World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

HIV/AIDS has been a global epidemic for more than 27 years. Most of today’s youth have never known a world without it. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published national HIV incidence (new infections) that showed much higher numbers that previous estimates. The time is now. Together, we can prevent the spread of this pandemic – through awareness, care, prevention, education and research.

The Red Ribbon is the international symbol of support for people living with HIV. Wearing a red ribbon is a great way to raise awareness about HIV as well as to break down stigma and prejudice, so make sure you get yours in time for World AIDS Day!

Last year I had the opportunity to post about Worlds AIDS Day and found a lot of interesting information about how it affects us on a local and international scale. I was amazed to find out how many black people were infected with the disease. It’s not something that’s always discussed in our community and this is why I appreciate the effort of those willing to blog about this important day.

HIV/AIDS can be prevented and there’s a lot of good information out there on how you can get tested. I won’t re-type it because you can find the information in the post I did two years ago.

Be safe and get tested. It’s the responsible thing to do.

Last month I wrote a post about a virtual town hall meeting for Bill Cosby’s new CD, ‘Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency’. The record has been released and Mr. Cosby is turning his attention to creating a serious discussion around the issues that fuel the Cosnarati record.

The next phase of the “State of Emergency” campaign will be a weekend of LISTENing parties on December 12th and 13th.  The Cosby team will be working vigilantly on the organization of thousands of mini-town halls at homes, community centers, churches, and other locations around the country. A full overview on the LISTENing parties here:

http://act.billcosby.com/events

This will be done in conjunction with another Ustream town hall featuring Mr. Cosby, who will also be calling in to welcome listeners at many of the town halls. If you would like to set up a LISTENing party, a manual for what’s needed to get started can be found at http://act.billcosby.com/page/-/docs/party-manual.pdf. I’ve been asked to sponsor a meeting, so I’ll let you know what comes of that.

UNCF Social Entrepreneurship (USE) is a new leadership and talent development initiative aimed at providing dynamic programs to equip young high-achieving African Americans with the skills and resources to make on-going and expanding social impact through entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurs are society’s change agents. They use entrepreneurial and business principles and an innovative spirit to seize opportunities others miss to improve systems, invent new approaches and create data-driven, outcomes-based solutions to overcome large social problems. Where a business entrepreneur looks for profit as the ultimate goal, a social entrepreneur’s bottom line is to solve social challenges.

The first USE program is the:
UNCF/The Walton Family Foundation Social Entrepreneurship K-12 Education Fellows Program

PAID BUSINESS INTERNSHIPS IN SOCIAL ENTREPRISE
UP TO $10,000 IN POST-GRADUATION FINANCIAL AID

The USE K-12 Education Fellows Program is aimed at building a robust pipeline of African Americans engaged in K-12 educational entrepreneurship. Fellows will learn about the inner workings of some of the nation’s leading educational organizations, including Teach for America, by working on meaningful projects in growth strategy, development, human assets, marketing, public affairs and diversity, among others. Fellows will be placed in organizations located in Boston, New York or Washington.

Apply now to become a USE Fellow!
Deadline: December 15, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Given the holiday, we are releasing the President’s weekly address today.  In this video, President Obama calls to our attention the men and women in uniform who are away from home sacrificing time with family to protect our safety and freedom.  He also talks about the progress of health care reform, the Recovery Act, and job creation to ensure that next Thanksgiving will be a brighter day.

I missed last week’s address, so I thought I’d just give you the link.

source

I’m not sure how many have noticed, but I’ve been away from the blogosphere a couple of weeks. The job has been keeping me pretty busy, but I see it as a good thing because there are a lot of people out there looking for work. For my back to blogging post, I thought I’d touch on a subject that got a lot of attention.

The sagging pants debate is back up and running and it looks like Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine R. Caraway has some help from the school district. The law he was looking to create never became a reality (which is good), so he’s looking to make it an issue of self-respect. My personal feelings on the sagging pants debate can be found here, so there’s no reason to get into all that again. But I will remain true to my stance and belief that people form their initial opinion about you based on your attire. While it may not be right or true, it happens.

In my last post, I received a mixed variety of comments and would like to know what you feel about the sagging pants discussion. Word has it that our young ladies are starting to follow suit and get their sag on also.

The President condemns the “despicable” attacks at Fort Hood, honoring those who were killed and injured.  He also commends those who stood up to help and console those affected: “even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America.”

source

Don’t forget to turn those clocks back one hour tonight before you go to bed. There’s a lot of debate around daylight savings, so I want to know what you think. Is daylight savings necessary? Do you like getting and losing that extra hour of sleep each year?

Before you vote, here’s some more information regarding daylight savings.

You can vote yea or nay vote at the almanac.com website.

When you do an initial search for Sabrina Matthews, you find a lot of content regarding Sabrina Matthews the lesbian comic (there’s also a ballet choreographer with the same name). But there is another Sabrina Matthews that is not getting a lot of national attention in the news.

According to mahalo.com and other sources, 14-year-old Sabrina Matthews was found in her Queens, New York, home on Sunday, November 9, 2008. Police said the teen’s throat had been slashed and her father reportedly found his daughter’s body when he returned home from work. There was no immediate word on any arrests in the case.

When I first heard this story, I was upset that it didn’t get as much attention as other cases similar to this. As the anniversary of her death approaches, I still haven’t heard much regarding her case and thought I’d continue to shed some light on her story by keeping it in the minds of those who read this blog.

Here are some Fast Facts from the Mahalo website:

1. Matthews’ body found in her home in Queens, New York, on the afternoon of November 9, 2008
2. Livingston Matthews reportedly found his daughter’s body in her bedroom around 1: 30 p.m. local timeDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom²
3. Teen was reportedly “naked from the waist down, with blood gushing from a wound to her throat”Daily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom²
4. Reports said police had been called to the home multiple times in weeks leading up to Matthews’ deathDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom²
5. Authorities were reportedly investigating “domestic incidents” at the houseDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom²
6. Matthews’ father was questioned by police, then releasedNY1: Autopsy To Be Performed On Slain Queens Teen (November 10, 2008)³
7. No arrests or suspects named as of November 10, 2008NY1: Autopsy To Be Performed On Slain Queens Teen (November 10, 2008)³
8. Friend quoted as saying Matthews had been associating with “a rough group of boys”Daily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom²
9. Matthews had three older sistersDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom²
10. An autopsy was planned on Monday, November 10, 2008NY1: Autopsy To Be Performed On Slain Queens Teen (November 10, 2008)³
11. Matthews lived in the Cambria Heights area of Queens
12. Matthews was a ninth-grader at Martin Van Buren High School in QueensThe New York Times: Girl, 14, Is Found Dead by Her Father in Queens (November 9, 2008)

On Monday October 19th, at 7pm EST / 4pm PST, Bill Cosby will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting live via Ustream. The purpose is to promote his new CD “Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency”, which is an album of music with messages reflecting today’s most critical issues affecting young people. The 90-minute event will include a first time ever performance by Cosnarati where they will showcase a few songs from the record. Audience members will be able to tweet @BillCosby before and during the live town hall using http://www.tinyurl.com/ASKCOSBY and connect with him directly at http://twitter.com/BillCosby.

Bill Cosby is not new to saying things black people don’t always want to hear. I wrote a review about his book “Come On People” when it was published and I thought he hit on some pretty important topics. While I may not have agreed with everything he had to say, I do see where he is coming from. Being a comedian in a time when people weren’t always fond of black people, I’m sure Dr. Cosby has experienced some things we can never imagine. He’s opened the doors for a lot of actors and for that alone, his street cred in my opinion is pretty high. I applaud him for his efforts and it’ll be interesting to see how the CD is received.

I will embed the stream on my site or you can go directly to his UsreamTV site where you can chat with others who are watching.

http://www.ustream.tv/billcosby

Today, President Barack Obama will join Former President George Bush to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the vision of a thousand “Points of Light.”  A presidential forum on community service will be held at Texas A&M University’s Rudder Auditorium.  The event will honor the advances of the service movement that began 20 years ago and will celebrate the contributions of more than 4,500 Daily Point of Light Award winners. The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation will be streaming this event live at 4pm CST. For more information visit www.pointsoflight.org.

I’m a graduate of Texas A&M and I can honestly say my experience there went far beyond the classroom. I enjoyed my time in Aggieland and encourage potential college bound students to add us to their list of colleges to consider. But I also know that the red state of Texas will be “rallying the troops” to protest Obama’s arrival. I have no issue with the protesters because that’s a basic right for all American citizens. But, I have had the pleasure of attending a number of protests during my time at A&M and sometimes you run into people who don’t always display appropriate Aggie Spirit.

For those interested, A&M’s campus newspaper The Battalion will have continuous  coverage of President Obama’s visit starting at 12pm CST. The link to the site and some video reactions of A&M student a

I also thought I’d post some video of the students’ reaction to the president’s visit.