OBAMA'S GRANDMA DIES ON EVE OF ELECTION: Plus, RNC files complaint over his final visit to her in October.
*One day before the presidential election, Barack Obama and his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng released a joint statement announcing the death of their grandmother Madelyn Dunham at age 86.
The Illinois senator, who took a break from campaigning to visit her in Hawaii just a week-and-a-half ago, said she died peacefully following a long battle with cancer.
The Democratic candidate learned of her death early Monday morning while he was campaigning in Jacksonville, Fla. He did not mention the passing in his two campaign appearances that took place before issuing the statement.
"She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility," Obama said in a statement. "She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."
Obama said the decision to leave his campaign and visit her last month was easy to make, telling CBS that he "got there too late" when his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995 at 53, and wanted to make sure "that I don't make the same mistake twice."
Before news of Dunham passing, the Republican National Committee announced it had filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over Obama's use of his campaign plane to visit her.
The complaint, generated from the California Republican Party, states that "Obama for America violated federal law by converting its campaign funds to Senator Obama's personal use" for the trip.
Here is the statement released Monday from California Republican Chairman Ron Nehring:
Senator Obama recently traveled to Hawaii to visit his sick grandmother. This was the right thing for any grandson to do -- at his own expense -- but it was not travel that his campaign may fund.
In Senator Obama's own words, his travels took him 'off the [campaign] trail for a day.' The trip featured no campaign events of any kind its 22-hour duration and his decision to travel was 'not driven by political concerns,' according to an Obama spokesperson. Since the trip's purpose was entirely and admittedly personal, the fact that he made campaign telephone calls and talked with staff aides while traveling does not convert this purely personal trip into a proper campaign expense. Therefore, the Obama Campaign violated the FEC's ban on 'personal use' of campaign funds when it paid over $100,000 for the Campaign's charter to fly to Hawaii without obtaining reimbursement from Senator Obama.
To be clear, the California Republican Party respects Senator Obama's decision to leave the campaign trail for a worthwhile personal purpose. But the Party will not quietly let 'hard facts make bad law.' If the FEC fails to act here, it will-contrary to explicit provisions of federal law-allow personal travel to Hawaii at campaign expense: a loophole sure to be exploited by others for less commendable personal purposes.
Sympathy must not cloud the simple truth. This trip was personally important to Senator Obama, but served no campaign purpose. Its costs should have been paid with Senator Obama's own funds.
TOM JOYNER TO EXTEND BROADCAST TODAY: Syndicated radio host to provide 'up-to-the-minute coverage.'
*The Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS) will bring its listeners Election Day coverage through a special radio broadcast and a Tom Joyner Election Day Blog Party on BlackAmericaWeb.com.
The TJMS is airing a historic extended broadcast this morning from 5 a.m. CST – 12 p.m. CST. Black America is invited to stay with Joyner and the crew all day through their local affiliate or online at BlackAmericaWeb.com.
Joyner, along with co-hosts Sybil Wilkes and J. Anthony Brown, will continue broadcasting exclusive continuous coverage live from the heart of Chicago to help drive listeners to the polls, provide complete up-to-the-minute information on the day’s election process, and give 1-866-MYVOTE1 Election Trickery Reports.
TJMS regular contributors including Roland Martin, Ken Smuckler, Jacque Reid, DL Hughley, Rev. Al Sharpton, Sheryl Underwood, and Huggy Lowdown the Celebrity Snitch are all scheduled to appear during the broadcast as well as some of the most important politicians, community leaders, and celebrity activist of the day.
Additionally, as part of the special evening coverage, Sybil Wilkes will anchor BlackAmericaWeb.com Headlines Election Night Updates offering listener’s real time updates as the polls close across the country. The reports will be a fusion of the latest return results mingled with timely commentary/reports from well known political pundits and election observers.
The :90 second segments are available to listeners via their local Tom Joyner Morning Show affiliate. The special evening coverage begins tonight at 6 p.m. CST with feeds to local TJMS affiliates at the top and bottom of the hour until 10 p.m. CST.
Also, during the evening from 6 p.m. CST until midnight, Joyner will be a featured panelist on TVOne’s special broadcast live from Grant Park in Chicago.
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*The non-partisan campaign "Election Protection," at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, is at your service today offering voter assistance in the event of any trickery at the polls.
Ten thousand lawyers and law students are manning the phones today to ensure any voting obstacles will be overcome. From names erroneously left off voter logs to ensuring that polls stay open later to accommodate long lines, this group is the support network for voters in need.
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BLIGE, DIDDY, JAY-Z STUMP FOR OBAMA IN FLA.: Artists urge voters not to be deterred by long voting lines.
*Jay-Z, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mary J. Blige and Russell Simmons appeared at a rally for Barack Obama in South Florida on Sunday to underscore the importance of enduring today's potential long lines at the polls.
"It's bigger than us," Diddy told the crowd of about 800 at Florida Memorial University's Chester Robinson Athletic Center. "We have to do it for our children, we have to do it for the people that died for us to have the right to vote."
Music executive Kevin Liles also joined the entertainers at the "Last Chance for Change" rally for the Democratic nominee.
"We stood in line to get the new Lil' Wayne CD," Liles said. "We stood in line to get a new pair of Jordans. We stood in line to get in here. So we ain't afraid of no lines."
None of the artists actually performed, instead using their time to stump for the candidate, according to the Associated Press. A DJ played as the crowd waited for the group to arrive, and a gospel choir and college step teams also performed.
"We have been doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result," Blige said. "Please do something different. Barack Obama is a true example of something different. He's a true example of something our children can have in the future, what they can look at and say: 'Wow, we can really, really do something. We can really, really be something.'"
SERVICES HELD FOR HUDSON'S SLAIN RELATIVES: Mom voted for Obama before she died; Fantasia sings; Jennifer described as a pillar' while IDing bodies.
*A private funeral service for the slain mother, brother and nephew of Jennifer Hudson drew hundreds of mourners Monday at Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side.
Near the end of a two-hour wake before the service, Hudson approached their coffins and spent a few moments saying goodbye to each family member.
The Chicago Tribune reports: "She paused at the casket of her 7-year-old nephew Julian [King], then moved on, gently touching the body of her mother. Composed, the 27-year-old actress and singer leaned down to kiss her mother goodbye. She paused again before her brother's casket before taking her seat."
As hundreds of onlookers gathered outside, the 200 or so invited guests were given a small blue ticket that read "Hudson Family Funeral" to gain admittance to the three-hour service. Police shut down side streets around the church to keep the media away and give celebrity mourners a private entrance.
The service included several hours of eulogies and scriptures and was filled with gospel music and fond memories. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley were among the speakers.
"American Idol" Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino belted the gospel classic, "Your Grace and Mercy," the Tribune reports. Calling the Hudsons "my family," she walked off the stage and into the aisle where she took Jennifer's hand and sang directly to the actress.
After the funeral, the funeral procession was led to Oak Woods Cemetery on the South Side by a horse-drawn carriage.
Monday's services followed a public memorial held Sunday at Pleasant Gift Memorial Baptist Church, Hudson's childhood place of worship.
Julian's classmates read from their personal journals, reminiscing about the smart boy who liked to tell knock-knock jokes, according to Carmen Williams of Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy. Other students said he shared his school supplies generously and loved Spider-Man. Another student lamented that King didn't live long enough to become president.
Jennifer and her sister Julia, King's mother, did not attend the public memorial.
Shari Sweat, a cousin of Jennifer's 57-year-old mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, called Donerson by her nickname, "Doll," as she recounted how important the upcoming election was to her.
"Doll refused to be left out of this historical moment in this nation, and before she left these shores she cast her vote," Sweat said.
Sean Howard, executive assistant to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, said he was with the Hudson family when they went to the medical examiner's office last week to identify Julian's body.
"When Jennifer and her family walked in, Jennifer was a pillar in that room," Howard said. "You have a true leader in your family in Jennifer."
Jason Hudson's cousin, the Rev. Quentin Washington, reminded mourners that he would have turned 30 on Feb. 17. Washington said Hudson recently joked about getting older, saying "his Afro was getting thin."
The bodies of Donerson and Jason Hudson, 29, were discovered Oct. 24 at the family's home. Three days later the body of Julian was discovered in a sport utility vehicle on the city's West Side. No one has been charged in the killings, which police have described as "domestic related." Chicago police last week found the gun used in the three killings in a vacant lot.
Authorities have called Julia Hudson's estranged husband, 27-year-old William Balfour, a "person of interest." Police arrested him the same day the bodies of Donerson and Hudson were discovered. After 48 hours — the longest Chicago police can hold a person without charges — Balfour was taken by the Illinois Department of Corrections on a parole violation.
Meanwhile, New York Daily News columnists Rush & Malloy spoke with Hudson's friend and fashion mentor Andre Leon Talley, who says Jennifer has not been able to go inside the home where the killings took place.
“I believe she went back just once, to the gate, but didn’t go inside,” Talley said. “Right now she’s at an undisclosed location.”
The column also says he and his Vogue boss, Anna Wintour, have been reaching out to Hudson as she mourns.
“We’ve talked constantly,” Talley said. “I’ve sent her many e-mails; I’ve sent her my support, and so has Anna Wintour. And she just says thank you, thank you, thank you. She wants everyone, all her fans, to know how much their support has meant to her. And she’s going to be all right. Jennifer has faith in God. They’re just praying, every day, every minute, for the strength to get through this. And she will - she’s a very strong girl.”
Talley said he would try to see Jennifer this week while he's in Chicago working a phone bank for Barack Obama – the presidential candidate who was so important to Jennifer's mother.
In an interview with Usmagazine.com, Talley said of Jennifer: "She is doing very, very well. She's very strong. …There's so much strength within her that she's going to be OK. The message that she sent to me is that she appreciates all the messages of love that come from all the fans."
EXCERPTS FROM OBAMA/MCCAIN 'MNF' INTERVIEWS: Obama wants playoffs in college football; McCain wants stronger rules against doping.
*ESPN’s "Monday Night Football" ran taped interviews with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain during halftime of last night's matchup between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Below are some highlights from the separate conversations with ESPN's Chris Berman:
On one thing you would change in sports:
• Obama: “I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football.
I’m fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other. Get eight teams – the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff.
Decide on a National Champion.”
• McCain: “I’d take significant action to prevent the spread and use of performance-enhancing substances. I think it’s a game we’re going to be in for a long time. What I mean by that is there is somebody in a laboratory right now trying to develop some type of substance that can’t be detected and we’ve got to stay ahead of it. It’s not good for the athletes. It’s not good for the sports. It’s very bad for those who don’t do it and I think it can attack the very integrity of all sports going all the way down to high school.”
On what you learned about yourself over the campaign:
• Obama: “What I learned about that I think was positive was that I don’t get too high when things are going well and I don’t get too low when things are going tough. I think that has helped me and the organization stay steady.”
On the best piece of advice from the sports world:
• McCain: “I have to go all the way back to high school. I had a football coach who was a football star himself…The most important lesson he taught me was you’ve always got to do the honorable thing, even when nobody’s looking because maybe nobody will know, but you’ll know.”
SAMUEL L. JACKSON REUNITES WITH TARANTINO: 'Pulp Fiction' standout to narrate director's upcoming WWII film.
*Samuel L. Jackson will reteam with his "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown" director Quentin Tarantino for the forthcoming WWII film "Inglorious Basterds" (Yes, 'Basterds' with an 'e'), according to film blog The Playlist.
The movie is a remake of the 1977 Italian movie about a group of American soldiers who are attacked by Germans while being escorted to military prison. The story follows five of the prisoners who managed to escape.
Jackson will reportedly serve as a narrator for the updated version, which is due in theaters next year. The blog site reports of Jackson being "present only in a few spots (beginning page 24), but [he] mostly pops up at random times in the script to add some context and background info."
Jackson's latest film is "Soul Men," starring opposite the late Bernie Mac. The two play estranged members of a one-time R&B group that reunites to honor another bandmate who recently died.
EVE, WYCLEF, MARIO GAIN 'EXPERIENCE' IN GHANA: Trio to perform at huge concert in African country.
*Eve, Wyclef Jean and Mario will perform in Ghana next month at “The Zain 026 Experience,” a concert to introduce local citizens to the “Zain 026” code from Zain Ghana, an African telecom service provider.
The artists will take the stage at Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra before an expected crowd of more than 30,000 people.
Also on the bill are 2Face Idibia of Nigeria and three other local top artists, Obrafuor, Kwaw Kese, and Tinny.
At a press launch of the event in Accra on Thursday, Wyclef Jean told journalists via telephone that he hopes to one day record a collaboration with a Ghanaian artist.
Zain Ghana marketing director Charles Mayerm said the company “is hitting the country in a big way through the assembling of one of the best international network technologies to give Ghanaians the best.”
BERNICE KING TO CONTINUE ORGANIZING MOM'S PAPERS: Judge, however, did not rule on transfer of property to Dexter for memoir.
*A judge has ordered Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter to continue documenting her mother's personal papers, which are at the center of a family dispute among the civil rights icon's surviving children.
Bernice King and brother Martin Luther King III again faced off in court Friday against their brother, Dexter King, The Associated Press reports.
Dexter, CEO of King Inc., wants a judge to order Bernice, the administrator of her mother's estate, to turn over personal papers, including intimate letters between Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr.
The documents were part of a $1.4 million book deal with Penguin Group for a memoir about the civil rights matriarch, but that deal fell though earlier this month after the family missed a deadline from the New York-based publisher to turn the documents over. It is unclear now whether the documents can or will be used for any future such deals.
Bernice and Martin Luther King III both argue that the book goes against their mother's wishes.
The siblings and their attorneys sat down for more than four hours Friday after cooperation between them had stalled on a previous court order for Bernice King to begin producing her mother's personal items.
The issue of whether Coretta Scott King's papers are the property of her husband's estate, which Dexter King controls, remains undecided for now, but Frankel said he was pleased with Friday's progress and that the process of cataloguing hundreds of boxes of Coretta Scott King's property — being managed by a court-appointed "special master" — will resume as early as this week. The cataloguing is necessary before a judge can decide whether the documents should be turned over.
'ENTOURAGE' STAR 'GAME' TO DIRECT MUSIC VIDEO: Kevin Connolly tapped to helm clip for The Game's "Camera Phone" feat. Ne-Yo.
*People.com is reporting that actor Kevin Connolly of the HBO series "Entourage" has been hired to direct the music video for "Camera Phone," a song by The Game featuring R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo.
"I got hired on Wednesday and we're shooting on Tuesday. I've been scrambling around all weekend!" Connolly says, laughing about the pace of the video-making industry. "It's fun because the turnaround is quick. You shoot it, you edit that week, and a week later Game will have his video. It's amazing."
The video will pay homage to Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas," Connolly notes. "He's gonna be dressed up in suits and that kind of thing. I just want to make this different than anything he's ever done."
The clip could be out in as little as a week, adds Connolly. "It's gonna be fun," he says. "It's intense, and a lot of work though."
HOSPITAL SNOOPS ON INJURED NFL PLAYER: 20 workers fired for violating privacy of Jacksonville's Richard Collier.
*Twenty hospital workers in Florida were fired this week for violating the privacy of Richard Collier, the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman who was shot multiple times on Sept. 2.
The employees, who include nurses, admissions workers and patient relations staff at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center, were accused of breaking federal privacy rules by accessing Collier's medical records and passing them around to co-workers.
Channel 4 news in Jacksonville reports that the employees were fired for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which is designed to protect patients' medical records.
The hospital released this statement: "Any allegation of a breach in patient confidentiality is taken very seriously. All allegations are investigated thoroughly. If it has been determined that a violation has occurred, disciplinary action up to and including termination can be used. In order to maintain patient confidentiality we do not comment on any specific cases."
Collier was rushed to Shands after he was shot 14 times. He spent two weeks in the trauma center and left the hospital paralyzed from the waist down.
LEONA LEWIS WANTS TO ADOPT: British singer got the urge after visiting South Africa earlier this year.
*British pop star Leona Lewis, 23, says she got the motherhood itch after visiting an orphanage in South Africa earlier this year.
"I wanted to take home all the kids. They were so cute. All of them had been orphaned because of HIV and it was heart-rending," the "Bleeding Love" singer told Britain's Daily Mirror. "There are so many who need help – both here and abroad – you just don't know where to start."
Lewis, the winner of Britain's "X Factor" singing competition, says her upbringing would make her an ideal mom for troubled children.
"My mum was a social worker and my dad was a youth offender officer, so I know that there are a lot of kids out there that need to be fostered and adopted," she says. "I definitely want to adopt."
JIM JONES TO STAGE MUSICAL ABOUT HIS LIFE: 'Project' to be presented later this month in NY.
*Rapper Jim "We Fly High" Jones will reportedly tell his life story in a new stage production titled "The Jim Jones Project."
Allhiphop.com is reporting that the musical is scheduled to take place Nov. 12 and 13 in New York City. The times and venues have yet to be announced.
“It's a new and different way that Jim is showcasing his music," said a source who refused to be identified. "He’s taking his upcoming album and telling his life story via the album and the actors are acting it out as a play to release his album. The upcoming album is the soundtrack to the play.”
ITTY BITTY BITS: Tavis on NBC; Tribbett's 'Stand'; 'Cadillac Records poster'; MiJac rejects Vegas gig; Beyonce's cooking.
*Tavis Smiley will join the NBC News election coverage team on the "Today Show tomorrow morning to discuss the voting results. The host of the PBS talk show "Tavis Smiley" has established his program as a popular destination for political figures from both sides of the aisle. Last year, Smiley moderated the two PBS All American Presidential Forums during the primary season featuring the Democratic and Republican candidates.
*"Stand Out Live," the new full-length concert DVD from gospel singer/songwriter/performer Tye Tribbett and his gospel ensemble, G.A.
(Greater Anointing), is due for release today via Columbia. Recorded live at Rock Church International in Virginia Beach on Aug. 17, 2007, "Stand Out Live" showcases a variety of high-energy musical testimonies, each written or co-written by Tribbett, including "Stand Out," "Hold On," "Bless The Lord (Son Of Man)," and "I Need You." Bonus features include "Meet The Tribbetts," "Meet SoundCheck" (Tye's production entity), the fabled "Beach Party Concert," a behind-the-scenes section, Tye's "Stand Out: The Message" mission statement, and the "Good In The Hood" music video.
*ComingSoon.net has a first look at the new poster for "Cadillac Records," [view here: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=50110] opening in theaters on Dec. 5. Written and directed by Darnell Martin, the drama stars Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles, Gabrielle Union, Columbus Short, Cedric the Entertainer, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Eamonn Walker and Mos Def in the story of Chess Records and its recording artists. In this tale of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in Chicago of the 1950s and 60s, the film follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's greatest musical legends.
*TMZ.com is reporting that Michael Jackson has turned down an offer from Las Vegas hotel mogul Steve Wynn to perform this December at the opening of Steve Wynn Encore tower, a $2 billion project that adds a tower next to his Wynn hotel. The Web site also reported that Jackson has been recording at the Palms studios in Vegas. On Friday, Michael denied his brother Jermaine's statement that he is involved in a Jackson family reunion tour.
*Beyonce is about to spend her first Thanksgiving as a married woman, but the thought of being responsible for the turkey dinner has her a bit shaken. "I like the idea of being able to cook but I just can't do it,"
the singer and wife of Jay-Z told WENN. "I have to call my mom and she has to be on the phone the whole time because I'm burning stuff."
EUR DVD REVIEW: The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection
All 80 Original “Our Gang” Shorts Remastered and Rereleased on DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Between 1929 and 1938, Hal Roach produced one of the most successful series of shorts in cinematic history.
Originally called Our Gang, but renamed The Little Rascals when brought to TV in the Fifties, they revolved around the exploits of a lovable bunch of ostensibly unsupervised urchins who invariably landed in mischief.
The shows featured such unforgettable characters as ringleader Spanky (George McFarland), his love interest Darla, (Darla Hood), pals Alfalfa (Carl Switzer), Buckwheat (Billie Thomas), Stymie (Matthew Beard), Dickie (Dickie Jackson), Porky (Eugene Lee), Farina (Allen Hoskins), Wheezer (Bobby Hutchins), Chubby (Norman Chaney), bully Butch (Tommy
Bond) and his sidekick Woim (Sidney Kibrick), schoolteacher Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe) and Petey the Dog.
Ernie Morrison, who played Sunshine Sammy, is of interest because he was the first African-American ever signed to a long-term contract in Hollywood, and several other black actors on the series would follow suit. Still, The Little Rascals fell out of favor during the Sixties, specifically because of its stereotypical depiction of blacks as scaredy cats whose hair stood on end, whose eyes bugged out, and who turned white from fear. Furthermore, they were often the butt of jokes involving ebonics and eating watermelon.
Nonetheless, the actors defended their roles, by pointing out that most of the characters were simplistically-drawn, whether as spoiled, rich, Asian, etcetera. Only Buckwheat enjoyed a bit of a revival, thanks to Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live.
Watching this remastered, restored and uncut 8-disc collection today, it might make you wince here and there in terms of its political incorrectness, yet you definitely get a sense that the humor was never meanspirited. And every installment is entertaining, endearing and hilarious, though really only recommended for nostalgic purposes for those already familiar with Spanky and company, not for impressionable young minds.
Otay!
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 1332 minutes
Studi Genius Products
8-Disc DVD Extras: Commentaries from film historians and authors, interviews with former Little Rascals, film introductions, three “our Gang” silent shorts, three featurettes and a 12-page photo booklet with trivia, images and collectible lobby cards.
EUR DVD REVIEW: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
DVD Features Modern-Day St. Francis Tending to Flock
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Mark Bittner was a burnt-out hippie who had never quite found his purpose in life.
For years, the bearded bohemian had barely been able to keep a roof over his head as a struggling street musician in San Francisco.
Then, everything changed the day he came upon a colorful flock of tropical birds congregating in an area of the city called Telegraph Hill.
Exactly how the lime-green bodied, cherry-headed parrots arrived is simply the subject of speculation, though they are certainly not indigenous to the area. What's important is that Mark found the wild warblers fascinating, and he immediately began feeding and then nursing the sick among them back to health. The new hobby soon turned into a full-time vocation, with this modern day St. Francis scattering huge bags of feed while ignoring his own personal need for food, clothing and money for rent.
Thanks to the kindness of friends, strangers and a very patient landlord, this story has a happy ending, and it's all chronicled quite nicely in Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, a documentary which captures the eccentric ornithologist communing with his flock with an intimacy that’s almost unimaginable.
He knows each of his dozens of birds by name and personality, noting not only their peculiar markings but also their individual eating, mating, traveling and nesting habits. Though Mr. Bittner also interacts with humans, too, he still comes off as a bit of an oddity. For most of his acquaintances, quite understandably, see him as a tad too taken with his animals.
Nonetheless, this brilliant film, by lingering on its subjects far longer than any casual passerby would dare, enables its audience to appreciate the fact that the world would be far better off with more sensitive souls like Mark.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated G
Running time: 83 minutes
Studi New Video Group
2-Disc DVD Extras: California Quail Bonus Short; Urban Legends; Origins of the Flock; Special Homage to Connor; Mark Bittner's Home Movies; Please Don't Feed the Birds; Music Vide Ballad of the Brooklyn Parrots; Behind the Scenes; Parrots Around the World; Flock Updates; Mark Bittner and Judy Irving Update; Original Theatrical Trailer; plus two new films by director Judy Irving 'Christmas at the Bait Shop' and
'19 Arrests, No Convictions '; and much more.
To see a trailer of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBDqwkgjW6g
THE BRIDGE: Cultural Awareness
By Darryl James
*I wrote about the need for African Americans to promote a
Cultural Revolution, outlining the reasons why we need it and making recommendations on what it should look like.
This week, as I write this installment of The Bridge, I have faith that history will be made and that Senator Barack Obama will be elected America’s first Black president. It will be a mistake to believe that he will make our lives easier just by taking the oath of office.
But our lives can become easier, if we use the symbolism of a Black president and work to make his job easier by becoming a stronger people.
That will not occur with the participation of all or even most of us at first.
Like any other revolution, it can begin with only some of us. And it can be centered around the election of a Black president.
When that occurs, those of us who are awake and active must take action to give support to President Obama. We must do that by creating a new set of goals.
But first, we must understand the reasons why we are in such horrible shape as a people.
We need to first understand that we are in bad shape because we believe that we are and others believe that we are not very good people.
Our current state is to accept whatever the worldview of African or African American happens to be.
Due to the commodification of our culture, we are now only as deep as the outlets issuing our culture back to us. As opposed to creating new extensions of our culture and then sharing it with each other, the world now takes from us what they want and eventually, it is packaged and sold back to us--presented as authentic Black culture. We consume this artificial culture as the rest of the world does and it is sickening us as a child who eats too much sugar.
We are cultural children. We are not fully developed as a people, because we don’t know who we are, what we stand for or where we are going. Many of us don’t even think about it.
The best that many of us can manage is to be whatever white folks are trying to be in their secondhand, deviant duplication of culture stolen from us. Blind to our own obfuscated culture, we embrace it as though it is true culture, which explains the success of someone such as Eminem.
And when we do play Afrocentric, it’s like children who play house but never really become responsible adults and parents. We can see throngs of Blacks with Afros, Dreadlocks and Braids claiming to be moving closer to their roots, but nothing else about their lifestyle or mentality is African or intrinsically African American—whatever that is.
But as far as our true and longstanding culture and legacy, most of us are no longer aware of anything that Blacks have contributed to the planet. Our history in this nation and in the world has been hidden, obfuscated, twisted and crapped on to the point where it is counterculture to embrace the truth. After having everything good about a people stolen, stomped on and lied about, it is no wonder that some of the people begin to hate themselves.
We are now seeing the deleterious results of the historical abuse of our culture, our minds and our collective psyche. We’ve embraced the worst things said about us and we joke about how horrible we are on the world stage. In our regular lives, we talk about how horrible black businesses are and expect consistency. We open businesses and perpetuate stereotypes about our employees and walk into Black businesses armed with stereotypes against them.
And, we fight against anyone who speaks against the ugly distorted culture that has become the status quo.
But we once had a tight hold on real culture.
Our grandparents were serious people. The times that they lived in dictated that they live as serious people. They would have loved to be carefree and pretend that they were okay as individuals, but they realized that as a people they really weren’t okay.
Then our parents came into the sixties and seventies and were handed resources which could have been used to build a Black nation, but they were used to build good things for the first few who lined up to get them and share with no one.
That was the first generation of people to become all about self and we now see the result. The white hippies were able to crap on their status quo and then clean themselves up and go to work for daddy. Blacks who did it just fed off of their families and resources, which lead to the first generation of wholly dysfunctional families.
Our parents came from a movement that was revealed as hollow and at its roots revealed as superficial. Only a few people were Martin and Malcolm, while the rest were dressed up for the occasion, which explains how the “movement” stopped short when a handful of people were killed.
Now, just like white Americans, many of us watch television for cultural cues.
Black men in their thirties and forties who watch rap music videos are being silently affected by the second rate candy-culture, which is why we see grown men with sagging pants, talking like stupid ass rappers and thinking like them, which is killing us.
White women can watch shows like Sex And The City, but Black women who allow the imaginary socialization to seep into their psyche are damaging themselves and their potential for real relationships.
The world ain’t fair, and it ain’t cool. Black men are being left out and left behind, but the useless, counterproductive gangster lifestyle is still being glamorized. AIDS is at the doorstep of Black women more than anyone else’s, but yet, they still want sexual freedom. Freedom from what?
Baby daddies and baby mammas who both know that they have nothing financially, morally or culturally to give a child, still continue to have them. Fantasia’s ode to baby mammas was a cultural signpost of the comfort held in being a single parent. Why celebrate and glamorize a wretched situation just because you overcame as an individual?
But we have begun to operate as individuals, while we continue to talk about the Black community. We are disconnecting from the struggle, even as we are still struggling.
The longer you make people struggle, the more you filter them out and wear them down and collectively they eventually acquiesce. Over the past few decades, more of us have begun to circle the drain, even while others claim to be “balling out of control” with heavy debt and few real assets. Now, we have people who don’t even sellout, they give everything away for ninety-nine cents or for nothing.
Our most salient issue is that we think we are free. We think that we can make choices without paying a cost, not realizing that many of us get nothing and still must pay a dear price.
Financially, we are in danger of becoming irrelevant. Comfortable morons can talk about the growing Black middle class, but as a people, we are worse than ever, because the real growth in our population is the group of people who have nothing and will not find a way to have anything. There are more of us who are getting pushed out of the game, yet there are more of us pretending to be at the top of the game.
When one of us makes it, we pretend that we are different from the rest of the race. How could we have role models when the fist thing a successful Black man or woman does is disconnect and speak about how different they are from the rest of us?
Whatever we create as individuals will never benefit the collective and if the divide between the haves and have-nots is growing among whites, then it is growing exponentially among Blacks no matter how many sweet lies we tell.
Spiritually—the best many of us can do is embrace Jesus and refuse to look at anything else even if we don’t really understand. If you don’t fall in line you will be chastised. If you question the norm in any way, you will be attacked and/or ostracized. Yet, many of us are dying a spiritual death while zealously beating others over the head with a religion.
Ignorance and its fallout have become cultural cues for the destruction of what we were and what we could become.
Without a real culture that we can embrace, there is nothing to hold us together, or even keep us solid as individuals. We have never been at a lower point in male/female relationships, cultural identity, or mutual respect.
Many of us are so far from anything substantial and real that anyone who poses as aware is embraced as something near to a god.
We have developed such poor cultural habits that it appears that we have truly accepted our place as second class citizens.
At some point, we will witness blacks dying off. We are morphing into an entire segment of society that can not provide for itself—spiritually, financially, culturally.
Our choices are simple—We can take advantage of the symbolism in a Black president, and work to be a stronger people, or we can have faith that Obama, Jesus, Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny will do all of the work and save us.
There is no guarantee that we have to exist.
Darryl James is an award-winning author of the powerful new anthology “Notes From The Edge.” He released his first mini-movie, “Crack,” and this year, will release his first full-length documentary. View previous installments of this column at www.bridgecolumn.proboards36.com. Reach James at djames@theblackgendergap.com.
THE MO'KELLY REPORT: Vote Today, Repay the Debt
*Be sure to vote today. It should go without saying, but I’m still saying it anyway.
Vote today.
Each and every fireman’s hose, attack dog, lynch mob, Baptist church bombing, civil rights assassination and segregationist Jim Crow ploy to thwart Black voters are each symbolically standing in the doorway of history. They are looking upon this day as the sum of all their fears.
Prove them right. Prove that their fear is well-founded. Let not the sacrifices of those who came before us be in vain.
My vote today is in remembrance of Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Emmett Till, Viola Liuzzo, Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Justice Thurgood Marshall, Charles Hamilton Houston, W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Chaney, Goodman & Schwerner, Frederick Douglass and the thousands of others no longer here to participate in this moment.
My vote today will be in remembrance of them. All of them.
My vote today is in recognition of Rev. C.T. Vivian, Joseph Lowery, Clarence B. Jones, Jesse Jackson, L. Douglas Wilder, Andrew Young, and the thousands still with us who all have played equal, yet sometimes less celebrated roles…but still inextricably linked to this propitious moment.
My vote today will be in recognition of them. All of them.
But most importantly, my vote will be in rejoicement of the wonderful possibilities both present and future, this historic candidacy of Barack Obama represents…win or lose. “Yesterday” is inextricably linked to “today” and “tomorrow.”
There is no “Venus and Serena,” without “Althea and Arthur.” There is no Tiger Woods without Lee Elder and Calvin Peete. No Deval Patrick with L. Douglas Wilder. And there is no Barack without Shirley and Jesse.
My Lord. My Lord. Never before have our yesterdays, todays and tomorrows all together in one singular moment.
Don’t miss this moment.
Our history as a people in this nation has been a succession of steps leading inexorably to this moment in which hopefully…maybe…finally, we realize our privilege and standing in this world. Senator Obama’s candidacy doesn’t “change” the world for us, but inarguably changes how the world must view “us”…and I don’t mean “us” as Americans.
In closing, I’ll leave everyone with the words of former Louisiana Congressman Cleo Fields, who said it best…
"Rosa Parks sat down so the rest of us could stand up.
We stood up so Dr. King could march.
Dr. King marched so Jesse could run.
Jesse ran so Obama could WIN!"
Now go cast your vote and remember you’re not just voting for yourself, you’re also voting for everyone who died in the process of securing that right. If you won’t vote your conscience, vote theirs. Vote to laugh squarely in the face of every piece of Jim Crow garbage thrown our way the previous twelve months specifically and 400 years generally. And most importantly, vote knowing that for the first time in history that we as African-Americans have the opportunity to repay the debt of all those who came before us. It’s the very least we can do.
Vote today. (And party tomorrow).
TURNER’S TWO CENTS: No Fear of the Bradley Effect
by Cameron Turner
*I’m not trippin’ off the Bradley Effect. Polls have shown that white people who oppose Obama because he is black are not ashamed to admit their feelings. The racists aren’t hiding because they are terrified that this black man might win. So, they have gone into attack mode. They may speak in euphemisms (i.e.: calling Obama and Arab, Muslim or saying he wasn’t born in the United States) but that’s only because calling him a nigger would force McCain to renounce them. But we know and, more importantly, they know that they mean nigger when they use those other words.
At this point, racism is about the only card that McCain, Palin and the Republicans have left. Since most Americans have turned off to their George Bush-esque message, McCain, Palin and the Republicans are banking on the bigoted vote to help them reverse the national polls that have shown them behind for the last several weeks. That’s why Sarah Palin called small town white folks are the “real Americans” and why John McCain indignantly defended his hate-spewing followers during the final debate.
This is not merely a cynical way to wage an election it is evil. It’s also un-American. Yes, un-American. White supremacy has been the accepted, mainstream belief system and the basis for the United States’ social, political and economic structure for most of our nation’s history. But white supremacy has been declining at an accelerated rate – though still gradually and against much defiance – since the Civil Rights Movement. This election of Barack Obama to America’s highest office will send a bold, undeniable signal across the nation and around the world that the majority of Americans want to re-define their nation’s character in a way that will make “liberty and justice for all” a reality, finally.
So, no, I’m not worried about any Bradley Effect. I believe most Americans want our nation to grow past racism; therefore I’m confident that the polls will accurately predict the outcome of Tuesday’s election and we will take a bold step toward the inevitable future in which all Americans enjoy the fruits of equality and freedom.
Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.
THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: Come To Jesus Meeting
*If you’ve ever spent time at Sunday morning church services, you’re familiar with Altar Call. That’s when the pastor stands at the front of the church with hands spread wide to receive new members, old members wanting to repent or just people with special prayer requests.
Altar Call is the best testament to how well the pastor’s sermon was received. Did he strike a nerve among parishioners that Sunday forcing them to see the error of their ways or was nobody feeling the pastor at all (Amen lights)?
A politician is much like a pastor, except his Altar Call is on Election Day. For it is on that day that each candidate - Democrat , Republican or Independent - gauges how well his or her message has been received. It’s not enough to keep old party faithfuls from defecting. The real indicator of how well a speaker, preacher, psychologist, strategist and business person a politician is comes from how many registered voters he has converted to his ideology if only for one day (or for one week if you count early voting).
I received an e-mail recently that said today - Election Day – would be the mother of all Altar Call’s, a national Come to Jesus Meeting. It urged people around the country to fast and pray between 10 am and 2pm.
Whether or not you believe in the power of prayer, there comes a time when the candidates have done all they can do and said all they can say. They have shaken all the hands, kissed all the babies and have given all the speeches. Now all they can do is be prayerful, hopeful and resigned. Resigned to the fact their political fate on this day is in the voter’s hands.
That’s you.
I’m also hopeful and prayerful. I hope you took the time to early vote, because with a presidential election of such magnitude there’s no way 300 million people could be expected to vote in a twelve-hour window and everybody’s vote gets counted. Let’s be real.
Even more so I’m prayerful. I pray that all who didn’t early vote will persevere through the long lines, inclement weather and the challenges that are sure to be at the polls on Election Day.
Steffanie Rivers is a free-lance journalist living in the Dallas, Texas metroplex. To schedule speaking engagements or to send questions or comments contact her at teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Three Acts Spring to Life at New Federal Theatre
By Deardra Shuler
Photos by Gerry Goldstein
*The New Federal Theatre, located at 699 Grand Street, is presently featuring 3-One Act plays. The first play “Amarie” runs 20 minutes and is written by Hugh L. Fletcher, directed by Freedome Bradley and features Sherise Pruitt, Chrystal Stone, Lisa Strum and Carsey Walker, Jr. This is a play that delves into family dynamics and the fractured relationship that exists between a mother and daughter. It highlights a changing time when children grow up too fast and some parents put their own interest before their children, especially their love lives. In Amarie’s case, her mother Candace (Chrystal Stone), likes younger men and has moved her most recent love interest, Armand, into the family home where the unemployed 24 year old youth spends most of his time being nagged by Candace to get a job. Since Candace does work, this leaves time for Amarie and Armand to become acquainted. Armand makes 14 year old Amarie believe she is a young woman and before long Amarie thinks she knows more about what a man wants and needs than her mother. She begins to spend less time in school prompting her teacher played by Lisa Strum to contact the Administration of Children’s Services. Of course, this is when Candace learns her daughter’s grades are slipping and is truant. Suddenly, Candace is forced to face the fact that her 14 year old daughter has become her competitor and enemy. The end result of this scenario plays out in ways that destroys the lives of all concerned.
An Ed Bullins and Marvin X play “Salaam, Huey Newton, Salaam” is the next play up and in this reviewer’s mind the most poignant of the three one act plays. It sketches a picture of what happens to those revolutionaries who rise up to fight a cause during a time that cries out for justice, when the revolution is no more. Depending on one’s vantage point it can be said that one man’s hero is another man’s enemy. Blacks in America have always been privy to the eternal internal struggle for equality and justice that has oftentimes been elusive to their community. Thus, understood quite well what Michelle Obama meant when she said it was the first time she was proud of this country. The history of this country’s brutality toward its citizens of color stands on its own historic merit. Few can deny this country’s shame unless of course they are hypocrites. And thus, back in the 1960s when the Black Panthers came into prominence they were revered by many black people as the protectors who stood between the community and the Oakland police department, who at that time where known to terrorize black neighborhoods. Huey Percy Newton co-founded the Panther Party with Bobby Seale. The original Panthers were a Black organization that existed from the 1960s-1980s. Newton studied law at Oakland City College and San Francisco Law School prior to forming the party. He was prompted to study law after witnessing police abuse. Of a volatile nature, Newton spent 6 months in jail for stabbing a man at a party. Since Newton understood the California penal code and state laws regarding weapons, he encouraged numbers of African Americans to exercise their legal right to bear open arms. Black Panther members began to patrol the streets determined to stop police violence in African American communities. The Party also encouraged education and created breakfast programs to feed children. The Panthers sought to bring about a fairer political social economic change designed to help those struggling under the weight of the capitalistic system of big business. However, every revolution and effort to bring about social change is met with fierce opposition by the powers that be, thus often those united in the cause are under minded by their very own and the strategies and trickery of the oppressing force. “Salaam, Huey Newton, Salaam” delves into what happens to soldiers in the aftermath of war, and what becomes of heroes when the parade passes them by. This short play directed by Mansoor Najee-ullah was performed to perfection by Michael Alcide, Gano Grills and Harison Lee.
The final act directed by Hampton V. Clanton is Amiri Baraka’s play “The Toilet.” Although this offering takes place in the men’s laboratory of the John W. Brown Maritime High School, perhaps a closet would have been better suited given the back door route this play takes to address the fragility of the male libido in seeking to define the true meaning of masculinity. Written in 1964, the play remains just as current today, as it seeks to address the struggle of youth to define their sexual orientation. “The Toilet,” flushes out the fear, homoeroticism, and homophobic behavior of a group of male students who discover one of their school mates is gay. The gay student’s advances is heightened because not only is he white but he chooses to reveal his admiration to a black student well respected for his machismo among his peers. This is interpreted as a threat to the masculinity of the black student who rather than be tainted as gay himself, organizes a group of his homophobic buddies to give the white student a public reprimand. After a series of boasting, horseplay, threats and punching of one another to work up their courage, the boys fall upon their prey beating him mercilessly in ritualistic sacrifice to their frail libidos. The ferocity of the beating seemed to suggest a tacit disavowal of any latent homosexuality that might lay dormant within these boys in their effort to understand the complicated relationship of gender, race, and sexual identity. The ending reveals how fragile is the thread binding staunch masculinity and homophobic rhetoric. The cast includes Michael Aleide, Amari Cheato, W. Tre Davis, Adam R. Deremer, Ananias J. Dixon, Lawrence Mack, Ras Enoch McDurdie, Natafa, Reynaldo Piniella, Johnny Ramey and Mat Weaver.
Go see these plays!
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." — John Wooden
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Nov. 4: Rapper-producer Diddy (Sean Combs) is 39.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Ladies, do you need another pair of shoes? If so, here's a site with shoes in all colors and styles (www.headoverheelzonline.net/).
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Nov. 4, 1969: Howard N. Lee and Charles Evers are elected the first African American mayors of Chapel Hill, N.C. and Fayette, Miss., respectively. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)