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.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

2018 NBA Awards

the second annual 2018 nba awards were presented last night in a live ceremony at the barker hanger in santa monica, california. the winners are listed below:

most valuable player - james harden, houston rockets
rookie of the year - ben simmons, philadelphia 76ers
defensive player of the year - rudy gobert, utah jazz
sixth man of the year - lou williams, los angeles clippers
most improved player of the year - victor oladipo, indiana pacers

coach of the year - dwane casey
basketball executive of the year - daryl morey, houston rockets
sportsman award - kemba walker, charlotte hornets

sager strong award - dikembe mutombo
lifetime achievement award - oscar robertson
twyman-stokes teammate of the year award - jamal crawford, minnesota timberwolves
nba cares community assist award - kevin durant, golden state warriors

play of the year - lebron james, cleveland cavaliers
clutch shot of the year - lebron james, cleveland cavaliers
dunk of the year - giannis antetokounmpo, milwaukee bucks
assist of the year - lebron james, cleveland cavaliers
block of the year - anthony davis, new orleans pelicans
handle of the year - kyrie irving, boston celtics 

best style - russell westbrook, oklahoma city thunder
hustle award - amir johnson, philadelphia 76ers

all-nba first team
anthony davis, new orleans pelicans
kevin durant, golden state warriors
james harden, houston rockets
lebron james, cleveland cavaliers
damian lillard, portland trail blazers

all-nba rookie team
kyle kuzma, los angeles lakers
lauri markkanen, chicago bulls
donovan mitchell, utah jazz
ben simmons, philadelphia 76ers
jayson tatum, boston celtics

all-nba defensive team
robert covington, philadelphia 76ers
anthony davis, new orleans pelicans
rudy gobert, utah jazz
jrue holiday, new orleans pelicans
victor oladipo, indiana pacers


Sunday, June 10, 2018

Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal win 2018 French Open Singles Titles

world #1 simona halep of romania defeated world #10 sloane stephens of the u.s. 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 at roland garros in paris, france on saturday to win the french open women's singles championship. halep's come-from-behind effort secured her first career victory at a grand slam tournament. 

halep, 26, lost three major singles finals - two at the french open in 2014 and 2017; and the 2018 australian open. "that's the most important thing. that i stayed there focused. i believed and i never gave up, halep said." she's the first romanian to win a major singles title since her manager virginia ruzici captured the 1978 french open.

darren cahill, former aussie tour player and halep's manager said, "been kicked in the stomach a couple of times when she's had chances. they say the destination is more beautiful if there's a bit of a bumpy road and you eventually get there. and that's what happened to her today." 

world #1 rafael nadal of spain defeated world #7 dominic thiem of austria 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 at roland garros in paris, france on sunday to win the french open men's singles championship. nadal became the first player in the open era to win a major 11 times. his career record at the french open is 86-2.

nadal, 32, has 17 career singles wins in grand slam tournaments, including three at the u.s. open, two at wimbledon and one at the australian open. nadal and world #2 roger federer of switzerland - who leads all men with 20 major singles titles - have won the last six major championships. 

in 2005, nadal won his first french open title at 19. nadal won four straight there from 2005-2008. he won five straight from 2010-2014, and won again last year. "if you tell me seven, eight years ago that i will be here...having this trophy with me again, i will tell you that is something almost impossible. but here we are," nadal said.

Saturday, June 09, 2018

Warriors sweep Cavaliers to win Third NBA Title in Four Years

the golden state warriors dominated the cleveland cavaliers 108-85 in cleveland's quicken loans arena on friday to win their second straight nba championship and third in four years. dubs' all-star forward kevin durant was named finals mvp for the second year in a row.  

the warriors joined the boston celtics (1957-66) as the only teams to reach four consecutive nba finals - and win more than two. they also became the ninth team in history to win the finals in a sweep, and the first since 2007 when the san antonio spurs beat cleveland.

durant said, "we just wanted to win, and however it came, we were excited about it. but to win in a sweep feels pretty good." durant finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. golden state all-star guard and two-time mvp stephen curry scored 37 points, including seven three-pointers. 

golden state all-star forward draymond green said, "it was extremely difficult. not just the playoff run but the entire season." warriors coach steve kerr said, "absolutely. there were doubts." kerr became the first in nba history to win five titles as a player and three titles as a coach. 


Friday, June 01, 2018

Marijuana arrests in NYC over last three years disproportionately impact black and brown people

blacks have been arrested on low-level marijuana charges at eight times the rate of whites in new york city during the last three years. latinos have been arrested five times the rates of whites for the same charges.

a senior police official attributes racial disparities to more frequent police complaints about marijuana from residents of predominantly black and brown neighborhoods. people in poor neighborhoods sometimes make marijuana-related police calls because they're less likely to have a building superintendent, co-op board or responsive landlord to field their grievances.

still, among neighborhoods where residents made similar rates of marijuana police calls, the police made arrests at higher rates in areas with black and brown people. new york city's marijuana possession arrests have declined to half of their level under the previous mayor, yet there are still 17,000 such arrests each year.

mayor bill de blasio announced the police would overhaul their marijuana enforcement policy within 30 days to "end unnecessary arrests." the district attorneys of brooklyn and manhattan are considering plans to stop prosecuting the vast majority of people arrested on low-level marijuana charges. police commissioner james o'neill says he will convene a working group to review marijuana enforcement tactics.