WEEK IN REVIEW, May 11th 2007
New Bush nominee found to have race-baiting past

President George W. Bush's pick for a top position at the State Department may have failed to follow through on a commitment she made to African-American and Latino lawmakers to address diversity issues in America's diplomatic corps.

Henrietta Holsman Fore, the current Undersecretary of State for Management, was nominated Monday to serve as Deputy Secretary of State and Administrator of the US Agency for International Development. But one Congressman was concerned that racially insensitive remarks she reportedly made 20 years ago could call her fitness to serve into question.

"I still think that a person that has a background of this nature puts her at a disadvantage, and when you get into something as sensitive as USAID, where you're dealing with developing countries, and people of color, I 'm not so sure how she will be perceived by the leadership of countries she has to work with," Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, told RAW STORY in a Wednesday interview.

CULTURE
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'Radio Golf': A clear signal of black class struggle

An elegant, accomplished black man runs for political office espousing a populist message but finds that his smooth assimilation into the upper echelon of society is held suspect by some black Americans.
If that sounds vaguely familiar, it might be noted that Radio Golf (* * * out of four), the final installment in August Wilson's 10-play cycle tracing the experiences of black Americans through the 20th century, premiered in 2005, when a newly elected senator named Barack Obama was a rising superstar. That's not to suggest that Wilson, who died of cancer later that year, foresaw Obama's presidential aspirations, but it's a safe bet that the playwright could have predicted some of the tensions and contradictions cropping up in coverage of the candidate's current campaign.

Radio Golf, which opened Tuesday at Broadway's Cort Theatre, deals with similar conundrums in tracing the mayoral bid of Harmond Wilks (Harry Lennix). Unlike Obama, Wilks owes much of his success to privilege, having been provided a plush real estate job by his father. But unlike his pal Roosevelt Hicks, a Tiger Woods-worshiping corporate climber with whom Wilks plans to redevelop Pittsburgh's embattled Hill District, Wilks is prone to sympathize with the disenfranchised

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It seems that is a on going "rethinking" of Mormonism and it's relationship with Black People. A number of stories of late have been poping up on the internet (or internets to quote the comander guy). Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Jenny Wilson has the backing of the Utah Democratic Black Caucus and a plan to promote diversity in Utah's capital city. . Wilson, a Democrat, announced the endorsement and unveiled her diversity agenda Saturday to coincide with Cinco de Mayo.

"Salt Lake City is rich in cultural and ethnic diversity," she said in a press release. "As mayor of Salt Lake City, I will celebrate and advocate for Salt Lake's diverse communities. Promoting diversity and economic opportunity will be a cornerstone of my administration."

Along with this there is now a Black LDS Organization. Why this is important is clear from PAST LDS teaching Mormon racism in perspective. Also see PBS ("Religion and Ethics," March 31, 2006):African-American Mormons
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.Art collection a story of race

Walking through, she points out 17th and 18th century documents that outline, from business and political perspectives, the economics of slavery. Those are the jumping off point of the exhibit, which is a chronological mix of art and artifacts.

Works by artists of the Harlem Renaissance are among her favorites. "They capture the dignity and beauty in ordinary African-American life," she says, adding "they humanize." She points to "Portrait of a Girl," a 1940 oil painting by Charles Alston. He was a leading figure in the New York artistic community who taught artists such as Jacob Lawrence, represented in the exhibit by "John Brown Series, #8," a 1977 serigraph.

Pieces deeper in the exhibit, such as Ed Dwight's 1986 bronze sculpture "Old Masai Woman" are a reflection of Shirley's taste for late modern and contemporary art. "I buy the dead artists, and she buys the living ones," he says with a laugh.

The exhibit will be on tour for two years and Kinsey says they're already "missing" certain pieces. But, that's not a bad thing, he says. "We now have pieces that jump off the walls, that were never appreciated like they should have been because they were too crowded."

Besides, he says, they're still shopping.

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Looking for a good role model for your kids? Brainy, black & pint-sizedAn animated, globetrotting role model is born. Teddy P. Brains is his name, a bookish, curious, eyeglass-wearing kid who lives in Metroville, U.S.A. But Philadelphia is really his home

HE'S THE valedictorian of his kindergarten class.
He travels to South America to learn about the rain forest and its importance to the cycle of life.

And he follows his parents' advice to "ask questions, seek answers."

Teddy P. Brains is his name, a bookish, curious, eyeglass-wearing kid who lives in Metroville, U.S.A.

But Philadelphia is really his home.

See, Teddy is a 3-D animated character who came to life right here in a Port Richmond studio from the brain trust of two Mount Airy producers.

The bespectacled kid with a love for entomology also happens to be African-American.

He and a cast of characters star in the newly released DVD "The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rain Forest," aimed at children ages 5 to 8. The DVD can be found in Barnes & Noble, at Amazon.com and at www.teddypbrainstv.com, among other outlets.

Public television has featured multicultural casts since the debut of "Sesame Street" and "The Electric Company" in the '60s and '70s. Diversity still reigns on PBS educational shows such as "Cyberchase" and "The Magic School Bus," which ran from 1994 to 1998. These days, a young Latina is "Dora the Explorer."

But the Philadelphia creative team behind Teddy P. Brains may have come up with the first children's cartoon to focus on an African-American child in an intellectual setting.

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INTERNATIONAL
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High rates of crime and violence in the Caribbean are undermining growth, threatening human welfare, and impeding social development, according to a new report published by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Crime impacts business and is a major obstacle to investment. In many countries, as crime increases, access to financing declines; spending on formal and informal security measures increases; and worker productivity declines. Estimates suggest that reducing the homicide rate in the Caribbean by one third from its current level could more than double the region’s rate of per capita economic growth.

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Nicolas Sarkozy’s election as French president stirred fears yesterday in Francophone Africa that his tough immigration policies could poison France’s traditionally strong ties with the world’s poorest continent.

“Immigration policy is going to harden and (repatriation) charters are going to resume. He is going to kick out a lot of Africans,” said Habibou Thiam, a 32-year-old carpenter in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
Sentiment in French-speaking Africa had broadly favoured Sarkozy’s Socialist rival Segolene Royal, who was born in Dakar and was perceived to have a more sympathetic view of the needs and aspirations of developing African countries.
Sarkozy’s insistence during his campaign that he would seek to curb and control illegal migration of Africans, many of whom dream of seeking a new life in Europe, had drawn sharp criticism from governments and ordinary people on the continent.
“With ‘Sarko’ as president, our compatriots, even those whose (migration) situation is in order, will be trembling. Is he going to renew expulsions all over the place and charters.

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News24: Foreign ministers from 53 African nations started gathering in Durban on Monday for a two-day meeting on political and economic integration on the continent.
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HEALTH
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Vibe: Dave Tolliver and Edgar "Gemini" Porter, aka Men at Large, are challenging African American men to lose a collective 2 million pounds by the end of the year as a way to improve their health.

Dave Tolliver and Edgar "Gemini" Porter, aka Men at Large, are challenging African American men to lose a collective 2 million pounds by the end of the year as a way to improve their health. The duo - who themselves weigh a collective 750 lbs. - decided to take the initiative after the passing of Gerald Levert, who helped nurture the group. "Gerald's death was a big loss to us," said Porter in a statement, "and when we began to look around at a lot of friends and family members who were also dying young it hit us that many of them were dying from either, being overweight, being diabetic, or having high blood pressure."

"We realized we aren't as young as we used to be but obviously being overweight was having a serious impact on us," Porter continued.

The singers' goal is to lose 100 lbs each, which Tolliver said they aim to do by "pushing back from the table and eating less," "walking a lot" and "rehearsing more vigorously to get in shape... Searching ways to lose weight on the internet let us know just how big the problem is among black men."

Over 69% of African American men are thought to be overweight, and 40% of all black men have high blood pressure. Additionally, eight percent of black men suffer from diabetes - twice that of white men - according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control.

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News-Medical: Researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine explored why blacks are less likely than other races to become living kidney donors, and the reasons are obesity and failure to complete the donor evaluation

Donor questionnaires and charts for 541 disqualified potential donors were reviewed. The disqualified donors were all identified by documented information, race, gender and cause of donor exclusion. In some cases, disqualified donors had more than one reason for exclusion.

About 30 percent of blacks were excluded because of obesity, compared to 16.6 percent of whites. Obesity was defined by body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 32 kg/m. Twelve percent of blacks were excluded because they didn't complete the evaluation process, compared to 1.8 percent of whites. For whites, the biggest reason for exclusion was kidney stones, at 7.3 percent, compared to 1.5 percent in blacks.

"Further study of these differences may improve our understanding of the causes of low rates of living kidney donation among African-Americans, particularly regarding the social reasons," said Reeves-Daniel. "Is it lack of trust in the medical community, financial inability to get to doctor's appointments for tests, concerns with work and child care, or perhaps some other issue?"

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POLITICS
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For African-Americans, folly of this war hits home

This war, launched under false pretenses, now has so little merit that the enrollment of African-Americans in the military may be at its lowest point since the creation of the all-volunteer military in 1973. In 2000, 23.5 percent of Army recruits were African-American. By 2005, the percentage dropped to 13.9 percent. National Public Radio this week quoted a Pentagon statistic that said that African-American propensity to join the military had dropped to 9 percent.

Technically, 13.9 percent is about the proportion of African-Americans in the general population. But the military's meritocracy has long been a disproportionate option for young African-Americans because of a disproportionate lack of career opportunities and decent public schools to prepare them for college.

The drop in African-American enrollment in the military may be as powerful a collective political statement about Iraq as when Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted during the Vietnam War. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, major polls showed that African-American support for the invasion was as low as 19 percent, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, while white support ran between 58 percent and 73 percent in major polls.

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Rep. Hank Johnson’s mild-mannered style will never be mistaken for that of his outspoken predecessor, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D). But that doesn’t mean fellow Democrats are going to let him cruise to a second term. Freshman Rep. Hank Johnson conscious of potential primary.

Democrats in the Atlanta area say Johnson is keenly aware that McKinney’s departure has opened a door to any number of ambitious would-be members of Congress. Johnson, wary of pronouncing himself reelected, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that he’s hearing several names.

Anti-McKinney Democrats largely coalesced behind Johnson last year to knock off McKinney for the second time in the last three cycles. Now some of them — and possibly McKinney — apparently have turned their eyes on the quiet freshman as well.

“He’s certainly hearing rumors,” Johnson spokeswoman Deb McGhee Speights said. “But he wouldn’t be surprised, certainly, at this point if there is a challenger.”

Pervasive speculation has it that DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones will drop his U.S. Senate bid to enter the race, and Democrats are not counting out repeat bids by McKinney or former Rep. Denise Majette (D-Ga.). Majette beat McKinney in 2002 but vacated the seat for a failed bid for Senate in 2004, at which point McKinney retook her old seat.
Jones’s campaign dismissed the rumors and spoke highly of Johnson. But many Democrats are dumbfounded by Jones’s flirtation with running for Senate.

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MONEY
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Auto loan rates higher for African Americans

Black auto buyers have been charged higher auto loan rates than others, federal research says. But the gap in loan rates could narrow - and possibly disappear - as the result of recently concluded lawsuits.

Blacks paid a typical auto loan rate of 7 percent for new cars, compared with a rate of 5 percent for whites in 2004, according to a consumer organization's analysis of the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. That was the most recent survey available.

And blacks were more likely than auto buyers in general to have auto loan rates higher than 15 percent. For used car loans, 27 percent of blacks who buy cars were charged interest rates of 15 percent or more. Blacks were three times as likely as whites - 27 percent to 9 percent - to have auto loan rates at least that high, according to the report released Monday.

Hispanics were paying a typical rate of 5.5 percent for new car loans, while 19 percent of Hispanics had loans for used cars over 15 percent, the analysis found.

Lenders' suggested quote rates are based largely on the buyer's credit history, but auto dealers often raise the rate higher than that risk-related rate without discussing the rate with the customer, consumer advocates said. And they question the causes of those rate differences.

"It's hard to believe that any differences in creditworthiness explain all of these rate gaps," said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. "They size you up, the car salesmen and finance and interest guys. They must think African Americans are more vulnerable to a markup."

But a series of legal actions against auto finance firms seeking fair treatment for minorities could help solve that problem.

"We had 11 lawsuits, the last of the cases settled last month," said Stuart Rossman of the National Consumer Law Center. "We reached a settlement with each of the finance firms. Our cases involved discrimination. We believe the terms of the settlements will eliminate discrimination."

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.Pepsi Ad Man Who Fought Stereotypes Dies In L.A.

(AP) LOS ANGELES A former Pepsi ad man who broke color barriers with one of the first corporate marketing campaigns to portray African Americans in a positive light has died. Edward Boyd was 92.

Boyd was hired as an assistant sales manager at Pepsi in 1947and led a group of educated African American salesmen.

He created a marketing campaign that showed African Americans as respectable, middle-class consumers.

One store display pictured a smiling mother holding a six-pack of Pepsi-Cola as her handsome, young son reached for a bottle.

The promotions differed sharply from the insulting images of many ads at the time.

Boyd died April 30 at Century City Doctors Hospital in Los Angeles. The cause was complications of a stroke he suffered in March.