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Feb
4thMis-Educated Again
A few weeks ago, I returned to a pseudo-news cycle that I left about four years ago: Black American Web. I stopped visiting the site because of the “niggeration” that seem to be espoused by many on the site. Since revisiting the sit, I have been very engaged in the commentary. Today, I came across another article that I had to take to task because of its hypocrisy. In this story, many people have started to complain about the use of the Turn-around schools model being posited by the Chicago Public School District and other districts around the country. Under this model, consistently failing schools are subject to turn-around by firing all employees and requiring them to re-apply for their job. In the best case, only about 20% are ever rehired at a school. The flaw in this model is that it never gives credence to the socioeconomic and psychosocial factors of the community. In the story on Black American Web, I had to take issue with the opponents of this model. There is a fundamental flaw with the entire argument put forth by opponents of the current school reform initiative, including the “Turn-Around” model. That flaw is: Why are they crying foul now? I worked in a school with Jitu Brown in 2006 that was part of a school reform initiative similar to the turn-around model. That initiative was the “small schools within a school” model and the school was South Shore School of Entrepreneurship. Mr. Brown was a [...]
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Jan
10thMurder Central: A weekly recap of murders in the City of Chicago
January 1st to January 7th, 2013; the first week of the New Year and the murders in in the city of Chicago has not stopped. It seems as if the violence has picked up where it left off last year. On the first day of this New Year, there were three murders among the 15 people shot across the city. However, that number should be four murders, given that one more of the 15 people shot died three days later. The second day of the New Year, the trend continued as a muffler shop owner died at the cowardice hands of some wanna-be thug who shot him in the back after trying to rob him. Then there was the 19 year-old Chris Gissendanner III who was shot while driving in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods of the city. The sad irony of this kid is that he is the stepbrother of “crap” rapper Chief Keef. Unlike Chief Keef, Gissendanner actually graduated high school and was attending Daley College. It is important to note that since Chief Keef’s father never took responsibility for being a father to him, Chief Keef’s family is claiming that they don’t know Gissendanner. The third day of the New Year seem to be a much better day that purported some hope that the New Year may not be as bad as the previous one, given that there were no murders. However, there were at least six people who were shot, including a man simply out [...]
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Jan
7thThe Tragedy of Chief Keef
Several months ago, I wrote a blog on the perpetuation of Chief Keef as some type of urban hero that represents someone overcome the obstacles of living ghetto, below the poverty line, and coming from a broken home. Over the past year, I have been highly critical of the so-called rap artist, Keith Cozart for what he purports as a style of music. His whole persona and the way that it has been embraced by the younger generation of African Americans here in Chicago and around the country have been deplorable (to say the least). The sad irony is that he represents the tragedy of many of the problems besieging African American youths. What makes this anomaly even worse is the fact that other notable hip-hop artists such as Dr. Dre, and Kanye West (to name a few) have embraced him as “talented.” A local radio station here in Chicago (WGCI 107.5) which caters to a largest audience of African American youths, went so far as to put him on a pedestal as some type of king of “crap-rap” in one of their interviews. However, the worst is yet to come as Chief Keef has signed with Interscope Records and produced his first official rap album. So we celebrate the life of a young man who made it out of the “hood” to the pinnacle of exploitation in the music industry. Chief Keef represents the triumph of the urban youth…or does he? If we look deeper, we see that Chief [...]
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Jan
2nd40 Acres and a Mule: An open letter to the President
Dear Mr. President, Over the past four years I have marveled in the rhetoric that has come out of the fact that the nation elected you its first African American President (and that is truly what you are, African father, American mother). However, what has impressed me even more was the country’s willingness to give you (Mr. President) a second opportunity to lead (or continue to lead) this pseudo-great nation. So if you will, allow me to address a fundamental statement that you made in your first term with regards to issues that are important to African Americans. During that term, you stated that you were not just the President of African Americans, but you the President of All America. While that is true, there are some points of contention that I think that you may have overlooked: 93%…This is the percentage of African Americans who went to the polls on November 6, 2012 to help re-elect you. Now I don’t know what everyone else’s motivation was, but I was not motivated by your successes during your first time. I will be honest enough to say that I voted for you because you were the “lesser of two evils.” I knew that the country was not ready for a Mitt Romney because he (Romney) epitomized the “status quo” of the wealthy who, stood for absolutely nothing except wealth. So Mr. Obama, you owe it to the 93% of African Americans to address the most pertinent of issues that plague the [...]
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Nov
12thSo Obama won: What Next?
Dear Mr. President, You have won re-election, which is even more historic than your election, since not only are you the first Black President (according to Jim Crow, even though you are mixed race or mulatto, you are still Black) to be elected President, but you have actually been re-elected. First, I want to make sure that you don’t get it twisted, I didn’t stand in line (in Chicago) for an hour and a half to vote for you simply because you are Black. Honestly, I voted for you because you were the lesser of two evils. I want to keep it real, the candidate that they put in place to challenge you was anything but that. Mitt Romney could not win my vote because he stood for absolutely NOTHING. He simply wanted to be President and reminded me of McKinley in the election of 1896 who was simply a “bought candidate.” Now that you have been elected, you a debt of gratitude to a couple of groups that you neglected during your first term. First, you owe a debt of gratitude to the African Americans who voted for you by about 94%. In your first term, you forgot about us and stated that you are the “President of the United States” which encompasses all people of all races. Well in 2012, without that 94% you would be planning your return to Hyde Park and a library on the campus of the University of Chicago. Now, you have for more [...]
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Black Voices on Huff. Post- Ray J Admits He's A Huge Fan Of Kanye West May 23, 2013 The Grio
- GOP Candidate Once Called Racist Three-Fifths Clause 'Anti-Slavery' May 22, 2013 The Huffington Post
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson: GOP Mute on Apple and Other Corporations Corporate Welfare Grab May 22, 2013 Earl Ofari Hutchinson
- Zimmerman Wants Trayvon's Drug Use Referenced In Trial May 22, 2013 AP
- Teen Vogue's First African American Beauty Director Talks Diversity May 22, 2013 racked.com
Dialogue
- Vic on About Vic
- Eric L. Wattree on About Vic
- Vic on 40 Acres and a Mule: An open letter to the President
- Chris Martin on 40 Acres and a Mule: An open letter to the President
- Garrard McClendon, Ph.D. on I make no apology
Chicago Sun Times News Paper- Census: Chicago is slowest growing major city in U.S. May 23, 2013
- CPS closings vote shows it’s time for an elected school board May 23, 2013
- Man gets 50 years in prison for killing man he pimped to his pregnant wife May 23, 2013
- Schaumburg official injured in Oklahoma tornado shares harrowing experience May 23, 2013
- Jury deliberates whether Donald Trump ‘conned’ 87-year-old woman May 23, 2013
DNAinfo Chicago- CPS Closings: Board Votes To Close 50 Chicago Schools May 23, 2013
- Father of Slain Teen Says He Changed Schools To Escape Threats May 23, 2013
- Oops! Goose Island Beer Sold as a $12 Import at Yankee Stadium May 23, 2013
- Man Accused of Attempted Rape of Woman at Former Excalibur Building May 23, 2013
- Monday's Albany Park Shooting Victim Dies May 23, 2013
Janaury 2013
May 2013 M T W T F S S « Feb 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Huffington Post News- Richard (RJ) Eskow: Apple Pie May Be American, But Apple Computer Isn't - Not Anymore May 22, 2013 Richard (RJ) Eskow
- Ocean Robbins: It's Time for a Better Farm Bill. Now. May 22, 2013 Ocean Robbins
- Maureen Ryan: 'Mad Men' Taps Into Weird Moments And Old Ideas May 22, 2013 Maureen Ryan
- Bob Greenstein: Senator Vitter Offers -- and Senate Democrats Accept -- Stunning Amendment With Racially Tinged Impacts May 22, 2013 Bob Greenstein
- Trita Parsi: Iran's March to Naked Dictatorship? May 22, 2013 Trita Parsi
MSNBC- UK mom calms man with blood-soaked knife after suspected deadly terror attack May 23, 2013
- Amid the rubble, laughter and tears for one family devastated by tornado May 23, 2013
- Boy Scouts vote on gay members: What's at stake May 23, 2013
- Solar Impulse plane sets distance record for a solar-powered flight May 23, 2013
- Japanese climber, 80, becomes oldest atop Everest May 23, 2013