Commentary
Robinswing, Black Kos Editor

I’ve been thinking lately that the framing of this election needs to change. For one thing I’m weary of hearing about winning and fighting for the nomination. Battleground 2008. That is the old frame that has been rejected by Obama. Its so twentieth century.

This election is not about winning. It’s about leadership.

Winning and losing are a part of the old paradigm. Leadership is new only because we haven’t seen much of it in the last fifty years.

Obama is showing through his example what leadership looks like. It is so unfamiliar that many people see it as his weakness. It is not.

(SistahSpeak con't)

What an extraordinary man he is. He has shown himself unwilling to be baited into combatant status in the blood sport of politics past. Those of us who support him must be willing to recognize the quantum leap this represents in the body politic.

How eagerly some have been to see him strike back at Hillary. Months ago this was the discussion of a NYT article before one of the million debates. The media sharks and sharkettes were salivating at the thought. They were disappointed. I wasn’t. I saw the revolution being telecast.

Make no mistake; whenever you refuse to play by the old rules, you are being revolutionary in every real sense of the word. Obama is a revolutionary. Not fighting is a revolutionary concept in the world of American politics.

We have become so accustomed to violent terms for the political process that it is easy to forget that it is not necessary to speak of elections in terms of fighting and winning and losing. I’ve heard residual anger expressed at John Kerry because he didn’t fight after 2004. Truth is residual anger has become the fuel of the body politic. This anger has morphed into the cancer of our national dialogue. So much talk about fighting and fighting back. Battleground states. Firewalls. There are those who are disappointed in Obama’s refusal to participate.

For the most part many have rationalized his refusal to ‘fight’ back. We have said things like it would only make him appear to be an angry black man and so he can’t. He must appear to be docile in order to gain the trust of white America. This idea supposes somehow that fighting back would be the correct thing to do. This in spite of the fact that the lives and works of King and Gandhi have shown us otherwise.

I have found myself wrestling with the sense of betrayal that none of his surrogates have really stood up to support him. They have not cried foul in unison at the antics and the misbehavior of the so called media as they focused on the idea of derailing this man. I believe it has been his leadership that has restrained those voices. If so, then he has already had an effect on the way business has always been done.

Some people like the idea of continuing the battles that have left our nation bereft of real leadership. I’m not one of them. I want a leader. I want someone who is willing to stand on his principles. I want someone who is willing to speak truth to power and who seeks to hold the reins of power with the help of the people. I want someone who is willing to lead us into self governance. You remember, of ,by and for the people.

I’m tired of the same old same old.

For those asking how he is going to implement the change he talks about I say, watch him. He is already doing it.
Watch him and observe the ways in which politics has already been changed.

Look and learn. We are watching the revolution. It is being televised. Obama is leading.

Obama has more courage and grace in his nail clippings than any other candidate in the last forty years.

Let a leader lead.

Now, run and tell that

The Urban Educational System
Sephius1, Black Kos Editor

Last week we took a look at the people resources that an inner city kid comes in contact with. We also looked at the family dynamics, and school dynamics, pointing to how different links along a child's development, if broken, can cause irreparable harm to a child psyche.

This week we'll take a look at solutions for the 3 areas covered over the past weeks. Just to rehash where we are at:

Safety, Health, and the Environment - this includes drugs and other substances that can be abuse, sexually abuse, bullying, dilapidated housing, school buildings and community infrastructures.

Financial Resources - this includes the poverty levels of the students, surrounding community, and the resources the school has available.

People Resources - this includes the identifying the different learning levels of students early, their socio-economic status, those who play parental roles, inter-personal relationships, self-image. This also includes hiring compotent teachers, having a reward process in place for teachers who do well in the classroom, instead linking a teachers livelyhood to the number of students they pass, getting teachers to think out of the box, and have more robust training for teachers to keep their skill up to date.

Solutions - I will propose solutions in this section to help develop a strategy at the school level.


1.4 Solution

- Safety, Health, and Environment -

In the first installment of this multi-part series we delve into the issue of safety, the welfare of the child, and the physical surroundings of the child. On of the first things we need to do is start with a grounded home. Kids that are in unstable homes, aren't that productive once they get to school. I think there needs to be an onsite psychologist at the school. Someone who can help a child work through the issues so that they don't express themselves in other ways. There is so much a child is exposed to that they can not process it all. Abuse at the home, walking through rundown neigborhoods, teachers abusing student (whether mental, or physical) all have lasting effect on the child psyche.

Another thing that can help with the sense of saftey is having a cop, or two, come to school once a week and meet with the young students. There's such a mistrust of the police in the inner city that crime flourishes because neither side talks to each. The cop may need someone in the community as an eyewitness, but the community won't help because law enforcement will only provide basic security. But at the same time the community wants the cops to be there to protect them. There must be a mutual respect from each side and it begins at young age, when the child is beginning to understand the authority hierarchy and beginning to place different levels of trust within that hierarchy. By allowing a relationship to develop between school kids and law enforcement it will do two things, (1) it establishes a safe zone with cop, and (2) the kid would be more likely to go to the cop with something that they see a disturbance.

On the health side an onsite nutritionist would be essential. Kids each so much chunk food because it is cheaper for their parents to buy. An it doesn't help that corporation you schools as billboards in exchange for giving money to the school -- usually in the form of vending machine with sugary soft drinks and candy. Then the child goes home and the cabinet is filled with chips, soda, and sugary cereals "fortified" with vitamins. In the inner city you, are more likely to see a liquor store than a good grocery. Although some in the community are taking on the task of growing fresh vegatables.

On the environment tip, and actually creating fun teaching moment, you could have the young students help keep the school clean. Have a day once, or twice a month, where the student and teachers go out pick trash around the school. Of course care should be given if the child happens to walk upon a syringe, drugs, or god forbid a condom. But barring that, it will teach the kids responsibilities and get them involved early in caring for the environment.

- Financial Resources and People Resources -

I'm joining these two together since they meld well. Obviously, if everybody made more money alot of problems probably could be solved, but that is a discussion far bigger than this one. The first thing we need to confront is the self image of the child. Since most inner city schools are public, you are going to have children of different socio-economic status attending the same school. And because some may be better off financially than other, the way they dress will reflect that. And if you are the lonely kid who can't afford the trendy shoes, and clothes, you already see your self as unequal. Therefore, I think school uniforms are needed as an image equalizer. You're not focusing on who's the "it" boy/girl. And while I value free speech, the elementary and middle school years should be about learning and absorbing the world around. They are already going to have cliques -- jocks, cool girls, "geeky guys", etc.

Of course, more up to date books and better teacher pay always help, but when you have different graduation statistics across racial lines, and class lines, you soon see that there may be differences in the way some are learning. I going to propose something I'm calling Continuous Academic Verification, Evaluation, and Reporting, or CAVER, Statistics & Best Practices. This would be a document that would track a childs entire educational track from kindergarden to finishing college. Now, when I say document, I mean a database that captures statistical information. And while I'm sure every state has something similiar to this, that, in it self, is part of the problem -- no consistent narrative. So below I breifly break down what a CAVER is, it's methodolgy, how it is compile, and managed, and some areas where a CAVER statistic can be tracked:

• CAVER System
  
  In the simplest of terms, a CAVER statistic is defined as the smallest trackable unit of information. This could be a test question, the test itself, teacher evaluations, overall learning ability, classroom size, information that spans several categories, etc. Along with capturing this information you want to be able to compare and contrast, and produce reports that students, parents, teachers, education administrators, commercial entities, and politician can use these report to provide corrective action early before the child slips through cracks.
  
  The deployment strategy for the CAVER system would be brand-able, web-based, password protected, with user groups and user group administrators. User accounts will be created based on form submission of certain information, since we don't want just anybody seeing student information. However, an area of the CAVER system will be available to the public (the media, researchers, average citizens) to view summary reports since part of the goal is to keep the public informed about the potential workforce.
  
  Some other areas where gathering CAVER statistics could be beneficial are from mentorship programs, after-school programs, from parents at PTA meetings, or tracking those students that will be the first to go through the CAVER system and become teachers themselves. They will add a new dimension because now you will begin developing a knowledgebase within the CAVER system itself.
  

The CAVER system is the best way, in my opinion, to coral people resources as well. You can see how mentors and teachers effect the childs learning. However, as it stands right now, CAVER is still in draft white paper form, but once it is done I will be soliciting feedback. This concludes Part I: Strategy At The School Level

Next week >> Part II: Strategy At The Commercial Level

The Root ≫ Making sense of hip-hop's most recent crime wave.

The recent spate of rap stars making criminal justice news will come as a surprise to no one, especially those of you who equate hip-hop culture with prison culture. Nor will it surprise those of us who have accepted the fact that, in the black public sphere, record sales (or any sales for that matter) are often bolstered by an association with criminality.

Clearly all of hip-hop culture is not about criminality. Most rappers do not have rap sheets. If you consider Akon to be a hip-hop artist, think of the irony inherent in the sensationalism surrounding the recent expose of his criminal career. The fact that he has exaggerated his prison status in order to sell his artistic persona (and millions of records) only begins to hint at the promotional potential of prison sentences in popular culture.

That said, it might be worth revisiting this recent string of cases to understand the issues and what they mean for both the African American community and the Hip-Hop Generation(s)....... More ►

To continue with the Hip-hop theme.

Slate ≫ What's behind the great rappers lame rock band combos?

Why do rappers whose work I hold in such high regard have such terrible taste in rock? The answer started to become clear when I gave "Birthday Girl," the Roots-Patrick Stump song, a courtesy listen and was greatly disturbed to discover that I liked it. It's catchy; Stump has the right voice for the mellow hook, and the Roots' estimable rhythm section gives a sharp edge to what otherwise would have been a straightforward mid-tempo rock song:

Upon searching my soul, I realized that I had to admit that I in fact liked almost all the songs that I named earlier. "Let Me Blow Your Mind" is an unjustly forgotten club grinder; "Homecoming," "Heard 'Em Say," and "Sacrifice" all get stuck in my head from time to time; "Numb/Encore" is a staple of the various Workout Mega-Jam mixes that I've made over the years. I was a bit taken aback; cultural snobbery is such an integral part of my personality. I'd have to rethink a lot of things if it turned out I liked listening to Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5, and Linkin Park.

Fortunately, a quick zip through the iTunes store reassured me that I don't. Those bands have recorded some memorably hummable singles but don't have much musical range and seem to almost purposefully employ instrumentation and vocal effects indistinguishable from all the other bands working in their already well-trod genres. (Fall Out Boy seems the most promising—I could see them making an album I really liked—and while Linkin Park is never going to be my thing, they're not bad at what they do. Maroon 5 is elevator music from the depths of hell.) But these bands' songwriting and production tendencies, I realized, are beside the point. They're not in the studio to write and record a double album with a rapper; they're stopping by for a day to lay down vocals for a single....... More ►

I still am 50/50 on Cosby. But he is out there trying to do good works. He also has been a major donor for years for many good causes. Therefore He has earned my respect.

The Root ≫ Georgia judge who gave blacks-only lecture teams with Cosby

Bill Cosby says apathy among some black Americans about violence, drugs, profanity and teenage sex has sunk to a level of asking someone to "pass the salt."

The comedian, who has made waves by criticizing the black community in the past, appeared Thursday night with a Georgia judge who kicked whites out of his courtroom while he lectured black defendants.

Cosby and Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington spoke at a forum for at-risk youths from the Atlanta area. Both men are black. "Our children are trying to tell us something," Cosby said to the predominantly black audience at Benjamin Mays High School as he talked about the importance of education and family....... More ►

NYTimes ≫ Seeking the Key to Employment for Ex-Cons

Over the past two years, Peter Santos has hired 40 ex-convicts to help him build and renovate apartments here; 36 did not last, many of them doing unacceptably sloppy work or simply disappearing after a few weeks — or a few days — on the job.

One worker, Ronald O’Reilly, 41, had spent more than half his life in prison, for burglary, drug sales and weapons possession, when Mr. Santos last summer gave him not just a job but a cheap apartment and the furnishings to make the place feel like home. He even paid to repair Mr. O’Reilly’s neglected teeth. “I gave him my all,” Mr. Santos said. “I really thought Ron would be different.”...... More ►

Although you can count me as someone who doesn't put too much into Jeremiah Wright when I decided to support Sen. Obama. But given that fact, why wouldn't a person step aside for a moment if it means advancing many of the goals they say they support? But this continues to be news. (doppero189)

The Root ≫ Is Rev. Jeremiah Wright on the secret payroll of Barack Obama's political opponents?

It's a reasonable question, given the potentially catastrophic damage he wreaked on the Illinois Senator's White House aspirations with his bombastic performance at the National Press Club this morning. At the precise moment when Obama is facing questions about his ability to connect with white working class voters, Wright chose to put himself back into the spotlight, resurrecting the controversy stirred up by widely circulated snippets from his impassioned sermons. At the very least, Obama will now be forced to waste precious time answering questions about his former pastor's absurd views. At worst, Wright's provocative utterances could cost Obama the election....... More ►

I think Sen. Obama had no choice but to do this.

NYTimes ≫ Obama Breaks Forcefully With Ex-Pastor Over Fiery Remarks

Senator Barack Obama broke forcefully on Tuesday with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., in an effort to curtail a drama of race, values, patriotism and betrayal that has enveloped his presidential candidacy at a critical juncture.

At a news conference here, Mr. Obama denounced remarks Mr. Wright made in a series of televised appearances over the last several days. In the appearances, Mr. Wright has suggested that the United States was attacked because it engaged in terrorism on other people and that the government was capable of having used the AIDS virus to commit genocide against minorities. His remarks also cast Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, in a positive light....... More ►

NYTimes ≫ Lincoln Journal: An Irascible Firebrand, Finally Quieted by Term Limits

The senior senator of Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature is going out just the way he came in nearly four decades ago: obstinately, and with a whole lot to say in his T-shirt and jeans.

“I have to remind people as they show great sadness that I’m not dying, I’m just getting out of the Legislature,” said the senator, Ernie Chambers, 70. “But a lot of people are going to be very happy when my absolute last day arrives. In fact, there will probably be so much joy in this corner of the world that it will be picked up on the Richter scale. I’m not liked at all.”

Liked or not, Mr. Chambers, a black, divorced, agnostic former barber from Omaha with posters of Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass decorating his office, managed to rise to an ultimate level of power in a mostly rural, white conservative state on little more than sheer determination to do so....... More ►

A word of caution to Democrats from theroot.com

The Root ≫ Don't Think Black Voters Won't Vote for McCain.

Just ask Kathleen Kennedy Townsend about the price Democrats pay for dissing black voters.
So my home state of Pennsylvania handed Hillary Clinton a win and a reason to keep fighting to be the Democratic nominee. As I write, Terry McCauliffe is probably on CNN pleading his candidate's case, facts about her low delegate and popular vote counts be damned.

But before Democratic superdelegates get too itchy to snuff the Obama campaign, they should consider the new animal that move might spawn: the Obama Republican.

I know: the notion of black folks and young folks and progressive white folks abandoning the Democrats en masse if the Wife of Bill is the nominee ain't exactly new; Right here on The Root, the writer William Jelani Cobb espoused a McCain protest vote in November, and has since accepted a ticket to Denver as a Democratic delegate in August. But that makes the threat no less real. Any Democratic honcho needing a lesson in the power of disaffected black voters need only Google "2002 and Clarence Mitchell IV."...... More ►

Imagine if Sen. McCain got to nominate Justice Stephen G. Breyer replacement?

NYTime ≫ Supreme Court Upholds Voter Identification Law in Indiana

The Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s voter-identification law on Monday, declaring that a requirement to produce photo identification is not unconstitutional and that the state has a “valid interest” in improving election procedures as well as deterring fraud.

In a 6-to-3 ruling in one of the most awaited election-law cases in years, the court rejected arguments that Indiana’s law imposes unjustified burdens on people who are old, poor or members of minority groups and less likely to have driver’s licenses or other acceptable forms of identification. Because Indiana’s law is considered the strictest in the country, similar laws in the other 20 or so states that have photo-identification rules would appear to have a good chance of surviving scrutiny....... More ►

Kai Wright at the TheRoot.com doesn't pull any punches with this one.

The Root ≫ If They Are So Scared, How Come We're The Dead Ones?

The cops in the Sean Bell case walked because the judge said it was reasonable for them to be scared of three black men in a car. This paranoia defense has been used to forgive the murders of black people for a long time.

Ida B. Wells, at the turn of the 20th century, called it a "threadbare lie." She was talking about how lynch mobs masquerading as law enforcement justified their actions by claiming black men were raping white women. But Wells was on to a larger delusion, one that not only inspired sexual hysteria 100 years ago, but that continues to legitimize all manner of brutality against black men today. The simple and sadly lasting truth is this: We scare the shit out of America. And that fear excuses just about any reaction it spawns....... More ►

A sad day for Jamaica and the world.

The Root ≫ Mourners pay tribute to Bob Marley's mom

Thousands of mourners paid tribute Sunday to the late mother of reggae superstar Bob Marley, whose renowned music promoting social justice and "one love" made him one of Jamaica's most beloved sons.

Cedella Booker's casket was draped in blue, red, yellow and black cloths, the colors of the Rastafarian faith, and displayed in Kingston's National Stadium.

Booker died earlier this month in her Miami home at age 81. She will be buried Monday alongside her late son in his birthplace, the town of Nine Miles....... More ►

I have grown more callous as I grow older and keep hearing bad news from around the world. But every so often a story still finds a way to break my heart. This one is from Africa's broken heart.

NPR ≫ Rape Used as a Weapon in Congo's Civil War

There are reports that mutinous soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo raped women Bukavu after seizing the city earlier this month. Rape has been a part of earlier conflicts as well. During Congo's civil war, which officially ended in 2002, rape and the fear of rape often kept women from working in the fields. Crops failed as a result, and many children died of malnutrition. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports....... More ►

Ebony / Jet ≫ New Voices of African American Women Playwrights

Last year, I experienced a thought-provoking discussion with playwright/novelist/activist Pearl Cleage. The topic was the new generation of African American playwrights and what direction they were headed. Cleage believes that we are at a turning point in terms of the foundation set by the civil rights generation and the new path that current playwrights are forging.

“I’m a child of the 60s, I think in terms of the Black community and I don’t think we have that anymore,” she said of the current generation’s perspective. “I miss it but I understand it as part of our development as a people. We have been able to knock aside racism and sexism and we have dissipated our sense of community. Our sense of danger is lessened.”

With the international fame of playwrights such as Suzan -Lori Parks, the first African American playwright to win a Pulitzer Prize and Lynn Nottage, considered among the best of contemporary playwrights, the role of African American woman playwrights in particular, appears to be crucial. Both Parks and Nottage earned MacArthur “genius” grants for their productions that examine class and racism through unexpected perspectives....... More ►

Diaries by babeuf (dopper0189)
┗ Time to Rethink the Role of the Church in Black (and American) Politics......More ►
┗ America's Racial Porn Addiction......More ►




I love StromBear
Diaries by StormBear (dopper0189)
┗ Black History: Southerners Contemplate Manual Labor......More ►
┗ Black History: First Shots of the Civil War......More ►




So (black) people, do we have his back or what?......More ►
┗ by jazmen8 (dopper0189)



One black man's reaction to Obama yesterday......More ►
┗ by ella-h (dopper0189)



On Black-Blacks, and NotBlack-Blacks, and me......More ►
┗ by risingtide (dopper0189)



(DIARIES OF NOTE ON THE WEB)

There is quite an interesting discussion on the web with regards to how having a "black sounding name" effects a person life.



On Having a Black Name......More ►(Terrypinder)

Growing up White with a Black name......More ►(Terrypinder)

What If My Parents Had Named Me Tawana?......More ►(Terrypinder)

How do babies with super-black names fare?......More ►(Terrypinder)

Commentary
Robinswing, Black Kos Editor


I’ve been looking into my heart to find my real feelings about Jeremiah Wright and the events of the last few days.

As I write this, Obama has packed up the baggage left by Rev. Wright and the media. Make no mistake, the media is the thing.

Obama has been taking hits from every direction. Hillary, McLame, Bill, scarred burrow, damnity, Tweety et.al. The miracle is that he has weathered it with more grace than the situation deserved. During these last few weeks, Obama has been grace it’s own self.

They’ve been waiting to see if they could pick a fight and fit him into the angry black male mode. They couldn’t. Only Jeremiah Wright was able finally to wound. Wound him he did. I’m feeling Obama’s hurt. It is not unfamiliar to me, the territory of betrayal. For a moment the light seems to get sucked from the room. Obama had that look. My heart goes out to him.

I keep wondering if in his actions, Wright wasn’t giving Obama what he needed to move forward. Jeremiah is not a stupid man. I do not believe he is jealous of Obama. I do not believe he is a narcissist. The narcissists get the million dollar home as soon as the church can afford it. They don’t put the church’s money into programs.

I’m sure I saw something in Jeremiah’s eyes.

I do not believe for one moment he needs attention. When you have a church for as long as he, attention is something you get plenty of. One day I’ll tell you how I know.

No, what I believe he intended to do was take the attention and shape it to Obama’s need. This he did. He said over a year ago that Obama would need to distance himself from him. Since Obama couldn’t bring himself to do it, Wright did it for him.

I know I heard a message in there. On Sunday, I heard him say that if he was going to promote a candidate at the non-partisan NAACP function he would say “Yes we can!”

He made a point of saying that he was not Obama’s spiritual advisor. And chided Obama for not listening to the whole sermon. Took that one off Obama’s back. I’m sure it pissed Buchanan off. He’s been trying to hang Obama with this spiritual advisor label since the beginning of this farce. Also apparently everyone else goes to church every Sunday and because Wright said Obama hadn’t heard the whole sermon, he took that weapon right out of the punditz hands.

Wright signaled that he was up on things by mentioning the Huffington Post. Then there were the messages that I heard in other things he said.

He said that what God has ordained in terms of the presidency could not be stopped. I heard words of encouragement to Obama. Wright was doing his part.

Finally he parodied the black street brother... Bipping and bopping. He did everything but slap a high five with one of his boys. This man who has known presidents and been in the White House as a guest of Bill Clinton has to go all south side of Chicago? Not feeling that vibe as authentic.

I believe he knew that by giving what even Obama called a performance; he was doing all he could do to put this away.

I know I would have done the same thing. I would show my behind to ten thousand strangers if it would help my sons. I would make a complete fool of myself if it would help bring their dreams into being.

Anyone who thinks that Jeremiah Wright would consciously sabotage Obama does not understand anything about the man.

In my heart I believe I’ve seen Br’er Rabbit getting thrown into the briar patch.

Nothing else makes sense.

Commentary
Robinswing, Black Kos Editor

This primary season has served to rip the band-aides off of some of the deepest wounds in our nation. Hillary seems to me to be defiant. Angry. Intentional in her disrespect for Barack.

From where I’m standing her campaign illustrates the anger carried in the hearts of so many older women in this country. It is the bitter that goes unspoken as the punditz look at numbers and try to divine the real nature of the body politic which is apparently having an anger seizure. Some things are obvious.



Women are mad as hell. White women that is. Women of a certain age. Maybe Obama needs to speak to them. Let them know he understands their anger and that he is not the enemy. He cannot,must not stand in proxy for the anger, fear and frustration many of these women feel. If whites can proclaim that they had nothing to do with slavery and can’t be tarred with it by blacks, surely Obama can say I did you no wrong. I didn’t leave you for a younger woman; I didn’t hit you or hurt you. I have neither polished the glass ceiling nor did I erect it. I have not oppressed you. I’m dealing with the same oppressor as you.


This has been a primary in the most illuminating sense of the word. We are looking at the primer of our emotions. Much of what we are seeing pains the eye and pings the heart.

Some are lined up watching with horror as the threads of racism are being subtly woven into the fabric of this primary.


Those of us who are children of the Diaspora flinch as we watch the buzzwords of racism shift while millions are blissfully unaware. For months the feelings that are held by some of our citizens have raged under the radar. Race. We don’t want to talk about it. Not really. Obama tried. No one wanted to respond. Hillary could have. She could have stood up after Obama’s speech and said “Good on you Barack Obama. This is a conversation we need to have.” She could have promised that as president she would issue a presidential proclamation apologizing after all this time, to the descendents of slaves for centuries of slavery. She could have said that she wanted to acknowledge that slavery provided the foundation of this nation’s prosperity. She could have. She didn’t even try.

Instead we have women who are claiming that now it is time for those of us with vaginas to stand together. We are supposed to hold this black man accountable for all the sins of misogyny. How ironic.

A few of these white women actually seem to think that I should see myself first in terms of my gender even as they call me a black woman.( Note that black precedes woman.) Apparently there are those who think I am voting for Obama just because he is black like me. And you know what? They can kiss my black ass. Even if I was, it seems to me to be as fair as voting for white men, year after year after year.

I can give you all the policy reasons I’m voting for Barack Obama. Or I can simply say this... I would never vote for Condi Rice or Colin Powell. I said hell no to Clarence Thomas and find no pride in Bob Johnson. And if someone wants to accuse me of voting for Barack Obama simply because he and I are both black, I don’t give a flying phuque.

These people do not see me as someone capable of making a decision beyond the narrow definitions and parameters of their own bigotry.

Hillary goes around claiming that it took one Clinton to clean up after the first Bush and that she is the Clinton to clean up after this Bush. Bullshit. Let’s look at this another way. Historically, black folks cleaned up after white folk for generation after generation. We been cleaning y’alls messes for centuries. I think it’s gonna take a black man,Barack Obama, to clean up after all these white men. Yeah, I said it. And as Lou Palmer used to say, now run and tell that.

SPECIAL COMMENT
Terrypinder, Black Kos Editor


As a 26 year old man living in our “post-racial” society I'm often struck at just how far we still have to go.

I realize I started my last piece with this opening but hear me out. Today, I'm talking about BET.

Before I continue---I don't want people to think I'm some type of moralizing John McWhorter. I have read some of his work, and find that while our life stories sort of match (we're both from middle class, college-educated suburbanites), we diverge greatly in pretty much everything else. I'm a liberal. He more or less is not. So while it'll sound like I'm channeling McWhorter in my critique of BET, to some, it's all me. 100%.

I watch BET and note, that there aren't people like me on there. Outside of the few news programs they have, there's a lot of incredibly vapid programming, rap videos that do little to lift up the community, and Christian televangelist programs that have bought into the Prosperity Gospel (another issue I have, but we can save that for another day.)

It all just looks like a modern-day minstrel show to me. I clearly am over thinking it, but I think the point stands. I can't be the only one.

Oh, I'm not!

Aaron McGruder, of the Boondocks fame, has made digs at BET for quite some time now, even to the point where two recent episodes of The Boondocks were pulled at threat of lawsuit. You can view these episodes on YouTube and elsewhere on the web. They're NSFW, and they're quite possibly the most offensive episodes of the series yet. I won't spoil it for you—you can go and watch them yourself. I felt they made his point about BET well, but they took the most offensive way possible to do it. The Boondocks satire hits the mark though, even when it's like “damn, did I just see that on The Cartoon Network?!”

http://www.enoughisenoughcampaign.com/

They're right. Enough IS enough!

Their goals are

1. We want media and music companies to develop universal creative standards for the music and videos they produce, market and distribute. These standards should include prohibitions against lyrical and visual content that (a) objectifies, degrades, or promotes violence against women; (b) promotes illegal activity; (c) portrays Black and Latino men as "gangsters, pimps, thugs, and players," and (d) celebrates the usage of the word "nigga" (and it's derivatives), "hoe" (and it's derivatives), and "bitch" (in reference to women),
2. We want companies that advertise on television and radio stations to develop the same universal standards for the networks on which they place advertising,
3. We want the Federal Communications Commission to enforce its congressional mandate to regulate indecency on the public airwaves (television, radio, cable, satellite, etc...) between 6AM-10PM,
4. We want the Federal Communications Commission to investigate allegations of "payola" in the entertainment industry,
5. We want Congress to pass legislation in support of consumer choice in the cable industry; i.e. "a la carte" cable. This would enable consumers to not choose undesirable networks as a part of their cable packages. According to a recent FCC study, "a la carte" cable would also reduce customer cable bills up to 13%,
6. We want local, state, and federal governments to divest public tax dollars and contracts from corporations that refuse to end their sponsorship of offensive lyrical content. (We have examples of such contracts and government relationships with such corporations.), and
7. We want mutual fund and pension fund managers to divest funds from investments in publicly traded companies that promote, sponsor, and market material that does not conform to the universal creative standards referenced above.

Perhaps their goals are a little lofty, especially 6. But don't you think #1 is fair? I do.

I mean I do like hiphop and all that, but not the stuff that I see on BET on a regular basis. And frankly, I am tired of the stereotypes.


Enough is enough!


And Bob Johnson (not OUR Bob Johnson, BET's Bob Johnson) needs to go away!

But I don't know, what do you all think?

In regards to the series The Urban Educational System: Part I - A Stategy At the School Level.

Section 1.4 was to be published in this issue of Week In Review, but will not be because my computer has decided to "rebel" against me in the final hour. I think the file is corrupted because it won't let me open it. And I can't find my Flash stick that contains a partial copy. So I'm having to re-type everything from my notes. As such it will be published next week. Deepest apologies. - Sephius1

The Economist ≫ One of America's most violent cities has suddenly become less so—thanks to smarter policing.

Baltimore's police chief, Frederick Bealefeld, prefers not to rely on divine intervention. With 282 murders last year among a population of 630,000, Baltimore was one of the most violent cities in America. But since last summer, the killing has slowed. The six months to March this year saw an impressive 28% fewer murders than the same period a year earlier. Mr Bealefeld credits smarter policing, and says he is cautiously optimistic that the trend will continue.

Television dramas such as “The Wire” may give the impression that Baltimore is a hellhole. It is not. Most of the city is calm and pleasant. Only a couple of areas are crime-ridden. And even in these areas, relatively few young men commit—and are the victims of—the most serious crimes. Last year, 89% of those murdered in Baltimore had a criminal record.

Mr Bealefeld thinks the murder rate has fallen because the police are paying more attention to the most violent offenders. One helpful new tool is a registry for gun offenders which the mayor, Sheila Dixon, announced last year. Like sex criminals, anyone who commits a crime using a gun must register his whereabouts with the police as soon as he is convicted or once released from jail. Failure to do so can get him imprisoned again for up to a year.

The logic is simple. Of the 135 people arrested for murder in Baltimore last year, nearly half had a prior conviction for a gun offence. So it makes sense for police and parole officers to keep close tabs on former gun criminals....... More ►

Ebony the nations oldest and largest black news magazine has published its list of the "150 Most Influential Black Americans."

Ebony / Jet ≫ "The Most Influential Black Americans"

Since 1963, the section has been one of the magazine's most talked about features, highlighting talented individuals whose influence shapes America.

This year, the "Ebony Power 150" kicks off with a look at 20 young rising stars who are emerging as part of the next wave of Black leaders in America. The complete list focuses on eight categories: Politics & Law, Business, Religion, Arts, En tertainment & Media, Education, Military and Public Service. The list was compiled by the editors of Ebony in consultation with national experts and leaders in the field, the two criteria being:

1) In the past year, did the individual transcent his or her position and exhibit widespread national influence?
2) In the past year, did the individual affect in a decisive and positive way the lives, thinking and actions of large segments of the African-American population, either by his/her position in a key group, or by his/her personal reach and influence.

Although our list is populated by dynamic individuals with extensive resumes, only one accomplishment per individual was allowed....... More ►

Call me an elitist but this next story should be under lack of culture . Black people and white people are sometimes too much alike! We both seem facinated by the same type of dumb stuff on TV.

The Root ≫ Good Luck Finding The Reality in Black Reality TV

The only thing missing from black family reality television is the reality.

The simple formula—high-profile black celebrity and family live a scripted and sometimes not-so-scripted life in front of the camera—has proven to be a ratings winner. This combination of pseudo-reality and celebrity—for which TV audiences seem to clamor, follows a pattern in which mainstream viewers seem extraordinarily willing to buy into a patently false lifestyle portrayals (The Hills, The Kardashians) in which the fantasy of effortlessly acquired wealth and material excess yields a loyal following on TV, turning nobodies into red carpet somebodies, while reviving sagging celebrity careers.

Add black folks to the mix of reality/celebrity/fantasy shows, and you've got the perfect antidote to HBO's The Wire, arguably just as much a reality show as anything else on TV.

Deion & Pilar follows the success, if not buzz, of Snoop Dogg's Father Hood on E!, in which the rapper tries to instill discipline in his brood, against the backdrop of his own history of decadence.

In one episode, Snoop's wife tries to introduce a healthier diet by banning him from fried chicken. In another episode, Snoop takes a yoga lesson, and in a third, soccer star David Beckham gives Snoop's kid's soccer lessons. Ah, the life of a gangsta-rapper-turned-doting-dad....... More ►

This is an interesting story. It also give a chance to plug a new blog the Black and Green Blog. which hopes to mobilize more environmental awareness in urban areas.

The Root ≫ Stay Black (and Green)

Similar to most kids, I liked new things. Especially when they were shiny. I remember how quickly I lost interest in playing with my C-3PO figurine after it started to dull. So you can imagine that I was a little put off by the fact that Paw Paw, my paternal grandfather, would always wash and reuse aluminum foil. Why would we use a scraggly wrinkled sheet when there was a damn-near-full roll of crisp and clean foil available? In addition to foil, Paw Paw reused anything that could be reused until it was on its last leg. Why? "Because it's wasteful to throw it away," as he used to tell me.

If you need to purchase aluminum foil, buy it recycled since up to 95% less energy is used to produce recycled foil than foil made from virgin aluminum. After using it, you can wash it, dry it, fold it, and reuse it at a later date. And when you're tired of looking at a scraggly wrinkled sheet, put it in your blue bin to be recycled again. 'Cause it's wasteful to throw it away. If your city doesn't recycle aluminum yet, first clown them, then raise some hell and take matters into your own hands until they do.

Recognizing that people of color have been protectors of the earth for millennia, a few of my brilliant friends and I took matters into our own hands and started the Black and Green Blog. This blog provides readers with practical tips and tools (like the one above) for living in a way that honors the earth and leaves it intact for our children and grandchildren. Check us out....... More ►

A conversation with environmental activist Majora Carter about integrating the movement, how to stop dumping on our communities, and why planting trees won't kill hip-hop

The Root ≫ How the Bronx Turned Green

It's not surprising that many African Americans give Earth Day a pass. When you live poorer and die younger in the land of plenty, it can be hard to get excited about protecting the planet at large.

The oppression of black people covers centuries of troubled terrain from forced agricultural labor, to contemporary land loss, to racialized proximity, to polluting industries. For African Americans, nature's bounty has always stood in stark contrast to human suffering.

It's not that black Americans don't care about the environment. In fact, public opinion data show that there is no clear "green gap" between black and white Americans. But blacks are more likely to care about green issues that most directly affect their lives. While whites express more concern about climate change, wilderness preservation and endangered species, African Americans express more concern about pollution, locally undesirable land uses and human health outcomes. Asthmatic children are far more likely to turn African Americans into environmental activists than disappearing polar bears...... More ►

This was the best story I have read in a while. It shows what people, and civic organizations like unions can do when their government decideds to sit on it's hands.

NYTimes ≫ Zimbabwe-Bound Ship Heads Back to China

A Chinese ship carrying armaments made by a Chinese state-owned company and bound for Zimbabwe has headed back to China without unloading its cargo of bullets and mortar bombs, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry confirmed at a briefing Thursday.

The Chinese company has already decided to send the military goods back to China in the same vessel, the An Yue Jiang,” said the spokeswoman, Jiang Yu.

The ship had sailed into Durban harbor in South Africa last week. The South African government had already issued a permit to allow the arms to be trucked across South Africa to landlocked Zimbabwe when dock workers declared they would not unload the weapons and an Anglican archbishop convinced a judge to temporarily bar the arms delivery across South African soil.

The campaign has since pressed other countries in the region to reject the shipment, a call that had gained important backing from Zambia’s president, Levy Mwanawasa, who heads a bloc of 14 southern African nations...... More ►

As a Caribbean-American let me tell you we love dominos like laomost nothing else. In times of suffering people often turn to simple pleasures. But as my wife would say "being men they have to do this....."

NYTimes ≫ For Haiti’s Jobless, No Cost to Play. But Losers Pay

There was pain in Jean François’s eyes, real suffering, an awful look of woe. It might have been that he had little to eat that day, or his lack of a job or any real hope of securing one. Perhaps it stemmed from the squalor in his neighborhood, a sprawling and rather depressing slum of tin-roofed houses. Looking on, one wanted to help this desperate 29-year-old man, console him, somehow help him break out of what was clearly a deep funk.

But there was nothing to be done. It turns out that Mr. François’s life was not the immediate source of his desperation. It was his losing streak — and the dozens of clothespins clipped onto his face, arms and belly.

In marked contrast to Mr. François’s glum look, the other men crowding around a raucous domino game under way in Port-au-Prince’s Cité Soleil neighborhood on a recent afternoon were smiling with glee. They doubled over in laughter every time they looked at Mr. François. A chorus of roars rang out each time he lost another game and more of the clips were attached to his ears, cheeks, chin, forearms and midriff.
...... More ►

I always read these diaries

Diaries by StormBear (dopper0189)
┗ Black History: The Causes of the Civil War......More ►
┗ Black History: The Underground Railroad......More ►



Arizona: The Black Student Association Disparages American Values And Western Civilization......More ►
┗ by The Rollback Campaign (dopper0189)



PA and the Persistence of the Race Chasm......More ►
┗ by davidsirota (dopper0189)

Commentary
Robinswing, Black Kos Editor

On the face of it, this week seemed long and difficult. The blackwoman had to grab herself by her belief system quite a few times.

See, I believe that we are watching the dinosaur die. Listening as it were, to the sound of irrelevance.

For some reason, I’ve been thinking about Freddie Kruger. I only saw the movie Nightmare on Elm Street in bits and pieces (being a romantic comedy, Katt Williams, Great Debaters kinda sistah) but the ending struck me.

As I recall, the last girl standing was in her bedroom and Freddie had shown up to finish her off. Instead of being afraid, last girl standing looked him in the eye and told him he was finished. She told him she wanted her life back, her friends and family restored. I think I heard her tell him he had no power. He reached out to slay her and....vanished. Into thin air

(SistahSpeak con't)

For me this has been one of the things that living for a while has taught me. You have to refuse to be afraid. You have to be willing to take back your power. You have to decree that your enemies are powerless.

I wonder if Obama ever saw the movie. I know he has been making the moves.

This week I have refused to allow myself to stay in the nightmare. I am looking the bullshit in the face and calling it powerless. It is powerless to stop an idea whose time has come. It is powerless to stop the movement of prayer that has been on the lips of my ancestors for a true measure of equality and real justice. It has been the prayer of decent people of every race for a long, long time.

Maybe the reason people tried calling some of us cultist is because those who have held goodwill and racial harmony in our hearts know an answer when it shows up. If this had been a movie, everyone in the theater would know by now who the good guys are and how it’s gonna end.

I believe that most of us carry the same dreams in the culture of our lives. The culture that is doing the filtering these days seems to be more of a blend than days of yesteryear. I for one find no small pleasure observing this.

One of the fears articulated over and over again by the George Wallace’s of that age, was that integration would lead to race mixing. As a young green eyed girl I was wondering if they knew that green eyes don’t grow in Africa . Not these green eyes. These green eyes were planted in the soil of rape. I guess you can call it one of the perks of owning women. You can tell the world that they are not quite people, rape them at will and since it was done often and most everywhere, everybody could pretend not to notice. I have some compassion for the wives of those men who often had to look at their husband’s children daily. Often they were brought into the house, hence the term.

I feel a degree of compassion for Strom Thurmond. What do you have to tell yourself when you have a daughter whose mother was your maid? How difficult to live such a splintered life without the ability at any point, to speak without the abiding stain of hypocrisy.

Now we have Barack Obama. He is Africa . And Kansas . And Indonesia . And Hawaii . And Columbia and Harvard law. He is Chicago ’s Southside and he is Hyde Park . And soon he will be 1600 Pennsylvania.

His enemies are powerless. The sound you hear now is the rattle that the death of an age, an end of an era, and the beginning of a new age and era make. Right now I’m only listening to the beginning sound. Some of the old ways are dying. Those who clearly see this and are doing everything they know to do to forestall what has become necessary have already lost. The energy has shifted. We are on a different course already.

Now is the time to let the rage and anger go. These shadows belong to a time that must shift. Mankind must find and use a different gear if we are to survive as a species.

Time to take back our power. To allow the enemies to disappear and fade out of existence. This cannot be done in either anger or rage. To make them disappear we have to withdraw our permission. Our anger feeds them and prolongs the process.

I was raised to understand that there is a time and place for everything. This is the time. The place is right here. Like last girl standing I decree that you have no power, you were using mine and I take it back. I want the life I would have had if you had never existed...disappear. Now.

Breathe easy. Works better.

The Urban Educational System
Sephius1, Black Kos Editor

Last week we discussed how the financial resources, at different levels, tie into the resources a school has to work with. It was short, but for a reason. As I mentioned in the start of the series, some pieces would overlap with later parts of series that is to come. So I didn't want go deep into the commercial, and governmental aspects of the financials. That will come later.

This week we'll take a look at how people resources are lagging in an inner city kid's life at every level. Just to rehash where we are at:

Safety, Health, and the Environment - this includes drugs and other substances that can be abuse, sexually abuse, bullying, dilapidated housing, school buildings and community infrastructures.

Financial Resources - this includes the poverty levels of the students, surrounding community, and the resources the school has available.

People Resources - this includes the identifying the different learning levels of students early, their socio-economic status, those who play parental roles, inter-personal relationships, self-image.

This also includes hiring compotent teachers, having a reward process in place for teachers who do well in the classroom, instead linking a teachers livelyhood to the number of students they pass, getting teachers to think out of the box, and have more robust training for teachers to keep their skill up to date.

Solutions - I will propose solutions in this section to help develop a strategy at the school level.


1.3 People Resources

- Family -

Every day of childs life is a school of sorts. The first learning environment is the family. It sets the tone for years to come. So much so that when your child is beginning to learn language, and how to talk, scientist have discovered that if you talk to your child in that "goo-goo, ga-ga" language, you actually hinder their speech development, thus making it harder to learn once they start school. We all have done it, but I have tried to not talk that way to my young cousins who are now 5, and 8, but were able to write there name when they started kindergarten. I had some learning software installed on my computer that taught the alphabets, so when ever they came over to visits they always want to jump on the computer and play the "alphabet game". I would write their name on a piece paper and let them write it as best they could. I guess the reason I ultimately took on the responsibility is because their mother is a single parent and they didn't have any positive male role models.

And it's not a female vs. male thing. A home without a good father distorts his daughter(s) view of men. She's never introduced to the idea of a good man, and so she is immediately distrustful of most men. A son never gets introduced to the idea of being a good man that provides for his family. If a home is without a good mother, then a daughter never learns nuturing skills like conflict resolution (my mother always knew how to end verbal disagreement between me and my brother, with civility), intuition, child rearing (that's not to say fathers don't share in this, but the fact the women carry the child for nine months, I think it comes more naturally). And if either parent is absent any child would never see the interpersonal relationship between their mother and father, which is necessary to secure a child's foundation and to give a level of confidence that the child can use to step out and explore the world.

Siblings also add to this learning environment. Having a sibling, hopefully, allows a safe space to allow some "good" rivalries do develop (like competing to get better grades), as well as, an understanding of hierarchy and your place in it (stuff like the oldest child gets more privileges).

- School -

Once your in the school environment, the teacher is probabaly second when it comes to time spent with a child. Most kids almost treat their teacher as a second parent, sometimes confiding in them things that they would never in their real parents, or atleast embarassed in doing. However, teachers are not the only figures school kids come in contact with. There's the school nurse, the custodians, the cafeteria people, the principle, and other administrative people. The kid is not only seeing the different levels of power for the first time, but they are introduce the concept of mentoring, if only on a cursory level. The adults that the kid comes in contact with should keep him/her on the straight path. Unfortunately, those in positions of authority over children sometimes abuse it. You have teachers having inappropriate relationship with the kids, teachers having inappropriate relationships with other teachers, or other adult figure (you don't think the kids know, but children see everything), the concerns of children not being addressed like bullying. Good teachers need to be found, paid better, and encouraged to think outside of box. Teachers need to be just as intuitive about their student, as the parent of the student is. Often times a parent hears something for the first time from a teacher whether it's a learning disability, the child disrupting the class room, self-image issue about weight, or race, and bad interpersonal skills like not sharing. Teachers are our best, and first line of defense, to prevent a child from slipping through the cracks. It would be a worthy venture to pay them more and allow them some latitude when needing to think outside of the box, epecially when a child shows they may have learning disabilities.

Next Week >> 1.4 Solutions

One of the best parts of spring is baseball season. Sadly fewer and fewer blacks are playing in the major leagues.

Comcast ≫ Black Players drop to 8.2% of major leaguers

Major league baseball recived its best grade ever for hiring, even as the percentage of black players dropped again last year.
...... More ►

Stories like this remind people how complex the world really is.

LATimes ≫ An unusual blend of cultures: Mexican and black

Every Sunday, on a chewed-up soccer field in Pasadena, Mexican immigrants play a game they learned barefoot in the dusty pueblos along a remote stretch of the Pacific coast. The Costa Chica team -- named for the picturesque coastline south of Acapulco -- has cut a winning path through the heart of an immigrant-dominated league in Pasadena, capturing three championships in two years.

Its players are agile and swift. And they've quickly earned the respect and admiration of opponents who at first didn't know what to make of their talented adversaries.

"Are you really Mexican?" they are sometimes asked. Their skin is dark. They look Honduran, Dominican or even African American. Black Mexicans? "No existe!"

But Costa Chicans -- many dark in complexion with puchunco (curly or kinky) hair -- are Mexicans with cultural and racial histories going back hundreds of years to the Spanish conquistadors and the African slave trade....... More ►

NYTimes ≫ Compromise Is Reached on Harlem Rezoning

The Bloomberg administration’s proposal to rezone 125th Street in Harlem cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday when the area’s three City Council members signed off on a compromise plan that would limit the height of new buildings, add moderately priced housing and provide financial aid to businesses displaced by the rezoning.

The proposal was then approved by the Council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee in a 10-to-1 vote. The agreement between the City Planning Commission and the council members, Inez E. Dickens, Robert Jackson and Melissa Mark-Viverito, virtually assures the plan’s passage by the full City Council later this month.

The rezoning of 24 blocks of Harlem, stretching from Broadway east to Second Avenue, and from 124th to 126th Street, centers on 125th Street — a cultural touchstone for African-Americans in the city and beyond. It has led to widespread opposition in the neighborhood because of concerns that it will change the character of the low-rise street and speed gentrification in the area, including forcing out long-term businesses and low-income residents....... More ►

Humor has been one of the most important tools in the black cultural tool box. It has helped us overcome all sorts of crushing sorrows.

Ebony/Jet ≫ Black Humor on the Viral Web

Redd, Richard, Robin, Bernie, Dave, Tracy, Kat. Here Now, Missing in Action, or Gone to that Comedy Club in the Sky, we have been always been able to make each other laugh. We can’t always make our selves happy, but we can make each other laugh. And that has been hilarious to everyone else as they look on. Mostly we didn’t care if you got the joke or not. We found humor in our selves as being both people and black, without hesitation to bring up our imperfections, quirks, and tweaks that make us who we are. Our best humor is based in reality, as all the best humor is. The fact of the matter is no one makes better fun of us than we do of ourselves.

We use humor to make the bitter easier to swallow. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, the Mary Poppins song says. And most our laughs come from something that is real about us, good or bad. And trust me, most of us never get to see the funniest stuff. Y’all don’t

know Big Dre, from St. Louis. He is the funniest man I know. And you each have your own champ, who cracks up your church, job, frat, lodge all the time. And we do it onstage, on the corner, in our songs, and raps...... More ►

There is nothing worse then watching politicians being used when they should be on the look out for it. Mugabe is using his historic position as the hero of African liberation to stay in power and destroy his homeland. Sadly many nations in southern Africa are being cowered by him and refuse to call him a bully and a despot

NYTimes ≫ South Africa Shifts on Zimbabwe Vote

South Africa’s government, in what appeared to be a significant shift, called on Thursday for the rapid release of results from Zimbabwe’s presidential election, saying it was concerned by a delay that has increased fears of violence. “The situation is dire,” said Themba Maseko, a South Africa government spokesman in Cape Town. “When elections are held and results are not released two weeks after, it is obviously of great concern.”

President Thabo Mbeki had previously said the electoral process must take its course and there was no crisis following the March 29 elections. Mr. Mbeki, who has been a strong supporter of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, reiterated that position on Monday during a visit to the United Nations, chiding Zimbabwe critics who have urged prompt publication of the vote tallies.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Maseko’s statement Thursday reflected a change of position by Mr. Mbeki himself. But Mr. Mbeki has been under criticism at home for his insistence on quiet diplomacy in dealing with the crisis in Zimbabwe, where the economy has collapsed, bringing hyper-inflation, shortages of food and fuel and 80 percent unemployment. Millions of people have fled to South Africa...... More ►

This situation is so on again off again. But at least the violence seems to have quited (somewhat) although there are some reports it maybe starting again.

WaPo ≫ Kenyan President Names Rival As PM

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his political rival Raila Odinga agreed on the details of a 40-member cabinet Sunday, implementing a power-sharing deal they reached in February.
The two leaders had bickered for weeks over key ministries as Kenyans grew increasingly worried that the country was again slipping into the violence that killed an estimated 1,000 people and displaced as many as a million after the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election....... More ►

As the increasingly affluent black middle class starts to travel around the world more and more stories like this are being told.

The Root ≫ Extra Baggage on a Trip Home

Three weeks into my 5-month stay in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, these words revealed themselves; reached out to the American girl stationed in the country that raised her mother and father. I'd been to Ethiopia three times since the age of ten. Yet, I knew the fourth trip would be different—longer than the others and designed for a little personal, post-undergrad study abroad. Equipped with a basic knowledge of Amharic and the mindset of a seasoned tourist, I opened up a tattered copy of Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name and discovered a travel buddy.

We had plenty in common. Both writers, both expecting our journeys to bring us some concrete sense of self-definition. Baldwin in Europe, me in Ethiopia. But what of this implied ubiquity of racial tension? My hometown of Washington D.C was definitely a hub for menacing social forces: economic injustice, political correctness, racial stereotyping—the usual suspects. Leaving D.C. meant escaping the burden of race-based discrimination. How could there be discrimination in Ethiopia? Nearly every face I saw resembled mine.

Three months into my stay in Addis, a face like mine said "no". Flat out, no. It was late at night. My sister and I entered an upscale, French restaurant to use the restroom. By then, I had learned the rules a bit. Conversations with friends and family had revealed some of Ethiopia's secrets. The ever-increasing foreigner population was often given preferential treatment in stores and restaurants—Ethiopian establishments combining Western ideals with economic interests....... More ►

This sad drama continues.

NYTimes ≫ Protest by Zimbabwe’s Opposition Falters as the Army Makes a Show of Force

The call by Zimbabwe’s political opposition for people nationwide to stay away from work on Tuesday to protest a 17-day delay in releasing the results of the presidential election largely failed to interrupt the normal flow of life in the cities.

The relative ineffectiveness of the one-day protest says much about the long odds the opposition faces in ousting the nation’s long-entrenched autocratic president, Robert Mugabe, despite reports from independent monitors that he badly trailed the opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, in the March 29 election.

People lucky enough to have jobs in a country with 80 percent unemployment explained that they could not afford to lose a precious day’s pay by participating in the work stoppage.

“We have to eat,” said a man who guards people’s cars and identified himself as Michael. He gave only his first name for fear of retribution. Some said they were afraid that the police would punish them if they heeded the opposition’s call and stayed home from work, which is known in Zimbabwe as a stay-away. ...... More ►

There's something wrong with children doing childish things being charged as adults.

Ebony/Jet ≫ Critical Evaluation: Adult Time

It’s tax time again. I can think of a few things I don’t want my taxes to go to: pre-emptive wars, bank bail-outs, no-bid contracts for Halliburton and Blackwater, the salaries of the White House, and jails where children are serving adult time after being convicted of adult crimes.

Each year over 20,000 juveniles are charged and tried in the criminal judicial system. Although current statistics on the exact number of juveniles currently serving time in adult correctional facilities seem to be unavailable to the public, it is estimated that there may be over fifteen thousand juveniles serving time alongside adults in prison. Given the difficulty in obtaining these statistics, that number is probably much higher.

Over the past week, a widely-viewed video circulating in the news and on the Internet shows a teenaged girl receiving a physical beating. The video contains only a short clip of a thirty-five minute battery, which resulted in a concussion, two black eyes, and diminished hearing in one ear. Apparently, the girl was lured to the house where six of her fellow cheerleaders assaulted her while two boys acted as look-outs. All eight kids have been arrested and charged as adults.

It’s the being charged as adults I have a problem with. Certainly, what you see on the video is repugnant. The girls’ actions are vicious and pre-meditated. But what you don’t see are adults, or kids acting like adults....... More ►

The Root ≫ The Latest Wave of Black Genius

As a literary writer trying to navigate a publishing world that seems most receptive to urban romance and street lit (for more on this particular quandary read Martha Southgate's spot on essay in the New York Times Book Review) the issue of genius is both one of inspiration and sustenance. While it is true, I'm sure, that my white contemporaries write with the inspiration of Henry James, William Faulkner or Virginia Woolf, I am not sure that the inspiration feels so direct and personal. For me, black geniuses of yesteryear – Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen, James Baldwin – do not feel like distant icons, they feel like family. In this way, black genius, as I define it, isn't a question merely of phenomenal talent mixed in with a soupcon of luck. I look to genius as confirmation that if I study my cultural canon, work hard and apply both my intellect and imagination, I may one day write a book that is meaningful for my generation, and perhaps generations to follow.

So who are our contemporary black geniuses? As Keith Adkins wrote in his recent post about Daughters of the Dust and Rebecca Walker so powerfully seconded, there was a moment in black film, in the early to mid nineties, when we knew what we were seeing was groundbreaking: Julie Dash, Charles Burnett, John Singleton, Euzhan Palcy and in the next wave, Darnell Martin,Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince Bythewood and Kasi Lemmons. These filmmakers followed in the immediate footsteps of Spike Lee, our modern day Oscar Micheaux, by making films that spoke to not only our community but to the world. These were all part of what Trey Ellis so presciently called the N.B.A. – the New Black Aesthetic....... More ►

I have always been amazed at how conservatives can keep two conflicting opinions in their heads at the same time.
My Elitist Marxist Insufficiently Black Black Separatist Christian Muslim Terrorist Candidate......More ►
┗ by Laughing Vergil (dopper0189)

This has been a good read so far. Examining black conservatives political opinions.
Diaries by blacksnob (dopper0189)
┗ Fear and Loathing in Black America: Clarence Thomas and Barack Obama......More ►
┗ Juan Williams Thinks Barack Obama Is Kissin' Way Too Much of Your Black Ass......More ►

This has been an incrediable series.
Diaries by StormBear (dopper0189)
┗ Black History: The Native Americans......More ►
┗ Black History: Overseers......More ►

Thank you for reading. As always we hope these stories lead to meaningfull discussions. That's what makes blogging so great. We can talk about the hard stuff, items of substance, the issues the media ignores. Even whe we forget to wear our flag pins.

- Dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor

Commentary
Robinswing, Black Kos Editor

America is a strange place in many ways. On one hand, it is a nation founded on the principles of liberty. This is without question. On the other it was prospered by kidnapping Africans and forcing them into slavery. No liberty. No freedom. No justice for all. For a long time.

What I question is if we are all operating with the same idea about the definition of the word free. I know what I mean by the word. Not sure about some folks.

I define free speech to mean that I have the right to say what I want. I do not have the right to insist that you also say it. That is tyranny.

(SistahSpeak con't.)


The law that makes abortion legal does not make it mandatory. Why do we have so much disagreement about what other people are doing or not doing?

As a happily single woman it seems to me that those willing to make a legal commitment to each other ought to be able to do that. None of my business. Gay or straight makes no difference. Won't impact me or my life in any way. In fact, I’ll admit that I once held the thought that since I couldn’t have him, I was glad no other woman would have Johnny Mathis. (I’ve long since forgiven myself for being so selfish.) Who you love or live with doesn’t interfere with my personal relationship with God. It doesn’t affect my life at any level. Is this concept really so hard to grasp?

When we pay taxes aren’t we all putting something into the pot for the common good? How is it socialism when we use this money for health care for all and not when we pay for policemen and firemen and infrastructure?

It affects my life if we as the citizenry have a fundamentally different view of what a democracy means. It simply cannot mean that if you get enough people together you can do anything you want to those in the minority. The name for that is oppression. Oppression of any falls at the feet of the many. The world has already seen too much of this. I’m personally tired of bullies. This country has had its fair share of bullies. Enough of them. The blackwoman is starting to lose patience.

When this country was founded every effort was made to insure that demagogues would not be able to arbitrarily and indefinitely oppress. Each time we have justified the denial of freedom for any part of society, voices have risen in protest and laws were eventually changed. Hearts are always slower. But they can and do change.

I grew up black and female in the fifties. I remember Emmett Till and the church bombing in Alabama. I have only to close my eyes and I can see the image of young Till in Jet magazine. His mother wanted us to see what had been done to her son. The image haunts me to this day. I am forever changed. I learned too early what man’s inhumanity to man looks like.

The images of my youth contain Life Magazine’s photos of women being knocked over backwards by fire-hoses held by men with mean eyes and cold hearts. German shepherds still make me nervous. The majority, so slow to comprehend what does not directly affect it, changed its mind after seeing those images. Hatred had a face. America saw it. It did not like what it saw.

The images of Kent State and the riots of Chicago changed a nation.

Where are the images of today? Life Magazine does not exist. Neither do the mass images of what is happening in our world. We do not see photos of the carnage in the Sudan any more that we saw what genocide looked like in Bosnia or Uganda. Most folks have to wait until Hollywood decides to make a movie to understand the horror that is real life in Africa or for that matter, on the streets of urban America.

Someone daily makes a decision on what images we see. That is how impacted we are by the photo worth a thousand words.

Things are different. Today hatred still has a face. The face has been surgically altered. Hatred can be manufactured using photo shop and sold in thirty second sound bites .Instead of Bull Connor we have Sean Hannity. Intolerance has a face though it is not contorted with the ravages of covert inhumanity. Racist today use images to convince and convict those who cannot be lynched except electronically. Our hearts have become hardened to the realities of violence and racial hatred. We tend not to think of it as unusual and often fail to hear it unless it shouts at us directly. Even then, too many are deaf.

I’ve seen violence. I’ve seen man’s inhumanity to man often enough to create a space within me that aches and cries out for justice and fairness.

I’ve looked into the faces of people who hated me without even seeing me. They were seeing only my skin color and that was enough for them to throw bottles and bricks. They called me and my mother names that would have gotten their butts kicked if I had not been marching for peace and justice.

The media, conceived as another check on the checks and balances does not want to educate the population. It seeks to entertain and titillate. Why in hell should I or anyone not a family member know what Paris Hilton’s favorite color is? Why in hell do quite a few folks still think Obama is a Muslim?

We are presented with a little information and the idea that there is a real need to tell two sides of a story instead of the facts. Facts are things to be researched. The truth must be searched for and found. Sad really. Not my idea of liberty at all. Certainly ain’t freedom. Time for a change.

The Urban Educational System
Sephius1, Black Kos Editor

Last week we discussed the safety, health, & environmental issues that plaque the inner city. We talk about the journey an inner city kid has to take -- from home to school -- and the daily struggles attached to that journey like being exposed to drugs, abuse, deviant behavior, and unsanitary living and school conditions.

This week we'll take a look at how financial resources tie in at different points along the journey. Just to rehash where we are at:

Safety, Health, and the Environment - this includes drugs and other substances that can be abuse, sexually abuse, bullying, dilapidated housing, school buildings and community infrastructures.

Financial Resources - this includes the poverty levels of the students, surrounding community, and the resources the school has available.

People Resources - this includes the identifying the different learning levels of students early, their socio-economic status, those who play parental roles, inter-personal relationships, self-image.

This also includes hiring compotent teachers, having a reward process in place for teachers who do well in the classroom, instead linking a teachers livelyhood to the number of students they pass, getting teachers to think out of the box, and have more robust training for teachers to keep their skill up to date.

Solutions - I will propose solutions in this section to help develop a strategy at the school level.


1.2 Financial Resources

- Family -

Inner city kids are introduced, fairly early, to the concept of managing financial resources. Their first encounter is often with food, and clothing. A refrigerator that's never full, and stomach that's never quite full, gives a child a first hand account of just how intertwined finances are to their lives -- down to controlling whether they eat, or not.

In area of clothing, or more general, outwardly appearance, lies a true sore spot. The reason being that while you can hide your hunger, you can't hide the fact you might be wearing shoes that are falling apart, or clothing with holes in them because they are hand-me-downs. I can recall my mom, brother, and I going over to "big momma house" on occassion to pick threw some old clothes that had belong to her kids. We also would eat a good meal every once in a while, because our refrigerator was empty often. And during rough months (when our lights where turned off; we had an electric water tank), thus no hot water, we would get early to go take a bath at big momma's. Now, big momma wasn't my grandma, but was a "grandmotherly" figure of community. We don't have those anymore. There was a time, especially in black community, when the mother's of the commuinty would pray over the children, if a young girl got pregnant the mothers would show her how to take care of the baby, how to change diapers, feeding, cooking, and pressing her to finish school as to not become a statistic. The father's of the community handled the young man by teaching him different trades, the value of a dollar and a long days work, to not cut corners. Those days are long gone. Nowadays, "big momma" is 30 yrs old, trying download music to her ipod, trying to find her a man. Just ridiculous.

Medical issues also introduce kids to how family finances can be road blocks to staying healthy. For a child's first visit to an emergency room, they see others that may be in the same financial situation. As we all know emergency rooms are increasingly being used as a form of free health. The long waits, having no insurance, and interferences by HMOs, all lend themselves to a less than memorable visit.

- Community -

One of the first things you notice in the inner city is the urban decay. It's caused by things like white flight, redlining, and urban sprawl. White flight, in my opinion, is actually more devastating because it is based on perception and it reinforces bad stereotypes. Instead of staying and standing along with the minority community when fighting crime, and deviant behavour, whites fled. One of the results was that financial resources were removed from the community. That means less money to pay for law enforcement, and crime ultimately increases. High crime areas turn off businesses from setting up shop in the inner city. Less businesses means less job opportunity. Without job opportunities, people do not have money to buy homes. And with less businesses, and low home ownership, the amount of property taxes collected decrease, which means less resources for the schools to do renovations, buy books, fund after school programs, and pay teachers. Redlining, and urban sprawl, ensures that property values stay low and that certain class of people are kept from advancing. Throw in dilapidated buildings, gentrification, liquor stores on every block, inadequate grocery stores, and some payday loan companies and it's no wonder inner city kids have it bad.

As we see, finances are often used to plug up holes in the ship, that is, inner city life, rather than being used to build a new ship, that is, an inner city that reflects the good of its' community.

Next Week >> 1.3 People Resources








Art is often about pushing boundaries. Great art pushes people together across boundaries.

NYTimes ≫ Dance: Pirouettes and Street Cred: Atlanta's Hip-Hop Ballet

THE rapper Antwan Patton was sitting in the sleek black Courvoisier Lounge tucked into the back of his recording studio here. Mr. Patton, better known as Big Boi, one-half of the progressive hip-hop duo OutKast, was taking a break from finishing his debut solo album, due out this summer. But he wasn’t talking music. He was talking ballet, zeroing in on its image problem.

“I’ve always seen the ballet as being, ‘Here’s a little tea pot, short and stout,’ ” he said, singing and miming the typical gestures of the nursery rhyme with his heavily tattooed arms. “Very, very step-by-step.”

Mr. Patton’s unassuming brick studio is on a sleepy side street, just a short drive from the Atlanta Ballet’s midtown headquarters. But judging from the glass-encased bottles of Cognac that stud his dimly lighted lounge or the OutKast posters trumpeting platinum-selling records and Grammy Awards, the cultural distance is immeasurable. What could tulle-clad classical dancers and a rap superstar possibly have to say to one another, after all?...... More ►

HuffingtonPost ≫ 40 Years after MLK's Death: DOJ's War on Black Voters

While remembering the life and death of Dr. Martin Luther King, it's worth noting that Republican operatives and the Bush administration's Department of Justice have turned back the clock on civil rights. They have created a new set of Jim Crow-like policies and strategies with a still-active goal: stopping blacks, who lean Democratic, from casting ballots that count.

Have Justice Department officials and GOP loyalists become essentially an upscale, white-collar version of the Klan, armed with voting lists on their Palm Pilots rather than burning crosses and guns to keep blacks from voting?

This week, a series of articles have been published online underscoring the ways that the racist restrictions of the past have been revived, in often disturbing ways. In the Huffington Post, I reported how the FBI ignored threats to jail voters in Dallas during a hard-fought 2006 state legislative race. The Campaign Legal Center today demanded an in-depth Justice Department probe of its failure to investigate this blatant violations of civil rights. ...... More ►

It's not only China but also India is getting in the game.

The Root ≫ India Pledges Aid to African Leaders

India pledged Tuesday to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in development projects in Africa in an attempt to bolster its presence on the continent, where economic rival China has already invested billions of dollars.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking to the leaders of 14 African nations attending the first India-Africa summit, said India will provide more than $500 million over the next five to six years in grants for development projects. "The time has come to create a new architecture for our engagement in the 21st century," Singh said....... More ►

These are sad lessons, but I really can't dispute them.

The New Republic ≫ Four lessons learned from Mugabe's horrific regime.

Robert Mugabe's defeat in the recent elections in Zimbabwe is the beginning of the end for that country's octogenarian tyrant. Although the government claims that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election, only a massive fraud in the second round followed by a brutal clampdown on demonstrators will keep the man who has governed that country for three decades in power for a little longer.

Joseph Conrad could have been describing Mugabe's regime when the character Marlow, in Heart of Darkness, said about an ivory company: "reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage." Many lessons can be learned from Mugabe...... More ►

I had brief hope that with the election in Zimbabwe over maybe, just maybe this would end Mugabe's reign. I'm still hopefull, but less so now. The best source to keep track of the breaking news there is the BBC [ Zimbabwe election news ]

BBC ≫ Blame traded over Kenya deadlock.

There is a much-used saying about Kenya's accord and reconciliation process: "Three steps forward, two steps back." Sometimes it looks more like three steps forward, four steps back.

Certainly the process of forming a grand coalition government, as outlined in the agreement signed by President Mwai Kibaki, the leader of the ruling PNU, and his political rival, Raila Odinga, who heads the opposition ODM, has been slow going. It now appears to have come to a complete halt....... More ►

BBC ≫ Eyewitness tells of Haiti food protests.

"The protests actually started on Monday. But Tuesday was when the protests really escalated. I noticed no activity on the streets. There is normally a little market, cars - there was nothing, just the occasional motorcycle. People were protesting about massive hikes in the price of food.


There was a general atmosphere of disorganisation, I saw people running in panic all over the place. They seemed to be running away from the main crowd. We didn't really know what was going on.

It was only later in the day that we were told by our security people that we had to leave everything because the main protest was going to pass us. They were coming up our street of our office building and might have guns. "...... More ►

The Root ≫ The American Embrace of Ignorance, and Why Blacks Need to Let Go

Our heroes are athletes and entertainers, while we fabricate un-endearing terms like "nerd" and "egghead" for successful students. Our national myth celebrates the self-made man who succeeds by native wit and guile; we've always been a little suspicious of the "pointy-headed" intellectual who succeeds by using his brain.

Until recently, African Americans' relationship to learning has been less conflicted. Through slavery and segregation, whites tried to keep it away from us, while we, recognizing it as the key to attaining whatever freedom was available, risked life and limb to get it. Only in the last 35 years, a period that produced the greatest expansion of opportunity for black Americans since the Emancipation Proclamation, have we adopted a kind of paradoxical schizophrenia about education that mimics the majority culture.

Thus America today is host to two kinds of anti-intellectualism —the mainstream culture's, and our own unique African-American brand. I've just finished reading two books -- one new, the other a few years older -- that take close and disturbing looks at each one. The new book, Susan Jacoby's The Age of American Unreason, paints a compelling portrait of a nation sinking into a quagmire of ignorance that renders America increasingly ill-equipped to confront the massive challenges we face.

The older, John McWhorter's Losing the Race, portrays an African-American community turning its back on the most effective tool available to end centuries of under-privilege. As an American, I find the combined message of these books sobering. As an African-American, I find it downright scary....... More ►

Black Kos: 'Passing' on the phone......More ►
┗ by never forget 2000 (dopper0189)




The Promised Land......More ►
┗ by DHinMI (dopper0189)



McCain didn't think MLK's assassination was "meaningful"......More ►
┗ by Kos (dopper0189)



More great diaries from StormBear (dopper0189)
┗ Black History: Slave Names......More ►
┗ Black History: Birth of Colonial Slavery......More ►



Michael Steele Will Choose Barack Obama If You'll Stop the Bitching......More ►
┗ by blacksnob (Interesting read - dopper0189)




The Black Backlash......More ►
┗ by Jezreel




Fun Stuff

Music is one of the few ways we can see into each other. Our musical taste tell as much about us, as our style of dress and who we hang around.

So I wanna know your Top 10 Favorite Group/Band? - Sephius1

Dopper0189
1. Earth, Wind, and Fire
2. Bob Marley and the Wailers
3. Gladys Knight & The Pips
4. The Fugees
5. Parliament Funkadelics
6. Boys II Men
7. Wutang
8. U-2
9. Dave Mathews
10. Monster Shack Crew (a reggae group)


Sephius1
1. Rufus (w/ Chaka Khan)
2. Gladys Knight & The Pips
3. Maze (w / Frankie Beverly)
4. Earth, Wind, and Fire
5. Parliament Funkadelics
6. Average White Band
7. Barkays
8. Atlantic Starr
9. Ohio Player
10. SOS Band


Robinswing
1. Ohio Players
2. Parliament Funkedelic
3. Isley Brothers
4. Rufus
5. Earth Wind ad Fire
6. Jr. Walker and the All Stars
7. Kool and the Gang
8. Commodores
9. Santana
10. Maze


Terrypinder
No favorites, but likes Jazz


IN CLOSING


Thank you for reading Black Kos. Hopefully this little corner of Daily Kos provides both an oasis of calm and sometimes a soap box where issues that people normally only whisper to people "just like them" can be talked of openly. The poll question "Approximately how many times in a given average week do you find yourself not a member of the majority racial population" is design to provoke thought. Do you only deal with people different then you on "your terms"? Do you have a friend of a different race or ethnicity? Have you ever gone to their church? Have you ever gone to a house party of theirs? Have you ever really tried to enter their world? How close is your friendship if you haven't? The more you try and understand, your neighboors, friends, and coworkers the stronger your community will be. - Dopper0189



What a week!

There are a lot of things going on and we try to make sure that you our readers are kept abreast of the latest happening ‘round here. Glad for the infusion of black writers as of late. Thrilled that so many are reading our efforts. Tickled that spring has sprung. Sending the thought this week that anyone reading this gets a huge intake of something wonderful. Hope you enjoyed the communal offerings.

Robinswing