Oh How Far Have Those "Welfare Queens" Come, Ain't That Right Gov. Chris Christie?

No, Seriously, I Love Black People!

The following investigative report was done by MSNBC's Morning Joe host, Mika Brzezinski's husband, Jim Hoffer. The irony of this report is that it's centered on an unemployed single black woman on welfare who lives in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Nothing really ironic about this, as I'm sure given the economy there are countless numbers of unemployed single black mothers all across the country. No, the real irony is that something like this would never be discussed on Morning Joe as they fellate frequent guest, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The wannabe Mafia Don media-savvy governor just happens to be one of their favorites, and a 2012 presidential hopeful.



On February 11th 2010, Christie signed Executive Order No. 14, which declared a "fiscal state of emergency" for the state of New Jersey in the face of a then projected $2.2 billion budget deficit. Most notably, after cutting $475 million in state aid to more than 500 school districts, he lost out on $400 million in federal Race To The Top education grants due to a clerical error. He also suspended funds and asked for the elimination of the Department of the Public Advocate, a department responsible to make government "more accountable and responsive to the needs of New Jersey residents" through legal advocacy, policy research and reform and community and legislative outreach. Of course from the above report, things are just fine.

Now of course the societal scourge of the single black mother on welfare, well existed before Christie and even president Ronald Reagan. However, while this may be true, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention just how public policy exacerbates the struggle of single poor working mothers all across the country. As a matter of fact, current proposed GOP spending cuts will have a greater negative effect on minorities than anyone else in the country. But somehow I can hear some of you saying the extending tax cuts for the wealthy was the way to go.

Oh, did I mention that Christie loves Black people?

Recovered Black History: Arturo Schomburg

As a young boy, I encountered an issue I’m sure many other Latin@s, other people of color, and marginalized groups encounter. One day I asked a teacher why she didn’t teach the history of my people and her response was that my people didn’t have a history. When I reported this exchange to my father, he told me that was a lie and thus began my instruction on Puerto Rican Studies. One of the first figures my father taught me about was the Puerto Rican scholar, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

You see, while Schomburg was in grade school, one of his teachers similarly claimed that blacks had no history, heroes or accomplishments. This exchange inspired Schomburg to prove the teacher wrong, and he dedicated his life to finding and documenting the accomplishments of Africans on their own continent and in the diaspora, including Afro-Latinos and led him to a life-long quest for Africana Knowledge. Schomburg would also become deeply allied with the African American experience and was one of the main figures of the Harlem Renaissance. He was also among the earliest advocates for Black Studies. Given his immense educational contribution to knowledge about the Black world, which continued to include a special interest in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Spain, Schomburg may be considered the most memorable of Afro-Latin@s in the United States. Schomburg’s life on the color line, his direct knowledge, and experience of racism in the Caribbean and the Untied States, and his kinship with other Afro-Caribbeans and African Americans served as a model for Afro-Latin@s through the first half of the 20^th century. Almost one-hundred years after Arturo Schomburg called for the study of “Negro History,” he continues to serve as a symbol of diasporic unity and as an inspiration for Afro-Latin@s seeking knowledge about their African roots. Today, arguably the world’s largest repository of Africana, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, bears his name.

The following is an excerpt I found in my files. Take note that what Schomburg is proposing here is extremely radical for its time. He’s not merely proposing Black Studies, he’s also making a case for a pedagogy outside the Eurocentric paradigm. Furthermore, he’s inclusive of women, an unpopular and controversial notion at the time of its writing.

Gabriel Aubry to Halle Berry: My Kid is White, 'One Drop Rule' My Ass, Black Girl

So here I was, just sitting and enjoying yet another day of Black History Month as I basked in the glow of post-racialness of the Obama era. And then my buddy @BenJoBubble just had to ruin the ambiance of it all by introducing me to the fuckery that follows involving Halle Berry and her ex; yup, the white boy:

A simple split has become a nasty race war, and now, it's going back to the ugliest time in American history.

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, battling for custody of their daughter Nahla, have both thrown some mud, but after word about Aubry's alleged racism got out, Berry is firing back.

In a new interview with EBONY Magazine, Berry says (via TMZ), "I feel she's Black. I'm Black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory."

That goes against the wishes of Aubry, who, allegedly, doesn't like when people call Nahla black. That's inconvenient for Berry, who, according to sources, told Aubry he was only good for one thing -- sperm of a different genetic makeup than her own.

Berry's people have also leaked out that Nahla is supposedly afraid to go near Aubry, though the truth seems far too elusive to grab at this point. (source)

First off, lemme just say that both of these parents should be chopped in the throat for this mess. Yes I know divorce isn't always amicable, but the nerve of these clowns bringing the kid into the mix. And about race, too? OK, yeah, it's alleged that Gabriel called Halle a "nigger". But isn't something like the race of any potential kids something that should've been established in the pre-nup?

A Hanging Noose at Work: Just a Fun Example of "Workplace Hijinks"?? (Or, is it the FDNY or the KKK)

by Joanna (JuJuBe)

Gregory Seabrook, an electrician for almost 20 years with the FDNY found a nasty surprise waiting for him at his work locker last week - a three foot long noose. It seems like some of his racist co-workers were perturbed by a discrimination complaint Seabrook filed in December. And of course, nothing disproves a discrimination complaint like a good ole fashioned noose, right??

"There's an ominous message behind it," lawyer Stephen Jackson said of the nearly 3-foot-long noose, which he plans to display at a press conference today and then hand over to authorities.

The noose is "elaborately constructed" and tied in a "monkey knot," Seabrook's lawyers say.

"That was a type of weapon used as a flogging knot to beat slaves," Jackson said. "It's very thick and very hard and it's designed to cause injuries."

Seabrook, who is black, and four other minority electricians filed complaints with the New York State Division of Human Rights, charging the Fire Department overlooks minority electricians for overtime opportunities and promotions.

Four electricians filed complaints in October, while Seabrook filed in December, the lawyers say.

An FDNY spokesperson said he had no knowledge of the noose incident or the discrimination complaints, which he said are kept private while under investigation.

Source

Seriously, what kind of idiots believe that threatening a man with a symbol of their racism is an effective method of getting a discrimination lawsuit dropped? Did they really think that Mr. Seabrook would see the noose and decide that his discrimination complaint was not worth pursuing? After almost twenty years, this man finally decided to speak up and seek compensation for the discrimination he has been experiencing on the job, a move that, despite its correctness, is bound to make him less popular with his co-workers. That shows bravery. So, did these bigots really think they could threaten him into silence?

Of course, as expected, the comments that follow the original article give us a glimpse into the racist mindset of the average American. The accusations that this man planted the noose himself came right on cue. He is called a crybaby. One commenter basically said that people "play around" at work, and that "hijinks occur", as if a noose is just a fun joke. And of course, there were the comments about how Mr. Seabrook "played the race card" by filing his suit against the FDNY. Oh, and the pièce de résistance... one enlightened soul wrote "HE IS LUCKY HE WASN'T IN THE NOOSE !!"

Pepsi Max: Jungle Fever in a Can, Baby!!!

So this past weekend Republicans celebrated the 100-year-old birthday of former president Ronald Reagan. What was disappointing to me about this was the absence of the African American narrative as it relates to his politics. Even worse, is the fact that black folks themselves didn't celebrate as "certain people" did the life of this great man. I mean everybody knows that other than any white man named Abraham Lincoln, Reagan has done the most for blacks and minorities in America. But yet Negro hypocrisy was the order of the weekend. Yep, Reagan got no love from Black folks even though unlike Obama, he created jobs for them. Yes, Reaganomics was the sperm that impregnated the mother of invention known as necessity, that birthed the entrepreneural spirit of poor people in urban communities - shout out to the 80s crack era, son!

One thing Black people didn't fail to notice were the events of Super Bowl XLV featuring the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And of course as tribal as colored folks are, they wanted the Black coach to win, hence their support of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Personally you'd think that "my people" would embrace our post-racialness and like me, throw out all racial frames and subplots to the the game. I mean, how dare the Super Bowl be an event where race is infused? So what there are no black owners; the majority of the players are Black, no? See, unlike you folks, I'm a glass is half full sorta guy.

Black people also didn't fail to notice this Super Bowl commercial:


Now of course what I saw was a pretty hilarious commercial. But of course my people didn't find it as humorous as I did. Today, this commercial and it's obvious stereotypically racist undertones are the talk of the town all across the inna'nets. MSNBC owned, The Grio is touting the commercial as perpetuating the 'Angry Black Woman' stereotype. Which might be true to an extent, but don't we celebrate these images ourselves when we patronize NAACP Image Award nominated shows like, oh... The Real Housewives of Atlanta?

The Lying Nun: Mary Turcotte Recants Accusation of Rape by Black Man

by JuJuBe (Joanna)

Yet another case of a white woman blaming a phantom Black man for a crime that never happened is making the rounds on the internet this week. This time it involves a nun from Brooklyn who made rape accusations against a non-existent Black man to cover up a sexual affair she had with a man who worked at a local store.

A Brooklyn nun from a fringe Christian sect has confessed to an unholy lie: telling cops she was sexually attacked and left unconscious in a snowbank, sources said Monday.

After a police search for a hulking black man was launched, the 26-year-old white woman from the Apostles of Infinite Love convent in East Flatbush recanted, the sources said.

She told cops she made up the story in an attempt to cover up a consensual sex romp with a bodega worker inside the Glenwood Ave. residence.

A woman in religious garb who answered the door at the convent said the nun, identified as Mary Turcotte, suffered an "emotional break" and made everything up - even her excuse.

"Nothing happened, none of it," said the woman, who declined to give her name.

"It was all proven to be false. It wasn't her fault. She is going to move out and we are going to get her some help."

The convent appears to be linked to a Canadian-based religious order founded in the 1960s by a defrocked Catholic priest who ordained himself Pope.

Police Sketch of said Rapist

Turcotte claimed she was headed there the night of Jan. 22 when a thug ambushed her, choked her until she passed out and dragged her - in her habit - eight blocks.

She said she awoke in the snow with her underwear down and her breasts exposed. She said she was treated at a hospital and sought counsel from her Mother Superior.

Police were informed of the rape last Thursday, and put out an alert asking for the public's help in finding a suspect - described as black, 40 to 50 years old, 6-feet-4 and up to 250 pounds.

Cops released a sketch, but they were skeptical someone could have dragged or carried a woman in nun's gear through the streets without drawing notice.

When a penitent Turcotte recanted, her excuse was that she needed a story to cover up a real sexual encounter: bedding a shop worker she sneaked into the convent through the back door, sources said. Police have not charged her with any crime. (source)

Now, aside from the fact that this was yet another baseless accusation against a Black man by a white woman, there is something I notice immediately about this article. Notice the words used to describe the Black suspect WHO DOES NOT EXIST as opposed to those used to describe the REAL criminal, the woman who made these false accusations.

Racial Integration, School Funding, & the Battle for Memphis City Schools Charter

Memphis Baptist Ministers Association attending Shelby County School Board Meeting 

[Editor's Note: With all the talk of inequitable school funding brought about by Kelley Williams-Bolar's case. Today, my man Shady Grady tackling the issue centered around the battle over funding here in Memphis.]

by Shady Grady

How important is integration?  Are you more focused on desegregation-the removal of formalized legal barriers that prevented black people from living in certain neighborhoods, marrying non-black people, attending certain schools, working in certain jobs, or doing anything that a white person could do.

That distinction is important to some people. Black conservatives and nationalists (and those with a foot in both camps like the Nation of Islam) weren’t altogether satisfied with the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that put the de jure segregation system on its death bed.

Few thought that segregation was a good thing but instead argued:

Teacher to Black Student: "I'll bust yo' shit! Have your lip looking bigger than what it is!"

There's no doubt that being a teacher is a tough job. For most, though taking a most noble position in society, being a teacher is somewhat like wiping the asses of elderly folks for $4.50 per hour. Coming from a family of educators, it has long been my belief that teachers should not only be paid more, but should also be respected and revered as the national treasure they most certainly are..

Remember the movie Falling Down? Well check out this clip of a black male teacher as he tries to breakup a fight in his classroom. Yeah, the brotha practically fell down and went smooth tha f@#k off on this kid:




It's safe to say that this brotha was having a bad day, and in his frustration said some things I personally believe any teacher should say to a kid. You may think I'm wrong and seek to justify the teachers words. But think about it: did anything he said to the kid make the situation any better?

Is this the way you resolve conflict? I mean, if this were a white cop in the streets talking this shit to a kid, would he be justified? Um, I seriously would like answers to these questions. Here are his quotables:


"I'm tired of your little fat ass around here running your mouth!"

"I'll bust yo' shit! Have your lip looking bigger than what it is!"

"That's what is wrong with niggas now!"

"I know punks like you. I kick their behinds every day!"

"You're trying to showoff in front of the girls, but I'm about to showoff on you!"

The Wall: Do You Know What Made Wall St?

Fact: Some beds at juvenile detention centers cost as much as $100,000-150,000 annually. Fact: Public officials resist increases in education spending. A fraction of what it costs to lock a child up. Fact: Overwhelmingly, incarcerated children are people of color.

As a young man, one summer I managed to get a messenger job at a small brokerage house on Wall St. One of my best friends, a darker-skinned Nuyorican, had been working there before me and he put in the good word. By the end of the summer, I had moved up (again, with the help of my friend) working in offices, balancing the sheets at the end of the end of the day. That was a promotion and a raise.

At the time I was in my early 20s and I wasn’t very responsible: I would miss days and I wasn’t all that motivated. Yet, when another promotion came up later that year, my friend was passed up and the promotion was offered to me. This was bullshit, and everybody knew it. My friend had been there longer than I had, had more experience, and was there at work every day. We both knew it was because I was light-skinned and he wasn’t. I was going to quit because I thought it was bullshit (and summer was fast approaching), but my friend insisted that I take the job. He said they would only give it to someone else.

Lesson learned? It pays to be/ look white! LOL!

Summit County Prosecutor Drops Grand Theft Charges Against Kelley Williams-Bolar

The other night I had a really good discussion with the brothers on Twitter about the situation involving the conviction of Kelley Williams-Bolar. The discussion was sparked by a somewhat controversially, not-so-popular op-ed, written by my man Jay Anderson aka AverageBro (read it here).

At the end of the discussion we all pretty much agreed, that though Kelley may have committed a "crime", her punishment was in fact egregious; and dare I add, just a tad bit racist considering the felony charges attached.

Blacks are less than half as likely to receive consideration by employers relative to their white counterparts, and black non-offenders fall behind even whites with prior felony convictions. The powerful effects of race thus continue to direct employment decisions in ways that contribute to persisting racial inequality. In light of these findings, current public opinion seems largely misinformed: According to a recent survey of residents in Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, and Atlanta, researchers found that just over a quarter of whites believe there to be "a lot" of discrimination against blacks, compared to nearly two-thirds of black respondents (Kluegel & Bobo 2001). Over the past decade, affirmative action has come under attack across the country based on the argument that direct racial discrimination is no longer a major barrier to opportunity. According to this study, however, employers, at least in Milwaukee, continue to use race as a major factor in their hiring decisions. When we combine the effects of race and criminal record, the problem grows more intense. Not only are blacks much more likely to be incarcerated than whites; based on the findings presented here, they may also be more strongly affected by the impact of a criminal record. Previous estimates of the aggregate consequences of incarceration may therefore underestimate the impact on racial disparities. (Source: Devah Pager - Northwest University)

I mean, LeBron James grew up, and is from Akron, Ohio just like Kelley and her kids. That said, could you see whatever school district or county prosecutor doing what they did to Kelley to LeBron's mom had she done the same thing?