Troy Davis: The Death of My Brother

We have all witnessed a great injustice tonight.

Did you know that on his death certificate, Troy Davis' cause of death will be listed as a homicide? A HOMICIDE. They are killing a man, whether innocent or not, to justify the death of another. How can anyone just ignore such an egregious situation? And yet as I continued to read all the tweets regarding Davis, I also noted that #youknowyoughetto was also trending (in the Philadelphia region at least) and X-Factor was also popular. Once again human life is carelessly thrown away. Troy Davis, the 52nd person to be executed in the prisons of Georgia. But we know that he is only one of the many strange fruit whose life has been taken needlessly.

As I look at this photo and listen to the @democracynow live stream the tears leak down my face. I am weeping. I have never been so hurt over a stranger. No he is no stranger. He is my brother. Troy Davis is my brother.

He is being executed right now, sitting on a gurney waiting as the cocktails of drugs take his very breath away. 7 of the 9 witnesses recanted their statements. There was no other evidence that put Davis as the murderer other than the 2 last witnesses. If that isn't reasonable doubt, I just don't know what is. If this isn't a misuse of justice. Just sickening.

I never supported the death penalty and I never will. An eye for an eye does indeed make the whole world blind. And right now too many of us have turned a blind eye to a system of justice that continues to instill injustice. 

I'm sorry if I'm not making much sense everyone. I am just so distraught that I just don't know how I can look at the government and continue to take it seriously.

Troy Davis said: They may take my body, but they can never take my spirit. Because my spirit belongs to God. 

God be with you Troy Davis. God be with his family. God be with the family of Officer MacPhail. God be with all of us. Because strange fruit continue to hang from the Poplar trees. 

No Woman Left Behind

Earlier this month, New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg announced the Young Men's Iniative- a program designed to prevent young black and latino men from entering or reentering the incarceration system. Quite admirably, he will donate 30 million dollars to the project and have that amount matched by fellow billionaire George Soros.

The program is designed to take a more holistic approach to improving the lives of the men in trapped in our underclass. This includes reforming the Probation Department and expanding it into high crime areas in the city like East New York, Brooklyn; Jamaica, Queens and the South Bronx. Hundreds of mentors will also be hired and will theoretically have many of the same struggles of the men they are helping. There will also be a wide array of programs offering services like job training, computer classes and community upkeep  to improve poor employment.

I am no fan of this mayor, but I respect him for recognizing the needs poor men in New York City, and making the effort to better their lives. But what about the plight of poor black and latina women?? Statistics of the impact of  poverty on black women is similiar but the concern given to us is not and that angers me. Hell, for every black man in jail, there is a black woman left alone to raise a family by herself.

Many will argue that there is a level of urgency needed in addressing the issues that are currently facing black men today, especially in light of this recession. Dropout rates, incarceration, joblessness, homicide rates, etc. are all higher for minority men than they are even for minority women. That is true. But that doesn't mean that issues that affect black men are more than those of black women, they are simply different. Part of our struggle is the systemic disregard for the struggles we face.

Black women are more likely to be the victims of violence, including domestic violence and sexual assault. Nationally, 43 percent of black women report they were verbally or emotionally abused while growing up. Approximately 20 percent reported they were physically abused as a child and another 22 percent said they were sexually abused, according to a 2001 study conducted for the Black Women's Health Imperative. Interestingly enough, I could not find more recent studies but I assume the statistics remain stagnant, that is if they haven't worsened.

Violence in addition to structural cultural alienation, racism and sexism has put a huge strain on black women's mental health as well. We are more susceptible to depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As for physical health, African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S, putting us at higher risk for hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol. Plus we have a higher mortality rates for various cancers, especially breast cancer and cervical cancer.

I blame Steve Harvey and his ilk for collapsing the struggles of black women to not being able to find a man, as if it is the biggest obstacle they need to overcome. This same sexism is akin to our collective preference on black male issues. This is purely theory, but I think most people adopt this patriarchal mindset and believe that the uplift of the black man is critical to the betterment of the black community. It is ironic considering our long history of women- Mothers and Grandmothers- heading households and being the primary guardians for fatherless children.

So I ask, how far do we have to fall for people to try to catch us? Where are our leaders to mobilize on behalf of our plight? Because the need is there, but the concern isn't.

Should Have Never Gave You N***as Money!

In the famed words of Dave Chappelle (or Rick James depending on who you're asking), there are some ninjas* that just don't deserve to have money.




I've been sitting on this post for a while since I've been lazy and busy (yes you can be both), but my latest foray into the blogasphere has left cursing under my breath at these ninjas who have money and blow it on the stupidest things. Honestly, as a broke grad school studen,t who is lucky enough to be working part time and trying to scrape together two nickels; people sitting on lots of money who blow it up their noses money so quick and end up broke, in-jail, and bemoaning their own stupidity on Behind the Music piss me off to high heaven.

So here is my list of ninjas (and non-ninjas) who clearly don't deserve to make more than 5 figures a year.

1. Soulja Coon Boy 

Whether or not the rumors of him buying a "swagged" out jet are true, he [and the jokers he surrounds himself with] clearly doesn't know how to manage money if he is already getting tax liens and having a house foreclosed on and he only just turned 21. That's one big ol' fail. Talk about blowing money fast. Swag.

2. DMX

Boy is this tragic. He is one of my favorite rappers and could have been one of the GOATs in rap/hip hop if he hadn't got caught up in the white stuff. Tell me you don't jam to this when it comes on. I blame Tyrone.
 

He's been in and out of jail, and with his recent release, I can only hope that he makes the right choices and stays clean/sober. His talent is wasted in jail and we need him in hip hop cause many of these fools (though i admit, not all) currently making waves are straight garbage. And even if you don't make any more music DMX, please stay sober, cause you say some real foolish things when high.

3. Ja Rule

As soon as this dude went through his "i'mma cry in ever song like I'm Mary J. Blige" phase, I couldn't take him seriously. That and when he had his whole fued with Eminem, I thought he was a huge tool and douche bag. But I digress. Ja Rule is another case of a ninja who doesn't pay his taxes . He admits that: "I was a young man who made a lot of money. I didn’t have the best people guiding me. I made mistakes. Things fell on hard times for me. Things kind of spun out of control.” But with money comes great responsibility. Maybe it's the elitist part of me, but you should be able to hire someone who can keep track of your finances and not screw you over, if you can't do so yourself. And as someone who has been working and paying taxes since I turned 16, I just can't believe that he didn't know he had to pay taxes for various things. Guess ninjas can't read or research either unless they want to know which video vixen gives the best dome.

4. Speidi aka. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag

I had to throw in these two non-ninjas just because I happened to see a Huffington Post headline regarding them being broke. You make all this money on reality tv, spend it on getting ginormous boobs, then end up broke. Poor babies have to settle for living in Spencer's parents beach house in Santa Barbara. Ah the tales of blonde d-listers.

5. R. Kelly

I have to give props to Clutch Magazine for the hilarious new nickname of Kells as "The Pied Pedophile of R&B". He has had to deal with a foreclosure on his Chicago area home meaning no more easy access to the kiddies?, court battles over unpaid fees, and now another tax lien after he failed to pay the government $837,000. Looks like homie needs a golden shower himself. 

6. Whitney Houston 

Crack is wack y'all. And unfortunately Whitney has fallen back into her old antics. She was definitely on the come up, actually not sounding too terrible on her concerts and actually looking healthy. But she and her daughter just can't say no to that white white. Thankfully she (was?) is in rehab and hopefully will get herself back to these days. Cause she's been like this sadly. Now Bobby Brown is the one making moves while she's just looking crazy. And to both of them, please check your daughter. Cause that ain't cute.

7. Patricia Kluge-

Now you probably don't know who this is. I didn't either til I did a bit of research on bankruptcy in my rss feed and come upon the ridiculousness that is this woman. She is know as the "wealthiest divorcee in history" (according to Huffington Post), having come out of a divorce settlement, with media mogul John Kluge, with possibly a cool $1 billion (at the lower end $1 million a year). And just 11 years later she's filing for bankruptcy. You my dear are dumb. I'd say more but the idiocy speaks for itself.

These are just a few of the people I could think of who really made me want to kick them in the face. On the bright side, they helped somebodies economy right?



*What is a ninja you ask? No it's not this. It's just another way of saying nigga. But its pc. Happy?

Where do Black Women Come First? Not at Essence

For most of its forty plus years, Essence has been the leading magazine for black women across the nation. Its readers appreciated their coverage on lifestyle, culture, beauty and news. With black women so greatly underrepresented in mass media- specifically the magazine industry-Essence served as an important platform for us to freely express our visions, ideas and concerns while highlighting issues that were most important to us. I grew up with Essence and was always comforted when I saw women who looked like me, boasting with success and holding positions of power. The magazine itself was reflective of just that- black, female empowerment.

Operative word= was

Last year, Essence magazine received plenty of uproar after hiring Ellianna Placas, a white woman as their new fashion director. The criticism varied. Some were weary of a white woman whose previous work with mainstream (i.e.- white-centric) publications- Us Weekly and O: The Oprah Magazine- would be too accustomed to the cultural norms of beauty (i.e.- euro-centrism). Others were more concerned with the mere fact that a white woman was awarded a prominent position of power at a magazine that was built of black female empowerment.

I agreed with the above concerns but negated the issue's importance. After all? Ellianna is just in charge of fashion and she is the lone white person in charge.

Correction= was

It was just announced today that Essence hired Michael Bullerdick, a white male, as their managing editor. I have scoured the internets trying to find out more information about him but was only able to find his Linkedin where it details his extensive career in print media. He was the managing editior at American Media, PawPrint Magazine and Celebrity Living. Needless to say that despite his qualifications, many are disappointed by the recent hire.

MLK died for this shit?

Sure New Orleans bounce is typically crude and hyper-sexual. However, the sheer buffoonery of this nonsense is outrageous. And yes, I know I am part of the problem by even posting this shit. Whatever. Sue me.