When was the last time you saw a movie about the love and sacrifice of a black father for his child? More importantly, when was it the #1 movie at the box office?

If you saw the latest Will Smith film, you could answer, “this past weekend.” That’s because, “The Pursuit of Happyness” took in $27 million over the weekend, making it the #1 movie in America.

The movie is the story of Chris Gardner, a down and out salesman who, along with his son, are abandoned by his wife and, soon thereafter, end up homeless on the streets of San Francisco. Through will, determination and love for his son, Gardner attained a position as an intern at the brokerage firm of Dean Witter and eventually struck out on his own and, finally, formed Christopher Gardner International Holdings, a multi-million dollar financial services group.

But, apart from the personal triumph of Gardner, black fathers are drawn to the movie for its portrayal of the other side of black fatherhood not shown in most media — the father who gives his all for his child and doesn’t have to break the law to do so.

I haven’t checked it out yet but, I plan to do so. In the meantime, big up to Will and the creators of this film for putting something of quality out this holiday season.

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If you have read this site for any time, you’ll know that it’s no secret that I don’t like Ward Connerly (for historic reference, see here, here and here).

Ward Connerly represents the “sellout” to me, a word I use very sparingly. As I have stated previously, a sellout, to me, has to meet at least one of two criteria:

1. They start out on your side but, for money, power or prestige, they switch allegiances.
2. They take advantage of opportunities but, try to close the door on you when you try to do the same because it will bring them more money, power or prestige.

Ward Connerly fits the second all too well. These days, he is a staunch opponent of affirmative action in education, hiring and public contracting. However, in the early 90’s, he had no problem accepting minority contracts for his own business.

But, these days, being an anti-affirmative action crusader means that he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in his capacity as president and spokeperson of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) — an oxymoronic name if I’ve ever heard one. If you combine this with his anti-affirmative action speaking engagments, he easily brings in over $1 million per year. His organization has also garnered millions in donations from white conservative corporate interests.

Now, isn’t he pimping the issue the same way that white conservatives accuse Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton of doing. But, I guess as long as you pimp black folks for them but still remain the “hoe” for their interests, it’s all good.

I say all that to say this, Ward Connerly now wants to expand his anti-affirmative action campaign to 9 more states. That’s right, he now wants to take his “fight” to Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. He has already been successful in crippling affirmative action in California, Washington and Utah.

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Melle Mel earned fame and legendary status in a time where hip-hop artists weren’t getting rich off selling records. As a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, he gave us lyrical gems on songs like “White Lines” and, most famously, “The Message”.

When Melle Mel speaks on Hip Hop, he speaks from a perspective of someone who’s been there and done that. So, when I saw someone on AllHipHop.com post a recent blog entry from Melle Mel’s MySpace page, I had to track it down for myself to repost it here.

The entry is reposted in its entirety. Warning–strong language used.

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What if I told you that in the time it takes you to read this post, three African children died?

It had nothing to do with AIDS, starvation or war. The cause was something much more preventable — Malaria.

Malaria kills more children each year than HIV-AIDS. Every year, some 750,000 African children die from the disease. That’s one child every 30 seconds. The saddest part about all of this is that most of these deaths are preventable.

In addition to vaccines, something as simple as a net over a child’s bed may keep him/her from being bitten by a mosquito carrying this disease.

The NBA Cares, in conjunction with the United Methodist Church and Sports Illustrated, has launched the “Nothing But Nets” campaign. A $10 donation will buy a net for a child. If you are reading this, I urge you to check out their site and, if you feel so inclined, make a donation. I will be putting in a $50 donation right after I post this blog entry. I know, individually, we can’t save the world but, together, we can save a lot of folks, if we try.

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I’ve said it before and I still stand by it — the genocide in Darfur, Sudan is fueled by a lust for oil. In 2005, articles appeared that reported on Sudan’s deals that gave access to the ABCO corporation to drill in Darfur. That’s when many knew that there was more to this conflict than a conflict between the government and rebel factions.

Then, today, I read that Sudan is undergoing an economic boom due to oil revenue. Presumably, this is referring to oil deals in areas outside of Darfur, as well but, this does give some insight into why the Darfur region is of interest to Khartoum.

Sudan only began exporting crude oil in 1999, but this year it is expected to earn between $4 billion and $5 billion in oil revenue, said Abdul Rahim Hamdi, a former finance minister who still advises the government on economic matters.

The economy grew by 12 percent in 2006, the International Monetary Fund says — up from 8 percent the year before — and over $2.3 billion in direct foreign investment poured in last year, a nearly 50 percent rise from 2004.

This striking growth may seem like a hopeful sign for this African nation, which bears the scars of many wars and famines.

But some fear this sudden affluence may allow Sudan’s government to ignore the threat of sanctions from the West, which so far has not been able to persuade Khartoum to allow U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur.

The old adage is true. If you want to find out the reason behind anything, follow the money.

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Recently, CNN did a story on Vidor, Texas. This is a small town that borders Louisiana and is infamous in the area for its racist history.

As black folks, we heard about towns, particularly in the South, where we’d better be out of by the time the sun went down. Vidor was a hotbed of Klan activity. Even today, black folks tend to avoid Vidor after dark.
Now, the town says it’s trying to change its image. Officials there say the Klan’s been gone from there for 30 years and most of the folks there aren’t racist. But, one part of the story may be a telling sign of life in Vidor, Texas.

The reporter sat down with a resident there in a local restaurant and got the following response about the notion of black families moving into her neighborhood:

“I don’t mind being friends with them, talking and stuff like that, but as far as mingling and eating with them, all that kind of stuff, that’s where I draw the line.”

Who knows — maybe by “changing” they mean that they don’t wear the sheets anymore. At any rate, here’s the video from the segment.

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Okay, how can a group of people get together and come up with such a stupid idea? While the Iraq Study Group (ISG) is drawing praises from all corners for its report, it is also getting criticism from some for what I agree is a harebrained idea.

Tucked away in this report is a recommendation that is sure to draw fire over the next few days. Faced with a shortage of qualified civilian volunteer staff in Iraq, the ISG proposed that civilian staff in the U.S. be directly assigned to job duties in Iraq.

Yes, folks, they are talking about shipping federal employees to Iraq as a condition of employment.

So, in essence, we would be talking about a “draft” for civilian employees, who would be placed into a war zone.

But, of course, they would suggest not taxing the employees while they away to help mitigate financial hardship on the family.

We already have a military where overall recruitment is down over the war. Could you imagine what would happen if this recommendation were enacted? You’d have federal employees quitting left and right.

So, let’s just hope that this suggestion remains a suggestion and some real and substantive solutions for Iraq are enacted.

I vote for leaving but, that’s just me (and most of America).

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“If you can’t find a guilty black person, any black will do.” Was that on the minds of an Oak Park, Illinois resident and the editors at the Wednesday Journal, a weekly newspaper in the city?

I have to ask because, in response to a recent series the paper wrote on the achievment gaps between black and white students there, one letter to the editor has sparked a huge controversy and shows just how stupid some people can be when relying on stereotypes to shape their opinions of people.

Check this out:

The letter to the editor was accompanied by a photograph that had run on at least three previous occasions in the paper. The letter was in response to a commentary that had run in the Journal about the academic achievement gap between white and black students.

The letter, credited to an Oak Park resident, stated that young black men were not achieving academically because of gangs in school. The photo was of a march by student proponents of installing lights in the football stadium. Three African-American males were shown in the photo, and one of them, a football player wearing his jersey, was pointing toward a “Light the Stadium” sign. The letter writer said that the student was flashing a gang sign.

The letter writer asked rhetorically whether lights at the stadium “will likely bring this player’s fellow gang members or rivals to their neighborhood?”

Students and faculty at the school said the student, a junior, did not flash a gang sign or belong to a gang. District 200 Supt. Susan Bridge said the young man gets good grades, has a superb attendance record and a spotless discipline record. School officials say there is no gang problem at the school.

For its part, the paper is now apologizing for the letter and has pulled it from its web site and is placing a front-page apology in its next edition.

The school where the misidentified gang member a.k.a. good student who has no disciplinary issues held a rally in support of the classmate who was subject to the vicious lie.

It’s still true. Too often, Black people are born suspects.

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Major props to the folks over at News Hounds. They really stay on top of the madness at Fox News. In particular, I want to thank them for picking up on something I noticed last week, too.

On Friday, I posted a story about Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes dredging up a story from last year, solely for the purpose of sensationalism. The story revolves around the comments of a former North Carolina State professor who, at a Hurricane Katrina forum, spoke of exterminating all white people to allow for black folks to move forward. Obviously, this went nowhere and, by and large, you don’t have black folks out plotting anything of the like.

But, as I stated then, to avoid dealing with political issues because Republicans are not the flavor of the month anymore, Fox News, in general, and Hannity & Colmes, in particular, have taken the low road. Suddenly, this story about the isolated comments of one man has turned into a tirade against racism. Actually, I would argue it’s more about stoking white fears of annihilation at the hands of black folks.

Needless to say, rather than having a meaningful dialogue on race, it’s easier for Hannity and Colmes to turn the issue into a circus that has taken up three nights’ air time.

For the third night in a row last night, 12/6/06, Hannity & Colmes harped on the year-old non-story of a no-account black man’s statement that whites should be exterminated. Kamau Kambon is a bookstore owner and, supposedly, a former college instructor who made a horrible statement on a 2005 panel about media coverage of Katrina. Kambon no longer teaches. He owns a bookstore in North Carolina and has stayed out of the media since his controversial remarks. But Hannity & Colmes has done everything to hype the story and sensationalize the “threat” of white genocide and black racism. Kambon’s comments have received far more Hannity & Colmes airtime and webspace than the tragic slaying of African-American Sean Bell, the unarmed bridegroom who died in a hail of NYPD bullets on November 25.

Sean Hannity shouted accusations of “racial politics” at African-American activisits during the two discussions he deigned to participate in regarding the Bell shooting. As I wrote last week, Hannity could have provided a venue for dialogue and made an attempt to promote calm and harmony after such a tragedy. Instead, he used his bullyboy pulpit to fan the flames of hostility. But now, accusing blacks of racism is not enough. The ante has been upped to cries about white extermination, despite the fact that Kambon made no indication he intended to carry out his wishes and nobody seems to have stepped up to endorse them, much less assist in their execution. Nevertheless, Kambon has now been the subject of three Hannity & Colmes “debates” in as many nights.

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I read something today that hit home for me. I am the father of a young black boy. I look at him and see in him my hopes, dreams and aspirations for a better tomorrow. I want him to have a long, happy and fulfilled life and, even though I expect adversity for him, I want him to have as little as possible.

But, I also realize that he is a black boy. Right now, everybody goes on about how handsome he is (that’s not him in the picture, though) and how intelligent and alert he is. However, I know that, one day, he’ll be much larger and some will begin to look at him differently. They may not see his intellect or potential. Instead, they may see in him their own irrational fear of black men.

So, I sympathize with the mother who ponders, “But if I warn him to watch out for the police and white women, am I racist?”

As a teenager in the 80’s, I personally dealt with harassment at the hands of police who felt emboldened to say/do anything to us because we didn’t have the money or familial connections that cause police to think twice before doing so.

I also remember friends dealing with issues with the racist white parents of the girls they were dating. I even remember one schoolmate who got in trouble because the white girl he was dating (we all knew they were seeing each other) yelled “rape” when the two were caught getting it on in a bathroom in school (the truth later came out but, he was kicked out of school for a while).

Before you say “but, it was the 80’s”, I have a brother 9 years my junior and he went through the same thing in the 90’s. He’s now a 6′ 7″ black man so, you can only imagine the fear some feel of him. Hell, I’m only 6 feet tall and some operate with the same fear of me.

I say all of this to say that I know that these are real challenges for black boys. Read More… »

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