BET: Hustling Backwards!! It’s too late, the damage is done.

Apparently last year Black Entertainment Television decided to conduct a survey on their network. They wanted to show that all blacks were diverse with different interests (somewhere the Devil is laughing). This was done in an attempt to gain advertisers and programmers. CEO Viceroy Debra Lee did a good job with keeping this one under wraps. I guess BET didn’t want to admit that they’ve lost advertisers over the years. It’s not a surprise that people jumped off the BET Titanic with such “Gems” like “Cita’s World,” “Hell Date,” “Frankie & Neffe,” “Tiny and Toya,” and everyone’s favorite “BET: Uncut.”


Side Note: If you ever wondered why your middle school daughter let boys slide credit cards up her butt, look no further than BET: Uncut.


You can look at the results yourself for understanding but I don’t need to. It’s idiotic that a black owned white owned stationed ran by black folks would need to study black folks. It should be their business from DAY 1 to know what black folks like and don’t like. BET’s biggest problem was that they dumbed down their content because they thought black folks were monolithic. Appealing to certain age groups while excluding others is how they got here in the first place. Black Entertainment Television is suppose to be for all Blacks – not just the young, tatted, ebonic speaking, pseudo-thugs/hoes/pimps/pimpettes that are mainstays on the network. To say it in a vernacular that BET would best understand. Once again, you are tardy to the party.

Some people love bringing in the New Year with gun fire and such…

When you have to ask who a celebrity is that means only two things.

#1 They were on a VH1 reality show.

#2 They are a Hood Celebrity.


Atlanta Rap producer Demetrius Stewart is being held without bond on a murder charge. Stewart, who goes by the name Shawty Redd (I believe it’s pronounced “shorty” but I digress), allegedly shot Damon Martin after a New Years Eve party at Stewart’s home. When I first heard of this I said "Who"?


*Side Note 1*: His home is in the Suburbs of Hampton, GA – 85% White Population. Can't be all that Gangsta.


Unfortunately or Fortunately for Stewart, there were no witnesses to “not” snitch on the incident. That is because the only two people left after the party was Stewart and Martin. It seems kinda odd that there were no women hanging around afterwards. What about all those music videos with half naked women drinking liquor and dancing. You would think a Rap producer’s party would make a Snoop Dogg video look like a Boy Scout Jamboree. Two men alone after New Years still sounds odd…….but I digress.


*Side Note 2*: The homes and cars in those videos are rented. The women are picked from agencies and strip clubs.


I guess you are wondering what will Rap do without this Grammy nominated producer? How will Rap go on living without the Legend that produced such songs as Trap or Die, Trap House, Stash House and That’s My Hood (do you think he was talking about Hampton, GA). What will wanna be gangsters, booty shakers, faux pimps and pimpettes do now?


*Side Note 3*: I listen to NPR so none of this will set me back in the least.

Getting the 2016 Olympics??? Chicago, that is the least of your problems.

President Barack H. Obama, before you fly over to Copenhagen, you need to take a look at what is going on in your home city. The Olympics can provide name recognition and put a jolt in the economy. But it can't stop the senseless violence. Was Chicago going to sweep this under the rug and then let it back out once the Olympics left town? Black folks, we can do better than this. We can't walk around in denial anymore. But!!! For those that still don't know - the message is now loud and clear! No one is coming to save us!!!!! Even with a Black President we still have to save ourselves.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Presiding over a divided nation.

After last week we can finally bury this “Post Racial” myth. The false arrest of Dr. Henry L. Gates proved that this country is more divided than ever. Black folks and white folks had the same info but came back with different conclusions. Black folks saw the false arrest of a man inside his own home. White folks saw a guy that was giving the police a hard time. Once again America was on different sides of an issue. We haven’t even discussed black folks that felt the need to defend Officer James Crowley. I’m still shaking my head on that one? Sometimes it’s just best to keep your mouth shut. The same people you step out for get missing when you are in trouble. But I digress……


Sure my views are biased. I’ve been a victim of racial profiling. I’ve been talked to with disrespect by a cop (and I knew the guy…and he was black)!!! So to me, last week was just another week in Blackness. Last week also proved that some white folks know absolutely nothing about black folks. It’s like we have been living on different planets all these years. We also learned that President Obama can’t speak on issues of race. Obama can’t talk about any other issues that will make white folks uncomfortable. As long as he is President he will have to appease the “Mainstream.” Glenn Beck said Obama had deep seeded hatred towards “the white culture.” Really??? Obama's mother is white along with half his family but he's racist? Obama’s family is as mixed as a bag of Trail Mix. Have you seen the man’s inner circle for crying out loud? Sure he’s got some black women riding with him but it’s still a lot of white men hanging around. I believe America's divisions run too deep for us to come together. So Obama should get back to the Economy and Healthcare. He should keep the heat on these terrorists. He also should concentrate on fixing America’s Transportation system. But under no cirmcumstances does he need to give his opinion on race.


It’s obvious that America isn't ready for a real dialogue on race. And I’m sure that Obama wants to move toward racial healing, but we won’t let him. You know the funny thing about all this? Finally we have a President that wants to bring America together. He can’t and it’s not even his fault. It’s ours.

The Casket of Emmett Till Tells A Story

The disregard of the dead at the Burr Oak Cemetery still gives me the chills. The discovery of Emmett Till’s original casket shows the depths of this disregard. The casket of Till, an historic figure in the civil rights movement, should have been in a museum. Instead the casket was rusting away in some back room. But pay attention because the casket tells a story.


The casket is a representation of some of our brothers and sisters in society. Some black folks don’t know their history. They don’t know about their ancestors that paved the way for them. The people involved in this despicable act didn’t understand the significance of what Till represented. So you can understand why they didn’t care about the rest of the Burr Oak residents. The casket tells the story about a race of people that have forgotten where they came from. The casket tells the story about a race of people that show each other disrespect.


If the people can’t work together, there is no unity. If the people can’t love their own, they will disrespect their women and exploit their children. If the people can’t trust their own, they will speak ill of their own in public and envy them in private. The casket shows us where we are as a people. Yes it hurts to look at the casket but it’s the truth.


There is one thing of beauty that we can take away from this. Emmett Till is still teaching us a lesson even in death

I came back to this????

Your man with the plan, that would be “me”, just wrapped up Homecoming Weekend HBCU Style. I was trying to rest up on Sunday after being out all weekend long. Little did I know this past weekend was going to be jammed pack with drama!! I’m not talking about that white woman who said a black man assaulted her, and carved the letter B into her cheek. Black folks knew that was fake when it was reported in the news. I’m definitely not talking about Elizabeth Hasselbeck following around a rouge Vice Presidential Candidate. Two of the worst mistakes Barbara Walters has ever made was telling us that she slept with a black guy, and hiring Hasselbeck.

The thud of the weekend was the D.L. Hughley’s CNN show. I haven’t heard black folks complaining this much since they went back to small glasses for communion. I’m not going to jump on the bash D.L Hughley band wagon; because I don’t think it’s his fault. He gives very bright commentary when asked about political issues so I know he isn’t stupid. But I believe he likes pushing the envelope, and when he does it always comes across messy. The people that I blame for this one is “us”. “Us” i.e. Blackfolks!!!! We supported BET after they dropped Teen Summit and the Nightly News. We supported BET when they started BET Uncut. We didn’t go support quality movies such as The Great Debaters, Eve’s Bayou, and Devil in a Blue Dress. We didn’t complain to the major networks after the Don Imus episode to give minorities a television show expressing our views. We didn’t condemn Bob Johnson when he alluded to Barack Obama being a drug fiend. We listen to music that degrades our women and marginalizes our men. We are the ones that gave CNN the green light to produce this. D.L., like most black folks, wants to get paid and will do what he needs to in order to make paper. Just like the dough boy on the corner, the studio gangster and the Wall Street big shot. The bottom line: If you want respect you have to carry yourself with dignity.

Side Note: The Jennifer Hudson family tragedy was shocking and sad. My prayers go out to the family.

America’s new love of Mediocrity (also known as) The dumbing down of America

This 2008 Presidential Election has brought out a new ignorance in America. It appears that we have lowered our standards when it comes to electing our political leaders. We have decided that personality trumps work experience. Terms to describe politicians such as “folksy” and “just like us” have become key words for describing qualified candidates. President George Walker Bush was once described as “someone you could have a beer with”. After almost 8 years under his rule, you now see what “someone you could have a beer with” gets you. We have citizens from all over the world coming to America to attend our colleges and universities. If an American education is good enough for someone from India, why can’t a biracial kid with an American mother and African father have the same kind of education? When did trying to better yourself with an education become such a negative? In this election when a politician has anything above a high school degree, they are called elitist. If a politician doesn’t hunt, fish or drink beer, they are called “east coast snobs”. Who came up with the idea of voting an Average Joe for president? Where did this Anti –Intellectualism come from? We don’t need Ordinary People running the country-we need Extraordinary people.

I would also like to know who started this new concept of congratulating adults for being first time voters? I’m talking about 35years plus adults that are first time voters. People are patting these folks on their backs like they invited a cure for cancer. Someone should tell them that they are late to the party. Just think of all the elections where we could have used their votes (2000)-(2004). The reason we are in this current mess is because of these individuals. Instead of giving them a handshake they need a boot to their behinds. I was driving with Citizen Wifey listening to the radio the other day and I almost wrecked the car. A local radio station was registering a 100 year old woman to vote. Are you kidding me!!! Who is to say she will even make it to November 4th. My bones crack when I get out of bed and I’m in my mid 30’s. I can only imagine what she feels like in the mornings. I hate to sound self righteous but I really need to stress this point. I don’t vote because I’m mesmerized by a candidate. I don’t vote because it’s the new hip thing to do. I vote because Medgar Evers died for me to vote. I vote because Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman died for me to vote. When did it get so bad that we have to beg people to vote? This is a right that was earned through blood, sweat and tears. We have people in this country that think they can actually vote on the internet for Election Day? I know high schools are getting rid of their music programs but civics classes too??? People have been around here sleep walking, (at least for the last 7 years and 9 months that we can tell by the number of new voters), while the country is deteriorating. Our schools, infrastructure, and neighborhoods are falling apart. The jails are overcrowded and convicted criminals are walking the streets with rap sheets longer than Korean weave. And now these people are registering to vote because it’s the responsible thing to do? Give me a break!!!!

The first time voters shouldn’t take all this criticism by themselves, because some of our registered voters are just as bad. How can you make an intelligent decision about voting from chain e-mails? I could go on but the more I type the more disgusted I get.

The End