AfroSphere Action Alert

AFROSPHERE ACTION ALERT – Two Black men, Ron and Roy Pettaway, Shot from Behind by Fulton County GA Police! One Killed. Please call relevant officials and ask for statement for Afrosphere publication. Names and phone numbers provided.

Francis L. Holland Blog

Exodus Mentality blog.

Excellent Darfur Editorial

Intolerable Darfur: Western leaders are again saying the slaughter is unacceptable. Will they again do nothing?

In The News and On My Mind

Additional Troop Increase Approved.  We keep handing this man free reign over our well being.  When will it stop?  When will the Democrats take a firm stand and buck up? 

Some Suspect an Assault was a Hate Crime.  Was this a hate crime?  Let’s see how the investigation goes.  The father of the victim was on the Al Sharpton’s show.  the Account of what happened are still cloudy.  I will wait and see what the police come up with.

Lawmakers Vow Hearings on FBI Errors.  What is there to investigate?  We all know that the Patriot Act was a violation on our privacy and freedom.  From day one, this administration has butchered and abused their powers.  I say use this case as well as the faulty intelligence andthe Scooter Libbby scandal to impeach the President!!

Letters to the Editor: Crisis at Largo High Needs Real Follow-Up.  There is a new breed of parent that I just don’t understand; the parent who blames everyone else except themselves.  The incident in question took place at Largo High School.  A food fight turned into a fist fight, and the police were called.  The police had to regain control some force was necessary.  Now parents are claiming that the children were rough handled.  Here is a suggestion to the parents who wrote this letter to the editor: talk to the parents of the children who are misbehaving at school.  Parenting starts in the home and if it is not there and not started as soon a the child comes out of the womb, parenting becomes much harder.  These parents complain about the “system”  but they are the ones who control and run the school board and PTA.  If you want to make a change in Prince George’s County public Schools, then it is up to parents to demand a change and hold the school board and other officials responsible!!!

Gingrich Rejects Accusation of Hypocrisy.  I can’t believe the audacity of this idiot.  Gingrich had affairs during both of his marriages and at the same time spear-headed the impeachment of President Clinton.  Now Gingrich says that he is not a hypocrite for some odd reason.  if that was the case, why did he leave Congress so abruptly?  One minute he was there and one minute he wasn’t.  Perhaps he was embarrassed and knew he was a hypocrite

D.C.’s Ban on Handguns Thrown Out.  I am stuck in the middle when it comes to gun control for the District.  Since gentrification, the make up of D.C. is steadily changing; more upper middle class people have moved into the city from MD, VA and other states in the country.  And they want to feel safe.  So they have organized and pushed for a change. 

Harry Belafonte is 80 years old, and is still on fire.  Here is an interesting piece on Mr. Belafonte

NY City Council Considers Halt to N-Word

Hats off to the NY law maker for proposing this resolution. 

Prince George’s County Mentoring Matters Program: Mentors Got Played Big Time at the Expense of the Youth

In 2005, I made a decision to step up to the plate and actually give back to my community.  no longer was I just going to blog about problems in prince George’s County, I was going to make a conscience effort to become a mentor to young black males.

Our young black men are at the top of every negative social ill.  It seems like every week a new study comes out that painfully reminds us that black men are in crisis. 

So in November 2005 I inquired about  County Executive’s Jack Johnson’s “Men-to-Men Youth Empowerment Coalition”  I completed the application, submitted my resume and awaited a response…..  A response that I never received.  In December I decided to call John Edmunds, who is listed as the program’s Executive Directer, to inquire about the status of my application.  He informed me that the board will look it over and meet with me; needless to say that never happened.

In January of 2006, I tried again to contact Mr. Edmunds and he informed me that the program had been put on hold because the County was forming a new mentoring Venture:  the Prince George’s County Mentoring Matters Partnership.  This program would combine County Executive Johnson’s mentoring program with other county mentoring programs.  At this point I was really excited; but that was short lived……….

The new mentoring partnership kicked off in March of 2006.  They had a huge conference at the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, MD.  they advertised like crazy for this kick off program.  They made a call for black men to sign up as mentors and invited students from all over the county to come out for this historic county event.  Washington Post writers  Ovetta Wiggins and Avis Thomas-Lester  covered and wrote an article about the event.  Out of excitement I even blogged about the event.

The conference was a huge success.  “Anyone who was Anyone” in Prince Goerge’s County politics was in attendance; Major Riddick and local church members.  Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan gave a speech in support of our county; and of course our “beloved” County Executive Jack Johnson gave an emotional speech about giving back and forming community partnerships.  All of the brothers who attended, left the conference feeling confident that we could truly make a difference in the lives of our black male youth.

After the conference in March, I heard nothing else about the program.  4 Months had passed and in July I called John Edmunds to find out what was going on.  He informed me that they are waiting on a budget and to call back in a month.  That was the last time I heard from John Edmunds.  I tried calling several times after, but never got a call back;  what a let down.  My county stabbed me and other black men who answered the call for action and social responsibility in the back; the door slammed right in our faces. 

What ever happened to the program?  I, like many other black men, signed up to become mentors to the hundreds of black youth who attended and we have not heard anything from the County. Was this effort put on just to get Jack Johnson re-elected?   I want answers, so since the county will not respond, I decided to get the two sisters who covered the story in the Washington Post to help me get those answers.  I emailed them asking to do a follow-up story to get to the bottom of this.  I will keep you posted.

That was last year, and since then I have decided to start my own mentoring program at Central High School in Capitol Heights, MD.   But I am making sure, that as a tax payer, I am will not be taken for granted. 

More to “Get Over It”

Colbert King wrote a powerful and compelling Op-Ed in Saturday’s Washington Post.  I could not have said it better myself.

What people fail to realize, that black people were forced to work and lay down the foundation for what every white person in this country took advantage of; even immigrants were treated better then black people. This government created laws and policies which took away rights of black people. 

Not one person, not several individuals, but the United states Government!!! I know some white people think it is unfair to them because they didn’t own slaves, or their ancestors were immigrants to this country. 

Black people don’t white people to apologize for slavery, we want white people to understand and apologize that the GOVERNMENT forced institutional racism and segregation on a race of people which had ugly social ramifications.  No one is denying that Africans sold other Africans to Europeans, but they could not have even imagined what Europeans had in store for those slaves they sold.

The Benedict Arnold List

H. Lewis author of Bury That Sucka (the N-word)  and the CEO of the United Voices for A Common Cause, has launched a new campaign called the Benedict Arnold List. 

United Voices for a Common Cause (UVCC)  pledges to not use the n-wordas we strive toward cultural integrity and mutual respect for all Americans and to offer uncompromising resistance to social forces and structures which deny or limit our ability to do so; to promote racial harmony, self-respect, pride and dignity affirming the highest of standards and values for our communities.