Earlier this month, the Electronic Village presented ‘The Arte y Pico Award‘ to this blog. I’m definitely honored because the Villager has one of the top black blogs out there and it is a testament to what online activism should entail. If you search my blog you will find a number of references to his site. He’s also one of the workshop presenters at the Blogging While Brown Conference in Atlanta this weekend.

Here are the rules of the Arte y Pico Award:

• You have to pick 5 blogs that deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.
• Each awardee has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
• Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
• Each award winner should provide a link to the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award

Here are five (5) blogs, in no particular order, that I think show Creativity, Fabulous Design, Interesting Material or Contribute to the blogging community:

1. Black In Business - JD is one of the first bloggers I’ve gotten to meet in person. His blog is full of good advice for business owners and he’s open and honest about his views regarding our society. I’m always interested in seeing what he’ll post next. A good guy and a good site.
2. Vanessa: Unplugged - Vanessa (I always want to call her V) has a blog that is very well written and designed. Her topics are right on point and most of the time we have the same views on things. I admire people who can write because it’s something I’ve been working on for a while. Another thing that got me hooked on her site was her commitment last year to blog every day for a year. That’s not easy to do!
3. Dallas South Blog - Shawn is a fellow Aggie, but that’s not why I selected his site. If you want to know what’s happening in South Dallas, this is the blog for you. This is another site that is well-written and he stays on top of the issues that black people need to be concerned about. Even if you don’t live in Dallas, his blog is one you should definitely check out. He will be an attendee at the Blogging While Brown Conference.
4. Black Web 2.0 - I like all things technology. This is one of the sites where I go to get my tech news fix when the need arises. Technology changes daily and there’s always something new to blog about. Angela and Markus are good at staying on top of the newest tech news and gadgets. When you visit the site you have to check out their podcast. They’ve gotten some really good interviews with some major players in the technology industry. They will also be presenting a workshop at the Blogging While Brown Conference.
5. Geeky Cyber Mom - Geeks are cool and so is this website. Anyone who carries a 4-port USB hub in their purse is alright with me. I “e-met” the Geeky Cyber Mom on Twitter. Her blog is fun to read and very informative. She also manages another blog and podcast called Tales of a Single Parent which is equally as good.

So this is my list of bloggers that deserve the award. I have more I’d like to add, but the award only calls for five. Visit their blog and let me know what you think. Thanks again to the Villager for choosing lil ol’ me.

It’s been a while since I’ve featured a post and after reading one at martyblogs.com, I knew I had to share this one with you all. In a post called Black Men and Cancer, Marty gets on us about knowing our family medical history and taking cancer exams more serious. I’ve blogged about my health before and how I get annual physicals because my family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. I agree with him 100% because we tend to have a thing with self-diagnosing and not getting the medical attention we need.

I also know a lot of people who don’t go to the doctor because they lack health insurance or don’t trust the doctor all together. But that’s something we need to get over soon because our health depends on it. There are many programs out there to participate in, but you have to do the research. If you search the blog, you’ll even see a couple posted here.

So brothas, it’s time to step up when it comes to our health. Sure there are plenty of things other than health than can take us out. But if taking care of myself keeps me here a little longer, I’m all for it. Check out the post and take heed to what Marty is telling us. Also check out this track from Nas’s new CD. He understands the health struggle as do I. Yes, there is profanity on this track.

When I say, Don’t Mess With Texas I mean it. Yesterday I read an article on the Dallas Morning News Website covering the increase in concealed handgun licenses in Texas. With the increase in crime and changes in laws regarding individual gun rights there was an almost 5 percent increase in first-time and renewed gun licenses over the first six months of 2007. The concern over personal protection is rising and over the past couple of months this is the most talk I’ve ever heard about gun ownership. I also want you to check out my post about the open carry debate and how it’s picked up steam with over 18,000 people signing an electronic petition to urge lawmakers to make this an option for gun owners.

I’m interested to see where this all goes. I personally think it will make the local authorities job harder, but at the same time as Americans we have the right to protect ourselves. Where do you draw the line when it comes to protection of yourself or personal property? If a group of black men or even a group of Middle Eastern people (all U.S. citizens) were walking around the mall open carrying legally acquired handguns would people view things differently? Only time will tell.

Guns may be allowed at Texas colleges

For those who watched the Cosby Show, I’m sure you remember Bill getting excited over his favorite cowboy hero Colt Kirby. The Wild, Wild West was a time when you could walk around with your gun on your hip and challenge anyone who offended you to a duel at high noon. Times have changed, but the discussion around the right to carry a gun around in public has not.

I was listening to a local talk radio show and they were discussing the issue of allowing Texans to open carry in public places. This means people, other than police officers, would be able to walk around town with a gun on their hip in plain sight. Their argument was that it would be a deterrent of crime and would allow them to protect themselves if the need arose. One such proponent of open carry policy are the folks at opencarry.org. They are making a big push here in Texas (and around the country) to get the governor and legislature to allow open carry in public. I’m interested in seeing how it goes.

While I do believe every American citizen has the right to bear arms, I have some reservations about open carry. While it might make criminals think twice, it will in my opinion just force them to work a little harder in getting what they want. And imagine me and five of my boys walking around the Galleria (an upscale mall) open carrying our legally acquired handguns. If you think people are already on edge, this will just make things worse. Sure the local hoodlum will not think twice about harming you, but there are other things we can do to curb crime. I like the element of surprise. Concealed handguns allow you to keep that.

What do you think? If you live in a state where open carry is legal, how many people actually participate in their right to do so? Would we be making law enforcement’s job harder?

According to a Proclamation by the President of the United States of America made last year, the month of June is Black Music Month (I wonder what G.W. has on his iPod). This is a time where we recognize the outstanding contributions that African-American singers, composers, and musicians have made to our country, and we express our appreciation for the extraordinary music that has enriched our Nation.

I was watching VH1 Soul this weekend and they have some special programming this month highlighting the accomplishments of musical greats like Sam Cooke and Ray Charles. Black people have made major contributions to the music industry and the VH1 programming was very informational. Music plays an important role in black history and the sacrifices made by those before us should be honored.

If you have any other Black Music Month activities, you’d like to share feel free to post them in the comments.

History of Black Music Trivia Quiz

I’ll be the first to admit black people are very quick at times to throw the racism card and I in my efforts try to use it sparingly. But there are some situations where we all have to admit there is a problem, be it based on racism or not. A lot of people talk about Al Sharpton and his efforts, but whether you agree with his tactics or not, he’s on to something.

There’s a problem in the NYPD and something needs to be done. Those plain-clothed officers seem to be a little overzealous if you ask me. But now that someone in the upper ranks has experienced their “discourteous manner”, we’ll see if something other than discipling officers takes place. While that may be the protocol, it doesn’t seem to be working.

NYPD disciplines white officer who stopped black commander

NEW YORK (AP) — A white police officer was disciplined for acting “in a discourteous manner” when he confronted a black motorist who turned out to be one of the highest-ranking commanders in the New York City Police Department, an agency spokesman said Saturday.

Chief Douglas Zeigler, the head of the NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau and the highest uniformed black officer on the force, was off duty and sitting in his department-issued sport utility vehicle on a street in the borough of Queens on May 2 when two white police officers approached.

The encounter turned testy, and one of the officers tried to wrest open Zeigler’s door, even after the three-star chief had identified himself, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

“He dealt with the chief in a discourteous manner, which is unacceptable,” Browne said.

He did not provide details of why the officers decided to question Zeigler. The New York Daily News reported Saturday that Zeigler was parked near a fire hydrant and that one of the plainclothed officers spotted Zeigler’s service weapon inside the vehicle. Browne said he could not confirm whether the officers saw a gun.

He did not specify what discipline was taken by the department. The News said the officer was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modified duty Friday.

The incident was reported as police are being criticized for stopping and frisking record numbers of pedestrians — about 145,000 in the first quarter of this year. The majority were black or Hispanic.

Zeigler has headed the Community Affairs Bureau since January 2006. His wife, Neldra Zeigler, is the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for equal employment opportunity.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been leading demonstrations in the city to protest the acquittal of three police officers in the shooting death of an unarmed man as he left his bachelor party, took note of the Zeigler incident while speaking at his weekly rally in Harlem.

“You can’t make this stuff up!” he said. “The problem isn’t that they didn’t recognize him. It is that they don’t recognize our rights!”

Also, a New York man has filed a lawsuit claiming that he was taunted and falsely arrested by police officers after they learned that he had the same name as a West African immigrant shot to death by other officers in 1999.

Amadou Diallo said a group of officers confronted him over a broken headlight in February, then searched his vehicle for weapons.

Once the officers learned his name, it became “a source of much amusement, laughing and inappropriate joking amongst the officers, with crude and disgusting comments,” Diallo’s lawyer said in the suit.

Amadou Diallo was also the name of an unarmed immigrant killed in 1999 when four plainclothed officers, apparently mistakenly thinking he was reaching for a gun, fired 41 rounds in the doorway of a Bronx apartment building. The officers in that case were also acquitted of criminal charges.

A lot of people have been upset about the comments Rev. Jeremiah Wright has made in his sermons, one of the biggest being the one about the United States spreading AIDS in the black community. While I don’t personally feel this is true, I cannot blame him or anyone else in his generation for having those feelings. Wright, born in 1941, lived during a time when rights weren’t always equal and segregation was a normal part of life. He was well-educated and after two years of serving in the United States Marine Corps, joined the United States Navy and entered the Corpsman School at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. As a preacher, he seems to have had a monumental effect in the black community where his Chicago church is located. So it’s interesting to me how a 10 second clip can overshadow the accomplishments of the past.

While the numbers of those infected with HIV/AIDS are high in the black community, I honestly don’t feel the government had anything to do with it. At the same time, I can see why Wright and so many others feel this statement is true. Over 70 years ago, an experimental study took place that I feel may have caused some of the distrust between our government and the black community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:

In 1932, the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. It was called the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.”

The study initially involved 600 black men – 399 with syphilis, 201 who did not have the disease. The study was conducted without the benefit of patients’ informed consent. Researchers told the men they were being treated for “bad blood,” a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. In truth, they did not receive the proper treatment needed to cure their illness. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance. Although originally projected to last 6 months, the study actually went on for 40 years.

While many laws have been implemented to prevent another Tuskegee Experiment, the distrust still remains. If you’re thinking “ya’ll need to get over it”, let’s do the math. 2008 minus 1972 (the year the study was ended) equals 36 years. These men participated in this study and were mislead by the very people we look to for help when we’re sick. Time heals all wounds, but this is one instance where the time has not been long enough. I’m all for getting medical attention when needed and hope the black patient/doctor/government relationship improves. When the trust is broken, it takes time and effort from all sides to repair it.

There was one time when a black doctor came to our men’s Bible study class asking for volunteers to participant in a study for diabetes. He explained to us the importance of getting involved in these types of medical studies and urged us to spread the word. He told us when African-Americans don’t participate, the medicines created aren’t well-tested for our people. The doctors then have a harder time choosing the best medication for us and we end up having to try out more combinations than everyone else. But in the end, I doubt the good doctor had anyone participate in his study (including me).

Is Wright right for spreading the AIDS belief in his sermon? I think it’s up to his church and the members to make up their own minds on how they feel about it. Wright is free to believe and express what he feels is true, but all he did is say what many people are saying behind closed doors. For more information on the experiment, check out the sites below:

Remembering Tuskegee

Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male

The Tuskegee Timeline

Inside the National Archives

by darrell.holmes

Many people may remember the case of Marcus Dixon from several years back. If not, here goes…

In 2003, Marcus Dixon was an 18-year-old HS senior who had consensual sex with a 15 year old schoolmate. After conflicting testimonies between the alleged victim and Marcus Dixon, Dixon was found not guilty of rape, battery, assault, and false imprisonment. However, he was found guilty of aggravated child molestation and statutory rape. Due to a loopy law in the state of Georgia at the time, Marcus Dixon received a mandatory 10-year prison sentence even though he had no criminal history. Dixon was also a 3.96GPA football star with a scholarship offer to Vanderbilt University at the time of his arrest. After Dixon’s sentence was announced, public uproar commenced from groups like the Children’s Defense Fund to the jurors in his case. Some of them complained that they weren’t aware of the mandatory statutory sentence nor did they expect the judge would enforce such a sentence in this case.

Rap artist MURS and producer Danger Mouse(half of the group Gnarls Barkley) even recorded a track in honor of Dixon and his case. After roughly one year in prison, Dixon’s case was overturned in Georgia’s Supreme Court and I would like to think that reactions from the media, the public, Murs, and Danger Mouse along with blogs like this one all contributed to Marcus being set free short of his full term. With his Vanderbilt schollie being rescinded Marcus was able to attend Hampton University on another football scholarship.

On April 27th Marcus signed a rookie free-agent contract for 3 years with the Dallas Cowboys worth $1.1M dollars. The Cowboys have been in the spotlight along with a handful of other teams over the past few years for signing players with alleged discipline concerns. The Cowboys pride themselves on being separate from the pack for their Player Development Program. Former player Calvin Hill heads up that program and has been spotlighted for his work and dedication to helping all incoming rookies and free agents acclimate to playing in the NFL. Here’s to wishing Marcus the best as he pursues his dream.

This past Sunday Rev. Jeremiah Wright preached at Friendship West Baptist Church for the 25th Pastoral Anniversary of Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III. I heard a portion of the service on the radio, but thought I’d point to you a first-hand account of what happened on that day. Shawn Williams, author of the Dallas South Blog is a member of Friendship West and as always gives us the real deal in his post “A day of Jeremiah Wright: In Dallas church this morning, Detroit NAACP Banquet Sunday evening”.
In the part that I heard, Rev. Wright talked about all of the places and events that he’d been “uninvited” since the 30 second clips were posted on Youtube. He was comical, yet real about the things going on in our community. While I may not agree with everything he’s said in his sermons, I think it’s refreshing to hear a pastor speak out against the unjustices in the world. When has pointing out the wrongs of this country (in an effort to make it better) been unpatriotic? I’ve always thought that was called “tough love”.

There’s a new project being started by Roxanne Evans and Michael Hurd called the Texas Black History Preservation Project, where they will cover almost 500 years of the black experience in Texas. Being a native Texan, I’m happy to see something like this and I’m sure many will benefit from their efforts. There’s a lot more to Texas than people realize and they have a big undertaking in collecting all of the history for their book.

They’ve posted a 30-minute audio interview for you to learn more about the project and they are seeking any information you may have regarding your family and their roots in Texas Black History. Here’s more information from their website describing the project:

That’s what the Texas Black History Preservation Project intends to ask thousands of African Americans with Texas roots over the next few years as we put together the most comprehensive documentation ever undertaken for the Black experience in Texas. We’re talking about almost 500 years of history, dating from 1528 when a Moor servant, Estevanico, waded ashore at what would become Galveston Island with a group of Spanish explorers.

Our series – in book and DVD form – will provide in-depth interpretive essays and profiles for the series, but we also want to include undocumented family histories and other stories relating to Black history in Texas that have yet to be told. We will aggressively seek out and collect those stories and hope you will help us.

Black Texans have made significant contributions in shaping this state and it is our intent to make as many of the stories created along the way more accessible through this series of books. We’ll talk about lawmakers and public officials, preachers/the Black church, educators, Black colleges and universities, fraternities/sororities, athletes and coaches, entertainers, media (Black newspapers, journalists, radio stations, etc.), and much, much more.

Through the course of this project, we fully expect you will find your families, your friends, your neighbors … you’ll find yourself.

Over the next few years, we hope you’ll get in the habit of checking in with us here to chart our progress and help us uncover the rich history of African Americans in Texas.

So, what’s your story?