In listening to the radio, I heard about a new program in Dallas this week. The “Road Home” program gives victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita up to $150,000 to rebuild or replace their damaged homes. Any homeowners who had damage to their home need to apply as soon as possible because the deadline to submit your application is July 31st.

I’m glad to see that work is still being done for the Katrina and Rita survivors. It’s important that we don’t forget what has happened to them. Please spread the word to as many people as you can about this program.

If you or someone you know wants to apply, more information can be found at www.road2la.org or by calling 1-888-ROAD-2-LA.

Who is eligible for the program?

 

 Talkin About - #23 - 05/27/07 [1:04:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show Notes – Episode 23 – Tha Brothas Talk About Our Justice System

Group Discussion
There’s a lot going on in our civil and criminal justice system. I got together with a couple of brothas on Skype to talk about the things we need to know as African-Americans.

The attendees were:

Eric Durham, Ph.D., Professor of Communications, Morgan State University
Special Guest: Attorney Byron O’Neal

The O’Neal Professional Group, LLC, Attorneys and Counselors is a full service Criminal and Civil Defense firm. If you are in need of his services you can call him at (713) 304-9488 or e-mail him at byron@onealpg.com.

Websites of Interest
www.prisonsucks.com
Graph exercise: black teens face tougher Juvenile justice than whites

Black History Hero
Johnnie Cochran Jr.

Contact Information
Feel free to leave comments on the website or call the voicemail line at 972-464-1899

Intro & Background Music
The intro & closing music clip was written and performed by PsykoSoul Music

I’ve been a way for a couple of days, but there’s a good reason for it. I’ve been working on another podcast and hope to post it posted this Saturday. The topic was on the current state of our criminal justice system and how it affects the black community.

I was fortunate enough to be have Eric Durham, PhD and Attorney Byron O’Neal as my special guest. I learned a lot from Byron about the happenings in the courtroom. And as always Eric dropped some knowledge on us about black history. I think you all are going to enjoy this one.

Until then, Delron has posted some movie reviews on my main site for Spiderman 3 and Shrek the Third. Check them out because he does a great job in putting them together. Be safe and don’t drink and drive. If you’re BBQin, don’t set the house on fire. Thanks for reading the blog and I hope you have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

This weekend I had the opportunity to feed the homeless with my church. They usually go once a month and I hadn’t been in a while. The location had changed since I was last there and the number of people increased. But there was one thing that remained the same. Most of the people out there were black males.

I used to work in Downtown Dallas and was able to meet some very interesting people while I was there. If I met someone needing something to eat, I would take them to lunch and they would tell me about their life and what the faced in the streets. I usually didn’t ask them for all this information, but for some reason they opened up to me. The stories I heard were definitely an eye-opening experience that I will never forget.
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As bloggers, I think it’s safe to say that the consensus among us all is to stay “cutting edge” with trends that are going on in our communities, our countries, and worldwide. One of the “hotter” topics among the national media for the past few years has been how we can better serve our global environment and stabilize the ecosystem. Liberals and conservatives fight and banter over the true effects of global warming like a holy war. Western states suffer severely from logistical nightmares of how to efficiently and consistently deliver enough water to satisfy a demand that is constantly rising though watersheds are shrinking. Every year national outrage burns anew as energy, gasoline, and copper (yes, I said copper) prices get higher than a Rastafari cover band of Nirvana. No matter what your feelings are on any of these issues the facts are that there are things we can do and be aware of to preserve our world just a little bit longer for future generations.
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Don’t say I never tried to save you some money. If you’re the type of person who uses 411 to get phone numbers to different businesses in your city, then Google can help save you some change. Goog 411 is an automated service so you won’t talk to a real person, but the voice recognition worked very well. I tried it out a couple of times and was able to get connected to a business of choice each time I tried it. I was able to search by business name, category and could even recieve a text message if I was using my cell phone.

Now Goog 411 is still in it’s experimental stages, so you may experience an issue or two with it. But who cares, it’s free. Like any service, your regular phone charges will apply so don’t go sayin’ I didn’t warn you.

To try this service, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone.

Yoland King, the oldest child of Dr. Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King has died after possibly suffering a heart problem. During a visit with her brother Dexter King, she apparently collapsed at the doorway and was not able to be revived. I’m sure this is a very sad time for the King family because they just buried their mom a year and a half ago in January 2006. Let’s continue to pray for the King family as the go through this time of mourning.

During a speaking engagement at the American Heart Association’s National Headquarters, my wife had the opportunity to meet her. She told me Yolanda King was a great motivational speaker and was excited about her being one of the spokespersons for their Power to End Stroke campaign. This just goes to show how important it is for us to start learning more about ways to prevent heart attacks and strokes. As African-Americans, we are more at risk than any other race to die from this. So it’s our job as a community to spread the word about the risks involved. To learn more about the campaign, visit http://www.americanheart.org.

Yolanda King and the Congressional Black Caucus Unite to Fight Stroke
Become a Power To End Stroke Ambassador

 

 Talkin About - #22 - 05/13/07 [25:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show Notes – Episode 22 – Happy Mother’s Day and Facts About Our Justice System

Covenant with Black America Topic for May – Criminal Justice System

What I’m Talkin’ About
Special Guest – My Wife
We cover some of the facts about our criminal justice system from “The Covenant With Black America”
Prison alternatives bill would help county jail overcrowding
Race, Prison, and Poverty

Black History Heroes
Our Moms and the impact they’ve had on our lives

Independent Music Artist Showcase
“How Can You Get Along Without Me?” by Kellylee Evans
Ontario, Canada
http://www.kellyleeevans.com

Announcements
Hear My Show on the Blubrry Network
Attorney Byron O’Neil will be on the brothas show
Check out blog for new topics to discuss

Contact Information
Feel free to leave comments on the website or call the voicemail line at 972-464-1899

Intro & Background Music
The intro & closing music clip was written and performed by PsykoSoul Music
“Family Affair” by PsykoSoul Music featuring CB Harris and Calvin

OK…maybe Hip hop’s decline is THAT marked, but it is significant. According to www.futuremusic.com, rap sales declined from 2005 to 2006 at a clip of 21 percent. For the first time in 12 years, no hip hop album cracked the Top 10 for year. There are more theories on this decline than there are Too Short album releases. Thoughts range from the genre being in a rut to the idea that many of Hip Hop’s founding fathers are growing older and more mature and therefore more conscious of what type of music they produce. All those are great theories but my contention is for D) none of the above.

Fact is, I doubt many hip hoppers have suddenly had “come to Christ” experiences en masse. Also, though rap is suffering artistically from the record label machine pumping out “dough boy” hits, all music genres follow their marketing playbooks in hopes of putting out a winner. You don’t think Justin Timberlake sells so many albums because his falsetto, pale skin, and smooth dance moves are a first for the music industry do you?(See Michael Jackson)

When it all boils down to it, Caucasian youths have financially supported the Hip Hop Movement. (more…)

I just wanted to wish all the mom’s out there a Happy Mother’s Day. I hope you all took some time off from all the daily grind to treat yourselves to some rest. My son and I gave mom a break and took care of her. After church we threw some meat on the grill and cooked dinner. We had a good time. I even took some time away from the computer this weekend

Because of that I wasn’t able to produce a podcast, but I plan to get one out this week. I’m also going to do another show with the fellas about African-Americans and our justice system. It should make for a good show.