Hat tip to Ann.
Hollywood tells us Black women: No need to apply unless you're applying for a two-bit maid/sapphire/prostitute role. This is how Hollywood and the larger society in general sees Black women today.
Ain't nothing changed.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Please sign to help missing black women
Please sign my petition to get black women more coverage on cable news channels. You can sign here
http://www.petitiononline.com/mbw/petition.html
To: CNN, Fox News, MSNBC
While this started as a drive to get cases of missing African American Women and other women of color more air time on cable and news it is now a mission to get missing women of every ethnic group, race, or religion more air time by asking Cable Stations to devote just 30 seconds of air time per hour to the story of a missing woman. That would be 168 woman a week and 8736 women a year that would get at least some coverage on a national level. Please help me do this by signing my petion which wil be sent to CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. The may ignore 1 or 100 but they can't ignore thousands.
http://www.petitiononline.com/mbw/petition.html
To: CNN, Fox News, MSNBC
While this started as a drive to get cases of missing African American Women and other women of color more air time on cable and news it is now a mission to get missing women of every ethnic group, race, or religion more air time by asking Cable Stations to devote just 30 seconds of air time per hour to the story of a missing woman. That would be 168 woman a week and 8736 women a year that would get at least some coverage on a national level. Please help me do this by signing my petion which wil be sent to CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. The may ignore 1 or 100 but they can't ignore thousands.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
White Women Replacing Black Women In Movie Roles
Angelina Jolie as Marianne Pearl in "A Mighty Heart"Is white the new black?
By Orville Lloyd Douglas
By Orville Lloyd Douglas
Angelina Jolie is the "new" black these days. From making Africa her new crusade to adopting an African daughter and talking about racial harmony on CNN, Jolie's so-called altruism is her way to profit from the image of blackness.
The new black is also white actors like Jolie in blackface. Jolie is currently starring in the biopic A Mighty Heart as Mariane Pearl, the widow of murdered Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Pearl. Jolie is white, and the real Mariane Pearl is of mixed heritage. (According to news reports, her father is Dutch-Jewish and her mother was Cuban-black-Hispanic-Chinese.) In the film, Jolie's skin is darkened to appear more African and she is wearing a kinky wig.
Some people argue that since Pearl is of mixed heritage and not dark-skinned, Jolie is acceptable in the role. However, the symbolism of blackface is not about whether a white actor takes on a dark skin tone or light. It is the implicit message being sent that black women in Hollywood–which is slow to capitalize on the bankable quality of black female stars–can be replaced by white women. This certainly isn't because of a lack of talent.
Movies aren't just entertainment. There are cultural values embedded in the subtext of films. Movie stars are mythologies of hierarchy created by publicists, studios, and news media.
The social constructions of the star-system archetype arose from the days of slavery. Hollywood's consistent message is that black women are less profitable than white women. The standard by which North American women of all races are measured is the white female: feminine, beautiful, fragile, and perfect. By contrast, Queen Latifah's mammy performance in the 2002 film Chicago as Matron Mama Morton and her 2003 Bringing Down the House role portray black women as aggressive, hostile, and unattractive.
The last major dramatic film for a black actress was the interracial drama Monster's Ball. Although Halle Berry won an Oscar, it was degrading: Berry's character, Leticia Musgrove, was depicted as sexually loose, the aggressor in the interracial sex scene, with the line "Make me feel good" delivered with a sneer.
Such scenes shattered some of the respect the black community had for Berry. By contrast in A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie's character is a pillar of strength, a woman demanding to know what happened to her husband.
Since Hollywood is concerned about maximizing its profits, movies must be palatable to a mass market. Jolie was cast as A Mighty Heart's female lead because she is considered an international draw, not for racial accuracy.
Black feminist bell hooks points out in Outlaw Culture, her groundbreaking book on films in pop culture, that we are controlled by a "White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy". Hooks believes we must be "enlightened witnesses" and be cognizant that we are conditioned to accept whiteness as the centre of the universe.
Black women have a long history of being typecast in film primarily as sex objects or maids. A Mighty Heart was the chance for a black actress to shine in a film that showcased the female lead as a three-dimensional person with complex emotions.
A more serious issue is the paucity of leading roles for black women in Hollywood. A Mighty Heart also tackles the rarely portrayed interracial relationship, in this case an interracial marriage between a black woman and a white man. Jolie's presence in the film is a hindrance as it obscures and ultimately eliminates the real Mariane Pearl altogether. (Women have also asked why Mariane Pearl would allow a white woman to take the female lead in A Mighty Heart.)
Jolie consistently portrays herself as a Hollywood liberal who is against racism. Yet her superficial insensitivity to the plight of black women suggests an unwillingness to be challenged about her own values. What will she teach her daughter about white cultural domination?
Monday, January 21, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
My interview with Nationalist Movement leader
The Nationalist Movement a hate group claiming to be speaking for and representing the American "majority" is having/had a march in Jena La. on Martin Luther king Day to ask that:
The Jena 6 all be jailed
The abolishment of the Martin Luther King Day Holiday
The elimination of civil rights laws.
Please listen to my interview with Richard Barret the general counsel of the Nationalist Movement as he explains why they are having this march on Martin Luther King Day and what they hope to accomplish. Mr. Barret also finds time to take shots at Al Sharpton.
This is one of my hardest interviews I have ever done. In order to let the ignorance of racism shine through I had to bite my tounge and let Mr.Barret speak freely so that he would make the point of the ignorance of being racist without me saying a word. Please click the link below to listen.
http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/LTHSpecialReport.html
The Jena 6 all be jailed
The abolishment of the Martin Luther King Day Holiday
The elimination of civil rights laws.
Please listen to my interview with Richard Barret the general counsel of the Nationalist Movement as he explains why they are having this march on Martin Luther King Day and what they hope to accomplish. Mr. Barret also finds time to take shots at Al Sharpton.
This is one of my hardest interviews I have ever done. In order to let the ignorance of racism shine through I had to bite my tounge and let Mr.Barret speak freely so that he would make the point of the ignorance of being racist without me saying a word. Please click the link below to listen.
http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/LTHSpecialReport.html
Stepha Henry Murdered, Man Arrested
Man charged with murder in Stepha Henry’s disappearance
BY TRACY-ANN TAYLOR
The New York City Police Department this week arrested a suspect in the death of Stepha Henry, who has been missing since May 29, 2007.Kendrick Lincoln Williams was arrested on Jan. 15, police said. He was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, even though Henry’s body has not yet been recovered.Miami-Dade Police spokesman Roy Rutland said a significant amount of blood – which a forensic analysis determined to be Henry’s – was found in Williams’ Acura Integra, leaving police to believe that she is dead.
Henry, 22, and her sister, Shola, were on vacation during the Memorial Day 2007 weekend. The two sisters were staying with their aunt, Carletha Clarke, in Miami Gardens. The arrest came after a team of detectives, including two from Florida, found Williams asleep in a car near a Brooklyn pier, police said. Authorities believe he had been living in the vehicle.
Police said they had forensic evidence, including blood from Henry found in the black sedan that Williams was driving the night Henry disappeared. At a news conference, Jim Loftus, an investigator in the Miami-Dade Police Department, said enough blood was found in the sedan to conclude Henry had been killed.“No one could survive with that loss of blood,” he said. Of the missing body, Loftus said, “We have the hopes of recovering it.”
Henry’s mother, Sylvia Henry, maintained hope Tuesday that her daughter was still alive.“There's a God above, and I will see my daughter,” she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
She told the AP that she “thanked God” when Miami detectives called her Tuesday morning to tell her about the arrest.
Authorities said Williams and Henry were introduced by mutual friends at a barbecue in Miramar, then met later at a nightclub in Sunrise. It was unclear where Williams was living at the time. Henry was last seen on video footage taken at Peppers Cafe in Sunrise in the early hours of May 29, 2007. Video footage shows Henry at the nightclub. She has not been seen or heard from since.
The night before her disappearance, Henry told family members she was getting a ride to the night club from someone in a black Acura. Williams, 32, told investigators that he had borrowed the car and then left the club early without Henry. But, Rutland said, the investigation showed that Williams had purchased the vehicle prior to coming to Florida. He declined to comment on where the car was found.
According to the Miami-Dade police report, Williams was apprehended while he slept inside a vehicle in a parking lot at Canarsie Pier in the Jamaica Bay area of Brooklyn. He was arrested without incident by the New York Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service. The homicide division of the Miami-Dade police department is continuing its investigation. They say Williams will be extradited to Florida to face trial.
Stepha Henry graduated in 2006 with honors from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She planned to become an attorney focusing on either criminal law or immigration law.
Henry’s mother spent the latter half of 2007 raising the public’s awareness about her daughter’s disappearance by passing out fliers and speaking to the media.
BY TRACY-ANN TAYLOR
The New York City Police Department this week arrested a suspect in the death of Stepha Henry, who has been missing since May 29, 2007.Kendrick Lincoln Williams was arrested on Jan. 15, police said. He was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, even though Henry’s body has not yet been recovered.Miami-Dade Police spokesman Roy Rutland said a significant amount of blood – which a forensic analysis determined to be Henry’s – was found in Williams’ Acura Integra, leaving police to believe that she is dead.
Henry, 22, and her sister, Shola, were on vacation during the Memorial Day 2007 weekend. The two sisters were staying with their aunt, Carletha Clarke, in Miami Gardens. The arrest came after a team of detectives, including two from Florida, found Williams asleep in a car near a Brooklyn pier, police said. Authorities believe he had been living in the vehicle.
Police said they had forensic evidence, including blood from Henry found in the black sedan that Williams was driving the night Henry disappeared. At a news conference, Jim Loftus, an investigator in the Miami-Dade Police Department, said enough blood was found in the sedan to conclude Henry had been killed.“No one could survive with that loss of blood,” he said. Of the missing body, Loftus said, “We have the hopes of recovering it.”
Henry’s mother, Sylvia Henry, maintained hope Tuesday that her daughter was still alive.“There's a God above, and I will see my daughter,” she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
She told the AP that she “thanked God” when Miami detectives called her Tuesday morning to tell her about the arrest.
Authorities said Williams and Henry were introduced by mutual friends at a barbecue in Miramar, then met later at a nightclub in Sunrise. It was unclear where Williams was living at the time. Henry was last seen on video footage taken at Peppers Cafe in Sunrise in the early hours of May 29, 2007. Video footage shows Henry at the nightclub. She has not been seen or heard from since.
The night before her disappearance, Henry told family members she was getting a ride to the night club from someone in a black Acura. Williams, 32, told investigators that he had borrowed the car and then left the club early without Henry. But, Rutland said, the investigation showed that Williams had purchased the vehicle prior to coming to Florida. He declined to comment on where the car was found.
According to the Miami-Dade police report, Williams was apprehended while he slept inside a vehicle in a parking lot at Canarsie Pier in the Jamaica Bay area of Brooklyn. He was arrested without incident by the New York Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service. The homicide division of the Miami-Dade police department is continuing its investigation. They say Williams will be extradited to Florida to face trial.
Stepha Henry graduated in 2006 with honors from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She planned to become an attorney focusing on either criminal law or immigration law.
Henry’s mother spent the latter half of 2007 raising the public’s awareness about her daughter’s disappearance by passing out fliers and speaking to the media.
Spotlight On Dunbar Village
Finally! This tragedy should have been covered extensively. Hat tip to Ann
Monday, January 14, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
News: New DNA Methods Could Throw More Convictions Into Doubt (Seattle Weekly)
News: New DNA Methods Could Throw More Convictions Into Doubt (Seattle Weekly): "Arrested six months after the rape on an unrelated charge of indecent exposure, Bradford claims police interrogators told him at the time (falsely) that they had his DNA from the rape scene. Today they do have DNA from the scene. But it's not Bradford's.
A new genetic profile using advanced technology shows it was another, unknown male whose telltale deoxyribonucleic acid was found on electrical tape stuck to a mask that the rapist used to cover the eyes of his 25-year-old victim. The appeals court agreed that had the testing technique—which can construct a genetic profile from much smaller DNA samples than previous methods—been available when Bradford was tried in 1996 and the results presented to a jury, the outcome could have changed."
A new genetic profile using advanced technology shows it was another, unknown male whose telltale deoxyribonucleic acid was found on electrical tape stuck to a mask that the rapist used to cover the eyes of his 25-year-old victim. The appeals court agreed that had the testing technique—which can construct a genetic profile from much smaller DNA samples than previous methods—been available when Bradford was tried in 1996 and the results presented to a jury, the outcome could have changed."
Friday, January 11, 2008
Let's not let Andrew Coumo "Shuck & Jive"
Let's not let Andrew Coumo Shuck and Jive
By George Cook http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/
I'm sure by now you have heard about Andrew Coumo's idiotic comments in which he used the phrase "Shuck and Jive". This is racist at worst and just plain insensitive at best. The exact quote is below:
Andrew Coumo's original comment
".....It’s not a TV crazed race. Frankly you can’t buy your way into it. You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference. All those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.”
Andrew Coumo's explanation of that statement to Eric Kleefeld of TPM
"It was never about Obama in the first place," Cuomo told me of the use of the phrase, which he said he was using "as a synonym for 'bob and weave."
What Coumo meant to say:
"You can never prove it was about Obama. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Besides Nig**** are too sensitive anyway."
This is for those who want to act "special" and pretend they don't know what Andrew Coumo was up to when he used the phrase "shuck and jive". Here is the definition from encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com
Shuckin' and jivin' (or shucking and jiving) is a slang term primarily used by African Americans. It refers to the speech and behavioral mechanisms adopted in the presence of an authority figure [1]. Shuckin' and jivin' usually involves clever lies and impromptu storytelling, used to one-up an opponent or avoid punishment [2]. Such behavior is believed to have originated in the era of slavery [3].
Also just in case you want to act even more special and pretend that you had heard that phrase recently or think it is commonly used then you probably still wear leisure suits and think "Three's Company" is still a #1 show.
In my opinion Andrew Coumo would have never uttered those insensitive words if the conversation was not focused on a black man.
To the rest of you who actually live in the 21st Century I say lets's email Andrew Coumo and fill his inbox with our disapproval especially since I'm sure Barack Obama will take the high road and basically just let it go. Well I am not running for President so I can take any road I want.
Here is a link to Andrew Coumo's email page on his NY Attorney General Web Site-- Fill Coumo's Inbox
George L. Cook III www.letstalkhonestly.com
By George Cook http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/
I'm sure by now you have heard about Andrew Coumo's idiotic comments in which he used the phrase "Shuck and Jive". This is racist at worst and just plain insensitive at best. The exact quote is below:
Andrew Coumo's original comment
".....It’s not a TV crazed race. Frankly you can’t buy your way into it. You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference. All those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.”
Andrew Coumo's explanation of that statement to Eric Kleefeld of TPM
"It was never about Obama in the first place," Cuomo told me of the use of the phrase, which he said he was using "as a synonym for 'bob and weave."
What Coumo meant to say:
"You can never prove it was about Obama. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Besides Nig**** are too sensitive anyway."
This is for those who want to act "special" and pretend they don't know what Andrew Coumo was up to when he used the phrase "shuck and jive". Here is the definition from encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com
Shuckin' and jivin' (or shucking and jiving) is a slang term primarily used by African Americans. It refers to the speech and behavioral mechanisms adopted in the presence of an authority figure [1]. Shuckin' and jivin' usually involves clever lies and impromptu storytelling, used to one-up an opponent or avoid punishment [2]. Such behavior is believed to have originated in the era of slavery [3].
Also just in case you want to act even more special and pretend that you had heard that phrase recently or think it is commonly used then you probably still wear leisure suits and think "Three's Company" is still a #1 show.
In my opinion Andrew Coumo would have never uttered those insensitive words if the conversation was not focused on a black man.
To the rest of you who actually live in the 21st Century I say lets's email Andrew Coumo and fill his inbox with our disapproval especially since I'm sure Barack Obama will take the high road and basically just let it go. Well I am not running for President so I can take any road I want.
Here is a link to Andrew Coumo's email page on his NY Attorney General Web Site-- Fill Coumo's Inbox
George L. Cook III www.letstalkhonestly.com
Nixzmary Brown, R.I.P.
It's been two years since her horrible death at the hands of her parents in NYC. She's finally getting the justice she so deserves. May she rests in peace.
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