Clearly the woman has done some inner [...]]]> Now, I don’t know Mary J. Blige nor am I endorsing the singer for sainthood, but I have noted that when she publicly declared a moratorium on displaying her inner demons in public and followed that up with the song, “No More Drama” she meant it.

Clearly the woman has done some inner work at sorting out her chaotic childhood and cleaned up her behavior because there was a time when she had a reputation for being problematic. While she has always been a very popular recording artist she clearly wasn’t always a happy person. I won’t recap her background but suffice it to say it includes much of the non-beneficial behavior that we’ve discussed at this and the BWE forums.

What I’ve found very interesting and increasingly more encouraging is how she’s branched out musically, working with a wider variety of artists like Elton John and U2, how she went on a specific fitness and styling regime which had a noticeable impact on her appearance and softened her image and her specific advocacy work on behalf of women and girls.

I wrote about FFAWN, The Mary J Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation For the Advancement of Women Now when they broke ground last year. I will offer a caveat about celebrity charities in that they can be tax shelters or mismanaged but then there’s the precedent set by Paul Newman with his Newman’s Own line where the proceeds all go to charitable endeavors.

Yesterday, I was reading how Blige has teamed up with NASA to encourage women to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). Here’s a snippet from the press release:

NASA is collaborating with award-winning recording artist Mary J. Blige to encourage young women to pursue exciting experiences and career choices by studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). http://www.nasa.gov.

A public service announcement featuring veteran NASA space shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin and Blige debuts this week on NASA TV and the agency’s website at:

NASA’s Summer of Innovation (SoI) project and Blige’s Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN) have much in common. Both show students the many possibilities available if they follow their dreams and reach for the stars.

Isn’t this great?! Encouraging education is always a good thing. Young girls need other women steering them towards something else beyond sexual objectification and other limited definitions. Especially compared to the steady barrage of dysfunction as evidenced by Fantasia’s suicide attempt over her unresolved issues and man-sharing a married loser/user or Jill Scott’s public wincing over a married black guy who’s chosen a white woman or the celebration of perpetual baby momma status by Badu or the drunk driving arrest of the singer who shares my name or Alicia Keys singing about empowerment but marrying a man who clearly lacks character or …geez I could go on and on here! I can still enjoy some of their songs (with diminished capacity as their public badges of dishonor are waved more vigorously) but I don’t want to BE them.

I’m aware there was also some squirmish with Howard University granting and revoking MJB an honorary degree and an incident involving her husband a while back but the lesson learned is in how she responded. She didn’t feed the monster. She didn’t throw a pity party or ask to have her problems “understood”. She simply moved on. That’s the sign of true growth – or at the very least a crack team of crisis public relations specialists.

I tend to lean towards personal growth because she has an active  Twitter account that she personally participates in corresponding with fans and foes alike. She has yet to claim a third party hacking in response to losing her cool because she’s used restraint. It’s a lesson in celebrity decorum as well as a prime example for us all.

I’m looking forward to seeing the fruits of her labor towards more humanitarian initiatives which she’s free to do because she’s not wallowing in conflicts or excusing poor behavior.

Updated with the offical PSA. Go Mary!

As I’m writing this post I have HGTV design show on in the [...]]]> Having been inspired by the Sojourner Passport posts where blog host Khadija features web sites to help us monetize our blogs or create passive income, I’ve done a little research of my own to add two sites to that list.

As I’m writing this post I have HGTV design show on in the background where one of the co-creator’s of the television show Glee is having his home styled. Having lived in Los Angeles I’m drooling over the neighborhood where he purchased his home: Beachwood Canyon. It’s a slightly hilly area that full of quaint bungalows and still has a neighborhood feel in central Hollywood. One of my favorite coffee bars in the vicinity is Bourgeois Pig, an eclectic bohemian hang out.

Anyway, it’s a warm and cozy little pocket of the sprawling city that is in close proximity to many amenities. Which brings me full circle to the purpose of the post: seeing a goal (believing in oneself and one’s vision or dreams) and doing (following through to completion). When I watch the design and travel shows I envision having a full life, adequate funding, family and friends and one word comes to mind: PLENTY. Our lives should not be lacking in any way.  This is why some people are successful and separates the talkers from the executors. I don’t know about you but I don’t want external forces out of my control to take precedence over my destiny.

For those looking to pick up or brush up on technology skills software training is key. Lynda dot com offers an online training library in digital media.  With the tag line, “Get Smarter” and an affordable monthly plan starting at $25 you can sign up for classes from Excel to CS5. Considering the founder of Tech Crunch, Michael Arrington was publicly whining about being held accountable for the lack of diversity for women leaders at tech start-ups it’s very important that we continue to make inroads. While Rachel Sklar offers a thoughtful response in Addressing the Lack Of Women Leading Tech Start Ups it still doesn’t answer for the almost total lack of representation by women of color and in particular African-American women.  I know I have plenty of ideas, but I’m don’t have a specific technical background. Of course with the right funding the back end needs can be paid for. Which brings me to the next site.

The other site is I Will Teach You To Be Rich run by Ramit Sethi offers plenty of tools to get your creativity and focus geared towards removing mental barriers to making money. I linked to his Knowing vs Doing post that featured Erica Douglass of erica.biz which Khadija mentioned in an earlier post. I had no idea Ramit and Erica knew each other but isn’t it serendipity how it all comes together?

So check out the sites and hopefully gain some very useful information. Feel free to leave comments along the way for sharing tips!

There may be some dissent  to this conversation but there also needs to be some serious discusson about the direction the current generations of black women will take their lives and the legacy for the future. If we evaluate [...]]]>  — The most important choice you can make is what you choose to make important.

There may be some dissent  to this conversation but there also needs to be some serious discusson about the direction the current generations of black women will take their lives and the legacy for the future. If we evaluate the status of the collective since the 1960’s we will find growth for a group of individuals but a stunning collapse for an increasing majority. Avoiding the present set of circumstances and misplacing blame does not serve the interest of black people (in particular African-Americans) who should be firmly established by now and continually moving forward.   Being reactionary to certain open opposition does not address the foundational cracks from within and is not the core problem. Fighting white hegemony will not ever elevate the status of blacks in this country when they are wholly divided. 

Black women who continue to follow the old models are less likely to thrive at the levels other women whose communities are supportive.  Or as blog host Halima of  Black Women’s Interracial Relationship Circle  stated in her post, “What Would Self Do” :

“The truth that has been shielded from black women to keep them working like a mule, is that when black women thrive as individuals, the so called community would thrive automatically, it wouldn’t need to be something you have to plot and plan for. Think about that for a second and think about the fact that even ancient tribes understood this basic principle!”

The NAACP posted a copy of an email being attributed to Shirley Sherrod on their website last week. In the email titled You & I Can’t Yield, Not Now Not Ever Mrs. Sherrod offers her continued support to the Civil Rights organization and urges others to do the same.

“Not long ago, I sat here in my living room in Albany, Georgia for an afternoon of deep conversation with NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. As he has done in public, Ben movingly apologized for the fact that the NAACP was initially hoodwinked by Breitbart and Fox into supporting my removal. I told him what I want to tell you.

That’s behind us, and the last thing I want to see happen is for my situation to weaken support for the NAACP. Too many people confronted by racism and poverty count on the NAACP to be there for them, especially those in rural areas who often have nowhere else to turn.”

While I have great respect for the long history of service to the black community that Mrs. Sherrod has completed I do not in any way agree with her urging other women to continue to be self-sacrificing for others who never reciprocate. That’s the indoctrination many of us are asking women to evaluate and dismantle.  When has the external pressure put on black women to “save the community” alone resulted in success?

Any blanket endorsement for support to an organziation that threw a stallworth of humanity under the bus (who has done so much to directly benefit others) deserves scrutiny and a second look. The problems  of today are not solely or even majorly caused by slavery, poverty or the various boogeyman intangibles always being given to explain unresolved and increasingly worse pathologies.  While Mrs. Sherrod is free to continue supporting those she pleases, WE have every right to ask:

“What Have You Done For Me Lately.”

Her email indicates the needs of rural residents who depend on the continued support of the NAACP as part of her reasoning. That’s fine. We don’t want anyone going without and these organizations are certainly capable of actually assisting people who need help. There’s nothing else to replace them either – but who’s fault is that? The real question remains will their outreach and organizational hierarchy ever be equitable to black women? As we see by the long history and recent action the NAACP is only interested in promoting the interests of black males, often criminals. They have a history of males fronting the organization on the backs of the work of black women. They now claim to encompass human rights and to be a mutli-cultural organization but are still trading on the history of blacks in the United States and in particular the self-sacrificing actions of black women. Mrs. Sherrod’s decision to “take one for the team” shows great loyalty but who’s going to benefit?

I haven’t seen any follow-up from the NAACP outlining how they’re going to be held accountable for helping ALL blacks not just black males, let alone an admission of their institutional shortcomings. Not that I expect to.  Ben Jealous still needs to be removed because he has failed at leading this organization. Those who claim he needs to be given more time ignore the nature of business. If after nearly two years at a CEO-level for a company as a shareholder or employee would you want to continue letting a business you rely on fall off a cliff? If your investments continued to deplete month after month to where it has lost a majority of its value would you still hold onto it?

New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Bob Herbert has asked some important questions in his piece titled, “Too Long Ignored” about why there’s an abject failure of the community. My response is italicized.

“That the black community has not been mobilized en masse to turn this crisis around is a screaming shame.”  (Well Bob black women have been saying this for years and it has fallen on deaf ears).

“This is a cancer that has been allowed to metastasize for decades. Not only is it not being treated, most people don’t even want to talk about it.” (Ditto)

“The aspect of this crisis that is probably the most important and simultaneously the most difficult to recognize is that the heroic efforts needed to alleviate it will not come from the government or the wider American society.”  (Yet people are still relying on Obama and other black faces in high places to resolve this alone).

This is a job that will require a campaign on the scale of the civil rights movement, and it will have to be initiated by the black community.  (Hmm isn’t this what the NAACP and other Civil Rights Industrial Complex orgs are supposed to be doing instead of  alternately ignoring the needs of or conducting public character assassinations against  black women?)

Whether this is fair or not is irrelevant. There is very little sentiment in the wider population for tackling the extensive problems faced by poor and poorly educated black Americans.  (In other words white America has declared cries of racism done: see the Tea Party. Other groups are focused on their own rise to power as well. No one is going to do for blacks what they won’t do for themselves).

 What is needed is a dramatic mobilization of the black community to demand justice on a wide front — think employment, education and the criminal justice system — while establishing a new set of norms, higher standards, for struggling blacks to live by. (Well the “community” is only as effective as its members. Justice also includes protecting and uplifting black women and girls separately and specifically. Talk of enacting standards has some people crowing that they can’t do and say whatever they like [i.e. people focusing more on Dr. Laura's use of the N word because she's white instead of the daily denigration of blacks by other dysfunctional blacks].

Herbert – like many - focuses a lot on the plight of black males as if to imply black females are doing better. The women are more invested in serving the community while receiving next to zero support. He does correctly identify the lack of family structure but doesn’t clearly lay out it is due to the continuing choice of other black males to abandon black women and children that has led to this catastorphic failure.

Already we can see how quickly people’s attention is fading – at least until the next crisis. The NAACP sought to attach an initiative against the Tea Party to the White House with no real long-term agenda. They had not prepared for the pushback and ill-equipped to respond. It seems they thought if they could remove some of the vitriol they could further ingratiate themselves to President Obama, except post-racial agendas don’t include specifically addressing the needs of blacks as a collective. It was a 360 failure all around.

Mrs. Sherrod was able to recover from being attacked (publicly at least) but many black women are not protected and are in a vulnerable state due to the disarray of the collective and lack of infrastructure (as well as not protecting themselves). We do all of the work but seldom bask in the accoldates and rewards. Once the unflattering spotlight fades it will be back to business as usual. I, of course would be thrilled to be proven wrong, but if past behavior is the determining indicator of future behavior the great scam will continue.  

If at any time those black women that make up the backbone of the fiscal, physical and ideological support would set reciprocal standards and a clear agenda tangible changes would be immediately noticed. We cannot rely on these orgs, the community or the White House to address our needs if WE ourselves do not think we deserve to have our needs met and don’t demand anything in return. Trickle Down Theory didn’t work for the masses from a government policy position and it hasn’t worked for those women who continue to self-sacrifice to their detriment on the altar of saving the black community.

Your continued support is appreciated.

It’s that time of the [...]]]> So I’ve missed my blog-a-versary by a month but better late than never! Two years and counting  running this online forum  has gone by in a blink. The past year has been at times challenging, enlightening and invigorating both personally and professionally.

Your continued support is appreciated.

It’s that time of the year for SXSW panel ideas to be submitted for a popular vote by the August 27th deadline. It eventually goes before a committee before being selected but I still think it beneficial to participate. This year’s submission is titled, “What  Steve Jobs Can Teach Us About Engagement” 

The past year in particular has been one of intense upheaval and renewal. I’m still working on the book project I mentioned last year. I realized that I didn’t want a hastily put-together e-book but want something more substantive. Also I want to focus on how women use social media.

I decided I wanted to change careers and that required a physical move to what I thought was a more amenable location. I’ve spent the past several months actively engaging people  (via attending conferences and networking industry events) who I thought might share similar interests.

My job search has been equally entertaining and aggravating as I’ve tried to position myself with a certain authority related to using social media. Today I had an eye-opening conversation with an industry insider who told me I needed to embrace my work as a blogger and the content I’ve provided and that I was being too expansive.

I’m sharing this because social media is like the Wild West and companies are at once asking for multiple disciplines yet not always fully understanding them. It was causing me to second guess myself and everything I’ve done or said thus far.

It just proves that trying to be all things to everyone doesn’t work. Also I think I was being more cautious due to pushback I’ve experienced from being outspoken at times. I’m not going to apologize for speaking my mind online or in-person when I know it’s coming from a pure place. Of course considerations have to be made but if you see a building on fire are you going to stroll on by as if nothing’s happening simply because it’s happening to someone else?

My new motto is: NO REGRETS.

I had another peer suggest to me two months to have a separate blog discussing my job search experiences but I’m not sure I have the objectivity to write about things without becoming overly reactive. Consider this my testing the waters.

I think the tie-in conversation lies with discussing the ups and downs of life after getting out of the Matrix or really for anyone going through a period of transition with no safety net. It’s the bravest amongst us who experience the fear and worry, taking huge chances to fashion a better life with no guarantees but do so anyway.

To that end, I’m doing another brief Blog Drive becuase this is a very crucial juncture for me. I’m asking everyone to click on the donation button at the top right of the front page and support the work that I’m doing here. It of course will be reciprocated in kind – and yes when the blog-based book project is complete I will forward those orignal copies as promised.

Other ways you can help: I’ve also created an Acts Of Faith Blog Feacebook Fan Page that you can join as I start consolidating the numerous online conversations to a convenient place. There’s the Haute Look ad that will take you to a great shopping site and it nets the blog a good return as well. If I don’t ask I won’t receive so thanks!

I’m also putting it out in the universe that (barring  some other fantastic opportunity) I want to return to school and attend in either the UK or Scandavia. It will be a separate project most likely but I want to do it up in a big way. If anyone has tips or suggestions email me privately.

We as women need to know the world is available to us and for some of us black women the time to seize the day is NOW. I realize that despite moments of doubt, frustration, hurt and confusion we really are living in the best time ever and need to take advantage of that. Our orientation, gender identity, hair texture, body size, bank account, marital status, political views, etc. do not matter.

Our outlook means everything.

Which is why they’re scrambling to put the wheels back on the truck.

This is the same NAACP that was co-founded co-opted and run by whites until the late 1970’s.

Malcolm X said it best when he urged black ownership and sovereignty during his The Ballot or the Bullet speech – as excerpted here:

co-opted and run by whites until the late 1970’s.

Malcolm X said it best when he urged black ownership and sovereignty during his The Ballot or the Bullet speech – as excerpted here:

Your vote, your dumb vote, your ignorant vote, your wasted vote put in an administration in Washington, D.C., that has seen fit to pass every kind of legislation imaginable, saving you until last, then filibustering on top of that. And your and my leaders have the audacity to run around clapping their hands and talk about how much progress we’re making. And what a good president we have.

Now, I’m not saying this necessarily applies to this adminstration but one has to ask why President Obama RUNS from black people to pacify false accusations from some white people about the mere potential for addressing our needs specifically. Just as black women have specific gender needs under a larger feminist agenda we deserve to be heard. The NAACP may be called the National Association for Colored People, “colored” being the term used to describe BLACK people specifically, but now it in practice stands for many things, none of which has anything to do with those of us with a vagina.

The NAACP does NOT stand for uplifting and protecting black women.

Case in point: an Image Awards that honors rapists and denigrators who spew verbal and visual vomit dragging the image of black women to and through the gutter.

This latest agenda of the NAACP to focus on “human rights” at the expense of the needs of blacks  – especially when they have so blatantly ignored black women’s rights by the behavior of the males in leadership positions at the national office sexually harrassing its female employees (Kwese Mfume, Ben Chavis and I’m certain a host of others) is FOUL. Need we even discuss their Tea Party misdirection?

The old guard of black women guardians who are propping up the NAACP and a host of other stalworths from the dead black community won’t be around forever. It’s foundation is resting on popsicle sticks and gum so they’re trying to “integrate” and “include” non-black others to get a new crop of workhorses and private financers but other groups and particularly other non-black women will not be so loyal to a dying organization that’s blatantly trolling for new suckers.

They will use but refuse to acknowledge the efforts of those black women who were the most loyal members, who still do 99.999% of the REAL WORK and SACRIFICE. Perhaps that’s because these women perform their roles thinking they’re doing good and by being humble are divine, but they’re being used and the male misleaders know it.

I’ve never been a member of the NAACP or any of the other do-little Civil Rights organizations. When they’re not squandering intellectual and financial capital, they’re engaging in blatant sexist terrorism against the women employees who are supposed to be spending their time uplifting others, not fending off unwanted advances or working in a hostile environment.

Before I could properly name it I noticed the lack of reciprocity along with the unspoken push to “serve” the community that many black women are told to do.  At least I know the (intended) and historical purpose of these orgs. There’s a lot of black immigrants who were able to move to the United States because of the sacrifices of  African-Americans who fought to have their contributions to building this country acknowledged.

Today many blacks – whether US or foreign-born have nary a clue about the history and contributions of African Americans or their organizations from previous generations. If they did they’d be ashamed or better outraged that the NAACP of today bears no resemblence to its original purpose.

As a collective blacks were so eager to “get by” and “overcome” they forgot to heal or make choices that sustained their racial and ethnic sense of pride. Black women have been told time and time again to ignore their needs as women and lie in servitude to the race because of white prejudice. Well what about black prejudice by black males that specifically targets them? The racism talk always ends abruptly when it includes the mistreatment and marginalization of black women by other blacks.

Post Civil Rights many were far more focused escaping and integration instead of supporting an infrastructure. This is how you have a generation of people with unrealistic expectations as well.  Black males are still so focused on seeking white approval and fighting other males over every slight (if they’re also black) or in a useless power battle that they’ve long lost (if they’re white) they ignore the needs of black women every time. The NAACP is focused on protecting and promoting the concerns of any random black male without merit. No outside groups will respect any group of people that trashes its women.

It is no coincidence to me that since last summer the race and gender battles have reached near critical mass. Black women have been under an unprecidented public attack from all sides. When they’re not being ignored or as blogger Halima pointed out the black concern “We As A Community” trick:

In truth, you and I know that the community to all intents and purposes, consists of a group of struggling black women, mostly single and a significant portion single mothers, under an immense load of responsibily and single handedly being charged with sustaining the black community and now, they have to get busy with this addition injunction, being suggested immediately after the application of that phrase, ‘we as a people’!

Now that we’ve seen the “first black” President join the NAACP take a shot at dragging a black grandmother through the mud it has truly come to head. Obama’s expressing his “regret” is an insult to a woman who’s done more to help black people in her lifetime than he ever will. It’s as meaningful as the NAACP saying they are “sensitive” to our concerns. Either way it’s all rhetoric and zero action.

If you do some reseach on the Sherrod family you’ll find a long history of service to the African-American community from working with the SNCC to filing and winning a discrimination lawsuit against the USDA (yup the same place where Mrs. Sherrod took a job). Sometimes it’s more effective to work from within to undermine the misdeeds of a corrupt entity – but only if you can successfully dismantle it.

No, I’m not suggesting many people join the NAACP in a futile attempt at “fixing” it. That cancer has spread and it’s too late. Of course, there’s nothing stopping those already working and volunteering and financially supporting the inept and useless orgs to set a new agenda or withdraw. I just don’t see that happening on any large scale.

These battle-tested AA black women know the ship is sinking but they’re reluctant to abandon it. Instead the snookerfoolery of these post-racial and sexist male leaders have taken it out of their hands by torching the building themselves.

Andrew Breitbart was looking for something to distort as would be expected in an ideology battle. It was no coincidence he chose a black women to attack. The fact black male tv pundits descended into yellow journalism, the NAACP couldn’t even be bothered to fact-check and the President all condemned a woman on the basis of a CLEARLY doctored video clip tells us ALL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THESE MEN.

Black women will continue to be denigrated and sacrificed at the drop of a hat as long as they are complicit in putting up with it. They want Shirley Sherrod to take the “new” job (aka settle for a carrot) so they can say everything’s been resolved and we can move on to something else. WRONG!

If the President wasn’t prepared to face the backlash and disapproval from some whites he should have reconsidered running. This isn’t a popularity contest. While concessions and strategies are necessary Obama has failed to prepare for this current climate. The Bush administration purposely hid much of the damage to this country and left it for Obama to clean up. Speaking of #43 if you recall he didn’t give a rat’s #$%^ what any of us thought.

Who Obama has surrounded himself with speaks volumes about his priorities. We not only need a conversation about race, but about sexism. We need to have a real conversation about the conditions within the black community and the reasns for its demise. We also need to be honest that this country is in a serious depression. The distance between the have and the have-nots has widened beyond repair. Greed and apathy are the culprits. The United States only dominates because of it’s continued war efforts which has bankrupted the country.

When the Republicans claim “we” can’t afford to extend unemployment benefits (which is already a percentage of at least 50% less than previous earnings) because of the deficit while demanding a tax cut for the 1% wealthiest they are showing us they don’t care about anyone who has to work for a living. If this administration would step forth boldly and tell the truth it would diffuse a lot of the animus. Not all – because some of the anxiety people feel over the obvious decline of the US is real but at least it would be named. As for those who cling to racist and divisive thoughts – that’s on them. There’s far more people who are willing to work together than the fight alone.

A complete overhaul is necessary. We need to decide who we are and where we stand, pick a lane and act accordingly. Those external obstructionists aren’t going away. The NAACP has had 101 years to advance colored people. They will continue to spiral down into oblivion because they don’t learn from their mistakes.  This administration may very well join them.

What are black women (esp African Americans) going to do as a collective when no one has your back?

Where’s Newt Gingrich when you need him? He was offering his assistance and support to the NAACP last week in their stupid misguided attempt at promoting faux controversies and blatant fundraising schemes fighting racism by denouncing the Tea Party. Not to help black people [...]]]> Who wants to be integrated into a burning house? – MLK

Where’s Newt Gingrich when you need him? He was offering his assistance and support to the NAACP last week in their stupid misguided attempt at promoting faux controversies and blatant fundraising schemes fighting racism by denouncing the Tea Party. Not to help black people of course but to divide and conquer.  I bet you Ben Jealous would sure love a distraction story right now.

This is the same Newt Gingrich who led a very successful Republican obstructionist/attack  agenda when he served as Speaker Of The House during the Clinton Administration amongst other things. Thanks to Billy Jeff’s proclivities, their failed attempt at impeachment and constant pressure he signed the very flawed Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law. I’m reminding you dear readers of this most recent history because it ties into this latest debacle from the last 24-hours.

We all know how redundant the FCC is especially if you use online media, have a cell phone, watch cable, listen to the radio, require internet access and have seen prices skyrocket while the quality of programming has sunk to the depths of mediocrity. That’s due to the deregulation that allowed for a concentration of media ownership by one company. Some would simply call it monopoly, but it’s not nearly as fun to play as the board game.

We’ve seen what havoc banking deregulation (initiated by Republicans, co-signed by the co-opted and spineless Democrats)  has brought down on this country (and the world). Our economy has yet to recover and will never go back to the way we once knew things. Due to the constant deregulation pushed by the Republican agenda conglomerates have taken over, independent media has been almost completely marginalized and terrestrial radio is craptastic.  In case this doesn’t connect with you, 1996 was also the year Fox went on the air. Oh happy joy!

What the FCC hasn’t bungled, the FTC will gut and kill off given the chance since they’ll be targeting those of us who write content in online forums and use social networking. So rabble rouse while you can before they roll up on us gangbanger-style.  

This ties into the lack of enforcable standards of so-called traditional journalism along with television standards and practices – of which there doesn’t seem to be much left.  Andrew Breitbart took it upon himself to enlighten us with a doctored version of a speech given in March by former USDA Director of Rural Development for Georgia Shirley Sherrod.

In this speech Sherrod discussed her own personal history at separating unfavorable racial attitudes and unpleasant life experiences in light of meeting the needs of people. Just a quick background, Sherrod is 62 so she would remember the Jim Crow era and life before Civil Rights. Also her father was murdered by a white male KKK member when she was 17. She went on to tell how she had to set aside the previous negativity when she oversaw a case involving a white farmer who needed assistance.

She was not an employee of the USDA at the time. This also occurred in the 1980’s.

Breitbart made it seem as if this was something that happened recently while in her current role instead of a Reagan-era event. Remember Ronald Reagan, the denier of AIDS and race-baiter? Fox News and quite a few others who lack real journalistic standards jumped all over this story.

So let’s connect the dots: Gingrich  –> Breitbart –> Media That Spins A Negative False Story  –> Race  Distortion vs. REAL Racism–>

Now how does the NAACP jump in the mix? Well….I think they were so busy being outraged they didn’t bother to do any DUE DILIGENCE. They publicly condemned Sherrod for…wait for it…RACISM! Of course the NAACP knows all about racism…against black women for ignoring the needs of their most loyal constituents. Let’s never forget how the West Palm Beach chapter joined with Rev Hot Comb Al Sharpton in defending the now-convicted Dunbar Village rapists.

Trail of Shame for the Shameless: Gingrich —> Breitbart —> YELLOW JOURNALISM —>NAACP —> SEXISM and…the Obama Administration.

How? Well they also denounced Sherrod and she was coerced into resigning. She was harrassed while she was driving for goodness sake! Didn’t any of these people take Oprah’s No Phone Zone pledge?

Apparently they were scurred of Glen Beck doing a story on Sherrod but curiously enough he refused. Since Beck hasn’t let something like facts get in his way of spreading chaos and mayhem perhaps someone should’ve paid close attention. Sherrod should have told them to shove it and hired a lawyer immediately but she’s probably a loyalist who takes orders without question.  If the Obama Administration was not hell-bent on distancing itself from the needs of blacks and stopped being overly concerned with the right wingers (i.e white people mad he’s in office) then perhaps Obama would take a stance for something for a change.  It’s a combination of obvious fear on the part of this President for standing up to the obstructionists and the lack of control over his message that makes him appear far too eager to meet with the approval of those who will always seek his failure.

Some people won’t even allow for such concessions and see a trend where blacks will be literally ignored into oblivion. It’s certainly time other black people reassess their near-blind support for Obama and start exacting some standards PUBLICLY. A reality check is in order for the condition of the entire collective. After all, black women were the largest percentage of voters for Obama to begin with. The backpedalling (or CYA) from the White House has already begun as it’s floated by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack it was his decision to fire Sherrod without input from the White House. Yeah right.

The NAACP misleadership should be ashamed of themselves for jumping the gun and attacking a woman who could be the grandmother next door. Her speech was taken out of context and no one bothered to check!  Ben Jealous was on tv last night making a fool himself apparently but by then I was tired of watching this media circus. He and Obama are at least a generation removed from those who fought for Civil Rights. Nor is Obama African-American. They’ve certainly enjoyed the benefits of the sacrifices of women like Shirley Sherrod. Breibart is a less-clever copycat of yellow journalists but his throw rocks and duck tactic is effective yet predictable.

It’s time we take a stand for justice.

1. Ben Jealous needs to be fired

2. President Obama needs to apologize to Sherrod – and us for his failure in leadership

3. Shirley Sherrod needs to have her job reinstated OR whatever else she wants (including winning a defamation lawsuit against Breitbart and the NAACP)

4. We need journalistic standards and integrity put on the front burner and an overhaul of the monkey-see monkey-do crew

Perhaps Sherrod can embark on a career discussing race and sexism in a society where white and (half) black men all join together to piss all over who they view to be defenseless : a black woman. Or take a nice looong vacation. It’s shoould be HER choice and I hope she doesn’t let them off the hook without recompense. Thank goodness an inter-racial and inter-generational group of people  have pushed back against her being permanently blacklisted. I’m also relieved to see black people distinguish the difference between a true injustice versus excusing criminals.

Andrew Breitbart is just flexing his muscles as he makes his play as a more telegenic Rush Limbaugh. He’s as greasy and slimy as that BP Oil Spill and even more toxic. No matter, he’s tipped his hand. Lucifer wants us to know he has better things to occupy his time with than messing with 62 year old grandmothers – but Breitbart’s just shot up on the list for the Hell Hounds to greet in the pit.

Ben Jealous says he’s “sorry” and he’ll talk to Sherrod when he’s back in GA. Does she even want to meet with Jealous? Sounds like it’s on his “high-priority” list between swimming in warm tea, television appearances and fighting white hegemony for profit.

Obama will continue to kowtow (let’s keep it real) but at least it’ll be far more obvious to those that ought to be paying attention. This is a teachable moment so pay attention: black males will continue to jockey for power in a partriarchy-based hegemony war  with white males at our expense even at that level. They need to know black women will not continue to be used as canon fodder. 

The rush to frame racism, misuse charges of racism and denial of racism by males in power will ALWAYS fail when they refuse to account for their SEXISM. Obama wasted his race “grace period” when he foolishly stuck up for Skippy “I’m more European than African” Gates last summer. Remember the “Beer Summit” where the white cop said he would not aplogize and didn’t? Shirley Sherrod deserves so much more! If this is how the administration is going to treat blacks (particularly black women) in America it’s going to be a rotten six years (provided he’s reelected).

Here’s something else for all the black women who continue to support the do-little organizations from the Industrial Complex and/or blowhard politicians and pundits to consider:

After you’ve devoted all of your free time building them up and your financial resources at sustaining them what have they done for you lately? They’ve moved from ignoring the needs of black women (supporting black male criminals and miscreants)  to openly attacking you. Do you still plan on supporting them after this? Or will you claim it was anomoly? Don’t be caught with no safety net or backup support when they’re done leeching from you.

This is the video in its entirety. If you fast forward to 16:00 you’ll get to the best parts.

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