No Black Athletes to Follow Venus, Serena and Tiger: What’s Going On?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Most of us can appreciate, on one level or another, the tremendous achievements of Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and her little sister, Serena. They have all been, in one way or another, a tremendous source of pride for the African American community. Much of the reason we are so proud of them is because they've dominated like no other in sports that are not typically played by "us." I am personally more impressed with the Williams sisters than with Tiger, in large part because they've made it into a family affair, and seem to more directly embrace the idea of making their success into a "black thing." Tiger, on the other hand, seems to want to make his success into a "Caublinasian thing." I admittedly can't get with that.

 

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Black Women Angry Over Essence Magazine Hiring a White Fashion Editor?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, TheLoop21.com

It seems that the world has grown irritated with Essence Magazine for hiring a new white fashion editor. Michaela Angela Davis, a former employee, has blasted the organization for effectively betraying its constituents with the non-traditional hire. She cites mass discrimination that has historically occurred within the fashion industry and seems disappointed that “our space” no longer belongs to us.

I certainly empathize with Davis’ point. Davis is a strong and direct black woman (I had her on my show), one who has very little tolerance for those who deviate from what she perceives as righteous ideology regarding women and minorities. Her passion for the issues that affect us seems to come from a genuine place, like a black woman who has seen enough and refuses to allow herself or anyone like her to be victimized by a clearly racist and sexist society. 

 

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Should Black Women Keep a List for Dating Choices?

A black woman put a list of her dating requirements on my facebook page as part of a broader conversation some were having about black relationships and why they don't work.  I wonder what others think about this list and whether or not it's healthy to have a list like this in your quest for true love.  Here is the list:

 

I don't date men in jail
I don't date men with children
I don't date men who don't have a job
I don't date men who  are not career oriented
I don't date men who have a criminal history (it's called a background check and I highly recommend it)
I don't date men who carry guns
I don't date men who abuse drugs
I don't date men who are verbally or physically abusive to anything OR anyone
I don't date men who borrow money
I don't date men who reject education
I don't date men who can't cook and clean
I don't date men who can't cry
I don't date men who disrespect their mothers
I don't date men who worship their mothers
I don't date men who are still in love with his ex
I don't date men who are married
I don't date men who are separated
I don't date men who are legally separated
I don't date men in open relationships
I don't date men who have girlfriends
I don't date men who have a girlfriend
I don't date men who brag about taking care of their kids
I don't date men who don't take care of their kids
I don't date men who don't know how to get rid of an ex-girlfriend
I don't date men who are disrespectful to their ex-wives
I don't date men who refuse to take an AIDS test

Julianne Malveaux Questions the Kagan Nomination

I was among the many who were disappointed that President Barack Obama did not nominate an African American woman to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. After all, there are six white men, two women, one Latina and one white, and a nominal African American man on the Court.  Why not an African American woman?
The Black Women's Roundtable, led by Melanie Campbell, was so disappointed that they shared their concerns with the President in a letter that spoke both to the contributions African American women have made and the qualifications of a few good women that President Obama should have considered before nominating Ms. Kagan to the nation's highest court.

I won't even speak on what I perceive as some of the shortcomings of the Kagan nomination.  The Solicitor General has earned the support of some colleagues that I fully respect, such as Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree.  At the same time, we have to pause at the fact that her definition of diversity is ideological diversity, not racial and ethnic diversity, and that she seemed to make Harvard a more welcome place for conservatives, if not for African American faculty.

 

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Syracuse Professor Boyce Watkins speaks on ABC News about Love and Money

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Finance Professor - Syracuse University

As a Finance Professor, I find it incredibly ironic that many people get married without talking about money. They talk about every kind of compatibility from emotional, to spiritual, sexual, and professional, but they seldom take the time necessary to ensure that they can tolerate the idea of sharing their financial life with a person who may not be on the same page. This problem is compounded in black relationships, where many women describe economic hurdles as one of the reasons that black women have trouble finding the right mate.

 

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Was Dorothy Height the Last Significant Black Woman to Have a Voice?

by Lola Adesioye, Huffington Post

Dr. Dorothy Height, the matriarch of the civil rights movement, died today at the age of 98. Dr. Height stood with Dr Martin Luther King during his "I have a dream speech" and worked tirelessly as an activist until her last days.

Her contribution was invaluable in the shaping of black America and American society as a whole. Dr. Height provided an example of ceaseless dedication to a cause greater than oneself, and was a living, breathing demonstration of the formidable power of female leadership, especially for black women.

President Obama referred to Dr. Height as the "godmother" of the movement, going on to say that she "served as the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement -- witnessing every march and milestone along the way."

In the 60s, Heights had to overcome gender prejudice in order to do her work. She was cropped out of photos because she was female and she was less well known than her male counterparts. Yet despite the challenges, she recognized the importance of women in black leadership and continued to push for that.

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Raped Teen Gets Lashes for Getting Pregnant

 

A 16-year-old Bangladeshi girl was who raped 8 months ago was given 101 lashes as punishment for having conceived during the assault, Bangladesh's Daily Star reports. Meanwhile, the paper notes, the alleged rapist received no punishment.

The village elders who issued the fatwa against the girl also fined the girl's father and warned him that his family would be forced into isolation if they didn't pay.

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Young Girls Rob a Bank – still on the run

Police in Ohio are searching for two brazen girls, believed to be as young as 12 and 14, who robbed a bank in a Cincinnati suburb and escaped a police dragnet that included a helicopter and dogs.

Ohio police are looking for two girls suspected of robbing a bank.

The baby faced bank robbers, one believed to be 12 years old and the other 14 or 15, entered the 1st National Bank in Symmes Township, "walked up to the bank teller, and gave the teller a note demanding money," Steve Barnett, spokesman for the Hamilton County Sherriff's Office, said in a statement.

 

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Heather Ellis Claims She was Assaulted – There was blood in her Jacket Pocket

KENNETT, Mo. (AP) -- Closing arguments ended Friday and a jury took up the case of a black school teacher charged with assaulting white police officers, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace at a Southeast Missouri store.

A jury of 10 white women, one black woman and one black man began deliberating Heather Ellis' case late Friday. One of the last to testify in the three-day trial, Ellis maintained Friday that white police officers had attacked and abused her.

Prosecutors said Ellis, a Louisiana school teacher, cut in line at the Kennett Walmart in January 2007, then became belligerent and attacked officers called in to quell the scuffle. The 24-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison if she is convicted of the felony charges against her.

The racial overtones of the case have drawn national interest. Prosecutor Morley Swingle said Friday the defense was trying to portray Kennett as "some racist Hooterville."

The customer who accused Ellis of pushing in line, the assistant store manager and arresting officers are all white.

Police said Ellis used obscene language and kicked and bit officers as they led her out of the store.

In nearly two hours of testimony, Ellis denied cursing or attacking anyone. Instead, she said, it was police who assaulted her in the parking lot after she was led outside.

 

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News: More Media Coverage on the Heather Ellis Case

Racial injustice rears its ugly head again, this time in rural Missouri, where heavy-handed prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff is threatening to impose a lengthy prison sentence on a woman after an altercation at a local Wal-Mart almost three years ago.

In January 2007, 20-year-old Heather Ellis, then a student at Xavier University, and her cousin David went to a Wal-Mart in Kennett, Missouri, near the Tennessee border, in an area commonly known as the Missouri Bootheel.  Kennett, in rural and conservative Dunklin County, which boasts that it seceded from the Union during the Civil War, is overwhelmingly white.

At the check-out line, the pair split up in order to find the shortest line.  When Ellis left her line to join her cousin at a shorter line, customers complained and a store employee accused her of cutting, at which point an argument ensued and a manager notified a security guard, an off-duty Kennett Police officer.  The situation escalated from there:

In the Ellis version, she was shoved by another customer, had her items pushed aside by the clerk and then was short-changed when she finally was checked out. The police affidavit contends, at numerous times, Ellis became belligerent, loud, abusive and cursing when she was told to leave by the store's assistant manager. Summoned by a frantic phone call from her son, as the pair walked out to the parking lot, [Ellis' aunt] Blackmon says she arrived in time to witness her niece being brutalized by police during attempts to place her in a squad car.

[...]

Ellis was charged with disturbing the peace, trespassing, resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting a police officer. Yet, curiously after being described in the police affidavit as "completely out of control" during her arrest, she was released to the custody of her parents to receive medical attention only 45 minutes after being jailed. However, her arrest triggered a whole series of problems. Although she returned to school in Louisiana, two months later, an attorney hired by the family tried to talk Heather into taking a plea deal offered by powerful Dunklin County Prosecutor, Stephen Sokoloff.

 

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: The Politics of Attitude: Black Women on Trial

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, AOL Black Voices, MSNBC’s TheGrio.com 

Serena Williams has been listed as a headliner for this year's Australian Open. The problem is that it's not clear whether she'll be allowed to play.

Because of a recent outburst in which she threatened a line judge, Williams may be banned from at least one Grand Slam tournament. According to published reports, Williams told the judge, "You don't know me. You better be right. I swear to God I'm going to take this ball and shove it down your throat."Given that a ball going down your throat might actually kill you, the judge felt that Serena had threatened her life. Then again, Serena's from Compton, a town that has become famous for finding creative ways to kill people. Serena does not, however, need to take "the hood" with her all the way to Australia.

To make matters more interesting, Serena recently got naked for the cover of ESPN magazine, certifying her status as an iconic and thought-provoking figure for the early 21st century. These two events, plus the fact that she just happens to be one of the most dominant female tennis players in history, makes her the kind of woman we'll all be talking about for the next 100 years. Our great-grandkids won't be talking much about the boring apolitical figure called Michael Jordan. We'll congratulate Tiger Woods for being the first incredibly rich black man to consistently beat the crap out of the arrogant guys at the country club. Serena Williams' name, though, will come up in classes on feminist theory, history and sociology. Like Muhammad Ali, Serena is becoming bigger than her sport, and my greatest hope is that her ability to transcend tennis is guided by a desire to serve all humanity, and not just herself. Her nude body on the cover of ESPN is her way of yelling to the world that she is more than a tennis player. I agree that she is.

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Nicole Spence on Freaky Stuff

by Nicole Spence , Your Black World 

 
Hey guys,
I know I'm late but Let's get busy( in my Aresenio Hall voice! Lol),
I have an interesting Dear Nicole letter read below:
the other night while getting some head from my girl she tried something new and stuck a finger in my azz and i nutted like i never before and it felt really good but i don't want her to think I'm gay or something how do i tell her i really liked that shit damm why did it feel so good? i need to know because if felt so fucking good but i'm no fag is that acceptable? thanks
Wow!! My first reaction is that you're not gay! But Let's be clear if a man that I'm seeing asked me to put a finger in his booty, I would immediately think his ass was gay!!
I mean that's just a hell of a request!
But you didn't ask for it, your girlfriend just tried something new and it turns out you dig it! It's actually kinda cool, that you guys are delving into uncharted territory like that. Sounds freaky but she is teaching you about your body. So that's cool! And I don't think you have to tell her how much you liked it, I'm sure she can tell by your reaction! Shooot if she likes to "Rep her city" as much as I do, she'll be doing that shit again and again for that same explosive reaction! Congrats!!

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Your Black News: Did BET Step over the Line with “Skank Robbers”?

Your Black World 

Click here to watch the clip.  Were black women being disrespected by this BET video or was this just good old fashioned fun?

Dr Boyce Watkins: The Masculine Perceptions of Black Women

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

MSNBC’s TheGrio.com 

Black women are too aggressive. They are vicious, nasty, neck-swinging, over-sexed, amazons who utilize every available opportunity to tell off anyone in their path. They hate black men and they even manage to find creative ways to hate one another. We've now come up with a one-dimensional way of describing an incredibly diverse group around the world. That is what the world does to black women, and it is the same thing they do with black men. Personally, I'm getting sick of it.

In our natural aversion to such blatantly biased characterizations like the one presented in the first paragraph, we then go to the other extreme: Black women are all perfect, beautiful, loving, enlightened creatures who can do no wrong. All the problems of the black family belong solely to those "trifling brothers who just can't get it together," and even when black women appear to be wrong, it's just because the rest of us "are too weak to handle strong and intelligent sistuhs." Sorry my friends, stereotyping is wrong, even when it works in your favor.

Serena Williams' tirade during the US Open on Saturday was offensive and sad to watch. She embarrassed herself and her family by threatening to "shove the ball down the f***ing throat" of a line judge during an internationally televised event. At the same time, Serena was in an extremely tense situation, the judge made a horrible call, and this was one of the biggest matches of her career. The judge had no business making that kind of call at that time, especially one that was ultimately incorrect. Serena simply said exactly what I certainly would have been thinking myself.

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Nicole Spence Speaks on Dating the Ugly Guy

Lol. Ahh shit! I don't want this to be true!

The other day my girlfriend Jihan took it upon herself to school me! According to her I need to relax a little bit with my list, not be soo tight, at least the aesthetics part of it.
She's says "Nicole he might not come exactly the way you think he's going to come". See if Nicole says I want Tall Dark Handsome, and uhm that's exactly what I want. Lol I don't want to try anything else, thank you very much. "Problem" says Jihan; "your guy might come short and kinda thick"! What?? Why??? Why are you damning me Jihanny?!
Would you believe she accused me of "acting like a dude!" " Nicole come on Men that are too pretty come with too much drama, and they don't ever want to do shit. "When was the last time a pretty one didn't come to you with some bullshit?!( :/ ) The Alright to the Ugly looking dudes have to work a lot harder at everything! At life! The Cuties tend to have things handed to them"!
The trend that Jihan is noticing is that the world is a bit colder to the ugly guy, slightly awkward guy, so he's a lot more determined.
"Nicole when was the last time you saw two pretty's together??"lol. "You always see a Dime piece with someone a little bit under". Lol She says "the Ugly guy will cherish you,he sees you as his prize! Meanwhile the cutie is in competition with you! That ass thinks he's the prize! He believes deep down you'll put up with his shit, because he's so fine"! Yikes I'm beginning to feel exposed Jihan, stop it, and get the light out my eyes please!! Lol Jihan urged me to start looking into security and not his looks! She says" he doesn't have to be totally Ugly, but he doesn't have to be 100% your type either". You gotta start giving other guys a chance Nicole!

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Michelle Works the Target Fashion

Hmmmm.  Turns out that the first lady got this dress from Target.  What ya’ll think?

Oprah Winfrey Puts out a Power List

Forbes has theirs, why shouldn't the most powerful media maven in the world have hers? In the September 2009 issue of 'O' the magazine, Oprah Winfrey names 20 of some of the most powerful contemporary and legendary women in her first-everPower List. There is no chronological ranking. This is an opportunity to celebrate some of the well-known as well as unsung heroes who inspire, educate and advocate in various arenas.
The full list of honorees includes: Venus Williams, Sarah Silverman, Anna Deavere Smith, Donna Brazile, Mayda del Valle, Terry Tempest Williams, Lauren Ambrose, Pema Chodron, Lateefah Simon, Shirley Ann Jackson, Dambisa Moyo, General Anne E. Dunwoody, Kara Walker, Sheila Bair, Mary Gaitskill, Cleopatra (YES, Queen of Egypt of yesteryear), Michelle Rhee, Lilly Ledbetter, Anne Mulcahy, Melanie Sloan. --O, The Oprah Magazine

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Gabrielle Union's New Gig On Small Screen

 

 

 

Actress Gabrielle Union is making another go for the small screen. Union is joining the cast of ABC's new drama "FlashForward" set to debut on September 24 at 8:00 P.M., according to Variety.com. Union plays criminal defense attorney, Zoey, who along with the other main characters gets a glimpse into her future and has a choice of either changing what she sees or living her life to the fullest. "FlashForward" also stars Courtney B. Vance.-WLW

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Jennifer Hudson's 'Winged Creatures' Renamed 'Fragments'

 

After winning Oscars in 2006 for their roles in 'The Last King of Scotland' and 'Dreamgirls,' respectively, Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson worked together on a film called 'Winged Creatures.'

With a cast that includes Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Jackie Earle Haley, Josh Hutcherson, Embeth Davidtz, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Robin Weigert, the movie seemed, at the the very least, promising. Not quite.

It was shelved for three years while producers tried to find a distribution company. Now, with its new title, 'Fragments,' this Rowan Woods-directed film will be released in a limited number of theaters on July 31, with a DVD release date set for Aug. 4.

Check Out Mary J. Blige's New Video For Lebron James Film

 

Lionsgate has released the music video for Mary J. Blige's newest single, 'Stronger.' The video features the talented players from 'More Than a Game,' a remarkable true-life coming-of-age story about friendship and loyalty in the face of adversity.

Five young basketball players from Akron, Ohio, who are coached by a charismatic but inexperienced father and led by future NBA superstar LeBron James, embark on an improbable seven-year journey that leads them from a decrepit inner-city gym to the doorstep of a national high school championship.

Along the way, the close-knit team is repeatedly tested on and off the court, as James' exploding worldwide celebrity threatens to destroy everything they've set out to achieve together.

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