Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Republicans
It looks like the Republicans don’t even like the rapper Common. How much for docile can a rapper get?
Technorati Tags: common,michelle obama,hip hop,rappers,rap,black news,black politics,black celebrity gossip
Duchess Harris: Why Shirley Sherrod Should Be President
A scholar, Duchess Harris, explains the dynamics of race in America with an exciting new book.
Writer Says that Oprah Going to Broadway Would Be a “Nightmare”
Dr. Boyce Watkins explains why this writer is wrong, and what we can learn from the greatness of Oprah Winfrey.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Michelle Obama Dances with Kids on the White House Lawn (Video)
Yes, that’s Michelle getting down with some kids….again – changing what it means to be a first lady.
Technorati Tags: michelle obama,black politics,black celebrities,black celebrity gossip,black gossip
Monday, May 9, 2011
Why Would Osama bin Laden Try to Recruit Black People?
Dr. Wilmer Leon and Dr. Boyce Watkins discuss the allegation that Osama bin Laden once tried to recruit disgruntled blacks to be part of his revolution.
LeBron James Should Apologize for “Retarded” Comment
LeBron James is in hot water after remarks me made to a reporter.
Technorati Tags: black athletes,black celebrities
Who Do We Blame for the Black Unemployment Crisis: The White House or Congress?
A lot of politicians do a whole lot of talking, but who should be held accountable on the black unemployment crisis?
Pastor Onslow Ross: A Crook or a Victim?
Is this pastor a crook or a victim? Why he got 10 years in prison.
Will Smith Set to Play Freed Slave Confronting “House Negro” Samuel L. Jackson
It appears that Will Smith will play a freed slave, Samuel L. Jackson will play the house negro. Interesting, right?
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Huffington Post: Black Unemployment and the Great Black Disconnect for Obama
Dr. Boyce Watkins
Professor, Syracuse University
Posted: 05/ 8/11 03:51 PM ET
President Obama has a problem, a very serious one. The president's problem is what I would call "The Great Black Disconnect." This divide is the place where black America's love and appreciation for the Obamas disconnects from the intense economic suffering of the African American community. Like a festering and infected wound that remains untreated, President Obama's support within the black community is threatened by the fact that the people who love him most are suffering unlike anything our nation has seen over the last 50 years.
This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its unemployment numbers for the month of April. The figures were consistent with the jobless recovery that has taken good care of Wall Street, but created homelessness on Main Street. The national unemployment rate grew from 8.8 percent to 9 percent, which will surely perpetuate President Obama's somber ratings on economic performance.
Technorati Tags: black unemployment,black scholars
Alabama Tornado Victims Struggle to Stay Strong Emotionally
Alabama tornado victims get by through faith and football.
click to read
Saturday, May 7, 2011
What Your Probably Don’t Know about bin Laden, Pakistan and US Foreign Policy
With the killing of Osama bin Laden, Americans remain woefully ignorant of what our government does overseas in the name of the United States.
Osama Planned to Use Disgruntled Blacks to Attack the United States
Reports say that Osama bin Laden planned to recruit disgruntled blacks to engage in widespread attacks on the United States.
Survey: Black Women More Likely to be Single Than Any Other Group
A new census bureau survey said that black women are the least likely of all ethnic groups to jump the broom. Why is that?
Friday, May 6, 2011
If a Boy Assaults a Cheerleader, Should She Be Required to Cheer for Him?
Boy is accused of raping a cheerleader, but she is removed from the squad for refusing to cheer for him. Athletes going too far and getting away with it?
Technorati Tags: rakheem bolton,black athletes
Why Won’t Obama Release the bin Laden Death Photos?
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World
Here, I speak with Nida Khan, a highly-respected journalist with The Huffington Post, Kiss-FM in New York and the Rev. Al Sharpton National Radio show.
It’s Been Confirmed by Al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden is Dead
Yes, it’s finally been confirmed: Osama bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaeda has released a statement stating that its leader is now deceased. Click to read more.
Technorati Tags: black news,black politics
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The White House’s Progress on Civil Rights: Laying Out Some Facts
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action
Below is a direct cut and paste of the White House’s most recent work on Civil Rights. I obtained the information from this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/civil-rights. I was inspired to visit the page after receiving an email from Michael Blake, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (he was on the panel with myself, Al Sharpton and Ben Jealous at the Measuring the Movement forum this year in New York City). They are working hard to get African Americans enthusiastic about the 2012 elections and Blake is the man on the job.
Actor Jeffrey Wright Says “There is No Black Cinema”
Your Black World reports
In this interview, actor Jeffrey Wright talks about the state of black cinema and the fact that African Americans don’t have the power to tell our own stories. This leads to biased reflections of how we are portrayed in media of all kinds, affecting the way we see ourselves and the way other people see us.
The interview is below, and you can also watch by clicking here.
[blip.tv http://blip.tv/play/AYK48BQC]
President Obama Heads to Ground Zero
Washington (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will visit New York's ground zero Thursday, days after a nighttime raid in Pakistan led to the death of the terror leader behind the attacks that toppled the twin towers.
Obama's visit will include a wreath-laying ceremony, the White House said. He does not plan to deliver a speech.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The White House Can’t Get It’s Story Straight on Bin Laden
John Cook — When you're dealing with the assassination of the world's most-wanted criminal, you might want to actually know what you're talking about. In the space of 36 hours, the official story on what happened to Osama bin Laden has gone from "he went down guns blazing and taking hostages" to "basically we shot him."
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
How does the Bin Laden Assassination a Impact the Obama Presidency?
Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action
I spoke to noted political scientist, Dr. Wilmer Leon from Howard University about the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden and what this means for the Obama Presidency.
Yet another Fox Announcement that Obama is Dead
After seeing this "mistake" committed over and over again, one might wonder if there could be a pattern here.
Glenn Beck says “Let’s kill Obama, I mean Bin Laden,” and an MSNBC reporter accidentally tweets that Obama was killed. What’s going on?
Has anyone ever heard of the phrase “spell check”?
To join the Your Black World Coalition, please visit YourBlackWorld.com
Technorati Tags: obama killed,osama bin laden
NFL Player Gets in Trouble for Remarks about Bin Laden and Slavery
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action
Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers has been taking heat lately for making comments that many believe are in support of Osama Bin Laden. But rather than being supportive of Bin Laden, Mendenhall is simply stating that Americans are celebrating death just a little too much for his comfort:
"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..." Mendenhall said on his Twitter account.
MSNBC Reporter Accidentally Tweets “Obama Killed”
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World
Yes class. This is why we double check and proofread our work. MSNBC reporter Norah O’Donnell, in an effort to get the news out ahead of the competition, sent this message out on Twitter, citing NBC Chief Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski as her source. You can imagine that she probably got more than a couple of tweet backs as a result. The killing of Osama Bin Laden was the big news of the day, but some would speculate that the killing of President Obama would make for a more shocking headline.
The saddest part of O’Donnell’s error is that death threats are very real for the Obama family. President Obama has received far more death threats than any president in American history. The Secret Service has reported that President Obama receives more than 30 death threats per day, leading to a 400 percent increase over the Bush Administration. Fortunately, none of these threats have come to fruition.
The fact that the president remains safe in spite of his status as a hero in the African American community runs in stark contrast to the more volatile political environment in the 1960s, which led to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and John F. Kennedy. Even Abraham Lincoln, a man with whom President Obama regularly compares himself, died by way of an assassin’s bullet.
Perhaps Ms. O’Donnell might want to be a bit more careful in the future. She probably handed out a few heart attacks on Twitter.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Chisholm Commission on presidential Accountability Gives Its Assessment of the 2012 Budget
The Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission
Assessment of President Barack Obama’s 2011 Budget Address
Institute of the Black World, 31-35 95th Street, East Elmhurst, NY 11369
www.ibw21.org Email: info@ibw21.org 718-429-1415
President Obama’s recent address concerning the budget and fiscal crisis facing our nation has been the focus of much reflection and thought. After extensive discussions among members of the Shirley Chisholm Presidential Commission (SCPAC) and consultations with national organizations and agencies keenly interested in the interest and aspirations of Black America the Commission has formulated the following response.
New Jersey Rules Carl Lewis Can’t Run for Senate
Your Black World reports
Olympic medalist and New Jersey state senate candidate, Carl Lewis, has been ruled ineligible to run for office by the courts once again.
Having grown up in Willingboro, Lewis announced in April that he is running for the 8th District state Senate seat as a Democrat.
Rush Limbaugh: “Thank God for President Obama”
Your Black World Reports
It looks like even Rush Limbaugh is seeking to give President Obama credit for killing Osama Bin Laden. On his radio show, Limbaugh had this to say:
Out-of-Work Mom Explains Why She Broke the Law
by Goldie Taylor – TheGrio.com
I lost my job.
For the next few months, we got by on small consulting contracts and what was left of our savings. It will get better, I told myself, as I picked up boxes of food from a local church.
It didn't.
Day turned to night, and soon we lost our home. My children and I moved into a small, rodent infested apartment. I put the kids to bed, scrubbed the walls, fixed the toilet, taped the windows and patched the holes in the baseboards with steel wool and duct tape. It had to be enough.
In a post 9/11 economy, there were few opportunities for an out of work communications executive. It didn't matter that I had cut my teeth as a vice president with one of the world's largest public relations agencies. A bevy of stock options earned in Silicon Valley weren't worth the paper they were printed on.
Four months later, I sat in the middle of the living room floor clutching an eviction notice. The electricity had been shut off. I started to pray. The tears became sobs. Then, there was wailing. I shouted at a God I swore either didn't exist or didn't care that we had no food, no place to go. "If you are who you say you are, you wouldn't do this to them!"
We left almost everything. Our dog, Claire, was taken to a local shelter.
Dreams of Radical Democracy: Obama and the Crisis of Race in America
by Professor Peniel Joseph, Tufts University
On Wednesday, April 27, 2011 the world witnessed a spectacle at once historic and humiliating: a sitting American president forced to preside over a press conference where he reasserted his citizenship. President Barack Obama’s release of his “long-form” birth certificate in the wake of withering criticism from conspiracy theorists, Tea Party activists, and Donald Trump cast a strobe light on the nation’s persistent and tortured racial history.
Beyonce Joins Michelle Obama’s Anti-Obesity Campaign
Your Black World Reports
Beyonce recently decided to join with the first lady to promote her anti-obesity campaign. Beyonce created a video called “Move Your Body” to send the message to a broader audience.
Taking Out both Trump and Osama in the Same Weekend: The Impeccable Timing of President Obama
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World, TheGrio.com – scholarship in Action
President Obama's announcement that the U.S. military has killed Osama Bin Laden was an obvious show-stopper, both literally and figuratively. The world has been waiting for years to have some semblance of hope that our failed War on Terror might be coming to an end. Like the War on Drugs so many years before, our nation seems to repeatedly find itself in the middle of battles that simply cannot be won outright.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Black Unemployment More than Double Whites for Michigan Residents
Your Black World reports
A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute has revealed that the economic situation for African Americans is disproportionately bad for the state of Michigan. According to the report, African Americans in Michigan have had an unemployment rate above 20 percent for every quarter since the start of 2009. Their 2010 annual unemployment rate was 23.4%. White Michigan residents currently enjoy an unemployment rate of only 9.5% for last quarter.
The conditions are so bad that the lowest black unemployment rate since 2008 (12.2%) is only slightly lower than the highest unemployment conditions experienced by whites in Michigan (12.7%). So, their terrible times are our good times and our horrible times don’t get attention from political leaders whatsoever.
Perhaps we don’t live in a post-racial America after all, since the unemployment picture is clearly different for blacks and whites.
Please join the Your Black World Coalition by visiting YourBlackWorld.com
Detroiters Protest NAACP Giving Award to Confederate flag-waving Kid Rock
Your Black World Reports
A group of protesters met outside the Cobo Center in Detroit to protest the NAACP’s decision to give an award to Kid Rock, an entertainer who flies the Confederate Flag during his concerts. Adolph Mongo, head of Detroiters for Progress, spoke to the group.
"Do you know what that flag stands for? It stands for hatred, bigotry, racism, murder," he said.
NAACP President Wendell Anthony defended giving an award to Rock.
Killing Osama is a Major Victory for Obama
Your Black World reports
US officials have confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan this weekend. The United States is claiming that their security forces are in possession of Bin Laden’s body. Bin Laden is widely believed to be the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
Bin Laden used hundreds of millions of dollars from a family fortune to create a carefully run organization with subsidiaries around the world. He has been a staple on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for the last 10 years.
Mitt Romney Says He Wants to “Hang Obama by the Neck”
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action
Republican Presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is now trying to explain his way out of controversial and racist remarks about President Barack Obama. During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, the presidential hopeful referenced “hanging Obama by the neck” as a way to defeat him in the next election.
During a dinner hosted by Americans for Prosperity, Romney said "Reagan came up with this great thing about the ‘misery index’ and he hung that around Jimmy Carter’s neck and that had a lot to do with Jimmy Carter losing." He then said, "Well, we’re going to have to hang the ‘Obama Misery Index’ around his neck."
Russell Simmons’ Open Letter to President Obama: Don’t Forget Our Plight
Your Black World Reports
I listened to your speech last week at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network's 20th anniversary dinner, talking among friends and close supporters. This was an annual African American dinner, a very important one. While I know that any Democrat would have fulfilled their promise to come back if they had won the '08 election, I also know the significance, and the special burden it poses on you, as the first African American President, at the same time.
Still, I woke up the next day feeling uneasy, not because you didn't take issues of direct significance to the black community head-on -- like the fact that one in three black children go to jail once in their lifetime or that black people have an unemployment rate double the amount of white people -- but because nowhere in your deep and thoughtful remarks did you talk about the elephant in the room that affects ALL Americans, irrespective of color: the growing ranks of poor Americans, Americans struggling not just to meet their mortgage payments but to eat, sleep under a roof, educate their kids and pay their basic bills.
Accused NFL Star Albert Haynesworth: “I Don’t Even Like Black Girls”
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com – Scholarship in Action
It looks like Washington Redskins star Albert Haynesworth is having even more problems beyond the ones that led to the Redskins taking him off the field. Haynesworth has been accused of fondling a young waitress at the W Hotel. The government offered him a plea bargain, but he’s not taking it.
The prosecution sent a letter to Haynesworth’s attorneys offering to drop the sexual abuse charge against Haynesworth if he would agree to plead guilty to one count of simple sexual assault. His attorneys have turned down the offer and said they look forward to their day in court.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
My Personal “WTF Moment” – 4/30/11
You never know what you’ll see walking through a random antique store. I’m speechless
The Reality of Being a Football Star
Watch as YBW’s Eshe White interviews a former football star about the realities of playing in the NFL
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWeut5p3pLE]
Friday, April 29, 2011
Report Says that Obama’s Father Was Forced Out of Harvard University
BOSTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's father was forced to leave Harvard University before completing his Ph.D. in economics because the school was concerned about his personal life and finances, according to newly public immigration records.
Harvard had asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service to delay a request by Barack Hussein Obama Sr. to extend his stay in the U.S., "until they decided what action they could take in order to get rid of him," immigration official M.F. McKeon wrote in a June 1964 memo.
Roland Martin Has a Back and Forth with Donald Trump on Twitter
Roland Martin has begun calling out Donald Trump on his Twitter page. This is what Martin had to say:
"Do not support Trump's #CelebrityApprentice. He's a travesty. I refuse to stay at Trump hotels; will NOT watch #CelebrityApprentice or buy products that continue to advertise on his show. He's pathetic."
Donald Trump Then Replied:
“I am the least racist person on the planet. I have a great record on that, especially in terms of my friendships. And I have never heard of Roland Martin.”
Detroit’s NAACP Honors Kid Rock and His Confederate Flag
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action
The NAACP of Detroit has committed what appears to be an incredibly sad act by giving it's Great Expectations Award to Kid Rock during it's annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner. It's ironic that the NAACP is giving an award to someone who regularly uses the Confederate flag during his concerts. The civil rights supporter in me doesn't understand the NAACP's actions, but the Finance Professor in me understands their actions perfectly.
Here are some questions for the NAACP as they honor one of their greatest heroes, Kid Rock:
1) If Kid Rock were not a donor to your organization, would you have given him this award? Probably not.
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