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.

Friday, January 27, 2017

NBA All-Star Team 2017

listed below are the starters and reserves in each conference for the 2017 nba all-star game.

Eastern Conference Starters
Gianis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Eastern Conference Reserves
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks
Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
John Wall, Washington Wizards

Western Conference Starters
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs

Western Conference Reserves
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thuinder


Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Criminal Justice Policy Contributes to the Educational Racial Achievement Gap

leila morsay and richard rothstein of the economic policy institute recently published some provocative findings in their report, mass incarceration and children's outcomes: criminal justice policy is education policy.

the authors write, "the discriminatory incarceration of black parents is an important cause of their children's lowered performance." they conclude parental incarceration has cognitive and non-cognitive impacts known to affect children's school performance.

the report asserts children of incarceration parents are more likely to disengage from, and drop out of school, develop learning disabilities, and have physical and mental health problems. additionally, such children are more likely to experience poverty, which adds more stress in their lives.

consequently, morsay and rothstein both state in their progressive report, "criminal justice reform should be a policy priority for educators who are committed to improving the achievement of african-american children."

Friday, January 20, 2017

U.S. Funding for the Green Climate Fund

the u.s. state department on thursday announced it made an additional $500 million grant to support the green climate fund (gcf). consistent with last year's grant, this funding is provided from the fiscal year 2016 economic support fund (esf) appropriation.

u.s. funding for the gcf continues u.s. government support by the obama administration, and prior administrations for climate change programs through multilateral funds. the gcf is the world's largest multilateral finance institution dedicated to advancing climate-resilient, low-emission development. 

the gcf was created to help protect vulnerable populations and drive clean energy deployment, all with a special focus on engaging the private sector and mobilizing private capital. over 180 countries have set forth their plans to cut emissions; many of them are making important policy and regulatory reforms to promote private sector investment in energy efficient and low-emission technologies.

the gcf supports developing nations in their efforts to achieve those objectives and become more resilient to climate change. the gcf seeks to reduce the global and national security risks associated with inadequate adaptation to and preparedness for extreme weather events and other climate related impacts.

even with limited resources, the gcf also directly engages the private sector in new and innovative ways to mobilize greater private investment, sending an unmistakable signal to global markets the low-emission transition is moving forward. 


     


Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez Elected into 2017 MLB Hall of Fame

jeff bagwell, tim raines and ivan rodriguez were elected to major league baseball's 2017 hall of fame on wednesday. both vladimir guerrero and trevor hoffman fell just short of the necessary 75% votes for induction.

bagwell played 2,150 games in 15 years for the houston astros. bagwell was a four-time all-star with a career .297 batting average, .408 on-base percentage, 401 homers and 1,401 runs batted in. among 220 hall of famers, he becomes the 50th player to finish his career with one club.

raines, the 1986 national league batting champion, compiled a .294 career average, .385 on-base percentage, was fifth in career stolen bases and a seven-time all-star. raines played 13 of his 23 seasons with the montreal expos, who left canada to become the washington nationals in 2005.

rodriguez, affectionally known as pudge, was a 14-time all-star in 21 seasons with six different teams. rodriguez hit .296 with a .334 on-base percentage, 311 home runs, 1,332 runs batted in and 2,844 hits. he was universally regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in history.   

bagwell said about his induction, "anxiety was very, very high. it's a weird thing to be a hall of famer. i wrote it on a ball tonight. it was kind of crazy, so it was cool." 

raines said, "i think social media played a big role. there are some things that i did that a lot of the guys that's already in the hall of famer didn't actually do. so i think it kind of made them look at me a lot closer and they looked a lot deeper, and i think the more they looked, i think the better it turned out for me."

rodriguez stated, "i've been having trouble sleeping for three days. johnny bench was my favorite player growing up. rodriguez, at age 45, is the youngest current hall member. he displaced pedro martinez as the youngest of the record 74 living hall of fame members. 
   

President Obama pardons MLB Hall of Famer Willie McCovey for tax evasion

president obama issued a pardon to san francisco giants legend willie mccovey. mccovey was among the 273 commutations and pardons given by the outgoing commander-in-chief on tuesday. obama forgave the hall of famer's 1995 conviction on tax evasion charges.

mccovey, along with los angeles dodgers slugger duke snider, admitted to knowingly failing to report $70,000. the money was earned by signing autographs and participating in memorabilia shows between 1988 and 1990. he was sentenced in 1996 to two years of probation, and fined $5,000.

the personable left-hander's illustrious career began in 1959 - the second year the giants played in san francisco. he spent 18 years with the giants, and hit 521 home runs over a 22-year period. mccovey was selected into the hall of fame in 1986.

mccovey celebrated his 79th birthday on january 10. mccovey has endured a serious of health issues in recent years related to orthopedic procedures. in 2014, he was hospitalized in order to treat a serious infection. 

     

Thursday, January 05, 2017

Vermont Governor Pardons 192 people convicted of minor drug offenses

virginia govenor peter shumlin on tuesday pardoned 192 people convicted of minor drug offenses on his final days in office. last month, shumlin invited people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana (before the state decriminalized it in 2013) to apply for pardons.

"a minor marijuana possession charge should be not an anchor that holds back an individual from getting a good job or going about their life. while attitudes and laws about marijuana use are rapidly changing, there is still a harmful stigma associated with it," shumlin remarked.

shumlin added, "my hope was to help as many individuals as i could  overcome that stigma and the very real struggles that too often go along with it. vermont should follow the many states that are legalizing and regulating the use of marijuana and put to an end the incredible failure that is the war on drugs."    

additionally, shumlin issued 10 pardons om saturday for people convicted of various felonies and misdemeanors, including the son of former vice presidential nominee geraldine ferraro, and the son of former u.s. representative richard mallary.

since the christmas day deadline to apply for marijuana pardons, shumlin's staff has been doing background checks on those who applied. but anyone with a violent criminal history will not be eligible to receive a pardon. during his six years in office, shumlin issued 208 pardons - more than any other governor in vermont history.