As nations around the world grapple with economic woes and austerity measures, efforts are still underway to help Africa fight hunger. President Obama recently announced a $3 billion aide package that will tackle pervasive malnutrition in various nations on the African Continent.

The United States and other donor nations have tapped the private sector to lead the way in making what President Obama says are “historic investments.” Private sector donations in the area humanitarian efforts around the world aren’t new. But the alliance between donor nations and the private sector presents major challenges as nations are experiencing sputtering economies. However, the alliance seems to bolster the idea that wealthier nations still have a duty to assist struggling countries even during times of austerity. “Some have asked in a time of austerity, whether this new alliance is just a way for governments to shift the burden on to somebody else,” Obama said of the private sector commitments. “I want to be clear, the answer is no.”

Food security, agriculture and various other development issues in Africa were on the table of discussion during the G-8 summit held in Chicago. The heads of States from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania were in attendance. Nearly $22 billion in pledges have yet to make its way through the pipeline to help struggling African nations. The G-8 will release an accountability report detailing how much of the $22 billion has been used.

According to the White House, Private Sector donations in conjunction with assistance from donor nations will help to lift nearly 50 million people out of poverty in Africa over the next 10 years.

R.I.P. to a legend!

From the day he was sworn into office in 2006 with his hand placed on the Quran, Representative Keith Ellison (pictured left) (D-MN), the first Muslim American elected to the U.S. Congress, has exemplified political bravery.

RELATED: REPARATIONS PART I: Should Black America Get Reparations?

As previously reported by NewsOne, before entering into public service, he was an attorney with the law firm of Lindquist & Vennum, specializing in civil rights, employment, and criminal defense law. He was then appointed executive director of the Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis, a non-profit organization that specialized in representing clients living in poverty.

Rep. Ellison is also a passionate supporter of H.R. 40, the proposal to establish a Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for the African-Americans Act, authored by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) In a pivotal moment in U.S. history, Congress officially studied the institution of slavery, its lingering ramifications, consequences, and viable methods that the United States should address during hearings by the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Conyers had introduced the legislation for almost two decades, and 2007, was the first year that an official hearing took place.

“For over 19 years, I have introduced H.R. 40 — not to spark controversy or promote division — but to direct attention to a historical wrong that warrants substantial consideration,” Rep.  Conyers said when he gaveled the Oversight Hearing on the Legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. “With an H.R. 40 commission, this nation could come closer to racial equality and understanding. Slavery is a blemish on this nation’s history, and until it is addressed, our country’s story will remain marked.”

When we asked Rep. Ellison why he joined forces with Conyers on such a politically risky legislation, he answered simply, “It was the right thing to do.”

In an exclusive interview, NewsOne spoke with the fiery politician from Minnesota about the violent history of slavery; other dehumanizing eras in African-American history; reparations; and how, when, and to whom redress could logically be dispersed.

******************************************************************************************

NewsOne: Do you agree that reparations should be awarded to the African-American community for the economic and psychological impact of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim and Jane Crow, the Civil Rights Era, and the Reagan Era when drugs flooded our communities?

Rep. Ellison: I think the conversation is generally too simplistic. Yes, I think we need to study reparations. When there’s injury there should be redress, right? It’s a basic concept of justice, but some people automatically leap to the conclusion that the only legitimate form of redress is direct cash payments, and that might not necessarily be the case. I’m not saying that, that isn’t the right way, but it needs to be studied.

Let’s figure out what companies benefited from slavery — the shipping companies, the underwriting companies, the insurance companies. Who built the equipment? How international was it? One thing that needs to be comprehensively studied is what financial benefit the African-American community has meant for America. People need to recognize that. I think one of the reasons that we have these pervasive unkind stereotypes is many of us don’t recognize — and many others won’t acknowledge — the value we brought to this country.

When we were brought here in 1619, until, I think, after 1865, because the legal slave trade did not end with the American Civil War, we didn’t even have control over our own intellectual property. Our intellectual property was legally the property of our owners. I’ve always found it fascinating: I was born in 1963; my father was born in 1928; his father was born in 1896; and his father, Crawford Ellison, was born into slavery in 1861, in Burke County, Georgia. What does that mean?

That this is a very recent phenomenon.

I went to law school and practiced law for many years and we took courses in property, but we never had one single case on the property of all of these slaves. Take for instance, if you beat someone’s slave and they die. What’s due? What’s void? What should the family have received? They had rules against excessive force against animals, but not against slaves.

There is just an entire range of questions that need to be answered. And for America to look squarely into the eyes of her past, it would be a good thing to do.

NewsOne: So if you don’t necessarily believe that direct cash payments are the way to go, then what?

Rep. Ellison: Well, even that needs to be studied, because is that the best way? Is that the best way for redress to occur? We are talking about a multi-generational injury. The people who were in slavery are now all dead, so we want to compensate them for slavery, [but] we can’t, because they’re all gone. Now, there could be some sort of survivor benefit, but how could that be distributed?

Perhaps you have an ancestor who migrated from Africa and didn’t go through the American slave experience. Maybe one of your parents is White and the other is Black. Maybe you’re only 1/8 Black. At some point, people who say that we have to get reparations and we have to get money, I just think that is simplistic and it’s 100 times more complex that that. So we need to really plumb the depths of it. What about the African Americans who owned slaves? Do they pay? How do we differentiate between the ones who legitimately owned slaves from the those who were freed and had to buy their children’s freedom or their wives’ freedom? They’re on the books as slaves.

What about the Native-Americans, the Cherokee? Do we demand reparations from the Tribal governments?  I mean, this thing is complicated and the worse thing we can do is take a complicated subject and try to simplify it — because we do injustice one way or another.  Rhode Island was implicated in ship building during the slave trade, New York is guilty of underwriting capital used in the slave trade, and as a country, we tend to always focus on the South.

To study this thing in depth not only rights an egregious wrong, but tells us more about ourselves as Americans.

Then what about the international scope — England, the Caribbean, South America. Who would be responsible to pay? Would [it be] the Ashanti Empire, who aided and abetted the slave trade? Or would we just focus on the American government?

It might be entertaining barber shop conversation, but it’s 10 times deeper than that.

NewsOne:  When you look at the government’s integral role in the perpetuation of slavery, how governments in Germany paid reparations to the Jewish community, how the United States is even paying some form of reparations to Native Americans. Why do you think there hasn’t been more of an active push to rectify the financial and psychological subjugation of African Americans in this country?

Rep. Ellison: Well, let me tell you, in terms of “active push,” there ain’t never been reparations for anyone, for anything, unless the plaintiff made a demand. No one who inflicts injury on anyone else, they don’t volunteer reparations. If African Americans want to have a more in-depth exploration into what we’ve contributed to America, then we have to be the ones who make that call.

A lot of people think, “Oh, I voted for that guy, he’s supposed to come in here and fix my life up.” Well, democracy doesn’t work like that. You vote for people, then you have to stay engaged in the process, tell them what you want, what you expect. You have to organize, just like everyone else does. That’s how politics works, always has.

NewsOne: From your point of view, how can we address the stigma attached to the mere mention of reparations, often times from within our own communities?

Rep. Ellison: Well, you have to take into consideration that African Americans were just as complex, complicated, conflicted, intelligent, inventive, and creative as we are now. We walk around today and it’s almost impossible to imagine Black people being owned by anyone else — but four generations ago we were. Even the slaves who were freed sometimes walked around like slaves without masters.

Think about that.

Even when we weren’t owned by one person, there was still the chains of  “you can’t live here, you can’t work here, you can’t pursue that profession, you can’t educate your  kids here.” It was a horrible existence in many ways.

NewsOne: When you look at the South, specifically, and how the ramifications of slavery stand out in vivid detail — obesity, sub-par education, some towns where you can still find separate Black and White proms — in many ways it’s still a very “don’t-cross-over-the-railroad-tracks” existence. There are some people who honestly cannot believe that some places in the Deep South are still that way. You can feel slavery as with the neo-confederatism of the antebellum home tours and restaurants shaped like Mammy. Shouldn’t there be some kind of economic push, possibly in the form of financial reparations, just to begin restructuring the hub of where the degradation began?

Rep. Ellison: You know, the neo-confederacy, where they want to remember the South in a fond way, flying the rebel flag everywhere; these people took up arms against the United States and that’s called being a “traitor.”

That’s called being a “traitor.”

Jefferson Davis [President of the Confederate States of America] was a traitor. These people were traitors against the United States and the fact that they could ever hold any honor, anywhere is an outrage. What did they fight for? Did they fight for a noble cause? No, they fought to keep other human beings in bondage. They are totally disreputable, contemptible, and hold no value in the United States of America.

Still again, for there to be any kind of “active push” toward reparations for slavery, African Americans are going to have to organize and demand it.

NewsOne: Malcolm X said in “By Any Means Necessary”:

“If you are the son of a man who had a wealthy estate and you inherit your father’s estate, you have to pay off the debts that your father incurred before he died. The only reason that the present generation of White Americans are in a position of economic strength…is because their fathers worked our fathers for over 400 years with no pay…. We were sold from plantation to plantation like you sell a horse, or a cow, or a chicken, or a bushel of wheat…. All that money…is what gives the present generation of American Whites the ability to walk around the earth with their chest out…like they have some kind of economic ingenuity. Your father isn’t here to pay. My father isn’t here to collect. But I’m here to collect and you’re here to pay.”

According to Harper’s magazine (November, 2000), the United States stole an estimated $100 trillion dollars for 222,505,049 hours of forced labor between 1619 and 1865 with a compounded interest of 6 percent.

Do you agree with Malcolm’s statement? That aside from the morality of reparations, the United States is legally liable to repay at least that sum to the African-American community?

Rep. Ellison: I respect Malcolm, but there are some things we don’t agree on. For instance, he said, “By any means necessary,” I say, By any moral means necessary. There’s a huge difference. So can you legally [shift] liability to the state for injuries committed against your ancestors four generations ago? There could possibly be some legal theories that support that. I don’t know them as I sit here.

That’s why I say we need to study this stuff, so we can dig into it and learn more about it. I mean, if four generations ago, your great-great-great grandmother was in an accident, through no fault of her own, that she didn’t get compensated for, can you sue for that today? The law would say no because there’s a statute of limitations on it. But if someone killed your loved one, can you sue for that? Well, yes, you possibly could, because the statute of limitation on that is quite a bit longer — if there is one.

But before people start screaming for money, saying, “Oh, look at what you did,” we need to understand slavery more. They sold slaves on the [National] Mall. Presidents and leaders were afraid that when foreign dignitaries visited, they would see that and be embarrassed. There’s documented evidence of that fact that I just stated.

I believe the collective White society is ashamed of it, and by the way, the collective Black society is ashamed of it because they don’t want to face the fact that we were that degraded.

No one wants to stare this thing in the face. From a White standpoint, it’s “look, that happened a long time ago, let’s move on.” From an African-American standpoint, it’s “it happened a long time ago and it still affects me today, but I don’t want to be reminded of the pain.”

NewsOne: African Americans are tired of being cast into the role of “victim.”

Rep. Ellison: Exactly. It’s disempowering to be the “victim.” People want to be in the role of “victor.” And it may help to realize that we were not the only ones disempowered. For instance, could poor southern Whites have been paid more if not for slavery? They probably could have. The only reason they accepted such low wages was because they were in direct competition with slave labor.

Does the White working class have a claim for reparations? I don’t know. But people want to make it simple, and it’s not simple. We know that it’s a mistake to make a simple issue complicated. It can be an even bigger mistake to make a complicated issue simple.

I’ll give you an example. If someone says, ‘What are my taxes, what’s my refund?’ And the government says, “Oh, I don’t know. We’ll just give you something; we’ll give you what we got.” Well, wait a minute, what about deductions, what about dependents? It’s an intricate, detailed process. There’s this deep injury associated with slavery that none of us have really looked at in-depth, and it would be a disservice to do otherwise.

NewsOne: As a liberal Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, how do you answer the criticism (and address the misconception) that public welfare programs enable rather than cripple African Americans? Is there a way to restructure the system so that it is clear that welfare is not a handout, but a necessity in a nation with an inbred, imbalanced sense of economic equality?

Rep. Ellison: This is an interesting issue, and my answer would be no. And here’s why: America caring for our poor and unfortunate is something that should be done without any regard to historical injury. We should do it because it’s the right thing to do. We shouldn’t allow our senior citizens to eat dog food or have to pick between a meal and medicine. We should make sure that every child has a decent meal in the morning before they go to a decent school. We should make sure that we don’t have homeless people living under bridges. And that should be done without any regard to historical injury.

Even if there was never any historic injury, it shouldn’t be that only wealthy White males get government contracts to build highways. We should be striving for diversity for its own sake.

In my view, reparations has everything to do with slavery and African Americans being denied their God-given right to own themselves.

If there was an African slave who ran away, he would have been found guilty of theft — theft of himself. They said we had no more legal rights than a chicken or a cow, and yet, if a chicken were to peck its master, the master would say, “Oh, that’s just a chicken, chickens peck sometimes.” But if a slave were to strike his or her master, they would be held morally culpable.

They didn’t have any laws saying that chickens couldn’t read and write, but they had laws saying that Black people couldn’t read and write.

This was a system of oppression. It’s important to know what slavery means in our lives not just historically, but how it affects us as Americans today. It’s important, a basic matter of arithmetic. We were a legal slave-owning society from 1619 to 1865.

We were held in slavery longer than we’ve been free: There are whole generations who lived their whole lives, had kids and died. Those kids lived their whole lives in slavery, had kids and died. Their kids lived their whole lives in slavery and died again. In slavery. There have only been about four generations after slavery.

And we have to look at White society as well, how this institution of oppression made good, decent human beings that God created into cruel despots. It supported patriarchy and sexism. It created this myth around White womanhood. These people became cruel and mean in order to preserve this institution.

Everyone was affected.

We have to go through the work to figure out what reparations is, that’s what I’m arguing for. I think it would be an important journey for our nation. Bottom line: We’re all Americans today, but you can’t heal a dirty wound, you have to clean it out first.

********************************************************************

Rep  Ellison provided powerful, comprehensive insight into the complexity of reparations, and there are still many questions that can be asked: Can the U.S. government, even though they recently unsigned the “Rome Statute” that governs the International Criminal Court, be charged with ”crimes against humanity” for the atrocities of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim/Jane Crow, and the Civil Rights and Reagan Eras?

Recently, a U.S. judge ruled that Iran and Syria owed one family $323 million for the death of their son in Israel by a suicide bomber, citing terrorism.

Should/can this decision set the precedent for domestic terrorism as well — and could it be argued that slavery and the aforementioned deadly eras were time periods where domestic terrorism reigned specifically against African Americans?

Check back next week as NewsOne delves even further into the complicated issue of reparations.

Obama Silent On Chicago’s Carnage

Race A Factor In Wrongful Convictions

RELATED: Geraldo Rivera: Trayvon Martin Surveillance Tape Shows He Was Dressed Like A ‘Thug’ 

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I am sure that Rivera’s advice was well-intended.  His goal was to warn the rest of us that if you are seen in a place where you don’t belong while wearing a hoodie, someone might roll up on you and shoot you in cold blood.  I get it.  That’s similar to the Crips in Los Angeles warning me not to wear red in Blood territory.  If I decide to sport my Ohio State University sweat shirt, then I clearly deserve to die.

Even deeper is the fact that Rivera, arguably the most-racist Hispanic man in history (wait, Juan Williams is Panamanian, right? Scratch that.), would probably argue that his comment has nothing to do with race.  He would say that even if Trayvon had been a White guy, he should also expect to die for wearing his hoodie that night. After all, thuggin’ is thuggin’, whether it be a White or Black guy doing the dirt.

Obviously, Rivera’s remarks are refuted by the hoodie-toting billionaire Mark Zuckerberg (pictured right), who is the founder of the social network that you spend half your life on, also wears hoodies to important board meetings with multi-billionaires, and doesn’t get shot for doing so.

So, Rivera is not trying to say that Trayvon was dressed like a thug. What he is implying to be Trayvon’s grave mistake is that he was dressed like a BLACK thug. Race is the only factor that differentiates Zuckerberg’s decision to wear his hoodie from Trayvon.

Thanks, Geraldo.

In your perpetual ignorance, you’ve actually helped to highlight one of the fundamental concepts behind White privilege: White people are allowed to do things that Black people cannot.  If Zuckerberg wears his hoodie, it’s cool.  If I wear my hoodie, it’s OK for me to catch a clip.

Geraldo, I’m sure David Duke has a hoodie for you too.  Also, as an advocate for immigrant’s rights, I’d love to hear your commentary the next time a Mexican gets shot by a police officer because he looks like he might be here illegally.  Your hypocrisy is downright shameful and picking on a dead kid one-third your age is probably the lowest point of your entire career.

Tell us!

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Syracuse University Professor and author of the forthcoming book, “The RAPP Sheet: Rising Above Psychological Poison.” To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

RELATED: NewsOne’s Trayvon Martin Coverage

Temazepam, also known as Restoril, is known to cause insomnia and anxiety, reports MSNBC. But there are more important side effects that were not mentioned.

Newsone exclusively reports:

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the drug is also known to cause “aggressiveness” and “hallucinations,” among other problematic symptoms.

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“You should know that some people who took medications for sleep got out of bed and drove their cars, prepared and ate food, had sex, made phone calls, or were involved in other activities while partially asleep. After they woke up, these people were usually unable to remember what they had done. Call your doctor right away if you find out that you have been driving or doing anything else while you were sleeping.

“You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways while you are taking this medication. It is hard to tell if these changes are caused by temazepam or if they are caused by physical or mental illnesses that you already have or suddenly develop. Tell your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: aggressiveness, strange or unusually outgoing behavior, hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist), feeling as if you are outside of your body, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, new or worsening depression, thinking about killing yourself, confusion, and any other changes in your usual thoughts, mood, or behavior. Be sure that your family knows which symptoms may be serious so that they can call the doctor if you are unable to seek treatment on your own.”

According to the U.S. Library of Medicine, after taking Temazepam, patients should not be walking around trying to watch anything or anyone. They are cautioned that if they do not sleep for at least 7-8 hours after taking the drug, they may experience memory loss. This means, that not only should Zimmerman not have gotten out of his car in an aggressive move to menace Trayvon, he should have stayed his “crazy and creepy” behind in the bed.

Zimmerman was also on the often abused prescription drug Adderall, which is known to cause “worsening mental or mood problems (eg, aggression, anxiety, delusions, depression, hallucination, hostility),” according to Drugs.com.

Maybe, now, the mainstream media will focus on Zimmerman — who not only has a prior violent criminal past, but was also on a mind-altering drug — instead of trying to vilify an innocent, 17-year-old child, who was murdered simply for trying to walk home to his father.

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UPDATE: 5:57 P.M. EST: After some of our readers voiced concerns about whether this could potentially benefit Zimmerman’s defense, I decided to dig into the law and share with you all what I found:

1.) According to Steven J. Topazio, Attorney-at-Law, voluntary drug use does not excuse criminal acts.

“Defendants who commit crimes under the influence of drugs sometimes argue that their mental functioning was so impaired that they should not be held accountable for their conduct. Generally, however, voluntary impairment does not excuse criminal conduct, since people know or should know that drugs affect mental functioning, and they should therefore be held legally responsible if they commit crimes as a result of their voluntary use. An exception to this rule may exist in cases involving a crime that requires “specific intent,” in which the offender must have intended the precise result that occurred but arguably could not have formed that intent in his or her drugged state.

The caveat pertaining to “specific intent” led me to clarify  the definition of second-degree murder, which is what Zimmerman is charged with:

2.) Arnold Law Firm, LLC, in Florida says that to “convict a defendant in Florida of Second-degree murder, the State of Florida must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. The victim is dead;
2. The death was caused by the criminal act of the defendant;
3. There was an unlawful killing of the victim by an act imminently dangerous to another and demonstrating a depraved mind without regard for human life.

Understanding a second degree murder can be more confusing than the more serious first degree murder. The “criminal act” reference in the statute must be a single event or series of related actions arising from and performed pursuant to a single design or purpose of committing the murder or creating the dangerous condition that led to the death.

These facts are in keeping with Special Prosecutor Angela Corey‘s charge against Zimmerman.

After profiling Trayvon, Zimmerman exited his vehicle, followed him, then continued to follow him against 911 dispatch orders, stalked and menaced him, then killed him during an interaction that was “ultimately avoidable” by him:

“The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely, if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party’s concern,” the document by Sanford, Fla. Police said.

“There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter.”

As stated above, Zimmerman’s voluntary use of the drugs Adderall and Temazepam do not justify killing a child in cold blood.

RELATED:

Unacceptable! Media Paints Zimmerman As Victim

Trayvon Martin: Smoking Weed Does Not Justify Murder

As he evolved away from his past as Detroit Red, he transformed himself first, into a loyal protégé of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, then, into a world renowned human rights activist. He never hid behind his legend to avoid speaking of his time as a petty criminal, instead using his story to bolster the confidence of everyday men facing his same struggles. He let them know, in no uncertain terms, that they didn’t have to have a pristine past to make a difference in the present and the future.

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When looking back at the often tumultuous days of Malcolm’s life, one can not help but wonder what was on his mind. As he began to separate from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the man he credited with saving his life, as he broke ranks with the Nation of Islam, the brothers he had molded into the image of Black manhood that was deemed necessary for the separation of Black and White Americans to be successful, as his philosophy began to shift away from merging race and religion, to his belief that matters of human rights can not be confined by such a flimsy institution, as he begin to realize that he was living a lie and all White Americans were no more our enemies than all Black Americans were our friends, what was on his mind?

Many of us forget that he was only 39-years-old when he was gunned down in the Audubon Ballroom just north of Harlem, New York on February 21, 1965. In his short life he went through three pivotal transformations that culminated with the founding of Organization of Afro-America Unity and Muslim Mosque, Inc. Though the two convergent movements never gained the traction and power of the NOI, it spoke to Malcolm’s influence that he was able to step out on purpose and take people with him that were ready to die for him.

Where are those leaders today?

As we celebrate the birth of Malcolm, I’m reminded of the day that I had the honor of meeting his eldest daughter, Ambassador Attallah Shabazz in Los Angeles. I was able to look into her eyes and see her father’s spirit, intelligence, resilience and passion — and to also tell her that he shaped my philosophy on religion, politics and race. I shared with her that he gave me strength to stand on principal when it seemed that no one was standing by my side. She smiled when I told her that when I was first introduced to his focus on human rights, rather than civil rights — because how can we expect civility until we are first considered human? — it changed my life.

In a poem I penned last year on this date, I recount how I was also able to share my unyielding love and respect for the great El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz with my 7-year-old son:

Today, May 19, 2011, my son went to school like any other day

He took his shower, brushed his hair, ate his breakfast and

Kissed me goodbye

But not before I told him about a man

Not before I explained to him that, though this man’s time was brief

His impact on the world is one that shook the buildings in Washington

And the hoods from Detroit to Harlem

Not before I told him that here stood a Prince who stood for something

A brotha who struggled in the trenches each and every day

To shed light in darkness

To weld the power burning in our collective psyches

Into Weapons of Mass Instruction

Not before I told him that because of one Warrior

Freedom will forever be a word in his mother’s vocabulary

Because I’m ready to die for it

Not before I told him that there once was a man

Whose body was defiled by bullets and lies

His death certificate signed by traitors and bureaucrats

A man who could not contain brilliance so bright it lit minds

From the ghettos of this stolen nation to the deserts of Africa

Reminding us that the shackles of slavery have been broken

Yet we still have to escape the plantation

I told him about a Soldier who refused to withdraw from a battle with a country

That refused to define him as man and in that defiance of oppression

Taught an entire generation that equality  — on our terms — will be had

By Any Means Necessary

Before my son walked out of the door

I told him about his brother, his teacher, his elder, his ancestor

Who refused to live a lie even if it assured his death

Who refused to kowtow or step and fetch it

Or be a diluted version of the man he was destined to be

Just so he could later be deemed acceptable enough

To warrant a holiday on the day of his birth

Yes, my son went to school today…

But not before I told him about brother Malcolm.

Today, I hope we all take a moment to honor the life of a man who died for us all — and continue to walk in his legacy.

Happy Birthday, brother Malcolm.

SEE ALSO:

Jeremiah Wright Resurrected By The Right…Again!

Trayvon Martin 7-11 Video Released

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Why don’t people embrace subtly anymore?

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Ricketts is increasingly putting his fortune to work in conservative politics.

The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as “black liberation theology.”

The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an “extremely literate conservative African-American” who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”

A copy of a detailed advertising plan was obtained by The New York Times through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone. It is titled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.”

Afterward, ridicule followed with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) quipping: “Well, Ihope they’re as successful with this campaign as the Cubs are on the baseball field.” Burn, Nancy, burn!

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Hill, “I don’t know what these other people do or why they do it. All I know is the American people vote with their wallets.” Romney himself said, “I repudiate the effort by that PAC to promote an ad strategy of the nature they’ve described.”

‘Twas a smart move given Team Romney knows that going after one’s church isn’t the wisest move for the first Mormon to earn a political party’s nomination for president to make.

When I first read this, I immediately thought about how the Rev. Wright controversy has been old news for a couple of years now — and then laughed. Like, “Obama is a militant Christian who hates America” is no longer the narrative among trendy xenophobes. They’ve progressed to “Obama is a socialist Muslim who wants Jesus and Santa Clause to get married.”

Someone must have alerted Ricketts to this reality since he’s now changing his tune.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Cubs owner told the Wall Street Journal:

“Mr. Ricketts intends to work hard to help elect a President this fall who shares his commitment to economic responsibility, but his efforts are and will continue to be focused entirely on questions of fiscal policy, not attacks that seek to divide us socially or culturally.”

If you believe that you also probably think that Ursula The Sea Witch was merely a misunderstood diva. This is more about their own embarrassment than any real display of a conscious. In fact, if we’re going by some of the other depictions of Obama – i.e. his “celebrity” – thus far, all of the attacks on the president seem like deja vu. This is one that just got immediately shamed for good reason.

Which is why despite growing concerns about the prospect of Obama being outspent thanks to these Super PACs, this story actually gives me a bit of hope. It just goes to show that as much as billions might be able to buy a person, brilliant political strategies don’t make for an easy sale. But you know, go ahead, keep reminding us that he’s a Black guy who is kind of a celebrity at a time when the culture celebrates such novelties. It just won’t do much in the way to scaring the masses into your often perverse point-of-view this time, though. Better luck next election?

Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated writer and blogger. You can read more of his work on his site, The Cynical Ones. Follow him on Twitter: @youngsinick

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I was just watching a video used as part of the performance in the “Up in Smoke Tour” with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Ice Cube. At the end of the video, Snoop has shot another black man who is taking his last breath, with blood coming out of his mouth. Snoop looks into the camera at the predominantly white audience and says, “What do yall think? Should I smoke this n*gger?” The crowd screams in approval as Dre and Snoop proceed to murder another black man in front of the crowd.

After seeing this sick display that celebrates black-on-black genocide (Imagine if it had been a white man standing over a black man asking, “Should I kill this n*gger?”), I figured out how we might define Commercialized hip-hop.  Commercialized hip-hop is a place where black men are financed by white-owned corporations to present themselves to predominantly white audiences as weed-smoking, sexually-promiscuous jackasses who are willing to shoot one another for almost any reason.

In case you didn’t know, gun violence is the leading cause of death among black men.  My sister does autopsies in Chicago and said that 90% of her victims are black males under the age of 30.  For some reason, the death of Trayvon Martin resonated deeply within the souls of those who followed this tragedy, but there are a few new Trayvons being shot in cold blood every single day of the week.

Congratulations black people, these have become the role models for husbands and fathers of the next generation.

Black men are dying on a regular basis and no one seems to care, but for some reason, we spend our time debating gay marriage, as if it’s the most critical civil rights issue of the last 50 years.  All the while, the black family has been decimated to the point that most of our kids are born with one statistical arm tied behind their backs, our schools can’t even buy the paint for the buildings, and black people are filling up the unemployment lines in a way that hasn’t been seen since Dougie Fresh was a teenager.

When I debated hip hop artist accountability with Michael Eric Dyson at Brown University, my point was clear:  Hip-hop music can no longer be legitimized as a medium used to glamourize and further institutionalize the most dysfunctional behavior within black America.  The packaging and mass marketing of the serial killing, drug addicted, STD-infected gangster-buffoon to white America comes at the expense of children who have the capacity to be productive citizens in our society.   The music can be appreciated with limitations, but we’ve got to stop behaving as if this stuff is normal.

The black male handbook for self-destruction is being fed to young boys from birth, and every four year old with an earring and pair of Air Jordans dreaming about his first tattoo has had his future killed before he’s even had a chance to explore it.   All of the black men with dreadlocks in their hair (emulating Lil Wayne, with no spiritual value whatsoever) and guns on their hips, seeking out the weed man, and looking for enough “hoes” for the next party have also been taught that this is what it means to be black.  It is up to us to stop the flood of wasteful energy and ensure that our boys realize that they can be the next Barack Obama just as easily as they can become the next Lil Wayne.  He should be bragging about his law degree, not his criminal record, but our society fails to help him learn the difference.

Hip-hop artists and their corporate puppet masters must be openly and consistently rejected for their buffoonery.  The disciples of this behavior must be called out where they stand and reminded that this is no way a black man to behave.  The space of black manhood must be reclaimed by those who want our community to survive and for our kids to have a chance.  They must hear, loud and clear, that there is nothing cool about ignorance.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Syracuse University Professor and author of the forthcoming book, “The RAPP Sheet: Rising Above Psychological Poison.” To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

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1) Zimmerman was ordered by police to stay in his vehicle but did not heed that order. This fact alone has been the hallmark of the case from the onset. Had Zimmerman listened to the instructions from people far more qualified than he was, Trayvon would still be alive.

Zimmerman pursued Martin — and in an apparent scuffle (where Martin had the right to defend himself) — he seemed to lose the upper hand, killing the boy with a close proximity gunshot to the chest, according to the latest reports. There was also evidence of a fight between the two, and photos of a bloodied Zimmerman, supposedly corroborating his story that he was being beaten and used his weapon in self-defense.

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Simply put, Zimmerman was getting whooped up on and couldn’t take the heat so he did the most cowardly thing possible and shot an unarmed kid.

2) Sanford police displayed the incompetence of novices. Try as they may, the Sanford police cannot avoid their involvement in ruining this case and levying an injustice upon the Martin family. Not only did police not secure proper evidence, such as a series of photos of Zimmerman’s injuries from the fight with Martin, they also failed in putting his vehicle in the evidence pile since that’s where he made the call to 911, when Zimmerman reportedly noticed the teen ambling about in the neighborhood. An officer took one measly photo of Zimmerman on a cellphone camera (Trayvon’s cell is pictured above) and didn’t upload it until several days later. Police also didn’t keep the scene intact and protected from rain and the elements, essentially tainting the entire area.

Sanford police officials fumbled greatly in their response to the shooting. Zimmerman’s claims of self-defense and invoking the “Stand Your Ground” law have swung the case into limbo, assisted by the lacking efforts of investigators on the scene.

3) Trayvon Martin’s reported weed use does not justify his killing. The media rabidly attacked Trayvon Martin’s school suspension due to being caught with a bag of marijuana, although several accounts from friends and others say that Martin was not a violent kid and was considered a decent student by his instructors. If smoking weed is a crime, many so-called pillars of the community should be struck down as well for their marijuana-fueled dalliances as teenagers. The medical examiner’s report that THC was found in Martin’s system became headline news this week, an unnecessary by-product of the highly sensationalized case.

Marijuana may be largely illegal, but it is hardly a precursor to a life of crime. Nor does it incite fits of violent rage in boys simply trying to go home to watch a basketball game with his family.

4) Pulling a page from Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin — and any human being — has the right to defend him or herself. Say what you will of that night, Zimmerman was an unknown to Martin. In a world where young people are kidnapped and sexually assaulted by older men, you simply can’t run up on someone these days without good cause or proper protocol. According to the girlfriend of Trayvon Martin, who was on the phone with him before he perished, Martin felt that he was being followed. And considering it was dark, he reportedly darted off to avoid confrontation in the pursuit.

Zimmerman confronted the boy and had the added and hidden confidence of his firearm to aid him. Although witness accounts are scant and conflicting, it’s not hard to assume that Martin didn’t take kindly to being chased and cornered. With Martin getting the best of Zimmerman, again according to witness accounts, Zimmerman should have taken the fair one and waited for the cops.

It is unconscionable that much of the media is trying to justify Zimmerman’s killing of Trayvon by saying that evidence shows Trayvon didn’t go down without a fight. In this case, it is unacceptable that Trayvon fighting for his life would somehow place a halo over Zimmerman’s head. In the end, he pulled the trigger and that is what should be focused on.

At the core of the case is this: a 28-year-old law enforcement hopeful played cowboy for a night and got beaten up by what he felt was some random thug. It is very likely that his ego couldn’t take being beaten, so it is easy to imagine that he shot the boy to save face.

Defense attorney Mark O’Mara will likely try to use details about Trayvon’s life that simply don’t matter, delving deep into the personal life of a teenaged boy still trying to find himself. Maybe Trayvon wasn’t perfect, but who can make that claim at  the age of 17?

One fact is clear: George Zimmerman is a murderer and a coward who deserves not one bit of mercy. With hope, justice will prevail in this case.

Sound off!

SEE ALSO: Trayvon Martin: Smoking Weed Does Not Justify Murder

But Mr. Wright has been resurrected from the dead by right-wing conservatives again, The Washington Post reports. A super PAC has on the table a proposal that may bring the controversy back to light.

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But that says nothing about right-wing Republicans in Mitt’s party hellbent on racializing this year’s election. As Washington Post writer Rahiel Tesfamariam notes, the possibility of any attack on Obama’s relationship with Wright can tap into America’s ignorance of the Black church and Blacks in general.

The Jeremiah Wright controversy was about much more than what many believed to be unpatriotic sound bites coming from an Afro-centric sanctuary on the Southside of Chicago; it was also about advertising campaigns and conservative media outlets capitalizing on mainstream America’s discomfort with and lack of knowledge about black identity, culture and spiritual practices. The controversy sought to situate Obama outside of the “normative” American religious narrative by implying that he embraced a radical strand of Christianity, black liberation theology, that was not only subversive – but also hateful.

For Black America, this is a non-issue, but, given the sluggish economy, and relentless attacks on Obama’s identity, a proposal questioning how influential Wright’s views are in Obama’s current thinking is not so farfetched.

When President Obama remarked that “if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” for example, the latter could be enough to make some question whether Obama is truly the closeted Black racial the GOP “warned” that he would be as President.

It is a ridiculous assumption, we know.

But, given how aggressive the Tea Party has been about the “Birther” issue, nothing seems out of line for right-wing fanatics with money. But the real test for “post-racial” America is this: Will we fall for it, again?

I sure hope not.

What do you think?