Loserville To Oprah: You BLACK People's Knockout Game Is Racist!

The Republican Party's mouth piece is upset over Oprah saying that "old racists" should die. Somehow, she must of have meant conservatives, because they've went bonkers.

Ever since she spoke the British press about how Americans disrespect President Barack Obama, the conservatives have figured out that the "knockout game" is the counterbalance to her concerns.

Yeah, how many times have I've heard about a group of "BLACK YOUTH" beating on WHITE PEOPLE?

Oprah is right on one thing: You can't satisfy them.

The Grio reports that the right wing media freakout was so huge, you might have to tell them they gonna need a bag for all the vomit. These individuals are so freaking outrageous, it's to the point of sadness.

First, King Hippo slammed her comments and suggested that if black people were “so mistreated” Oprah’s success makes no sense.

Now Loserville is entering the fray, singling out her argument that President Barack Obama has received different treatment than past leaders because he is black.

Bill-O dedicated a entire segment to the interview, accusing the talk show icon of “playing the race card.”

Conservative radio personality Rat Levin went even further, saying, “I really find her despicable. Not because she’s black. Not because she’s a woman. But because she’s despicable.”

And That Guy Who Helped Obama Win featured Oprah’s quote and image in an ominous ad which appears to make her look threatening:

Ever since Oprah endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama for president in 2008, she has become a popular target for conservative ire.

Earlier this year, when she shared an experience she had being racially profiled in Europe, King Hippo insisted she was only accosted because she is “overweight.”

The Politics Of Love!

Bill de Blasio is America's mayor. The new mayor of New York City celebrates a huge victory with his wife, Chirlane McCray. They been together since the 1990s. McCray is openly bisexual.

Hey, we've covered the closely watched political races in Virginia and New York City.

Did you know that two of the candidates running were married to Black women?

Well that's something I want to share with you here on Journal de la Reyna. Me and S. Baldwin have talked about women of color for a long time. The junk food media will be looking forward to meeting the mayor's wife Ms. de Blasio.

Bill De Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm, Jr. in Manhattan, New York, the son of Maria (née De Blasio) and Warren Wilhelm. His father had German ancestry, and his maternal grandparents, Giovanni and Anna, were Italian immigrants from the city of Sant'Agata de' Goti in the province of Benevento (where his mother's surname is spelled with a capital "D" — De Blasio).

Chirlane I. McCray is a writer, poet, editor, communications professional and political figure. She has published poetry and worked in politics as a speechwriter. She is married to New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and is the mother of their two children, Chiara and Dante.

McCray met Bill de Blasio in 1991, when they both worked at New York City Hall for Mayor David Dinkins. At the time, de Blasio was the aide to a Deputy Mayor and McCray was a speechwriter. McCray and de Blasio fell in love, and in 1994, were married in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Asked about her sexuality, McCray has stated that she hates "labels".

In 2012, when asked about her 1979 essay, she commented: "In the 1970s, I identified as a lesbian and wrote about it. In 1991, I met the love of my life, married him."

McCray and de Blasio are the parents of two children, Chiara and Dante, and live in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Well wishes to the new mayor of New York City.

And even though Libertarian nominee Robert Servis was roundly defeated in the race for governor in Virginia, he at least opened up about his personal life. He is married to a Black woman.

Here's some pictures of Robert Servis' wife.

Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis and his wife Astrid.

According to his campaign website, Robert Sarvis is of mixed-race (White and half-Chinese) and open-minded (supports gay marriage and marijuana legalization). He is well-educated and technologically savvy.

Astrid Servis is a pediatrician originally from Greenville, Mississippi. They are raising two beautiful children in Annandale, Virginia.

Many Republicans blame Robert Servis for being a spoiler in the election. He pulled 8% of the general election vote. The vote could have made a difference in Tea Party endorsed candidate Ken Cuccinelli's bid for the governor's mansion. The Republicans have big problems trying to incorporate people of color into their party.

The only Republican of color in nationally elected office is Tim Scott, the U.S. Senator from South Carolina.

MY PERSONAL TAKE ON INTERRACIAL LOVE

Now I am single. I've been on social networking websites like Facebook, POF, Badoo and OKCupid for dating and social hook ups.

Color doesn't matter to me. As long as the woman loves me for who I am, then I am satisfied with her. I don't discriminate against a person's race when it comes to relationships.

However whenever I see these profiles on the social networks from some saying they don't date "INSERT RACE", I shake my head with disgust.

Single individuals have the right to say their interest in dating. That's perfectly fine. But to say "I DON'T DATE [INSERT RACE]" will guarantee a lifetime of being single.

I understand some don't like overweight people and a particular race. It's understandable. But that shouldn't be a reason for not dating that person. You're negativity will ensure you failure with love.

I mean could it be simple as pie if you just ignore the messages and not engage in contact with the person who you're not suited to. That's if you have such a strong disliking towards that person.

Why on earth would you create a dating profile if not interested in the various individuals who could be your suitor?



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Ciara: Marriage Is In My Future!

Entertainers Ciara and Future are planning on jumping the broom.

Pop singer Ciara is engaged to rising rap act Future. The couple announced last month of their engagement at her birthday bash.

Ciara Princess Harris is an entertainer who was brought to the spotlight by L.A. Reid and rap producer Jazze Pha. Originally a girl from Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, eventually moving to Atlanta, Georgia where she joined the girl group Hearsay. However the group disbanded after having differences, it was at this time Ciara was noticed for her song-writing abilities.

Ciara released her debut studio album Goodies, which spawned three hit singles: "Goodies", "1, 2 Step", and "Oh". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned her four nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards. She released her second studio album, Ciara: The Evolution, in 2006 which spawned the hit singles "Get Up", "Promise", and "Like a Boy".

The album reached number one in the US and was certified platinum. Her third studio album Fantasy Ride, released in 2009, was considerably less successful than Ciara's first two albums. However, it produced the worldwide top-ten hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album Basic Instinct, which was met with low sales and continued a downward trend in her commercial success.

Welcome to the mainstream. Future is the most sought after rapper.

Ciara reunited with L.A. Reid and signed a new record deal with Epic Records, and is preparing to release her upcoming self-titled fifth studio album, Ciara, which is preceded by the top-ten R&B/Hip-Hop hit "Body Party." The single was produced by Mike WILL Made It, one of the country's hottest rap producers.

Ciara has dated some high profile acts before she got with the Atlanta based rapper who rose to fame on his autotune hooks and gruffy rap style. Future (Nayvadius Damon [Cash] Wilburn) is one of the most sought after entertainers.

He was once affiliated with the Dungeon Family before he broke out on his own. After releasing a series of moderately successful mixtapes between 2010 and 2011, Future signed a major label deal and in April 2012 released his debut album Pluto, to positive reviews. The album spawned five singles, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was later re-released in November as Pluto 3D.

Future is currently working on his sophomore album Honest (originally Future Hendrix), which will be released on November 26, 2013.

Future gave pop singer Ciara a 15-carat engagement ring.

The Freeband Gang, which features Future, Mexico Rann, Slice 9, Test, Casino and Young Scooter (a labelmate who is affiliated with Gucci Mane's 1017 Brick Squad).

The Freebandz Gang released two mixtapes since the beginning of the year.

Future has notable collaborations with his fiance,  Lil' Wayne, T.I., Miley Cyrus, B.o.B, Rick Ross, Drake, 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Juicy J, Busta Rhymes, The Game, Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, Twista, Rocko, Fat Joe, Ludacris and Justin Bieber.

Future endorses the controversial Molly craze that has his stans popping ecstasy and drinking codeine flavored Sprite.

The entertainers are open about their relationship.

The rapper, who has been dating Ciara since January, sprang a surprise proposal on her as they celebrated her birthday and  got down on one knee after producing a stunning 15-carat diamond ring.

Their publicist Chris Chambers confirmed the news to the Associated Press, saying she was already celebrating her 28th birthday in New York when he proposed.

Future designed the stunning piece of jeweler with jewelers from Avianne & Co and named it Past Present and Future Emerald Cut Diamond Ring.

The ring, which features emerald diamonds surrounded by diamonds cost just over half a million dollars.

Did you know that Ciara and Future are actually tall entertainers?

Ciara stands at 5'10".

Future stands at 6'5".

I wonder if they could have been basketball players back in their non-celebrity days.

Ciara appears on Epic Records.
Future appears on A1/Freebandz/Epic Records.

Future featuring Miley Cyrus and Mr. Hudson - Real and True (produced by Mike WILL Made It).



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Ciara - Body Party (produced by Mike WILL Made It).

The Deacon Shot The Pastor!

Pastor Ronald Harris, Sr. was gunned down by a member of his church.

I heard about the situation and found that this tragic tale of murder happened in the house of worship.

During a church service, a deacon walked up and shot the pastor. As he fell to the ground, the deacon shoots him again. The deacon makes sure that the pastor is dead. After a short foot chase, the deacon Woodrow Karey, is booked in the lockup. Charged with second-degree murder. If found guilty of murder it's likely the gas chamber.

CNN reports that bond is set at $1 million for the Louisiana man accused of shooting and killing a church pastor as he preached in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Friday night.

Woodrow Karey in lockup for murder.

Calcasieu Parish sheriff's deputies arrested 53-year-old Woodrow Karey, a church deacon, and charged him with second-degree murder after he called 911 and told the dispatcher what he had done, sheriff's spokeswoman Kim Myers said.


Witnesses told police that Karey walked into the Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center around 8:20 p.m. and shot Pastor Ronald Harris twice -- the first time as Karey entered the church and then again at close range after Harris had fallen to the floor, Myers said.

"It was just kind of chaotic. It was like everybody was everywhere," Talisha Harris, the pastor's daughter, told CNN affiliate KPLC.

During his arrest, Karey directed the deputies to two guns he had discarded in a wooded area. One of the firearms was a shotgun and the other was a pistol, police said. Police have not said which weapon was used to kill the pastor.

Karey has no known criminal history, and the motive for the killing is unknown, police said.

Calcasieu Parish Chief Deputy Stitch Guillory told CNN on Sunday morning there were 50 to 60 witnesses at the church.

Harris, who was inside the church when shots were fired, recalled the type of man her father was.

"He was a strong person, and whatever came his way, he still stood on the word of God. He stood. He never wavered," she told KPLC, struggling to hold back tears.

"My dad was a great father. He was an awesome grandfather. He was an awesome preacher-teacher. He had a big heart. He loved everybody, wanted to always help," she said.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Pastor Ronald Harris.

CNN reports the horrible tragedy.

Singing Hearts!

John Legend marries swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen.

John Legend is a married man. The American singer has officially married Chrissy Teigen in a wedding ceremony in Italy.

The legendary singer was one of the first artists signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music and Sony Music. 

He is a nine time Grammy award singer and entertainer. He also is a goodwill ambassador and a huge supporter and friend of President Barack Obama. 

Born John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978) in Springfield, Ohio. He is one of four children of Phyllis, a seamstress, and Ronald Stephens, a factory worker and former National Guardsman.

Paparazzi snapped the picture of the couple in Italy getting married. 

Throughout his childhood, Legend was homeschooled on and off by his mother. At age four, he began playing the piano and at age seven, he performed with his church choir. In 1987, when he was ten, his parents divorced. At the age of twelve, Legend attended North High School, from which he graduated four years later. Upon his salutatorian graduation, Legend was offered scholarships to Harvard University, Georgetown University and Morehouse College.

He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African American literature.

While in college, he helmed Counterparts, a co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group as president and musical director. Legend's lead vocals on the group's recording of Joan Osborne's "One of Us" received critical acclaim landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD.

Legend was also a member of the prestigious senior societies Sphinx Senior Society and Onyx Senior Honor Society while an undergraduate at Penn. While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend. Hill hired him to play piano on "Everything Is Everything", a song from her album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

During this period, Legend took time to hold a number of shows around Philadelphia, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. He finished college in 1999, and thereafter began producing, writing, and recording his own music. He released two albums independently; his self-titled demo (2000) and Live at Jimmy's Uptown (2001), which he sold at his shows. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Legend began working as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group.

During this time, he began working on his demo and began sending his work to various record labels.

In 2001, Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to then up-and-coming hip-hop artist Kanye West; Legend was hired to sing during the hooks of West's music. 

Common, Kanye West and John Legend.

After signing to West's label, he chose his stage name from an idea that was given to him by poet J. Ivy, due to what he perceived "old-school sound". J. Ivy stated, "I heard your music and it reminds me of that music from the old school. You sound like one of the legends. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm going to call you from now on! I'm going to call you John Legend." After J. Ivy continued to call him by the new moniker "John Legend," others quickly caught on, including Kanye West, and the name stuck. In spite of John's reluctance to change his stage name to John Legend he eventually announced his new artist name as John Legend.

People Magazine reports that John Legend and Chrissy Teigen made it official when they exchanged vows in front of friends and family in Lake Como, Italy on Saturday. 

The model bride wore a strapless ivory Vera Wang gown with an open back, lifted tulle skirt and hand-cut petal embroidered details, which she described to PEOPLE as "kind of [having] a sexier feel at the top, like a swimsuit, so I have to get my body ready. I have to buckle down." 

Teigen changed into another strapless ivory Vera Wang dress for the reception – the design featured a micro-pleated bodice and sheared organza full skirt. 

And at the after-party she had a third Vera Wang design of the night – a crimson strapless mermaid gown with a hand-draped bodice, inverted flange skirt and embroidered crystal wheat detail. 

The nuptials follow a seven-year courtship for the couple, who became engaged in 2011 while vacationing together in the Maldives. 

Earlier this year, Teigen, 27, told PEOPLE her Grammy-winning groom, 34, would perform his new song "All of Me" at the wedding, which was written for her. 

John Legend, Jamie Foxx, Nick Jonas and Seal perform at The White House. John Legend is a friend of Barack and Michelle Obama.

"He writes a lot of love songs, but this one is specifically about me so it makes it more special," Teigen told PEOPLE in May. "My Dad even cries when I play it for him in the car." 

The model bride was so careful about preparing her figure for the frock that her bachelorette party included Pilates classes. 

But despite her rigorous attention to her physique, she says she was much more laid-back about wedding planning overall. 

"[John] and I have been working and traveling so much that we just let our wedding planner do everything," Teigen told PEOPLE in May. "We're not neurotic about it. I just want to finally see all of my friends in one area." 

But she cops to being a bit more involved in one aspect of the wedding – the cake. 

"I'm not a big sweets person, which is why I'm really specific about the cake, which is going to be a really multi-layer cake," she told PEOPLE in June. "It's layers and layers of crepe and pastry creme in between with raspberry sauce." 

With the wedding behind them, perhaps now is the time the couple will start thinking about all those kids Legend told PEOPLE he wants. 

"We'd like to have kids," he said in May. "I grew up in a family with four kids, so I think three or four is a good number. We don't plan it. We just do it."

We here at Journal de la Reyna wish John Legend and Chrissy Teigen well. The Stephens are a perfect couple. Beautiful and very intelligent couple.

Ballin'!

LaBron and Savannah James. The NBA star married his longtime girlfriend this weekend.

LaBron James and Dr. Dre.

Miami Heat's LaBron James is officially a married man. He married his longtime sweetheart Savannah Brinson. The two have children together.

The Miami Heat power forward has went forth to put "ring on it" and invited his friends and family to the coastal California to celebrate a weekend of love. James married Brinson at the Grand Del Mar Hotel in San Diego on September 14, 2013.

James was engaged to Brinson since 2001, proposing to her at a party to celebrate New Year’s Eve and his birthday. James, 28, proposed to his longtime girlfriend, 27, at a party on New Year's Eve 2011, and later admitted on Oprah's Next Chapter that he was nervous. "It felt like a finals game."

Entertainers Jay-Z and Beyonce were in attendance of this weeding event.

Fellow teammate Dwayne Wade and actress Gabrielle Union were there.

NBA players Chris Paul and Carmello Anthony were there.

And the junk food media is awww and ooh over how lovely the couple are.

They currently reside in Coconut Grove, a Miami suburb, where James bought a three-story mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay for $9 million.


People magazine reports that the couple sent out Save the Date notes in March for the three-day celebration, which the New York Post reports was masterminded by wedding planner Preston Bailey, who also planned the Lord of the Rings-themed $9 million nuptials of Silicon Valley mogul Sean Parker.

Guests were welcomed to the celebration with a barbecue on Friday evening before the afternoon wedding on Saturday, and the festivities are expected to wind up with a farewell brunch on Sunday, according to reports.

Brinson, who has two sons with James – LeBron Jr., 8, and Bryce, 5 – told Harper's Bazaar in 2010 that she's dreamed of being a bride since the age of 6 and that when she married James, "I want it to be forever."

"A person like myself always needs a great sidekick and a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she's that," James added. "She's got my back and I love her for that."

Jay-Z and Kanye West were promoting a XXL Magazine and they've asked LaBron James to join them.

You know I got to give love to LaBron and Savannah James. We here at Journal de la Reyna wish the couple well.

Hopefully we don't see any reality television programs sharing their lives?

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984), nicknamed "King James", is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and weighing in at 250 lb (113 kg), he has played the small forward and power forward positions. James has won two NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA scoring title, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He has also been selected to nine NBA All-Star teams, nine All-NBA teams, and five All-Defensive teams, and is the Cleveland Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer.

James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar.

Thugs Mansion: James Gandolfini Passes Away!

The Mob Boss Tony Soprano was played by James Gandolfini. He passed away while in Italy. 

Hollywood lost a legend.

Today, we hear reports out of the junk food media about the star of HBO's Sopranos has died in Italy today at the age of 51.

We're getting reports that James Gandolfini had died of an apparent stroke and/or heart attack.

The Huffington Post reports that James Gandolfini has reportedly died while in Italy, according to Deadline.com.

According to the website, the "Sopranos" star was in the country for a film festival. Variety also initially reported that he suffered a fatal stroke, but both the trade site and Deadline.com updated the cause of death to a heart attack.

Gandolfini was 51 years old and is survived by a wife and two children. He became a household star for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano on "The Sopranos," a role which earned him three Emmys on six total nominations. “Absolutely stunned," Chris Albrecht, the former chairman and CEO of HBO who greenlit "The Sopranos" told Deadline. "I got the word from ['Sopranos' star] Lorraine Bracco and just got off with [producer] Brad Grey who had just heard from [show creator] David Chase. We had all become a family. This is a tremendous loss.”

"We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family," HBO said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "He was special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us."

In addition to his standout television career, Gandolfini also appeared in a number of films, including "Zero Dark Thirty" and Chase's directorial debut, "Not Fade Away." More recently, he co-starred as a Las Vegas casino owner in the March comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" and had a small role in the indie film "Violet and Daisy." The actor also finished work on the upcoming Tom Hardy film "Animal Rescue" and an untitled feature from director Nicole Holofcener.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Sopranos star James Gandolfini.

Reality Baby!

Congratulations to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are a controversial couple.

Despite all the rumors of the rapper/producer/reality star having an affair with a model, and the rocky relationship between the two, the couple announced they're officially parents.

They welcome their baby daughter.

We here at Journal de la Reyna wish the two well on becoming first time parents.

Kardashian, 32, and West, 36, went public with their relationship in April 2012, just six months after she filed for divorce from former husband Kris Humphries. Kardashian's divorce was just finalized on June 3.

The rapper releases his sixth album Yeezus this month. This will be his first album released with little promotion and limited radio play.

Kanye West appears on Roc-A-Fella Reocrds. He is affiliated with G.O.O.D. Music Records.

Memorial Day!

We want to send our thanks to the men and women who fought for our freedoms. We wish those in active duty, our military veterans and the fallen a dedication to their service.

We are still in times of war.

Afghanistan will finally be over in 2014. The battles that the United States must face here and abroad require a great deal of military endurance and expediency.

And while those who volunteered to become our nation's heroes made sacrifices for our children, our wives, our husbands, our mothers and our fathers, you're always told: You'll never be forgotten.

This Memorial Day once again gives us the blessings for a good plate of barbecue, a nice swimming pool, a good drive on our nation's roads, and of course the start of summer. But while we're here in the United States having a day off from the daily routine, you always remember that our military serves 24/7.

If you have to time, say thanks to our brave heroes. The fallen will never be forgotten.

The people who serve in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard deserve our thanks on this Memorial Day.

Richie Havens Passes Away!

Songs of Freedom.

Richard Pierce "Richie" Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Richie Havens, who marshaled a craggy voice, a percussive guitar and a soulful sensibility to play his way into musical immortality at Woodstock in 1969, improvising the song “Freedom” on the fly, died on Monday at his home in Jersey City. He was 72.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Richie Havens.

The New York Times gives a tribute to the legendary folk singer who brought peace and harmony to a bunch of young blossoms who now became either our parents or grandparents.


For the baby-boomer generation, he will live forever on the stage of the Woodstock festival, which he had the honor to open because the folk-rock band Sweetwater, the scheduled opening act, was stuck in traffic. Mr. Havens and his guitarist and drummer arrived by helicopter. They had been scheduled to go on fifth.

Mr. Havens started with “Minstrel From Gault” a few minutes after 5 p.m. on Aug. 15, 1969. He was originally supposed to play four songs, but other performers were late, so he played on. He later said he thought he had played for two hours and 45 minutes, but two bands followed him before sunset, around 8 p.m., so that was impossible.

But Mr. Havens played 10 songs, including Beatles songs. His impassioned improvisation was pitch perfect for the generation watching him, most of whom saw it later in a documentary on the festival. His clarion encore “Freedom” — made up on the spot and interspersed with the spiritual “Motherless Child” — sounded a powerful if wistful note.

“ ‘Freedom’ came from a totally spontaneous place,” Mr. Havens said.

Richard Pierce Havens was born on Jan. 21, 1941, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, where he grew up. He was the eldest of nine children. His father made Formica tables for a living and played piano with various bands. His mother worked for a bookbindery.

He began singing with street-corner doo-wop groups when he was about 12. At 14 he joined the McCrea Gospel Singers. He was recruited by a street gang, and he dropped out of high school. He spent the rest of his life educating himself, and was proud of the results.

Lou Myers Passes Away!

Lou Myers played Mr. Gaines on sitcom A Different World.

A Different World was a sitcom spin off of The Cosby Show. It followed Denise Huxtable to a historically Black college. As Denise explores college she meets Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert. They would later become friends. Denise Huxtable was played by Lisa Bonet. Bonet appeared only on the first season of A Different World.  Dwayne was played by Kadeem Hardison. Whitley was played by Jasmine Guy.

Voice actress Cree Summer, media mogul Jada Pickett-Smith, actresses Charnele Brown and Karen Malina White would later join the show.

One character who made an impact on the sitcom was Lou Myers who had the role of Mr. Gaines, a wise and yet often crafty owner of The Pitt Diner.He played the mentor of Kimberly Reese, Freddie Brooks, Lena James and Charmaine Tyesha Brown.

Lou Myers died today according to the Associated Press. TMZ reports that the actor died on February 19 at Charleston Medical Center in West Virginia after undergoing a heart-related emergency and falling into a coma. He had previously been hospitalized in December for pneumonia. AP reports that Myers was 76 years-old.

"A Different World" ran from 1987 to 1993 in which the characters attended a historically black university.

Myers starred on the show alongside Lisa Bonet and Jada Pinkett. In his later years, Myers would also make memorable appearances in numerous other television shows and films such as "The Wedding Planner," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Tin Cup" and "All About the Andersons."

Myers is survived by his mother and a son.

Family Affair!

Jury found Ohio mother guilty in the death of her son. Michelle Mooty and Joe Watson are going to the iron college for the death of Levi Barrett. The child's father is a friend.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Levi Barrett.

A personal take on a local woman being sentenced in the death of her son. The purpose of this story allows me to clear the air and address why Black Americans will be a subject of the conservative and white supremacist ire. This type of stuff ignites the word salad of racial slurs, mentions of these individuals being one of "Obama's children" and the "gubmint" parasites uttered by the likes of conservative agitators in the media. 

The callous actions of this woman and her boyfriend has brought my friend to his senses!

Years of reckless behavior from my friend have finally taken its toll. Now realizing that he'll never have an opportunity to see one of his children grow up in the future has finally brought him to his senses!

It's time for him to be a father.

This week, the Ohio court found bad parent Michelle Mooty, guilty in complicity of allowing child abuse to occur. She will be sentenced to prison shortly.

Wiping tears. Mooty reacts to jury decision.

This kind of hits close to home. Charles Barrett, Jr. is the father of the deceased child, Levi. 

The child was killed by Mooty's boyfriend (at the time) Joe Watson, IV. 

The incident happened in December 2011. After a year of deliberations and a jury trial, the court found these irresponsible parents guilty in murder. Watson who has a child with Mooty was sentenced to 15 to life in prison.

Mooty has other children with other men besides Barrett and Watson.

The reason why this comes to head is that I know the father of the deceased child.

For over 10 years, I've known the father of the child.

Charles Barrett fought personal demons in his life. None so than losing his child. 

Barrett has two other children. Barrett has one from another woman and the other from Mooty.

Charles Barrett with his three children. The youngest child Levi (top right) was killed by Joe Watson, the boyfriend of the child's mother Michelle Mooty.  

I've distanced myself from my best friend (and two others I've previously associated with)! 

I can testify that lives were changed that night when I've found out that his son was dead!

My friend isn't perfect. 

Joe Watson was convicted of murder and sentenced to the iron college for life! The girlfriend Michelle Mooty will be there soon. They were responsible for the death of Levi Barrett. 

Through the good times and often bad times, I've tried to be there as much as I could! He didn't need my help, so we moved on!

My friend has a perennial habit of moving from home to home, job to job, from a girl to another girl, and from jail to court!

Barrett's personal demons began when he became a first time father! He met a woman near one of his jobs and fell in love. A few years later, he became a father to his first child. He would eventually bailed out on his responsibilities as a parent.

He would later have two other sons by Michelle Mooty and eventually bail out on them. Although he loved his children, he wanted to venue into dead ends like drug dealing, selling stolen property and making enemies with friends and family. This all came to head when he realized that day he would never see his youngest son alive ever again!

As his first child grows up to become a teenager and his second child begins to understand life itself, my friend has to "get his ass" together to better himself for the sake of his children.

Now I've haven't spoken to him in nearly a year. I can only assume he'll have more children and keep a memory of his son either through his part-time career as a rapper or tattoos on his body. Something symbolic.

My other two friends are struggling as well. They also have perennial problems with family and friends as well.

Barrett's first child comes from one my friends. She struggles as a mother of two with thoughts of her mother. Her mother was killed in a domestic violence dispute when she was very young and it permanently scarred her for life.

The last friend explained is former ex-girlfriend. This one comes from a troubled home. Being a rape survivor and a shooting victim, about seven years ago hasn't changed her from the reckless behavior. 

She nearly died in 2005, after her former boyfriend shot her in the chest.

Each of these individuals are troubled. They've relied on me for years for personal advice and constant help in crisis after crisis. Each of them had opportunities as I to move on with success. Yet, we're still here with the burden of our personal demons.

I've concluded that it's time to move away from them! I have figured that problems may come and go from time to time, I figured that I exhausted my options and will no longer be a reliable friend.

I wish them all well! For as long as I live on this earth, their issues aren't my problems anymore! I've got my own problems to deal with!

Rapper Ends Decade Long Feud With Eminem!

                         

Eminem will turn 40 years old this October. One of the best rappers in the world, is a slim figured White guy who hails from Detroit, Michigan. Marshall Mathers is the founder of Shady Records, the home of gangster rapper 50 Cent, Alabama native Yelawolf and hip-hop collective Slaughterhouse.

Eminem comes from the cloth of the good Dr. Dre, the world famous producer credited to making him, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and many others very rich. Anything with Dr. Dre's blessing is classic. Eminem's influences help push rap music more mainstream so rappers like Ludacris, Nelly, Kanye West, Flo Rida, Waka Flocka Flame, Future, Lil' Wayne and Drake could succeed in an industry that creates sharks.

Hailed as one of the best, there were some who questioned his standings as the world's most recognized White rapper.

Rapper Benzino apologized to Eminem after decade long feud. Is this real? Apparently so!

Whatever you decide on calling him, he has been a mark in hip-hop. The self acclaimed Made Man, Almighty RSO, and road dog for the Hangmen 3, Raymond “Benzino” Scott has been a name that been around for awhile. The rapper and entrepreneur of the hip-hop magazine, The Source, has been no stranger to the speculation stemming from his alleged alterations with his group Made Men, to his on air beef with rappers Eminem, 50 Cent and Dr. Dre.

The rapper's motives of threatening people from exposing any dirt about his life, have came under heavy scrutiny. Benzino has been a warrior in a “state of hip-hop emergency” and is not ready to put the mic down and walk away.

We'll revisit my previous article of 2004. The climax of the feud between Eminem and Benzino.

I was a subscriber of The Source Magazine. I was greatly upset over the magazine's turmoils under the leadership of Dave Mays and Benzino. The company was blowing money fast. They've filed for bankruptcy after this feud. My magazine subscription was in limbo. Millions of readers dumped The Source and picked up the XXL Magazine. And today, the XXL Magazine reigns as the top selling rap magazine. Even in tough times, the magazine is still thriving as well as Vibe and Ozone.

My personal opinion is that hip-hop deserves a chance!

Hell, I gave rappers like Jay-Z, DMX, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Eve and Nelly props. I paid respect to the pioneers of hip-hop, from Eric B and Rakim, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, to even the Cold Crush Brothers, but there’s no way I can support a rapper that seems make a name for his self in a magazine that over hypes his lackluster talent.

Benzino, 49 was born in Latham, Massachusetts and resides in either New York or Miami. Formerly known as the Ray Dog of Almighty RSO (Rock Shit Out) and the lead vocals to the group Made Men, the Boston brawler, has edged his name in hip-hop as either the “savior of hip-hop” or the “worst rapper since Vanilla Ice”.

Eminem

Benzino seems to fall short of his expectations. Under the Made Men, The Source heavily promoted the rap group's ads. The magazine even considering them once as Def Jam artists.

The Source gave a unknown rapper such as Benzino a place with rap moguls Sean “Puffy” Combs,  Steve Stoute and Lyor Cohn. When Benzino's group Made Men debut album was released, The Source was giving it heavy promotion despite concerns among staff.

The reviewers and editors of the Source, gave the group a mid size rating and Benzino was highly upset.

Benzino asked the editor and long time friend, founder, Dave Mays, to give the album Classic Limited Edition, better promotion or top notch ratings.

Mays agree to Benzino’s request and changed the rating to top-notch behind the staff. With the album being changed to top-notch ratings the staff of The Source warned Mays if he changes their credibility, they walked.

Mays refused their request and told them to leave. So that’s what they did. Even with the change the Made Men didn’t do so well with their album. Heavy cameos such as Master P, The LOX and  Montell Jordan couldn't save this album.

Benzino’s group didn’t pave the way for hip-hop. So they disbanded and Benzino tries to strike it out on his own.

The debut solo album, The Benzino Project and The Benzino Remix Project were both released by Universal-Motown. The debut album managed to sell over 78,000 copies and the "Remix" album didn't chart major sales. Even providing the single “Bootee” with producer Teddy Riley, having G-Dep, Fabolous, Snoop Dogg, Scarface and among others featured on it couldn't save this album.

Benzino had disappointed Motown so much, they released the rapper from his contract.

Despite the album flops Benzino still supported the album by releasing the single “Shine Like My Son” featuring his own son, upcoming rapper Ray Ray (known as Cool Breeze Ray), and featured spots from Master P, Jadakiss and their families. Benzino lost the battle. So Benzino fumes up with Motown having their ads removed from The Source.

The legendary Dr. Dre helped proteges Eminem and 50 Cent produce their successful albums.

Benzino decides to jump on to Interscope, home to Eminem and Dr. Dre. After pushing the Black Friday Album on lukewarm results, Interscope drops the Hangman 3, Made Men, and Benzino. So thus he promoted his albums on the independent scene for awhile.

With a hook up with Queen Latifah and Shakim on Flavor Unit, Benzino got him a deal distribution with Elektra Entertainment.

With the release of his album Redemption he teams up with Bad Boy head producer Mario “Yellow Man” Winans to produce his tracks. Releasing the first single “Rock The Party” it seemed like Benzino had at least manage to catch the attention of the clubs with a fresh up start to a up and coming career. But the ever looming slum of failure has seemed to haunt Benzino.

Rapper Benzino and Dave Mays (far right). Dave Mays is a Harvard educated business executive and hip-hop journalist. He co-founded The Source Magazine with Jonathon Schecter and James Bernard.

Artists who contributed to the album were Scarface, Jadakiss, Wyclef Jean, Lil’ Kim and notably actress LisaRaye. Benzino released a single to attack at Eminem. The single “Pull Your Skirt Up” exposes Eminem as a machine that steals music from up and coming artists, infiltrating a culture that makes him wealthy (in reference to “Without Me” from The Eminem Show). To put things worst the single “Would You and Staying 4 Eva” has modestly proven that with rap there is a line that has been cross. Despite the hype of Benzino fails to score at least the amount of albums he sold from his previous albums. Last time I checked, Benzino had sold at least 15,000 albums.

In November 2002, getting a chance at exposing Eminem for what he is and what his purpose is, he attacks Shady and Aftermath Records. Benzino exposes Eminem's legal troubles and the looming signing of 50 Cent to the labels. Benzino claims that Eminem’s album sales hurt the upcoming hip-hop acts.

What drove Eminem into the battle was the threats Benzino had made to his family and claims of Eminem being a racist (calling him a Rap Hitler or David Duke). During an interview with Angie Martinez, Eminem airs out the beef with Benzino and released two devastating disses toward Benzino.

The first single The Sauce exposes the fact of artists who feud with Benzino would be shut out of the magazine. Eminem exposes The Source sharing ties with Benzino.

Hip-Hop Weekly. A gossip magazine covering hip-hop. Benzino was feuding with  Fat Joe. Benzino claims he slept with the rapper's wife.

The second single was a big blow to Benzino. It was titled the Nail In The Coffin.

The diss goes hard at Benzino, his son Ray Ray, Dave Mays, Kim Osorio, and The Source itself.

So with that Benzino, attacks back stating that this “cracka” is dying to say “nigga” and he is willing to settle this with violence. Benzino states that Eminem and Shady Records will have no place in The Source.

In the February 2003 issue featuring Ja Rule, The Source gave people a free poster showing a virtual unknown holding the head of the world’s most popular rapper.

That’s right, it’s Benzino in cartoon form showing him holding Eminem by the head and spine, warning Eminem to watch what he says or he will face a untimely demise.

The Source takes shots at Elliott Wilson, former Source editor now founder of The XXL, in reference to the XXL issue of 50 Cent, Eminem, and Dr. Dre. On top of that The Source had drawn a muscle man crushing a midget light skinned man with the XXS logo on the bottom of the jersey, with the words “Respect The Architect or Get Broken”.

In fact, the issue had a five page interview with Benzino, heavily promotion for his now defunct nightclub South Beach Club ZNO, and of course for those who bought his album, those would receive a free 6 month subscription to The Source.

Canibus, an underground rapper (Eminem’s nemesis) and the writer Harry Allen, also were featured in the magazine addressing the issues of white emceeing, The Eminem Show and what hip hop is now directing itself into.

Lastly in the Last Word, the Boston Celtics jersey and ice banded Benzino was crushing M & M milk chocolate candies, while a white candy stands in the background watching.

Dr. Dre, Aftermath, Interscope pulled their ads and promotions away from The Source. 50 Cent takes jabs at Benzino by attacking his lackluster career and selling copies less than his first album.

Unfortunate for Benzino the disrespect doesn’t stop there! The world’s leading magazine, The Rolling Stone, Vibe, Murder Dog, and XXL (the rival magazines) stated that Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent are welcome to their magazines.

Benzino was rated in the top 20 in the Maxim Blender’s notably worst entertainers in the world, a group from Petition Online asked for a boycott for The Source to have Benzino be removed from The Source. The marketing strategy for The Source is out! Benzino is part of The Source. In order to keep his name from being tarnished the magazine denied the allegations stemming from his shady dealings while being at The Source. Although current issues had less Benzino, he is eventually showing up somewhere; whether in the Fat Tape (high rotation singles), Coast 2 Coast, and ads for clothing and jewelry.
                     
After the release of 50 Cent's album, Eminem has stated that the beef was done. Eminem declared that Benzino is too wack to respond too. Benzino swears he will not back down to Eminem and continues to keep taking shots at him. Even through the Source magazine, naming 50 Cent on of the top 115 artists of hip-hop, stating that his album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ will outsell The Eminem Show. Even taking blows at Eminem by drawing him as Elvis and Tarzan. The Source also featured a comic called Past Imperfect, taking shots not only at Eminem, but rappers (whom are white) Bubba Sparxxx and Haystak. Benzino had a hand in creating the comic and editorials addressing white MCs.
                                 
The Source carried its high profile feud with 50 Cent by releasing an attack article. The article exposes the life and the hype of 50 Cent, his bosses Eminem and Dr. Dre, and the label head, Jimmy Iovine. The issue also takes a jab at rapper, Nas (post XXL issue where he was setting ablaze to The Source and XXL magazines). In the first pages of the Source, Benzino and Mays retaliate towards the XXL and Vibe Magazine attacks from 50 Cent, Eminem, Nas and Dr. Dre by setting ablaze the competitors and stating that their friendship and business relations will remain the same.

The magazine released portions of a freestyle Eminem done when he was young. In this song, he disses a Black woman whom he used to date. The rapper demanded the magazine to cease publishing of his song.

Benzino refused and aired out the entire song in full. Eminem's publishing company sued The Source and won a hefty amount.

In 2005, Benzino and Dave Mays were let go after Black Enterprises took over the struggling magazine.

Benzino and Mays both went on to create another hip-hop magazine called Hip-Hop Weekly. The Weekly is a gossip rag that covers issues such as the hip-hop feuds and controversy in politics. Benzino and Mays continue to make themselves relevant in these tough times.
_______________________

Benzino realized that he's getting older and the music people are listening to isn't his! He promotes himself as the gangsta rapper who hailed from the "mean streets" of Boston. The American hip-hop listener likes catchy beats and easy to remember hooks. Nothing about the complex struggle in the streets. No tales of hustling to eat and running from the police.

What Benzino failed to do in his feud with Eminem is actually know who he's dealing with.

At the time of this feud, Benzino and his partner Dave Mays were in charge of the hip-hop magazine, The Source. In January 2003, the rapper released multiple disses going after Eminem, his group D12 and 50 Cent. Benzino teamed up with 50 Cent's rival Ja Rule to go after Eminem.

Eminem went to the microphone and literally destroyed Benzino's career and credibility as a fair journalist.

It took over 10 years. Benzino finally admits that he lost the rap feud and Eminem deserves respect. He apologizes to Eminem during an interview with Sway Calloway of MTV and Shade45.

Eminem appears on Aftermath Entertainment. He is affiliated with Shady Records.
Dr. Dre appears on Aftermath Entertainment.
50 Cent appears on Shady/Aftermath/Interscope. He is affiliated with G-Unit Records.
Benzino is an independent recording artist.
Ja Rule appears on Fontana Records.

Get More: 

Benzino, RapFix Live, Full Episodes

The Most "Ghettoest" Girl I've Known

Hate Groups Channel Their Rage At Illegal Immigrants and Hispanics/Latinos!

Anti-Latino Hate Crimes Rise As Immigration Debate Intensifies

 

Huffington Post writer Cristina Costantini notes the growing right wing rage at immigration reform. The culture war Republicans started includes this and many other noted controversies. Not one of these issues focuses on jobs or the ailing economy.


Juan Varela was shot in the neck in his front yard in Phoenix, Ariz., last May by his neighbor Gary Kelley. Moments before killing Varela in front of his mother and brother, Kelley yelled, "Go back to Mexico or die!" Varela was not an illegal immigrant, but a fifth generation American of Mexican descent, said Carlos Galindo, the family's spokesperson in a phone interview.

In May 2009, 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father Raul Flores were murdered by members of a Minuteman vigilante group. The child and her father were both American-born U.S. citizens. Leader Shawna Forde broke into the Flores home in Arivaca, Ariz., with two men she recruited to help her fund her splinter Minuteman organization. After the group shot and killed her father, Brisenia pleaded with the Forde and her accomplices, saying, "Please don't shoot me." One of the masked figures then shot her in the face at point blank range, her mother, the lone survivor, said in her testimony. Forde was convicted of first degree murder in February of 2011 and sentenced to death.

Last November, two Mexican nationals, cousins Alex Cauich and Jose Omar Cauich, were brutally assaulted by a group of white men while standing in front of a bar in San Francisco. Witnesses on the scene heard the assailants yelling "run like you ran across the border" during the incident. Last week, three men with connection to a white supremacist group were convicted in the assault. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who worked as a police officer in Arizona and California for more than twenty years, told The Huffington Post that he perceives this crime and others like it to be part of rising anti-Latino sentiments around the country.

Recent studies conducted by the National Institute of Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the FBI and the Pew Research Center seem to show that these incidents were not isolated hate events, but part of a greater trend.

The preliminary findings of a congressionally-mandated study by the National Institute of Justice suggest that anti-Latino hate crimes rose disproportionally to other hate crimes between 2004 and 2008. The study estimates that in 2003 there were 426 hate crimes against Latinos, while in 2007 there were 595 nationally.

According to the same study, California and Texas saw the most anti-Latino hate crimes, as well as more dramatic increases of such incidents than other states. Data collected by the FBI also indicates a steady rise in anti-Latino hate crimes across the country from 2003 to 2007.

A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Montgomery, contends that the number of "radical right groups" in America -- including hate groups, "Patriot" groups and nativist groups -- increased in 2010 for the second year in a row.

Although recent studies indicate anti-Latino hate crimes have been on the rise over the last decade, many believe their numbers are even greater than those reported. Mark Potok, a spokesperson for the SPLC, said in an interview with The Huffington Post that, "one thing to understand is that Latinos, and in particular undocumented immigrants, are among the least likely to report hate crimes because they fear deportation."


RACE AND POLICY DEBATES

Many, including the family members of victims, associate a rise in anti-Latino hate crime and an increase in anti-Latino sentiments with the on-going, virulent immigration debate around the country.

Varela's family in Phoenix told The Huffington Post that they believe his murder was provoked by the heated controversy surrounding the passage of Arizona's S.B. 1070 law two weeks prior. According to Carlos Galindo, the family's spokesperson, Kelley's attorney admitted in court that his client was going to the Varela home on the day of Juan's murder in order to discuss the the family's attendance at an S.B. 1070 protest. Galindo also said the immigration debate created a dangerous environment for Latinos in his state.

"It's gone from a frustration with the federal government not doing their job, to a frustration with the immigrants and with Latinos in general," said Galindo. "People are encouraging this kind of demonization and this culture of hatred which results in violence," he added.

In 9-year old Brisenia's murder, the Associated Press reported that Shawna Forde was motivated to break into the Flores home because she "considered Raul Flores a drug smuggler and wanted to use his drug proceeds for a paramilitary organization to seal off the border to immigrants." According to CNN reports, no drugs were found in the Flores home.

  Raul "Junior" and Brisenia Flores were killed by a minuteman group with ties to the White Nationalist Movement.

George Gascón, the San Francisco district attorney, said in an interview with The Huffington Post that he associates the brutal assault of the Cauich cousins and a "recent surge of anti-Latino hate crimes" in his city, with economic factors and the immigration debate. Gascón believes that immigration debates in Arizona, Utah, Georgia, South Carolina and now Alabama have been "fueled by race-based sentiments."

"It's going to take a lot of good people with a lot of good intentions on both sides of the debate to shift the dialogue away from race, and back to policy," Gascón said.

Mark Potok, the SPLC spokesman, believes that reporting around the immigration debate has led directly to a more hostile environment for Latinos in America because it "focuses a lot of negative attention around Latinos." He explained, "When leaders and politicians get press and promote stereotypes, it encourages others to hate Latinos as well -- so it helps to spread the poison... There are ways of having a debate about immigration without demonizing one group of people."

But while Potok also blames "nativist" groups like Minuteman organizations for spurring hatred against Latinos and immigrants, Howie Morgan, the national political director of the Minuteman Project said in a phone interview with The Huffington Post that his organization has never framed the debate in racial terms.

 

Shawna Forde, a former prostitute, beautician who has ties to a white supremacist group. Her involvement in a minuteman group that killed Raul "Junior" and Brisenia Flores. Forde is currently sitting on death row for the murder.

"We have never demonized Latinos. In fact, we have been demonized as racists by 'La Raza' -- which means 'The Race' by the way... When we have come across organizations in the Minuteman movement that align themselves with racism, we've thrown them out and repudiated their statements. We continue to make sure this not about race, but about policy. We are a pro-immigrant organization, and calling us racist is simply inaccurate," he told HuffPost. Morgan was referring to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) which considers itself the "largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization" in the country.

But Gascón, thinks the Minutemen are ignoring an "elephant in the room."

"I'm glad the [Minuteman Project's] official stance is that it shouldn't be a race-based conversation," Gascon said in a phone intervew. "But the elephant in the room when you talk about immigration is that a very large number of immigrants come from Latin America. If you start talking about illegal immigration, what comes to mind? Do you think of someone from Eastern Europe or Asia or do you think of a Latino?"

According to a 2009 study, more Americans think that Hispanics are the targets of discrimination in American society than say the same about any other major racial or ethnic group. According to Mark Hugo Lopez, the associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization that seeks to improve understanding of the U.S. Hispanic population, the PHC's studies found that, prior to 2009, African Americans were perceived to be the group most discriminated against.

Lopez also said that on average, Latinos are thinking about discrimination and immigration as bigger issues for their community than they did just a few years ago. In 2010, 61 percent of Latinos believed that discrimination against Hispanics is a "major problem," up from 54 percent in 2007. And in 2010, when asked to state the most important factor leading to discrimination, a "plurality of 36 percent cited immigration status as most important, up from a minority of 23 percent who said the same in 2007," reported Lopez.


In an interview with a local paper, Gilberto Esquivel, a member of the Riverside Human Relations Commission, said that the 50 percent increase in hate crimes against Latinos in California in 2010 was directly tied to the passage of the S.B. 1070 immigration law in Arizona. In Esquivel's county alone, the FBI documented 21 hate crimes in 2010, up from 12 in 2009.

Esquivel believes "anti-Latino and anti-immigrant remarks became more numerous and hateful on conservative talk radio, in newspaper letters to editors and on the Internet."

"The hate is there," Esquivel said. "[S.B. 1070] gives it legitimacy."

Jury Finds Aggravating Factor in Neighbor's Murder: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Morgan Freeman: The Tea Party Actions Are Racist!

Morgan Freeman laid down the chips on the Tea Party in a new interview with Piers Morgan that is due to air Friday night.

The Oscar-winning actor sat down with the British TV host and, amongst other things, discussed his belief that the right wing Tea Party's anti-Obama stance is rooted in racism.

When asked by Morgan whether Obama's presidency has made racism in the United States better or worse, Freeman, who once played apartheid-defying South African president Nelson Mandela, frankly stated that his time in office has made it worse, as he has become a target of the right's aggression.

"Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term," the actor said. "What's, what does that, what underlines that? 'Screw the country. We're going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we're going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here.'"

Declaring once again that "it's a racist thing," Freeman said the group's rise has shown the hate still lingering in America.

"Well, it just shows the weak, dark, underside of America," he said. "We're supposed to be better than that. We really are. That's, that's why all those people were in tears when Obama was elected president. "Ah, look at what we are. Look at how, this is America." You know? And then it just sort of started turning because these people surfaced like stirring up muddy water."

The actor continued, saying that he understood President Obama not fighting back, seeking to stick to his principles, but wishes that he'd be more aggressive now.

Freeman endorsed Obama during his run for the presidency, but declined to campaign with him, saying that he was an actor, not a politician. He attended a White House Civil Rights concert in 2010.

VMA Shocking Announcement: Beyonce is Pregnant

Another year, another unbelievably action-packed Video Music Awards. As expected, viewers were treated to mind-blowing performances and several jaw-dropping surprises. The most unexpected moment came courtesy of Beyoncé Knowles, who not so subtly announced to the world that she and husband Jay-Z are expecting their first child.

When B unbuttoned her sparkly jacket and rubbed her belly with a knowing smile, after which the camera panned to a visibly elated Jay-Z and Kanye West cheering from the audience, the Nokia Theatre was bursting with warm and fuzzy well-wishes for the soon-to-be parents. And that very public moment of celebration was just the beginning.

When Beyoncé returned backstage to her dressing room, she was greeted by a team of people who enveloped the visibly happy star with hugs, cheers and congratulations.

Click for photos of Beyoncé's big VMA night.

"I'm free!" she said to one of the well-wishers, indicating that she and Jay are thrilled to not have to keep such a big secret any longer. "We're all free!" she said to the group.

A few minutes after her arrival backstage, she was joined by her husband, a very excited West (whose first words upon entering the dressing-room area were "Where is Beyoncé?" as if he could not wait to give B a huge hug) and her former Destiny's Child ladies, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Even with the doors to their dressing rooms closed, the applause and whoops of joy could be heard everywhere backstage.

"That was an eventful night, to say the least," Jay, still smiling, said to some of the revelers in the hallway, who continued to shower him with congratulations and hugs.

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards have wrapped, but the real action is just getting started! Stick with MTV News for winners, fashion pics, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything that went down.

A Father's Love

A Father's Love: short film by filmaker Quantae Love featuring positive images of black fathers from an entire community of black fathers. Watch the 9 minute film here:

http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/LTHSpecialReport.html