Education continues after Graduation

Borders is having a HUGE going out of business sale!!! If you are in the Atlanta area be sure to check out the Borders on Ashford-Dunwoody Rd...great deals. Lately the feeling of stupidity has been setting in...feeling like I haven't learned anything worth sharing with anyone. One of the downsides to that excellent break between undergrad and grad school is wanting to go back at this very moment. I don't want to fill out all the necessary paperwork, take the GRE and write a 2 page paper on why I am qualified to receive an education at "your" prestigious university. So what do I do...I read, and read and read hoping to engage in conversation with other scholars and those who have chosen not to further their education.

So six new books to read = yaaaaaaaaay! Currently reading in order
 1) Family Affair: What It Means to Be African American Today edited by Gil L. Robertson then
 2) It's Bigger Than Hip Hop: The Rise of The Post Hip Hop Generation - M. K. Asante Jr.
 3) The Anthology of Rap - Edited by Adam Brady and Andrew Dubois
 4) Jay-Z Decoded - Shawn Carter and Dream Hampton
 5) The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni 1968-1998 

A Mind Is A Terrible Thing to Waste

Let My Beat Build..

Recently uploaded some GREAT music to my iPod. Support Ray $...Morehouse College graduate sharing his vision through the world of hip-hop. Download his new mixtape RSVP for free @ www.raydolla.bandcamp.com and follow him on Twitter @Redberry_Ray. My favorite songs are Deepest Fear and  Sundresses and Iced Teas... definitely worth the download dope artist and cool dude. Oh yeah he's a fellow AUC graduate. (it's a secret society all we ask is trust)


Mr. Kanye West dropped his fifth studio album entitled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

My opinion: hands down 5 stars CLASSIC!! Perfectly sequenced, each Kanye album has told a portion of his life and this album is no different. Chronicling his life during his relatipnship with Amber Rose and how he almost lost his career along with his sanity after his Taylor Swift incident. Nothing else to be said.

"We not illuminati but our eye is on the money" - Jay Electronica
Immediately after announcing his new home = Roc Nation, New Orleans native Jay Electronica dropped two records 1) The Announcement and 2) Shiny Suit Theory f. Jay-Z [not completely finished].

I Thought You Said It's the Return of the Black Kings...


Twas the Night Before the Coming...

Mrs. President: Shirley Chisholm

"When I die, I want to be remembered as a woman who lived in the twentieth century and who dared to be a catalyst for change. I don't want to be remembered as the first black woman who went to Congress, and I don't even want to be remembered as the first woman who happens to be black to make a bid for the presidency. I want to be remembered as a women who fought for change in the twentieth century. That's what I want."
 - Shirley Chisholm


Shirley Chisholm was a congresswoman, author and educator in the 20th Century with the intention to change.  The first black woman to run for President of the United States of America in 1972 and an advocate for education and health care. In 1968 She defeated Republican opponent James Farmer and became the first Black woman elected to Congress. 


"I faced more discrimination because I was a woman rather than being black"


During her term in Congress Shirley Chisholm worked to improve education and unemployment programs to improve inner city life and opportunity. After retirement from Congress in 1982 she continued teaching politics and women studies and visiting scholar at Spelman College.  Before her death in January 2005, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Aladdin Sphinx

"For every inch they cut the nose off the Sphinx..." - K.West
"Shot off they nose to impose what basically still goes on today you see" - Nas

I was watching Aladdin last night and my favorite scene came on...Jasmine and Aladdin singing A Whole New World and I noticed the chipping off the nose of the Sphinx of Giza. Now why would this particular scene be in the movie and why would they give it camera time? Of course it has to mean something. If not they would have made no mention of the three pyramids of Giza that appeared before the Sphinx (in the same scene). Many are familiar with the argument of how the Sphinx lost his nose and why it still continues to be the center of ancient arguments today.
Anyway I took the stance of actually trying to decipher the meaning of the "scultpor" chopping the nose off the Sphinx. It could be a subliminal message saying this what really happened and all that Napolean crap is just that = CRAP. However, I think alone and there is no room for company in my thoughts. But I would like to engage others in this open discussion via Facebook, Twitter...however. Am I thinking too deep into it or is there more to be discovered? And no Disney is not the illuminati. Check the video below:

When Is Enough Enough?

        Remember the movie Enough starring Jennifer Lopez...abusive psychotic husband who tried to control her life after a while? Well what happens when Enough becomes reality and you have to decide between living in fear while trying to maintain a relationship or your sanity? 
       This happened to be the case with 41 year old Patrick Dell who murdered his wife and her four children early Monday morning in Riviera Beach, Florida. For full details on the story it can be found at TheGrio. One thing I would like to discuss is knowing when enough is enough. What defines the breaking point for those who struggle with physical abuse and have reported the issue several times.  Reports say that DCFS was informed of the conditions of the household and dismissed the case without removing the children or investigating further.  This particular situation was one of the key stories in For Colored Girls, however this isn't a movie and who should be held accountable?
       DCFS can be partial to blame for the reason that they didn't take the preventative measures to secure the children in a turbulent household.  The police department can be held accountable because the mother reported to them several times that she was in danger and that he would not leave her alone, but then again she continued to welcome him back in her home.  I find fault with the wife for filing a restraining order but then openly welcoming that person back and putting not only your life but your childrens life in danger. Many will point the blame totally on the wife for being contradicting and somewhat naive, but what happens when the shoe is on the other foot.
       As people we are quick to judge and assume what we would do if it happened to us BUT when it does happen what do we say?  You tend to fall in the same category as the previous victims and we are back at square one. No one understands until you yourself are in the exact same situation. I think it is a mental disease - not being able to let go - dependency on love. How can we break free from this syndrome? There are abuse clinics, psychologists and hotlines that people can reach out to to receive help but I still don't feel as if that is enough. Sad to say stories like this happen all the time and it seems that it does not become serious until tragedy strikes.

Commercials that make you say hmmm...

I just can't with these commercials. The Church's Chicken commercial bothers me. What person stands in the closet for more than 10 minutes deciding on an outfit to wear to Church's? Not to mention it was TWO of the same jacket that he pulled out of the closet. WTF...and there wasn't even any variety in the commercial.



These next set of commercials...smh

For Colored Girls: The TP version

       I saw For Colored Girls twice...I might just go and see it again. I tend to get a different understanding and notice similarities/differences between the book/play/film. First off congratulations to Tyler Perry for bringing such a moving and somewhat untold story of Colored Girls worldwide to the widescreen.  However after I saw the movie the first time I felt empty, as if the film was not complete and there would be a part two. So you didn't feel that way either? Were you not confused with the placement of some of the poems and the colors of the characters. For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuff (original book) consists of 20 poems and focuses on the lives of seven ladies who are only known by colors.
       These seven women tell the stories of rape, abuse and abortion to name a few. Now in the book Lady in Red deals with the abusive relationship, however in the film Janet plays Lady in Red and Kimberly Elise is the one in the abusive relationship. I can see the symbolism with Janet being red simply because of the HIV outcome. Other than that I am clueless as to why it was switched around. I loved Whoopi's role though...oh yeah and did she have to say "he told me I was ugly"...? That line alone reminded me of the Color Purple and how Whoopi might possibly have to carry that around with her forever. But hey she is getting paid to be ugly so go on Whoopi! I related her hoarding habits in her house to the hoarding in her life. Meaning her house was full of clutter, boxes that she didn't want moved and was deeply attached to. Her life was full of old feelings of resentment towards her children that she could not move past and it showed when she spoke with them.
      Whoopi's character also played on the spiritual side of Colored Girls. She relied heavily on religion to guide her daughter and her life, whenever things went wrong she would shout up a religious chant and yell for them to repent.  Just like the boxes that she couldn't seem to move out of the house, she could not forgive her father for what he did to her and allowed that to take up space in her heart to love her children unconditionally.  I loved Phylicia Rashad's character! Nosey neighbor with the loving heart of wisdom and guidance. She was so conveniently placed in between two troubled lives/apartments and gave them the wake up call that they so badly deserved and needed.
      But on the other hand why was Janet's character portrayed as a typical Tyler Perry female? Did she have to be that bitch that worked in corporate America and didn't care about the struggle the black man was going through or better yet her own people? It took for tragedy to strike to open her eyes to what was going on around her. Speaking of men...the book had no men that played major roles but the film (in my opinion) had the men as the root of all the problems. It seemed as if the man was the reason why the women suffered and could not come to terms with their reality. Eh that was a Tyler fail to me.  Like Loretta Devine who I assumed was lady in green...haha I loved her! Especially her poem "My Stuff", the symbolism in that poem to a man walking away with everything that the woman had. In the end she realized she wanted her stuff, meaning her back.
      Overall I will give the movie a B-, I loved it but wish it could have been stronger in certain areas.

A Moment in History: Mumia Abu Jamal

      Who is Mumia Abu-Jamal? Voice of the Voiceless...Political prisoner since 1983. Mumia was the President of the Association of Black Journalists, founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a teenager and director of the Philadelphia station WHAT.  Mumia Abu-Jamal covered closely the operations of the MOVE Organization and called to attention the brutality and blatant injustice he watched happen to them.  MOVE is a revolutionary organization built on the principles of Life, Natural Law, Self Defense, and The System.
      On the night of December 9, 1981, Mumia (who happened to be a cab driver at the time) just finished dropping off a fare when he heard gunshots and turned around seeing his brother William Cook wounded in the street.  On his way to the scene he was shot by a uniformed police officer and began fading in and out of consciousness.  Police soon arrived and found Mumia and Officer Faulkner shot and dead. Police arrested Mumia and beat him severely on the way to the hospital (which was blocks away but took 30 minutes to arrive).
      In 1982, Mumia was put on trial and decided to act as his own attorney and have John Africa as his legal advisor, but before the jury selection began his decision was revoked and an attorney was appointed for him.  Evidence shows that there is no way possible that Mumia could have possibly shot and killed Faulkner that night. Mumia had a registered .38 caliber and Faulkner was killed with a .44 caliber, also the police failed to test Mumia's gun to see if it registered with gun residue.  False witnesses testified that Mumia was at the scene the time of the shooting and others came forward to see they saw two men fleeing the scene. However none of that was enough to convince the judge that Mumia Abu-Jamal was innocent. Judge Sabor found him guilty and sentenced him to death during the penalty phase based solely on his political beliefs.
      In 1999 Arnold Beverly confessed to killing Officer Faulkner....so why is Mumia still in prison? Does Beverly's confession mean nothing to the justice system? Why is there still an innocent man on death row for a crime he did not commit when the killer confessed?  Mumia is not the only political prisoner who remains in jail for their beliefs and crimes that they did not commit. When will the injustice end for those trying to unite a culture and awaken the masses to see more than what they hear?  Assata Shakur is in Cuba living under political asylum for a crime she did not commit in New Jersey in 1973, yet the state of New Jersey still has a $1 million bond on her head.
     What is truly amazing is how we yell Free Weezy! Free TIP! Free Boosie! NOOOO let them stay in jail for a crime they did commit and let's begin yelling Free Mumia! Free the MOVE 9! People who are innocent and stood up for what they believed in. This country and the people in it have a backwards way of thinking. We constantly prove that we are worried about the wrong things, yet do not support the people that really need our help.