Eyes on the Real Prize
Filed under: Blog Entries, My Thoughts, Society & Culture
This past Tuesday we buried my grandmother. She had four daughters and a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren. She lived a good life and at some point and time watched over all of my cousins and me while our parents were off at work. She was generous in her giving and strict in her discipline. When she said do something, we had to get it done or else. She cared for over twenty foster care children and showed them love until someone decided to adopt them. She gave her all for others until she could no longer do so anymore.
In a post about the television documentary Eyes on the Prize, I was amazed at the stories that were captured and learned a lot about our fight for equal rights. But there was one thing that I didn’t realize and the opportunity is now gone. We all have a chance to capture history by talking with those who lived during that era. At the funeral I saw family members I hadn’t seen in a long time and met some I’d never met before. My black history lesson was right in front of me. All I needed was a recorder or video camera. It doesn’t take much and because of the podcast I have all the equipment I need.
I’m going to do better. There’s a lot of history out there and we need to get it before it’s gone.
Broke on Valentine’s Day?
I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day and there have been many times when I’ve gotten in trouble over it. I’ll spare you all the details, but I’ve had to accept the fact that it makes my wife happy when I do something special for her. But with the economy as shaky as it is, I thought I’d do a post on some affordable ways to keep your loved one happy on Valentine’s Day.
- Make her a card on the computer and print it out at work. Get the clipart off the internet.
- Build a photo album of the both of you and burn it to a CD.
- Take her to an all-you-can-eat buffet and eat off her plate.
- Find a gift on freecycle.org.
- Write a poem and text message it to her in pieces throughout the day.
- Cook dinner. Ramen Noodles, spaghetti sauce and sausage makes a good meal. And it can be cooked in the microwave.
- Buy her flowers and a card at the grocery store after work (5pm) or whenever they start the discount.
- Make her a mixed tape with songs she likes from the radio. Make sure to stop the tape before the DJ starts talking.
- Meet her/him at work and sing their favorite song for them in front of their co-workers.
- Break up and get back together after Valentine’s Day.
Now I can’t be responsible for anything that happens if you try any of these, so I wanted to leave you with some more links on things you could do on a budget. Tell the people you care about, how much you love them. Today can be more about the gifts and what you can do for someone. If you’re willing to make the effort, Valentine’s Day can be every day.
10 No Cost Valentine’s Day Gifts
How to Spend No Money on Valentine’s Day
I’m broke and Valentine’s Day is coming quick!?
Back on Track
Did ya miss me?
I guess every now and then something like this has to happen. I haven’t been able to blog this past week because both of my computers were acting up this week. My desktop is working fine now, but the laptop is still down. Because I’m always on one, I forget how much I rely on computers to get things done. I’m glad at least one is working.
I was watching the CNN Democratic debate last night and it was something to see an African-American and a woman fighting to become the presidential candidate. No matter who wins it, history will be made. The question was asked about the both of them being on the same ticket and as politicians do, they walked around the question and didn’t answer it. Change in America is needed and I hope they can move this country in a better direction. Only time will tell.
I also watched Broken Government: Health Care Critical Condition. I should have recorded it and watched it later because the stories were all too familiar. I know the media tends to dramatize everything, but there is a problem with our health care system. If you are middle-class, you are one illness away from being in the poor house. This happened to my family. My dad brought in the main portion of the income, but when he had a stroke, the entire household suffered. The medical bills were high and my mom did everything she could to make ends meet. You don’t get much help as a middle-class family and social security can only go so far. This was about twenty years ago and things still aren’t much better. This is a big issue that needs to be fixed soon.
Having been through that is one of the reasons I started this blog. I want to inform people of programs and services that they can use to get help. Why should I keep what I’ve learned to myself when others may be able to benefit from it?
Prayer for a Fellow Blogger
Filed under: Black Blogger Postings, Blog Entries, Community, General, My Thoughts
This wasn’t a planned post, but fellow blogger Vanessa Byers is asking for prayer on her blog and I felt it necessary to let the readers of this blog know also. I’m a strong believer in the power of prayer and have seen what it can do. My dad passed away in 2001, but 15 years before that, the doctors didn’t give him much more time due to a brain stem stroke. My mom told as many people as possible and asked all who had it in their heart to pray for him. He’s not here now, but he did get 15 more years the doctors said he wouldn’t have. Because of the prayers from others, he got to see me graduate from high school, college and get married.
So when you get a chance, check out her blog post and pray for Vanessa and her family. God gives us prayer for a reason.
Request for Prayer for Healing, Uplift and Strength
Cosby and Poussaint urge us to ‘Come On People’
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Community, Education, Entertainment & Sports, Health, Life, My Thoughts, Society & Culture
I grew up listening to Bill Cosby. My dad had almost every album he put out and I remember sitting around the record player with my younger brother laughing at his comedy routine. I grew up on Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids, the stories of him and his brother Russell and Buck, Buck. As a teen I watched Cosby Show and a Different World. And even as an adult, I watch Little Bill with my son. So I can honestly say, I had high expectations for the book Come On People and knew there would be a lesson for everyone who read it.
I have to admit, while reading it I received a lot of mixed messages. You can tell they were trying to get their point across without offending too many people. It was definitely a toned down version of Cosby’s usual rants about the black community and I feel a lot of what they wrote was common sense. But along with the criticism, they gave a lot of advice on things we can do to improve our lives and lives of those around us. The book included topics on parenting, health, finances, community involvement and personal responsibility.
The first chapter covers the topic of the black male (or lack thereof) and offers advice on some of the things we can do as men to benefit our families and the community. I thought this was a great way to start the book because I think the role and concept of a real black man has been skewed. They ask the question, “What’s going on with black men?” and encourage men to build on the legacy of the those in the past. They ask men to re-dedicate themselves to the family and rebuild relationships that may have gone bad in an effort to be with their kids.
I was also glad to see some advice in the book for ex-offenders. Those who are looking to change have a hard time after they are release and there is a word for them in various chapters of the book. No one in the book was free from criticism, but everyone received some advice. Black men, woman and kids can get something out of the book, but you really have to take it as constructive criticism. There’s a lot in this book to take in, so I thought I’d list the topic of each chapter. Each chapter has different subtopics that touch on different things we face as a people.
Chapter 1: What’s Going On with Black Men?
Chapter 2: It Takes a Community
Chapter 3: We All Start Out as Children
Chapter 4: Teach Your Children Well
Chapter 5: The Media You Deserve
Chapter 6: Healthy Hearts and Minds
Chapter 7: The High Price of Violence
Chapter 8: From Poverty to Prosperity
My overall opinion is that Come On People gives the same general message as every other book I’ve read regarding the black community. It’s going to be up to us to make a change in what happens in our community. Dr. Cosby tends to get a lot of flack for what he says. But sometimes we need to hear the tough words. I’m sure this book will catch a lot of criticism, but if he didn’t care about our community, I’m sure he could just sit on his mounds of money relaxing on the beach. Many may not agree with their methods in how the message is presented, but Drs. Cosby and Poussaint have gotten people to talk about the issues. While this book may not apply to the majority of people who read it, I hope it does move us to get out there and make a difference where we can. It’s going to be up to us to take what’s said here and us it to help empower others.
I’ve provided some links below, if you would like to read a few chapters from the book. If you’ve read it, then I’d like to know how you feel. If not, then it’s a book worthy of adding to your collection. I’ll be giving some additional comments of Come On People on the next podcast.
http://treasures.billcosby.com/pdf/ComeonPeople-pg77-88.pdf
http://treasures.billcosby.com/pdf/ComeonPeople-pg124-132.pdf
http://treasures.billcosby.com/pdf/ComeonPeople-pg168-174.pdf
In keeping with full disclosure, I did want to let everyone know the reason for this review was because I received a copy from Team Cosby. The only requirements were that I read and post an open and honest review in a month’s time. You can rest assured that I did just as they asked.
The Passing of UGK’s Pimp C
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Entertainment & Sports, Music Reviews, My Thoughts
It was last night that I heard about the passing of legendary UGK hip-hop artist Pimp C. I’m a native Houstonian so I’m aware of the impact he had on the city as a pioneer of the Houston rap scene. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that in every death, there’s a lesson in life. Born Chad Butler, this young brotha was only 33 years old and was on his way to opening new chapters in his life and business.
I’m 31, so this hits close to home because it reminds me that life is not promised. We get mad at people over little things and we hold unnecessary grudges and beefs that could easily be resolved. We fight, disrespect and kill each other without realizing the impact it has on our society and community. On the radio this morning I was listening to an interview with Pimp C and how he was talking about the benefits of working together. There’s power in numbers and there’s no limit to the positive impact we can make if we only work together.
I can’t say that I agree with everything he’s said and done, I hope to have an impact on the lives of others as he did. It’s evident that his loss will be felt in the hip-hop community. So continue to pray for his family and those close to him that they’ll be able to have strength through the grieving process ahead.
All It Took Was a Phone Call
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, My Thoughts
With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I caught myself thinking about a recent visit to my old neighborhood to see my mom. While there, I was helping my her recycle some old telephone books and newspapers at one of the local schools. The bins are there to allow the community to leave their recycled goods to be picked up at a later date. Needless to say, that date must have been forgotten because all of the bins were full and overflowing with paper. My visit was during the school year, so I’m pretty sure someone had noticed it was full. Out of frustration, I called the number on the side of the bin and told them all three bins were full.
I didn’t think much would happen, but about two weeks later on another visit the bins were empty. I wondered why someone else hadn’t done it earlier. In school I remember learning about the Freerider Problem where people benefit from a service/product, but expect others to maintain/pay for it. In this case a lot of people used the bins, but no one was willing to make the call to get them emptied. Now maybe this was a rare occurrence, but all it took was a two minute phone call to make a small difference in the appearance of our neighborhood.
It doesn’t take a lot to make a difference in your community. I hear a lot of people say they don’t feel they have the time to get involved with things in the community and I can feel them on that at times. If that’s your situation, then focus on the small things you can do. Take an hour to help an elderly person clean the dishes. Talk to a group of kids on your street for 30 minutes one week. Write a letter to your local politician about your community concerns. The one thing I’ve learned is that doing somethin good for others is addictive. Once you start, it’s hard to stop. So start small and serve with a positive attitude and a heart of compassion.
Remember “Thanksgiving” has two words in it. Giving back to others is very important and even the smallest amount of your time can make a difference. All it took in my case was a phone call.
Happy Thanksgiving!
One more thing. While on the subject of doing good, the bloggers over at blackweb20.com are raising funds to donate a laptop computer to a child in their community. The crew over at Liberate Magazine are raising funds to help feed needy families during the holiday season (call 832-577-0941 for more info). In both cases, no amount is too small. You don’t have to go broke to help someone.
The N-Word Revisited
Filed under: Blog Entries, My Thoughts, Society & Culture
Over the past couple of days, there has been a couple of incidents where this word once again rears it’s ugly head. The first incident was at Richland High School in North Richland Hill, Texas where 17-year-old Ibrahim Mohamed was offended by the word in class while reading Huckleberry Finn. He informed the teacher that he was offended by the students use of it in discussing the book and requested that they say the “N-Word” instead. The teacher responded by saying ‘Does it offend you? It hurts, doesn’t it?’. Ibrahim is the only African-American student in the class.
In the second incident, Duane “Dog” Chapman, star of A&E television show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” was recorded using the N-Word repeatedly in a conversation with his son about his choice in women. Dog’s son is dating a black woman and sent in the recording of his father to a tabloid for a substantial amount of money. Dog issued a statement and said he likes black people, he just isn’t fond of the one his son is dating. In an act to make things right Chapman is looking to meet with black leaders to discuss what happened. Al Sharpton was contacted and said he would consider a meeting.
Hip-hop superstar, Nas has plans to release his album titled Ni**a in December. Island Def Jam reps have denied claims that it will happen. But only time will tell. I’ve heard mixed comments on this situation. Nas is a pretty creative brotha, but I doubt he could do something that would justify the title of his record. I hope he uses his creativity to come up with something else.
And as a bonus, Don Imus is set to return to the air waves by December 3rd. New York-based WABC-AM, said he would return to his morning time slot to bring his unique brand of humor to the radio. Sadly I’m not surprised he’s back. It was only a matter of time because we all know the dollar is what matters in America.
While I feel no word should have this much of an affect on a person, the bottom line is that it does. Ni**a was born out of the hatred of one race against another. It has the same bite as any other racial slur for any other race and if we don’t want to hear others use it, we should refrain from using it ourselves. I have yet to hear any other race argue over a word that degrades their people. We don’t own the word! We never did. If you want to address me using something other than my name, try some other term of endearment.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. What do you think?
My Appearance On NPR’s News & Notes
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Entertainment & Sports, My Thoughts
I meant to send an e-mail out to everyone, but didn’t get a chance. I was given the opportunity to be on the Blogger’s Roundtable on News & Notes this past Monday and jumped at the opportunity.
I’d never done something like that, so I didn’t know what to expect. We were scheduled to be on at noon and I had to go to the local Dallas KERA station to get set up in the studio. I used to pass the station a lot when I was working downtown, but I never had a reason to go in until yesterday. The participants were the host Farai Chideya and fellow bloggers Earl Dunovant of Prometheus 6 and Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen. The cool thing was that our segment followed an interview with Julianne Malveaux about personal finance (I would have enjoy talking to her). Later that night my wife and I got a chance to listen to it on KERA.
There’s a lot more to come from this blog and podcast. Big thanks to the News & Notes crew on giving me the opportunity to participate. Hopefully there will be more chances to do this again. To hear the Bloggers Rountable portion of the show, click the link below.
Bloggers Roundtable – 10/29/07
What’s Going On?
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, My Thoughts, Society & Culture
Marvin Gaye was right on the money when he asked this question? The words to this song still sadly apply to what’s happening in today’s society. We’re in a war that we can’t get out of anytime soon, kids are being man-handled for minor offenses and racism is still being ignored as figments of our imagination.
Times have surely changed, but the issues remain the same. To get something done it’s going to take everyone getting involved in the name of change. I’ve always thought the change needs to happen first in our homes. From there we can branch out to our communities and then the world. How can we expect to change the world when our own homes aren’t in order?
I got a lot on my mind and luckily I have a podcast scheduled for this Sunday. I guess I’ll wait and vent more there.
MARVIN GAYE
What’s Going On
(Al Cleveland/Marvin Gaye/Renaldo Benson)
Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today – Ya
Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Ah, what’s going on
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Father, father, everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
I’ll tell you what’s going on – Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby
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