CW Political and Social Thought

Jesus in Chocolate

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Something Smells Fishy..and I think it's White Privilege

Here we go again. White people benefiting from white privilege when it comes to the justice system. There is a major story coming out of Laurens County, South Carolina where two white female teachers were released on bail after being arrested for allegedly having sex with six Black male students who range in age from 11 to 15. The Black community is very upset, and rightly so, because the judge in this case seems to have been very lenient on these white women. There is no denying that if two Black men were accused of having sex with six white girls ANYWHERE IN THE US, their Black asses would have been in jail so fast they would have thought life moved with the speed of light. And another thing, had those white women been Black men, we all know that they wouldn't had any chance of being released on bail. They would have not only stayed in jail but stayed there until they were shipped to a maximum security prison. 

• "Wendie Schweikert a 37-year-old married woman who had been teaching elementary school in Laurens for more than a decade, was arrested last year after the mother of an 11-year-old boy accused her of having sex with the boy at school at least twice. Authorities said they found evidence bearing his DNA in her classroom. She is also accused of having sex with him in her car near a miniature golf course and arcade in Greenville, about 40 miles away."

• "Allenna Ward a 24-year-old minister's daughter in her second year of teaching, was fired Feb. 28 after she was charged with having sex with at least five boys. Some of the alleged victims, 14 and 15 years old, were students at the middle school in Clinton where Ward taught. Police say Ward, who is married, had sex with the boys at the school, at a motel, in a park and behind a restaurant."

The Bias of the Justice System

Facts at a Glance

* Blacks make up 43.9 percent of the state and federal prison populations but only 12.3 of the U.S. population. Whites account for 69 percent of the US population and 34.7 percent of those incarcerated.

*Youth of all races sell and use drugs at similar rates, but African American youth represent 60-75 percent of drug arrests today.

*Nationwide, young Black offenders are more than twice as likely to be transferred to adult court than their white counterparts.

*One of every three black males born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime

*In at least 15 states, black men were sent to prison on drug charges at rates ranging from 20 to 57 times those of white men. This  partly has to do with laws that more harshly punish users of certain drugs that are more frequent among Black users as in powder versus crack cocaine.

*African Americans consitute 13 percent of all monthly drug users, but they represent 35 percent of arrests for drug possession, 55 percent of convictions, and 74 percent of prison sentences.

*The Black prison population grew by 300 percent from 1954 to 1984; from 1954 to today, it has increased by a staggering 900 percent

Other Sources
Seattle Times
All Headline News
Fox News
China Post
ABC News
CBS News
Houston Chronicle
Black News.Com
Washington Post

Credit: http://eurweb.com & "The Covenant"

A Renaissance in Harlem

I really enjoy reading, which I guess one has to as a student at one of the nation's most prestigious universities.  While I don't get a lot of time to read what I want, I do manage to cram in a book or so every now and again. I am currently reading a book titled, "A Renaissance in Harlem." It is a bit controversial in that it portrays the so-called Harlem Renaissance as a period in which the African American experience and especially in Harlem was fabricated or rather greatly fictionalized by its proponents as a way to placate white people and to promote high African American "forms rather than vernacular expressions and stories" of everyday African Americans. According to its editor Lionel Bascom, the Harlem Renaissance is not just a literary movement. To miss this point is precisely the problem. The Harlem Renaissance was less about the big names and big stories than it was about the Afro-American culture that thrived between the years of 1920- late 1930s. The force behind men like Countee Cullen, W.E.B. DuBois, Alain Locke, James Weldon Johnson and others were not their genius, though we can't deny that that is important. It seems the force are the common people who made Harlem the "Black capital of the world." Various authors were hired by the WPA Writer's Project to capture not only the Harlem voice being left out of the Harlem Renaissance, but also the voices of many other African Americans throughout the US. Through various interviews, these writers, many of whom went on to become giants in American literature like Zora Neale Hurston and Ralph Ellison, successfully articulated the style and stories of men and women who experienced life the way our forefathers could have related to..

Here is a story about the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem in December of 1938. Dorothy West, a great writer in her own right, retells a story about a night at the Apollo.

The second balcony is packed. The friendly, familiar usher who scowls all the time without meaning it, flatfoots up and down the stairs trying to find seats for the sweethearts. Through his tireless manipulation, separated couples are reunited, and his pride is pardonable.

The crowd has come early, for it is amateur night. The Apollo Theater is full to overflowing. Amateur night is an institution. Every Wednesday, from eleven until midnight, the hopeful aspirants come to the mike, lift up their voices and sing, and retire to the wings for the roll call, when a fluttering piece of paper dangled above their heads comes to rest- determined by the volume of applause to indicate to whom the prizes shall go.

The boxes are filled with sightseeing whites led in tow by swaggering blacks. The floor is chocolate liberally sprinkled with white sauce. But the balconies belong to the hardworking, holidaying Negroes, and the jitterbug whites are intruders, and their surface excitement is silly compared to the earthy enjoyment of the Negroes.

The moving picture ends. The screen shoots out of sight. The orchestra blares out the soul-ticking tune, "I think you're wonderful, I think you're grand."

Spontaneously, feet and hands beat out the rhythm, and the show is on.

The regular stage show precedes Amateur Hour. Tonight an all-girls orchestra dominates the stage. A long black girl in flowing pink blows blue notes out of a clarinet. It is hot song, and the audience stomps its approval. A little yellow trumpeter swings out. She holds a high note, and it soars up solid. The fourteen pieces are in the groove.

The comedians are old-timers. Their comedy is pure Harlemese, and their prototypes are scattered throughout the audience. There is a burst of appreciative laughter and a round of applause when the redoubtable Jackie Mabley states that she is doing general housework in the Bronx and adds, with telling emphasis, "When you do housework up there, you really do housework." It is real Negro idiom when one comedian observes to-another who is carrying a fine fur coat for his girl, "Anytime I see you with something on your arm, somebody is without something."

The show moves on.  The   Sixteen girls of sixteen varying shades dance without precision but with effortless . The best of their spontaneous steps will find their way downtown. A long brown boy who looks like Cab Calloway sings, "Papa Tree-Top Tall." The regular stage show comes to an end. The act file on stage. The chorus girls swing in the background. It is a free-for-all, and to the familiar "I think you're wonderful, I think you're grand", the black-face comic grabs the prettiest chorine and they truck on down. When the curtain descends, both sides of the house are having fun.

A Negro show would rather have the plaudits of an Apollo audience than any other applause. For the Apollo is the hard, testing ground of Negro show business, and approval there can make or break an act.

It is eleven now. The house lights go up. The audience is restless and expectant. Somebody has brought a whistle that sounds like a wailing baby. The cry fills the theater and everybody laughs. The orchestra breaks into the theater's theme song again. The curtain goes up. An announcer talks into a mike, explaining to his listeners that the three hundred and first broadcast of Amateur Hour at the Apollo is on the air.  He signals to the audience and they obligingly applaud.

The emcee comes out of the wings. The audience knows him. He is Negro to his toes, but even Hitler would classify him as Aryan at first glance. He begins a steady patter of jive. When the audience is ready and mellow, he calls the first amateur out of the wings.

Willie comes out and, on his may to the mike, touches the Tree of Hope. For several years the original Tree of Hope stood in front of the Lafayette Theater on Seventh Avenue until the Commissioner of Parks tore it down. It was  believe d to bring good fortune to whatever actor touched it, and somesay it was not Mr. Moses who had it cut down, but the steady stream of down-and-out actors since the depression who wore it out.

Willie sings "I surrender Dear" in a pure Georgia accent. "I can' mak' mah way," he moans. The audience hears him out and claps kindly. He bows and starts for the wings. The emcee admonishes, "You got to boogie-woogie off the stage, Willie." He boogie-woogies off, which is as much a part of established ritual as touching the Tree of Hope.

Vanessa appears. She is black and the powder makes her look purple. She is dressed in black, and is altogether unprepossessing. She is the kind of singer who makes faces and regards a mike as an enemy to be wrestled with. The orchestra sobs out her song. "I cried for you, now it's your turn to cry over me." Vanessa is an old-time "coon-shouter." She wails and moans deep blue notes. The audience give her their highest form of approval. They clap their hands in time with the music. She finishes to tumultuous applause, and accepts their approval with proud self-confidence. To their wild delight, she flings her arms around the emcee, and boogie woogies off with him.

Ida comes out in a summer print to sing that beautiful lyric, "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart," in a nasal, off-key whine. Samuel follows her. He is big and awkward, and his voice is very earnest as he promises, "I Won't Tell A Soul I love you." They are both so inoffensive and sincere that the audience lets them off with light applause.

 

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Coretta steps to the mike. Her first note is so awful that the emcee goes to the Tree of Hope and touches it for her. The audience lets her sing the first bar, then bursts into cat- calls and derisive whistling. In a moment the familiar police siren is heard off-stage, and big, dark brown Porto Rico, who is part and parcel of amateur night, comes on stage with nothing covering his nakedness but a brassiere and panties and shoots twice at Coretta's feet. She hurriedly retires to the wings with Porto Rico switching after her, brandishing his gun.

A clarinetist, a lean dark boy, pours out such sweetness in "Body and Soul" that somebody rises and shouts, "Peace, brother!" in heartfelt approval. Margaret follows with a sour note. She has chosen to sing "Old Folks", and her voice quavers so from stage  freight  that her song becomes an unfortunate choice, and the audience stomps for Porto Rico who appears in a pink and blue ballet costume to run her off the stage.

David is next on the program. With mounting frenzy he sings the intensely pleading blues song, "Rock it for Me." He cluthes his knees, rolls his eyes, sings away from the mike, and woks himself up to a pitch of excitement that is only cooled by the appearance of Porto Rico in a red brassiere, an ankle-length red skirt, and an exaggerated picture hat. The audience goes wild.

Ida comes out. She is a lumpy girl in a salmon pink blouse. The good-looking emcee leads her to the mike and pats her shoulder encouragingly. She snuggles up to him, and a female onlooker audibly snorts, "She sure wants to be hugged." A male spectator shouts, gleefully, "Give her something!"

Ida sings the plaintive, "My Reverie". Her accent is late West Indian and her voice is so bad that for a minute you wonder if it's an act. Instantly here are whistles, boos, and hand clapping. The siren sounds off stage and Porto Rico rushed on in an old fashioned corset and a marabou-trimmed bed jacket. His shots leave her undisturbed. The audience tries to drown her out with louder applause and whistling. She holds to the mike and sings to the bitter end. It is

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Porto Rico who trots sheepishly after her when she walks unabashed from the stage.

James come to the mike and is reminded by the audience to touch the Tree of Hope. He hasn't forgotten. He tries to start his song, but the audience will not let him. The emcee explains to him that the Tree of Hope is a sacred emblem. The boy doesn't care, and begins his song again. He has been in New York two days, and the emcee cracks that he's been in New York two days too long. The audience refuses to let the lad sing, and the emcee banishes him to the wings to think it over.

A slight, young girl in a crisp white blouse and neat black shirt comes to the mike to sing "[Itisket?], [Itasket?]". She has lost her yellow-basket, and her listeners spontaneously inquire of her, "Was it red?" She shouts back dolefully, No, no, no, no!" "Was it blue?" No, it wasn't blue, either. They go on searching together.

A chastened James reappears and touches the Tree of Hope. A woman states with grim satisfaction, "He teched de tree dat time." He has tried to upset a precedent, and the audience is against him from the start. They boo and whistle immediately. Porto Rico in red flannels and a floppy red hat happily shoots him off the stage.

A high school girl in middy blouse, jumper and socks rocks "Froggy Bottom." She is the youngest thing yet, and it doesn't matter how she sings. The house rocks with her. She winds up triumphantly with a tap dance, and boogie woogies confidently off the stage.

A frightened lad falls upon the mike. It is the only barrier between him and the murderous multitude. The emcee's encouragement falls on frozen ears. His voice starts down in his chest and stays here. The house roars for the kill, Porto Rico, in a baby's bonnet and a little girl's party frock, finishes him off with dispatch.

A white man comes out of the wings, but nobody minds. They have got accustomed to occasional white performers at the Apollo. There was a dancing act

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in the regular stage show which received deserved applause. The emcee announces the song, "That's Why -----" he omits the next word "Were Born." He is a Negro emcee. He will not use the word "darky" in announcing a song a white man is to sing.

The white man begins to sing, "Someone had to plow the cotton, Someone had to plant the corn, Someone had to work while the white folks played, That's why darkies were born." The Negroes hiss and boo. Instantly the audience is partisan. The whites applaud vigorously. But the greater volume of hisses and boos drown out the applause. The singer halts. The emcee steps to the house mike and raises his hand for quiet. He does not know what to say, and says ineffectually that the song was written to be sung and urges that the singer be allowed to continue. The man begins again, and on the instant is booed down. The emcee does not know what to do. They are on a sectional hook-up-the announcer have welcomed Boston and Philadelphia to the program during the station break. The studio officials, the listening audience, largely white, has heard a Negro audience booing a white man. It is obvious that in his confusion the emcee has forgotten what the song connotes. The Negroes are not booing the white man as such. They are booing him for his categorization of them. The song is not new. A few seasons ago they listened to it in silent resentment. Now they have learned to vocalize their bitterness. They cannot bear that a white man, as poor as themselves, should so separate himself from their common fate and sing paternally for a price of their predestined lot to serve.

For the third time the man begins, and now all the fun that has gone before is forgotten. There is resentment in every heart. The white man will not save the situation by leaving the stage, and the emcee steps again to the house mike with an impassioned plea. The Negroes know this emcee. He is as white as any white man. Now it is ironic that he should be so fair, for the difference between him and the amateur is too undefined. The emcee spreads out his arms and begins, "My people ----."

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He says without explanation that "his people" should be proud of the song. He begs "his people" to let the song be sung to show that they are ladies and gentlemen. He winds up with a last appeal to "his people" for fair-play. He looks for all the world like the plantation owner's yellow boy acting as buffer between the black and the big house.

The whole house breaks into applause, and this time the scattered hisses are drowned out. The amateur begins and ends in triumph. He is the last contestant, and in the line-up immediately following, he is overwhelmingly voted first prize. More of the black man's blood money goes out of Harlem.

The show is over. The orchestra strikes up, "I think you're wonderful, I think you're grand." The audience files out. They are quiet and confused and sad. It is twelve on the dot. Six hours of sleep and then back to the Bronx or up and down an elevator shaft. Yessir, Mr. White Man, I work all day while you-all play. It's only fair. That's why darkies were born.

"That's Why Darkies Were Born" Audio

Credits; http://www.lyon.edu/wolfcollection & http://www.dwpoet.com/harlemhist.htm & http://memory.loc.gov

The Beastie Boys: Washington-Style

What do I make of this? A bunch of white men (and one trying to pass) pretending to be a rap group? Should African Americans take it as a compliment? (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery) Or should we be offended because there seems to be no true appreciation of rap as a serious art form? White men are the biggest buyers of rap music, outnumbering African Americans by millions, so who are we to suppose that they should not feel an attachment to rap? Well, that makes things a lot more complicated, doesn't it?

They Didn't Just Sit There and Take it!

They were my ancestors who experienced slavery. I refuse to treat them as “slaves” who did as they were told and not much else. My people created a rich and dynamic history from which I benefit and to which the United States is inextricably linked and undeniably indebted. In fact, at the most difficult moments in our nation’s history, it was my ancestors who provided a lifeline to the nation; men and women who stood up for justice, morality, and freedom. I hope that one day we can look back on slavery without feeling guilty or ashamed. If we just try to give those enslaved African Americans some credit for their contribution to our history, then we could begin to move in the right direction. I’ll do my part. How about you?

Smalls was born in Charleston, S.C. and for many years was a ship's pilot in Charleston harbor. In 1862, while Union forces had blockaded the harbor, the 23 year old Smalls (a slave at the time), and eight other "colored men" who comprised the engineers and crew of the Confederate gun-boat "Planter," ran the blockade and delivered the "Planter" to the Union side --it was, in the words of the Harper's Weekly account, "one of the most daring and heroic adventures since the war was commenced" (p. 372). Smalls later became a major general in the South Carolina militia, a state legislator, and a five-term U.S. congressman. He also participated in drafting the state's constitution. In February 2004, The Army's chief of transportation at Fort Eustis (on the James River by Newport News, Virginia, the home of the US Army Transportation Corps) announced that the Army's newest ship will be named for Robert Smalls. "The Major General Robert Smalls" will be the first Army vessel to be named after an African-American and the first to be named for a Civil War hero;

Credits: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php

Why the Traditional Ruling Class in Politics Will Not Sit Back and Watch Their Power Fade

With all this talk about Hillary (Sen.-NY) and Richardson (Gov-NM) and Obama (Sen.-IL) as presidential candidates and Susan Collins (Sen.-ME), Elizabeth Dole (Sen.-NC), Kay Hutchinson (Sen.-TX), Amy Klobuchar (Sen. –MN), Olympia Snowe (Sen.- ME), Mary Landrieu (Sen.-LA), Blanche Lincoln (Sen.-AR), and Janet Napolitano (Gov.- AR) as possible vice presidential candidates, how naive are we to think that 2008 won’t be business as usual. The fact of the matter is that the parties will settle for candidates that have the greatest appeal. This means relying on the traditional ruling class (i.e. white males) in what might turn out as a repeat of 2000. Neither party will gamble on an election for the sake of diversity. We can rule out Hillary as the Democratic Party nominee. We can rule out any minority or woman to lead a major party ticket. Now, Larry Sabato thinks that if Democrats turn up the heat by nominating a woman or minority, then the Republicans will be compelled to do likewise. Wrong! The Republican Party will confidently nominate two white males because they know that Americans distrust women and minorities in politics. It’s not so much that women and minorities have a record of incompetence, but that women and especially minorities have not gotten a chance to demonstrate that they are equally capable. Republicans don’t think that the absence of a woman or minority on their ticket is a disadvantage. Quite the contrary, it will enhance their image as a reliable, sturdy party that won’t do too much to rock the boat. Americans don’t want diversity thrown in their face like a dirty pair of underwear. Instead, they like it slipped into their coffee. Look at Condi, Powell, Oprah… Ultimately, I believe that both parties would love to go on with the status quo. They will do everything possible to move in that direction. If Democrats (are forced to) nominate Hillary, they should just as well sit out of the election. If they nominate a woman or minority for vice president, they better be damn sure that he or she does not bring too much attention to the diversity of the ticket. If they do, Americans will run to the Republican Party like Black women running from an approaching rainstorm.

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The "Go Back to Africa" Trope

Keith Boykin.com is reporting that a Black gay male received this response from an Army official after he asked the recruiter about the military's anit-gay policy.

"GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF NAKED THERE....THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG..."

That's not the half of it. Sgt Marcia Ramode then goes on a tirade saying how "disgusting and immoral" homosexuality is. Needless to say, this whole matter has deeply irritated me, though not for reasons that you might expect. While I do not attempt to justify the harsh language that was employed, my reaction to this e-mail involves the underlying assumptions about white power. The sense of superiority that is conveyed in this e-mail by a presumably white female is not indicative of one person's opinion at one moment in time. The idea that African Americans should return to Africa is a trope that frequently shows up in racial exchanges. For example, Oprah revealed the contents of a racist e-mail that she received some months ago when a person told her to go "Back to Africa." That particular person was responding to a show that she had done on Hurricane Katrina; its exposure of poverty, racism, and incompetence. Here at the University of Virginia, I have seen posters of monkeys with the slogan, "Go Back to Africa" plastered around Grounds as a way to deter African American achievement. I am sure that there are many other instances that you could also attest to. Nevertheless, the trope of the "Go Back to Africa" command gives us a glimpse into how white people understand their history and position in the United States vis-a-vis African Americans. I reject claims that seek to push the views of Marcia Ramode and others aside. I believe that their opinions, albeit unpopular and tactless, do have traction within the psyche of White Americans.

The assumption of the "Go Back to Africa" trope is that the United States is really a land "owned" by white people and we minorities are really here on a permanent visa. Despite the fact that there is a rich history developed by Native Americans thousands of years before the first European set foot on this soil, White Americans think that North America had no importance until they arrived. Furthermore, White Americans believe that it's only American Europeans that can claim ownership of the United States. There is no room within the psychology of Whites to suggest that minorities made contributions to American history that have proved just as equally important. The trope gets at the heart of why White Americans justify the exclusion of other groups when it concerns the fundamental character of the United States. Whites do not seriously believe that any other group than their own has the history, the talent, or the motivation to lay claim to the United States.  However, they do offer some concessions when it comes to African Americans in civil rights and some literary movements, but for the most part the majority population denies the importance of minority groups in the essential development of the U.S. That's why the trope employed by Whites is so useful. The basic assumption that African Americans have not contributed in essential and important ways to the development of the United States is shared by the majority of the White population. Sadly, because of their control over the education system, most minorities also believe that they are not important enough in the big questions that helped shape the US. If fact, they are only taught history from a white perspective.

Minorities aren't the only ones. Women are minimized in history. Just because they didn't run politics doesn't mean they are fundamentally unimportant. They made up around half of the population and you mean to tell me that women are less important than men? …..Think about it.

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Hillary Clinton is in it to Win

I am on a number of presidential candidates' mailing lists, but I have been most impressed with Hillary Clinton. Is there anyone left that she hasn't enlisted? There's been Tom Vilsack, Bill Clinton, James Carville, and Madeleine Albright. And that's only the e-mails that I bothered opening. Today, I got an e-mail from Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman on a major party ticket, asking Hillary supporters "to elect someone whose victory will tell all our sons and daughters that they can be president -- that there are no barriers to talent and ability". For those of you who have had doubts about Hillary's use of the gender card, I fear that we will see this card flash much more in the upcoming months. With state caucuses and primaries being concentrated in the first weeks of 2008, we can see candidates getting more desperate more quickly. I suspect we might see Obama using the race card a time or two. Or Guiliani use the 9/11 card. Or McCain using the age card. (Not that there's much in that) The point is that the 2008 presidential race will be a different race for a number of reasons. It's not only in the diversity of candidates such as Obama, Hillary, and Richardson, but also in the variety of approaches to reach the voter. We see that e-mail service is becoming a necessary form of communication. Increasingly though, candidates are having to do more grassroots development. I believe that Howard Dean was the first candidate in recent history to tap into this valuable resource. Reaching voters through viral videos is not exactly an idea that is far fetched. The recent scandal from the Obama camp is a testament to this. I can't wait to see what else becomes of this circus of a race.

 

Ready to Read on my Own

As I make my way into the final stretch as a college undergraduate, I can’t help but to reflect on my experience. After withdrawing from well over 15 courses, listening to too many rehearsed lectures, and deciding between life or death, (not to mention tiring my hand as a result of needless suicide notes) I think that it’s about time that I close this chapter of my life. Enough already! What irritates me above all about this overpriced and overrated education is that my mind has become sharper but my heart has become dumber. Somehow they think that it’s ok to know more about nothing and less about what matters. I was looking at my overflow of books tonight and thought to myself, "How come I have not been able to read any book that I bought for leisure since I came to this god forsaken place?" I can tell you about John Locke, Kenneth Waltz, Immanuel Kant, even something about Simone de Beauvoir, Sigmund Freud, and James Hutton, but what do I really know? How do these men and women enrich my human experience? Do they give me answers to life’s most pressing questions? I have resolved to share those with you on another occasion. Probably not. So then, what is it all good for? I don’t really know the answer to that question. I’ll tell you though; I am ready to read on my own. I no longer need big brother to guide me in sharpening my mind and awakening my consciousness. Ok, I get the point already! I think it’s time for me to make up my own mind on what is good reading.

What should I start with first?

Out of the Past

The Measure of a Man

Exodusters

The Story of Philosophy

The Shame of a Nation

Democracy Matters

The African American Bookshelf

Roll, Jordan, Roll

The Miseducation of the Negro

Great Book

Creating Black Americans

Blackface

Freedom is Not Enough

The Classic Slave Narratives

Manchild in the Promised Land

From Plantation to Ghetto

Invisible Man

The Souls of Black Folk

The Confessions of Nat Turner

Up From Slavery

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

Talk That Talk

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

Black Pioneers of Science and Invention

The God Delusion

You on a Diet

Before the Mayflower

A Renaissance in Harlem

A Hundred Years of Solitude

Blues People

Walking With the Wind

The Promised Land

Profiles in Black Power

The Future of the Race

The Mysterious Anti-Hillary Video

Someone has fessed up to creating an anti-Hillary video where she poses as some dictator in a far-removed futuristic world. It's not so much that Hillary comes off as a modern version of Hitler or Stalin, but that the creator makes it seem that the Obama camp had something to do with it. As it turns out, Philip de Vellis, a (former) employee at Blue State Digital, a design company hired by the Obama team, created this video on his own time. Apparently, the video plays on a famous 1984 Apple Computer ad. (I am too young to remember it). In any case, I don't believe we should expect too much fallout from the mistake of a bottom-tier employee, not at all officially linked to Obama's presidential campaign.

Nevertheless, here is the Hillary video along with the original ad.

The Best of American Idol This Week

The Top Female Performance This Week

Jordin Sparks, "I Who Have Nothing"

The Top Male Performance This Week

Blake Lewis, "Time of the Seasons"

Too Bad Stephanie Got Kicked off Tonight, Her Performance was Amazing. She tried something different and delivered.

A Nation Getting Back on the Road to Recovery

It was not long ago that the Virginia legislature offered "profound reject" for slavery and recognized the enduring legacy of that practice in affecting contemporary African Americans. Now Congress is considering a similar bill that was indeed inspired by the Virginia resolution, which happened to have passed unanimously by both Virginia houses. The language of the Congressional bill appears more conciliatory in employing the word "apology" over "profound regret" and providing resolutions that

A) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;
B) apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow; and
C) expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future.

Read the full text here

I wanted to share my reaction to this bill...

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I am so excited to bring you the most historic piece of civil rights legislation in the past few decades. For so long I had hope for the moment when our nation could begin to admit to its moral hypocrisy, historical tyranny, psychological torture, and institutional resistance to and against its African American population. This bill puts us at a crossroads where we have to decide if the spirit of integration, equality, and freedom embodied in the Civil Rights Era will be extended to this generation of African Americans. Will we go back to separate and unequal education? Will we go back to ignoring the plight of African Americans when it comes to poverty, disease, political representation, historical recognition, housing discrimination, need I go on? When will we realize that African Americans are not a population that can just do for themselves? Perhaps, if they were as concentrated in number as the White population, they might be in a better position to look after themselves, even so that assumes that African Americans in such a position would have control over some media, over some money, over some politics, over some of the economy.

The fact of the matter is that African Americans are so dispersed throughout the nation that it would take all 39million + African Americans to move into just two or three states to be able to garner the influence and wield the power proportionally equal to that of White Americans. Then and only then, African Americans would be able to set up their own schools, where their history is not boxed off on some page of the textbook or where low academic expectations are not the norm, or where children who happen to live in poor areas are not given poor schools, poor teachers, and poor standards. If all African Americans lived in a few states, there is no doubt that Black businesses would thrive so much more than they are now. That Black colleges and universities would attract the best and brightest African American youth and researchers. That African Americans would not question their intellectual, political, and social equality. They would not have to ask themselves if they got into a university simply because of their color. There are no Black states. There will never be any Black states. So the question before us is, how do we force White Americans to share these United States? They have been hogging it for way too long now. When they do share, its often a twisted joke…”We’ll let you in here, but its only because of affirmative action” “In order to get this job, we’ll need you to stop “acting” Black and be like us.” They will not permit African Americans to acquire a distinctive American identity. African Americans will not learn of Robert Small, David Walker, Jupiter Hammon, Barbara Jordan. Instead, they are forced to recite Woodrow Wilson, a man whose vicious and unapologetic racism rings irony throughout history or Thomas Jefferson who believed that African Americans were biologically inferior yet sufficient to meet his primal sexual appetite.

White Americans and especially white males can no longer go on being our masters, and we their slaves. African Americans must be given seats at the table. Not for some time.  Not for a long time. Forever. 

White Americans can first start by acknowledging that their fathers and their mothers create a world that is not meant for African Americans to stand on par with White Americans. Then, they can start to abate white privilege in every area where African Americans are disadvantaged. Education. Not just in funds or decent buildings or talented staff, but in what is being taught. There is Healthcare. If HIV and AIDS was sweeping through White America as it is doing straight and gay Black America, we would call that a crisis. Justice. Housing. Politics. Undoing the consequences of slavery, Jim Crow, hundreds of years of discrimination, violence, and coercion, is a challenge yes.

I pray that White Americans and Black Americans can finally put the shame behind us, no longer having to sweep our dirty history under the rug. That we may all forgive the past, redirect the future, and live in moral and racial harmony with ourselves.

Republicans are Not Out, ....................... Not by a Long Shot

I have been reading a lot of material lately that suggests that we shouldn’t count Republicans out of the 2008 presidential race just yet. Time Magazine did an editorial on this question in its current issue. The Washington Post discussed it in its Sunday edition. I’d like to synthesize some of what they are saying.

1. History Based on trends in national politics, the Democrats should be very worried. The last time that a party came back to capture Congress and then the White House was in the 1950s. While history is constantly being challenged (e.g. Kennedy as first catholic President or Ferraro as first female on major party ticket), there are some steadfast rules about politics that can’t be overlooked. Split voting or voting for different parties in a series of elections occurs much more often than Republicans or Democrats would like to admit to. Take the 1994 Republican sweep and the 1996 reelection of Bill Clinton or the 1986 Democratic take-over of the Senate due to the Iran-contra scandal and the election of George H.W. Bush in 1988. The American people do prefer that the President and Congress be of different parties. The recent dominance of Republicans in national politics is really an aberration. Needless to say, their success was compounded by the events of September 11th and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. When the nation is at war, we can bet that normal patterns will change. Now, we are beginning to revert to bipartisan politics. 

2. A Curse The Democratic win in 2006 was a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, Democrats had the opportunity to provide the much needed leadership to take on Bush’s failing policy in Iraq and less-than-impressive record on domestic priorities. On the other hand, Democrats risk losing their majority if they do not prove to be a formidable challenge to the Republican ways of doing things…in war, social policy, and national security. Democrats are not only battling themselves on this one. With Republicans making it incredibly difficult for the Democrats to move swiftly with its agenda which includes minimum wage, war funding, reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind program, and taxes, Democrats are facing an uphill battle. Will they come out on top in the end? Only time will tell, but if Democrats really want to go into the 2008 presidential election with an advantage, they must try doubly harder to demonstrate that they are a party who will not just be somewhat more effective than the current Administration, but much better. As of yet, Democrats have not proved remarkable except when it comes to Iraq, even so Republicans are jumping a sinking ship and are aligning themselves with moderate Democrats.

3. Moderate Appeal Democratic candidates, save for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson who is currently at 2%, do not have the record that shows that they can win in red and purple states. Former Governors Mark Warner of my state of Virginia and Evan Bayh’s chances were more reassuring. Now, that they both have dropped out of the race, the former for personal reasons and the latter due to the shortage of big campaign donors, Democrats must be seriously questioning its viability, especially in securing a Southern Democratic or even swing voter appeal.  Time Magazine puts it best, “Hillary is the least left-wing of the leading Democratic candidates. To a Republican, that says it all.”

4. Iraq Challenging the President on Iraq policy is not an automatic payoff for Democrats. Culminating in the 2006 election results, the main gripe over Iraq from the perspective of most Americans, involved Bush’s insistence upon “staying the course” when the course was clearly failing. The President was admittedly humbled by the time 110th Congress convened and rolled out a slight change in policy, though continuing to stress military over political means as a way to contain Iraq. Despite opposition in Congress, the President will get his surge. Democrats and Republicans may rhetorically posture as if they really have the guts to limit significant funding; this is all political. The President could possibly turn Iraq around for the 2008 elections. If so, the Democrats will lose on the issue that they seem to have placed all of their bets on.

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Whitney, We're Waiting Hon!

It is being reported that Whitney Houston has begun work on a new album. The album will likely feature seven songs, many of them covers by artists such as R. Kelly, Diane Warren (don't know), Fernando (who?!), and Julia Fordham (Ummm...?). Clive Davis, who is responsible for launching Whitney's career back in the 80s, is producing the album. Of course, everyone is asking how Whitney's voice has been affected by her drug use. (At least we all know that it wasn't crack. "First of all, let's get one thing straight, crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack.") If her contribution to the Daddy's Little Girls soundtrack is any indication of her talent now, her fans will be highly disappointed. Then again, Whitney has had some incredible comeback performances, namely her last album, "Just Whitney." The album was rather impressive given that she was in the midst of marital and drugs problems. Nevertheless, I would always be in Whitney's cheering section. That's my girl!
 

Here are some of my favorite songs by Whitney in recent years.

Clik...It's More Like Eeekk

I have a love-hate relationship with Clik Magazine, the U.S.’s number one (only?) black gay magazine. I subscribed thinking that at the very least I would get a publication that could print decent pictures and deliver on time but what I have discovered is they can’t even do that. My main gripe with the magazine is that it is not professional enough. The pictures are often of very poor quality. The layout is ridiculously questionable. The content is barely mediocre, and I am saying this on a good day. The range of topics is limited to fashion, coming out, and HIV/AIDS. I am not saying that these are unimportant; certainly, they would be remiss not to mention these things. It’s that the magazine doesn’t reach me on an intellectual level. Don’t get me wrong. The guys are gorgeous! The stories about coming out and contracting HIV are moving! But how many times can they harp on the same key without us getting bored. Where’s information on the state of Black gay men in America? Are they proving to be more successful than their straight counterparts? What are some ordinary challenges that Black gay men face? Is society improving in this respect? What are ways that Black gay men are coming together, besides those who are “celebrities” among us? Moreover, I feel that the magazine is going in a direction that is altogether antithetical to its goals. Take the recent issue in which Lacoste was given a five-page spread showing its 2007 fall line. Out of the nine Lacoste models featured on these pages, guess how many were men of color?! You got it! Zero. Another spread with various designers featured only men of color and is of very poor quality. I could have taken better pictures with my 99¢ disposable camera. It’s like the photographer hadn’t gone through Photography 101. You don’t take pictures with the sun behind the subject!

On a positive note, the magazine is getting better. This month’s issue is the best yet, with one hell of an amazing cover. The articles are more diverse. Even still, I am very disappointed.

In God's Image, eh?

For sometime now, I have been thinking about getting a nose job. I like to say that I have an average nose for a person with a big nose, but more and more I become uncomfortable with being abnormal. I probably should say this. I am a mix of many things, racially speaking. It’s not so much that my nose is too broad (in an African sense), too long, or too extrusive (in a European sense). It’s all the above, that’s the problem. I’m part European, part Native American and mostly African. I have the breadth of a Cyrano de Bergerac type with the width of a pre-surgery Patti LaBelle. (Yes, Patti LaBelle.) I don’t want to get the surgery because it risks coming across as vain and mentally weak. After all, I am not that bad looking. I have had a constant flow of boyfriends since I came out in 2001. The problem is that I fear that my nose may be offensive to some and leave me with limited opportunities in my career. There aren’t a lot of us out there. Most of us get some type of surgery to fix our flaws. Speaking of surgeries, my research into rhinoplasty has strangely not encouraged me to move forward on this matter. Those individuals who are similarly situated did not have much by way of results. Frankly, I was very disappointed especially given how expensive this surgery can get, upwards of $10,000. I don’t got that kind of money. Will the surgery be worth it? Surely, I couldn’t expect a doctor to perform a miracle, if that is what would be needed. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile enjoy this list of celebrities who have had a confirmed or suspected rhinoplasty.

Ashlee Simpson
Patti LaBelle
Salma Hayek
Fergie
Demi Moore
Tom Cruise
Halle Berry
Michael Jackson
Nicole Kidman
Lil Kim
Ozzy Osbourne
Angelina Jolie
Cher
Latoya Jackson
Katie Holmes
Jennifer Grey

CNN Hottie: TJ Holmes

  I was flipping through the channels this morning and came upon a Hottie! While I had seen TJ before, it wasn't until now that I realized how attractive he was. (The reason why I hadn't considered this obvious fact is because I was too bothered by the use of light-skinned Black men as a way to attract a wider audience) Nevertheless, I thought that I would write an entry on him. TJ Holmes has been on CNN Saturday/Sunday Morning since 2006. Before that, he was at NBC11 in San Francisco (Could he be...? Nahhhh...) where he was a correspondent, even covering the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. TJ graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism. (TJ is not saying what his initials stand for neither is he admitting to his age)

You'll see in the video that TJ is a brotha! While he might come across the television screen as a man who might be "out of touch," there is no doubt that he can speak the lingo and make the connection. He talks about trying to get editors to cover issues that are important to the African American community but it's often to no avail. Finally, concerning his good looks and relaxed style, he says, "I'm bringing sexy back." Indeed you are!

 

Is Ryan Seacrest Gay?

My Favorite New Artist

powered by ODEO

Terrence Howard is Sexy as Hell

This Month's Essence Cover
Yes, I have my copy ;)

Real from I Love New York

Apparently Real from I Love New York had some much needed oral surgery. How do I know? Well, his dentist has posted the before and after