The Black Informant

Some ol’ skool Marvin Winans

Marvin Winans is by far my favorite male gospel artist. In fact, as I type this, I am playing some Winans music from back in the day. Anyway, here is a video clip I was able to find on YouTube.

Enjoy!

#

Jackson to help form task force in P.G. County

(washingtonpost.com) “Jesse Jackson and Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson yesterday announced a plan to use the county as a laboratory” for addressing the problems plaguing young African American men.

Under the agreement, county officials and Jackson’s RainbowPUSH Coalition will create a task force of educators, parents, lawyers, business leaders and elected officials to address such problems as the high rates of illiteracy, teen fatherhood, crime, imprisonment, unemployment, poverty and high school dropouts.

The solutions developed here — with the resources and leadership of a well-educated, black middle class — could be exported across the country much as Selma and Montgomery, Ala., were used as staging grounds for civil rights fights in the 1960s, Jackson said.

“The problem of young black males in this country is a national crisis,” Jackson said. “We will convene a group consisting of leadership and parents to work on a focused initiative to break the cycle affecting these youths.” (more…)

#

About the Wall Street Boys Association

From the website of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

“There were numerous organizations and associations formed by African Americans in Harlem. The purpose of many of these clubs was social; however, these organizations also served as networking and support systems for doctors, lawyers, actors, politicians and businessmen and women in the community. Often they would have group portraits taken with the club’s banner and insignia.

This photograph is of the Wall Street Boys Association. Research has not yet uncovered the purpose of this organization. However, the banner indicates some relationship to the financial industry.” (more…)

The back story as to why the war-funding bill passed

While there is much “high-fiv’n” going on regarding the passage of the latest war-funding bill that sets a timetable for troop pullout, the truth is like all past bills, many Democrats (like all other bills considered) still were not convinced about this latest proposal. The only way they were able to get agreement had nothing to do with the war, but the promise of funding for pet projects. Here are some of them included in the bill:

- Spinach: Provides $25 million for payments to spinach producers that were unable to market spinach crops as a result of the FDA Public Health Advisory issued on September 14, 2006.

– Shrimp: Provides $120 million to the shrimp industry for expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina.

– Peanut Storage Subsidies: Provides $74 million to extend peanut storage payments through 2007. The Peanut Subsidy Storage program, which is set to expire this year, pays farmers for the storage, handling, and other costs for peanuts voluntarily placed in the marketing loan program.

– Aquaculture Operations: Provides $5 million for payments to “aquaculture operations and other persons in the U.S. engaged in the business of breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish” (such as shellfish, oysters and clams) to cover economic losses incurred as a result of an emergency order issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on October 24, 2006.

– NASA: Provides $35 million to NASA, under the “exploration capabilities” account, for “expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina.”

– HUD Indian Housing: Provides $80 million in tenant-based rental assistance for public and Indian housing under HUD.
(source)

School funding woes in New Jersey

(nytimes.com) With an average class size of nine, the tiny Sea Isle City school district on the Jersey Shore is spending $33,805 for each of its 90 students this school year, or nearly three times the statewide average of $12,098 a student, according to figures released this morning by the New Jersey Department of Education.

By contrast, some 140 miles up the coast, the Guttenberg school district in Hudson County is spending an average of $7,426 for each of its 900-plus students, having eliminated most extra-curricular activities because of budget problems.
[…]
At the upper end of the spending range are small, affluent school districts, like Sea Isle or Avalon, a neighboring shore town in Cape May County that spends $29,982 for each student, or the Alpine school district in Bergen County, which spends $21,534.

Many of the state’s Abbott districts also spend far more than the state average. Asbury Park schools, for instance, are spending $19,102 for each student this year, according to the survey, and the Newark schools $17,974 per student.

The bottom end of the range includes the Woodlynne schools in Camden, which will spend $7,660 for each student.

In many school districts, administrators said, the rising cost of teacher salaries and benefits pushed up operating costs even as they sought to reduce spending on other budget items. (more…)

Some may ask “Why do you spend so much time highlighting funding problems in the public school system?” The answer to that is quite simple. The promise of better education is probably one of the greatest hooks that the Democratic party has with the Black community. You will rarely (if at all) hear of anyone in that party talk about fiscal responsibly when it comes to public schools. Why? Because the Democratic party is joined at the hip with powerful teacher lobby groups like the NEA. While they preach to the nation that education is a civil right (which it isn’t), they have proven to be spineless when it comes to confronting the bureaucracy that is sucking the life out of these institutions while many of them send their own kids to private school. Watch the next time when one of these politicians will stand in front of a Black audience declaring how our schools need more money how the crowd goes completely wild with “Amens”. Notice how they will completely avoid mentioning issues such as this article—issues that mainly take place in Democratic-controlled districts.

This is just one issue where either party needs to earn our vote.

Gains made in Little Rock

(ArkansasBusiness.com) “The percentage of blacks in managerial and professional jobs in Little Rock grew from 13.7 percent in 1980 to 26.8 percent in 2000 – 1.6 percent higher than the national average, according to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s fourth annual Racial Attitudes Survey.

The survey is part of a continuing project to measure the attitudes of white and black residents in Pulaski County about race relations. The study had 1,666 white and black respondents.” (more…)

#

Communism 101

Val of Babalu Blog posted this on his site yesterday. I thought it was pretty interesting so I am going to post portions of it here.

Here are the goals that stuck out to me:

(From “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen)

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. More »

Creating an alternative for our women

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — National pregnancy center groups are continuing to reach out to black communities in an effort to combat the presence of abortion facilities and reduce the alarming rates of abortions on African-American women.
Despite strong Christian upbringings in many black communities across the nation, black women account for 13 percent of the American population but 37 percent of all abortions.

The abortions rate appear to be correlated with the manner in which Planned Parenthood has expanded into black communities over the years by providing low-cost reproductive and other medical services.

[…]

Lillie Epps, director of Care Net’s Urban Initiative, says her group is also working to reach out to minority communities for both new center locations as well as volunteer support. But, she told the Times it’s been difficult to overcome some of the stereotypes that have been built up about the pro-life community.

“When you go to African-American communities … you’ll find they don’t trust pro-life people,” Epps explained. “When they hear ‘pro-life,’ the first thing they think is ‘white Republican.’”

Epps said she hopes to open new centers in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Orlando, Florida that will serve minority areas. (more…)

#

Haiti receives big help from its citizens abroad

Haitians living abroad propped up the economy of their impoverished Caribbean homeland by sending more than $1.65 billion in cash to relatives last year, according to a report from the Inter-American Development Bank.

That sum represented twice Haiti’s national budget and 30 per cent of its gross domestic product, said Jean Geneus, Haiti’s minister in charge of Haitians living abroad.

“Remittances are the most important economic factor in Haiti today,” said Donald Terry, the manager of the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund. (more…)

Is your doctor getting broke off by drug makers?

(tuscaloosanews.com) “Doctors receive money typically in return for delivering lectures about drugs to other doctors. Some of the doctors receiving the most money sit on committees that prepare guidelines instructing doctors nationwide about when to use medicines. Dr. Collins, who received more money than anyone else in the state, is among a limited number whose payments financed research.

In dozens of interviews, most doctors said that these payments had no effect on their care of patients.

Dr. Collins said his sole focus was the health and well-being of patients. “Just because I might do consulting work doesn’t mean I don’t press the agenda of the public health,” he said.

Ken Johnson, senior vice president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said interactions between drug companies and doctors were beneficial. “In the end, patients are well-served when technically trained pharmaceutical research company representatives work with health care professionals to make sure medicines are used properly,” he said.

There is nothing illegal about doctors’ accepting money for marketing talks, and professional organizations have largely ignored the issue.

But research shows that doctors who have close relationships with drug makers tend to prescribe more, newer and pricier drugs — whether or not they are in the best interests of patients.” (more…)

#

Protest planned to spotlight the impact of illegal immigration on Black Americans

I just heard on the radio that Ted Hayes (homeless activist) is planning on having a protest in the downtown Los Angeles area this Sunday @11am. The protest will center around the growing issue of the negative impact illegal immigration is having on the Black community in that area and how the local government is not addressing the issue. According to Hayes, he is being advised by some unnamed sources not to have this event in fear of some backlash by some members of the Latino community who support illegal immigration. If I am able to, I plan to check out this event with cameras in tow.

###

While I was unable to find any additional information on this event, but I did manage to find an article that goes into more detail about the gang situation. Although illegals are not solely responsible for gang activity here in the southland (that’s Southern California for the rest of you), a significant number of them are involved in this growing problem. This first article sheds some light on this issue.

“Rather than deal with gangs and racial tensions comprehensively, as an expression of overcrowded schools, unemployment and the utter failure of urban development policies in pre- and post-riot South LA, the preferred approach here has been “suppression.” Most resources for addressing gang violence go not to drug prevention, counseling and job development but toward surveillance, armed sweeps, mass arrests for minor offenses and the criminalization of everything perceived as gang-related, from graffiti to tattoos. This punitive approach is reinforced by gang injunctions and laws facilitating increased incarceration. Gangs and racial tensions provide the LAPD with a raison d’être, an opportunity to redeem itself as an army of good soldiers in a “war” on gangbanger “superpredators” dividing and terrorizing communities.

Police Chief William Bratton marched into his new job in 2002 calling for a “war on gangs” and gang “terrorists.” After drawing fire from community groups, Bratton tamped down his language, but his policies have been impervious to important insights like those offered in a just-released evaluation of the city’s antigang efforts, funded by the City Council. Led by eminent civil rights attorney Connie Rice of the Advancement Project, the study examined the role of twelve city departments, from police to social services, and concluded, “After a quarter century of a multi-billion-dollar war on gangs [$80 billion, according to Rice], there are six times as many gangs and at least double the number of gang members in the region.” The report calls for a major overhaul of gang policy that balances suppression with a more comprehensive program that includes appointment of a “gang czar” and unprecedented funding increases for cash-starved prevention and intervention programs.” (more…)

What I bolded above is something I heard about a month or so ago, but didn’t comment on it because I think I was thrown in a state of low-level state of shock until now.

$80 billion dollars!

This is why I have a very hard time with folks who preach about certain areas and groups lack necessary funding to make sweeping change. When you challenge these people on how the money is spent, all of a sudden you are the evil tyrant that just won’t “understand”. Anyway, please do not ask me to address the $1.5 TRILLION dollars that is being suggested as a fix for California schools. Mind you a significant percentage of school budget money out here gets funneled into special educational programs for illegals.

Here is another recent article found in the LA Times regarding the the crime aspect of illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration is a topic I have written about quite extensively here. I’ll highlight a few of those posts, but also use the search tool above to get a complete view on my take on this issue.

Just think how that $80 billion could have redeveloped many of the dilapidated communities in that area where there is a high percentage of Black Americans. Something to think about as you listen to those who are running for president.

Some of the “minor” details left out of this summer’s illegal immigration protests
“But they pay taxes, too.”
A reader’s response on the illegal immigration issue

Shut up nigga and fold already!

I know I have been on this issue quite a bit these past few days, but I think it is an important one. I just found this article written by Debra Dickerson that spells out what I addressed a few days ago on how both the media and commentators are trying to spin this story. Here is an excerpt of what she had to say:

“Watching the growing pains of a black polity trying to grow itself up in this brave new post-civil-rights world is wrenching, but it proves the truth in the cliché: no pain, no gain. This juvenile, malicious and cowardly attack on Sharpton more than proves the point that managing their newfound political relevance is a tightrope walk that blacks have not yet mastered. Since blacks aren’t going to stop being a crucial voting bloc anytime soon, it’s crucial for them to ignore the slings and arrows of white derision and black group-think while they gain their footing and keep their eyes on the prize (to mix a few metaphors). The trouble, though, is in identifying exactly what the prize is: blacks elected to high office? black power-brokering and election of their preferred candidates irrespective of race? black cohesion regardless of individual preference or conscience? or how about the maturation of black intellectual, political and moral authority?”

[…]

I have no doubt that Sharpton is jealous of Obama. Hell, I’m jealous of him. It’s doubtful that there’s anyone who spent decades crawling up the political ladder whose admiration isn’t mixed with at least a soupçon of “What’s so great about him?” Indeed, I argued that mainline civil rights leaders like Sharpton and Jackson need Obama to pay obeisance and show them public respect, if only to take the sting out of his leaving them in the dust. But much more important, Obama needs to respect blacks in general by explaining himself to us, answering our questions, and bloody well winning our vote.

When i read the article I mentioned found in Spiegel this morning, I was reminded how many folks are missing the point of the civil rights movement. The person interviewing Sharpton seemed to be almost dumbfounded that a Black person was not folding under the tent of Obama. Check out this question:

“But Obama represents an historical opportunity for blacks in America to have one of your own in the White House. Would it not be better for you to throw your weight behind him?” (source)

This question to me is a direct slap in the face of Blacks everywhere in this country because the assumption here is clear–the political intellect of Black folks goes only skin deep. And with no known voiced criticism to this question by those who hunt for racist acts from Whites towards Blacks, the subtext of this statement must be true to an extent.

Martin Luther King Jr. summed up the goal of the civil rights movement beautifully in his “I have a dream” speech by stating that he wanted to live in a country where he was not judged by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. This also includes electing an individual based on color and not platform as suggested by Spiegel. The civil rights movement broke the “permanent seating” system of opportunity and gave us a fair chance to sit there based on our own merits. To simply fold just because “he’s one of us” underscores the assumption in MSM that politics in the Black community isn’t as deep and sophisticated as it claims to be.

More on endless school funding

Bryan Caplan writes…

“But three decades of experience, combined with two decades of reading and reflection, have convinced me that our educational system is a big waste of time and money. Practically every politician vows to spend more on education, and as an insider, I can’t helping asking “Why? Do you want us to waste even more?”

Most people who criticize our education system complain that we aren’t spending our money in the right way, or that ideologues-in-teachers’-clothes are leading our nation’s children down a dark path. While I mildly sympathize with some of these complaints, they often contradict what I see as the real problem with our educational system: There’s simply far too much education going on. The typical student burns up thousands of hours of his time learning about things that neither raise his productivity nor enrich his life. And of course, a student can’t waste thousands of hours of his time without real estate to do it in, or experts to show him how.” (source)

#

Banking industry booms in Kenya

(The East African—AllAfrica.com) “According to the just released trading results, big banks in Kenya registered impressive financial growth for the year ending December 2006.

The three top banks, Barclays Bank of Kenya (BBK), Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) realised over half of all the banking industry’s profits.”

[…]

“The East African Breweries Ltd (EABL), which posted Ksh8.6 billion ($122.9 million) pre-tax profit last year, made the most profit.

Though StanChart recorded only 9 per cent financial growth, it was the second highest profitable financial institution in Kenya. The bank realised a pre-tax profit of Ksh3.8 billion ($54.3 million).

By November 2006, the banks’ total pre-tax profits had risen by 39 per cent to Ksh42.8 billion ($611.4 million), up from Ksh17.9 billion ($255.7 million) recorded in 2005.

Most banks have attributed these profits to an increase in interest income on loans and advances, earnings from government securities and non-funded income.” (more…)

#

Venessa Williams gets her star

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Many predicted Vanessa Williams would fade into obscurity when she gave up her Miss America crown because of a scandal over nude photographs, but her star shone brightly Monday.

Williams received the 2,331st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fellow cast members from the TV show “Ugly Betty,” in which she plays a villainous magazine editor, showed up to cheer for her at the ceremony in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. (more…)

Not too long ago someone told me that “Hollywood” doesn’t issue out stars to “well-deserving” actors. This is something that you actually have to raise funds yourself. This entry in Wikipedia explains the steps:

“In order for a person to get a star on the Walk of Fame, he or she must agree to attend a presentation ceremony within five years of selection, and a $25,000 fee must be paid to the Trust for costs such as security at the star ceremony; a 2003 FOX News story noted that the fee is typically paid by sponsors such as movie studios and record companies, as part of the publicity for a release with which the honoree is involved. On other occasions, the fee is paid by a fan club or the nominating person or organization.However, controversy and mystery surrounds the way the “Stars” are nominated and approved, as discussed in a 2001 ABC News story that interviewed honorary Hollywood mayor Johnny Grant.” (source)

Now ain’t that a blip!

Obama denies reports of rivalry

WASHINGTON (NNPA)  U. S. Sen. Barack Obama, a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, has denounced reports of a rivalry between him and former presidential candidate Al Sharpton. In response, Sharpton has all but declared that he will not run again for the Democratic nomination.

“This is just something that was concocted by the press, the New York Post, Obama said in an interview with the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service at a reception celebrating the 180th Anniversary of the Black Press last week. “It had nothing to do with my campaign. We talk frequently and I’ll be at his convention coming up in April, he says of Sharpton. (more…)

Related post: “The piece that didn’t make the NY Daily News”

Interview with Sharpton on Spiegel: “You have to be more than our color“

Are we a nation full of hypocrites when it comes to war?

Recently, millions of Americans like any other weekend decided to escape the hustle and bustle of real life to go see the movie “300“. Like past movies like Braveheart and Gladiator, the central themes of this latest pic are loyalty and honor AT ANY COST. And as expected, 300 smashed the record for a movie release in March.

Unfortunately the world outside of the theater is much different that the qualities we admire in our films. While many of us regardless of political persuasion rush to our televisions every week to cheer on Jack Bauer of 24 as he stomps on every strip of legal red tape that is thrown his way in order to protect the country he loves, in the real world people like him would be depicted as a bloodthirsty warmonger who is in desperate need of sensitivity training.

While thousands of “peace-loving” people took to the streets this weekend here in America to convince the world that we real Americans are against aggression, this “mature” approach on handling conflict seems to get lost with every Rambo-type film we Americans rush to see. Funny how this moral high ground is pitched to the side like a worn-out protest sign when the main character of our favorite film resorts to indiscriminate violence to save the day.

The hypocrisy of fantasizing the use of any and all means to rid the innocent of oppression while speaking out against such actions in the real world at the expense of the morale of our own soldiers speaks volumes to the victims we claim to represent.

Perhaps Steve Urkel would accurately portray our idea action hero.

Child slavery in Haiti

This is a piece that I found in the BBC this morning. While it shines a light on a little known problem in Haiti, IMO, the author goes way out of his way to make a case that poverty causes people to enslave one another. This says a lot about how he really thinks about Haitian people in general.

Jeanette is walking up a hill in Petionville, a district in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. She is carrying a huge blue drum full of water on her head. Jeanette is only six, but has to walk 4km (2.4 miles) every day to get the water from the public standpipe.

Jeanette was born in the countryside outside the small town of Hinche in the north of the country. Her parents are among the poorest of the poor in this country where more than half the population of 9m lives on less than 50 US cents (£0.25) a day.

Her father one day told her she was going to stay with (French: rester avec) distant relatives in the Haitian capital. Ever since, Jeanette has become one of the estimated 250,000 children used as near-slave labour in Haiti. (more…)

#

Ignoring the white (I mean black) elephant in the room

Before students at Morey Middle School took CSAP tests this year, school administrators pulled all the African-American students into two assemblies and told them that, as a whole, they were not performing as well as their peers at the school.

The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders were told that the school’s principal and assistant principal care about them and that they wanted to hear from them about what they could do to help.

This has sparked controversy at the Denver middle school, where some parents say the achievement gap is so dramatic that drastic conversations such as this must take place.

Others, though, decry the assemblies as inappropriate and insensitive because they unfairly single out students by their skin color.

“The students were made to feel like they were worse than the white kids,” said Stacey DeKraker, whose daughter was at the assembly.

“If even one of the students got that message, was it worth it?”

Morey principal Dori Claunch, who has spoken with DeKraker about her concerns, said she decided to call the assembly after winter break because she noticed that black students were lagging behind other ethnic groups at the school.

Fifty-three percent of African-American sixth-graders at the school are proficient readers. Among white sixth-graders, that number is 89 percent.

“The idea of the assembly wasn’t just to talk about how African-American kids aren’t performing well,” Claunch said. “We wanted to talk to our African-American students to let them know we care about them and to let them know they have the best opportunity at Morey.” (more…)

If you read the rest of this article, it appears that the Denver Post’s usage of the word “others” actually represents one parent. The good thing here is that it seems that this action by the school was received pretty well, however I do disagree with the notion that teachers should walk on egg shells when addressing this issue (as suggested later in the article). Give them the unadulterated truth and a way to rectify the issue and they will respect you. Show fear and intimidation to political correctiveness and they will milk it for what it’s worth. Hopefully the parents in this district will rally together with their kids to tackle this issue.

Private science university comes to Zambia

(SciDev.Net — Allafrica.com) Zambia’s first private university for science and technology will open in July, while the country’s state-run university faces problems due to a lack of government support.

Victoria Falls University of Technology, based in Livingstone, Zambia, will offer training in information and communication engineering and agricultural food processing.

Gertrude Akapelwa-Ehueni, chief executive officer of Victoria Falls, told SciDev.Net that the idea for the University was prompted by the shortage of science and technology skills in Zambia.

She said an initial US$375,000 has been invested in the project, which is fully financed by private individuals, including Ehueni herself. (more…)

#