The largest and oldest African American-owned publication in New England is suspending publication after 44 years.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said while he didn’t always agree with the paper’s stance on issues, the Banner’s closing is “a loss of the “voice of the community.” Losing that voice is not helpful,’’ Menino said. “It’s a fabric of the community that people look forward to every week not just because of the news stories but . . . all the stories that are covered by the Banner . . . not covered by other folks.’’

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.”

You can now follow me on Twitter!!!

http://twitter.com/CitizenOjo

Jesse Jackson is on the case of them “Old Bones.”

Grave Robbers have hit a Chicago cemetery harder than the winds of Lake Michigan. The Burr Oak Cemetery, also known as the first African American Cemetery in Chicago, was rocked by a scandal. Over 300 graves were dug up and discarded in order to be resold. Imagine going to a hotel and your room is already taken. The hotel tried to double their money and booked the room twice. Only in this situation the guests aren’t leaving. The scheme came to an end at 8:30am when the police raided the cemetery. I didn’t see any pictures when I first heard about this. And I was hoping that it wouldn’t be “Tyrone and them” (my one time being optimistic). But then the pictures finally came out and black folk didn’t let me down. Now we are adding Tomb Raiders to our resumes?

The Rev. Jesse “ballcracker” Jackson was at the cemetery putting in his two cents. I’m not a Rev. Jackson fan but I do agree with what he said about the Grave Robbers. He said “there’s a special place in hell” for those accused of this crime. I second that!!! The families that lost their loved ones can’t be made whole again. It’s a sick sad situation.

Pathologists Terrill Tops and Dorkina Myrick

Terrill Tops grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his aunt, Rita Booker, who was a single mom, and her daughter. "My family always said that I could be whatever I wanted to be in life," he says. Booker made sure Tops was well-informed about careers in the medical field and knew what to expect. His options seemed unlimited until Booker, a member of ROTC, graduated from college and moved the family to Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, Virginia, where Tops entered a large, predominantly white high school. With few other African-American students in the honors classes he was attending, Tops found it hard to fit in. Lacking mentors and role models, he drifted away from science, he says. "The teachers at the time really didn't pay much attention to me because of my racial type."

When it came time to apply for college, his aunt, aware of his struggles, persuaded him to try Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), a small, historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. He resisted at first, knowing nothing about all-black colleges. "But it was the best thing that ever happened to me," he says, "because I didn't have to focus on race."



Dorkina Myrick began taking college classes in her junior year of high school, attending evening classes at a local community college, and juggling a grueling school-sleep-school study schedule. "I know [the schedule] sounds sort of strange, but I really did like it. It was a challenge," she says. "And I met some pretty neat people in community college who were good life mentors." She graduated from high school with 2 years of college credits.

Prairie View A&M University, a predominantly black university, recruited her out of high school, offering a full academic scholarship. She was selected for the Brown University Summer Research Early Identification Program, which identifies minority students with an interest and commitment to a career in research. After graduating magna cum laude from Prairie View in 1992, she enrolled in Brown's M.D./Ph.D. program.

Please read complete article (A Tale of Two Pathologists)

The Michael Jackson Memorial - Commentary from Citizen Wifey & Citizen Diva

Citizen Ojo is at work today and since I am on an unpaid furlough this week, he asked me to post about the memorial service. Thanks to her sidekick, TV Emmy Winning Producer Citizen Diva, for helping with the post.

After a lot of media coverage and past celebrity funerals, you go in expecting one thing and getting another. Citizen Diva, thought we would unfortunately see a circus. Thank God, it was anything but.

“We sold everything we had in our house to get here.” From a woman who traveled with her family for three days on a bus to Los Angeles from Greensboro, N.C. She did not have tickets to the memorial.

From Wifey and Diva: Sistah girl, are you for real? It’s not that deep and please give Janet back her Poetic Justice hairstyle – braids and the baby hair. In honor of Michael, you should have rocked the Jheri curl.

Pre-memorial
• Citizen Diva: CNN has been covering all angles of Michael Jackson, which is what BET should have been doing. BET is probably going to be showing “Baby Boy” while the service is going on.
• Note to Jessie Jackson and family – we are not at the club, stop posing for pictures.
• Why did they use that photo of Michael on the screen in the Staples Center prior to the service? He looks like a clown.

During memorial
• Casket comes in with the Andrae Crouch singers performing, “Soon and very soon we’re going to see the King.” We known now the King of Pop is gone!
• Citizen Diva: Smokey Robinson clearly sings better than he speaks.
• Citizen Wifey: Cynthia McFadden said that she has never seen 16K people who are so quiet and respectful.
• Citizen Wifey: Citizen Diva, they need you in the production booth utilizing your Emmy-winning skills. We are waiting too long to get started!
• 1:36pm – we are getting started. Michael’s casket is entering the building.
• Citizen Diva: Jermaine got his hair fried, dyed and laid to the side.
• Citizen Diva: Mariah Carey is dressed inappropriately as always and where is Whitney Houston? She is probably sitting up in the house saying, they betta do the same for me or Bobby, the King of R&B.
• Citizen Wifey: Mariah does not sound good and Citizen Diva said, we did not ask for the remix.
• Citizen Wifey: Queen Latifah read an excellent poem by Maya Angelou titled, “We Had Him.”
• Lionel Richie did a good job singing “Jesus is Love.”
• From both: Berry Gordy did a good job. We did not know that the Jackson’s are the only group in history to have the first four songs to go #1. Gordy said that Michael Jackson is “The greatest entertainer that ever lived.”
• Citizen Diva: Video montage is excellent. Represents the man, his art and humanitarian work.
• Citizen Wifey: I think I am going to cry. Stevie did an excellent opening and is singing my song, “Never thought you’d leave in Summer” and “They won’t go when I’d go.”
• From both: Kobe and Magic, good job.
• From both: Jennifer Hudson did good and yes, you are clearly preggers. Congrats.
• Citizen Wifey: Your daddy was not strange, he dealt with some strange things. Amen Rev. Al! Keep it real!
• Citizen Diva: Where are the folks in Gary, Indiana? At a BBQ? They look like they are grubbin’! Note: Citizen Diva is watching CNN with shots across the US, as Citizen Wifey is watching ABC.
• Citizen Wifey: John Mayer, my boy, is doing “Human Nature” on the guitar! Love him!
• Citizen Wifey: Brooke Shields, good job. I almost made me cry in the end.
• From both: Good job Jermaine, Rev. Bernice and Martin Luther III and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (basically sending a message to NY Congressman Peter King); Usher and Sheehan, you betta sing it!
• Citizen Wifey: Heal the world – I’m crying. It’s just now hitting me that MJ is gone.
• Leave him alone! That’s right Marlon. I forgot there was a twin brother that passed away.
• Paris, very moving.

In closing, this was a very respectful and dignified memorial. No foolery, coonery, album promotion, etc. May Michael Jackson rest in peace. As L.A. Reid said, "Turn down the chatter and turn up the music!"

Bag Lady

While on Vacation for our Wedding Anniversary. The lady cleaning the hotel room threw away my wife's shower cap. If you’re not married to a black woman, you might not understand the significance of that. I thought my wife was going to call up the National Guard for this “National Emergency”. We needed to shower up to eat and we didn’t have time on our side. Tick Tock Tick Tock… Well I saw my wife do something that was ingenious. She took a plastic shopping bad and used it for the shower cap. Don’t get me wrong, because it made her look like a Broke Butterfly McQueen from “Gone With The Wind”. These are just jokes people!!!!! But she did look like her though.....

But it got me too thinking: did Patricia Bath, Sarah Boone, and Sarah Goode start out that way? They were Black female inventors’ and patent owners that had created out of necessity. For a minute I was looking at something special! My wife invented a shower cap that you could carry groceries with.

Since we've returned from vacation, you would think she would be finished wearing the plastic bag. When we went to Target, she said she couldn’t find a shower cap. Hey it sounds odd to me but I’m not going to argue with her about it. You know how black women get about their hair.

Black Politician Watch: Former Detroit City Council Member Monica Conyers

Mrs. Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers 14th District of Michigan, had been under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes in connection with a City Council vote to approve a $1.2 billion sludge hauling contract. Recently Mrs. Conyers has acknowledged taking money regarding the sludge hauling contract. Mrs. Conyers former aide also said that jewelry, cash and meals were part of the deal as well. This could possibly end the political career of the 44-year-old mother of two sons. 44 years old???? But her husband is 80 years old!!! That means she is 4 decades younger than Rep. Conyers? I’ve heard of younger women liking older men but that is ridiculous. If Usher has a mother complex then she must have daddy issues. Let’s look at the numbers for a minute. They were both married in 1990 at age 61 and 25 respectively. She gave birth to their first son a month before their wedding. Ask yourself, what a 25 year old woman would want with a 61 year old man. Don’t be shy, you know the answer. Of course at age 61 he thought he was doing big things with a 25 year old on his arm. So I guess the marriage worked out for everybody. Too bad the investigation didn’t. Monica Conyers is possibly looking at 5 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

A Tale of Rebuilding Two Cities

In 2007, a Tornado decimated 95 % of Greensburg, Kansas killing 11 people. Since the event the town has been rebuilding as a “Green Town”. They are planning on becoming the first city in the United States to build all city buildings to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. Because of their push to make the whole town “Green”, they have attracted national attention. The rebuilding of the town has been turned into a television show. The show is called Greensburg and it’s on its second season on Planet TV.


In 2005, a Hurricane hit New Orleans, Louisiana killing over 1000 people with bodies still unaccounted for. The cities protection system against floods failed due to an archaic design. Therefore over 80 percent of the city was flooded (hence the bodies still unaccounted for). Since the event The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are rebuilding the flood protection system. Keep in mind these are the same people that built it the first time. There are empty lots where houses used to be and some properties are still unusable. Insurance companies screwed homeowners and re-housing allowances still haven’t been provided to homeowners.


So let me get this straight. New Orleans is good enough to host The Essence Festival but it’s not good enough for a Television Show about the rebuilding of the city?

This is what I think: It’s easy to mask problems and not deal with real issues. Just keep black folks dancing and having a good time. New Orleans needs real change and I don’t believe the city is getting it. Or maybe I’m making too much out of this? What do you think?

R.I.P. Steve McNair 1973 – 2009

I know everyone knows of Steve L. McNair aka Air McNair as an NFL Quarterback. But before the pro game, he was a legendary college Quarterback at Alcorn State. His stats were off the charts (hence the sports illustrated cover above). Yes he will be remembered for his 2003 NFL Most Valuable Player Award (co honors with Peyton Manning) and his three-time Pro Bowl appearances (2000, 2003, 2005). But I will remember him for following his heart and attending an HBCU because they would let him play Quarterback. I will remember him graduating (yes actually getting a college degree) with 14,496 career passing yards, 119 touchdowns and 16,823 career yards of total offense. I will remember him finishing 3rd in votes for the Heisman Trophy. And I will remember him winning the Walter Payton Award. He was before his time even back then.

On the Largest stage in America, Black Folks still look so small

To all the black folks that watched the BET Awards, aka The Shame of Black America, hoping that you were going to see a tribute to Michael Jackson……I TOLD YOU SO!!!! I was on Blogger vacation but Hurricane Chris at the Louisiana State Legislature, The BET Awards and Michael Jackson’s crooked father brought me off the couch.

I knew BET was going to screw the pooch! They can’t help themselves. Just like the Democrats that are prone to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. BET couldn’t help themselves and had to put on a production that was worthy of ridicule and shame.

BET reminds me of a prostitute that is taken off the street in order to get their life back together. But eventually ends up going back on the stroll. Why? Because people revert back to what they know when they don’t know anything else. BET CEO Debra Lee has a law degree from Harvard University so she knows better. Why she continues her disdain for black folks by playing to the lowest common denominator is beyond me.

I didn’t watch the event but what was reported back to me was disheartening. I will talk on the following points and then get off my soapbox.

#1~Why was Jamie Foxx telling jokes about having unprotected sex? In 2005, blacks accounted for 49% of the new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States. Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS 64% were black women (64% people!!!!). HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death for black women between the ages of 25 – 34. And HETEROSEXUAL contact provided 80% of the newly diagnosed infections (and this was in 2005 people!!!). All figures and facts are listed on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website. This is no laughing matter. Black folks, we are at a critical point in our existence. Young black men are dying early due to violence, such as my frat brother in Texas (Please Read Memorial for Michael Motte). And our young women are dying because men are transmitting a deadly disease to them. Jamie Foxx wants to be a Hollywood Star and Hood Famous at the same time. He must not be following the careers of Denzel Washington and Will Smith. Mr. Foxx you can’t do both!! Please decide which one you want to do and then get back with us.

#2~A Tribute to the movie Baby Boy, was this movie a classic or something? Outside of Higher Learning and Four Brothers, John Singleton hasn’t had anything worth looking at since Boyz N the Hood. I know you will argue me down about Poetic Justice but did you watch it for Janet Jackson or Tupac or the actual plot? Taraji P. Henson is an Oscar Nominee now. She can’t slip backwards into the abyss of coonery. And the Ving Rhames guns and butter skit??? Comparing Michael Jackson to a macroeconomics model involving the relationship between a nation’s investment in defense and civilian goods is downright foolish. Is this what we as black folks call a classic movie? I guess next year you will see the cast of “Who’s Your Caddy?”

#3~Eddie Levert I heard you cursed…Please smoke your dope after the show and not before. You are an old school performer you know how it goes.

#4~Drake, Lil Wayne, the Young Money crew performing “******* Every Girl In The World” with middle school girls dancing gleefully to the beat. Well it’s just par for the course I guess. Our Children (yes us black folks!!) can learn the latest songs and dances but we complain the loudest saying they can’t learn in a “white mans” school. You were probably asking where were the parents? If they had any, they were bought and paid for. They were probably sitting in the audience counting money while their children danced on stage. After all these years we (yes us black folks!!!) are still dancing a jig when Nubia is on Fire all around us.

So I ask you was this a true tribute to Michael Jackson or window dressing? One of the greatest (possibly the greatest) entertainer of our generation and this is what we give him? What really bothers me is the lack of class and dignity that we (yes us black folks!!) seem to display. Why do we have to make things “hip and urban” in order for it to be deemed a “real black affair”. Being black should not be confused with what was on display last Sunday. Being black is about honor and dignity. It is about knowing our history and living in a way that our ancestors would be proud of. As long as we have lived in this country we are still the least respected last place race. Other races and nationalities have come to this country and flourished (i.e. People from Africa, People from the Middle East). And we are still spinning our wheels.

I talked to one of my friends (a black male) about the awards show. He said that if he was in mixed company (i.e. white folks) he would have walked out of the room. The images that we give the world are powerful. People all over the world make judgments about black Americans from what they see on TV. (whether right or wrong). So it’s important that we show the world our greatness. But as it is right now, I wonder if we even know what “our” greatness looks like.

The CUL-DE-SAC Syndrome Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream by John F. Wasik

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

The American Dream or Nightmare? The roots of the worst housing bust in generations lie in the mythology of the American dream.

I grew up believing in the “American Dream”. I believed in having a yard with a picket fence, 2.5 kids and a home in a nice community. But the recent economic collapse has made me reconsider the “American Dream”. I was holding on to my one last strand of hope and then I read this book. John F. Wasik, you have officially ruined the DREAM.


In the books preface Mr. Wasik makes this very stinging statement:

The American dream – and what it has cost us – is what underlies the crisis and what this book explores. How did we come to believe that a home should be an investment worth enough to propel millions to leverage beyond their ability to pay? In an age of burgeoning info-technology, why are we still building homes with the latest nineteenth-century techniques? What was the market behavior that drove homeowners into subprime loans and moving ever farther away from jobs and cities? How did we come up with the idea that we should buy as much house as we can afford, with no regard for the cost of heating and cooling it and the time and expense of getting to it?




Before I read the book I assumed it was going to be a bash the suburbs type deal. This book was not exactly what I thought it would be. Mr. Wasik talks about the dying concept of the suburbs from the way houses are built to the location of the communities. This is a real policy wonk book that gives figures along with timelines. It’s a book that should be used for classes on Real Estate and Urban Planning.


This book also breaks down what it means to own a “Green” house. And I emphasize an actual “Green” house. I bet you didn’t know we were getting suckered when people say the phrase “this is a green house”. He also explains why our commute to work everyday is making us ill. If you want to know more, you are going to have to read the book.


In the end, Mr. Wasik wraps everything up by giving solutions to the problems. The solutions, in my opinion, have some merit. This is one of those books that you hope your elected official is reading but they probably aren’t. This book is not for the faint of heart. If you are in love with the concept of the “American Dream”, it’s actually a tough pill to swallow. But it’s what we need right now. We need to start thinking about the way we live. Based on the information in this book, this is the start of that conversation.

Then Ronald Reagan must have broken up Shalamar?

Rush Limbaugh says Michael Jackson "flourished under Reagan," "languished under Clinton," "died under Obama"

OH REALLY!?!?!

"Given the historic change our country has experienced, this is the perfect time for BET Networks to re-examine where we are as a company and what we can be for our audience," said Debra L. Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BET Networks (or as they call it at BET, the CNIC). "As the #1 African American media company in the world, we have a unique opportunity to make the world of our audience better and provide them with quality entertainment that speaks to where they are in their lives and where they want to go. BET's reinvigorated approach is built on supporting families, embracing and encouraging their dreams, focusing on the issues that are important to them and presenting the freshest talent and entertainment."

Example #2 On why Black Folks don’t need Reparations

197 diamond carats at a cost of $410,000.