tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95975292024-03-14T01:56:42.407-04:00My Life in Peace, Politics, Poetry & LoveThe words and thoughts on this page are about what I see in this world. It is about everything. It was formerly called "The New Revolution," but living in this crazy world is revolutionary, so I want to give a peek into it.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-8918105142085486642011-07-06T03:40:00.000-04:002011-07-06T03:40:56.792-04:00You Can't Call the President That!!! Or Can you?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Qu_X_6QSbg/ThQQnBglqnI/AAAAAAAAACc/KoQY7POdbbw/s1600/news_boomer%2B-%2BGWBush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Qu_X_6QSbg/ThQQnBglqnI/AAAAAAAAACc/KoQY7POdbbw/s320/news_boomer%2B-%2BGWBush.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Last week, senior political analyst and editor-at-large of Time Magazine, Mark Halperin, called President Barack Obama a d--k on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. Now, when I first heard this I was shocked and pretty angry. There have been some unnecessary things said about President Obama over the last couple of years, but I thought that was a brand new low. I mean, what journalist in their right mind calls the President of the United States, or any head of state of a country, a "cuss word." Who does that? And it wasn't like it just slipped out of his mouth by mistake. In the words of Jon Stewart, “And that wasn’t like a spontaneous, ‘I can’t contain myself!’ This was, ‘Do you guys have a delay because I’m going to call this guy a d--k.”<br />
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Mr. Halperin was quickly placed on indefinite suspension by MSNBC, even with Mr. Halperin quickly apologizing for his "gaffe." Of course there is always concern that there is a double standard when anything is said about the "golden child" known as Barack. A friend of mine even suggested that at some point in the past, former President George W. Bush was called a "cuss word" too by a journalist and that person was not penalized, so what's up with the double standard? This made me wonder if I had forgotten some of the names George W. Bush was called during his presidency. Maybe my personal disdain for Bush and Cheney policies numbed me to the naughty language heaved at the 43rd President of the United States.<br />
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So, I did a little research, and it seems that Bush was called a lot of nasty things - fascist, socialist, war-mongerer, liar, war criminal, incompetent. On one occassion, Keith Olbermann, in one of his notorious "Special Comment" segments, advised Bush to "Shut the hell up!" And according to conservative website newsbusters.org, the "bias liberal media" can say anything about a Republican President and no one gets suspended or fired (http://newsbusters.org/blogs/geoffrey-dickens/2011/06/30/msnbc-double-standard-you-can-call-president-murdering-fascist-if-). <br />
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First, let me say, with all the millions upon millions UPON MILLIONS of dollars that pay Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly to say negative (and many times untrue and nasty) things about President Obama on a daily basis with ABSOLUTELY NO REPURCUSSIONS, conservatives really don't have much of a leg to stand on with this "double standard" idea. Furthermore, when Newt Gingrich was still working for Fox News and said that Obama was presiding over America with "Kenyan, anti-colonial" worldviews, he wasn't fired or suspended. He was cheered. Let us review the things that President Obama has been called by "journalists" and commentators shall we: socialist, terrorist, Nazi, Muslim, anti-American/un-American, alien, not born in this country, racist towards white people, "Barack, the Magic Negro" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_the_Magic_Negro), jack-ass (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/10/limbaugh-calls-president-obama-a-jackass.html). <br />
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For those of us who feel protective of the President because we may feel like we relate to him or feel invested in his success, all of these comments have an extra sting. We may well be a little sensitive about folks having the nerve to talk about "our President." That being said, Presidents from the beginning of this nation have been called nasty names, the power of freedom of speech and of the press to be sure. Presidents have been called drunkards, incompetent, skirt-chasers etc. And I'm almost positive that the Southern journalists during the Civil War had some negative things to say about President Abraham Lincoln. However, there was no thinking done by Mr. Halperin with his comment. There was no real purpose for his comment. It was crass and unprofessional. He's a journalist, and should know better. I am an artist, a poet, if I want to cuss out the President, I can do that. No one seeks my "unbiased" perspective on the day's events. And if I want to cuss out the President, I have to be a little more creative than that.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-36137478471366842152011-07-04T01:48:00.000-04:002011-07-04T01:48:13.808-04:00Back to Blogging!!!I have been really off with my blogging lately. I promise to get back to it, starting now... I think... I hope :o).<br />
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Check out my Twitter Page at twitter.com/JGrantDaPoet.<br />
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Peace!Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-40338954414598075452010-04-25T21:16:00.016-04:002010-04-26T12:57:26.423-04:00Why Did I Cut My Hair? Do I Miss My Hair? And Other Questions I Seem to Answer Every Week<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9TreBmr5GI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ZCEgV63hnHA/s1600/Photo_111609_002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464251148966552674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 165px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9TreBmr5GI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ZCEgV63hnHA/s320/Photo_111609_002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9TrNGSEDTI/AAAAAAAAABs/0E0ZnL0Nwrs/s1600/Photo_020110_002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464250858164456754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 236px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9TrNGSEDTI/AAAAAAAAABs/0E0ZnL0Nwrs/s320/Photo_020110_002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9TrCpmG-TI/AAAAAAAAABk/kln0CsGUxA4/s1600/Photo_020110_002.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9TqxRBsV8I/AAAAAAAAABc/XJBrX4F9Gg0/s1600/Photo_111609_002.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>In my return to this blog, I have to clarify one thing that has been a matter of much inquiry amongst my peers over the last couple of months: the reason(s) I cut off my hair. Thus, let me start from the beginning.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />When I first started growing my hair in the late summer of 2001, I didn't really have any intention to grow it for a long period. It was over the next few months that I started to fall in love with my hair. And it grew like a wild flower. I graduated college and law school with my afro fully intact. Over 8 years of college, law school and work, my hair had been puffed out, pulled back, braided up and loc'd in. However, when I started to loc my hair in the fall of 2008, I knew that I wasn't going to grow it for an extented period... maybe a couple months I thought. Again, my hair worked its charm on me and a couple months became more than a year. Furthermore, my hair was so throughly loc'd, there was no going back to my glowing "afro mane."<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>In the middle of 2009, I knew that I would cut off my hair, but I didn't know when. I also didn't tell anyone that I was going to cut off my hair because it was really no one else's business. So, several dates came across my mind - the first day of autumn, my birthday, New Years Day. However, none of those days seemed right because they were slightly over done. So a week into 2010, I figured out the date I would cut off my hair - it would be May 19th (Malcolm X's birthday). I chose that date because it was random enough that no one would make any weird conclusions about me cutting my hair because of my age or the New Year or my new firm etc. Instead, it would be about a new beginning... a new day... a new chapter. Most importantly, Malcolm's life and his autobiography have had such an influence on the adult I have become, and my "natural" was a part of the first chapter of my adulthood. So, it made some sense that the beginning of my next chapter would have something to do with him. Additionally, Malcolm X was very willing to accept change in his life. I want to be that brave.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>When I decided that I would cut my hair, I knew I wanted to have a personal celebration. I had carried my hair proudly. It was never a burden and it was never heavy. I wanted to celebrate that. I wanted to celebrate that I had been uniquely myself and beautiful in my own way and on my own terms, despite those who may have wanted me to look a particular way that they could accept -friend, foe, and stranger alike. But I didn't get to that celebration because a "detour" took place in my life. That detour created some energy that I knew I had to get rid of or I would not be a happy person. Keeping my hair was not completely out of the question, but the way I felt just a few days before I cut off my hair in February, I knew I would just be a very angry person to a lot of people if I kept my hair, and I didn't want to feel that way. I knew I couldn't wait three months - waiting would just be for spite and stubbornness, not for happiness. Even with deciding to cut off my hair, I didn't know what I was going to do, meaning I didn't know if I was just going to go about living my life the way it was, or give everything up, pull a Lauryn Hill and go on the road with my guitar doing Hip Hop folk music.<br /><br /> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I have not discussed too much of what happened during this "detour" and I don't plan on doing so until a later time in my life... when I write my own autobiography perhaps. Too many of my friends do not have enough degrees of separation from the situation for me to go telling everyone. It wouldn't heal anything. The one person I did tell everything to is my friend Renee in Toronto. Renee is one of those special people who have the ability to make you feel like she is hugging you through the phone. Maybe that's why she was the first person I thought about contacting... I just felt like she would understand. When she called me after I ranted to her on my Facebook e-mail about everything that happened and how I was feeling, her voice and her kind ear put me at ease. I knew I would be okay. She was what I refer to as "my safe person." Sometimes we all need a safe place to go to when we feel like the outside world is a little more dangerous than we want it to be. And then there are people we need at the right time to catch us when we think we're falling. I think I have a few "safe people" in my life, Renee was the right choice at that moment. A few days later, I cut it all off, but I stayed put and stood my ground.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Before the deed was done, my hair was feeling heavy. I knew I was ready to start anew. It wasn't very difficult because I had already thought out my hair cutting strategy before I even bought the clippers. I had my television volume up kind of loud because I didn't want to think about what I was doing too much; the quietness would have had me going through too many memories, good and bad. As I figured out my cut, I thought about the many beautiful women who had cut off their hair for whatever reason - India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Melissa Ethridge, Robin Roberts and the few women I personally knew who did the "big chop." I felt a kinship with them, cutting all of your hair off still isn't considered womanly by some, and having long hair isn't considered manly (particularly in the professional world) by others. After I was done, I was comfortable with what I saw in the mirror; this was always a big idea for me. If I could look at myself in the mirror and be happy and proud with what I saw, then I knew I made a good decision. And it was done and I put all of the pictures on Facebook.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>There was no celebration, but there was a lot of reflection on everything in my life - my passions, my goals, and the people who are in my closest circles. I was forever changed that night. I'm still not sure how to articulate that, but I can feel it. I can feel it in just the way I'm dealing with people. I don't know if it's for the better. It is what it is.<br /><br /> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I do miss my hair... a lot. I miss flinging it around when I got out of the shower or just finished washing it. I miss running my fingers through it and I miss it resting on the back of my neck. When I see other folks walking around with natural hair, I feel a little left out. I kind of feel like I'm no longer a member of the club - our little special club of "nappturally" beautiful people. I don't how long that feeling will be present, but it's still here. Also, I still feel a little awkward when people compliment me on my hair cut. It's like, you want to compliment me? NOW??? Of course, compliments are nice, but it feels weird to receive compliments after cutting my hair, like cutting off was a prerequisite for the good attention.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Finally, I wanted to write this blog to get some frustration off my chest. This year, I started a law firm with two other attorneys around the same time that I cut off my hair. Recently, a friend of mine, maybe in a joking manner, implied that I cut off my hair because I was starting a firm - this apparently would make me more appealing to potential clients or judges, I guess. I would have rather given up EVERYTHING than too cut my hair for THAT. When I graduated from law school, there were plenty of Black men who cut off their naturals. Some did it because they were just ready to. Others explicitly did it exclaiming, "I gotta get a job." I didn't do that. In fact, I carried my natural for four years and met with many more clients, other attorneys and judges than many of my "bald head" bredren did during the same period, and had no trouble with anyone. Let's be real, I'm a Black man in America, I'm not what many people want to see as a lawyer, doctor or business person - hair be damned. If someone had a problem, that's fine, but that's not my worry... My goal has always been to assert that even if you don't like me or the way I look, you are going to have to take notice of me, because I want to be that darn good. If I don't get there with someone and I've done my best, then it wasn't meant to be and I won't change who I am for approval of the closed-minded.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I have discovered that I really want to create some sort of support system or a movement for natural-haired Black professionals. I think it's needed. Back to the idea of a safe place, I didn't feel like I had a safe place among my fellow Black professionals all these years. Everyone is so geared into making Black professionals look like "the acceptable Negro," that there are few around to protect those who don't want to fit that mold. Hopefully, my journey will make it easier for someone to feel safe to break the mold and let their kinks glow. </div></div></div></div>Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-28471520919582724222010-04-25T15:15:00.011-04:002010-04-25T18:45:16.702-04:00Where Have all the Brown People Gone?<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9SeV_um3EI/AAAAAAAAAA8/2SScZDgF6Q4/s1600/ugly+betty.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 278px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 184px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464166348628614210" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9SeV_um3EI/AAAAAAAAAA8/2SScZDgF6Q4/s320/ugly+betty.jpg" /></a>This past week saw the series finale of the award winning television show, "Ugly Betty." With the end of this series, there are currently no live action programs on broadcast TV with a majority non-white cast. I say "live action" because the Fox animated program, "The Cleveland Show" is now the only television show on a broadcast network with more brown faces than white ones. However, the show's creators, main writers, as well as the voice of the main character, are all white people.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>[Photo: "Ugly Betty" Star, America Ferrera and series Executive producer, Salma Hayek.]</em></span><br /><br />As a child of the 80's and 90's, I feel like I was spoiled by all the television shows that had majority Black cast members. From the legendary "The Cosby Show" to "A Different World," if you were young and Black in the 80's and 90's, you saw plenty of images of yourself (positive ones!) on tv without ever having to touch BET (Black Entertainment Television). Back in those days, there were actually Black people on NBC. I already mentioned "Cosby" and "A Different World," but there were also long-running series like "227," "Amen," and "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" bringing in plenty of ratings for "the peacock network." And though there has been a little more "color" on NBC shows lately, as the 21st century was starting, much of the casts on NBC shows had very few non-white faces.<br /><br />A few days ago, I was reminiscing about one of my favorite tv dramas during the 90's, "New York Undercover." This show was one-third of one of my favorite primetime lineups - every Thursday night on Fox, "Martin," "Living Single" and "New York Undercover." After I mentioned this on Facebook, I received several comments from my fellow FB'ers with the same fond memories. As I said then, Thursday night was my favorite night of the week because of these shows, particularly "New York Undercover." I have such great memories of those shows because they were so much a part of my teenage years. The characters were memorable and relatable, the writing was quality and the acting was good too.<br /><br />Many shows with majority African American and/or Latino cast members have been very successful for many broadcast networks. In fact, networks like Fox, UPN, WB/CW, started their networks maximizing majority non-white tv shows, only to eliminate them once the network got its footing. We saw this recently with the CW cancelling shows like "Girlfriends," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "The Game" all within a year. Simultaneously, there has been so much energy dedicated by fans of "The Game" to bring the show back in some sort of format, even if on BET. I think this is because there are so few shows where non-white people can identify with the characters. "The Game" was a good show... I watched it. However, I have not seen this much fervor to bring a show back that, honestly, was fairly average. Granted, the plot lines were juicy and scandolous, but if there were other shows with comparable casting, I do not think folks would be as distraught of its cancellation.<br /><br />I wonder if we have gotten so in love with the idea of "multicuturalism," that we think that diversity in Hollywood is acheived when we see a couple of non-white people in a show or movie. Yes, shows like "Grey's Anatomy," the CSI programs, "Heroes," "24" and "The Office," have very diverse casts. However, for every one of those shows, there are several shows with NO non-white characters. And for some reason we are supposed to be comfortable with that; having a majority Black cast or Latino cast in a couple of shows is apparently too much to ask for. In a country where there is a Black man as president with a Black family in the White House, where the majority of new births in America are Latino, we are supposed to be comfortable with numerous all-white casts on every broadcast network, with a few shows having a token brown face to "add some culture."<br /><br />Well, here's to "The Cleveland Show"... I guess.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ubQMBMcb5j0/S9S1VYfmR4I/AAAAAAAAABM/oRKVE-6AkiI/s1600/NY+Undercover+CD+Cover.jpg"></a>Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-25429893211751409732008-10-29T01:56:00.002-04:002008-10-29T02:03:30.143-04:00My return to Blogger... at least for this post.I haven't been on Blogger in over two years. A lot has happened, but I don't even have the time to update all that. However, I do want to put down some thoughts on my upcoming birthday. I feel like I really need to get this out.<br /><br />In the next coming days, I will be embarking on my 28th birthday. This marks a very interesting point in my lifespan. It will officially be ten years since I entered “adulthood.” And really, the last ten years have been quite a ride. However, I think my expectation after I turned 18 was that by the time I reached 28, things would be much easier to figure out. It isn’t that I thought everything would just be easy, but I did think that with age and a little wisdom and maturity, figuring it all out – this life thing – wouldn’t be as much of a struggle. However, as I write this I am confronted with the reality that even with the lessons you learn with age and wisdom, life just isn’t that simple.<br /><br /> As I reminisce, I can very confidently say that my childhood was not very easy at all. There were plenty of struggles to deal with, but I was fortunate that it was never as bad as it could have been, or bad as it was for many of my peers in my neighborhood. It all turned out okay, so I felt like it would just keep getting better with every passing experience and lesson. And frankly, each year has brought some new excitement or achievement that has made me very grateful. At the same time, not everything has been berries and roses.<br /><br /> Life is usually filled with ups and downs, obstacles and triumphs. But sometimes I feel like I’m behind the cuff on trying to keep the balance. It’s all like a cruel situation-comedy with me as the confused butt of the joke. It seems more than a rough patch; it’s a whole rough forest. Weird as it feels, I’m sure there will be better days and clearer answers. But right now, a brother is struggling.<br /><br /> Additionally, it seems that every friendship I have is going through some sort of test; whether it is about lack of free time, not being able to return phone calls or just a matter of growing apart. It’s kind of painful to witness friendships that I value slowly weakening, at a time where I could use good friendships the most. I realize that sometimes these things happen and it is a part of getting older, but I think that part of my concern is that I didn’t take enough time to try to preserve these friendships before they reached their declines. I’m not sure of how I would or could do it, but I may have to figure out ways to make amends to save the friendships that can be saved, and strengthen the friendships that are barely stable.<br /><br /> As for love, who knows! The word “complicated” is overused, but it is so perfect for my love life. I don’t really worry about it too much; being a bachelor can be a good thing at my age, but it has been a rollercoaster lately and now the ride is over… the amusement park is closed for the season, and I’m out here hoping for a carnival to just pop out of nowhere. (Sigh) <br /> <br /> Even with all of the issues that are clearly clouding my skies, I’m hopeful that this next year will be better than this past year. I know I have work to do, but there is still a lot of living that I am looking forward to, even through the "rough forests."Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1156632390401858812006-08-26T18:44:00.000-04:002006-08-26T18:46:30.410-04:00My new MySpace PageSo, I haven't been on blogger in a minute... okay more like five months.<br /><br />But part of that is because I have a new place to blog - <a href="http://www.mypsace.com/originjay">www.mypsace.com/originjay</a><br /><br />That's where I'll be for most of the time. My two or maybe three readers can find me there.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1143254257405584762006-03-24T21:31:00.000-05:002006-03-24T21:37:37.410-05:00YES!!!They just mad 'cause she gifted!<br />_________<br />Seven-year-old poet defended, praised<br /><br />by NAYABA ARINDE<br />Amsterdam News Staff<br />Originally posted 3/16/2006<br /><br />"It's just a poem," Autumn Ashante, 7, explained of her "proud andpowerful" lyrical offering that has set off a firestorm of controversyand a media feeding frenzy.Out of the mouth of babes, the seven-year-old prolific reader andperformance poet has been "unofficially" banned from Westchesterschools because of a dynamic poem she recited, according to herfather, Batin Ashante."My daughter was invited to perform at Peekskill High and MiddleSchools on the last day of Black History Month and responding to anear riot that was avoided on the previous day, and to what sheconsidered to be a racist mural in the middle school, she recited the Black Panther Party's `Black Child's Pledge' and her poem `WhiteNationalism Put U In Bondage.'"<br /><br />Autumn recited the entire pledge before a bank of journalists at CityHall on Tuesday."I pledge allegiance to my Black People," she said. "I will keepmyself physically fit, building a strong body free from drugs andother substances which weaken me and make me less capable ofprotecting myself, my family and my Black brothers and sisters."Some in the media were less than thrilled by her "White nationalism iswhat put you in bondage: pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them withsteel, tricks and deceit."<br /><br />Ashante said that his daughter was offended by a four-wall schoolmural with depictions of Black folks kneeling at the feet of AbeLincoln with his hands outstretched "like Jesus;" and then Black folkbuilding the pyramids for a white pharaoh and his wife."She said, `Have you guys seen that racist mural?' and then she toldthem about white nationalism," her father told the Amsterdam News."Autumn announced that she was speaking to the Black and Spanishstudents, and did her poem, and those students started screaming.<br /><br />The officials didn't like that."The upstate school district "has a problem with her view of whiteNationalism," he added, "I guess they think that a seven-year-oldcan't understand because she has not seen what happened duringHurricane Katrina, right?"The Amsterdam News asked her what she thought about the subsequentofficial school response after her presentation.While saying that the "Black and Spanish" students cheered, a handfulof white students did walk out, Ashante replied, "I think it was sad and I am confused because they are making a big fuss about a poem."She understands however that the official response means that, "It was effective to them."Ashante, a group home counselor, said that his girl "loves to read. She drinks in books and remembers everything. Right now she's reading another encyclopedia, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and FrederickDouglass.<br /><br />He explained that they worked on the poem together after reading "TheDisasters Darwinism Brought to Humanity."Ashante said that his daughter was invited to the school by PeekskillMiddle School music teacher Councilmember Melvin Bolden."He was suspended, they took him out of the classroom," said Ashante. Bolden did not return an Amsterdam News phone call by press time.Judith Johnson, the superintendent of Peekskill City School District,did not return an Amsterdam News inquiry, but her assistant Alma Jimenez said that all she could do was read a statement. She denied that Ashante has been banned from performing in the schooldistrict, but said, "The controversy surrounding this situation is unfortunate. Autumn … appeared before a culturally diverse [audience]and in her poem and actions she attempted to bring a wedge betweenAfrican-American and white students. The students rejected herefforts. We do not have a racially isolated community, people live andwork and go to school together."The teacher who brought her to the school [Mel Bolden] … said thather performance was inappropriate for a young audience and hasapologized for the incident viewed by many as racist."Parents and "the entire community" were told that Ashante's "views andactions" did not reflect the views of the Peekskill school district."The Amsterdam News responded that the person in question is asever-year-old, but Jimenez said abruptly that "I can only read thestatement."<br /><br />At Tuesday press conferences Councilman Charles Barron said, "Eliot Spitzer needs to investigate this case. She's a seven-year-old who hasthe right to free speech."Later that same afternoon Rev. Al Sharpton harangued Westchesterschool officials who called in a recorded apology to parents ofstudents at Peekskill High School and Peekskill Middle School.Ashante said that his daughter has been traumatized by what Sharptoncalled "an entire overreaction.""The proper thing to do would have been to call the schools togetherand have an analytical discussion, not apologize as if she didsomething wrong," Sharpton blasted.<br /><br />Barron presented Ashante with a special proclamation from the CityCouncil. "We don't care what anybody else says, we are proud of youbecause you spoke out for us. She said nothing that was not true orinspiring," he said of the child who, according to her father, speaks three languages."The pubic school system needs to hire her father as "a paidconsultant. Maybe we need to write a letter to [Schools Chancellor]Joel Klein.""I'd love to share my formula," said Ashante. "It is one classroom perchild."Late on Tuesday evening, Ashante called the Amsterdam News to say thatsomeone was littering the Peekskill neighborhood with Nazi fliers.Upstate resident Don DeBar, the Hudson Valley reporter for WBAI's WakeUp Call, told the Amsterdam News that the fliers look "identical tothe expensively laminated inappropriate garbage sent out last year.<br /><br />It has swastikas and a racist and anti-Semitic blurb."DeBar said that he thinks that it is the work of a "guy in his garagewith a laminating machine, who goes out at the weekend and throws thefliers in his station wagon. I don't think they were made in responseto the poem issue, the flier looks like the generic garbage. Maybe heread about the issue this week and decided to put Peekskill on his route.""I'm not shocked, I understand the times in which we live, and I'm trying to make Autumn aware," said Ashante. "This is near BearMountain, the Klan run this area."He told the paper that he has raised Autumn by himself since she was11 months old. A media veteran already, Ashante has performed at showsand cultural events from the African Burial Ground to Katrina. She isa voracious reader who began reading books at two years old."I've seen how much power we have when our children are exposed toknowledge of our history. The best thing they ever did was to give hera library card," he smiled.Asked what she would tell fellow second-graders (if she wasn'thome-schooled by father), Ashante told the Amsterdam News, "I'd encourage them to read more because knowledge is power."Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1143253393552023562006-03-24T21:05:00.000-05:002006-03-24T21:27:05.676-05:00UpdatesI know for the possibly two people who might read this blog every once in a while I must be a complete disappointment. I have been very busy over the last two months and have completely neglected my blog, so here is an update.<br /><br />Two months ago, I started working at a law office in Northern Virginia. It's an okay job. I don't get paid that much (even though I am a lawyer), but I am getting a lot of experience.<br /><br />I have been trying to plan my future beyond working in this law office. If I stay there till 2007, it will be a small miracle. I hope to get a job at a non-profit, since I want to start my own non-profit down the road. Right now, I'm just trying to get by; pay some bills; learn some new stuff; meet some new people.<br />_________________<br /><br />On another note, I really haven't been able to be very social lately. What was funny when I was unemployed was that I wouldn't go out because I didn't have any money and was slightly depressed because I didn't have a job. Now I have a job, but I still don't have a lot of money and now I don't have a lot of time. When I do have time, my friends don't have time - I need some new friends... friends who aren't lawyers!<br />_________________<br /><br />I have also been bothered by the fact that I seem to not be able to contact some of my closest friends. Either we are all too busy or there are things going on in their lives which have limited there ability to answer the phone or return a damn phone call. Either way, it's annoying. I suspect that one of my closest female friends doesn't answer the phone when I call because she doesn't want her fiancee to see her talking to another man. I could be wrong, but I have a bad feeling that I am absolutely right.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1137544811301260572006-01-17T19:27:00.000-05:002006-01-17T19:40:11.316-05:00Looks of 2005<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Self%20portrait%20-%20blk%20&%20white.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 212px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px" height="208" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/Self%20portrait%20-%20blk%20%26%20white.jpg" width="287" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Photo_090605_004.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/200/Photo_090605_004.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#ff0000;">Portraits of the JAGuar - in Black & White and color.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Me%20looking%20up%20-%20skin%20prob.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/200/Me%20looking%20up%20-%20skin%20prob.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Img_3554.jpg"></a> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Img_3554.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/Img_3554.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Self-profile%20-%20blk%20&%20white.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/200/Self-profile%20-%20blk%20%26%20white.jpg" border="0" /></a>Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1137543948484223822006-01-17T19:19:00.000-05:002006-01-17T19:42:58.923-05:00Say Word<strong><em>Word Life<br /></em></strong>By J. Grant<br /><br />It’s only a word<br />Words can’t hurt you<br />Words have no power<br />Words are just that, words.<br /><br />If words have no power, no one would care about Shakespeare or Giovanni<br />No one would care about Angelou or Baraka,<br />Frost or Fitzgerald<br />Who would need a Richard Wright or James Baldwin…?<br />Sonia Sanchez or Langston Hughes…<br />Zora Neale or Gwendolyn Brooks<br />Because poets would be unnecessary<br />And poems couldn’t be used as weapons to the armless<br />And songs would not be used as soundtracks to rebellion<br />No one would sit down and listen to a song and say,<br />“I can feel that”<br />I can feel Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith<br />I can feel Marvin and Stevie and Smokey<br />And Aretha and Ella…<br />Sing about the highs and lows of love and life<br />But no one would feel that because words are just that, words.<br /><br />But words have life, and love doesn’t come from your words<br /><br />How you gonna say that? You know I got love for you, nigga…<br />I love you so much, I call you my nigga.<br /><br />Love, Black man? Love?<br />Then love me, Black man<br />Love me like your brother<br />Your blood<br />Your twin<br />Your son<br />Your cousin<br />Your nephew<br />Your heart<br />Your friend<br /><br />Show me that love you speak of<br />That love, that great love my brother has for his brother<br /><br />Love, Black man, love!<br />Understand it and breathe life into it.<br /><br />2006 J.A.G. Productions (c)Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1131148850205542202005-11-04T18:38:00.000-05:002005-11-04T19:00:50.260-05:00Scorpio: An autobiography of my first 25 years as a poetOn October 30, 1980, I was born in the crazy borough of The Bronx, New York.<br />This past Sunday, I turned 25 years old. I named this post after a collection of essays by Nikki Giovanni when she turned 25, called "Gemini..."; I think it is fitting for a title of my own 25-year life.<br /><br />If I was to tell a story about my life it would have to start with the interesting life of a black-sheep grandfather who separated himself from the rest of his siblings. It would then turn to a hard working mother who gave a lot so her only son could have an easier life.<br /><br />My life has never been the smoothest of rides. Growing up without a father was never really a problem because I never had any problems with feeling unloved by the family and friends around me. However, when you don't have a lot of financial resources in your life, you're always wondering if you'll be able to achieve all the things you dream about. Therefore, most of the time I only think about the lack of a father when I'm broke. I understand that over the obstacles I've come a very long way... much longer than what was expected of me and much longer than most people who come from where I'm from. For this, I'm blessed. <br /><br />This past year, my 25th year, has been an up and down year. I have probably never experienced so much loss and gain at any time in my life - Death came in threes<br />- A classmate of mine who I went to law school with was killed.<br />- A college classmate of mine was killed a month later.<br />- A distant cousin of mine was killed, execution style, in Jamaica.<br />At the same time, there were great things that happened - My best friend became a father and named me the godfather, I graduated from law school, I passed the bar exam, my cousin is going to college and he likes it!<br /><br />But even with all that, trying to find work became a very stressful time to the point where I am starting to suspect that my eyebrow hair is falling out (I know that sounds weird, but I think it's true). Also, I think that I lost a friend, which is weird because she wasn't the friend I thought I was going to lose in the first place. And now I have these flashbacks of better times, smiling, laughing, and crying together.<br /><br />Life is always a mix of comedy and tragedy; this past year I have experienced many emotions that fit into both categories. For goodness sake, I could have an emmy award winning tv show based on this past year. Not to mention that I have no love life to speak of, my bedroom apartment is in desperate need of repair, and I have shamefully become addicted to "America's Next Top Model."<br /><br />I wanted to have a theme for my birthday weekend... I was going to go out, have fun, make a whole bunch of noise... But I realized that I'm too broke to do any of that stuff. But I still wanted a theme - "They didn't think we'd make it past 25, jokes on them we still alive-weekend" But the joke was on me - all I did was watch football and cook a boat load of pancakes for my Sunday breakfast. But I realize that I still enjoyed myself. I enjoyed myself because I appreciate everyday, and I appreciate all the good, the bad, and the ugly that I have had the ability to experience in this life. So I figure that as long as I don't catch the bird flu, I have a lot to be happy about... I have a lot to live for.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1129846642274269292005-10-20T17:14:00.000-04:002005-10-20T18:17:22.293-04:00Million More Movement (Continued)...Yes, I was there. I was at the Million More March.<br />It was beautiful to see so many of my people at one place, at one time, for one purpose - Liberation for the African, poor, and indigenous people of the earth.<br /><p></p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/Wave%20your%20flags.jpg" border="0" /></p><p><strong><em>These are my Thoughts:</em></strong></p><p>The speakers seemed to have a focus on building on this event in a way where we would put together strategies to bring progress to people of African decent. I do think that there were some problems with the event. </p><p>For one, there really wasn't a true statement on what the focus of this movement is going to be. For example, we know that the issue of reparations is something we need to discuss and create a battle plan for attaining, but there was no one saying that reparations is a part of list of issues we need to address as a people. The speeches were great and they did mention our issues, but I don't think we got a direct list to work from. </p><p>I did appreciate Minister Louis Farrakhan discussing the various "Ministries" that the Black community need to address our issues (Ministry of Education, Agriculture, Defense, Spirituality, Health and Human Services etc.), and an independent political party. I think his speech was one of the most focused speeches. </p><p>On another note, I thought the ramblings of Erykah Badu left much to be desired. Erykah made some good points, she even knew how to speak slowly so her voice would not be garbled by her echo. But she then became repetitive and started to wander.</p><p>I also thought that having Jim Jones (?) of the Diplomats perform made no real sense. Not that his song wasn't good (even though it was cut short due to technical difficulties), he is not a guy who I would say represents an image in Hip Hop that should be represented at the MMM. Where was Kanye West? Where was Talib Qweli? Where was Mos Def?!!! On the other hand, Wyclef Jean was very good, and he got the crowd going with his carnival inspired tribute to New Orleans. </p><p>I also had some problems with the way certain people were rushed, while others were given all day to speak. Dorothy Height, bless her little heart and her trademark hat, was able to take her time. On the other hand, when the coalition of representatives from youth groups came to the stage, they had to beg for time to give their message. I see this as a problem. No movement can be successful without our young people.... No movement can work if young people are not at the forefront! Thus, it would make sense that young people are able to participate in discussing their plans and concerns without being rushed off because grown folk have to talk. Erykah Badu should have been rushed off (I really do love Erykah, but she could have been two minutes shorter). </p><p>Then there were problems with who did not get to speak. Apparently, someone representing the gay and lesbian community was not able to speak. It has also been said that Mumia Abu Jamal had recorded a taped message that was due to be played at the event. This is crazy. The gay and lesbian thing is predictable since Black folks have yet to truly deal with issues of homosexuality in our communities. We can't marginalize our gay and lesbian siblings; it is self-destructive. The Mumia thing is ridiculous! Mumia is one of our most important political prisoners. And though many speakers gave lip service to the freedom of our political prisoners, having a message from Mumia would have been so poignant and powerful for all those in the audience who have yet to hear this amazing man's voice. In addition, no one from the various reparations organizations spoke. This also makes no sense since that topic came up so many times during the day, why not have someone who has actually been on the forefront of fighting for this issue speak to the people.</p><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/BLACK%20POWER.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/BLACK%20POWER.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>Given all the criticisms that I have and that others that I read have, this was still a momentous occasion. I enjoyed my day so much and felt filled with so much pride that so many people from all over came out to celebrate each other and to hopefully build with each other.</p><p>It's funny, a lot of people have come away saying that they wished that we came up with a detailed strategy of how we are going to achieve all the things we need. I don't know why people are saying this... it is not possible to come up with a detailed plan in such an atmosphere. An event like this is not the place to come up with a detailed plan. Detailed plans need to happen where you get a whole bunch of like-minded people together, where we can brainstorm, suggest ideas, suggest changes, come up with critiques, actually organize and assign jobs for everybody to do individually and in groups in and around our communities.</p><p>October 15, 2005 was an event. The reason I'm glad they called it the Millions More MOVEMENT, is because we can't stop at October 15, 2005. We have to keep moving, keep coming up with ideas, plans, strategies, organizations, coalitions etc. to progress. Right now, if we're going to be too focused on the event, we have already failed. It's like a marriage - sometimes we get too focused on the event (the wedding) and we don't think about the process of staying in a marriage, staying a family, staying in love. A lot of people plan the dress and tuxedo they will wear, how many people they will invite, what will be the first song they'll dance to, what the flavor of the cake will be etc. However, people do not put as much energy in the marriage relationship itself. </p><p>Similarly, we need to think beyond the event of MMM on 10/15/05. It is done, but our movement is not. The movement needs to continue. We need to focus our energy and the energy we received on that day and put it into building this movement. So in the words of Wyclef Jean, "we buiding more than a march, we're building a movement, a million more movement." So, let's build! </p><p></p>Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1129842834276578052005-10-20T17:07:00.000-04:002005-10-20T17:13:54.296-04:00The Millions More Movement<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Black%20folks%20in%20force1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/400/Black%20folks%20in%20force.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Black%20folks%20in%20force.jpg"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>October 15, 2005</strong><br /></span><br /><em>I don't know if there were actually a million people there, but it seemed close.</em>Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1129420424424007532005-10-15T19:51:00.000-04:002005-10-15T19:55:40.300-04:00Boondocks by Aaron McGruder<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/lbo0510112.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/400/lbo0510111.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/lbo0510111.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This is my idea of dealing with what's really going on these days.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1128976632142803232005-10-10T16:33:00.000-04:002005-10-10T16:37:12.156-04:00So....I'm working now... sort of. The temp agency did take me on, but I haven't gotten a gig that lasts for an extended period. Last week I got a gig that lasted two days. I'm hoping to get a 4 week gig soon; the bills are starting to pile up and I need to eat every once in a while.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1128029192760407942005-09-29T17:23:00.000-04:002005-09-29T17:26:32.766-04:00Indigenous peoples urge action on Arctic thawOSLO (Reuters) - Indigenous peoples urged tougher action to slow global warming on Thursday after a U.S. report showed the Arctic icecap had shrunk to its smallest in at least 100 years.<br /><br />The U.N. Environment Program also said the shrinking ice was yet more alarming evidence of an Arctic thaw that could portend worldwide disruptions including stronger hurricanes, desertification and rising sea levels.<br /><br />"This is a another reminder" of the fast melt in the Arctic, said Alona Yefimenko, acting head of the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat in Copenhagen.<br />"All the indigenous political leaders are trying to bring this message to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions, not only in the United States but also in Europe," she said.<br />Scientists at<br />NASA' name=c1> SEARCH<a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22NASA%22&fr=yqovly1">News</a> <a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22NASA%22&c=news_photos&fr=yqovly2">News Photos</a> <a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=%22NASA%22&fr=yqovly3">Images</a> <a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22NASA%22&fr=yqovly4">Web</a>' name=c3> <a class="yqimgins" title="Related information on NASA" onclick="activateYQinl(this);return false;" href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=NASA">NASA</a> and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said on Wednesday the Arctic ice shrank this year for the fourth year in a row to the smallest area since measurements started 100 years ago.<br />Yefimenko said shrinking ice was threatening traditional lifestyles. Hunters of polar bears or seals risk falling through thinning ice. Reindeer herders often find reindeer struggling in mud on what was once permafrost.<br /><br />And Arctic leaders especially want the United States, the world's biggest polluter, to cap emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, factories and cars blamed by most scientists for global warming.<br /><br />Almost all other rich nations have agreed to curbs under the<br />United Nations' name=c1> SEARCH<a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22United+Nations%22&fr=yqovly1">News</a> <a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22United+Nations%22&c=news_photos&fr=yqovly2">News Photos</a> <a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=%22United+Nations%22&fr=yqovly3">Images</a> <a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22United+Nations%22&fr=yqovly4">Web</a>' name=c3> <a class="yqimgins" title="Related information on United Nations" onclick="activateYQinl(this);return false;" href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=United+Nations">United Nations</a>'s<br />Kyoto protocol' name=c1> SEARCH<a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22Kyoto+protocol%22&fr=yqovly1">News</a> <a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22Kyoto+protocol%22&c=news_photos&fr=yqovly2">News Photos</a> <a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=%22Kyoto+protocol%22&fr=yqovly3">Images</a> <a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Kyoto+protocol%22&fr=yqovly4">Web</a>' name=c3> <a class="yqimgins" title="Related information on Kyoto protocol" onclick="activateYQinl(this);return false;" href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Kyoto+protocol">Kyoto protocol</a>.<br /><br />BUSH PULLOUT<br />NASA and NSIDC said the rising temperatures seemed linked to a buildup of gases from human sources.<br />President George W. Bush' name=c1> SEARCH<a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22President+George+W.%0ABush%22&fr=yqovly1">News</a> <a href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22President+George+W.%0ABush%22&c=news_photos&fr=yqovly2">News Photos</a> <a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=%22President+George+W.%0ABush%22&fr=yqovly3">Images</a> <a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22President+George+W.%0ABush%22&fr=yqovly4">Web</a>' name=c3> <a class="yqimgins" title="Related information on President George W. Bush" onclick="activateYQinl(this);return false;" href="http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=President+George+W.%0ABush">President George W. Bush</a> pulled out of Kyoto in 2001, saying it would be too costly and wrongly excluded developing nations.<br />Indigenous leaders dismiss Bush's view that more research is needed, saying climate change is already happening.<br />"In Alaska, for instance, you can't take snowmobiles across lakes and be sure of reaching the other side," said Yefimenko, who is from the Russian far east.<br />"Around the Arctic, water flows in rivers are unpredictable. It's very difficult for reindeer herders to cross rivers."<br /><br />The U.S. findings backed a report by 250 experts last year that forecast that the Arctic ice could disappear in summers by 2100, driving polar bears toward extinction.<br />The impact would be largely negative but could open the Arctic to exploration for oil and gas, mining, logging or trans-polar shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific.<br />"The documentation is getting stronger," said Paal Prestrud, a vice-chair of last year's Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) and head of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.<br /><br />According to the ACIA report, the Arctic melts faster than the rest of the globe because darker water and ground, once exposed, traps heat far more than ice and snow.<br />The U.S. report "is yet further evidence that climate change is not a prediction for the future but a phenomenon that is happening now," said Nick Nuttall, spokesman of the U.N. Environment Program.<br /><br />And he said the world might risk catastrophic, abrupt changes unless it acted quickly.<br />"An already very bad trend seems to be getting worse," said Steve Sawyer, head of climate and energy policy at environmental group Greenpeace.<br />Apart from the Arctic sea ice, he said there were worrying signs of a melting of the Greenland icecap. If all the Greenland icecap melted, the world's oceans could rise by 7 meters.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1128028707590455802005-09-29T17:16:00.000-04:002005-09-29T17:18:27.596-04:00Random Question...If there are any meteorologists out there in blogger world, is it usual for two category 5 hurricanes to go through the same area within three weeks of each other, or is global warming a reality despite Dubya's ignorance?Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1127427877017371942005-09-22T18:17:00.000-04:002005-09-22T18:24:37.023-04:00Malcolm X quote of the day #2"Is white America really sorry for her crimes against the black people? Does white America have the capacity to repent - and to atone? Does the capacity to repent, to atone, exist in a majority, in one-half, in even one-third of American white society?<br />"Many black men, the victims - in fact most black men - would like to be able to forgive, to forget, the crimes.<br />"But most American white people seem not to have it in them to make any serious atonement - to do justice to the black man.<br />"Indeed, how <em>can</em> white society atone for enslaving, for raping, for unmanning, for otherwise brutalizing <em>millions </em>of human beings, for centuries? What atonement would the God of Justice demand for the robbery of the black people's labor, their lives, their true identities, their culture, their history - and even their human dignity?<br />"A desegregated cup of coffee, a theater, public toilets - the whole range of hypocritical 'integration' - these are not atonement."Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1127425157637290092005-09-22T17:31:00.000-04:002005-09-22T17:39:17.646-04:00New days, new thingsI finished reading Malcolm X on Tuesday. It always astounds me how no matter how many times you read a book or see a movie, you always see something you didn't see before. Like I said in my last post, I think Malcolm's autobiography is the most significant work I have ever read. I also think it is one of the most important books in Africana literature; not because of the person who it is about, but because it represents what we should aim for - standing and working for the betterment of our people with no apologies.<br />-----<br /><br />I have another interview with a legal temp agency next Tuesday. I'm hopeful that I might be working soon. I'm just so incredibly broke that I don't know how much more patient I can be....Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1127253449147510552005-09-20T17:51:00.000-04:002005-09-20T17:57:29.153-04:00Reading and Meditating on...<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/200px-Autobio_malcolmx.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/200px-Autobio_malcolmx.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. I'm almost finish (I have one more chapter and the epilogue left). This is the <em>second</em> time I've read this book; the last time was six years ago. It is amazing how relevant this work is. I still think that every person of African descent in this world should read this book. Malcolm is so deep that I don't think a lot of people, even now, are ready for the knowledge he was spitting. This book is the most significant book I have ever read. It is my favorite, and I believe it is the book that has made me the person I am today.Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1127251343351654832005-09-20T17:20:00.000-04:002005-09-20T17:22:23.360-04:00Malcolm X quote of the day"I'm not anti-American, and I didn't come here to <em>condemn </em>America... I came here to tell the truth - and if the <em>truth</em> condemns America, then she stands condemned!"Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1126821691311326702005-09-15T17:35:00.000-04:002005-09-15T18:05:45.913-04:00Hurricane Katrina and racismHurricane Katrina has pulled away the curtains on some of america's dirty big secrets. One of them being racism. It is very true that classism has also been revealed in all of this, but that is a given in a capitalist society.<br /><br />Lately, there has been a lot of "controversy" over Kanye West's remarks saying that George Bush doesn't care about Black people. Now, some people are saying that this is not a race issue, but a poverty issue. NO! <strong><em>This is a race issue</em></strong>. It is an issue of how, in this country and in this world, race and class continue to intermingle.<br /><br />Whether Bush cares or doesn't care about Black folks means nothing to me. However, it needs to be said that race is part of the reason that the people of New Orleans were not helped out faster. Sure, many of us, including so-called people of color, would like to believe that if eighty percent of the people trapped in the dark dome, the filthy convention center, sleeping under highway underpasses, and waiving "help us" signs on roofs were white, it would take the government five days plus to evacuate people from the city. But can we really look at ourselves and the history of this country and actually believe that. And if this was just a poverty issue, is that something we should be celebrating? - <em>Yay, poor white people are treated just as badly as poor Black people... glory, glory hallelujah!</em><br /><em></em><br />It doesn't make any damn sense. We live in a white supremacist and classist society, but these things are not separated from each other. Classism feeds off of racism. Racism empowers classism. And when I say racist I am not talking about any person calling me nigger, or not being able to sit in the front of the bus, or being able to go to a majority white school, or live in a majority white neighborhood. When I speak of racism, I am talking about institutional racism. Institutional racism is much more powerful than the racism battled against by the so-called civil rights leaders of the '60's.<br /><br />Institutional racism is the disproportionate amount of Black people who live way below the poverty line; the disproportionate amount of Black men and Black women who are in the prison industrial complex and on death row; Black people being less likely to have proper healthcare and access to healthcare; Black people being less likely to be in adequate public schools; Black people being in neighborhoods where toxic dump sites are present (environmental racism). I could go on and on, but I would just get a hand-cramp from all of the writing. And yes, many of the policies of George Bush and the Republican party has had a detrimental effect on Black folks and other "people of color." And that's not to say that the Democrats have been that much better, because they really haven't, but that is another story for another post.<br /><br />What bothers me is that it has become "chic" for people to say that something is about "class" and poverty rather than "race." This is problematic. It's problematic because it takes away from the reality that racism (white supremacy) is still one of the biggest problems that this country has yet to deal with. And it is about time that people, my beautiful Black people in particular, stop letting the white establishment off the hook by saying everything is about class. Let us stop these games with the truth. Too often Black people have dealt unintelligently with the truth; we have been walking around it like it is a game of "ring-around-the-rosy" (I think that is the name of the game). And I don't know if we do this so that we don't hurt white people's feelings or because we don't want to endanger our earning potential, or because as the Last Poets said, "Niggers are Scared of Revolution." See, the truth is revolutionary, and a lot of us are too scared to start a revolution.<br /><br />Malcolm X said that he had made the decision to tell the white man the truth about himself or die. It is time that we decide to <em>live</em> with the truth and live for the truth. Black people, we need to speak the truth when necessary, as necessary, because it is necessary!Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1126735711528701142005-09-14T17:43:00.000-04:002005-09-14T18:08:31.536-04:00Beauty and Music<span style="color:#cc0000;"><em>I just wanted to dedicate this blog post to a few of the women in music who I really have mild crushes on:</em></span><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/49_nubians-1.jpg" border="0" /> <p><span style="color:#ffcc66;">Les Nubians - I think these two are so beautiful, and what makes them even more sexy... they speak French. Their songs are so smooth and dynamic.</span></p><p><span style="color:#ffcc66;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#ffcc66;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#ffcc66;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#ffcc66;"></span></p><p><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/06.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/06.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#66cccc;">Vivian Green - I like her music, she makes music that is honest about love and life. She is also absolutely stunning. Her new album sounds pretty good.</span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p align="right"><span style="color:#66cccc;"></span> </p><p><span style="color:#66cccc;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/Lauryn1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/320/Lauryn1.jpg" border="0" /></a></span></p><p><span style="color:#ff0000;">Lauryn Hill - I have loved this woman since 1998. I appreciate her talent as an artist. Her lyrical abilities have always been amazing. She has a great voice and is an underestimated emcee. Most interesting about Lauryn, she was one of the first mainstream Hip Hop/R&B female artist to wear her hair naturally - this was before india.arie and Jill Scott and Erykah Badu still had her head wrapped. Even though it became the "in-thing" to wear hair naturally, Lauryn represented to the fullest, and was stunning with every loc'd strand of hair. Beautiful.</span></p>Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1126734071815858812005-09-14T17:38:00.000-04:002005-09-14T17:42:46.396-04:00La Cucaracha by Lalo Alvarado<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/lc0509121.gif"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/400/lc050912.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7747/705/1600/lc050912.gif"></a><br /><br /><br />Que funny!Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9597529.post-1126218312354251302005-09-08T17:57:00.000-04:002005-09-08T18:28:22.240-04:00Kanye West speaking from the heart- "George Bush doesn't care about black people." -<br /><br />It seems that there has been a lot of "controversy" over what Kanye West said about George Bush last week. First of all, he is absolutely RIGHT!!! Bush doesn't care about Black peeople... unless they agree with everything he says and does. For example, Condoleezza Rice. Notice that Dr. Rice is one of Dubya's favorite so-called Negroes. But I must admit, Bush is "fair."<br />See, he allows people to have one disagreement with him - Dr. Rice disagreed with him about affirmative action; Alberto Gonzales is not totally against abortion. But if you disagree with him more than once, you're done - Colin Powell disagreed with him on affirmative action and he admitted that the administration misled the world about weapons of mass destruction. Thus, Colin Powell no longer has a job.<br /><br />The Hurricane Katrina aftermath has proved a lot of things. Poor people are always on the bottom of the list of people to be cared about. Second, Black poor people are in even worse regard. It has pained me the last couple of weeks to see all my people sleeping under highway underpasses or being stuck in convention centers and football domes that have now become waist stations for the dead.<br /><br />All George Bush has done is tried to get in some photo opportunities, but he has been so slow to react. This country's government has been so slow to react. It doesn't matter who is responsible (we know who is responsible Mr Commander-in-Thief); what matters is how are they going to fix this... for the hundreds of thousands of people who are now homeless and in ill condition. And to think, they were considering cutting funds for medicaid today....Blaq_Speechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473727208557645678noreply@blogger.com0