TBI Blog

Re:CJ

2010-07-23T12:09:00.001-07:00

Hello, what's good? This is CJ with a big opportunity to help some incredibly
talented young organizers have the money they need to register new voters and
get involved in healing their communities. My organization, the League of
Young Voters Education Fund, is in the running for $50,000 from Pepsi in a big
contest this August. But we have to get 150 people to sign up and I really need
your help. Will you please sign up to be a daily voter?
http://www.theprogressiveslate.com/pepsi.php?name=LYVEF

And please pass it along to your friends and family. Every dollar we raise will
go to help our bright men and women work in their communities to make them
safer, healthier places to live. We're working on training the next generation
of leaders, and I'd be honored to have your help making it all possible.

thank youCJ

2010-03-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Title?
Newsweek recently posted an article titled "Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers". The article cites that "what matters more than the class size or the textbook, the teaching method, or the technology or even the curriculum, is the quality of the teacher."
The article also points out that "as the population of disadvantaged students grows, overall scores continue to sag." Thus, as long as communities continue to be stripped of funding which provides assistance for things such as social services, housing and the creation of new jobs, there will continue to be a widening achievement gap between privileged and poor and minority students.
What I found interesting is that there is a connection between the two. According to Newsweek, "the weakest teachers are relegated to teaching the neediest students, poor minority kids in inner-city schools." Statistics often demonstrate that this does not always happen due to mere coincidence.
In the state of Nevada the relationship between these factors is not admissible (word choice? Admissible in my head means like, "you can't play that sex tape as evidence in a court of law"). An annual survey by Education Week magazine ranked Nevada 50th in the nation for the quality of its public K-12 education, with Las Vegas receiving a letter D grade. Also, according to city data Nevada ranks third in unemployment. If Las Vegas was a state it would rank second behind Michigan. The unemployment in Las Vegas ultimately led to foreclosure where Nevada ranks worst in the nation, causing many displaced families. To top it all off, Nevada teachers are some of the lowest-paid employees in the state and are currently facing an additional 1.75% salary cut on top of the 10% across the board that has already been proposed by Republican governor Jim Gibbons, which would result in thousands of teacher layoffs and 50-student class sizes in high schools.
How do we improve education for all when faced with so many obstacles?

2010-02-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

By Krysten Hughes

Politics As Usual: President Obama Visits Las Vegas. Will He Address Nevada's Tax System?

Today, President Barack Obama will be in Las Vegas, Nevada for a private, million-dollar fundraiser supporting the Democratic National Committee at the home of Palms hotel and casino owner, George Maloof. Also with a political agenda in mind, Obama will be speaking on the Las Vegas economy at a local town hall meeting directed towards the city's business leaders.

Obama's arrival to Sin City comes just weeks after he made a comment showing disfavor to people who "blow a bunch of cash in Vegas". A comment that provoked Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to tell the president "lay off". The Obama versus Vegas debate is fueled by the city's economic status, in which the city and state's revenue is very dependent upon gambling money. In fact, gambling and sales tax make up to 65% of the state's revenue at times. Additionally, Nevada is experiencing a state wide budget crisis of upwards to $881 million (yet, we have real estate projects like CityCenter costing $9 billion to build). According to a recent survey of states by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the state of Nevada faces the largest budget deficit in the United States.

As a resident and college student living in Las Vegas, I have been affected first hand by the state's budget crisis. Not only has Nevada consistently ranked at the bottom in funding education and social services, but now, Governor Jim Gibbons is proposing state agency budget cuts in areas such as higher education and public schools, on top of the $1.5 billion that was already slashed. No wonder our state is at the bottom in literacy rates, graduation rates, and even mandated immunizations.

A decline in the gaming industry however, is not entirely the issue. The issue is Nevada's tax structure. According to a study conducted by the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, the poorest 20% of Nevadans pay 8.3% of their income in taxes, whereas the richest 1% only pays 2% of their income. You do the math.

If I were able to ask President Obama to address one issue while speaking to my community during the town hall meeting tomorrow, I would ask that he discuss Nevada's disproportionate tax system. Up to this point, our tax structure has offered no support during this economic downturn, allowing the majority of businesses to get off without paying corporate, state and personal income taxes, and tax on the shares of stock.

What Nevada needs is a stable revenue system that is not heavily reliant on the gaming industry, and that is fair and able to adequately sustain our growing economy. Strategic action needs to be taken in order to re-develop the weak tax structure and hold big businesses accountable for paying their fair share, instead of milking money from the poor down to the last dollar for services like education and public services who everyone benefits from. Clearly, the income level of taxpayers is a matter of social justice and ordinary citizens are the ones having to bite the bullet in the state's economic crisis.

2010-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

A Change is Here
By Gigi Traore

The presidential election inspired in Americans a sense of hope and possibility. It sent a wave of Change is Possible to Yes, We Can to We did It! Pres. Obama's overall victory flipped the political game and helped to inspire and energize activists, organizers, community members and beyond. That wave of inspiration and hopefulness brought about an emergence of new leadership.

This emergence is defined as an occurrence of persons entering into or pursuing elected positions at various levels of government who traditionally would not have considered seeking office. Persons varying from activists, women, organizers and agitated community residents who may or may not have previously played an active political role. Nevertheless, witnessing the ability to change society's status quo Americans experienced an emergence of new leadership. This is particularly true for young people (under 35) who no longer feel the need to await their knight ship.

Desmond Childers (Detroit, MI) past City Commissioner hopeful; Mexie Wilson (Akron, OH), past school board hopeful; Jenna Vendi (Portland, OR) school board elect along with myself, Gigi Traore (Cleveland, OH) past city council candidate; are included in this list of young folks stepping into the (depending on locale) severely restricted arena of age requirement. As young candidates we challenged existing political systems, offered contemporary ideologies and were less likely to be subjected to pre-packaged jading as some of our 'more mature' counterparts.

This conceptual idea can also be applied to issues which arise during political campaigns. Many of us voting citizens are aware of the typical issue sound bites: "bringing home the troops", "improving our economy", and "providing better education"; have all been used to catch the attention of the American people. However, the election of Pres. Obama also changed the way in which candidates on all levels of government address or talk about the issues.

In particular, during my campaign I observed candidates using the phrase "going green"; each proposed greening businesses, schools and their neighborhoods. And although for most of the candidates the "Green Movement" was an abstract concept; it started a new & fresh conversation about improving our communities and economy.

With the emergence of new leadership and the Green Movement 'politricks as usual' is close to being a thing of the past. Young people are redefining what and how we become engaged with the political process. While the green movement steers clear of cliché antics and offers tangible ways to improve our society. Showing clear implication that the emergence of youth leadership and the Green Movement are not fade-away trends, but necessities to improving society's overall growth and well being.

Keep Movin' the Movement!!!

Ms. Gigi Traore
Executive Director
Power Network
www.poweratthepolls.org

2009-2010 Fellow
Green For All
www.greenforall.org

Community Service Chair
Queen Elizabeth #9 OES-PHA
Cleveland, OH

2010-01-14T10:24:00.001-08:00

An Ode to the Black Woman

By Gigi Traore

Since the creation of human existence Black women have proven to hold knowledge, the ability and prudence to not only maintain, but also create greatness in the midst of adversity. As I contemplate the inventions, individual leadership and accomplishments of Black women and their influential spirit expounded upon their children, it evokes pride and inspiration. Irrespective of the trials, negative stereotypes and aims to destroy her spirit and character, the Black woman continues to prevail.

In recognition of the ancestral shoulders upon which I stand; I wish to pay tribute to the Black woman. The SHEroes who either directly or indirectly provided knowledge and or inspiration to me throughout my 3 decades of existence. Be it via their exemplary service, academics or profession; they have helped to shape and guide my thoughts, ambitions and work. To you, my SHEroes I salute thee.

Black Women "SET IT OFF"

In the beginning when creation began

The backbone of man was made

With the invention of slavery

No longer were we as a people free

Pain, sorrow, and strife that we take

Every joint and skin beat from bare nakedness

to Loneliness, system set up against us

Black family logic exist no more

Poverty stricken neighborhoods

Beyond high school education out of reach is what's understood

Dancing beautiful black skin on stage

Hiding inside the hurtful rage

Killings of self and our people

Day in, day out black women set it off

Fighting for better lives beyond project walls

Struggling to reach non-infested halls

Overcoming to make her son, her man-child

The best that they say he cannot be

Bamboozled no more, more than foot or basketball star

Reaching and striving for the Nile's enriched shore

In this society, in this world, fighting against systems

Fighting against ourselves, just fighting for fighting

Fighting in hope and in dreams that we would sustain

Or at least one day as a community maintain

Set if off…day in…Set if off…day out…Set if off…day-after-day

Searching for our roots to get back (Sankofa)

Merely more than just being Black (Sankofa)

You, the AFRICAN woman despite the absence of your tribal knowledge (Sankofa)

SET IF OFF continuously …

For we have men, children, and babies to save

Utilize the resilience which God gave

to Set if off, for the road we have paved and trod

must Break the cycle so we one day may reunite

BLACK WOMEN "SET IT OFF"

Original Piece by G.A. Traore

2010-01-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

The year was 1995, I was a sophmore in college at Southen University when Goodie MOB dropped cell therapy. Back in Baton Rouge Cell Therapy was a great song with a dope video.. Who would of thought that the lyrics would one day become our reality.

When the scene unfolds
Young girls thirteen years old
Expose themselves to any Tom, Dick, and Hank
Got mo' stretch marks than these hoes
Hollin they got rank
See Sega aint in this new world order
Dem experimenting in Atlanta, Georgia
United Nations, overseas
they trained assassins to do search and seize
Aint knocking or asking
Dem coming for niggas like me
Po' white trash, like they
Tricks like her back in slavery
Concentration camps lace with gas pipes lines
Inferno's outdoors like they had back
When Adolf Hitler was living in 1945
Listen to me now, believe me
Later on in the future look it up
Where they say it? Aint no more Constitution
In the event of a race war
Places like operation heartbreak hotel
Moments tear until air tight vents seat off despair
Dem say expect no mercy
Foot you should be my least worries got to deal with
Where my W-2's, 1099's
Unmarked black helicopters swoop down
And try to put missiles in mines

Who's that peeking in my window
POW nobody now

Me and my family moved in our apartment complex
A gate with the serial code was put up next
The claim that this community is so drug free
But it don't look that way to me cause I can see
The young bloods hanging out at the sto 24/7
Junkies looking got a hit of the blo it's powerful
Oh you know what else they tryin to do
Make a curfew especially for me and you the traces of the new world order
Time is getting shorter if we don't get prepared
People it's gone be a slaughter
My mind won't allow me to not be curious
My folk don't understand so they don't take it serious
But every now and then, I wonder
If the gate was put up to keep crime out or to keep our ass in

Who's that peeking in my window
POW nobody now

Listen up little niggaz I'm talking to you
About what yo little ass need to be going through
I fall a victim too and I know I shouldn't smoke so much
But I do with the crew everybody on the average 'bout 4 or 5
I'm lucky to be alive at sunrise now I realize the cost
After I lost my best friend Bean I recognize as a King
Who am I to tell you to stop smokin
Now you're open to disease and colds
And aint 16 years old, this shit has got to stop
Let's take a walk through detox
I want outta this hold I'm in a cell under attack
Loc up folks they in the hood, got an eye on every move
I make open your face to info you aint know
Cause it's kept low how the new world plan
Reeks the planet without the black man

So what's your angle, try to separate me from the blood
is disrespect like coming in my home and not
Wiping your feet on tha rug
the Citron Absolut has got me bucking no hang with no phony
lookout for the man with tha mask and the white pony
On my back are bills staying off my toes always on my heels
Insane, plain, soldiers coming in the dark by plane
To enforce the new system by reign
Tag my skin with your computer chip
Run your hand over tha scanner to buy you dish now
No more fishing for your fish
Kiss tha days of tha old days past ways gone
Mind blown, conception, protection
My name on your selections but I caught you coming POW!

Who's that peeking in my window
POW nobody now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuWB9Nhoypw

Happy New Year

2010-01-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone thats recovering from their New Years vacation/ celebration..Greetings to you all, Its Jan the start of a new decade and the start of individuals making New Years Resolutions. This year I decided to take another approach, I decided to make everyday life evolution resolutions (say it 3times really fast). I wanted to make resolution's that I could stick to and could also be practiced in the hood or on the hill..

My everyday life evolution states that I must continue to learn from my past, live in the moment, and continue building for future generations. My everyday life evolution states that you should help others, practice humility, and open doors for others to follow. My everyday life resolution is building others up instead of tearing them down.

In a world at war and violence I will speak and walk in the name of peace. I will be empathetic yet hold for accountability. I will not worship possesions yet not accept poverty I will strive for economic community growth.

Now lets get it poppin....Happy New Year

2009-12-29T23:33:00.001-08:00

Why I Celebrate Kwanzaa
By: Gigi Traore

On the social networking site Facebook, I've read several statuses belonging to Black Americans questioning the purpose and existence of Kwanzaa. The holiday has been mocked, ridiculed and deemed a wasteful means. As a person who not only celebrates, but actively partakes in the holiday, I felt the need to enlighten and reintroduce the national cause behind Kwanzaa.

Dr. Maulana Karenga established the holiday in 1966 as a means of reconnecting those whom once celebrated and reveled at the inventions and accomplishments of Black American ancestry.. Furthermore, it became an avenue of educating our young people about the rich history from slave ship to freedom to Civil Rights. Overall, Kwanzaa is the passing down, exchange and celebration of stories about our Black struggle turned victorious.

Kwanzaa in its recognition of historical national figures and their contribution parallels Black History month. However, this cultural holiday has a ceremonious and intentionality to celebrating our collective journey, history and legacy as Black people. Through Swahili terminology, Dr. Karenga developed (7) key principles to define Black culture, people, and experience. They are: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self Determination), Ujima (Collective Work & Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). Together these principles are known as Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles.

I interpret the principles to mean: "We must unite as a people to determine our purpose and be responsible as a collective; utilizing our creative, financial and spiritual self to enhance and restore the triumphs of our ancestors as well as continue to advance as a people."

Kwanzaa further conserves the passing down of our history, which is being lost because of our failure to tell the stories of our greatness relating to who we were, are and can be as a people.. I do not see Kwanzaa replacing commercialized holidays (placated by religion), for that's not its purpose. More so it's a cultural celebration for the Black Diaspora not separated by religion, but joined together by history and legacy.

I celebrate Kwanzaa because of the exuberant pride I carry, which is an extension from the heritage from which I stem. I celebrate Kwanzaa because I refuse to deny my children the right to be enlightened with the same pride and knowledge; I celebrate Kwanzaa because despite the challenges of today it reminds me that it's possible to triumph and become a victor; I celebrate Kwanzaa because my Black history cannot be lost or forgotten.

Harambee! Harambee! Harambee!

2009-12-28T16:39:00.001-08:00

Why I Celebrate Kwanzaa
By: Gigi Traore

On the social networking site Facebook, I've read several statuses belonging to Black Americans questioning the purpose and existence of Kwanzaa. The holiday has been mocked, ridiculed and deemed a wasteful means. As a person who not only celebrates, but actively partakes in the holiday, I felt the need to enlighten and reintroduce the national cause behind Kwanzaa.

Dr. Maulana Karenga established the holiday in 1966 as a means of reconnecting those whom once celebrated and reveled at the inventions and accomplishments of Black American ancestry. Furthermore, it became an avenue of educating our young people about the rich history from slave ship to freedom to Civil Rights. Overall, Kwanzaa is the passing down, exchange and celebration of stories about our Black struggle turned victorious..

Kwanzaa in its recognition of historical national figures and their contribution parallels Black History month. However, this cultural holiday has a ceremonious and intentionality to celebrating our collective journey, history and legacy as Black people. Through Swahili terminology, Dr.. Karenga developed (7) key principles to define Black culture, people, and experience. They are: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self Determination), Ujima (Collective Work & Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). Together these principles are known as Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles.

I interpret the principles to mean: "We must unite as a people to determine our purpose and be responsible as a collective; utilizing our creative, financial and spiritual self to enhance and restore the triumphs of our ancestors as well as continue to advance as a people."

Kwanzaa further conserves the passing down of our history, which is being lost because of our failure to tell the stories of our greatness relating to who we were, are and can be as a people. I do not see Kwanzaa replacing commercialized holidays (placated by religion), for that's not its purpose. More so it's a cultural celebration for the Black Diaspora not separated by religion, but joined together by history and legacy.

I celebrate Kwanzaa because of the exuberant pride I carry, which is an extension from the heritage from which I stem. I celebrate Kwanzaa because I refuse to deny my children the right to be enlightened with the same pride and knowledge; I celebrate Kwanzaa because despite the challenges of today it reminds me that it's possible to triumph and become a victor; I celebrate Kwanzaa because my Black history cannot be lost or forgotten.

Harambee! Harambee! Harambee!

Keep Movin' the Movement!!!

2009-12-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

"My president is black" - Jeezy

WOW, can you believe how fast 2009 came and went. Where have all the hours, days, months gone? I guess what they say is true, Time flies when your organizing..

My theme song entering 2009 was off of the recession and it featured Nas, and I'll be damned it came true. In 2009, we witnessed the 1st ever inauguration of a Black President (Barack Obama). Do you remember the 1st time you heard Billy Jean? I get butterflies just thinking about Motown 25, that day I believed I could walk on the moon (R.I.P.MJ)

Tiger's Wood failed to capture him a major but it helped TMZ catch him slippin..

On video we saw a Chicago, Illinois Honor Roll student beaten to death by his peers and Oscar grant shot while lying on his stomach by Bart transit Cops. Chris Brown and Rihanna Whats Love got 2 do with it got 2 do with it? I am still trying to figure out how you can win a Nobel Peace Prize while sending additional troops to WAR(what is it good for absolutely nothing).

There were so many great moments this year, the Ballon Boy hoax, Health Care Townhouses, Birthers, Teabaggers, Beck vs Van, You Lie, 3 beers,2 guys and a President, and before I forget Beyonce had one of the greatest videos of all time!

This year we saw Unemployment go up 10% in the United States(15% for blacks). In

OUR poor communities children continue to race towards the cemetary. We are losing our future Michelle and Barack Obama's to senseless murder. MJ sang Heal the World and we listened, we went international on that a$$ (COPENHAGEN)!

It has been an exciting, frustrating, inspiring, roller coaster year and I cant wait to do it all over again..My new years resolution is 2 never give up because in my heart and soul I truly believe that " We are the ones that we have always been waiting for"!!

Happy New Years everyone... CJ

2009-12-16T15:16:00.001-08:00

Battle of the Bella (#COP15)

Posted on 16 December 2009
Tags: cop15, copenhagen, Education, green jobs, The Environment

Follow all of Jayme's copenhagen coverage at http://youngvoter.org/cop15

Cold, Snowing, 100's of police, 1000's of marchers, banners, Amerie on the radio…

Angry, frustrated, trains shut down, young, old, global climate movement.

All words used to describe my experience at the Reclaim Power protest. While folks in the U.S. were safely tucked in their beds, thousands of young people from around the world gathered in the streets of Copenhagen to demand access to the Bella (convention) Center. To demand real policies that will reverse climate change and save planet earth.

click on link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtVsVKCmtw8&feature=player_embedded

It saddened me to see a man, eyes fire-red from being peppered sprayed, snot hanging from his nose, talking about how all he wanted was to have his voice heard. It was at that moment that reality set in. There are millions of people around the world already suffering from climate change. Their frustration is not unlike the thousands of displaced workers in Milwaukee looking for something to put them back to work. These protesters were just trying to express what they know to be right, but don't have access to do so.

From my viewpoint, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Global warming, increasing unemployment, and escalating wars all the while people around the world are crying, "enough!" And our leaders can't let go long enough to listen and figure out a way to push the stop button. This, like so many other similar experiences, come down to the same thing…POWER.

No matter how disempowered I might feel right now, I will be up tomorrow to do it all again

This post was written by:

Jayme Montgomery - who has written 1 posts on 99Problems.

2009-12-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

I woke up today at 5am, turned on the news and checked in on the blogospehere world. I was amazed, finally they are talking about something else besides Tiger's wood. Today's leading topic is former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.

Check out the blog below that I grabbed from www.99problems.org and see what's with all the fuss.

Howard Dean: "Kill the Senate Health Care Bill & Start Over!"

Posted on 16 December 2009

After months of debate, infighting, and all out tom-foolery, former Democratic presidential candidate, and DNC chairman, Howard Dean thinks that we should scrap the health care bill and start over. According to Dean, all of the negotiations and deal making has water down the bill so much that what is being proposed in the Senate isn't truly health care reform. Dean, who thinks there are good elements in the bill, believes that the current legislation being debated in the Senate (which lacks the public option) is more of the same old ish. "No one will think this is health care reform. This is not even insurance reform," he said..

Dean, of course, has more insight into this topic than most other elected officials due to the fact that he is actually a physician. That's why his words are resonating so strongly in the blogospehere. According to several sources, Dean even stated that America needs to start over in Obama's second term. (If he gets a second term.)

Man, it's hard to believe that after all this craziness, Congress still continues to jerk around the American people, especially young folks who will have to pay for these half-baked reforms.

Posted by:

Biko Baker

2009-12-15T13:06:00.001-08:00

Hit Down Hard in Copenhagen

Posted on 15 December 2009
Tags: climate change, cop15, copenhagen, denmark, global warming, green, united nations, united nations conference on climate change

Heather and Jayme interviewed by Current TV

The League of Young Voters Education Fund is on the scene in Denmark! It was inspiring to fly all the way across the world last night only to disembark from the plane and see dozens of familiar faces walking through the streets of beautiful Copenhagen. Some good friends, some co-workers, some acquaintances; all allies, but the quality they had in common was a visible, tangible feeling of exhaustion. As I jumped up and down in the streets of Denmark, taking in the experience and excited to connect with the people I knew to find out where I should be in the AM to get the best story I was stopped in my tracks by their warnings:

"Heather, lower your expectations. It seems like the decision to make no decision is already set."

It's stunning, honestly. So I am in search of the silver lining - the good news from Copenhagen - which I know is here, I just haven't found it yet. A group of international youth sitting next to me right now are discussing the need for the United States Senate to mandate action in order to make the US move in Copenhagen. They are talking tactics for pressuring Congress. Many people are considering an international push on the US Senate; district by district pressure in the States, massive global direct action … I wish I could jump in the conversation with the answer but there are still so many questions.

What I can say with confidence is that we need to fight the exhaustion and keep pushing our elected officials. We don't have time for exhaustion, only for action. We need to join the small nations, the independent voices, who are crying out for true change, for diplomacy and equal treatment.

Off to join the conversation - will send updates soon. Less than 24 hours on the ground and it's a different world…

What's the view from America?

2009-12-14T09:23:00.001-08:00

JUST ARRIVED

Hi Friends,
So as many of you know, I just arrived in COPENHAGEN United Nations Climate Negotiations! I am SO excited! I am going with a the League's Wisconsin State Director Jayme Montgomery who is a leader in her community - working to bring green jobs to inner city Milwaukee. I am SO stoked! She will be participating in press conferences, speaking on panels etc and may even get to present the International Youth Delegation platform to Obama and other world leaders next Friday! I will be writing blogs and articles for Huffington Post, the Source Magazine (hip hop magazine), change.org, 99problems.org and other publications.

We will keep you posted via this google group (average one email per day), please sign up here for updates: http://youngvoter.org/cop15. Also a HUGE help would be if all of you guys could write comments on the blogs I put up.

xo HBOX
P.S. Don't forget to sign up for updates: http://youngvoter.org/cop15

--
Heather Box

2009-12-11T19:52:00.001-08:00

Another Day Another Innocent Child Murdered....

A 14-year-old boy was shot in the back of the head and critically wounded this morning as he was walking with his mother on the Northwest Side, authorities said.

The shooting took place in the 3400 block of West Armitage Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood, police and witnesses said. The boy was shot about 9:10 a.m., said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Quention Curtis.

The boy was walking with his mother about 9 a.m. when a man or boy in his late teens or early 20s came up and after shouting and flashing gang signs, shot the boy, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor. The attacker then fled on foot, she said.

Are we IMMUNE to the killings? Every day I receive similar stories in my in box about children who were shot and brutally murdered? I am not immune, I still cry! I still care! ... We stopped believing it takes a village to raise a child and now accept the belief that it takes a funeral home and a minature casket to bury them. WE as a community continue to fail our youth and unless we take back ownership of our young, my inbox will continue to look the same!

" We are the ones we have always been waiting for"

JUST MY THOUGHTS

2009-12-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

JUST WAR?

Is there a such thing as a just war? Read President Obama's NOBEL PEACE PRIZE acceptance speech and you decide.

"Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations - that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize - Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela - my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened of cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women - some known, some obscure to all but those they help - to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by forty three other countries - including Norway - in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

Still, we are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict - filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.

These questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease - the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.

Over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did philosophers, clerics, and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when it meets certain preconditions: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the forced used is proportional, and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence"

Click here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/obama-nobel-peace-prize-a_n_386837.html to see the entire speech or watch the video...

2009-12-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

FIGHT THE POWER

Lets send our troops home
Lets end the war, send our troops home.,
Lets spend that money
on the poor communities
here in our own damn backyard.
Instead of being creative and trying educate
Lets incarcerate leave them to die,
Lets clean up our earth, try giving instead of taking, being fortunate less selfish. Try giving a damn about something or someone other than yourself.

Lets tell the truth instead of sophisticated lies.

Its so simple why do we make it complex.

Its Love instead of hate, Peace not War...

Its building not destroying, honoring the dead cherishing life.
Lets "FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE " riding to city hall bumping PE.

Capitalism and greed got the banks begging,

Streets of Wall crashing, houses closing,

and unemployment lines round the corner.

Invade another country call ourselves Democratic.

Turn off the radio, the TV and turn on your mind.

Lets think outside the box, dare to be different..

and last but not lease Lets not give up hope because

"we will get to the promised land"

public enemy- Fight the Power http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PaoLy7PHwk

2009-12-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

Is Obama Doing Enough For Black People?
Posted on 09 December 2009 from 99problems.org

Yesterday, President Obama announced a new plan to rebuild America's economy. Yet the speech, which focused on the importance of building a new green economy, was criticized by the Congressional Black Caucus' Barbara Lee for not doing enough for black people. What do you think? Is Obama doing enough to make sure that African Americans are getting jobs? All statistics show that African Americans are the hardest hit by the recession.

Check Obama's speech and the CBC statement after the jump.

Obama's speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGDrA2FiN74&feature=player_embedded

Statement from Barbara Lee (found via Politico)

"We need a concerted effort from the Federal government to expand access to education, job training, direct job creation, infrastructure development and economic opportunities to provide pathways out of poverty and opportunities for all.

"The Congressional Black Caucus remains committed to working with President Obama and our Congressional leadership to address the very real economic crisis gripping our nation, which is particularly acute in communities of color."

Not only is the unemployment rate for African Americans nearly twice that of whites, these racial disparities persist in other areas as well. Nearly 28 percent of African Americans receive food aid compared to 15 percent of Latinos and 8 percent of whites. Recent African American college graduates are unemployed at higher rates than their white counterparts and African American workers remain unemployed an average of five weeks longer than the rest of America. The gaps are very real.

"With more than 24 percent of African Americans living below the poverty line and African Americans 55 percent more likely to be unemployed than other Americans, the existence of racial disparities is undeniable.

"As a candidate, President Obama said in his speech on race during the Democratic primary, 'race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.' The facts speak for themselves. The Congressional Black Caucus recognizes that behind virtually every economic indicator you will find gross racial disparities.

2009-12-03T19:47:00.001-08:00

" A time comes when silence is betrayal " Dr. King

President Obama is sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.. Billions of dollars will be sent along with the troops to continue fighting overseas. I touched on this topic in previous blogs but after listening to this speech by Martin Luther King Jr. I had to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Az0bdbHOI

WELCOME BACK Man(Van)

2009-11-30T10:53:00.001-08:00

Today, I am giving a shout out to our good friend Van Jones who just returned from his trip overseas. We missed you man!!!!! Check out the video below and judge for yourself, see why his voice has to be heard.. Van you are not alone, truth always prevails.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH3oJ5bTWSw&feature=channel

2009-11-29T21:59:00.001-08:00

HUSBAND/FATHER SHOOTS DOWN HIS FAMILY

Thanksgiving has passed and I was reflecting on all the love, joy, and warmth of my family. I was surrounded by those that I love and in return have shown me the same unconditionally. The laughter, memories, and children playing made me realize just how precious family can really be. Memories of Thanksgiving with my family were replaced when reading about a father and husband out in New Jersey and his family.

Yesterday in New Jersey a husband/father chased down his wife and their two sons and began to open fire. Seven year old Adrian Gonzales was pronounced dead while his mom and eleven year old brother lay in hospital beds fighting for their lives. The father was shot down by an off duty police officer, police said.

What would make a father murder his child? What would make a husband gun down his family? The motive is still unknown but in my opinion their is no reasoning that can justify committing such an atrocity. My heart mourns for the Gonzales family as if they were my own, When and if the mother recovers she will have to face the harsh reality that her seven year old is dead. Her husband the one that pulled the trigger took the life of their baby boy.

Hard to be thankful in a world so Evil and Cold....

Breaking News

This just in, A gunman walked into a coffee shop and shot and killed four police officers Sunday morning in what sheriff's officials described as an "execution."

The officers were sitting in the cafe at a strip mall near the Tacoma suburb of Parkland with their laptop computers, preparing for their day shifts, when a man came in and opened fire, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said

STOP THE VIOLENCE WITH PEACE AND LOVE------ ARE YOU READY?

2009-11-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Thankful for Family, Friends and Tofurkey! Top Ten Reasons to Give Thanks

Posted on 25 November 2009

Thanksgiving has always been a complicated holiday for me. And no, it's not because I prefer not to eat meat. Ever since I was a teenager, I've been conflicted by the glaring contradiction that is Turkey Day. I gotta be honest, the traditional Plymouth Rock narrative starring "the Natives and the Pilgrims" just doesn't cut it for me. The sentiment is powerful, but the truth is that our nation hasn't always done the best job of living up to its principles.

But, word to Glen Beck, I'm not as "radical" as I once was. I mean, when I was in my early 20s I used to attend "Happy Thankstaking" parties with friends in LA that usually ended with me being in a drunken debate with one of my white roommates. Today, I am a lot more self-reflective and can sort of understand what all the fuss is about.

I've learned that even though the Thanksgiving story is a crock of B.S., doesn't mean that I shouldn't take time out to express my deep felt appreciation for my friends and family. (Truthfully, everyday should be Thanksgiving, but of course the pressures of life often prevent me from slowing down and being present and patient.) So over the years, I have learned to slow down, and enjoy the holidays. Even while stuffing down Tofurkey.

This year I am even more thankful than ever. So I decided to throw together a list of the top ten things I am thankful for. Forgive me for the mushiness, but I am thankful for a lot ish!

Check the list after the jump.

My 1-year-old son makes me want to jump on the floor and relive my World Wrestling fantasies. (I've been told l look like Nacho Libre, thus number 7.)
My partner is really my partner. While any relationship should always be a work in progress, Jayme and I are truly dancing together.
My family is starting to be more focused on fun than the struggles of the day.
My closest friends (you know who you are) are starting to acknowledge that our relationships can both be private and professional. Which is fun, I've always enjoyed working with the homies.
The League staff is amazing. Trust me, if you haven't met any Leaguers.
The League has a lot of amazing supporters who have been helping me get over my fears of being an Executive Director.
I am finally taking time out of my day to work out again. I forgot how good it feels to be sweating profusely.
I have a job. Over 50% of the African American males in my community are unemployed.
You have to dig deep, but hip-hop music is starting to get good again.
I am finally being disciplined enough to stop working on the weekends. I forgot how fun doing nothing can be.

Of course, I have a lot more things to be thankful for. Unfortunately, I gotta get back to work. Be safe, and enjoy your holiday.

2009-11-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

LIVING LIKE WE'RE BULLET PROOF

The first time I heard Tupac say " they got money for war but cant feed the poor" I was in the 10th grade. Those words sparked something inside of me, I wanted to understand the rationale behind writing that verse. What would make a person, a nation invest money, resouces, and time towards destruction instead of humanity.

President Obama is considering sending more troops overseas to fight the war in Afghanistan. The wars that began during the Bush Administration is spending billions of dollars daily. Meanwhile in poor communities here at home young people of color are living like there bulletproof. When will we as a community and as a nation start considering them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU1TgCZRX40

2009-11-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Found Love Where I least expected

Yesterday TBI was invited by LADY CARTEL to prepare meals for the homeless in the city of Atlanta,Ga. CEO LaShunda Campbell said " All Lady Cartel members are required to do community service, giving to those who are less fortunate is something we all should practice daily."

We set up an assembly line preparing plates, placing them in boxes, and loading them into our vehicles. We made several stops throughout the city and we were greeted with so much love and joy. Pop Culture of today has tricked our young adults into believing that materialism, greed and selfishness defines humanity.

Individuality is promoted and those keeping up with the JONESes are celebrated as Role Models. The beautiful people we met yesterday weren't wearing the latest fashions, no diamond watches, and no fancy cars. They were homeless, jobless, and pennyless; They gave testimony of struggle, pain, and resiliency. Throughout the hardship and suffering, words cannot describe the smiles on their faces or their appreciation. Words cannot describe mine! Every single person who received a plate yesterday said thank you, but it is you that I Thank!

We are the Ones

2009-11-18T13:38:00.001-08:00

Today we recieved an email from the community of Columbus, Oh and are sharing it with you. This is why we do the work!

"We are the ones we have always been waiting for"

To the Tunnel Builder Institute:

On behalf of those who were in attendance at the TBI: Organization Training, thank you again for sending CJ to us. The response to the impact of the training has been so positive that there has been a request made to have CJ come again as soon as possible. The information that was shared needs to been heard by even more people. Adriana Fonosec, one of the participants, eagerly anticipates CJ's return because she has identified at least 50 individuals in the Latino community that she wants to be exposed to the training.

The role play simulations that were conducted during the training have given the Urban Warriors needed tools as they conduct their canvassing project. The response from the community to the presence of the Urban Warriors knocking on doors has been positive for the most part. Many appreciate the image of young men doing positive things in the community.

We appreciate the work and the passion that you give towards changing lives and building a better place for future generations.

In community,

Devin Shaw
Gye-Nyame Urban Warriors

The Columbus Gathering

The Simba Circle

http://thegatheringforjustice.org

http://simbanation.org

http://col-urbanwarriors.ning.com