By Julianne Malveaux - I was among the many who were disappointed that President Barack Obama did not nominate an African American woman to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. After all, there are six white men, two women, one Latina and one white, and a nominal African American man on the Court. Why not an African American woman?
The Black Women's Roundtable, led by Melanie Campbell, was so disappointed that they shared their concerns with the President in a letter that spoke both to the contributions African American women have made and the qualifications of a few good women that President Obama should have considered before nominating Ms. Kagan to the nation's highest court.
I won't even speak on what I perceive as some of the shortcomings of the Kagan nomination. The Solicitor General has earned the support of some colleagues that I fully respect, such as Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree. At the same time, we have to pause at the fact that her definition of diversity is ideological diversity, not racial and ethnic diversity, and that she seemed to make Harvard a more welcome place for conservatives, if not for African American faculty.
The hue and cry about the absence of an African American woman nominee, however, speaks to a greater issue in the African American community and among African American leadership. African Americans are too often in the reactive, not the proactive mode. If we had been thinking long run, we might have projected that there would soon be a Supreme Court opening. Then, conversations about the possibility of an African American woman nominee might have been happening sooner, not later. Read the full column at www.juliannemalveaux.com
The New York Times - If you don’t think the police in New York City need to be reined in, consider the way the cops and their agents are treating youngsters in the city’s schools.
In March 2009, a girl and a boy in the sixth grade at the Hunts Point School in the Bronx were fooling around and each drew a line on the other’s desk with an erasable marker. The teacher told them to erase the lines, and the kids went to get tissues. This blew up into a major offense when school safety officers became involved.
The safety officers, who have been accused in many instances of mistreating children, are peace officers assigned to the schools. They wear uniforms, work for the New York Police Department and have the power to detain, search, handcuff and arrest students. They do not carry guns.
In this case, the officers seized the two pupils and handcuffed them. Before long, an armed police officer showed up to question the youngsters. The girl asked for her mother and began to cry. Tears were no defense in the minds of the brave New York City law enforcers surrounding this errant child. They were determined to keep the city safe from sixth graders armed with Magic Markers.
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson - Senate Majority leader Harry Reid apologized profusely for his unguarded quip that Obama’s light skin and non-Negro dialect stood him well with him and by implication other whites. President Obama graciously accepted his apology and applauded him as a supporter and friend. But the embattled leader spoke the awful truth that millions did give Obama a racial pass. The pass did not win the White House for him; money, timing, a skillful campaign, and most importantly Bush blunders and GOP disgrace ultimately tipped the White House his way. But Obama’s racial pass made a difference, maybe a crucial difference. Read Earl Ofari Hutchinson's full editorial here.
After spending Saturday witnessing the critical need for our hard working men need to get tested for health issues, I woke up to the devastating news that a wonderful associate, Laurence Gaines, passed away. Laurence was the executive producer of The Bev Smith Show. I knew Laurence had been sick but thought that he was on the road to recovery. My thoughts and prayers go out to his biological family and his family at American Urban Radio Networks. Laurence was a wonderful producer and person, he will be missed.
From Bev Smith (BWO www.radiofacts.com)…
It is with the deepest sorrow that I inform you that my friend and my executive producer Laurence Gaines has passed away after a long battle with his health. We thought he beat it because he returned to work but God had other plans for Laurence. For those of you who knew him well, you know that he is in heaven trying to get me that interview that I asked for with God (smile). Tonight at 8pm EST, The Bev Smith Show will dedicate time to remember Laurence Gaines and the impact he made on the show. If you would like to be a part of that show to share your memories, please call the studio at 1-888-331-1210 starting at 8PM EST. Memorial arrangements are incomplete at this time. Pray for his family and The Bev Smith Show family.
Listen to The Bev Smith Show online at www.waok.com/
I'm just getting back from Los Angeles where I assisted my associate and owner of jazzmyne PR, Makeda, in coordinating media for the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program (BBHOP). Led by Dr. Bill Releford, the BBHOP provides free diabetes and blood pressure screening in Barbershops across the country. The program’s goal is to address healthcare disparities and cardiovascular disease in African American men. Dr. Releford decided that innovative outreach to black men is critical because they are disproportionately affected by diabetes and hypertension more than any other ethnic group.
The day started out at the The New Millenium Sports Beauty & Barber Salon on Crenshaw in the Leimert Park area. In addition to volunteer doctors on hand for a discussion and to perform screenings, a number of celebrities stopped by to encourage men to get screened. There was a two-hour panel discussion broadcast live by KJLH addressing health issues impacting African American men.
I was shocked to witness the amount of men coming in off the street in need of a free screening. There were men with and without health insurance that had not been screened. Click here for a video news story of the event.
After spending the morning at the New Millenium Barbershop, the doctors and celebrities went on a bus tour to visit some of the 100 barbershops performing health screenings.
The experience on Saturday certainly made me recognize the critical need for our hard working black men to get screened for life or death health issues.
Looking at the numbers – Mary Norwood 45%, Kasim Reed 37% and Lisa Borders 14% - it is safe to assume that Kasim Reed has a pretty good chance of replacing Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Based on her performance in several debates, I have to wonder about Norwood’s intellectual capacity. She doesn’t come off as the brightest bulb in the fixture. Anyway, if Reed gets a little over 80% of Borders/others votes and maintains his count, it’s game time.
I hope he’s prepared to spend some money right to cross the finish line. Norwood did a great job with her commercials. Even though I was bothered by the fact that the commercials seemed like negative attacks against the Franklin administration, Norwood came off as a likeable candidate concerned about the issues confronting. She should never have participated in a debate. It was like Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric. She also messed up with the last ad denouncing Republicans. What was up with that? She made it sound like Republicans have some kind of contagious disease. That was a bad move.
If Norwood runs some positive ads, keeps hugging people, and doesn’t open her mouth she has a better chance of winning on Dec. 1. Of course, if I were Kasim Reed I would publicly ask for a debate.
Norwood and Reed in runoff Dec. 1 by Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta has one more month and one more election to go before it chooses the city's next mayor: Councilwoman Mary Norwood and former state Sen. Kasim Reed will face each other in a runoff Dec. 1.
With 100 percent of the vote counted, Norwood led the race with 45 percent. She maintained a comfortable margin throughout the vote counting Tuesday night but was unable to muster the 50 percent required to put the race away. Reed finished a strong second, with 37 percent, and City Council President Lisa Borders faded to a distant third with 14 percent in the eight-way race.
"I will hit the ground running," a smiling Norwood vowed late Tuesday night, addressing a buoyant crowd at the Varsity, the unusual site of her election-night gathering. "I feel wonderful. We are 10 points ahead. I think that's a great place for anyone to be." (Norwood wound up seven points ahead, although she was 10 points up when she made that statement.)
Reed emerged to greet supporters at the Hyatt Regency at 11:15 p.m., saying that Norwood had run her best race, and that the trajectory of his campaign showed that he was on the road to be the next mayor. Read the full story at ajc.com (Staff writers Ernie Suggs and Steve Visser contributed to this report)
Seems that Rush Limbaugh – the talk show host that seems to say anythin about anyone who isn’t ultra conservative – is miffed that his dreams of becoming part owner of the St. Louis Rams have been shattered. Rush seems to think Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson made comments that caused the NFL team to kick him to the curb. Methinks his anger is misplaced - Rush most likely made his own comments that got him nixed.
Anyhoo, in a column published by the Wall Street Journal Rush claimed that Rev. Sharpton played “a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot" and the "1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot."
Rev. Sharpton, who was not present at either of the incidents mentioned by Rush, demanded an apology. Associated Press reports that Rev. Sharpton’s spokeswoman released a statement saying, "Unless Mr. Limbaugh apologizes and clarifies his statements, attorneys for Rev. Sharpton will move forward with a lawsuit…..He has the right to criticize Rev. Sharpton, but he does not have the right to accuse him of criminal activity, and riots and murders are criminal."
Will good ol’ Rush apologize? I guess we’ll have to stay tuned for part two since his camp did not respond to AP’s request for comment. Read the full story here
This is hysterical. The White House held a fiesta to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. President Obama was so moved by the music during a performance by Latina star Thalia, he jumped up and danced salsa with the singer. When he returned to his wife she sat smiling, clapping, and enjoying the music. Some people say that the media is making something of nothing. I say GO Michelle! She gave President Obama the classiest South Side of Chicago attitude she could muster. I guarantee you, Mr. President is checked and will not try that again. While people debate the body language going on here, Mr. Pres knows what's up - won't be no Clinton scandals on Mrs. Obama's watch. Michelle Obama is one class act.
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