The Latoyia Figueroa Trial

Finally, Latoyia's family is receiving justice. The murder trial of Mr. Poaches began on October 13th. This man is responsible for the disappearance and murder of Latoyia Figueroa, 25, last July. She has been the focus of the media's inattention to missing women of Color.

Here are the links:'

Trial Opens in Slaying of Latoyia:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15747395.htm?
source=rss&channel=dailynews_local

Latoyia's Dad: He Deserves What He Got:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15785307.htm?
source=rss&channel=dailynews_local

Defendant unfazed by Figueroa's rotting corpse:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15777208.htm?source=rss&channel=dailynews_local

Guilty in death of pregnant girlfriend:

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/NEWS/61017041


Man Guilty Of Slaying Girlfriend Who Refused Abortion:

http://www.wgal.com/news/10101859/detail.html?rss=lan&psp=nationalnews

Sailerfraud gave me the article on how mainstream media almost always focus on beautiful young white middle class women who are missing. Latoyia's case is the exception. Even that came about because of the pressure from bloggers and concerned people around the world.

http://www.latoyiafigueroa.faithweb.com/

Latoyia, Rest in peace always.

A Counter-Yeagley Website

Finally, a website written by a thoughtful academic that counteract all the lies of David Yeagley. Mr. Yeagley's hatred of humanity must be challenged by all good people around the world.

http://www.davidyeagley.org/

The Subversiveness of BF/WM Marriage

Black women. White men. Now that’s subversive.
Posted by marthasouthgate on Sunday, April 24th, 2005 at 12:35 pm


Nicholas D. Kristoff sounds off on Hollywood’s refusal to feature an interracial on-screen romance, despite the explosion of interracial marriages.
As of the 2000 census, 6 percent of married black men had a white wife, and 3 percent of married black women had a white husband — and the share is much higher among young couples.
Yet …
… When will Hollywood dare release a major movie in which Denzel Washington and Reese Witherspoon fall passionately in love?
For all the gains in race relations, romance on the big screen between a black man and a white woman remains largely a taboo. Americans themselves may be falling in love with each other without regard to color, but the movie industry is still too craven to imitate life.
I agree wholeheartedly with Kristof. Hollywood is behind the curve on reflecting how race is lived in America. That goes for movies and television.
But one thing keeps hanging me up in this discussion of portrayals of race in mass media. Why is the black man-white woman relationship seen as the epitome of racial progress in America?We’ve had this discussion before.
The simple answer is that black men and white women elicit angry stares and death threats.
Don’t be fooled: White women deliver stares that are just as angry — I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Ironically, the white dude involved was a multi-racial Nuyorican who just came out looking white. And black men? They assume that black women who date white men are are just out for dough.
But the truth is more complex (and I posted this same thing a few minutes ago in the comments of a previous post).
As Rajen Persaud explained in an MLive.com article last month:
The stereotypes, especially that of the hypersexual and aggressive black male and the virtuous, pure white female, are a result of social engineering by slave owners of old. They desired a society that would condone slavery, so they created images that would dehumanize blacks and exalt whites.
In other words, the reason why black woman-white men relationships don’t get the hype is because black women have been deemed inferior. We’re either overweight, asexual, undesirable mammies, or hypersexual, always ready never-say-no Jezebels.
That’s why white men get so upset about seeing “their women” with black men (What? Dating down? Couldn’t find a white man who’d want you?). It’s why white women get so upset about seeing a white man with a black woman (Why would you want her? I mean, she’s not as good as a white woman.)
And here’s the kicker: it’s the same reason why black men get so upset about seeing a black woman with a white man (I’m sayin: I’m cool. I got a big dick and e’erythang. Why does she want ol’ lil dick Oppie? It must be the money.)
So to me, the true sign of racial equality in society and Hollywood would be black women being loved (by folks generally, but whites in particular) — and not as rescue projects, prostitutes, or struggling single mothers who have just lost their children and wind up sacrificing their dignity and self-worth trying to change the hearts and minds of racist cops (*cough* “Monster’s Ball” *cough*) — but as equals.

An Interesting Debate on Slavery and Rape

There's an interesting debate on DarKush regarding slave rapes of Black women during slavery and beyond:

http://darkush.blogspot.com/

As usual, Ann nailed it down to a T! Please read and meditate on her comments to Steve Barnes at:

http://www.haloscan.com/tb/sebarnes/116051650881522459

I hope he gets it this time around.

Tamara Dobson, R.I.P.

Tamara Dobson(1947-2006)

Star of Cleopatra Jones Films Dies By Associated Press

Tamara Dobson, the tall, stunning model-turned-actress who portrayed a strong female role as Cleopatra Jones in two "blaxploitation" films, has died. Dobson, 59, died Monday of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at the Keswick Multi-Care Center, where she had lived for the past two years, her publicist said. At 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Dobson was striking as the kung-fu fighting government agent Cleopatra Jones in 1973. She reprised the role in 1975's "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold." "She was not afraid to start a trend," said her brother, Peter Dobson, of Houston. "She designed a lot of the clothing that so many women emulated." Dobson also appeared in "Come Back, Charleston Blue," "Norman, Is That You?" "Murder at the World Series" and "Chained Heat." She had TV roles in the early 1980s in "Jason of Star Command" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." Dobson lived most of her adult life in New York, her family said. She was diagnosed six years ago with multiple sclerosis.

More on Tamara Dobson at:

FOX News.com: Tamara Dobson Dies