You Think What?

” I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, ‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’ And, you know, it’s been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I’ve tried to turn away from the TV because it’s too hard to watch. I’ve even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I’m calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help — with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way — and they’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us!”

“George Bush doesn’t care about black people!”

~Kanye West, musical artist, during fund raising event in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane Katrina on NBC live telecast Friday, September 2, 2005

We assembled the smartest people on our staff to view and discuss the following controversial 39 second video clip:

George W. Bush appears to have wiped his hand on Bill Clinton’s shirt after shaking hands with a crowd of Haitians.
The conclusion of our gathered collective brain trust is Kanye West was right. (more…)

We found the following video on another site on the Internet. We read the back-story. It goes something like this: difficult, demanding bride becomes upset when shop owner will not acquiesce to her demands. She makes threats on one day–even called the police to make the owner do as she asked; and returns the following day to insist the shop comply with her unreasonable requests by changing its policy. As we read the story we thought, “Planning for events like weddings often brings out some peculiar behaviors.”

However, when we viewed what happened we could not believe our eyes. Of all the reports we found we liked this one video report because of the fairness of the presentation–both sides were told and we liked the frumpy looking anchor’s closing remarks. Watch and you’ll see what we mean…

There is no doubt this is a family (more…)

“People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and that’s a mistake. One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.”~Lucille Clifton

Lucille Clifton, (nee Sayles), acknowledged as one of the most accomplished women in the world of literature, died February 13, 2010.

Clifton, an artist known for her affable demeanor, common sense approach to poetry and writing, served as the Poet Laureate of the state of Maryland for six years from 1979 to 1985.

She was born and raised in upstate New York. Upon graduation from high school at age sixteen she received a scholarship to Howard University in Washington, D.C., where (more…)

“We must teach our children to dream with their eyes open. The chances of your becoming a Jerry Rice or a Magic Johnson are so slim as to be negligible. Black kids must learn to distribute their energies in a way that’s going to make them productive, contributing citizens in an increasingly high-technology society.”
~ Harry Edwards, author and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley as quoted in Time Magazine March 6, 1989.

Sociologist, scholar and author Harry Edwards, born 1942, is from East St. Louis, Illinois; he received his doctorate in sociology from Cornell University.

Harry Edwards stated desire is to be a role model of “the promising athlete who gave up the possibility of a career in professional sports to become a scholar instead.” (more…)

“If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.” Tommie Smith U.S. Track and Field Olympian Mexico City, 1968

It was October 16, 1968 at the Olympic Games in Mexico City where John Carlos and Tommie Smith, along with white Australian Silver medalist Peter Norman, who wore a human rights badge on the podium in solidarity of the Americans’ protest, made headlines around the world. (more…)

“…As an active worker for civil rights, she has been a steady and forceful advocate on the national, state, and municipal scene, reminding people everywhere that freedoms are won not only by idealism but by persistence and will over a long time…”
~Excerpt from citation the University Of Pennsylvania honorary degree of Doctor of Laws conferred in 1974 upon Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, a Philadelphian born in 1898 was a trailblazing female scholar and lawyer. Named Sarah at birth she was known as Sadie throughout her life.

She was born into a family of accomplished individuals. Her maternal grandfather, Benjamin Tucker Tanner, was a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Sadie’s father, Aaron Albert Mossell, was a graduate of Lincoln University and the first African American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1888. (more…)

Our favorite political cartoonist, Mark Fiore has his say about the relief efforts for the survivors of last month’s Haitian earthquake disaster. Take a look and be sure to help….

“Failure is not a word I accept”~ John H. Johnson, Publisher

John H. Johnson was an American businessman, founder of the Johnson Publishing Company. He was the chairman of Johnson Publishing Company and he also chaired the Fashion Fair Cosmetics Company, a company created by his wife Eunice Walker Johnson.

Under his leadership both Jet and Ebony Magazines flourished. Readership and circulation grew every year from 1945 the year in which they were first published.

The magazines were named by his wife Eunice and the start-up money came from a $500 loan  from his mother. She allowed Johnson to use her furniture as collateral for the loan.

His business success is nothing short of meteoric. He rose from the depths of poverty, spending a short time on the welfare rolls to becoming the first Black African American to be included in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. (more…)

If you are one of those who uses Twitter to tell the whole entire planet what you are doing every minute of the day, where you are, who you are with, when you are home and when you are not- we have a word of caution for you and a web site you have got to see.

The word of warning is DON’T! Do Not share everything about your life on the Internet…as fascinating as you may find it, or you believe others may find it so, some nefarious individuals may find it even more so…

We advise what is private must remain private.

It is said a word to the wise is sufficient and if you happen to be unwise then a picture is worth at least a thousand words…

Nina Simone the High Priestess of Soul, composer of more than 500 songs, the creator of a musical narrative for a generation for an era of Civil Rights demonstrations, is the featured artist celebrant  in Clark Dark’s Black History Month Entertainment Spotlight.

Celebrate Black History Month 2010