Time and time again, I have heard white Christians say, when confronted with the possibility of Jesus being a person of color, that the color of Jesus should not matter.

Well, that’s about to be put to the test.

A new film coming out this Friday, titled “Color of the Cross”, will tell the story of the last 48 hours of Jesus’ life. But, here’s the kicker — Jesus is black and his race figures in as part of his persecution.

Here’s what the director and star Jean Claude LaMarre says about the film:

“Black people in this country are the only race of people who worship a god outside their own image,” says LaMarre, 38, adding that showing Christ as a black man is “the most poignant way to deal with the issue of race in this country because it goes to the heart of how we look at the world.”

Right now, the film will only run in 30 theaters in predominately black communities. Let’s hope for a much wider run of this film.

Popularity: 15% [?]

How would you like to be running for office and being told that your entire name would not be able to appear on the ballot? Ask Virginia senatorial candidate Jim Webb. It appears that the electronic voting machines to be used in some of Virginia’s elections in November are unable to display all of a candidate’s data and this will likely NOT be fixed in time for this year’s elections.

U.S. Senate candidate James Webb’s last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.

Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb’s full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.

Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.

Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only — or “James H. ‘Jim’ ” — on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.

“We’re not happy about it,” Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. “I don’t think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that’s a concern.”

Every candidate on Alexandria’s summary page has been affected in some way by the glitch. Even if candidates’ full names appear, as is the case with Webb’s Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. George F. Allen, their party affiliations have been cut off.

Jean Jensen, secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, who said yesterday she only recently became aware of the problem, pledged to have it fixed by the 2007 statewide elections.

So, they pledge to fix it after what some would argue is the most important elections of our lifetimes and people are treating this in a very blaise manner? The problem is that the problems with electronic voting are not new to Virginia. They have used electronic voting since 2003 and have problems since then.

This is sorry, sad and pitiful yet, we are supposed to trust our votes to these machines.

Popularity: 7% [?]

It seems to me that in many parts of the South, the racism is seasoned to perfection.

This would explain to me why a new, attacking Harold Ford Jr. has appeared in Tennessee. The ad, sponsored by the Republican National Committee, features a montage of supposed “everyday” people, citing their displeasure with Harold Ford’s past votes. But, then, there’s a person in there who is not making any reference to Ford’s legislative record.

The ad, entitled “Call Me”, also features a scantily clad, blond white woman who says she met ford at a “playboy party”. At the end, she does here best bimbo look and says, “call me”, as if she’s talking to Ford.

This ad hearkens back to the old miscegenation fears of black men having sex with white women. So, the RNC is, once again, using the politics of race to hold on to a Senate seat. This is especially disturbing because Ford would be the first black senator in Tennessee’s history since Reconstruction. Also, we need to remember that Tennessee is the state in which the Ku Klux Klan was born so, I believe that playing to irrational racial fears is a tactic, not an accident.

It’s not just me who sees this ad as racist. Former Republican Senator and Defense Secretary William said the ad is a “very serious appeal to a racist sentiment”.

Ford’s opponent, Bob Corker, has called for the ad to be pulled but, only because he says it is “tacky” and ignored the racial overtones of this ad.

Once again, the GOP has shown a willingness to use racism to get supporters to the polls. How do they honestly expect to woo black voters when they keep pulling this nonsense?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Here’s something that should help defeat the notion about the representation of black people within the ranks of street gangs:

However, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, at the close of the last century, an estimated forty-seven per cent of gang members were Hispanic, thirty-one per cent were African American, thirteen per cent were white, and seven per cent were Asian.

One third of all gangs reveal a significant percentage of more than one ethnic group.

These are not the gangs of yesterday.

When examining the difficulties presented by gangs and gang activity, it is important to realize that gangs were neither created by Blacks, nor are Blacks the resounding majority of gang members around the nation. And, a huge percentage of the Hispanic gangs are illegal aliens.

A 1997 LA Times series included a confidential report by the California Department of Justice, revealing that sixty per cent of the Hispanic gang population was illegal immigrants.

Is this a statement to somehow indict Hispanics or illegal immigrants? No, but it is a statement to stop the wholesale indictment of young Black men, who are more frequently targeted and misidentified as gang members than any other ethnic group in the nation.

Black youth wear the face of gang members across the nation–on television, in politics, in the minds of cops, and sadly, in the minds of African Americans who have no idea what the real facts and faces are.

It’s funny how our thoughts are conditioned. On the rare occassions that I actually check out our local talk radio, I hear people attempt to attribute gang activity to black folks. However, in my hometown of Hamilton, OH (less than 20 miles away), we have a heavy influx of those belonging to M13 (a.k.a. “The Mexican Mafia”). I’m not knocking immigrants, I’m just saying that there are more than black people caught up in this mess. Also, for years, we have heard about “skinheads”. Aren’t they gangs, as well?

So, let’s face it. Gang activity, like any other criminal activity, isn’t just “a black thing”.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Regardless of income and environment, quite simply, black folks die sooner than whites. In Summit County, Ohio, this means that whites are living anywhere between 3 to 9.3 years longer than their black counterparts when socioeconomic status is compared. This falls in line with a national average where the average life expectancy of a white person is 78 years. For a black person, the expectancy is 72.7 years.

Pick almost any disease, and blacks are hit much harder by it than whites. Consider these statistics from a variety of national, state and local organizations:

_Heart disease: Nationally, African-Americans are 50 percent more likely to have high blood pressure, which contributes to the risk of both heart disease and stroke, and they’re 20 percent more likely to die from heart disease. Yet they’re less likely to receive proper, timely treatment, even when they have insurance coverage.

_Stroke: In Ohio, African-American men are 53 percent more likely to die of a stroke than any other racial or gender group, while African-American women have the highest overall risk of a stroke.

_Diabetes: Nationally, blacks are 140 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, 30 percent more likely to undergo a diabetic-related amputation and 120 percent more likely to die from diabetes.

_Cancer: Whatever the cancer - breast, colon, esophagus, bladder, cervix, uterus, rectum, prostate, leukemia - blacks are less likely than whites to be alive five years after diagnosis. Even skin cancer, which is uncommon in those with darker skin, is more likely to end in death for African-Americans.

_HIV/AIDS: Of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, the AIDS virus, in 2003, 47 percent were African-American, even though blacks account for only 12.3 percent of the U.S. population. In 2004, black men were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS at a rate 603.7 percent higher than that of white men. Black women were diagnosed in 2004 at a rate 1,993 percent higher than that of white women.

_Homicide: Though violence isn’t a disease, it is a health issue - one that has a significant impact on life expectancy. Between 1999 and 2003, blacks in Summit County, Ohio, were killed at a rate of 14.6 per 100,000, compared with 2.7 per 100,000 whites.

_Infant mortality: Even though infant mortality declined steeply in the 1980s and ’90s among all races, the disparity between whites and blacks increased because the improvement was greater among whites. In these two decades, infant mortality among whites declined to 5.7 deaths per 1,000 births (a 47.7 percent drop); among blacks, it dropped to 14 deaths per 1,000 births (a 36.9 percent decline). In Summit County, an African-American baby is 3.5 times more likely than a white baby to die in infancy.

We have a long row to hoe in order to eliminate this gap but, as black folks, we need to better our education on health issues and see doctors on a more regular basis (myself included). Personally, I want to be around longer for my son. So, let’s all suck it up and get checked out.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Brothers and sisters, we meet here in this most sacred place to commit the remains of “N*gger” back to the earth.

Okay, so I’m no preacher.

In case you’re wondering if I lost my mind, let me explain. In an act of symbolism, the infamous “n-word” was put to rest at a funeral in Beloit, Wisconsin.

The funeral was part of a daylong event organized by the Black Star Project of Beloit, which was recently formed to pursue educational and job opportunities for blacks in Beloit and strengthen spiritual growth for families. The thrust of the event was to explain that use of the word among blacks demonstrates self-loathing and is symptomatic of larger issues that confront the black community.

I couldn’t explain my sentiments on this word better myself. For a long while, I, like a lot of people, said that it’s “just a word”. But, too often, this word was used to diminish our humanity. People say that by using it, we are taking ownership. But, to me, why would we want to own it? I could think of dozens of other things that I would like to be called and none would diminish me as a black man.

I urge more “funerals” like this, even if they occur only in the minds of people.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Here’s yet another reason not to feel safe about electronic voting:

On Wednesday, former Maryland state legislator Cheryl C. Kagan was anonymously given disks containing source code to Diebold’s BallotStation and GEMS (Global Election Management System) tabulation software used in the 2004 elections. Kagan, a well-known critic of electronic voting, is Executive Director of the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Olney, Maryland.

The disks were created and distributed by two federal voting machine testing labs run by Ciber Inc. and Wyle Laboratories Inc. They had been testing systems on behalf of the state of Maryland, Diebold said in a statement.

This is not the first time that Diebold source code has been leaked. In early 2003, Diebold critic Bev Harris uncovered similar source code while conducting research using Google Inc.’s search engine.

So, with about 2 weeks left until elections, somebody has gained access to the code that runs the voting machines that millions will vote into this November 7. These machines, with no means of independent validation and verification, have been compromised (for the second time) and we are supposed to trust them?

As Americans, we need to demand more and preserving the sanctity of our vote is as good a place as any to start.

Popularity: 6% [?]

WTF is this…the Republican version of “Hollywood Shuffle” or “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka”?

I was going to create another “Racial Rhetoric Heating Up?” post but, this is so beyond acceptable that I have to call this out. In a new ad financed by white billionaire J. Patrick Rooney, an anti-Democratic attack on abortion turns into a minstrel show. Check out the following exchange in what is supposed to be a conversation between two black men:

First Man: “If you make a little mistake with one of your ‘hos,’ you’ll want to dispose of that problem tout suite, no questions asked.”

Second Man: “That’s too cold. I don’t snuff my own seed.”

First Man: “Maybe you do have a reason to vote Republican.”

This ad was brought to us by the same group that did a similar ad referring to the racist history of Democrats (without saying that a majority of those Democratic racists a.k.a. “Dixiecrats” became Republicans under Nixon).

The bottom line is that if this is what the Republican party has to offer African Americans then, they can keep it. If I wanted stereotypes, I’d watch “Soul Plane”.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Evangelicals for Darfur is a group of evangelical leaders who are calling for an end to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. This group is comprised of people across the political spectrum because to them,
“…in matters of life and death, there is no left or right, there is only right and wrong.”

Here’s the form letter they are asking participants to send to President Bush:

We come to you from across the evangelical spectrum. We beseech you to act on your faith and do the right thing by leading the world to stop the genocide affecting “the least of these” in Darfur. To date, more than 400,000 people have been killed. 2.5 million displaced. Countless more have been raped, maimed, and tortured: Men, women, and children created in God’s image, innocents all. Ending the atrocities will require your personal leadership in supporting the deployment of a strong U.N. peacekeeping force and multilateral economic sanctions. While we often disagree on matters of politics, we are united in the belief that your intervention can make the critical difference in Darfur. We join together now to urge you, in the words of Proverbs 24:11-12, to “rescue those being led away to death.” We pledge to do everything we can to rally support in both Congress and the U.N. to support your leadership in ending the horror in Darfur.

Also, check out the radio ad that they have out in support of their cause. It’s heartening to see that we are seeing a side to the evangelical movement that doesn’t involve megachurches or political posturing.

 

 Evangelicals for Darfur [1:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 8% [?]

Charleston, S.C. shool board member Sandi Engelman accomplished an amazing feat recently. She managed to talk on a local radio show with a foot firmly planted in her mouth.

Engelman, who is running for re-election had some comments to make about superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, who is African American. In one of her criticisms, she railed against the superintendent for wasting school district money by having them pay for a flight she missed because, according to Engelman, Goodloe-Johnson was late and operated on “CPT”.

In case you don’t know, “CPT” stands for “Colored People Time”. This is based on the old stereotype that black people can’t be on time for anything.

Here’s the quote, in context:

“Let me tell you one quick thing before you go… It’s also from the flight to Chicago, the superintendent was on her usual ‘CPT,’ missed her flight, came in and booked a first-class flight for hubby, daughter and herself.”

Engelman says that she did not mean anything derogatory by this and says that people are misunderstanding what she said.

So, I’d be really interested in knowing what other way “CPT” is used in Charleston.

Popularity: 6% [?]