forward this email to as many people as you can.  This affects any American wishing to go to college (even if you didn’t graduate), those who went to college and those who have children that they expect to send to college (which should be all of us, since education is crucial for success in this economy).  I personally plan to push this initiative at least until the year 2020, and I believe that by engaging in firm, direct and aggressive action, we can make a tremendous difference on this issue. 

There is a role for everyone here, since we are all hurt and affected by this problem.  So, I encourage you to call your own campuses and alma maters and hold them accountable.  IT IS NOT NORMAL for you to never be allowed to learn from a Black Professor.  We deserve the same privileges received by the White students, and universities must be pressed to explain why there are tens of thousands of qualified Black professors that they reject for hire or promotion every year.  Some will try to tell you that they can’t find qualified minorities to hire, but that’s simply a lie.  The problem is that the powers that be tend to believe that those who are different are inferior, which is reflective of the White Supremacist foundation of the decision-making infrastructure of most American campuses (notice there were no Black people on most of these campuses for the first 80 – 100 years of operation.  When Black people arrived, they certainly had no decision-making rights).  There’s no point in tap dancing around the issues and change will only be made if we are willing to fight for it. 

Below, there is a very short survey to help us collect data on your college experience.  It will only take 1 minute to fill out (it’s very short) and it sorts you into HBCU and non-HBCU categories for the 4 questions provided.  We also ask that you join the Campus Accountability Project to help us make America’s campuses into trust worthy incubators of Black intellectual development.  We know that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but brilliant Black minds will always be wasted without the presence of high quality Black mentorship.  Had I not met Dr. Tommy Whittler (the only Black professor in the entire Business School at The University of Kentucky), I never would have become a professor.

To fill out the survey, please click here.  To sign up to join the Campus Accountability Project, please click here.

Be blessed, be strong and be intelligent.  DO NOT spend one second being afraid.  Life is too short for that.

Sincerely,

Dr Boyce Watkins

Syracuse University, Your Black World

The Latest from Dr Boyce Watkins on AOL Black Voices

Pregnant 12-Year-Old Found: Father Accused of Incest

• A few weeks ago, we reported on the story of two sisters, one of them a pregnant 12-year-old, who … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (21)

Eddie Griffin: Going for Broke – and Getting There

• I had a lot of fun watching the new Vh-1 show, "Going for Broke," starring comedian Eddie Griffin. … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (21)

Dr. Boyce and Keith Murphy Discuss Economic Empowerment

• In this interview below with the great radio legend Keith Murphy, we discuss the power of high … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (0)

What Do Obama’s Death Threats Say About America?

• What do you make of the chaotic environment surrounding President Barack Obama? In the CNN … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (8)

Dr. Boyce Money: Lost Your Job? Senators Might Help You

• The Senate has been mingling with the idea of extending jobless benefits for those who’ve lost … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (1)

Is the Swine Flu Scare Nothing But Hype?

• Swine flu season is coming and the world is ducking for cover. Media coverage of this phenomenon … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in Black Voices Insurance | Comments (0)

Dr Boyce Money: Five Ways to Know You are a Credit Card Crackhead

• Sometimes your finances can get so out of whack that you can only laugh in order to keep from … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (0)

DC Budget Cuts Can’t Overcome a Mother’s Love

• My mother gave birth to me when she was 17-years old. As a teen mother who didn’t have a lot of … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (1)

Judge on Trial for Allegedly Sodomizing, Spanking Inmates

• Alabama Judge Herman Thomas has a problem. The Mobile County Circuit Judge was accused of checking … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (30)

Dr. Boyce Money: Is a Lack of Sex Grounds for Divorce?

• I live in New York, so I get the chance to meet a lot of interesting cab drivers. I love listening … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (14)

Think Nike’s Done With Michael Vick? Think Again

• I was excited to hear that Nike signed Michael Vick again after his dogfighting ordeal. You can … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (7)

Are Prescription Drugs America’s New Addiction?

• Most of us think that drugs which come out of a legal manufacturer are going to be safer than those … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in Black Voices Insurance | Comments (6)

Financial Lovemaking: Managing "Baby Mama Drama"

• Most of us know about "baby mama drama," since some of that drama may occur within your own home. … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (2)

Did Obama Deserve the Nobel? Black Scholars Respond

Marvin Lynn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Curriculum & Instruction
Faculty Affiliate, African American Studies
University of Illinois at Chicago

 

I think he deserves the award because, as they said, he has established a different tone in the world. Two years ago, America was despised around the world. This is not the case today. Of course people still have criticisms of our policies etc but our global neighbors hated Bush so much that it was making global travel a frightening experience for Americans. There has been a shift in how people see us. That is directly tied to President Obama’s diplomatic stance on a variety of issues.

 

 

 

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon

Political Science Professor at Howard University

Host of “On with Leon” – Sirius/XM Satellite

 

This is an incredible personal accomplishment for the Obama’s, a wonderful international recognition of the shift in American foreign policy, and a compliment to the intelligence of the American electorate The Nobel committee is acknowledging the positive shift away from the unilateral exclusionary foreign policy of the Bush 43′ administration to the multilateral inclusionary foreign policy direction of the Obama administration. The illegal invasions of sovereign nations, torture, and the ignoring of ecological issues of the Bush 43′ administration only brought instability and insecurity for America and the rest of the world. President Obama offers hope through honest diplomacy and open dialog. This is the true path towards peace and security for all.

 

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Dr Elaina George: More Reasons I am not Taking the Swine Flu Vaccine

by Dr. Elaina George, Your Black World 

I have had several patients ask me whether or not they should get the swine flu (H1N1) vaccine. My response has been the same. I will not be getting the vaccine because I don’t think it is safe.

I am an MD who was trained to practice medicine the old fashioned way. My education was based on understanding and treating disease. As a surgeon, I was taught that in some cases surgical correction is the most efficient and expedient way to fix a problem or cure a disease. In short, I have a healthy respect for the standard medical care that is practiced in this country.

However, over the past 10 years since I have been in practice, I have seen a disturbing trend that has become increasingly more common. Although we have the most advanced medical system in the world, the best trained physicians, and access to new and ever evolving medications, we as a nation and particularly the minority population are getting sicker at a younger age, and our quality of life is suffering. There are more people suffering from depression, anxiety, and learning disabilities than at any time in our history. Unfortunately, we have learned to manage diseases by taking a pill everyday instead of doing what it takes to prevent the illness in the first place. It is past time to look to good nutrition and prevention as a means of preventing and curing chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and some cancers which have risen to epidemic levels.

When I made the personal decision to ask questions about the Swine flu vaccine, the answers that I discovered contradicted the mantra that has been championed by the media, government officials, and the vaccine manufacturers. What we are being told simply does not make any sense. The most important question that I have learned to ask (from the politics of healthcare to every other facet of our society that affects us as individuals) is – who stands to gain?

I will not be getting the swine flu vaccine because:

1. The vaccine makers have been given immunity from being sued for any bad outcome

After the deaths and injuries associated with the Swine flu vaccination campaign in 1976, the vaccine manufacturers lost billions of dollars in civil suits. That cannot happen this time around. Congress has since passed two bills that shield vaccine makers from civil suits. The first in 1986 protects vaccine makers from civil suits filed by people who have been injured by a vaccine due to ‘unavoidable side effects’. In 2006 another iteration of the shield law (The Epidemic Preparedness Act) was passed as part of the Patriot Act and extends the shield to include protection if the drug maker has ‘no willful knowledge’ that a vaccine may cause injury. In short, a maker of the Swine flu vaccine simply has to say they didn’t know the vaccine was going to cause harm then they cannot be sued. This won’t be hard to do since they have not fully tested the vaccine.

1. There are many ingredients in vaccines called adjuvants that are put in to stimulate the immune response

Click to read.

Your Black Health: Doctors Can’t Afford to Give Vaccinations

Parents who bring their kids to Dr. G. Andrew McIntosh for the chicken pox vaccine are out of luck.

The family physician, who has a solo practice in Uniontown, Ohio, doesn’t offer that shot because he can’t afford it. Most insurers won’t sufficiently cover the cost.

"It doesn’t do me any good. I am losing money on [them]," he said. The chicken pox vaccine runs about $115, but insurers only cover between $68 to $83 of that.

McIntosh has also cut back on a handful of other critical childhood vaccines for the same reason — including the measles, mumps and rubella, known as the MMR vaccine.

It costs him about $58 to buy an MMR shot, he said, while insurers pay about about $40.

 

click to read.

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Black Sports: Nike’s Black Politics in Dealing with Michael Vick

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, MSNBC’s TheGrio.com and AOL Black Voices 

Dick’s Sporting Goods recently made a decision that is bad for business. Taking one of the boldest, and perhaps silliest, stands of any corporation in recent memory, Dick’s decided not to sell Michael Vick jerseys in any of their stores.

Perhaps they earned a few dog-loving customers, but they lost the support of any shareholder who cares about making money. It’s one thing for lynch mobs to embrace vigilantism, but another for a corporation to engage in the same irrational behavior. Vick paid his debt to society; it’s time to move on with our lives.

The top brass at the Nike Corporation are smarter than the management at Dick’s Sporting Goods, but they too understand the need to stay away from Michael Vick, at least for right now. When asked to respond to rumors that Vick had signed a deal with Nike, the company gave an immediate and resounding "no." After the Nike denial, Michael Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, had to backpedal faster than an NFL defensive back to kill any indication that his client has re-signed with the "big swoosh." However, the confidence with which the signing was announced indicates that the relationship might be deeper than we think.

The truth is that I don’t believe a single word of the Nike dismissal. Like the big egos in Beyonce’s song, Nike’s swoosh is " too big, too wide, too strong" for them to sit idly by as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL makes his return to the game. Nike executives have seen Vick grace the cover of Xbox games and sports magazines and often refer to him as the man who "revolutionized the quarterback position." They know that Vick is not washed up, and that some of his best years may still be ahead of him.

Click to read.

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Obama Death Threats – CNN: Dr Boyce and Jamal Simmons

Click here to watch!

 

Dr Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and Resident Scholar with AOL Black Voices

Dr Elaina George: College Students are Chasing Prescription Drugs

by Dr. Elaina George, Your Black World Medical Correspondent

According to a recent CNN report 7% of college students admit to using Adderall without a prescription. It is an amphetamine-like stimulant used to treat attention deficit disorders (ADD) and attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This drug, come to known as ‘vitamin A’, is taken by students to improve their grades. It is believed to help them study more efficiently by increasing the ability to stay awake and concentrate longer. It is more potent than caffeine or the old standbys No-Doze and Mountain Dew.

When prescribed by a physician for an individual with ADD or ADHD, Adderall is an effective and safe drug. Unfortunately, like many other prescription drugs such as Xanax, Valium, and Oxycontin, which have become easy to get on the Internet and on the black market, its ubiquitous use has taken away the fear factor. There is little regard for the potential side effects such as heart problems, stroke, tremors, and addiction.

In fact both prescription drugs and over the counter drugs have been reduced to quick fixes that are used to ‘make a problem go away’. There is a pervasive feeling that if it is a prescription drug or if it is sold over the counter, then it must be safe. This has been encouraged by the aggressive direct to patient marketing by the pharmaceutical industry.

Click to read.

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The latest from Dr. Boyce Watkins on AOL Black Voices – 10/2/09

 

Dr Boyce: Think Nike’s Done with Michael Vick? Think Again

• I was excited to hear that Nike signed Michael Vick again after his dog fighting ordeal. You can … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (0)

Financial Lovemaking: Managing "Baby Mama Drama"

• Most of us know about "baby mama drama," since some of that drama may occur within your own home. … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (0)

Dr Boyce and Farai Chideya Discuss Life as an African American

• In the video below, Farai Chideya and I are on NPR "News and Notes" discussing the economy of the … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (0)

Dr. Boyce: Black Scholars Speak Out on the Sale of Ebony Magazine

• I’ve always felt that the role of black scholars is to speak up and out on issues of relevance to … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (0)

Senate Finance Rejects the Public Option on Health Insurance

• Liberal Democrats chose not to inject the widely debated Public Option into the healthcare … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in Black Voices Insurance | Comments (0)

Dr Boyce Money: Learning Entrepreneurship from Madam CJ Walker

• The other day, I caught up with Fenorris Pearson, CEO of Global Consumer Innovations. Fenorris is … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (0)

The Cheapest Car in the World, but you can’t buy it in the US

• At $2500, the Tato Nano is the cheapest car in the world. But you can’t buy it in the US and some … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in Black Voices Auto Insurance | Comments (0)

Financial Lovemaking: Who Keeps the Ring if the Engagement is Called Off?

• This video below answers an important question that many of us may end up confronting at some … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (3)

Dr. Boyce and Rev. Al Sharpton on the Death of Derrion Albert

• I spoke with Rev. Al Sharpton in our weekly meeting on his radio show, which you can listen to … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (13)

Company Makes Money from Deadly Urban Trend: "Sipping Syrup"

• You’ve probably heard the phrase "sippin syrup," used in reference to the act of mixing cough … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (1)

What you MUST Know About Your Property Insurance

• Nippets of insurance news you can use: Things your property insurance doesn’t cover: In our last … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in Black Voices Insurance | Comments (1)

Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian Get Married: Questions I’d Like to Ask

• Today, we are going to use an interesting story in black celebrity news to teach a short lesson … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (30)

Dr. Boyce and Rev. Al Sharpton Discuss Barack Obama, Black Politics, David Paterson

• This week, Rev. Al Sharpton and I discussed President Barack Obama’s racialized fight with the … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (2)

President Obama Talks Health Care at Congressional Black Caucus Conference

• In an appropriate show of respect, President Barack Obama addressed the Congressional Black Caucus … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in Black Voices Insurance | Comments (9)

Don’t Let Your Spouse Control All of Your Finances

• Financial News Blast for the week of September 26, 2009 – Click on the link for the title to read … Read More
• Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (1)

 

These articles are written by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Resident Scholar for AOL Black Voices

Dr Boyce Watkins, Jamal Simmons on CNN discussing the Obama Facebook Death Poll

Your Black World, AOL Black Voices, Syracuse University  

 

Transcript from CNN.com: Dr Boyce Watkins speaks with Jamal Simmons, former DNC Communications Advisor

This morning the Secret Service and the FBI are investigating a threatening poll that was posted on Facebook. It posed the question, should Obama be killed? Hundreds of people responded before the social networking site took it down.

Joining us to talk more about what may be behind it, from Syracuse, New York, Boyce Watkins — he’s a Syracuse professor and resident scholar for AOL black voices — and from Washington, Jamal Simmons, former DNC communications adviser now with the Raben Group, a communication consulting firm.

Let’s take a look, gentleman, first of all, at what the poll said posted on Facebook. And again, it was only for a few hours. It said, "Should Obama be killed?" The responses, yes, maybe, if he cuts my health care, and no.

It was put up by a third party application. More than 700 people responded before it was taken down. Boyce, what did you think when you saw that?

BOYCE WATKINS, PROFESSOR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Well, obviously, I was sickened by it.

What’s interesting, though, is that this poll in itself is really more of a symptom of a bigger problem that exists in our country. We know this president gets more death threats than pretty much any president in recent history.

And so if we really just focus on this issue and don’t focus on the broader problem, we’ll really miss the point, because we have to realize that America is a country that’s sick with the disease of racism.

And the disease of racism has its greatest impact on those who think who think they’ve been cured. So I’m not so angry about this incident as much I am about the environment that’s been created around our president.

Click to read.

Your Black News from theroot.com – 9/29/09

• 

  Blair Underwood Opens HIV/AIDS Clinic in DC

  The clinic looks to help hundreds in the District with free HIV/AIDS care…

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• 

  VIDEO: Chicago Honor Student Fatally Beaten

  Derrion Albert, a 16-year old honor student, was was walking home from school when he was apparently dragged into a vicious brawl…

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  Loves School, Hates Freedom: Obama Wants Longer School Days

  President Obama wishes to infringe upon the civil rights of youth by insisting on more hours to educate them…

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• 

  Just in Time for Elections, Al-Bashir Lifts Media Censorship in Sudan

  Newspapers are now allowed to dispense information without government pre-screening…

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• 

  Obama, Others Set to Put Shoe in Iran Over Its Nuclear Program

  Iran’s newly unveiled uranium enrichment facility "is inconsistent with a peaceful (nuclear) program," President Obama said today…

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• 

  Black Lawmakers Adjust to Post-Inauguration Politics

  Some believe the president must work from a centrist position for change while others see his presidency as an opportunity to push through Democratic initiative beneficial to the Black community…

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  Something to Shout About: Serena Williams Pens Book

  ‘On the Line’ details coming up in the shadow of Venus, the star’s failures and her triumphs…

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  The (No) Nuclear Option: UN Rez Aims for Nuke-Free World

  The next order of business: Regulating transcontinental pig flight…

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  Vaccine Shows Promise in HIV Prevention

  Researchers found that people who received a series of inoculations of a prime vaccine and booster vaccine were 31 percent less likely to get HIV, compared with those on a placebo…

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• Federal Worker Hanged, ‘Fed’ Scrawled Across Chest

  The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery. A law enforcement official says the word "fed" was scrawled on his chest…

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• 

  Complexion for the Rejection: Philly Swim Club Fined for Racism

  The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission issued a finding of probable cause Tuesday that racism was involved in the decision last June by a suburban Philadelphia swim club to revoke privileges of a largely minority day care center…

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  Obama to World: America’s Awesome, Still Can’t Fix Problems Alone

  "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility," Obama said in a passage from a speech he was delivering Wednesday to the United Nations General Assembly…

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  Ghosts of Timberlake: White Cop Told to Lose Cornrows

  And just when he was getting set to record a "21 Jump Street" track with Lil’ Wayne…

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  Going for Two: Plaxico Burress Sentenced to 24 Months

  Defense lawyer Benjamin Brafton said, "This is a very real tragic case in many, many ways."

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Black News: Facebook Poll Asks Users If they Think Obama Should be Killed

The Secret Service is investigating a Facebook Poll asking people if they would like to kill President Obama.

"We are aware of it and we will take the appropriate investigative steps," said Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman. "We take of these things seriously."

The poll asked Facebook Users "Should Obama be killed?" The choices: No, Maybe, Yes, and Yes if he cuts my health care.

Facebook has made it clear that they did not create the poll, and that it was created in an application used by a third party.

"The third-party application that enabled an individual user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook’s spokesman for policy.

"We’re working with the U.S. Secret Service, but they’ll need to provide any details of their investigation," Schnitt said.

Black Commentary from TheGrio – 9/26/09

 

• 

  Kristen Clarke

  Co-Director of the Political Participation Group at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund

  Local elections count as much as presidential ones

  8:00 AM on 09/28/2009

  OPINION – Turnout statistics from recent state and local elections around the country paint a rather bleak picture that is squarely at odds with the political energy and momentum witnessed last November….

  > MORE

• 

  Sala Udin

  President and CEO of the CORO center for civic leadership, Pittsburgh

  Black Pittsburgh struggles in the shadow of the G-20

  9:27 AM on 09/25/2009

  OPINION – For the most part, African-American Pittsburgh seems to be invisible, not only to the public relations hucksters who tout Pittsburgh’s successes, but we are equally invisible to the protesters….

  > MORE

• 

  Roland Laird

  Author of "Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans"

  Broad attacks on ACORN are just plain nuts

  9:30 AM on 09/24/2009

  OPINION — Let me be clear, ACORN’s actions deserved to be exposed, and they deserve to be punished. But let me be equally clear, ACORN is not a big American problem……

  > MORE

• 

  Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr.

  Religion Contributor

  Racism’s roots in the Bible

  8:11 AM on 09/23/2009

  OPINION – Everyone in power had been raised in a religious environment that taught that blacks were the descendants of Ham who was cursed by his father….

  > MORE

• 

  Talia Whyte

  Journalist & Activist

  African-Americans need to ‘raise hell’ about climate change

  8:10 AM on 09/23/2009

  OPINION – Right here in the United States, there are serious climate issues that need to be addressed, and these problems disproportionately affect African Americans……

  > MORE

• 

  Cheo Tyehimba

  Author & Activist

  Spare the rod, save your child

  7:42 AM on 09/23/2009

  OPINION – A study of more than 2,500 toddlers found that, for poor children as young as one, spanking is not only commonplace but promotes more aggressive behavior by age two……

  > MORE

• 

  Charlton McIlwain

  Professor, Author & Co-Director of the RaceProject.org

  Shift in race discussion needed for our kids and our media

  8:50 AM on 09/22/2009

  OPINION – Even the youngest among us recognize and realize the utility in making racial distinctions. Should we be concerned? If so, by what, exactly? …

  > MORE

Dr Elaina George on How to Stay Healthy: 5 Tips

by Dr Elaina George, Your Black World Medical Correspondent

Instead of waiting for the outcome of the healthcare debate to decide your fate, use some simple common sense strategies to take back the power to control your own health.

1. Start exercising

An increase in activity of as little as 20 minutes 3 times a week can make a difference in your risk of heart disease,

diabetes and obesity. You don’t have to get fancy with a gym membership. Try taking the stairs at work instead of the

elevator, or park further from the entrance when you go to the market or mall.

2. Eat Smaller portions

You may not want to give up your junk food or fried food, but try to limit your portions. Instead of buying a six pack

of soda, buy a two liter bottle. You can better control the portions along with your intake of calories.

Click to read.

Read more at Your Black World, the top black news website in America

Dr Boyce Watkins: Did BET Go Too Far with Skank Robbers?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

Your Black World, Syracuse University, AOL Black Voices, TheGrio.com 

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.

 

Click to read more.

If this link doesn’t work, then please click here.

Christopher Chestnut JD – Why You MUST Have Property Insurance

Christopher Chestnut (pictured above)

Your Black World, AOL Black Voices 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Most of us know very little about the ins and outs of property insurance. Christopher Chestnut is not in that category. As a prominent attorney out of Florida, Mr. Chestnut has taken on multi-million dollar cases and handled some of the most complex lawsuits imaginable. As one of the leading young black attorneys in America, Chestnut has been recognized by President Obama for his outstanding accomplishments.

I spoke to Chris this week about Property Insurance and what it can do to make your life a little simpler. Here is what he had to say:

1) If you rent, make sure you have renter’s insurance. Also, make sure your landlord has homeowner’s insurance, since renter’s insurance only includes the contents that are INSIDE the house

2) Check your landlord’s insurance regarding injuries on your rented property. Most people are unaware of the fact that the homeowner is liable in the event that someone is injured on their property. Even if the children across the street climb the fence to get into your yard, you are liable if one of them gets hurt. Find out how your landlord’s homeowner’s insurance would cover you if someone has an accident.

Click to read more.

ACORN Not Going Down Without a Fight

 

From USA Today

LOS ANGELES — Millicent Hill says God put her in her stucco home on East 92nd Street, but she believes she would have lost the house without ACORN.

Hill’s home is a center of after-school activity for kids in the Watts neighborhood in gritty South-Central Los Angeles. Children in her church-supported program can avoid the street, get a snack, work on a computer or get a hug.

LAST WEEK: House votes to defund ACORN

When "Mama" Hill, as she’s known, faced foreclosure, ACORN members showed up at a public auction to protest, prompting the lender to cancel the sale. ACORN then found a buyer who rents it back to Hill. "I wouldn’t be here without ACORN, and all of the kids would have to go somewhere else," says Hill, 69. "And they’ve got nowhere else to go."

Here and in other states, ACORN focuses on helping people with housing issues, supporting changes to health care and immigration policies, and registering voters.

ACORN — which has received about $53 million in federal funds since 1994 — has long been a target of conservatives because of its ties to Democrats. Attacks increased after its aggressive voter-registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for President Obama last year. Now, videos showing ACORN workers giving advice to conservative activists posing as a pimp and a prostitute are raising questions about its tactics and finances — and whether it can survive.

Click to read.

Please join the Your Black World Coalition at www.YourBlackWorld.com

Dr Boyce Watkins: Obama’s Stuck in a Racial Twilight Zone

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.

Click to read on MSNBC’s TheGrio.com.

Black News: Dr. Marc Lamont Hill Debates Ann Coulter over Obama

from Your Black World 

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill debates Ann Coulter on Fox News about Obama’s appearances in national media.  Click here to watch!

Dr Boyce: University of Michigan’s “Optional” Football Practices

by Dr. Boyce Watkins , Syracuse University 

MSNBC’s TheGrio.com 

The University of Michigan football team has a storied tradition when it comes to winning. The program is equally storied when it comes to making money by putting athletes on the field no matter what. This football factory rivals the other bastion of athletic exploitation down the road: my alma mater, The Ohio State University.

It was recently unearthed that The University of Michigan has been using "optional" practices as a way to push athletes against their will. Players and their families have reported that any athlete who doesn’t attend the "optional" practices has a strong likelihood of being punished by the team.

I have just one question: why is anyone surprised? The only thing surprising to me about the University of Michigan case is that someone is actually willing to testify against the university. I am simply stunned that the players are bold enough to stand up for their rights in light of the fact that there are extreme penalties for athletes who have the audacity to think for themselves.

For college athletes, loyalty to the NCAA is not a choice. The officials who run college sports serve as the judge, jury and executioner in all cases related to athletic conduct. Like Michael Vick’s pit bulls, athletes within the NCAAsystem are domesticated, indoctrinated and brainwashed from the minute they set foot on a college campus.

The same way that many major retailers look the other way when five year olds are employed in third-world factories, the NCAA doesn’t do a very good job of enforcing the standards within its very own rulebooks. The only standards that seem to be applied strictly are those that keep the athletes and their families away from the multi-billion dollar revenue-generating machine that pays for the massive salaries of college football coaches. This is nothing less than a slap in the face to the players and their families, who give so much on the field.

 

Click to read.

Black News: Tavis Smiley Accused of Helping Wells Fargo Milk Black People

 

from AOL Black Voices, Your Black World 

Did Tavis Smiley help Wells Fargo herd black people into subprime loans? Yes, according to information contained in a lawsuit filed recently by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The suit alleges that Smiley was the hook used to draw in potential customers for subprime mortgages.
You might be familiar with the "Wealth Building" seminars that Wells Fargo conducted beginning in the year 2000. Smiley was the headline speaker at these events, held in Baltimore; Chicago; Richmond, Va.; and San Francisco. The seminars were advertised aggressively in black media and aimed directly at black communities. They were a huge success. Often, standing room only audiences would hear Smiley speak about how he mostly disliked banks while strongly urging attendees to invest in real estate as a sound strategy to build wealth. …

Click to read.

Your Black News: Shock Jock Michael Baisden gets with Dr. Elaina George to Ask Obama Hard Questions

from AOL Black Voices, Your Black World

Although many Americans have seen and heard the insane debate over healthcare, almost no one understands what’s going on. This is doubly true for the African American community, who is affected greatly by this debate and its outcomes. Most black bloggers aren’t talking about it and black doctors are too busy to inform the community.
Michael Baisden got with Dr. Elaina George, a prominent black physician in the Atlanta area, to break down the public option, healthcare and all related issues in the interview below.During the interview, Dr. George and Baisden answer some important questions:

Click to read.

Dr. Elaina George: Things to Know Before Getting a Flu Shot

by Dr. Elaina George, Medical Correspondent, Your Black World 

Although the Swine flu virus has been identified in over 70 countries, it has not been as deadly as expected

• The world wide number of swine flu cases currently is 209,500 with 2,185 deaths

The common flu is more deadly

• In the US there have been 40,000 cases identified with 1,876 deaths. This is quite low when you compare the death rate to the typical flu virus which kills over 30,000 people per year.

Most cases of Swine flu have been mild

• Most people have had mild self-limited symptoms that resolve without any medical intervention.

Click to Read.

Dr. Wilmer Leon on Joe Wilson, Serena Williams

 

By

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Your Black World 

Howard University Political Science Professor

On Saturday September 12^th, at the U.S. Open semifinals, Serena Williams was caught in a “human moment” that she wishes she could change. After being called for a foot fault by a line judge Ms. Williams launched into an “f-bomb” laden tirade saying in part, “If I could, I would take this @#$#ing ball and shove it down your @#$#ing throat…" The resulting unsportsmanlike conduct penalty cost Ms. Williams the match.

On Monday September 14^th Ms. Williams offered a written apology. In it she said, "I want to sincerely apologize first to the lineswoman, Kim Clijsters, the US Tennis Association and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst … I really wanted to apologize sincerely…I think the lady was doing the best she could. She was just trying to do her job.”

Some have questioned Serena’s sincerity and others have questioned the timing of her apology. These questions may be valid but at the end of the day Ms. Williams did the right thing. She took responsibility for her behavior and apologized directly to all of those whom she attacked and offended.

On Wednesday September 9^th, Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) had his own “human moment.” During President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress on health care, Wilson shouted at the President “you lie”. Shortly after his outburst Congressman Wilson called the White House to offer his apology to the President. President Obama did not take his call. It was accepted on his behalf by Chief of Staff Rhom Emanuel.

Congressman Wilson has been asked by members of his own party as well as Democrats to formally apologize on the House floor. He has refused to apologize on the floor of the House saying, "I’ve apologized one time. The apology was accepted by the president, the vice president. … I am not apologizing again … I believe that is sufficient."

As a result of Congressman Wilson’s failure to apologize on the floor, the House passed a “resolution of disapproval” by a 240-179 vote. Congressman Wilson has now been duly punished for his outrageous and childish behavior.

Even though polls show a strong majority of American’s oppose Congressman Wilson’s actions, Republican Party leadership stands behind him. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said the House Democrats are guilty of “stunning…. Hypocrisy.” GOP leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that the action initiated by Wilson’s fellow South Carolina colleague, Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) — is "patently partisan." Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) circulated a letter of support for Wilson.

Click to read.

News: Serena Williams, Kanye West, Public Outbursts and Race

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Your Black World 

From AOL Black Voices and TheGrio.com 

Were there any racial implications to the recent outbursts by Serena Williams and Kanye West? Yes, there were. In my latest conversation with Rev. Al Sharpton, we break down these interesting events, all of which occurred during the past week. We can agree, however, that there are certainly things more important than worrying about Serena Williams and Kanye West. But these situations, in light of the backdrop of Obama’s comments about Kanye, might provide true teachable moments regarding America’s tattered racial history.As I’ve written before, Serena and Kanye have a lot in common, but nothing in common, all at the same time. Serena’s actions were justifiable, given the intensity of the situation and the fact that the line judge made the wrong call. At the same time, most of us can agree that Serena went over the line by threatening to "shove the ball down the f**ing throat" of the line judge because of her mistake. Yes, Serena, you are from the hood. But you don’t need to take it back to the hood to make your point to a U.S. Open line judge.

Click to read.

Dr Chris Metzler: Obama Presidency in Trouble?

September 16, 2009 · 2 Comments

By Christopher Metzler

President Obama’s presidency is in peril for two primary reasons. The first, his inability to be a transformational leader to an American public hungry for it is of his own making. The second, the thinly veiled demonstration of racism unskillfully disguised as “concern for country” is both to be expected and not of his own making. 

First, President Obama came into to office promising “change that we can believe in.” However, on the signature issue of change, health care reform, he has not led; choosing instead to send a litany of mixed messages as to whether  he would turn the Byzantine labyrinth that is the American health care system on its head. A transformational leader takes bold, decisive, innovative action if he or she believes that it is right for the country. Thus far, on health care, the President has not demonstrated transformational leadership; he has pledged fidelity to the status quo.

Click to read more.

Dr. Elaina George: What’s Wrong with Healthcare?

 

In this episode of Medicine on Call, Dr. Elaina George interviews Jason Rosenbaum from The Seminal, a healthcare publication.  What is wrong with healthcare?  What is the state of healthcare reform?  What are the goals for healthcare?   Why is it taking so long to fix?

 

Click here to listen!

News: Jimmy Carter Gets Radical on Race and Obama

Former President Jimmy Carter said in an interview Tuesday that Congressman Joe Wilson’s "you lie" outburst to President Obama was "based on racism" and that many of the critiques leveled against the president have been made because of his black heritage.

"I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man," Carter said in an sit-down with NBC’s Brian Williams.

Carter specifically said that Wilson’s comment was "dastardly" and part of an "inherent feeling" held by many Americans — particularly Southerners — that African-Americans "are not qualified to lead this great country."

"It’s an abominable circumstances and grieves me and concerns me very deeply," Carter said.

Click to read.

Howard U. President Responds to Student Protests

In an effort to address the student demands raised during the Sept. 4 protest , President Sidney A. Ribeau and Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer Alvin Thornton sat down  with The Hilltop to go through each presented demand.

Howard University President Sidney A. Ribeau

Demand:  Hours of the  Financial Aid office should be immediately extended until 7 p.m. until the set purge date with staff (i.e. certified financial aid officers and managers) in place to render quality customer service and to serve the unusually large number of students who have yet to be validated.

Response: “That’s something that I agree with and will, in fact, do,” Ribeau said.

Thornton said even before students raised the concern, this issue was a priority. He said that the office will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. until the set purge date. He said additional staff people will be needed, but they have agreed to move a substantial part of the operation back to the Amour J. Blackburn Center. Ribeau said this move will be completed by Friday. “It’s not easy, but that’s what we’re going to do.”

Demand: 24-hour, 7-day a week access to the Undergraduate Library and Founders Library, as well as significant capital improvements and renovations to Founders Library and Undergraduate Library.

Click to read more.

The Masculine Perceptions of Black Women

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

MSNBC’s TheGrio.com 

Black women are too aggressive. They are vicious, nasty, neck-swinging, over-sexed, amazons who utilize every available opportunity to tell off anyone in their path. They hate black men and they even manage to find creative ways to hate one another. We’ve now come up with a one-dimensional way of describing an incredibly diverse group around the world. That is what the world does to black women, and it is the same thing they do with black men. Personally, I’m getting sick of it.

In our natural aversion to such blatantly biased characterizations like the one presented in the first paragraph, we then go to the other extreme: Black women are all perfect, beautiful, loving, enlightened creatures who can do no wrong. All the problems of the black family belong solely to those "trifling brothers who just can’t get it together," and even when black women appear to be wrong, it’s just because the rest of us "are too weak to handle strong and intelligent sistuhs." Sorry my friends, stereotyping is wrong, even when it works in your favor.

Serena Williams’ tirade during the US Open on Saturday was offensive and sad to watch. She embarrassed herself and her family by threatening to "shove the ball down the f***ing throat" of a line judge during an internationally televised event. At the same time, Serena was in an extremely tense situation, the judge made a horrible call, and this was one of the biggest matches of her career. The judge had no business making that kind of call at that time, especially one that was ultimately incorrect. Serena simply said exactly what I certainly would have been thinking myself.

Click to read.

Wilmer Leon: Serena Needs to Learn to Play by the Rules

 

By

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

This past Saturday evening, on a second serve at 15-30, 5-6 in the second set at the U.S. Open semifinals, Serena Williams was called for a foot fault by the line judge. Based upon the judges call, Ms. Williams walked towards the judge, pointed her racquet at the judge and launched into an “f-bomb” laden tie raid saying in part, “If I could, I would take this @#$#ing ball and shove it down your @#$#ing throat…"

This exchange resulted in Ms. Williams being penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. This penalty resulted in the match being awarded to her opponent, Kim Clijsters. Some are now questioning the chair umpire and tournament referee Brian Earley’s decision. With Ms. Williams being African American, many are crying foul based on race. Others are objecting to what some believe to be a ticky-tack call, especially at such a key point in a match.

Click to read.

Dr. Boyce: The Financial Cost of Tirades: Serena and Kanye

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

When Kanye West stood on NBC four years ago and said "George Bush doesn’t care about black people," I applauded. When he acted a fool on stage after not receiving some award he deserved, I laughed. When he came out with that really weird CD after dealing with personal crises involving the loss of his mother and break up with his fiance, I sincerely felt for him (but never bought the album).
But after Kanye’s stunt last night on the MTV Video Music Awards, I wanted to slap him. Damn brother, that was just pathetic. When Beyonce told you she liked men with big egos, you surely put that theory to the test.

Kanye West’s decision to bum rush the stage and yank the mike out of the hand of Taylor Swift, a 19-year old woman winning her first award has finally certified him as the jackass that everyone thought he might be. I have been a big supporter of West, and I still support him to a point. He brings some degree of intelligence to hip hopthat the industry has needed for a long time. But the truth is that his actions last night were rooted in extreme selfishness and horribly arrogant behavior. Not good for Kanye, nor anyone else.
This must have been "The weekend the black folks went wild," because Serena Williams had an equally problematic outburst at the US Open. After a very bad call by one of the judges, Serena felt the need to offer to shove the ball down the "f*cking throat" of the woman for making her mistake. OK sistuh-girl, does the judge really need to have the ball shoved down her throat?

 

Click to read.

Oprah Stands by Barack During His Tough Time

In the midst of all the drama surroundingPresident Barack Obama’s speech to schoolchildren on Tuesday, there’s one Chicago resident who will support the commander-in-chief through thick and thin.
The one and only Oprah Winfrey admitted that she was stunned by the amount of backlash the president was receiving after encouraging students to rise above their challenges to succeed in school.
In an exclusive interview with ‘Access Hollywood’ on Wednesday, the multitalented media mogul professed her frustration over the recent events.
"I’m just really stunned by people who feel that the president, the leader of our country and of the free world, saying to your children it’s important for your success, the success of your families and our country, for you stay in school, that education is vital to your well-being. … I don’t understand it. I do not understand it," Winfrey said.

Click to read.

Big Punch Heard Around the World: Did Race Play a Role in Player’s Suspension?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

When I saw the video of the punch out by LeGarrette Blount of The University of Oregon, I was shocked and disappointed. This knock out blow that the athlete laid on Byron Hout of Boise State certainly has no place in the game of football – at least after the clock has struck zero. The University of Oregon acted immediately, suspending Blount for the entire season, effectively ending his career with the team. This incident is also going to likely hurt his chances of having an NFL career.

Here are some reasons that Oregon State was dead wrong in their decision.

1) The the university has no right to be judge and jury on this case. Where’s the union for college athletes? Oh yeah, they don’t have one. This incident is a reminder and sick reflection of the fact that college student athletes should have the same labor rights as the rest of us. Instead, they are subject to the harsh decisions of universities who care more about their revenues and reputations than the athletes themselves. Before you destroy a young man’s career, there should be hearings and a full investigation by a trustworthy panel of individuals who consider his well-being as part of the process. The idea that someone moved so quickly without knowing all the facts is absolutely ridiculous.

2) He is young. Since when can’t one 22-year old football player punch out another one and not pay for it for the rest of his life? Does it really make sense that the university feels that this man’s years of hard work are so disposable that they can simply throw them in the trash without consequence? Coaches are arrested for DWIs, commit crimes and do all kinds of egregious things, and are simply expected to go find another job. Blount, because of NCAA restrictions, can’t simply join the team at another university. His career is over.

Click to read.

They Continue to Fight Obama

 

How much do they hate Obama?

Tens of thousands of fiscal conservatives packed streets in the nation’s capital Saturday to protest what they consider the federal government’s out-of-control spending.

Demonstrators filled Freedom Plaza and Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington. They waved U.S. flags and held signs reading "Go Green Recycle Congress," "I’m Not Your ATM" and "Obamacare makes me sick."

Some men were dressed in colonial costumes with tri-colored hats.

The protesters were marching to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

FreedomWorks Foundation, a conservative organization led by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, organized several groups from across the country for what they’re calling a "March on Washington."

The Washington march took place on the same day President Obama was headed to Minneapolis to rally support for his heath care reform plan. The plan, which also was the topic of his weekly raido and Internet message, has come under fire from fiscal conservatives who consider it too costly.

 

Click to read.

The Grio Speaks – 9/12/09

Mark Anthony Neal

Author and Professor of African-American Studies at Duke University.

Tyler Perry reflects black culture but some hate what they see

9:34 AM on 09/11/2009

OPINION – Tyler Perry has placed a mirror up to our collective image and if we don’t like what we see, we need to move beyond simply complaining about what Perry is doing……

> MORE

Rinku Sen

Executive Director of the Applied Research Center & publisher of ColorLines magazine

Post-9/11 immigration debate needs shift in focus

8:38 AM on 09/11/2009

OPINION – September 11th marked a shift in the politics of race and immigration that prevents us from adopting a plan for legalization, much less overhauling our very broken……

> MORE

Rev. Al Sharpton

President of National Action Network

Obama puts health care back on track

6:30 AM on 09/11/2009

OPINION – Single-handedly shifting the debate, President Obama has once again silenced doubters and brought the focus back on the real issue – an inadequate system that is failing the nation….

> MORE

Wilmer Leon: A conversation about the Economy

 

Dr. Wilmer Leon Speaks to Dr Danny Boston, an Economist at Georgia Tech University about the state of the economy.  Click here to listen!

Dr Boyce Watkins: The President Absolutely Nailed It

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

The other day, I mentioned that it was time for President Obama to get tough with his critics. Their below-the-belt attacks on the Beltway were getting to the point of embarrassing our great nation. We were reverting to 1920s lynch mobs and watching behavior that fell short of the threshold of human decency.
Well, when you’re confronted with a monster, you sometimes have to become one. And last night, the president was a monster.I applaud his firm approach when dealing with his critics. President Obama stood tall and strong, showing the vision of a great president. He also confronted Republican lies and misinformation directly. From a political standpoint, the speech was a mobilizer, which is called for when the opposition refuses to work with you and consistently pushes to dismantle your agenda. The right wing does not like this president, and they are using dirty tools of American racism and distrust of black men to win their fight with Obama.

The battle was further energized by the ridiculous outburst by South Carolina Republican Jim Wilson, who shouted "You lie!" in the middle of the President’s speech. Sorry Joe, bad move. Sometimes your enemies can be your greatest allies, and in this case, Obama needs to send Wilson a Thank You card. His actions were yet another spread of icing on the cake of energy that the president created with his stellar performance before Congress.

Click to read.

Your News: Republican Outburst May Help Obama

All eyes were on Barack Obama entering Wednesday night’s address to Congress, but a little-known South Carolina Republican may have done more than the president’s combative speech to unify besieged Democrats around health care reform.

The night’s defining moment — which Democrats hope to transform into a turning point – came when Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted "You lie!" as Obama claimed his plan wouldn’t offer free care to illegal immigrants.

Wilson’s boorishness — for which he quickly apologized — enraged audience members on both sides of the aisle.

It also overshadowed a speech that included some of Obama’s harshest attacks on his GOP critics to date, including a denunciation of "death panel" alarmists as liars — a veiled swipe at Sarah Palin — and a warning to Republicans who want to "kill" reform.

"What we have also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have toward their own government," Obama said. "Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned.

"Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed," he added, to Democratic cheers.

The president’s combativeness, coupled with Wilson’s behavior, clearly energized Democrats — to the point where few were in a mood to criticize Obama’s lack of specifics or the fact that he offered no ironclad commitment to inserting a robust public option in the final legislation.

 

Click to read.

A Doctor’s Take on Obama’s Speech to Congress

by Dr. Elaina George, YourBlackWorld.com

The suspense is over. For weeks we have been holding our collective breath to see if there would be real insurance reform. Now we know. President Obama’s speech this evening incorporated a lot of different ideas, but what was most striking was his statement that the public option was just one of the avenues that could be travelled to achieve an expansion of insurance coverage. Besides the demotion of the public option as an important tool to reign in the all powerful insurance companies, I noticed that there was no mention of universal health care. Wasn’t that the point of this whole exercise?

To be fair there are some good things. Under the President’s proposal there will be:

§ Coverage for pre-existing conditions

§ A cap on out-of-pocket expenses

§ People can no longer be dropped from insurance companies when they get sick

§ No further cap on what insurance companies will pay out

It is a good start, but it doesn’t go far enough.

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Dr Boyce Watkins: Obama Needs Your Help

By Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

MSNBC’s TheGrio.com.

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Michael Vick warns students about the dangers of peer pressure

Welcome to the age of "No Child Left Un-Politicized"

 

This week, Michael Jordan will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He will always be remembered for his many accomplishments and record-breaking achievements in the sport. However, as President Obama prepares to put on a full-court press for health care reform in a speech to Congress tonight, he needs only to look back at one performance from "His Airness" to gain inspiration.

Twelve years ago, in the NBA Finals, Michael Jordan was going to lose. Sick with the flu, he could barely walk, and his aura of invincibility had been shattered in the eyes of the American public. Mike was going to finally relinquish one of his many titles and Karl Malone was going to get the championship that we all now know he never received.

But Mike was Mike, and Karl wasn’t. Mike found a way to win and Karl Malone found a way to become "posterized" as yet another footnote in the astonishing legacy of the great Michael Jordan. Every great man or woman has an opportunity to build his or her legend, and it comes during the most trying of times. It is how we respond to these moments that make the difference between becoming Michael Jordan or just another Charles Barkley.

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An Insider Goes After BET

So Andreas Hale, former Executive Editor of Music at BET.com, has been let go.
But instead of simply gathering up his pencils, Rolodex and the favorite coffee mug, Hale took to the web to lay out many of his trials and tribulations during his time at BET.
Hale then hit ’send’ on an explosive email that landed in our in-boxes Tuesday. The dysfunction that Hale describes is startling, but if we’re honest, I think Hale verifies what many of us have long suspected:
As someone who has been critical of BET for many years, it surprised many that I would leave my post at HipHopDX last year to take a position at BET. But it was an opportunity I absolutely had to take. I could no longer be critical of this company without accepting the opportunity to change it when given. …
Although I was hired to bring about change, I was systematically shut down. I wasn’t hired to make noise, I was hired to be silenced. The truth of the matter is that everything that you thought was wrong with BET is true.

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Black College Sports: Oregon Athlete’s Punishment Too Harsh

Oregon not only lost the battle of their opening game against Boise State, but they also lost a general, in standout senior running back LeGarrette Blount.

Following a disappointing performance against Boise State in which the Ducks suffered a 19-8 defeat, Blount was walking off the field when he decided to sucker punch BSU player Byron Hout. Prior to the right straight to Hout’s jaw, Hout ran over to Blount antagonizing and instigating confrontation by yelling in Blount’s face and tapping him on the shoulder pad.

Once the skirmish was broken up by Boise coaches and Oregon players, Blount was escorted off the field, but a sports fight would not be a fight until the fans were involved.

 

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Dr Boyce Watkins: How Obama Can Win this Fight

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

I once saw a documentary by filmmaker Byron Hurt called, "Barack and Curtis," comparing President Obama to the rapper 50 Cent. Such a comparison might seem silly, given that one of these men is the leader of the free world and the other is a wealthy "gangsta" with more business sense than a Harvard Professor. But in this case, Barack might want to learn a bit from Curtis in order to get a little "gangsta" with the Republican Party, because the right wing has already gotten incredibly "thugged out" with him.

Through a web of lies, unfair attacks and orchestrated campaigns to discredit the president, the right wingers have been relatively successful in slowly eroding Obama’s base of support. While President Obama once rode the wave of 60% approval ratings and amazing popularity, the numbers are now hovering around 45% and morale within the Obama camp has been dramatically weakened. Let Obama lose an additional 10% of his supporters, and you’ve got another President Bush.
I’ve been critical of President Obama when he was wrong, and that won’t ever change. But I stand by my assertion that Barack Obama is the most intelligent and capable leader our nation has had in a very long time. He is certainly better than John McCain and Sarah Palin, whose intellectual and professional flaws make a mockery of our political system.

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Afghanistan/Pakistan, a New Vietnam? – Asks Dr. Wilmer Leon

By

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

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… ”

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Black News: Dr Boyce Watkins supports Howard University Student Protests

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

Howard University has a problem. Apparently, the school’s students have taken lessons on freedom of speech to heart and actually believe they have a voice in running the campus. That problem is magnified by the fact that they are finally speaking up on issues of mismanagement and incompetence that plague many universities around the nation, particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

We all know that HBCUs can be amazing places to get an education. But we also know that many HBCUs are as slow as molasses when it comes to adopting the necessary administrative adjustments to keep up with the demands of college students. We also know that many HBCUs are not even hiring very many black professors, particularly in business and the sciences (Howard University is one of them). Not having the funds to engage in sound administrative policy is almost understandable. But ignoring calls for appropriate change because it undermines your quest to maintain power….well, that just makes you a black version of the Bush Administration.

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The Civil Rights Legacy of Ted Kennedy

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University  – MSNBC’s TheGrio.com

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, FILE)

Many of us once joked that Bill Clinton was the "first black president" (which he wasn’t). We had it wrong. If such a title were to be given to any white man, that should have to be the late Senator Ted Kennedy. He was never president of the United States, but he was certainly one of the kings of his generation.

As a member of the Senate since 1962, Senator Kennedy had a long career fighting for those forced to live in the underbelly of a capitalist society. Over the last 47 years, he has done it better than nearly any politician in American history. African-Americans were among the many beneficiaries of his passionate life’s work, and for that, we will always be appreciative.

In a multitude of areas including housing, income, civil liberties, and equality, Ted Kennedy has been on the front lines. His brother John introduced the Civil Rights Act of 1964, considered to be one of the most impactful pieces of legislation ever produced by our government. After John’s death, Ted and his brother Robert were instrumental in seeing that the bill was passed.

Senator Ted Kennedy then went on to help pass one law after another to support the rights of the elderly, the sick, the poor and the incarcerated. He introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Civil Rights Act of 1991, The Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act, among others. He also helped to amend the Fair Housing Act, and has fought relentlessly for those who’ve never known the comfort of attending an Ivy League University.

Senator Kennedy’s political compassion, as well as his complicated coping mechanisms, may be linked to the tragedy he experienced during his life. As a young child, he watched his sister Rosemary endure a failed lobotomy, saw his brother Joseph die in World War II and then witnessed his older sister Kathleen’s death in a plane crash. This tragedy was compounded by the assassinations of his two brothers, Robert and John during the 1960s. This kind of pain doesn’t heal easily, and few families endure such an amazing amount of personal tragedy. It is quite possible that the weight of his psychological pain gave Senator Kennedy the ability to empathize with the struggles of others, as well as the strength to fight through hurdles presented by his adversaries.

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Dr. Elaina George Explains What We can Learn from the Death of MJ

The following is a statement made by Dr. Elaina George, an Otolaryngologist out of Atlanta and advocate for physicians.

‘Michael Jackson did not have a chance’ was my first thought when I read the report that just came out about what caused his untimely and tragic death. I was unprepared for the absolute disregard for the first tenant of the doctors’ Hippocratic Oath – First do no harm.

There was no way that harm would not have come to Mr. Jackson. It was beyond negligent to give him a mixture of three different kinds of sedatives, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant in addition to Propofol, a general anesthetic that is only used in an operating room setting (because it can stop someone’s breathing). Each of these drugs by themselves can be lethal, but together it is a recipe that will almost definitely kill someone. I can think of no medical scenario that would justify mixing these kinds of drugs. Hopefully, Mr. Jackson’s death will teach us that prescription drugs, though helpful are no substitute for doctors doing everything in their power to protect the health of their patients, including just saying no when it is appropriate.

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Dr Boyce Watkins on Sports: John Calipari and Kentucky

Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

After reading about Kentucky Coach John Calipari being found guilty of cheating by the NCAA, I wasn’t surprised in the least. Calipari has never been known for producing the most highly educated athletes in the world (his graduation rate among African American athletes is 44 percent), and he seems to want to win above anything else. The idea that my alma mater, The University of Kentucky, would immediately step in to pay tens of millions of dollars to a coach that has been proven to be a cheater makes a powerful statement about the ethical disposition of this university. Kentucky is like many NCAA institutions in their mass pillage of African American athletes for the sake of their multi-million dollar fortunes.

John Calipari and his old school, The University of Memphis, have been charged with having an SAT exam taken for a player on the basketball team (believed by many to be Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls). According to several published sources, the SAT exam was falsified during the 2007 – 2008 season. The team has been required to give back 38 wins from that season, costing the school millions in revenue. These kinds of abuses don’t just occur at The University of Memphis. The University of Kentucky’s basketball program has nearly received the death penalty for its long list of violations in the past, so it is only fitting that they hire yet another arguably unethical coach to continue their storied tradition. Here are some quick thoughts about John Calipari and The University of Kentucky:

Click to read.

Wilmer Leon on the NCAA Lawsuit

 

Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University and Dr. Wilmer Leon of Howard University speak about the NCAA class action lawsuit.  The NCAA is being sued for illegal use of player images. What do you think? Should the NCAA start paying players?

Click here to listen!

Black News off TheGrio – 8/22/09

First black NFL official dies at 81

By theGrio via AP

1:55 PM on 08/21/2009

CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Burl Toler, the first African-American official in NFL history who went on to work one Super Bowl in a distinguished career, has died. He was 81.

> more

Female boxers will get a chance at Olympic gold

By theGrio

12:38 PM on 08/21/2009

For anyone who doubts a woman can hit or ever score a knockout punch, look no further than these women. Some are college students on scholarship and they all fight to win.

> more

Urban farming may save the hip-hop generation

By John Baiata

12:21 PM on 08/21/2009

When Darren ("The Human Beat Box") Robinson was at his improvising best, rapping for "The Fat Boys" during the 80’s and early 90’s, fat was phat.

> more

Naked man arrested for assault on plane

By theGrio

9:01 AM on 08/21/2009

VIDEO — Authorities say a flight was forced to return to Oakland International Airport after a male passenger stripped, hit another passenger and fought with crew members.

> more

Poll: Americans losing confidence in Obama

By theGrio via AP

8:01 AM on 08/21/2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll says that Americans, concerned over the future of health care reform and anxious about the growing federal budget deficit, are losing faith in President Barack Obama.

> more

Burress’ teammates saddened by plea deal

By theGrio via AP

3:24 PM on 08/20/2009

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Plaxico Burress’ decision to plead guilty to a weapons charge and accept two years in prison surprised his former New York Giants teammates

> more

2 teenagers charged as adults in hate crime against elderly black fisherman

By theGrio via AP

2:39 PM on 08/20/2009

Two teenagers were arrested Thursday and charged as adults in what police say was the racially motivated beating of an elderly black fisherman.

> more

Same-sex couples stage ‘kiss-in’ to protest treatment at diner

By theGrio

12:15 PM on 08/20/2009

VIDEO – Dozens of same-sex couples locked lips inside a popular Maryland diner Wednesday to protest the treatment of a lesbian couple there.

> more

Prison Population Set to be Reduced in California

A controversial bill that California legislators say would allow the early release of more than 27,000 inmates from crowded prisons will be taken up by the state Assembly on Monday.

Inmates at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, interact in a gym modified to house them in August 2007.

The Senate on Thursday passed the corrections package 21-19, after Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, assured senators the changes would protect the public from the most violent offenders.

The legislation also would direct more resources toward parolees, he said.

Senate Republicans say the bill would undermine public safety. All 15 Senate Republicans voted against the measure.

Both houses of the legislature are controlled by Democrats.

Consideration of the bill comes as California faces a mid-September deadline for reducing itsprison population by about 40,000 inmates. A special panel of three federal judges issued the order, contending the crowded prison system violates prisoners’ constitutional rights.

The judges said they will make the reductions themselves if the state fails to act.

The measure would save the financially strapped state $524.5 million, according to a statement from Steinberg’s office.

When coupled with budget revisions that lawmakers made in July, the total corrections savings would be $1.2 billion, he said. That is the amount that Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants as part of his efforts to cut state spending and balance the budget.

Click to read.

More NCAA Foolishness

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)—Memphis will be forced to vacate the record 38 victories from its Final Four season of 2007-08 under former coach John Calipari because of NCAA violations, The Commercial Appeal reported.

The newspaper, citing an unidentified source close to the situation, said on its Web site Wednesday night the NCAA will release findings of its investigation Thursday. The Commercial Appeal said it was unaware of any penalties beyond this season.

The NCAA investigated whether someone took the SAT exam for a player on that Final Four team. Memphis was notified of potential violations in January and met with the governing body in June.

The NCAA has said an unknown person took the college entrance exam for a player—with his knowledge—and that the player used it to get admitted. The governing body says the athlete played for the Tigers only in the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA tournament. Just one person fits that description: Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls’ No. 1 overall draft pick in 2008 and its rookie of the year.

 

Click to read.