Juneteenth Celebration?

Yaaay Juneteenth!!! One of the few holidays that African Americans get to celebrate with the traditional BBQ and picnics, that actually pertain to the people. I have witnessed so many people participate in the St. Patties Day activities and Cinco De Mayo but what about June 19? For those that don't know June 19 is the day observed for African American independence in the Unites States and beyond. On June 19 1865, the Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to make the announcement that the war had finally ended and all the slaves were free. But wait, what happened with the Emancipation Proclamation? wasn't that the end all to slavery?

The Emancipation Proclamation was a document that was divided into two halves. The first half emancipated slaves in the Confederate states that did not return to Union control by January 1, 1863. The second half identified 10 specific states where the Proclamation would apply. There are several stories to explain why there is a 2 year delay between the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth but none of them have validity. What it sounds like to me is the state of Texas just wanted a couple more years of free slave labor.

With all that being said Juneteenth needs to be recognized and celebrated worldwide. Not just by African Americans but people of all nations and color. To celebrate Cinco De Mayo and be ignorant of Juneteenth says so much about the people in America. What is even more surprising is that the great city of Atlanta, (which is a civl rights stomping ground) does nothing to commemorate the day as well. However, there are places like Texas and Minneapolis who have festivities planned and not only celebrate that day but an entire week. For a list of whats going on check this out

Brooklyn Stadium!!! But at what cost?

Picture this: Brooklyn, New York, future home of the Brooklyn Nets also the only stadium within the NYC metro area. Sean Carter a.k.a Jay-Z has been talking about bringing the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn ever since his Fade to Black tour and a few years later his dream has become a reality. Not only will this transition take the basketball team out of New Jersey but it also means major revenue for the city of Brooklyn. To many this may look like a huge victory but what does that victory mean to the residents and how will it effect Jay-Z's image?

For the past 10 years the number of condos have doubled in Brooklyn and many residents have been displaced. Some residents were offered money to move but once the state fianlly approved the stadium they stopped handing out money and began pushing people out. This sounds like a form of or flat out gentrification. Most of these people have lived in Brooklyn their entire life and were forced to start over. Is it worth making life long residents seek new housing, or leaving some homeless because they won't be able to afford to live their once the stadium is open?

While scrolling through my twitter feed I noticed one person tweeted "it is a shame what Jay-Z is doing to the city of Brooklyn, pretty soon the people that live there will no longer look like him." What does this really mean? It can be looked at as a positive change which will mean more money for the city, perhaps better jobs and better business. But on the other hand who will be the ones reaping the benefits from this new acquisition. Gentrification is happening all over America specifically in urban areas populated by African Americans. Is it a form of covert racism or is it a sincere act of change...

The Winner Is...

Jury selection began in the highly controversial BART shooting trial. For the city of Los Angeles this is one of the biggest racial incidents since the Rodney King trial. According to the Twitter files of @OfficialGrantTrial jurors who have entered the selection process were told to not let race matters effect their voting outcome. Basically just because there was an innocent unarmed black man shot by a white police officer don't let that deter you from what's right! Surprisingly this case hasn't caught much media attention...oh yeah I forgot we are too busy worried about whats going on with Lindsay Lohan.

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Oil Spill boosts job market?

The recent oil spill along the Gulf Coast has organizations near and far calling for volunteers to help clean up and also help identifying shoreline and wildlife animals affected. The oil spill undoubtedly will have a domino effect on the United States, starting with the hundreds of wildlife that have died due to the spill and the beaches that are starting to show signs of oil washing ashore. I think the biggest question is will BP be held fully accountable for this and if so how? Maybe oil companies should just stop digging in the ocean...

Volunteer Opportunities

Positive Music = Change...2010 Let's Grow!

It seems like 2010 will be a semi-great year for the hip hop culture. With the releases of several mixtapes (T.I., Rick Ross & Jeezy) to name a few, and Kanye West dropping a brand new single entitled "Power" hip-hop heads all over are patiently waiting and overly excited to hear what else is in store. Drakes highly anticipated album Thank Me Later leaked a couple weeks early of it's due date, nevertheless the talented ex-Degrassi star seems to keep fans yearning for more.

However there are still artists such as Nas/Damian Marley and B.O.B who try to keep the state of hip-hop with a conscious mind and continue to spark change among others. The Damian Marley & Nas album Distant Relatives has one very powerful record Africa Must Wake Up. The song itself speaks to all nations and every generation and leaves one to think "what are we doing here?"

Then there's B.O.B with The Kids a collaboration with Janelle Monae that questions the state of future generations...have a listen

Africa Must Wake Up

The Kids

How much is too much?

Thurgood Marshall Elementary school in Washington State is the center of a recent NAACP uproar, concerning a teacher who became nauseated by the smell of Olive Oil hair chemicals. An 8 yr old girl was kicked out of her classroom after the teacher complained about the smell of her hair. The student (nameless) was the only African American child in an accelerated learning class, but because the teacher became sick she was switched to a lower class with more black students.

Since the incident has taken place the student was taken out of the school and the parents don't want her to return "until the teacher had medical proof that our daughter's hair was to blame for the [teachers] nausea. The last thing you want to happen to your daughter is for a teacher to faint or vomit at the mere sight of her."

Something about this story doesn't sound right...they forced the girl to switch classrooms? Why not just send the teacher home early for being sick? Seems like the school/teacher brought this issue amongst themselves.

It's So Cold in the D ---->Detroit

So as if the killing of an innocent seven year old wasn't enough for the city of Detroit, on Friday June 4 an 18 yr old woman was shot in the head while driving on the freeway. Latasha Cheatum was in the car with her boyfriend, when another vehicle pulled alongside her Pontiac and shot her close range in the head twice. Immediately after Cheatum was shot in the head, she lost control of the car causing her to hit a guardrail and crash into a brick house (no one was home though).

Cheatum's boyfriend however was not harmed in the crossfire, and stated that she was several months pregnant at the time. She is in critical condition and currently being treated at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit.

(singing)----> its so cold in the D, how the fuck do we pose to keep peace? No honestly, A couple of posts ago I mentioned Al Sharptons charge to the city of Detroit "now it is time for the city to unite and stand for something" and this still stands today. How many more senseless shootings or killings will have to happen before someone says THIS IS ENOUGH

It's So Cold in the D (video)

Oscar Grant Trial

January 1, 2009 a fight broke out on a crowded train in the Bay area of California in which police were called out to diffuse the situation. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police quickly detained Oscar Grant and other gentlemen who they thought were involved in the altercation. I will save the intricate details for you to read on your own but to sum the story up, an unarmed Oscar Grant was shot in the back and killed by police officer Johannes Mehserle.
There are various accounts as to what happened in this case and most of them (coming from the crowd at the station), imply that Grant was not resisting arrest and therefore Mehserle should be charged with murder. The trial begun June 1, 2010 and even has it's own twitter page...follow @OscarGrantTrial

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