Much of my story has been about bridging gaps. I am an HIV/AIDS educator, writer and aspiring lawyer/academic seeking to create systemic change in how members of global society fundamentally address Human Rights.
I aspire to be the lead protagonist voice in a Disney animated feature.
I read the New York Times article titled “Food Stamps Usage Soars, Stigma Fades.” The article is about the lessening of stigma regarding the use of food stamps. What comes to mind when you think of the U.S. welfare system, specifically food stamps or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?
For me, I remember seeing black single mothers with multiple children (read: more than 3) in the grocery store handing multi-colored slips of paper across the counter to the cashier. Others, like President Ronald Reagan, associate with this program certain women, like Linda Taylor, Barbara Williams, Arlens Otis, and Dorothy Woods. As defrauders of government sponsored welfare programs, these women’s public “transgressions” aided Ronald Reagan to stir the public imagination and create the “welfare queen. ” In his most famous of quotes regarding the welfare queen, He said:
“She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veteran’s benefits on four non-existing deceased husband. She’s got Medicaid, getting food-stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names.”
In honor of World AIDS Day 2009, I want to open up a conversation/discussion about sex.
Sex makes me nervous! I get nervous both before and after sex. I am nervous because in my head I picture this spinning chart of numbers and statistics that makes me realize that sex is the ultimate Russian roulette. You pull the trigger you get a risk-free nut; you pull the trigger again and you get a parting gift.
After having sex, I hate the immediate realization that I am at risk for a slew of different diseases: Herpes, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, HPV and HIV are just a few of the “gifts that keep on giving,” especially for us black folk. After that thought come the charts and statistics:
On November 24, 2009 in an article form the Washington Post, it has been reported that joblessness for 16 – to – 24 year old black men has reached proportions similar to the Great Depression; i.e., 34.5 percent of black men between the ages of 16 – to – 24are jobless, which is three times the rate for the general U.S. population. Additionally, young black women between the ages 16 – to – 24 unemployment rate is 26.5 percent. These sobering statistics speak to the forked-tongue nature of the American Dream, and who historically have been its favored sons and daughters.
The homosexuality controversy in black faith communities has reached a feverish pitch, especially with Tonéx’s and Donnie McClurkin’s recent admissions. Probably most renowned for the rumors regarding their sexuality, these two black gospel singers have become the centerpiece to the debate of the role homosexuals should play in black faith communities. Unfortunately both men’s livelihood as pastors of their respective church has led them to depend financially on a community that by and large forces/prefers silence on same-sex desires and human rights. Yet, both these men have carved a space in gospel music to openly acknowledge their desires. Tonéx by stating that his preference is for the same sex; Donnie by (abstaining and) persecuting other homosexuals as not being willing to be delivered from “the perversion of homosexuality.”
Personally, I find sagging pants, du-rags, grills and accessories distasteful; however, I stand by people’s right to be self-expressive, particularly when it comes to ‘cross-dressing.’ In talking about Morehouse College dress code, I have to give props to Frank Leon Roberts for his post on the Root. In Morehouse’s efforts to preserve its legacy, it created a dress code which hinders student self-expression.
The “Appropriate Attire Policy” is the product of Robert Franklin, President of Morehouse; it is his attempt to create the modern “Renaissance Man.” In his words, “[he]…hopes to have the next generation of Morehouse graduates live up to the school’s legacy-
“Where were the cops?” asks Letzbeforreal in his mini-video. His question is not new. He, like everyone else, is looking to hold some bigger entity accountable for the murder of Derrion Albert. He wants to lay blame where it does “the most good.” Others assign blame to the administration of Fenger High School. Despite this, Letzbeforreal’s female guest and those who agree with him suggest that neither the Police Department nor the City Administration care about murders involving black youth. Ultimately, I think we all want to be able to hold someone, who has the ability to alter situations, accountable. I think, however, that to blame the school or CPD falls short of examining the root causes of youth violence in America, particularly in the case of Derrion Albert.
Derrion Albert’s murder was something like a blood sport event. As you watch in this clip, you can hear the man and woman, the camera crew, filming with their phone. Starting at 36 seconds, the man says “Let me see that shawty,” to which the female responds presumably as
First Strike
she hands over the phone, “Zoom-in… Zoom-in, Zoom-in.” As Derrion strikes out at another teen, we see one young man pick up the wooden railroad tie and strike Derrion across the back of his head. As Derrion Albert tries to get up, he is clipped again by another guy, whose punch puts Derrion down for a while as folks kick, stomp and hit him while he is on the ground. We then hear the male from the camera crew yell, “Damn, they kickin’ that NIGGA’S ASS.”
In 2004, humiliation, pain and torture were inflected on an Afghan grain merchant named Mohammed Shah Poor. The torturer was Sheikh Issa Al Nahyan, one of the 22 royal Sheikhs of the United Arab Emirate (U.A.E). At this point in the clip, I hope you have realized that Sheikh Issa’s accomplices are police officers. Moreover, I believe (call me clairvoyant) that Mohammed (and Sheikh Issa) both realize there are to be no consequences for Sheikh Issa. After looking at the family chart, we notice that Issa’s kinfolk has the U.A.E on lock. In fact, every top office belongs to a Sheikh Al Nahyan. According to The Observers , on April 22nd 2009, the U.A.E Ministry of Interior (lead by one of Sheikh Issa’s brother) told ABC News that “all rules and procedure were followed correctly by the police.”
When we talk about interracial dating in the new millennium, we are facing a new reality in America. In the above clip at UNC Chapel Hill, we see how youth feel about interracial dating. Unsurprisingly we find that many are open to interracial dating, except for the two black women Litesha and Ally. Additionally, Si-on lm, an interviewee, admits that her parents would be concerned especially if her chosen partner was black. Yet the prevailing feelings (or at least the director’s closing statements) were that the “deciding factor” should be about love between two people regardless of race.
In the above clip, we discover that in 2000 roughly 95, 000 black women were married to white men. By 2006, the numbers had grown to 117,000 black women are married to white men. Anchor person Mara Schiavocampo of NBC poses the following:
“One reason for the increase in interracial relationships may simply be access. As black women continue to make strives in the workplace they often move into new social circles. Some black women say they have a hard time meeting black men who can match their professional accomplishments. That imbalance is foreshadowed in the classroom where 64% percent of black college students are women [, and] at some schools, they [women] out number black men seven to one.”
I read the New York Times article titled “Food Stamps Usage Soars, Stigma Fades.” The article is about the lessening of stigma regarding the use of food stamps. What comes to mind when you think of the U.S. welfare system, specifically food stamps or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?“She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veteran’s benefits on four non-existing deceased husband. She’s got Medicaid, getting food-stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names.”
Sex makes me nervous! I get nervous both before and after sex. I am nervous because in my head I picture this spinning chart of numbers and statistics that makes me realize that sex is the ultimate Russian roulette. You pull the trigger you get a risk-free nut; you pull the trigger again and you get a parting gift. 
