Do-rags & 40s

blackface
Originally uploaded by IXAQUEI.

Racial insensitivity is alive and well in 2007. Seems like the students at Tarleton State University weren't the only ones celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Some students at Clemson University threw a 'Living the Dream' party where some attendees wore fake gold teeth, padded their behinds, donned do-rags and even wore black paint to portray the gangsta' lifestyle. Not one of the party organizers thought this was a bad idea until the pictures were posted on the internet and people expressed outrage. For a glimpse at the partygoers, check out this link at Bossip.

Fixing Iraq

Forget about President Bush's plan to secure Bagdad by sending 21,500 more troops and the recommendations made by the Iraq Study Group, the best solutions for fixing Iraq will ultimately come from the Iraqi people. Special interests, particularly those of the US, Iran and al-Qaeda aim to do more harm to the Iraq than good. Access to and control of oil is tantamount to the US and in the case of Iran and al-Qaeda, Islam is being used to keep Shi'as and Sunnis from working together. The only people prospering in Iraq are the no-bid contractors who are being paid millions to build useless facilities like this training camp in Bagdad.

The most profound idea for ending our involvement in Iraq was expressed by Dr. Rashad Zidan, founder of Knowledge for Iraqi Women Society, a women's group devoted to keeping Iraqi families and communities together amidst the chaos:

"If you listen to the people who are in the midst of the conflict, they will help you better understand how to end the violence and suffering because they have firsthand knowledge and experience."

Full Figured in Hollywood Means Fat

Full Figured Women Shine at The Golden Globes
Originally uploaded by The Cocoa Lounge.

Time for a reality check people. Any woman in Hollywood who isn't emaciated or anorexic will more than likely be categorized as fat. Tyra Banks is taking the hit for gaining 30 pounds on her 5' 10" frame, weighing in at a whopping 161 pounds! She is being shamed like she committed some kind of crime. People magazine had the nerve to put what they thought was an unflattering photo of Tyra in a bathing suit on the cover. Personally, I think she looks good. When was it ever a crime for a woman's weight to be normal in proportion to her height?

In the real world where most of us dwell, recent Golden Globe Award winners Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) represent what normal women look like. Real women are supposed to have curves.

We Shall Overcome?

Students at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas have an unusual way of celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday--Smoking Gun

Hollywood Foolishness, Part 2

Grey's Anatomy set...
Originally uploaded by elyliu.

Now that Isaiah Washington is off in rehab mending his homophobic ways, sounds like the executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy, Shondra Rhimes is going to be in the hot seat. It appears gay activist groups are gearing up to hold Ms. Rhimes to task for not doing more about Washington’s homophobic remarks sooner. I do not condone homophobia, but this story is borderline preposterous. This entire incident has turned into a modern day witch hunt designed not only to punish the alleged homophobe but to also punish his perceived enablers.

Sometimes Apologies Aren't Enough

washington-knight-apology
Originally uploaded by Gano_1972.

It’s time for a reality check. We have people going to rehab for calling a closeted gay coworker a "faggot". If that wasn’t bad enough, he had the nerve to repeat the word during a Golden Globes interview by denying he ever used the word to begin with. Isaiah Washington is one of the best actors in Hollywood. I’ve never seen ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and have only been on the periphery of the news regarding his argument and subsequent outing of a coworker. This is all Hollywood nonsense.

In my book, the word “faggot” is never the right word. I find it offensive, derogatory and just plain rude. I’ve even had to call a few homophobic family members out for using the word. Nevertheless, "faggot" is a commonly used word. In the heat of anger, all rules of civility are cast aside so if you happen to be arguing with man, gay or straight, calling him a “faggot” certainly isn’t a term of endearment.; it is the ultimate insult.

Even if Rupert Everett embraces the word, many gay men don’t. Perhaps Mr. Washington does have some issues he needs to work out but whether he needs to go to rehab for using the word “faggot” is questionable. Does this mean the next white celebrity who gets caught using the word “nigger” is going to rehab too?

Why D.L. Hughley Is King

Bienvenidos Governor Richardson!

The Gov And Frida
Originally uploaded by jclarson.

In what is going to be a crowded field of presidential candidates, Bill Richardson has announced that he has joined a gaggle of other Democratic hopefuls (Clinton, Obama, Edwards, etc.). for 2008. This is great news. Although there are some 400 days of the campaign season, I think the Democratic field of candidates is probably the most diverse I've seen.

Already relegated to the second tier by Washington Post, Bill Richardson is fluent in Spanish and English. The son of an American father and Mexican mother, he has some impressive credentials as Ambassador to the United Nations and as Energy Secretary in Bill Clinton's cabinet.

With Hispanics now being the largest minority group, it's about time we acknowledge that they are grossly under represented in our political system. Diversity of opinion, especially in politics, is a rarity. It's time for some new voices.

Heiress Apparent

Hillary Clinton
Originally uploaded by Alvaro Carrilho.

In shocking news today, Hillary Clinton has announced she's forming a presidential exploratory committee. Since 2004, the news media has all but made her THE Democratic presidential candidate in 2008 so I am intentionally going to overlook her. I'm not a Clinton fan, didn't like Bill and definitely don't like Hillary. How this phony got elected as a Senator in New York is beyond me. She has tried her best to be centrist and appeal to the commoner but I'm not buying this act, chick has no soul. She voted for the invasion of Iraq and will likely buckle and allow HRH King George to send an additional 20,000 troops there just so she can rack up some public approval points for her Presidential bid. Ho-hum!

OJ Simpson - Why Do We Care?

OJ Simpson
Originally uploaded by madeofchalk.

Its been ages since Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were murdered in Brentwood but we can thank the news media for constantly keeping OJ Simpson on everyone’s radar. Why is anything OJ does news? He certainly isn’t the first person to beat a murder rap so who cares if he writes a book and makes a hypothetical murder confession? I certainly don't. Since we already “know” he’s guilty, where’s the news here?

So OJ slipped through the cracks. It seems the news media, still smarting over that "not guilty" verdict in the criminal trial, is hellbent on making his life as miserable as possible. Personally, I think he can do that on his own because "if he really did" murder those two people, he has to live with that for the rest of his life. It's time we moved on. We just have to trust that there is a higher power and that justice will eventually be served. For the news media, perhaps they should spend more time reporting "real" news rather than diversionary nonsense like OJ Simpson and his book deal.

Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali!

Muhammed Ali vs. Sonny Liston
Originally uploaded by Erik Wahn.

Honoring the Memory of an Extraordinary American

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking to an anti-Vietnam war rally at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul on April 27, 1967. Detroit will host the 4th annual MLK Day march and rally on Jan. 15, 2007. (Photo by St. Paul Pioneer Press).
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire Photo File.

"I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation. I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder."

An excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize which was awarded to him on December 10, 1964 in Oslo, Norway.

Two Times a Diddy

Combs, Sean 'P. Diddy'& Porter, Kim
Originally uploaded by bheimdall.

With the recent birth of the Diddy twins, I reluctantly decided to read the December 2006 cover story in Essence about Sean "Diddy" Combs and his long-term relationship with Kim Porter. The interview alarmed me for many reasons, the first was Diddy's proclamation that Kim deserved to be married but he just wasn't ready to commit himself at the time. I say if this is your soul mate, your muse, what's the problem?

Certainly after twelve years and the birth of your twin daughters, Miss Porter deserves to be more than your babies mama. In spite of Mr. Comb's $300 million dollar fortune, Miss Porter becomes another statistic that plagues the black community, an unwed mother with more than one babies daddy. The good news is us taxpayers won't have to subsidize the Diddy twins.

My second problem with the interview is Miss Porter's disparaging comments about Jennifer Lopez. Of course she wants us to believe that Diddy has always been in love with her and that she was seeing him the whole time he was with J-Lo, but I'm not buying it. The lies Miss Porter tells are the same lies women tell themselves when they find out the man they love has betrayed them. Unfortunately for Miss Porter, she was humiliated in a very public manner. The first and only instinct she has is to attack Miss Lopez:

"He was still in love with me." Porter, who says Combs fell for a "big booty and a smile," used to tell him that when he was finished with his "little Puerto Rican girlfriend," he’d be back.

In true scorned woman fashion, she is angry with the other woman, but not the man who has done her wrong.

I also take issue with the fact that Jeannine Amber and the people over at Essence, gave Miss Porter a free pass and didn't bother to check her on her racist comments. If "little Puerto Rican girlfriend" doesn't sound like a racial slur, I don't know what does. I would have let her slide on that but then she starting talking about how she would never allow their son Christian around Miss Lopez:

"No," she bristles. "Hell no! No. No. No. Do you see me? I’m a full Black woman. We don’t mix and mingle like that."

In spite of her "full black woman" credentials and distaste for the "mix and mingle," she should know that she shares an African heritage with Puerto Ricans like Miss Lopez.

Lastly, I'm hoping a self-confessed player like Diddy changes his ways but I'm not convinced he will. Up until now, he hasn't had a reason to because no matter what he does, Miss Porter will always be by his side. However the twin girls give me hope, hope that one day he will realize that he wouldn't want his daughters treated the way he has treated Miss Porter.