Do I have to say I told you so?

I've been super busy lately, and I haven't been reading up enough to put up an informed post. But, I did find this video in my twitter time-line care of the Huffington Post. Of course, there was an American citizen whose illegal papers were ignored and presumed to be fake! According to the video he was held for 2 days. The most chilling statement from the piece was, "We know of instances in which young people in his same situation are actually taken to the border and deported from the United States." This reminds me of Charlie Murphy's Hot Ghetto Mess (We Got to Do Better) Come on America!



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A win and a fail...

Yesterday, Rachel Maddow interviewed Rand Paul on her show, and she proved that she is not willing to back down from issues that she deems important. Like oh say your basic civil rights. Paul was stated that he does not believe that discrimination should be allowed in any endeavor that receives public funding; however, he does not believe that the government has the right to tell private owners how to run their businesses. He later goes on to compare serving blacks or gays in a place where owners do not want them around as bringing guns into bars and restaurants! Unfortunately, a person with these views just won the primary in Kentucky. The only thing I do support that he stated is that I do believe in freedom of speech. I think that all speech regardless of what it is should be protected. It is harder to fight a silent enemy or one that you do not know exists. Check out the clip below.

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X day

Today is the birthday of Malcolm X, a man who was not afraid to change his mind when he was given more answers. Here are a few of my favorite Malcolm X quotes...

"A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself."

"Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom."

"I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King."
-- in a conversation with Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against. "

"If you have no critics you'll likely have no success. "

"Truth is on the side of the oppressed. "

"You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it. "

Push the boundaries

This past weekend, many students participated in their college commencements. While the percentage of students of color may not be where it needs to be, the fact that my sister was able to walk across the stage is one of the greatest ways to celebrate the 56th anniversary of Brown s Board of education. Because of the courage of 13 parents who fought for the rights of 22 children, my family, my friends, and I have had the opportunity to attend scholastically superior institutions. Section I of the 14th amendment states:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This law was created in 1868, and slavery had just been abolished in 1865. The laws created are only as good as the people enforcing them, interpreting them, and willing to test them. I am fortunate enough to have reaped many benefits from Brown vs. Board of education by attending private schools for the majority of my life. Unfortunately this is not the case for the majority of people of color. Although Brown vs. Board overturned Plessy vs Ferguson, a case decided in 1896 that stated separate and equal facilities was equal, many minorities still find their children segregated in schools because of socio-economic status, ethnic enclaves, and house zoning.
I can not imagine the difference in my life had I not been challenged intellectually by people who thought differently, looked differently, and were raised differently than myself. Every American benefits when all Americans have equal access. I encourage you to continue to learn about yourself, continue to learn about others, and continue to test the boundaries that way you too may make a difference that will have a ripple effect for years to come.

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Fail of the Week

Honestly, this video pretty much speaks for itself. Teairra Mari is a beautiful and talented girl, but whatever this PR stunt is doing just makes her look desperate. This is definitely not a good look for her. She seems as if she is trying to hard, and if all she has to sell is sex she should take some lessons. I'm sure there was another way for her to go.


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No men in tights....

If you’ve seen the trailer for the Robin Hood movie you were probably underwhelmed. When trolling through moviefone I saw the title, and couldn’t remember whether or not I found the trailer exciting. I wasn't sure if I wanted to waste my time on this movie because Robin Hood has been told so many times, but this version of Robin hood is a very fresh take on what drives a person to become the outlaw we have come to know. To my surprise the movie was great for anyone who enjoys a gladiator/war style of movie. Robin Hood starts a bit slow; however, I was literally perked up in my chair throughout most of the movie. The fight scenes were amazing and still watchable for people who do not enjoy too much gore in a movie. Unfortunately the promotion for this film was horrible. The trailers definitely don’t do the movie any justice. If the movie “fails” in the box office they can definitely thank their PR team.

The more things change...

Watching the happenings in Arizona is a heart wrenching experience. What is worse is listening to the amount of people spew hate from their mouths. This is America. Yes, I understand that something about immigration needs to be done; but, it seems like not too many Americans know their history or have chosen to catch amnesia. The majority of “Americans” are immigrants. Unless you are a naturalized American Indian, your ancestors were immigrants. Now some of you might say, “Hey, I came here legally, I’m a real American!” Well if you consider the European colonization of the Americas legal, I guess your right. But taking land that was already claimed, killing off an ethnicity of people, raging wars, spreading disease, and forcing American Indians into the corners of the country to live in confined spaces seems like the most legit takeover ever.

Throughout the years of our American takeover history almost every ethnicity or religious group has been demonized throughout the years. People do not like change. People do not like to be outnumbered. People do not know their history. Fear and ignorance cause discrimination and hate. But the fact is that immigration is what keeps our country thriving. America the ugly was built on the backs of indentured servants and slaves. i.e. cheap labor. After slavery was abolished, there were waves of different cultures that continued to come into our country both legally and illegally for various reasons in order to thrive in a new world. These immigrants took those jobs that no one wanted for wages that no one wanted in order for big business to continue to grow and thrive. The truth is we have a problem, but we should not solve our problems at the expense of American citizens being profiled and badgered because they look like a group of people who continue to enter this country illegally.

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Turning the other cheek to rape

Yesterday, I caught the tail end of a documentary about corrective rape, the rape of lesbian women by men in an effort to make them straight, on ESPN of all places. Not only was this documentary informative; but, as a former film student, I thought the piece as a whole was beautifully done. With all of the freedoms that we as American citizens have fought for since the very beginning of our country, it is interesting to watch how we choose to deal with our own human rights and civil liberties as well as the civil liberties of others. As a melting pot of cultures, America is ever-changing. But, let us not get so wrapped up in the things that we want that we forget that there are much bigger battles to be fought around the world. One would think that it is a natural right not to be raped; however Jeremy Schaap provides us with a thought provoking look at a beautiful culture that allows ugly injustices. I believe no matter how beautiful a culture can be every culture has ugly injustices that another culture would deem a basic right.

To learn more about this story check out E:60



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No Crying in Baseball

Unfortunately I am old enough to say that when I was a little girl, there weren’t many girls who were allowed to play baseball. I learned how to play baseball, because my brothers played softball; however, once I got to middle school, I was quickly moved over to the softball team. Check out this article from FANHOUSE about 12 yr old Chelsea Baker a new pitching phenom!


Joe Niekro's Knuckler Lives Through Arm of 12-Year-Old Girl