The Savvy Sista

Good Read: Preying on Black Ambition

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:00:00 +0000

This essay was originally published at Salon.com on June 9, 2013.

There are a few dictums that have enjoyed pride of place in black American families alongside “Honor your parents” and “Do unto others” since at least Emancipation. One of them is this: The road to freedom passes through the schoolhouse doors.

After all, it was illegal even to teach an enslaved person to read in many states; under Jim Crow, literacy tests were used for decades to deny black voters their rights. So no surprise that from Reconstruction to the first black president, the consensus has been clear. The key to “winning the future,” in one of President Obama’s favorite phrases, is to get educated. “There is no surer path to success in the middle class than a good education,” the president declared in his much-discussed speech on the roots of gun violence in black Chicago.

Rarely has that message resounded so much as now, with nearly one in seven black workers still jobless. Those who’ve found work have moved out of the manufacturing and public sectors, where good jobs were once available without a higher ed degree, and into the low-wage service sector, to which the uncredentialed are now relegated. So while it has become fashionable lately to speculate about middle-class kids abandoning elite colleges for adventures in entrepreneurship, an entirely different trend has been unfolding in black America — people are going back to school in droves.

It’s true at all levels of education. Yes, black college enrollment shot up by nearly 35 percent between 2003 and 2009, nearly twice the rate at which white enrollment increased. But we’re getting all manner of schooling as we seek either an advantage in or refuge from the collapsed job market. As I’ve reported on the twin housing and unemployment crises in black neighborhoods in recent years, I’ve heard the same refrain from struggling strivers up and down the educational ladder: “I’m getting my papers, maybe that’ll help.” GEDs, associates degrees, trade licenses, certifications, you name it, we’re getting it. Hell, I even went and got certified in selling wine; journalism’s a shrinking trade, after all.

But this headlong rush of black Americans to get schooled has also led too many down a depressingly familiar path. As with the mortgage market of the pre-crash era, those who are just entering in the higher ed game have found themselves ripe for the con man’s picking. They’ve landed, disproportionately, at for-profit schools, rather than at far less expensive public community colleges, or at public universities. And that means they’ve found themselves loaded with unimaginable debt, with little to show for it, while a small group of financial players have made a great deal of easy money. Sound familiar? Two points if you hear troublesome echoes of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Between 2004 and 2010, black enrollment in for-profit bachelor’s programs grew by a whopping 264 percent, compared to a 24 percent increase in black enrollment in public four-year programs. The two top producers of black baccalaureates in the class of 2011 were University of Phoenix and Ashford University, both for-profits.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Could big money leave Newark with Mayor Booker?

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:44:00 +0000

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Visits from Britain's prime minister, the Dalai Lama and assorted movie stars. A $100 million gift to the school system. Wall Street buy-in. Coverage from worldwide media.

Such attention and investment is rarely paid to America's midsized cities, especially one in the shadow of New York that has long been plagued by crime and poverty.

But others aren't the Newark governed by Cory Booker, who hobnobs with Hollywood celebrities, frequently appears on TV and is now gunning for higher office, announcing a U.S. Senate bid June 8.

Booker gets mixed reviews for how he has run the city during his two terms. But no one disputes that funds have gushed to and interest has spiked in Newark, largely because of the mayor, who has worked to put the city — and himself — on the national stage.

With Booker a heavy favorite to win and leave for Washington in four months, many wonder: Will his successor be able to sustain the attention and money that has flowed into this city based largely on Booker's outsized personality?

"If Booker goes to the Senate, then suddenly Newark is another high spending, low-performing struggling community. And there are a lot of those," said Frederick M. Hess, a philanthropy expert with the American Enterprise Institute. "If he leaves, I think it would definitely be a substantial setback in terms of trying to keep the philanthropists and national advocacy organizations interested."

Booker's embrace of private sector-led urban development has endeared him to Wall Street and Republican Gov. Chris Christie. Booker often touts the billions he's attracted to this cash-strapped city of 277,000 only 10 miles from Manhattan. Twenty-six percent of Newark residents live below the poverty level, more than 10 percentage points above the national average.

While Booker says the projects have momentum and he'd continue to be a part of them if he wins the Senate seat, critics wonder if donors have invested less in Newark's long-term future and more in Booker's utopian vision of urban renewal. They question whether money will follow just him and whether the correct infrastructure is in place to manage existing gifts.

"It's hard to think of another small city that's been able to raise these kinds of enormous dollars from national donors," Hess said. "And I think without a doubt the key factor here is Booker."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg provided the most high-profile donation of Booker's tenure: a $100 million matching grant to Newark's schools. But Zuckerberg admitted he didn't know much about Newark before sitting at a dinner with Booker at a Sun Valley, Idaho, conference, where the young mayor regaled the guests with stories about how he moved into a crime-ridden housing project and rode along with police on late-night patrols.

"It's the kind of personal and real dedication that you get from real leaders," Zuckerberg recalled at the announcement in September 2010. "It just made me think this is a guy I want to invest in."

Administration of the grant has come under criticism, with some claiming it has changed little. A chunk of it is funding a merit pay initiative put in a landmark teachers' contract.

At his Senate campaign announcement, Booker said projects will proceed without him.

"The momentum is clear. There is about $1 billion worth of development projects rolling into the city," Booker said. "As much as you might think I'm necessary to complete those projects, this momentum will continue. And I'll continue to be a part of it."

Booker was asked Thursday on Twitter whether a Senate win would hurt money that's flowed into Newark.

"No. It'll empower me to help Nwk, Camden, & other areas of NJ 2," he tweeted.

But Newark is different from many cities in that it has used foundation money to patch holes and cuts in city programs, including funds to fix parks and playgrounds and public safety after 100 officers were laid off. During Booker's tenure, Newark has been heavily reliant on state aid to close budget gaps.

"I would say it's fairly unprecedented at the city level that the public schools and other public entities have been so successful in raising private philanthropic support," said Patrick Rooney, an associate dean at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Booker has become a friend of Wall Street and its inhabitants have opened their pockets, with prominent names including hedge fund managers Bill Ackman and Leon G. Cooperman giving millions to the city.

"If he (Booker) is replaced by a person, a woman or man, of equal integrity, I see no reason why I wouldn't want to help out," said Cooperman, the chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors, Inc., who has given at least $16 million to Newark.

A large chunk of the investment in the city has gone to downtown, where residential buildings are popping up and Prudential and Panasonic North America are building new headquarters.

Panasonic Chairman and CEO Joseph M. Taylor was looking to move the company's headquarters from Secaucus, N.J. He didn't consider Newark until Christie and Booker reached out. Both are "rather persuasive," Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press last year.

Booker showcased the city's potential and Taylor soon saw Panasonic as a potential "tipping point" for Newark's transition. The building is expected to open next month.

"Time will tell," Taylor said, "if it was a leap of faith that will be successful."

Affirmative action ruling contest: race vs. class

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:37:00 +0000

In post-Great Recession America, which is the bigger barrier to opportunity — race or class?

A decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court kept the focus on race as a barrier, upholding the right of colleges to make limited use of racial preferences to ensure a diverse student body. But in a ruling due this month, the court is widely expected to roll back that decision. Such an outcome would shift attention more toward a less constitutionally controversial practice: giving a boost to socio-economically disadvantaged students, regardless of race.

If that happens, it would reflect more than just a more conservative makeup of the justices. Over the last decade, clogged social mobility and rising economic inequality have shifted the conversation on campuses and in the country as a whole.

As a barrier to opportunity, class is getting more attention, while race is fading.

"The cultural zeitgeist has changed," said Peter Sacks, author of the book "Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education."

"The Great Recession really exacerbated the vast and growing inequalities between rich and poor in America," he said. "Talking openly about class has been taboo," he added, but in recent years the evidence of widening inequality has mounted and it's become "OK for the so-called 99 percent to talk about the 99 percent."

The shift is perceptible in a range of ways:

—You can see it in polling, like surveys from the Pew Research Center, which shows the percentage of Americans who feel racial discrimination is the chief impediment to black progress is falling, from 37 percent in 1995 to 23 percent in 2012.

Polling on affirmative action varies widely depending on how questions are phrased, but an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday showed strong feelings about using race in college admissions: Just 22 percent of Americans support letting universities consider applicants' race as a factor, and 76 percent oppose the practice. The proportions supporting racial preferences were similar for blacks (19 percent) and Hispanics (29 percent) as for whites (20 percent).

—You can read it in the tone of recent opinion pieces penned even by left-leaning academics and columnists, whose support for racial preferences has eroded under a mountain of evidence that quality higher education is tilting further toward the already-wealthy.

—You can hear it, too — in conversations on elite college campuses, where the dearth of low-income students is replacing race as a topic of debate. And in the words of the first black president, who has said there's no good reason his own daughters should benefit from racial preferences when they apply to college.

The shifting debate has painted supporters of race-based affirmative action into a difficult corner. Most agree the barriers to low-income students are a serious problem that should be addressed, and of course, many minority students are also low-income.

But they acknowledge widening income inequality has made it harder to make their case that special attention to race remains justified.

"This is the first time you have whites thinking they face more discrimination than blacks do," said Camille Charles, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies class and race. "You have people who have come to believe the system is set up to benefit black people at the expense of white people." Such beliefs, she said, reflect ignorance about the persistence of discrimination, about how much harder minorities were hit by the Great Recession, and about how affirmative action actually works (many incorrectly conflate "affirmative action" with "racial quotas," which the Supreme Court long ago ruled unconstitutional).

In his 2010 book "The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth," Harvard economic historian Benjamin Friedman charted how during periods of prosperity, societies throughout history have expanded opportunities to disadvantaged groups and become more open and inclusive. During economic struggle, by contrast, they typically close ranks.

The Great Recession was no exception, he said, persuading more Americans that efforts to ensure minorities are represented among the scarce slots at top universities are "a luxury they cannot afford," Friedman said by telephone.

A report released Thursday by the Lumina Foundation underscored the large and persistent achievement gaps between races in the United States: Nearly 60 percent of Asian adults have a college degree, compared to 43 percent of whites but just 27 percent of blacks and 19 percent of Hispanics.

More alarming are the numbers for those between 25 and 29 — an indicator of recent trends. Whites and Asians are doing better than their parents. Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans are doing worse. That's a problem for everyone, said Lumina president and CEO Jamie Merisotis.

"Narrowing these gaps is a matter of economic and social collective self-interest," he said.

But other numbers in the same report revealed how profoundly family income determines how far you go in school: Four-fifths of 24-year-olds from families in the top quarter of income have college degrees, compared to just one in 10 in the bottom quartile.

Other research, while calling the black-white degree gap worrisome, concludes the gap measured by class alone is far broader. Students of all races from educated affluent families are seven times more likely to complete a bachelor's degree than students from low-income families with less education (68 percent compared to 9 percent).

One study of the freshmen entering the 193 most selective colleges in 2010 found two-thirds came from the top income quartile. Only 15 percent came from the bottom half of the country, income-wise.

At the top 20 law schools, another study found, more than three-quarters of students came from the richest income quartile.

"We continue to struggle with racial discrimination in this country, but class has become a far larger impediment to a person's life chances than race," said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, and a prominent advocate for replacing race-based affirmative action with class-conscious measures.

On college campuses, arguments over race and gender have predominated for decades, but the lack of socio-economic diversity is getting more attention. One sign of the trend is the emergence of a student group called "U/FUSED" (United for Undergraduate Socio-Economic Diversity), with chapters on about 20 prominent campuses. Chapters at campuses like Wesleyan University and Washington University in St. Louis have undertaken a range of efforts, from developing a financial literacy curriculum to lobbying for more financial aid.

But mostly, said Chase Sackett, who helped found the organization while an undergraduate at Washington University and is now a law student at Yale, the groups are getting people to talk about the previously taboo subjects of class, money and inequality.

College students are actually fairly accustomed to talking about race, he said, but class "was something that was under the rug." He said minority groups have been eager to join the conversation, seeing it as complementary to the issues they care about.

Kahlenberg, who informally advises the group, said such an organization would have been unthinkable in his own college days during the 1980s. But "the facts on the ground have changed." The test-score gap between blacks and whites, he noted, was once twice as big as the gap between rich and poor students. Now that's flipped and the income gap is twice as big as the racial one.

Sackett said he and the group don't necessarily oppose race-based affirmative action; they just want more efforts to deal with socio-economic diversity.

Indeed, many people ask, why not do both? Kahlenberg says he's all for that, but "universities never get around to the class part of the equation. They would rather have a class of fairly wealthy students of all races." A big obstacle is cost: By definition low-income students need more financial aid, while race-based preferences don't necessarily go to the neediest students. In fact, research has confirmed large proportions of minority students at selective colleges come from middle- and upper-income families.

Kahlenberg believes with some creativity, colleges can use class-based affirmative action to ensure racial diversity. That's happened at many schools in states where affirmative action is already banned. However, the broader consensus is that, at least in the short term and at the most elite schools, replacing race-based preferences with class-based efforts would cause minority enrollment to fall.

"Low-income will not replace diversity," said Ted Spencer, admissions director at the University of Michigan, which won the right to use race as an admissions factor in the 2003 Supreme Court case, but later lost it in a voter referendum. Michigan's numbers of minority students have not fully recovered.

But Spencer emphasized the court's justification for race-based affirmative action has never been only about minorities, or about rectifying society-wide discrimination, or about pitting racial barriers against class ones.

Rather, the court's justification was educational — that all students benefit from a racially diverse student body. Employers increasingly want students accustomed to working with people from different groups, and many students want that experience, too. If the court rules as expected, he's worried they'll have few options.

"As we prepare people for work and life," he said, "the absence of diversity on campus deprives all of our students of a very important part of their academic growth."

Father's Day in the Black Community (VIDEOS)

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:10:00 +0000

Father's Day 2013 is two days away and naturally there are conversations and articles written about fathers. Conversations and articles that go beyond "gifts for dad." I think these discussions are worthwhile and long overdue. In American culture and the world for that matter, men have the upper hand and a lot of efforts have been made to lift up women. These efforts are justifiable; it's just that to me sometimes the conversations have completely alienated men as if they really do not matter. At the same time, many of the provisions made for women have benefitted men. Fatherhood has been esteemed more as of late. I watched a segment this morning on the Today Show about more and more companies giving paid paternity leave for fathers similar to maternity leave for mothers. NBC also created a show starring Anthony Anderson called Guys with Kids. We are hearing more and more about men becoming stay-at-home dads or becoming the sole custodial parent as a single father. These conversations are also highlighting more men sharing the responsibilities at home and becoming more active parents.

In the black community there has been a longstanding conversation about fatherhood, particularly absent fathers. Oprah hosted a show recently about fatherless sons and in three days will tape a show about fatherless daughters. The conversation about black fathers is now indeed a national conversation. It seems to me that the black community lags behind in every statistic out there. According to the Kids Count Data Center of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore in 2011, 67% of black children lived in single parent homes as opposed to 25% of white children. Of course there is a small percentage of those single parents that are single fathers, but I think it is safe to assume that the vast majority of those households are headed by single mothers. I will not take for granted though that the entire 67% are without an active father. At the same time, based on the conversations that we are having, we know that there is a very significant portion of these children that are indeed fatherless. Our current president, the first black president, grew up without his father. If you were to imagine the pedigree of any president, it would include being raised in a two-parent home. For a black man to become President of the United States, it would be easy to think that his background was picture perfect in order to garner enough votes to win the presidency. But as we all know the problem is so widespread in our community that the man who would become president did not escape it. More and more adult children are opening up about the pain stemming from fatherlessness. On Twitter, Dr. Steve Perry who once gave voice to fatherless children on Twitter, recently spoke of the emotions that overtook him in the card section of Walmart.

The pain is very real. I will never say that it is not. At the same time, I would like to focus on those men who are very active in their children's' lives. I know my personal observations cannot be generalized to the entire black community, but I believe that there will be an improvement in the data in the next few years. I am noticing more men in my generation taking fatherhood seriously, those that are married to their children's mother and those that are not. It makes me smile to read through my Facebook and Twitter feeds where fathers dote on their children. I love to see the pictures these proud fathers post. I was pleasantly surprised when my niece told me that her dad (my brother) helps her blow dry her thick hair. She turned to him because her mom was a bit heavy handed. Many men are deciding to break the cycle of fatherlessness. They do not fall prey to the excuse of not having a father. They are bound and determined to be the fathers that their fathers were not.

One notable father is Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin. I included their above picture because I think it well articulates what fathers feel towards their children. He is an active father and he is still fulfilling his fatherly duties seeking justice for his son. One fact that I observed with the high profile deaths of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and Hadiya Pendleton was that their fathers were right there alongside their mothers grieving. They are active fathers doing all of the right things and standing in solidarity with their children even in death. We tend to imagine only the grieving mothers, but the fathers of these slain children are grieving as well. These fathers are unsung heroes.

In fact, fathers have long been unsung heroes. It can be a thankless job. I, for one, would like to celebrate them. Here are a couple of video clips portraying fathers in a positive light. I post them to remind us that they are out there and indeed present and active in our community.

This last picture is one of my all-time favorite pictures of the now elder men of my family. Of course, they were much younger when this picture was taken. In this pic, are my grandfather and his six sons and son-in-law, (one of which is my dad, lower left). Together they are fathers to 36 children who love and respect them very much. We love them because they love us. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all fathers and father figures.

PS. If anyone can find the video of the old Tide commercial with the song "Take Me Home" and man in the white t-shirt sleep with a baby on his chest, please share.

Do You Watch CNN International? If Not, You Should Start.

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:24:00 +0000

CNN in the USA may not be worth anything, but CNN International definitely has it going on.

While on my twelve day cruise in the Mediterranean, there wasn't many options when it came to watching television. I know you may be wondering why a person on vacation would have a need to watch television, but every now and then you have to plug back in to see what is going on in the world. Well, at least that was the excuse I gave when I caught myself channeling surfing while in my stateroom.

One of the channels I just could not get enough of was CNN International. Any time I turned on the television that was my channel of choice. Granted there weren't alot of channels to choose from, but this one actually turned out to be one I would have watched had I had a lot of channels to choose from.

There is one huge difference between the international and American version of CNN and that difference is the fact that the international version actually focuses on reporting the news. There's not a whole lot of commentary which I love. Call me old-fashioned, but when I turn to a news channel I actually just want to hear the news and not what you think I should think about the news.

One of my favorite shows on CNN International is Inside Africa. This is definitely a series they need to bring to the American version of CNN. If you are looking for insight into what is going on in the Motherland, this is definitely the series for you. Different reporters profile the different countries in Africa while providing a different perspective as to what makes each of them unique. It's definitely worth checking out..

Have you watched CNN International? If so, tell me what you think.

Steubenville Rape: Sex offender hearing for Ohio football players

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:57:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A judge was ready to classify as sex offenders two Ohio high school football players convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl last year after an alcohol-fueled house party.

The hearing Friday scheduled by Judge Thomas Lipps at Jefferson County Juvenile Court in Steubenville is a possible first step for the two teens to be transferred from a state juvenile detention center to a facility that works with sex offenders.

The options before Lipps include the least restrictive classification, requiring annual reporting for 10 years, to the most restrictive: every 90 days for life.

Unlike adult sex offenders, however, the teens' names won't be included on publicly accessible websites. And the teens can request to have the sex offender classification removed later based on their history of rehabilitation.

Lipps sentenced Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'Lik Richmond, 16, to time in the juvenile detention system in March. He convicted them of raping the West Virginia girl after an August party celebrating a successful football team scrimmage. Richmond was sentenced to at least one year for raping the girl, while Mays was sentenced to at least two for raping her and taking a picture of the underage girl naked.

The case received international attention because of the role of texting and social media in exposing the attack. A grand jury is considering whether other people broke the law in connection with the case by not alerting authorities to initial reports of the rape.

At the time of their conviction and sentencing in March, Lipps recommended the boys be assigned to Lighthouse Youth Center-Paint Creek in Chillicothe, a facility he said has a strong program for treating juvenile sex offenders.

The privately-operated center is an open campus where staff members rely on their relationship with residents to prevent escapes, according to the Department of Youth Services.

Staff and children live together at the facility, which has shown success in keeping teens treated there from committing new crimes.

Both Paint Creek and state officials conduct face-to-face meetings with young people and review their records in state facilities whenever determining placement, said Youth Services spokeswoman Kim Parsell, adding that all state juvenile facilities ''are able to meet the unique needs of youth.'' She has declined to comment specifically on the hearing or Mays' and Richmond's case.

Mays welcomed the chance for the transfer, his lawyer said.

''Our client looks forward to the opportunity to attend the Paint Creek program, follow all the facility rules, and display to the Court and the community that he has been rehabilitated fully in hopes of returning to his family,'' Columbus attorney Brian Duncan said in a statement.

HBCU News: Albany State University Alumnus Shocks 'America's Got Talent' Judges with Surprising Talent (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:34:00 +0000

Tifton, Ga native and Albany State University alumnus, Travis Pratt, is the epitome of you can't judge a book by its cover. The singer surprised the judges and the audience with his operatic vocals, but the person who was most surpised during the audition was his girlfriend of five years. Pratt surprised her by proposing marriage. Of course she said YES.

Let's hope Travis goes far in the competition. A talent like that deserves to be heard.

Travis Pratt Proposes on America's Got Talent

Must See TV: Fatherless Daughters and Dark Girls (VIDEO) on OWN

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:37:00 +0000

Oprah's 3-part Lifeclass with Iyanla Vanzant on fatherless sons was powerful and eyeopening. If you followed the classes on Twitter, it seemed as if the entire black community congregated around the tv to watch and learn. If you missed it, I would encourage you to catch it the next time it airs. Of course, some of the reaction to the show was numerous requests to discuss fatherless daughters. The request has been granted and two classes with Oprah and Iyanla will be taped on Monday, June 17th, at 8:30pm and 9:30pm EST. I am not sure when it will actually air on OWN but if you cannot wait until the later airtime, the taping will be streamed live online. Also on the 17th just before the shows on fatherless daughters will be the taping of a followup show on fatherless sons at 6pm EST.

Oprah also announced on Twitter that Bill Duke's documentary, Dark Girls, will air on OWN Sunday, June 23rd

DARK GIRLS is a phenomenal documentary that opens the door onthat light skinned/dark skinned thang. Sunday June 23 OWNtv
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) June 12, 2013

Here is a clip from Dark Girls:

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Soledad O'Brien joining HBO's 'Real Sports'

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:47:00 +0000

NEW YORK — Soledad O'Brien is joining fellow "Today" show alum Bryant Gumbel at HBO's "Real Sports."

HBO said Wednesday that O'Brien will be a reporter on the monthly magazine show, which is anchored by Gumbel. Her first story, due this month, is about war veterans who use martial arts to help cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"It's exactly what I've been doing for a long time — telling stories about human beings and their struggles," O'Brien said.

She most recently was a morning-show host on CNN, but the news network has given the program an overhaul that will debut next week. O'Brien was replaced by the anchor team of Kate Balduan and Chris Cuomo.

O'Brien's experience with sports has been limited, although she did play rugby while studying at Harvard. She will be a visiting fellow at Harvard's Graduate School of Education during the next school year.

The deal with HBO also gives the network the first look at projects done by O'Brien's production company, Starfish Media Group. She's making a business out of creating and selling documentaries to networks and has a separate deal with CNN to continue the "Black in America" series that she has been doing for the past couple of years.

Copyright The Associated Press

BLACK GIRL TRAVELING: I'm Back From a 12 Day Mediterranean Cruise (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy Sista) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Before I even write this post let me start by saying a very special thank you to Ms. @AvgJo for holding down the site during my absence. She really did her thing so well that I'm pretty sure that a lot of you didn't even realize I was gone. I've been doing this site for almost six years and I can honestly say I've never had anyone I could fully trust the vision and direction of my site to during an absence. @AvgJo has proven to be a wonderful asset to this site and I am grateful to have her as a member of The Savvy Sista family.

Some may not have realized this, but I've been gone for the past two weeks. I was cruising the beautiful Mediterranean and let me just say it was a dream vacation. I know a lot of people are apprehensive about going on a cruise about the recent debacles with the ships, but let me just tell you that if you've never been to Europe before a cruise is one of the best options to embark on. A cruise allows you to sample an area before deciding on the destination in which you would like to invest a lot of time into.

I've been cruising since 2003 and I'll admit that Carnival has always been my company of choice when it came to cruising. It was no exception when I chose to go on my first Mediterranean cruise with eleven of my family members. Carnival has had a lot of problems of late, but I've never had a problem with them.

One of the reasons I chose this particular cruise for my family to go on was because it went to Croatia (Dubrovnik) and Monaco which were two places I've always wanted to go. We also went to Venice, Naples, Sicily, Florence, Marseilles, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, and Barcelona, but the selling point for me was Monaco and Croatia.

My family members came from Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey. I was the lone person coming from Pittsburgh and so that meant I had to travel by myself which I had absolutely no problem doing. Hell, I'm a big girl. I've been traveling by myself since I've moved to Pittsburgh in 2005.

I don't know why they call Pittsburgh's airport an international airport because I swear the only international place it takes you is to Paris which personally I don't have a problem with, but can we please get some other international locations? I mean is that asking too much of an 'international' airport?

So in order for me to get to Venice, Italy (the place the ship was embarking from) I literally had to fly all over the world. I flew from Pittsburgh to Detroit to Amsterdam and then finally to Venice. Can you say exhausted? It was a good thing we had two days in Venice because I would have completely missed it because I was so tired.

Before I even get started on telling you about the trip itself, let me just say that a lot of people on the trip found themselves in for a rude awakening when they had to convert their dollars into euros. Honey, that conversion rate wasn't right...LOL! You should have seen the look on my cousins face when I finally got through to her how much money she was really spending on that handbag she thought she wanted in Florence. For some reason most people thought stuff was cheap until that conversion rate was broken down for them.

Everything on the ship was in U.S. dollars, but once you got off the ship it was a different story. No matter where we went, people wanted Euros and they didn't give a damn about your U.S. dollars. The dollar means nothing over there.

So before I even got on the ship, I booked tours for the different ports. You could book a tour, or as they call it shore excursion, through the ship or you could get a private tour. I will say for the most part I enjoyed the private tours more. I researched the private tours on the internet and managed to book a couple for Naples (Capri) and Monaco (Cannes, Eze, Antibes, Monte Carlo, and Nice). Those excursions were the most memorable for me because it was just a small group of people in comparsion to what the ship offered. Don't get me wrong the ship had some good excursions (we actually went on a few), but it was so many people going on the same excursions that it made the tours so impersonal. With a private tour if the group was small enough you could actually alter the itinerary and see some other things if time permitted. This was not the case with the large groups through the ship.

I'll tell you all about the ports we went to in Part II.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Third Week of The Haves and Have Nots...Still Watching?

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:40:00 +0000

For two weeks straights, I made it a point to watch the new Tyler Perry shows on OWN. For the third week, however, at 9pm EST I turned the channel to ABC to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals and not because I am such an avid fan of basketball. Before I get into my critique of the show, let me say that I am happy to see the collaboration between Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. Although I was taken aback when I heard him recount during their conversation about partnering in her Next Chapter interview with him and he said to her, "Let me help you." It just seemed to me that between the two of them the one to say that would have been Oprah. But hey if she was not offended by it, then I won't be. Yes I am happy to see them work together. I like both of them and I want the Oprah Winfrey Network to succeed. I watch Super Soul Sunday, Next Chapter, Master Class, Life Class (Oprah read two of my tweets on both classes with Dr. Phil, YAY!!), Iyanla Fix My Life, Sweetie Pie's, Where Are They Now, 6 Little McGhees, and Raising Whitley. I like the concept of the Our America series but I haven't faithfully watched it. I listed just about every show on the network.

I like Tyler Perry. I am not a Tyler Perry hater. I do not have some racial/sociological ax to grind with the man like some other reviewers seem to have. I like Tyler's intention and I appreciate the fact that he maximized his moment. Ain't mad at him in the least. Having said that I am not a fan of all of his projects. Initially I was skeptical about how well the plays would translate on the big screen. Of all of his films, my favorites are Why Did I Get Married and Daddy's Little Girls. The one Madea (I was tired of Madea before she hit the big screen) film that I liked was Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It seems to me that Mr. Perry has spread himself thin and I think it shows in the quality in some of his productions. Of the films that I like best, he admitted to how much time he poured into the production. For the films that I did not care for, it seemed the story lines were not only predictable but they felt incomplete. Something was missing. Other times there was little to no chemistry between the actors.

For The Haves and Have Nots, I did not have the greatest impression when I saw the promos, but I was eager to give it a chance. It seemed soap opera-esque, which by and large does not appeal to me. The darker lighting gives the show an old-school feel, but the show is set in modern times. Why doesn't the set reflect that? Mr. Perry mentioned that for most of the actors this is their big break. I am happy that he has given them this opportunity. However, the chemistry is yet again missing to me. The story is predictable in that we have seen similar characters and stories in some of his other plays and films. The score that is used for filler and foreshadowing seems generic for a drama and at times the timing of the music seemed off. At the end of the premiere episode, I was a little turned off like, "really Tyler is she going to rape the man?" I don't know if that was the desired outcome or not. But to me that scene to did not come out right.

Not to compare the show to Scandal because I know the two are not comparable, but I do think there are some production elements of Scandal that add to its appeal. The picture is crisp. Scene transition music/sound fits. It is contemporary and edgy. From a character development standpoint, I felt overwhelmed in the first episode. Every character has a heavy story, which is fine, I just do not think it needs to be unloaded all at once. Using Scandal again as an example, all of the characters have colorful pasts, but we got to know them over the course of two seasons and we still don't know much about a few of them.

The second show, Love Thy Neighbor, is to me as one reviewer said, "Tyler Perry's best sitcom yet." It is his best sitcom, not necessarily the best sitcom. I plan to tune in on Wednesdays. Some of the acting I think is a bit over the top. If the actors come from the stage, then I guess that will get worked out over time. If the show is not filmed in front of live audience, I would recommend doing so. I think a live audience helps with comedic timing.

I am not a tv critic. Though I do think that I tend to watch tv/film with a keener eye than most of my friends. Many times when I point out certain things they actually agree with me, but they do not usually point out those things if they overall like the show or film. I only offer this review because I think there could be some improvements which might bring in more viewers and keep current viewers tuning in week in and week out. As I mentioned earlier, I want the shows and the network to succeed. If that means I just turn the channel to OWN during certain times just so the shows get the ratings while I do other things, then I will. But I would prefer to not just turn the channel to OWN on Tuesdays at 9pm EST; I would prefer to sit down, watch and enjoy the show.

Trayvon Martin's Father: 'My Kid was Perfect to Me'

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:33:00 +0000

(The Root) -- Today, Monday, is the beginning of jury selection for the second-degree-murder trial of 29-year-old George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old high school student Trayvon Martin. The trial comes just ahead of Father's Day, and The Root spoke with Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, to ask him about the son he knew and loved.

We discussed the media war with Zimmerman's defense team and what advice Tracy Martin would offer African-American fathers in a society all too prone to finding black and brown boys suspicious. The family attorney, Benjamin Crump, also offered insights into the facts of the case, racial profiling, "Stand your ground" laws and what an acquittal or conviction would mean in a supposedly postracial America.

The Root: If you knew then what you know now, would you have told your son anything different about what it means to be a young black man in an American society that treats him as suspicious? What would "the talk" sound like? And do you have any advice for African-American fathers raising sons?

Tracy Martin: You can't prepare your child to contend with the warped mentality of someone else. You can only teach them to be good and live by the laws of the land. George Zimmerman acted in a deranged way -- and all the evidence supports that. I know how society negatively portrays black boys, and my son Trayvon wasn't naive. He wasn't blind to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. But I shouldn't have to tell my child to fear walking to the store to get snacks just because he's black.

We're supposed to be living in a free society, aren't we? Trayvon lived in a diverse community. His school is mixed, and Trayvon had friends who are white, black and Hispanic. I never thought this could happen to him, and I know Trayvon was scared and confused in those final moments. This wasn't anything that any parent could prepare their child for.

TR: What was Trayvon Martin like? What do you want the public to know about him?

TM: My child was a fun-loving kid. He loved being outside and loved working with his hands -- bikes, motorcycles, anything like that. He could take a radio apart and put it back together. That's how his mind worked.

So many people want their kids to grow up to be doctors, lawyers or professional athletes. My son was interested in aviation. He took two summers and studied for his pilot-mechanic license. He would have definitely become an engineer. And I would have been so proud. Trayvon would have learned to fly.

TR: What's your reaction to the Zimmerman defense team's attempts to destroy Trayvon's character?

TM: My kid was perfect to me. As a father, it hurts to see how Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, has tried to twist the truth. And I can't defend my son, who has been killed. It's demoralizing. How do you blame the victim?

What they don't understand is that Zimmerman didn't only murder my son -- he destroyed an entire branch of my family tree. I looked forward to the possibility of having grandkids from Trayvon. And that's something that can never happen now. But as far as the attacks on Trayvon's character, it certainly isn't true, and therefore doesn't affect me personally. I just hope it doesn't work with the jury and the public.

O'Mara has tried to focus attention on whether or not Trayvon had smoked marijuana in the past. First, that's irrelevant to the facts of the case. I recently read a government report that showed 36 percent of American high school seniors had tried marijuana in the past year. And white kids do it more often than blacks or Hispanics. Is that a reason to shoot a kid? Would Zimmerman have shot a white kid in that neighborhood?

My child was walking to get Skittles; that's a fact. Zimmerman has no defense, and O'Mara ... is relying on lies and the power of suggestion. My son was a good kid. Deep down in my heart, I believe justice will be done.

Benjamin Crump: What's important to keep in mind, from a legal perspective, is whether or not George Zimmerman acted with a depraved mind. It is fully established that Zimmerman has a past that includes an arrest for "resisting an officer with violence," and his former girlfriend sought a restraining order against him for domestic abuse. That order was granted by a judge who clearly had enough evidence to justify the order.

What isn't relevant to this second-degree-murder trial is the teenage victim's alleged dalliance with marijuana. In fact, that narrative has been constructed by Mark O'Mara as a red herring to deflect from the fact that Zimmerman was taking various prescription drugs that are known to have violent side effects. At the time he shot and killed Trayvon, Zimmerman was on Temazepam and Adderall -- drugs that cause insomnia, anxiety, aggressive behavior and hallucinations.
And because Sanford police failed to do a toxicology report on his blood-alcohol level, it's quite possible Zimmerman may have mixed those drugs with alcohol -- and thereby exacerbated the effects of the prescription drugs. These are the cold, hard facts that O'Mara doesn't want to talk about and he's afraid for the public to know.

TR: Are there broader legal implications to the case that aren't being discussed?

BC: Yes, absolutely. And it's troubling. The larger issue is the precedent that a potential acquittal of George Zimmerman would set. It would show how far this country still has to go with respect to offering equal protection under the law regardless of race. If Zimmerman gets off, it will tell other deranged minds and trigger-happy police officers that they can kill black and brown boys with impunity.

It is very clear from this case -- and American history in general -- that if it had been a black man who had tracked and killed a white child, no defense would be sufficient. That man would be in jail and likely facing the death penalty. George Zimmerman is every parent's worst nightmare. A self-proclaimed vigilante, on prescription drugs, taunting and tracking a child in the dark.

TR: Where does Zimmerman's "Stand your ground" defense place things legally?

BC: Well, let me first say that "Stand your ground" was intended to protect victims like Trayvon -- not predators like George Zimmerman. Mark O'Mara realizes that and so decided to forgo the "Stand your ground" pretrial hearing. This was a surreptitious move. Why? Because "Stand your ground" requires Zimmerman to take the stand, whereas "self-defense" does not.
O'Mara knows that once Zimmerman is forced to speak, his inconsistencies and mendaciousness will be revealed for all to see. And Zimmerman certainly wouldn't survive a cross-examination. Prosecutors would destroy him. What remains to be seen is whether black mothers and fathers, especially in the South, can receive justice in a court of law. Emmett Till's mother didn't, but I believe Sybrina and Tracy will.

NYC Black Hair Exhibit: You CAN Touch My Hair

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:16:00 +0000

I chuckled when I read this remembering something my brother used to do. My brother has loose-curled hair and lots of people, women specifically, would ask to touch his hair. So he would grease it up. He would let them touch it, but they would never ask him again. In all fairness, if a person does not mind satisfying the inquiring mind, then I will not tell them they are wrong. Hair is fascinating and it is not uncommon for us to play and allow others to play/run their fingers through our hair. Granted only those close to us are allowed to do that. Total strangers...ummm no. Personally, without getting deep into racial and sociological reasons, I am just not comfortable with strangers all in my personal space like that.

Below is theGrio's article. The slide show tickled me. I have included some of the images. I will say it is no laughing matter as hair is very personal. Some of the candor made me chuckle and think.

A throng of people gathered in New York City’s Union Square Park on Saturday to touch black women’s hair.

It was all part of a two-day “interactive public art exhibit,” titled “You Can Touch My Hair,” during which people were encouraged to get up close and personal with various forms of black hair on live models. The event was put on by Un’ruly.com, a site focused on the black hair experience, and in it several black women allowed those gathered in the park to squeeze, tug and pet their hair.

“Black hair is unique,” wrote Un’ruly founder Antonia Opiah in a promotion for the event. “It requires different care techniques and routines. And in a country where we primarily see commercials for white hair products and magazines that mainly cover white beauty topics and TV shows that mainly feature white characters, we, and those curious about us, have to find information about our hair from other sources.”

The sight stopped many visitors to the park in their tracks and generated plenty of debate.

Black women, black hair, and unwanted touching
In 2011, CNN covered the phenomenon of black hair touching as something black women especially experience if they’ve chosen to wear their hair in its natural state instead of straightening it. Just months before that report, pop singer Justin Bieber caused a small controversy when he petted jazz musician Esperanza Spalding’s afro in front of Associated Press cameras after the Grammys, likely shocking the musician.

“It’s a real concern,” said Pariah lead actress Adepero Oduye, who was in Union Square Park during the event. “You just want to live your life. You want to exist as you are. You don’t want your existence to be ‘this thing,’ because we’re all human.” Oduye, who wears her hair naturally, says that she doesn’t often get requests to touch her hair, but does regularly receive comments — negative and positive — from people who find her hair to be worthy of judgement.

“As an actor, there have been things that people have said to me that have shown me it’s a real issue,” Oduye elaborated. “There’s something about natural hair. People feel as though it’s not necessarily sophisticated, or it puts you in a box or it’s seen as a novelty. I don’t understand it, because it grows out of my head like this. I could change it, but it’s who I am.”

Backlash against black hair touching event
Throughout the social media landscape and in the blogosphere, many took issue with You Can Touch My Hair for further fetishizing black hair by literally putting it on display.

Journalist Jamil Smith took to Twitter to write:

He followed up in another tweet saying, “History alone should make black people averse to turning ourselves into petting-zoo animals.”

Some black women say “You Can’t Touch My Hair”
Plenty shared Smith’s outrage. On the second day of the exhibit, after the event’s #youcantouchmyhair hashtag spurred another – #youcanTtouchmyhair – other women joined the exhibit’s models in the park to remind participants why they shouldn’t grab a stranger’s hair.

Their handmade signs bore messages including, “Do not touch my hair. It is part of my body” and “I don’t know where your hands have been. So, no.”

“I wanted to strike a balance,” Jenifer, one of the protestors, told theGrio. “I felt very vehemently against putting yourself on display like you’re some kind of a zoo animal. Black people have a history of being property in this country and countries all over the world. To me, this hearkens back to those days. We’re doing it this time. We’re making ourselves objects to be prodded, touched, examined and ogled.”

A curly-haired gentleman weighs in
Fernando Agudelo happened upon the event by accident and told theGrio that he understands the curiosity many people have with black ethnic hair. Originally from Colombia and of Latin ancestry, Agudelo straightens his hair, but says it’s naturally curly. “It was common that people wanted to touch it,” he said of his hair’s natural state. “It’s flattering when people admire something about you, but it depends on how they approach you. If they do it without you being warned or asked for permission, it’s not okay. It can be taken as an insult.”

While Agudelo enjoyed the spectable of You Can Touch My Hair, he had no interest in touching any of the models in any way.

“I’m not really into touching strangers,” he said

PAY ATTENTION: Supreme Court Decisions Forthcoming on Key Civil Rights

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:37:00 +0000

Just in case you were not paying close attention, many are on edge awaiting Supreme Court decisions on marriage equality, affirmative action, and voting rights. Indeed, these decisions have serious implications. The court is divided along ideological lines and most consider Justice Kennedy to be the swing vote. I have not heard much optimism about the high court's ruling. Optimism in that the ruling will be favorable to civil rights. The conservative reputation of the current court has many pundits skeptical. Personally, I have been skeptical about the court rendering the most fair decision. I think Justice Roberts took the heat on upholding the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare only to turn back the clock on voting rights and affirmative action. After hearing Joy Reid's take when she filled as host for MSNBC's Ed Show this past weekend, I felt a little better.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ultimately I think we have the organization in place to overcome a ruling against voting rights. I think the people will rise up and not let anyone take away their right to vote. On marriage equality, I can see the court going either way. The biggest blow, in my opinion, would be a ruling against affirmative action deeming race-based university admissions practices unconstitutional. A college education is an economic imperative. If the playing field is not level, I am not sure that underrepresented communities presently have in place alternate solutions to get our children into college without the help of affirmative action policies. I am most nervous about that. So yeah everybody we need to pay attention. In one way or another, we will have to step up our involvement in securing our future.

SAD NEWS: Terrilyn Monette Found Dead Inside Her Car

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:38:00 +0000

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities pulled a missing teacher’s car from a New Orleans bayou Saturday and police said there was a decomposed body inside.

Authorities couldn’t immediately say whether the body was Terrilyn Monette, who was last seen leaving a New Orleans bar not far from the bayou in the early morning hours of March 2. She would’ve had to cross the waterway to get home.

Monette was a Long Beach, Calif., native who moved to Louisiana to teach. Her family has been flying back and forth from California to look for her. They attended a prayer vigil Friday and appealed for FBI intervention, accusing the New Orleans Police Department of mishandling the case. The department has denied the accusations.

Monette’s mother, Toni Enclade, was among the family members who came to the scene Saturday.

“I don’t understand why it took them so long to find her car,” Enclade told The Times-Picayune.

“This is supposedly one of the first places they would have checked. I’m just overwhelmed. It doesn’t make sense.”

Louisiana state Rep. Austin Badon helped spearhead the search. He said he and a volunteer diver resurveyed the waterway and found the car.

“We decided to sonar this area again, and more heavily, and it got a hit,” Badon told The Associated Press.

A diver got into the water and found the car, which was covered with a film when it was pulled out. Badon described the body as “heavily decomposed.”

John Gagliano, the Orleans Parish coroner’s chief investigator, said he could not immediately tell if the body was a man or a woman. Gagliano told The Advocate an autopsy will be performed Monday to determine the identity of the body and cause of death.

Monette was a second-grade teacher at Woodland West Elementary School in Harvey, which is located across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. She had come to Louisiana through a program that recruits teachers to area schools and had been nominated for a teacher of the year honor.

After going to a bar, her friends left her at her car. They told police she planned to sleep before driving home. She left a parking lot about 5:15 a.m. and a traffic camera captured her making a turn in New Orleans’ City Park.

Monette’s disappearance sparked a broad search handled in part by the Texas group Equusearch. A number of cars were pulled earlier from Bayou St. John as part of the search, some of which had been reported stolen.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t what we were looking for in terms of finding here alive and well, but it does bring the family some closure,” Badon said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Jury Selection Begins Today #Justice4Trayvon

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:21:00 +0000

The time has come. George Zimmerman is finally standing trial for the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin - the unarmed teenager he shot dead last February.

We've been gearing up for the big day by providing you with a play by play of what's transpired since that fateful night, and now we're going to keep you updated on the specifics of the trial for the next six weeks.

Here's what to expect today:
- Jury selection is expected to begin today. Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson ordered the clerk of counts to summon a total of 500 potential jurors. Between 100 and 200 of those Seminole County residents showed up this morning, and 100 more will show up each day as needed until the panel is seated. In the end, a panel of six jurors plus four alternates will be chosen.

- Nelson and lawyers will give 100 jurors lengthy questionaires to fill out. When they are finished, Nelson will review them and then question jurors individually.

- As it stands now, the process will take an estimated two or three weeks. The rest of the trial will take another two or three weeks. However, sources close to the case believe a jury could be decided just this week.

The demographic that will be chosen for the jury has been a hot topic since Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder. Here's what the defense and the prosecutors are looking for:
- According to Orlando jury consultant Susan Constantine, defense attorneys are looking for jurors over 40 years of age. They'll also want managers, authority figures and people who are analytic (ex: engineers) because those people tend to focus on facts, not emotion.

- Prosecutors are expected to favor people ages 18-35. They are also hoping for people who rely more on emotions in decision making - social workers, people in service industries etc.

Based on statistics, this is what the jury might look like:
- According to Constantine, the defense will favor white jurors and the prosecution will favor black. But based on Seminole County demographics, there are likely to be fewer blacks on the jury.

- According to U.S. Census data, 11 percent of Seminole County's population is black, compared to 16 percent for the state as a whole.

Source: Global Grind

I Got Your Back: The BROTHAhood between President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 18:49:00 +0000

If I were curious and daring enough, I would dig further and perhaps write a book about the relationship between President Barack Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder. I think there is a fascinating brotherhood and understanding that exists between these men. Star Jones articulated this towards the end of her HuffPost Live interview with Marc Lamont Hill. Senior Advisor to the President, Valerie Jarrett, eluded to this as well towards the end of her interview with Marc Lamont Hill.

Lauren Victoria Burke describes the Attorney General as the "human shield" for the President, which sounds to me like something brothers do for one another.

We need to understand that we can’t come off as a bunch of angry white men. — Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, January 2013

Holder. Go ahead and watch any hearing where Attorney General Eric Holder is the featured guest. Then watch old video of past Attorney Generals appearing in front of disgruntled members of Congress. Of course there are questions that should be asked and must be answered of the current Attorney General. But what is it about Attorney General Eric Holder that brings out the anger? As a number of instantly forgettable members of the U.S. House thrive to be more memorable on YouTube, Holder has become their favorite supporting actor in political shorts for their web sites.

Holder (what a coincidence) became the only cabinet member in American history to be held in contempt by Congress. Currently the House Judiciary Committee is contemplating a subpoena for Holder and perjury.

“They can’t get the President at the witness table so Holder is the next best thing,” one Democrat in the House said in May. “What they’re doing with Eric Holder is fighting a proxy war with President Obama,” MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart noted on June 3.

Too bad Holder didn’t walk in wearing one of those long leather seventies style raincoats like Shaft had. Or maybe he could have had Samuel L. Jackson sit behind him during the hearing. But really, Holder didn’t need any of that. He only needed to show up. These guy were wound up angry before he got there.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Howard University in Trouble?

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:43:00 +0000

A vice chairwoman of Howard University’s board of trustees recently told the board that the historically black school in Northwest Washington “is in genuine trouble” because of fiscal and management problems, according to a report published Friday.

“Howard will not be here in three years if we don’t make some crucial decisions now,” Renee Higginbotham-Brooks wrote in a letter dated April 24, which the Chronicle of Higher Education published on its Web site.

Among the concerns Higginbotham-Brooks cited were competition for students from less expensive public colleges, the possibility of a reduction in federal appropriations, expenses associated with the university’s hospital, the absence of a robust fundraising system to offset declines in tuition revenue and a university workforce that she said is too large.

Rachel Mann, a spokeswoman for Howard, said Friday afternoon that the university would refer questions about the letter to the board chairman, Addison Barry Rand, who was traveling and was unavailable for an interview.

Click here to read the rest of the Washington Post article.

Black Tea Partiers and Black America

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 16:39:00 +0000

Marc Lamont Hill hosted a HuffPost Live segment called Black Tea Partyers: The New Civil Right. I found myself trying to sum up the appeal that black members of the Tea Party are trying to make to the black community at large. I wasn't quite sure that I understood the overall message so I watched the segment again. I think I got it and oddly enough it aligns with some of the thoughts I recently have been having about black collectivism in such an individualistic American culture. Individual empowerment and the citizenship aspect of our identity seem to be the themes that black tea party members rally around.

As I have stated many times in the past, I am an independent. I belong to no political party. I can appreciate several key principles from each party. Lately, though, I have been leaning more to the left, by current standards, but that is primarily because the right has shifted more to the extreme. I prefer balance and compromise from all sides. I listened intently to hear what these black Tea Party members had to say on the show. The message of individual empowerment and allowing citizenship to transcend race are concepts that theoretically I am on board with. More recently I have been contemplating how collective we are as a people. I wonder if we are collective and loyal to a fault. To what extent does the collectivism clash with the individualistic and capitalist society we live in? We look out for one another. There is an expectation that we will always band together; that we will always reach back and leave no one behind. When one of us wins, the entire race wins. We are ever cognizant of how our individual actions affect all of us. We have accepted the reality that if we do not fight for ourselves then no one will.

Justifiably, we fight for laws to eradicate discriminatory and unjust practices. That stuggle continues and must continue. I recently had a Twitter exchange with someone not so happy with President Obama's Morehouse commencement address. My concluding question was, "what are we going to do in the meantime?" We as a community spend alot of energy fighting for legislative/policy solutions and for the government to be on our side (which gets translated as government dependence). Those efforts are faced with serious opposition. What are we going to do if the Supreme Court deems section 5 of the Voting Rights Act unconstiutional? What are we going to do if the Supreme Court says race-based university admission practices violate the constitution? What are we doing to do if we can not keep some of our schools open? What are our contingency plans? It is a myth that no one is dependent on the government. But to what extent are we dependent on government intervention to move us forward?

I will never accept the notion of a self-made man/woman. No one ever makes it on their own. At the same time, I believe that individual ambition can take a person far and ultmately place him/her in front of the right people. How do we cultivate within ourselves, individually, the tenacity and determination that says even though the world is against me, I will succeed anyhow? I ask that question because based on the conversations I hear I am left to think that if we lose the "ally" we have in our government, then we are helpless even hopeless. Is that the case?

To what extent are we overly reliant on one another? How comfortable are we with navigating outside of our black circles? How many of us think that everybody else needs to be enlightened when it comes to diversity and inclusion? Dr. Walter Kimbrough questioned why Dr. Dre chose to donate money to USC versus an HBCU. President and Mrs. Obama are criticized all the time for what they seemingly are not doing for the black community. It seems as if blacks with power, wealth, and influence can never do enough for us. I grew up in Gary, Indiana and I remember hearing people angrily talk about how the Jackson family never gave back to the city; how "they ain't never do nothing for Gary." For a while I accepted that idea. But I later began to wonder why they had to do something for Gary. Why are we responsible for one another? Why are we dependent on one another? Why do we slam those that seemingly abdicate their "responsibility" to us?

Sometimes I think we are more conscious of our race than anyone else. Sometimes I think we project our racial anxieties onto other people. Before you jump all over me let me say that others can cause race to rise to the surface. Many that have tried to lead a color-blind life have had the unfortunate rude awakening that many in this world only see race and nothing more. I get it, but for right now, I'm talking about us. Sometimes I think we need to take our "black hat" off. I recently wrote about How I Got Over My Blackness and concluded with how we need to judge ourselves by the content of our own character. On the Tea Party front, can we let our citizenship trump our race? Do we want to be engaged on matters that transcend race such as fiscal responsibility? Or are we only proud to be an American during the Olympics?

Earlier I mentioned that theoretically I am on board with individual empowerment and citizenship transcending race. Why can I only accept it as a theory and not align myself with the Tea Party or any party for that matter? I will tell you why. It irritates me that publicly each party is afraid to showcase the diversity within the party. A so called "united front" must always be on display. Compromise has become a dirty word. Groups, particularly those affiliated with the GOP and the Tea Party have become intransigeant and even uncivil. Yes the media tends to focus on the sensational rhetoric, but you cannot tell me that the media is solely responsible for the image of each party. There were several moments where the GOP and the Tea Party could have risen to the occasion and shown us who they purport to be, but they opted to do otherwise. For example, the birther movement. Who was willing to shut that down? Voter suppression...the data shows virtually no voter fraud. Yet no one spoke up to say let's focus our efforts elsewhere or at the very least gradually implement new laws and not double down on last-minute legislative efforts that would adversely affect voter turnout. Those are just a couple of examples. I could go on and on about their strategy to not govern but oppose/obstruct the President at every turn. A President that was duly elected, twice, I might add. Actions speak louder than words. They want to improve their outreach to women and minorities but they do not reach out to the most prominent minority in the world? Why should I think that their view of me is any different? As a black voter, the Tea Party and the GOP wants me to forget about my race Yet their actions and their image tell me that what they ask of me they do not require of themselves.

The First Lady Confronts Heckler at Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:31:00 +0000

First Lady, Michelle Obama, directly addressed a heckler at a fundraiser letting everyone know that she does not tolerate heckling and being interrupted. Who can blame her? It is blatant disrespect. What is even more silly is that it was an LGBT activist. Such behavior is expected coming from the opposition. But to heckle one who supports the concerns of the LGBT community is self-defeating. Of course there are a range of reactions to the First Lady's response. Most are favorable. Others are calling it "hood," "Chicago," or some other version of the "angry black woman" coming out. Personally, I applaud her for not tolerating it. I think she was direct and respectful. What I find interesting from the Washington Post article is that the woman was "taken aback" by the fact that Mrs. Obama confronted her. That lets me know that people like this expect to get away with this disrespectful behavior.

Of course, people are comparing her response to her husband's most recent heckling experience, where he was much more benevolent to the lady that interrupted his speech numerous times. It was clearly two different responses. Comparing the two is futile to me, so I won't.

Serena Williams Graces Cover of Essence Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:54:00 +0000

Nothing left to be said. Serena looks fantastic and I think many of us, body-wise, can relate.

Well Surprise, Surprise: Black People are Happy and Hopeful

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:41:00 +0000

You might think African-Americans might be more pessimistic about their lives. The housing crisis decimated pockets of black wealth. The black unemployment rate has been nearly double the national average for several years.

But according to findings from our survey of more than 1,000 African-Americans, you'd be wrong.

A new poll released Tuesday by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that the overwhelming majority of black people (86 percent) said they were satisfied with their lives. Nearly 60 percent said they would eventually achieve the American dream of financial security and homeownership. A little more than half of those polled (53 percent) said they felt their lives had gotten better in recent years.

The survey sampled about 1,081 people, and the geographic breakdown — with a majority of respondents in the South or in urban areas — roughly matched the demographics of African-Americans in the country more broadly. It asked respondents for their opinions on a wide range of issues: finances, personal health, dating lives, assessments of their communities and neighborhoods, and much more. Click here to read the rest of the article

Defense Attorneys Apologize for Mischaracterizing Trayvon Martin

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Last week defense attorneys for George Zimmerman released so-called evidence that spoke to the unarmed teenager's supposed propensity for violence. The defense team claimed to have a video recorded by Trayvon of his friends beating up a homeless man. As it turns out, the video that the young man recorded was of two homeless men fighting over a bike. Now the lead attorney, Mark O'Mara is apologizing of course spinning it as their way of "disputing misinformation."

I am so glad that we rallied for an arrest in this case and that charges were indeed filed. If this were mere self-defense to me this would be an open/close case. If there were objective evidence of the unarmed teenager as the aggressor, why wouldn't the defense team present that instead of this desperate attempt of blaming the victim? Where is the evidence that exonerates Zimmerman, the admitted killer? I know the trial is a week away and that all of this "evidence" will be presented during the trial. But I can't help questioning the self-defense claim when they are saying and doing things that cause them to lose credibility. I guess I should be happy because their lack of evidence and their loss of credibility should make the prosecution's case much easier and there will be justice for Trayvon. At least that is my hope.

What Do Sistas Have to Say about Interracial Couple in Cheerios Ad (VIDEO)?

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

By the time I got around to viewing the Cheerios commercial, YouTube had already disabled the comments section. From reporting, I understand the comments to be filled with all kinds of "preserving the white race" nastiness. Anyone who has ever read the comments section on virtually any subject should not be surprised by such foolish and hateful statements. But you know I began to wonder how black women are responding to this ad because you know seeing a black man with a white woman has often times caused black women's blood to boil. So sistas, tell me what you think...

How I Got Over My Blackness

noreply@blogger.com (@AVGJOhanna) — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:15:00 +0000

How you got over your blackness? What you talkin' bout, Johanna? I have been hesitating on writing this particular piece, questioning the best time to bring it up. I do not know that there is a perfect time to talk about it. I have open in another window HuffPost Live with Marc Lamont Hill discussing internalizing racism. I figured this was just as good a time as any.

We hear all kinds of stereotypes about us as black people. The messed up thing to me is that stereotypes are not unfounded; they just are not true across the board. I do not know which stereotypes became self-fulfilling prophecies as a result of the lies that others have told us. And I do not know which stereotypes we have typecast ourselves with. What I do know is that we carry them with us all the time. We have internalized them and we, especially educated blacks, do our very best to be the exact opposite of them. Rightly or wrongly, we have defined what it is to be black and what it is not. Sadly, we have embraced a number of negative traits as blackness or we have taken on the burden of overcompensating to convince others and ourselves that we are indeed worthy. Our self-esteem has taken a hit and it plays out in many scenarios. Just like any other lie that we have been fed that affects our collective and individual self-esteem, self-worth, and self-efficacy, we have to heal from it, get over it, and move on.

For me, I would say that the breakthrough moment occurred when I was in college. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. Most outsiders do not view my hometown with positive regard. Many from Gary, and still residing there, have a negative view of the city. When I was in high school, there was rampant violence. Our house and our church had been burglarized. Our car was stolen right out of our driveway, while we were away. My own brother at the age of 13 (I was 12) was robbed at gunpoint of his Starter jacket, Nike gymshoes, and wallet. Our home was guarded by bars and there was a gun in the home. The family of the guys that robbed my brother threatened him after the men were convicted. When my brother foolishly did not come home on time one summer night, my mother went packing into the streets looking for him. She was justifiably armed as many young men that I went to middle school with did not live past 10th grade. When I was in 10th grade, fights broke out all over school and we were put on lockdown. I remember having the wherewithal to ask my teacher if I could call my parents because there was no point in staying in that environment that day. A few minutes later, my father picked up me, my brother, and one of my cousins. In 11th grade, Gary was given the infamous title of Murder Capital of the United States. A few days after I graduated from high school, I was attending the funeral of my elementary school "boyfriend." Years later after graduating from college, I found myself writing a letter to the judge that was determining the sentence of the man who senselessly murdered one of my cousins. I give all of this detail to provide the backdrop of why I had some negative thoughts about my hometown as I entered college.

Initially I wanted to attend North Carolina A&T to study mechanical engineering. Life rerouted me and I ended up at a small engineering and management school in Flint, Michigan, now called Kettering University. I went from my sights set on attending an HBCU to attending a predominantly white male institution. Before the start of classes, freshmen had to take a placement test, to determine what level of calculus and chemistry we would take first. I remember feeling anxious wondering if my Gary Public School education would have me a semester behind placing me in pre-calculus. I wasn't worried about the chemistry class because we were going to have to take both organic chemistry and regular chemistry. For capacity sake, they just wanted to know if some of us were advanced enough to start in o-chem. I remember studying right up until the test. When I took the test, I wondered why I was trippin.' I vowed from that day forward that I would never knock the Gary Public School system ever again. I was placed into organic chemistry and the 4-day (a 5-day course was offered for those that needed more class time), calculus class.

Let's rewind some to even before I started taking classes, I had begun my engineering co-op 150 miles away with General Motors. I remember the stares by many whites that acted like that had never seen a young black girl before. I remember being on serious guard wondering what these folks were thinking. I remember a conversation with a black woman that happened to be from my hometown warning me about how "they" act and how I had to CYA (cover yo ass). I relayed this advice to my unofficial mentor, a rising black male executive. He told me to always "consider the source" and not to take on other people's "stuff." I remember sitting there enlightened because I had never heard a black person say anything quite like that. This was coming from a man that grew up in Cleveland and not the suburbs either. Many times I heard the former advice and I just assumed that was just the way it was. I didn't realize I could think differently. I remember taking his advice to heart and I remember feeling lighter.

Fast forward back to school...many times I was the only black and/or the only female in the class. I often wondered who would take "pity" on me when we had team assignments. When I read in the syllabus that there were group projects, I would hope that the instructor would assign the groups. I figured that way I would avoid the awkward moment of asking someone to work with me, because you know I had to be the one to ask. I do not recall ever being asked. Most times my wish was NOT granted and I had to muster up the courage to confidently ask someone to work with me. I remember leaving lunch early for a group meeting on several occasions telling my friends, "You know I gotta be on time and I can't be the unprepared negro." I do not remember how many times I had those types of conversations. But I do remember when I stopped having them. I remember being in the library waiting for my LATE team members (thosed that actually showed up) and I remember being disgusted because not only were they late, they were not prepared. Then the light bulb went off. I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I putting all this pressure on myself? Why am I carrying my race with me every where I go? They are just as trifling showing up late and unprepared! How about I just be on time and be prepared because that is the excellent thing to do?" Immediately, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. A weight that I would never pick back up again.

Don't think for one second that I can no longer recognize injustice, bias, discrimination and racism. I can see those things clearly. It's just that my actions were no longer dictated by a code of blackness. I am very proud of my skin color, my heritage and even my hometown. I have been disappointed by the reaction of some black people that I have met that have drawn conclusions about me based on how I supposedly carry myself. Some act stunned to learn that I am from Gary. My former pastor, clearly not knowing any better, said to me after attending a large event for the black community in the small town I lived in at the time, "that's probably the most black people you have ever been around." I was stunned thinking,"What was that about?" Other people baffle me "taking up the cause" when they grew up more privileged yet they think I'm from suburbia because I'm not stuck in the "black box." A few days ago a friend commented to me that, "It was good that you don't wear 'Gary' on you." I told him that bothered me because the assumption is that all that is Gary is a bunch of ghetto hoodrats that don't know how to act. That couldn't be further from the truth. If I didn't know him better and the type of person he was, I would have been offended. Thankfully in the end he understood my point of view.

I understand the pervasive effects of all that was done to our people historically and I understand the injustice that continues to this day. At the same time, I am saddened by the fact that there seems to be little improvement in our collective self-concept. The lies and negative stereotypes prevail in our hearts and minds. The dream is to be judged by the content of our character, right? One solution to this plaguing problem, in my opinion, is to worry less about convincing others to judge us on our merit and character. Rather, begin with judging ourselves by the content of our own character. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing "black."