I was pleasantly surprised and inspired by the new Cornel West musical release (yes, I said musical release), entitled Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations. It contains music from hip-hop artists such KRS-1, Talib Kweli, Black Thought of the Roots, Andre 3000, etc. and established musical acts such as Prince and the late Gerald Levert.

Right now, my personal favorites are Still Here, by Ambassador and Paul Woodruff, and 911, a spoken word piece by Dr. West himself.

To give you a flavor of what this release is about, a couple of videos have been released on YouTube, detailing this project. Check them out and then run and get this CD!

Part 1 :

Part 2 :

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Just an FYI for everyone who doesn’t know — thousands of protesters are in Jena, Louisiana right now in rallies of support for the “Jena 6″.

I am heartened by the show of support for these young men who have clearly been overcharged and would have spent the most productive years of their lives behind bars over this, if prosecutor Reed Walters’ charges been allowed to stand.

Now, I only hope that we take this same spirit of justice back to our own communities and call for fair and just treatment of all black people, even if the offending party happens to be another black person.

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“I’m not going to resign. I’m going to stay focused on protecting our kids. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done around the country. The department is responsible for protecting our kids…”

-Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, March 2007

If Gonzales were really serious about this statement, perhaps he should have started in his own Department of Justice.

John David R. Atchison is an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida. Yesterday, he was arraigned in court on charges that absolutely turn my stomach. Atchison stands accused of trying to solicit sex with a 5-year-old child.

He was caught as part of a sting in which an undercover officer posed as a mother of a 5-year-old girl, offering the child up for sex. Atchison flew from his home in Pensacola, FL to Detroit, MI, allegedly for the sole purpose of having sex with the child.

But, this is even more disturbing. This is a passage from the article (bolding mine):

In deposition, detectives said Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that “you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents.”

The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, ” I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice.”

The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, “Just gotta go slow and very easy. I’ve done it plenty,” according to detectives.

Atchison is currently in federal custody and a detention hearing was scheduled for today.

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“What go around, come around, I figure / Now we go white kids callin’ themselve ‘ni**a’”

-KRS-One, “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know”

You know, it’s good to see a younger dude in the hip hop game recognize that words to matter and that, one way or another, the words he speaks will influence others.

Chamillionaire is one such hip hop artist.

He never was one to use much profanity in his music but, his latest release, Ultimate Victory, takes it one step further — he made a conscious decision to eschew the use of the “n-word”. According to Chamillionaire, it wasn’t the Don Imus mess and the subsequent Al Sharpton campaign against rap lyrics that did it — it was something more personal that shook him out of it. He says that it was watching white fans at his shows singing “ni**a” along with him that made him reconsider his use of the word.

So, give credit where credit is due. This is a young man who could sell a lot more music by disrespecting his people but, instead, chose to use the platform he has to deliver a more positive message.

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You ever read something that just made you say, “Huh?”

In the past year, I have seen a couple of rap videos that were both shocking and thought-provoking. One was NY Oil’s “Y’all Should All Get Lynched”, which called out rappers who engage coonish behavior and who advocate killing, selling dope or the whole thug image, in general. The second on was a parody song called “Read A Book”. It basically plays like a Lil Jon song but, calls on black people to read, raise their kids and to “…buy some land, buy some land…f**k spinnin’ rims!”

Now, according to Rainbow-PUSH:

A common definition of satire is witty language used to convey insults or scorn. The video is plenteously scornful and insulting, but not of crassness. The video insults reading, personal hygiene, family values and frugality. “Read a Book” heaps scorn on positive values and (un)intentionally celebrates ignorance. The narrator is obviously illiterate, unkempt and disrespectful. So who takes his advice seriously?

The best Hip-hop is clever, with allusions to politics, history, great music and literature. Part of the fun is finding the hidden meaning. I was prepared to forgive the crude language and lack of creativity if there was as message encouraging viewers to read and otherwise conduct themselves responsibly. I was disappointed. The simplistic repetitive rhyme and tune made it clear that the creator had not taken his own advice, i.e. to Read a Book.

Well, we must have been watching a different video. Malcolm X believed in “making it plain” when speaking to people so that they would clearly get the message you were trying to convey. This parody did just that. It was clever by turning the imagery seen in too many rap videos on its ear. My wife, who is an Algebra teacher got it. My best friend who is a long-time Programmer/Developer got it. I am a Systems Analyst and I got it. We all caught on and did not feel dumbed-down by it in the slightest.

The problem is that some in the “afristocracy” have forgotten that, sometimes, you need to do things to shake people out of their slumber, even if it’s a little crass or crude. Sometimes being clever involves resisting the urge to point one’s nose in the air and getting a little dirty.

More importantly, however, is that the creators of this video deserve credit for actually trying to say something important about our need to better educate ourselves and to be more responsible adults. If that was missed by these critics, then perhaps they should actually be more questioning of themselves than the video’s creators.

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Often, I intentionally refrain from high-profile stories because we get beat over the head with them enough. Instead, I normally choose those stories that get overlooked in the media in order to help give them more visibility.

I’m breaking with my normal M.O. to share some thoughtful analysis I read in regards to the Michael Vick situation and our reaction to it.

Jamele Hill, in writing for ESPN’s Page 2, reminds us of how easily we lose what my mother would call our sense of “priority and proportion.”

Hill reminds us that Ravens’ linebacker was never this vilified when he stood accused of being involved in the killings of two people (he later plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice). She also looks back on how Rams’ defensive end Leonard Little was treated with kid gloves after he actually struck and killed a woman while drunk-driving. Little got an 8-game suspension and got to serve a 90-day sentence at a time that was convenient to him. So, here we see instances where human lives were lost and there was less public outcry than this Vick circus.

Hill also lets us know about contemporary stories that are being ignored while we talk about Vick. Specifically, she speaks on how we are ignoring the plight of the “Jena 6″, which we as black folks should be greatly concerned. Here we have young men who could languish in prison for decades over what should have been, at worst, a simple assault case.

Vick deserves punishment for his crimes, no doubt. However, what more important issues are we ignoring while we focus on this mess?

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Black kids are disproportionately represented in the foster care system.

Why?

Perhaps a recent study by the Government Accountability Office sheds light on this issue.

Poverty, bias and difficulty in finding adoptive parents are key among a number of factors that contribute to the higher proportion of black children who end up in foster care, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report, completed last month, said its survey of 48 states and the District of Columbia showed that most jurisdictions have taken steps to address the disproportionate representation, including involving families in decisions regarding children’s care, building community support to help children remain within their families and to widen the search for relatives to care for the children. The states, however, also reported that they had limited ability to analyze data and come up with strategies and often relied on assistance from universities and non-governmental organizations for help.

“Families living in poverty have greater difficulty accessing housing, mental health, and other services needed to keep families stable and children safely at home,” the GAO found. “Bias or cultural misunderstandings and distrust between child welfare decision makers and the families they serve are also viewed as contributing to children’s removal from their homes into foster care. African American children also stay in foster care longer because of the difficulties in recruiting adoptive parents and a greater reliance on relatives to provide foster care who may be unwilling to terminate the parental rights of the child’s parent — as required in adoption — or who need the financial subsidy they receive while the child is in care.”

As a person who may one day adopt a child in the child welfare system, I hear from those on the front lines of this issue. I know that black children in this system have lower foster placement and adoption rates. If we are truly a country concerned about family values, what better way to show that than to help families in need stay together?

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Renowned educator, psychologist and historian Dr. Asa Hilliard passed away Sunday night. He was 73 years old.

It is believed that Dr. Hilliard may have contracted malaria on a recent trip to Ghana, though autopsy has not yet been performed.

Dr. Hilliard authored and co-authored several books ranging on subjects from black consciousness to educating black youth.

We truly lost a giant. Rest in peace, Dr. Hilliard, and thank you.

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One things I’ve always noticed about dolls or action figures that are supposed to be minority characters is that they always looked like the white dolls dipped in whatever color they wanted to use. So, needless to say, authenticity was lacking.

Now, KMart is recognizing the power of the minority dollar and will be offering multicultural dolls in each of it 1400 stores.

When the rollout is completed next week, Kmart stores will sell nearly four dozen types of ethnic dolls — a nearly fourfold increase from what’s currently available. The dolls are flanked by an advertising campaign in the store’s circulars and designed to appeal to black, Hispanic and Asian parents.

So, what is the real financial benefit of catering to these markets?

Becoming relevant to minority shoppers can reap big benefits. About one in three Americans is a minority, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Between 2006 and 2011, the spending power of the country’s blacks, Asians, Native Americans and multiracial shoppers is expected to grow 38 percent, to $1.9 trillion. Meanwhile Hispanic buying power alone is projected to grow a formidable 48 percent, to almost $1.2 trillion, according to data from The University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth.

Like I’ve said before, Wall Street needs to get on the stick. The minority dollar is out there for the businesses that can truly cater to these markets.

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Do we, a black people, really get to exercise our constitutional rights? Well, over the last several years, it seems that Americans, in general, are seeing their rights chipped away but, is it even more so for black folks?

What is our relationship to the Constitution and what does it really mean to us and for us? A few days back, columnist Alton Maddox pondered this question and came up with a profound response.

I won’t spoil it but, I will share a little of it with you

Blacks are allowed to enjoy legal and political presence but are punished for exercising rights under or similar to the Speech and Debate Clause. Only white people are allowed to engage in free speech and free debate. This is why Sen. Hillary Clinton recently trumped Sen. Barack Obama at Howard University.

You’ll just have to read the rest for yourself.

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