Nothing against that lovely couple in Jolly Ole’ London but when is the Wedding going to be over??

I enjoyed London when I visited back in the day. I even enjoyed riding the “Tube” (their rapid transit system…i.e. subway) and I’m not a fan of public transportation!!! The best part was that I only spent 100 dollars to get to England (I believe in balling on a buget!!) So when I tell you that my disgust with America talking about a wedding (in another country!!!) is not personal, it’s not!!! I just believe we have bigger issues to be concerned about right here in America!!!


Right now in our very own country we have:

People that have to make a decision between paying their mortgage or feeding their family.

Politicians that are millionaires arguing over how the middle class and poor folks are going to live..i.e. health care, employment and retirement.

A broken Education System that is more concerned with how you take a test than how you actually learn what you were tested on.

Millionaire Athletes and Billionaire Athletic Team Owners fighting over money.

A pre-presidential race that is overshadowed by investigators combing through hospital birth records.


And don’t get me started on our Churches, Local City and State Governments and the fact that every U.S. President (as long as I have been living) says we are going to stop our dependence on Oil but Gas is almost 5 dollars per gallon??

Wedding my arse!!! We got issues!!! The only thing we have in common with the wedding - America is like the bride’s father. After all the festivities are over we are alone and left with the bill….

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown: Fighting to be the King of Black America.

The leadership vacuum in Black America has left us with an over abundance of understudies. I still don’t know why black folks are running around still looking to be led. We seem to be the only minority group in America that wants to be told what to do. I say screw that!! But apparently I’ve been outnumbered by the mainstream media and some black folks.


On March 21st, Tavis Smiley is black in business with the “We Count! The Black Agenda is the American Agenda.” Smiley is back pushing the concept of an African American agenda but this time it’s in the era of The Real 1st Black President. Smiley is one of Presidents Obama’s fiercest critics when it comes to what’s not being done for black folks. Smiley’s tirade (to anyone who will listen) has caused great angst among Obama’s Fans. Smiley has even been accused of having the “Crab in a Barrel” mentality when it comes to Obama. Smiley says that his issues with Obama are not personal but the location of today’s event tells a different story. The Black Agenda event is being held at Chicago Statue University which is in the President’s hometown of Chicago. I guess he couldn’t secure a spot on the White House lawn. The participants for this event have also publically disagreed with Obama. Smiley has Jesse L. Jackson Sr., Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson and Julianne Malveaux stopping by to put their two cents in. And just for good measure he invited Chicago’s own the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Once again C-SPAN is going to broadcast the event so black folks all over America can tune in. It ain’t Soul Train but it should provide great theatre.


On April 17th, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s organization is having their National Convention. Sharpton’s organization – National Action Network will implement a 12-Month Action Plan that emphasizes accountability. Sharpton won’t admit this but that’s an obvious dig at Smiley who is known for pushing agenda’s without any follow up. Sharpton has been portrayed as being Obama’s lackey for showing up at the White House for photo ops. Critics are wondering why he won’t hold Obama’s feet to the fire regarding black issues. I guess the 12-Month Action Plan is suppose to silence the naysayers and pundits. Sharpton has Warren Ballentine, Marc Morial, Dr. Charles Ogletree, and Ben Jealous coming to his National Convention. The participants for this event have been supporters of Obama from early on but they do have some issues with some of his decisions. Many of them err on the side of diplomacy and want to work with Obama to get things done. It probably won’t be as sexy (television wise) because of boring Ben Jealous but Sharpton is advertising an Action Plan.


Last month Smiley and Sharpton fell out over this very issue. Smiley was popping his gums on Tom Joyner’s Show questioning “Black Leaders” that don’t push Obama on a black agenda. It’s obvious that Sharpton was upset because when he called Smiley the same day he didn’t pull any punches. The exchange created a back and forth that became the talk of the negronet and more recently the mainstream media. In the beginning, it was funny and good for dinner table talk. This thing has been drawn out (mostly by Sharpton.....yep they talked about this on his radio show for 2 weeks) for too long now. I’m starting to wish that they had of talked about this behind closed doors. The last straw for me was when they both started quoting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. took a lot of whoopings in his life in order for blacks to currently act like fools. He didn’t want the job in the beginning and I don’t blame him. Trying to save black folks from THE MAN and themselves must have been hard. It’s easier giving an angry crack riddled goat an enema. All of his sacrifice and some of us won’t even come out to vote for our own interests. MLK took the job because of something that the rest of us will never understand. He did a good job with it too. He fought for everything that he preached about and ended up dying for the cause. Ever since then, every black dude within a whisker of civil rights wants to take his spot. The Rev. Jesse Jackson was auditioning for the job but he proved to be a major disappointment. MLK = Civil Rights / Jackson = Ambulance Chaser. I don’t know if Shirley Chisholm wanted the gig but because she was a woman that meant her chances were slim. Yes, Civil Rights aren’t all that civil....sexism is everywhere.


So in 2010 what do we have? You have Sharpton and Smiley positioning to be the future power broker for all of black America. They might not have wanted it (but I would be lying if I didn’t think one of them did) but their actions have given notice that they are ready for the crown. But what does it mean to be appointed “King of Negros” by the mainstream media? The world is changing and black folks in 2010 are a lot different from black folks in 1960. We are not a monolithic race that can be lumped into one package. The problem is that sometimes the callers on black radio give listeners the opinion that we all think alike. This promotes mass advocacy that includes rallying behind events concerning black folks. The mainstream media then takes this and runs with it. Then anytime an issue happens with “Black America” they call on the loudest black person in the room. Don’t get me wrong because there can be some positives that come with black advocacy. A good thing is when people demonstrate against police brutality. But a negative thing would be people supporting Tawana Brawley. There are times to come together for a common cause but we really don’t need one person to beat the drum. We have groups like The Color of Change to create a conscious spark that can lead to something bigger. Unlike the dated National Association for the Advancement of Color People, Color of Change uses social networking to mobilize people. But if you have noticed, no one from The Color of Change has stepped out into the spotlight to audition for MLK’s spot.


I sometimes wonder what MLK would think about all this positioning to be his successor. It seems like everyone wants the prestige but do they really want the discomfort from it. MLK’s children suffered from his being gone often and his early death. His wife was left alone to raise their children. He made very little money so his family wasn’t rich when he died. His cause wasn’t about having a radio show or selling books but something greater. He is one of America’s greatest sons and what he did will never be duplicated. So why are we still trying?

I learned this last week: They only love you when you’re on top.

Watching the Michael Jackson saga last week made me think about our society. Last week was an indictment on how we view celebrities. It seems as if we build them up and tear them down. We all have watched the transformation of MJ throughout the years. We watched him go from Big Nose and Afro MJ to Smaller Nose and S Curl MJ to Unrecognizable Nose to Straight Hair MJ. We will never know why he made the changes. Maybe he was self conscious about his looks? This debate will continue on as the MSM dissects MJ the man. I saw Bill O’Reilly debating Al Sharpton on MJ’s blackness. Really??? When did Bill O’Reilly become concerned with black issues? The Media liked MJ when he was a Global Star. But then something changed.


The change was his behavior. MJ’s behavior by normal standards was well….um…ah….not normal. A black man that owned a Zoo; a black man that had a monkey for a pet; a black man that slept with little boys; a black man that dressed his children up in costumes. Need I go on? Sure we laughed at all the MJ jokes. And we did think he was slightly off but we didn’t stop listening to his music. So how did he go from World Star to Pariah? My girlfriend Nancy Pelosi won’t even let them debate the Michael Jackson Resolution in Congress.


Last week on t.v. everyone was MJ’s right hand man. Everyone knew him and they couldn’t wait to tell us. Even Joe Jackson was getting love on black radio. This is the same man that beat his children if they didn’t get their dance moves right. Now he is Father of the Year? When I heard black men calling into Rev. Al Sharpton’s show to support him, it made me nervous. I wonder how their children turned out? What will the people that made money off him do now? The gravy train is going into a Trust. You can’t just pull money out of that like an ATM. I wondered did anyone ever tell him no? Did anyone have his back? Did the Doctors really care or did they just keep the prescriptions coming? Did the bodyguards care or did they just look the other way? Did the lawyers, producers, and managers care?


Sure we have more pressing news going on right now. Yes we should move on and get back to Healthcare and the Economy. But that should not make us forget about what we learned last week. What should be forever burned into our memories. “They only love you when you’re on top.”

Taking Obama's off the pedestal

"Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1964 and Barack Obama is the 44th president. 1964 plus 44 is 2008. God works in mysterious ways!" ~ Anonymous



Um…. No! Rev, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. By the above authors calculation, that would make President Elect Barack Obama destined to be President in 2012. Uh Oh someone needs to let Senator Clinton and Governor Palin know. As heavy as the Obama bandwagon has been, it’s a miracle the wagon never had a flat tire. It’s understandable that black folks would be excited about a black family occupying the White House but the jubilance has gotten out of hand.

I was reading my local paper yesterday and they had an article about what Michelle Obama means to black women. I thought to myself “oh that’s nice.” After reading the article, I was bewildered by many of the participants. Michelle Obama becoming the first lady garnered such responses as “because of the Obama’s, now I have hope in finding a man,” and one woman said, “I’ve started paying attention to my daughters more.” What??????? I think it’s nice that Michelle Obama can be a role model but savior of the black race she’s not. If you needed to see a black first lady in order to give your children the time of day, something is really wrong with your concept of parenting. The fact that Michelle Obama reads to her daughters at night shouldn’t motivate you to read to your kids. You should be reading to your kids regardless of who is in office. Don’t be put off because President Bush didn’t read a lot. You still need to read to your kids. Maybe things would have been different if he read those intelligence reports.

And please don’t think Michelle Obama can change the marriage statistics for black women. The numbers still look shaky ladies!!! I hope women aren’t running around looking for the next Barack Obama. You have a better chance finding the next Bobby Fisher. When the Obama’s first met in the law office back in the day, it wasn’t just her looks that Obama liked. If Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was working in the mail room instead of as a lawyer, Barack probably would have kept it moving to the next chick. You are not going to find a man of Barack’s character at ladies night, or on the corner. I’m not here to persuade black woman from dreaming of a “knight in shining armor” but there is more to finding a “quality” man.

I’ve also been disturbed by statements from black men saying “the day after Obama won I put on a suit….” what???? Why do we need Barack Obama in office to get our grown man on? I guess Jay Z wearing a suit didn’t give folks a hint. You should have been wearing a suit before Barack become president. Why are people taking their life “cues” from the first black president? What would we have done if he never would have entered the race? I remember that no one (including myself) thought that he could win in America. We thought he would never be able to fight the Clinton Machine and white folks wouldn’t vote for him. It wasn’t until Iowa that black folks started looking at him with possibility. Then when the Clintons showed their natural behinds in South Carolina, black folks bucked the Clinton Machine and went with the Brotha. Now we have arrived and people have placed their hopes on this one family.

The Obama’s aren’t good parents because of MLK. Barack doesn’t wear suits because of John H. Johnson. Michelle doesn’t carry herself with dignity and class because of Judith JAMESON. They don’t need to be inspired to do what most people do every day. I’m sure they aren’t perfect but it’s not about that. It’s about doing the best you can with what you got. It’s okay to admire a person or be inspired by them. You just have to remember that they are just like you…….human.