Under the Dryer

Star Jones Admits: I Earned 'Diva' Image | Star Jones : People.com

2006-12-19T18:07:00.000-05:00

Star Jones Admits: I Earned 'Diva' Image | Star Jones : People.com

Join us for a blog prayer and praise service for deliverance and the VICT'RY!

Willi Ninja Day Today - 6PM Moment of Silence

2006-12-06T12:46:00.000-05:00

Picked this up from Andrew Der at Cognitive Percolations. Great idea. New York City, or the borough of Queens, are you going to do the same?

Cognitive Percolations: "Apparently today (December 6th) is Willi Ninja Day in the city of Newark, NJ. We haven't really planned a formal celebration for today. Instead, the House of Ninja is asking everyone who knew Willi to take a moment around 6pm today to reflect on his memory and the impact he had on your life.

It was exactly a year ago today that a benefit was held for him. Here is a clip from the benefit (I can only assume):"

Gerald Levert dead at 40

2006-11-10T16:16:00.000-05:00

Ah this is sad to write. I had the honor of meeting Gerald Levert on the Tom Joyner cruise in '03. He is so young. RIP and my sincere prayers to the Levert family and his children.

Gerald Levert dead at 40: "Entertainer Gerald Levert has died at his home in Newbury, Ohio, according to WKYC-TV, and NBC station in Ohio.

His family tells Channel 3 News it appears died in his sleep, possibly of a heart attack. He was 40 years old.

Gerald was the son of Eddie Levert, a founder and lead singer of the O'Jays. The family has a street named after them in their native Canton.

Gerald and Eddie collaborated many times, recording an album called Father and Son together. He also sang with his brother Sean and Marc Gordon in the R & B Trio LeVert."

CBS News Correspondent Ed Bradley Dies of Leukemia at 65 - washingtonpost.com

2006-11-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

CBS News Correspondent Ed Bradley Dies of Leukemia at 65 - washingtonpost.com

Condolences to the family and friends of Ed Bradley, who passed today after a battle with leukemia at age 65, according to the Washington Post. He was a true journalistic pioneer, and ever so cool with that earring. Rest in Peace.

If My People: Comedian Busted for Stolen Concealed Weapon - TMZ.com

2006-11-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

Katt......baby....listen to me now.

Being that:

1. You and Snoop are colleagues.
2. Snoop just got arrested for weapons possession.
3. We are already advertising for an assistant for Snoop on Under the Dryer to prevent future arrests.

Why did you take a gun to the airport? A stolen gun. And have 3 more pieces in your luggage? What the WORLD?

Blogger prayer circle tonight 6pm. In the NAME....

Comedian Busted for Stolen Concealed Weapon - TMZ.com: "Katt Williams was arrested Monday at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly carrying a stolen concealed weapon.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the arrest occurred at 3 p.m. in Terminal 5. Williams, a popular comedian who recently starred in his own HBO stand-up comedy special, was stopped at the security checkpoint. Security officers found a concealed weapon in his carry-on luggage. One law enforcement source described it as a 'cheap, Saturday night special.' The LAPD was called and Williams, who stars alongside Nick Canon on the popular MTV show 'Wild 'N Out,' was arrested. Cops determined the concealed weapon was stolen. They also found three additional weapons in luggage that Williams had already checked in.

Williams, who is scheduled to host BET's first ever Hip-Hop Awards later this month, was booked on felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and several other offenses. Sources say Williams is also wanted in connection with an outstanding warrant in Kalamazoo, Mich"

VH1 Announces 'Flavor Of Love' Spinoff

2006-11-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

Sisters are making me earn my money AND driving me to double-martinis this week...
first Brandy and the Holy Ghost beatdown, now this....Mo'Nique ain't exactly Angela Bassett
nah'mean? Does she think we forgot about that stunt she pulled on the airplane over her hairdryer in the overhead bin? Shaken not stirred, Ketel One, please. Father, I stretch...

Celebrity Week - Where Hollywood Meets the Las Vegas Strip - VH1 Announces 'Flavor Of Love' Spinoff: "Flavor Flav kicked them to the curb, but that doesn't mean his Flavor of Love castoffs are gone for good. Now, 13 favorites from seasons one and two are ready to trade in their booty shaking and cat fighting ways for a little poise and grace.

Mo'Nique is set to host the latest in VH1's celebrity reality series with Charm School. The Parkers star will put these girls to the ultimate etiquette test as they compete for a cash prize and the title 'Charm School Queen.'

“These girls are outspoken and outrageous, but they need some focus and direction,” Mo’Nique says. “I’m just the woman to give it to them. You will see a metamorphosis in these girls, I promise!”"

If My People: Brandy Buckin in Bible Study

2006-10-31T18:46:00.000-05:00

Here in the shop we begin a recurring series "If My People", devoted to when we stunt in public (stuntin' like my daddy). The Scripture tells us "If My people, which are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray..." and I always say stop right there cause we can't even do that. Buckin' in Bible study! What, someone dissed Tom Cruise? Come ON Brandy.

Crunk + Disorderly: "Things got ugly when Brandy showed up with two of her friends (one a Scientologist, one not) to bible study at First A.M.E. (FAME) in Los Angeles last week.

Apparently the group of friends had just come from a Scientology meeting and had a bunch of questions challenging Christian principles being taught at the bible study. While Brandy asked a question regarding lust, her friends got into a brawl with members of the church in the back of the sanctuary. Chairs were flying, cuss words were being tossed! Not your typical Wednesday night bible study scene at all.

Members of the congregation had to break the fight up. It is also reported that Brandy knocked over some chairs on her way out of the building.

And get this, she isn't even a member of the church! Just ignorant.

Sonia, come get your child."

Job Posting: Weed and Heater Holder for Calvin Broadus aka Snoop Dogg

2006-10-27T16:41:00.000-04:00

Under the Dryer's employment agency is posting a 'Weed and Heater Carrier' (WAHC) position, reporting to Snoop Dogg. This position is open due to the employer's(Snoop's) inability to understand airports are federally regulated and you can't take indo and pistols in there, nor on planes. Given Mr. Broadus' well publicized relationship with and affection for weed, including appearing on the seminal album "The Chronic", to lyrics such as "rollin' down the street smokin indo...", to most recently appearing on the hit Showtime drama called, you guessed it, WEEDS, he's made himself an easy target for arrest.

Qualifications include: security skills, ability to be inconspicuous, trustworthiness with contraband, firearm experience, ability to travel independently from Mr. Broadus so he does not get pinched, and past track and field experience, especially sprint events. Salary commensurate with experience. References required.

On the rizzle Snoop, how many times we gonna go through this bruh? You can't get caught holdin', period.

Snoop Dogg Arrested at Burbank Airport | Snoop Dogg : People.com

Scoot Over Naomi Campbell: Ill Na Na Sentenced to Three Years' Probation

2006-10-25T09:33:00.000-04:00

"Fox Boogie's" reputation preceeds her; I never have forgotten that
spitting on the hotel desk clerk stunt she pulled in Raleigh NC a few
years ago because there was no iron in her room. Yeah. Trust me
she would have caught my left hook while the spittle was still airborne
if I had been the hotel clerk. I had hopes her diversion into ragga while
dating Spragga Benz would have brought more peace into her life, but
"nah gal still fi rowin' so." -- Thanks again to Fresh over at C+D for putting
this so humorously (Noxema Jackson ROFL!)--AE

Outside court, Brown said that she would still beat the charges.
"I'm a fighter," she said." I have an impressible spirit and an abiding
faith in God. I believe that I will walk free." Outside court,
Brown said that she would still beat the charges.

EDITOR's NOTE: Not to disparage anyone's testimony, but
1)I think it's irrepressible, not impressible there, Inga.
2) You are on trial for smacking an nail tech, not capital murder, baby,
fall back a little. Bless God anyhow.
Pray much for the Ill Na Na and she'll do the same for you. --AE

rt, Brown said that she would still beat the charges.

"I'm a fighter," she said." I have an impressible spirit and an abiding faith in God. I believe that I will walk free."

Justice 4 Two Sisters: Less Than an Hour After Alleged Rape, Player Sent eMail About Hiring,Killing Strippers

2006-04-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

Justice 4 Two Sisters: Less Than an Hour After Alleged Rape, Player Sent eMail About Hiring,Killing Strippers

I declare these guys are going to keep my 'fro picked out the rest of the year...no matter...if it raises awareness and brings justice, I say pick on. Seriously this gets more gruesome by the day; as one of my friends said to me on IM, this sounds like something out of Silence of the Lambs, not a prestigious university.

Authorities Reveal eMail Message

By Benjamin Niolet, staff writer
DURHAM -- Less than an hour after a woman said she was raped at a Duke University lacrosse party, authorities say one of the team's players sent an e-mail message in which he talked about hiring strippers and killing them.

The text of the e-mail was included in a search warrant application investigators used to search the dorm room and apartment of team member Ryan McFadyen, a sophomore defenseman on the team.

According to the warrant, which was unsealed today, a confidential source sent investigators a copy of the e-mail, which they believe originated from McFadyen's Duke University e-mail address. It was sent at 1:58 a.m. on March 14, about a half hour after the woman, an employee of an escort service, told police she had been raped at the party where she had been hired to perform.

"Tomorrow night, after tonights show, ive decided to have some strippers over," the message read. "However there will be no nudity. i plan on killing bitches as soon as the walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off."

The message goes on to read that he would find the act sexually gratifying.

Investigators used the warrant to search McFadyen's dorm room and car. Investigators seized posters, cash, computers, memory cards and a hard drive, papers and drawings and a disposable camera.

McKinney: Race(or that shot-up hair) sparked tiff with police

2006-04-03T22:19:00.000-04:00

No, we are convinced it was that "somebody shot my braids with a shotgun hair!" Baby girl what IS it???? A man? Crack? Cynthia looks like she need to be sittin at the kitchen table on Friday night with a bottle of Crown Royal and a cigarette playin' solitaire with "I'm Catchin Hell" by Natalie Cole playin' on the "hi-fi"(shout out if you know what a hi-fi is). We here at the Shop weren't ever big fans of them Colonial Williamsburg Slave Actress braids either, but as my good friend A would say, "Good LAWD! What 'the WORLD?"

Cynthia stop by Under the Dryer dahlin....touch up is on us. Meanwhile, just to reminisce, here's the lyrics to that brown-liqour classic...Cynthia this goes out to you sweetie.:

I'm Catchin' Hell by Natalie Cole

Written by chuck jackson and marvin yancy

Tonight, i, I just want to talk to the ladies, oh fellows you're cool but girls

If you've got a good man, you'd better keep him,

Oh I know you're saying right now, what does she know?

Who is she to tell me about my situation?, well, I don't know your situation

But whatever it is, you should try to stay together

You know that big argument that you had the other night, remember?

Well, today it's not nothing, just don't let him leave you honey

Cause then you'll find out that it wasn't those real big things you loved about him

It was the real small things, go on and laugh but it's true

You know, things that you've seen a thousand times around the house

But never paid any attention to, like helping with the groceries

And helping in the yard and painting and repairing and huh, paying the bills

But you know now, all I have is memories and regrets

I could have given our love a chance to grow but no

I had to challenge it and be heard (oh), let me tell you something

That female liberation stuff, I don't know, sometimes I don't think it's worth it

And I'm really feeling, feeling kind of bad y'all, I'm catching hell living here alone

Hmm, I never realized, oh Lord, that you mean so much to me

I'm catching hell living here alone, I want you to come back baby

Come back cause here's where you belong, oh yeah

If I could replay, if I could replay that whole scene again, oh well

You know that I would never, never say it again, that our love, our love is at it's end

And oh, you know that I would kind of ease on back, yes I would

And let confusion pass on by, I took moves well, oh yeah

Without one good reason why, I'm catching hell, catching hell

Lord I'm living, living, living here alone, alone, lone, I didn't believe it could be

You know all the pressure on me, all the time, oh, I'm catching hell, well, well

Living here alone, lone, lone, lone, lone, lone, lone, to tell you the truth

To tell you the truth I'm going out of my mind---, yeah, oh do you hear me tonight

I don't have too (this is my story) much more to say except

Somebody (hey, this is my song) told me that if you've got something

That's good to you and you don't use it (sad, sad) you might lose it (sad, song)

(song, so sad) so girls hold on to your good thing (oh), (you gotta hold on a little bit now)

And don't let go, oh---do you hear me tonight, it's so sad living alone

Living alone (hmm), hold on to your good thing, hold on, (well, well) oh yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah---oh, oh, oh, lordy, lordy do you know what it's like

Catching hell, (somebody turn up the microphone, oh---), oh, no, no, no, no, no, no

Pour Out a Little Liquor for Cynthia McKinney - Wonkette

2006-04-03T22:13:00.000-04:00

Pour Out a Little Liquor for Cynthia McKinney - Wonkette

I'm sorry this is just STRAIGHT funny...for the "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" bill alone. Wonkette must have African-American writers on staff.

Naomi Campbell Should Throw Out First Pitch on MLB Opening Day

2006-04-03T11:27:00.000-04:00

Naomi Campbell Is Accused of Assaulting Housekeeper - New York Times

I mean if Naomi has the guns to throw a cell phone hard enough to cut her housekeeper's head "till the white meat show", she might have a 2nd careeer as an MLB pitcher. My beloved, injury-laden Chicago Cubs bullpen might wanna take a look at her, for real. I saw Bush step down and let Naomi chuck the first pitch 'cross the plate.

Seriously sistas, we knew from when this story first broke Friday her housekeeper was not a sister. If she'd had ....oh...Quita lets say? You know it woulda been vaseline on the face, hold my earrings, weave snatched, all OUT project-whoopin down Naomi's steps and out into the street. Over some jeans.

Come on Naomi, like you couldn't call down to Macy's and have someone bring you over another pair of Seven for All Mankinds?
Girl please.

We will be adding a 'ghetto fab stunt' section to the sidebar soon in honor of this momentous occasion.

Russell, Kimora Lee Simmons Split | Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons, Divorced : People.com

2006-03-31T15:56:00.000-05:00

Russell, Kimora Lee Simmons Split | Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons, Divorced : People.com

Aw c'mon y'all....this is the first bourgie hip-hop couple...the inventors of the ghetto fabulous lifestyle! From Hollis to Hatha Yoga, what's UP? Did Russell finally tell Kimora that Baby Phat gear is TA-CKY and she put him out?

Daily Views, Pop Culture, Rants, and News: My Feelings on a certain Lacrosse team in North Carolina

2006-03-30T14:48:00.000-05:00

Daily Views, Pop Culture, Rants, and News: My Feelings on a certain Lacrosse team in North Carolina

Next shape up is on the shop, Humanity Critic. Love ya for this one my brother. Much respect.

Patti Labelle "I'm Tired, But I'm FIERCE" Refutes "Breakdown Onstage" Reports

2006-03-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

Singer Patti LaBelle Weeps on Stage

*all together in your Charlie Murphy voices* "Wrong!... WRONG!"

"I'm tired but I'm fierce!" is what Miss Patti Labelle says she told a Delray Beach, FL concert crowd, in an interview broadcast today on the Tom Joyner Morning Show radio program today. In the telephone interview Miss Patti stressed she did not have a breakdown on stage. She said the show was running 3 hours behind, and she was the headliner, so she felt she owed it to the crowd who'd stayed on for her to 'go on with the show.' "I'd worn this little mini dress tryin' to be cute", she stated, but what the news reports neglected to mention was it was also raining buckets at the outdoor concert, thus it had become quite cold by the time she went on around midnight. And, demonstrating she has what may be the most fiercely loyal and loving fan base in music, Miss Patti said no less than 7 fans peeled off various articles of clothing to give her to put on to keep warm, including one man's pair of pants.

Miss Patti stated that her well-known diabetes and heart murmur are both in check and she is doing fine. Miss Labelle shows no signs of slowing down however, as she gave the phone interview on the way to the airport to catch a plane to Germany, to promote her HSN Patti Labelle clothing line. Work Miss Patti! We wanna be like you when we are 62.

"Under the Dryer" was worried to death about you Ms. Girl; we are happy for your success and glad you are ok! *Big hug and diva air kisses* You are welcome here anytime! And we are adding you to Under the Dryer's "Don't Go There List" immediately.

(EDITOR's NOTE: Any black woman's shop worth it's salt should know that goes without saying, but just in case...)

The Black Church's Response to this Hate Crime? (Queue the Crickets)

2006-03-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

NOTE: This was also posted at the watchdog site for this case: Justice 4 Two Sisters.
Angela Davis , one of my (s)heroes, said, "If they come for me in the morning, they'll come for you in the afternoon." Where did I learn this powerful saying? In a sermon by the great Rev.Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright,Jr., pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago IL. Yeah that's right, a black revolutionary, exegeted by a black theologian. The black church and civil/human rights have been galvanized since emancipation and before. Historically the black church has as a whole never backed down from attacks on our community or our people. When did this shift occur? Time was, the first entity in the black community who would have weighed in on the rape,brutalization, and racial terrorization of 2 African-American women by 3 white members of the Duke University Men's Lacrosse team would have been the black church, no question.

The church has been our country club, our fraternity,sorority, alma mater, citizens action committee, finishing school, mission,homeless shelter, soup kitchen, et al since forever. No member of the black community could matriculate where we do, work where we do, eat where we do, walk where we do, or live where we do, if it were not for the black church...if not for preachers and mothers of the church, for protest marches and prayer meetings. Where is the black church on this issue?

Now, let me be real. I know who we will not hear from. We will not hear from the so-called prosperity or 'word' church leaders who run the Sunday Morning Church Amusement Parks around the country that are focused on sowing seeds made of paper currency so they can reap a Gulfstream Jet or Rolls for themselves Haw-Lay-LOOOO-Yuh. We will not hear from empty-suit preachers like Rev. Patrick Wooden of Upper Room Church of God in Christ, in Raleigh NC, headline seekers who pop up at the holidays to denounce businesses who use Xmas in their advertising. Let's see ...sexual assault and hate crime VS. Xmas...which one do you think the Almighty is most grieved over? "Straining out gnats and swallowing camels" is what Jesus called this backward value system in the Gospel of Matthew. But I digress...

Black church we need to hear from you and see you. Trust and believe if this was a Jewish girl who'd been brutalized, our brothers and sisters in the Jewish community, rabbis and members of synagogues around the area would converge on the Duke campus and let it be known this act of violence will not be tolerated. I beseech you to replace thesilence with the voice of the Black church. Our ancestors are waiting on you. If we don't, rest assured they will "come for you in the afternoon" as Sister Angela so eloquently aid.

Justice 4 Two Sisters: Where is the Duke Men's Lacrosse Team Coach Mike Pressler?

2006-03-28T14:13:00.000-05:00

Justice 4 Two Sisters: Where is the Duke Men's Lacrosse Team Coach Mike Pressler?
As I've watched this nightmare unfold on the alleged rape,sodomy, and racial terrization of 2 African-American women by 3 white members of the Duke University Lacrosse Team, I can't help but wonder: Where is the coach? According to the web, the head coach is Mike Pressler. Can you imagine if this happened to be the Duke University men's basketball team, and we'd not heard or seen Coack K? It's unfathomable right? Clearly someone has told the team, coach included to, in the words of TV crime dramas "lawyer up." Where is the leadership, discipline, and ethics here Coach Pressler? It is not a stretch to imagine if the Duke Men's Basketball team stood accused of violent assault and a hate crime on two women they'd hired to dance at a party, Coach K and staff would have them holed up in a room until this very minute and not come out until somebody's memory got better and told what they knew. I 'd also suspect scholarships would start getting taken away one by one if the former tactic didn't serve to jog somebody's memory.

But more than that, we would have seen and heard from Coach K before now, I suspect the same day. At the college level, unlike the pros, there is, or should, be more than athletic coaching going on. These are still young kids, and they need guidance in all areas of their life, not just on the court or field. Who is going to provide it if their coach doesn't?

Coach Presseler, acccording to a Duke website photo, you have a family and two young daughters.

If 46 men stood accused of assaulting and terrorizing your daughters in this way what would you do?

These young men need to see you stand up and do the right thing, not cover your own behind Coach.

Click to email Coach Pressler

SI.com - NFL - Eagles' Jones arrested for dancing in street - Monday March 27, 2006 4:15PM

2006-03-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

SI.com - NFL - Eagles' Jones arrested for dancing in street - Monday March 27, 2006 4:15PM

I mean what kind of a world do we live in when you can't stretch out and getcha groove on in the street without getting arrested? In South Beach, Miami, no less? If you've never been, imagine someone took LA and New Orleans, shook them together and poured the resulting mixture out on Ocean Drive in Miami. The place is one big outdoor/indoor party. Most clubs don't even have walls in the front on them for goodness' sake. One could easily dance on out in the street and not even realize you've left the confines of Club Liquid or Crowbar. And the music? I DEFY you to stay still be it house, hip-hop, techno, or reggaeton.

Now to the 'perpetrator'..... for the uninitiated, Dhani Jones is one of the most intellectual renassaince men to play in the NFL since Alan Page. In other words, he and TO are basically polar opposites. He's been a guest symphony conductor on numerous occasions with the Philadelphia Pops, and hires a classical pianist play classical music for him to unwind after games. Has his own silk bow tie company, 5 Star Ties. He paints, writes poetry, travels extensively. That and being fetchingly handsome in the Shop's opinion (winks). As far as I'm concerned, anybody who put up with TO for any season desereves to cut loose.

So in the words of that great philospher, Busta Rhymes. "Get Low Dhani!" we ain't mad atcha sugar.

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill » Black woman gang raped by Duke athletes!!

2006-03-27T13:13:00.000-05:00

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill » Black woman gang raped by Duke athletes!!

Big hug and respect to Marc Lamont Hill at Barbershop Notebooks Blog for linking,posting and writing about this tragedy. You are welcome at 'The Shop' anytime love! Thanks for committing to keep the heat on and noise level high.

Team's silence is sickening by Ruth Sheehan

2006-03-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

newsobserver.com | Local & State

Ruth Sheehan, Staff Writer

Members of the Duke men's lacrosse team: You know.

We know you know.

Whatever happened in the bathroom at the stripper party gone terribly terribly bad, you know who was involved. Every one of you does.

And one of you needs to come forward and tell the police.

Do not be afraid of retribution on the team. Do not be persuaded that somehow this "happened" to one or more "good guys."

If what the strippers say is true -- that one of them was raped, sodomized, beaten and strangled -- the guys responsible are not "good."

This seems an elementary statement, I know.

But I can see loyal team members sitting around convincing themselves that it would be disloyal to turn on their teammates -- why, the guys who were involved were just a little "over the top." In real life, they're funny. They call their mothers once a week. They share class notes with friends. They attend church.

On this night, they were just a little too drunk, a little too "worked up." It was a scene straight out of "I am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe. Indicative of the times.

The alleged racial epithets slung at the strippers, who were black? Those were just ... jokes. Ditto for the ugly remarks overheard by a neighbor: "Thank your grandpa for my cotton shirt." Har, har.

After all, these guys are not just Duke students, but student athletes. The collegiate dream.

And the women? They were... strippers, for Pete's sake.

I can see the team going down this path, justifying its silence. And it makes me sick.

Because, of all the occupational hazards that must come with stripping, one of them should not be rape. And no, forced sex by a hunky prep student doesn't make it better.

Unfortunately, because the team members are students at such a fine university, there is a tendency to presume that this was an aberration. That these players are "good guys."

I see it in the references to the "Animal House" atmosphere allowed to flourish at the team captains' house.

I sense it in the "dismay" expressed by athletics director Joe Alleva over the "situation" -- the hiring of the strippers and the (shocking!) serving of alcohol to underage teammates.

But drunken parties are one thing. The implication that this event, if true, is somehow a bash that "got out of hand" is just plain wrong.

Rape is not part of a spectrum of behavior, the regrettable end game when testosterone and beer are ignited by a shaking booty and fanned into flames by the larger team's permission.

No. Rape is a crime. A very serious one.

Those who commit it are criminals, not "good guys."

I don't know what happened in that house, and in that bathroom, over in Durham. Ultimately, that will be a matter for the court system to decide. But who was in that room is something the police need to know. Now.

They shouldn't have to wait for 46 DNA samples to be returned.

Every member of the men's lacrosse team knows who was involved, whether it was gang rape or not.

Until the team members come forward with that information, forfeiting games isn't enough.

Shut down the team.

Ruth Sheehan can be reached at 829-4828 or rsheehan@newsobserver.com.

Two Black Women Raped and Beaten by White Male Duke Lacrosse Team

2006-03-25T13:08:00.000-05:00

I'm going to have to "Pick My Fro Out" again this week regarding a tragedy that just has the shop outraged this morning. Two African-American women, hired by the Duke University Lacrosse Team to dance at a party were allegedly raped, beaten, sodomized, and yes I'll say it because it is true, racially terrorized by at least 3 white members of the Duke University Lacrosse Team. Click Here for story from Raleigh News and Observer According to one of the victims, who remains hospitalized, one of the Duke University Lacrosse Team members yelled out to her "thank your grandpa for the cotton in my shirt!", and that is just one of the myriad of racial slurs shouted at these young sisters. There were allegedly 46 Duke University Lacrosse Team members in attendance at the house where this party was held, and only one of the 46 is black. I have 3 points I would like to make.

1. First to my two beautiful young African-American sisters who were brutalized: Babies, I want you to know God loves you, your brothers and sisters love you, I love you, and I am so terribly sorry about this senseless tragedy. No one deserves to have this happen to them,ever.

2. To Devon Sherwood, the lone African-American player on the Duke University Men's Lacrosse Team. (this is listed on Duke University Athletics public website www.goduke.com) I know you are a freshman, you are probably on scholarship, you are the only brother on this team. I'd be scared to death in some ways if I were you. Despite all this, I am appealing to you young soldier to come forward and tell what you know and or saw and see that these your sisters receive the justice they deserve. This could have been your mother, your sister, your cousin, your girlfriend,your classmate. They are college students just like you, one is a mother, trying to support her children and make a better life. What are you going to do? The activist Angela Davis said "If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the afternoon." Don't think you can't or won't be racially terrorized my brother. You OWE all the hundreds of thousands of our forbearer whose backs YOU stand on, who suffered, worked, protested,marched, sat-in, bled, and died so that you could go to an institution who historically did not always admit African-Americans to be educated or play organized sports. YOU OWE THEM DEVON. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? HOW LONG WILL YOU SIT AND LET THESE SISTERS SUFFER?

3. I am reaching out to all my brothers and sisters in the African-American community, especially in the blogging community, to link to this story and raise it to the global level. If you do not have a blog, email it to your distribution list.

Of course I like to have fun with my blog like anyone, but if we are serious about what we do as blog journalists, THIS is where we can truly make an impact. I have launched a 'sub-blog' specifically on this issue: Justice4TwoSisters and will not rest until these sisters receive the vindication they deserver. Through this 'sub-blog' I'll reach out to anyone who I think will listen and make an impact. We must make sure this hate crime and brutalization does not get swept under the rug and excused away because of a "that's what they get" mentality. This heinous behavior has gone on for over 400 years, from the plantation to Duke University and we as a people must stand up and say "No More!". You and I can trust and believe right now if this were 2 white strippers brutalized by a majority black athletic team, it would be a "whole 'nother kinda party" right now. Please inbox or email me if you have any additional ideas. Thank you.

The Barbershop Notebooks Blog

2006-03-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

Uh Oh Uh Oh! MC Hammer Blog

2006-03-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

MC Hammer Blog

Really well done site...makes heavy use of mobile blogging with his sidekick.

Afro-Netizen™: Clooney's looney for citing 'Mammy'

2006-03-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

On the regular, I will have to "Pick My 'Fro Out" on topics relative to the edification of the African-American community. These will be found in the category of the same name (Pick Out My 'Fro) in the sidebar.

Look, Under the Dryer is an intelligent blog beauty shop too now; if you came for hair-n-fingernails-type conversation only, hit the 'Next Blog' button up top.

Afro-Netizen™: Clooney's looney for citing 'Mammy'

"We gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I'm proud to be part of this Academy. I'm proud to be part of this community."--George Clooney aka Danny Ocean in the films Ocean's 11 and 12

Chris Rabb, editor of the finest news blog in the 'sphere IMO, Afro-Netizen, is on it once again with this intelligent missive aimed at the short-sighted ignorant statement from ol' Danny Ocean himself. If the public forgot Clooney hails from Louisville, KY originally, he just refreshed our memory by taking us back to his ol' Kentucky home with this one.

First let me level set: We could not sit in the back of the theater or anywhere on the first level in 1939 IF we could go at all. If allowed admittance, we were seated in the balcony,which became known as 'black man's heaven' for it's proximity to Glory, so to speak. If George Jefferson Clooney was up on his movie history, he'd know during this same era most of Lena Horne's movie parts were shot of her singing alone, so that the scene could be edited out for distribution to the segregated South. She was never part of the plot. So, with that said, you can imagine what we think of that little statue huh?

Clooney seems here to be trying to "raise his game" from hunk to mogul/politico in Hollywood, but he can't seem to avoid getting his zapato stuck in his mouth on the way up . Further, unlike the authentic mogul/politicos in Tinsel Town, such as Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, Denzel Washington, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee et al, he seems to fail to realize you need to have some sense and class to go along with the little gold statue.

Now, if Mr. Clooney had said "We gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 and have only awarded two more (to Whoopi Goldberg and Halle Berry ,for those playing along on the home version) to a black woman in the 57 years since, and I'm ashamed to stand here and accept this.", shoot I'd have given him Under the Dryer's "Sista-Pass of the Week" Award just on GP. But since he didn't, I can't...BUT I do have a solution to get Mr. Clooney on the proverbial Straight Street.

I say let Mr. Clooney guest star on an episode of the new FX network reality series "Black and White." The premise is one white family and one black family "switch races" via the magic of Hollywood makeup artists. So, I make Mr. Clooney up as an African-American male actor for a week and follow him with the camera as he attempts to go on casting calls for movie roles other than buddy boys, pimps, hustlers, rapists, or what Spike Lee calls "the magical mystical negro"role, a'la Bagger Vance. Then come back and tell us Danny-boy how proud you are to be a member of The Academy.