i am

My photo
harlem, usa
same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

2014 WNBA Year-End Awards

the 2014 wnba year-end awards celebrates the women best exemplifying the athletic integrity of the league. the following women and their impressive achievements showcasing the wnba at its finest are listed below:

most valuable player: maya moore, minnesota lynx.

defensive player of the year: brittney griner, phoenix mercury.

rookie of the year: chiney ogwumike, connecticut sun.

most improved player of the year: skyar diggins, tulsa shock.

sixth woman of the year: allie quigley, chicago sky.

coach of the year: sandy brondello, phoenix mercury.

sportswoman of the year: becky hammon, san antonio stars.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

NFL Suspends Josh Gordon for One Year

on wednesday the nfl upheld the 16-game suspension of cleveland browns all-pro wide receiver josh brown for violating the league's substance abuse policy. brown is a repeat offender, yet appealed the earlier ruling, hoping it would be reduced so he could play this season.

but the league announced arbitrator harold henderson supported gordon's year-long suspension for marijuana use. gordon, who was subject to more frequent testing, will begin serving his sentence immediately. he's not allowed to practice with the team, attend meetings or other club functions. the league said, "his eligibility for reinstatement will be determined following the 2014 season." 

gordon said, "i'd like to apologize to my teammates, coaches, the cleveland browns organization and our fans. i am very disappointed that the nfl and its hearing office didn't exercise better discretion and judgment in my case. i would like to sincerely thank the people who have been incredibly supportive of me during this challenging time, including my family, my agent, my union, my legal team, and the cleveland browns staff." 

browns general manager ray farmer said, "while we may have strong feelings on the timing and the process of this decision, we have also consistently communicated that we will focus on what we can control in our day to day approach. right now that is preparing our team for the 2014 season and at the same time, supporting josh however we are able under nfl guidelines during his suspension."

the gifted 23 year-old led all players with 1,646 receiving yards and 18.9 yards per catch last season. he caught a team-high 87 passes - nine for touchdowns. gordon was highly productive, despite being banned the first two games for a failed drug test. it was his second known violation as a pro: gordon said he had inadvertently taken codeine contained in a prescription cough syrup. he also failed three drug tests in college for marijuana use.

gordon hired attorney maurice suh to represent him at the appeal hearing. suh, whom successfully gotten a suspension reduced for seahawks all-pro cornerback richard sherman, argued gordon tested positive for marijuana due to secondhand smoke. gordon's representatives also said test results of his samples were inconsistent, and should be thrown out.

while he's out, gordon must pass drug tests, comply with treatment, and apply for reinstatement with commissioner roger goodell before he plays again. if he stays clean, its possible he could return within a year. recently, gordon posted an instagram of himself catching a pass on the practice field from their rookie quarterback johnny manziel. the caption reads, "only place i can find peace."  



 
      

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Black Male Teen Killed by White Male Police Officer Sparks Outrage in Ferguson, MO

michael brown, an unarmed black teenager, was fatally shot by a white, male police officer saturday in ferguson, missouri. according to two men who witnessed the murder, brown had his hands raised when the officer approached him with his weapon drawn and fired repeatedly.

the fbi opened an investigation on monday into the tragic death of the 18 year-old brown. ferguson is a 21,000 resident suburb of st. louis, and nearly 70% black. authorities were vague about what led to the shooting. investigators have refused to publicly disclose the race of the officer, who is now on administrative leave.

phillip walker said he was on the porch of an apartment complex overlooking the scene when he heard a shot and saw a white officer with brown on the street. walker told the associated press brown "was giving up in the sense of raising his arms and being subdued." he said the officer "had his gun raised and started shooting...stood over him and shot him."

dorian johnson told walb-tv he and brown were walking home from a convenience store when a police officer told them to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk. johnson said they kept walking, and he believes this prompted the officer to confront them once more after getting out of his car.

johnson said the first time the officer fired, he and brown got scared and ran away. johnson said, "he shot again, and once my friend felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air, and he started to get down. but the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and fired more shots. we wasn't causing harm to nobody. we had no weapons at all."

brown's father, michael brown, visited the shooting site monday afternoon. he abruptly left after gunshots rang out a block away. brown's mother, lesley mcspadden, said she did not understand why police did not subdue her son with a club or stun gun. she said, "i would like to see him go to jail with the death penalty."

the killing drew criticism, ire and pain from some civil rights leaders. they immediately referred to the 2012 racially charged shooting in florida of 17 year-old trayvon martin - an unarmed black male - by george zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder charges by a predominantly white jury under the state's controversial stand your ground laws. 

brown's family planned to speak publicly later monday with their attorney, benjamin crump, who also represented the martin family. john gaskin, who serves on both the st. louis county and national boards of directors for the naacp, said the group was "outraged because yet again a young african-american man has been killed by law enforcement."

         
       

Saturday, August 02, 2014

Recent Study Highlights Racial Disparities in New York City Prosecutions

at the request of manhattan district attorney cyrus r. vance, jr., the vera institute of justice partnered on a two-year national institute of justice study on the relationship between prosecutorial decision-making and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

analyzing 222,542 cases resolved in 2010-2011, the 251-page report reveals blacks and latinos were at a disadvantage relative to whites in three key stages of criminal cases (pretrial detention, plea bargaining and incarceration sentence), but not in two (case acceptance and case dismissal). in fact, whites were less likely than blacks and latinos to have their cases dismissed.

authors nancy r. andiloro and besiki luka said, "this finding raises the question of whether having higher dismissal rates for defendants of color should be viewed as an indicator of leniency, or simply serve as a mechanism for declining to prosecute cases that could have been rejected at screening."

the starkest disparities were found in the prosecution of misdemeanor drug offenses. blacks were 27% more likely and latinos were 18% more likely to receive a custodial sentence offer than similarly situated white defendants. surprisingly, prior arrest record was more influential on sentence offers than prior sentence history, in accordance with this office's plea guidelines.

both authors recommend revising these guidelines. they said if the current guidelines were "based on poor sentences - as opposed to prior arrest - much of the difference between black and white, and latino and white defendants would have disappeared, at least in misdemeanor cases."

the new york times reports the study prompted the manhattan district attorney to request implicit bias training for his assistant prosecutors. the times' editorial board commends vance for inviting this analysis of his office. echoing the vera authors, they urge him to "reduce prosecutors' emphasis on prior arrests and work with his staff to accept fewer cases in the first place."

in brooklyn, the district attorney's office will stop prosecuting low-level marijuana cases, in an attempt to improve the administration of justice and put the office's resources to better use. district attorney kenneth p. thompson said - in a confidential memo - the policy was set up to keep nonviolent people, "and especially young people of color," out of the criminal justice system.

possession of marijuana is still illegal in the state, and brooklyn is the only borough to issue this policy. those arrested in brooklyn will undergo a case-by-case review and only those with no, or minimal criminal records, will qualify under the policy.