Ground Breakers and Ceiling Crashers: World's 100 Most Powerful Women

Forbes has released its annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. The list includes "extraordinary icons and leaders", as well as "ground breakers and ceiling crashers" who command the world stage. Rank is determined by money, media, and momentum coupled with "spheres of influence and impact". Detailed methodology is provided by...

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Let The Fire Burn: The City of Philidelphia vs MOVE

MOVE Members  Almost twenty five years ago, the city of Philadelphia and MOVE collided, resulting in death and destruction. Here's the story for those who never heard it or those who can't quite remember it's tragic outcome. MOVE or the MOVE Organization is a Philadelphia-based black liberation group founded by John Africa in 1972. MOVE is...

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Make it Plain: Malcolm X Speaks

El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Malcolm X  ( El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) leaves a legacy dedicated to equality and freedom for all people. His words are as meaningful today as they were during his lifetime. Listen to him: "The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty...

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"By Any Means Necessary": Malcolm X Remembered

El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz The posthumous publication in 1965 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley, the acclaimed author of Roots, instantly recast Malcolm X as one of the great political and spiritual leaders of modern times. Named by TIME magazine one of 10 "required reading" non-fiction books of all-time, The Autobiography...

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Catch the Movie at the Beginning: Meet Julian Castro

Meet San Antonio's mayor Julian Castro and you can see his political rise early in the game. President Obama announced that he will nominate Castro for his cabinet as Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The boyish looking Castro(39) has a twin brother, Joaquin serving in the House of Representatives. Both are poised to...

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Langston Hughes: Voice of Ordinary Black Life

  Poet, playwright, and novelist Langston Hughes was a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Born in Joplin, MO on February 1, 1902, his first poem  "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was published in The Crisis magazine a year after his high school graduation in 1920. He enrolled at Columbia University in 1921and became...

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Voter Fraud: Fact or Fiction?

  With all the talk from Republicans about how big of a problem voter fraud is for the country and all the talk from the left saying it isn't an issue, the facts tend to get lost in the confusion. The severity of the fraud problem can be greatly blown out of proportion by quoting other voter fraud stats instead of voter ID statistics specifically...

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The Ugly Side of Black Repersentation: How Films Shape Thoughts

1938 to 2011 I'm not a big movie fan, although I keep abreast of new releases through my son Kreighton who is an avid movie buff. When I visit his blog Envy-Green.blogspot.com, I also enjoy his penetrating analysis of a variety of past and present movies. In addition, Kreighton takes me back in time, sharing his views of movies he saw at...

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Beauty is Only Skin Deep: Celebrities With Physical Deformities

Most fans hold celebrities up as the standard of near perfection. They have talent, beauty, glamour, charisma and success. But, like the rest of us, many of these well-known personalities have "issues". Many have physical deformities that are often hidden from the public or are coping with little known problems which make their bodies less...

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Thoughts About "Black Women of Substance"

My daughter Krystal responded to a Facebook post which told Black women they have to bring something to the table "except being sexy". I want to share her comments. It's great food for thought and worthy of further discussion. ************************************************** I've seen quite a few posts about sexy women and "ratchet" women...

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Remembering Oscar Grant: Justice Denied Again

Johannes Mehserle-Oscar Grant So many young African American men are murdered each year and most of them are forgotten by the public at large, leaving only their family and friends to mourn the loss. How quickly people forget. Do you remember Oscar Grant, the central figure in the recent film “Fruitvale Station”? Grant, 22 years old,...

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Remembering the Name "Baraka"-Yesterday and Today

The national media outlets covered Cory Booker, then Mayor of Newark, New Jersey when he announced that he would run for Senator Frank Lutenberg's seat. Booker won the special election and moved on to represent New Jersey in the U. S. Senate. There was much less media coverage when Ras Baraka won his race and became mayor of the state's largest...

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An A-Worm Strikes Again

Have you heard the term A-worm? Think Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Think Clive Bundy, Nevada's millionaire welfare cattle rancher. A high school coach refers to a Black player as a "future welfare recipient". New York Policemen refer to West Indian carnival goers as savages, animals and said that someone should drop...

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