Racial slur banned in New York

The city council of New York has voted to ban the use of the word "nigger".

The resolution to ban the so-called "N-word" is largely symbolic as it carries no weight in law and those who use the word would face no punishment.

But it reflects a growing unease that the racial slur is now part of everyday conversation and that the taboo against its usage has been swept away. Click here for full article

A Black History Month that Made History

Events set this Black History Month apart from its predecessors

OBAMA

There have been other notable African American to run for the highest office in the land, but none taken as seriously as the Illinois sensation, and you know what, Obama is cool

Super Bowl

By now everyone knows the Super Bowl was the first ever, to have
two black coaches. What's wasn't mentioned was the Super Bowl is not actually being played in Miami. The stadium is located in the heart of Miami Gardens, South Florida's first newly incorporated city of African American middle to upper class professionals. The city not only has an African American Female mayor, but African American Police Chief, City Attorney, City Clerk and the entire City council. So spread the word ..... Throw in a spectacular half time by Prince we truly were representing.

The Oscars

There have been other Oscar winners in previous years but in 2006 the nominees talent dominated there race and their wins was never in question

The bar was set high in 2006, I can't wait to see what 2007 brings

It's Not All About the iPods, Oprah

By Eugene Robinson

Tuesday, January 9, 2007; Page A15

There can't be more than a handful of people on Earth who are better at choosing their words than Oprah Winfrey. So I was stunned last week to read a quote from her that was so . . . so totally un-Oprah.

She was talking about the new $40 million school for poor young girls she has built in South Africa and her awareness that some people would ask why she hadn't spent that money to benefit poor students at home. She already gives millions to educate underprivileged children in the United States, and anyway, she told Newsweek, the two situations are different. South Africa has desperate poverty and rudimentary infrastructure. The American educational system may have its faults, but "it does work."

Point made. But she wasn't done.

"I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn't there," she said. "If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school."

Oh, no, she didn't.

It's hard to know where to start. I guess the most charitable spin is that Oprah should visit some different schools. If she checks out some rich suburbs, for example, she'll find that kids there also want iPods -- and, yes, that they lust after overpriced sneakers, too. It's possible to argue that young people in the United States are overly materialistic, but not that the problem is confined to inner-city youths or is even worse among inner-city youths.

And there's no way to put lipstick on the part about how "the sense that you need to learn just isn't there" among inner-city young people, who, by the way, tend to be African American and Hispanic. As a nation, we should be outraged that there are so many failing, dysfunctional schools in our inner cities. No one should make excuses for students who foolishly fail to understand how education can better their lives and who do their best to drag others down with them. But in the inner-city schools I've visited, most students desperately want to learn -- just as Oprah, growing up poor in inner-city Milwaukee, wanted desperately to learn.

The razor-sharp contrast that Oprah drew between young people in South Africa and those in the United States gets all fuzzy when you read her "What I Know for Sure" column in the December issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

She writes of 10 South African orphans, ages 7 to 14, whom she took under her wing several years ago, hiring caretakers for them, sending them to a private boarding school, buying them a big house and hiring a decorator "to personalize each of their bedrooms." Last summer, she said, she went to South Africa and dropped by the house unannounced.

"I found them all at the homework table off the kitchen, doing their work," she wrote. "That's a good thing. But when I sat them down in the living room for a conversation, everyone's cell phone kept going off." But "the inner spark I was used to seeing in their eyes was gone, replaced by their delight in their rooms full of things."

The girls had "long, braided hair extensions flowing down their backs" and were wearing baseball caps. In general, the kids "could talk about what they owned -- the latest portable PlayStations, iPods, and sneakers -- but they couldn't speak of what they'd done."

Once again, those dastardly iPods and sneakers. But it seems that South African kids, as well as Americans, are susceptible to the evil lure of really cool stuff.

Look, I have nothing but sincere applause for Oprah's philanthropy, both at home and abroad. It's mean-spirited to criticize her for building that $40 million school outside Johannesburg, complete with beauty salon and yoga studio. Her idea is to offer a unique opportunity to a few special girls who have the potential to do great things in their society, and Oprah generally accomplishes just what she sets out to do.

But she should realize that however exceptional the students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls might be, they're still teenagers. They will be sporting the latest look, whether it's long braids or elaborate curls. Their cellphones will buzz and hum nonstop with instant messages from their friends. That's what teenagers are like.

If Oprah should drop in unexpectedly and find them doing their homework, she shouldn't complain. She should get them iPods.

Capitol Hill honors Frederick Douglass

WASHINGTON - Frederick Douglass is known for fiercely opposing slavery after running away from his Maryland owner, for championing equal rights and women's rights and for being a forceful speaker.


But he spent much of his adult life as a journalist, first publishing a newspaper in Rochester, N.Y., where he lived near the Canadian border to be able to get away if pursued, and then in the nation's capital.

Douglass was the first black reporter allowed into the Capitol press galleries, where journalists watch lawmakers on the floors of the House and Senate.

His role as a pioneering journalist was honored Monday during Black History Month when the committee of reporters that controls access to the galleries dedicated a plaque and portrait.

Douglass was a member of the congressional press galleries from 1870-1874.

"We know he was here because the congressional directory, then as now, prints a list of everybody who sat in the gallery," said Senate historian Donald Ritchie. He said the names of Douglass and at least one of Douglass' sons were listed.

Douglass came to Washington in 1870 after he was asked to become editor of the New National Era, which chronicled the progress of blacks throughout the country. He later bought the paper after it ran into money trouble, but the enterprise collapsed in 1874 after a post-Civil War financial crisis wiped out many businesses in the city.

He continued to visit the Capitol, Ritchie said, sitting in seats for the public.

"He was here. He did report because the African-American community really wanted to know what was happening in Congress during Reconstruction," Ritchie said.

Jesse J. Holland, the first black reporter elected to the Standing Committee of Correspondents, said, "Frederick Douglass was the type of journalist who not only recorded history, he made history. So it's very appropriate that we're honoring him by placing this plaque and this painting here in the House Press Gallery."

Holland is an Associated Press reporter on leave to write a book about blacks' contributions to Washington's historic sites,

Elliott Lewis, a freelance television journalist, author and regional director for the National Association of Black Journalists, said minorities are still underrepresented in most U.S. newsrooms.

"It is our belief that America's press corps should look like America, so to be here today to honor a pioneering journalist is certainly a great privilege," he said.

Congrats, Forrest and Hudson

It was a memorable but not completely triumphant Oscar night for black actors as Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson won trophies but Eddie Murphy lost in an upset.
As expected, Whitaker won best actor Sunday for his frightful yet charismatic performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Jennifer Hudson, a former ”American Idol” contestant, scored the best supporting actress award for her debut performance in the musical ”Dreamgirls [trailer].”
”Receiving this honor tonight tells me that it’s possible, it is possible for a kid from East Texas, raised in South Central L.A. and Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and to have them happen,” Whitaker said as he accepted his award.
Murphy, also, was favored to win, but experienced a surprising loss early in the evening to Alan Arkin (”Little Miss Sunshine”). ( I told you Norbit would cost him the Oscar)
”I was definitely shocked. It makes you a little bit nervous,” Hudson said backstage. ”You can never be too sure. He did an unbelievable job.”
Leading up to the Oscars, some speculated that the recent release of Murphy’s lowbrow, cross-dressing comedy ”Norbit” would injure his Oscar prospects. The ”Norbit” producers hesitated over releasing it in the middle of Murphy’s Oscar campaign, but director Brian Robbins said it was Murphy who insisted on releasing it on schedule.
Some also thought Murphy showed a slightly cavalier attitude about acting honors when he accepted a Screen Actors Guild award and lightly mocked earlier, earnest speeches.
”No, I’m sorry,” the 45-year-old comedian said after a moment, cracking up with laughter. ”It’s just when the British people come and get the awards, it’s so smooth with their stuff. And I feel goofy up here, ’cause I don’t be winning stuff.”
Still, black actors took two of the four main acting awards, and other nominees included Will Smith and Djimon Hounsou.
”It’s a wonderful year to be an African-American actor,” Beyonce Knowles (who co-starred with Murphy and Hudson in ”Dreamgirls”) said on the red carpet before the ceremony.
Although Jesse Jackson noted that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences includes only 110 African-Americans out of 5,830 members, such years have been increasingly frequent.
After a long history of the Academy Awards being a largely all-white affair (Chris Rock once called the Oscars a ”million white man march”) this was the third year where multiple black actors won Oscars.

Denzel Washington (”Training Day”) and Halle Berry (”Monster’s Ball”) memorably shattered the Oscars’ racial ceiling in 2002, the first time blacks won both lead-acting prizes. In 2005, Jamie Foxx (”Ray”) and Morgan Freeman (”Million Dollar Baby”) won Academy Awards, prompting Freeman to say: ”It means that Hollywood is continuing to make history. We’re evolving with the rest of the world.” he ”rest of the world” was also notably present at this year’s Academy Awards - with nominees from Mexico, Japan, Africa, Germany and elsewhere.
”Such diversity in the room in a year where there’s been so many negative things said about people’s race, religion and sexual orientation,” said host Ellen DeGeneres. ”And I want to put this out there: If there weren’t blacks, Jews or gays, there would be no Oscars.”

16 rules I try to live by

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think. There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems. You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don't take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time."

Spank You

Lately, America has been abuzz over the need of physical discipline for children after California assemblywoman Sally Lieber proposed a ban on spanking kids under the age of 4.

SACRAMENTO — The state Legislature is about to weigh in on a question that stirs impassioned debate among moms and dads: Should parents spank their children? Click here

JAPAN - Growing concern over bullying, stopped short of overtly backing beating, but suggested an end to a policy of leniency. Click here

Spanking kids is not the only solution

In these busy days, children do not receive sufficient time and attention from their parents, who are often too distracted by their own worries to treat their children with patience and empathy, situation that can create an easy environment for misbehavior Click here

The Inner Reality of Child Abuse
At times they almost seem to have a hierarchy of child abuse. They focus on sexual abuse above all else, as though it is only when abuse is of a sexual nature that it can be damaging. Or they say that certain sorts of abuse are "okay" but others are not. But this all misses the point entirely. Concentrating merely on the OUTER facts of what happened completely disregards the inner reality Click here

Research on Spanking
Diana Baumrind, an influential figure in the psychology of parenting, followed children starting in preschool up through their twenties. She found that, overwhelmingly, occasional or even frequent swats used in discipline did not cause major adjustment problems for those children. Though she doesn’t advocate spanking, she recognizes that the evidence is clear. Click here

Venus is Clueless

Click here to see why

Authentic Obama

By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, February 20, 2007; Page A13

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Is Barack Obama "authentically" black? Come on, be real. Is the pope Catholic?

Obama made his first campaign trip to this early-primary state over the weekend, drawing about 3,000 people to a rally in Columbia, the state capital, and 2,000 to a "town hall meeting" here in the city where I was born and raised. If those who rose early Saturday morning to attend the Orangeburg event constitute a representative focus group, black voters will want to weigh Obama's policy positions against those of the other candidates before deciding whom to support. But they won't spend a lot of time pondering his identity.

Among the dignitaries with front-row seats in the auditorium at Claflin University (where my mother used to be head librarian) was state legislator Gilda Cobb-Hunter, an African American, who had no patience for the "blackness" question that reporters kept asking.

"People talk as if this is, like, some kind of option for him," Cobb-Hunter said. "When Obama looks in the mirror in the morning, what do you think he sees? There is no way that he has any confusion about being a man of color. I think this issue is being manufactured by people who want to get us off focus. I don't hear the national media questioning Hillary Clinton about being a woman."

But what about the argument, posed by a couple of contrarian black columnists, that since Obama is not the descendant of slaves (white mother from America, black father from Kenya), he's a different kind of African American? "As time passes, very few people are going be able to say they marched in the civil rights movement," Cobb-Hunter said. "Are the people asking this question saying that if you didn't live through the Civil War, you can't understand slavery?"

Most of those in Obama's audience here had some past or present association with Claflin or nearby South Carolina State University, both of which are historically black colleges. Making my way through the crowd of old friends and neighbors, I wasn't able to find anyone willing to qualify Obama's blackness with an asterisk.

Henry N. Tisdale, Claflin's dynamic president -- the institution was failing when he took over in 1994 and now is firmly established in U.S. News & World Report's annual list of America's best colleges -- was less blunt than Cobb-Hunter, but no less dismissive of the question: "I think that in today's global and multicultural society, we will find persons such as Barack Obama becoming not the exception but the rule, and giving hope to all who want to live the American dream."

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, whose district includes Orangeburg, rearranged his schedule so he could be here to introduce Obama. "I thank him for giving new hope and inspiration to a new generation," Clyburn said. "Obama is able to run today because Rosa Parks sat down. . . . He is able to run today to give hopes and dreams to all of us."

I should make clear that none of these kind words added up to a formal endorsement. Almost a year remains before the South Carolina Democratic primary, scheduled for Jan. 29, in which African Americans will cast about half of all votes. Both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards hope to win significant black support in this state; I would advise them, and others, that trying to convince people that Obama somehow isn't black enough would be a poor use of precious time and resources.

Obama was comfortable in the town hall format, pacing like a talk-show host without notes or a lectern. His first big applause line was a call to fix "a health-care system that's broken." Someone in the audience yelled, "We want you to fix it!" and Obama yelled back, "We're going to fix it."

There were more cheers when he reiterated his opposition to the Iraq war, but he really got the crowd going when he talked about the national hunger for "a new kind of politics." People "want something new," he said, and the crowd enthusiastically agreed.

One woman, asking a question, mangled his name into "Barama." The candidate picked up on it immediately, saying that "they call me 'Alabama,' they call me 'yo' mama,' " but all that matters is that "I have your vote."

One of his biggest applause lines -- perhaps predictably, in a college town -- was a call for black Americans to "get over this anti-intellectualism we see in our community sometimes." And when he ended with a rousing "Yes, we can!" set piece, he exited the way every candidate wants to leave any room: with people on their feet, cheering for more.

Writing that Novel;

It Continues

And Yes It Ends

It's Not Over Until You Win:

"When you are down on your back, if you can look up, you can get up

It's Not Over Until You Win: How To Become The Person You Always Wanted To Be No Matter What The Obstacle
Les Brown is one of the most popular motivational speakers in the world today. In It's Not Over Until You Win!, Brown offers a powerful and inspirational plan to help people overcome any obstacle in their lives.
Les Brown himself has been through countless ups and downs, suffering through personal and career crises including the cancellation of his television show and the death of his beloved mother. In this unique audio program, Brown tells you how he rose from those depths and how you can, too. It's Not Over Until You Win! will demonstrate:
How to cope with the loss of a loved one
How to recover self-esteem when you lose your job
How to keep away from self-destructive behavior
Filled with the passion and exuberance that will empower you to overcome any obstacle, It's Not Over Until You Win! captures the amazing spirit of Brown's electric speaking style in a sure-fire empowerment audiobook that will galvanize anyone to take their lives to a higher level of satisfaction and fulfillment.

A New Black Power

By Walter Mosely

"What have the Democrats done for us in all that time? We have the lowest average income of any large racial group in the nation. We're incarcerated at an alarmingly high rate. We are still segregated and profiled, and have a very low representation at the top echelons of the Democratic Party. We are the stalwarts, the bulwark, the Old Faithful of the Democrats, and yet they have not made our issues a high priority in a very long time.

Why should we be second-class members in the most important political activities of our lives? Why shouldn't the party we belong to think that our problems are the most important in this land?

I'm not saying that we should become Republicans. The Republicans don't care about us either. But at least they don't pretend to be on our side. And you have to admit that, of late, the Bush Administration has put black faces into high-profile jobs that carry clout on the international playing field. I don't have to like Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice to appreciate that once a black person has been put into a position of power, the second time around is much, much easier."

Click to continue

Education - why is it failing young black men?

"It's hard for British teachers to accept the idea that there is something very different about black boys."

Amidst all the debate one fact remains - for decades young black boys have been consistently underachieving in British schools.

Trevor Phillips, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, makes an impassioned argument for the need to implement change.

"We've had a generation of scratching our heads and commiserating over the failure of black boys.

Part one: Identifying the problem

Part two: An American answer

Part three: USA to UK

Click here for full article

Jennifer Hudson & Reality

The motivational speaker Les Brown says "Don't let someones else's opinion of you become your Reality"

Jennifer did not receive the fairest treatment on Idol and remained at the least favorit throughout her run on Idol actually losing out to a guy who couldn't sing,



But her belief in self paid off big time with Dream Girls




She has since won every award in her path
My Jennifer favorite, is her landing on the cover of March's Vogue USA, only two other African Americans have grace a cover of Vogue, round and clearly a sistah Jennifer is a dream

Superman Date a Sistah?

I found this great article from Polite Dissent thanks Scott, it was and still is, a great vehicle to discuss race in America

“I am Curious (Black)” the first story in Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #106
Robert Kanigher, writer
Werner Roth, penciler

Lois is sent to get a story in Metropolis’s “Little Africa” but is unable to get anyone to talk to her. Little children run away from her and adults shut doors in her face. One old lady will talk to her, but only because she is blind and doesn’t realize Lois is white. She draws the particular ire of a fiery orator who uses her as an example of the enemy “whitey.”

Lois: He’s wrong about me…but right about so many others!

Frustrated, Lois convinces Superman to take her to his Fortress of Solitude and use the Kryptonian Transformoflux on her to turn her black for twenty four hours. Back in Metropolis, her usual cabby won’t stop for her because she’s black. She has to take the subway but is convinced that everybody is staring at her because of her skin color.

This time in Little Africa, people are happy to talk with her and help her. She meets Dave Stevens, the same firebrand she encountered before, but this time because she is black he talks to her and even hits on her. He sees some kids run into an alley to buy drugs and runs after them. He interrupts the drug deal but is shot by a pair of gangsters straight out of Guys and Dolls.

Superman, who was conveniently nearby keeping an eye on Lois, swoops in and takes them both to the nearest hospital. The doctor there informs Superman that the patient is fading and needs a blood transfusion.

Doctor: His blood type is O-negative!
Doctor: He needs a blood transfusion immediately!
Doctor: We don’t have enough funds for all types!
Superman: I can’t help! Even if I were that type…no needle could penetrate my skin!

Lois: I - I’m O-negative! Just like him!

It’s understandable that small hospitals would not be able to carry every blood type because it is very expensive to buy and store blood. However, blood type O-negative is the “universal donor” and in a hospital limited to only a few types of blood, O-negative would be the one blood type they would definitely stock

What’s with Superman? He’s donated blood before countless times, usually to Lois or Lana. It’s been established in the past that his blood is compatible with every blood type, and he’s been able to “rip open” his skin even though needles don’t work. Is this simply a continuity error for the sake of plot or is Superman a closet racist? (I assume it’s the former since Lois doesn’t bat an eye at Superman’s statements.)

Previously, we learned from Superman #125 that Lois has a “very rare blood type”, yet this comic tells us that she has blood type O-negative. Seven percent of the U.S. population is type O-negative, the most of any negative blood type, so while it may not be common it’s certainly not “very rare.” Common blood types vary quite a bit across the world, so what is common in the US is not necessarily common in other areas. Given the globalization of today’s world, this is slowly changing as populations mix.

At the end of the story, Stevens realizes that Lois was white and yet donated blood to save his life. He smiles at her and they shake hands.

So here we have another “blood transfusion redeems racist” storyline. This story is a bit schizophrenic though. The individual racist — in this case a black man — is redeemed. However the societal prejudice against blacks — the supposed point of the entire story — is glossed over and barely mentioned.

OK, I’m not being entirely fair to the story. Lois does confront Superman about whether he would ever marry a black woman, but he never has the chance to answer fully. Dave Stevens is a complex character as he is both a racist and the best hope for his neighborhood. Still, I felt that the ending went for the easy way out and missed the big picture.

When Venus Bites

You're gonna dance

Click here

Note to Obama, plases stop feeding Pigeons like Rush

Whenever I hear folks tell me that race is no longer an issue in America I love to point out folks like talk show hosts Beck and Limbuagh click on thier name to see the idiocy. And why do Conservatives believe that progress is always going back to archaic traditions?

Al Sharpton

Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is a Pentecostal minister, political activist, civil rights activist. In 2004 Sharpton was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.


An electrifying speaker, Al Sharpton is the go to guy in the black community for those in search of social justice Gifted with the ability to articulate painful truths in the clip below Sharpton talks about the waste of an unproductive life

Life Lessons

1.

During my second month of college, our professor
gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if
the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers,
you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her
name was Dorothy.

2.

One night, at 11:30 P.M., an older African American
woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway
trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had
broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally
unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man
took her to safety, helped her get assistance and
put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his
address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a
knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a
giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A
special note was attached..

It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway
the other night. The rain drenched not only my
clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying
husband's bedside just before he passed away.. God
bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
others."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the
king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve
our condition.

4.

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would
be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will
save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his
face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a
trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her

Is the UK & USA failing its Children

"We are turning out a generation of young people who are unhappy, unhealthy, engaging in risky behaviour, who have poor relationships with their family and their peers, who have low expectations and don't feel safe."

Unicef - the United Nations children's organisation - says the report, titled Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries, is the first study of childhood across the world's industrialised nations. click here for full article

Know Your Black Panther History part 2

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Marvel changed the name of the Black Panther because of the political group by the same name.

When the Black Panther, the first black superhero, was introduced in 1966, the Black Panther Party was not around for months, so Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did not think that their new character's name would have any special connotations.



By 1972, though, that was not the case, and the name "Black Panther" was known more for its connection with the political group than for the comic book character. Therefore, in an attempt to move the character away from the group, writer Roy Thomas wrote Fantastic Four #119.



In the issue, the Thing and the Human Torch get caught up in an international problem when T'Challa, in pursuit of some crooks, gets arrested in "Rudyarda," the stand-in for South Africa.

When Johnny and Ben free T'Challa, they are unprepared to hear the following...



Luckily, T'Challa makes sure to explain himself right away...


The change, as you are well aware, did not last long. Soon, it was the Black Panther once again!

Know Your Black Panther

The First Black Panther?
Did you Know...?, Scoop, Friday, July 21, 2006

Scoop is delighted to print this fantastic historical piece from our dear friend, Professor William Foster, an invaluable resource for any character or event that's part of the African-American experience in comics.

Every fan of the Black Panther knows the superhero was introduced by Stan Lee in the Fantastic Four comic book back in 1966. But did you know there was another Black Panther fifteen years earlier? In fact, there was an an entire group of Black Panthers!

In 1951, these Black Panthers appeared in the Tarzan syndicated comic strip as members of an evil, panther-worshipping cult. Ultimately they were defeated by Tarzan and his African allies in their evil plans to conquer and destroy.

It was not unusual for this kind of characterization to exist in both comic books and cartoons from as far back as the 1920s to right up to the 1960s. In comics as diverse as Mickey Mouse, Jungle Jim and Conan to name a few, a number of fictional African cults based on lions, leopards and panthers were introduced to naive readers. Rarely if ever were they represented in a positive light.

Only with the slow change that came about after the American Civil Rights movement did this particular image become unpopular and politically incorrect.

The image of a powerful but benevolent African king created by Stan Lee in the mid 1960s was worlds away from the evil cult of the 1950s who terrorized neighboring tribes and captured women (usually white women) for sacrifices to a pagan god.

It is an interesting historical note that Marvel's character, probably for the first time, successfully challenged the negative image of Africans as evil and superstitious savages. Now some forty years after his introduction, it is hard to believe that there ever was any other way to perceive the diverse cultures of an entire continent of people.

The images presented here were copyrighted in 1951 by United Features Syndicate.

Norbit is that You?

The movie Norbit is so bad that I'm sure it will cost Eddie Murphy his Oscar for best supporting actor for Dream Girls. Forget the fact that the movie is insulting to most everyone and meanders for the entirety of the movie 2 things in Norbit disturbed me to my soul 1# How mean spirited the movie is toward animals women and children
and 2#how much Eddie's


character looks like Flavor Flav

Score One for Mr Obama

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said in an interview Saturday, essentially, that the terrorists would be praying for Obama and the Democrats to win.






Obama responded by telling Howard that if he wants to “fight the good fight” in Iraq he’d better send in more troops.

“I think it’s flattering that one of George Bush’s allies on the other side of the world started attacking me the day after I announced,” Mr Obama told reporters in the mid-western US state of Iowa.


“I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr Howard has deployed 1400, so if he is ... to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq.


“Otherwise it’s just a bunch of empty rhetoric.”

Thanks Barack, for saying what the average American would say, because its more palatable to to see and hear about deaths everyday when they are not your countrymen

Where's the Unity?

Leaders in education, public policy, religion, and black communities discussed the future impact of African Americans on Western culture, the United States’ global image, and the social, political, and economic future. They also talked about political and community organizing, as well as public policy concerns. The State of the Black Union 2007: Jamestown, America's 400th Anniversary, was titled "The African American Imprint on America" to commemorate the 400th anniversary of America at Jamestown, Virginia.

About 15,000 people registered for the two-day State of the Black Union weekend, which kicked off Friday at the College of William and Mary with a discussion among a dozen black historians about the impact of black Americans on the nation in light of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of English settlers to Jamestown, Va.

On Saturday, the day-long forum discussed the impact of politics, education, public policy, religion and technology on the agenda of “The Covenant With Black America,” a blueprint on how black Americans can tackle the challenges that face them in the new millennium.

At the same time Barack Obama was announcing his candidacy for president in Springfield, Illinois.

This instantly created a rift, as Obama could have changed his date and attended the larger meeting that was a year in the making among the panelists were two African-Americans who have run for president, Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Sharpton also chided Obama for making his presidential announcement in Springfield rather than before the predominantly African-American audience at Hampton, and said the Illinois senator needs to declare "what's his embrace of our agenda."

In his speech Obama said "It will take your time, your energy and your advice to push us forward when we're doing right, and to let us know when we're not," he said. "This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change."

Here's some advice Mr. Obama next time attend the Black State of the Union

To watch the State of the Black Union & Obama presidential announcement click here

See Obama interview on 60 minutes click here

Venus Bumps

Yes She Does
Click Here

D L Hughgly (Heroe)

Darryl Lynn "D.L." Hughley (born March 6, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and star of the television sitcom The Hughleys, which ran from 1998 to 2002 on ABC and then on UPN.

D.L. Hughley grew up in South Central Los Angeles and had a difficult upbringing, getting kicked out of high school and becoming a member of the Bloods gang. After his cousin was shot, Hughley turned his life around, got a GED and a job and, after prompting by his wife, LaDonna, tried his hand at stand-up comedy. His comedy was a huge success and in 1992 he was picked to be the first host of BET's Comicview. He also appeared in the 3rd season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as an old friend of Will Smith trying out for an audition as a comedian.

By 1997, Hughley went on a nationwide stand-up comedy tour with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac as the Kings of Comedy. The comedy act was later put into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy.Smart funny, and topical check him out

I ain't that black

The New Republic
by Peter Beinart
Post date 01.30.07 | Issue date 02.05.07


In 1994, two sociologists went to Red Hook, Brooklyn, to solve a mystery. Red Hook abutted the East River, and along the waterfront sat shipping companies and warehouses--all in need of low-skilled labor. Next door sat a housing project teeming with exactly that. But the locals--primarily African Americans--didn't get hired. Instead, the jobs went to workers from outside the neighborhood, often Caribbean immigrants. Employers, wrote The New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell in summarizing the sociologists' findings, "had developed an elaborate mechanism for distinguishing between those who they felt were 'good' blacks and those they felt were 'bad' blacks." Were the employers racist? Yes and no. They clearly held anti-black stereotypes. And they discriminated against those who conformed to them, even by association. But they discriminated in favor of blacks who defied those stereotypes. A man named Bruce Llewellyn described the phenomenon this way: "White people love to believe they're fair."

As it happens, Llewellyn wasn't talking about Red Hook. He was talking about his cousin, Colin Powell--whose prospective presidential bid enjoyed mass white support roughly a decade ago. Like the employers in Red Hook, whites discriminated in Powell's favor because he challenged their negative stereotypes of blacks. First, he had succeeded in a respected white institution: the military. Second, he was the child of immigrants, a man whose family history highlighted America's opportunities, not its racism. Third, he wasn't ideologically radical. And, fourth, he didn't look or sound stereotypically black. No one was blunter about this than Powell himself. Asked in 1995 to explain his appeal to whites, he volunteered that "I speak reasonably well, like a white person," and, visually, "I ain't that black."

Barack Obama would never put it that way. But he surely understands the uncomfortable subtext behind the adoration being showered upon him by white America. Obama, too, succeeded at a prestigious white institution: Harvard Law School. He, too, is a child of immigration, able to declare in his 2004 Democratic convention speech--in words that could have come from Michael Dukakis or Joe Lieberman (but not from a descendant of slaves, without heavy irony)--that "in no other country on Earth is my story even possible." And he, too, doesn't sound or look too black. Fifteen years ago, a State University of New York political scientist named Nayda Terkildsen doctored photos of a fictitious gubernatorial candidate to make him lighter- or darker-skinned and then showed them to Kentucky focus groups. "The dark-skinned black candidate," she noted, "was evaluated much more harshly than his lighter skinned peer." Powell knew what he was talking about.

In U.S. politics, as in Red Hook, there are no "good" blacks without "bad" blacks. In the mid-'90s, reporters frequently compared Powell with Jesse Jackson: a man who fit all the stereotypes he defied. Today, it probably helps Obama that Al Sharpton, with his 2004 presidential run, became the "president of black America." For many white Americans, it's a twofer. Elect Obama, and you not only dethrone George W. Bush, you dethrone Sharpton, too.

But being the "good" black is tricky. The more whites love you, the more you must reassure your own community that you are still one of them. And the more you do that, the more you jeopardize your white support. In 2002, when the highly articulate, light-skinned, Yale-educated Cory Booker ran for mayor of Newark, New Jersey--becoming a darling of the white press--incumbent Sharpe James used that support against him, tarring him as inauthentically black. Last fall, when the well-spoken, light-skinned, St. Albans-educated Harold Ford Jr. ran for Senate in Tennessee, his family's political prominence in the Memphis black community made such accusations impossible. But it was those very connections-- to a family viewed negatively by many whites--that may have cost him the race.

For Obama, walking the tightrope is a little easier. Unlike Booker, Obama's African American wife, his connection to the black church, and his work as a community organizer give him racial credibility. But, unlike Ford, he has no obvious ties to Jackson/Sharpton style "bad" blacks. And, compared with Powell, he benefits enormously from changes in the political climate. The first big change is the collapse of crime as a political issue. In the 1980s and early '90s, Democrats had to adopt ultra-hard line stances on crime to reassure anxious white voters. And blacks had to go even further. Had Obama run for president in 1992, he would have had do to something akin to Bill Clinton's infamous execution of mentally retarded murderer Ricky Ray Rector--which would have hurt him with blacks. Today, by contrast, he can largely oppose the death penalty with hardly anyone seeming to mind.

The second big change is welfare reform, which has significantly de-racialized the debate over taxing and spending. Because of welfare reform, the percentage of whites saying "poor people have become too dependent on government assistance" has dropped markedly. That's good news for all Democrats, but especially for Obama, who would be particularly vulnerable to suspicions that he was trying to redistribute money from whites to blacks.

But Obama doesn't merely benefit from the decline of racially saturated issues like welfare and crime. He also benefits from the fact that, as racial polarization has declined, religious polarization has increased. When the culture war was primarily about race, black candidates were inherently divisive (and when they tried to reach out, they risked seeming insufficiently black). Today, however, it is white liberals who seem divisive, because they are perceived as secular. Black liberals, by contrast, are considered authentically devout, and, thus, bridge-builders. In the '80s, it would have been virtually impossible for a black candidate with substantial black support to credibly promise to span America's cultural divide. Today, it is at the heart of Obama's appeal.

Does this mean that U.S. politics have transcended race? Not at all. In a presidential campaign, as in Red Hook, blacks must still defy white stereotypes to succeed. What has changed is that defying those stereotypes doesn't require moving as far to the right. That's hardly utopia, but it's progress. And, for Obama in 2008, it may be enough.

A Girl Like Me

The need to constantly reaffirm our children's self worth is as important as ever
An impressive, yet disturbing documentary from a 17 year old

Growing up Obama

Obama found political voice

in law school

By Jodi Kantor
The New York Times

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The peers who elected Barack Obama the first black president of the Harvard Law Review say he was a natural leader, an impressive student, a nice guy.

But in the 1990 Revue -- the graduating editors' gleeful parody of their elite publication -- they said quite a bit more.

"I was born in Oslo, Norway, the son of a Volvo factory worker and part-time ice fisherman," a mock self-tribute begins. "My mother was a backup singer for ABBA. They were good folks." In Chicago, "I discovered I was black, and I have remained so ever since."

After his election, the Faux-bama says, he united warring students into "a happy, cohesive folk," while "empowering all the folks out there in America who didn't know about me by giving a series of articulate and startlingly mature interviews to all the folks in the media."

The ribbing in the Revue suggests Obama was beginning to realize the power of his own biography.

In his memoirs and the biographical video on his Web site, his legal education is barely a blip, one of the least-known chapters. But for the Illinois Democrat who is all but certainly running for the presidency, Harvard was where he first became a political sensation.

He arrived as an unknown, Afro-wearing community organizer who spent years searching for his identity; by the time he left, he had his first national media exposure, a book contract and a shot of confidence from running the most powerful legal journal in the country.

Obama proved deft at navigating an institution scorched with ideological battles, many of which revolved around race. He developed a leadership style based more on furthering consensus than on imposing his own ideas. Surrounded by students who enjoyed the sound of their own voices, Obama cast himself as an eager listener.

Friends say he did not want anyone to assume they knew his mind and because of that, even those close to him did not always know where he stood. It is a tendency that could prove perilous on the campaign trail, as voters, rivals and the media try to fix the positions of a senator with only two years in office.

"He then and now is very hard to pin down," said Kenneth Mack, a classmate and now a professor at the law school, referring to the senator's on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand style.

Charles Ogletree, another Harvard law professor and a mentor of Obama's, said, "He can enter your space and organize your thoughts without necessarily revealing his own concerns and conflicts."

Many of his former professors and classmates say they are cheering on Obama, 45, in his candidacy. But the skills he displayed in law school may not serve him as well in U.S. presidential politics, which sometimes rewards other qualities, such as delivering sound bites instead of deliberateness or fidelity to a base of supporters instead of compromise.

Obama declined to comment about his time at Harvard.

An elder statesman

He arrived at the law school in 1988, a graduate of Columbia University with a well-inked passport -- he had grown up in Hawaii and Indonesia, son of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother -- and years of community organizing experience in Chicago, making him, at 27, an elder statesman among the students who had tested and term-papered their way straight there.

Obama spent much of his time alone, curtailing his dating life after his first summer, when he met his future wife, Harvard Law graduate Michelle Robinson, who was working in Chicago. He often played pickup basketball, replacing his deliberative off-court style with sharp elbows and aggressive grabs for the ball.

Along with 40-odd classmates, he won a precious spot on the law review at the end of his first year through grades and a writing competition. But the next year, when other students implored him to run for the presidency, he demurred; he wanted to return to community work in Chicago, he said, and the credential would be no help. Late in the process, he finally agreed, saying he might be uniquely able to heal the review's partisan divisions.

The election was an all-day affair with the ego-crushing drama of a reality-TV show. Inside Pound Hall, the editors picked apart the intellectual and social skills of the 19 contenders, four of them black, eliminating them in batches. At the last moment, the conservative faction, its initial candidates defeated, threw its support to Obama. "Whatever his politics, we felt he would give us a fair shake," said Bradford Berenson, a former associate White House counsel in the Bush administration.

Newspapers and magazines swarmed around the first black student to win the most coveted spot at the most vaunted club at one of the nation's most prestigious institutions.

In interviews, Obama was modest and careful. In a rare slip, he told The Associated Press: "I'm not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me."

He signed a contract to write a memoir.

A prankster posted a cast list for a movie version of his life, starring Blair Underwood. When Underwood visited the school, he questioned Obama for material for "L.A. Law."

Winning the job was simpler than doing it. The president had to reject articles by some of the school's famous professors and persuade a divided group to stop arguing and start editing.

"I have worked in the Supreme Court and the White House and I never saw politics as bitter as at Harvard Law Review in the early '90s," Berenson said.

"The law school was populated by a bunch of would-be Daniel Websters harnessed to extreme political ideologies." They were so ardent that they would boo and hiss one another in class.

A tricky position

Even trickier, Obama was the most prominent minority student on a campus shaken by racial politics. A group agitating for greater faculty diversity occupied the dean's office and sued the school for discrimination; Derrick Bell, a black law professor, resigned over the issue.

The law review struggled to decide whether affirmative action should factor into the selection of editors and how much voice to give to critical race theorists, who argued that the legal system was inherently biased against minorities. That drew the ridicule of conservative students.

It left the new president with a difficult choice. If he failed to use his office to criticize Harvard, Obama would anger black and liberal students; by speaking out, he would risk dragging himself and the review into the center of shrill debates.

People had a way of hearing what they wanted in his words. Earlier, after a long, tortured discussion about whether it was better to be called "black" or "African American," Obama dismissed the question, saying semantics did not matter as much as real-life issues, recalled Cassandra Butts, still a close friend. Ogletree said students on each side of the debate thought he was endorsing their side. "Everyone was nodding, 'Oh, he agrees with me,' " he said.

He served on the board of the Black Law Students Association, often speaking passionately about the tempest of the week, but in a way that white classmates say made them feel reassured, not defensive.

Obama's boldest moment came at a rally for faculty diversity, where he compared Bell, the professor who resigned, to Rosa Parks.

The eight law-review issues Obama presided over included articles on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and gender and racial discrimination in retail-car negotiations, as well as an anonymous, student-written "Note" arguing the legal system had not provided adequate protections against discrimination for black men.

Obama suffered one defeat at the law school: He was rejected by a screening committee of female students for a pinup calendar of black students created as a fundraiser and a source of black pride.

Material from the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press is included in this report.