Culture Collection for Christmas 2009
Business
6391 Riverside Boulevard, Sacramento, CA (916) 427-7715‎ For some reason I couldn't say fraternity, but you get the point. Buy something from Culture Collection cause she won't be there next year. :(

Please share this video, sponsored by the NAACP
Moving
This is a nice short impactful video

Aetna Sit-In for Single Payer, Medicare for All, September 29, 2009
Sho is a Shame
While we were working, drinking coffee, paying bills there were people in new york fighting for your right to have health care. So that we can have one less bill, more money for coffee and be less held hostage by our jobs because they offer health care. Health Care For All!

10 Reasons African Americans Should March on Washington About Health Care
Sho is a Shame
Why? Well, don’t expect our post-race president to make the point, but nowhere are the festering wounds of race in America more visible than in our broken health care system. From cancer to infant mortality, its disparate outcomes across racial lines are staggering.

COULD YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT MONEY?
Motivational
UNLIKE THE average American—wallowing in credit-card debt, clinging to a mortgage, terrified of the next downsizing at the office—he isn't worried about the economic crisis.

Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions
Sho is a Shame
BOSTON – Police responding to a call about "two black males" breaking into a home near Harvard University ended up arresting the man who lives there — Henry Louis Gates Jr., the nation's pre-eminent black scholar.

Xerox’s Burns Takes Reins During ‘Daunting’ Time
Motivational
Burns, 50, will become chief executive officer on July 1, ending the eight-year run of Anne Mulcahy, who will stay on as chairman. Mulcahy, 56, named Burns president in 2007, almost three decades after Burns joined Xerox as a summer intern. Burns, who will be the first black female CEO among Fortune 500 companies, has to work on maintaining Xerox’s cash flow and improving the product line, said John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, where Burns served as a director. Her promotion follows two straight quarters of sales declines amid the worst economic slump in more than 50 years.

Republican senator switches party
Motivational
The move would give the Democrats 59 votes in the US Senate, just one short of the 60 needed to overturn Republican attempts to block legislation.

Brain-Twitter project offers hope to paralyzed patients
Good To Know
Doctoral student develops a way to post messages on Twitter using mind

Track the Recovery Money
Sho is a Shame
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression. With much at stake, the Act provides for unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability so that you will be able to know how, when, and where your tax dollars are being spent. Spearheaded by a new Recovery Board, this Act contains built-in measures to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending. This website, Recovery.gov, will be the main vehicle to provide each and every citizen with the ability to monitor the progress of the recovery.

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas
Sho is a Shame
LOL

Obama and the Somalia Dilemma
Sho is a Shame
Somalia, in so many respects, finds itself in a chaos that, once again, is the product of US foreign policy.

Michelle Obama charms queen away from protocol
Moving
A Buckingham Palace spokesman who asked not to be identified because of palace policy said he could not remember the last time the queen had displayed such public affection with a first lady or dignitary.

Jill Scott's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Coming To HBO
Good Article
In a press release sent by the cable network, in addition to the two-hour film, which will serve as the pilot, HBO has ordered 13 one-hour episodes that will begin filming this summer, with HBO obtaining U.S. and Canadian television and home video rights, and the BBC taking UK television distribution. The Weinstein Company, which controls all other international territories, is planning to take the project to market at MIP in April.

ENOUGH - Protect and Empower Congo's Women
Sho is a Shame
Raise Hope for Congo

Tavis Smiley "State of the Black Union"
Motivational
PBS Talk Show Host Tavis Smiley’s symposium on the State of the Black Union was held in Los Angeles, CA. The seminar was titled, "Making America As Good As Its Promise." Panelist included, Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, radio talk show host Tom Joyner, R-N-C Chairman Michael Steele and professors Cornel West, Charles Ogletree and Lani Guinier.

Go To Jail For Unplugging Your WiFi Router? It's More Likely Than You Think
Sho is a Shame
Bills in both houses make turning off your wireless router illegal

In Canada, Obama Pledges Stronger Ties
Moving
President Obama embarked on his first foreign tour as head of state today, traveling north of the border to visit Canada. Talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper focused on the economy, trade, energy and Afghanistan.

US Senate approves stimulus plan
Good To Know
The US Senate has passed an economic stimulus plan expected to cost some $838bn

Michelle Obama crafts policy agenda
Motivational
As she prepares to step out beyond her role as the self-described “mom in chief,” Michelle Obama has been busy behind the scenes crafting a policy-driven agenda that will bring working-family issues into the White House — and she’s surrounded herself with a team of veteran political insiders and seasoned policy advocates to do it.

Who Will Speak For Woman of Color by Suzanne Brooks
Good Article
Condoleezza Rice and other women of color appointees of the Bush Administration had no impact on the daily conditions facing women of color.

Chris Rock Has "Good Hair" At Sundance
Good Article
"So you cut to now, and I have daughters, and I'm really dealing with them and their hair a lot, and my friends have daughters, and we talk about our daughters' hair issues. I kind of saw where to go at it, and now people are making funny documentaries," he said.

Where You Won't Shop in 2009
Sho is a Shame
Find out which businesses could be facing bankruptcies and closures this year.

President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address
Motivational
On January 20, 2009 President Barack Obama was sworn in as 44th President of the United States and delivered his Inaugural Address. (This video is public domain per White House copyright policy)

Violent Protest Follows Oakland Police BART Shooting
Controversial
A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed Black man mushroomed into several hours of violence Jan. 7 as demonstrators smashed storefronts and cars, set several cars ablaze and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

New footage found of California cop shooting man
Sho is a Shame
"This is a must see website (see below). It was sent to me. I felt hurt in viewing this. I hope we can come together to make change and not just talk the talk. Our youth are loss with no leaders to show them the way. This is a problem that effects us all." - Dee

Serious security flaw found in IE
Controversial
Users of the world's most common web browser have been advised to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed.

If Mos Def was President…
Motivational

Steal Back Your Vote
Motivational
Download the Steal Back Your Vote! Investigative Comic Book - Available right now! The guide includes a warning from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and is sponsored by Voto Latino, Change to Win and Jesse Jackson Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

Amy Goodman on her Convention Arrest
Sho is a Shame
Journalist Amy Goodman talks about her arrest at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Zimbabwe leaders 'agree power-sharing deal'
Good To Know
Mbeki, who mediated the talks in Harare for the Southern African Development Community, said the deal would be signed Monday but did not give details of the agreement.

Laurence Fishburne joining "CSI" cast
Good To Know
So the acclaimed actor better known for playing dark, brooding characters says he looks forward to his new TV gig as a forensics investigator with disturbing tendencies on the hit CBS detective drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Sacramento mayor apologizes to victims of racial profiling
Sho is a Shame
Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo called a report showing that black motorists are pulled over by city police more frequently than other drivers "very disturbing" and apologized to those who have suffered from racial profiling.

The chemistry of beauty - What’s in all those beauty products? The truth isn’t pretty.
Sho is a Shame
Back in the late 1800s, skin whitening was a widespread face-altering practice done by African-American women hoping to escape the psychological binds left over from slavery. Lightening creams continue to be big sellers today among both African-American and Asian women. Many of the creams contain hydroquinone, an animal carcinogen that is toxic to the brain, immune system and reproductive system. The European Union banned hydroquinone, but the United States has not.

California judge rules early cell phone termination fees illegal - Not yet, but it's looking a little haggard
Great
This is a good idea.

All Sistah Presidential Ticket
Motivational
Rosa and Cynthia Accept Green Party Nomination at Chicago Presidential Nominating Convention

The Trial of Rev. Pinkney, No Good Deed goes Unpunished.
Sho is a Shame
The facts and the history are stark. Benton Harbor is ninety-four percent (94%) black, ninety percent (90%) poor and seventy percent (70%) unemployed. It is directly across the river from affluent and practically all-white St. Joseph, Michigan, the world headquarters of the Whirlpool Corporation.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: How to help Africa?
Motivational
Negative images of Africa dominate the news: famine and disease, conflict and corruption. But Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Finance Minister of Nigeria, says there’s a less-told story unfolding in many African nations: one of reform, economic growth and business opportunity. Cracking down on corruption—and the perception of corruption—will be the key to its success She tells how high-ranking Nigerian officials taking money illicitly have been jailed, and how citizens and prospective business partners are getting at least a partial picture now of where money flows.

How the Bronx Turned Green
Good To Know
A conversation with environmental activist Majora Carter about integrating the movement, how to stop dumping on our communities, and why planting trees won't kill hip-hop.

Tuskegee Airmen to be subject of George Lucas film
Moving
The black airmen whose lives will be the basis of a George Lucas movie know the picture will highlight their record of successfully escorting thousands of U.S. bombers in World War II.

Professor Stephen Hawking begin a new search – for Africa’s answer to Einstein.
Motivational
“The world of science needs Africa’s brilliant talents and I look forward to meeting prospective young Einsteins from Africa,” said Hawking.

Sacramento Mayoral Race Candidates
Sho is a Shame
Sacramento Mayoral Race Candidates

Sacramento Mayoral Race Debate
Good To Know
Sacramento Mayoral Race Debate

Why you should use glass baby bottles!
Good To Know
Bisphenol A is actually the chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic. It's the hard, clear plastic used in baby bottles, and it also is the lining of all metal cans made in the United States - beer cans, soda cans, food cans. And this chemical leaches out of all of these products into any kind of food or beverages that come in contact with it.

Johns Hopkins University Responds to Allegations Toxic Sludge Tested as Lead Poisoning Fix in Poor Black Neighborhoods
Sho is a Shame
Lawmakers and the NAACP last month called for an investigation into reports that federally funded scientific experiments in 2000 spread sewage sludge on the yards in poor black neighborhoods to test if it could fight lead poisoning in children. The calls came after the Associated Press ran a story on the issue. We host a debate between Dr. Michael Klag, Dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Caroline Snyder, Professor Emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology. [includes rush transcript]

HR676 - The Single Payer Solution, Part 1 of 4
Motivational
"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." -Dr.Martin Luther King Jr

Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
Sho is a Shame
WASHINGTON — The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.

Look Ma, No Gas.
Motivational
Can you believe a sexy car like this is electric, on sale today. Happy Earthday.
100% Electric
135 Miles per gallon equivalent
Less than 2 cents per mile

Sick Around The World
Moving
This is a much watch. If you would like to better understand the health issue.

Bob Marley Mother Died
Sho is a Shame
On Wednesday [April 9, 2008], the mother of reggae icon Bob Marley died late Tuesday at her home in South Miami-Dade County. She was 82 years old.

Maasai warriors, Marathon for water
Motivational
Maasai warriors from Tanzania become the toast of London, marathoning for water, as CNN's David McKenzie explains.

Must Watch Part 2 - Kerner Commission Report
Motivational
Now we go to a man half Fred Harris' age who all these years later is trying to pick up where the Kerner Commission left. Cory Booker was only 32 years old in 2002 when he first ran as a reform candidate for mayor of Newark, New Jersey.

Must Watch Part 1 - Kerner Commission Report
Motivational
The official name for it was the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. But it passed through the press into popular lore as the Kerner Commission report, and that's how it's remembered today — at least to those of us old enough to remember. If you think all the talk about race in this presidential campaign is savage, you should have been around 40 years ago, in 1968, when this report was published. Talk about controversy! The Kerner Report was an unflinching portrait of America — and it was born from the flames of exploding cities.

Whoopi dissed by the Oscars?
Sho is a Shame
Whoopi bites her lip as "The View" hosts ask about her omission from a montage.

Smokey Robinson A Poet?
Motivational
A Black American - Def Poetry Jam

Home at Last?
Motivational
A radical new approach to helping the homeless.

Conversation with Randall Robinson about Race in America and American Role in Hati
Sho is a Shame
A conversation with Randall Robinson, founder of TransAfrica. Robinson discusses his book An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President.

Nobel Winner Issues Apology for Comments About Blacks
Sho is a Shame
James D. Watson, who shared the 1962 Nobel prize for deciphering the double-helix of DNA, apologized “unreservedly” yesterday for comments reported this week suggesting that black people, over all, are not as intelligent as whites.

In an interview published Sunday in The Times of London, Dr. Watson is quoted as saying that while “there are many people of color who are very talented,” he is “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa.”

“All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Violent protests over housing erupt in New Orleans
Sho is a Shame
Police used pepper spray and tasers to battle protesters demonstrating against the demolition of public housing in New Orleans.

Black children are falling behind in every category: Reading, Math and Science.
Sho is a Shame
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have labeled approximately 2,000 U.S. high schools as drop out factories for their high rates of students who walk out of their doors instead of walking across graduation stages.

Will The 2008 Vote Be Fair?
Good To Know
How safe is your right to vote? Former Justice Department official and voting rights lawyer David Becker, who worked under both President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton, alleges a systematic effort to deny the vote to hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of Americans. In a revealing interview with NOW's David Brancaccio, Becker openly worries that the 2008 election will not be free and fair. Is our government part of the solution, or part of the problem?

Do Black People Have the Right to Vote?
Sho is a Shame
Was there a White House plot to illegally suppress votes in 2004? Is there a similar plan for the upcoming elections? This week NOW examines documents and evidence that points to a Republican Party plan designed to keep Democrats from voting, allegedly by targeting people based on their race and ethnicity with key battleground states like Ohio and Florida of particular interest. "It was a partisan, discriminatory attempt to challenge voters of color," Eddie Hailes, a senior attorney for The Advancement Project, a civil rights group, told NOW.

San Francisco arrests 8 for 1971 police killing linked to Black Panthers
Sho is a Shame
Eight men were arrested Tuesday in the 1971 killing of a police officer that authorities say was part of a black power group's five-year effort to attack and kill law enforcement officers in San Francisco and New York.

Authorities said charges of murder and conspiracy were filed against Ray Michael Boudreaux, 64, of Altadena; Richard Brown, 65, of San Francisco; Herman Bell, 59, and Anthony Bottom, 55, both currently incarcerated in New York state; Henry Watson Jones, 71, of Altadena; Francisco Torres, 58, of New York City; and Harold Taylor, 58, of Panama City, Fla.

Winner: Writer to Writer Local Finalist
Motivational
This is a must read: "It is our pleasure to send out special congratulations to Garland Rabon. He is a Stockton resident and is one of the finalists in the beginner category." -- Adult Literacy Staff

Every year the California State Library sponsors a state-wide student writing challenge. A winner has been chosen for each category: beginner, intermediate and advanced. However, each category has seven to ten finalists who receive state-wide recognition.

Must See: C-Span Full Jena 6 Hearing
Moving
Witnesses testified about the “Jena Six” case in which six black teenagers were charged with the beating of a white student soon after nooses were hung from a tree on a high school campus. They criticized federal authorities for staying out of the local prosecutor's case against the six, particularly that of Mychal Bell, who was in jail after a judge decided he violated the terms of his probation for a previous conviction. They also talked about the state of race relations and civil rights issues. (Video)

Video of Hearing on Jena 6
Moving
The House Judiciary Committee held a heated hearing Tuesday on the case of the Jena Six. Democratic lawmakers and community activists lambasted federal officials for not intervening despite the hanging of nooses on the schoolyard tree and District Attorney Reed Walters's initial charges of second-degree attempted murder against the six African American teenagers.

Jailing Nation: Prison System Nightmare?
Good Article
While conservatives have spent the past three or four decades bemoaning the growth of single-parent families, there is a very simple reason some 1.5 million American children are fatherless or (less often) motherless: Their parents are locked up. Because they are confined for the most part in distant rural prisons, moreover, only about one child in five gets to visit them as often as once a month.

Students In Blackface "Jena 6" Reenactment
Sho is a Shame
A group of white Louisiana college students dressed in blackface and reenacted the "Jena 6" assault while a friend snapped photos and videotaped the staged attack, images that were later posted to one of the participant's Facebook page.

Black Woman Tortured for 6 Days
Sho is a Shame
CNN's Kathleen Koch reports on the alleged kidnapping, torture and sexual assault of a young West Virginia woman.

Jena 6 teen released on bail
Motivational
A black teenager whose arrest and prosecution in Louisiana triggered a huge US civil rights demonstration has been freed on $45,000 bail.

Legacy of the Little Rock Nine
Moving
President Bill Clinton, himself a former governor of Arkansas, more fully understood its defining importance. He returned to Little Rock on the 40th anniversary 10 years ago, to celebrate the students "who climbed these steps, passed through this door and moved our nation."

Jenna 6: Bowie donates $10,000
Motivational
“There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena,” Bowie said Tuesday in an e-mail statement. “A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented.”

Jam Master Jay Award Show for Positive Hip Hop
Motivational
"It's not about the videos. It's not about the records. And it's not about the celebrities, that are just byproducts of the hip-hop culture," DMC said. "(The) purpose of the J.A.M. Awards is to show that hip-hop didn't just create rappers, it created journalists, writers, directors, designers. We're putting the focus back on the positive creative influence of the culture, not just the music."

Bridging Cultures: Cameroonian Cultural Exchange
Motivational
This article briefly introduces a proposed Youths Exchange Program by a local Cameroon, Africa chief who has spent his life, and resources fighting to promote education in a culture that “looked down” on, and held little appreciation for education, especially the education of girls. In the 1960s when female education was seen as a waste of resources, Chief Isaac A. Mbuh of Makong, Pinyin, a small mountainous village in the North West Province of Cameroon, thought otherwise.

Congress to Hold Hearings on Hip Hop Misogyny
Motivational
Members of Congress plan to grill top major label executives about the "stereotypes and degradation" of women --- particularly African- American women in rap videos and lyrics. The hearing, called "From Imus A new front on the content wars may be opening when Congress holds its first hearing specifically into media "stereotypes and degradation" of women -- particularly African- American women -- later this month.

Sharpton To Lead Jena Six March
Good Article
"It gives a real focus on the fact that all over this country, young Blacks, particularly young Black males are being overcharged by a criminal justice system and prosecutors who have gone wild. It is also important because of the double standards of justice being used against young Blacks," says Sharpton.

Commentary: The Jena Six Case, Part One
Sho is a Shame
It’s the same Louisiana where, as recently as 1963, state troopers tried to hunt down the late civil rights leader James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality for that special brand of Southern justice. The same Louisiana where residents of certain areas refused to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 until the armed brothers in the Deacons for Defense and Justice gave them a nudge.

THE INVISIBILITY OF THE BLACK WORKING POOR
Sho is a Shame
The research presented in this report lead to three important conclusions. First, the Black community in the United States faces a two-dimensional crisis concerning employment: the crisis of unemployment and the crisis of low-wage jobs. The crisis of unemployment is the typical face of the jobs problem among African Americans. In the popular media, the unem- ployment crisis is captured by scenes of approximately 11,000 applicants-largely Black and Latino-lining up for 400 vacancies at an Oakland Wal-Mart. However, this scene portrays only one part of the employment dilemma facing African Americans. The other serious prob- lem is the crisis of low-wage jobs held by Blacks who have employment. Too many African Americans work at jobs that do not provide wages (and benefits) to properly raise a family. The purpose of this research project is to gain a deeper understanding of the fate of Blacks who have jobs.

Who is Looking for Our Missing Children?
Sho is a Shame
We see media thunderstorms of up-to-the-minute details on the disappearances of White children such as Elizabeth Smart and Madeleine McCann— but the relative silence when Black kids go missing can be deafening. ESSENCE looks at some of the cases of the hundreds of African American children who are currently missing and asks why you’ve never heard of them. Plus: What to do when a child in your community disappears.

Victim of the Law of Parties
Sho is a Shame
LaHood's actual killer, Mauriceo Brown, was executed in 2006. Foster, who was in a car about 100 yards from the crime when it was committed, was convicted under the controversial Texas state "law of parties", under which the distinction between principal actor and accomplice in a crime is abolished. The law can impose the death penalty on anybody involved in a crime where a murder occurred. In Foster's case he was driving a car with three passengers, one of whom, Brown, left the car, got into an altercation and shot LaHood dead. Texas is the only state that applies this statute in capital cases, making it the only place in the United States where a person can be factually innocent of murder and still face the death penalty.

Finding Cash For Your Business
Business
"One year," says Tappin Saunderson, 29, "my husband, Damani, and I put together spa gift baskets with shampoos, scrubs, fragrances, and so on. The response was overwhelming. As a result, in 2004, we rented retail space nearby and opened Karen's Body Beautiful." The couple used $45,000 of their savings to finance their new boutique, but they came up a few thousand dollars short. They couldn't afford a kitchen in the new space so they had to prepare their products at home and carry them around the corner.

Group warns African mountains will lose ice caps
Sho is a Shame
NAIROBI, Kenya - Africa's two highest mountains — Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya — will lose their ice cover within 25 to 50 years if deforestation and industrial pollution are not stopped, environmentalists warned Thursday.

Majora League
Motivational
Majora Carter is no ordinary environmental leader. For starters: She's a woman, she's black, and she's not afraid to publicly challenge Al Gore.

Celebrating Chief Crazy Horse and Indigenous victo
Black History
There will be those who will wonder why a pan-African internationalist would make it his business to memorialize Indigenous victors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. My explanation is quite simple: Indigenous nations have been Black people's primary and most dependable allies since the enslavement and forced relocation of our great African ancestors into the Western Hemisphere.

Our common suffering at the hands of White oppressors served to strengthen the ties that bind Red and Black people together. Unified efforts were necessary for the security, liberation and survival of both groups.

No Child
Sho is a Shame
Learn more about the link between the No Child Left Behind Act and US Military.

A Girl Like Me
Sho is a Shame
Kiri Davis, 16, Urban Academy I wanted to make a film that explored the standards of beauty imposed on today's black girls. How do these standards affect her self-esteem or self-image. Through making this film I learned a lot about where some of these standards might stem from. Running time: 7:00. Mentor: Shola Lynch.

Afro Sheen Blowout Kit Commercial Break
Motivational

Why do so many black women relax their hair?
Motivational

Original Commodores Member Milan B. Williams Dies
Sho is a Shame
Williams, who played keyboards, was one of the founding members for the Commodores, which formed in 1968 while all the members were in college at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The group, whose best known member was singer Lionel Richie, had a series of hits during the 1970s and 1980s, including "Brick House," "Easy" and "Three Times A Lady." Williams wrote the band's first hit, "Machine Gun."

NEW-Part One "Black Hair" Documentary Film Update
Controversial

Celebrate The Centennial of Josephine Baker
Good To Know
Paris is all aflutter this year over the centennial birth of one of its most celebrated stars: the legendary Josephine Baker.

In case you aren't up on your Black history game, Baker was the orignal American-born diva whose provocative performances took Paris by storm. But she also had an impact as a civil rights leader, humanitarian, patriot and one of the world's richest Black females ever.

Breaking Stereotypes
Moving
As a social worker in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, Pate worked with poor black men who felt disabled by changes to child support laws. These men cared deeply about their children but were struggling to navigate a system that constantly placed road blocks in their path. Pate found that social policies, not the fathers’ attitudes, often prevented them from providing adequate financial and emotional support.

Morehouse Will Inherit King Papers
Sho is a Shame
A collection of Martin Luther King Jr.'s handwritten documents and books won't be sold at auction and instead will be given to his alma mater, officials said Friday.

Black Caucus Caves to Corporate Power
Sho is a Shame
Without network neutrality, those of us who enjoy cheap long distance phone calling over the Internet will see our Internet providers block or ban services other than theirs, and raise the prices. Many of us who imagine we don’t even use the Internet, but who depend on long distance calling cards to stay in touch with relatives or friends will find those services more expensive or unavailable. And those who download music, who read foreign newspapers, who share pictures and news and opinions are about to experience a new Internet regime. It’s not too late to fight it, or to roll it back, but it is coming. It’s later than we think.

Jill Scott - My Petition Live
Motivational
Good Open Letter to the Government

LOVING BLACK WOMEN
Motivational
Black Woman of Mine Dialog with a Black Woman Part 3 Since the beginning of this time, Black Woman of mine, You’re always on my mind, When you are loving and kind, Sweeter than the sweetest wine From the sweetest grapes From the sweetest vines Soft and cuddly, Light or dark and lovely, Putting up with me Making us we, My apologies For misguided brothers, May we be your best lovers, Because we need you, Way more than any others. Like the queen of Sheba, And still you’re so fine Sweet Black Woman of mine, Since the beginning of time, My sister Sweet, Black Woman of mine Not just to rhyme You are always On my mind Down the line since the Beginning of time You have Always been so fine Black sweetie of mine May we see The future together May we be together forever For all time Black woman of mine We are two In this journey From our history On to our destiny For all time Black woman of mine You are always On my mind This is a sample of LOVING BLACK WOMEN by Larry Ukali Johnson-Redd praising Black Women in Spoken Word. Buy this book at Sacramento's Underground Books in the Oak Park section of Sacramento, CA beginning June 1,2006.

Strength of a Women! (( Shaggy ))
Video
Positive Music Video

Saving Black Boys
Motivational
Special Education: Black boys in 2000-2001 made up 8.6 percent of national public-school enrollments. They constituted 20 percent of those classified as mentally retarded, 21 percent of those classified as emotionally disturbed, 12 percent of those with a specific learning disability and 15 percent of those placed in special education. Twice as many black boys are in special education as black girls, a fact that rules out heredity and home environment as primary causes and highlights school factors.

Black Joblessness
Sho is a Shame
Sadly, in 2006, the paradigm has moved increasingly toward a more desperate poverty level since those halcyon days of upward mobility. While President Bush consistently asserts that the U.S. economy is on the rebound, economists have noted that 33 percent of the African-American community is worse off today than it was 40 years ago. Data corroborate that assessment. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10 million African-Americans, one-third of all Black people in the United States, fit its criteria of “poor.”

New York City's 50% Black Male Unemployment
Sho is a Shame
About 200 community activists, students, educators, elected officials, union members and just plain concerned New Yorkers of all ages converges at the House of the Lord Church last weekend for an Emergency Leadership Summit on Black Male Unemployment. It was called for by Council Member and mayoral candidate Charles Barron to follow up on the shattering report put out by the Community Service Society revealing that almost half of New York City's Black men are unemployed.

An Employment Crisis Ignored
Sho is a Shame
Against the celebratory backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown versus Board of Education, a new labor market study finds that many of the nation’s African-American men face growing joblessness and year-round idleness problems.

MEASURING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
Sho is a Shame
Race/ethnic discrimination in hiring can be measured under controlled conditions using matched pairs of minority and nonminority research assistants posing as applicants for the same job. In 149 in-person job applications in the Washington, D.C., labor market, African American applicants were treated less favorably than equally qualified nonminorities more than one-fifth of the time. Employer behavior during these interactions suggest that, within continued public and private efforts against discrimination, particular attention should be accorded to the cognitive underpinnings of bias.

White and African American Job Applicants
Sho is a Shame
The Discrimination Research Center (DRC) has found that temporary employment agencies in California show significant preference for white job applicants over African American applicants. In 64 undercover tests conducted between May and November, 2003, temporary agencies preferred white applicants 4-1 over African Americans in Los Angeles and more than 2-1 in San Francisco.

Employers' Replies to Racial Names
Sho is a Shame
A job applicant with a name that sounds like it might belong to an African-American – say, Lakisha Washington or Jamal Jones – can find it harder to get a job. Despite laws against discrimination, affirmative action, a degree of employer enlightenment, and the desire by some businesses to enhance profits by hiring those most qualified regardless of race, African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed and they earn nearly 25 percent less when they are employed.

War of the Future: Oil Drives the Genocide in Darf
Good Article
...oil was the driving force behind Sudan's civil war. Oil is driving the genocide in Darfur. Oil drives the Bush administration's policy toward Sudan and the rest of Africa. And oil is likely to topple Sudan and its neighbors into chaos.

‘Off the Chain’ Black Sisters – All at Least 100 Y
Motivational
On McCook's March 2 birthday, she, Simmons and Vickers became the first three sisters ever to all at least be 100 years old, Cook said. They simply missed the deadline to file this feat with the good people at Guiness

Octavia Butler, famos black women Sci-fi writer di
Sho is a Shame
She remains the only science fiction writer to receive one of the vaunted "genius grants" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a hard-earned $295,000 windfall in 1995 that followed years of poverty and personal struggles with shyness and self-doubt.

THE MOTHER OF THE MATRIX: SOPHIA STEWART
Controversial
It seems after all the talk of an illusionary-Matrix, Hollywood is in the middle of a real life battle between The Mother of The Matrix and The Architect(s). And just as in the movies themselves The Mother of The Matrix is a BLACK WOMAN! In an online article found at www.949zht.com/matrix/ it has been stated and reported that as of April 24th, a woman by the name of Sophia Stewart of Salt Lake City, Utah, has filed a federal lawsuit against Andy and Larry Wachowski, Joel Silver and Warner Brothers alleging copyright infringement of the movie "Matrix", and "all subsequent releases, and racketeering". Very little has been known about this

Coretta Scott King Dies at 78
Sho is a Shame
Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78

Black Hair Wars: Guess Who Runs the Show
Sho is a Shame
“The collective power they have almost sends a signal: Don’t get in the game. I’ve seen so many people become frustrated and say they don’t want to bother with this anymore. Indirectly or directly, they will eliminate you.”

Bill Cosby, America's granddad gets ornery
Controversial
But Cosby's critics are wrong to say Cosby is either "incognegro" or an appeaser. The man always had a plan. While his humor is nonconfrontational, his attitude has been anything but

Save Stanley Tookie Williams
Sho is a Shame
MTV

Tookie's Corner

Whose Plan for New Orleans?
Sho is a Shame
New Orleans has emerged as a 21st Century political cauldron for Black America, a gaping wound that exposes African American vulnerabilities and institutional weaknesses in the face of both super-predatory capital and Old South racial oppression. A shocked and outraged community - and by this, we mean the national Black polity as well as the hundreds of thousands directly affected by the Katrina phenomenon - is now challenged to fight on many fronts simultaneously.

Mother of the Civil rights Movement Has Died
Sho is a Shame

Hear Her Speak
Hear Rosa
Hear Rosa 2

Email Us Your Thoughts rosa@mybmsf.com

Vivian Malone Jones Dies at 63
Sho is a Shame
When Vivian Malone Jones tried to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963, George Wallace stood in the way. In his infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door," the then-governor of Alabama sought to block blacks from entering the school, despite orders to admit them.

Actor Nipsey Russell Dead At 80
Sho is a Shame
Nipsey Russell, who played the Tin Man alongside Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in "The Wiz" as part of a decades-long career in stage, television and film, has died. He was 80.

Gary Convention Might Sharpen Democrats’ Focus
Good To Know
“We have seen an increase in the number of elected officials in the country, but our issues have moved to the backburner,” he explains. “So, while we have a greater presence as elected officials, our people are still suffering.”

Groups Urge DOJ to Reject Georgia Voter I.D. Bill
Sho is a Shame
Because current data shows that Blacks are five times less likely than whites to have access to a vehicle, and thus no need for a drivers' license, opponents of the bill insist that the elimination of the use of non-photo identification at the polls will affect a disproportionate number of minorities.

Black Caucus hearing exposes anti-people budget
Business
Besides the education cuts, the governor’s budget also slashes funding to In-Home Social Services (IHSS), a government-funded, county service that assists elderly, disabled and other homebound people.

Old Guard Dies
Sho is a Shame

Brock Peters (1927-2005) old school stage and movie star(Porgy and Bess, To Kill a Mockingbird) died due to pancreatic cancer on August 23, 2005 at the age of 78

WHAT! The Three Musketeers written by a black man?
Ain't That Sumt'n
Dumas is best known for historical adventure novels like The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both written within the space of two years, 1844-45, and which belong to the foundation works of popular culture.

Alexandre Dumas was born in Villes-Cotterêts. His grandfather was a French nobleman, who had settled in Santo Domingo (now part of Haiti); his paternal grandmother, Marie-Cessette, was an Afro-Caribbean, who had been a black slave in the French colony (now part of Haiti).

John Johnson, father of Ebony and Jet Dies
Sho is a Shame
John Johnson's rags-to-riches story began in Arkansas City, Ark., where his father, a sawmill worker, died in an industrial accident when Johnson was 6. His family moved to Chicago after attending the World's Fair there in 1933.

Although they lived in poverty, Johnson was an honor student in high school. He became fascinated with journalism through his work as managing editor of the school paper and business manager of the yearbook.

VISIONS a memoir
Motivational
Visions is a book authored by Janie P. Bess a young woman, mother of five and a military wife all packed into one. Her oldest son is deaf-blind. Her faith inspired journey of the human spirit starts off with her arrivng from Mississippi as a toddler on the Southern Pacific train in 1945 and chronicles her life in her teens during the 1960's when she was scheduled to sing during the opening of a Ray Charles concert but because of a childhood disease during an unsuspected pregnancy.her contract is canceled. The disease not only prevents her from becoming a star but also changes her life. Her son is born legally blind. At the age of five, he loses his sight. She finds herself embattled with society who tries to have him placed in a county mental institution. With God's help, and with the love and devotion from her family and friends. She proves them wrong. Her son is no independent living over 45 miles from her in his won townhouse with his fiancee. They are bothe employed fulltime as janitors. He is very happy.

Wanted: Black male elementary school teachers
Motivational
The solution was launched when Clemson University and three historically black colleges — Benedict College, Claflin University and Morris College — created the Call Me MISTER program to recruit, train, certify and secure employment for African-American men as teachers in the state's public elementary schools. The first class of MISTERs was graduated in May 2004 and entered classrooms as strong, positive role models, mentors and leaders for future generations.

Congress Pledges $10 Million for MLK Memorial
Moving
The effort to raise money for a national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. got a boost Tuesday when Congress decided to set a new precedent by contributing $10 million to the project if memorial fund-raisers can come with that much on their own over the next two years.

Economic Decline and The Color Line II
Good Article
But, strange as this may sound, black America may now be strong enough to fashion an economic model of development and justice based on a new mixture of self-reliance and limited progressive politics. The conservative assault on black America has been a nightmare, but it has also cleared the way for a new development path, if we have the courage and patience to take it. Before outlining this potentially fruitful approach, we must understand how conservatism rebuilt American racism after the demise of Jim Crow.

Black women take control
Business
"How often are we going to be the CFOs and CEOs?" Ricketts said. "We are always going to be the administrative assistants and bookkeepers until the day we die."

Luther's Funeral Video
Moving

Saying Goodbye

Jesse Jackson discusses Atlanta march
Good To Know
The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday urged support for an Atlanta civil rights march that favors extending provisions in the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Jackson, flanked by clergy and public officials, said provisions in the law set to expire in 2007 and affecting New York and several other states must be renewed to protect the voting rights of minorities.

Greatest Show in Hair
Black History
Watch this Video

Time to Build a Mass Movement
Good Article
Politicians are elected and selected, but mass movements transform societies. Judges uphold, strike down, or invent brand new law, but mass movements drag the courts, laws and officeholders all in their wake. Progressive and even partially successful mass movements can alter the political calculus for decades to come, thus improving the lives of millions. Social Security, the New Deal, and employer-provided medical care didn’t come from the pen of FDR. The end of “separate but equal” didn’t come from the lips of any judge, and voting rights were not simply granted by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. All these were hard-won outcomes of protracted struggle by progressive mass movements, every one of which operated outside the law and none of which looked to elected officials or the corporate media of those days for blessings or legitimacy. It’s time to re-learn those lessons and build a new progressive mass movement in the United States.

Goodbye Luther, Rest In Peace :(
Sho is a Shame
"Luther Vandross had a peaceful passing under the watchful eye of friends, family and the medical support team," said Rob Cavanaugh, a spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey.

Benin Seeks Forgiveness for Role in Slavery
Black History
In an unprecedented move, Cyrille Oguin, ambassador to the United States from the African Republic of Benin, has admitted his country’s part in the trans-Atlantic slave trade that peddled millions of Africans over 300 years, and is seeking reconciliation and forgiveness.

Death Of A Black Business
Business
Tredessa Dalton is a case study - literally - in what should not happen to a business. When M.B.A. candidates from the University of Pittsburgh studied her BP gas station at the intersection of Frankstown Road and Robinson Boulevard in Penn Hills, they pointed to four things businesses need to avoid. Dalton could not avoid any.

Black Folks All Over The World Gets No Respect
Sho is a Shame
For more than 10,000 years, the Aboriginal peoples of western Australia carved petroglyphs into the region’s numerous rock faces and outcroppings. Collectively, these ancient renderings constitute the largest corpus of rock art in the world. Over the past four decades, however, this premier cultural heritage site has shared its territory with a major industrial complex emitting greenhouse gases and dust.

Congress Helping Blacks Trace Their Family Tree
Good To Know
The measure, dubbed the Servitude and Emancipation Archival Research Clearinghouse, or Search Act, would establish a national archive of records that could help black families whose histories were shattered by slavery and racist laws piece together the trails of their lineage in the United States.

Apology for Lynching, But Nothing for Hate Crimes?
Sho is a Shame
The late civil rights leaders fought a tireless, frustrating battle for a half century to get eight presidents and Congress to pass an anti-lynching law. The White House and the lawmakers ducked, dodged and stonewalled efforts to get the law passed.

Judge sentences Killen to maximum 60 years
Black History
Killen sat in a wheelchair as the judge announced the sentence. The judge said he took no pleasure in the task and said the law makes no distinction on the defendant's age at the time of sentencing.

The Color of Justice
Sho is a Shame
In an incredible (and true) story, a 19 year-old New York University undergraduate student was recently arrested and charged with committing three felonies, including criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance, and criminal sale of a controlled substance on or near school grounds – each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. The undergraduate student sold high-grade marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms to an undercover New York City police officer on eight separate occasions from the lobby of her dormitory. But that’s not the incredible part.

Prison = Slavery
Moving
The subjugation of African-Americans became common throughout the South after the war. Several laws were passed (or old ones were reinstituted) which helped keep the African-American population in its place, such as vagrancy, loitering, disturbing the peace, and Jim Crow laws, to name just a few. When these methods failed, the use of force was relied upon, especially lynching (and lynchings increased after the war). Indeed, as several writers have documented, the use of force to keep African-Americans in a subordinate position increased dramatically after the war, one example being the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.

White, young , missing? You're on TV
Sho is a Shame
Who is newsworthy and whom isn't.

Millions Still Can't Vote
Good Article
Regrettably, 40 years after 600 people literally risked their lives on Bloody Sunday to expand democracy for Blacks and other racial minorities, and in the 40th anniversary year of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Blacks and Latinos, rather than experiencing increased political participation, are actually losing their voting rights daily.

Senate Apology History on Lynching
Sho is a Shame
The U.S. Senate last night approved a resolution apologizing for its failure to enact federal anti-lynching legislation decades ago, marking the first time the body has apologized for the nation's treatment of African Americans.

One-hundred and five years after the first anti-lynching bill was proposed by a black congressman, senators approved by a voice vote Resolution 39, which called for the lawmakers to apologize to lynching victims, survivors and their descendants, several of whom watched from the gallery.

Prison and Slavery
Sho is a Shame
The winter, 2005 issue of Contexts (a leading sociology journal) featured a photo essay on the infamous Cummins Prison Farm in Arkansas. One photo showed about twenty convicts in a field picking cotton, while a white guard stood over them. Another photo showed a tractor pulling about 8 carts filled with convicts returning from the fields, with four guards riding on horses along the left side. The black and white photos could have easily been taken 100 years ago at one of several “plantation prisons” in the South. They were among about 5,000 photographs taken by sociologist Bruce Jackson between 1971 and 1975.

Leading Black Book Mags Merge
Business
One week ago, Black Issues Book Review and Quarterly Black Review of Books, two leading magazines about black literature, announced a joint marketing agreement, promising to work together to create a unified powerhouse.

Black Inventions We Take For Granted
Black History
I came in on the tale end of a rerun of "The Parkers" recently, and was sorry that I had missed the beginning. Kim and her best friend, Stevie, were sitting in a cold apartment, hair uncombed, wrinkled clothing and barefoot.

Blacks Urged to Form Independent Political Movemen
Controversial
“Everybody knows that Blacks are the most loyal folk to the Democratic Party. We have been loyal. And what do we get for our loyalty?” asks Mary Frances Berry, former chair of the U. S. Commission of Civil Rights. “African-Americans should form an independent political movement; not a party, but a movement and say, ‘This is what our issues are and any candidate who supports these issues we will support. And if you don’t support them, we won’t support you.’”

AIDS is a War
Good Article
"GOD has created remedies that can cure anything under the sun - including AIDS," said one of the most revered traditional healers of the African continent, Credo Mutwa. "A lot of lies have been written about AIDS," the medicine man pronounced. "AIDS is man-made." He conclusively went on to say that AIDS [both virus and cure] is being held under the protection of "armed men" in the USA. "We are made to believe that AIDS means guaranteed death and that there is no cure in the next foreseeable future. But how do the Western scientists know that? How do they know that there will not be a cure in the next 20 years or so?" he questioned.

Deadly silence covers passing of federal gang bill
Sho is a Shame
May 12 passed its own punitive, race-biased legislation, once again making mandating mandatory-minimum sentences aimed at street gangs... Under the so-called “Gangbusters Bill” (HR 1279), a sentence of at least 10 years would be required for an act of violence; at least 20 years for serious assaults; and at least 30 years for kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse or maiming; and life imprisonment or the death penalty for any crime resulting in death, including acts committed by juveniles.

Blacks Being Priced Out Of Harlem
Sho is a Shame
Activists and Harlem residents heeded the call from Nellie Bailey, executive director of the Harlem Tenants Council, and packed room 8A, on the eighth floor of the Harlem State Office Building recently to join in the roundtable discussion, “Harlem from Black Mecca to Private Market: Will Blacks still be able to live in Harlem?”