black…MYstory

This “Middle Finger Award” goes out to the Democratic leadership of the House who, for a brief while, banned Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi) from speaking on the floor for his comments about another representative, Tom Price (R-GA), whose proposed amendment Taylor saw as being putative to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita who are still seeking reconstruction funds to rebuild their homes.

Taylor’s speaking privileges were restored and he apologized but, he sticks by the sentiments of his remarks.

Taylor took exception to Price attempt to bar the use of community development block grants to help fund the rebuilding effort, claiming that doing so was good fiscal responsibility. Taylor took exception to this and said the following:

“He wants to punish [towns affected by Katrina] for mistakes of the Bush administration. Mr. Price, I wish you’d have the decency, if you’re going to do that to the people of south Mississippi, that maybe you ought to come visit south Mississippi, and see what has happened, before you hold them to a standard you would never hold your own people to, and that you fail to hold the Bush administration to.”

Later, a spokeswoman for Rep. Taylor, Courtney Littig, offered the following:

“This is somebody with no idea what he’s talking about, who hasn’t visited Waveland, Mississippi. He doesn’t know that no one is living there, the City of Waveland has no tax base, they can’t rely on regular police patrols, they’re using volunteer firefighters, and there is no way for parts of south Mississippi to rebuild unless they’re able to use community development block grants.”

Another interesting not is that Rep. Taylor still lives with his brother after his home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina so, he might know what he’s talking about.

I’ve always found it interesting that Congress is so worried about civility when issues of life and death are on the line. Today, for putting concerns about civility over concerns about people first, I give the Democratic leadership of the house the middle finger.

Popularity: 20% [?]

It only took 19 months for Bruce Gordon to throw in the towel as CEO of the NAACP.

Was it incompetence? No, Gordon brings a wealth of experience from his 35-year history in corporate America, retiring as president of Retail Markets in Verizon’s Domestic Telecom unit.

No, Gordon is leaving because of “differences with the board over his role and the direction of the organization.”

Though Gordon blames no one and the board seems to have wanted him to stay, it appears that being the CEO of the NAACP is particularly challenging when it comes to dealing with its board of directors.

You see, the NAACP board has 64 members. Some might shrug their shoulders and say “what’s the big deal?” Well, contrast this to what is currently the largest company in America, Exxon-Mobil. This company, whose profits run into the tens of billions of dollars has a board that, in their by-laws, is only allowed to be between 10-19 members.

Imagine how challenging it has to be to try to get consensus among 64 board members.

Also, it appears that, unlike traditional CEO roles, Gordon was not allowed to really set direction for the organization. Gordon not only wanted to deal with the issue of civil rights but, also, wanted to be a more service-oriented organization, which put him at odds with the board.

Mr. Gordon said he did not believe that the organization should abandon its civil rights mission but rather that it should expand its role to include providing social services. “This is not an either/or,” he said. “There needs to be the right balance between advocacy and service.”

“It would be insane to give up on advocacy,” he continued. “I just think we can do more than that, and should.”

Well, methinks it’s time for the NAACP to re-examine its mission to see if it’s really meeting the needs of the population it claims to serve.

Popularity: 22% [?]

“You measure the justice of society by how it treats its children.”
-Former UN Secretary General, Peres de Cuellar

12-year-old Deamonte Driver died Sunday. He wasn’t hit by a car, pierced in the heart by a stray bullet or taken by some rare, incurable disease. He died of a toothache.

His life could have been saved by an $80 procedure but, his mother lacked the funds to take care of it. So, the bacteria from his abcess spread to his brain.

Let’s back up. His mother did try to get this fixed but, try finding a dentist who takes Medicaid. Want an even greater challenge? Try finding an oral surgeon who’ll accept Medicaid.

So, his mother did like a lot of poor people do — she hoped for the best. Unfortunately, all her hopes and prayers didn’t spare her son’s life.

For the want of $80, she would have had her son alive, today.

If that doesn’t move you, try this. As a result of the infection going to his brain, Deamonte had to have two operations and spent 6 weeks in the hospital. The final cost to taxpayers will likely be in the neighborhood of $250,000.

All this was because we, as a country…as THE superpower in the world…as THE beacon of hope and democracy…as THE pillar of humanitarianism let a child die because he didn’t have $80 to get his tooth fixed.

But, if that didn’t move you then, riddle me this — what’s less money, $80 or $250,000? Some people call universal health care “socialism”. I choose another s-word — “sensible.”

Popularity: 36% [?]

As a computer geek (yeah, I said it), I really don’t care too much for Microsoft. However, I do have to admit that, when it comes to helping enriching the lives of average people, the company puts its money where its mouth is.

This was evidenced most recently with its $5 million technology grant to the Urban League to help the Urban League enhance the services it offers. According to Urban League President and CEO, Mark Morial:

“..the National Urban League and our affiliates will have the technology needed to enhance our wide array of programs from education assistance and job training to home ownership and business development initiatives. In turn, we’ll be able to better assist the over 600,000 African-American children and families we serve nationwide and help them to acquire the necessary skills to close the digital divide that still exists in America today.”

While $5 million doesn’t fix the problem, it certainly goes a long way towards helping. So, despite the geek in me, I have to give kudos to Microsoft on this move.

Popularity: 28% [?]

New Orleans is a city in flux. Right now, a lot of people are caught up in the day-to-day challenges of trying to rebuild their lives more than a year after Hurricane Katrina hit. Unfortunately, in addition to this stress, they have to deal with a ridiculously high murder rate. Well, many are more than fed up and are letting Mayor Ray Nagin have it.
Yesterday, at least 3,000 people marched on city hall to voice their anger of the city leadership’s inability (or unwillingness) to stem the tide of almost daily murders going on in the city.

It’s clear that these folks don’t want lip service. They wouldn’t even let the mayor speak. They want action, not words.

So, Mr. Nagin, you’re on notice. The people have spoken and the ball is now in your court to lead on bringing for real solutions to this problem.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I remember reading the story of Genarlow Wilson a while back. A 17-year-old high school student at the time of his “crime”, Genarlow was convicted of aggravated child molestation for consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl.

This case is eerily reminiscent of the case of Marcus Dixon, a black, 18-year-old high school senior who had consensual sex with a 15-year-old classmate. He spent a year in jail before his conviction was overturned. Like Genarlow Wilson, both of their “crimes” occurred in the state of Georgia.

This has resulted in a 10-year mandatory prison sentence for Genarlow, which he has been serving since February 2005. Upon his release, he will have to register as a sex offender. There are a couple of legal ironies with the case. The first is that, under Georgia law, the penalty for oral sex is greater than the penalty for sexual contact involving penetration. If he had had sex involving penetration, instead, it would have been a misdemeanor with a maximum of one year in jail.
The second irony is that the law that convicted him is now off the books and a more sane law, called the “Romeo and Juliet” law, is in effect to deal with consensual sexual contact between teenagers. Sadly, this is too late to help Genarlow.

Even more sad is that the Supreme Court of Georgia has refused to reconsider this case. Therefore, barring a U.S. Supreme Court decision in his favor or a pardon, Genarlow Wilson would be looking at another 8 years in prison.

To say Georgia law is screwed up is an understatement. But, to say that it is applied evenly would be naive. I refuse to believe that if Genarlow Wilson where white, it would have been considered anything more than a boy “sowing his wild oats.” But, Genarlow does not benefit from skin privilege so, conveniently, the law applies to him.

Popularity: 34% [?]

If you haven’t seen New Orleans: Big Easy to Big Empty, it’s a must-see. Greg Palast, someone I, and many others, consider one of the greatest investigative journalists in our times, has come with a brief documentary that highlights what has (and has not) happened in New Orleans since Katrina (and subsequent flooding) hit. It also details what the Bush administration really knew prior to the flooding of New Orleans and who stands to get paid in the aftermath of this tragedy.

Synopsis:

August 29th, 2006 marked the one year anniversary of the devastation in New Orleans caused by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This … all » Special Report brings you exclusive footage and the stories you won’t hear on the other networks–the hidden political agendas and the suppressed eyewitness reports. Includes on-the-spot reporting from independent journalist Greg Palast.

In this half-hour film, Greg Palast and his team travel to New Orleans to investigate what has happened since Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast last year. On his visit, he discovers that the population of New Orleans is miniscule, the reconstruction sparse, suicide rates are climbing, and many have not, nor know how to, return to the city that care forgot. He examines why residents had to leave, what really caused the flood and why they aren’t returning.

Check out the video below:

Popularity: 6% [?]

Today’s Principle: Imani (Faith)

To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

In the end, this is what it boils down to for all of us. In the Bible (Hebrews 11:1), it says that “Faith is the evidence of things unseen, the substance of things hoped for.” We must learn to operate in faith that we can build a nation together, even if it doesn’t benefit us in our lifetimes. For the sakes of generations yet unborn, we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to the world to share the benefit of our collective efforts to better this country and, in turn, the planet. But, all of this starts with a faith in our ability to do so.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Today’s Principle: Kuumba (Creativity)

To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Friday night, a local peace activist was shot and killed here, in Cincinnati. It appears his life ended living the principle we celebrate today. Richard Muhammad had run-ins with the law in his past but, he took his experiences and channeled them in a new direction to help end gun violence in his part of the city. It’s this type of commitment to change that we need more of in our communities. Not all of us will risk our lives the way Mr. Muhammad did but, if we are committed, this may not be something for which we must put our lives in danger.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Today’s Principle: Nia (Purpose)