america faces global outrage after their recent exposure of infecting patients in a guatemalan mental hospital with sexually transmitted diseases (std's) in scientific experiments. government officials provided prostitutes to patients from 1946 to 1948 to test if the new drug, penicillin, could prevent std's. none of the tests proved successful & the results were hidden in medical archives for decades.
president barack obama apologized for the emergence of the american government's role in their deliberate attempt to mistreat mental illness patients. but medical historian susan reverby from wellesley college in massachusetts unearthed the shocking details of the tests while researching archives in pennsylvania.
almost 700 men & women were exposed to gonorrhea & syphilis during the research. if the patients failed to contract the illnesses they were intentionally inoculated. obama called guatemalan president alvaro colom to apologize after becoming aware of this secretive disaster friday. u.s. secretary of state hilary clinton called to apologize the night before.
white house press secretary robert gibbs said, "obviously this is shocking, it's tragic, it's reprehensible, it's tragic & the u.s. by all means apologizes to all those who were impacted." arturo valenzuela, the u.s. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, said in her conversation with colom, clinton expressed 'her personal outrage & deep regret that such reprehensible research could occur.'
guatemalan embassy official fernando de la cerda said his country hadn't known anything about the scientific experiment until clinton's telephone apology thursday night. de la cerda said, "we appreciate this gesture from the usa, acknowledging the mistake & apologizing...this must not affect the bilateral relationship."
reverby made the discovery last year while combining the archived records of dr john cutler, a government researcher involved in the infamous tuskegee study from 1932 to 1972 which tracked 600 african-descended male sharecroppers in alabama who had syphilis without ever offering them treatment. she found cutler also led the guatemalan project, which is believed to be on a much bigger & more burdensome scale.
during the tuskegee experiment scientists knew the men were infected with syphilis, yet they withheld treatment to track the progression of the disease. but in guatemala, inmates, prisoners & soldiers in mental asylums were wilfully infected, sometimes by using prostitutes provided by the scientists during jail visits or sometimes by pouring the germs onto skin abrasions caused by the research.
reverby shared her disturbing find to health professionals at a conference in may. a month later she provided the government with her discovery resulting in last week's white house apology & has since posted them on her website. said reverby, "i was just completely blown away. i was floored. i expected to find something on tuskegee. there was nothing. what he left behind were these records from the guatemalan study."
unlike tuskegee, most of the subjects were treated - which is why reverby said she did not publicize her findings sooner. she felt no one was in immediate danger, adding, "it's not like i could have stopped something that was happening now." strict regulations today make it clear it's unethical to experiment on people without their consent & require special steps for any work with such vulnerable populations as prisoners. but these regulations were absent in the 1940's.
the u.s. government has ordered two independent investigations to uncover exactly what took place in guatemala & to make sure current bio ethics rules are adequate. the inquiries will be led by the prestigious institute of medicine & the presidential commission for the study of bio ethical issues. dr arthur caplan, a university of pennsylvania bio ethicist said, "we've made some obvious moral progress. the sad legacy of past unethical experiments is that they still shape who it is that we can get to trust medical researchers."
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- 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.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Bishop Eddie Long Sued For Sexual Abuse And Other Claims By Four Men
bishop eddie long was recently sued by four male plaintiffs for various coercive charges, most notably sexual abuse. long presides over the new birth missionary baptist church, the largest church in georgia, with 25,000 members & host to former u.s. presidents carter, bush & clinton.
the first two plaintiffs, maurice flagg & anthony robinson, claim long used his position as spiritual counselor & leader to take the young men, aged 17 & 18 respectively at the time of the alleged abuse, on trips out of state & perform sexual acts with them. robinson & flagg are now 20 & 21 years old. prominent atlanta attorney b.j. bernstein, who represents three of the plaintiffs, described long's relationship with the boys as odd.
bernstein says, "it was essentially a marriage ceremony where there were candles, an exchange of jewelry & biblical quotes given." another plaintiff, jamal parris, detailed how long allegedly gave him his personal cell number just two weeks after the two had met & claims long encouraged him (parris) to call him (long) 'daddy.'
parris said he joined new birth in 2001 & later became long's personal assistant. he claims long would ask him to remain in his private office after church where long engaged him in sexual misconduct. parris eventually left the church & found out from other young male church members they too had sexual contact with long.
eddie legrande, father of spencer legrande, a plaintiff from north carolina, told the journal constitution he witnessed long take on the role of father to his (then) teen aged son. legrande also saw the gifts lavished upon his son. said legrande, "he would call him dad in front of me...i'm very hurt about it...if the accusations are true, i think he should be banned from his church...i think he should do jail time & pay the victims for the hurt...he should be used as an example."
after several days of silence in the midst of these shocking allegations, long addressed his loyal congregation by neither confirming nor denying the charges. reading from an ipad, long said, "there have been allegations & attacks on me. i have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. but i am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. that is not me." long was interrupted by thunderous applause from supporters, many of whom arrived two hours early for the sunday service.
long went on to compare himself to the biblical tale of david fighting the giant. the bishop said, "please hear this. i've been accused. i'm under attack. i want you to know as i said earlier i am not a perfect man. but this thing i'm going to fight. i feel like david against goliath, but i've got the rocks & i haven't thrown one yet."
in a brief statement to the press, long stated, "on the advice of counsel, i am not going to address the allegations & attacks against me, again, as i stated earlier, i want this to be dealt with in a court of justice & not in the court of public opinion."
some young male supporters wore 'i support eddie long' t-shirts...
the suits allege long, one of the most powerful pastors in america, used church funds to give the young males cars, cash & gifts. new birth missionary baptist church is also named as a defendant. civil rights leader & former naacp chairman julian bond called long a "raving homophobe," saying if the allegations are true, "it will be a sad victory for gay rights."
long is the spiritual mentor of rev. bernice king, youngest daughter of coretta scott king & rev. dr. martin luther king, jr & new chair of the southern christian leadership conference. bond refused to attend the june 2006 funeral of coretta scott king - held at the mega-church, where bernice is a pastor. said bond, "i knew her attitude towards gay & lesbian rights...i just couldn't imagine that she'd want to be in that church with a raving homophobe & i couldn't see myself in that church either."
bond, an avid & longtime supporter of lgbt rights continued, "it's just sort of typical of people who are raving homophobes who are secretly homosexual & who are homophobes because they are filled with so much self-loathing & self-hate that they've got to let it come out in some way & it comes out in homophobia." long's virulent anti-gay attitudes are well-known, as are those of rev. bernice king.
the first two plaintiffs, maurice flagg & anthony robinson, claim long used his position as spiritual counselor & leader to take the young men, aged 17 & 18 respectively at the time of the alleged abuse, on trips out of state & perform sexual acts with them. robinson & flagg are now 20 & 21 years old. prominent atlanta attorney b.j. bernstein, who represents three of the plaintiffs, described long's relationship with the boys as odd.
bernstein says, "it was essentially a marriage ceremony where there were candles, an exchange of jewelry & biblical quotes given." another plaintiff, jamal parris, detailed how long allegedly gave him his personal cell number just two weeks after the two had met & claims long encouraged him (parris) to call him (long) 'daddy.'
parris said he joined new birth in 2001 & later became long's personal assistant. he claims long would ask him to remain in his private office after church where long engaged him in sexual misconduct. parris eventually left the church & found out from other young male church members they too had sexual contact with long.
eddie legrande, father of spencer legrande, a plaintiff from north carolina, told the journal constitution he witnessed long take on the role of father to his (then) teen aged son. legrande also saw the gifts lavished upon his son. said legrande, "he would call him dad in front of me...i'm very hurt about it...if the accusations are true, i think he should be banned from his church...i think he should do jail time & pay the victims for the hurt...he should be used as an example."
after several days of silence in the midst of these shocking allegations, long addressed his loyal congregation by neither confirming nor denying the charges. reading from an ipad, long said, "there have been allegations & attacks on me. i have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. but i am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. that is not me." long was interrupted by thunderous applause from supporters, many of whom arrived two hours early for the sunday service.
long went on to compare himself to the biblical tale of david fighting the giant. the bishop said, "please hear this. i've been accused. i'm under attack. i want you to know as i said earlier i am not a perfect man. but this thing i'm going to fight. i feel like david against goliath, but i've got the rocks & i haven't thrown one yet."
in a brief statement to the press, long stated, "on the advice of counsel, i am not going to address the allegations & attacks against me, again, as i stated earlier, i want this to be dealt with in a court of justice & not in the court of public opinion."
some young male supporters wore 'i support eddie long' t-shirts...
the suits allege long, one of the most powerful pastors in america, used church funds to give the young males cars, cash & gifts. new birth missionary baptist church is also named as a defendant. civil rights leader & former naacp chairman julian bond called long a "raving homophobe," saying if the allegations are true, "it will be a sad victory for gay rights."
long is the spiritual mentor of rev. bernice king, youngest daughter of coretta scott king & rev. dr. martin luther king, jr & new chair of the southern christian leadership conference. bond refused to attend the june 2006 funeral of coretta scott king - held at the mega-church, where bernice is a pastor. said bond, "i knew her attitude towards gay & lesbian rights...i just couldn't imagine that she'd want to be in that church with a raving homophobe & i couldn't see myself in that church either."
bond, an avid & longtime supporter of lgbt rights continued, "it's just sort of typical of people who are raving homophobes who are secretly homosexual & who are homophobes because they are filled with so much self-loathing & self-hate that they've got to let it come out in some way & it comes out in homophobia." long's virulent anti-gay attitudes are well-known, as are those of rev. bernice king.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Rafael Nadal and Kim Clisters Win 2010 US Open Singles Titles
world #1 rafael nadal of spain defeated world #3 novak djokovic of serbia 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to capture his first us open singles championship. the 24 year-old sexy spaniard becomes the first man since (fellow lefty) aussie rod laver in 1969 to win three consecutive majors in one year; earlier he won the french open & wimbledon. nadal's historic victory makes him the seventh man to claim all four majors in a career. amazingly for one who grew up on clay, he has nine major singles titles.
nadal impresses folks with his determination, humility & willingness to improve every aspect of his all-court game. his serve, once a liability, is now clocked at 135 mph. he volleys with conviction. nadal's aggressive backhand is a major weapon off the ground & when he moves forward he rarely misses an overhead. his conditioning, power & speed are equally exciting for fans & intimidating for opponents.
after nadal won a highly competitive first set, djokovic won four of the next five games. nadal broke back to tie the second set at four games all but the match was re-scheduled for monday due to the rain. when play resumed nadal got stronger & eventually wore down the personable serb. djokovic showed tremendous poise in defeating roger federer in five hard-fought sets during their third str8 us open semi-final showdown, destroying the possibility of a crowd-favored, media anticipated nadal-federer final.
kim clisters of belgium beat vera zvonereva of russia 6-2, 6-1 to win her third us open singles crown. clisters defended her title with powerful ground strokes, solid net play & unwavering defensive ability. clisters won the hearts of millions last year upon returning to the tour after early retirement. she became the third mother to win a major. clisters defeated 30 year-old american hopeful venus williams in a three set thrilling semi-final.
the 26 year-old zvonereva, playing the best tennis of her career, reached her second str8 major final; she lost the wimbledon crown to serena williams. the talented russian seemed overwhelmed from the start, making unforced errors from all parts of the court. clisters' experience was more than enuf to rattle her opponent, as she played with confidence, maturity & patience. during her acceptance speech, zvonereva was in tears, yet warmed the hearts of the crowd when she said, "i love new york." clisters' ranking climbed to #5 & zvonereva has achieved a career high #4.
the us open men's doubles title went to american twin brothers bob & mike bryan. the bryans are the winningest men's doubles pair in history. the women's doubles crown went to american vania king & serbian yaroslava shevdova. king & shevdova won wimbledon earlier this year. the mixed doubles title went to americans bob bryan & liezel huber.
nadal impresses folks with his determination, humility & willingness to improve every aspect of his all-court game. his serve, once a liability, is now clocked at 135 mph. he volleys with conviction. nadal's aggressive backhand is a major weapon off the ground & when he moves forward he rarely misses an overhead. his conditioning, power & speed are equally exciting for fans & intimidating for opponents.
after nadal won a highly competitive first set, djokovic won four of the next five games. nadal broke back to tie the second set at four games all but the match was re-scheduled for monday due to the rain. when play resumed nadal got stronger & eventually wore down the personable serb. djokovic showed tremendous poise in defeating roger federer in five hard-fought sets during their third str8 us open semi-final showdown, destroying the possibility of a crowd-favored, media anticipated nadal-federer final.
kim clisters of belgium beat vera zvonereva of russia 6-2, 6-1 to win her third us open singles crown. clisters defended her title with powerful ground strokes, solid net play & unwavering defensive ability. clisters won the hearts of millions last year upon returning to the tour after early retirement. she became the third mother to win a major. clisters defeated 30 year-old american hopeful venus williams in a three set thrilling semi-final.
the 26 year-old zvonereva, playing the best tennis of her career, reached her second str8 major final; she lost the wimbledon crown to serena williams. the talented russian seemed overwhelmed from the start, making unforced errors from all parts of the court. clisters' experience was more than enuf to rattle her opponent, as she played with confidence, maturity & patience. during her acceptance speech, zvonereva was in tears, yet warmed the hearts of the crowd when she said, "i love new york." clisters' ranking climbed to #5 & zvonereva has achieved a career high #4.
the us open men's doubles title went to american twin brothers bob & mike bryan. the bryans are the winningest men's doubles pair in history. the women's doubles crown went to american vania king & serbian yaroslava shevdova. king & shevdova won wimbledon earlier this year. the mixed doubles title went to americans bob bryan & liezel huber.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Will America Save Troy Davis?
a federal district court decision puts georgia death-row inmate troy anthony davis back on track for execution, despite doubts about his guilt raised during a june 24 evidentiary hearing. judge william t. moore, jr., ruled executing an innocent person would violate the united states con-stitution & davis didn't meet the extraordinarily high legal bar to prove his innocence. in '91 davis was convicted of killing police officer mark macphail.
larry cox, executive director of amnesty international usa, said, "nobody walking out of that hearing could view this as an open-and-shut case." cox further stated, "the testimony that came to light demonstrates doubt still exists, but the legal bar for proving innocence was set so high it was virtually insurmountable. it would be utterly unconscionable to proceed with this execution, plain and simple."
davis' hearing obscured the following: 1) four witnesses admitted in court they lied at trial when implicating davis & they didn't know who shot officer macphail; 2) four witnesses implicated another man as the one who killed the officer, including a man who says he saw the shooting & could clearly identify the alternative suspect, who is a family member; 3) three original state witnesses described police coercion during questioning, including one man who was 16 years old at the time of the murder & was questioned by several police officers without his parents or other adults present.
laura moye, director of aiusa's death penalty abolition campaign said, "the troy davis case is emblematic of everything that is wrong with capital punishment. in a system rife with error, mistakes can be made. there are no do-overs when it comes to death. lawmakers across the country should scrutinize this case carefully, not only because of its unprecedented nature, but because it clearly indicates the need to abolish the death penalty in the united states."
note: this writer disagrees with moye's assertion, "because of its unprecedented nature." mumia abu-jamal, whom, like davis, is a man of african descent, was convicted & sentenced in 1982 for the murder of philadelphia police officer daniel faulkner after a trial many viewed as racially biased. black men con-stitute over 45% of the death row population. jamal, once a peabody award-winning radio reporter & now critically-acclaimed author, has a case eerily similar to davis, yet remains on death row, 28 years later.
any wonder folks feel the justice system, is criminal...
since the launch of its feb '07 report, where is the justice for me? the case of troy anthony davis, facing execution in georgia, amnesty international has campaigned intensively for a new evidentiary hearing or trial & clemency for davis. aiusa has collected hundreds of thousands of clemency petition signatures & letters from across america & around the world. archbishop desmond tutu of south africa, pope benedict xvi, former us president jimmy carter, as well as lawmakers within & around georgia have joined the call for davis' clemency.
amnesty international is a nobel peace prize winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.8 million activists, supporters & volunteers who campaign for universal human rights from more than 150 countries. aiusa investigates & exposes abuses, educates & mobilizes the public & work to protect people when dignity, freedom, justice & truth are denied.
larry cox, executive director of amnesty international usa, said, "nobody walking out of that hearing could view this as an open-and-shut case." cox further stated, "the testimony that came to light demonstrates doubt still exists, but the legal bar for proving innocence was set so high it was virtually insurmountable. it would be utterly unconscionable to proceed with this execution, plain and simple."
davis' hearing obscured the following: 1) four witnesses admitted in court they lied at trial when implicating davis & they didn't know who shot officer macphail; 2) four witnesses implicated another man as the one who killed the officer, including a man who says he saw the shooting & could clearly identify the alternative suspect, who is a family member; 3) three original state witnesses described police coercion during questioning, including one man who was 16 years old at the time of the murder & was questioned by several police officers without his parents or other adults present.
laura moye, director of aiusa's death penalty abolition campaign said, "the troy davis case is emblematic of everything that is wrong with capital punishment. in a system rife with error, mistakes can be made. there are no do-overs when it comes to death. lawmakers across the country should scrutinize this case carefully, not only because of its unprecedented nature, but because it clearly indicates the need to abolish the death penalty in the united states."
note: this writer disagrees with moye's assertion, "because of its unprecedented nature." mumia abu-jamal, whom, like davis, is a man of african descent, was convicted & sentenced in 1982 for the murder of philadelphia police officer daniel faulkner after a trial many viewed as racially biased. black men con-stitute over 45% of the death row population. jamal, once a peabody award-winning radio reporter & now critically-acclaimed author, has a case eerily similar to davis, yet remains on death row, 28 years later.
any wonder folks feel the justice system, is criminal...
since the launch of its feb '07 report, where is the justice for me? the case of troy anthony davis, facing execution in georgia, amnesty international has campaigned intensively for a new evidentiary hearing or trial & clemency for davis. aiusa has collected hundreds of thousands of clemency petition signatures & letters from across america & around the world. archbishop desmond tutu of south africa, pope benedict xvi, former us president jimmy carter, as well as lawmakers within & around georgia have joined the call for davis' clemency.
amnesty international is a nobel peace prize winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.8 million activists, supporters & volunteers who campaign for universal human rights from more than 150 countries. aiusa investigates & exposes abuses, educates & mobilizes the public & work to protect people when dignity, freedom, justice & truth are denied.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Yes, I'm Really 50!
friday august 6 was an incredible milestone 4 me. god blessed me with 50 years of life on planet earth. i felt compelled 2 affirm, honor & value the gift of life by sharing a few thoughts here, albeit briefly, about being 50, black, male & same-gender-loving in america.
someone told me a long time ago every day above ground is a blessing so live it like its the last day u have. or something to that effect. my memory these days is as reliable as a cell phone call not dropping in the middle of an important conversation. or one you're too afraid to end bcuz the person on the other end is boring you to, in the words of actor/comedian bill murray, h-e-double hockey sticks.
i don't live my life like its the last day i have. somewhere along the way i developed a nasty sense of entitlement. perhaps u could call it spiritual arrogance? i have a way of dismissing folks who don't stimulate my body, mind or spirit. & not in that order, either. i've become so detached from folks, when i meet someone who excites me emotionally, intellectually or spiritually i just don't know how 2 react or what 2 do.
one of my cousins in chi-town, a gifted writer, once said, i believe in referring 2 an anonymous member of our wacky family, "i can only take people in small doses." my quintessential spirit connected with her insight immediately! what a relief 2 know u don't think uniquely when tryna deal with challenging family dynamics. but i digress...
black men die prematurely in america: rick james, gerald levert, tupac shakur, luther vandross, i.e. lest i 4get the assassinations of malcolm, martin & medgar. 50 is, indeed, a cultural milestone 4 this african-descended brotha. when i stopped drinking & drugging in the summer of '95 i knew i needed 2 take care of myself in a serious way: the revolution will not be televised but i can still get my shit together b4 god calls me home.
i stopped telling folks my age many, many yrs ago bcuz nobody believes me. apparently, i don't look like a 50 year-old black man. the brotha at work. the brotha at school. the brotha on the corner. the brotha in the gym. the brotha on christopher street, wall street or 125th street. the brotha on bet, cnn or pbs. like michael jackson told ola ray in the landmark '83 thriller video, "i'm not like other guys." while peeping paul mooney, the godfather of comedy, at caroline's on broadway last saturday nite he said "michael was not a pedophile, but he was definitely x-files."
michael jackson was born 342 days b4 me & died suddenly last june.
after all the pain i've endured - most of it self-inflicted - i used 2 wonder why god kept me alive when so many of my heroes & sheroes are gone 2 soon. as my father put it, "god did not put u on this earth just so u can feel good." damn, damn, damn. seems being of service 2 my community has divinely energized my compromised immune system: my negative sense of self has been replaced by a positive concern 4 others.
african people have been in america since 1441. we've been called everything but a child of god, yet i like calling myself black. black like miles davis. black like grace jones. black like tiger woods. yeah, i went there. have u eva felt like a tiger in the woods? like someone was chasing u & u d'nt know why but u started running nowhere fast? whycome white folk wanna b black, until the police come? ok, i'm being silly. perhaps i don't know where i'm going with this latest post?
on tha real, i'm grateful 4 a life worth living. i'm grateful folks trust me with their feelings & shortcomings. i'm grateful 4 the gift of self-awareness. i'm grateful 4 an intimate relationship with a loving god. i'm grateful 4 friends who care about my joy & my pain. i'm grateful my sexuality is fostered with the spirit of self-determination. i'm grateful 4 organic & vegetarian food. i'm grateful 4 thrice wkly workouts at the gym. i'm grateful 4 daily prayer & regular meditation. i'm grateful 4 my apt in the village of harlem. i'm grateful 4 integrity, respect & self-love. i'm grateful 2 b grateful :-)
i'm single & unemployed. most brothas i know are single: str8, same-gender-loving, or otherwise. the unemployment rate 4 black men in nyc is almost 50%. been that way long b4 a black man moved into the white house. my newfound reality? i've learned 2 b happy with or without money, with or without a partner & with or without the approval of others.
...how old am i? yes - i'm really 50 & free 2 b me!
someone told me a long time ago every day above ground is a blessing so live it like its the last day u have. or something to that effect. my memory these days is as reliable as a cell phone call not dropping in the middle of an important conversation. or one you're too afraid to end bcuz the person on the other end is boring you to, in the words of actor/comedian bill murray, h-e-double hockey sticks.
i don't live my life like its the last day i have. somewhere along the way i developed a nasty sense of entitlement. perhaps u could call it spiritual arrogance? i have a way of dismissing folks who don't stimulate my body, mind or spirit. & not in that order, either. i've become so detached from folks, when i meet someone who excites me emotionally, intellectually or spiritually i just don't know how 2 react or what 2 do.
one of my cousins in chi-town, a gifted writer, once said, i believe in referring 2 an anonymous member of our wacky family, "i can only take people in small doses." my quintessential spirit connected with her insight immediately! what a relief 2 know u don't think uniquely when tryna deal with challenging family dynamics. but i digress...
black men die prematurely in america: rick james, gerald levert, tupac shakur, luther vandross, i.e. lest i 4get the assassinations of malcolm, martin & medgar. 50 is, indeed, a cultural milestone 4 this african-descended brotha. when i stopped drinking & drugging in the summer of '95 i knew i needed 2 take care of myself in a serious way: the revolution will not be televised but i can still get my shit together b4 god calls me home.
i stopped telling folks my age many, many yrs ago bcuz nobody believes me. apparently, i don't look like a 50 year-old black man. the brotha at work. the brotha at school. the brotha on the corner. the brotha in the gym. the brotha on christopher street, wall street or 125th street. the brotha on bet, cnn or pbs. like michael jackson told ola ray in the landmark '83 thriller video, "i'm not like other guys." while peeping paul mooney, the godfather of comedy, at caroline's on broadway last saturday nite he said "michael was not a pedophile, but he was definitely x-files."
michael jackson was born 342 days b4 me & died suddenly last june.
after all the pain i've endured - most of it self-inflicted - i used 2 wonder why god kept me alive when so many of my heroes & sheroes are gone 2 soon. as my father put it, "god did not put u on this earth just so u can feel good." damn, damn, damn. seems being of service 2 my community has divinely energized my compromised immune system: my negative sense of self has been replaced by a positive concern 4 others.
african people have been in america since 1441. we've been called everything but a child of god, yet i like calling myself black. black like miles davis. black like grace jones. black like tiger woods. yeah, i went there. have u eva felt like a tiger in the woods? like someone was chasing u & u d'nt know why but u started running nowhere fast? whycome white folk wanna b black, until the police come? ok, i'm being silly. perhaps i don't know where i'm going with this latest post?
on tha real, i'm grateful 4 a life worth living. i'm grateful folks trust me with their feelings & shortcomings. i'm grateful 4 the gift of self-awareness. i'm grateful 4 an intimate relationship with a loving god. i'm grateful 4 friends who care about my joy & my pain. i'm grateful my sexuality is fostered with the spirit of self-determination. i'm grateful 4 organic & vegetarian food. i'm grateful 4 thrice wkly workouts at the gym. i'm grateful 4 daily prayer & regular meditation. i'm grateful 4 my apt in the village of harlem. i'm grateful 4 integrity, respect & self-love. i'm grateful 2 b grateful :-)
i'm single & unemployed. most brothas i know are single: str8, same-gender-loving, or otherwise. the unemployment rate 4 black men in nyc is almost 50%. been that way long b4 a black man moved into the white house. my newfound reality? i've learned 2 b happy with or without money, with or without a partner & with or without the approval of others.
...how old am i? yes - i'm really 50 & free 2 b me!
Monday, August 09, 2010
Will Prison-Based Gerrymandering In New York End Legally?
new york state recently passed legislation to end prison-based gerrymandering in new york. their courageous decision brings new york's redistricting process in line with basic principles of democracy & will serve as a model for other states in the effort to count incarcerated populations correctly in the next round of redistricting.
prior to this new legislation, new york counted prison populations during the redistricting process as most states do: by counting them where they're incarcerated, a practice known as prison-based gerrymandering. this unethical practice violates the principle of one person, one vote enshrined in the 14th amendment of the us constitution, which requires election districts be roughly equal in size, so elected officials each represent the same number of constituents.
prison-based gerrymandering artificially inflates population numbers - as such, political influence - in districts where prisons are located, at the expense of other districts. about 60,000 incarcerated persons are in new york state & the accurate counting of incarcerated folk is essential to fair representation throughout the state.
african-americans living in new york are incarcerated at a rate more than eight times higher than whites living in new york. also, african-americans & latinos account for 30% of the state's population, yet over over 70% of its prisoners. 98% of new york's prison cells, however, are located in in disproportionately white state senate districts.
john payton, president & director-counsel of the naacp legal defense & education fund said, "because incarcerated persons in the us are disproportionately african-americans & other people of color, the current counting of incarcerated persons at their place of incarceration, rather than at their pre-arrest residence, severely weakens the voting strength of entire communities of color." payton further stated, "ending prison-based gerrymandering in new york will enable state & local officials to better fulfill their obligations under the federal voting rights act."
like most states, new york defines a person's domicile as a place where that person voluntarily resides. article two, section four of the new york constitution says an incarcerated person retains the place of residence he or she had prior to arrest. incarcerated persons do not choose the districts where they're confined & can be removed at any time at the discretion of the department of correction services.
unlike myself, incarcerated persons have no opportunities to interact with or develop enduring ties to the surrounding communities. they can't use local services, such as libraries or parks. most importantly, they cannot vote in those communities: they are not constituents of those districts, yet how many new yorkers are aware of these historical indiscretions?
incarcerated persons remain legal residents at their pre-incarceration addresses. they maintain ties to the outside world thru their families & other relationships in their home communities. at the end of their sentences they're released to those communities. the average length of incarceration is less than three years, but the prison count remains in effect for a decade. by counting incarcerated residents of these communities elsewhere, prison-based gerrymandering deprives these districts of the just level of political representation to which they're entitled.
this landmark legislation follows similar bills in delaware & maryland earlier this year. "we urge governor paterson to sign this important legislation into law & call on other states to enact similar legislation before the next redistricting cycle begins, " said dale ho, assistant counsel in ldf's political participation group. ho further stated, "moving forward, the census bureau should ease the burden on state & local governments by changing its enumeration methods to count prisoners in their home communities in the next decennial census."
prior to this new legislation, new york counted prison populations during the redistricting process as most states do: by counting them where they're incarcerated, a practice known as prison-based gerrymandering. this unethical practice violates the principle of one person, one vote enshrined in the 14th amendment of the us constitution, which requires election districts be roughly equal in size, so elected officials each represent the same number of constituents.
prison-based gerrymandering artificially inflates population numbers - as such, political influence - in districts where prisons are located, at the expense of other districts. about 60,000 incarcerated persons are in new york state & the accurate counting of incarcerated folk is essential to fair representation throughout the state.
african-americans living in new york are incarcerated at a rate more than eight times higher than whites living in new york. also, african-americans & latinos account for 30% of the state's population, yet over over 70% of its prisoners. 98% of new york's prison cells, however, are located in in disproportionately white state senate districts.
john payton, president & director-counsel of the naacp legal defense & education fund said, "because incarcerated persons in the us are disproportionately african-americans & other people of color, the current counting of incarcerated persons at their place of incarceration, rather than at their pre-arrest residence, severely weakens the voting strength of entire communities of color." payton further stated, "ending prison-based gerrymandering in new york will enable state & local officials to better fulfill their obligations under the federal voting rights act."
like most states, new york defines a person's domicile as a place where that person voluntarily resides. article two, section four of the new york constitution says an incarcerated person retains the place of residence he or she had prior to arrest. incarcerated persons do not choose the districts where they're confined & can be removed at any time at the discretion of the department of correction services.
unlike myself, incarcerated persons have no opportunities to interact with or develop enduring ties to the surrounding communities. they can't use local services, such as libraries or parks. most importantly, they cannot vote in those communities: they are not constituents of those districts, yet how many new yorkers are aware of these historical indiscretions?
incarcerated persons remain legal residents at their pre-incarceration addresses. they maintain ties to the outside world thru their families & other relationships in their home communities. at the end of their sentences they're released to those communities. the average length of incarceration is less than three years, but the prison count remains in effect for a decade. by counting incarcerated residents of these communities elsewhere, prison-based gerrymandering deprives these districts of the just level of political representation to which they're entitled.
this landmark legislation follows similar bills in delaware & maryland earlier this year. "we urge governor paterson to sign this important legislation into law & call on other states to enact similar legislation before the next redistricting cycle begins, " said dale ho, assistant counsel in ldf's political participation group. ho further stated, "moving forward, the census bureau should ease the burden on state & local governments by changing its enumeration methods to count prisoners in their home communities in the next decennial census."
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
The Leo Role Call
these dynamic peeps are born under the zodiac sign of leo:
marsha ambrosius. louis armstrong. james baldwin. lucille ball. antonio banderas. count basie. angela bassett. tony bennett. halle berry. usain bolt. barry bonds. kobe bryant. fidel castro. co co chanel. chuck d. roberto clemente. george clinton. sidney crosby.
viola davis. robert de niro. skyler diggins-smith. alexandre dumas. bill evans. patrick ewing. roger federer. laurence fishburne. vivica fox. marcus garvey. meagan good. mata hari. jason heyward. alfred hitchcock. dustin hoffman. whitney houston. iman. marvin isley.
mick jagger. magic johnson. jennifer lopez. madonna. benjamin mays. george michael. helen mirren. barack obama. sean penn. robert redford. alex rodriguez. maya rudolph. pete sampras. deion sanders. wesley snipes. martha stewart. hilary swank. mike trout. andy warhol. isaiah washington.
me.
marsha ambrosius. louis armstrong. james baldwin. lucille ball. antonio banderas. count basie. angela bassett. tony bennett. halle berry. usain bolt. barry bonds. kobe bryant. fidel castro. co co chanel. chuck d. roberto clemente. george clinton. sidney crosby.
viola davis. robert de niro. skyler diggins-smith. alexandre dumas. bill evans. patrick ewing. roger federer. laurence fishburne. vivica fox. marcus garvey. meagan good. mata hari. jason heyward. alfred hitchcock. dustin hoffman. whitney houston. iman. marvin isley.
mick jagger. magic johnson. jennifer lopez. madonna. benjamin mays. george michael. helen mirren. barack obama. sean penn. robert redford. alex rodriguez. maya rudolph. pete sampras. deion sanders. wesley snipes. martha stewart. hilary swank. mike trout. andy warhol. isaiah washington.
me.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
NYC Awards $7 Million Settlement in the Slaying of Sean Bell
new york city awarded a seven million dollar settlement in the case of sean bell, the unarmed african-american killed by nypd in a 50-bullet barrage on nov 25, 2006. bell, 23, died around the corner from a queens bar where his bachelor party took place. two of his friends, joseph guzman & trent benefield, were also wounded. undercover police were investigating complaints of prostitution at the club.
bell's death ignited community outrage & inspired social change. the deal awards $3.25 million to the estate of bell, $3 million to guzman & $900,000 to benefield, minus 30% for legal fees. a day after learning of the settlement, during a news conference guzman said, "nobody wins in this case." guzman was shot 17 times & still wears a leg brace.
william bell, sean's father, told the daily news wednesday he's outraged. bell lashed out at michael palladino, a top police union official who called his slain son drunk - suggesting he brought on his own demise. palladino called the settlement "an absolute joke." said bell, "he thinks life is a joke...i don't think life is a joke."
upon learning of the settlement tuesday palladino fumed, "bell was intoxicated and tried to run the cops over." he further lamented the cops were "doing their lawful duty." he also said, "the settlement was excessive and disregards sean bell's actions and culpability."
the bell estate payout will benefit two young daughters he had with nicole paultre bell, the beautiful, poised & resilient fiancee who legally took his name after his death. she called the settlement, "reasonable," but poignantly added, "the girls will never have their father."
at a two-month trial in 2008, detectives marc cooper, gescard isnora & michael oliver said they opened fire on a car carrying bell & his friends because they believed the men were armed & the men defied orders to halt & tried to drive away. no weapons were found.
a judge who heard the case instead of a jury cleared the officers of manslaughter & other charges. he said in a decision prosecution witnesses who testified the officers opened fire without warning lacked credibility. the officers remain on modified duty & face departmental charges which could result in their dismissal.
the bell settlement follows other multi-million dollar payouts in high-profile civil lawsuits involving the nypd. in june the city agreed to pay a record amount for a civil rights lawsuit when it settled for $9.9 million with barry gibbs, an innocent man who spent 19 years in prison - after being framed by a police detective.
in 2001, the city & police union agreed to pay $8.7 million to abner louima, who was beaten & sodomized with a broomstick in a police precinct by officers. after legal fees, louima was left with about $5.8 million. the plaintiffs in the bell case said they would now lobby for pending state legislation calling for a special prosecutor for police shootings, more firearms training & other measures.
bell's death ignited community outrage & inspired social change. the deal awards $3.25 million to the estate of bell, $3 million to guzman & $900,000 to benefield, minus 30% for legal fees. a day after learning of the settlement, during a news conference guzman said, "nobody wins in this case." guzman was shot 17 times & still wears a leg brace.
william bell, sean's father, told the daily news wednesday he's outraged. bell lashed out at michael palladino, a top police union official who called his slain son drunk - suggesting he brought on his own demise. palladino called the settlement "an absolute joke." said bell, "he thinks life is a joke...i don't think life is a joke."
upon learning of the settlement tuesday palladino fumed, "bell was intoxicated and tried to run the cops over." he further lamented the cops were "doing their lawful duty." he also said, "the settlement was excessive and disregards sean bell's actions and culpability."
the bell estate payout will benefit two young daughters he had with nicole paultre bell, the beautiful, poised & resilient fiancee who legally took his name after his death. she called the settlement, "reasonable," but poignantly added, "the girls will never have their father."
at a two-month trial in 2008, detectives marc cooper, gescard isnora & michael oliver said they opened fire on a car carrying bell & his friends because they believed the men were armed & the men defied orders to halt & tried to drive away. no weapons were found.
a judge who heard the case instead of a jury cleared the officers of manslaughter & other charges. he said in a decision prosecution witnesses who testified the officers opened fire without warning lacked credibility. the officers remain on modified duty & face departmental charges which could result in their dismissal.
the bell settlement follows other multi-million dollar payouts in high-profile civil lawsuits involving the nypd. in june the city agreed to pay a record amount for a civil rights lawsuit when it settled for $9.9 million with barry gibbs, an innocent man who spent 19 years in prison - after being framed by a police detective.
in 2001, the city & police union agreed to pay $8.7 million to abner louima, who was beaten & sodomized with a broomstick in a police precinct by officers. after legal fees, louima was left with about $5.8 million. the plaintiffs in the bell case said they would now lobby for pending state legislation calling for a special prosecutor for police shootings, more firearms training & other measures.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Racialized Marketing Masks Publishing Industry Cultural Biases
sue monk kidd's best-selling novel, the secret life of bees, was published by penguin books. the story was set in the south with african-american characters. kidd's novel garnered fame, fortune & recognition, in addition to being utilized on screen in a film of the same name starring queen latifah, jurnee smollet & alicia keys.
kathryn stockett's novel, the help, also published by a penguin books imprint, sold one million books w/in a year of publication. her accolades & awards include the prestigious south african boeke prize. the help is being adapted for the screen under the production of academy-award winning director steven spielberg.
both authors have realized their dreams. yet they are not the first white women to pen stories of the black american south & achieve success. in 1928, julia peterkin wrote a novel, scarlet sister mary, for which she received the pulitzer prize in fiction. kidd's & stockett's novels explore racism while celebrating the power of friendship & acceptance. the covers of both novels did not reveal the race of the characters, yet they were both marketed to black & white audiences.
bernice l. mcfadden's debut novel, sugar, was recently published by a penguin books imprint. set in the 1950s south, the story - akin to kidd & stockett - deals with racism & celebrates the power of friendship & acceptance. the original cover depicted a beautiful black woman standing behind a screen door. sugar was marketed solely to african-american readers. this type of marginalization is uniquely known among african-american writers as seg-book-gation.
the practice of seg-book-gation is culturally biased, financially impotent & historically demonizing. literature about the oppressed written by the oppressor has a long tradition. the disturbing trend can be traced to colonialism, a movement not only physical but textual, the evidence of which can be found in the diaries, journals & letters of colonists, plantation slave owners & settlers.
representation of african-americans by white folk in texts records a his-tory of inferiority. based on these perceptions, as well as institutional, legal & societal oppression, african-americans have endured enslavement, genocide, medical apartheid & segregation. inferiority is a fundamental tool to ethnic distancing in society. today, this tool is used with great precision in the mainstream publishing industry.
although the distancing may not be total, as a few african-american authors have enjoyed mainstream success, the brilliant work of many african-american authors is racialized in bookstores as african-american literature. this type of marketing implies our literature is anomalous & singular, but not universal. african-descended authors' works, then, are not viewed as people, rather, as a genre, much like mysteries, romances or thrillers.
if you walk through any local bookstore in america, or major bookstore abroad, you will not see sections of books labeled with the following categories: british literature, korean literature, pakistani literature and/or white american literature. none of these ethnicities are objectified or singled out the way african-american writers are.
mainstream publishing houses contort themselves to acquire books glorifying crime, drugs & illicit sex. known as hip hop fiction or street-lit, these novels often reinforce stereotypical images african-americans fought hard to overcome. we are the descendants of great literary pioneers who first gave voice to the african-american experience, yet somewhere we lost our way; today folks embrace, by default, a genre denigrating a cultural institution which took hundreds of years to construct.
2010 is arguably the 90th anniversary of the birth of the harlem renaissance. 50 years ago we honored the transition of zora neale hurston, a fiercely independent, yet misunderstood cultural icon during the renaissance. in 1950, hurston's poignant essay, what white publishers won't print, published in the negro digest, addressed current challenges faced by african-american authors seeking the american dream.
hurston wrote, "for various reasons, the average, struggling, non-morbid negro is the best-kept secret in america. his revelation to the public is the thing needed to do away with that feeling of difference which inspires fear, and which ever expresses itself in dislike." the sistah speaks truth to power!
...but is anybody listening?
kathryn stockett's novel, the help, also published by a penguin books imprint, sold one million books w/in a year of publication. her accolades & awards include the prestigious south african boeke prize. the help is being adapted for the screen under the production of academy-award winning director steven spielberg.
both authors have realized their dreams. yet they are not the first white women to pen stories of the black american south & achieve success. in 1928, julia peterkin wrote a novel, scarlet sister mary, for which she received the pulitzer prize in fiction. kidd's & stockett's novels explore racism while celebrating the power of friendship & acceptance. the covers of both novels did not reveal the race of the characters, yet they were both marketed to black & white audiences.
bernice l. mcfadden's debut novel, sugar, was recently published by a penguin books imprint. set in the 1950s south, the story - akin to kidd & stockett - deals with racism & celebrates the power of friendship & acceptance. the original cover depicted a beautiful black woman standing behind a screen door. sugar was marketed solely to african-american readers. this type of marginalization is uniquely known among african-american writers as seg-book-gation.
the practice of seg-book-gation is culturally biased, financially impotent & historically demonizing. literature about the oppressed written by the oppressor has a long tradition. the disturbing trend can be traced to colonialism, a movement not only physical but textual, the evidence of which can be found in the diaries, journals & letters of colonists, plantation slave owners & settlers.
representation of african-americans by white folk in texts records a his-tory of inferiority. based on these perceptions, as well as institutional, legal & societal oppression, african-americans have endured enslavement, genocide, medical apartheid & segregation. inferiority is a fundamental tool to ethnic distancing in society. today, this tool is used with great precision in the mainstream publishing industry.
although the distancing may not be total, as a few african-american authors have enjoyed mainstream success, the brilliant work of many african-american authors is racialized in bookstores as african-american literature. this type of marketing implies our literature is anomalous & singular, but not universal. african-descended authors' works, then, are not viewed as people, rather, as a genre, much like mysteries, romances or thrillers.
if you walk through any local bookstore in america, or major bookstore abroad, you will not see sections of books labeled with the following categories: british literature, korean literature, pakistani literature and/or white american literature. none of these ethnicities are objectified or singled out the way african-american writers are.
mainstream publishing houses contort themselves to acquire books glorifying crime, drugs & illicit sex. known as hip hop fiction or street-lit, these novels often reinforce stereotypical images african-americans fought hard to overcome. we are the descendants of great literary pioneers who first gave voice to the african-american experience, yet somewhere we lost our way; today folks embrace, by default, a genre denigrating a cultural institution which took hundreds of years to construct.
2010 is arguably the 90th anniversary of the birth of the harlem renaissance. 50 years ago we honored the transition of zora neale hurston, a fiercely independent, yet misunderstood cultural icon during the renaissance. in 1950, hurston's poignant essay, what white publishers won't print, published in the negro digest, addressed current challenges faced by african-american authors seeking the american dream.
hurston wrote, "for various reasons, the average, struggling, non-morbid negro is the best-kept secret in america. his revelation to the public is the thing needed to do away with that feeling of difference which inspires fear, and which ever expresses itself in dislike." the sistah speaks truth to power!
...but is anybody listening?
Monday, July 05, 2010
Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams Win 2010 Wimbledon Singles Titles
rafael nadal of spain defeated the czech republic's tomas berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to capture his 2nd wimbledon singles crown. nadal did not defend his 2008 victory at the famed all-england club last year due to injury. the buffed & handsome 24 year-old now has 8 major singles titles in his glorious young career. the only major nadal has not won is the us open, yet he's regained the #1 ranking, again, from roger federer of switzerland.
federer was soundly beaten in the quarterfinals by the hard-hitting berdych 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, his 2nd str8 quarterfinal loss in a major tournament. federer, who later admitted he weathered back & leg injuries during the event, drops to #3 - his lowest ranking since nov '03. serbia's novak djokovic, whom berdych dominated in the semifinals in str8 sets, rises to #2. berdych's amazing run at wimbledon catapults him to #8 in the world.
serena williams defeated russia's vera zvonareva 7-6, 6-2 to win her 4th wimbledon singles title. williams passes billie jean king & is now 6th on the all-time list of women's major singles champions, led by margaret court-smith of australia with 24 wins. zvonareva, in her 1st ever grand slam final, competed mightily, yet could not handle the aggression, experience & savvy of williams. her sistah, venus, lost in the quarterfinals.
earlier this year, williams, the 2010 australian open champion, conceded she wanted to win a calendar grand slam. williams won 4 str8 grand slam tournaments, though not in the same year; the feat was dubbed the serena slam. however, she lost in the quarterfinals of this year's french open to australia's hard-serving samantha stosur. williams' triumph is her 13th, a number she says is lucky 4 her.
federer was soundly beaten in the quarterfinals by the hard-hitting berdych 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, his 2nd str8 quarterfinal loss in a major tournament. federer, who later admitted he weathered back & leg injuries during the event, drops to #3 - his lowest ranking since nov '03. serbia's novak djokovic, whom berdych dominated in the semifinals in str8 sets, rises to #2. berdych's amazing run at wimbledon catapults him to #8 in the world.
serena williams defeated russia's vera zvonareva 7-6, 6-2 to win her 4th wimbledon singles title. williams passes billie jean king & is now 6th on the all-time list of women's major singles champions, led by margaret court-smith of australia with 24 wins. zvonareva, in her 1st ever grand slam final, competed mightily, yet could not handle the aggression, experience & savvy of williams. her sistah, venus, lost in the quarterfinals.
earlier this year, williams, the 2010 australian open champion, conceded she wanted to win a calendar grand slam. williams won 4 str8 grand slam tournaments, though not in the same year; the feat was dubbed the serena slam. however, she lost in the quarterfinals of this year's french open to australia's hard-serving samantha stosur. williams' triumph is her 13th, a number she says is lucky 4 her.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Lakers Beat Celtics In Game 7 Of NBA Finals
the los angeles lakers defeated the boston celtics 83-79 in game 7 of the 2010 nba finals at the staples center in los angeles b4 a frenzied & purple sellout crowd. the lakers defended their 2009 title, repeating as champions 4 the second time in a decade. neither team shot well from the floor, yet the solid defense of both squads made it close at the end, as the lakers overcame a 13 point deficit midway thru the 3rd quarter. this was the most watched nba final since the bulls defeated the jazz in 1998.
kobe bryant was named nba finals mvp 4 the second str8 year. the 31-year old superstar now has five rings, equaling laker hall-of-famer magic johnson, just one shy of all-time great kareem abdul-jabbar. laker coach phil jackson won a record-setting 11th title, his 5th with the lakers. jackson guided the chicago bulls in the mid-90's to 6 championships - the only team 2 three-peat twice, '91-'93 & '96-'98. jackson has 113 wins with chicago & 112 wins with the lakers.
the last nba finals' game 7 took place 16 years ago when the eighth-seeded houston rockets won the last 2 games against the favored new york knicks in 1994. the lakers now have 16 titles in 32 championship games, compared with the celtics' 17 wins in 22 finals. the stored rivalry was their 12th final in nba history, unparalleled in team sports. boston has a 9-3 edge. the last time these two greats played a game 7 was in 1987 when the lakers, led by magic, kareem & james worthy, prevailed over the celtics' larry bird, kevin mchale & robert parrish.
pundits have already begun 2 speculate on the immediate future of celtics coach doc rivers, the 2008 champion, as well as lakers coach phil jackson who earlier this year suggested retirement may become a reality. celtics guard ray allen is among the free agents this summer, as july 1, 2010 will go down as the most hotly anticipated day in nba history. other free agents include lebron james, dwayne wade, amare' stoudamire, chris bosh, joe johnson, yao ming, dirk novwitzki & carlos boozer.
kobe bryant was named nba finals mvp 4 the second str8 year. the 31-year old superstar now has five rings, equaling laker hall-of-famer magic johnson, just one shy of all-time great kareem abdul-jabbar. laker coach phil jackson won a record-setting 11th title, his 5th with the lakers. jackson guided the chicago bulls in the mid-90's to 6 championships - the only team 2 three-peat twice, '91-'93 & '96-'98. jackson has 113 wins with chicago & 112 wins with the lakers.
the last nba finals' game 7 took place 16 years ago when the eighth-seeded houston rockets won the last 2 games against the favored new york knicks in 1994. the lakers now have 16 titles in 32 championship games, compared with the celtics' 17 wins in 22 finals. the stored rivalry was their 12th final in nba history, unparalleled in team sports. boston has a 9-3 edge. the last time these two greats played a game 7 was in 1987 when the lakers, led by magic, kareem & james worthy, prevailed over the celtics' larry bird, kevin mchale & robert parrish.
pundits have already begun 2 speculate on the immediate future of celtics coach doc rivers, the 2008 champion, as well as lakers coach phil jackson who earlier this year suggested retirement may become a reality. celtics guard ray allen is among the free agents this summer, as july 1, 2010 will go down as the most hotly anticipated day in nba history. other free agents include lebron james, dwayne wade, amare' stoudamire, chris bosh, joe johnson, yao ming, dirk novwitzki & carlos boozer.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
South Africa Honors Soweto Uprising During 2010 World Cup
south africa, the host country of the fifa 2010 world cup soccer tournament, observed the 34th anniversary of the june 16, 1976 soweto uprising. historically recognized as the catalyst to the anti-apartheid movement, thousands of students from the black township of soweto gathered to embody self-dertermination & march in protest at being forced to go to school in afrikaans, the language of the white supremacist minority regime.
police opened fire on the unarmed students, killing hundreds, including a 13 year-old teenager. hector pieterson was the first - in the spirit of crispus attacks - to die in the violence. photographs of a demonstrator carrying away the boy's limp body caused international outrage & stoked resistance to legalized apartheid & socialized racism.
the anniversary is now commemorated as youth day, coinciding this year with south africa's match against uruguay, its 2nd game in a world cup. how far has the country come since the end of apartheid in '94? said national football team captain aaron mokoena, "we all know what the day means for south africans & especially for the youth...it would be very special to win the game on the day...it is a day we all remember."
the soweto of 2010 is a far cry from the impoverished slums which the students marched through in 1976. the township originally established to house white johannesburg's black labour force. today landscape parks, a massive shopping mall, a newly renovated golf course & sports-paved streets are recognizable traits of a modern city.
soccer city stadium sits at the township's edge. and orlando stadium, the students' destination in the 1976 march, hosted a star-studded world cup kick-off concert last week featuring the black eyed peas, john legend & shakira. south africa is the venue for the world cup's opening & closing matches. long live the students of soweto!
police opened fire on the unarmed students, killing hundreds, including a 13 year-old teenager. hector pieterson was the first - in the spirit of crispus attacks - to die in the violence. photographs of a demonstrator carrying away the boy's limp body caused international outrage & stoked resistance to legalized apartheid & socialized racism.
the anniversary is now commemorated as youth day, coinciding this year with south africa's match against uruguay, its 2nd game in a world cup. how far has the country come since the end of apartheid in '94? said national football team captain aaron mokoena, "we all know what the day means for south africans & especially for the youth...it would be very special to win the game on the day...it is a day we all remember."
the soweto of 2010 is a far cry from the impoverished slums which the students marched through in 1976. the township originally established to house white johannesburg's black labour force. today landscape parks, a massive shopping mall, a newly renovated golf course & sports-paved streets are recognizable traits of a modern city.
soccer city stadium sits at the township's edge. and orlando stadium, the students' destination in the 1976 march, hosted a star-studded world cup kick-off concert last week featuring the black eyed peas, john legend & shakira. south africa is the venue for the world cup's opening & closing matches. long live the students of soweto!
Friday, June 04, 2010
Obama Extends Benefits To Same-Sex Couples
president barack obama ordered government agencies wednesday to extend additional benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, including child care services & expanded family leave. the initiative comes a year after obama signed a memorandum giving federal workers' same-sex partners a first round of benefits including dependent-care & visitation rights. additionally, obama asked federal agencies to determine what other benefits could be given to domestic partners without congressional action.
among the results of his review he announced included: access to credit union & other memberships when those are provided to federal workers; child-care services & subsidies; giving domestic partners the same status as 'family members' when federal appointments are made; more flexibility to use family leave to attend to the needs of domestic partners & their children; as well as relocation benefits.
as with obama's memo a year ago, this one covers only benefits that can be extended under existing law, without congressional approval. legislative action would be required for a full range of health care & other benefits. in fact, health care benefits are the ultimate piece-de-resistance' for many activists, which obama supports wholeheartedly. in a statement, obama called on congress to extend health benefits to same-sex partners.
obama said, "while this memorandum is an important step on the path to equality, my administration continues to be prevented by existing federal law from providing same-sex domestic partners with the full range of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples."
several times during obama's historic presidential campaign he pledged to support the lgbt community, which has been critical of his actions as commander-in-chief. the white house recently backed a compromise on the military "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military that would move ahead on repeal but still allow the pentagon time to implement new policies. in april, obama moved to grant same-sex partners full visitation rights in hospitals.
among the results of his review he announced included: access to credit union & other memberships when those are provided to federal workers; child-care services & subsidies; giving domestic partners the same status as 'family members' when federal appointments are made; more flexibility to use family leave to attend to the needs of domestic partners & their children; as well as relocation benefits.
as with obama's memo a year ago, this one covers only benefits that can be extended under existing law, without congressional approval. legislative action would be required for a full range of health care & other benefits. in fact, health care benefits are the ultimate piece-de-resistance' for many activists, which obama supports wholeheartedly. in a statement, obama called on congress to extend health benefits to same-sex partners.
obama said, "while this memorandum is an important step on the path to equality, my administration continues to be prevented by existing federal law from providing same-sex domestic partners with the full range of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples."
several times during obama's historic presidential campaign he pledged to support the lgbt community, which has been critical of his actions as commander-in-chief. the white house recently backed a compromise on the military "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military that would move ahead on repeal but still allow the pentagon time to implement new policies. in april, obama moved to grant same-sex partners full visitation rights in hospitals.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Aiyana Stanley Jones Slain By Detroit Police
this weekend, a seven year-old african-american girl, aiyana stanley jones, was shot & killed by detroit police. at the time of the shooting, aiyana was on a couch sleeping. detroit police entered her home to execute a search warrant in a homicide investigation & they threw a flash bang - also known as a stun grenade - thru the front window of jones' apartment.
eventually jones caught fire. as her grandmother tried to put out the flames, police entered & a gun went off. aiyana was shot in the neck & pronounced dead in the hospital. her father, charles jones, had to wait several hours b4 he was able to find out what happened to his precious daughter.
detroit police came to jones' home searching for a suspect in the recent shooting death of 17 year-old jerean blake, who was gunned down in front of his girlfriend on friday. blake's story is also a tale of senseless police brutality, a painful reminder of the domino effect this type of violence can have on a community.
sadly enuf, the police didn't find the suspect they came to apprehend. as such, they left jones' home without resolution. aiyana's family is now traumatized, yet their horrific story raises important questions: why are military-type weapons used in civilian homes? how do we hold law enforcement accountable while honoring their human fallibility? why do these types of crimes occur disproportionately among folks of african descent & low-income folks? what can we do to heal our wounded spirits?
instead of being excited about her friends at school, jumping rope & playing games, aiyana stanley jones is six feet under. violence towards african-descended women & children is not uncommon. black people & other progressive folk will, no doubt, honor her memory. however, we live in a white supremacist society which values the lives of people who don't look like aiyana. when a similar tragedy befalls becky, megan or suzie, america mourns for months...
who will cry for the little girl?
eventually jones caught fire. as her grandmother tried to put out the flames, police entered & a gun went off. aiyana was shot in the neck & pronounced dead in the hospital. her father, charles jones, had to wait several hours b4 he was able to find out what happened to his precious daughter.
detroit police came to jones' home searching for a suspect in the recent shooting death of 17 year-old jerean blake, who was gunned down in front of his girlfriend on friday. blake's story is also a tale of senseless police brutality, a painful reminder of the domino effect this type of violence can have on a community.
sadly enuf, the police didn't find the suspect they came to apprehend. as such, they left jones' home without resolution. aiyana's family is now traumatized, yet their horrific story raises important questions: why are military-type weapons used in civilian homes? how do we hold law enforcement accountable while honoring their human fallibility? why do these types of crimes occur disproportionately among folks of african descent & low-income folks? what can we do to heal our wounded spirits?
instead of being excited about her friends at school, jumping rope & playing games, aiyana stanley jones is six feet under. violence towards african-descended women & children is not uncommon. black people & other progressive folk will, no doubt, honor her memory. however, we live in a white supremacist society which values the lives of people who don't look like aiyana. when a similar tragedy befalls becky, megan or suzie, america mourns for months...
who will cry for the little girl?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Long Live The Spirit Of Lena Horne
activist, actress, dancer & singer lena horne transitioned monday, may 10 at the remarkable age of 92. born in (do-or-die) bed-stuy, brooklyn, new york, june 30, 1917, the classy & elegant lena mary calhourn horne took the stage as a dancer at harlem's famed cotton club when she was just 16. she later became a singer there, playing to packed houses (of white patrons only) with band leaders cab calloway & duke ellington.
nine years later she signed with mgm studios & became one of the first women of african descent to be showcased in hollywood for her stunning beauty & wonderful talent. at 25, horne was the first african-american to sign a long-term movie contract with a major hollywood studio. she was given a screen test by mgm & signed after a studio scout saw her performing in a new york club.
horne brought something uniquely her own to every role, whether cast as a principle or extra. her presence was captivating yet not intimidating; she exuded a quintessential spirit despite enduring anti-black & anti-female oppression in the white male capitalist patriarchal entertainment industry. oscar-winning actress hattie mcdaniel once said, "i'd rather get paid $200 a week to play a maid, than $2 a week to be a maid." horne's signature song was "stormy weather," & she was determined to break the prevailing stereotypes of black women as domestic servants, nannies or wenches.
african-american film historian donald bogle wrote, "she would sing a song in the film, then she would disappear...the studio could cut those scenes out if they felt that audiences in the south might object." horne's butterscotch complexion became a blessing & burden as she was often expected to pass for white in order to appear desirable for a leading white male actor. she worked during the jim crow era when interracial marriage was illegal, yet never compromised her dignity, faith & self-respect.
horne complained she was used as "window dressing" in white films, mostly limited to singing performances that could be easily edited out for play in southern theaters. she defiantly rejected studio plans to promote her as a latin american. also, her stepfather, miguel rodriguez, negotiated her contract for her never to play a maid or "tarzan extra." she began taking singing lessons in 1935, eventually landing a part in the all-black broadway production "dance with your gods." five years later she became the first african-american singer to tour with a white group.
the black community admired her tireless efforts to foster fair treatment & racial equality in the workplace. she remained steadfast yet fully aware of the career risks. while touring with the uso during world war 2, horne stood up for black soldiers who were forced to sit behind german prisoners during one of her performances. after the uso withdrew her from the tour, she used her own money to travel to sing for the troops. horne sued american restaurants & theaters for racial discrimination, knowing she'd be using the "coloreds only" back door entrance before going on stage.
horne has a daugher & son from her first marriage, which ended in 1944. she married again in 1947 to lennie hayton, who was then mgm's music director. she decided to keep the marriage secret for several years - hayton was white. but when the public learned of their marriage the couple received hate mail & threats of violence.
during the turbulent 60's horne became an associate of paul robeson, a man whose political & social consciousness inspired her to seek justice. like horne, robeson was an artist of integrity who believed in his convictions & was convicted for his beliefs. the black power movement fueled their desire to awaken the spirit of oppressed folk globally. horne joined in the historic march on washington. later that decade, she was invited with james baldwin, harry belafonte & lorraine hansberry by robert f. kennedy to a special dinner to discuss growing racial tension in the country.
by 1981, horne enjoyed a resurgence of her career with a hit show on broadway. "lena horne: the lady & her music," garnered her a special tony award & two grammys. in 1978, her passionate role as glinda, the good witch, in the all-black musical the wiz, co-starring michael jackson & diana ross, was critically acclaimed. in 1989 she received a lifetime achievement award for her soulful singing. in 1995, her jazz album, "an evening with lena horne," earned her another grammy. she became a cultural icon.
horne's memorable guest appearances on such emmy-award winning television shows as sesame street, the cosby show & a different world broadened her audience & widended her appeal. we learned, in fact, from the youth inspired cosby spin-off, a different world, jada pinkett-smith's character, lena james, the free-spirited transplant from baltimore, was named after lena horne.
lena horne embodies self-determination. she once said, "my identity is very clear to me now...i am a black woman...i am free...i no longer have to be a credit...i don't have to be a symbol to anybody...i don't have to be a first to anybody...i don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that hollywood sort of hoped i'd become...i'm me & i'm like nobody else."
long live the spirit of the legendary, lovely, luminous lena horne...
nine years later she signed with mgm studios & became one of the first women of african descent to be showcased in hollywood for her stunning beauty & wonderful talent. at 25, horne was the first african-american to sign a long-term movie contract with a major hollywood studio. she was given a screen test by mgm & signed after a studio scout saw her performing in a new york club.
horne brought something uniquely her own to every role, whether cast as a principle or extra. her presence was captivating yet not intimidating; she exuded a quintessential spirit despite enduring anti-black & anti-female oppression in the white male capitalist patriarchal entertainment industry. oscar-winning actress hattie mcdaniel once said, "i'd rather get paid $200 a week to play a maid, than $2 a week to be a maid." horne's signature song was "stormy weather," & she was determined to break the prevailing stereotypes of black women as domestic servants, nannies or wenches.
african-american film historian donald bogle wrote, "she would sing a song in the film, then she would disappear...the studio could cut those scenes out if they felt that audiences in the south might object." horne's butterscotch complexion became a blessing & burden as she was often expected to pass for white in order to appear desirable for a leading white male actor. she worked during the jim crow era when interracial marriage was illegal, yet never compromised her dignity, faith & self-respect.
horne complained she was used as "window dressing" in white films, mostly limited to singing performances that could be easily edited out for play in southern theaters. she defiantly rejected studio plans to promote her as a latin american. also, her stepfather, miguel rodriguez, negotiated her contract for her never to play a maid or "tarzan extra." she began taking singing lessons in 1935, eventually landing a part in the all-black broadway production "dance with your gods." five years later she became the first african-american singer to tour with a white group.
the black community admired her tireless efforts to foster fair treatment & racial equality in the workplace. she remained steadfast yet fully aware of the career risks. while touring with the uso during world war 2, horne stood up for black soldiers who were forced to sit behind german prisoners during one of her performances. after the uso withdrew her from the tour, she used her own money to travel to sing for the troops. horne sued american restaurants & theaters for racial discrimination, knowing she'd be using the "coloreds only" back door entrance before going on stage.
horne has a daugher & son from her first marriage, which ended in 1944. she married again in 1947 to lennie hayton, who was then mgm's music director. she decided to keep the marriage secret for several years - hayton was white. but when the public learned of their marriage the couple received hate mail & threats of violence.
during the turbulent 60's horne became an associate of paul robeson, a man whose political & social consciousness inspired her to seek justice. like horne, robeson was an artist of integrity who believed in his convictions & was convicted for his beliefs. the black power movement fueled their desire to awaken the spirit of oppressed folk globally. horne joined in the historic march on washington. later that decade, she was invited with james baldwin, harry belafonte & lorraine hansberry by robert f. kennedy to a special dinner to discuss growing racial tension in the country.
by 1981, horne enjoyed a resurgence of her career with a hit show on broadway. "lena horne: the lady & her music," garnered her a special tony award & two grammys. in 1978, her passionate role as glinda, the good witch, in the all-black musical the wiz, co-starring michael jackson & diana ross, was critically acclaimed. in 1989 she received a lifetime achievement award for her soulful singing. in 1995, her jazz album, "an evening with lena horne," earned her another grammy. she became a cultural icon.
horne's memorable guest appearances on such emmy-award winning television shows as sesame street, the cosby show & a different world broadened her audience & widended her appeal. we learned, in fact, from the youth inspired cosby spin-off, a different world, jada pinkett-smith's character, lena james, the free-spirited transplant from baltimore, was named after lena horne.
lena horne embodies self-determination. she once said, "my identity is very clear to me now...i am a black woman...i am free...i no longer have to be a credit...i don't have to be a symbol to anybody...i don't have to be a first to anybody...i don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that hollywood sort of hoped i'd become...i'm me & i'm like nobody else."
long live the spirit of the legendary, lovely, luminous lena horne...
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Fasting for Freedom
i'm in the middle of my quarterly five-day fast. my intention during this, now, decade-old ritual, is to drink orange juice in the morning, organic juices & water during the rest of the day, in addition to snacking on fresh fruits & organic nuts. bcuz i live with a compromised immune system some folks are concerned about the physical challenges. but hey, like my former primary care physician once told me when i struggled, several yrs ago, with the decision to take hiv meds: its my body, my life, my choice.
how do i feel right now? anxious, confident, determined & proud of myself for doing what i've come to know is god's will for me. fasting has helped me build a more positive self-image. fasting inspires me to choose spiritually in my relationship with food. fasting teaches me self-discipline, a valuable quality lacking in my new way of life. in the spirit of unconditional loving acceptance, fasting has become a way of life for a brotha.
when i first started fasting i didn't ask for help nor know what i was doing. after three days i rewarded myself with some popeye's chicken - which sent me to the bathroom, calling ralph. since that nasty episode i've read some books, talked to others & worked closer with a loving god. depriving my body of food is often accompanied by light headaches, mild nausea and/or a sense of disorientation. i've learned to expect some discomfort yet not panic or bug the pluck out.
at the moment, janet jackson is singing younglove, from her debut album of the same name, on an old episode of soul train, which is now accessible on the centric channel. on the tennis channel, roger federer is playing marcos baghdatis in a highly-contested third round match of the indian wells classic. multi-channel surfing can be fun when you have a sony bravia 46' flat screen tv to play with.
as always, i'll break the fast at noon with a huge salad filled with almonds, bananas, croutons, raisins & walnuts. lata, around 3:00 pm, i'll walk to the uptown juice bar on 125th st & enjoy some broccoli, brown rice, vegetarian noodles & tofu. for someone raised on grease, sugar, pork & chocolate, who knew food could be exciting, fun & healthy? with freedom comes responsibility. fasting is a vehicle for growing into mature consciousness. but don't get it twisted: god has the keys to this ride...
how do i feel right now? anxious, confident, determined & proud of myself for doing what i've come to know is god's will for me. fasting has helped me build a more positive self-image. fasting inspires me to choose spiritually in my relationship with food. fasting teaches me self-discipline, a valuable quality lacking in my new way of life. in the spirit of unconditional loving acceptance, fasting has become a way of life for a brotha.
when i first started fasting i didn't ask for help nor know what i was doing. after three days i rewarded myself with some popeye's chicken - which sent me to the bathroom, calling ralph. since that nasty episode i've read some books, talked to others & worked closer with a loving god. depriving my body of food is often accompanied by light headaches, mild nausea and/or a sense of disorientation. i've learned to expect some discomfort yet not panic or bug the pluck out.
at the moment, janet jackson is singing younglove, from her debut album of the same name, on an old episode of soul train, which is now accessible on the centric channel. on the tennis channel, roger federer is playing marcos baghdatis in a highly-contested third round match of the indian wells classic. multi-channel surfing can be fun when you have a sony bravia 46' flat screen tv to play with.
as always, i'll break the fast at noon with a huge salad filled with almonds, bananas, croutons, raisins & walnuts. lata, around 3:00 pm, i'll walk to the uptown juice bar on 125th st & enjoy some broccoli, brown rice, vegetarian noodles & tofu. for someone raised on grease, sugar, pork & chocolate, who knew food could be exciting, fun & healthy? with freedom comes responsibility. fasting is a vehicle for growing into mature consciousness. but don't get it twisted: god has the keys to this ride...
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
New Orleans Saints Win Super Bowl XLIV
the new orleans saints defeated the indianapolis colts 31-17 to win their first ever vince lombardi trophy as the 44th super bowl champion of the national football league. saints all-pro quarterback drew brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards, two touchdowns & no interceptions. he was unanimously awarded the game's most valuable player. brees' 32 completions tied a super bowl record, held by new england patriots all-pro quarterback tom brady. the exciting game, played in front of 74,059 fans, made history as the most watched television program, ahead of the last episode of m*a*s*h.
most of the pundits expected a shootout between brees & colts all-pro quarterback peyton manning. not many expected the saints defense to hold the high-powered colts' offense to just 17 points. in fact, the game was a tale of two halves as indy led 10-6 going into the 3rd quarter, yet were outscored 25-7 the rest of the way - matching the biggest comeback in super bowl history. the colts made an impressive goal-line stand just b4 the 1st half ended, as the saints came up short on a surprisingly conservative 4th down running play. however, the saints got the ball back quickly & ended the 1st half with a long field goal - one of three, 40+ yards by placekicker michael hartley - a super bowl record.
saints head coach, known for his bold, aggressive play-calling, decided to open the 2nd half with an onside kick. it worked. brees then calmly picked apart the colts interior with the precision of a surgeon, charging the saints to a 13-10 lead behind running back pierre thomas' touchdown scamper. another saints field goal increased their lead to six points until manning engineered one of his textbook drives, giving the colts a 17-16 edge. brees' goal-line touchdown pass to tight end jeremy shockey, coupled with his two-point conversion to lance moore gave the saints a 24-17 lead.
it seemed we were headed for a thrilling overtime game with manning at the helm. but with 3:12 left in the 4th quarter, safety tracy porter, shadowing manning & his target, all-pro wide receiver reggie wayne the whole play, intercepted his pass & ran 74 yards for a score, the 3rd longest in super bowl history. the crowd erupted. the saints sideline went wild. the colts fans were stunned. porter's pick, equally as dramatic as his interception of brett favre in the nfc title game, was the game's only turnover; one manning will always regret.
perhaps the four-time nfl mvp colts qb is human, after all.
the people of the city of new orleans & the state of louisiana, who continue to suffer the devastating aftermath of hurricane katrina, amidst the contemptuous indifference of our government, will be partying on bourbon street for days to come, as mardi gras officially begins sometime next week. the saints, whose maligned fans once wore bags over their heads during home games, played with tremendous determination, heart & pride. all of the players, veterans & rookies alike, felt their victory was for the people, who needed something to feel good about after being betrayed, displaced & neglected.
after the game, brees said, "four years ago who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water from hurricane katrina...most people not knowing if new orleans would ever come back or if the organization and the team would come back...this is the culmination of that belief and that faith." added porter, "we weren't the aints...we were a team of destiny, a team that can make big plays." finally, saints linebacker scott fujita remarked, "look around the stadium...it was like six or seven-to-one (saints fans)...the black and gold just poured into miami...the whole world was behind us...this was bigger than just a game for the saints...we are the world's team."
who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem saints?
most of the pundits expected a shootout between brees & colts all-pro quarterback peyton manning. not many expected the saints defense to hold the high-powered colts' offense to just 17 points. in fact, the game was a tale of two halves as indy led 10-6 going into the 3rd quarter, yet were outscored 25-7 the rest of the way - matching the biggest comeback in super bowl history. the colts made an impressive goal-line stand just b4 the 1st half ended, as the saints came up short on a surprisingly conservative 4th down running play. however, the saints got the ball back quickly & ended the 1st half with a long field goal - one of three, 40+ yards by placekicker michael hartley - a super bowl record.
saints head coach, known for his bold, aggressive play-calling, decided to open the 2nd half with an onside kick. it worked. brees then calmly picked apart the colts interior with the precision of a surgeon, charging the saints to a 13-10 lead behind running back pierre thomas' touchdown scamper. another saints field goal increased their lead to six points until manning engineered one of his textbook drives, giving the colts a 17-16 edge. brees' goal-line touchdown pass to tight end jeremy shockey, coupled with his two-point conversion to lance moore gave the saints a 24-17 lead.
it seemed we were headed for a thrilling overtime game with manning at the helm. but with 3:12 left in the 4th quarter, safety tracy porter, shadowing manning & his target, all-pro wide receiver reggie wayne the whole play, intercepted his pass & ran 74 yards for a score, the 3rd longest in super bowl history. the crowd erupted. the saints sideline went wild. the colts fans were stunned. porter's pick, equally as dramatic as his interception of brett favre in the nfc title game, was the game's only turnover; one manning will always regret.
perhaps the four-time nfl mvp colts qb is human, after all.
the people of the city of new orleans & the state of louisiana, who continue to suffer the devastating aftermath of hurricane katrina, amidst the contemptuous indifference of our government, will be partying on bourbon street for days to come, as mardi gras officially begins sometime next week. the saints, whose maligned fans once wore bags over their heads during home games, played with tremendous determination, heart & pride. all of the players, veterans & rookies alike, felt their victory was for the people, who needed something to feel good about after being betrayed, displaced & neglected.
after the game, brees said, "four years ago who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water from hurricane katrina...most people not knowing if new orleans would ever come back or if the organization and the team would come back...this is the culmination of that belief and that faith." added porter, "we weren't the aints...we were a team of destiny, a team that can make big plays." finally, saints linebacker scott fujita remarked, "look around the stadium...it was like six or seven-to-one (saints fans)...the black and gold just poured into miami...the whole world was behind us...this was bigger than just a game for the saints...we are the world's team."
who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem saints?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
One Year After Daddy Transitions
xactly 368 days ago god called my father home. he lived 80 years & suffered a short bout with lung cancer. my father transitioned three days after his earth day & three days b4 barack hussein obama was inaugurated as america's 44th president - the seventh of african ancestry. also, my father shares the same earth day as miami heat all-pro guard dwayne wade, whom, like my father, is a proud chicago native.
i felt compelled to acknowledge this milestone of sorts. something ritualistic about a year later makes me wanna reflect. reflection is good 4 the soul: the soul yearns to know itself thru its own experience. nana imhotep gary byrd taught me experience is always the best teacher. coming to terms with my father's homegoing was not difficult, primary bcuz god has granted me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change. seems this writer has matured in some ways.
still, i miss dad. i miss his annoying phone calls at no o'clock in the morning. i miss his reply of 'prosperity' when i'd answer my phone (his call) with the standard greeting of 'peace.' i miss our spirited dialogues about black people, family values, history, movies, religion, sports, world affairs, i.e. i miss his nervous, somewhat vulnerable, laughter when i'd catch him off-guard with a funny, goofy or silly remark. i was pleased to make him laugh & appreciated him more when we shared those moments.
my father, slowly over a period of time, began to truly listen to his son. he listened to my joy, my pain, my dreams, my struggles, my sexuality, my spirituality, my goals, my failures, my needs & my shortcomings. my father, slowly over a period of time, began to share with his son what his life was like as a fatherless little boy, as a teenager, as a korean war veteran, as a newlywed, as an entrepreneur, as a divorced man, as a retired adult & as an elder. we cultivated a relationship based in honesty, mutual respect & trust.
part of sanity is effectively relating to others...
oddly enuf, he boldly predicted obama would win. he said america was ready 4 change & america would not, in 2008, elect a white male, whom, in his mind, did not represent change. he also said america was neither ready nor willing to elect a female, especially, if she was white, bcuz, again, a white candidate symbolized past/current political failures. of course, i dismissed his prediction with my usual rebellious nature. but what do i know about politics? in the '04 prez election i voted 4 ralph nader, knowing damn well he was gonna lose.
when i was a kid my father taught me to respect all people, no matter who they are & where they come from. he taught me to work hard, make sacrifices & try to do the best that i can in whatever i endeavor. he said he never met anyone who "wanted to be unsuccessful." he believed in self-determination, asserting, "if you want something done in this world, you better do it yourself, or you'll be waiting for other people to do things for you the rest of your life."
just b4 he left this earth he insisted i become a sportswriter. why? good question. bcuz there are very few black sportswriters in america & he thought i could make money (to eventually buy him the black mercedes benz he joked about incessantly) doing two things i love: sports & writing. sounds logical, right? but i'm not a logical person. my heart is not in it. maybe if i were a quarter century younger i could shift gears & go 4 it. just 4 him. maybe in my next lifetime. 4 now, i'm happy being me. grateful we connected as men.
i felt compelled to acknowledge this milestone of sorts. something ritualistic about a year later makes me wanna reflect. reflection is good 4 the soul: the soul yearns to know itself thru its own experience. nana imhotep gary byrd taught me experience is always the best teacher. coming to terms with my father's homegoing was not difficult, primary bcuz god has granted me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change. seems this writer has matured in some ways.
still, i miss dad. i miss his annoying phone calls at no o'clock in the morning. i miss his reply of 'prosperity' when i'd answer my phone (his call) with the standard greeting of 'peace.' i miss our spirited dialogues about black people, family values, history, movies, religion, sports, world affairs, i.e. i miss his nervous, somewhat vulnerable, laughter when i'd catch him off-guard with a funny, goofy or silly remark. i was pleased to make him laugh & appreciated him more when we shared those moments.
my father, slowly over a period of time, began to truly listen to his son. he listened to my joy, my pain, my dreams, my struggles, my sexuality, my spirituality, my goals, my failures, my needs & my shortcomings. my father, slowly over a period of time, began to share with his son what his life was like as a fatherless little boy, as a teenager, as a korean war veteran, as a newlywed, as an entrepreneur, as a divorced man, as a retired adult & as an elder. we cultivated a relationship based in honesty, mutual respect & trust.
part of sanity is effectively relating to others...
oddly enuf, he boldly predicted obama would win. he said america was ready 4 change & america would not, in 2008, elect a white male, whom, in his mind, did not represent change. he also said america was neither ready nor willing to elect a female, especially, if she was white, bcuz, again, a white candidate symbolized past/current political failures. of course, i dismissed his prediction with my usual rebellious nature. but what do i know about politics? in the '04 prez election i voted 4 ralph nader, knowing damn well he was gonna lose.
when i was a kid my father taught me to respect all people, no matter who they are & where they come from. he taught me to work hard, make sacrifices & try to do the best that i can in whatever i endeavor. he said he never met anyone who "wanted to be unsuccessful." he believed in self-determination, asserting, "if you want something done in this world, you better do it yourself, or you'll be waiting for other people to do things for you the rest of your life."
just b4 he left this earth he insisted i become a sportswriter. why? good question. bcuz there are very few black sportswriters in america & he thought i could make money (to eventually buy him the black mercedes benz he joked about incessantly) doing two things i love: sports & writing. sounds logical, right? but i'm not a logical person. my heart is not in it. maybe if i were a quarter century younger i could shift gears & go 4 it. just 4 him. maybe in my next lifetime. 4 now, i'm happy being me. grateful we connected as men.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Haiti Suffers Catastrophic Earthquake
in what some are calling one of the world's most catastrophic disasters, the island of haiti suffered a major earthquake tuesday. the number of deaths are estimated at 100,000. over 40,000 bodies are buried. relief, repair & recovery will undoubtedly take years. international relief organizations are mobilizing a response to the 7.0 earthquake that rocked port-au-prince, destroying the national palace, many government ministries, major hotels & private residencies in the 250 year-old capital city.
the world is watching. god is omnipresent. recent memories of the tsunami, katrina & 9/11 have resurfaced in my psyche. my deepest condolences go to the families, friends & loved ones of haiti, both here & abroad. the full dimensions of the earthquake are unknown. folks on the blogosphere continue to share their varied perspectives. one thing is certain: the men, women & children of haiti are wounded & they need to heal.
most communications with haiti were cut-off, leaving much of the on-ground reporting to haitians & foreigners armed with internet connections & mobile phones. the sad news trickled out in twitter feeds & cell phone pictures from eyewitnesses. they showed collapsed roofs, slabs of concrete & bodies in the streets. what witnesses reported but mercifully did not record were the screams of the desperate & the trapped & the occasional cheers when survivors were pulled from the rubble.
my primary sources of information are cnn, keith olberman & ny1. their non-stop, round-the-clock coverage has been, at times, difficult to watch. cnn showed disturbing footage of haitian men & women - still alive, unable to pry themselves free of rubble, as citizens can be seen in the foreground walking by, looking for lost ones, traumatized by the unfolding tragedy. mothers were seen trying to cover the eyes of their children. in fact, when one of the journalists walked inside of a classroom of teachers & students who miraculously survived, then showed footage of a building destroyed with teachers & students inside, i felt their loss.
raymond joseph, haitian ambassador to the us, said on cnn's situation room with wolf blitzer, "this is a catastrophe of major proportions...the place is really bad now."haiti was still trying to recover from the devastation of a series of back-to-back hurricanes that flooded the northern town of gonaives & the central plain that has been haiti's breadbasket.
haiti is the poorest & second most densely populated country in the western hemisphere. also, haiti has struggled with political turmoil, including the ouster of president jean-bertand aristide in 1991, his restoration by us president clinton in 1994, his re-election in 2001 & his hasty departure, again, shrouded in mystery: he claims he was kidnapped by the us military & forced into exile in south africa. a united nations peacekeeping force under brazilian command has been in haiti since his ouster & remains after the election of current president rene preval.
the obama administration has offered $100 million in relief aid. obama said of the haitian people, "you will not be forsaken...we need an international effort." while many americans are willing to help, folks are encouraged to make cash donations & other supplies to respectable capacity-building organizations genuinely invested in the independence, self-determination & self-reliance of the haitian people. unfortunately, high levels of corruption & scandal peak when folks are most vulnerable; often, the people who need the most help never get it.
obama, in an unlikely yet not unique move, has enlisted former presidents george w bush & bill clinton to serve the haitian people. clinton was named special envoy to haiti. their responsibilities are unclear as of this writing. perhaps bush can somehow redeem himself? the recent us policy toward haitian immigrants is pretty ugly...
haitian refugees interdicted by the us coast guard are not screened to see if they may have valid claims to refugee status. only those who take the initiative to clearly proclaim their fear of return to haiti will be allowed to make an asylum claim. only three of more than 1,000 haitians intercepted since february 1 have been screened as a result of their protestations; these 3 were returned to haiti without a full asylum hearing. haitians who reach the us without being interdicted are put into fast-track removal procedures, during which they are subject to mandatory detention & are not eligible for release on bond.
this package of measures is only applied to haitian people!
i feel compassion for the people of haiti & their loved ones. people on the island are desperately frightened, homeless & hungry. the lack of water, food & medical supplies augments a deteriorating infra-structure for which such aid is forthcoming from countries around the world. time is of the essence. some natives utilize homeopathic remedies to tend to the biological wounds of their loved ones. some folks are being buried on top of each other. some are simply too shocked to act.
haitian-born samuel dalembert, the 7'1 center for the nba's philadelphia 76ers has generously pledged $100,000, while at the same time admits, "i feel helpless." grammy award winning musician/rapper wyclef jean has offered his organization, yele, as a resource for financial contributions. the 2009 world series champion new york yankees have pledged $500,000. the city of new york is launching a $1 payroll donation for all city employees. amidst the darkness & despair folks' selfless service challenges my cynicism towards our government & my wavering faith in humanity.
thank god the obama administration will help. we should help. we are all god's children. each one, teach one is more than just an african proverb. but where did the $100 million come from? amazing how we can assist others abroad & neglect our basic needs at home. i intend to make a cash donation. not sure how much or when, but, i will, sooner than lata. am i my brother's keeper? no doubt.
the world is watching. god is omnipresent. recent memories of the tsunami, katrina & 9/11 have resurfaced in my psyche. my deepest condolences go to the families, friends & loved ones of haiti, both here & abroad. the full dimensions of the earthquake are unknown. folks on the blogosphere continue to share their varied perspectives. one thing is certain: the men, women & children of haiti are wounded & they need to heal.
most communications with haiti were cut-off, leaving much of the on-ground reporting to haitians & foreigners armed with internet connections & mobile phones. the sad news trickled out in twitter feeds & cell phone pictures from eyewitnesses. they showed collapsed roofs, slabs of concrete & bodies in the streets. what witnesses reported but mercifully did not record were the screams of the desperate & the trapped & the occasional cheers when survivors were pulled from the rubble.
my primary sources of information are cnn, keith olberman & ny1. their non-stop, round-the-clock coverage has been, at times, difficult to watch. cnn showed disturbing footage of haitian men & women - still alive, unable to pry themselves free of rubble, as citizens can be seen in the foreground walking by, looking for lost ones, traumatized by the unfolding tragedy. mothers were seen trying to cover the eyes of their children. in fact, when one of the journalists walked inside of a classroom of teachers & students who miraculously survived, then showed footage of a building destroyed with teachers & students inside, i felt their loss.
raymond joseph, haitian ambassador to the us, said on cnn's situation room with wolf blitzer, "this is a catastrophe of major proportions...the place is really bad now."haiti was still trying to recover from the devastation of a series of back-to-back hurricanes that flooded the northern town of gonaives & the central plain that has been haiti's breadbasket.
haiti is the poorest & second most densely populated country in the western hemisphere. also, haiti has struggled with political turmoil, including the ouster of president jean-bertand aristide in 1991, his restoration by us president clinton in 1994, his re-election in 2001 & his hasty departure, again, shrouded in mystery: he claims he was kidnapped by the us military & forced into exile in south africa. a united nations peacekeeping force under brazilian command has been in haiti since his ouster & remains after the election of current president rene preval.
the obama administration has offered $100 million in relief aid. obama said of the haitian people, "you will not be forsaken...we need an international effort." while many americans are willing to help, folks are encouraged to make cash donations & other supplies to respectable capacity-building organizations genuinely invested in the independence, self-determination & self-reliance of the haitian people. unfortunately, high levels of corruption & scandal peak when folks are most vulnerable; often, the people who need the most help never get it.
obama, in an unlikely yet not unique move, has enlisted former presidents george w bush & bill clinton to serve the haitian people. clinton was named special envoy to haiti. their responsibilities are unclear as of this writing. perhaps bush can somehow redeem himself? the recent us policy toward haitian immigrants is pretty ugly...
haitian refugees interdicted by the us coast guard are not screened to see if they may have valid claims to refugee status. only those who take the initiative to clearly proclaim their fear of return to haiti will be allowed to make an asylum claim. only three of more than 1,000 haitians intercepted since february 1 have been screened as a result of their protestations; these 3 were returned to haiti without a full asylum hearing. haitians who reach the us without being interdicted are put into fast-track removal procedures, during which they are subject to mandatory detention & are not eligible for release on bond.
this package of measures is only applied to haitian people!
i feel compassion for the people of haiti & their loved ones. people on the island are desperately frightened, homeless & hungry. the lack of water, food & medical supplies augments a deteriorating infra-structure for which such aid is forthcoming from countries around the world. time is of the essence. some natives utilize homeopathic remedies to tend to the biological wounds of their loved ones. some folks are being buried on top of each other. some are simply too shocked to act.
haitian-born samuel dalembert, the 7'1 center for the nba's philadelphia 76ers has generously pledged $100,000, while at the same time admits, "i feel helpless." grammy award winning musician/rapper wyclef jean has offered his organization, yele, as a resource for financial contributions. the 2009 world series champion new york yankees have pledged $500,000. the city of new york is launching a $1 payroll donation for all city employees. amidst the darkness & despair folks' selfless service challenges my cynicism towards our government & my wavering faith in humanity.
thank god the obama administration will help. we should help. we are all god's children. each one, teach one is more than just an african proverb. but where did the $100 million come from? amazing how we can assist others abroad & neglect our basic needs at home. i intend to make a cash donation. not sure how much or when, but, i will, sooner than lata. am i my brother's keeper? no doubt.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Will I Win In 2010?
thank god folks didn't call me after the ball dropped to ask me if i have any new year's resolutions. bcuz i don't. new year's resolutions are non-existent virtues i choose not to indulge in. i do believe, however, a new year is a golden opportunity for reflection & intention. deepak chora says, "everything in the universe begins with intention." gary zukav, author of the critically-acclaimed 'seat of the soul, 'says, "what you intend is what you experience." spiritual life coach iyanla vanzant says, "god knows the deepest desires of your heart."
actively learning from their perspectives can help shape my journey. a few years ago i wrote a spiritual vision for success. the paper sits right in front of my computer. i see it everyday. i decided to read it aloud for three consecutive weeks bcuz of a spiritual law - if you do the same thing everyday for 21 days it becomes a habit. applying open-mindedness is essential to growing, maturing & responding life's unfolding mysteries.
i want more for my life in 2010 than i experienced in 2009. or 2008. or 2007. or, you get the message, right? i've been on this earth nearly half a century & i feel it. dammit, i feel everything. everything! at the moment i feel happy yet unfulfilled. content yet not satisfied. optimistic yet worried. excited yet depressed. appreciated yet invisible. thrilled yet scared. a walking paradox, i'm basically a conflicted muhfuh.
despite my creativity, intellect & spirituality i tend to operate more out of fear than love. in fact, the unknown can be terrifying for almost anyone yet this honest self-revelation gives me absolutely no comfort. growing isolation, minor setbacks & petty frustrations make me feel like i'm not making progress. perhaps i need to let go of unrealistic expectations - or get out of my own way, ask others for help & start taking action?
a few years ago i set a goal, one of many, for myself. my goal was to write a book, a film & a play b4 the age of 50. to date, i've written a film & a play. my earth date is august 6. i'm proud of these accomplishments yet frustrated bcuz the work has yet to be seen by anyone other than a few artistic friends. i'm learning to persevere & remain steadfast with my intentions no matter what does or does not happen in my life. life didn't show up god woke me up!
i want to have my own greeting card company for people in recovery & their loved ones. i started taking small biz classes to gather information, network with like-minded folks & seek positive direction. this passionate desire of mine seems incredibly elusive at the moment. one of my ongoing challenges is the inability to focus on one thing at a time. besides, i'd rather watch porn. uh, was that too much information? anyway, oprah winfrey once said, "happiness is having something to look forward to."
wateva.
so...will 2010 be the year of realized ambitions, new horizons & unlimited possibilities? will 2010 honor the deepest desires of my heart? will 2010 bring me a partner? will 2010 reward me with artistic success? will 2010 offer financial prudence? will 2010 improve my conscious contact with god? or, will i settle for the latest sports obsession, otherwise known as the lebron james sweepstakes? of course, i don't know what will happen in 2010. i'm willing to give it my best & let god take care of the rest. in the meantime, here's to a happy new me :-)
actively learning from their perspectives can help shape my journey. a few years ago i wrote a spiritual vision for success. the paper sits right in front of my computer. i see it everyday. i decided to read it aloud for three consecutive weeks bcuz of a spiritual law - if you do the same thing everyday for 21 days it becomes a habit. applying open-mindedness is essential to growing, maturing & responding life's unfolding mysteries.
i want more for my life in 2010 than i experienced in 2009. or 2008. or 2007. or, you get the message, right? i've been on this earth nearly half a century & i feel it. dammit, i feel everything. everything! at the moment i feel happy yet unfulfilled. content yet not satisfied. optimistic yet worried. excited yet depressed. appreciated yet invisible. thrilled yet scared. a walking paradox, i'm basically a conflicted muhfuh.
despite my creativity, intellect & spirituality i tend to operate more out of fear than love. in fact, the unknown can be terrifying for almost anyone yet this honest self-revelation gives me absolutely no comfort. growing isolation, minor setbacks & petty frustrations make me feel like i'm not making progress. perhaps i need to let go of unrealistic expectations - or get out of my own way, ask others for help & start taking action?
a few years ago i set a goal, one of many, for myself. my goal was to write a book, a film & a play b4 the age of 50. to date, i've written a film & a play. my earth date is august 6. i'm proud of these accomplishments yet frustrated bcuz the work has yet to be seen by anyone other than a few artistic friends. i'm learning to persevere & remain steadfast with my intentions no matter what does or does not happen in my life. life didn't show up god woke me up!
i want to have my own greeting card company for people in recovery & their loved ones. i started taking small biz classes to gather information, network with like-minded folks & seek positive direction. this passionate desire of mine seems incredibly elusive at the moment. one of my ongoing challenges is the inability to focus on one thing at a time. besides, i'd rather watch porn. uh, was that too much information? anyway, oprah winfrey once said, "happiness is having something to look forward to."
wateva.
so...will 2010 be the year of realized ambitions, new horizons & unlimited possibilities? will 2010 honor the deepest desires of my heart? will 2010 bring me a partner? will 2010 reward me with artistic success? will 2010 offer financial prudence? will 2010 improve my conscious contact with god? or, will i settle for the latest sports obsession, otherwise known as the lebron james sweepstakes? of course, i don't know what will happen in 2010. i'm willing to give it my best & let god take care of the rest. in the meantime, here's to a happy new me :-)
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Precious - A Film Review
several weeks ago i attended a matinee mid-town screening of precious, the provocative film based on the award-winning 1996 novel authored by sapphire, the artist formerly known as ramona lofton. the film tells the horrific story of precious, claireece jenkins, a dark-skinned, illiterate, obese teenager in 1987 harlem, pregnant with her second child. sapphire, who once described herself as a "recovering lesbian," was initially reluctant to see her book on the screen. she was eventually swayed to do so by the film's director, lee daniels, the now, out & proud-to be-gay-identified brotha best known for producing monster's ball, which garnered halle berry an oscar for best actress, the first african-american woman to win the award.
the buzz around this film primarily comes from the cast, as well as its executive producers, oprah winfrey & tyler perry, who came aboard at the midnight hour to secure financing challenges & hollywood name-worthy prestige. precious stars newcomer gabourey sidibe, a harlem native who beat out 400 females for the role - her first major gig. her abusive mother is played by actress/comedienne monique. other prominent actors include mariah carey as their social worker, paula patton as precious' new teacher, lenny kravitz as a nurse & sherri sheperd as an administrative assistant.
sadly enuf, the complexity of social issues presented yet never addressed in the film: emotional abuse, hiv, illiteracy, mental illness, obesity, poverty, rape, self-hatred, teenage pregnancy, violence, i.e. seems to escape the media's delusions of a post-racial america while our bi-racial president ascends to international power. ultimately, precious' deep seated problems are symptoms of internalized oppression. she lives in a dark, untidy apartment with her infant child, born with down-syndrome, as well as her mother, who sees no future beyond their welfare checks - the 'welfare queen' was a black, female stereotype tool of racist propaganda fueled in the 80's by white, male senators newt gingrich, daniel moynihan & ronald reagan; despite the fact 80 percent of women on welfare were white women.
parental neglect is normalized in the film. precious grows up with no loving black men in her life. in fact, the only time we see her absent father is when he rapes her. his face, much like his humanity, manhood & spirit, is not present. ralph ellison wrote about black, male invisibility b4 the civil rights movement jumped off: have we changed? turn on bet & decide 4 yourself. her mother can be seen in the foreground voyeuristically watching the rape & saying nothing. while precious is being raped, the director quickly inter-twines back & forth images of soul food on the stove with her father's moans, precious' screams & unrecognizable accompaniment music. how bizarre is that?
i felt like i was at ripley's believe it or not...
precious' apathetic mother, mary, was addicted to cigarettes, food & television. mary, like her daughter, is socially isolated. mary screams vulgarities at precious, damaging her non-existent sense of value & worth. mary seemed obsessed with controlling her child in one way or anotha, using food, money & terror as weapons of dehumanization. in one scene, she chastizes precious for not serving her ham hocks with collard greens; she forces precious to eat the the full plate of food in front of her, b4 making her cook dinner again.
one day, on her way to school, precious steals a bucket of chicken & runs off down 125th st. are we expected to believe a 350 pound teenager cannot be caught running with a bucket of chicken in her hand? she encounters a group of young, black males. the three guys are, of course, cutting class, rolling dice, smoking weed & listening to rap music. of course. bcuz, in harlem, that's how brothas keep it real. right? anyway, one of the guys makes a lewd comment about precious' ass. the other two laugh, oblivious to her misery & their misogyny. she tries to walk away but gets pushed to the ground instead, face first. precious' humiliation is further illustrated by a dog who eats her chicken while she lays helpless on the ground. she's both depicted & treated like an animal.
mary's repeated emotional & physical abuse - she threw the television at precious, barely missing her head, as she ran out the apartment, down several flights of stairs with her baby (!) in her hand - towards her daughter makes precious feel loveless, ugly & worthless. when mary sexual abuses precious her despair goes unspoken. at school, precious has no friends: they laugh at her & no one notices her pain. when she is home alone, she looks in the mirror & sees herself as a skinny, white girl with no problems, perhaps like marcia brady? she often visualizes her life as an adored, fashionably-attired celebrity surrounded by paparazzi, while imagining an ongoing romance with a light-skinned boyfriend.
precious' fantasies are rooted in anti-black conditioning...
none of the heroes & heroines in precious' world mirror her shade & size. why? were these casting choices intentional, or simply the status quo for a downtrodden black girl in the hood? precious' new teacher, in her 'each one teach one' class, is compassionate, kind & light-skinned. she invites precious into her cozy home, where precious meets her lesbian partner, anotha light-skinned sistah. precious' family social worker (who appeared contemptuous working with precious & her mother) is light-skinned. also, the caring nurse at the hospital has a similar hue. any wonder she seeks a life light, bright & damn near white?
lee daniels' work on other independent films include monster's ball, the story of a black woman in love with the racist white prison guard assigned to execute her husband on death row; shadowboxer, the story of an incestuous romance between two cold-blooded bounty killers: a black man & his white stepmother; & the woodsman, the story about a pedophile struggling to change his life. some critics say he pushes the envelope at all costs with characters generally untouched by mainstream film. this writer feels his cinematic choices demonstrate problematic & recurring themes of dehumanizing black images on screen.
farai chideya, the brilliant host of national public radio's news & notes said "filmmaker lee daniels seems to head right for the fire." in a june 2006 interview with national public radio's ed gordon (after his directorial debut in shadowboxer) daniels says, "certainly the offers don't come as frequently as they had been...but what they want is something that i'm not willing to give, which is a stereotype of an african-american."
wtf?
daniels' father, a police officer, was killed during a robbery when he was 13. he goes on to tell gordon, "my father was also abusive physically to me because he didn't want me to become a writer & he thought that that was not a masculine thing to do & he thought that i would amount to pretty much of nothing...so i was abused & i think that it's therapeutic...my work is therapeutic...monster's ball, the woodsman & shadowboxer, because i don't go to therapy & i sort of live through my films."
why didn't gordon question daniels about his decision, consciously or not, to seek therapy in order to heal his woundedness? does gordon - who also revealed in the interview losing his father as a teenager - believe therapy is un-african-american? does therapy challenge their notions of manhood? an eerie silence pervaded this interview: two adult, successful, black men who've undoubtedly experienced feelings of grief, loss & sorrow with their fathers at a young age, yet neither one of them have developed the ability to share their hurt, pain & vulnerability.
writer ishmael reed recently wrote a scathing essay entitled, "the selling of precious: the myth of the black male sexual predator." reed is suspicious of sarah siegel, the white woman who invested five million dollars in the film; siegel's 'niche dilemma' marketing plan is currently available on you tube. reed says, "sarah siegel has joined an innovative marketing plan that couples obama's name with the most extreme of sexual crimes. this woman might have invested in a movie that some are calling the worst depiction of black life yet done."
new york press critic armond white (who shares many of reed's sentiments regarding the film) compares precious to the film, birth of a nation, directed by d.w. griffith - credited as an early film pioneer. reed says, "i would argue that this movie makes griffith look like a progressive. moreover, i've looked at a number of pictures that show how the nazis depicted blacks & though jewish & black men appear as sexual predators in many, i've never run across one in which minority men are shown as incest violators."
reed is critical of winfrey & perry's roles as executive producers. he noted a new york times article dated 2/4/09 which reported, "a deal did not emerge for push (the title of sapphire's novel) until about a week after the festival (sundance film festival) ended, with potential distributors balking over the price insisted upon by cinetic media, a new york marketing & sales company for independent film, according to two people with knowledge of how the deal came together but were not authorized to speak publicly. a spokeswoman for cinetic declined to comment, but bidders said ms. winfrey & mr. perry had been crucial to the deal coming together."
(sigh) it's 2:06 am & i've yet to finish this damn review. i'm tired of writing about precious. real talk. suffice it to say, the film provides more questions than answers. the ending of the film was confusing. frustrating. boring. precious improved her reading skills, yet this teenaged single parent walks out of school with her two kids, alone - homeless, jobless & penniless. where is she going? who will help her raise her kids? how will she learn to navigate life in harlem with her myriad of social issues?
...if the box office numbers are profitable, does anyone smell a sequel?
the buzz around this film primarily comes from the cast, as well as its executive producers, oprah winfrey & tyler perry, who came aboard at the midnight hour to secure financing challenges & hollywood name-worthy prestige. precious stars newcomer gabourey sidibe, a harlem native who beat out 400 females for the role - her first major gig. her abusive mother is played by actress/comedienne monique. other prominent actors include mariah carey as their social worker, paula patton as precious' new teacher, lenny kravitz as a nurse & sherri sheperd as an administrative assistant.
sadly enuf, the complexity of social issues presented yet never addressed in the film: emotional abuse, hiv, illiteracy, mental illness, obesity, poverty, rape, self-hatred, teenage pregnancy, violence, i.e. seems to escape the media's delusions of a post-racial america while our bi-racial president ascends to international power. ultimately, precious' deep seated problems are symptoms of internalized oppression. she lives in a dark, untidy apartment with her infant child, born with down-syndrome, as well as her mother, who sees no future beyond their welfare checks - the 'welfare queen' was a black, female stereotype tool of racist propaganda fueled in the 80's by white, male senators newt gingrich, daniel moynihan & ronald reagan; despite the fact 80 percent of women on welfare were white women.
parental neglect is normalized in the film. precious grows up with no loving black men in her life. in fact, the only time we see her absent father is when he rapes her. his face, much like his humanity, manhood & spirit, is not present. ralph ellison wrote about black, male invisibility b4 the civil rights movement jumped off: have we changed? turn on bet & decide 4 yourself. her mother can be seen in the foreground voyeuristically watching the rape & saying nothing. while precious is being raped, the director quickly inter-twines back & forth images of soul food on the stove with her father's moans, precious' screams & unrecognizable accompaniment music. how bizarre is that?
i felt like i was at ripley's believe it or not...
precious' apathetic mother, mary, was addicted to cigarettes, food & television. mary, like her daughter, is socially isolated. mary screams vulgarities at precious, damaging her non-existent sense of value & worth. mary seemed obsessed with controlling her child in one way or anotha, using food, money & terror as weapons of dehumanization. in one scene, she chastizes precious for not serving her ham hocks with collard greens; she forces precious to eat the the full plate of food in front of her, b4 making her cook dinner again.
one day, on her way to school, precious steals a bucket of chicken & runs off down 125th st. are we expected to believe a 350 pound teenager cannot be caught running with a bucket of chicken in her hand? she encounters a group of young, black males. the three guys are, of course, cutting class, rolling dice, smoking weed & listening to rap music. of course. bcuz, in harlem, that's how brothas keep it real. right? anyway, one of the guys makes a lewd comment about precious' ass. the other two laugh, oblivious to her misery & their misogyny. she tries to walk away but gets pushed to the ground instead, face first. precious' humiliation is further illustrated by a dog who eats her chicken while she lays helpless on the ground. she's both depicted & treated like an animal.
mary's repeated emotional & physical abuse - she threw the television at precious, barely missing her head, as she ran out the apartment, down several flights of stairs with her baby (!) in her hand - towards her daughter makes precious feel loveless, ugly & worthless. when mary sexual abuses precious her despair goes unspoken. at school, precious has no friends: they laugh at her & no one notices her pain. when she is home alone, she looks in the mirror & sees herself as a skinny, white girl with no problems, perhaps like marcia brady? she often visualizes her life as an adored, fashionably-attired celebrity surrounded by paparazzi, while imagining an ongoing romance with a light-skinned boyfriend.
precious' fantasies are rooted in anti-black conditioning...
none of the heroes & heroines in precious' world mirror her shade & size. why? were these casting choices intentional, or simply the status quo for a downtrodden black girl in the hood? precious' new teacher, in her 'each one teach one' class, is compassionate, kind & light-skinned. she invites precious into her cozy home, where precious meets her lesbian partner, anotha light-skinned sistah. precious' family social worker (who appeared contemptuous working with precious & her mother) is light-skinned. also, the caring nurse at the hospital has a similar hue. any wonder she seeks a life light, bright & damn near white?
lee daniels' work on other independent films include monster's ball, the story of a black woman in love with the racist white prison guard assigned to execute her husband on death row; shadowboxer, the story of an incestuous romance between two cold-blooded bounty killers: a black man & his white stepmother; & the woodsman, the story about a pedophile struggling to change his life. some critics say he pushes the envelope at all costs with characters generally untouched by mainstream film. this writer feels his cinematic choices demonstrate problematic & recurring themes of dehumanizing black images on screen.
farai chideya, the brilliant host of national public radio's news & notes said "filmmaker lee daniels seems to head right for the fire." in a june 2006 interview with national public radio's ed gordon (after his directorial debut in shadowboxer) daniels says, "certainly the offers don't come as frequently as they had been...but what they want is something that i'm not willing to give, which is a stereotype of an african-american."
wtf?
daniels' father, a police officer, was killed during a robbery when he was 13. he goes on to tell gordon, "my father was also abusive physically to me because he didn't want me to become a writer & he thought that that was not a masculine thing to do & he thought that i would amount to pretty much of nothing...so i was abused & i think that it's therapeutic...my work is therapeutic...monster's ball, the woodsman & shadowboxer, because i don't go to therapy & i sort of live through my films."
why didn't gordon question daniels about his decision, consciously or not, to seek therapy in order to heal his woundedness? does gordon - who also revealed in the interview losing his father as a teenager - believe therapy is un-african-american? does therapy challenge their notions of manhood? an eerie silence pervaded this interview: two adult, successful, black men who've undoubtedly experienced feelings of grief, loss & sorrow with their fathers at a young age, yet neither one of them have developed the ability to share their hurt, pain & vulnerability.
writer ishmael reed recently wrote a scathing essay entitled, "the selling of precious: the myth of the black male sexual predator." reed is suspicious of sarah siegel, the white woman who invested five million dollars in the film; siegel's 'niche dilemma' marketing plan is currently available on you tube. reed says, "sarah siegel has joined an innovative marketing plan that couples obama's name with the most extreme of sexual crimes. this woman might have invested in a movie that some are calling the worst depiction of black life yet done."
new york press critic armond white (who shares many of reed's sentiments regarding the film) compares precious to the film, birth of a nation, directed by d.w. griffith - credited as an early film pioneer. reed says, "i would argue that this movie makes griffith look like a progressive. moreover, i've looked at a number of pictures that show how the nazis depicted blacks & though jewish & black men appear as sexual predators in many, i've never run across one in which minority men are shown as incest violators."
reed is critical of winfrey & perry's roles as executive producers. he noted a new york times article dated 2/4/09 which reported, "a deal did not emerge for push (the title of sapphire's novel) until about a week after the festival (sundance film festival) ended, with potential distributors balking over the price insisted upon by cinetic media, a new york marketing & sales company for independent film, according to two people with knowledge of how the deal came together but were not authorized to speak publicly. a spokeswoman for cinetic declined to comment, but bidders said ms. winfrey & mr. perry had been crucial to the deal coming together."
(sigh) it's 2:06 am & i've yet to finish this damn review. i'm tired of writing about precious. real talk. suffice it to say, the film provides more questions than answers. the ending of the film was confusing. frustrating. boring. precious improved her reading skills, yet this teenaged single parent walks out of school with her two kids, alone - homeless, jobless & penniless. where is she going? who will help her raise her kids? how will she learn to navigate life in harlem with her myriad of social issues?
...if the box office numbers are profitable, does anyone smell a sequel?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Yankees Win 2009 World Series
the new york yankees defeated the defending champion philadelphia phillies in game six of the 2009 fall classic, 7-3, to win their 27th world series title. mariano rivera recorded the final four outs in typical fashion, to the delight of the cheering crowd at the spanking new, $1.5 billion yankee stadium. yankees designated hitter hideki matsui was named most valuable player. matsui, in limited duty, hit an astonishing .615 with three homers & eight runs batted in to help a balanced offensive attack.
manager joe girardi wore number 27 with the intention of inspiring his players to return to the coveted championship game, their first series appearance since losing to the, then, expansion club, arizona diamondbacks in 2001. during the off season the yankees spent $420 million to secure left-handed starting pitcher cc sabbathia, right-handed starting pitcher aj burnette & first baseman mark texiera. all three players were instrumental in the yankees' success.
before, during & after the regular season most of the media focus was on alex rodriguez, who, earlier this year admitted to using a banned substance in 2003. the charismatic all-star third baseman embraced the support of his teammates, as well as the loyal, albeit fickle yankee fans. one local paper headline called him a-roid, yet he finished the year with 30 homers & 100 runs batted in, despite losing over a month of playing time due to a hip replacement surgery.
the yankees also acquired outfielder nick swisher who finished the year with 29 homers, while sometimes batting ninth. the yankees slugged 243 homers in their new park, a franchise record. all-star shortstop derek jeter & second baseman robinson cano became the first infield pair (second base/shortstop duo) to record 200 or more hits in a season. texeira led the american league with 122 runs batted in & tied tampa bays' carlos pena for the lead in homers with 39.
while sabbathia & rivera are likely cy young award candidates, it was the consistent pitching of 37 year-old veteran lefty andy pettite players lauded in their world series journey. in fact, pettite clinched the winning game in all of the playoff series; first against the minnesota twins, who the yankees defeated three games to none, secondly against the feisty los angeles angels, who the yankees defeated in six games & finally against the phillies. pettite was 2-0 in the world series, winning game three & six.
phillies all-star second baseman chase utley tied yankee legend reggie jackson's major-league record by hitting five homers. phillies all-star first baseman ryan howard set a dubious world series record with 13 strikeouts. veteran pitcher pedro martinez, acquired from the mets during the regular season, lost both games he started. phillies lefty cliff lee, former cleveland indians teammate of sabbathia & last year's american league cy young winner was victorious in game one & five.
the yankees held a parade in downtown manhatan friday. the day b4 several of their players attended an espn televised game in madison square garden to watch the cleveland cavaliers play the new york knicks. knicks fans applauded their newly crowned champions but lost the game anyway. the yankees got a prime return on their investments. some folks say they paid for their title. baseball is a business. maybe next year i'll be able to afford a ticket to see them play. in the meantime, it feels good to be associated with a winner...
manager joe girardi wore number 27 with the intention of inspiring his players to return to the coveted championship game, their first series appearance since losing to the, then, expansion club, arizona diamondbacks in 2001. during the off season the yankees spent $420 million to secure left-handed starting pitcher cc sabbathia, right-handed starting pitcher aj burnette & first baseman mark texiera. all three players were instrumental in the yankees' success.
before, during & after the regular season most of the media focus was on alex rodriguez, who, earlier this year admitted to using a banned substance in 2003. the charismatic all-star third baseman embraced the support of his teammates, as well as the loyal, albeit fickle yankee fans. one local paper headline called him a-roid, yet he finished the year with 30 homers & 100 runs batted in, despite losing over a month of playing time due to a hip replacement surgery.
the yankees also acquired outfielder nick swisher who finished the year with 29 homers, while sometimes batting ninth. the yankees slugged 243 homers in their new park, a franchise record. all-star shortstop derek jeter & second baseman robinson cano became the first infield pair (second base/shortstop duo) to record 200 or more hits in a season. texeira led the american league with 122 runs batted in & tied tampa bays' carlos pena for the lead in homers with 39.
while sabbathia & rivera are likely cy young award candidates, it was the consistent pitching of 37 year-old veteran lefty andy pettite players lauded in their world series journey. in fact, pettite clinched the winning game in all of the playoff series; first against the minnesota twins, who the yankees defeated three games to none, secondly against the feisty los angeles angels, who the yankees defeated in six games & finally against the phillies. pettite was 2-0 in the world series, winning game three & six.
phillies all-star second baseman chase utley tied yankee legend reggie jackson's major-league record by hitting five homers. phillies all-star first baseman ryan howard set a dubious world series record with 13 strikeouts. veteran pitcher pedro martinez, acquired from the mets during the regular season, lost both games he started. phillies lefty cliff lee, former cleveland indians teammate of sabbathia & last year's american league cy young winner was victorious in game one & five.
the yankees held a parade in downtown manhatan friday. the day b4 several of their players attended an espn televised game in madison square garden to watch the cleveland cavaliers play the new york knicks. knicks fans applauded their newly crowned champions but lost the game anyway. the yankees got a prime return on their investments. some folks say they paid for their title. baseball is a business. maybe next year i'll be able to afford a ticket to see them play. in the meantime, it feels good to be associated with a winner...
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Bloomberg Narrowly Wins NYC Mayoral Race
michael bloomberg won a third consecutive term as mayor of new york city, defeating former city comptroller william thompson by less than 55,000 votes. bloomberg won 51% of the vote, compared to thompson, who received 46% of the surprising highly contested, albeit racially polarized vote. in total, the expected low turnout was comprised of about 1.1 million folks on a brisk tuesday.
bloomberg was victorious in three of the five boroughs, manhattan, queens & staten island. his opponent won 73% of the african-american vote. it was estimated bloomberg spent $180 per voter. thompson accused bloomberg of running the most negative campaign in the history of new york city's mayoral election. among other things, bloomberg accused thompson of gambling with the city's money as comptroller - taking contributions unethically. his campaign theme was progress, not politics as usual.
thompson faulted bloomberg for usurping his power over the city council to change the term limits from two terms, as citizens voted, to three terms. winning the boroughs of brooklyn & the bronx, thompson sought to discredit bloomberg's character & paint him as a man with a lot of money but little common sense. the bespectacled african-american also tried to align himself with president obama as a man of change, yet the incumbency proved too much for him to overcome.
there was hardly any excitement about a mayoral race in the city that never sleeps. bloomberg & thompson debated twice, yet the indifference among jaded new yorkers was evident at the polls. moreover, the myriad of complex issues facing working class folk - escalating rents, faulty school system, high unemployment, incompetent transportation boards, poor economy, rising taxes, i.e. - was not enuf to generate interest in our political future. is it true when they say money talks & bullshit walks?
bloomberg was victorious in three of the five boroughs, manhattan, queens & staten island. his opponent won 73% of the african-american vote. it was estimated bloomberg spent $180 per voter. thompson accused bloomberg of running the most negative campaign in the history of new york city's mayoral election. among other things, bloomberg accused thompson of gambling with the city's money as comptroller - taking contributions unethically. his campaign theme was progress, not politics as usual.
thompson faulted bloomberg for usurping his power over the city council to change the term limits from two terms, as citizens voted, to three terms. winning the boroughs of brooklyn & the bronx, thompson sought to discredit bloomberg's character & paint him as a man with a lot of money but little common sense. the bespectacled african-american also tried to align himself with president obama as a man of change, yet the incumbency proved too much for him to overcome.
there was hardly any excitement about a mayoral race in the city that never sleeps. bloomberg & thompson debated twice, yet the indifference among jaded new yorkers was evident at the polls. moreover, the myriad of complex issues facing working class folk - escalating rents, faulty school system, high unemployment, incompetent transportation boards, poor economy, rising taxes, i.e. - was not enuf to generate interest in our political future. is it true when they say money talks & bullshit walks?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
President Obama Signs Historic Hate-Crimes Bill Into Federal Law
president barack obama signed a law making it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her gender identity or sexual orientation. hailed by supporters as the first major federal gay rights legislation, the expanded federal hate-crimes law was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill signed by obama at a packed white house ceremony.
the matthew shepard and james byrd, jr. hate crimes prevention act was named for matthew shepard, a gay wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in october 1998, and james byrd, jr., an african-american man dragged to death by a group of young white males in texas the same year. the appropriations bill signing was attended by shepard's mother, judy, as well as vice president joe biden, attorney general eric holder, defense secretary robert gates and other leading members of congress.
obama cited the work of the late massachusetts senator edward kennedy and others "to make this day possible." to loud applause, obama hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to "help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love and how they pray." later that day, wednesday october 28, obama stood with shepard's parents and relatives of byrd, jr. at a separate white house event honoring passage of the expanded hate-crimes law.
noting reports of 12,000 crimes in the last decade based on sexual orientation, obama called the historic bill another step in the continuing struggle for human rights. obama said, "because of the efforts of the folks in this room, particularly those family members standing behind me, the bell rings even louder now." upon finishing his remarks he hugged the weeping relatives as the audience applauded.
several religious groups are concerned a hate crimes bill could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects like abortion or homosexuality. however, holder said any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs. former president george w. bush threatened to veto a similar measure but obama brought a reversal of that policy to the white house.
when the bill won final congressional approval last week, human rights campaign (hrc) president joe solmonese called the hate-crimes measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people." earlier this month, obama told the hrc - the nation's largest gay rights group - our nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians. while addressing the group at their annual dinner, obama said, "despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open...this fight continues now and i'm here with you in that fight."
among other related initiatives, obama has called for the repeal of the 'don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays serving openly in the military, a policy hotly debated by both obama and biden during the 2008 presidential campaign. obama has also urged congress to repeal the defense of marriage act and pass the domestic partners benefit and obligations act. the defense of marriage act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as a legal union between a man and a woman. the act allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. the domestic partners benefit and obligations act would extend family benefits now available to heterosexual federal employees to gay and lesbian workers.
the matthew shepard and james byrd, jr. hate crimes prevention act was named for matthew shepard, a gay wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in october 1998, and james byrd, jr., an african-american man dragged to death by a group of young white males in texas the same year. the appropriations bill signing was attended by shepard's mother, judy, as well as vice president joe biden, attorney general eric holder, defense secretary robert gates and other leading members of congress.
obama cited the work of the late massachusetts senator edward kennedy and others "to make this day possible." to loud applause, obama hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to "help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love and how they pray." later that day, wednesday october 28, obama stood with shepard's parents and relatives of byrd, jr. at a separate white house event honoring passage of the expanded hate-crimes law.
noting reports of 12,000 crimes in the last decade based on sexual orientation, obama called the historic bill another step in the continuing struggle for human rights. obama said, "because of the efforts of the folks in this room, particularly those family members standing behind me, the bell rings even louder now." upon finishing his remarks he hugged the weeping relatives as the audience applauded.
several religious groups are concerned a hate crimes bill could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects like abortion or homosexuality. however, holder said any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs. former president george w. bush threatened to veto a similar measure but obama brought a reversal of that policy to the white house.
when the bill won final congressional approval last week, human rights campaign (hrc) president joe solmonese called the hate-crimes measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people." earlier this month, obama told the hrc - the nation's largest gay rights group - our nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians. while addressing the group at their annual dinner, obama said, "despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open...this fight continues now and i'm here with you in that fight."
among other related initiatives, obama has called for the repeal of the 'don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays serving openly in the military, a policy hotly debated by both obama and biden during the 2008 presidential campaign. obama has also urged congress to repeal the defense of marriage act and pass the domestic partners benefit and obligations act. the defense of marriage act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as a legal union between a man and a woman. the act allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. the domestic partners benefit and obligations act would extend family benefits now available to heterosexual federal employees to gay and lesbian workers.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Harlem's Mart 125: The American Dream
a couple of weeks ago i attended an interesting film & culture series at medgar evers college in brooklyn. the ongoing series is free & offers filmmakers from the african diaspora the opportunity to share their work in a culturally affirming environment. b4 the film an open mic is available for poets & spoken word artists. after the film a panel discussion is held to explore various concerns & issues impacting our community, as well as to engage the audience in dialogue. in the spirit of activating social change, we exchange ideas, raise awareness & speak truth to power.
the film, harlem's mart 125: the american dream, was brilliantly directed by rachelle salnave gardner, a native new yorker who moved to atlanta. this documentary film is about the history of mart 125 & how it correlates to the 'revitalization' of 125th street - harlem's main commercial sector. right from the opening moment, the film gives viewers a historical journey depicting the economic transition of 125th street from the late 60's (rev dr king/malcolm x era) to our current post-obama reality.
mart 125, a now-defunct space across the street from the apollo theatre utilized by business owners of african descent, is used as a metaphor to examine the plague of perplexities surrounding this unique black community & its relationship with the plans of urban renewal from a commercial standpoint. the film offers a microcosmic analysis of the displacement (read: genocide, or its politically correct term, gentrification) of black american communities today.
the film is dispersed with candid interviews from activists, entrepreneurs, politicians, residents & stakeholders whose conflicting views about how harlem changed right b4 their eyes illuminates the complexity of issues surrounding a community in peril. one of the statistics which resonated with me was how rent skyrocketed in a decade. in 1997 a one-bedroom apartment was available for $650/month. in 2007 that same apartment was $1500/month. the question on many folks' mind: who benefits?
i was inspired by the ensuing panel discussion. expertly facilitated by the series' mc, miles mcafee, the spirited audience was treated to food from the soul. in addition to the beautiful filmmaker, the panelists were kanya vashon mcgee, founder of the tree of life bookstore in harlem (circa 1969), kevin powell, activist, author (recently defeated in a brooklyn community district primary), fred saunders, real estate developer & pierre thiam, owner of the dakar restaurant in brooklyn.
miles immediately pointed out another sistah - in the spirit of gender equity - was invited yet could not attend. he also shared all of the panelists were personal friends, in other words, be kind to my peeps. after opening remarks, panelists shared their perspectives on the film & the many underlying issues disturbing our community: apathy, hiv/aids, mental illness, prison industrial complex, racism, substance use, unemployment, violence, etc. the audience was encouraged to ask questions in what miles termed "the liberation zone." he also suggested we network afterwards, as well as return for their upcoming film on october 15.
the film, harlem's mart 125: the american dream, was brilliantly directed by rachelle salnave gardner, a native new yorker who moved to atlanta. this documentary film is about the history of mart 125 & how it correlates to the 'revitalization' of 125th street - harlem's main commercial sector. right from the opening moment, the film gives viewers a historical journey depicting the economic transition of 125th street from the late 60's (rev dr king/malcolm x era) to our current post-obama reality.
mart 125, a now-defunct space across the street from the apollo theatre utilized by business owners of african descent, is used as a metaphor to examine the plague of perplexities surrounding this unique black community & its relationship with the plans of urban renewal from a commercial standpoint. the film offers a microcosmic analysis of the displacement (read: genocide, or its politically correct term, gentrification) of black american communities today.
the film is dispersed with candid interviews from activists, entrepreneurs, politicians, residents & stakeholders whose conflicting views about how harlem changed right b4 their eyes illuminates the complexity of issues surrounding a community in peril. one of the statistics which resonated with me was how rent skyrocketed in a decade. in 1997 a one-bedroom apartment was available for $650/month. in 2007 that same apartment was $1500/month. the question on many folks' mind: who benefits?
i was inspired by the ensuing panel discussion. expertly facilitated by the series' mc, miles mcafee, the spirited audience was treated to food from the soul. in addition to the beautiful filmmaker, the panelists were kanya vashon mcgee, founder of the tree of life bookstore in harlem (circa 1969), kevin powell, activist, author (recently defeated in a brooklyn community district primary), fred saunders, real estate developer & pierre thiam, owner of the dakar restaurant in brooklyn.
miles immediately pointed out another sistah - in the spirit of gender equity - was invited yet could not attend. he also shared all of the panelists were personal friends, in other words, be kind to my peeps. after opening remarks, panelists shared their perspectives on the film & the many underlying issues disturbing our community: apathy, hiv/aids, mental illness, prison industrial complex, racism, substance use, unemployment, violence, etc. the audience was encouraged to ask questions in what miles termed "the liberation zone." he also suggested we network afterwards, as well as return for their upcoming film on october 15.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
us president barack hussein obama was awarded the 2009 nobel peace prize. the nobel committee said he won it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy & cooperation between peoples." his efforts to support international bodies & promote nuclear disarmament highlighted the committee's choice, deemed controversial by some, considering his inauguration was less than two weeks before the february 1 nomination deadline.
early friday morning the president was awakened by his youngest daughter malia who exclaimed, "daddy you won & its bo's birthday." his other daughter sasha was quick to remind him, "we have a three day weekend coming up." upon addressing the white house he said "its good to have kids to put things in perspective." obama said he didn't feel he "deserved to be in the company of such transformative figures" who'd previously won the prestigious award. among the record 205 nominations were zimbabwean prime minister morgan tsvangirai & chinese dissident hu jia.
the nobel laureate is chosen by a five-member committee. five norwegians are chosen by norway's parliament to sit on the nobel committee. those qualified to nominate candidates include academics, international judiciary, members of national governments & previous prize winners. the committee compiles a shortlist of between five & 20 candidates. details of the nominations & selection process are kept secret for 50 years, augmenting the awards' mystique.
reactions to the committee's decision were swift & varied. mark mardell, bbc north america editor said, "there was already a huge weight of responsibility on obama's shoulders & this medal hung round his neck has just made it a little heavier." mohammed elbaradei, the head of the un's nuclear watchdog, the iaea, stated, "in less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves & the world we live in & rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself." taliban spokesman zabihuilah mujahid told the reuters news agency "obama should have won the nobel prize for escalating violence & killing civilians." republican national committee chair michael steele said, "the question americans must ask is what has obama really accomplished?"
in a prepared statement, the norwegian committee said, "only very rarely has a person to the same extent as obama captured the world's attention & given its people hope for a better future...his diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values & attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population." asked why the prize was awarded to obama less than a year after he took office, nobel committee head thorbjoern jagland said, "it was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve...it is a clear signal that we want to advocate the same as he has done."
archbishop desmond tutu of south africa, a former winner, said, "it is an award that speaks to the promise of president obama's message of hope." french president nicolas sarkozy said the award confirmed "america's return to the hearts of the people of the world." furthermore, the statement of the nobel committee said, "mr obama had created a new climate in international politics...multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the united nations & other international institutions can play." the committee added the us was now playing a more constructive role in meeting "the great climatic challenges" facing the world & that democracy & human rights would be strengthened.
obama is the first american president to win the prize since former us president jimmy carter in 2002. former vice president al gore shared the prize in 2007. among earlier leaders, theodore roosevelt won the prize in 1906 & woodrow wilson won in 1919. first awarded in 1901, the nobel prize was invented by the swedish industrialist & inventor of dynamite alfred nobel. obama's new found gifts include a diploma, gold medal & $1.4 million, which he's donating to charity. the prize-giving ceremony for the peace award is scheduled to take place on december 10 in oslo, the norwegian capitol.
early friday morning the president was awakened by his youngest daughter malia who exclaimed, "daddy you won & its bo's birthday." his other daughter sasha was quick to remind him, "we have a three day weekend coming up." upon addressing the white house he said "its good to have kids to put things in perspective." obama said he didn't feel he "deserved to be in the company of such transformative figures" who'd previously won the prestigious award. among the record 205 nominations were zimbabwean prime minister morgan tsvangirai & chinese dissident hu jia.
the nobel laureate is chosen by a five-member committee. five norwegians are chosen by norway's parliament to sit on the nobel committee. those qualified to nominate candidates include academics, international judiciary, members of national governments & previous prize winners. the committee compiles a shortlist of between five & 20 candidates. details of the nominations & selection process are kept secret for 50 years, augmenting the awards' mystique.
reactions to the committee's decision were swift & varied. mark mardell, bbc north america editor said, "there was already a huge weight of responsibility on obama's shoulders & this medal hung round his neck has just made it a little heavier." mohammed elbaradei, the head of the un's nuclear watchdog, the iaea, stated, "in less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves & the world we live in & rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself." taliban spokesman zabihuilah mujahid told the reuters news agency "obama should have won the nobel prize for escalating violence & killing civilians." republican national committee chair michael steele said, "the question americans must ask is what has obama really accomplished?"
in a prepared statement, the norwegian committee said, "only very rarely has a person to the same extent as obama captured the world's attention & given its people hope for a better future...his diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values & attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population." asked why the prize was awarded to obama less than a year after he took office, nobel committee head thorbjoern jagland said, "it was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve...it is a clear signal that we want to advocate the same as he has done."
archbishop desmond tutu of south africa, a former winner, said, "it is an award that speaks to the promise of president obama's message of hope." french president nicolas sarkozy said the award confirmed "america's return to the hearts of the people of the world." furthermore, the statement of the nobel committee said, "mr obama had created a new climate in international politics...multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the united nations & other international institutions can play." the committee added the us was now playing a more constructive role in meeting "the great climatic challenges" facing the world & that democracy & human rights would be strengthened.
obama is the first american president to win the prize since former us president jimmy carter in 2002. former vice president al gore shared the prize in 2007. among earlier leaders, theodore roosevelt won the prize in 1906 & woodrow wilson won in 1919. first awarded in 1901, the nobel prize was invented by the swedish industrialist & inventor of dynamite alfred nobel. obama's new found gifts include a diploma, gold medal & $1.4 million, which he's donating to charity. the prize-giving ceremony for the peace award is scheduled to take place on december 10 in oslo, the norwegian capitol.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Family Reunion Looms On The Horizon
my mother, youngest sistah & i've been talking about having a family reunion lately. nearly half a century on the planet & i've yet to participate in a family reunion. back in tha day the o'jays recorded a wonderfully heartfelt song about family reunions but i thought they were singing about somebody else's family. not my family. my family has a long-standing reputation of always showing up late to family functions. the one's we plan!
after speaking to a few folks who've experienced family reunions of their own, the consensus is it takes at least a year to plan such an event. are folks genuinely interested? will they show up or cancel on cp time? where should we gather? what will we do? how much will this cost? does anyone know oprah? well, seems everyone knows oprah but the most practical way to get to her is thru her best friend. gayle king. but i digress.
after we gauge folks' interest it was suggested to establish a planning committee. can't imagine how that would work considering we plan poorly in this family: plan b means fuck it cuz i ain't going. although i must admit the women in our family have always held it down, especially when it comes to nurturing the kids. ah, yes. bebe's kids. there are so many now. can't remember every one's names. of course, with all these hip hop inspired, post-9/11, weird ass spellings...what happened to simple names like john, paul, george & ringo?
i was watching an episode of america's next top model & one of the participants was a fly young sistah from the west coast; california, i believe. her name was spontaneus. 4 real. i gagged. what was her momma thinking? or drinking? why do black folk do shit like that? ok, i prolly spelled her name wrong - she changed a letter here & there. u know how we do. tryna be creative. & shit. something different. oh, how we lie to ourselves. but that was her name. a model named spontaneus. right. she lost early. not bcuz of her name. but it wasn't a plus. trust me.
the idea of a family reunion intrigues me for so many reasons. most of our tribe lives in chicago, yet we got folks scattered in florida, indiana, missouri, new york & texas. our world has become more & more isolated as we speak, or tweet. nobody talks to each other. krs-one once rapped about the difference between civilization & technology. growing up we talked about the cosby show or the weather, but not about how we felt. do i expect a reunion to change family dynamics? no. but we can have fun in the spirit of unity. also, we can model the young folk a template for love.
from what i understand, family reunions are unique opportunities to learn about ancestral legacies. we learn to practice patience as we wait for the elders to take out their teeth before they talk. we learn to practice more patience as we wait for the elders to remember their train of thought. we learn to practice more patience as we wait for the elders to wake up when they fall asleep. we learn to practice even more patience as the elders go on & on & on about stuff nobody understands. yo, i don't care what nobody says: u can't make a long story short. why? bcuz it's a long story...
granted, some folks would rather text than talk. some folks prefer e-mail to real mail. i'm cool with it all yet i believe a family reunion could impact us in ways none of us might imagine. after all, it'd be a first. a new experience. we'd be together bcuz we really wanted to, not bcuz we feel we have to, like when someone dies, for example. we can start a valuable tradition for generations to come. many of us come home from work & bury ourselves into the computer, tv or latest video game. others don't connect. at all. i miss being around my peeps more & more as i get older. so, i hope we do it sooner than lata.
besides, like antwone fisher, i can eat.
after speaking to a few folks who've experienced family reunions of their own, the consensus is it takes at least a year to plan such an event. are folks genuinely interested? will they show up or cancel on cp time? where should we gather? what will we do? how much will this cost? does anyone know oprah? well, seems everyone knows oprah but the most practical way to get to her is thru her best friend. gayle king. but i digress.
after we gauge folks' interest it was suggested to establish a planning committee. can't imagine how that would work considering we plan poorly in this family: plan b means fuck it cuz i ain't going. although i must admit the women in our family have always held it down, especially when it comes to nurturing the kids. ah, yes. bebe's kids. there are so many now. can't remember every one's names. of course, with all these hip hop inspired, post-9/11, weird ass spellings...what happened to simple names like john, paul, george & ringo?
i was watching an episode of america's next top model & one of the participants was a fly young sistah from the west coast; california, i believe. her name was spontaneus. 4 real. i gagged. what was her momma thinking? or drinking? why do black folk do shit like that? ok, i prolly spelled her name wrong - she changed a letter here & there. u know how we do. tryna be creative. & shit. something different. oh, how we lie to ourselves. but that was her name. a model named spontaneus. right. she lost early. not bcuz of her name. but it wasn't a plus. trust me.
the idea of a family reunion intrigues me for so many reasons. most of our tribe lives in chicago, yet we got folks scattered in florida, indiana, missouri, new york & texas. our world has become more & more isolated as we speak, or tweet. nobody talks to each other. krs-one once rapped about the difference between civilization & technology. growing up we talked about the cosby show or the weather, but not about how we felt. do i expect a reunion to change family dynamics? no. but we can have fun in the spirit of unity. also, we can model the young folk a template for love.
from what i understand, family reunions are unique opportunities to learn about ancestral legacies. we learn to practice patience as we wait for the elders to take out their teeth before they talk. we learn to practice more patience as we wait for the elders to remember their train of thought. we learn to practice more patience as we wait for the elders to wake up when they fall asleep. we learn to practice even more patience as the elders go on & on & on about stuff nobody understands. yo, i don't care what nobody says: u can't make a long story short. why? bcuz it's a long story...
granted, some folks would rather text than talk. some folks prefer e-mail to real mail. i'm cool with it all yet i believe a family reunion could impact us in ways none of us might imagine. after all, it'd be a first. a new experience. we'd be together bcuz we really wanted to, not bcuz we feel we have to, like when someone dies, for example. we can start a valuable tradition for generations to come. many of us come home from work & bury ourselves into the computer, tv or latest video game. others don't connect. at all. i miss being around my peeps more & more as i get older. so, i hope we do it sooner than lata.
besides, like antwone fisher, i can eat.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Juan Martin Del Potro and Kim Clisters Win 2009 US Open Singles Titles
20 year-old juan martin del potro of argentina stunned world #1 roger federer of switzerland 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 to win his first grand slam singles title at the us open in flushing meadow last monday. the thrilling match lasted well over four hours, starting in the early afternoon and climaxing at nite with one of del potro's many powerful forehand winners. del potro became the second south american (guillermo vilas '77) to claim the heralded crown. surprisingly, for a non-american, he admitted, "this was my dream, my favorite tournament, i've always wanted to win here and i can't believe this moment."
del potro crushed world #2 rafael nadal of spain in the semi-finals 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in less than two hours. his booming serve and flat, hard ground strokes were too much for nadal, who, despite a sore abdominal strain, played better as the tournament progressed. del potro is now the only man to beat both federer and nadal in a grand slam tournament. del potro was in tears after he shook hands with federer, who set the record of 15 grand slam men's singles titles upon beating american andy roddick in a five-set epic at wimbledon this summer.
clearly the hands-down favorite - he'd never lost to del potro - federer was primed for a record-tying sixth us open crown. the elegant swiss was up a set and a break at 5-4 in the second set before del potro broke his serve with an incredible running down-the-line forehand winner. in the third set del potro double faulted on set point yet showed maturity and poise beyond his years to come from two sets to one down for his unforgettable triumph. federer was 50 percent on his first serves and converted only five of 22 break points, conceding in the post-match press conference, "i had my chances...he played well...its not the end of the world."
kim clisters of belgium handily defeated surprising first time finalist 19 year-old caroline wozniacki of denmark 7-5, 6-3 to win her second us open singles title. clisters won in 2005 and abruptly retired to get married and have a baby. she returned to the tour this summer and played well in three tournaments. clisters became the first mother since evonne goolagong in 1980 to win at flushing meadow. after delivering a forehand winner at the net on match point she dropped to her knees and cried tears of joy.
clisters admitted after the match, "this wasn't our plan...i just wanted to play some matches and get used to the environment again." her 18-month old daughter jada joined her on court later to the delight of the record-setting crowd. the beaming clisters, popular and well-liked by all, was gracious in congratulating the young dane for her impressive run to the finals. the ninth-seeded wozniacki, who showed a steady calm in each of her matches, survived the onslaught of upsets as 16 of the top 32 seeds lost in the first two rounds.
the unseeded clisters was given a wild card this year and used it wisely. she didn't lose a set the entire tournament, playing hard each match with nothing to lose. clisters defeated venus williams in the fourth round & her sistah serena williams in a controversial semi-final match. williams was fined $10,000 (as well as $500 fine for racket abuse) by the usta for shouting verbal obscenities at a lines woman who called a foot fault on williams as she served 5-6, 15-40 in the second set. though contrite during her post-match press conference, the following day williams issued an amended apology to the lines woman, the usta, clisters and her fans for her, "inappropriate outburst."
del potro crushed world #2 rafael nadal of spain in the semi-finals 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in less than two hours. his booming serve and flat, hard ground strokes were too much for nadal, who, despite a sore abdominal strain, played better as the tournament progressed. del potro is now the only man to beat both federer and nadal in a grand slam tournament. del potro was in tears after he shook hands with federer, who set the record of 15 grand slam men's singles titles upon beating american andy roddick in a five-set epic at wimbledon this summer.
clearly the hands-down favorite - he'd never lost to del potro - federer was primed for a record-tying sixth us open crown. the elegant swiss was up a set and a break at 5-4 in the second set before del potro broke his serve with an incredible running down-the-line forehand winner. in the third set del potro double faulted on set point yet showed maturity and poise beyond his years to come from two sets to one down for his unforgettable triumph. federer was 50 percent on his first serves and converted only five of 22 break points, conceding in the post-match press conference, "i had my chances...he played well...its not the end of the world."
kim clisters of belgium handily defeated surprising first time finalist 19 year-old caroline wozniacki of denmark 7-5, 6-3 to win her second us open singles title. clisters won in 2005 and abruptly retired to get married and have a baby. she returned to the tour this summer and played well in three tournaments. clisters became the first mother since evonne goolagong in 1980 to win at flushing meadow. after delivering a forehand winner at the net on match point she dropped to her knees and cried tears of joy.
clisters admitted after the match, "this wasn't our plan...i just wanted to play some matches and get used to the environment again." her 18-month old daughter jada joined her on court later to the delight of the record-setting crowd. the beaming clisters, popular and well-liked by all, was gracious in congratulating the young dane for her impressive run to the finals. the ninth-seeded wozniacki, who showed a steady calm in each of her matches, survived the onslaught of upsets as 16 of the top 32 seeds lost in the first two rounds.
the unseeded clisters was given a wild card this year and used it wisely. she didn't lose a set the entire tournament, playing hard each match with nothing to lose. clisters defeated venus williams in the fourth round & her sistah serena williams in a controversial semi-final match. williams was fined $10,000 (as well as $500 fine for racket abuse) by the usta for shouting verbal obscenities at a lines woman who called a foot fault on williams as she served 5-6, 15-40 in the second set. though contrite during her post-match press conference, the following day williams issued an amended apology to the lines woman, the usta, clisters and her fans for her, "inappropriate outburst."
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