Monthly Archives: November 2012

Necole Bitchie.com: Jada Pinkett Smith: ‘Willow’s Beauty Isn’t Measured By The Length Of Her Hair’

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Jada Pinkett Smith was getting her fierce kitty on as she arrived at LAX airport yesterday evening with her daughter Willow and son Jaden in tow.  The trio were on their way to Hawaii where they will be spending the Thanksgiving holidays, while living it up on the beach.

Meanwhile, Jada must have come to her wits’ end when it comes to dealing with all of the criticism surrounding her daughter’s hair.  Today, she posted a letter on her facebook, explaining exactly why she allows Willow to express herself through her clothes and hair while alluding to posting even more thoughts on the topic in the days to come.  She wrote:

via Necole Bitchie.com: Jada Pinkett Smith: ‘Willow’s Beauty Isn’t Measured By The Length Of Her Hair’.

Dana Milbank: The Confederacy of Takers – The Washington Post

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Dana Milbank

Opinion Writer

The Confederacy of Takers

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By Dana Milbank, Published: November 13

President Obama’s opponents have unwittingly come up with a brilliant plan to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” They want to secede from the union.

If Obama were serious about being a good steward of the nation’s finances, he’d let them.

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Tom Toles on the budget battle: Collection of cartoons on the federal budget and economy.

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The White House, in one of those astro-turf efforts that make people feel warm about small-d democracy, launched a “We the People” program on its Web site last year, allowing Americans to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Any petition that receives 25,000 or more signatures within 30 days is promised a response (though not necessarily a favorable one) from the Obama administration.

via Dana Milbank: The Confederacy of Takers – The Washington Post.

Rep. Marcia Fudge selected to chair Congressional Black Caucus

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See on Scoop.it – OUR COMMON GROUND Guest Profiles

Fudge, a Warrenville Heights Democrat who joined Congress in 2008, has quietly worked behind the scenes for months to secure the post.

See on www.cleveland.com

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Agyei Tyehimba- Empowerment Coach's avatarMY TRUE SENSE

With Thanksgiving now upon us, many will write their annual obligatory comments on Facebook, Twitter, via text messages and so forth.

These messages will run the gamut from simple (“Happy Thanksgiving”), to the spiritual (“Give God glory and thanks on this day for all of His blessings”), to political (“This day commemorates the white man’s betrayal of Native American humility and generosity.”) I too, participated in this ritual of praise and gratitude. This morning I posted the following:

There is no law that says we must mimic others’ cultural practices, or share their identical values or narratives. I have learned to give thanks every day. No words can adequately express how thankful I am for life, family, friends, political comrades, and the ability to earn my living by serving my people. I also thank those of you who take time to read my essays, purchase my books hire me to…

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Elizabeth Warren’s Journey into Politics : The New Yorker

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THE PROFESSORElizabeth Warren’s long journey into politics.

BY JEFFREY TOOBIN

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

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KEYWORDS

ELIZABETH WARREN; MASSACHUSETTS; SCOTT BROWN; HARVARD UNIVERSITY; U.S. SENATE; (SEN.) EDWARD KENNEDY; BANKRUPTCY

ABSTRACT: PROFILE of Elizabeth Warren. Last summer, Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor, held a series of houseparties around Massachusetts to test support for a possible run for the United States Senate. At one such event, held at the Andover home of veteran Democratic activist M. J. Powell, Warren was asked if she was engaging in class warfare. She replied, “No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there, good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate.” The writer terms Warren’s speech a “rousing defense of the welfare state.” Warren was unaware she was being filmed, and footage of the speech was posted to YouTube several days later. Warren declared her candidacy for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Scott Brown.

via Elizabeth Warren’s Journey into Politics : The New Yorker.

Nomalanga: When Normal is Not Normal; Destructive Mindsets in Black Communities | Black Blue Dog

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Nomalanga: When Normal is Not Normal; Destructive Mindsets in Black Communities

July 24, 2012 | Filed under: Commentary,News | Posted by: Staff

I was facilitating a discussion about relationships, not long ago, in one of my college seminars for Women of Color when I had the realization that what I perceive as “normal” is not necessarily what other people may perceive as “normal”.

The discussion that I was facilitating was intended to draw a distinction between good and bad relationships. The problem is that when I introduced the first article that described bad relationships, some of the young women strongly disagreed with what was being described as unhealthy behavior. These 18 and 19 year old young women argued that it was normal to have verbal altercations and even physical altercations. They argued that it was normal for people to fight and that it should happen often.

via Nomalanga: When Normal is Not Normal; Destructive Mindsets in Black Communities | Black Blue Dog.

Where Did Black Radio Go?

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“Historically, Black radio … fulfilled all functions Black people needed … but now it’s time to take a serious look and right the wrong of the mess we call Black radio today,” says Dr. Todd Steven Burroughs, a lecturer in the Communication Studies Department at Morgan State University. Burroughs is demanding that the Federal Communications Commission investigate and intervene in the matter, saying “Black communities once again have been given symbolism instead of substance” and, that “back in the day, African-American DJs not only provided the community with the latest news and information, they played records of Black artists that served as the soundtracks of Black empowerment.”

Although constituting 13 percent of the total population, African Americans own just 2 percent of all commercial broadcast licenses in America. But, Blacks need to coalesce around the idea that economic and political empowerment among us cannot be achieved without access and control over the mass media resources that impact us and the world.

via Where Did Black Radio Go?.

After the Election, the “R” Word: Reparations

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After the Election, the “R” Word: Reparations

Tuesday, 20 November 2012 10:21

By Salvatore Babones, Truthout | Op-Ed

(Image: Graduates Diplomas via Shutterstock)

Reparations for slavery may never be approved by the courts, but we can focus on fixing the social structures that reinforce racial inequalities and are the enduring contemporary legacy of slavery.

Just before the election, the satirical web site The Onion ran a fake article that was purportedly written by Barack Obama. In it, the president supposedly promised to seek payments for African-Americans to compensate them for America’s history of slavery.

via After the Election, the “R” Word: Reparations.

The Real Reasons You Waited Hours in Line to Vote – Richard H. Pildes – The Atlantic

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The Real Reasons You Waited Hours in Line to Vote

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2 NOV 20 2012, 1:00 PM ET 10

An Obama campaign legal adviser explains the humiliating meltdown in voting we saw around the country during this year’s presidential election.

Voters in Miami on November 6 (Andrew Innerarity/Reuters)

In the coming months, proposals will abound for election reforms to address the embarrassment to American democracy — and the indignity to citizens — of 8-hour lines to vote. But what, precisely, accounts for these lines in places like Prince William County and the Norfolk and Hampton areas of Virginia, or Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties in Florida? As a Senior Legal Advisor to the Obama campaign with responsibility for these and other voting issues, I want to share the knowledge the campaign’s thousands of observers on the ground generated about the underlying causes.

These causes can be grouped into three categories. I will focus specifically on Virginia, but the causes are largely similar, if not identical, elsewhere.

via The Real Reasons You Waited Hours in Line to Vote – Richard H. Pildes – The Atlantic.

Local and National Leaders Endorse Major Neill Franklin for Baltimore City Police Commissioner | KineticsLive.com

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OUR COMMON GROUND Voice Neill Franklin

 Neill Franklin does not offer business as usual; he offers integrity, honesty, and a promising path to safe, thriving, caring communities.” – Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

 

Tyrone Powers, Ph.D.

“At this point in Baltimore City we need a Commissioner that completely understands the city and its residents – the human terrain; We need a Police Commissioner that understands the physical terrain; We need a police Commissioner with vast experience from working the streets, highways and byways, the nooks and crannies – the nuances – and has vast experience as an administrator.

via Local and National Leaders Endorse Major Neill Franklin for Baltimore City Police Commissioner | KineticsLive.com.